Man is supposedly created in G-d’s “Image” this surely can’t be literal as G-d simply cannot be described. G-d is shape-less or all shapes, or both all at once! The best we can do is hope to explain certain “aspects” of G-d’s Nature through science or scripture.  Nevertheless, it clearly states in the Bible that we are created in His Image. So this must mean we have some trait or characteristic we’ve been endowed with that we have in common with our Creator. It’s our free will. There is no other creature in our world that has it. It’s the one thing that separates us from every other thing in our known world. Free will, is the extraordinary ability to overcome our nature. Now you might be thinking of some very clever animals that seem to be able to overcome their nature too. Don’t be fooled, they can’t. Let’s take a circus bear for example. They can learn to ride bikes and do all sorts of spectacular things you’d never see in nature. But leave a Twinkie unattended in a bear’s vicinity and 10 out of 10 bears will eat the Twinkie 10 out of 10 times. By its nature, it must eat the Twinkie, no matter how bad it is for the bear. Humans on the other hand,  can chose NOT to eat the Twinkie BECAUSE we know it’s not the most healthful thing to consume despite how delicious they are. What does that have to do with the question of freewill vs being predestined?
Answer: I wanted to explain to you in a real way that we really do have freewill. But here’s the kicker, we also have a destiny, all of creation has a destiny. We, however, are the instruments that fulfill that destiny, and that is our purpose. It’s not so much that G-d forces us do anything, it’s more that G-d knows all the variables to all the choices you will ever make. He knows all the affects of all the ripples everyone makes. You have to realize G-d gets want He wants, and He can wait for as long as it takes to get it out of us through various means. Remember G-d is a being without time. He exists outside of it. A million years passes without even a second ticking off the clock. One second can be stretched for eternity. G-d puts obstacles and gifts in front of us to teach us lessons that ultimately bring us closer to His Will. G-d is pure good, and the soul we have inside us is too because it’s a direct piece of God’s Spirit. Our soul wants to do G-d’s Will so it can return back to its original source where it’s most comfortable. You still have freewill however to NOT do G-d’s Will, but just realize, you’re only prolonging the inevitable and not doing anything G-d isn’t already prepared to handle and circumvent.

Do you feel or have you ever felt at times like you don’t matter to G-d? It’s understandable and even a reasonable concern. There’s about 7 billion people on this planet, some of those 7 billion might be more accomplished, religious, powerful, smarter, or nicer than you too. What makes me so special?, you might have thought to yourself at some point. Not only are you 1 of billions, we know the universe is vast. There are thought to be hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone, and most of those stars have multiple planetary systems. Our planet is a speck, on a speck, on a speck, on a speck in relationship to all that is our universe. And we as individuals are a speck on our own planet. So your less than speck and your not even the best speck there’s ever been. Again, it’s understandable how a person could feel like G-d doesn’t care. You’re being reasonable and practical, but good news, your wrong.There’s more sides to this story.
While it’s true from a galactic stand point we are but a flash in a pan, if that; We are also the very pinnacle of creation itself. We are intelligent, self aware beings. Can you conceive the nearly impossible series of events that had to take to place in order for our existence to take place. If you’re the type of person that needs to see a miracle in order to believe in G-d, you need not look further than your own reflection in the mirror. Forget about the theories floating out there about how the first stars formed from the big bang, which is, in itself a miracle. Let’s start with the elements (the star stuff) we’re made of. Let’s take iron, (the stuff that’s in your blood) for an example. A star literally has to explode in order to create the iron that’s in our blood. A STAR! In fact millions if not billions of stars had to die for your existence. Not just that; Logistically, iron had to miraculously find its way here on Earth and then in your body. The miracles don’t stop there. The Earth. Our planet is a paradise for life. Life happens here regularly, constantly, effortlessly, so much so we don’t even notice. In fact were often times bothered or inconvenienced by it. But make no mistake, the Earth is rare; rarer than gold and diamonds, cosmicly speaking. Of all the planets and all the stars that we know of, we’re the only one that supports life, any life, even simple single cell organisms. I’m not suggesting there’s no life in the universe other than our planet. Mathematically speaking it’s virtually impossible that we’re only ones out here, intelligent life or otherwise. But even still, life is the rarest of the rare treasures the universe creates. There are so many circumstances that had to go just right for life on Earth, that if even one didn’t occur, we couldn’t exist. For example, our moon. The moon acts as an anchor keeping the Earth spinning on its tilted axis in a consistent manner not allowing the Earth to wobble on its axis. A wobbly Earth would cause wild weather swings that would freeze and burn life away. The Earth’s molten iron core creates a magnetisphere (a force field) that blocks us from deadly solar radiation that would otherwise blow away the atmosphere and the air we breathe. The postition and mass of Jupiter are just right that it attracts the vast array of comets that would otherwise crash into Earth, instead, into itself. Are you starting to get the picture yet? Our existence is highly unlikely. And despite odds greater than winning the lottery 3 times in a row, we’re here. Coincidence? Chance? Ultimately you have to make that decision,  but if your being reasonable and practical, by this logic alone it’s difficult deny that someone’s looking out for you and has been since the beginning.

Not convinced? Let’s take another angle. Although its impossible, let’s define G-d for arguments sake. A god, is a being who creates and acts on the very forces that act on his creation. Meaning a being that exists outside of and manipulates that which has been created. If G-d created the universe,  G-d also created the forces that act upon it and everything in it. Our bodies are created with the same stuff that’s in the universe, that’s a fact. That stuff, comprising the make up of our bodies has the same atoms with in it as the atoms in stars, planets and atoms floating around in space. Those atoms, all atoms, function by the laws of nature G-d bestowed upon the universe from the very beginning of time. This implies that G-d is directly and physically involved in EVERY aspect of your life, constantly. Oh G-d cares about you alright. Everything G-d ever created was in order that you should exist right here and right now. You are indeed a flash in the pan, but your flash is why the pan was made in the first place. You’re the star of the show, you’re the miracle. G-d has nurtured His creation with YOU in His mind ultimately. If you can look at life from another angle, through a different lense, it’s plain to see; It’s impossible that G-d doesn’t care about you or is not involved with you. Science is Amazing.

We all live in this world. We all wonder what’s out there. What if I told you there’s virtually nothing out there? In fact there just might be absolutely nothing out there? What if I told you, the universe is the dream world and the real world is what happens after we leave life behind? Most of us should know by now that everything in the known physical universe is made up of atoms, including living creatures, including us. You may have heard that we are “the stuff of stars”, or if you’d like a different take; “Then the Lord G-d formed man of dust from the ground”. You get the point. Our bodies are an arrangement of atoms that come from the everyday matter that was produced from the onset of our universe (The Big Bang), recycled and rearranged for billions of years until they wound up in their current state inside us. But what are atoms made of? Most of you probably know that they are made up of particles like protons, neutrons, and electrons. Some of you might know of the lesser known sub-atomic particles like quarks, leptons and positrons. But the weird truth is all the particles and sub-atomic particles inside an atom account for only .00000000000001% of its space! To get an idea of what this means; if an atom were the size of a stadium, then the nucleus would only be the size of a fly and its electrons would be gnats flying around the stadium. Another way to try to visualize this is to imagine the whole universe as a 30ft x 30ft, 3 story apartment building. At this scale, EVERYTHING in the entire universe, all the matter that makes up the stars and galaxies would be so small you’d need a powerful microscope just to see it. This is truly hard to fathom and should change our outlook on EVERYTHING! Let’s talk about the implications of this truth.

Existence itself is so fragile. We are all, AT BEST, physically made up of virtually nothing. And despite the fact that we already know we’re specks on the cosmic scale, how much more so now that we know the cosmos itself is but a speck? Our bodies are comprised of virtually nothing-ness. Accordingly, the Earth we live on and the galaxy and universe we reside in are comprised of that same nothing-ness. So how are we here? The question that should really be asked is are we really “here” at all?.

On one hand we know that the creation of things and life is very complex, but in the grand scheme we can realize it’s quite simple. In fact it didn’t take much stuff at all to do it. Our lives can easily be compared to a video game and G-d the video game designer. Just as it is easy for the designer to create whole worlds and populations by entering computing codes, so is it for our G-d, our Creator to create us and for us. It makes me wonder when we discover new things about the universe or how things work; Was that “thing” always there to be discovered, or did our Creator make it up because we decided something needed to be explained? How easy would it be for the video game designer to make up the game as the character goes along? Think about the food we eat, the very ground we walk on, the things we see. They are all comprised of nothing-ness, and yet here we think we are… We interpret reality the way we do because of our senses. We see what we see because our eyes sense light waves, we hear what we hear because our ears sense sound waves, and so on. Even here on Earth there are creatures that can see, hear, smell, taste and feel things we will never experience for ourselves. Imagine how a bat interprets reality. From our perspective they are blind, but they can move in darkness far better than we can. Do they even know what darkness is? What about sea creatures and birds alike? They move in 3-dimensional space. They are not bound to the ground as we are, they move up and down, side to side. For them, the ground is a boundary to their limits, not their domain as it is for us. Even the truth is a matter of perspective. It’s a common saying that no two truths are alike. And that’s because we all perceive reality differently. So if reality is fluid, what’s really REAL? This might sound crazy at first, but maybe the only thing real in this world isn’t a thing at all, it’s your thoughts and feelings. Think about it, they drive every decision and action we take. They make the world what it is in a very real way. It’s my belief that our souls are the manufacturers of our feelings and our brains are the managers of those feelings. But no matter what we do with the the feelings that are produced, we can’t stop from having them. Our feelings are transcendent, they echo throughout eternity by means of the people we touch in our lifetimes. If our souls are spiritual portions of G-d Himself. And if our souls are indeed the manufacturers of our feelings, G-d is the only realness in our world, by this logic. Not only is G-d real, but G-d is infact all that truly exists whatsoever. I’ve stated before, when you peel back the layers enough, you’ll always come to one solution. G-d. For those non-believers and the wavering of faith, believe the science instead. Our universe is virtually void of substance. THIS place is NOT the real world. We’re in an elaborate video game. G-d is not a made up figure by the feeble-minded. It’s just the opposite. We are the made up figures, and this place is the dream world. You’ve been asleep. Wake up! It’s all around you to see hiding in plain sight. Don’t follow your senses by which you go astray. Follow your heart and feelings.
They are the only things that you get to keep and perpetuate forever. They are what tie you to the Infinite and the only way to truly connect with other beings.

 

 

I love G-d. I believe in Him. I also love the sciences. Early on, I would struggle with the teachings of the Bible and the seemingly opposite teachings of science. Science is concrete: 1+1=2. The Bible is magic and miracles. I often found myself explaining away the miracles in the Bible by means of science or trying to discredit it altogether. I used to think ancient people (the people/person who wrote the Bible) explained natural phenomenons by means of a divine intervention simply because they didn’t have the technology or the science to figure it out, and on a certain level, I still do. It was the age of miracles and magic in those days. Surely, now that we’ve made it to the 21st century we know better. However, I never lost faith in G-d. For most of my life the pursuit of knowledge, both in science and spirituality, lead me in diametrically opposed paths. Recently, (in the last 5 years) as I’ve tried to become closer to G-d, to understand His ways and to find meaning and purpose in life, I’ve discovered profound insights that have led me to the opinion that science and G-d are in fact, one in the same. I want to clarify one thing going forward: science is G-d, but G-d is not science alone. There’s more to G-d than any one of us can fathom. Our finite minds are not capable of perceiving The Infinite. And this is what I’ll be writing about, to all who want to listen, to all who want to expand their understanding of what it is to be human, to live, and where our place is in the vastness of the cosmos by connecting the physical with the spiritual. Feel free to email me questions or comments or topics of interest. Below is an example of what I’ll be discussing:

If I asked you why magnets have an attractive force or nature, you’d probably look at me funny because most people know magnets have a magnetic field that is either positively or negatively charged. When two magnets have opposing charges, they are attracted to each other and since magnetic forces are stronger than gravitational force, they stick. And the opposite happens when they have the same charge; they repel. Now imagine if I asked the same question to an average person living 4000 years ago. Their answer most likely would be, because G-d or the gods will it to be. (and they might think you’re a sorcerer) This is much simpler and much less of an intellectual answer, but a highly spiritual answer. And both answers would be correct as you’ll read, you will come to realize this truth. Now let me ask you more probing questions about the magnets. Why do opposite charged particles attract in the first place? What causes magnetic force to exist? Why does it exist? Maybe now even YOU might answer, “Because G-d made it that way”. Now, there might be some very intelligent, highly specialized people out there that could answer these questions in a scientific manner. The point however, is that there’s always a question that can’t be explained by science. If you peel back the layers enough you’ll always come to the same answer; the ONE answer, the Unknown, or more spiritually stated, G-d. Now let’s bring the physical and spiritual together in this example. In physics, in order for a question to have a solution, mathematical equations have to balance out. For example: what is energy? Energy is Mass multiplied by the speed of light to the 2nd power, or more famously, E=MC². We know this is true because the equation balances out. If you ever come across this symbol “∞“, the infinity symbol, in a physics equation, it’s just a really cool way of saying: “We don’t know.” and that’s because we’re not smart enough or don’t have the technology to figure it out, just like the ancients… And if you believe in G-d you might even say, it’s because G-d wills it to be. In Hebrew, the number (7) symbolizes perfection…perfection that is achieved through natural or physical means. The number (8) symbolizes that which is beyond nature and its (inherently limited) perfection. If you turn the number 8 on its side, it’s pretty evident that it is an infinity symbol. In fact the number 8 was created in such a way that would demonstrate its spiritual meaning; There is no end and no beginning to the number 8. Sound a lot like G-d? Who could ever see that coming?; physicists unknowingly answering unsolved equations beyond their understanding, with “∞“, the equivalent of G-d’s nature, as their go-to answer for the unknown. This means that devout Bible bumpers and stout physicists have the same answers to their questions in a very real way. While the spiritual person comes to this answer with faith, the physicist comes to this answer with mathematics. We will never know it all in this life, but if we look deeply enough through any channel, you’ll always come to the same answer.

There are examples like this everywhere, that happen everyday, every moment. We have to widen our gaze to see the miracles that are still occurring around us and to us every moment of our life and beyond. Science doesn’t oppose G-d, just the opposite. It is the universal language we use to understand His workings in the physical realm.