SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION:

Creation refers to the beginning of things. The ideas and thoughts about creation serve as a basis for the orientation of man in the world and help to specify man’s place in the physical universe. The Doctrine of Creation is the basis to explain man’s status in nature. The act of creation involves to bring into being a new product and the production of the new thing requires application of imagination and the use of Power/Force/Energy. Creation has two aspects; 1. Freedom of Mind to imagine possibilities. It is associated with a power called ‘Inspiration’ that provides the stimulus to both creative thought and action, and 2. Freedom of Action that converts a mental ‘possibility’ into a physical ‘actuality’. The word ‘creative’ is often used to describe the quality or power of creating as seen in the actions of an author, actor, fashion designer, artist, or musician. A created object tends to be original, unique, distinctive, and exists as one of its own kind of object.

THE ORIGIN OF MAN – THE STATUS OF MAN:

There are three primary orders to describe the things that exist in the physical universe, and these are 1. God, 2. Soul, and 3. Matter. There is general disagreement about the existence of God and Soul and such disagreements need not impair our understanding of ‘Matter’. Man must understand what it is to be a substance and what it is to exist. Socrates had famously stated: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Man has to know the truth about himself.

Science not only provides the knowledge that something is true, but also the reason why it is true. Aristotle in his treatise ‘ON THE SOUL’ stated, “To attain any assured knowledge about the soul is one of the most difficult things in the world.” At the same time, he suggested that the inquiry into the soul must extend beyond man to all living things. In his view, “The study of soul falls within the Science of Nature.” If God and Soul are difficult things to investigate, it is proper to investigate about man by seeking better understanding of ‘Matter’.

WHAT IS MATTER?

Matter is the whole substance of bodies. Matter is associated with the idea of quantity, the basic magnitudes such as mass, space, and time. That which is or has matter in it necessarily occupies space. If matter is divided into two kinds, sensible and insensible, it must be mentioned that the entire substance of sensible bodies consist of matter. It is matter which gives actuality to sensible bodies. Sensible bodies derive their being and all their attributes from the forms which matter assumes when its potentialities  are actualized. Hence, matter is an indispensable factor in the constitution of all physical, living things. Man is constituted by physical matter but his Identity and Individuality must be carefully understood. While Identity describes one-side of the coin, Individuality describes the second-side of the same coin. The outward appearance of an organism is called ‘Phenotype’. In case of man, the same individual shows different phenotypes in childhood, in adulthood, and in old age. The ‘Genotype’, on the other hand does not change during an individual’s life. While the phenotype is undergoing constant changes under the influence of time, and environment, man retains the experience of his identity in a relatively constant manner and hence always exists as an Individual with Individuality. The Doctrine of Creation, or The Law of Creation gives no choice, and there is no alternative and man is always born as a specific Individual who exists with Individuality.

THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION – THE DESCENT OF MAN:

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is very interesting and it shares valid information based upon accurate observations. However, the concern is about the reasoning that was applied to explain as to why a thing is said to be true. What is the truth and reality of Evolution? What is the reasoning to explain Evolution as a fact or truth?  Firstly, as Aristotle had correctly observed, it must be noted that “Form has no separate existence but is immanent in matter.” It should not escape our attention, and we must acknowledge that one undivided, imperishable substance is seen within all diverse living entities. For all practical purposes, there is no ‘Evolution’ as all of the diverse, living entities consist of the same kind of living matter, material, or substance. Material substances undergo changes when they interact with other material substances but, I would not describe the ‘change’ as the permanent reality. In my view, the permanent reality is described by the unchanging nature of chemical elements or molecules in spite of their tendency to interact with other chemical elements or molecules. For example, the water molecule is in existence for over several billions of years without any fundamental change in its basic constitution and behavior. Similarly, all the chemical elements that combine to form the living matter, substance or material have retained their original nature and there is no ‘Evolution’ in their chemical interactions. The Theory of Evolution describes just one-side of the story and claims that ‘forms’ evolve and change under the influence of time and environment. At a fundamental level, the Theory of Evolution fails to explain the biological basis for the existence of any given living form. At no time in the entire Natural History, a living form has displayed any ability to exist without deriving support from its living matter. In other words, DNA that constitutes the Phenotype and the Genotype of any given living thing has no independent existence of its own. To explain the basis for existence, the Theory of Evolution may have to answer the following questions:

1. What is it existing?

2. Who is it existing?

3. Where is it existing?

4. When is it existing? and,

5. Why is it existing? 

If man answers the above questions, man would easily understand that he is existing on planet Earth since about the last 10,000 years and in Geological Science this Time Period is called ‘HOLOCENE EPOCH’. In conclusion, it may be acknowledged that the Universe is vast and man’s role in it is insignificant. Man’s great need is not only to know the world around him but also to know himself better and for this man has to understand the truth and reliability of his own cognitive powers.  The Doctrine of Creation could be stated as, “The reality called existence is established by the Unchanging Spiritual Nature of Matter in a constantly Changing World.”

Related Articles:

SPIRITUALISM-THE UNCHANGING SPIRITUAL NATURE IN CHANGING WORLD.

ARE WE LIVING IN A DESIGNER UNIVERSE – ARTICLE BY ASTRONOMER JOHN GRIBBIN.