The Mystery Beyond Human Development: A Christian Perspective

By George Farahat

This book will fascinate the reader as the author shares his own true story since his childbirth in Egypt, his growth, passions, sufferings and hopes and that of many others he knew. The book brings to light the relational character of the cosmos and all life it contains, as a reflection of the Mystery of God who is Love. Based on the historical development of thought and science as well as recent research, the author argues that humanity is destined for the Second Coming of Christ, the Alpha and Omega. Based on the development of civilizations the book illustrates violence, vengeance, greed, passion, fear, security, collaboration, love, and success as examples from history of individuals as well as cultures.

The premise of the book is that humans by nature are relational. Since early civilizations, collaboration and reciprocity between tribes led to trade and thus learning developed in many centers. But knowledge is not only intellectual. Knowledge is completed in the love of the other which is pervasive in human thought and relations. The conclusion proposes imitation of love, the love shown in the life and teachings of Christ, even if hard, in order to live eternal life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532098598

George Farahat

George Farahat earned a Bachelor degree in Engineering (Electronics & Telecommunications) and a Master’s degree in Information Systems. A researcher in interdisciplinary studies of science and religion, history of civilizations, and Catholic theology, he lives with his wife and children in Toronto, Canada. George’s long career includes 30+ years in the implementation of information technology systems in business, particularly in the design of database systems and Web-based blogs and sites. He taught conceptual data modelling, and database implementation at Sheridan College, and was instrumental in projects at the Ontario Government particularly as Senior Business Systems Consultant at the Ministry of Economic Development & Trade. He was awarded the prestigious Amethyst Award by the Premier of Ontario for his contribution to the Innovator’s Alliance initiative. He continues to serve the community as a member of the Knights of Columbus; in bi-weekly lectures at Jesus the King Church which are published on the web. His professional services are available by contacting him at his consulting company 123 Database Management & Training (http://123train.ca)

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-9860-4 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907061

iUniverse rev. date:   06/29/2020

Contents

Prefaces

Introduction

Appendix

About the Author

Endnotes

In memory of Paul Antaki, Melkite Catholic

Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria and Archbishop

for Egypt and Sudan (1927-2011)

The Risen Christ said to his disciples "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore,* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28: 18-20)

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Albert Einstein

Prefaces

W hen I first thought of writing this book, significant developments in most fields of knowledge had not yet been available to my inquiry. For example, in the past decade there has been a significant development in neuroscience, medical research, discoveries in quantum physics and the cosmic particles in the early seconds after the Big Bang, as well as technological advances in computer systems, notably artificial intelligence and Big Data analysis, that in many industries replace human workers, plus a global attention to protection of the natural environment, economic discourses on the squeezed middle class and the dignity of the poor, immoral abuse of human persons by some affluent organizations and political/religious systems, and, last but not least, global terrorism has unsettled life in many countries. Human life has become more complex with the industrial revolution followed by the information technology revolution. But this complexity is built on the development of thought in human civilization. The genius of Albert the Great and his student Thomas Aquinas in the 13 th century retrieved the good in Aristotle's thought about the natural order and thus ushered scientific exploration that largely influences today's concerns and aspirations of the human mind.

This book is intended for any person curious to know about how you and I have attained or can attain more knowledge. This may be helpful to students and researchers who wish to get an overall basic perspective of what life is all about. It does not challenge nor belittle any particularly enduring theory or accomplishment in human history. Although the focus is mostly on developments in Western cultures, it nevertheless appeals to substantial contribution of Eastern cultures. We stand on the shoulders of giants who throughout history contributed to the betterment of human knowledge and communicative intelligence. Following a brief introduction, the book is divided into a number of sections that can be read independently: Development of things; Development of cultures and religion; An encounter with the Divine; and a Postscript: Reshaping My story, Your story, and The story of human development! As a Catholic Christian, my learning is shaped by the teachings of the Catholic Church. I attempt, therefore, to follow the teachings of the Second Vatican Council which, without accepting indifferentism, stressed the elements of goodness in non-Catholic traditions and the spiritual/moral values that Catholics have in common with non-Catholics. With this in mind I offer a perspective that in, my opinion, is catholic i.e. Universal.

In Section 1: Development of things, we discuss Development in a number of disciplines from cosmology; Modern Physics and Quantum Theory; Development in the biosphere i.e. Life to homo sapiens; Development in the noosphere (the mind) and self-consciousness; Development in psychology – Since recent advances in psychology and neurology converge with the hard questions in the philosophy of mind, a full section is dedicated to treating their relationships. Development in the political order/economics and trade is linked to the development in anthropology, tribes and nations which are further linked to the development of cultures and religion. There we briefly discuss sacrifice; the Abrahamic story and the Law; the development of philosophy; the development of Christianity emanating from the life of Jesus Christ; the Catholic Church as well as other Christian confessions; major religions and ideologies including atheism; materialism; and what makes the Catholic mind. In Section 3: An encounter with the Divine, we look at the experience and memory of humans; human love and love of God. Within this experience we treat briefly the accomplishments of 10 persons who influenced history as I know it, followed by 10 contemporary minds; a few of them are still alive, and finish with the question of suffering – Why selfless love is the origin and end of all creation; salvation; and communication. The conclusion recaps what we learned from the collective knowledge and relations. In summary there is only one way to open man to the Mystery beyond human development – Only in the risen Jesus Christ of whom Simon Peter said And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). It is a long process, for nothing in this world can be achieved without much good will, education, work and collaboration.

My thanks go to advisers, professors, colleagues and friends who reviewed the manuscript and made suggestions on improving it as well as to staff and advisers at the publisher, for their advice and contribution to the production of this book.

I wish to particularly thank the following professors who taught/teach in universities/high-learning institutes/and who shared with me material that helped in my research or responded to my questions

• Fr. Daniel Callam, C.S.B., is a member of the Congregation of St. Basil. He obtained his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford Universiy. He taught historical theology particularly the Ante-Nicene Fathers, and systematics at the University of Toronto in Canada, and the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas in the U.S.A. where he continues to teach. Fr. Callam was editor of "The Canadian Catholic Review for years. He also participated in a few debates with scholars and pastors from Protestant communions on Sola Scriptura" and other topics.

• Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J., is a member of the Society of Jesus, arguably the largest religious order in the Christian world. He has taught theology at the Catholic Institute of Theology in Egypt and continues to write books in philosophy, psychology, and new thoughts in theology especially that of Teilhard de Chardin, Atheism, and the fallacy of Determinism in addition to retreats and lectures that he delivers in Egypt and in his tours of Europe, and North America. Fr. Boulad has been the head of Caritas in Egypt and for many years was highly involved in charitable work in the Middle East. He has been associated with missionary work in a number of countries. In his active work to support needy families, Fr. Boulad carried out small projects and built a home for poor children to enjoy a week of fresh friendship near Alexandria while being educated in his missionary camp.

• Fr. Samir Khalil Samir, S.J., is a member of the Society of Jesus. Armed with a doctorate in theology, he taught at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome and since 1986, he has been teaching at the University of St. Joseph in Lebanon specializing in Catholic theology and Islamic studies. In addition, he is visiting professor of several academic institutions and universities in Europe and the USA. He wrote some 40 books and over 150 articles. Currently Fr. Samir is retired at the Jesuit Center in Cairo.

• Msgr. Robert Nusca is the current pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Toronto. Having earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto, Msgr. Nusca teaches at the Toronto School of Theology affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology which has been established by Dr. Scott Hahn, a convert with his wife from the Presbyterian Communion to Catholicism. Msgr. Nusca is active in helping parishioners understand the moral challenges in society, as for example the newly passed law of assisted-suicide, and in other activities at Holy Rosary such as managing the RCIA program, and the society of St. Vincent de Paul. He also gives public lectures on several topics of moral challenges and Biblical significance.

• Fr. Georges Farah, Paulist - SSP, obtained a doctorate in philosophy and another in theology from the Sorbonne University in Paris. His dissertation in philosophy was about the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. He taught philosophy and theology in the Paulist Seminary in Lebanon. Fr. Farah was pastor of Jesus the King Melkite Catholic parish in Toronto from 1993 to 2014 where he lectured weekly for over 20 years, and starting in 2008, oversaw the social Festival of Jesus the King every summer until his retirement in 2014. He inaugurated the first Arab Eastern Catholic Council of the Knights of Columbus in the world. He retired in December 2014.

• Professor Dr. Michael Sole is a renowned cardiologist, researcher in the cardio-vascular studies in North America, and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. He founded the Heart and Stroke Institute in Ottawa, was research director and later chief cardiologist at the Toronto General Hospital. For his contributions, as he retired recently, the University of Toronto honored him by naming their Annual Scientific Day The Michael J. Sole Annual Cardiovascular Scientific Day. UHN-Mount Sinai also established an annual Michael J. Sole Lecture given by a famous cardiologist every Fall.

In addition to personal relations developed with the above persons, I have read some of the most interesting books/blogs/websites by renowned authors including:

• Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

• René Girard

• John Polkinghorne

• Manfred Eigen

• J. B. Kennedy

• Andrew Newberg

• Stephen Barr

• Stephen Pinker

• Peter Watson

• Diarmaid MacCulloch

• Richard Tarnas

• Robert Barron

• Robert Spitzer

Since proper and caring education is essential to the development of human beings, I owe to the above persons, and others too, much of the education that I hope will benefit my readers as it benefited me. I hope too that readers will share the good they find in this book, if any, with their friends.

If only a few students could benefit from this book, the book would have accomplished its objectives as they are precious gifts from God.

George Farahat

Introduction

T hree ancient civilizations and a current one are of particular relevance to me. The first: Egypt where I was born; the second: Lebanon where my ancestors come from; the third: Italy, or more precisely Rome, where I have affectionate memory of the centre of civilization; the fourth is my beloved Canada, where I live with my family, always new and ever splendid with her people and technological advances. In all of them I recall beauty and relatedness. In Egypt, we visited the ancient temples and the Pyramids where one of the oldest civilizations once flourished. Their beauty is in the architecture and design. This is also reflected in their statues, sculpture and paintings whose colours still elegantly display beauty thousands of years later. In Lebanon, we experienced natural beauty in the Arz mountains, the vineyards, and water flowing throughout well-irrigated farms. We ate the delicious Lebanese food and enjoyed the company of the family while we toured the ancient and modern touristic magnificent places. In Rome, we experienced the great civilization of the Renaissance, the Catholic magnificent cathedrals, the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica where the remains of St. Peter are buried, with the splendour of arts in amazing sculptures, paintings and statues, and above all the sense of sacredness in the catacombs 30 feet underground where the bones of early Christian martyrs are still preserved. In Canada, we live in an affluent country in its respect for freedom of every citizen and its developed multicultural way of welcoming the world.

Everything in creation is in development. The early human civilizations contributed to development in mathematics, cosmology and philosophy. We continue to be surprised by new findings every day. This is attested by discoveries in cosmology of the Big Bang Theory and the expanding universe; in the development of life partly through the mechanism of evolution confirmed by fossils and genetic DNA molecules of creatures; and in the development of the mind in the appearance of humans. Each human also grows from childhood to adulthood and beyond. It is my conviction that human civilization progresses in a linear direction, probably not equally in all places, but is guided for the purpose of creation – in Teilhard de Chardin, the Omega Point - the Mystery beyond human development.

In Christianity for example, we read in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things (1 Cor 13, 11). The development of the Church was brought to light by Jesus Christ himself when he said that the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. (Matt 13, 31-32). Jesus is the grain that was thrown by his crucifiers to die. Because he died, he brought out in his resurrection a new tree: the Church. The Church grows not only in size but also in understanding because she reflects on the truth she received from God and is guided by His Spirit to interpret it and proclaim it as she more fully perceives it in time. She elaborates the truth as she perceives it, not remove from it. The truth does not change for God is the Truth but the Church’s perception of the truth develops as the Church, like Mary mother of Christ, pondered in her heart the meaning of the message of God (Luke 2, 19). In the 19th century, John Henry Newman proposed an essay on the development of Christian doctrine in which he defends Catholic teaching from attacks by some non-Catholic Christians who saw certain elements in Catholic teaching as corruptions or innovations. He relied on an extensive study of early Church Fathers in tracing the development of doctrine which he argued was in some way implicitly present in the Divine Revelation in Scripture and Tradition. He argued that various Catholic doctrines not accepted by some Christian Orthodox and Protestants (such as Purgatory) had a developmental history analogous to doctrines that were accepted by all Christians (such as the Trinity). Such developments were the natural results of reason nurtured by faith working on the original revealed truth to draw out understandings that were not obvious at first.

In the same vein, new perception of the truth does not change the substance of the truth but provides more insights into it. In physics, Albert Einstein built on Newtonian classic physics with his insights about the relationship between mass and energy. In modern physics quantum theory elegantly provides evidence for the entanglement of subatomic particles at a huge distance from each other. But the new insights of Einstein, Bohr, Schrodinger, or Stephen Hawking do not fundamentally contradict the earlier findings of Isaac Newton. They give us more insight into the essence of matter and energy. The same could be said of technology. Everyday new tools in information systems help humans communicate better in a global village. With the difficulty of face-to-face social networking, interactions are increasingly made in virtual space via digital social networking. The process of developing and publishing the book you are reading is probably less expensive due to digital computer tools. For some years now large computer companies have been developing robots and automated systems that are aimed at assisting in manufacturing systems and possibly replacing human resources. This development by itself is not without its dangers and threats to human society. For three decades now, globalization, enabled by the Internet, has been a predominant force in the trade between nations. As a phenomenon, large businesses benefited to the near exclusion of small business.

The above developments and others in many disciplines are briefly discussed in this book. There exist, however, many obstacles due to conflicts at every level of human thought, perception, and interaction. This is the other direction: that of moral failure into sin. Sin is not only a personal failure to love God and his creatures. It is also a failure of civilizations in the way many leaders and innovators direct their fellow humans into slavery; for slavery can be embedded in selfishness, money taken on credit leading to indebtedness, instant gratification in which the other is only an object of pleasure and many other evils. Yet, however long the human drama continues the final judgement is that of the good creator who, according to Christian tradition called himself love.

In his book Truth and Tolerance published in 2004, Joseph Ratzinger identifies phases for the development of religion in human cultures.

Primitive experience is found in mythical religions. Mythical religions lead to three ways of moving beyond myth: mysticism; monotheistic revolution; and enlightenment.

See this summary in Ignatius Insight website: (http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features/cardratzinger_tt_oct04.asp):

[Yes, Christianity has a European element. But above all it has a perennial message that comes from God, not from any human culture, argues Ratzinger. While Christians have sometimes pushed their cultures on other peoples, as have non-Christians, Christianity itself is alien to no authentically human culture. Its very nature as a free response to God’s gift of himself in Jesus Christ, means that Christianity must propose itself to culture, not impose itself.

The issues of truth and diversity in religion are also tackled by Ratzinger. Some people relegate religion to the realm of feelings and taste. As people’s feelings and tastes vary, so, too, do their religious ideas and practices. Ratzinger responds by presenting what he calls the inevitability of the question of truth.

Other people argue that all religions essentially affirm the same things. Truth and Tolerance points to fundamental, non-negotiable differences among religions, as well as certain common elements.

Christianity has always held that the revelation of God in Jesus Christ is definitive, argues Ratzinger. The divinity of Jesus is the real dividing line in the history of religions, which makes sense of two other fundamental concepts of the Christian faith, which have become unmentionable nowadays: conversion and mission.

Relativism, which Ratzinger calls the central problem for faith in our time, lurks behind most modern mistakes about faith and morality. The net result is a deep skepticism about whether anything is true or can be known to be true.

Christianity can help modern thought overcome its relativism and skepticism by presenting the One who is the truth, Jesus Christ, the one who sets people free by their coming to know, understand and love the truth. Ratzinger explains how tolerance, reason and freedom are not only compatible with truth, but ultimately depend upon it.

With respect to the difficult subject of things interreligious, Ratzinger strongly supports interreligious dialogue, so long as it isn’t understood as assuming all points of view are and must be, in the end, equally valid. About interreligious prayer—understood as prayer together by Christians and non-Christians, with widely different religious views—he is more skeptical. He distinguishes multireligious prayer, where different religious groups come together but pray separate from one another, and interreligious prayer.

Ratzinger doubts whether reasonable conditions for interreligious prayer can generally be met. Still, he lays out careful criteria for such prayer, which include agreement about the nature of God, and the nature and subject of prayer, as well circumstances that don’t lend themselves to misunderstanding such common prayer as relativism or a denial of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in the Christian faith."]

From the Ancient Civilizations (Reference: http://www.essential-

humanities.net/history-overview/global-civilizations/#major-world-

regions)

The modern world features four global civilizations. By studying the art and history of these civilizations, one would become familiar with much of the world's art and history. One's education would be better-rounded, however, if one added the most influential historic civilizations to the list.

Essential Humanities recognizes five especially influential historic civilizations. While some covered relatively little territory, the extent of their influence nonetheless merits the term global civilization. This brings the list of global civilizations to a total of nine.

Essential Humanities surveys the history and art of the nine global civilizations. Yet this approach still falls short of covering the entire world, since civilization (urban culture) did not emerge everywhere (in pre-modern times). In order to compensate, four additional regions are considered: Sub-Saharan Africa, North America, Oceania, and the Steppe (a strip of grassland from Ukraine to Mongolia).¹

Civilization Zones

The nine global civilizations can be divided into three zones: eastern Old World, western Old World, and New World. Within a given zone, civilizations exerted significant cultural influence upon each other, while cultural influence between zones was limited (prior to the modern age).

A prominent example of cultural influence in the eastern Old World is Buddhism, which spread from India across East and Southeast Asia. A familiar example in the western Old World is the embrace, by the ancient Greeks, of much Mesopotamian and Egyptian culture. The flow of cultural influence across the New World is illustrated by similarities between Mesoamerican and Andean visual art.

The purpose of this post is to inform Christians and non-Christians alike of the latest studies about God, the development of the idea of God in the Bible and elsewhere, and the points that we can conclude based on them. Of particular importance is bringing this knowledge to parents, educators, and pastors who in turn can help children learn the great themes of the Bible.

Summary for Christian parishioners

The idea of God is found in all ancient civilizations and still alive today in different forms of spirituality.

The Biblical literature reflects the development of the idea of God in the Hebrew tradition which is transformed in the New Testament by Christ and his followers to reach out to all nations since the first century AD. With Abraham a tribal local God is worshiped. Moses finds that God is in more than one territory. Hosea speaks of God in terms of love. In Jesus Christ, God becomes human so as to restore fallen humanity to his eternal love (Trinity in One God). Central to Christian thought is the idea that God is Love (1 John 4: 8).

The Appearance of the Idea of God:

How has the idea of God come into human consciousness? Research in anthropology since the 19th century brought to light a number of discoveries in ancient Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Persian, Roman, Indian and Chinese cultures. Among the well known are James Fraser, Franz Boas, Mircea Eliade, and René Girard. In those authors and others we recognize the interaction and development of history, religion, psychology, and culture. Probably the most influential introduction of religion in the 21st century is Joseph Ratzinger’s Truth and Tolerance published in 2004. For thousands of years, in every region and country a polytheist, or pantheist plethora of gods were worshiped. There were gods for every material or spiritual need; a god for rain to bring rain to farmers; a god for fertility to bring offspring to mothers; a goddess of love that inspired reflections and poetry, and the Sun as the source of fire and food as well as many other gods and goddesses. The need of humans for worship has never lacked. In an interview in 2006, the Atheist biologist Richard Dawkins admitted that religion will remain an important human phenomenon. Since in this lecture we wish to explore the development of the idea of God in the Bible, we will limit the discussion to the Biblical Revelation. The encyclopedic New Jerome Biblical Commentary edited by Raymond Brown, S.S., Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J. and Roland Murphy, O. Carm., was republished in 1990 with contributions by 74 Biblical scholars. In an article on the Early Church, 3 of those scholars assert the idea that while Jesus preached his kingdom in Judea, the Apostles after his Resurrection took it to the entire known world. Their recent research shows that only after the Resurrection could the early Christians relate Jesus’ vision for the Gentiles to a structure of faithful under the leadership of the Apostles and their disciples who succeeded them as bishops and priests. Hence, guided by the Spirit, there is a gradual opening from a strictly Jewish community to an inclusive Church extending from Jerusalem to Antioch to Rome and Alexandria as well as Greece and Asia Minor in the first century AD.

Phase 1: From many gods to One God

By the 19th century B.C. Abram of Ur is transformed to Abraham (Giving him a new name indicated a mission). When Abraham followed God out of Ur in Chaldean territories, he was told to go and settle in the land of the Canaanites. Although TNK (pronounced Tanak short for Torah, Nebeim, Ketubim) was not written until 1000-800 B.C. it reflects earlier traditions: Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly.

From the many gods Abraham and his tribe follow the One God revealed to him. This is further illuminated in God's call to Moses to liberate the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians and their gods and to follow him in Sinai before settling in Palestine. Here God is seen not only as a tribal God limited to a certain territory but as a God who transcends many territories, defeats other deities with power. The same is found in Elijah's call to Israelis to stop worshiping Baal who allegedly among many gods competed with God in Northern Israel. Elijah miraculously brings down rain after he had stopped it, and brings down fire when he challenges priests of Baal to a competition between his God and theirs. When the truth is revealed in the burning offering, God is again victorious. Many other events also show the unfaithfulness of the Jews to their covenant with God e.g. Solomon's decision to build altars for gods of the other nations which brings captivity to Persia and Babylonia in wars of defeat and the destruction of the Temple. This still does not exhaust God's attempts to bring back people to worship him in truth. Prophets such as Daniel and Ezekiel show that in the absence of the Temple, God can still be reached in the hearts. However the power of God as the liberator of his people from slavery to other gods gradually turns to the compassion and love of God towards Israel who in Hosea shows that He is faithful to his people even though they have been unfaithful.

Additional Readings:

If God risks so much that He becomes man to restore man, then He is not a calculating vengeful God. Game Theory which economists and strategists play to achieve their goals contains the elements of risk necessary for achievement and most of the time requires cooperation of those in the game. Vulnerability, the study of which brought Professor Brown in sociology a transformative experience as a mother and wife, is also a theme of the vulnerable love that God initiated (See here). Being is opening oneself to the other. Relationality is at the root of everything in the cosmos (Quantum physics; See here). Civilizations could not expand without trade between nations which spells benefits if they cooperate²

More online resources:

Catholic Resources by Felix Just, S.J. http://catholic-resources.org/

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: http://www.salvationhistory.com/

R. Girard in First Things: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/10/002-are-the-gospels-mythical

U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops Biblical Resources: http://www.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/

On Friday June 20, 2014 Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. spoke at St. Elizabeth Church in Toronto on the topic of True Religion. What is true religion?

1. Concept of The Chosen People

Henri Boulad surveyed world religions and found that each one of them considered its adherents to be the Chosen People of God. That was the case in the Roman, African, Hindu, Egyptian and Greek religions of ancient times and the idea of chosen people is highly elaborate in Jewish, Islamic, and Christian identities. Each considers itself to be the privileged people that God blesses and protects against their enemies. However, in the Gospel we detect in Jesus' words to the Samaritan a different meaning for true religion of God. The encounter with the Samaritan woman is found in the Gospel according to St. John: [So he came to a city of Samar'ia, called Sy'char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samar'ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samar'ia? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.] (John 4: 5-9).

Here, in talking to a woman excluded as heretic and enemy by the Law of Moses, Jesus stretches out the Law to include her and the rest of the enemies in his New Covenant. When he tells her about her past and current status, she replies with astonishment Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Slowly Jesus reveals to her God's plan for humanity: [Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he.] (John 4: 21-26). I am he is also the same ancient expression that God uses to describe himself to Moses (Exodus 3: 14). In this Gospel, God (who is one with his Son Christ) has spoken in the words uttered by Christ Jesus.

In my understanding I believe that Jesus Christ is, therefore, not only a prophet nor a great messenger of God, but most essentially reveals in himself the utter love of God towards creation. In the first words of the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle inspired by the Spirit of God, Christ, the Word of God, was from eternity with God, and the Word is God, through whom all things created are created (John 1, 1-3). The Word in Christ became man and dwelt among us (John 1, 14). In the Synoptic Gospels, the birth of Jesus Christ was first announced to the Virgin Mary betrothed to Joseph, a descendant from David the King. She was told by Gabriel, the Angel of the Lord, that she would conceive and deliver a son by the power of the Holy Spirit without any man and that he would be named Jesus for as he said to Joseph he will save his people from their sins (Cf. Matthew 1, 18-24).

When Jesus started his public ministry around the age of 30, he invited and appointed 12 fishermen and one tax collector as Apostles to be his witnesses. His disciples included many persons from different groups, and his followers included women too.

Jesus healed all who sought him and went out to those considered enemies to the Jews, including the Samaritans and the Canaanites, and healed them. Always standing for the truth, he was confronted by priests who could not tolerate his healings on the Sabbath. His love stretched to the world even though he was demonized and crucified on Friday by the priests and many of his own people who had followed him before the Passover of his third year in public ministry. He died on the cross and was buried but he rose from the dead on Sunday morning. After his Resurrection he appeared to Mary Magdalen then walked with 2 of his disciples before he appeared to Peter and to the rest of his disciples with his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary. His enduring message is found here [And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.] (Matthew 28: 18-20).

Before committing their testimony into writing (The New Testament) followers of Christ witnessed to him in the known world. Many of them were martyred for their faith…

2. Worship of God in spirit and truth

How should we understand worship of God in spirit and truth? the free spirit not burdened with sin?

The development of the concept of freedom is found in the Old Testament text too. In Genesis, God creates man and woman in his image and likeness (Genesis 1: 26). It is the person created in his image that has both mind and free will. In the Wisdom book of Sirach, freedom of the person is again affirmed as it is written [Do not say: It was God’s doing that I fell away, for what he hates he does not do. Do not say: He himself has led me astray, for he has no need of the wicked.](Sirach 15, 11-12).

3. We will be judged according to our good deeds regardless of religious rites

You and I are responsible in a way for our thoughts and acts. We reap what we sow collectively and individually. It is written that everyone's judgment at the end of time will be pronounced by Christ according to what the person did in his present life to those least ones [When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.] (Matthew 25: 31-46).

4. Why go to Church? Why be baptized? Why receive the sacraments?

If God will judge every person according to his deeds, then what kind of religion should anyone follow? If by baptism you become a Christian, then you and I can question Can God be fooled by the number of people who are immersed in water to become Christians? What is baptism? Baptism is not the rite of being immersed in water or being sprinkled with water. In baptism, the person dies to himself everyday with Christ, is buried with Christ, to rise with Christ (See St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans 6: 1-11). In baptism we receive the Holy Spirit of God in order to live for God in the others. You participate every Sunday in Mass, not as a decorative act or a theatrical play, but to receive the incarnate God himself, Christ whose mystical body is the Church. This sacrament is also life-giving in the Spirit. The Eucharist gives us strength to fight the good fight against selfishness and desires to possess God and the world and helps us by the power of the Spirit to accept to be rather possessed by God's love.

5. Who can we hope will be with God in his kingdom?

Does this mean that only Christians (or Catholics) can be saved? According to St. Augustine, there are those within the visible Church that do not belong to her and there are those outside her visible boundaries that belong to her. For eternal salvation, Vatican II officially declares: Non-Christians who seek the truth following the dictates of their conscience can attain salvation through the grace of Christ (Nostra Aetate) for God desires that everyone attains the kingdom of heaven (Luke 12: 32). Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes the goodness found in other religious traditions as a preparation for the Gospel (No. 839-843). In Dominus Iesus following the teachings of Vatican II and earlier Ecumenical Councils going back to Apostolic times, Christ is the sole mediator through whom alone every person can attain eternal life. The declaration also states that the fullness of truth and grace is found in the Catholic Church, and yet other religions contain elements of goodness that help their adherents to be open to God's salvific grace in Christ. The Church continues to be renewed and reformed by the Spirit. It is therefore not good to separate oneself from the Church in order to contribute to its own renewal. This is how open is the Catholic Church in her teachings in line with ancient tradition and teachings of Christ. But this means that everyone of us has a responsibility to practice the above teachings of Christ and his Church in everyday life.You and I need to constantly be renewed in Christ so that non-Christians and atheists may also see the light of Christ and be converted enthusiastically.

6. True Religion

Christ is the goal and God of true religion. His Church is the instrument par excellence that offers his grace in teachings, sacraments (that are signs of God's hidden grace) and actual charity to all. Rituals are not what saves. We have to work our eternal joy and salvation with Him and his Spirit. It is in the relationship with God the Father of all, his Messiah and his Spirit that you and I can have eternal joy. As St. Ignatius of Loyola taught, we find the Triune God in every relationship we have with his creation - a relationship that the Spirit of Truth helps us to attain here and now through constant conversion and renewal.

The Mystery?

Who is God? That was a question that Robert Wright asked Professor Fr. Lorenzo Albacete in an interview in 2005. And the theologian’s answer was simple: God is The Mystery! This is how St. Paul refers to God in the New Testament. The Mystery is not a riddle we try to solve. It is not a problem we have to find a solution to. The Mystery is like an ocean we move into – the more we get into the ocean the more the horizon gets further. We cannot comprehend God. We can experience God but we cannot fully put him in our little minds. And when Wright pressed him about it, there was a more surprising answer:

Wright: Yes and I mean I gather one of the things you're up to is trying to talk about God in ways that make sense in a modern, intellectual… I mean, if you look at the Bible, there are some very anthropomorphic descriptions of God. There are descriptions of God sitting in a throne…

Lorenzo Albacete: Yes.

Wright: …now, that's probably not the way you conceive of God…

Lorenzo Albacete: No – no.

Wright: …but I guess one question I have is: how much can you modernize your description of God before it starts sounding too vague to have great emotional impact on people. I mean … terms like the transcendent and the infinite, they can mean a lot of things to a lot of people and I assume that you yourself as a believer have a somewhat more specific conception of God. Well, what is your… in other words you have a conception of God that is consistent with those terms, those are attributes of the God you think of but you think of something more when you think about God…

Lorenzo Albacete: Yes. I think of a concrete human face…

Wright: You do?

Lorenzo Albacete: Jesus Christ.

Lorenzo Albacete was a physicist specializing in cosmology before he became a priest in 1972. He earned a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and taught at the John Paul II Institute in Washington. He wrote God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity. Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete died in October 2014.

Experience of the Heart

In 2005, Robert Wright interviewed Lorenzo Albacete about his book God in the Ritz. Albacete bases the deepest encounter with ultimate reality (or God) on religious experience. His own experience, which led him to leave his career as a space physicist, was not a spectacular event but rather a weak voice that slowly preoccupied him. For him, finding beauty and truth is a continuous search which will never be exhausted in this life. We always find someone or something beautiful but it still does not satisfy our longing for beauty. All our experiences including sexual experience, love, and the search for beauty are at a deeper level a kind of religious experience. Of course, mere lust is not part of this experience as it objectifies the other person. Darwinians think that the purpose of sex is to get genes into the next generation, but they are missing out on the experience. Obviously, Darwinism does account for everything within its sphere, but only in the scientific explanation or mechanism. The problem isn't Darwinism or Neo- or Neo-neo-Darwinism as a proposal for the scientific explanation of life. The problem is Darwinism or any -ism – Creationism for that matter – as an ideology, that is to say, as a scientific method that accounts for all human experiences. He says. Wright proposes Darwinism can in some sense account for everything but it's not the final account. Robert Pollack, a biologist who teaches at Columbia university admits …at a certain point I realize that my scientific convictions do not explain all of my life. Albacete continues My question is: Does this account, does it fulfill, does it correspond to my experience of life? That's what I want to deal with. I don't want to compare it directly to something somebody tells me about God. I want to compare it to myself… The moment it stops accounting for my experiences I will leave it. Why not? It would be absurd… you stop believing..embrace that which accounts for the experience of your heart but do that in a reasonable way. That's all I advise. Religious experience of God, it seems, is larger than our conceptual framing of knowledge. According to Albacete, even Catholic doctrines and dogmas are signposts, but not the reality that one is after. As Daniel Callam says, the entire Christian faith is based on a historical religious experience of the Resurrection of Christ by his disciples. Or, according to Peter Kreeft, in the Eucharist we think God enters us, but in fact we enter him. Kreeft continues: Divine truth is the deepest longing of our hearts. What is the heart? The heart is the abyss that is at the centre of our being: the self or the spirit. The spirit can think, choose and judge. But there is always something that escapes every possible picture of yourself, and that is the one who is making the picture. In a movie theatre, you can project everything on the screen except the projector. The one who is looking is not the one who is looked at. If you knew every single fact about yourself, you could not because every act of understanding every fact is itself a new fact, and that new fact could only be understood by another new fact. This is why we need memory. Since we live in time we can never grasp all knowledge about ourselves. Only God who is in eternity can fully know us. The heart is the term that Scripture gives to the self or the 'I'. It does not denote mere emotions, feelings or sentiments but the 'I', when you say my body, my thoughts, my choices. It is the fountain of all our waters. Jesus said to the disciples that you can't be defiled by what goes out of you. Out of the heart flows virtue and sin, but also the deepest love, not mere philanthropy, nor friendship but the fundamental option i, e. Internalizing it in your heart, It is your freedom, a mysterious attitude of accepting or not accepting God's love. Since God designed our hearts, and made us to be happy like himself, it is impossible not to love God. Our hearts are restless until they rest in you said St. Augustine. It is psychologically impossible for one to refuse happiness. Even a suicider loves happiness but his life makes him miserable and hopeless so he wants to get rid of it. We cannot not seek our full happiness. Our hearts' deepest love, longing and happiness is God himself but God is not definable. He is beyond our definitions and comprehension. St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest of minds in