Thursday, June 23, 2016

Changeless


The contemplation on the notion that an effect can cause its own cause provided that the effect occurs on a higher level of time or beyond time, has led me to contemplate a related topic; namely, that nothing affects God.

The philosophical problem with something being able to affect God is that to be affected is to be changed, even subtly or slightly so. God’s Oneness implies that He’s changeless. His Oneness is seamless, meaning “no parts”. “No parts” also means “no change”. If A changed into B, then there are in effect two parts, A and B. So becoming or changing implies multiplicity and therefore, does not exist within Him. Rather, it’s a feature of the Creator and not of the creation.

Yet from a Monistic perspective, which believes that there is nothing else exists other than God, the world with all its changes exist within Him. How can something within Him, the world, experience changes while He remains unchanged?

A likely answer could be that since God exists beyond time, everything exists within Him as it was, is and will be simultaneously. Such simultaneity means that the items and/or events themselves didn’t change (from His perspective); as all their possible states coexist at once, without the passage of time to grant exclusivity to one state over another (which created beings perceive as change). Obviously, what has not changed cannot introduce change into its context of being, i.e. into God.

From a slightly different angle, whatever exists within God exists in a state of seamless Oneness. The way creations perceive reality is not with God’s Infinite perception, but rather with patchwork finiteness. Therefore, nothing is perceived in the way it exists within Him, as seamlessly continuous with its true context. In contrast, God perceives with Infinite knowing, knowing all just by knowing Himself - for all is within Him.

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1 comment:

  1. Introduction to the FaceBook posting:

    A new mini-essay on how changes in the world do not introduce change into God.
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    Comments from FaceBook posting:

    Liza: I look forward to reading this a little later Choni. Glad you're writing.

    Choni: Enjoy! It's not long at all.

    Liza: This is a wonderful read. I love that you write out these contemplations one by one. So necessary for us all, Choni. Thank you.

    Choni: Liza, Shavuah Tov. I try to raise awareness about the Oneness of God. Without it, one cannot truly connect the dots in life.

    Liza: I hope you always continue to do so, Choni. Shavuah Tov!

    Choni: Thank you so much. :)

    ReplyDelete