Where we Stand is Holy Ground

Tree of Life

Lord,
slow me down.
ease the pounding
of my heart by quieting
my mind. Help me to know the
magical restoring power of sleep.
Let me look upward into the oak branches
and know that it grew solid, strong and en-
during because it grew slowly. Give me strength,
courage, wisdom, vision, and a clear mind that I may
carry to fulfillment the responsibilities placed upon me.
Renew my energies that I may utilize, to the fullest, the tal-
ents bestowed upon me. When life has struck me a low blow, help
me to remember that this too shall pass. In times of prosperity,
remind me that the present is all that I have. Permit me to enjoy
it and find fulfillment. Permit me to persist in my pursuit of those
inexorable laws which, if too long ignored, will crush me - but which,
if observed, can be the ever willing tool to accomplish Thy will.
Help me to understand that the real secret of happiness is to
learn that I have no boundaries.
In good times,
let me befriend
others, knowing
that I will need
their solace in
my time of ad-
versity. May I
ever be mindful
that not my will
but Thy will be done.

Platform of Questors

If matter is unevolved spirit,
It cannot be said to be
non-existent.

If spirit is evolved matter,
it alone cannot be
said to be
expressive of
the infinite qualities
represented by
the word
consciousness.

Each range of spectrum has its spirit-matter polarity,
otherwise
there could not be manifestation,
just as there could not be electrical or magnetic phenomena without their appropriate two poles.


Astrophysics would seem to be approaching the ancient view,
that of the constant coming into being and disappearance into rest of numberless universes within the field of the infinite.
This field is pervaded by consciousness so that,
as the philosophers of all times have said,
Divinity is like an infinite circle whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere.
This implies that every minuscule particle and the most gigantic conglomeration of heavenly bodies are equally permeated with a divine quality,
with consciousness.
From such a source comes the vitalism,
the dynamic drive to growth,
the constant emergence out of the unfathomable potential resources of Space,
of new qualities,
refinement after refinement of spirit and matter.

Here is where we must search out the reason for existence,
the meaning of life and its manifold productivity.
The urge is toward ever more unfoldment from some center within each entity,
of the limitless latent possibilities awaiting the conditions and the opportunities for expression.
There is nothing haphazard when the sequence of cause and effect is inescapable.
The encouraging feature is that the growth and unfoldment of finer and yet finer faculties are constant and unending.

(--adapted from I. M. Oderberg's Mind and Spacetime)

Peace

David's Garden, Nairobi Kenya East Africa

Only One

Mike Taylor in part 6 of his presentation on What God is Like begins this way:

Today we want to look at the awesomeness of God: his utter, ultimate power, knowledge and relevance to everything that ever happens. The three qualities of God that theologians talk about in this area are the ``omnis'':
His omnipotence - he can do anything.
His omniscience - he knows everything.
His omnipresence - he is everywhere.
We're going to look at all these in one session, somewhat mushed together, as they are facets of the same truth - the ``ultimateness'' or ``absoluteness'' of God, if you like. We won't try too hard to break the three ``omnis'' apart as they represent a rather artificial distinction. We'll see how they tie together.
For a lot of people, these issues are more fruitfully approached through the arts than than through the sciences. That's because, as we've observed before, God is just too big to fit into our finite, mortal minds. The best we can hope for is a piercing glimpse of the reality - which is what music, for example, can sometimes give us. While science wants to have everything mapped out neatly, and fails completely when it can't grasp its subject, art is content with allusions, hints and analogies. That's why, even though by nature I am a scientific kind of person, I've got more real insight into God's nature from novels and music than from any amount of theology. You need the theology so you can fit the glimpses into a coherent framework; but if all you have is a framework, you might as well give up and go home.
The key insight here is that God is much, much more than we understand. There is so much more to him than we will ever grasp in this life - and maybe in the next. Most Christians become Christians long before they have any real understanding of who it is they have come to love and trust; and to be truthful, we never fully find out. That's not a bad thing, though it may sound like it: it's like a developing love affair, which grows deeper as the lover grow to know each other more deeply.

(Mike is a minister at the Gospel Centre, Gloucestershire GL17 9XF ENGLAND)