The Common Thread Among Religions
The differences separate us. What unites us? Even thinking atheists will agree!
Truth is like a gold thread woven through a brilliant tapestry of color. Each of us points to our favorite tapestry and argues that it is most beautiful. Few ever see the gold thread.
There is a common thread woven within all religions, even those who say they are not religions. They all believe we can change ourselves for the better. The alternative is to believe we have no choices in life. We are doomed from our beginning. We are either winners or victims of our evolution.
I’ve met few people who have thought about that. I didn’t think much of it. It became important to me when John Gribbin pointed out the question physicists have been ducking since the time of Newton: Is the universe determined? Determined means the future could be predicted.
Newton proposed three laws of motion. 1. Inertia - a body remains at rest or in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force. 2. Force equals mass times acceleration. 3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Based on those laws, if we knew the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, we could predict the future. If evolution is based on the interaction of particles of matter, we could predict how life would form. If our minds are the product of our brains, we could predict our thoughts.
Imagine that!! What I am writing, and you are thinking was set at the time of the Big Bang.
Let me give an example. Imagine your brain has evolved to be a biocomputer. It comes with some basic programming (an operating system). It adds programs by experience, life. You are the result of the programs you inherited and your life experiences.
To get back to Newton’s laws. What causes a change in your brain? Your senses. Remember that nothing moves without an outside force. Energy from outside your body is sensed and processed by your nervous system. You simply react.
The only way you can have control is if you are something other than your body. If you are a spirit and can somehow cause a change in your brain, you could do something else. You could stop the program. You could change the program. You could change your life for the better.
Decades ago, I talked with an older man who proudly proclaimed he was an atheist. If my reasoning is incorrect and there is no spiritual realm, then he is an atheist, and I am a theist because we have no choice. If we define intelligence as the ability to adapt to new and trying situations, there is no such thing. None of us are intelligent. We are merely programs responding to the environment.
I choose to believe that I have some control over my body. I also recognize that to a large extent I am leading a programmed life. I become more spiritual as I take more control over my life. That can be tricky. Am I taking control or am I just allowing my programming to run?
As you watch your thoughts meander around look for the thread of truth. If you look closely, you are likely to find it, even among those you disagree with. Focus on that thread of truth and we can grow together instead of apart.