Belief v. Reality

September 3, 2007 by Dr. Mc.

I made the statement last time that one
cannot rule out the existence of absolutes. Some say that reality is whatever
you believe, but I can illustrate otherwise. There are immutable laws for
reality, regardless of whether we acknowledge or seek to know them or intend to
obey them. I have trained a
pyracantha bush up the brick wall of our garage. I once had two of them.
One day when my wife and I were returning from our morning walk, I noticed how
poorly the leaves of one looked. Closer inspection revealed a white fungus on
the leaves, so I went immediately to the garage and mixed chemicals to kill the
fungus. I thoroughly soaked the bush, but next morning I noticed the plant looked
even worse. I repeated the procedure with the same negative results the next
day. Not wanting the disease to spread from the dying plant to the healthy one.
I put on gloves (pyracantha means
"fire thorn" for good
reason.) and spent the day untwining the two bushes and removing the looser. A
few days later I was putting around in the garage and found the container from
which I mixed the spray. It was Roundup.
What I believed had no impact on reality. Perception determined my behavior, but
reality determined the outcome. Likewise I would suggest that what you or I
choose to believe about our soul and afterlife may affect our behavior, but it
has no affect on whether either exist. Knowing that there are absolutes, it behooves me to explore the issue of
my possible eternal existence with whatever information is available to me.

Posted in Science and faith | No Comments »