Thought Experiments (was Re: Life on Mars?)

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>> [Bro R.J. Brown's alphabet soup matrix of reasonings, insanity, and genius]

> No, really, I suspect there are several others on this list who would
> jump in and contribute to this discussion.  After all, it it is a
> discussion on how we come to not just know, but believe in truth.  The
> whole point of my diatribe was that it always boild\s down to an act
> of faith.

Hey, I was gonna make some serious comments about this jazz Bro Brown
was talking about!  I just needed a few days to cogitate on it.  Bro
Brown, you may forward this to your friend if you think it would be
worthwhile -- another plot for his truth matrix :-) perhaps.  There is
some amount of polemic in my message.  Oh well.

My view of reality is influenced heavily by the idea that all we see
here are shadows of heavenly things.  My essay on the Mustang statues
is a reflection of this view, just as I believe this creation is a
reflection of the glory of God.  The saints of God are also reflections
of God, here to reflect the light from the fire of the Holy Ghost into
the hearts of others.

Because we have this Holy Ghost fire in our bones, we see things
differently; we get a little more illumination, if you will, on the
true state of this world we live in.  More plots for the truth matrix.

One illustration I like to use is that of Plato's cave.  Three men are
in a cave from birth, chained such that they can see only the cave
wall.   They can see nothing of the outside world, they can not see
each other.  There's a fire burning behind them to provide some degree
of light, but the men can't see that either.  All they see is the
shadows cast from the fire onto the cave wall.  The men recognize each
other by their flickering shadows on the wall.  Everything they see is
the shadow of the real object: a mere two-dimensional representation of
the thing, and a deformed one at that.

One of these mythical men is somehow set free of his chains.  He
fearfully ventures forth to the outside world, where he is blinded by
the unimaginable brightness.  But soon, he adjusts to the light and he
sees a *real* rabbit, a *real* tree, a *real* human being!  He sees
these are three-dimensional and with color.  The world of the real
objects is beyond his wildest imaginings.

He runs back to his friends in the cave to tell them of his
disoveries.  But he is unable to explain to them truly what he sees.
Perhaps their reaction is even mocking or disdain, maybe even thinking
their freed friend has gone insane.  They just don't "get it."

As Christians we've experienced this: we have been unchained, set free,
and have gone from darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus Christ.
We see things as Truth.  We see clearly instead of through a smoky
haze of flickery artificial light.  We attempt to explain this reality
to our friends who are trapped in the darkness.  It all seems so
obvious to Christians, but the reply of our friends who see only the
distorted shadows is "Get real!"  And the view really is different from
beyond the cave.  Can the saints testify with me?

  * * * a tangential thought * * *

I've been speaking in terms of abstracts such as Truth.  There is an
absolute Truth of course, and this abstract Truth is as real as the
chair I'm sitting in.  But here's another challenge: is this physical
creation of the skies and the earth, canyons, mountains, pine forests,
prairie plains, blue oceans, and green lakes also merely a dim
reflection of heaven?  We see hints of the undescribable beauty of
heaven in the Bible, of streets of gold, walls of jasper, gates of
pearl.

I once "spiritualized" these physical descriptions.  But while I was
hiking along admiring the beauty of the Rocky Mountains a few years ago
I thought "Why not?"  I was being awed by the physical majesty of these
mountains.  I've also been impressed by works of men who craft
artifacts out of precious metals and gems.  I've walked though museums
and seen some truly awe-inspring works of art.  So why shouldn't the
Master Craftsman build a work of beauty which would out-glory the
majesty of the mountains and man-made structures and other works of
art?

Imagine what heaven will be like!  HALLELUJAH!!!   \o/

Richard Masoner

P.S. One painting I saw at the Louvre was one artist's rendition of the
"trinity."  Showed an ancient-looking white-robed man with a long white
beard and long white hair sitting on a throne ("the Father"), a
middle-aged man, also robed, but with shorter hair and a trimmed beard
and mustache standing beside him ("the Son"), and floating nearby was a
trio of gaseous-looking balls revolving about one another (presumably,
the "Holy Spirit").  Sitting off to the side was the Mother of God the
blessed Virgin Mary who was receiving prayers from the people below and
passing them along to her son.  Surrounding them were various other
saints who also were receiving the prayers from below and passing them
along.  I didn't class this painting in the category of
"awe-inspiring," but rather under "curiosity."

P.P.S. These rather different (to me) thoughts that a perfected or
ideal form of physical reality will be present in heaven I got while
reading the novel _Dominion_ by Randy Alcorn.  I'm currently about 1/4
through and it's an excellent excellent novel.  I'm also currently
reading _Can Man Live Without God_ by Ravi Zacharias, also good though
a little on the obtuse side.  I'll be posting some good excerpts from
that here probably.  I've started re-reading _More Than a Carpenter_ by
Josh McDowell, and I'm almost done reading _Submarine Commander_ by
Paul S<something>, former C.O. of the Korean War-era U.S.S. Pickerel
and officer of several WWII submarines.   This last has little
spiritual value, just part of my interest in military history :-)