The Search for God Page 5.2.1
The Quest for Truth
We are on a quest. Our quest could have eternal life-saving consequences, or it could be the biggest fraud in human history. As I entered this search during college, I said I wanted the truth, that I had no bias, but in reality, I was torn.
I wanted eternal life, but I didn’t want some being telling me what to do or to have authority over my life. I desired all the perceived benefits of life but none of the commitments of perfect morality. Still, I wanted to know the truth. What is truth? Another good question.
“Why a religion must still exist” is not the first step in our quest. Previously we considered what is god (or what is the creative power of the universe) and who is God (a being who communicates for a purpose).
Therefore, I am now searching for a being with a mind, who possesses attributes of the greatest conceivable being, and who desires a relationship.
If God does not want a relationship, I will most likely never find him. If god has no mind, if the creative power of the universe is a mindless mechanical process, then again, we will never find him, and the search is futile.
To begin this quest, I assumed that God has both a mind and a desire for a relationship. I did this because if God has logic, purpose, and intentionality in what he does, I could then discern that logic.
During college, I reasoned that pre-determining god as a mindless, non-relational being would be to ignore the evidence from science, philosophy, and religious traditions. So I made the following assumptions:
- God exists
- God has a mind
- God has a purpose
Any adopted child who undertakes a search for his or her biological parents assumes that the parents exist. This same type of assumption that I’ve made concerning God allows me to study and scrutinize religions to determine whether God spoke.
With these assumptions, I now had to consider which religions to examine. Throughout human history, trash dumps have been filled with various religions and religious practices. Of course, I could start with the largest, but what does that really tell me other than they are popular.
Instead, I chose to start with existing religions, extant religions. Why? Choosing extant religions is based upon the attributes of the being we are searching for. My position was that God would be the creative power of the universe.
If a being with such power still exists today, he would ensure that his communication would exist. Let’s review this being’s presumed attributes. My theory or hypothesis of the attributes this creative being would possess:
- Eternal
- All-powerful
- All-knowing
- All-present
- Desires communication
A Being With Power
Could a being with fewer “powers” be the creative power of the universe? Yes. Could a being with fewer attributes communicate with humanity? Sure.
- How would you prove you are God?
- What attributes must God possess?
- Why must God define himself?
All these issues are tightly intertwined with this issue of why any religion, any communication from God must still exist. This issue hinges on whether God is eternal or non-eternal.
Let us say that the creative power of the universe, God, is not eternal and that this God can or could die. Any communication or religion that springs up around this being could also die out.
So by scrutinizing extant religions, we do two things:
1. We look for religions where God claims to be eternal, and hence this being could ensure its communication for future generations. Because the being we are looking for should be eternal, the religion should be extant.
This might seem circular. I am a scientist, and I developed a hypothesis. My conjecture, my hypothesis, is that the creative power of the universe should be eternal.
Now I search for the information that proves or disproves that theory. I don’t have rigorous laboratory equipment. I cannot fly to the edge of the universe or reach the heavenly dwelling, but what I can do is research these religions that claim God spoke.
I am looking for God’s providential hand; that is, does this being who claims to be God have the ability and power to maintain his communication? Does God claim to be eternal?
2. Second, and related, is whether the religious communication describes God’s attributes. What does he say about himself? I would expect that God is before the universe and should be eternal.
So if a religion no longer exists then either :
- The religion is dead
- God does not have the power or infinite being to maintain his communication
- God has never communicated,
Is Extant Religion of Divine Descend?
This would mean extant religions are fantasies made by human minds.
Remember, this process determines if any religions meet the hypothesis of the being I am looking for: eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing.
If the true communication from the creator of the universe is dead, gone or no longer known or followed, then the creator of the universe is either not eternal or not all-knowing.
Maybe this being exists only in one location and no longer in or near our star system. Or maybe he simply no longer cares enough to ensure the communication still survives.
This is why a religion from the creative power of the universe, who is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent must still exist. If the religion and communication no longer exist, then “this is not the god you are looking for.”
If none of the religious descriptions meet these criteria, then I reject my theory or revise it. But what if multiple religions claim to have communication from a being who claims to be eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing?
What should I do then? Examine them further. Does this mean one or all of them are true? No, but it certainly makes me excited that I might be on the correct path.
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- An eternal God who chooses to speak to humanity would ensure his communication in the form of religion would exist to present day.
- Why is that significant?
- We can limit our study of religions to existing religions.
- If you agree, the next steps.
- If you disagree, please consider reading.
References and Links
- Grace to You – What Is Truth?
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Anselm: Ontological Argument for God’s Existence