“He who lives in the present lives in
eternity.”
This complex and confusing observation by Ludwig Wittgenstein, the highly
acclaimed Austrian-born, British philosopher, considered by many to be the
greatest philosopher of the 20th century, epitomizes the poor
understanding of eternity in the minds of most people. To truly comprehend or acquire
a visual imagery or to understand the concept of Eternity is an almost impossible task. The human mind, conditioned
as it is to function in concrete terms, is only able to comprehend any object
or thought when there are boundaries defining them. It is impractical to wrap
one’s mind around a concept that has no definable past, and no predictable
future associated with the tangible present.
In
much the same way it is inconceivable for anyone to think of a line without at
the same time thinking of a point of beginning and another in the end. Equally,
it is impossible to deny the fact that for every action to be completed, it
must invariably be initiated by a start. No different is the fact that every
thought will never take place without an electrical impulse being generated by
a prior chemical interaction. In fact, while all of life can be reduced to
single units of cause and effect, and used to compare with other events, or applied
for reviewing the past and predicting the future, none of these will explain
eternity!
There is no measure, or standard, or any other
possible way known to man that can correctly explain eternity as something that has always existed, with no
beginning and no end; or more correctly,
that was already present before the beginning and will be present after the
end. The human mind is incapable of conceiving anything without an end, and
for the same reason, thoughts that are not finite and do not include a
beginning and an end are rejected as fantasy. In truth, the only way anyone can
even consider the validity of eternity as an entity is to move well beyond the
limit of the human mind, and enter into the realm of Blind Belief.
The Atheist,
and to some extent, the Agnostics, in
keeping with their belief that there is no God, or any other Supreme Being in
any form or nature, believe that life
itself has no reason or meaning other than those dictated by the laws of nature.
They are content to scoff at the idea of eternity as merely wishful thinking,
and insist that human life, no different than every other object in nature, is
subject to the same laws and cycles of life and decay. To them, everything is
subject to a life cycle of birth, death and disintegration, and that all the
living things will appear, stay for a time and then pass away to be followed by
new living things which emerge to take their place. They insist that beyond
this natural occurrence, no explanation is necessary or even acceptable.
It is clear that, by its very nature, proof of Eternity can
never be demonstrated in the way that other tangible objects can. But for as
long as there is recorded history, there have been on-going debates on the
subject by philosophers and thinkers all over the civilized world. From the
ancient Chinese to the Greek and Roman philosophers, and all the major religions,
including the Hindu, Buddhist, Moslem, Jewish and Christian, there have been constant
arguments in favor of its reality as a manifestation of a Supreme Being who
created the universe and all in it. But they all acknowledge that by its very
nature, it is impossible to demonstrate its existence and, that at the same
time it requires a belief in a Supreme Being to whom all things are possible. Eternity will never be a consideration
without a Supreme Being who is himself, Eternal.
In the final analysis, eternity like so many other mysteries
that are encountered in living, will remain beyond the realm of human ability and
can only be acceptable on faith. For myself, I have no difficulty in accepting
the concept of an Eternal God who has existed before the beginning of time, and
will continue at the end of time. I have expressed this belief to all who will
care to listen in these terms:
“I believe life is an exquisite and precious
expression of a greater plan by a Supreme Being, in which our time spent on
earth is but a short segment of a journey, which began in eternity and will
continue into eternity.”
-In the end, it is, as it has always been, that Eternity is a personal conviction, subject to an understanding between himself and his God!
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