3: The Source of All that Is

Last time, we discovered the network of necessary coexistence that makes up the universe. Basically, everything exists together, completely intertwined with each other, such that if ANYTHING changed, the entire universe would change.

Now, this network must have a source. All these things in this network cannot be the source of their own existence, holding each other in existence, because they cannot exist without each other. In our picture of the dog, the water does not exist except with the ball, and the ball does not exist except with the water. They are completely dependent upon each other. In reality, you cannot take the ball away from the water and call it the same moment. It only exists as it is, the ball on the water, depending completely upon each other for their mutual existence.

Everything in this network is equally dependent upon each other. If anything is taken out, it all falls apart. It must have its source, somewhere, though. There must be something, somewhere, holding the entire network together, lending it existence. That source of existence must be outside of that network. Why? Because if it was within the network of coexistence, its existence would be entirely dependent upon the rest of the network. This mutual dependence in the network is much like an arch.

The way an arch is built, two columns are leaned toward each other, leaning on each other and holding each other up. However, they do not simply begin that way. At the top of the arch is a critically important point. This is called the keystone. If the keystone comes out, the entire arch crumbles. Likewise, without some sort of keystone to hold the universe in existence at every instant, it would simply vanish into nothingness, because nothing within that network is capable of supporting its own existence independent of the rest.

Now, this source of existence must have a few very distinct characteristics. We’ll take a look at them one by one.

First off, this source of existence must be simple. Alright, term defining time. What does simple mean? It doesn’t mean small or easy to understand. Instead, here, it is being used to mean not consisting of parts. It’s only one thing, one piece. Why is this necessary? Well, because if this source of existence were made of multiple different parts, in the end, there would be one part lending existence to the others. It is both one and simple.

It must also be present to all things. This source of all existence is the reason any thing exists at any given instant. To it, all moments are present, as each thing that exists receives its existence from this source. However, at the same time, the entirety of this source of existence must be present in all things. Why? Because we have already demonstrated that it is one and simple. It is impossible to divide something that is one with no parts. It is fully present in all things, completely and entirely.

It must be completely and totally present to everything in existence at every instant. Why? Because we’ve already demonstrated previously that in each instant, a new network of coexistence is created. Each instant, everything that exists is radically dependent upon each other, and if it were not receiving its existence from outside the network.

There is one last quality that this source of coexistence must have. It must be immutable, or unchanging. Why? Because if the source of that existence were to change at all, it would be present in different ways at different times. However, we have already demonstrated that this source of existence must be fully present in its entirety at every moment for anything to exist. If it were to change, things would suddenly pop in and out of existence.

I think this is far enough to take this today, we’ll continue to draw these ideas out in the next post.

2: The Network of Coexistence

It's time to begin the series. I ask for only one thing. We begin this series with only one assumption- That the Universe (or something) exists. From here, it will be purely logic moving forward. No biblical citations will be thrown out until after it's been proven that the Bible can be used. No assumptions based on any sort of religious tendencies will be used. It will be logic moving forward. Here we go.

So, to begin this series, we’re going to start with a blank slate. Basically, we have the Universe. That’s it. Everything in the Universe is existing together simultaneously. Let’s imagine the world as a movie, playing constantly forward (mostly because we don’t know how to rewind it). Everything progresses forward together, one instant becoming the next, moment to moment, forever onward. Now, pause.

We’re going to use this picture of a dog as our example. So, in this image, the dog is in midair after jumping off the pool deck, to get the ball, which is at just that position in the picture, while in the background, another dog is sitting on the deck. Now, all of those things, plus a thousand more, create this specific instant, captured here. Change any single one of those factors, and you’ve created a different moment.

N.B. We're dealing with what is, not what could possibly be. Yes, the dog could possibly be green or orange or a cat. But the fact of the matter is that the dog is not those.

If the dog was black, for example, the moment would change. If the ball was green, it would be a different moment. If the ball were on the right instead of the left, it would change the moment.

So all of these factors must themselves exist in order to create that specific instant. It could be said that they all must coexist, exist together, and that without everything just so, the moment wouldn’t exist. The moment is built by everything existing together, and if anything were to change, the moment would be different. In this instant, the dog only exists as jumping. The ball only exists as floating. They cannot truthfully be described otherwise. The dog cannot be said to be sitting. It is jumping. The ball cannot be described as rolling. It is floating.

N. B. It will become very important moving forward to deal with things honestly and objectively. Simply because something sounds nice will not be a good enough reason for it to be considered true. Just because something will hurt someone’s feelings is not a good enough reason for it to be false. It must actually be proven to be false. (Definitions for these terms will be coming in the future.)

Now, the dog is jumping, with the ball floating in the water. If the ball were still in midair, the moment would change. If the dog’s tail were on the right instead of the left, the moment would change. If even one tiny hair on that dog’s back were in a different place, it wouldn’t be the same instant. To create this instant, everything in the picture needs to be exactly where it is. That’s true of every moment everywhere in the universe. If any one thing were to change, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, the entire universe would be thrown into a different instant.

Everything must exist together, including energy. Everything is so radically bound together that they actually depend on each other for their very existence in each moment. The ball does not exist except in relation to the water and the dog, in every instant. And this extends to every corner of the universe. Everything in the universe coexists, exists together, and is dependent upon everything else to exist in that moment. If literally anything in the universe changes, if a single electron spins in the opposite direction, suddenly a new moment is created. This is the network of coexistence. And, to visualize, it would look something like this.

And this is where we’ll stop this time. We’ll pick up this network again next time.

1: Introduction- My Task

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything, I’m sorry about the gap. But I’m back. And this time, I have a mission. Last week, I saw the results of a Pew Research Poll that saw an 8% drop in faith among Americans. As I wondered why that was, I also began to look at some of the reasons people consistently cite for leaving the faith they grew up in. For many of them, the faith didn’t hold water to the modern scientific theories, thinking that science had disproven their faith somehow or that it was a mark of intelligence to leave that faith.

Meanwhile, in much of today’s culture, the world is becoming more and more hostile to any sort of faith, with anti-theists replacing atheists by and large. Instead of simply not believing in any sort of God, the line has been crossed to ridicule and deride those that do until they abandon that same faith. It’s a cycle of virulent anger that does little except tear down what already exists.

I’ve decided to undertake this journey to try to restore what is being destroyed. For well over a thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire (410 AD, Visigoths sack Rome), the Catholic Church held on to the intellectual traditions of the ancient Romans. The Byzantine Empire, which survived Rome, was explicitly linked to its Catholic heritage for the next six hundred years, by which time those Greek and Roman writings had made their way back to Europe. Since that time, the Catholic Church had formed the underpinnings of Western Civilization, until a fateful Halloween night in 1517 led to the creation of the first major Protestant denomination.

In the five hundred years since then, the West has completely forgotten her background. It’s time to bring that back. From the Reformation, removing authority, the Enlightenment came and threw man off the precipice of certainty into a world of skepticism, confusion, and chaos. Since then, humanity has been floundering to try to find that stability that was lost, but in his arrogance, refuses to consider the possibility that he left his Mother wrongly.

So here begins my project. I endeavor to show how it is that the Church has been teaching truth for the last two thousand years, despite objections, that the Church has kept those foundations of civilization, despite the attempts to flee those very foundations. And I’ll do it by restoring the philosophical basis to what it was before all the straw men appeared, through attacks from both atheism and Protestantism.

The first topic I’ll be covering is the existence of God, as well as trying to remove any misconceptions or confusions about who God is. I’ll lightly tap the surface of the Trinity, then from there, move on to the conception of the human person. After that, there are a number of different roads to go down, so we’ll see where this series takes us. I hope you’ll join me.