The Golden Sundew and the Amethyst Anemone

The marvellousness of everything in the world has always seemed to point to a divine creator Being, but I cannot go along with that non sequitur. Yes, the complex nature and wonder of the world is an amazing thing but it is a sign of the “God within” in everything we see and know as existence. That is to say the world, the universe itself, possesses a “Godly quality” but there is no Being outside of this world. That is simply an idea propagated by a desperate Church, a myth. The beauty of the flower,the beauty of tropical fish swimming around the coral reef and the intricacies of the spider’s web, in fact all things of aesthetic sensitivity, are simply things which have evolved from the chemical components present in the universe. Ourselves, homo sapiens, are simply an evolved species, originally originating from creatures that emerged from the sea billions of years ago. Charles Darwin caused a stir with his “Origin of Species” only because of the bible myths which had been promoted for centuries by the established Church. The bible’s myths and fables, particularly in the Old Testament with a God-in-the-sky type figure are meant only as didactic fables surely. No rational person today can believe these fairy stories. The creation myth is just that, and a prime example of what I mean. God created the world in seven days, or six with one rest-day. I think all scientists know it took a lot longer than seven days.

Over billions of years the world has developed until it is what it is today. The old prophets, many of them wise men, probably knew when they were writing the bible, just what they were doing. I doubt they really thought it was the word of God sent to them from on high. They would know they were telling stories to try to educate the common people in religious and moral ways, to try and make them better people. It was in no way meant to be a literal exposition. The fantasy element would add to the attraction of these tales.

Why do we have religion at all ? Well, I think man has always wanted a God to exist. God is the invention of man, man is not the invention of God. It seems to be a basic human drive to want to believe in a mysterious divine creator, at least for a large proportion of people. In times of need how comforting it is to call on this marvellous all-powerful being for help and assistance. Certainly the idea of a personal God who can help you as an individual is only a pipe-dream. When you pray the prayer only resounds around your own mental corridors. You are praying to your own self. What you know is the truth tends to be the truth. This may seem rather dispassionate, but doesn’t it really make a lot more sense ? Everything in the world is what you think it is, when stripped of the absurdities of Church teaching, which only seems to obfuscate the truth. How can there be life after death for example ? It is simply impossible. When you are dead, you are dead, and heading for a hole in the ground, nothing else. When you die you no longer exist. If you have not experienced magic in life why would you in death ? The world does not support fairy stories. The only people peddling these myths are the organised Church. But that is not to say I am against the Church as such, they may do a lot of good, but shouldn’t you step back a minute and ask youself just what is true after all. What is absolute truth ? So often it would seem to be the obvious thing staring you in the face: the cold hard facts. Don’t be afraid of them. Too often the Church has brainwashed people into believing the doctrine they wish to promulgate. Are they taking you in ?

Did Christ exist ?, well yes, he probably did, but what are the real facts ? He was it would seem a very good man, okay so far, but the virgin birth, isn’t that where things start to go wrong, at the very beginning. Christ himself did a lot of good in the world, in fact his influence is immeasurable and unparalleled. He gave us so many outstanding Christian tenets and one cannot deny the power he has generated in the world. Was he simply a gifted faith healer ? He may well have been, but the miracles, this is where we hit rocky ground. Maybe he performed some amazing feat which was simply embroidered by an enthusiastic gospel writer. We do know the Church throughout the Middle Ages rewrote a lot of it to suit themselves. I think something akin to these stories probably happened, but how can we be sure the end result is not concocted, even doctored to suit a papacy hell-bent on maintaining a flock. Embroidering the truth is a technique probably employed to influence people, to encourage and coerce the human race into believing in Christianity for the sake of an organized Church which was ever anxious to maintain its own interests. To believe in Christian principles is of course not wrong, it would be mad to suggest that, but to blindly believe in fairy stories is. I think we are coming to a time in the world’s history now when people will want to reassess their beliefs and ask for Real Truth. They will be eager to throw out the magic, the superstition and replace it with facts and reality. They will want to be left with eternal truths, not made-up nonsense no twenty-first century citizen can reasonably be expected to believe. I think you can see when couched in these terms, I am asking for conceptual beliefs in a discerning public with Christian principles, unfettered by magic tales and other nonsense. I think Christianity needs to get real if it is ever to survive in the twenty-first century. If it fails to recognise gay relationships it may well founder.

I have talked of eternal truths. The Ten Commandments are eternal truths. Morality is never wrong, even if the Church is outdated. In many ways we live in a moral universe inasmuch as because of the principle of cause and effect if you do something wrong there is usually a bad result which affects you adversely. We have the law and the police to enforce justice in society, but this may not always happen. How many have eluded the net of the police ? Some people get away with crime undoubtedly, so although it is a moral universe nothing is watertight. You may well get away with bad actions. Is there a God to punish people after death, ? I don’t think so. Everyone is equal in death for everyone is truly dead, good and bad alike. Though your sins are scarlet they will be as white as snow, well as white as the good people you share the tomb with !

Many people would say the world is too complex, human beings are too special, simply to be here by chance. Maybe because of this conviction many of us possess we simply cannot see this world has come about through chance and evolution. Think of the vastness of the universe, billions of planets, is it any wonder ours at least has the right conditions for life ? This chance and evolution has given us a world of “God within”. In the bible it quotes God as saying “I am”. Yes, he is, but he is the “Godliness” of the world. The world just is, hence this “I am”: the world just happens to be. The bible is a book of wisdom but do we always interpret it correctly ? That the world just happens to be is a fact, just like gas is a fact or water is. The world is a marvellous thing and what we see many times in our lives is the “Godliness” of the world, but I think many have misunderstood what “Godliness” means. It does not mean that there is a Being out there outside of us. “Godliness” in the world is a lover’s first kiss, a child’s first words, a bluebell wood in spring, a morning on a Greek shore: all the beautiful things are a sign of the “Godliness” of our world, but this is something inherent in the chemical make-up of the universe which has processed through evolution and been affected by purblind chance too. It is as if it has designed itself scientifically and it is a magnificent thing, but do not lose sight of what “Godliness” is here on earth. I think many people have been blinded to knowing the true “God” because of myths perpetrated by a desperate Church, often a desperate tool of social restraint and reform. They have seen God as an avenging God punishing the bad or a meek and mild God in love with everyone. The truth is there is no “Judging God” out there at all. The arbiter is bland, uncaring. The only ones who can care are you, but that is not that surprising, is it ? God is what we see today on earth that is good and positive. Satan is what is evil and destructive. It is concepts, that is all. Yes, people need to be Christian, but they also need to realize just what the truth of existence is. No God can save us but ourselves. It is up to us to live decent, righteous lives. The Church’s “God” is simply a construct in use to develop Christian virtues and values in the congregation. That is not wrong as such, but it is surely time to see it for what it is. When the “Da Vinci Code” came out by Dan Brown it was easy to grasp its message. A Vatican eager to protect itself would need to suppress the subversive idea that Christ had a bloodline with Mary Magdalen. How could a Church survive this heresy ? It is against all of its teachings. Whether there is a bloodline or not, the important thing to realize is that the Church is not necessarily interested in the truth. What it is interested in, is protecting itself. For the Church to survive people must believe certain things. Now I think is the time to stop this blind faith. It is time for rational thinking, the cutting away of the dead wood of fairy stories and myths. It is time for realism, not half-baked stories embroidered by a greedy and grasping Church. Get real and remember the message of some of our finest poets ~ “carpe diem”, for tomorrow’s heaven will never come. If Nature is symbolized by the Golden Sundew the Christ figure must be the Amethyst Anemone, the one name standing out from all others, clad in royal amethyst-purple robes.