1000 Word Intellect

Every post tackles a big idea in 1,000 words or less.

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Abortion

When does a human attain value? I believe that how one views the issue of abortion stems in part from whether one believes humans have a soul, but also from when the soul or body receives value from society.

Humanity is Spiritual. (3 views)

If you believe that we humans possess or are souls, then this soul is the part of us or the real us that lasts beyond death is therefore not bound by our physical constraints. There are 3 options in this view. The first is that the soul has always existed or begins at conception. This leads to the classic pro-life argument: if humans have souls, then a fetus should never (or almost never) be aborted because it has a soul and is therefore a human being with essentially the same existence as us outside the womb. The second is that the soul is gained at some point. This could either be tied to reason, intelligence, biological development, life experience, interactions with people, or really anything. The idea is basically humans gain what makes us “real” (the soul, salvation, enlightenment, etc.) at some point in life after beginning to exist. This could be a heartbeat or brain activity in the womb signaling that the fetus is beginning to function like a human, or speech and understanding as a child, which is also a beginning to function like a human. In this view the person is not quite “human” until a certain milestone (or group of them) is met. Therefore those before that stage of life are not necessarily afforded the same rights. This is how someone believing a spiritual reality could also be pro-choice. The third view is similar and dissimilar to the second. It is the view that humanity is essentially wrapped up in the potential of life, that the soul is gained but that humans before the soul. So even if what makes a life successful has not been realized, then that does not mean there is no value. A child needing the investment of education to learn how to problem-solve, for example, does not mean children don’t have value but that they need time to realize their potential. In this view, even if there is no soul gained, then that does not mean that children or fetuses do not deserve the same protections as those of us who have (somewhat) realized our potential. So this line of thinking would also lead to a pro-life stance.

Humanity is Material. (3 views)

Now, if humanity is merely material and there is no spiritual existence, then things get simpler. There are also three conclusions based on what humanity is. The first view is simply that we are bodies. Since the fetus is connected to and dependent on the mother, it is subservient to her wishes. This is your classic pro-choice argument, emulating Plato’s advantage of the stronger. However, there are two other ways to approach the situation. The second is very similar, but is a little more nuanced: humans gain value, just later in gestation or after birth. Once this value to society, ethics, or other determinants is achieved, then rights are attained. This view also leads to pro-choice. The third view from a material perspective is the interesting one: pro-life derived independently from spirituality. This view holds that what makes us human is our potential for growth, success, and contribution to society, then from conception to adulthood, fetuses and children all hold the same level of humanness. Therefore they deserve equal rights. Instead of saying we all have souls and are thus the same, this view declares since we all do not have souls then we should treat each other the same, regardless of developmental stage.

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Difference in Humanity

1. In dancing we tend to get bored with the same moves over and over. (This is what inspired this thought process.)

2. The brain is anatomically built (in the logic of axons’ connections) such that its basic process is to recognize patterns. 3. Consciousness is literally the brain’s recognition of differences and change in the environment or thought. 4. Every particle is constantly in motion, like light can never stop or slow down and every particle behaves like a wave which behaves like light. 5. Stillness can be achieved only with a reference point, relative to which the motion vector can be identical. 6. Taking a lesson from economics, more is better, in that (besides gravity) we see that when we find more motion in alignment with our own reference point, that point of view becomes more significant in that more matter (ie. more of the world and our environment) follows our identity. (This also gives the evolutionary rationale of influence, which aids survival in social settings.) 7. Taking another lesson from Economics, we know that variety is preferred, in that our awareness prefers to not experience the same thing over and over, precisely because our consciousness literally only perceives what is changing. (So the same repeated thing is motion that is perceived but nevertheless very similar to past experience.) 8. Our reference point is our repeated motions, or habits, that we perform over and over. So these are often not noticeable to the brain’s consciousness. 9. When we repeat actions, deviations are more noticeable. For example, in Finland people will get warm in a sauna and then jump into a cold lake in order to experience the catharsis of sudden temperature change. Another example is the news, which does not often report on common trends of steady human progress but on the tragic aberrations that befall the unfortunate minority. 10. We define “good” as the characteristics God possesses, not another characteristic (or set of characteristics) God possesses. 11. Our purpose is to create habits that align with God’s reference point, thus shifting our identity to his, while also utilizing differences and changes in the world to point to the true Reference that is different from our own. For in creating repetitive habits in our lives that exemplify who God is, we create a contrast with the world and those we interact with. 12. God is three in One: same referential Being but three relational Persons. We are also (as the Church) meant to have the same Reference, but maintain the different (beautiful and diverse) relational persons that we are. 13. God shows us the Trinity in history: his Being created the world and revealed Himself as God to Abraham and Israel, then came as the expression of His Word in Jesus, and shares Himself with the many others in the world through the Spirit. 14. We are called to live our life similarly: forming our habitual identity as close to God’s (the Father’s, albeit as shown us in Christ) reference point as possible (ie. spiritual disciplines, good health, valuing truth, etc.), understanding and revealing that identity to the world as Jesus did, and the sharing that identity with world and multiplying the relationships that live in reference to the True Origin.

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5 Things We Tell 5 Year Olds

I think one of the easiest ways to be successful in life is to follow the advice we are given as children. No, seriously, how many of us do all the things we are told to do as kids? Society would benefit greatly from the following five lessons: eat your veggies, don’t sit around all day, go play outside, don’t spend it all in one place, and it’s time for bed.

Lesson 1: eat your veggies. Science is nearly unanimous on the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Even if not 100% vegan, nobody would argue with the fact that things that grow are better for us than artificial edibles. Yet despite the rows of produce at nearly every grocery store, a large section of the populace struggles with obesity and maintaining a balanced diet.

Lesson 2: don’t sit around all day. Kids are constantly told to not just sit and do nothing. Whether it’s recess or avoiding another hour of tv or video games, children are encouraged to move and exercise. How many of us adults still get enough exercise, three times a week? Sometimes it’s difficult to fit it in the schedule, but if kids can do it, why can’t we?

Lesson 3: go play outside. Usually parents just want their kids out of their hair for a bit, but getting outside actually helps our brains. I’m not sure if the research is as strong as the health benefits of vegetables, but apparently our brains function better if exposed to nature more often. My theory as to why is that trees and things that grow or animals that move around are more complex stimuli than the sedate lines of indoors. In addition, being creative and imagining your own fun is good practice in developing new ways of thinking, which can be valuable in the time of fascination with disrupting industries.

Lesson 4: don’t spend it all in one place. Does anyone have enough money? In the era of consumer debt, despite the US being one of the most (if not the most) lavish first world economy in the world, people still struggle to “get by” and live paycheck to paycheck in some cases. (disclaimer: some actually have systemic challenges and do need help, but most people just need some self-control) It would do wonders to follow the nonchalant, sort of sarcastic advice afforded children and make a budget to spread out the wealth. As a corollary, not putting all your eggs in one basket in investing (ie. Index funds) is a tried and true recipe for success.

Lesson 5: go to bed. I’m so busy and I’m tired are two of the most common complaints. If everyone got enough sleep, life would be way happier, with everyone a bit more agreeable and productive. All this takes is a little self-discipline, and maybe less television/netflix. Everybody loves a good night’s sleep. In fact, we generally spend a third of our lives on this activity! Why don’t we actually value it for the important role it plays in our wellbeing? Like the other four lessons, we should focus on what really matters before the things that are inconsequential in the long run. After all, if we constantly tell children these things are important, why aren’t we listening ourselves?

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Ontological Humility

Philosophers seem to agree that when we strip down everything we know into what we can be certain of and things we think we know but could reasonably doubt, there is actually nothing in the first category besides the simple fact that I exist, and some even doubt that much. Whether or not you agree with prevailing philosophy, it is still obvious that most people in society disagree on some things (just look at political and religious discourse these days) and in this age of tolerance many accept that other people simply have a different reality based on what they perceive.

Despite our general acceptance of the laws of physics, math, and grammar (for the most part) there is still a wide range of opinions on what can be trusted as “truth” and what cannot. It is this world that we Christians believe God has created and entered into as Jesus Christ. Now, for an all-powerful creator, why would it make sense to create a world where truth is dubious and hard-to-reach if the purpose is to know and love? We may never know this answer, but we have been told the solution.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Whoever believes in me shall have eternal life.” (John 14:6) The omniscient God understands that other beings do not have as close a relationship with existence and knowledge as He does, and so he reaches out to our level. He not only came as a human, but also figuratively extends an outstretched arm to us ontologically inferior beings. He effectively says to us, “I know that you can’t know me on your own terms, so I will just ask you to believe in me more than anything else. Give me primary importance in your worldview, and I will give you primary importance in my Kingdom.”

Since this is established by belief, we must humble ourselves ontologically (or rather, correct our flawed and prideful view to correct our understanding, since obviously we cannot change our own ontology). We must not only recognize that we cannot know this truth with certainty, but we cannot know anything else with certainty. We should be most convinced of the Good News, not anything else that will one day pass away. In this humility we lower ourselves to the point where we can correctly look up to our Lord and Savior, who humbled himself first, not only to our level of existence, but also lowered his level of knowledge to what we can understand and relate to. For this I am eternally thankful.

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How to Purpose

Purpose has three manifestations: concept, pleasure, and execution. The first is the most ethereal and bit vague. I think concept is the best word, but potential and existence both suffice as well. Basically if something can be thought of and understood then it is a possible concept that we can perceive. Academics, for example, find their purpose this way, in finding, understanding, and sharing what they think about. They flesh out ideas, search for new ones, seek evidence to back them up, and then teach to rally others to their understanding of the world. This is Plato’s dualistic ideal, which flows strongly in the watershed of Enlightenment.

The second category is pleasure, or experience. This comes most commonly in the form of hedonism, carpe diem. We exist in time and therefore what comes before or after us is beyond us, at least as we are now. So then, the best thing for us to do is to inhabit and fully invest ourselves in (or indulge in) the time that we do have. So enjoy life to the full. Be optimistic, cheer others up, avoid depression, and don’t ruin anybody’s day, for the time we have is short and we should treasure it.

Thirdly, purpose can be and I believe is most easily found in execution. No, I’m not talking about capital punishment. Execution means doing things, accomplishment, and self-actualizing one’s desires, not in the abstract or mental realms, but in the physical world. Achieving prestige or wealth creates a tangible result to one’s efforts. Changing some way the world works or creating art or architecture leaves something physical to last beyond one’s death. 

Unfortunately, none of these truly works. Philosophers will tell you it is hard to prove or truly understand anything. Pleasure is amazing, for a few moments, and then isn’t quite as enjoyable the next time due to diminishing marginal returns, as any economics student will tell you. (Okay, maybe the second time the experience is great, but what about the seventy-second?) And of course, money and prestige are never enough. Just look how insecure most famous people are and how icons often feel the need to defend their reputations. Also, the richest people in the world tend to just give away most of their money. So how could that be the real answer?

For Christians, we can never understand how God works, for he is beyond our understanding. (This is a good thing, as wonder inspires desire.) Pleasure is selfish and contrary to the gospel if it is an end rather than experienced as a gift. Execution sounds like it is destined to be the answer between the three, and certainly seems like it if we just read James. However, the universe is destined for destruction, according to Jesus, Revelation, and Physics. (The universe is currently expected to eventually turn cold and lifeless.)

So what gives? For a post about purpose this is a bit dreary, eh? Well hang on, here’s the answer: Jesus. (You should have seen that one coming.) Seriously, though, God knows (and possibly created the world in such a way) that we cannot find purpose on our own. So God gave himself as our purpose. In relationship with Him, all 3 of these are manifestations of life in the Spirit and good things for us to enjoy, in proper perspective. God is our purpose, and if he adds these other things to us it is up to Him.

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Why Angels Time Travel

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Belief in God is not intellectual suicide. Now hear me out. As a logical person it was a challenge for me to accept as well. After thinking things through, it makes more sense to believe than to not. For one thing, the existence of God cannot be proven nor disproven, and so either way it is faith-based.

For me, it seems that there are 3 potential answers to the meaning of life. The first option is that there is no meaning, and therefore we should commit suicide and get out of the worthless, ongoing stress of each day. This doesn’t seem right or satisfying. Some people sadly choose this answer, but I see too much good in the world that I want to enjoy that I dismissed this option long ago. Even if I never enjoy the good things in life, because they exist I do not believe this is the correct choice.

Option 2 is that there is no greater meaning beyond the material world, and so have as much pleasure before death comes. The thinking is that since we occupy a specific space in the cosmos, then this is the only thing we should care about, as everything else is external. So do whatever that space called “me” desires and try to be happy. The only problem is that we end up with a Lord of the Flies situation, and nobody finds that inspiring or wants the world to operate that way, even though in some ways it does.

That leaves us with Option 3: Jesus. I find the Way of Jesus to be the only higher meaning on offer that satisfies my skepticism. The main reason is that the gospel texts and the resurrection have more evidence than any other religion’s foundation. (I have also seen the weather respond to my prayers in several instances, but if you doubt that, I understand.)

The other reason is by process of elimination:

Judaism: fulfilled in Jesus Islam: Began in a cave inhabited by one person and spread through violence (not sure this is all that different than the space-based option 2) Hinduism: how many gods are there? Which one do I care about? I also just don’t think a fixed hierarchy on earth qualifies as a higher meaning that explains the existence of the universe. Buddhism: how can I find meaning when the point is to empty myself? I am a firm believer in the usefulness of stoicism, but this religion takes lowering expectations too far. There cannot be meaning when the meaningful is reduced to 0. (I even tried meditation for a month, and very calmly realized I ended up with nothing. That’s the point, and I was left wanting.) Humanism/Naturalism?Atheism: I will still die, so who cares? It cannot be proven and so is not naturally superior. Traditional/Animism: these are just too far-fetched, and largely disproven by science Relativism: might as well go back to option 1 at this point…

And that is how I arrived at following Jesus despite being a logical person. Now you know why an intellectual blog deals with spiritual things.

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Specificity

I must start by admitting that this is speculation, as is anything that tries to explain the mind of God. However, I believe this is a useful exercise in imagination that may teach us a bit about the world we live in, what it is good for, and how the Church should think about reality and our relationship with its Creator, who is Triune, independent, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. (Many other resources deal with defending those attributes, if you wish to read defenses of them.) That being said, let’s delve into reimagining how it all started.

Before time and space were brought into being, God existed. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in perfect love, outside of time, and unbound by space. (The miracles of the incarnation and the cross are the only departures from this, and are not particularly relevant for this essay.)  They are all that existed in that frame of reference, which I must refer to as before creation though it is timeless, as I am human and have no other way to fathom or communicate it. Complete happiness and full actualization of all that is good is contained and manifested in the Triune God. So the question is, why create the world? Why allow suffering? I will answer these shortly, by following what I believe to be the commentary God thinks about the world through Biblical history. Although all the contemplation has always existed in God’s mind, I will present it linearly so we humans can ponder it and I can coherently express it on paper.

First God considered his glory, possibly by each Person being in awe of the other two. All good things are fully there, unchanging, and countless angels understand and worship God continually. Then God considered beings that did not know everything and learned by experience and unique relationships, humans. He decided it would be good to create beings that would know Him within a context of particular time and place. Thus they would have to appreciate different aspects of Him in different magnitudes. In this way, by creating different places and beings, he created an ever-increasing diversity of ways to worship and understand God, the sum of which is the total Goodness that exists in eternity.

This is why the first command was be fruitful and multiply. Be fruitful and find, discover, or imagine ways to understand and enjoy God. Multiply and propagate more sources of learning to be in relationship with and to create endless combinations of these ways of understanding God. These specific ways of understanding and worshipping God are what we would call our unique experiences. So creation came to be. And it was good. And then it wasn’t. But God did not destroy the failure and start over, as an omnipotent God would not allow something to exist if it did not further his purposes. And so it must not have been a failure. Indeed, sin is evil, but God’s purpose of having a plethora of ways us human beings can find and appreciate him is still happening.

The Fall did make it much more of a challenge for humans to find and worship God, as he deserves. Eventually, God saw that it was difficult (if not impossible) for everyone to find him in their own unique way and humanity began to give up all together, save for a few who clung to serving the Creator God. So God decided to align himself with a single people and single context as an example of how we should find God and worship him. I am of course referring to Israel. This was never meant to be exclusive, as God regularly disciplined them and allowed other nations to prosper, and several Gentiles were allowed to relate to God. In fact, Abraham was told that his descendants (Israel) will be blessed, and through them the whole world would be blessed. First humanity must be shown how to relate to God from a specific context, and then we could know how to find God from other contexts.

Then Jesus came along, Praise God! He died, and then rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. He sent the Spirit to the disciples who formed the Church, which came to be known as the Body. This metaphor is the crux of my argument. All have their specific context, set of abilities, and combination of relationships, and so each person’s role in the Church will be different. Everyone has their own opinion about which characteristics of God are important, and through our diversity (not just racial diversity, but class, education, personality traits, and other kinds), we see a more complete picture of who the God we worship is. This is why Christ told his disciples to go to all nations, for now that God’s alignment with humanity shifted from the people who worship God (Israel) to the people who follow Jesus (the Church), a greater diversity has come into play, shifting from a whole nation to the whole world. 

In conclusion, God’s purpose in creating the world was to share his love through specific relationships that will glorify him. This is reflected in the original command to sinless people. Since the world still exists that purpose must still be possible and we should pursue it. I believe that purpose is to celebrate diversity and work together in the Church to build as complete a picture possible of who God is through our unique experiences and viewpoints, in order to better share that picture with others and enjoy this fellowship that we enter into. This is done through validating the specificity of each person while also seeking and appreciating the whole. Both of these must be accepted in the time of tension we followers of Jesus live, already redeemed but not yet perfected. This is my specific take on the hope that we pursue with all that we are.