For millennia, philosophers have been wrestling with and endeavoring to understand and describe aspects of our existence—the nature, source, origin, etc. thereof. While I do not consider myself to be a philosopher, I definitely have some thoughts about our existence, and such thoughts drive me to conclusions that I consider to be inescapable.
Of What Is Our Existence Comprised?
Like many philosophers, I observe that our existence is comprised of both physical and non-physical aspects. (Aristotle’s successors classified Aristotle’s analyses of the non-physical aspect of our existence as the “metaphysical”; a couple of more current philosophers use such terms as “supra-physical” or “ultra-physical.” At the end of the day, regardless of the term, I believe all philosophers are simply seeking to describe that part of our existence which is, very simply, not physical.) Both the physical and non-physical aspects of our existence interrelate symphonically, and their interrelation yields our glorious reality.
Physical Aspect
The physical aspect, at its core, I consider to be comprised of only four elements: time, space, matter and energy. Although we don’t fully understand how they function and interrelate, we can, nevertheless, observe and experience these four elements of the physical aspect of our existence, and, having so observed and experienced them, we acknowledge them to exist. Many scientists have dedicated their efforts to the exploration and have endeavored to explain the nature of each of these elements of the physical aspect of our existence. Indeed, countless books have been written about each of these elements, and appropriately so. The elements are each captivating in their own right.
Of What Is Our Existence Comprised?
Like many philosophers, I observe that our existence is comprised of both physical and non-physical aspects. (Aristotle’s successors classified Aristotle’s analyses of the non-physical aspect of our existence as the “metaphysical”; a couple of more current philosophers use such terms as “supra-physical” or “ultra-physical.” At the end of the day, regardless of the term, I believe all philosophers are simply seeking to describe that part of our existence which is, very simply, not physical.) Both the physical and non-physical aspects of our existence interrelate symphonically, and their interrelation yields our glorious reality.
Physical Aspect
The physical aspect, at its core, I consider to be comprised of only four elements: time, space, matter and energy. Although we don’t fully understand how they function and interrelate, we can, nevertheless, observe and experience these four elements of the physical aspect of our existence, and, having so observed and experienced them, we acknowledge them to exist. Many scientists have dedicated their efforts to the exploration and have endeavored to explain the nature of each of these elements of the physical aspect of our existence. Indeed, countless books have been written about each of these elements, and appropriately so. The elements are each captivating in their own right.
Offering only a few thoughts about these fundamental elements (so as to hinder your effort to get to the conclusion of the essay), I note that space is the expansive environment in which the other 3 physical elements of our existence reside or operate. Physicists explain that the universe is expanding—into something. And it's certainly odd that the universe, itself, is comprised mostly of space and that it is expanding, because we don't think of space as expanding; usually we think of tangible stuff expanding. Yet it seems fair to suggest that the area into which the universe is expanding is, itself, also space.
Matter is that tangible stuff that is said to occupy space and have mass. At bottom, it is each of the tiny particles that meld together into things that we, if we can get to them, can manipulate.
Energy holds matter together and moves it around.
Time seems to be something of a measuring device—a dimension in addition to the x, y and z axes—marking the point at which a particle of matter occupies a particular point in space. When you consider, further, that energy has moved the particle of matter into that particular point in space, you see the synthesis of all of the physical aspects of our existence.
The magnificence of the interrelation of these 4 physical aspects of our existence becomes even more apparent when you consider that at any given point in time, as we happen to be engaging in life—such as by reading a book—we ourselves are, in that point in time, as an object of being, a combination of space, energy and trillions of particles of matter, and each of the subatomic particles is spinning around other subatomic particles at incomprehensible speeds and at relatively extreme distances, yet perfectly positioned in their time, place and speed to interlock with other subatomic particles of other atoms that are also perfectly positioned in their time, place and speed, and the interlocking is achieved via energy that our science has yet to explain. The same can be said of the book being read, the chair being occupied, the floor holding the chair, the ground sustaining the floor, the earth comprising the ground, the space containing the Earth, etc. And, thus, these elements of time, space, matter and energy combine to comprise our environment as well as our physical bodies—a substantial portion of our existence. The person who devotes even a moment of consideration to the wonder of only this--the physical aspect of our existence--should be breath taken.
Non-Physical Aspect
Intelligence
We recognize, however, that there must be more than a purely physical aspect to our existence. The elements of the physical aspect of our existence simply do not explain all that we recognize our existence to be. Interestingly, the very fact that we recognize the physical aspect of our existence provides the basis for our understanding that there has to be, at a minimum, something called intelligence—a non-physical element that is itself comprised of capacities such as awareness (the ability to recognize that we are capable of perception), perception (the ability to recognize information), understanding (the ability to recognize that information has been apprehended), reason (the ability to process information), expression (the ability to present information), and communication (the ability to exchange information). Thus, ironically, we have, through intelligence, come to understand that there is also a non-physical aspect to our existence, and it includes intelligence. As with the physical aspect of our existence, though books have been written about the elements of awareness, perception, understanding, reason, expression and communication, we don’t really understand how intelligence works; we simply recognize that it exists and, therefore, constitutes a part of our existence. Also as with the physical aspect of our existence, the very fact that intelligence exists is, ironically and oxymoronically, wonderfully incomprehensible.
Information
With the physical aspect and intelligence element of the non-physical aspect of our existence, we are enabled to apprehend, consider and act on information. The information is, yet, another non-physical aspect of our existence. It is comprised of truth and non-truth. Truth might be able to be described as that which is consistent with all other elements and aspects of our existence, whereas non-truth is inconsistent with at least some element of our existence. It seems that the moment truth comes into being, non-truth is simultaneously born, and the two wander through our existence--waiting to be perceived, understood,, processed, expressed and communicated.
Personality
Of course, intelligence and information do not constitute everything about the non-physical aspect of our existence. If all we did was apprehend, process, express and exchange information, we’d be little more than computers. We recognize that each of us who possesses intelligence handles it differently. Although we substantially all have at least some capacity to apprehend, process, express and communicate information, each of us treats the information differently. We often choose the information that we want to apprehend. We come to different conclusions with the same information. Further, we act differently, we live differently from one another, we make different choices, and we laugh at different things. We know from our experience that each of us is more than physically different and more than intellectually different from another. Thus, we have come to understand that we possess an intellectual uniqueness—personality. Personality doesn’t have its source in the physical aspect of our existence, and it is distinct from intelligence. Again, we don’t understand how it works; but we recognize that it exists. Another term that might be used to describe this element of our existence is "spirit." And we recognize that the spirit of a person is a substantial and influentical component of the person's being. We also recognize that the spirit of some, for instance, can be significantly negative in nature--like a black hole--absorbing the positive "spiritual energy" from those around them; while the spirit of others is significantly positive in nature--effervescently spilling positive spiritual energy into the beings of others. As we interrelate with each other, it seems to be the spirit or personality of us that most affects the relationship that is either formed or not formed, often as a matter of decision, with another being.
Meaning
The unspoken yet deafening engine of the above elements of our existence is meaning—another element of the non-physical aspect of our existence. Meaning unifies and animates all other aspects of our existence. Meaning motivates us to act. Meaning causes people to ask questions such as “Why am I here?” and “What is my purpose?” We understand that, at a minimum, our purpose is to continue to exist. Thus, without meaning, existence is pointless, and death is inevitable. If, for example, there is no reason to eat, I will most likely stop eating, and if I stop eating, I cannot survive long—the physical aspect of my existence would cease. Further, if there is no reason to work or to exit my bed in the morning, then I am merely existing for the sake of existence—and likely not for long. We sense that existence is not for the sake of existence; we suspect that existence is the end of a means and the means to an end. We also sense that meaning extends beyond our particular point in time—that it extends back to a beginning and ahead to some future end. We sense that it encompasses even the physical aspect of our existence—such as by holding the Earth at the precise distance from the Sun, and enabling the subatomic particles that comprise us to move and unite in space and time as they do. In fact, it is the very consideration of meaning that prompted me to write an essay on existence.
In Sum
Thus, our existence is comprised of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning. Removing any of these elements from our existence would cause our existence as we know it to disappear. If, for example, space were to be eliminated, all matter would be suddenly and violently brought together into a single clump; none of us would be distinguishable from the ground on which we walk or the water that we drink or the oxygen and nitrogen that we breathe. What if matter became space? What if all energy were to be released from all elements? Again, we’d cease to exist. What if time were eliminated? Similarly, what if any element of the non-physical aspect of our existence were eliminated? With its disappearance, our existence, in its current state, would be obliterated. Thus, it should become abundantly clear to each of us who gives the matter any thought that we are truly experiencing a beautiful symphony of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning just by virtue of our being.
What Is the Source of Our Existence?
As we begin to consider the aspects and elements of our existence, we cannot help but conclude that such elements must have a source. Our own experience teaches us that things have origins. In fact, we know that each of us, ourselves, was “born” or came into being. We have also witnessed the reality of cause and effect, so we know that something must cause things to come into being. And we may also understand that anything complex was originated as a consequence of a purpose. So we ask, “If time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning exist, then how did such elements come to be and what causes them to interrelate to constitute our existence? What is the foundation and sustaining power of our existence?”
A Supreme Being
With all that we can experience and consider regarding our existence, recognizing all of its intricacies and interactions, the conclusion that our existence didn’t just happen seems inescapable. The source of intelligence and meaning simply cannot be nothing, happenstance or chaos (such a notion is so irrational and counter-intuitive that it is preposterous). Quite to the contrary, the source of intelligence must itself be intelligent and superlatively so. It must truly be a supreme designer. Further, the source of personality as it is constituted in our existence must be unfathomable in its own personality. Because it has intelligence and personality, it cannot be a thing or a force. It must be a being. In fact, to construct meaning and truth such that they propel us and animate us in a physical realm to the extent that we are able to make choices, love and want and to suffer and benefit from chance—suggests not only that the intelligent, personality-filled being values meaning and life, but also that the being is concerned about our ability to experience meaning and life. Such is the product of someone that has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. The very decisions of this personality must, indeed, constitute the truth and meaning that sustain and empower our existence.
Who?
Most people would acknowledge the super source of the aspects of our existence to be the Being to whom many people refer as “God.” Indeed, the understanding of many persons is that God embodies super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. Supposing that the Super-Being is God, it is reasonable to conclude that God would know us, given God’s clearly apparent attributes. Further, it should not be unreasonable to know whether we can know God, whether God wants to know us, whether God wants us to know God, and whether God would ever declare God to us. In other words, given that there is a supreme being, God, who has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose, is it possible for one or all of us to have a relationship with God? Would God ever reach out into and through my existence to me? It certainly seems likely. The author of our existence would be constrained by nothing that we can understand to meet with each of us—a distinct and apparently God-created personality—for purposes of a relationship. Neither time nor space nor lack of power could impede God were God inclined to pursue a relationship with us. The only thing that might conceivably prevent such a relationship is the purpose of God. Certainly, we could only know the purpose of God through what is expressed to us by God in our existence.
Jesus Christ
Interestingly, in this regard, some religions propose answers to such questions. The proponents of Christianity, for instance, identify Jesus Christ as God and, in fact, declare Him to be the source of existence. It is noteworthy that our information about Jesus Christ comes from the Bible, an extremely synthetic composition of over 60 separate books and approximately 30 writers, spanning a period of nearly 1500 years. Passages of the Bible authenticate their very words as constituting the expression of God. A number of considerations cause Jesus Christ to be distinct from other beings who have claimed to be or who have been identified as God.
1. Jesus Christ Himself claimed to be self existent. We would certainly expect that God should declare Himself to us in the event He met one or more of us face to face. Thus, it was important for Jesus Christ, if He is truly God, to identify Himself to us as God. The claim of Jesus Christ relates to an instance that occurred over a millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ. A man by the name of Moses, a descendant of Abraham (the forefather of persons who follow the 3 “Abrahamic” faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam), Isaac (the son of Abraham) and Jacob (the son of Isaac and whose name was later changed by God to “Israel”), encountered God in a burning bush—an experience that was particularly sensational to Moses, who noted that the “bush was on fire but was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2 HCSB) In that encounter, Moses asked God for His name. God responded that His name is Yahweh, which is translated “I AM WHO I AM” (or “I AM BECAUSE I AM)”—i.e., the self-existing one. The name is the first declared name of God in the Bible, and is particularly appropriate as the name of the One who is responsible for our existence. Certainly, God, who originated our existence, would not be bound by it. Against, this background, Jesus Christ, again over a millennium later, stated, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58 HCSB)—identifying Himself as the God who had met with Moses, and thus asserting His pre-existing state as well as his ability to be constituted as both God and man. The audience of Jesus' statement immediately understood the significance of His statement; they considered His statement to be blasphemous in that a human being would declare Himself to be the Supreme God; in fact, His audience picked up rocks, intending to kill Jesus Christ for having made the statement. (John 8:59)
2. Others have acknowledged Jesus Christ as the originator and sustainer of existence. We, of course, would expect that other people would recognize God as God were they to encounter Him, so the statements of others about Jesus Christ's status as God are significant evidence of His divine nature. In this regard, John, an apostle of Jesus Christ, identifies Jesus as the source of or perhaps the embodiment of existence—beginning his letter to the world by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4 HCSB) John uses the word “logos” (translated from Greek to English as “the Word”) to refer to Jesus—connecting Jesus to the philosophical concepts of meaning and intelligence—the very heart of existence. Paul (formerly Saul) of Tarsus, another follower of Jesus Christ, asserted of Jesus Christ that “by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17 HCSB) Paul also asserted that “in Him we live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:28 HCSB) Paul's statements are particularly compelling, given that he, earlier in his life, had been responsible for executing people who expressed belief in Jesus Christ as God. (Acts 7:58, 8:1, 22:20) Further, Job (who, in his physically, socially, emotionally and financially destitute state, considered himself to be smitten by God) said of God, “The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10 HCSB) The unknown author of the book of Hebrews declares that the universe was created “through” Him, and that “He sustains all things by His powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:2, 3 HCSB)
3. Jesus Christ claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6 HCSB) In so doing, He declares Himself to be the very essence of our existence. He thus declared the nature of the Supreme God to be the source of truth and life.
4. Several who observed Him noted that, by His birth, life and actions, Jesus Christ also fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years—indeed, over one thousand years—earlier about the Messiah who would come and bring peace to the world. In so fulfilling prophecies, Jesus Christ demonstrates His power over multiple elements of our existence. Indeed, simply by virtue of His being the object of prophecies, He occupies a position of unique focus. In fulfilling the prophecies, He stands apart from all others who claim to be His equivalent.
5. Jesus Christ Himself prophesied His own death as well as His own resurrection. (John 2:18-22) In this regard, He is seen to be not only the master of time but also the master of His own humanity.
6. The men who experienced Jesus Christ also documented various events wherein Jesus Christ demonstrated his power in relation to existence. They documented, in particular, that Jesus Christ changed water into wine, caused bread to be generated from bread and fish flesh to be generated from fish flesh, walked on water, caused a storm to cease with His words, caused a tree to wither with His words, healed people of diseases, caused the blind to see, caused the deaf to hear, caused the lame to walk, caused leprous flesh to be healed, restored withered limbs, brought people to life after they had died, empowered others to do similar miracles, and Himself came back to life after having been put to death, and He disappeared and appeared at will. These actions seemed to have been expressed principally out of compassion as opposed to a desire to prove His status as God—which we should expect from the One who is truly God.
7. It is further noted by the followers of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ did not commit any wrong. (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15 and 7:26, 1 Peter 2:22 and 3:18, 1 John 3:5) Thus, His actions are consistent with One who is God.
8. Jesus' birth and His crucifixion were not only prophesied, but they are explained in Scripture to be part of an overriding purpose to pay for the wrongdoings of mankind (the focus of existence) and to afford to mankind the opportunity to gain eternal life with God (a super state of existence). (John 3:16-17) Jesus Christ is explained to be God who became human as part of this plan. (John 1:14, 1 John 4:2) Thus, in and during His life, and throughout the Scripture about Him, Jesus Christ gives humanity a glimpse into the grand purpose of God and the meaning of existence.
No other being has given such evidence of being constituted as the source or embodiment of our existence and as the Supreme Being. Others may have claimed such a state, but none have secured it so solidly as Jesus Christ.
Samantabhadra, a Buddha
One Buddha, Samantabhadra, highly regarded among Buddhists, is said to have made claims to the position of supreme being: “I am the core of all that exists. I am the seed of all that exists. I am the foundation of all that exists. I am the root of existence. I am ‘the core’, because I contain all phenomena. I am ‘the seed’, because I give birth to everything. I am ‘the cause’, because all comes forth from me. I am ‘the trunk’, because the ramifications of every event sprout from me. I am ‘the foundation’, because all abides in me. I am called ‘the root’, because I am everything.” (Translation of the “All Creating King,” published as “The Supreme Source,” tr. by Adriano Clemente and Andrew Lukianowicz, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York 1999, pp. 137-141, 157). However, in this regard, it is interesting to note that Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, asserted that belief in creation and a supreme being is an impediment to a person’s achieving nirvana, because it demonstrates insecurity and a need for forgiveness as opposed to the lack of need for security and personal responsibility for one’s actions. Further, Samantabhadra’s statements are in stark contrast to the vast bulk of Buddhist thought, which typically celebrates and finds/achieves nirvana in nothingness as opposed to Samantabhadra’s “everythingness.” Thus, the “enlightened” statements of Samantabhadra contradict the “enlightened” statements of his predecessor and the founder of the Buddhist religion and suggest that Samantabhadra could not have achieved nirvana—the very goal of Buddhism—the access to which would most certainly would have been correctly declared by its original discoverer. Buddhist followers are left to decide whether to pursue nothingness or embrace Samantabhadra’s everythingness. Further, Samantabhadra also proclaimed that on his path to enlightenment, he adopted “Ten Great Vows”—one of which was “to repent misdeeds and evil karmas.” Thus, Samantabhadra, unlike Jesus Christ, acknowledged that he was sinful—a characteristic hardly consistent with one who is truly God. Further, unlike Jesus Christ, there is no evidence that Samantabhadra (a) did anything to demonstrate his power over existence by performing miracles, (b) fulfilled any prophecies, (c) resurrected from the dead, or (d) presented any plan for mankind. It is, therefore, difficult to consider Samantabhadra's claims to supreme being status (or those ascribed to him) as anything other than the assertions of a man who wants to be like God.
Sri Ramana Maharshi, a Hindu Sage
Sri Ramana Maharshi taught that, similar to Buddhism, the elimination of all thoughts except for the thought of one's own existence enabled a person to experience the “I” or the “Self,” and the “Self” in that state constituted God. However, as with Samantabhadra, there is no evidence that Sri Ramana Maharshi (a) did anything to demonstrate his power over existence by performing miracles, (b) fulfilled any prophecies, (c) resurrected from the dead, or (d) presented any plan for mankind. Further, it does not appear that, other than the statement regarding “Self” being “God,” Sri Ramana Maharshi claimed to have any status as the Supreme Being.
As with Samantabhadra and Sri Ramana Maharshi, a multiplicity of other people have made comparable claims to being deity, and others have been identified as constituting deity. As with Samantabhadra and Sri Ramana Maharshi, however, all have failed to achieve the state of evidence that has been offered in support of the claim of Jesus Christ to the status of the Supreme Being that is truly God.
Satan
Non-Physical Aspect
Intelligence
We recognize, however, that there must be more than a purely physical aspect to our existence. The elements of the physical aspect of our existence simply do not explain all that we recognize our existence to be. Interestingly, the very fact that we recognize the physical aspect of our existence provides the basis for our understanding that there has to be, at a minimum, something called intelligence—a non-physical element that is itself comprised of capacities such as awareness (the ability to recognize that we are capable of perception), perception (the ability to recognize information), understanding (the ability to recognize that information has been apprehended), reason (the ability to process information), expression (the ability to present information), and communication (the ability to exchange information). Thus, ironically, we have, through intelligence, come to understand that there is also a non-physical aspect to our existence, and it includes intelligence. As with the physical aspect of our existence, though books have been written about the elements of awareness, perception, understanding, reason, expression and communication, we don’t really understand how intelligence works; we simply recognize that it exists and, therefore, constitutes a part of our existence. Also as with the physical aspect of our existence, the very fact that intelligence exists is, ironically and oxymoronically, wonderfully incomprehensible.
Information
With the physical aspect and intelligence element of the non-physical aspect of our existence, we are enabled to apprehend, consider and act on information. The information is, yet, another non-physical aspect of our existence. It is comprised of truth and non-truth. Truth might be able to be described as that which is consistent with all other elements and aspects of our existence, whereas non-truth is inconsistent with at least some element of our existence. It seems that the moment truth comes into being, non-truth is simultaneously born, and the two wander through our existence--waiting to be perceived, understood,, processed, expressed and communicated.
Personality
Of course, intelligence and information do not constitute everything about the non-physical aspect of our existence. If all we did was apprehend, process, express and exchange information, we’d be little more than computers. We recognize that each of us who possesses intelligence handles it differently. Although we substantially all have at least some capacity to apprehend, process, express and communicate information, each of us treats the information differently. We often choose the information that we want to apprehend. We come to different conclusions with the same information. Further, we act differently, we live differently from one another, we make different choices, and we laugh at different things. We know from our experience that each of us is more than physically different and more than intellectually different from another. Thus, we have come to understand that we possess an intellectual uniqueness—personality. Personality doesn’t have its source in the physical aspect of our existence, and it is distinct from intelligence. Again, we don’t understand how it works; but we recognize that it exists. Another term that might be used to describe this element of our existence is "spirit." And we recognize that the spirit of a person is a substantial and influentical component of the person's being. We also recognize that the spirit of some, for instance, can be significantly negative in nature--like a black hole--absorbing the positive "spiritual energy" from those around them; while the spirit of others is significantly positive in nature--effervescently spilling positive spiritual energy into the beings of others. As we interrelate with each other, it seems to be the spirit or personality of us that most affects the relationship that is either formed or not formed, often as a matter of decision, with another being.
Meaning
The unspoken yet deafening engine of the above elements of our existence is meaning—another element of the non-physical aspect of our existence. Meaning unifies and animates all other aspects of our existence. Meaning motivates us to act. Meaning causes people to ask questions such as “Why am I here?” and “What is my purpose?” We understand that, at a minimum, our purpose is to continue to exist. Thus, without meaning, existence is pointless, and death is inevitable. If, for example, there is no reason to eat, I will most likely stop eating, and if I stop eating, I cannot survive long—the physical aspect of my existence would cease. Further, if there is no reason to work or to exit my bed in the morning, then I am merely existing for the sake of existence—and likely not for long. We sense that existence is not for the sake of existence; we suspect that existence is the end of a means and the means to an end. We also sense that meaning extends beyond our particular point in time—that it extends back to a beginning and ahead to some future end. We sense that it encompasses even the physical aspect of our existence—such as by holding the Earth at the precise distance from the Sun, and enabling the subatomic particles that comprise us to move and unite in space and time as they do. In fact, it is the very consideration of meaning that prompted me to write an essay on existence.
In Sum
Thus, our existence is comprised of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning. Removing any of these elements from our existence would cause our existence as we know it to disappear. If, for example, space were to be eliminated, all matter would be suddenly and violently brought together into a single clump; none of us would be distinguishable from the ground on which we walk or the water that we drink or the oxygen and nitrogen that we breathe. What if matter became space? What if all energy were to be released from all elements? Again, we’d cease to exist. What if time were eliminated? Similarly, what if any element of the non-physical aspect of our existence were eliminated? With its disappearance, our existence, in its current state, would be obliterated. Thus, it should become abundantly clear to each of us who gives the matter any thought that we are truly experiencing a beautiful symphony of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning just by virtue of our being.
What Is the Source of Our Existence?
As we begin to consider the aspects and elements of our existence, we cannot help but conclude that such elements must have a source. Our own experience teaches us that things have origins. In fact, we know that each of us, ourselves, was “born” or came into being. We have also witnessed the reality of cause and effect, so we know that something must cause things to come into being. And we may also understand that anything complex was originated as a consequence of a purpose. So we ask, “If time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning exist, then how did such elements come to be and what causes them to interrelate to constitute our existence? What is the foundation and sustaining power of our existence?”
A Supreme Being
With all that we can experience and consider regarding our existence, recognizing all of its intricacies and interactions, the conclusion that our existence didn’t just happen seems inescapable. The source of intelligence and meaning simply cannot be nothing, happenstance or chaos (such a notion is so irrational and counter-intuitive that it is preposterous). Quite to the contrary, the source of intelligence must itself be intelligent and superlatively so. It must truly be a supreme designer. Further, the source of personality as it is constituted in our existence must be unfathomable in its own personality. Because it has intelligence and personality, it cannot be a thing or a force. It must be a being. In fact, to construct meaning and truth such that they propel us and animate us in a physical realm to the extent that we are able to make choices, love and want and to suffer and benefit from chance—suggests not only that the intelligent, personality-filled being values meaning and life, but also that the being is concerned about our ability to experience meaning and life. Such is the product of someone that has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. The very decisions of this personality must, indeed, constitute the truth and meaning that sustain and empower our existence.
Who?
Most people would acknowledge the super source of the aspects of our existence to be the Being to whom many people refer as “God.” Indeed, the understanding of many persons is that God embodies super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. Supposing that the Super-Being is God, it is reasonable to conclude that God would know us, given God’s clearly apparent attributes. Further, it should not be unreasonable to know whether we can know God, whether God wants to know us, whether God wants us to know God, and whether God would ever declare God to us. In other words, given that there is a supreme being, God, who has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose, is it possible for one or all of us to have a relationship with God? Would God ever reach out into and through my existence to me? It certainly seems likely. The author of our existence would be constrained by nothing that we can understand to meet with each of us—a distinct and apparently God-created personality—for purposes of a relationship. Neither time nor space nor lack of power could impede God were God inclined to pursue a relationship with us. The only thing that might conceivably prevent such a relationship is the purpose of God. Certainly, we could only know the purpose of God through what is expressed to us by God in our existence.
Jesus Christ
Interestingly, in this regard, some religions propose answers to such questions. The proponents of Christianity, for instance, identify Jesus Christ as God and, in fact, declare Him to be the source of existence. It is noteworthy that our information about Jesus Christ comes from the Bible, an extremely synthetic composition of over 60 separate books and approximately 30 writers, spanning a period of nearly 1500 years. Passages of the Bible authenticate their very words as constituting the expression of God. A number of considerations cause Jesus Christ to be distinct from other beings who have claimed to be or who have been identified as God.
1. Jesus Christ Himself claimed to be self existent. We would certainly expect that God should declare Himself to us in the event He met one or more of us face to face. Thus, it was important for Jesus Christ, if He is truly God, to identify Himself to us as God. The claim of Jesus Christ relates to an instance that occurred over a millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ. A man by the name of Moses, a descendant of Abraham (the forefather of persons who follow the 3 “Abrahamic” faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam), Isaac (the son of Abraham) and Jacob (the son of Isaac and whose name was later changed by God to “Israel”), encountered God in a burning bush—an experience that was particularly sensational to Moses, who noted that the “bush was on fire but was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2 HCSB) In that encounter, Moses asked God for His name. God responded that His name is Yahweh, which is translated “I AM WHO I AM” (or “I AM BECAUSE I AM)”—i.e., the self-existing one. The name is the first declared name of God in the Bible, and is particularly appropriate as the name of the One who is responsible for our existence. Certainly, God, who originated our existence, would not be bound by it. Against, this background, Jesus Christ, again over a millennium later, stated, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58 HCSB)—identifying Himself as the God who had met with Moses, and thus asserting His pre-existing state as well as his ability to be constituted as both God and man. The audience of Jesus' statement immediately understood the significance of His statement; they considered His statement to be blasphemous in that a human being would declare Himself to be the Supreme God; in fact, His audience picked up rocks, intending to kill Jesus Christ for having made the statement. (John 8:59)
2. Others have acknowledged Jesus Christ as the originator and sustainer of existence. We, of course, would expect that other people would recognize God as God were they to encounter Him, so the statements of others about Jesus Christ's status as God are significant evidence of His divine nature. In this regard, John, an apostle of Jesus Christ, identifies Jesus as the source of or perhaps the embodiment of existence—beginning his letter to the world by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4 HCSB) John uses the word “logos” (translated from Greek to English as “the Word”) to refer to Jesus—connecting Jesus to the philosophical concepts of meaning and intelligence—the very heart of existence. Paul (formerly Saul) of Tarsus, another follower of Jesus Christ, asserted of Jesus Christ that “by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17 HCSB) Paul also asserted that “in Him we live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:28 HCSB) Paul's statements are particularly compelling, given that he, earlier in his life, had been responsible for executing people who expressed belief in Jesus Christ as God. (Acts 7:58, 8:1, 22:20) Further, Job (who, in his physically, socially, emotionally and financially destitute state, considered himself to be smitten by God) said of God, “The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10 HCSB) The unknown author of the book of Hebrews declares that the universe was created “through” Him, and that “He sustains all things by His powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:2, 3 HCSB)
3. Jesus Christ claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6 HCSB) In so doing, He declares Himself to be the very essence of our existence. He thus declared the nature of the Supreme God to be the source of truth and life.
4. Several who observed Him noted that, by His birth, life and actions, Jesus Christ also fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years—indeed, over one thousand years—earlier about the Messiah who would come and bring peace to the world. In so fulfilling prophecies, Jesus Christ demonstrates His power over multiple elements of our existence. Indeed, simply by virtue of His being the object of prophecies, He occupies a position of unique focus. In fulfilling the prophecies, He stands apart from all others who claim to be His equivalent.
5. Jesus Christ Himself prophesied His own death as well as His own resurrection. (John 2:18-22) In this regard, He is seen to be not only the master of time but also the master of His own humanity.
6. The men who experienced Jesus Christ also documented various events wherein Jesus Christ demonstrated his power in relation to existence. They documented, in particular, that Jesus Christ changed water into wine, caused bread to be generated from bread and fish flesh to be generated from fish flesh, walked on water, caused a storm to cease with His words, caused a tree to wither with His words, healed people of diseases, caused the blind to see, caused the deaf to hear, caused the lame to walk, caused leprous flesh to be healed, restored withered limbs, brought people to life after they had died, empowered others to do similar miracles, and Himself came back to life after having been put to death, and He disappeared and appeared at will. These actions seemed to have been expressed principally out of compassion as opposed to a desire to prove His status as God—which we should expect from the One who is truly God.
7. It is further noted by the followers of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ did not commit any wrong. (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15 and 7:26, 1 Peter 2:22 and 3:18, 1 John 3:5) Thus, His actions are consistent with One who is God.
8. Jesus' birth and His crucifixion were not only prophesied, but they are explained in Scripture to be part of an overriding purpose to pay for the wrongdoings of mankind (the focus of existence) and to afford to mankind the opportunity to gain eternal life with God (a super state of existence). (John 3:16-17) Jesus Christ is explained to be God who became human as part of this plan. (John 1:14, 1 John 4:2) Thus, in and during His life, and throughout the Scripture about Him, Jesus Christ gives humanity a glimpse into the grand purpose of God and the meaning of existence.
No other being has given such evidence of being constituted as the source or embodiment of our existence and as the Supreme Being. Others may have claimed such a state, but none have secured it so solidly as Jesus Christ.
Samantabhadra, a Buddha
One Buddha, Samantabhadra, highly regarded among Buddhists, is said to have made claims to the position of supreme being: “I am the core of all that exists. I am the seed of all that exists. I am the foundation of all that exists. I am the root of existence. I am ‘the core’, because I contain all phenomena. I am ‘the seed’, because I give birth to everything. I am ‘the cause’, because all comes forth from me. I am ‘the trunk’, because the ramifications of every event sprout from me. I am ‘the foundation’, because all abides in me. I am called ‘the root’, because I am everything.” (Translation of the “All Creating King,” published as “The Supreme Source,” tr. by Adriano Clemente and Andrew Lukianowicz, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York 1999, pp. 137-141, 157). However, in this regard, it is interesting to note that Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, asserted that belief in creation and a supreme being is an impediment to a person’s achieving nirvana, because it demonstrates insecurity and a need for forgiveness as opposed to the lack of need for security and personal responsibility for one’s actions. Further, Samantabhadra’s statements are in stark contrast to the vast bulk of Buddhist thought, which typically celebrates and finds/achieves nirvana in nothingness as opposed to Samantabhadra’s “everythingness.” Thus, the “enlightened” statements of Samantabhadra contradict the “enlightened” statements of his predecessor and the founder of the Buddhist religion and suggest that Samantabhadra could not have achieved nirvana—the very goal of Buddhism—the access to which would most certainly would have been correctly declared by its original discoverer. Buddhist followers are left to decide whether to pursue nothingness or embrace Samantabhadra’s everythingness. Further, Samantabhadra also proclaimed that on his path to enlightenment, he adopted “Ten Great Vows”—one of which was “to repent misdeeds and evil karmas.” Thus, Samantabhadra, unlike Jesus Christ, acknowledged that he was sinful—a characteristic hardly consistent with one who is truly God. Further, unlike Jesus Christ, there is no evidence that Samantabhadra (a) did anything to demonstrate his power over existence by performing miracles, (b) fulfilled any prophecies, (c) resurrected from the dead, or (d) presented any plan for mankind. It is, therefore, difficult to consider Samantabhadra's claims to supreme being status (or those ascribed to him) as anything other than the assertions of a man who wants to be like God.
Sri Ramana Maharshi, a Hindu Sage
Sri Ramana Maharshi taught that, similar to Buddhism, the elimination of all thoughts except for the thought of one's own existence enabled a person to experience the “I” or the “Self,” and the “Self” in that state constituted God. However, as with Samantabhadra, there is no evidence that Sri Ramana Maharshi (a) did anything to demonstrate his power over existence by performing miracles, (b) fulfilled any prophecies, (c) resurrected from the dead, or (d) presented any plan for mankind. Further, it does not appear that, other than the statement regarding “Self” being “God,” Sri Ramana Maharshi claimed to have any status as the Supreme Being.
As with Samantabhadra and Sri Ramana Maharshi, a multiplicity of other people have made comparable claims to being deity, and others have been identified as constituting deity. As with Samantabhadra and Sri Ramana Maharshi, however, all have failed to achieve the state of evidence that has been offered in support of the claim of Jesus Christ to the status of the Supreme Being that is truly God.
Satan
Even Satan has endeavored to occupy the status of the supreme being. It is written in Scripture that Satan has said, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the [gods'] assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14.) Perhaps more telling, however, are the statements made by/about him in the sacred satanic books. In the first sentence of Chapter 1 of the Al-Jilwah (one of Satanism's most premiere religious books--the "Book of Revelation"), Satan (referred to in the Al-Jilwah as Melek Ta`us) says that he “was”—hinting at a claim of eternality. However, in the opening paragraph of the Mashaf Res (another premiere Yezidi Satanic religious book), we are informed that “God . . . created Melek Anzazil, and he is Taus-Melek.” Thus, in the most sacred of Satanic texts, Satan is declared to be a created being—hardly a characteristic of the supreme being; more significantly, Satan is declared to have been created by “God”—thus suggesting that the status of “Supreme Being” belongs to God. Of course, the proposition that Satan was created by God reconciles with statements in the Bible about the origin of Satan. Biblical details further elucidate the nature of Satan as one who is not only something other than the Supreme Being, but he is also stridently opposed to the Supreme Being.
Objects
Of course, various objects have also been worshiped as God, such as the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and the Universe, as the entire nature of existence. However, we know that no object, as occupying only the physical aspect of our existence, can occupy the full nature of God to the extent that God must be, given what we understand about the nature of our existence. Thus, there is no rational basis to consider an object as God.
Therefore, of all that is or has claimed to be the Supreme Being, Jesus Christ is set apart by what has been expressed about Him, by His fulfillment of prophecies, His sinlessness, and his miracles.
What Should Our Reaction Be to the Source of Our Existence?
If Jesus Christ is God, then given what we understand God to be, we would be existentially and eternally remiss if we did not give our extreme attention of thought and personality to the information that has been expressed to us by and about Him in the Bible. The essence of the biblical truth conveyed to mankind in this regard is this:
1. Each person comes into existence in a state that is spiritually inferior to and separated from God (“Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me”--Psalm 51:5; “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”--Romans 3:23);
2. God wants to be united with each person and wants each person to seek Him (“The LORD is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity”—Psalm 145:18; “But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”--John 4:23-24; “I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me”--Proverbs 8:17; “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart”--Jeremiah 29:13);
3. God offers each person a choice to accept Him or reject Him (“For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish . . .. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the LORD your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him”--Deuteronomy 30:16-20; and
4. The choice to accept God comes in accepting Jesus Christ as the one who made unity with God through forgiveness of sin and eternal life possible (“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God”--John 3:16-18).
5. If we acknowledge and accept that Jesus Christ is both God and the exclusive means by which we can come to God, we are awarded both forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him. (“But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. [This gospel] has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a minister of it”--Colossians 1:22-23; “You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls”--I Peter 1:8-9; “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God”--I John 4:15).
Conclusion
Our existence is comprised of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning. The sum of our existence has been provided to us by God, the Supreme Being who has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. Jesus Christ comprises the best evidence of divinity of any being in our existence. As God, Jesus wants to know and be known, and our existence is perilous to the extent that we reject Him, and it is supremely animated to the extent that we accept Him.
Mark Absher
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If Jesus Christ is God, then given what we understand God to be, we would be existentially and eternally remiss if we did not give our extreme attention of thought and personality to the information that has been expressed to us by and about Him in the Bible. The essence of the biblical truth conveyed to mankind in this regard is this:
1. Each person comes into existence in a state that is spiritually inferior to and separated from God (“Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me”--Psalm 51:5; “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”--Romans 3:23);
2. God wants to be united with each person and wants each person to seek Him (“The LORD is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity”—Psalm 145:18; “But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”--John 4:23-24; “I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me”--Proverbs 8:17; “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart”--Jeremiah 29:13);
3. God offers each person a choice to accept Him or reject Him (“For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish . . .. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the LORD your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him”--Deuteronomy 30:16-20; and
4. The choice to accept God comes in accepting Jesus Christ as the one who made unity with God through forgiveness of sin and eternal life possible (“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God”--John 3:16-18).
5. If we acknowledge and accept that Jesus Christ is both God and the exclusive means by which we can come to God, we are awarded both forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him. (“But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. [This gospel] has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a minister of it”--Colossians 1:22-23; “You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls”--I Peter 1:8-9; “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God”--I John 4:15).
Conclusion
Our existence is comprised of time, space, matter, energy, intelligence, personality, information and meaning. The sum of our existence has been provided to us by God, the Supreme Being who has super-intelligence, super-personality, super-power, and super-purpose. Jesus Christ comprises the best evidence of divinity of any being in our existence. As God, Jesus wants to know and be known, and our existence is perilous to the extent that we reject Him, and it is supremely animated to the extent that we accept Him.
Mark Absher
google facebook youtube ebay yahoo weather amazon maps netflix walmart news paypal target pinterest zillow prime chase costco pandora hulu kohls airlines
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