Spirituality

Universal Life Church In the reading of this course and some additional research I have done, I can see the similarities between science and the Bible, as well as the differences. In my own personal spiritual path, we believe that all Gods are one God. They just go by different names. In this course, I believe it to be the same, even with science-minded people. Whether they believe there is a God or not, they do believe there is a higher power. Even if that higher power is numbers, they see it as something greater then themselves.  I would like to address the creation hypotheses for a moment. In Genesis 1:1-3, 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3. Then God said "let there be light"; and there was light. Can we see how this can correlate with science and the Big Bang Theory? As a child growing up and attending church we were told that a life-time to us was but a blink of an eye to God. The way I see this is that if the blink of an eye to God is but a hundred years, a day would be thousands, if not more. (No one can ever be sure of this). No one is ever sure if indeed there was a "Big Bang". Other than scientists knowing that the universe is expanding and that it had to start from somewhere, no one knows for sure. Just like the Bible. No one knows for sure if this is how creation was actually started. But I do believe that they go hand in hand. Science Vs. The Bible. The Theory of Evolution:  Charles Darwin's theory that life came from the oceans again coincides with parts of the Bible. Genesis 1:20-21.  Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw this and it was good.  This was the fifth day. Genesis 1:26-27  Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.  Darwin's theory that life came from the ocean could be true. Again, no one knows for sure. Who is to say that the time that passes in a day to God could be hundred of thousands or Millions of years and in Darwin's theory, with time on our side being ever so slow compared to that of God's, it could indeed seem that man came from the ocean; that this is where life started.  There is a beautiful analogy that I believe covers all religions, faiths, spiritual paths and belief systems, science and so forth.  Imagine if you would, a beautiful mountain. On top of that mountain is God, Mohammad, Allah, The Goddess, Shiva, the Master Architect or whatever Higher Power one may believe in.  Everyone wants to get to the top of this mountain. There are many different paths for people to take. People need to find the path that is right for them.  Now some people tell others about their path and that their path is the right one, the only way and to follow them. They lead them to the top.  Some people tell others they know the best path to take to get to the top and in doing so trying to get everyone to follow them, wind up only going in circles at the base of this mountain.  Some people may take an easy route, while others tend to take a harder path, all to attain the same dissension. Some people's path may be lonely and they go solo. Others are in groups with support. It doesn't matter how you get to the top only that one tries.   Some people sit at the bottom of this mountain trying to calculate the best way to get to the top. Others wonder why bother? Maybe they will find another mountain they will come to climb.  The above analogy illustrates how God is inside each and every one of us. To some it could be the Great Mother, and to others it could be this gray haired, bearded older man or it could be the infinity symbol. I believe that this Omnipotence comes to us in whatever why it sees best for the individual.  I have always believed in the thought process that the cup is half full, rather then half empty. All belief systems are beautiful, no matter what they may be. Science has some wonderful theories, as does religion. I believe they all go hand in hand. No matter what path one may walk.   All Gods are one God.            Rev. Hope Macdonald-Vellone ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar