TPG 7: A Modest Proposal: Revelation

“… is a power incessantly ready for action, and is as immeasurably superior to man's feeble efforts, as the works of Nature are to those of Art” (prophet A)

Is there order to this complex thing we call nature? According to the above author, there is indeed a power greater than man is. What is this special power? Religions have fought about it for centuries. Although each religious ‘prophet’ sent by the power, brought a message of peace, all ‘Religion’ seems to be is a series of schisms and fighting. “My idea of god is better than your idea of god”. It sounds like playground banter to me, “...my dad is better than your dad!”

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed” (prophet B).

I have a modest proposal: what if we roll the clock back to one power, creator, god, force, order or whatever you wish to call it. Abraham, acknowledged by most modern religions, thought of only one God, who was all-seeing, all-knowing etc, Some of our Native Canadians believe there is one creator who is simply, “is the oldest ancestor” and knows the plan. That is a good start!

The name is not important; creator, god, or the force, what is important and easy to see is nature - the nature we are and the nature we live in. Many have noted that nature can be cruel and at the same time wondrous. I think that the order of this earth is amazingly brilliant. For that reason, I do not believe that something or someone so brilliant could be mean, spiteful and inflexible - that sounds too human. Secondly, I do not believe that ‘God’ is so insecure that he/she/it requires people to kneel, bow and humble themselves to be in good graces - that sounds too human.

In my modest proposal, the creator that I would like to believe in would be like the best parent imaginable who had many different children. There are many types of parents, teachers, and spiritual leaders. Two parenting styles stand out to me and apply here. The authoritarian parent who is rigid, domineering and punishing; there is no understanding, simply obedience and bow before me. This type of parent is often abusive in their demands for compliance and these methods sound very human to me. I would wish for the other type of parent; the kind of parent who is confident and secure in the plan, patient, and compassionate. This type of parent promotes learning and understanding instead of demanding deference.

The first thing a good parent does for their child is let them know they are there, i.e. give the child security. A good parent also teaches a child how to relate and get along with other humans. Finally, a good parent would encourage learning and independence. Because the creator has many children, variation in instruction for each child is necessary. In my fantasy world, the creator would want to share and reveal the wonders of this world, and would teach us like a caring parent would.

The first step would be to let humans know that they are not alone and secondly, that there is some sort of order to what seems to be an overwhelming universe. It is not hard to understand that in a large family such as humans, there would be a lot of variation in intelligence, interests, and spiritualism between all the kids. Some may not be too bright and some may be very clever, interests vary from arts to science and everything in between.

A good parent first gives the child security - letting the child know there was someone there for them. In my fantasy world, this is exactly what the creator did. The early prophets/teachers, Buddha, Christ, Allah to name only a few, were sent to tell humans almost the same thing, god, force, creator says, “Hey, I’m here! You are not alone”. Additionally, “Here are some basic rules on how to get along with the other critters on earth.” Cool, now we can work together towards the creator’s master plan - whatever that may be.

Second, my fantasy creator would be so happy with the world, that he/she/it would want to share it intellectually. After all, the main big deal with humans is our ability to think. Most parents want their children to bright and inquisitive. My fantasy god would want everyone to use the gifts given to them, in order to understand the wonderful world around them. So, in my fantasy world, the creator/god sent a second wave of teachers: Galileo, DaVinci, Newton, Pasteur, Darwin and a host of others.

In my fantasy world, god is compassionate, kind and a good parent and teacher. The first wave of teachers revealed that we are not alone and there is some higher power at work. They also stress how important it is for humans to get along together. The second wave of teachers begins to reveal some of the inner workings of this fascinating world.

God/creator does not want us to fight about how to get peace, duh! He leaves it to us to learn about the wonders of the world. People do not have to openly declare their humility before god. God does not need it! In fact, being an atheist is no problem either. The creator loves all children. What you declare to other humans has no meaning, because an all-knowing creator can skip that part. An all-knowing creator sees you as you are, not what you protest to be. I hope that this is true because then life would make sense.

I have become a little more spiritual lately after being touched by a brilliantly conceived and passionately written book.

This book was written by prophet A and B above, Origin of Species

Charles Darwin.

by xntrk

e-mail: xntrkpublishing@gmail.com