“Anyway, religion is a methodology used by man to:
a. exploit man
b. justify man’s existence
c. reconcile man’s imperfection
d. restrict man and make him subservient
e. give man an incentive to grow
f. answers questions that children most often ask.
“Those are the major reasons for the birth of religions, though not necessarily in that order.
“On the other hand, where religion is a methodology, God is an image. Where religion is restrictive, God is unrestricted. But here is the ruse: though God is an image, ‘He’ is imageless, because God is not a person, God is not like a person; in fact, God is not a tangible being, not a being at all except in the minds of men.
“God is all that is good, is perfection, is existence, is reality, is truth. The antithesis is evil, the negative. But negatives don’t exist; only positives exist. Negatives are simply imperfections of existence: evil is simply a distortion of the positive core of existence. Negatives and un-manifested evil are simply illusion and do not exist except in the mind of man.
“Needless to say, arguments will continue to plague those that insist on avoiding the truth of these statements; nevertheless, truth is undeniable. Whether one accepts it or not, is not a problem, because truth is not dependent on whether a person or group of people believe it, agree with it, or accept it -- truth is what is.”
“How can you be so certain that what you are saying is truth?” said Bettye Jean.
“Yeh,” said Uncle Hazel, “not only that, but the experts don’t agree with you: who are you to know more than the experts?”
“I don’t know who the so-called experts are of whom you speak, but think about it. Through the ages, philosophers and non-philosophers alike have tried to justify the existence of mankind, and give meaning and purpose to our being. The fact is man is simply time-restricted energy, energized into form and substance. The form and substance at which we arrive depend on the conditions of our dimension in time and space.”
“That makes no sense at all,” said Uncle Hazel, “there must be a grand plan to all of this: there has to be some being somewhere who arranged all this. Look at the things around us, notice the organization; look at the heavens, how everything is in balance. Look at the flowers and trees and the animals; how ordered their lives are. Look at the seasons, how they come and go in an organized manner. There must be a Prime Mover!”
Frank said, “There isn’t. And even if such a being were possible, who made or moved the Prime Mover? Incidentally, the term ‘Prime Mover’ is a contradiction in itself, and contradictions don’t exist. If a contradiction appears to be evident, one should check one’s premises; an error will surely be found.”
Aunt Charlotte said, “Hazel has an excellent point. How do you respond to his comment about the order all around us?”
“The organized patterns that we see all about us are simply the necessary elements of existence.” Frank was speaking with the assurance of a teacher. He continued, “Disorganization is self destructive, it is counter-productive; therefore, anything that does not adhere to the laws of existence are short-lived because they destroy themselves. Likewise, anything that adheres to the law of existence is sure to enjoy a life of extended existence, unless acted upon by an outside (disorganized) force beyond its control.
“So where does that leave us? It leaves us with the fact that man is simply a concentrated source of energy that combines both energy levels in the same continuum of time and space. It leaves us with the fact that man is a finite being that can think, has emotions, and needs order and identity to satisfy his existence.
“On the other hand, religion is, among other things, a methodology designed to satisfy man’s need, and bridge the gap between truth and that which we need to justify our existence.
“Now, you asked the question, ‘Do you (I) believe in God?’ The answer is, if God is all that is good, and I truly believe that is the essence of God, then YES, by all means, I believe in God. I think each of you properly identified the good as that which promotes growth, it is existence, the positive; the opposite of void -- nothing -- absence -- distortion.
“On the other hand, if you mean do I believe in a God that we can pray to, a God that answers prayers, a God that is vengeful, kind, mean, or has feelings, then the answer is a thunderous NO!
“However, and here is the paradox, if there is one -- God is in each of us; in fact, He is us. Our subconscious mind blends with the mind of God and makes us powerful and good: it can also make us dependent and evil.
“It’s so strange:” Frank was talking as if he were looking inside himself. He continued, “The subconscious mind in each of us is linked with that of all of us, that’s why groups of people are so powerful -- that includes religious groups, political groups, gaming groups -- but our conscious mind is the boss. It tells the subconscious mind what it wants and the subconscious mind tries to make it happen. If our conscious mind tells our subconscious mind exactly what we want in clear and unambiguous terms, the all-powerful subconscious mind will provide it for us, based on its understanding of what we want.
“When people say they talk to God (some say in prayer, others say they just do it), if it is true, they really do. That sounds strange doesn’t it? But it’s true. And God always answers, the problem is people don’t always hear in such a way they can translate the message God sends.”
Frank looked at all of them one at a time and then said to Gwen, “Did I answer your question?”
From the time Hank returned from the airport, until the time Frank asked Gwen that question, he did not actively participate in the conversation. He listened as attentively as he was able to, but his mind kept straying back to memories of Bonnie, and things that linked the two of them together.
On the other hand, he was intrigued with Frank’s responses. With that in mind, he thought he would play the devil’s advocate, plus he was somewhat confused about his extended answer to what he thought would be a simple yes or no answer.
Hank tuned in and said, “At first I said yes, I thought you did a pretty good job, but then you threw in that bit about a God that answers prayers, etc. and now, I don’t know if you answered the question or not. It seems pretty simple to me. Do you believe in God or don’t you?”
“I thought my answer was quite definitive,” Frank said, “that’s why I mentioned about religion being a methodology. I believe to answer the question to anyone’s satisfaction I must first obtain a definition of God from the asker of the question. That’s why I conditioned my previous answer with, ‘…if you mean a God who…’
“If you will recall,” Frank continued, “even when Gwen asked the question, she had a somewhat difficult time phrasing it. In addition, you may also recall that as soon as I began my answer to Gwen’s question, I mentioned a problem with improper semantics. Remember that?”
“Now that you mention it,” Hank acknowledged, “I do recall. It’s just that your answer was so extended that I totally lost track of it. Go on…”
“Improper semantics may not be the correct phrase,” admitted Frank, and he continued, “the reason is that there is a word for the expression of man’s faith in, and reverence for, a superhuman power recognized as the creator and governor of the universe, i.e. God. The word is ‘religion.’
“However, herein lies the tough part:” Frank appeared to be grappling with his response, at the same time he appeared to be in complete control of his thoughts, “there are untold numbers of religions throughout the world; yet, their supporters fall under one of only three categories. The first group contains those who believe there is no deity, that God is not a being, superhuman or otherwise; that He is simply an image in man’s mind -- they are called atheists. The second group contains those who profess that one cannot know if such a deity exists or not; that knowing is beyond the scope of mankind -- they are called agnostic. The final group contains those who believe in the existe
nce of a God or gods as creator and ruler of the world -- they are called theist.”
“Forgive me,” Hank interrupted, “I don’t want to interrupt, but are you saying you are an atheist?”
“The answer is yes and no,” Frank seemed to be waffling, and he admitted it was because of the complexity of the subject when he said, “It depends on how God is defined. You see how complicated this could get?
Frank added, “Don’t you agree that this might tend to get complicated for anybody to express the complete answer to the question Gwen asked. A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ just would not be adequate. Are you with me?”
“Go on.” Hank was intrigued, plus he was learning, as was each of the others, except maybe Uncle Hazel, he was dozing.
“Well, as a prelude to further discussion,” Frank continued, “if you all don’t mind, let’s talk briefly about theism.”
“What is theism, may I ask?” Hank asked.
“Funny you should ask,” said Frank. “It so happens, I was about to answer that one. Theism is a term that describes a philosophical system that interprets man’s worship in terms of belief in a personal God as Creator and ruler of the world, and so is synonymous with ‘monotheism.’
“Theism is the most appropriate metaphysics for orthodox Christianity and for the Jewish and Muslim religions.” Frank was on a roll, “Those who believe in theism are called theists.”
“On second thought,” Hank said somewhat reluctantly, because he really was interested and fascinated. On the other hand, he could not, and really did not want to concentrate on the subject at that time. He was more interested in thinking about Bonnie. The others appeared to be shell-shocked, except for Uncle Hazel: he soundly slept. As for Hank, his mind was wilted with the depth and breadth of his talk, so he added, “I think you have taken us a little further than we wanted to go tonight -- (‘Talk about a Pandora’s box, whew!’… He whispered to Gwen).”
Hank finally excused himself by saying, “My mind is so filled with the pronouncements that you presented here tonight that there is no way I could handle another minute of it. Besides, I’ve got to pick up Bonnie’s luggage from Konrad’s house and send them to her from Cincinnati tomorrow. Plus, I’ve got to get some sleep tonight so I won’t find myself dozing behind the wheel on the road back to Cincinnati.”
They all agreed it was time to call it a night, and with that said everybody turned to both Frank and DiJana and said their farewells. Hank asked Frank if he had arranged a ride to the airport tomorrow morning, and he looked at DiJana as he spoke, “Earlier tonight I would have said yes, but I’m not so sure now. How about it ‘D’, let’s take both cars to the airport early and have breakfast at the airport inn.”
DiJana still appeared to be in semi-shock from the verbal exchange she and the others had mounted and endured; nevertheless she said simply, “That’ll be fine.”
Hank closed out the evening by asking Frank to keep in touch. Frank and Hank smiled and said simultaneously as they hugged, “You know us!”
Chapter Nine
The Anchor
Hank had decided to collect Bonnie’s luggage from Konrad’s house and take them directly to the Detroit airport instead of lugging them all the way to Cincinnati. Having accomplished that, by daybreak, he was well on his way home. The traffic had not yet become oppressive because the rush hour had not yet begun, so he began to relax and settle into a BILY of a mood (he said BILY stands for Bonnie I Love You).
He figured he had five to six hours to determine a plan of attack on the lives of Bonnie and himself. With that in mind, he began thinking about that most powerful of four letter words, LOVE. He was excited; on the other hand, he was also somewhat apprehensive. Excited because of the resurgence of his relationship with Bonnie: apprehensive because nearly forty years of change had molded two different people. He knew that fact could not be overlooked or lightly considered.
The memories of their past relationship were incredible, and this past weekend was incredible, but the promise of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: is that realistic? That is the prospect screaming to be examined.
He was thinking that a ton of people might disagree with his assessment of love and how the perception of it often interferes with positive relationships: there was no doubt that Bonnie and he loved each other. On the other hand, love alone might not be sufficient to sustain fundamental differences in their evolution during nearly forty years of change. He knew that the key posture in any relationship is to be one’s self; otherwise, it will be strained and short-lived. His idea was to brainstorm the situation, and as ideas surfaced identify his strengths and weaknesses. With that in mind, when potential difficult situations raise their unseemly heads, he could better examine what he would need to do to make the situation less detrimental to their relationship. The plan was to briefly condense and clarify his thoughts.
It seemed to him that love is the founding father of enormous good in mankind; however, he reasoned that every emotion, including love, is generated from a foundation of self-esteem. With that in mind, it seemed obvious to him that self-esteem is the foundation of the inner mechanism that makes each of us unique. The problem is, how we view ourselves is continually evolving; on the other hand, that evolution takes place more from infancy to about age seven than the rest of one’s life combined. He acknowledged that and at the same time knew that Bonnie and he didn’t fit into that category; nevertheless, even at their age, they too were still evolving.
During the critical formative years in a child’s life, the degree and positive or negative sign of a person’s self-esteem depends to a great extent on other people: our parents, our relatives, our school chums, our school teachers, even our baby sitters. The problem with that is, people are continually changing, and both the changer and the changee’s self-esteem may be adversely affected by transition. To a much lesser extent, this is true of all of us, even at the age of Bonnie and himself; nevertheless, regardless of how one views it, in our earthly existence, forty years is a lengthy span of time.
What does that mean? It means that people are going to let us down. Not because they intend to do so necessarily, and not necessarily because they have changed, but in some instances, because situations and conditions have changed. The only thing that never changes is change itself: change just keeps on changing. That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? But it is true; which means sometimes we are going to be disappointed to the extreme. -- he was determined to prevent that from happening with Bonnie.
In the case of Bonnie and him, at their age, they are not nearly as susceptible to being adversely effected by change as those of a more youthful vintage. On the other hand, he and Bonnie are not clearly home free; self-esteem is still a factor, and disappointment is an ever-present dragon to be defeated..
On several occasions, Hank stopped and asked himself why he was thinking along those lines: self-esteem, disappointment, uniqueness, and those kinds of thoughts. It didn’t take long to realize that he was somewhat fearful that the return of Bonnie would end up a disappointment. On the other hand, he acknowledged that disappointment happens to all of us, the key is not what happens, it’s what we do about what happens. In the case of Bonnie and him, he was determined to think positive in every instance before he allowed his words or actions to intervene.
Usually disappointment surfaces because things that we think we know, accept, and/or understand, to our consternation, have changed. The easiest way to handle change is to seek, and hold on to, something that does not change. The problem with that is, we just finished saying the only thing that does not change is change itself. Apparently there is one exception. Everything in this world changes; that is, everything material: everything that can be comprehended by our senses.
However, things that cannot be comprehended by the senses do not change; perception of them may change, nevertheless, they are unchangeable. The name for the unchangeable world is called spiritual or supernatural.
That mea
ns, one can grab hold of spiritual or supernatural powers and hold on for dear life. However, and here is the key to internal happiness and serenity: what is needed to really be in control of one’s spiritual life is that magical word called faith. But faith is not easy to come by: many convincing believers have dropped by the wayside under the assault of disappointment and change. In other words, faith in something or someone that does not change, is the adhesive that binds one’s love and self-esteem to a foundation that will not waver or disappoint.
One may well ask the question, as Hank did during his four-hour ride, “What makes faith so magical, and what does that have to do with Hank and Bonnie’s relationship?”
He said, that’s a good question, but the answer comes in two parts. So he took part one first, and after much soul-searching, he finally determined that faith is magical because it goes beyond “believing” into the world of “knowing,” without tangible proof. Ooooooh! Now, that’s a tough one. As soon as he said it, he knew it was the correct answer, but he found it extremely difficult to explain how a person can know something without tangible proof?
The answer that finally satisfied him was that if a person knows he knows, but he cannot provide tangible proof to himself, the belief is in his or her actions. An example of this would be for a person to look at his watch and determine the time. In the vast majority of cases the person looking at the watch would have no idea of how the watch works; however, his subsequent actions would be based on the fact that he knew the correct time, and he would act accordingly.
As soon as that answer clicked in his mind, he had no worries. He knew that Bonnie loved him, and he loved Bonnie with an unmistakable passion. At that point he knew he had uncovered a little bit of a problem relating to himself. It was discipline, and he had a little bit of a problem with virtue; minor to be sure, but the inadequacy was there lurking in the background. More importantly though: he had uncovered a chink in the foundation of his self-esteem.
End of the Rainbow : There Lies the Portrait of My Love Page 9