At the Cusp of Forever: The Alpha/Omega Conspiracy

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, and now, and always, and into the ages of ages. 

Amen.

-- Gloria Patri, Classic Christian Doxology

The night before officiating a wedding up in Hattiesburg, I once again found myself contemplating, on the edge of the abyss, at the Cusp of Forever.  My impetus for my contemplation was the "Alpha/Omega" stole I'd ordered from the monastery and just received.  It is white with gold trim and tassels, and the Greek "Alpha" and "Omega" symbols, also in gold, one on each end.  The stole arrived too late to adjust some design issues so it would not be used in this ceremony, but these Greek symbols would be the focus of my thoughts that evening, as I stood on the edge.

It would seem Christianity would like to own the concept of time and, if it existed, that would still not be fine.  We pay way too much attention to "religion" and not enough attention to our faith.  We say Christianity is one of the three Abrahamic religions, along with Islam and Judaism.  I'm sorry, did Abraham declare these "religions" to be his?  And why are they so hard when God specifically handed down ten very simple commandments for us to follow?  Novelist, poet, and philosopher, C.S. Lewis (1998-1963) once wrote, "If Christianity were something we were making up, of course, we would make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete in simplicity with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with fact. Of course, anyone can be simple if he doesn't have any facts to bother about."  Yet, it would seem this is exactly what Christians did, they competed with everyone else to invent a religion when all God asked for was our love and faith.  So, why didn't they follow God's instructions and keep it simple, stupid?

“Time is an illusion.”

-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955). theoretical physicist

"As it was in the beginning, and now, and always, and into the ages," so says classic Christian doxology.  More telling of a conspiracy to keep the faithful on their toes is this modern Anglican "authorized" version: "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."  Is there such a thing as a world without end?  Well, all things come to an end, even our world lives on borrowed time as our sun burns through its limited fuel supply.  But, how do we really feel about this idea of was, is now and forever shall be?  In my weekly meeting at the medical center, I always address this idea of Trinity and, by extension, our definition of God.

Christianity touts God as consisting of a Holy Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  There are also three distinct parts, a trinity, to the structure of an atom (electrons, protons, and neutrons).  God was, is now, and forever shall be, but can't we say as much for the humble atom, as well?  We can split the atom, modify it, but does it ever truly cease to exist or does it simply become a different atom?  If we, eventually, break the atom down into the minute "quark" will we find this quark also consists of three distinct parts?  Again, if we do, eventually, discover this, will we continue to ask ourselves if even those parts are simply combinations of three others, and so on?  Was there ever only one part and, if so, who created it if God has a theoretical "trinity" of parts to equal the whole?

“I am Alap and I am Tau, The First and The Last, The Origin and The Fulfillment.”

-- Revelation 22:13, Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Was there ever a beginning?  Will there be an end?  Or, is time, as I believe, an infinite loop instead of a linear concept which leads many to believe time, as we define it, is simply a human construct and has no real bearing on the universe other than to give life another system of measurement?  The idea of linear time was probably an innocent construct to accomplish an end, a way to measure our life, without really giving much thought to whether it was really linear or if it, in fact, would come full circle... given enough time.  Any given moment is, in theory, both the beginning and the end.  The conspiracy may have arisen after the concept of time as a method for the government to control the lives of the population, and for organized religion to either govern or control the actions of government.  If true, it bodes another question:  Who, then, conspires to control the conspirators?

Well, if the very nature of a conspiracy, the definition, is to plan in secret, to do something unlawful or harmful, then it would stand to reason that conspirators are, themselves, usually evil.  But, what if they are conspiring to do acts of goodness?  You can, obviously, conspire to do either, I would think, but if it is truly good, why would they have the need for conspiracy?  Wouldn't they want people to see the ultimate good in it and jump on board the wagon?  Of course, they would, unless it is to be a surprise.  Governments and religions try to tout their actions as being in the best interest of people, even if the people don't yet understand why. Hmmm... Sounds like the surprise here is a conspiracy to control thought under the guise of doing good.  But, as always, I digress.

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

-- Andy Warhol (1928-1987), visual artist

The beginning, the middle, and the end, necessary concepts with which to understand the greater concept of time?  Some philosophies suggest that we ignore what was, not worry about what will be, and pay close attention to what is.  Yet, whatever shall be must be a consequence of the choices we make now from lessons we learned before.  So, it would seem we could conclude that the past and future are, in fact, one with now and it, therefore, should follow that they have been one in the past and will, again, be one in the future.

Did anyone conspire to create time?  Did anyone conspire to control it, or to use it as a tool to control others?  If time doesn't exist and is simply a human construct, can anyone really control it?  You can't control what doesn't exist, you can only control the concept of it, this concept which mankind puts so much stock in.  Is there a "conspiracy" between the learned and the powerful to control a concept of something which does not exist, for which there is no proof other than the stated concept?  Do they seek to control our faith in a theory by creating a foundation based on nothing but the faith of ignorance?

“Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.”

-- Lao Tzu (???-533B.C.), philosopher

Let's agree that time was, in fact, constructed to give structure to our existence.  We now strive to know how much of it we have left and, even though we find it is never enough, we are constantly trying to save it.  We try to cram as much life into what we time we think we have left, even though we have no real understanding of the reality that time does not exist.

But, if there was no beginning and there is no end, what are we left with?  No matter how we look at it, what "is" seems to be most important, philosophically, to "why" we are.  The angel in Revelation proclaims to be "the first and the last, the origin and the fulfillment," whereas God, if we buy into scripture, simply states, "I am."  And, what more is there to say?  God, the creating force in the universe, is the beginning and the end, and everything in-between.  God is everything, always and forever, world without end, and yet, even God is more concerned that we all understand "I am" as opposed to "I was" or "I will be."  For God, "I am" is all we need to concern ourselves with; it is all we need to know.

“I think this is irresponsible preaching and very dangerous, and especially when it is slanted toward children, I think it's totally irresponsible, because I see nothing biblical that points up to our being in the last days, and I just think it's an outrageous thing to do, and a lot of people are making a living—they've been making a living for 2,000 years—preaching that we're in the last days.”

-- Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000), cartoonist, "Peanuts"

"The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!" and yet, we are still here.  But, the world will end, 5-billion years from now, along with our sun and, probably, the other planets in our system.  We will leave this earth as the sun expands and we will move outward to Mars and the moons of Jupiter, staving off our ultimate loss of habitable real estate for as long as it takes us to move enough of our genetic material to another solar system.  We will repeat this exercise of seeding just as our ancestors did, so very long ago, when they lost their system to a similar fate.  The infinite ribbon of our existence will repeat, as it always does, and we will live on through our infinite lives until our souls learn that which is necessary.  The energy which is us will exist forever in one form or another and, thus, so will we.

We get caught up in what others tell us about the rapture.  We pay little attention to why a loving father who leave any of his children behind to suffer at the hands of another.  It seems to me that much of what I have been taught about God is an insidious plan by the "Great Deceiver" to make me fear my Father, my God, and lose sight of all that is important to my progress.  Will God take some and leave others behind?  Very probably, if they haven't as yet, learned all they need to.  But if we have faith that there is always hope, through God, then why isn't there always hope for the lost?  Did God make these mistakes?  Didn't the creator consider these imperfect creations?  Isn't He omnipotent and perfect?  He is for me.

When we discuss the end of the world, let's not get it confused with the end of us.  We are spiritual beings, beings of energy, which inhabit these mortal shells as "environment suits" in order to exist on this plane.  When our suits wear out we will either get another or move on to greener pastures and all new adventures, but we will continue, one way or another.

“In 5-billion years the Sun will expand & engulf our orbit as the charred ember that was once Earth vaporizes. Have a nice day.”

-- Neil Degrasse Tyson, astrophysicist

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.