The Journey (Is there a God/Higher Power)

The Journey

This journey as stated has to have a starting point so let us choose a point and for arguments sake we will use the Big Bang Theory, a point in time approximately “12 to 14 billion years ago”.⁽⁵⁾ We begin our story/journey.

Approximately 12 to 14 billion years ago a Great Scientist who has existed since the well has existed forever (for the sake of argument) decided that it was time to create something, let us say the Great Scientist needed some excitement in the never ending existence of infinity. Hence using the dark void of nothingness the Great Scientist brought together the conditions of matter and energy to create the “Big Bang”, which we will use in this scenario, (research is providing more information on the beginnings of the universe).  Infinity is a very, very, very long time and a day to the Great Scientist was a very, very, very long time. The Great Scientist watched as the new creation, the universe began to expand and grow.

Now for argument’s sake, there was no Great Scientist and the big bang just happened hmm possible but probable the odds would say unlikely.

Now the Great Scientist monitored the universe and at points in time added catalysts to cause the creation of solar systems, suns, and planets.

Now for arguments sake this all happened purely by accident or the by the laws of attraction.

Time passes and the Great Scientist decides to create a specific solar system and galaxy, the milky way and earth pretty amazing from a mere human point of view.  This occurred about 4.5 billion years ago.

For argument’s sake, this happened by chance and the exact conditions were a random act.

The Great Scientist strategically manipulates the creation of the sun and planets in our solar system and formulates the exact position that earth needs to be to sustain life, as we know it. Well again, eternity is a very long very, very, long time so the Great Scientist has time to establish the conditions for life to form and evolve. Every so often the Great Scientist makes a change here or decides that a particular situation is not what was wanted therefore things change life comes and goes and changes until the day the Great Scientist decides it is time for humanity to make his/her appearance.

For the sake of argument, evolutionists and non-theists will state that humanity evolved from apes and yet not all apes evolved into humanity therefore the question begs to be asked how humanity became different (survival of the fittest) natural selection.

There is supposition that man made a dramatic leap along the evolutionary chain and our DNA dramatically changed to allow us to become modern man. Chance or design begs to be asked.

The Great Scientist guided the development of humanity with specific changes in DNA and weeding out the ones that would not survive or adapt. Chance or design again begs to be asked.

Billions of years have elapsed and humanity is on its way. Life on planet earth has been set on a course towards a distant future but occasionally The Great Scientist sees the need for changes and hence creation versus evolution. Stories have been told in many cultures and from different points on the globe and yet they all bear similarities, the great flood, the destruction of great cities by fire from the sky and the appearance of “Prophets” to guide humanity in a specified direction. There are differences but at the same time, there are numerous similarities. Fact or fiction begs to be asked. The issue is that all myths, legends or stories have a basis in fact.

It is said history has a way of repeating itself (the infinite loop) and perhaps we are all on a journey on this infinite loop. Only time will tell but this brings us back to the original question, Is there a God/Higher Power?

Based on reasoning and the fact again that for the myriad of things to occur to create the universe/diversity of life/humanity and the list goes on for it to happen by chance the odds are against it.

Non theist state and I respect their point of view just do not agree with it, state they assume nothing therefore do not have to provide evidence to support their point of view  and yet from my perspective they do assume by assuming nothing they have made an assumption. Besides assuming, nothing can be considered the easy way out and then there is nothing to support.

Theists on the other hand assume there is a higher power and therefore it is stated by their assumption they have to prove there is a higher power. I wonder if this should be the case but I state based on the laws of chance the idea that everything happened by chance could be the best evidence that there is a guiding force/higher power. 

Oh and on the laws of chance, it is said the more you throw the dice the more you are likely to hit an average but how many times does chance have to throw the dice to create life as we know it?

Our journey has ended and we are in the here and now and the debate rages over the existence of a higher power. There will come a day more than likely not in my lifetime when the question will be answered but for now I am content to believe in a higher power call it hedging my bet but what is life but one big gamble so I will hedge my bet.

References

(1) King James version of the Bible:

(2) Universe Today

(3) Creation and the Origin of theUniverse

(4)Aztec History

Is There a God/Higher Power

Is there a God/Higher Power

For those of us that believe in a higher power/God this may seem a trivial question but recently I felt the need to start a group on Facebook addressing the debate that goes on among theist and non-theists about this issue.  The range of topics have been the creation of the universe from a theist viewpoint to the view of non –theists. Differences have been rampant but the underlying question remains “Did God/Higher power create the universe and all its wonders or was it merely by chance”? Scientist have been studying this problem for hundreds of years and with the advent of modern technology, archaeology, historical research a solid answer still has not been found. Creation was it an accident or planned? I have thought about this for a very long time and decided to give my own take on the issue so follow me on a journey through time. Some of the evidence presented will be based on what is known today, some on supposition, some on imagination and some on faith, as I do believe there was/is a higher power guiding us. Join me on a journey through time.

The Beginning/Introduction

In order to begin a journey through time and creation we need to choose a beginning. As has been proposed there is the concept of infinity that everything is on a continuous cycle but even so for our journey we must choose a starting point hence the beginning of “our” universe. How did it all start? According to the Abrahamic religions e.g. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, God created the universe/earth as stated in the King James Bible Genesis 1 versus 1-31. ⁽¹⁾

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

³ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

⁶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

⁷ And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

⁹ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

¹¹ And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

¹³ And the evening and the morning were the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

¹⁵ And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

¹⁶ And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

¹⁸ And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

¹⁹ And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

²¹ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

²² And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

²³ And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

As we can see here, the description of the creation is explained according to Biblical tradition. The question that arises is what is the length of a day? Science through carbon dating and other methods has set the age of the earth at approximately “4.5 billion years old”, according to Universe Today⁽²⁾

This leads to some serious debate on how “God” could create the earth in six days as most assumed that was six 24-hour days. Six days versus over 4.5 billion years hmm so why is there a discrepancy. Theists have contemplated this question for ages/hundreds or more years. Is there a simple answer? This depends on how liberal one is in their thinking or how open to other points of view. Non-theists would argue there is no hard evidence that a higher power created the universe/earth/life. A set of circumstances came together at random and behold everything happened by accident worlds were created, and on earth, the myriad of life forms evolved from a set of single circumstances and we now have life, as we know it. First, I respect the non-theists point of view as we are all entitled to our views but I do not agree with it.

First argument against chance/by accident creation no guiding force e.g. higher intelligence:  It defies the basis of simple logic. The chances that the exact conditions were to happen for any set of results happening by accident are astronomical.  Perhaps the laws of attraction could be introduced meaning that you have atom A and atom B in a solution now based on science atom A needs an electron and it joins with Atom B to form atom AB.  Possible under the present understanding of science but for a specific set of atoms to combine with another set of specific atoms to form molecule AB without a guiding force bears a lot of consideration, possible but probable again the laws of chance make it an iffy bet at best.  If you are a betting person would you take odds on a situation like this? Rewards high, risks incalculable not sure if I would take the bet.

Other belief systems have their perspective on creation, Buddhism , according to Daily Buddhism.com “In fact, Buddha, in the Acintita Sutta, is supposed to have said, “Conjecture about [the origin, etc., of] the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.”⁽³⁾

The Aztec had their version of creation: “In the beginning was the void.  It was at some ancient time in the Aztec creation story that the dual god, Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl, created itself.  (Looking back, of course, the Aztecs believed that the many opposites that they saw in the world would have to somehow unite in t(4he origin of the world.)  This god was good and bad, chaos and order, maleand female.  Being male and female, it was able to have children.  It had four, which came to represent the four directions of north, south, east and west.  The gods were Huizilopochtli (south), Quetzalcoatl (east),Tezcatlipoca (west), and Xipe Totec (north).”⁽⁴⁾

Research has shown that every civilization has its version of creation. Therefore, the question begs to be asked, WHY? Universal thought or a universal link begs to be asked. Were the ancients simply repeating a story so old that its beginnings have been lost in time, perhaps?

As a huge fan of educational programs, I have watched many on the creation of man, alien theorists (e.g. Ancient Aliens) and recently learned something, perhaps our history is recorded in our DNA, interesting thought. So now, for our journey, again fact, fiction, supposition or faith you be the judge.

To be continued in The Journey

Links to Groups of Note

There are various groups on Facebook that are helping to promote dialogue and forward thinking on issues around the world in this post I am posting links to the ones I recommend.


http://www.facebook.com/groups/LibyansAndAmericans/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/united4peace/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/223627154436541/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/newpage4peace/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/129081333916272/

I will add to and edit this page as more pages become available that should be given consideration.

The End of an Era Continued

Earlier this year I posted on the End of an Era and planned to make it into a series of posts. Well sometimes real life intervenes and what is planned does not always happen. A lot has happened in Libya and the world over the intervening months and much has happened here at home, in the United States. The Arab Spring moved on to the summer and then the fall as other countries experienced their upheavals. Egypt had its elections and seemed to be moving forward. Syria erupted into bitter conflict and many have lost their lives more on that in another post. Libya has moved forward but not without some unexpected costs (more in another post). The US went through a bitter campaign season with the country deeply divided on their choices. For the average person life moved on if not with some difficulty, it moved on.

We the people of the world saw so much happening that it was hard to keep up as one crisis after another assailed us through the news. Bin Laden was killed by a US military strike force. A film was made that stirred up protests and violence in several countries as Muslims reacted to what they considered an insult against the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Economic crises affected many countries such as Greece and riots broke out in many countries. Everyday it seemed there was another upheaval, another bombing, more protests, more loss of life and then there was the shooting of Malala in Pakistan because she dared to seek education for herself and others like her. The Taliban took credit for the shooting and stated they would not stop until she was dead. Fortunately, she survived the attack and is now safe for the moment but what happens if she decides to return to Pakistan? Only time will tell and for those that believe in a higher power it is in the hands of God.

We the global community see changes happening everyday and it is difficult to keep up. For me I see it as was stated the end of an era and the chance for a better tomorrow. Take a stand for peace and take a stand against hatred and bigotry as we the people of the world are the ones who can control our destinies.

How I came to Islam

How I came to Islam

Friends and acquaintances alike have asked me many times why did I convert or revert as Muslims call it to Islam.  In order to give an accurate account I have to start a bit before I converted.

I was born into a typical Midwestern family in that both of my parents were white and Christian. My mom was LDS (Latter Day Saint) not devout practicing and my dad was Baptist not devout practicing either. I was raised with the standard Christian beliefs as there is a God, Jesus is the son of God, and I had to accept him as my savior. I celebrated all the standard Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter. I had a basic understanding of Christian beliefs. As I grew older I studied the Bible and was introduced to various Christian religions as my dad made it clear to my mom that I was not going to be forced to go to one specific church. He wanted me to choose my belief system. Because of his attitude I did learn to some degree about different Christian beliefs, I had friends who were Catholic and attended the Lutheran church, Methodist Church and even the Jehovah Witnesses.  I never really felt at home with any of them except maybe the Catholic church because of the nuns and priests. At one time I even fantasied about becoming a nun. The point is as far as religion for many years never found a fit. Then when I was older early 20’s and after I married my husband I was reintroduced to my mom’s faith LDS and was baptized into the Mormon Church (hind point mom had me blessed when I was a baby without dad’s consent). I was comfortable for a while and even attended the local LDS College, which was Rick’s at the time. I think in the case of the Nun and in the case of the LDS church the drawing factor was the separation of men and women in a manner of speaking.

Leap ahead or reflect as I said I was baptized into the Mormon Church at the age of 22 and had been married to my husband from Libya about a year. I did not have access to material on Islam and although hubby tried to answer my questions, he did not have the resources that I wanted. He accepted my choice at the time as he was not about to force me to become Muslim.

Now leap ahead 12 years and after the birth of my two sons. Hubby and I had been married about 12 years and we now had two sons and because of the way my father insisted on me being raised I insisted on the same with my sons. Of course there was a lot going on in the world at the time with the Palestinians and the world in general. It was in 1995 if my memory serves me correctly that an incident happened that change my perspectives completely. My sons had been born in 1984 and 1986. And were 11 and 9 at the time when my oldest son came to me and said mom (remember we were teaching them both religions at the time) came to me and said mom I want to believe the way you believe and I want to believe the way dad believes who do I believe? That question literally set me back. I was speechless as I did not have an answer and it made me realize the confusion I was causing for my children. Looking back I think I was in the same boat with the way my father insisted I be raised but more on that later.

I went to my husband and asked him what do I do? He did not have an answer either. I knew in my heart that he would never convert to my religion and it was at that time I was having some major issues with what was happening in the church. It was at that time some people had been excommunicated for talking about issues contrary to church doctrine. I had read all the LDS information such as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, again I was having some issues.  Fortunately we had met some other Muslims from my husband’s country, I had at this time gained access to the internet, and so I started to research Islam. I had a background from what my husband had told me but now I was searching in depth. After two weeks plus 12 years, of intensive study, I found I could accept Islam but it was hard to get around the issue of Jesus as the son of God in Christianity versus Jesus as a great prophet.  Even with that one issue, I felt I could become Muslim. So as I said two week study, I converted. I still had my doubts about the Jesus issue but felt it was in the best interest of the family that we no longer divide the children.  I have not regretted my decision and have become very passionate in my beliefs. I am not perfect by a long shot but I am Muslim and will be until I die.

Back to the Jesus issue, after more research and coming across some information on the web, I was able to resolve that issue in that from my studies the word used by many to interpret Jesus as the literal son of God is an old Aramaic, which means one who is close to God. Muslims accept the virgin birth and they accept that Jesus will return among other things. Therefore, I am at peace with my choice and will always try to defend my religion against misconceptions or Islamaphobes. We still observe the holidays with my family as they are Christian and so we have dinners on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Easter but not as a religious celebration but as a celebration of family. We do observe Ramadan, Eid Fitr (little Eid) and Eid Al Adha (Big Eid at the time of Hajj (Pilgrimage)). I do not believe in trying to make others believe as I do because that goes against what Islam teaches and there will be many that say what I am doing is wrong but that is their opinion not mine and my choices are between me and God/Allah.

What it means to be an American today?

A friend of mine asked me to write my story for her and so I did and this is what I wrote. This is just a brief overview of my perspectives.

What it means to be an America today?

My story:

I was born in the Midwest, Wyoming to be exact so I grew up with Midwestern ideals. As a child I was headstrong and tended to be my own person which made it difficult to make friends. I wasn't really an introvert as much as I was a self-contained person. I had strong beliefs of right and wrong which I learned from my parents and this tended to make me somewhat judgmental and those traits continue even today.

I am now 52 years old and have learned a lot in the last 52 years. I soon realized when I decided to go to college that the world was bigger than my own little piece of America. As I had lived in several different states that was a sizeable piece but at college my world expanded sometimes painfully that there was more to America and the world than I had thought. I watched TV so I knew of other countries and I was pretty good at geography but it had no context no personal meaning. It was at college this all changed.

As I said I have a very strong belief in right and wrong and at the time I entered college in the early 80’s I felt America could do no wrong. It was there I met the love of my life and my world expanded dramatically. You see my husband to be was from Libya which at that time was under the thumb of Ghadhafi. We happened to be in the same field of study and we met through mutual friends (long story). It was through him and others that I met that I learned as an American I had a lot to learn. I could no longer keep myself in my shell and ignore what was going on beyond the American borders. This was about the time of the Iranian hostage crisis and I watched the story unfold on TV. At that time, I was part of the group that accepted the word Muslim terrorist.  I felt the Muslims and terrorism were synonymous.  I remember all the coverage whenever there was an attack by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which was headed by Yasser Ararfat. Needless to say, I was growing in my knowledge of the world and at times it was a painful growth as I learned that America wasn’t the knight in shining armor I had thought it to be. My father had served in WWII and he had told some of the stories he had experienced during the war but they were just stories and did not have the meaning they do today.

I am proud to be an American and I do agree with our principles but now I realize there is more to it than that as I witnessed the Gulf War and the struggles more recently of the Arab Spring.  Over that period of time I learned about my husband’s beliefs and chose to convert to Islam and since then I have had to deal with the prejudice and hatred many feel towards my beliefs especially after 9/11. Many have suffered far worse than me but it made me realize that America has a long way to go to be truly accepting of all the people who make up its population. 

After 9/11 in 2005, I had the privilege of traveling to my husband’s country (Libya) and meet my extended family. They were warm and welcoming and it was there I learned how others viewed Americans. I was a bit surprised as many felt Americans were arrogant and that their way was the only way. The experiences they had were of Americans treating them as they deserved everything handed to them. I was sad this was so as I told my family there I am a guest in their country and as such it is the guests obligation to be considerate of the host. I pray I was able to change some misconceptions at that time.

Then is 2010 we were able to visit again just a few short months before the revolution. We became aware that something was brewing but it wasn’t until after we left that we followed what was going on and then the revolution happened.  I will not go into all the details but I had family threatened by Ghadhafi’s response and when it was finally over I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. This brings me back to what it means to be an American today is it means to be a responsible global citizen as what we do here in America affects others in the world. The world has become so interconnected it is important for me as an American to do what I can to help others and to work at home to protect what we hold dear our freedoms. We cannot let fear rule how we react to others.

The end of an era. Part 1 (A recap of events)

This is the beginning of a series of posts remembering the Libyan Conflict.
It has been a long time since I have posted here. It seems life has a way of taking over. We watched as the end of the Libyan conflict was broadcast on TV. We saw the images of Ghadafi as he was first shown alive and then was shown dead. Will the story of what really happened on that day of October 20, 2011, just eight months after the start of the Libyan conflict. As I reflect back over those eight months, I find they were days filled with fear, fear that we would receive news of the death of our family, fear that Ghadafi had managed to come out on top yet again, fear that things would deteriorate to the point of complete disaster for the Libyan people. Alhamdulillah things did not turn for the worse.

The people of Libya had a long and hard road to reach the point where Ghadafi was gone and his family on the run. The World Court had issued warrants for the arrest of Ghadafi, his son Saif and Ghadifi's brother-in-law Abdullah Sanussi on June 27th 2011. The United Nations earlier on March 17th, 2011 issued a mandate for a no fly zone. It was not a unanimous decision but with Russia, China, India, Germany and Brazil abstaining instead of vetoing the vote, the UN This allowed for the Libyan people to fight the battle on the ground. The cost of the war in Libya for the Libyan people is still being measured in the cost of lives with estimates of twenty to thirty thousand killed during the eight month conflict. Libyan officials declared Sunday October 23, 2011 as the official end of the war but much still needs to be done.

For anyone who has been affected by the Libyan Conflict especially those in Libya, I am putting together documentation of the conflict from a personal perspective and would like to have others share their stories.