Bill O'Reilly recently suggested that God is real and offered the magnificence of the universe, and the tides from the moon, as proof. Of course liberal activists were quick to jump on this statement with snickering delight. They brought in the troops in force; atheists and scientists who believe with great faith in the "chaos theory" of creation. Never mind that some startling new research by noted quantum mechanics physicists are actually coming around to support a "superior being" theory.
Now, we all know that religion is a very personal thing. Our individual faith, and our personal feelings about the nature of our existence can only be settled in the realms of heart and mind. However, it is especially intriguing that, in their effort to intellectualize the discussion on religion or no, the liberal faction may well be ignoring the finest intellectual minds in history.
Not to get too heavy here but, as I recall from my college philosophy classes, the great Greek philosopher, Plato, had a thing or two to say about the existence of a superior being. In his "Theory of Norms, Theory of Perfection" dialogues Plato offered that nature herself presented daily proof of perfection and that, deep within the core of the human soul, is planted the "model" for perfectionism. In other words, humans, though imperfect, know damn well perfection when we see it! Plato asked that we think of our daily perceptions on anything in nature. He professed that, as we look at a man-made object we can see beauty and grace...but if we look hard enough, we can always see a flaw somewhere. By contrast, Plato challenges us to look at nature; a tree, a flower or one of the world's creatures. Invariably, he says, we never question the perfection of the thing. Yes, we may see missing petals or a tree marred by weather, or even a creature mutated by birth but, when we do, we continue to hold in our mind's eye the perfect nature of the object. He further states that, having that tiny model of perfection means that we are created and connected to a higher being. If the higher being did not exist, neither would perfection...and if we hold within our core, the "ideal" of perfection, then we are surely created by a superior being.
The French philosopher, Rene Descartes seconded Plato's Theory of Perfection; he just said it in a different way. We have all heard Decartes' most famous philosophical assertion on God, "I Think, Therefore I Am", meaning that it would take a superior being to instill in us the inbred certainty of what is morally right or wrong.
I am the least qualified to pass judgement on Bill O'Reilly's Catholicism, or the religious principles of baptists or Methodists or any other "ists" that serve as the framework for one's pursuit of religion. I have made a couple of attempts in my life to embrace organized religion but am put off by historic church abuses, hypocrites and the ritual nature of many church services. But I do admire those who have made religion an integral part of their lives and I do believe in God. This world is just too beautiful not to.
Far too many lliberals however seem to detest anyone who blindly follows the edicts of established religions. They profess to be intellectually above it. I guess they'll hang on to those convictions despite the fact that intellectual minds far superior to theirs have argued in favor of God, no matter what religion and no matter what we choose to call him (or her).
It's early morning here, the moon's still out..think I'll go out and admire a little of God's handiwork.
No comments:
Post a Comment