Eluvia

Created: One

How did the universe form?  What made humanity the dominant species on Earth?  Why are these questions important?
 
The topic of our origins affects more than just our knowledge of history: it cuts straight to our perception of reality.  Shouldn’t every human being decide for him- or herself what they believe regarding the beginnings of humanity, the universe, and all reality?  

Your understanding of the origin of life is one of the prime presuppositions that informs your worldview.  A presupposition is a foundational understanding by which you judge any new knowledge or experiences.  Stacked together in a set, your presuppositions form your worldview, the lens through which you see and make sense of the world.  You - and everyone around you - use your worldview reflexively and involuntarily not only to interpret reality, but also to make decisions.  

THE MAN FROM CHAOS

For a moment, imagine you are convinced that you and your world were not created by any god, but are the results of chance and time.  The forces that were at play during the slow development of the heavens and humanity did not produce anything other than exclusively material beings on an exclusively material world.  As a materialist, you know that matter is the sole substance of reality, and material interaction can and does account for all phenomena in the universe.  Even the illusion of human consciousness is merely the result of unintelligent biology, and humans are chemical machines, with as much of a “soul” as any rock in the cosmos.

However, even the term “cosmos” - Greek for “order” or “harmony” - presupposes some kind of unity.  Can there be any such universal organization without an overseeing organizer to do the job?  No, and so the order of the cosmos is yet another myth.  You, the materialist, are the product of a universe of chaos.

For the man from chaos, the concept of “truth” or “meaning” is another myth.  Since the unpredictable universe formed for no reason, there is no universal meaning for anything.  If reality is meaningless, how can you find any basis for personal meaning: any foundation for truth, precedent for ethics, or authority for moral judgments?  You must fabricate your own meaning for life, despite the fact that any meaning you could concoct would invariably be absurd and impossible to prove, thus impossible to defend in the mind of another individual whose own meaning is diametrically opposed to yours, yet just as valid.  

In the face of universal meaninglessness, all human endeavor also becomes absurd.  Art, science, philosophy, and charity all have the same effect as murder, theft, destruction, or debauchery.  In a world with no standards for right or wrong, all actions are the same, and none have any effect on the faceless, implacable universe.  In a world that was not created, creativity has no real value.  Everything will be forgotten with time.

For the non-created materialist who is brave enough to confront the meaningless chaos of the universe with intellectual honestly, free of all self-deception, the  reasonable conclusion of the existential path is inevitably a choice between two extremes: hedonism or nihilism.  Either please yourself as much as you can, or retreat into your tomb forever.  

Do everything you want, or do nothing at all; either way it doesn’t matter.

THE MAN FROM COSMOS

Now imagine that you are convinced that you were created.  That is, you are not the byproduct of deaf, blind, and dumb forces, rather you are the intentional construct of an intelligence.  The same intelligence, in fact, that created the entire material cosmos - the order of the universe.

If the universe was created intentionally, doesn’t logic imply that the creator had a reason for the creation?  That means the universe has meaning - real, authentic truth.  The man from cosmos can seek out that truth through use of science or philosophy, study or prayer, confident in the knowledge that the truth is there, and it’s universal.  Once you’ve struck upon truth, you can convey it to others through art, music, literature or any creative process.  You can defend it through activism, civil service, charity, ministry…the options are open wide.

Now imagine that the one who designed the order, the creator, is found to be personal.  If the cosmos has an intelligent creator that not only sees and hears, but also a creator that considers, emotes, and works, then the product of that order, the human being, also has a creator who considers the human being, emotes with the human being, and works with the human being.  

If matter had a creator, then wouldn’t logic dictate that the creator of matter has to be something other than matter?  Perhaps something we may call spirit?  If the physical universe is not the sole domain of reality, but rather reality existed prior to the forming of the physical universe, then you have the real hope that there is more to explore beyond the physical; not just in space and time, but also within ourselves.  There is the real prospect that the members of humanity, the only biological organisms with a self-aware consciousness, possess souls or spirits which can touch the immaterial and can exist beyond the confines of the physical.  Life beyond death.

LIVING CREATIVELY AND CONSISTENTLY

It matters what you believe about where you’re from.  The chasm between being created and being non-created is the same chasm that lays between cosmos and chaos, truth and absurdity, meaning and meaninglessness.  True creativity - a creativity that expresses something more than just yourself - comes from knowing that there’s more to life than merely existing.  The one who believes that he or she is created can convey truth in a creative way, with the confidence that their creation has a universal meaning that touches something deeper than chemistry in the minds of people, with potentially eternal implications.

Are you, as either one who comes from cosmos or one who comes from chaos, living consistently with the understanding of your origins, or are you borrowing from the other understanding?  Are you a materialist who believes in meaning?  Do you know you’re created, but have no hope?  

Is your life consistent with your worldview?

E. English