Sunday, August 9, 2015

Religion, God, atheism, and timeless being

Nathan, Ex Machina (film)

Written in response to a post on Facebook by an expressed atheist about religion, God and the creation of the universe

I think it's important to distinguish between religious concepts and non-religious concepts of a creator, or original being. It's not just a choice between religion and atheism. There are far more interesting and intellectually satisfying views than those two, in my opinion.

As for the universe being created by a thing rather than a being, we need to think about this: could non-life REALLY give birth to life? It takes a living being to create a machine, for example, machines don't self-generate.
So is seems unlikely a machine or mechanical process gave birth to the universe without the need for an intelligent being behind the process in the first place.

As for how the original being came into existence (or always existed)- that’s beyond human conception because our minds are products of a world where time is primary and where living beings are seen to be created (by other beings), to exist for a while and then to die.  Therefore we expect all beings to conform to this pattern and not to exist without the need for a creator (i.e. parent) and a limited life span.

As discussed, the logical part of the human mind is not equipped to deal with timeless realities, but this doesn’t mean they don’t exist.  In fact, we experience ourselves as a timeless being when we identify with awareness, itself, rather than the body, and we notice that it's only conditions that change, not the consciousness that experiences it all.

Sharka Todd

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