(By Solomon Mahoi, [Pseudonym "Abck Obba"])
May 30, 2024
Life on earth remains a mystery despite which version of the origins of the existence of life a person may choose to subscribe to. And so from biblical narratives of creation to astrophysics' big bang theory and to Darwin's evolutionary theory, all which points to how the existence of life on earth came about, it is therefore fair to say that the origins of the existence of life continues to generate debate that shall remain debated for as long as the human intellect continues to exist. This is because the human intellect as we know it, holds acres of space that allow the imagination to process oceans of thoughts or ideas, that when those thoughts or ideas are well structured out they carry the power to be as believable as one would make them out to be.
What I'm saying here is that the human being through its mental faculties exercises its ability to strongly ground itself in the belief of religious doctrines due to spiritual conviction rather than proof, and this is called "faith." At the same time the human being also exercises "reason" by applying logic consciously, as logic aids in the drawing of conclusions from new or existing information but with the objective in seeking truth. This therefore leaves us with the choice to utilize either the faith component of our being, or the rational (or reasoning) side of it that is derived from our intelligence. There is also the option of utilizing both the faith component of our being and the reasoning derived from our intelligence; and whichever of these options a person chooses only reveals a person's personal conviction and not necessarily the so-called soul-and-God disunity which we sometimes associate to the idea of faith and reason when both are applied to the day-to-day challenges we face, or to the day-to-day happenings we navigate through in our lives.
Perhaps what we are failing to realise is the fact that the human intellect is bound to grow, and part of this growth reflects, if you will, the admonishment in the Garden of Eden upon the completion of the creation of both man and woman, when Jehovah God said to both Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 to go forth and be fruitful and multiply. Another thing to have in mind is that multiplicity doesn't occur just like that; whether in farming, housing development, academic expansion, fishing, or hunting, etcetera, for such tasks involves proper planning in addition to forecasting risks or possible mishaps, all which at some point in the process of planning, eventually indulges the support of critical thinking. But what's fascinating here is that there is hardly a way one could apply critical thinking without minute traces of logic (or common logic) being part of the critical thinking process (or critical planning process). And assuming this is true, therefore leaves us to conclude that the idea of utilizing our faith together with our intelligence or reasoning power, is a God-given endowment that when utilized appropriately can create diverse beauties as our ultimate duty in this life is to not only create and produce effectively, but also to enjoy the fruits of our creations along with paying reverence to the Ultimate Reality who according to the faith component of my being, is the Supreme Being or Supreme Energy from whence all appeared.
Therefore the idea of us utilizing our reasoning power and our faith together is by no means an act of rebellion to scriptures or to God, as certain minds whose thoughts go contrary to this line of reasoning might purport. Instead, it is an act of due diligence as our divine mandate as prescribed in Genesis 1:28 levies us to create and produce. But one cannot create and produce without first having to think of what to create and how to fashion that creation into one's life or the lives of those closed to the inventor or creator, or to mainstream society. Perhaps what we should be more concerned about is whether what we create is good for society; and if what we create is not good for society, then the reasoning that led to that creation is what needs to be put to check or be totally diluted, rather than to discount the very creative endowment that the human mind is awesomely graced with, but which disguises as "reason."
On that note, utilizing scriptural guidance together with utilizing our ability to think independently teaches us the importance of balance, and that when the nature of this balance is healthy, the results are more than likely to be nondestructive.
Shalom.
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