Reflections on Divinity: A Tantalising Pursuit of the Divine Enigma

By Harold Dierickx

This book is an original, non-denominational approach to the concept of divinity. The basic underlying philosophy is that, since the existence of God cannot be proven, one can only hypothesize about his/her/its existence. Mystics claim to know God through direct experience. Their views are amply represented. In conclusion, a hypothesis of divinity is formulated, inspired by the mystical view of the omnipresence of the Divine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398436107

Harold Dierickx

Harold Dierickx was born in Bruges, Belgium. He studied economics, international relations, information science, religious studies and mysticism. His professional activities took place at FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the British Library, the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands, and the European Parliament in Luxembourg. Throughout all these studies and professional activities, his interest in spirituality never left him.

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About the Author

Harold Dierickx was born in Bruges, Belgium. He studied economics, international relations, information science, religious studies and mysticism. His professional activities took place at FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the British Library, the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands, and the European Parliament in Luxembourg. Throughout all these studies and professional activities, his interest in spirituality never left him.

Dedication

I dedicate this work to my late grandmother, Leonie Van den Bunder, who planted the seeds of spirituality in my soul.

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Harold Dierickx 2023

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Synopsis

The present work has been inspired by the often fruitless discussions concerning the existence or not of God. Part of the problem is that participants in such discussions often do not adequately define their concept of divinity or utilise very anthropomorphic images of God, which is equivalent to reducing God to a kind of superman.

For such discussions to be meaningful, it is necessary to work with adequate hypotheses of divinity. But what should be understood under the term ‘adequate’? It should be realised that in agreement with all mature theologies, if there is a God or Divinity, He/It is ineffable. A fully adequate definition of Divinity is therefore impossible. The best one can attempt is to formulate a hypothesis of Divinity which is not incompatible with contemporary science and which is not manifestly anthropomorphic, i.e., reduced to human proportions and representations. To arrive at such a hypothesis of Divinity is precisely what is undertaken in this book.

In the first introductory part, a sketch of the author’s personal spiritual development is given. From this it is clear that mysticism and mystical theology will be the main source of inspiration for the hypothesis.

After that, the disciplines deemed particularly relevant for the hypothesis of Divinity are considered. These are cosmology, quantum physics, brain science, philosophy and mysticism. Special attention is paid to views on the controversial question of the possible existence of an immaterial (spiritual) dimension to reality. There is no proof for or against. There is only faith either side of the divide or agnosticism.

The author assumes a spiritual element in reality, thus leaving an opening for a personal God. He arrives at this assumption as a result of his study of mysticism. Mystics experience the Divine as a real and loving Presence and their descriptions of this phenomenon are similar.

A remarkable observation has been a growing consensus, in science as well as in mysticism, on the great interconnectedness of everything in the universe. In the universe, the macro-cosmos and the micro-cosmos (quantum physics) are intertwined. Mystical theology proclaims the omnipresence of the Divine Spirit in matter and hence also in the universe and humanity as the life-giving reality.

The hypothesis of Divinity is built on this divine omnipresence which is seen as one with an eternal universe which has no beginning nor end and which includes the essence of matter. This is only a hypothesis, leaving the exact nature of the Divine open, without excluding though a possible personality and loving characteristics.

Contemporary science speculates about the ultimate nature and origin of the universe. One can say that both theology and science have more questions than answers respectively about God and the universe although a kind of convergence is arising slowly. Mystical theology certainly believes in the unity of everything and scientists are dreaming of a consolidating scientific theory of everything.

In his epilogue, the author endeavours to suggest the possible ‘usefulness’ of his hypothesis of Divinity for contemporary people.

1. Introduction

01.07.2020

This study reflects my lifelong interest in spiritual matters and in particular my quest for deeper understanding of the divine enigma. This has not taken place without upheaval. There have been periods of very severe doubts approaching religious nihilism. These doubts have never completely disappeared but they have been attenuated by study of the mystics and mystical theology.

Given this never-ending, difficult-to-understand urge, I have even asked myself whether I was not a victim of some kind of religious obsession. So far, I have not been able to answer this question. In the next chapter, I shall deal more in detail with this personal spiritual journey. This will be a kind of brief report on my evolving doubts, ideas, insights. It is meant for my own elucidation but I trust that it may also be of some interest to people interested in spirituality, who have had a similar experience.

One of the other causes that drove me to embark on this study is the unease caused by considering the unconvincing superficial arguments used by many in contemporary society, including some scientists and atheists, to deny the existence of God and any non-material dimension of reality. Most of the time, these arguments are based on very immature concepts of divinity.

The major purpose of this book, therefore, will be to arrive at a mature concept of divinity that can be taken as a basis for discussion within the context of contemporary science, in particular, the latest cosmological facts and theories in secular society. My ambition is not to prove the existence of God, something which to my knowledge nobody has succeeded in doing so to-date, but at least to avoid meaningless discussions as referred to above and to provide a basis for suggesting, to say the least, a not unreasonable hypothesis of a divine dimension.

1.1 Some Milestones in My Spiritual Journey

The Passion Story

I must have been about five years old, a happy member of the first kindergarten class of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. We were sitting in the class of Sister Apollonia. Sister Apollonia was aged, tall, slim and very kind. We all loved her. She was one of these persons who radiate love and affection. I am saying this in retrospect, but she must have been capable of approaching an entire class with great empathy. This is the way I remember Sister Apollonia till this very day.

It is the background of the first event¹ that introduced me to the Roman Catholic faith. For most of the morning of the Saturday before Easter, Sister Apollonia had been telling us the story of the suffering and death on the cross of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. What exactly she said I do not remember, but it was a gripping tale, so much so that I went home for lunch full of sympathy and compassion for Jesus. I was thoroughly moved and concerned. Although, as far as I remember, the divine nature of Christ was not explained to us on that occasion, the emotion I experienced then must have been one of unconscious but deeply felt faith, faith which I do not have now, but whenever I become aware of it in other people, it profoundly moves me.

The next milestone came about two years later.

First Communion

Roman Catholics receive communion for the first time around the age of seven. At that age I was sitting in the first class of a primary school run by Xaverian Brothers. My class teacher was Brother Vincent. He was a dark-haired young man, full of dedication and enthusiasm. I had eagerly been waiting to be taught to read. Once he realised this, Brother Vincent did all he could to help me reach my objective, mainly by giving me some extra instruction during class time whenever an opportunity arose. As a result, I was already a good reader at the end of this first schoolyear.

Another important item on the curriculum was preparation for first communion. This was done by Brother Vincent in cooperation with the local assistant-parish priest. In those days (the beginning of the second world war) every parish had at least one assistant-priest in addition to the head priest. We went to church when there were no services to get acquainted with the ritual. I do not remember many details except the awe-inspiring theology adapted to our age.

Essentially, we all understood (or at least I did—obviously I cannot speak for my class mates but I think that all experienced the seriousness of the exercise) that we were going to receive for the first time the body of Christ (at that time his blood in the form of wine was not given) this holy man who loved us, who was also God and who had given his life for our salvation. This narrative was the perfect sequel to Sister Apollonia’s passion story. The remarkable thing I still find today, was the utmost reverence and feeling of awe with which I prepared for and received for the first time the Host.

I cannot imagine that at that time I was fully aware of all the theological implications, but there was this feeling of total unquestioned faith, experienced also when listening to the passion story for the first time. With the passing of time this indescribable all-embracing feeling gradually ebbed away to end in ever increasing doubt. Yet, I am grateful for these overpowering mysterious moments. Thank you, Sister Apollonia, Brother Vincent, for having made this possible.

The Age of Doubt

I do not remember exactly when it started but by the age of twelve or thereabout, I began to doubt more and more the basic dogmas of the Catholic Church. I did not think much about the mysterious Trinity dogma but the divinity of Christ became a major hurdle and is until today. I went for six years to a Catholic secondary school. We received religious education almost every day.

All aspects of the Catholic faith were covered, so much so that when finishing school, I felt that I knew as much about all that as did a priest. This was rather irrelevant because when leaving school I had become very tired of this entire education system. There was not only the religious education as such but all our life was regulated by the school. Six days a week we were busy from half past seven in the morning until seven in the evening with attending mass, classes and studying on the school premises.

We had two so-called free afternoons each week but this was only between 12.15 at noon until a quarter past five when we had to be back in school until seven to study. In that free time between noon and a quarter past five we were ‘encouraged’ to go to the school grounds to do sports. On Sundays we were free after mass from eight till nine a.m. Each Saturday, however, we went home with a considerable amount of housework. The idea behind all this, no doubt, was to leave as little opportunity as possible ‘to hang around’ in places outside home or school.

When going home after seven in the evening we were given a specific time to be off the street (posted on a billboard in the school study room—we all had a number and after each number was written in how many minutes we had to be off the street). A brother toured the main streets of the town on his bicycle to check compliance. Even a chat on a street corner with class mates beyond the prescribed time was liable to be sanctioned.

Sanctions were given in the form of ‘bad points’. For two bad points in a week, one had to come to school during one of the ‘free’ afternoons to copy the school regulations. More bad points would result in doing this during both free afternoons or even on Sunday. This was also the time when not attending mass on Sunday meant committing a capital sin which involved going straight to hell in case of death without prior confession or ‘perfect act of repentance’.

Sexual misbehaviour was an important matter. One teacher went as far as specifying at which point in sexual arousing capital sin commenced. When reflecting upon this now I wonder whether he was not trying to tell a joke (he had a sense of sarcasm in any case).

After six years of this regime, I was thoroughly disgusted with the whole thing. Yet, contrary to what many of my class mates did, if not immediately at least after some years, I decided to continue to go to church on Sundays. I do not know why I took that decision, perhaps it was due to some religious factor in my DNA. Apart from these regular church visits during many years, there was very little religious practice.

The reason why I have elaborated on this ‘regime’ is not rancour, although there was undoubtedly some of that in the first years after leaving the school. Now, much later, this kind of negative feeling has subsided. As a matter of fact, I am now grateful for these years, excessively exacting as they were.

Academically, this school was very good and although independent thinking in matters of religion was not encouraged, the excessiveness of the whole system has driven me to think independently for myself. I have done this all my life and it has resulted not in clearing my doubts but in a state of mind that has made me recognise the study of divinity as a fascinating subject. At this moment, the answers are less important than the ongoing search. Some of this will be reflected in the present work which hopefully will be of some interest to those who may read it.

The Discovery of Mysticism and Mystical Theology

Most of my life I have spent outside my country of origin. After university I went abroad to study further and for work never to return until pension age. One of my several dwelling places was Italy. There too I went to church on Sundays but at first, my knowledge of Italian was insufficient to understand much of what was going on.

My experience of Sunday masses has been that with a few exceptions, they are not very interesting. The exceptions were when the celebrant delivers an interesting homily or when, for whatever mysterious or non-mysterious reason, thoughts come which are uplifting. Not knowing Italian well enough, interesting homilies were not an option. At home I found a handy little volume containing the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

Every Sunday, I took that booklet with me to church and read it from A to Z during mass time. I was, of course, familiar with the stories but had never read any Gospel completely and the Acts, not at all. I found it an ‘entertaining’ way to get through the mass. I do not remember if at that time, as easily happens to me now when reading a gospel passage, I became emotional. Be this as it may, I enjoyed this reading.

Shortly after the discovery of that book, I discovered another one that I read through in a very short time in the same way as I might have read a captivating novel. It was a book on mysticism in two parts: a more theoretical first half followed by an anthology². It was a revelation. It convinced me that whatever doubts I might have, if there was a solution, it would have to come from the study of mysticism.

So far so good. However, things are often not as simple as they appear at first sight. This applies also to my discovery of mysticism. Since I do not intend to write my biography, it is time now to continue in a more systematic fashion. I skip quite a few years to arrive at the current state of play.

1.2 Current State of Play

My prolonged study of the subject has convinced me that theology has to take into account scientific developments and in particular cosmology, quantum physics and brain research. This is now accepted by most theologians³.

Science has certainly done away with the anthropomorphical images of God as they appear in the traditional narratives of most if not all religions. These are the images of God made to the likeness of man and not the other way round as is proclaimed in the Bible.

Atheism has found it easy to declare ‘the death of God’ based on the untenable concepts of divinity based on such naive concepts which are contrary to proven findings of science. God, indeed, has not created the world in six days to the point of exhaustion necessitating a seventh day of rest, nor has He created man out of a handful of clay and his female companion by taking a rib out of him.

Richard Dawson, the world-famous missionary of atheism, makes a meal of this in his best seller The God Delusion based on Darwinian evolution. In passing, it may be mentioned that even Darwin himself pointed out that natural selection was not the sole cause of evolutionary development.

In a book by Fodor and Piattelli Palmarini⁴, it is maintained that there is more to evolution than mutation and natural selection. The laws of physics and chemistry and matter behaving in characteristic and non-random ways also play a role. In other words, some determinism may also be involved.

In a chapter on philosophy, atheism will occasionally be dealt with but at this point I only mention that acceptance or denial of a divine dimension needs stronger arguments than the self-evident rejection of the mentioned man-made images of God. In this chapter, I shall also consider some authors who may be atheist more in appearance than in substance, e.g. Carl Sagan and Spinoza.

There are theist as well as atheist scientists as well as those who avoid considering a divine dimension within their scientific endeavours. In the chapters that follow, I shall very briefly mention a few examples. These will concern cosmology, quantum physics and brain research because these are scientific areas that are significant for the concept of divinity.

After my consideration of science, I shall look at a few philosophical opinions and continue to see what mysticism can reveal because the mystics claim to have direct experience of the divine and are of the opinion that a rational, ‘scientific’ approach to God does not lead to deeper insight.

Hence, my present state of play is a state of openness to all reasonable possible points of view. Consideration of all the above will show to what this leads, in particular, what it does to my provisional hypothesis of divinity, which I shall formulate in due time.

1.3 Purpose of this book

Since time immemorial, science and theology have struggled with the origin of the world, although theology seems to be more confident about its conclusions on this issue. This is because it is believed that the sacred books of the religions in which the stories about the origin of the world appear are written under divine inspiration.

1.4 How Far has Contemporary Science Gotten in Explaining the Origin of the World?

The prevailing theory is that the universe originated out of a primordial ‘big bang’, the gigantic explosion of a minute amount of concentrated energy which kept expanding till the present day. How the ‘big bang’ itself originated, science has so far not explained. According to one theory⁵ there exists a never-ending cyclical series of ‘big bangs’, one originating out of the death knell of a preceding one. In oversimplifying terms: universes would first expand from and then contract into a minute volume of concentrated energy, thus endlessly creating and destroying successive universes.

Of course, this does not explain a first cause. Some scientists⁶ surmise that there is no need for a first cause because they have observed that quantum particles appear and disappear spontaneously in empty space. It follows that there is no need for a God-Creator. My personal observation in this connection is that these phantom particles appear and disappear in empty space which, after all, is space and space is ‘something’. If no cause is needed for particles in empty space, is there also no cause needed for empty space? Has empty space also spontaneously arisen out of nothing? If so, this can be no more than a scientific hypothesis.

Furthermore, the appearance of a ‘big bang’ is an event that cannot really be compared to the ephemeral appearance and disappearance of a particle. At the same time it is only fair to say that explaining the origin of the world by the occurrence of an endless succession of interconnected big bangs does not provide a logical explanation either. Science can describe the origin and evolution of the universe but it has no explanation for its ultimate cause.

A related general problem for science is to explain how the abstract laws of nature can combine with matter into the visible world. For this to happen, obviously there is need for an intervening force. This force could be called ‘God’ but not necessarily. Whether divine or not, the need for such a force is obvious. My personal hypothesis is that matter, or at least its essential constituting elements, must be assumed to be a pre-existing given. Only then can it, in combination with abstract and universal laws of nature and a (purposefully?) moving force result in the universe which we know. In this connection, one can say that science has described much of what takes place in the universe but this universe remains a mystery in its deepest essence.

1.5 How Far has Theology Gotten?

Just as there are many scientific theories concerning the origin of the universe, there are many theological cosmogonies. Most religions have a creation story which in many cases cannot stand up to contemporary science and cosmology.

As a matter of fact, theology is confronted here with a similar problem that is evoked when discussing the above scientific attempts to explain the origin of the universe: there is no logical explanation for how abstract laws of nature can interact with the material world, just like there is no explanation for how a transcendental deity, who is totally outside the material world, can create it.

I mentioned above that some scientists ‘explain’ the origin of the universe by positing that it emerged spontaneously out of some random particles in empty space. This is not very convincing. Also, theology has it’s not very convincing attempts of linking transcendence and immanence. For example, theologians like Plotinus, Dionysius the Areopagite and Eckhart conceive a transcendent Godhead who contains all potentialities to such an abundant degree that they unavoidably emanate (‘boil over’) into material and spiritual reality. Plato engaged the demiurge to shape the world in conformity with the transcendent Ideas. Christianity, if I have understood it correctly, has a transcendent God the Father who acts in the world through his Son and the Holy Spirit who are simultaneously transcendent and immanent.

The inevitable conclusion is that the origin of the world as well as its presumable (possibly divine) creative force so far remain an enigma. My personal ‘solution’ is that the creating force of the world must necessarily be transcendental as well as immanent; a combination of the transcendent laws of nature and the immanent essence of matter and of engendering power⁷. This originating force could be given the name of ‘God’.

The purpose of the present book is not to ‘prove’ the existence of such a force or God but rather to argue that it is not unreasonable to hypothesise such a God and that atheists should direct their arrows towards this kind of God and not towards the anthropomorphic concepts of divinity and creation as found e.g., in the Genesis of the Judeo-Christian Bible and in many other religious traditions. At the same time, it is hoped that my hypothesis of divinity may be acceptable to our secular society as a point of departure worthy of further reflection and discussion.

1.6 An Initial Clarification

As just said, purpose of this work is to arrive at a hypothesis of divinity. A hypothesis rather than a definition because since it is generally agreed or at least I am of the opinion that God, if He exists, is ineffable and that therefore, whatever one may say about God can at best only be a hypothesis. My hypothesis of divinity (HOD) will come much later but I wish to point out from the outset that I am fully aware of the controversial nature of the basic assumption that underlies this work, viz that there is more than a material dimension to the world.

Those that surmise a non-material element as part of reality refer to it as ‘spirit’. But what exactly is ‘spirit’? Can we say more than that it is not material, and if this is true, what is its very nature? Can spirit exist totally independent from matter? I think not, because if spirit acts in the world, no matter in how mysterious a way, we must assume that it uses some form of energy, and energy and matter are interchangeable.

Einstein’s formula E= mc² shows the relationship between energy and matter at the quantum level. Later in this work, the mysterious nature of matter will be discussed, including how it is animated by a mysterious force which one may call ‘spirit’ or ‘divine spirit’ according to Teilhard de Chardin⁸. It appears as if Divinity, spirit and matter are an eternal inseparable amalgam.

I add to this threesome the human soul, which in accordance with contemporary theology should be understood as being closely connected to matter in the form of the human body. Assuming that it is immortal and survives the body, it should also have a material component. This can be derived from the fact that some people have apparitions of deceased people which can only be possible if these apparitions have energy and some form of material component.

All this to make it clear that I accept the existence of Divinity, spirit, soul and (obviously) matter, albeit largely as unknown quantities, as indispensable pillars of the present work. With the exception of the existence of matter, these are premises that cannot be proven, but as will be seen from the sources I consult, I am not the only one who accept these premises. Without them, nothing could be written at all about the subject of this book. I trust that as this work will progress, it will appear that accepting these premises is not unreasonable.

However, this initial clarification is meant to make it understood that I am fully aware of only being objective to the point of admitting that I cannot be entirely objective in using premises that I cannot prove. Still, not being able to prove something does not necessarily mean that it is untrue. In this connection, I may mention that in the course of my reflections on divinity, I have often profoundly pondered these questions, leading to assumptions and hypotheses rather than clear answers. The by-product of these musings was a feeling of being immersed in overwhelming power, intelligence and beauty.

This is reminiscent of the possibly unconscious mystical rapture experienced by some scientists, especially (nuclear) physicists and cosmologists, when studying these matters. These impressions are in line with Rudolf Otto’s qualification of the Divine with the words ‘tremendum’, ‘fascinens’ and ‘mysterium’⁹. The world is full of this power, intelligence and beauty. This is a real presence which one might call ‘God’. But, what’s in a name? as Shakespeare said.

The more one becomes aware of this reality, the less important become discussions about the existence or not and the nature of God. Deep reflection about all this can lead to a feeling of happiness that seems to be unworldly, beyond proof, joy and grief.

---

¹ event↩︎

² anthology↩︎

³ theologians↩︎

⁴ Palmarini↩︎

⁵ theory↩︎

⁶ scientists↩︎

⁷ power↩︎

⁸ Chardin↩︎

⁹ ‘mysterium’↩︎

2. Consideration of Science

I am not going to engage in an elaborate study of the three disciplines which are thought to be particularly relevant for the concept of divinity, i.e., cosmology, quantum physics and brain science. This would require more than one book on its own. I shall limit myself to a few representative highlights.

2.1 Cosmology

Metaphorically speaking, one can say that God, if He¹⁰ exists,