Basic Principles of Cosmology and Theology
A Personal View
By John H. Carlson (aka Quintus Poppaeus Sabinus)
This is a summary of my personal opinions concerning the basic elements of cosmology and theology. The presentation is intended to be as precise and as clear as possible, without any hidden meanings or assumptions. It is also intended to be culturally neutral, without reliance upon or reference to any particular school of thought or philosophical system.
The Universe
The universe is infinite and eternal. The universe has always existed and will always continue to exist, without beginning and without end. The universe exists within time and space, but it has no limits. It has no fixed or permanent boundaries. The universe has always existed in time, and it is capable of infinite expansion into the void of space.
Time is real. Space is real. Time and space have no beginning and no end. Time and space extend infinitely in all directions and dimensions from any point. Time and space are eternal and boundless, without limits. Time and space are infinite and eternal, but the perception of time and space by the beings and entities dwelling within the universe is influenced and limited by the conditions and circumstances that exist at the point of perception.
The universe is chaotic in nature. Everything comes from chaos and to chaos everything can return. Chaos is not an entity, or a being, or a god. Chaos is a condition, a situation, a state of being. The universe exists in a continuous state of creation and change. No one created the universe. It creates and renews itself, continuously and everlastingly. No one can control the universe, but all the beings and entities that exist within the universe have some influence, whether great or small, on what the universe is and what it becomes.
The greater universe contains within itself lesser universes and lesser worlds. There are worlds within worlds, perhaps to a very great number. These lesser worlds may have limits in time and space. They may have a beginning and an end. The totality of the universe exists forever, but lesser worlds may be created, or destroyed, or recreated, or changed beyond recognition. A particular world may seem to have been utterly destroyed, but the substance of which that world was made may still exist in one form or another. A world may seem to have been newly created, but the substance of which that world is made may have been part of a different world at a previous point in time and space.
The Gods
There are many gods. The gods are great and powerful beings, the greatest and most powerful in the universe. They are immortal. The gods have many forms and they can reveal themselves in many ways. They are both immanent and transcendent. They are present in the elements and forms of being. They are manifest in the forces of nature, in matter and energy, but they are also transcendent beings not bound by any material form. The gods can reveal themselves in the human mind. They can appear as human or as other beings, or as material objects. A god may become manifest in one's thoughts, or as another person, or as a plant or an animal, or as a river or a mountain. There are no limits of form or being upon the gods. They are what they choose to be.
There are many gods, and each of these gods may have many forms. There exists a multitude of deities, and each of these deities can have a multitude of forms. Divinity is multiple and various, both in appearance and reality. No single god hides behind all the multitude of divine forms. The gods are objectively real entities whose continued existence is not dependent upon the actions or beliefs of lesser beings. They are not merely archetypes, or imaginary symbols of human thoughts and activities, or symbolic representations of natural events and processes. They are real. They exist. They are free and independent beings, equally divine, not controlled by any other entity or power. The gods create what they desire. Their wisdom and power give shape to the world. They create order out of chaos.
Humankind and the Gods
The gods are revealed through experience, tradition, and artistic vision. The gods can be reached within the human mind, and some of them may be of human origin. Your own experiences, and the experiences of others, can reveal the presence of the gods. Tradition consists of the remembered or recorded experiences, beliefs, and practices of our ancestors. The creation and contemplation of art is often a religious experience, and this can also reveal the presence of the gods.
It is a traditional belief that the gods help those who call upon them. If you give the gods proper respect and consideration, they may look with favor upon you.
The gods are pleased by the gift of offerings and sacrifices, by temples, images, and ceremonies. They do not need these things and they are not dependent upon them. Humans need these things if they wish to have the active and conscious presence of the gods in their lives.
It is good to practice the cult of the gods, to offer them worship, and to ask for their blessings in return. A cult is a set of beliefs, attitudes, practices, activities, rituals, and ceremonies that are associated with the worship of a deity or group of deities. Cult is activity directed towards the gods with the intention of offering them respect and worship and of asking for their blessings and favor. Cult activity can range from a simple prayer said by one person to a grand public ceremony with many participants.
Anyone can worship the gods at any time. You do not need permission from anyone else to worship the gods or to perform rituals or ceremonies in their honor. The act of worship can be formal or informal, very elaborate or very simple, depending on circumstances and the needs and desires of the people involved. Worship can be simple and informal, but it must not be careless and thoughtless. Approach the gods with respect and consideration. Anyone who knows the requirements of a particular ritual can act as priest or priestess in performing that ritual. A priest or priestess is a person who is knowledgeable about ritual requirements and who is skilled in performing rituals and ceremonies. Priests and priestesses can act as intermediaries between the human and the divine.
You do not have to worship the gods. If you ignore the gods, they will ignore you, usually. Do not expect the gods to answer your prayers if you have not offered them proper respect and consideration. If you show disrespect to the gods, they may allow you to suffer. The gods are wise and just, but their wisdom and justice are divine and not human.
Immortality
The gods are immortal. They do not die. Their existence is permanent, although they may sometimes choose to inhabit physical forms that can die, or appear to die. It may be possible to distinguish between eternal gods and immortal gods. If this distinction is valid, then an eternal god has no beginning and no end in time, and an immortal god has a beginning in time and no end.
Humans also possess a degree of immortality. A person's physical body will die and be destroyed, but a part of that person will continue to exist after the body is gone. The part of a human that survives death is traditionally called a soul or spirit. Many different things can happen to the soul after death. Some people may linger in this world as spirits or ghosts. Some people may be reborn in this world or in some other world, as a human or as some other type of being. Some people may find themselves, for a period of time, in a world that resembles one of the heavens or hells imagined by some religions. Things such as personality, memories, and thoughts may be temporary and may eventually fade away. The spirits of some people may hang suspended in the void, unconscious and unaware, drifting for eons of time on the winds of chaos before they take shape again as conscious beings. At the very least, after a person's physical body is destroyed, the person continues to exist as a potentiality that can be called forth into conscious and material existence in the appropriate circumstances. There are many possibilities, and different things may happen to different people. The fate of your soul is influenced by what kind of person you are, the kind of life you have lived, the actions of other beings, random events and circumstances which can not be predicted or controlled, and even your own thoughts and desires.
The Purpose of Life
Life is its own purpose. To the extent that they are capable of doing so, living beings decide for themselves what the purpose of their lives should be or if their lives should have a purpose beyond living. That decision may be conscious or unconscious. Some creatures are controlled by their instincts and by environmental factors and are not capable of making a conscious choice. The act of living, in and of itself, can be reason enough to live.
Humans have the freedom and the responsibility to decide for themselves how to live and what to do with their lives. You were not placed in this world to serve some hidden master or to fulfill some mysterious purpose. You are here to do what you choose to do, and to bear the consequences and rewards of doing so. There are some obvious limits on what you can choose to do. You are limited by your genetic inheritance, your physical and mental abilities, the environment in which you live, the amount of knowledge that you possess, the kind of society and culture that you live in. Your life can be influenced by events and conditions over which you have no control, and of which you may not even be aware. Even though there may be limits on your choices, your life still belongs to you, and you alone have the ultimate right to decide what to do with it.