My father is
an atheist. I'm not sure how his
beliefs differ from the Quakers I just spent the week with, some of whom call
themselves non-dious. I do know that I have enjoyed listening to
my father's recent musings about the nature of humanity's fascination with some
entity other than ourselves, to whom we give some power of external inspiration
or control.
He took time
to share his theory that bacteria in our bodies (hens forth referred to as the
Bacteria) are actually leading us in all directions of development, evolution,
and societal structure. We exist
simply to keep them alive. He and I discussed
the need that humans have to identify a sense of being lead by a greater force
other than our ego or self-will. We were, I think, teetering on a theological
discussion about religion being the opiate of the masses, an opiate keeping us
unaware of the Bacteria. I don't
want to go into great detail on this, because he is writing a book about it and
I want you all to read it with new eyes.
He just may be on to something. Though I don't think they will be
teaching it in science classes in Kansas.
His theory
meanders the lazy river along the shores of belief and the meaning of
life. I do not claim to possess
any certainty about the nature of his purely mental explorations. Nor do I feel sure of his true feelings
about the existence of a higher being.
The Bacteria do sound a bit
like "that of god in everyone". This unity stuff reminds me of his notion of matter being
energy. I feel akin to this notion
of "energy" being the grand unifying theory in physics, specifically
quantum physics. Also that this
energy may be the life force, the light
of god, what animates the Chakras.
For me, all of
this is more about the analogy or the allegory than it is about the truth. What matters is that my father
and I can talk about spirituality.
There is very little about this "energy" that can be tested
and quantified, like testing gravity by falling down. I'll let the physicists do that. I use my five senses to note its significance in my life and
I listen for its significance in the lives of Friends. The sense of oneness I feel may be
better than any drug ever discovered by humans, with the exception of love,
which very well may be the same thing.
So, what does
this have to do with bacteria, besides the fact that, according to my dad, we
might be killing god by washing our hands? (Title of the editorial headline in response to his
book) There is something about
this mortal coil that brings on a craving for survival. Even at its worst, life is hard to
leave. My dad loves life and
thinks it is beautiful, even if humans are only an appendage of the bacteria in
our bodies. He loves life so much
that he believes in peace, love, and that we are all connected.
As a Friend, I
occasionally meditate on the story of Jesus. In it, I discover a sense of relief that god would manifest
a living being here among us to prove that being human does not mean we must
give into the urge to participate in a desperate competition for survival, by
vying for the failure of "others". So, my dad and I agree on these
points. There is an energy that
enlivens our existence. And that
life is beautiful.
Bacterial Bonanza: Microbes Keep Us Alive (NPR):
The Quantum Activist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDi24IfILZ0
More Than You Wanted To Know About Quakers:
http://rachelheldevans.com/ask-a-quaker-response
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