Tag Archives: truth

Matter and Energy

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MATTER AND ENERGY

All we know and see consists of matter and energy…and nothing else. The universe, earth, animals, birds, and everything we know are matter and energy. Oh yes, human beings also are matter and energy. There is no soul, no spirit world. We humans are born, exist for a period of time, die, and are mostly forgotten. Since humans are only matter, then there is nothing for a human after death; death is indeed the end.

As opposed to the animals, we humans have evolved to an advanced stage where we can control some of the circumstances in which we live, but other conditions, like the weather or volcanoes, are still beyond our control. Thus, compared to animals, humans appear to be in an advanced stage of evolving matter. Some philosophers, such as Nietzsche, contend that humans will eventually evolve into a superman type of human. It has been further suggested that humans could help in the development of the human superman by careful and selected breeding of humans. (Hasn’t this been tried and all man achieved was a race of monster killers.)

Considering that humans are only made up of matter and energy, then there exists no objective reality / truth. Everything is relative. Reality is whatever each individual human wants it to be. Humans would have no hope for any future beyond this world and consequently should live this life with abandon, caring not for any need of any other human. …unless caring for someone else provides some benefit to the one providing the caring. Since there is no objective truth, man, as an individual and collectively, can create his own truth. Thus it would become obvious that the individual or group of individuals which possessed the most power would have no restrictions on their activities. Their truth / reality would dominate. The powerful could do whatever they would want with those who did not have power. Witness the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century!

Is this reality? Or does reality for humans include a soul, free will, real ability to make choices, ability to seek objective truth, the ability to know the real meaning of mankind’s existence, and most importantly, an afterlife? In this reality, there is meaning to this life, other than to seek after only power and one’s own satisfaction. In other words, there is a real chance for happiness both in this world and the next. Power is no longer the end game. Caring, loving, even suffering have meaning.

Which world would you want to live in? The one where only matter and energy exist and power becomes the end. Or the one in which the soul, love, caring, and spiritual values supersede the need for power.

Which world contains reality?

Rules and Regulations

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Rules and Regulations

During the period between January 2009 and December 2011, the bound edition of the US Code of Federal Regulations increased by 11,327 pages – a 7.4 percent increase. In 2009, the increase in the number of pages was the most for any year since 2002 – 3.4 percent or 5,359 pages. Over the past decade, the federal government has issued almost 38,000 new final rules. That brought the total of the Federal Regulations at the end of 2011 to 169,301 pages. That is more than double the number of pages needed to publish the regulations back in 1975 when the bound edition consisted of 71,244 pages.  All of these regulations are contained in over 215 volumes, which occupy shelf space in excess of 19 feet. It should be noted that these rules and regulations apply only to those issued by the Federal Government; not counted are the innumerable state, county and city regulations imposed upon the citizens.

Most certainly and understandably, there exists in the country a painful, pleading hue and cry, complaining of the excessive number and complexity of the governmental rules and regulations, which restrict individual freedom and confuse the citizens. Of course, during each election cycle politicians respond to the public’s demand for a lessening of the regulations by promising to reform the entire process. However, once the election is completed, they proceed to draft more rules and regulations and the cycle continues, with no reform.

There is another organization that faces complaints about its rules and regulations. One of the most common complaints about the Catholic Church is that it is the “church of rules and regulations.” Or “Catholicism is only about rules and regulations, always trying to limit my freedom.” Truly the Catholic Church has a list of its rules and regulations, but this list is decidedly different from governmental rules, both in its size and complexity. It can be contained on only one sheet of paper, occupying no shelf space. Its simplicity is so inherent in its decrees that one instinctively knows the rules without even being able to read them. The rules and regulations of Catholicism are all contained in the Ten Commandments; simple, to the point, easy to understand, and bound closely to the very nature of man. These are listed below.

  1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
  2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
  3. Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day.
  4. Honor your father and your mother.
  5. You shall not kill.
  6. You shall not commit adultery.
  7. You shall not steal.
  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

As simple and direct as these commandments are, Jesus Christ further simplified these easy to understand Ten Commandments into two, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” The Catholic Church mirrors Jesus’ love for mankind in the simplicity and directness of its statues. Man’s true freedom and happiness are enhanced when he observes the Church’s few basic rules. Concerning the Ten Commandments, the brilliant British author, G.K. Chesterton, commented, “Throughout history men have certainly failed to live up to them. But in modern times, men have more disastrously failed in trying to live without them. But it is only in establishing and obeying certain rules that freedom is possible.” (As quoted in “Common Sense 101” by Dale Ahlquist)

“And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He who says “I know him” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2, 3-6