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Lesson 99- Event Horizon and the Big Bang

            Well, I am ready to give my detail description of the theistic theory of evolution based mainly on the theory of Fr. Tielhard de Chardin. However, before I do that I want to make one last effort to convince you that God is a lover who desires to interact with us so that we will move from potential to actual existence those qualities that are His. Once we understand that all types of interaction are a form of intercourse in which a “giver” and a “receiver” interact to create qualities and results that are a combination of them both then we will see how all of our relationships are involved in moving either positive or negative qualities from the potential to the actual. Once we allow this insight to enter our conscious mind, we start to take personal responsibility for our actions and their impact on shaping our world.  Consequently, we are constantly “reaping what we have sown.”

The most sensual book in the Bible is the Song of Songs that describes God as a passionate lover longing for His beloved. Here is a song whose lyrics are taken from this section of the Bible. It is entitled “Come My Love” and it describes God calling to each of us, much as the Bridegroom calls to his Bride to join him in a wedding feast where the two will unite as one. In these interaction God is always referred to as the male and we are always the female and that is because, according to the theories of Lao Tsu, the male principle, Yang, is always the “giver” and the female principle, Yin, is always the receiver. Since God is the Ultimate Yang or Male Principle, who lacking nothing, must always be the “giver” to everything else, then we and everything else in creation must always be Yin or Female in our relationship to Him. Since we are talking about a spiritual relationship, rather than a biological one, the Yin or Female position is humility that indicates our receptiveness, like Mary, to being impregnated by His Holy Spirit of Truth. The counter truth to this is that Pride, the sin of the Devil and Adam and Eve, is the only thing that can block the relationship.

 

First, let’s listen to the lyric so that we understand the interaction that is taking place between God and His beloved. The song opens with the beloved who is hearing God calling to her.

 Us:   Hear the voice of my beloved (God) gently call at close of day

            

And the voice of God says:

 

God:   “Come my love, Oh come and meet me

                     Rise, Oh rise and come away…

                    Winter’s dark will soon be over and the rains are nearly done,

                    Flowers bloom and trees are budding

                    Time for singing has begun

 

And His beloved responds by saying:      

 

          “I have waited through the shadows for My Lord to call for me

                        Now the morning breaks eternal in His Light His face I see

                      Now the morning breaks eternal and at last His face I see…

 

And God responds by saying:

 

God: “When you see the beech tree budding, you will know the summer’s near…

                   When you hear the words I’ve spoken you will know my coming’s near

          Keep on listening my beloved for My coming’s very near

 

          And now let’s listen to the song:  “Come My Love…”

 

          If, as the Bible suggests, this is the true nature of God, then it should not surprise us that everything that He does, including the creation of the universe, is an act of love. And, therefore, let us begin our description of the beginning of the universe in terms of an act of love when the artistic, creative, right lobe of God’s rational mind which, like ours, is spatial interacted with His logical, craftsmen-like left lobe, which like our is temporal or time, and, the loved that flowed from the affirmation that existed between them gave birth to an explosion of creative energy, or Spirit, that marked the birth of the universe. In other words, the creative imaginative right lobe of God pictured “what to do” and His Logos or Logic, who St. John said is Jesus, reflected upon it and, overwhelmed with the beauty of it, thought “how to do it. And the mutual love between them gave birth to the Holy Spirit of “enthusiasm” that is the energy that drives all creative acts, which said “Do it!” And from that moment, according to St. Paul, the whole creation began to “groan like a woman in childbirth waiting for the revelation of the sons and daughters of God.” In other words, it began a great struggle by the Word or Logos of God, Jesus, to bring forth through a dialectical birth process, the evolutionary steps that would move His Father’s Plan from its state of potentiality to actuality. As the Logos, He would be the Judging Agent that would select those relationships that furthered the Plan and select out those that did not.

 Thus, from a Christian philosophical point of view we might say, “In the beginning was the Father who, when He spoke,  begot His Son or Wisdom and from the love and agreement that existed between them the Holy Spirit proceeded.” However, we can look at this from other perspective that, in their own way, are saying the same thing.

          For example, from the perspective of Lao Tsu’s theory of Yin and Yang we might say “In the beginning was the foundational female passive, Principle of Yinthat begot the progressive, active, Male Principle of Yang and when they interacted they gave birth to the universe.” And from that point on everything that came into existence came about from the interacting of these two basic principles. When the female principle of Yin interacted with a higher or dominant male principle of Yang, the universe advanced. When it mistakenly interacted with a lower, subdominant male principle of Yang, it regressed. Thus, the beginning of the universe and everything that followed resulted from a “birth process” resulting from the interaction of Yin and Yang.

          From the perspective of Aristotle’s theory of Potential and Actual existence we might say, “In the beginning was a “pool of potentiality”, represented by a gigantic circle, that contained everything that “could potentially be” and it begot an actualizing principle, represented by a thin linear line emerging from the circle, that brought into actual existence the potentials contained in the circle.What became actual depended on the relationships that were formed. When they were of a higher nature, the universe advanced. When they were of a lower nature , the universe stalled or regressed in its evolutionary movement towards its final goal.

          From the perspective of Hegel’s dialectical theory we might say, “In the beginning was the Thesis or God’s theory of the universe and it begot an Antithesis that initiated a struggle that sought to actualize the potentials in the Thesis by giving birth to a Synthesis. When the Thesis united with a higher Antithesis, it advanced the universe towards the Ultimate Truth or God. When it united with a lower Antithesis,  it regressed towards the chaos from which it emerged. Thus, from the beginning of time, from its original chaos, the universe has been emerging from the non-conscious Kingdom of Mental Darkness or Gehenna to the Kingdom of Consciousness or Mental Light through a dialectical process.  

          From the perspective of Dr. Sperry’s discovery concerning the right and left lobes of the human brain we might say, “ In the beginning was the creative, imaginative, subconscious, intuitive, non-verbal right lobe that contained all the powers of imaginative thought and then it spoke and begot the logical, conscious, verbal, left lobe that by reflecting on the subconscious material in the right lobe brought it into conscious existence by naming it. Thus, in the hymn “King of Kings” the lyrics say:  “In the beginning the Word of God came creating everything by calling its name.” It is interesting to note that we move elements in our reality from subconscious to conscious existence in the same way when we give a name to something, such as a part of our body like our elbows and wrists, which always existed but never entered into conscious awareness until our parents subdivided our arm by giving separate names to its parts. This of course is a job of the left lobe of the brain where our logical mind, or Logos, exists.

All of these interpretations of the same event are an example of what is called the Law of Correspondence in which things that appear different in nature are the same in principle. Thus Yin and Yang, Potential and Actual, Thesis and Antithesis, Right Lobe and Left Lobe, and Father and Son all correspond to each other in principle. It’s like the universe is playing the same melody over and over again but with different instruments, at different tempos, and in different styles. Nevertheless, it’s the same tune. They are all an example of a dialectical relationship in which two things interact to produce a third and thus are a reflection of the Trinitarian nature of the universe.

          Now let’s move from the area of philosophy to science. According to the physicists before the beginning of the universe there existed a state called the Event Horizon, that I have described in a previous program. But because I had to digress to answer the concerns of some of my listeners over the sexual nature of God, I will describe it again here.

According to these physicists, before the universe began, everything that later was part of it was compressed into a dot smaller than the smallest subatomic particle. When we consider that the universe is composed of trillions of galaxies containing trillions of stars, of which the planet earth is but an infinitesimal speck, it boggles our minds to imagine this. Yet this is what the physicists claim that science indicates. Yet, even more unbelievable is, that according to them, this speck had no linear dimension. In other words, it had no length, width, or depth. This is something that our minds can’t even comprehend because, from our way of thinking, everything, no matter how small, must have some length, width, or depth. Nevertheless, the Event Horizon did not because it was space without time. The reason is because nothing had moved. Philosophically, it was the Yin without the Yang; the Potential without the Actual; the Thesis without the Antithesis; the Right Lobe without the Left Lobe. And the Father who had not yet spoken and begotten His Son. This last statement is theologically incorrect because the Nicene Creed says that Jesus was eternally begotten but we, because of our time oriented minds, have trouble understanding how something can be “begotten”, a term that mean “coming forth from” and yet was always present. My best guess is that Jesus is an eternal potential that existed within the Father like the small white circle in the dark side of the Yin symbol, just as the left lobe of our brains is a potential locked within the right lobe, that bursts into actual existence when we begin to speak. And thus when God spoke, His Word or Logos was begotten and, since whenever He speaks, He speaks Wisdom, His Word or Logos is Wisdom. But let’s return to the scientific description involving an Event Horizon that was space without time.

Suddenly within the silent stillness of the Event Horizon, something happened. The pressure within it reach a point of “critical mass” and it exploded. The moment it exploded, space begot time because the definition of time is “the measure of motion in space.” As soon as something moves in space, time begins. Let me explain.

          If there is no movement in space, there is no past, present, or future. In fact, the very concept of time doesn’t exist. If it did, one might say that “the present” existed but not the past or future but even this is not possible because, as Hegel pointed out, we can’t think of anything except in contrast or comparison to something else. Thus, “wet” can’t exist without “dry”; “in” without “out”; “up” without “down” or the “present” without the “past”. Therefore, the word “present” can’t exist without either “past” or “future” to which it can be compared. 

Now , imagine that within this timeless, spatial Event Horizon that when this  stirring began, the gigantic creative pressure within it exploded and “time began” as the universe began to expand from its source. At that moment, space begots time. To help you understand this let me give you an example that I use with my students. If I have been standing still in space and then suddenly I chose to move, the place where I was becomes THE PAST; the place where I now stand is THE  PRESENT; and since I could move again, that is THE FUTURE. Thus the Big Bang, looked at from this perspective, is the beginning of TIME because, TIME is the “measure of movement in space” and as the universe expands it generates the concepts of “what was”, “what is”, and “what is yet to come.”  From another perspective, it is the activation or the begotten of the left lobe of the Creator since our right lobe, which is spatial, and our left lobe, which is temporal, correspond to space and time. It is interesting to note that some experiments involving the right and left lobes have indicated that although the non-verbal right lobe understands some concrete nouns, it does not understand any verbs that are action words. I wonder why.

Thus, if this event horizon existed before the universe and is its sourc, we could rightly refer to it as God. And if we pressured God, as Moses did, to tell us His name throughout eternity, He might respond by saying,

“I AM, WHO AM.” In other words, “I am existence itself. I have no beginning nor end. I have always been just myself: EXISTENCE.  So to ask when I began to “exist” makes no sense because it’s like asking ‘when did existence begin to exist or when did I begin to be Myself?’ I am the energy that you call Love and it is My nature to integrate and bond things into more complex wholes.  And everything that I allow to shares in my nature shall exist and without me nothing can ever exist. And if I should ever withdraw Myself from it, it will cease to exist. Why do I create? Because it is My nature to share Myself with others. I am the God of all those who believe in Love and I am present in all those who practice Love. As my blessed Apostle John said, ‘God is Love and he who abides in Love abides in God and God in Him’. And every time I create it is an act of Love. The universe itself resulted from an act of love between Me and My Word through which we generated our Creative Spirit. And, if you allow yourself to interact with me, I will share My Spirit with you and you too will become part of My Plan for creation. But you must choose freely because it is against the nature of Love to force Itself upon anyone. However, I must warn you that anything that violates My Wisdom will sow the seeds of its own destruction. So I put before you Life and Death. Please, for your own sake, ‘Choose Life!’”

 

You might remember that in previous programs I have quoted the Song of Thanksgiving written by four Catholic priests who formed a music group known as the Damiens. It says,

“Creation tells a story that began so long ago

 Of Love that longed to share its life in hopes that love would grow.

The sun repeats each morning, the story is retold.

And just in Love’s retelling, new chapters yet unfold.

Love that’s freely given wants to freely be received.

All the love You poured on us can hardly be believed.

And all that we can offer You is thanks.  

 

In this imaginary conversation by God I have encapsulated the Judeo/Christian view of the meaning and purpose of the universe and it stands in stark contrast to the Existentialist view of John Paul Sartre, which is so honored by the Secular Humanists. It holds that the universe is accidental and absurd. It makes one wonder why anyone faced with two theories of reality, both of which require a leap of faith, would choose the one lacking meaning or purpose and full of despair rather than the one with meaning and purpose and full of hope. I guess some people when faced with the choice between LIFE and DEATH would freely choose DEATH. But let’s get back to our analysis of how the Event Horizon may have exploded at the beginning of time.

          Now let’s try to imagine the “Event Horizon”, which was “Existence Itself” before it shared its nature by creating the universe. It is the “Great I AM” that has not yet moved and it is the only legitimate self-contained circle in the universe that is totally complete and actual within itself, having no potentiality, nor beginning nor end. Or as the physicists would say, it is “holistic space without boundaries and without any linear time.” Whatever it gives, it already has and thus Its actions are acts of sharing. Or as one banner in Church expressed it, “God is gift!”

 

I have already explained in a previous program how and why the scientists came to believe in the Big Bang. It has to do with the Doplar Effect, Red Shift, and the presence of radio static throughout the universe that corresponds to the predicted frequency of a Big Bang. Anyway, according to one account that I read, at the very beginning there were no stabilized forms of energy. It was the formless mass of the subatomic world where particles are constantly colliding and splitting into even smaller particles. It is a chaotic world where nothing every stabilizes and then suddenly, as the temperature of the Big Bang began to drop, it hesitated for a nano-second, and the hydrogen atom, consisting of one large proton with a positive charge united with one electron with a negative charge to become the first form of stabilized energy. Why the drop in temperature hesitated for a nano-second is a mystery. However, according to what I read, if it had not, nothing today would exist.

 Hydrogren, as the first atom, represents the first dialectical relationship in the creation and when the Bible says that God spoke, may I suggest that He said “hydrogen” and his Word or Logos, the great organizer of the universe, brought out of the chaotic sub-atomic world, the hydrogen atom. Looked at philosophically it was the first Yin/Yang, Thesis/Antithesis, Potential/Actualizer, Right Lobe/Left Lobe that were modeled on the Creator, who Himself, was a dialectical union of opposites.… Everything that followed it would be imprinted with the same  dialectic nature.

And so we can look at the creation of the universe in many ways. From the point of view of Yin and Yang, the Big Bang was a Cosmic Ecstasy that occurs when a male and female principle interact in a creative act that give birth to something that is part of them both. From a Thesis-Antithesis point of view the Big Bang was a “Eureka!” event that occurs whenever our creative right lobe finds itself in total harmony with our logical left lobe and a great idea happens. From a “Potential/Actualizer point of view it is that explosive event that occurs whenever “something that could be” becomes “what is” through the formation of actualizing events and relationships. From a Right Lobe/Left Lobe point of view it is that burst of creative energy that takes place when “art and science”, “intuition and logic”, “feelings and facts”, reach a point of agreement and harmony and that which existed only subjectively suddenly finds itself being expressed objectively. And, finally, from a Christian point of view, the Big Bang resulted when the Creator, or Father, interacted with the Son, His Logos or Logic, and their mutual love and agreement exploded into a burst of creative energy known as the Holy Spirit. No matter how you look at it, one common denominator keeps coming up: the universe is dialectical in nature.

Before moving into the levels of evolution, I would like to share with you another poem by Sebastian Temple who was an ardent fan of Tielhard de Chardin.  It’s called “Down the Corridors of Time.”

Down the corridors of time, at the entrance to the door,

Existed endless darkness as it reigned forevermore.

The prime stuff of the universe was everywhere and still

A little seed of life was locked in every particle.

 

Down the corridors of time this consciousness inside,

Was drawn together by another consciousness outside.

And soon within its confines grew a pressure-bringing strife

That burst upon the darkness as a new form of life.

 

Down the corridors of time this younger form did grow

And atoms under pressure mothered minerals and so

Created a complexity of consciousness that freed

This life to greater liberty than when it was a seed.

 

Down the corridors of time encased within each form

Life struggles ever upward through endless stress and storm

Sleeping in the minerals, adream in moss and plant

Waking up in animals to know itself in Man

 

Down the corridors of time evolves the greatest plan

The building blocks of life culminate in every man

Who directs evolution by the motion of his will

And so creates a destiny that he has to fulfill.

 

Down the corridors of time see the pattern firm and clear

Progressing towards point Omega imminently near

Through this new peduncle man must go or know the hell

Of prisoners in a phylum that closed in upon itself.

 

Down the corridors of time wherever one may look

The truth is written in the heart as though within a book

Through man the macrocosm microscopically expressed,

A life of love, a life of truth, a life forever blessed.

Once again the poet says it better than any logical explanation.

We could spend a whole program just explaining some of the insights contained in this poem and I probably will keep referring back to different stanzas as we progress in our description of the theistic theory of evolution by Fr. Tielhard de Chardin. I have taken certain artistic license with it by adding in some of my own insights and observations. But, in essence, it still remains mainly his theory.

Christians make a big mistake when they try to argue from Special Creation or in defense of a literal interpretation of Adam and Eve when the Bible, especially John I, give them a more intellectually sound platform from which to argue. Our counter argument to accidental evolution has to be one based on science and logic that, as we shall see, is the basis for Fr. Chardin’s theory. In my next program I will continue my detail description it.

Well, I see that my time is up.  Here’s Dom!