Spirituality,
Religion, Nature
We and the Universe
as Eternal “Ideas”
Every creature of the
universe, each one of us, has always existed as an “idea” [1]
in the mind of God. And this is for real,
not mere imagination, although we may express it only analogically. Each “idea”
is as real as God is real, because God's ideas identify with his Being; not as
our ideas which are something different from our being. As I said, we express
this concept of “ideas” in God like an analogy with our mind, and this concept
is close to the philosophical interpretation that all essences and
possibilities are eternal.
Each “idea” must
comprehend already the individual nature and all the deeds and happenings
belonging to that “idea.” God wants that some of these “ideas” come into
existence in time in a physical form; this is what we call creation. The
universe is therefore nothing else than God's “ideas” existing in time,
although they exist in God in an eternal present. Each existent being is part
of a whole, and indeed a minuscule part of this immense whole of creation.
When the temporal
existence of created things ends, then they continue existing forever in the mind
of God according to their own nature, and they live forever in God. When these
creatures are, by nature, conscious and intelligent beings, human persons, then they continue existing as individual “persons” in the mind
of God. As I said in topic 3 of this chapter, they might exist forever as
“God's persons.” We may say then that we have lived and will live forever in
the mind of God; and this is great: we’ll be alive forever!
Jesus and Ourselves in The Mind
of God. There is no better way to say how these “ideas” exist in the mind
of God, than to use John's words about Jesus at the beginning of his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God”
(John 1:1). As God's eternal “ideas” are individual and singular, one for
each being; as they are our own history and contain everything that each being
is, the Word-Jesus contains everything that Jesus was, is and will be for the
whole eternity.
Similarly this
happens with each of us and all creatures of the universe; each one is a
specific and singular “idea” in God's mind; there are no two identical “ideas;”
each one is different. These “ideas,” or “forms,” are the essence of everything
that exists, and in the mind of God they identify with the Being of God. Thomas
Aquinas says: “God is the similitude of all things according to His essence;
therefore an idea in God is identical with His essence.” [2]
Of course, any being
could be seen in different forms: for instance, a human being could be seen as one “idea” in God's mind, or as a
composite of many “ideas,” the atoms
and particles of the human being, each one being one “idea.” For our purpose we
may see each intelligent person as one “idea” in the mind of God.
Jesus in The Mind of God. We may imagine how
perfect and full of beauty the idea “Jesus” was in the mind of God from
eternity—temporally speaking—“before” the incarnation. And that is why Jesus is
so particular: because the Word is unique, and only Jesus has the attributes
that the rest of mortals do not have.
That is why those who
share the Christian faith and recognize the values it has may see in Jesus, not
just a memory of the past, but that he is actively living in humanity, and has
a powerful influence over all mankind. Even non Christians
and religious people around the world may see that Jesus was an example and model
of dedication to God and master of the most admirable doctrine. That is why
Jesus continues being a spiritual light to bring all humanity to God (1 Peter
3:18), and is a symbol of the reunion and consummation of everything in God (1
Cor. 15:28). That was God's “idea,” design, or the Word- Jesus; this is the way
to see the uniqueness of Jesus.
Consequences of This View of The
“Ideas” of God. The conclusions from
this are astonishing. As God-Existence is omnipresent—“everywhere” in quotation
marks,—the “ideas” of God, or “words” (it is the same in this context), are as
well always present everywhere in God. This means that we may see actually
present, in this “here and now,” everything which is in the mind of God: we may
see our ancestors; we may see the creation of the world; we may see everything,
all existing or possible “ideas;” even in this sense we may see that Jesus is “here.”
And all these “ideas” are present according to their own nature, prerogatives
and qualities.
We must realize that the
above affirmations cannot be interpreted physically or literally; we are
speaking metaphorically, since there are no proper terms to talk or explain the
presence and action of God.
Scope of This Presence. Besides this, the
mere existence of physical beings; the existence and life of all living
creatures; and the existence, life, thinking and consciousness of intelligent
beings; all this is nothing other than these “ideas” of God actually present.
In other words, everything that is (exists), is an “idea” in the mind of God;
so, we might wonder if God governs the world through “ideas,” and if everything
that happens in the world is produced by these “ideas” which, in the final
term, are no other (in some way) than God himself.
The Ideas of God Are “Exemplar” of
Things Done. Tomas Aquinas says: “The idea is the principle of the making of things, it may be called an ‘exemplar,’ and belongs to
practical knowledge.” [3]
Coming to concrete facts, that would mean that men
might think and have consciousness by “ideas” of God. This would be an
alternative to the theory that each human being has a soul which makes the mind
to think. But, if God is “there” giving existence and life, why do we not say
that he —his “ideas”— convey also the thinking in the brain?
We
might apply “Ockham's razor” (Pluralitas non est ponenda
sine neccesitate, which translates: “entities
should not be multiplied unnecessarily,”' or “elect the simplest explanation
for any phenomenon”), and say that God originates life and consciousness, and
avoid the duality body-soul. Why? Because these “ideas” contain
everything that any creature needs to exist and to operate according to its own
nature. The stars for instance have their movement and generate their
energy by “ideas” of God; the cells and all living beings have life as “ideas”
of God. What is the reason? Creatures have nothing by themselves, but
everything they have is received from God.
Men’s Consciousness. How could we explain
that men may think? Is it just the brain, or rather, is the brain a medium of
thinking potential? What would be this medium? Is the mind something different
and separate from the brain, and the brain a kind of physical interface? Is God
himself functioning as the mind in the brain?
Perhaps
these questions are still far from answers by scientists and theologians, but
there is the possibility that consciousness might be produced by “ideas” of God
in the quantum waves of the brain. Quanta are not massive entities but rather waves,
energy and “intelligence,” and it is reasonable to think that “ideas” of God
produce the consciousness of men’s own self. No soul, not a spirit apart from
the brain, but God himself would
produce the spiritual functions of the mind.
This
wouldn't be anything new to the natural order, but a kind of “extension” of the
action of God in mankind. I haven't seen this in any book, so far; but, as in
the past for other thoughts, I might find it sometime.
NAT HTM \
IDEAS 05-30-11
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