Spinoza is the relatively modern voice from the world of well-known philosophers, who is accorded the position of having set down some sort of Universal - as others have now called it - Panentheism: the idea that a 'thing' of some kind, very much beyond the limitations of material characteristics including the intelligence of living natural beings, must exist both outside of all matter and materiality, as well as through all of it.
Without going so far himself, the logical extension of this trajectory of thought, is that such a 'thing,' must stand outside of, and beyond, and yet also within Time encompassing all of it.
The reason for these kinds of constructs is that very clearly there is consistent rational order based on mathematical and geometric rules and therefore it is those rules themselves which 'exist' in any truest sense of the word 'ultimately.' But since all of the Universal rules follow intelligible systems of material (aka 'physics') conduct, then rationally, there is also an 'intelligence rule' implied and thus also necessarily an Ultimate Form of the Intelligent (being; I suppose you would have to say at this stage of the argument, that it simply must be a kind of a being).
But of course such ideas are not in any way at all 'modern.' They come directly from Parmenides and from Plato. ...And, from the Apocalypse.
Yes. For here we absolutely clearly see in several places, the philosophical statement regarding the ending of Time as it is known about and perceived in the mortal human world.
There and in other places in the text also, we see another statement which impinges on the material consequences and the moral and human implications of these ideas within the complete Biblical narrative: 'God gives to individuals according to what their work will be...'
Huh?
It is written in very peculiar language, because it appears that the person speaking is speaking in the 'now,' but yet He says it about something that is to come in some future. It is contextualized expressly in the famous 'Alpha-Omega' (all of Everything, outside of Time) statement:
'"Behold, I come quickly (a 'natural time flow' thing) and my reward is with me (an existential permanent now thing), to give every man (when?), according as his work shall be.
"I am Alpha and Omega."
Chinoiserie - is the juxtaposition of the ancient cultural and the relative modernism of Paris circa Silvia Beach and Chanel and all of this. |
Well this is Parmenides straight out.
He uses a term 'Aletheia' which is the opposite of oblivion - and it means disclosure, or revealing -, in other words 'Apocalypse.'
And in his verses, he describes the concept of the Final Ultimate 'Godhead' as containing everything from Beginning to Ending (of everything including Time). There are some parts of his poetry which are no longer extant but I happen to know they literally say 'Alpha and Omega.'
This is Parmenides.
But here is the point - let's say all of these guys (and some gals who wrote this kind of stuff way back too) are right. Then when you go pray at your mosque or you follow the liturgy at your cathedral or church or whatever, these are all distractions, time-wasting diversions from what you should be doing.
You work is good (means you are a moral person; doesn't mean that you cannot do wrong, or have failure/s, or make mistakes), and so there is a Supreme giver of benefits because your 'work' is good. And since that Supreme Giver exists above Time, but yet exists in the permanent and Eternal now, then there is absolutely not only nothing standing in the way of you having the beneficial possessions from that Source now, but in fact that is when you 'get them.'
Spinoza was cheered by the modern atheists because he outright asserted categorically that no actual personal being existed in the form of what he was calling 'god.'
But that was not what Parmenides said.
You see Parmenides is right and Spinoza is wildly irrational here.
There cannot be an intelligent thing outside of Time and material space without it being intelligible; and amenable to other intelligent living 'actors' (in the Cosmic arrangement).
But how, how is it possible to have something always exactly the same, yet outside of Time, intelligible, and intelligent, and then again able to 'happen in Time' too?
Chinese 'fake' lacquer-work from the time of Queen Anne. |
Well, if intelligent then alive. If alive and intelligent at this level then it makes its own decisions.
But as for all the rest well I will personally on my own account perform a 'miracle' here and now and show it to you, that is, not simply describe it but literally hand it to you as an experience.
The answer is something you already well know and are quite familiar with. The process is music and the thing itself is a song.
aka - you go to the Sonata Cafe and you listen to a rendition of Beethoven's Fidelio, which is actually a whole entire opera and the only one he ever wrote.
You are dealing with an alive 'thing.'
So don't repeat stuff, just mindlessly parroting things and avoiding the immediate and instant consciousness of the concept of something intelligent, alive, and existentially now.
You say well but when, when does stuff actually happen?
You know when things happen in a song.
And sure they kind of still take you by surprise too though.
...I am preparing you for the 'fly-over.' Believe me it will be a lot more shocking than people imagine, coming from their militant continuous position of 'skepticism' and 'rationality' which they all think they are being and doing. LOL What a laugh.