An Unconventional Theology - Chapter 1

I have, on and off, been writing a work I have occasionally titled, An Unconventional Theology. I don't know that it will ever be published, but here is the first chapter.

Chapter 1 – The “What” of God

“B'Reshith ... Elohiym...” In the beginning, Elohiym. This is the very first phrase in the Hebrew Bible, which is the basis of the world's three great monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Elohiym can be translated as either "gods" or "God". In the Hebrew Bible, the context in which Elohiym is generally placed is singular rather than plural, and virtually all pronouns used in connection with it are also singular unless the context gives an explicitly plural meaning. Therefore, to continue, I will understand it as most English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures understand it, "God" as opposed to “gods”.

The existence of Elohiym is never defended in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the attempt is never made by the authors of those Scriptures to prove it. Instead, the Divine is the first, and most fundamental assumption of Holy Scripture. It is also the first and most fundamental assumption of virtually all ancient cultures and world-views that the Divine existed before the creation or the world around us that we know. Whether it is in the form of many gods, one God, or the idea that everything is Divine, the common consensus of nearly every human society from ancient times up until the present day is that the Divine existed prior to everything else regardless of what form the Divine took in those individual societies.

“B'Reshith bara' Elohiym...”, that is “In the beginning God created...”

The Hebrew Scriptures, in Genesis 1:1, begin by stating that God created the heavens and the Earth. From the beginning of the Holy Scriptures, the existence of God is identified with His role as creator and source of all else within the cosmos as human beings understood it at the time Genesis was written as well as now. From the beginning, we are given to identify God within the context of His relationship to the creation.

There are several assumptions made in these first three words. First, that God exists. Second, that He existed prior to His creation of the known cosmos. In that He existed and created the known cosmos, He must also be greater than and exercise complete authority over that cosmos. It stands also to reason that He is larger than that cosmos. There is no mention within this first passage of the existence of anything prior to Him, or the existence of anything prior to the creation event except for Him. This also, of necessity, includes the concept of “ absolute nothing” or “empty space” alongside of or surrounding God. Therefore, prior to the creation event, the only existence was that of the existence the Hebrew Bible describes initially as Elohiym.

Furthermore, we must also consider the scope of the cosmos as we understand it today. The cosmos as the writer of Genesis 1:1 would have understood it consisted of the sky and everything in it being the dwelling place of the divine, the earth as the dwelling of mortals, and the underworld as the dwelling of the dead. In the twenty-first century, our view of the cosmos has expanded considerably. It is now a prevailing view, that the cosmos is composed of not just our tiny planet and what can be seen from a man's eye view, but potentially billions of planets around billions of stars inhabiting billions of galaxies within the confines of a ninety two billion light year diameter universe which is continuing to expand. Further, it is a growing consensus that our universe is only one among a potentially infinite number of universes in what is commonly being called a “multiverse”. To add to this, we must also not merely consider the spacial “size” of our cosmos, but also that it exists in not just three spacial dimensions and one temporal dimension as we experience, but that in all likelihood, it exists in eleven dimensions, most of which we have no experience of. In order for Elohiym to be the creator of this cosmos as we understand it now, He must, of necessity not only exist omnipresently within all of this, but outside of it as well. And if the multiverse is indeed infinite, then of necessity so must too its creator be. In short, the creation must be inferior to the one who created it.

We have now established that, by virtue of His pre-existence before the cosmic creation, Elohiym must be eternal, that is, there has never been a time when He did not exist. We have also established that He must be omnipresent and infinite. It should be noted as well that if one is truly omnipresent, than that one is also omniscient. And the existence which created the multiverse must, in relation to that multiverse, also of necessity be completely omnipotent.

Here, our modern, scientific understanding of the cosmos recognizes only one thing as possessing these attributes, energy. We understand from the first law of thermodynamics that energy itself, while existing in many forms (potential, kinetic, nuclear, etc.) cannot be either created or destroyed. Therefore, it is eternal. Through modern String or M-Theory, we also understand it to be the fundamental basis of matter, and that matter and energy are interchangeable through the equation E=MC². Therefore, wherever matter exists, so must also energy. From that energy was required for the inflation of our universe, it can also be inferred that energy is required for the inflation or creation of other universes within the multiverse. From this it can be justifiably inferred that there must be more energy in existence than there are universes. If there are a potentially infinite number of universes in the multiverse, than there also must potentially be an infinite amount of energy permeating within and without the multiverse.

To say that energy itself is inanimate is paradoxical and problematic at best. The presence of energy causes animation. That which is without energy is dead. How is it possible that an inanimate "object" is the universally recognized cause and source of all life and animation? We ourselves are also made of energy, and our intelligence is comprised largely of pulses of energy moving through organic circuitry that at its very foundational level is itself also energy. All matter is formed from energy becoming particles out of seemingly nothing at all, and it can be reasonably said that matter is simply a multidimensional disturbance of energy.

There is nowhere energy does not exist because all matter is also energy in a different form, and energy transfers from point to point in waves in various forms. Because all matter is energy in a different form, if energy itself were intelligent, it would be in full contact with everything and everyone at the foundational level of existence, thereby making it omniscient. And an omnipresent intelligent energy would by its very nature be omnipotent. Also, energy itself must, by nature, be omnidimensional and extend outside of our own spacetime. If God is the foundation of all existence, and if He is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and completely transcendent and yet imminent with His creation at the same time, then doesn't energy itself meet all of these criteria?

Is it unreasonable to conceive that energy itself is intelligent? For the human creature, intelligence is born from electrical impulses running through a complex circuit of neurons which function as logic gates thus enabling the human brain to make decisions. Again, energy in the form of electrical impulses is the basis of this intelligence. In terms of the infinite, pan-dimensional, and omnipresent, who's to say energy itself is incapable of this? And if it is intelligent, who's to say that it does not possess a will of its own and meets any definition of sentience? And if energy is the very foundational requirement of life, is it unreasonable to conceive that energy itself is living?

When we think of energy, it is so much a part of our existence that we treat it as common, mundane, and take it for granted because we are able to do so. Energy does not react negatively at being taken for granted. It does not appear to react at all in any way so as to indicate pleasure or displeasure. For this reason, we assume it to somehow be “inanimate” and “non-living” (despite the inherent contradiction this brings).

Let's assume for the moment that energy is somehow the manifest presence of the Divine. As energy makes up all that physically exists, it is in intimate contact with all human beings. It would be aware of every thought and feeling every individual human being has at any given moment, and would experience it at the same time the human being does. Isn't this the very definition of the word “compassion,” to suffer together with another person? Furthermore, the Divine would know that if He reacted negatively to every time someone took Him for granted or mistreated Him He could and most probably would cause great harm to that someone, and feel it Himself in the process. Wouldn't He be more concerned with maintaining the existence of those human individuals and desiring them to see things among each other as He does with them?

The biggest theological concern in this is to be certain that the Creator is not confused with the creation. That energy cannot be either created or destroyed is where this line of reasoning began. Either it has always existed co-eternal side by side with God, or else it is connected to God in some way as a part of His own existence. And if something has existed apart from God and yet shares His same attributes, doesn't that mean there is another divine existence apart from God Himself? To the teaching of Holy Scripture this is an unacceptable conclusion. Therefore, energy itself must somehow be connected in some way to the existence of God Himself.

Consider the metaphors used to describe the Divine in Sacred Scripture, "God is light", "God is a consuming fire" and so on. Consider Moses who, in Exodus 34:29-35, spent so much time in the manifest presence of God that his face glowed so bright he had to wear a veil. Most of the encounters with the manifested presence of God involved some kind of description of a manifestation of energy in some way. Consider also the personal name which Elohiym gave to Himself in Exodus 3, “I Am” (Heb. 'ehyeh), and the Hebrew form most are familiar with, “Yahweh”, which literally means something akin to “Existence Himself”. Again, Elohiym intimately identifies Himself not as an existence, but as existence, that is, the primal existence which everything else is founded on.

In the creation event, not even “absolute nothing” existed prior to the existence of Elohiym. Therefore, in order to create, Elohiym must have used His own existence as the basis or the foundation of the existence of all else that exists. One cannot create from nothing if nothing does not exist. As has been said, energy is the foundation of all created existence.

It is an interesting fact that the idea of creation from absolute nothing or total void is neither stated nor found in Scripture. Scripture states very clearly that God created all things, all things were created through Him, for Him, and within Him, and are held together by Him. It also states that the visible creation was made from things which are not visible. God was and remains the ground or foundation of existence, not “nothing”.

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)

yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him. (1 Corinthians 8:6)

For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. (Colossians 1:16-17)

one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. (Ephesians 4:6)

All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. (John 1:3)

By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

St. Gregory Palamas writes:

Because both the divine essence and the divine energy are everywhere inseparably present. God's energy is accessible also to us creatures; for, according to the theologians it is indivisibly divided, whereas the divine nature, they say, remains totally undivided. ... Every created nature is far removed from and completely foreign to the divine nature. For if God is nature, other things are not nature; but if every other thing is nature, He is not a nature, just as He is not a being if all other things are beings. And if He is a being, then all other things are not beings. And if you accept this as true also for wisdom, goodness, and in general all. things that pertain to God or are ascribed to Him, then your theology will be correct and in accordance with the saints. God both is and is said to be the nature of all beings, in so far as all partake of Him and subsist by means of this participation: not, however, by participation in His nature - far from it - but by participation in His energy. In this sense He is the Being of all beings, the Form that is in all forms as the Author of form, the Wisdom of the wise and, simply, the All of all things. Moreover, He is not nature, because He transcends every nature; He is not a being, because He transcends every being; and He is not nor does He possess a form, because He transcends form. How, then, can we draw near to God? By drawing near to His nature? But not a single created being has or can have any communication with or proximity to the sublime nature. Thus if anyone has drawn close to God, he has evidently approached Him by means of His energy.¹

There are generally, in Christian theology in particular, eight characteristics applied to the “what” of God, and those are Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Transcendence, Uncreated, Infinity, Eternity, and Personality. Most of these characteristic flow logically from the fact that God existed prior to all creation and all existence has its foundation in Him.

Omnipresence means that He is locationally at every point in space simultaneously and in physical contact with everything else. This is the logical result of His being the foundation of all created existence. He cannot help but exist in all locations simultaneously because all locations could not exist without His existence.

Omniscience means that there is quite literally nothing He does not know or is not aware of. This is a natural consequence of being the underlying energy which is shaped into the particles of matter and transmitters of force which make up the entire created cosmos. Nothing occurs and He is not aware of it.

Omnipotence means that there is nothing He is unable to do or effect should He choose something to happen. Considering that nothing exists apart from Him, the manipulation of matter, energy, space, time, even the laws of physics are intrinsically within His power and subject to His whim.

Transcendence means that He is totally “other” than the creation. He is the medium, the creation is the ripple moving through the medium.

Uncreated means that He is the first and primary cause, the foundation of all existence. He had no previous cause and is therefore not an effect.

Infinity means that He has no limitations. Our universe has walls and limitations or boundaries, we know from modern scientific inquiry that it is ninety two billion light years in diameter. Those boundaries are in a continual rate of expansion, but they are boundaries nonetheless. And as we have previously discussed, if there are an infinite number of universe continuously coming into existence within a multiverse, than the originator of those universes must be Himself infinite.

Eternity means that He has no beginning and no end. He exists both within and without the dimension of time. Just as he exists at all points of space simultaneously, and outside of it, stretching into infinity, so He also exists at all points in time simultaneously, and outside of time, stretching into infinity.

Personality means that God is not a thing or an “it”. He is sentient, intelligent, demonstrates emotional responses to different circumstances, and has likes and dislikes. All of these are markers or demonstratives of personality. According to the Christian New Testament, "He that does not understand love, does not understand God, because God is love" (1 John 4:8).²

This understanding of the Divine as energy “Himself” automatically gives us the divine attributes of Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence. He is literally everywhere and is in full “physical” contact with everything and everyone, thus He is fully aware of everything that has happened and as it is happening, and furthermore because of His relationship to the creation, nothing is outside the scope of His ability in terms of physically modifying that creation in any way He sees fit.

This explanation also fulfills the requirement that God be transcendent. That is, God is unlike any created thing. He is completely “other”. It also explains why no one has seen God (in terms of God the Father) at any time. It is physically impossible for a created being to observe God the Father in His “natural” state as that natural state encompasses the observer's own existence.

The consequence of this is that He knows everything every human being knows, and feels everything every spiritual being, human being, animal, and plant (that is, every living thing) feels at all times. This direct, constant contact with those thoughts and feelings would immediately result in absolute compassion and understanding for those beings. What affects us affects Him.

The Scriptures are also clear that God is Eternal, without beginning and without end. Remember the first law of thermodynamics. Energy can not be created or destroyed. God is all that existed prior to the existence of space and time.

Modern theoretical physics teaches us that space and time are not separate entities but merely four related dimensions among eleven. We know that all of creation moves along at least these four dimensions, but prior to creation, those dimensions could not have existed because God was all that existed. Therefore, God is not bound by this dimensionality, and does not move through it, rather these dimensions and everything existing along them move through Him. Therefore, even if space and time should cease their movement and cease to exist, this can in no wise affect the existence of God.

This also leads to the requirement that God be immutable. That is, He does not change. Change requires movement of position from one point to another, whether it is a point in time or a point in space. As was previously stated, time and space move through Him. Therefore, He remains static and motionless while the creation moves through Him.³

God is not like His creation. He is not a ripple, He is the Medium. God is not a composite Being made up of smaller and smaller components. He cannot be dissected or broken down. He does not change, and is not subject to time or space, as both time and space are ripples subject to Him. He existed prior to all other existences. Before time and space expanded from the initial creation event, He existed without anything else, and as such He exists exterior to time and space as space-time expands locationally within Him, and at the same time He fills space and time with His presence. He is totally distinct from and "other" than the natural or supernatural world which comprises His creation.⁴

1From St. Gregory Palamas, The Philokalia: The Complete Text. Vol. IV. Palmer, G.E.H., Philip Sherrard, and Kalistos Ware, trans. London: Faber & Faber, 1998. Pgs. 380-382

2The word used here for "love" is the Greek word "agape". The sense of this word is "to care about someone else and place their interests above yours irregardless of how you feel about them." It is love apart from emotion or passion. According to the New Testament, "Agape" is the defining characteristic of the personality of God. Also, God has always referred to Himself through His prophets using the masculine pronouns. He gives no explanation for it, and makes very clear that He is not human.

3Maximum entropy is when the water grows completely still and there are no more ripples in the pond. This isn't to say that the water is no more, it has simply achieved equilibrium and is able to be at rest. The same is true of all the energy in the universe. What we call the heat death of the universe would be all the energy achieving equilibrium so that it is evenly spread out. In other words, energy in its natural, undisturbed state is static. It wants to stop moving and be at rest.

4This includes time as well as space (being that time is also a dimension and is generally understood to be the fourth dimension) and as such means that while space-time may change position as it moves within Him in the expansion from the creation's "zero-point", He Himself does not change spatial-temporal location but rather exists as static and unchanging at all points of what we understand to be the space-time continuum. This is also consistent with scripture where He states emphatically, “I am Yahweh, I do not change...”

His perceived motion through time and space is in reality space-time's motion through Him. He is the medium, not the wave that moves through the medium. This is similar to the perception of the Sun orbiting the earth. In reality it is the Earth which orbits the Sun. The Sun remains static, while the Earth is in motion; however, from the perspective of the observer on Earth, it is the Sun which is in motion, and the Earth which is static. So also is God, in reality, Static as space-time moves through Him, but the perception from our point as observers is that space-time is Static as God moves through it.