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Let me start with Aliens and outer space...
We start with the abstract, the obscure, the ambiguous… we shall start with the unknown, or the unknowable.
When allowing our imagination to conceptualize an Alien life form, specifically a more intelligent and advanced alien life form, we assume a number of things… one of which is:
That they are superior to us, or possess superior skills/capabilities/technology/intellect.
We secede from our absolute (superlative) thinking. Conceding that we are not the be all and end all of the universe, and certainly evidence more than suggests, by observing our placement within said universe, that we are not the proverbial ‘biggest dog in the yard’. In fact our ‘yard’ (solar system/galaxy) is kind of average.
We willingly accept the fact that there are things beyond our understanding (in so far as it applies to aliens) – that these would-be aliens would possess things beyond our comprehension. As famed Astrophysicist and cosmologist Neil Degrasse Tyson proposed; to an advanced alien race that had ‘evolved’ by a simple 1 percent (in the same evolutionary direction that we are more advanced than Apes on Earth), that the most intelligent human being would be on a similar intelligence level as an alien toddler.
And to think; if God (the supernatural appearing Alien to the natural world), a Creator that created all life as we know it - how much more intelligent is he (who actually invented our intelligence)?
Of course, logic follows that he would do things, act in ways beyond our understanding (hence the coined term - mysterious ways). Just like certain elements of a huge plan will not make sense to an individual who hasn't seen the entire picture.
So we're willing to entertain the idea of a superior intelligence, but only so far as it is convenient for us.
Why is this concept so difficult to grasp?
Because of our free will. In the first instance of alien encounters, we as a human race were not subject to them, we were still free to rebel against them and retain our proverbial independence, because their interaction with us was limited (and subjective/proposed/imagined).
But in the case of God, we are all suddenly confronted and accountable, we are faced with ultimatums, with consequences and our own mortality… the interaction with a would-be creator is naturally more personal and divisive. You cannot hide behind the collective. You cannot hide at all. The truth is exclusive (hence: specified, unique, absolute - not admitting of other things... so it the truth is by it nature: DIVISIVE).
We as people don’t like to be governed. And to acknowledge God or a God-like Creator figure, leads us directly to that dynamic – meaning we are to submit to such a figure… and that usually means making some changes in our lives.
So that’s where the line in the sand is, in making the decision: to be or not to be…
To acknowledge God, or not.
And in our (sometimes) desperation to absolve ourselves from this issue we’ve gone to inordinate lengths to justify ourselves, trying (unsuccessfully) to discredit any and all forms of evidence that would inform our choice, preferring to construct elaborate alternatives to avoid the “God issues” altogether… Simply because it suits our agenda, our yearning for absolute freedom, because in many minds, submitting to God means forfeiting freedom.
The truth is though, that you cannot have true freedom without rules. Because no rules, implies no boundaries, no division between good or bad, no restrictions, no accountability, no consequences… because absolute freedom is clinically the definition of chaos.
And this is Man’s ultimate goal, to have dominion over himself, to call God a human construct and place him neatly into an imaginary “box” of our own making, and to live in a world where… anything goes. Or at the very least to live in a world abiding by only his own rules.
The irony is: we are not so much putting God in a ‘box’, but rather ourselves, attempting to insulate ourselves from any Godly notions.
Part 2:
Staying with aliens, let’s recall the fictional tales of alien invasions. Many times it takes the form of some kind of infection, using humans as hosts.
C.S. Lewis calls Christianity the ‘good infection’.
The thing is that when we decide upon this path, we come to realise something:
With the original fall of man, we were removed from God’s Grace. So right now, where we are, is actually in opposition to God. Think of it as a sovereign state, a King ruling his kingdom, and then one of his subjects’ defaults, and chooses to oppose him, his authority – disobeying the King – and as a result, the King banished him from his presence since the man chose to oppose the King’s law. This is what man did with God. Man was exiled (supernaturally from God’s presence, and physically from Eden).
We are the enemy.
Following Christ is effectively reverting (back) to the other side – to the side we were made to be on when God first made Adam. So all Christians here on Earth are ‘behind enemy lines’, because we started life as the ‘enemy’ – created by God, but choosing our own way, as opposed to God’s way.
Following Christ is choosing to engage in war… Yes there is the spiritual warfare, and open societal persecution, but the real war, is within. We are at war with ourselves. We who were once the enemy (before being saved) are engaged with a struggle between our spiritual and natural selves as God teaches/guides us to be more like himself (specifically, like his son Jesus).
In this process of inward transformation, we succumb to putting God in a box…
As a wise man once said, (okay he’s a young minister is the USA, but still wise), “We think this is our party and we’re inviting God into our [life] party. But the reality is that this is God’s party, and he has invited us.”
God created everything, so when we commit our lives to him, we are only choosing to give him what was already his to begin with.
God cannot make us love him – that’s not real love. True love involves an act of choice… Free will.
We have too much pride to admit and submit to God what is already his. And we have too many affinities with this world and the distractions of things within it, yet when life is over what will we keep? We need to invest our time and energy into things not of this world, to be preoccupied by our relationship with God.
Blog: The God Box
Part I - http://stevenbenjamin.weebly.com/blog/the-god-box-part-1
Part II - http://stevenbenjamin.weebly.com/blog/the-god-box-part-ii
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