THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SIMPLE MIND

Ockham's Razor notwithstanding, the simple mind can fathom the complexities and depths of the Infinite and the Eternal. Some of us have been "conditioned" to think, "it is beyond my range of comprehension"… I am not smart enough. Understanding does not come from being intelligent. It comes from knowledge. Knowledge comes from learning. Learning comes from seeking. Is there anyone who cannot learn? With very few exceptions, the answer is No! Is there anyone who will not learn? Oh, Yes (sad). So then, learning becomes a journey of seeking… an adventure of discovery, to uncover.

I bought my first house as a fixer-upper. I had absolutely no "homeowner skills" whatsoever. Not even painting. What are homeowner skills? All the knowledge and experience that went into erecting your home. Shall I "count the ways"? Certainly carpentry, electrical, plumbing and landscaping are "biggies". Well, I learned! Something else I learned …I missed my calling, (as far as work goes). Books, magazines, "This Old House", seminars, in-laws, "Victory Garden", friends… wherever I found what I needed to know.  Me and "Ace" completely remodeled that house. The need to accomplish and the desire to know are key to success. So learning what was hitherto unknown is a matter of need, desire, and study. My point? I dare say, anyone can learn. If you do not care, even though you have need (albeit unrecognized), you will never learn anything.

However, I am not addressing a house remodel. I am directing us to far, far more important things… eternal things. Eternity is an abstract concept for many people who have not taken the time to firm up the reality of it in their own minds. In other words… it is real. We have so many wrong definitions of eternity… "forever and a day" comes to mind. But there is no "time" in evaluating eternity. Even "forever" has connotations of time for us…"a very, very, long time." It is the finite attempting to describe and define the infinite. The best way I reconcile it in my finite mind is... it is a perpetual state of "now".

Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I Am"  John 8:58, which means… I Eternally Self-exist. He also said, "Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which speak of me" John 5:39. So we are brought back to my opening statement…the simple mind can fathom the complexities and depths of the Infinite and the Eternal. But not without first acquiring the Divine Mind. That would make sense, would it not? How can the finite know the infinite unless one has the infinite mind?

So then, the question becomes, "Is there such a thing as Eternity and Infinity"? One should not quickly dismiss this with either a hasty "yes" or a "no". How utterly foolish to form an opinion without having proved it to yourself. And proof does not come by way of Ockham's Razor, nor indeed any "theory", but by conviction of proof, and proof of conviction. Any theory is to be totally rejected. One should not choose to cloud the issue with "opinion". For example, the "big one"… evolution. I have not read all of Darwin's writings, by choice. I do not know with certainty that it was he who "proposed" that we came from a nothingness slime (Lord have mercy!), but that is the "conclusion" of many people's minds.

Let me present one thought provoking scenario. The herring. If ever there was an innumerable animal, the herring could certainly be a representative. The schools of adult herring are massive. Whales voraciously feed on them, seemingly exterminating the entire population. And yet, millions of adult female herring go on to lay as many as 200,000 eggs each in various parts of the world. Egg mortality is extremely high. Everything from crabs to big, brown bears gorge themselves on the eggs. And still massive quantities of progeny are produced. In this vulnerable larval stage, again, huge numbers are consumed. Only about 1% of herring larvae will survive to become juvenile fish. 1% !!

After this apparent near annihilation at various stages of growth, over 400,000 metric tons are harvested in the Baltic Sea area alone. This is just a nutshell summary of herring reproduction and predation. My questions are...
1. Did "evolution" have enough time to figure out that herring will need to reproduce in astronomical numbers in order to survive?
2. Where might those numbers be set so as to not "overpopulate" the seas?
3. Do we really believe evolution accommodated the voracious appetite of those that feed on herring - the eggs, young, and adults - by eventually establishing, let's say… 17 trillion eggs to be sufficient for the "survival of the species"?

It is ludicrous. By the time "evolution" figured out that "everything is eating the herring-we need to adjust the reproduction rate", they would have been entirely gobbled up. One would have to conclude that herring, as well as many other pelagic, food-source species, would necessarily have been established in vast numbers in order to survive the "first wave" of attack. God from inception, not only established the numbers, but He knows the number!

I have no problem with "changes" within the species. I have seen it, both natural and manipulated. It is part of the corrupted world established in the beginning. That is not to say that God is or is not directly involved now with all the modifications. Let us not forget that satan is the god of this world…  temporarily. Accordingly, let the simple mind discern.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" Proverbs 9:10.