11. The Problem of Communication

                                                              Do we succeed in communicating our ideas to others in such a way that they capture the real meaning of what we say instead of misunderstanding it? This is a problem even in our ordinary communication of everyday life and is all the more so in specialized fields of knowledge. This problem is multiplied in religious, ethical, moral etc. fields where we do not have direct perceptions of realities we talk about. We have already seen in the previous Posts the roles played by belief, knowledge and faith in our everyday life and how they influence our life. However, the problems with communication of realities pertaining to this world and the world beyond this visible one are not the same. The former are handled by empirical sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc. that are amenable to verification through experiments and explanations to prove the theories, axioms, hypotheses etc. advanced by them. On the contrary, the latter (the invisible world) is discussed by Metaphysics, Theology etc. using our Reason with Logic in the case of Metaphysics and Revelation from God and Logic in the case of Theology. Anyone who is attracted solely to this material world and its values will root for merely 'scientific knowledge' and disregard other types as mere myth and fantasy. They think that they can opt for the superior value of 'scientific knowledge' without realizing that their scientific view of the world cannot support itself without the tacit support of Metaphysics underlying their conception of the Universe through the science of Physics.
                                                           Why do we say that Physics needs the tact support of Metaphysics in order to make sense of scientific discoveries? Nothing can be known without the observer effect affecting our knowledge, which means that the observer or the one who knows is part and parcel of what is known as is shown by the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg and discoveries in Quantum Physics. Albert Einstein's Relativity Principle in its second postulate reinforces the same role of the observer in defining Time and Space that results in our understanding of the speed of light as constant. Therefore, our science is one of how we experience the universe and not the universe "in itself" to say something about which we need Metaphysics. Even the speed of light is defined as constant relative to us as a result of how we experience the universe. In this effort of scientific inquiries, the role of Metaphysics is not visible just like in a study of a river, the river bed does not come to the fore unless and until the bed is shifted from under the river! Is it logical to deny the existence of the river bed because it does not enter into consideration in a study of the river? Is the study of the river more valuable than the one about river beds with the label "unscientific" just because the latter did not enter into the study of the former? 
                                                           Our problems of communication arise from meaningless words, unsubstantiated experiences, misunderstandings, muddled language etc. that can be corrected only through a clear view of how our language, whichever one we happen to use, actually works. This task is undertaken by the Philosophy of language that has many versions and applications. The Linguistic Analysis of our ordinary language as practiced by the great Philosopher of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein, should be of immense help if it is rightly understood. His method of analysis demolished many of the traditional ways of doing Philosophy and Theology opening new vistas that might help us to see things in new ways. Old ways of doing Philosophy and Theology need a complete revolution so that new insights can take hold of our life and turn it around. We shall see a few glimpses of his thought in the coming Posts as far it goes to enlighten us on the meaningfulness of religious language like the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

10. What is Consciousness?

                                                                       As human beings we are conscious and it is evident, for instance, when we have pain and pleasure. But this is the case with the animals too and we have to admit that they too are conscious. Some would ascribe consciousness even to plants and inanimate things too including the whole universe. Of course, they would mean it in different senses other than we understand it in the humans where our prototype of consciousness has its home. Accordingly, even the animals have consciousness to a lesser degree than in the humans and any other understanding and ascription of consciousness even to mere material things is far removed from the prototype itself. Here is a case, one could say, that an idea dies the death of a thousand qualifications so much so that the original is scarcely discernible at the end. What is more, some would like to argue that even machines with artificial intelligence could one day said to be conscious like the humans. Here we have to remember that the humans are able to transcend this world and even transcend themselves culminating in conscience that opens to a larger reality. Any machine with artificial intelligence, but without the ability of self-transcendence culminating in conscience, cannot be said to be similar to the conscious human beings. We shall, therefore, look at the human consciousness and its implications for our general welfare in our life.
                                                                    If it is admitted that animals are our closest allies in the matter of consciousness, it is imperative to see what is unique in human consciousness. If not, the humans will be considered as just a little more evolved animals and nothing more. We have no problem with the theory of evolution, even though there are unsolved problems in the theory itself, to see it as a particular mode of creation of everything by God. It is like the case of the Big Bang theory, which some believe is incompatible with the belief in the creation of the universe by God. The ultimate reason for our conviction that God is the creator, in spite of many theories challenging it, is that God is not bound to any particular mode of creation, but can use various models as He pleases. God is Spirit and is Consciousness Itself encompassing the whole universe and the humans are at the pinnacle of the pyramid of creation by virtue of the high level of consciousness unseen anywhere else in creation except in spirits without bodies or the angels and the devils. The humans are constituted as spirits in bodies and what we call souls are nothing but spirits in bodies. Our souls exist by participation in the Infinite Consciousness that is God Himself by virtue of direct creation by God, whereas our bodies could be the end product of a gradual evolution. The Genesis account of creation of the humans supports this view from the description that God formed man out of the dust from the ground and breathed life into his nostrils. This life is a participation in the very life of God designated as soul by us.
                                                        The humans being composed of both body and soul, our consciousness has to do justice both to the body and to the soul. There should be a proper balance so that finer realities of life do not escape us. If we are too engrossed in the bodily aspects of our consciousness, we shall not be able to capture its deeper and nicer side for which the faculties of our soul should be developed. In daily life we are at the mercy of our mind that is but a web of soul's faculties like intellect,  will and reason on one side and the five sense faculties of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste controlled by our brain on the other. Our consciousness may be numbed by excessive indulgence of our senses without any control and we shall become aliens to higher truths like the resurrection from the dead. Since our consciousness plays a crucial role in whatever we perceive and this is a scientific fact proved by the theory of relativity and Quantum physics, we have to allow our consciousness to be polished and adorned to be open to truths beyond the confines of this material world. For this we don't have to run away from the world and its normal pleasures, but be detached from them, even as we use them, in order not be enslaved by them. Thus being free in spirit, we are well on our way to understand sublime truths like the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. How do we communicate this deep truth to others as it is meant to touch the innermost core of their being?                                                                    

9. The Physical and the Non-Physical

                                                                      How do we know that there is anything beyond the physical universe, under study by various empirical sciences, called the non-physical? If there is any claim for the existence of anything non-physical how do we come to know the same, which is obviously beyond the realm of the physical world? This very vital question can be answered only if those interested in it have an open mind without any preconceived notions of the nature of reality. Can anyone be that open so as to have, so to say, a blank mind as all of us are at various stages of our life with multiple experiences and ideas gained through them? What we have to do at the beginning of our investigations is to bracket them all for the duration of our investigations so that an unbiased mind can look and see what is involved.
                                                                      The various empirical sciences like physics, chemistry, biology and any other that deals with this physical world uses the principle of causality as the means to inquire into the depths of reality. This investigation from effects to their causes reaches a point where the first cause that starts the process cannot be located, since everything must have a cause. Many scientists fail to realize the logically impossible situation where a closed system of causality is unable to cross over its own limits and locate the beginning of the process of cause and effect.The solution to their dilemma lies in the recognition that their principle of causality is valid only in the material physical world they are engaged in and not to any other dimension of reality. As they are bound up with the physical aspect of reality, they cannot have an overview of the entire spectrum of possible reality that may exist over and above the material, physical
world.
                                                                     As the scientific method is applicable only to this physical universe and is restricted by the principle of causality that cannot go over the limit of this universe and yet we yearn to know about the beginning of everything, our sole refuge is philosophy. Logic is the stronghold of Philosophy, although it is also applied in Empirical Sciences as well as in Mathematics in their restricted fields. The first principle in Philosophy for explanations or justifications is the Principle of Sufficient Reason that states: Everything that is or exists should have a reason either in itself or outside of it. An existence that has reason in itself and does not depend on the reasons from outside of itself is supported by the prime principles of identity and contradiction or non-contradiction. These two principles underlie a statement like "I AM WHO AM" (See Exodus, 3:14). Anything that has a reason outside itself is governed by the Principle of Causality. Everything that exists in the order of cause and effect is ruled by the Principle of Causality that says that every effect must have a cause outside of itself. This Principle is used by the Empirical Sciences in their investigations and they cannot go beyond the last cause or causes in the empirical order and are handicapped to say anything about the absolute beginning of everything. Here Philosophy comes to our aid with the Principle of Sufficient Reason that can go beyond the Principle of Causality used by the scientific method.This Principle asks for a reason in itself in cases where there cannot be a reason from outside itself, because an infinite regress does not help explain even the Principle of Causality. For the same reason, there cannot be many beings as the ultimate one, but only one. As it has no reason or cause outside of itself, its essence and existence cannot be separate, but identical. Its essence must be its existence and that means that it cannot not exist and that is the Necessary Being whom we call God. 
                                                                 This being the case with our capacity to know things, the fact that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead has elements both physical and non-physical need not baffle us in any way. If it does in anyone's case, that is only because he or she is blindly addicted to the scientific method that is restricted to the merely physical. The scientific method has its uses in its proper field of this physical universe and even in the case of the resurrection of Jesus, the historical and physical elements have been subjected to innumerable scientific studies. Such studies have to stop at the physical level leaving to faith of the believers the transcendental aspect of the reality of resurrection. If the reality of the resurrection of Jesus were restricted to this world alone without any reference to the world to come, it would be of not much consequence to us. Now, to insist, without any reason, that there is nothing beyond this physical universe is most illogical, unwarranted, unscientific and reprehensible. The scientific method sees everything as an object of investigation even in the case of the subject who investigates and does not bother about the world of consciousness that makes every investigation possible in the first place. It is not negligence, but incapacity of the scientific method, where Philosophy is able to make contributions. In the case of resurrection, the role of consciousness is supreme that cannot be touched by the scientific method that includes the neurological, psychological, etc., studies of the mind

8.The Resurrection of Jesus as our Leitmotif

                                                                        What is a motif in life? A motif may be defined as a singular, finite element that unifies the whole. A leitmotif is the dominant and recurring theme in life as is seen in a musical concert. Given this definition, a motif in life is an event or fact that is able to unify and extol our life to its true potentiality. For this reason, we may choose the resurrection of Jesus from the dead as our leitmotif to enhance our life in its entirety. Our life has dimensions beyond this temporal, material world that is designated by 'eternal life'. What is important is to insert the dimensions of eternity into our present life. How this is possible without assistance from the one who has passed through the human condition to transform it through death and resurrection?
                                                                          Death means a complete disconnection from this world by means of the dissolution of our body.  Our body and the five senses, so to say, chain us to this material world in such a way that our soul is 'imprisoned' in it. The soul needs its own kind of air to 'breathe' and it is supplied by the Spirit bestowed on us as a result of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is why we should adopt the resurrection as the motif  of our own life. Jesus knew very well the human tendency to see and interpret everything from models acquired from this world and its ways of thinking.What is more, the preferred mode of understanding of even divine mysteries was by extraordinary events and miracles that people at the time of Jesus wanted miracles to believe in him. Jesus discouraged them from running after miracles, as we too sometimes do, and advised them to stick to the Word of God and its realization in the history of the world. He was clearly exasperated by the demand of the people for a sign that he denounced them as an evil and adulterous generation (See Matthew, 16: 4) or as a wicked generation (See Luke, 11: 29) for whom no other sign than that of the prophet Jonah was going to be given. What was the sign of Jonah who was sent by God to preach repentance to the inhabitants of the great city of Nineveh? As Jonah stayed in the belly of the great fish for 3days and 3nights, the Son of Man was to be in the heart of the earth for 3days and 3nights (See Matthew, 12: 40). 
                                                                          The call of Jonah by God and his response indicate what God expects from us and how we respond to the call addressed to each of us. Since God loves all of humanity without any reservation, his preoccupation is to save all for which time and again suitable means are devised by Him and entrusted to a few chosen ones. Jonah was such a chosen person and as he was to proclaim the Word of God to the people of Nineveh, he was called a prophet. The message he was to communicate was a simple one, that of repentance by the people of Nineveh who displeased God through their sinful life. If the people refused to listen and mend their ways, God was going to destroy the great city of Nineveh as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. Jonah thought of running away from his mission as he knew that God being so loving and forgiving, at the very first signs of repentance from the people, he was going to forgive them making a fool of himself. He wanted to deliver a message if that brought honor and glory for him, irrespective of the welfare of the people. God took action to teach him proper lessons at each of his attempt to rebel and do his own will even in a mission that was merely entrusted to him by God. Staying in the belly of the great fish was for Jonah the means to feel completely helpless and get rid of his attachments to the world and his self-will. Staying in the heart of the earth for Jesus was the culmination of his detachment from the world and his own self-will, having surrendered himself completely to the Father's Will. While Jonah was chastened to fulfill God's Will, Jesus was raised up from the dead in order to be a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians, 15: 45). To come under the spell of the risen Jesus should be our constant wish and prayer for which let us adopt the resurrection of Jesus as our motif in life.
                                                                         

7. Faith in the Resurrection: Is it Rational?

                                                                       Compatibility or incompatibility of faith and reason is an old problem that crops up now and again. Is there any contradiction between the two? In our last post "Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ", we have seen the difference between 'belief' and 'knowledge' and how they differ. While 'belief' has its origin in the natural order of this world, 'faith' originates from an enlightenment of our mind from an order transcending this material world and is the result of graces received from God. Our capacity to 'believe', that is in the natural order like when we believe our teacher in the class, can serve as the foundation for 'faith' in God and His revelations to us. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus may lead to faith in him in the process of verification of facts about the resurrection. Here we have the instance of the declared faith of the Apostle Thomas in the process of verification of the facts about resurrection of Jesus directly from Jesus himself (See John, 20: 27-29).
                                                                       Before we discuss the compatibility of faith and reason, let us start with the compatibility of belief and knowledge as these latter are but particular manifestations of the former. If we look at children and how they learn about the world around them and how they try to talk about what they understand, we see the importance of belief and the gradual blossoming of knowledge based on their belief. Children blindly believe what their parents and other mentors tell them and take them as absolutely true. Here the words 'blindly believe' are actually superfluous as there is no alternative for children. Thus we see that 'belief' is not something optional for any of us as we have built our life on it. Gradually, when we are in contact with the world in different ways and undergo new experiences, doubts arise in our minds as to the truth of certain beliefs held as true by us. It is not that our parents and others had deliberately deceived us when we were children, but at that age we were incapable to understand better or our parents and mentors were ignorant about certain facts themselves. By verification of facts at that stage, we proceed to gain knowledge that in no way should demean our beliefs as children. Besides, at the stage of acquiring knowledge our belief system is in no way demolished as only a few facts here and there were added to our beliefs that could not be known earlier. Our belief system always remains in force as the foundation of our knowledge even when we discuss highly complex scientific truths later on in life. Similar is the case with faith and reason.
                                                                      'Faith' as distinguished from 'Belief'' refers to belief in truths transcending the material order of this world and refers to the supernatural order. Although both terms may be used to refer to both the orders of reality, in certain cases we may make the distinction in order not to confuse the issues involved. What is the relationship between 'Faith' and 'Reason'? Faith and belief always have their life and force when they refer to our trust and loyalty to a person who guides us in life, for which assenting to what she or he tells us is only a means. It is to be reflected in our personal life so that we tend to become like our guide. In this endeavor, our 'Reason' should serve us as the critical observer that prepares the way for faith or belief and as the judge that eliminates exaggerations likely to be indulged in under false pretenses. 'Reason' has its proper field of action in the line of knowledge seeking truth for which any kind of 'Faith' should not stand as a stumbling block. However, here 'Reason' has to remember that it should not be allowed to be arbitrarily restricted to the material conception of reality as the whole truth. This is especially true after the discovery of the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg and the latest developments in Quantum Physics. These developments have opened a window to the metaphysical from where 'Faith' takes its air to breathe. Of course, the metaphysical realm lies hidden like the river bed of a river, which may be compared to the physical.
                                                                     As for the faith in the resurrection of Jesus, it has a historical as well as a trans-historical, i.e., transcendental dimension without which, just a coming back to life to die again, is powerless to save the whole universe. This dimension belonging to the other world cannot be verified by our Reason that is limited due to its confinement in our body and therefore knowledge gained through verification of the facts of the resurrection can only aid our faith. Faith and Reason need not contradict each other if they both realize their proper functions and fields of activity. Thus, faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not irrational and therefore can be reasonably adopted as our motif in life.     

6. Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

                                                          What is belief? Is it something of lesser value than knowledge? The false notion that compared to our beliefs, knowledge, especially the scientific kind, is far superior and therefore the former should be looked down upon in the presence of the latter is rampant in our age. Why is it a false notion? The truth is that all of us as children learn the facts of and in life from our parents, elders and teachers based on our belief in them and the truth of what they say and teach us. We see that our belief in them as children blossoms into trust in them and every piece of 'knowledge' the children acquire arises from their belief in  them. On a wider setting, for a society or community of people, we may note that it is 'culture' that stands as the background of our 'world-view' (the way we look at the world). This world-view is built upon our core beliefs gained from culture defining our perception of everything that pertains to our existence. Our understanding of reality is supported by certain basic assumptions, which are not themselves supported by any thing else but our culture, and accepted by us as most solid facts. This is the nature of culture and no one who lives in a society or community is exempt from it.
                                                            Does it mean that belief alone is the source of our knowledge and we don't have to depend on verifiable facts as they do in sciences? Not at all. As we move on in life, doubts creep in into our belief systems and we are forced to learn about how things really are and our investigations into "facts" are the foundation of our knowledge. Knowledge, thus, is later than belief and does not, because it cannot, question the overall foundation of our belief system. This is the case with our belief in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that may proceed to faith because of the special nature of the reality

of resurrection. Given the nature of resurrection both as this worldly and other worldly there is nothing repugnant if both belief and knowledge as well as faith are required to take in this reality. Jesus formed a community of disciples in order to train them to combine this multifaceted reality into a coherent whole. The Gospels tell us how the disciples led by the Apostles struggled to do the same by gradually believing in Jesus and verifying the evidences of .resurrection culminating in their solid faith in the person of Jesus for whom they surrendered their life itself.               
                                                          Does the above analysis give sour taste in anyone's mouth as it looks like less rational than our scientific knowledge? In this connection, we have to draw attention to the fact that according to Linguistic Analysis any meaning whatever is based on our shared life in communities. Outside a particular community of shared life and experiences, a person is at a loss to understand what is said and discussed by the members of that particular community. This is applicable to all kinds of discourses, not only to the scientific and religious ones, but also to the most mundane ones like jokes cracked by performers at certain events. Therefore belief and faith are not something to be derided at as they belong to the very structure of our reality that no one can sensibly deny. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, therefore, is most sensible  and we should not give into charlatans who look for cheap applause from audiences that may be caught unawares. To pray always and be watchful is the advise given by Jesus himself in order to navigate safely through this very complex web of life we are immersed in!  

5. The Holy Spirit in our Life

                                                                       Jesus promised us another advocate before the Father in order not to leave us orphans when he had to return to the Father after completing his mission entrusted to him by the Father (See John, 14:16). The Spirit of God had been active from the beginning of the world as we see from the creation narrative in the Book of Genesis. Throughout the history of Israel, we see how the Spirit of God directs the course of their relationship with God through their leaders like Moses and Joshua, kings and prophets etc. Even the life of Jesus was under the influence of the Holy Spirit beginning with his conception in the womb of Mary and culminating in his resurrection. However, although the Spirit was given  sporadically to individuals before the resurrection of Jesus, it was only with his resurrection that the Holy Spirit was given as a matter of course to everyone(See John, 7: 39). If the Spirit is given to everyone without any restrictions, what is the role of the Church and why should the Gospel be proclaimed throughout the world?
                                                                      In order to answer this vital question, we have to be prepared for understanding the distinction between the role of an infrastructure and its actual use.The whole redemptive work of Jesus Christ as well as the establishment of the Church may be considered as the infrastructure of salvation that has to be freely appropriated by us. In this sense, God has shown us the way to Him and as it is the only way acceptable to Him, Jesus Christ and the Church occupy a unique position in the plan of God. Here arises the necessity of Gospel Proclamation announcing the acceptable way to God, which, however, does not restrict the action of the Spirit as it wills and where it wills. The Holy Spirit is bestowed upon the faithful through the sacraments of the Church for the purpose of inviting the faithful to become disciples of Jesus Christ. The genuine disciples of Jesus Christ alone are able to proclaim the Gospel through their witnessing and preaching of the Gospel. The Church should not be led by the false notion that the consequence of its special election is the rejection of all others as Israel was unfortunately led to believe.
                                                                     St. Paul tells us what are the implications of 'walking in the spirit'(See Galatians, 5: 13-26). As we are freed by Jesus Christ from the yoke of slavery imposed on us by Satan, we are not obliged to be under the tyranny of the flesh and are free to walk in the Spirit. The Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other and we should refrain from satisfying the cravings of the flesh and walk in the Spirit instead. The acts of the flesh are mentioned in Galatians, 5: 19-21and the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, 5: 22-23. Add to this the loving service to our neighbor with humility and we are on the fast track to self-transformation, effected by the Holy Spirit, leading to victory over death culminating in our own resurrection. In this way, we follow Jesus Christ not only in life but also eternally by turning our death into the gateway of the new life along with him.
                                                                     How shall we connect this mystery of our life in everyday experiences to our ordinary way of speaking to make it more meaningful? Jesus himself invited us to consider the fate of a seed that falls to the ground and dies so that it may produce much fruit and compare it with our own life (See John, 12: 24-25). Jesus actually enunciated a fundamental law of life from which no one and nothing is exempt. The richness and fullness of life are hidden in our everyday realities that very often are missed by us in the hustle and bustle of life. The life eternal is nothing but a continuation of our present life, if only we understand the mysteries of life. The presence of the Holy Spirit, freely given by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, is operative in the world and our co-operation with the Spirit is our response to the invitation for us prepared by God Himself. The wonderful fact of life is that in order to be sanctified now and be glorified later, we do not have to run away from our ordinary life, but only be faithful in our daily duties keeping in mind the presence of God through His Spirit always and everywhere.