What Can We Understand?

There are a lot of things in this world I do not understand. One of those things is infinity. How can something have no beginning and no ending and still exist?

I think God is infinite, and therefore I don’t understand the totality of God. We as human beings tend to model God in our image. We speak of God in human terms using pronouns, “he, she, it” and ask, “Who is God?” I think that casts God in terms of human beings, and that's probably so we can better define and relate to God. I think the broader and perhaps a more inclusive question is “What Is God?” As human beings we tend to want some kind of proof, even when we are dealing with the unprovable.

I view God as an infinite force; a force that created the Universe, which consists of time and space and all their contents. To break that down, God created the space for all things, animate and inanimate, to exist, and time as the entity within which change continually takes place, and within which each object has its own life cycle. Then God created the entities that are in the universe, including humans. God then set the universe in motion with change. God developed living things with instinct that in large part governs their actions. God also provided humans with the ability to make independent decisions to govern their actions.

I believe God is a force that exists and that God created the universe. I believe this on faith.

This does not address the side of God in which many people believe. The side that is much more personal to humans; the side that is ever-present, ever-loving, ever-forgiving, responsive to prayer, etc.. This describes a personal God.

I don’t blamed God for things that go wrong or give God credit for things that go right. I believe God provided humans with free will; their own decision-making power, in large part, to govern their own individual destinies. However, they are also affected by actions of the environment, decisions of others and rules of government and other institutions that are not under their control. They can often, if not always, use their own decision-making power to mitigate those situations as they would otherwise affect them. Each of us is responsible for our decisions/actions/words.

That raises questions. Having a life cycle does not apply to God since God is infinite. However, does it apply to the universe God created and set in motion? Might it run through its own life cycle and be replaced by another of God’s creations, or might the constant change within it result in it morphing into something different?

Is change the only constant besides the infinity of God? I’m sure we are all familiar with the phrase, “There is nothing certain except death and taxes.” Although this statement seems clear, unequivocal, and certain to be true, I contend that arguably it is not.

We have seen taxes change many times over the years, and many people and companies don't pay taxes, so this challenges the concept that taxes are certain. 

One could replace that phrase with, "There is nothing certain except death and change." But, what about death? Is it certain? Many believe the human being consists of a body and a soul. The body we take as true by observation. The soul we take on faith. 

lt seems clear that the physical body oxidizes after death and becomes part of the food chain for other living entities and thus helps maintain life through providing nourishment. This certainly constitutes change. 

What about the soul? Many religions maintain that there is life after death, referring to the soul, and many individuals believe this to be true. I would contend this means that death is a form of change from life as we know it on earth, to a life after death we do not totally understand. 

That would mean that there is really nothing certain in this life except change. With this in mind, I would say God created the universe and set it in motion with the only constants being an infinite God and change. 

There are so many other questions, answers to which are unfathomable. 

• Who or what are we, and why are we here? 

• What and where is here? 

• What is the extent and purpose of the universe? Is it infinite?

• How to reconcile the concept of predetermination with the concept of   free will, and those two concepts with that of cause-and-effect. Once the stream of cause-and-effect has been started, is it possible to alter its course by free will? 

In order to get a grasp of the answer to these questions we would have to understand an infinite God. I am content with the reality that I will never understand the answers to these questions. and many others, with any certainty and that the pursuit of proving unfathomable answers is pointless to my daily life, except as an intellectual exercise, which I enjoy. I take the existence of God on faith as set forth above. 

Harry Hoyt 

5 January 2024