Definition

Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?” It seems to have been a rhetorical question. Pilot’s answer to his own question would have probably been, “Truth is whatever I need it to be” or “Truth is what works for me.”

How about...
    “Truth is what is.” Given some contexts, you might say, “Truth is what is, independent of what we think or know about what is.” Einstein would have agreed with that, I think. If and/or how we know what is, well, that’s a different subject. But if something is, then its existence isn’t shaped by what we think or know about it. If it’s physical, and we touch it in some way, say to measure it, or whatever, then maybe it is shaped by our touch. But to measure it in our minds doesn’t change anything except, maybe, our minds.

So I think about God. God said, “I AM.” Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.”

We can talk about God being there or not, but in the end, it doesn’t matter what we think or say about it. Our “experience” of God (or non experience) may be subjective by degrees, but God is not subjective. God is either real or not.  God exists or does not exist as a person or a thing (though not a physical thing, unless some people are right, thinking the universe is a "god"). If God is “there,” then God isn’t shaped by our opinions anymore than the Grand Canyon is. We can talk subjectively all day long about whether or not we think the Grand Canyon is a beautiful thing or a big, ugly hole in the ground. But arguing about whether or not it’s there wouldn’t change whether or not it’s there. That would be the kind of empty philosophy that makes people want to stay as far away from philosophy classes as possible. It’s either there or it’s not. Opinions don’t matter. It’s not subjective. It just is. Or it isn’t.

I remember once (and I hate to admit this), I was watching the old Sally Jesse Raphael show. She had some overbearing “religious” people on with some carny show types who were completely over the top and she just let them at each other. The conflict was the point of the show. It was quite entertaining in a despicable sort of way. But Sally herself became frustrated with the “religious” people. They were, after all, kind of idiotic. And, in her frustration, Sally put her face right up in the camera and said something like, “I will NOT believe in a hateful, vengeful God.”

I get what she was saying. I get what a lot of people are saying when they try to define God. They want God, if God exists, to be a certain way. They have some personal ideal that’s subjective. And on an emotional level this is understandable. If you’ve been hurt a lot, you want a “god” who will stop the hurt. If you’re full of doubt, you want a “god” who will affirm your thoughts against doubt.

But if God is there, if God is, God can’t be defined by what has been created. God can only be discovered in some way. If God exists, and I believe God exists, our discovery of God does not change God’s nature. God is not whatever we want God to be. If God is there, then God is the one who does the defining.

God is not defined by us. We are defined by God.


Peace to you.




© LW Publishing 2010

Uninspired Empiricism

If you have any interest at all in science and the questions of how we “know” things, or just questions about what is “real,” then you really need to spend a little time getting to know Albert Einstein. I have been studying the life and work of Einstein for about two years now, and it is endlessly fascinating. For me, this interest has spiritual overtones to it because I’m interested for spiritual reasons in what science has to say about the nature of reality and what the material universe is composed of. But along the way I have learned a lot about Einstein and it is always intriguing.

I mentioned before that I’m reading a book called “Quantum” by Manjit Kumar. I’m nearly finished and it has been a very consuming read, though I’m going to have to read it again. I’m not quite getting everything. That happens to me a lot. But there are lots of quotes from Einstein in this book that keep me wanting to know more about him.

Einstein was determined to hang on to the belief that an objective reality exists. It just made sense to him, which seems like common sense. But some of the other physicists were drifting into the realm of what Einstein called “voodoo forces” and “spooky interactions.” And Einstein held on, to the end of his life, to the basic belief in objective reality.

Einstein wrote to a friend, saying, “I have no better expression than ‘religious’ for confidence in the rational nature of reality insofar as it is accessible to human reason. Wherever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired empiricism.”

It seems to me that a lot of the sciences and maths have done exactly that: “degenerated into uninspired empiricism.” And a lot of people have allowed their lives to do the same thing.



Exodus 9:16
Peace to you.



© LW Publishing 2010

The Highest Form of Musicality

I’m reading a new book called “Quantum,” by Manjit Kumar, which I am enjoying immensely. I’m about halfway through, so I can’t say anything about the book as a whole yet, but there is a quote from Albert Einstein in it that has really moved me. It just grabbed me and won’t let me go.

When Einstein read the published papers of physicist Niels Bohr, which explained the structure of atoms, Einstein said that for him it was, “the highest form of musicality in the sphere of thought.”

Man, I love that. It sits well with my soul.

It communicates this truth: some things just sing. Some things just click with us, in our minds, in our spirits — we identify with them both intellectually and emotionally as right and true — and it’s like hearing a perfect song, perfectly composed, perfectly played.


This is how I feel when I hear the name “Jesus.”





Philippians 2:9-11
Peace to you.

© LW Publishing 2010

The Work of Art

There are at least two basic theories about creativity that you hear articulated in different ways by different people.

Theory #1: One theory is that a person creates something out of nothing. Sort of – poof – and they have some new idea or some new song or some new thing. They feel that what they have come up with came out of nowhere.

Theory #2: And then there is the theory that a person creates something out of a kajillion things that they can’t even necessarily understand. The mind is full of puzzle pieces that life has tossed in there, and somehow the mind or the spirit or both begin putting the pieces together until the picture starts to make sense.

I am a theory #2 person. To my way of thinking, only God is a theory #1 person. So I go with #2, and the reason is that I can sense the puzzle pieces floating around within me and in the world. I can sense when they are starting to connect. My job is to do things to help them connect. In my mind, that is the “work” of an artist. To develop the skills that enable you to bring about these connections.

If I’m right about this, it suggests that if you want to be “creative” and you’re waiting for some sudden flash of insight from out of nowhere, you’re not likely to create very much. And if you want to be creative, but you don’t train yourself to do the work necessary to put the pieces together, then I don’t think you’ll produce much either.

Art is not for sissies.

Being creative means developing skills. It’s about craft. Songs, poems, stories, needlepoint, paintings, relationships, cars – whatever – the created thing has to be crafted in one way or another. Albert Einstein did not wake up one morning with the theory of Relativity bouncing around in his head. He agonized over it for a long, long time. He found pieces of the puzzle in the work of other scientists, which he added to other pieces he observed in everyday life. He had to develop his math skills because it wasn’t his strong suit, and he knew he’d need to get the math right to present the theory. He pressed pieces thinking they would fit, but they didn’t, so he had to keep looking. Finally, he managed to put it together. He didn’t create a law of nature. He painted it into his mind and into the minds of other people. Well. A few people. The rest of us just scratch our heads.

But the point is the same. Every work of art takes work. You have to do the work. To my way of thinking, that includes your stories, your paintings, your children, your spouse, your church, your songs, your movies, your theories on life and death, your work, your play . . . everything.

Life is an art.



Colossians 3:23-24

Peace to you.

© LW Publishing 2010