The Xing

By Gary James

The Existence of God can be a challenging topic when brought up between theists and non-theists. Even so, there is much productive discussion to be had on the subject when people of differing perspectives meet.

The Xing (The Crossing) paints a portrait of six different encounters between persons of different professional backgrounds. In these chance meetings, the professionals will present their varying points of view. It seeks to highlight what most will think about, but few are willing to talk about: the question of Gods existence. This exploration occurs through a variety of scenarios. A professor, through unforeseen circumstances, meets a mechanic. A lawyer speaks to his client, who is a truck driver. A neurosurgeon talks with his IT, and so on. Throughout their exchanges, a wide range of topics will be brought up.

The inspiration for this novel comes from the Book of Job, in which Job debates with his friends over Gods involvement in times of suffering, or lack thereof. This novel depicts a series of civil and friendly discussions between persons who do not agree, which is really intended to inspire readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973621904

Book preview

A Professor and a Mechanic

Main Characters: Ted Johnson (Philosophy Professor) and Rodney Machnois (Mechanic)

Both characters in this story are fictitious. They represent different persons of different professions. Both Ted and Rodney come into the picture as persons commuting through the road of life, almost unprepared for the turn of events which would soon take place. This event will place these men at a scene where they will cross paths. Is this chance, or is it Providence? Ted is a professor of philosophy, who is obdurate and bitter in his objection against theism, and in his quest towards silencing all who profess faith in the supernatural; especially the Christian God. Rodney himself, is a born-again Christian, who loves what he does as an auto mechanic. Rodney understands his Christian belief from a practical standpoint, while giving some attention to more heady details. Rodney often speaks through his own work under the hood.

Cause and Effect

It’s Monday, and March break was over. With coffee mug in his hand, Ted had a scarce recollection of the party which lasted from Saturday evening into the Sunday morning. He had more to drink than what he had originally planned. The Sunday was a day committed to preparations, also for getting over Saturday night’s hangover. Now that it’s Monday at 7:25am, Ted knew that he had plenty of time to arrive at the college for 8:30am. There was a 20-minute distance between Ted’s home and the campus. The GPS says that he was set to arrive at 8:05am, give and take, with rush hour traffic.

Ted’s 2009 Lexus started out of his driveway, as efficient as it normally would. Breaking through traffic as a motorist with little time to spare, Ted noticed a service light appear on his dashboard. Doing his best to ignore it, Ted began to feel the vehicle losing power. Ted then applied little more pressure to the accelerator, in hopes that he might overcome this mechanical deficiency. In spite the effort, the vehicle began to slow down even more, as if ready to come to a dead stop in the middle of the highway. At that moment, Ted does the wise act in signalling to pull off to the right shoulder. The moment Ted succeeded in getting the vehicle onto the shoulder, it shut off. And staring him square in the face, was the same warning light on that dashboard.

Ted: (Showing his frustration) Ah man! Just what I need.

Reaching over to his cellphone on the charger. After searching through an index of service shops in the area, Ted dialed for service. A voice on the other line began with…

Service desk: Pliny’s Auto

Ted: Yes… my car broke down on Hwy 417 heading eastbound. I’m on what looks like the 189-mark. I see the battery light on the dashboard; and I don’t know whether I need a new battery, or just a boost. So, I would like to have someone come over here to service it.

Service desk: Okay, What’s the color, make and model of your vehicle?

Ted: It’s a 2009 Lexus is250, and the color is gold.

Service desk: And, you’re on the 417 east, by the 189 mark…. We’ll send someone over there in 20 minutes.

As soon as the call ended, Ted proceed to dial one of his colleagues at the college.

Bob: Hello!

Ted: Bob, It’s Ted. I’m having some mechanical issues on the freeway, and I was wondering if you could contact the faculty.

Bob: Sure! Maybe I could oversee your class, or get one of the adjunct professors to cover, until you arrive.

Ted: Thanks Bob!

The call ended. Ted began to stare at the passing traffic, regretful of the lost time, due to this inconvenience. As 20 minutes rolled in as promised, a service vehicle pulled behind Ted’s Lexus. And out stepped a younger-looking man, who looked to be somewhere in his mid-thirties, wearing a blue coverall.

Rodney: Hi sir, could you pop the hood?

Ted: Sure!

Ted reached under his steering to pull the lever. The mechanic, after opening the hood, surveyed the mechanical components. And as 3 minutes went by, Ted in the state of restlessness, stepped out of the vehicle to walk over to the mechanic.

Ted: What’s the issue here?

Rodney: You’re going to need a new alternator. It’s going to be pointless putting a new battery, when it’s going to drain. So, I’m going to call our garage to have you towed.

The mechanic walked away with phone in ear, yet, not beyond earshot that Ted could not hear him.

Rodney: (On his cell) Yeah, I’m on the 417 facing east, short of exit 191. I need to get this car towed over to our shop. You mean, he is in that town…, on another call? What time is he likely to get here? Oh, 45 minutes…? Okay, I’ll let him know.

The mechanic ended the call.

Rodney: So, sir, the desk just told me that our tow guy is in another town, and that he will be here in 45 minutes. Are you okay with sitting in your vehicle for another 45 minutes?

Ted: It’s not like I have a choice. I’ll need to call the college again, to inform them of my absence.

Flustered by thought of having to wait, and especially for a length of time, Ted drew a pack of Marlboros from his jacket pocket. With one stick rolled between his fingers, and the blaze from a lighter on the other hand, he lit it, then took a puff. Ted reached again into his pocket for his mobile, then started dialing.

Ted: Hi Bob, if you do receive this message, please inform the faculty that I will not be there today. Thanks!

Rodney: You’re a professor…?

Ted: That’s right!

Rodney: I’m sorry we weren’t properly introduced. I’m Rodney! And you are….?

Ted: Ted.

Rodney: It’s nice meeting you, Ted! I’m sorry about the delay. I’m sure the student body will be disappointed to find out that you’re not there today.

Ted: Well, we do have associate professors on staff to assist wherever possible.

Rodney: Which college is this?

Ted: McMaster University.

Rodney: Okay! So, what do you teach?

Ted: Philosophy.

Rodney: That’s a wide subject. What kind of philosophy?

Ted: The field I specialize in is the philosophy of ontology.

Rodney: Philosophy of ontology? What are your goals in teaching this?

Ted: I help people ask the right questions about the real world, that goodness is understood beyond the laws of nature. Truth is not always understood in terms of what is observational or what could be tested. If religious people make outrageous claims of ‘truth’ in hopes of corresponding with the laws of physics, then such should be dismissed. We understand the real world and the universe through math, science and logic.

Rodney: hmm! Just like what I saw under your hood. I can easily look at the components under your hood and then, come up with an answer; that something needs to be replaced.

Ted: Exactly! This is only a segment of our real world. My car stalled only because of a mechanical defect.

Rodney: Sounds like a bummer, the idea that this takes away from your day. I’m sure you would rather be at the college right now.

Ted: You’re right! I would rather be at the college. But, what else can I do?

Rodney: Maybe you are supposed to be here.

Ted: What do you mean by that?

Rodney: That your being here may be an act of God.

Ted: (Raising his right eye brow) It’s a shame that you believe in that. I object by saying that all reality, both metaphysical and empirical, can be understood without the need for the appeal to a supernatural being. This unexplainable phenomenon provides no greater proof for it’s existence, than the subatomic reality of an electron, which cannot be detected. Arguments, for the existence of God and for the existence of an electron, are all conjectural, and cannot be countenanced. We Philosophers, wrestle daily with questions, with regards to the metaphysical, to decipher these in lines of concrete facts.

Rodney: (Eyes widened, as he raised his right hand to rub his chin) That sounds impressive. So, you do not believe in God the way I do…. And you’ve come to your own conclusions, that this Great Being, we call God, doesn’t exist. What’s so big about the cosmos, that a personal first cause becomes so difficult to believe in?

Ted: The very idea of a Creator of the universe in incoherent. The cosmos is so vast and so immense, that it’s very inception could never be ascribed to a being. The universe is much bigger than that.

Rodney: The universe is big, as I understand…. Now Ted, I don’t want to be a nuisance. But what do you understand about the universe to be disproof against God’s existence? Tell me, what am I missing?

Ted: It’s the way you said cause. It’s almost cliché. What you’re missing, Rodney, are the mechanisms by which you may robustly substantiate your claims.

Rodney: What do you mean by that?

Ted: What I mean is that, you’ve only posited an understanding of the real world, which cannot be weighed nor tested on its own merits… there’s nothing to test, when it comes to claims of the bible. Give credit to scientists…, for they have been using instruments through which they could probe the universe. And throughout the cosmos, we see homogeneity among galactic communities. Throughout the stellar universe, we understand that the force of gravity forms stars out of the molecular dust clouds. And that it is the force of gravity, which keep stars from colliding with each other. The planets forged out of these stars do not drift off into space; but like our solar system, they revolve around their stars. These stars, like I’ve just mentioned, do not collide with other stars, but remain within their galactic communities. What you have here, are natural causes. Are there supernatural causes? There is no need to posit a supernatural agent. These are all occurrences through the symmetries of space and time. Out of the difference causes, the force of Gravity is very instrumental.

Rodney: Gravity is a powerful force. But, it is not personal. Is it true that the law of gravity is responsible for all this orderliness?

Ted: Quite frankly, you do not need a person to produce uniformity. The cosmos is providing attestation to that reality.

Rodney: Let me see if I have you right… gravity is responsible for the complete order throughout the universe…?

Ted: Not throughout the universe. The influence for gravity is also responsible for the collapse inside these massive stars, creating supernovas. That, which produces heat, can explode overtime. And this happens throughout the universe. These explosions could also have been caused by white dwarfs, which have already burnt out their own hydrogen and helium. The arguments for a personal creator, will presuppose the kind of system, out of which there is no decay.

Rodney paused at that moment. And as staring into empty space, he turned, to look through the components under the hood.

Rodney: No pun intended… but I see the influence of gravity on your battery. And if there is a source that caused this, it had to be your alternator. But, what you said, hasn’t ruled out the purpose of these bodies, and what caused them to last as they did. Now, I’m sure that this is much like your alternator and those who manufactured it, and the reason they made it. Something had to direct the energy to different parts of the vehicle, like the interior lights, the radio, and so on. I can’t help but notice the orderliness under this hood, and throughout the universe.

Ted: Now Rodney, though the entire universe appears to be finely tuned, it doesn’t come by one’s own intention, or else, we wouldn’t be talking about explosions. If there were a God powerful enough, he would have made sure nothing exploded. We are only fortunate enough to be within this region of the universe. But due to the second law of thermodynamics, the entire universe overtime, will arrive its heat depth. Through the prediction of scientists, this is projected to occur at some point in more than 100 trillion years from now.

Rodney: You mean stars are dying; and in the end, everything else will die…?

Ted: …., and while things, namely stars, are dying, other stars are being born.

Rodney: But in the end, everything will die…? Makes me wonder what started it all…? What produced life to begin with? And if there is anything beyond what we could measure, couldn’t that reality also be active throughout this universe? Don’t know if I’m saying it right.

Ted: I’m trying to understand your first question…, everything? Empirically, there is no definitive answer to your second question. For your third question, life is being produced overtime. There is no intelligence needed to produce life. And addressing your final question, realities beyond the visible universe have not been confirmed, nor can they. Touching on the age of the universe, 13.6999 billion years is a measurement which is a scientific contrivance. The actual age, in my estimation, remains unknown. I am just saying that, this universe can also be static or tense-less… meaning that, as a reality without physical properties, time does not have a beginning, nor an end. Thus, the talks of the beginning or a beginner, can also be problematic.

Rodney: You mean that in the event called the ‘Big Bang,’ everything just turned up out of the blue…? Makes me wonder, if not by a mind, then what caused the ‘Big Bang’? And out of the Big Bang, where did all this fine tuning come from?

Ted: What caused the Big Bang? There are no definitive responses to that question, though there are several candidate answers. Even scientists are left to conjecture. One cannot, even by quantitative arrangement of the cosmological constants, come up with an answer to your second question.

Rodney: We’re not sure where we came from. All we know is that, we’re all doing to die with this universe…?

Ted: It is a prediction that we are all going to die, when our star, the sun, exhausts it’s hydrogen fuel.

Rodney: (Looking at the passing vehicles) That sounds depressing! All these vehicles will one day, come to a screeching halt, and the motorists, who are all heading somewhere, will all cease to exist. What’s the whole purpose of driving for these people? And for yourself… you were heading to the campus…?

Ted: (Before turning to Rodney, with a turn of the eye, Ted looked briefly in the same direction) That should never be considered depressing. Why is this depressing? We are living in the most exciting time in earth’s history. The most powerful telescopes clearly reveal the outward movement of distant galaxies; the force caused by the Big Bang is not what’s accelerating the expansion rate. There is a force called dark energy that pervades the outer regions of the universe; and it is what’s causing the negative energy. Will these galaxies retract after having expanded for some time? Scientists are trying to predict the most likely thing to happen. I don’t see this time in earth’s history as depressing… Theologians, who purport the idea that this is a divine act, is completely out of sync with the science community. If you are going to ask questions like, What caused the ‘Big Bang’? then you automatically would be in search of a source, which is not needed. A creator is not needed.

Rodney: Could you come up with answers for this dark energy? You’ve already ruled out, that this energy is being controlled by an agent.

Ted: The study of the origins of the universe will press some of the greatest mathematical theorists to extrapolate the known data, which could be gathered by observation. But even these extrapolations are uncertain, given the reality that they have come up with no complete answers. I wouldn’t go as far as to assert intelligence into this equation without first, coming up with a logical answer for this being. Whoever he or she is, the free choices, to create the truths of mathematics, logic, or metaphysical realities of different sorts, could not have stemmed from this being.

Rodney: Comes to show that science and mathematics are not the only disciplines by which we can come up with answers for the real world. While people are trying to come up with logical answers as they probe the universe, others are doing their best to come up with logical answers here on planet earth. Mechanical parts can carefully be looked at, and tested. But, we can’t use these means to explain the cause for every automobile accident. Three times out of ten, an accident is caused by a mechanical defect. And when it’s caused by a defect, oftentimes, it’s caused by negligence. Sometimes, it’s the technician… mostly, it’s the operator of that vehicle. You can search through the mechanical parts. One thing you can be sure of, is that something is amiss. Something that should have been serviced, was neglected. The mechanic carelessly drove the vehicle out of the garage without properly inspecting it, and the customer signed the bill without being sure that it was properly serviced. If you say that this universe could be explained by logic…, how do you answer for the negligence which is common to many?

Ted: These matters are elementary and are to be explained by the negligent. If you are to explain away the empirical, you may compare the human negligence with the basic functions of an automobile, you may well discover that there is something amiss in their brain circuitry, that some of their neurons may have malfunctioned. Nonetheless, an immaterial source does not explain away the real problem behind the negligence. The mind is beyond the reach of natural science. This should explain why we do not stop at the brain chemistry. Human affairs are realities which goes even deeper, than the mere functions and defects of an automobile.

Rodney: When I think about these people…. They are the ones, who after coming face to face with their misjudgement or their blunder, and recognizing this, they change the way they act in the future. I couldn’t blame the negligence on the malfunctions in that person’s brain; or else, he would not have to admit that he was careless.

Ted: (with a grin on his lips) I do not vouch for a mind and body dualism. Our physical brains will convert what appears to be immaterial thoughts, into commands to our physical bodies. The culpability we have for our own actions, does not disaffirm bottom-up causes. We are not souls owning bodies…, but rather, bodies, bearing thoughts. If we err in our judgement, only to later make amends for our actions, then we should not be held accountable by a sentient being, whom we do not see.

Rodney: I think we are more than bodies. You see, that’s what separates us from all the visible stuff floating throughout space… If we are souls, making our own decisions, and steering our own bodies, and controlling our own destinies, then there has to be more to us than physical bodies.

Ted: (With his poise laced in sarcasm) As soulish creatures, who are so crucial, and at the center of our universe, one would think that we have the power to determine our own destinies. And where do our souls go? We end up in a place, either heaven or hell… hey, maybe if we look hard enough, one out of the two might pop up in the sky…. This is a non-sequitur… a conclusion which does not follow from it’s premises. Your bible speaks of a place called heaven. Maybe there is a heaven on the other side of the Quantum vacuum. Where is heaven… inside of you? Is this a place you can imagine yourself into, and while sedated? Oh, if the world can only lose themselves in their own imaginations, the world would be a better place. Such imaginative expectations don’t really follow from what is testable and found to be true.

Rodney: I don’t think Christianity is the only religion that has a place of escape for eternity. Other religions like to think of rewards and punishments. I know that our time here is brief when compared to the age of the universe. I’m still convinced that there is more to our being here, than the short time spent in our mortal shells. If people are living for rewards and punishments, I think that fear, of some sort, has been programmed into their mental computers. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Ted: And you’re implying that there is a supreme being out there, who is responsible for the universe…, who has also programmed our minds…, some towards religion, while others against it. And this mystery man will one day, bring all our decisions before us, and then judge us all!? It’s no wonder why you religious types, are so disconnected from the real world. It is possible, that we’re all here by necessity. But what brought us here, is not a person, but rather, a set of circumstances, which is the reality upon which all other realities hinge.

Rodney: And, you say, Whatever is responsible for all of this has to be something, and not someone. In other words, for a cause, we must look deep into the components of a carburetor, and not a source outside that carburetor. Should we look for purpose inside a combustion engine….?

Ted: My qualm is the untrained persons, presupposing purpose from a conscience. That is an ill-conceived understanding of purpose. We understand that, through the symmetries of space and time, there are causes. But these could be a succession of causes. Theologians are mistaken every time they trace purpose and origins to a transcendent being. Now, this would do well in the world of fiction.

Rodney: Without a manufacturer, you’re talking about a chain of events, an endless string of unnamed causes, going as far back as eternity…?

Ted: There could very well have been an infinite regress of time. To trace all realities, including abstracts, like time, numbers, and ideas to a being, is logically incoherent.

Rodney: I can say this, that whatever was manufactured at some point, must have some cause. This cause must be a person, who first thought up that which he would string together. I believe that a personal Creator makes a lot of sense, every bit, as much as, a manufacturer of a vehicle makes sense.

Ted: How ever we got here, and under what circumstances we emerged as a race has already been apprehended through history and science. A physical cause makes a whole lot of sense. There does not need to be a personal cause. Your claim holds no more validity than the claims of other religious gurus. They all say that their gods did it. Who then is responsible?

Rodney: I think it’s, Who is most likely to have done it? I believe in what best explains the universe.

Ted: As for personal entities, I’ll say neither are responsible. The question itself is irrelevant. None could have been responsible for our existence. If I were a believer in any one of those outmoded deities, or the few remaining, which are lauded by many today…, the stark contrasts in your beliefs will lead many to this conclusion, that the belief in an infinitely powerful being, who is the first cause, is no more than a bold assertion.

Rodney: (After a slight pause) I don’t see that as a leap. I have every reason to a belief in the God of the Bible.

Ted: (With a face showing bewilderment) I am mystified… Why is this Yahweh’s intervention? You’re telling me that the God of the bible fine-tuned our solar system to-a-tee. Doesn’t look like our entire universe is fine-tuned…, does it?

Rodney: It’s the fine-tuning that reminds me of the God of the Bible. Throughout, it talks about God’s role as a maker: ‘He has made the earth by His power…’ Throughout the books of the Bible, I see God’s involvement in the lives of people. It reminds me of our work in the garage. We’re involved in what’s going on under the hood. If we were to leave these alone, everything would fall apart a lot sooner.

Ted: These writings do nothing to counter the naturalistic response. The metaphysical or unseen realm has non-personal objects. The phenomena that caused this 4-dimensional universe, is an event…, not a person. And, I dismiss the idea that the world and the universe is fine-tuned… for one reason, that the set of values among the constants could have been different, as they could be in any possible world. You cannot suggest that the universe is the way it is because someone happened to come up with the ideal measurements. The parameters allowing for life, could have been wider, and the values, different.

Rodney: Well, your car could have been wired differently…, and the thing could still have been driven. But, it makes me wonder… How far will your ride take you? The auto parts fitted together, for this car, were done with precision. If any of these mechanisms were to be off, the vehicle would not function as well. Often, something like this would’ve been hazardous. I believe the universe is fine-tuned to a tee. If anything were off, even by a small fraction, that would be big trouble for planet earth. If it’s not a Supreme Being, you will need to tell me what did it.

Ted: My friend, there is chaos all around us. Who knows whether a meteor, the size of the Appellation Mountains, will not hit our planet, splitting it in two!? This planet could very well meet its demise long before the sun dies 7.9 billion years from now. We are here not to appeal to an intelligence. As advanced creatures, we are here to understand our role in the grand scheme of our existence, so that we might do what we could in the interest of humankind.

Rodney: Something catastrophic could have and should have happened, long ago. As I was looking through the components under the hood, the first thing I checked was the battery. I tested the connections, and there were no loose terminals. And that looks like a new battery. Doesn’t look more than a year old. The next thing I checked was the alternator.

Ted interrupted Rodney, as though perturbed by the sudden change of subject

Ted: Okay, what does this have to do with our conversation?

Rodney: I’ll tell you… The alternator has three pairs of diodes. Any three pairs of diodes could wear and then, break down. And when this happens, the battery voltage from the battery will not get to different electrical functions of the vehicle. When all three diodes wear and break down, the current from the battery would no longer activate the electrical functions of the vehicle. The vehicle will eventually shut down on the highway, like yours just did. The reason I’m telling you this, Ted, is because all components of the vehicle need to function. If one fails, the others are forced to work harder, even to the point where they wear and break down. This sounds much like physics… I believe. You’re telling me that things will go awry, overtime. Makes me wonder why things have not gone awry in our solar system, yet.

Ted thought to himself, about then, the stark comparisons between himself and the mechanic, and, Who is this, ‘average Joe’ that he would dare to raise, what looks to him, this challenge?

Ted: Like I said, sir, things will go awry even before the universe arrives heat death.

Rodney: It’s strange, that by some measurement, or some equation, scientists can determine the coming demise of our sun, but, are not able to understand the cause for all this fine-tuning which we have been experiencing for…, how long? 4 billion years?

Ted: 4.54 billion years it is said, namely for our solar system.

Rodney: Really, Ted, that’s not a very a long time for anyone to trace all this order to an event…, which is, what…, natural?

Ted: (Quickly interjecting) You could never juxtapose the operation of a vehicle on a freeway to the laws of physics. There are more to the laws of physics, my friend, than the small parts you could put together inside a car engine. So much about the observable universe, is beyond our own reach. We dare not make any pretence to know this universe, or, any other reality, for that matter. If you cannot describe the untestable, what makes your claims of God valid? There could be a mechanism in play, that can account for the bio-friendliness of our planet… mechanisms unknown to any man.

Rodney: I couldn’t tell you about unobservable universes… all the reason why I couldn’t say much about them. The order we see in this universe is telling us, that, there is a chain reaction throughout… if anything were off, it would have been chaotic. I feel that I don’t need to know mechanisms or exact numbers to talk about this universe. This little pocket has many conditions, which allows for life. This gives me pause.

Ted: One would suppose these laws, these values, as being axiomatic. All we can know, is what is testable. I do not believe in other… what happens to be unobservable universes…. This, mainly because they are neither observable; you cannot see them. Neither are they testable; you cannot confirm that they are real. Same rule applies to a deity. We cannot lift our heads to the sky, and expect to see God. Why waste our time, by trying to test what cannot be tested? That is silly.

Rodney: I believe I can compare an impersonal first cause, to a personal first cause. That, which lacks awareness, has no intention for anything it does. I can use wind for example…. It has no state of awareness, and it has no intention in what it does. This force, when in the form of a tropical storm, hurricane, or tornado, has caused lots of damages to properties, and many lives were cut short. The early aviators used this force for flight. I think these were conscious beings. Because these men understood air pressure and wind velocity, they knew how to manipulate this force. They manipulated this force to work with the measured weight of the craft, along with the wing curvature, to determine the lift.

Ted: This is what I am talking about… conscientious beings, who have come to understand aerodynamics, and they had no reason to appeal to the supernatural. The bible reveals this God as capricious and vindictive. Only the strong have learned to live without God. Those who were not subservient to this personal force have learned how to rather, manipulate this force. Interestingly, it was those who remained subservient, who damaged a lot of property, and took many lives, all in the name of religion.

Rodney: I don’t deny that there were, and still are misguided religious folk. But you also know, that the same terrorism has been acted out by non-religious, and we’re not talking about the decisions caused by groups of radicals with a political agenda. We’re talking about cause and effect. We’re talking about creation and design, as coming from one’s own intention. An impersonal force, like the wind, can cause a ripple effect. A force with personal intentions can do much more.

Ted: What are the differences between your logic, and the behavior of wind? I believe they both have created patterns in our world. There are patterns generated in nature… and there are also moral patterns. The belief in God has produced both negative and positive effects on others. Some cultures in the name of God has crossed over to conquer other nations, annex territory, and to accumulate wealth. While there were others…, that in the name of God, crossed over to aid nations which were poverty stricken, by providing food, education and the building of shelters. The differences are the ways people have decided to view other people and themselves. Religion, has both strengthened and weakened nations. These are still patterns. The sensible answer is that natural selection has engendered the moral impulses for moral values.

Rodney: Are you telling me that our behaviours as soulish creatures, both good and bad, has no connection to our Creator, who is the ultimate good?

Ted: If your bible cannot explain the cause for the dissimilarities between your position as a neighborly do-gooder, and the position of the gun-slinging free radical, who would kill gays and bomb abortion clinics…, then there is no real connection between God and the real world.

At that moment, it was evident by Ted’s gesture, that he was growing restless.

Ted: Okay, where is that tow man?

Rodney: I’ll call him.

Rodney pulled out his mobile to dial the tow man

Rodney: Hello, Bill… what’s your ETA? Oh, that’s good. Just double-checking. (Rodney ended his call. And then, turning to Ted…) He’ll be here in 15 to 20 minutes.

Ted rolled his eyes in annoyance, as he turned his head briefly from Rodney

Rodney: Sorry, he won’t be long… I believe there is a connection between God and the real world. I believe that everything that exists is good. Like a sheet of metal is good. But whenever I see rust, I’m reminded of the moral decay in our society. I’ll grant it; the belief in God does not save one from the moral decay. But I must say that everything that exists did not first come into existence without there first being a designer. Every sign of decay, whether rust in metal….

Ted: (Glancing at his car, before turning to Rodney) What are you insinuating…? That my vehicle has rust spots?

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Rodney: (Shaken by Ted’s suspicion) No, no… your car is fine…. I’m just saying that decay, like a cavity in a tooth, or cold where there was heat… I think these went off tangent from the Designer’s original purpose.

Ted: I see evil, rather, as being the concomitant of good. Evil has weaved itself into the fabric of our evolution… it’s as we are innately evil, though possessing the capacity for good. But you say there is an Omniscient/Omnipotent/Omnibenevolent being, who knows there is evil in the world, has the power to prevent it, yet, chose not to. Sounds like an oxymoron. You cannot circumvent this problem of evil, which is ubiquitous. You have sentient beings, who adhere to religious injunctions, and those who don’t; and even for those who think they are doing right, as per the belief system of another, they are objectively in error. Now, how does all this square with the transcendent moral lawgiver, the bible speaks of?

Rodney: You said quite a bit. I remember reading the works of Saint Augustine, who did not see evil as a thing. He called it a privation of good order. If there is evil in any other world, then we can all agree that something is missing. To Thomas Aquinas, everything is good by nature. I think it would be off to say, that something is bad by nature. The inability to see is not evil in things that were never meant to see. Think of a tire for example. Blindness is not evil in a tire. Yet, it is evil in a driver, who was really meant to see. Now, I believe the Creator of all good things, is the one who came up with a manual on life. Now, the religious systems, which show areas of disagreement, only show differences in man’s point of view. I think the evil is also laying bare man’s choices, which led to the decay, or the things that are missing.

Ted: I can see you are well read! But how can you countenance your belief in evil as being a privation in God’s world, when in the bible, Satan was created, yet, violence was found in him?

Rodney: You’ve brought up my point. I don’t think that any creature with a conscience could possibly be without the power to choose. If that creature does not have the power to choose, then that’s an object without a conscience. It’s just like your vehicle. It has been created by man for mobility. But it does not have a conscience. If it had a conscience, you may struggle one day to climb inside because it doesn’t want to be driven. A horse has a conscience. And it might one day, give you a hard time. Satan was given the opportunity to devote his life in worship of his Creator; yet, chose to seek worship for himself. The angels who fell, as conscious beings, chose to stray from their worship of God. The angels who did not fall, despite what they saw, chose to devote the rest of their existence to the worship of God. If an object cannot do evil, then I will question whether it’s alive.

Ted: Then how could you say that God is incapable of evil? The very same evil which God has prohibited, were the same acts, which he has perpetrated. And theologians call this justice…?

Rodney: If evil is completely against the Creator’s nature; then He cannot do evil. In the Enchiridions of Faith Hope and Love, St Augustine called God the ultimate good. As limited as we are in our capacity to do good, we could be easily corrupted. Every mineral, which is good, can be corrupted. But the ultimate good cannot be corrupted. Corruption is revealing the limits in man’s good. But there are no limits to God’s good. God’s act of justice, you call evil, will remove that which corrodes society. I’ve done auto body repair. I save the entire body of the vehicle, every time I cut out the rust and remove the corrosion.

Ted: And my point is this: that God cannot remove evil, because evil is a part of nature. And God is a part of Nature. Nature is a part of God. These are synonymous to one another. It gives me all the reason to view God as Nature. And Nature is an impersonal force.

Rodney: But how can you confirm that living creatures all have some form of awareness…?

Ted: I find your thinking and reasoning to be superficial. Your religious sentiments have hampered your ability to think or reason adequately. There is a power beyond our cognition. A power one could never derive from a sentient being as God. Our very existence is intertwined with this force, and then, with other beings like ourselves.

Rodney: But you are saying that consciousness is forged out of unconsciousness, and a machine or mechanisms came before the mind…?

Ted: I can tell you, that computer scientist and neuroscientist are converging with several other professions. And through bioengineering and nanotechnology, they are in the process of creating computers and computer software, which are capable of intelligent behavior. The goals of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing, which is communication, perception, and the ability to move and manipulate objects. Will this become a reality? It remains to be seen. But, for some of the greatest minds to come together to assimilate human attributes into a computer…, who could say, that inanimate objects have not already obtained some form of qualia or sentience!?

Rodney: Qualia…. Remind me… what is ‘qualia’?

Ted: Qualia is the individual’s conscious experience.

Rodney: Comes to show that you’ll need intelligence to produce intelligence, and you need intention and purpose to produce anything which could be of use. I know this as a mechanic. As far as inanimate objects go… what good is sentience… or consciousness to an object, that can’t express itself?

Ted: We, ourselves, are complex creatures… and much to the fact that, our brains are processing neuro-chemicals that are complex. This does not rule out the idea, that your conscious experiences are your own, whether you can express yourself or not. You can be in a vegetative-state, while maintaining your conscience. Problem arises, when you talk about a non-physical soul, apart from the physical brain. A spiritual conscience? Who is conscious? And, how can you be assured that this being, you call God, is conscious? Where is the evidence, that such a one is conscious?

Rodney: How I describe God… to myself, he is creative… and to be creative, you must be conscious. If anyone was to deny that He is conscious…, it would be like denying that our tow-driver is conscious.

Ted: I’m beginning to wonder if he’s unconscious. How much longer must we wait??

Rodney: I’m trusting that he won’t be long.

Ted: Back to our convo… God is creative?? My qualms with that predicate is that, there are no causal powers. A physical entity, like yourself, has causal powers. As for this non-physical entity, he appears to be causally effete… possessing the capabilities, no greater than any abstract thing, like numbers or properties.

Rodney: Agreed… none of these things, like numbers or properties, can cause anything. But, I believe that a concrete person or thing can cause stuff to happen. What caused all things to exist, will call for a concrete person or thing with properties.

Ted: A metaphysical reality cannot possess properties. Numbers cannot possess anything… neither the property of the color ‘red’, nor the proposition of I am smarter than you possess anything. How can anything invisible possess anything? Even if God were to exist, he would possess mental properties… but not physical properties. This claim couldn’t be instantiated if you attempted to prove his existence.

Rodney: So, you’re saying, that metaphysical realities cannot possess properties. Only a brain is the color grey, and it possesses a great number of neurons…? As for a mind… it cannot possess a brain… is that what you’re telling me?

Ted: You have it the wrong way… it’s the brain, that possesses the mind.

Rodney: Something is not right, Ted… a person, like myself, has a brain, two arms, two legs, I’m white, and I’m Italian and Irish, I’m a medium built, and I got nice dark hair. I can speak English, Italian, and French. And you’re telling me, that all these are being possessed by a property called the brain? Is this my brain? I’m confused!

Ted: A whole lot to be said about, What’s yours? The point of fact, is that the mental properties belonging to God, says little about his causal relations to the world. You say One god. How can you be sure, that there’s not more than one conscious being out there?

Rodney: And, I’m not just talking about a mind, that is aware that two men are standing at the shoulder and having a discussion…. I’m talking about a Mind, who spoke the world into being, and is still holding it in place. I have all the reason to talk about the one Creator from the Bible, and not several.

Ted: Using the Ockham’s Razor as the arbiter, is to reduce all probability… Even the Kalam cosmological argument does little to construe the details of this wonder, which is beyond human comprehension.

Rodney: What I understand about the Kalam, is that everything that comes into existence, has an explanation; and that explanation is God. The Bible says that He spoke things into existence. And what I understand about the Ockham’s Razor, is that out of many answers, there can only be one explanation. The Ockham’s Razor shaves away all other gods as the first cause. For God to create all things out of nothing, and without any materials… He must be powerful beyond imagining.

Ted: The problem with the Kalam is that, the notion of an uncaused creator, with the attributes needed for causation, is outrageous. Whatever is contingent, or spatiotemporal, all came into the picture by a natural, or physical cause. This so-called designer does not even have a brain. How does he possess causal powers? He does not transcend time; knowing that the creatio ex nihilo points to the beginning of time. Positing an uncreated first cause, I believe it’s self-refuting, and this Ockham’s Razor, only diminishes the other possible factors. This is lazy reasoning on your part.

Rodney: Well, I don’t think William Ockham was lazy… As for creation from nothing… I see it this way… it is by the will of a personal agent, that the things that were not there in the past, all appeared at some point in the past. Why can’t the Creator be changeless, uncaused, timeless, immaterial, and space-less? Why should this be natural and physical? And why should this be an impersonal cause?

Ted: (With base in his voice) I’m telling you, that the design argument is a bad one. You’re going to need to answer for the truths of logic, the truth of mathematics, the truth of statistics… if God pre-existed these abstract realities, all of logic, mathematics and statistics would be true… but they’re not all true, and if they’re not all true, then where does God come in? The truths about math, logic, and statistics are so…, whether God exists or not. God cannot be creator, if he is not responsible for these. How could you expect to come to a robust conclusion using poor premises?

Rodney: I think that math, logic and statistics are useless, if there are no people to use them. I feel that there need to be people to make use of those skills. It’s like these skills are useless without a mind.

Ted: Even in the presence of intelligent beings, who would come to know the truths of mathematics logic and statistics, this offers nothing in favor of the arguments for a Creator. As opposed to the contingent realities in the physical world we know, not everything has a cause for their existence… things such as abstract objects. And if abstracts, such as numbers or sets or imperatives are realities, why can’t a regression of physical causes exist to infinity’s past?

Rodney: Well Ted, I don’t mean to get under your skin. I did read about Alexander Friedman and George… I forgot his last name… I saw their models of the Big Bang. Pretty technical; it makes sense the way they put it. The use of math… the beginning; or the ex nihilo. I feel this suggests that there’s a beginning to time. The question now is, What came before the space-time beginning? No scientist, I believe, have yet, come up with an answer to this question. Ted: And no theist has ever come up with the answer to this question: Why a Big Bang? Things could have started at a steady state. An explosion, from out of which all materials fire rapidly in different directions, do not require intervention. If this were really God’s planning, this is not apropos to a rational being. It seems like contingent things are only here by reason of unguided circumstances. That is more plausible than the case you are trying to make for this designer.

Rodney: That sounds much like ‘chance.’ I can think of the mechanisms under the hood. The engine, the carburetor, the electrical components, all have their functions. When one is missing, all things go haywire and then, cease to function. I can look through the mechanical parts, and I can name them and what they do. They did not just appear by some unguided process. And what I’ve come to understand so far, is that nothing on earth is made by an unguided process.

Ted: The origins of the universe and of life, are being apprehended through natural explanations. These are things to which believers in God have employed a supernatural explanation. These supernatural explanations, should come only by way of faith. We do not need intelligence for matter to form in the universe.

Rodney: (Raised eyebrows) Things such as your Lexus? We don’t need intelligence for an engine to come together?

Ted: (In a stern, while impatient gaze, and pointing at the components under the hood) You’re expecting the same type of arrangement to apply to the universe. You are talking about parameters, that are conducive to life, which are also conducive to the collapsing of stars into black holes. Think of the paradoxes here… this universe is habitable, while on the other hand, dangerous and uninhabitable. This tells me two things…. One, this pocket could be among an assemblage of other pockets like it, throughout this universe; you just don’t know them. And two, this region of space is benightedly giving way for advanced life. I don’t see the workings of a mastermind within this framework.

Rodney: What is the difference between things coming into existence within time, and things coming into existence at the beginning of time? From the time of the ‘Big Bang,’ until this point…, now, how old is the universe?

Ted: Well, according to the timing mechanisms of WMAP…, 13.772 billion-years old… 13.82, as Planck would map it.

Rodney: About the age of our earth to the age of the universe… let’s say, the universe is 13.82 billion years old, and there is still so much disorder. Meanwhile, out of 4.54 billion earth years, only a few thousand years gave us real smart persons…, like yourself. Who can account for this order; and in this small pocket of our universe?

Ted: The God explanation is a poor hypothesis when you think about the values of the constants and quantities. Who says, the values must be known? If God were so powerful, so all-knowing, so benevolent, you wouldn’t see so much chaos. What I see, is very much of what was likely to have happened at the Big Bang; and that is spontaneity.

Rodney: But not intelligence…?

Ted: (Unswerving in his steady gaze at Rodney’s collar) We don’t need a transcendent cause…, even for the formation of complex organisms.

Rodney: I don’t mean to sound insulting, Ted. The complex mechanism we build in cars were first thought up… and were in the abstract. They did not exist, but were only a thought, or an idea. A person with intelligence decided one day, to draw a diagram of these mechanical parts. He thought of their functions, along with all the other loose parts which were needed to build an automobile, with a more powerful, and yet, quieter engine. None of these things could have possibly come by chance.

Ted: From the prospective of the narrow-minded, who are apt towards deducing order to an intelligent agent; namely God. There is power throughout the cosmos which we do not understand; not in an invisible man, who is as causally impotent as any non-existent being. He did not cause the ‘Big Bang,’ and he is not fine-tuning the universe, as you, religious types would normally assert. If God existed, he would have created the kind uniformity throughout the universe, which would not reveal signs of death… as in the case of stars.

Rodney: And you expect God to fine tune the universe the way you would, had you been given that power.

Ted: If I were God, we would not be the only ones in this galaxy; or even, this solar system. There would be much more order than what we are seeing.

Rodney: Supposing if He did create life on other planets. He would have His reasons. And supposing He did not… He should have His reasons.

Ted: (In a quick gasp, looking dumbfounded by Rodney’s comments) If you are to implicate a supreme being as the only cause for an event, for which there are scientific and philosophical explanations, then you are exhuming an old God-of-the-gaps argument, which have been buried even by theists.

Rodney: I don’t think this is a God-of-the-gaps argument. I can’t help but notice God’s logo. What separates one make, or manufacturer, from the other, is the way they design their vehicles and engines. I don’t need to look at a BMW logo on a brand spanking new vehicle, then come up with a BMW-of-the-gaps argument. Tell me, what Mercedes Benz manufacturer will allow a BMW logo on any of their prized models?

Ted: As a mechanic, I understand you are privy to certain data, like the parts, codes, and products. This is information for which you are responsible. You have access to that which is under your nose. But with the data which is some billions of years into the past, you are not responsible. You are not obligated to know this information without proper assessment. When you peer into the regress of time to a period for which no one could give definitive answers, you are only left with a priori.

Rodney: I came across the data in the human biology… I couldn’t wrap my brain around it; much less my hands. I only understand this to be a completely different system from the universe. Those who study biology will tell you that they see the work of a designer, and to think that this is a finely tuned universe, which came out of an explosion… You’re talking about an event out of which, nothing living could have survived.

Ted: And yet, you induce the false notion that this could be the work of a living being.

Rodney: People cause explosions.

Ted: Mishaps cause explosions.

Rodney: There would not have been a mishap without a person to cause a mishap.

Ted: If this being was so intelligent, he would not have created a mishap.

Rodney: Well, maybe in this case, there is a reason why this Intelligent Being created this mishap.

Ted: Out of our Milky Way galaxy, it would take 4.3 light years to leave our planet to travel to the nearest star… which is the equivalent to 25 trillion miles. That would take us approximately 165,000 years to get there. Could you imagine how long it would take to get to the edge of our galaxy?

At that moment, Ted grew even more tense.

Ted: (Reacting as though hitting his breaking point) Ah, for crying out loud! HOW MUCH LONGER MUST WE WAIT???

Rodney: I’m sorry… he must have been delayed by traffic. Traffic is heavy, coming this way.

Ted: You said 15 to 20 minutes. That was 40 minutes ago. I’m wondering if this fella is also coming from a distant star. Why is he taking so long?

Rodney: Our deepest apologies!

Ted: (In a grunt) Fine…. I didn’t even begin to mention how long it would take to leave our Milky-Way galaxy to get to the closest galaxy to it, and think of how vast our universe is. The billions of galaxies! And many of these are a hundred times larger than our Milky-Way galaxy. Out of the trillions times trillions, times trillions of stars out there, which do not allow for habitable planets, there is one lofty little species, who believe that they are at the center of the universe. I tell you, sir, that life, or living things are not as unique as you, religious people believe it to be.

Rodney: I believe we are rational beings, doing our best to understand our world, from the beauty we see in nature, to the things that affects us personally; such as your car. How could you say these things are unimportant?

Ted: Of course, these things are important. I’ve not lost touch with the value of young minds with potential, and my need to maintain a properly functioning vehicle, so that I could commute to train those young minds, to think properly.

Rodney: If you see no purpose to life, that our being here has no lasting value, then you should see your job as a scholar as being meaningless. Training the young minds to debunk all other views, while adapting a naturalist view, is an important mission for you….

Ted: (Chiming in) Allow me to interject by saying, the universe, and even the world, does not revolve around us. You talk about purpose as if it were the prerequisite of meaning. You need to abort your hopes of ever meeting some big man in the sky. We should learn to accept the fact that we are all in this pocket of equilibrium, by no deliberate act of an agent. And as many people who have gone on before us, even we ourselves, will return to the space dust out of which we came…… (staring straight at oncoming traffic) Is that the truck?

Rodney: That’s it.

Ted: Finally!! Age has since crept up on me, from the moment you first called for towing.

The Pliny’s Auto tow truck arrived, and Rodney turned to walk towards it.

Rodney: (Speaking to the tow driver) Hey, Bill, you can pull ahead, and connect to the Lexus. The gentleman will be traveling with me.

Bill: You got it!

The tow driver soon pulled ahead. And before long, Ted’s Lexus was already tethered to the tow vehicle.

The Existence of Time

On Rodney’s GPS, the drive from the 189-mile mark to the Pliny’s Auto Shop was showing at 70kms/45miles. Ted sat at the passenger side, with face gazing through the window, as his thoughts went to and from the moments, leading to that moment. For a period, there was silence, as Rodney sat behind the steering wheel. After having glanced over in Ted’s direction the second time, Rodney decided to break the silence.

Rodney: I’m curious…. What are your thoughts on time?

Ted: This is beginning to sound like you’re asking for more of my time.

Rodney: (Chuckling) No, no, no, I’m not asking for more than 20 minutes. But, do you believe that 20 minutes from now is as real as this moment?

Ted: Well, I can tell you this, that if I had a time machine, I would be setting it in forward motion and not backward. I don’t need to hear your so-called defence for theism again, and I’m not too fond of the shoulder on the freeway. I would go forward in time, just that I could get my vehicle serviced, so that I can get on about my business.

Rodney: (Chuckling) But, what are your thoughts on this question?

Ted: O-kay… There is a spatial-temporal structure in our existence which affirms the reality that time passes. It’s irrefutable. Yet, throughout the universe, there is an asymmetry with no spatial counterpart. We’ve learned this, through Einstein’s Special Relativity, that the geometries of space will differ everywhere. There is no space time model of the passing of time that applies everywhere. For example, the time lapse for travel between Mars and Earth differs from the time lapse for travel, from Earth to Mars… Also…, the idea that time passes, has no bearing on the possibility that past events and future events are as real as the present.

Rodney: So, both the past and the future are tense-less…? How does this work?

Ted: Claiming that the past is unreal, is no different than implying that the past has never happened. Or claiming the future as being non-existent, is no different than purporting the idea that these things will never happen.

Rodney: (Disoriented, while attempting to maintain control of the steering) I’m a little confused! You’re saying that an hour-ago is real, even though time continues to tick…? Then the past would still be present…? Then I would ask, "Where is our location right now? On the shoulder of the freeway, in my truck, or at the shop?

Ted: (Not stupefied by the question, while