Matt’s Journal

04 Mar, 2008

The God Question

Posted by: Matt In: Religion

Spaghetti MonsterSomething I have found myself pondering lately is the existence of God. Both myself and my fiancée Katie have been attending church for the last few months in order for us to be married in the parish and at the church we had chosen. As a result of this, we have been learning more and more about faith and Christianity. Recently my mother has told of her interest in learning more about Christianity and decided to attend a course named the “Alpha Course“, which is a course that is designed for people who aren’t church goers but have questions about religion and the Christian faith.

In my mothers words; “It’s a chance to learn about Christianity without having it forced down your throat by a man of the church”.

When I return home on the weekends, I ask my mother how her course is going, she tells us of all the stories she has and shares what she learns from her Monday evenings once a week. It gets quite philosophical at times and my mother always ends up saying that in the not-too-distant future she will probably commit to a Christian life because it’s something she feels she can believe and trust in more and more.

Rewind 5 years and I would have laughed at her and probably taken the piss out of her for doing so (much as my younger brother does now), but these days I find myself more and more open to discussions about there “Being a God”. In the past I have purchased books written by Umberto Eco called “The Name of the Rose” and “Foucault’s Pendulum” which delve into Templar history, mediaeval church history, philosophical treatise to surmise. One of my favourite films is “Stigmata“, a film about “a self-professed athiest who manages to somehow be afflicted with The Stigmata, a paranormal experience wherein the “victim” or the “gifted” (dependant upon one’s point of view) is afflicted/touched by God and with manifestations of the wounds Christ suffered at His Crucifixion. These include the wounds through the wrists, the feet, the crown of thorns, the scourging of the back and finally the spear through the side.“. Something about the whole mystery of faith, particularly Christianity, compels me to learn more. When we attend Church, I ask very relevant and provoking questions, so much so that the vicar at our Church suggested we attend a Bible Study evening on Tuesday’s because he felt we could add a lot to the conversation.

What happens to someone after they die?

This is the question that is seriously making me question my feelings about life after death and ultimately if there is a God. After Katie’s Nan had passed away, I found myself questioning where the energy that once filled her body had travelled/dissipated/transferred to. Just yesterday I was discussing this same question with my friend Graeme, where we discussed our thoughts on what happened to me/you/everyone after they die.

My belief is that when someone is alive, they have energy in their body; Potential/Kinetic/Chemical, you name it. When someone takes their last breath and the body ceases to no longer produce electrical impulses from the brain, the heart stops beating; that energy cannot be destroyed, it must transfer to another matter. This matter could simply be the air, the energy that once filled a human body is released into the air, where I then breath it in, thus transferring that energy from a once living body to another living body within minutes or even seconds.

A notion of mine is that there has to be a place where someone goes after they die, a place where that energy is stored or manifested. Does the non-destroyable energy from the dead body culminate into a single consciousness where it can be transported to a place where other consciousnesses have gathered? That’s the question I feel more and more aware of recently and I’ll be damned if I can answer it.

I believe in Ghosts. Can the idea I described above relate to this aswell? Does a single consciousness remain at a human level and still have the power to manipulate physical objects?

So many questions and not enough answers. It makes for good reading though. I have literature that I will read to try and get answers, I don’t even know if once I think I have found the answer that seems logical to me, that I will be happy with it.

Heavy stuff, you know you love it :P

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5 Responses to "The God Question"

1 | nabiy

March 5th, 2008 at 12:32 am

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one of the things that throws me is that we don’t have answers to some of the most fundamental questions. Aside from a unit of measurement what is energy really? what is matter fundamentally? Is there more to space than the lack of matter? and then there is the big one, what is God? can we be sure of anything other than he is something greater than ourselves? maybe we can’t even be sure of that.

imho, the thing to keep in mind is that we don’t really know anything for sure. Science is only the collective sum of human observation. Religion and Religious texts are also collected observation. This includes the bible and this is what strengthens my faith in Chrisitanity more than any thing else. That is, that these men who originally testified to what Christ did were willing to die (and most of them did die) for that testimony. That died saying that these were the things they observed. If a group of people are ready to devote their lives for something they saw, even until death, then i think people should take notice and at least give it serious consideration.

i don’t want to ramble and i don’t want to get preachy. but if you have any specific questions about the bible and Chrisitanity feel free to send me an email or something. i’m a leader in my church and have a degree in religious studies (one of those things you didn’t know about me?). anyways, i’m not afraid of the hard questions so give me a shout and i’ll give you an honest opinion. - nabiy

2 | Matt

March 5th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

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nabiy, would you be able to tell me your thoughts on how you would explain my questions? The more I question things, the more I side with there being a “God”.

However, when I go to church and we study the Bible, I find I am more and more disillusioned with what I take from it. Questions I ask I feel can never be answered factually, therefore in my belief system I have no way of telling what is what.

I truly think I want to believe the Bible documented true events, perhaps I need someone who can show me the weaknesses of my ideas.

3 | nabiy

March 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am

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I would answer your questions honestly and as best as I am able. If they pertain to doctrine, i would use scripture. If it is hermeneutics, I would explain, using scripture and historical context why i think the passage should be interpreted a certain way but I would also offer other ways people interpret the same passage. Finally, if your question is something dealing with the Historicity of the faith or the historical accuracy of the text then I would offer what i know and have found, probably giving you citations or whatever.

One thing I would suggest though is to approach the Bible and Faith for what is there. The Bible never tries to prove God’s existence. instead it starts with the assumption that there is a God and offers testimony as to what that God has done. So don’t search the Bible for proof that there is a God, everyone has the proof inside them and around them. Instead look to the bible for the historical testimony that it provides. anyways, you have my email address if you want to continue the discussion : )

ps - you’ll also have to share your ideas about all this with me.

4 | Matt

March 6th, 2008 at 11:58 am

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I would love to share my thoughts my friend. How would you like me to do so?

5 | nabiy

March 14th, 2008 at 5:08 am

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you can email me (nabiy) at hotmail.com or at sdf.lonestar.org.

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