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04 November 2005

The universe and us

February 10, 2005 diary entry:
- When I think about what we call the universe I wonder whether such a thing really exists or is perhaps no more than an illusion. Yes, we have cosmology and we imagine that we know something about how this so-called universe was formed and what it is like at this time -- and we even have ideas about its future. We believe we can see and measure distant galaxies and we also believe we have found other planets -- thinking there must be some out there that are not so different from our little "island," the earth.

But how far have we gone until now? How much of this "universe" have we been able to actually explore rather than just look at from a very great distance with our telescopes and other devices we use to capture electromagnetic waves/emissions? We have actually traveled as far as the earth's little moon and sent small remotely-guided spacecraft to explore some other planets and their moons within our solar system. Compared to the size of the universe that we believe we are seeing all around us, the tracks we have made so far are infinitesimal. For all we know from actual exploration, the entire universe might as well be just some kind of illusion projected onto a canvas that surrounds our solar system. We have really explored nothing at all. In that sense, we are really extremely primitive. In many other ways too, of course.

Our own imagination has raced very, very far ahead of us in the sense that we can envision spiritual and material things far beyond our present practical ability -- but it is still grounded in and to some degree bounded/limited by our miserable, primitive reality. We can dream of a world where war is a distant memory but we are very far from being able to fashion one.

As I have explained elsewhere (in earlier diary entries), I believe there is a "god," a single being that encompasses the world we know. Actually, my idea is pantheistic. I believe that that being I call god is the world we know. The world is a living being. Of course, as I have just mentioned in talking about the world "we know," there is likely to be very much more to this world that we don't know, since we have explored so little and are still so extremely primitive.
And, as I have noted before, what we like to call "good" and "evil" are simply aspects of this god, who I believe is evolving with us and through us.

For most of my life now -- since March 1975 -- I have been associated with a religious/political movement founded and led by the Korean Moon Sun Myung, also known as Rev. Moon. In recent years I have mentally separated from this man and his movement but have kept some ties to it because my wife remains a loyal follower and I do not want to break up our family (with 3 children). Moon is certainly a powerful and controversial figure, and in order to separate mentally from his movement and his world view I sometimes had to emphasize the negative aspects of what he is and does. I had to portray him in a bad light -- to myself mostly. I think I have now reached a point where I can be more objective. At the same time I am aware that it is only natural for me to resist the notion that I have basically wasted my life by following a false belief and ideology for such a long time.

However, I do see a lot of good in the teachings of Moon, even if I believe -- as I most certainly do now -- that his basic premise is false. He portrays god as absolute "good" and man as "fallen children" of this perfect god, who need to "restore" themselves to their originally-intended position with the help of a "messiah," who will establish the "kingdom of heaven" on earth and in the spiritual world. I, on the other hand, believe that both "good" and "evil" are part and parcel of this god himself (or itself), and that he needs man to evolve in what I can only hope is his favored direction of "goodness."

[For my view of god see: "Thoughts about God" and "Blasphemous Ideas... Y2K" below, also "Harmony and Chaos... 1996" and "First Serious Doubts... 1994" further down]
Moon teaches goodness, and he has some interesting, even valuable, things to say. But he also strives to dominate the world. There is perhaps potential good in this but I also see much potential evil. We cannot allow anyone to become king of the world. There is no way any single human being or human family or nation or race could ever be trusted to such an extent. I certainly believe that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.... (could not continue as I was interrupted at this moment).
-- Addendum November 2005: So who or what is Rev. Moon? Five years ago I suggested in a message to a friend that he was "god's favorite toy of the moment." It remains to be seen whether he is indeed the top favorite toy of the moment - but he is certainly no more than that - a toy. I do believe Moon is absolutely serious about what he does, so I don't agree with those who describe him as a simple fraud. He truly believes that he is the messiah - there is no doubt in my mind about that - and that is why he is so good at making others believe... You may understand what I mean when you read more about my view of god in the posts below, especially "Thoughts about God."

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