Body and Soul which celebrates research into, and customs and events relating to, the combination of the carbon based body with the soul or spirit.

This is one of the oldest and most controversial creative events, but we want to tryand celebrate and research all the views on this. It appears that there are two basic options - both offer fantastic stories - either everything about us started from nothing and happens/ed by chance, or humans are part of an amazing 14+ billion year plan.

Body and Spirit

We have concentrated on presenting Body and Soul because of all the actual / potential events that have occurred / could have occurred our existence is an amazing story. If we are purely here by chance, or by evolution - how amazing is evolution! All the creatures / lives / changing formations and eruptions on Earth / the floods, droughts, plagues and wars; not forgetting, of course, the visits from space including massive asteroids etc. So much just to arrive with us!

THE SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE - CREATION WITHOUT RELIGION: Some people cannot accept the potential for creation because of religious stories, customs and traditions which have been written to appeal to previous generations. Origin considers the origin of man some one hundred thousand years ago, specifically excluding religious teaching, customs and traditions. The aim is to see whether human beings have a spirit (in addition to their carbon based bodies) and to discuss the relationship between the two. (We use the term carbon to reflect the part of the human body that we can see and is therefore undisputed). What an amazing possibility that we are all part of such a long-term plan, giving us direct access to a creator so different from our carbon frame (but potentially so similar to our spirit) that we cannot even begin to imagine how the creator could exist.

Athanasius 'The Incarnation of the World' 335-AD. God made the human race like the animals, but added the extra gift of being in his image (grace). God didn't force his image on us and gave us free will. In the Bible Adam and Eve were recorded with the choice we face - whether we give preference to our animal short-term needs (in this case physical and sensual gratification) - or whether we accept the harder, longer term pleasure of the special gift. (Is this simply a way of highlighting the extra choice we have and how we aim to balance this with our natural animal needs?).
Although we want to include as much scientific data as possible, it is not based solely on research and is influenced by personal opinion. Richard Dawkins, in his work, The God Delusion writes: ,if this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down'. We are simply trying to supply facts and ideas for others to reflect on and use (and hopefully) enjoy in your different ways as unique individuals.

There are literally countless events that each could have meant that we wouldn't have existed / existed as we do. Paul Davies, Arizona State University, is quoted ,Our universe has hit the jackpot in a gigantic comic lottery.' Could something so fantastic arise simply by chance? It is not perfect and perfection would only come if we were perfectly harmonised and identical to everyone else. It is an amazing world, but some criticise problems instead of appreciating the wonderful benefits available to most. Some use the gifts carelessly, without doing their bit to preserve natural resources for the future. Are these people letting their ,animal' needs take precedence over their spiritual preferences?

THE MIND OF GOD: When unfavourable events occur some people blame God instead of considering that these problems are an integral part of the benefits received. Instead of blaming God, it may be that God suffers seeing us ignoring our spirits; not appreciating all the gifts we are given and causing so much suffering and neglect to others / nature. The amazing Professor Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, in ,A Brief History of Time' said that if we can answer why we exist, that this would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we should know the mind of God. Any theory should be understandable to everyone.

Gregory of Nazianzus - Theological Orations 380AD - To conceive God is difficult, but to define him in words is impossible. What God is in nature and essence, no man has yet discovered or can discover. This impossibility has to be accepted on this basis for anything else is beyond us.

Anselm - Proslogeion 1090AD - God is the greatest conceivable being. This being must exist. Were he not to exist, he would be inferior to an identical being that did exist and would thus be the greatest conceivable being.

John Humphrys in his book ,In God We Doubt' says that it is vital to first ,prove the Bible is the truth and not just a collection of writings that contradict each other and were written long after the events that they purport to describe'. Whilst much of these comments about the Bible are fact, we are trying to look at the position when man first appeared. If man has a spirit, we can then look at the messages from religious books like the Bible (which we are writing for the Religions section), but having first established the potential free of religions, customs and traditions.

THE SPIRITS POTENTIAL: Thomas Aquinas - The sum of Theology 1264-74. Genesis 1:26 Let us make man in our image and likeness. This refers to the spirit within the human flesh as is God within the universe. There is no likeness between equivocal things.

Although, in many ways, it can perhaps be easier to be an atheist, if you are, we hope that doesn't mean that you cannot enjoy considering the tremendous potential that life (within and later outside the human body) offers. Does the spirit or our selfish / ,animal' needs lead our lives: the challenge is to rise above selfish human pleasures? It is very rare that the spirit has ,dominated' the carbon - notable exceptions (possibly in different degrees) would be the prophets, saints, some religious martyrs? With each human being so different, each individual has the potential challenge for leading their lives based on spiritual, rather than non-spiritual, needs. Whilst all sorts of means (drugs, doctrines, greed etc) have been used to take humans to the highest level, these highs can be achieved by obtaining the spirits' full potential?

Other sections of Origin (please see menu) are being written to look at religions and their origins. Religions reflect the customs and cultures which can enrich our lives. It would, perhaps, be easier to take an atheists approach as there is then no need to do anything. However this means that you may miss out on the great adventures that spirits offer. We celebrate the tremendous diversity amongst us and we do appreciate (and welcome hearing) different views.

SPIRIT OF GOD / SON OF GOD: The story of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection are stories (written at least a generation after his death and relied on memory and anecdote rather than first-hand eyewitness testimony) told to a different audience. If the spirit is part of all humans then the spirit that was part of Jesus was special and the old stories may have been told, in a way appropriate to their time, to try and help understanding. The Gospels were written by people who had an overriding ambition to continue his message/ build a church. The most important items were the message that Jesus gave. Special spirits may be part of a creators plan for the very few special people / notably the prophets and perhaps this spirit is passed on as believed in several religions?

Our bodies are animal and are from Earth and return to Earth. The spirit comes from God and returns to God? We are fortunate because we control most of life on Earth, but whether we do this fairly and with respect concerns a lot of people. Have the words written in religious books been written to suit local customs / traditions at the time? It is said that what is worth having is worth fighting (pursuing against adversity) for, and often pursuing something can make what you pursue far more rewarding?

CELEBRATION: We want to celebrate, and consider, the origin of humans with an earth based carbon body and a creator's spirit. We try to look at the relevance of this basic theory for people today.  Our celebration is based on some of the potential and cannot, currently, offer little more than basic analysis of the reality and all our work is as amateurs. Our logic is very simple and possibly naive. We would like to think that this analysis may offer additional information uniting those people able to accept the possibility of creation and use this to celebrate the traditional customs and religions etc which celebrate in their own different ways.

Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury said (in a sermon before becoming Archbishop) that God is so unlike whatever can be thought or pictured and you must be prepared to have your religious world shattered. If you wish to truly understand. Dr Williams added that ,if you think devotional practices, theological insights, even charitable actions give you some sort of purchase on God; you are still playing games'.

PLANNED CREATION: Whilst the concept of planned creation may be unreasonable / impossible, the potential is amazing. The whole concept is so fantastic, that believing in it can only be a matter of faith. The potential for celebrating the different ways of understanding the potential, using our religions, imaginations, cultures and science, is considerable. The German philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Leibniz, is quoted: ,Why is there something rather than nothing'.

However, if the creator created our universe, the creator must have been created! As usual the possibilities are endless and we do not know the answer! Perhaps God the creator has / and is, growing with the universe and has needed this time to be able to handle us! Whenever and however the Creator was ,born' the choice is between all we have being created and designed or occurring from nothing as part of a massive lottery.

Many appear to assume that we are the pinnacle of the creator's ambitions. As you will see from the Earth Section (currently being written) / you may know, the Earth is approximately half way through its natural life cycle and who knows what future events are planned!

From nothing came everything. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. Though the average human brain has a billion nerve cells. Each body contains enough information to fill one million trillion books, but we know so little. Only recently have we begun to understand about the multiverse and how recently we thought that growing crops for fuel would resolve more problems, without the foresight to appreciate the immediate problems for the 10%+ of malnourished humans. The carbon body is primarily about self-survival / the spiritual body is survival for the whole of creation?

In trying to ignore events occurring after the man's origin we, in no way, are trying to discount these events. The wealth of events that have occurred since humans appeared are a very highly valued opportunity and are available to be celebrated, encouraged and enjoyed. The different traditions, customs, religions that help form our individualism contribute greatly and offer different potential to everyone.  The origins of religions, myths, legends, customs, traditions etc will, we hope, be increasingly researched on the Religion pages of this site.

PLANNED: that a creator /s (God/ gods) planned our existence and that this has been the case since the formation of our universe (we refer to the name given by all religions/ beliefs to the God/ gods / creators, creator as creator). We do not know where the creator exists, what form they take and how they themselves were created and we are unable to provide useful comment (though we welcome information / help!). With the possibility that our universe is a small part of one multiverse; perhaps the creator can move between universes and perhaps the creator is based in parts of the universe that we cannot see? There is a tremendous amount of potential and research based on an ever increasing amount of knowledge.

CHARLES DARWIN: noted in the Descent of Man how ,a belief in all-pervading spiritual agencies seems to be universal'. Perhaps this belief has a genetic explanation and Oxford University have a £1.9billion budget to research this. It is also suggested that the human brain evolved to make a belief in the creator a neurological accident -evolution that only occurred to some (as detailed by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Polly Toynbee, British Humanist Association). Nietzsche's riddle ,Is Man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of Man's?' omits the tremendous opportunities for considering that a generous creator gave man the opportunity of individualism with a level of intelligence that only man could attempt?

Currently there is no proof that a creator/ creators exists and it is simply a possibility - albeit a possibility believed by billions, since the earliest time of homo-sapiens. Without a creator the first ingredient would have just appeared - somehow? Basic understanding may originate from a personal belief in whether it is more likely that we arrived by unexplained chance or by unimaginable design. We do not know how the creator arrived, or exists, we do not know what the creator looks like and we do not what the spirit (we use this name to refer to the non- carbon based part of us) looks like, where it comes from or where it goes to. Whether the spirit is unique to each human or exists in other animals / other generations are features of the religious diversity available to us. The possibilities are that things have been created, rather than coming from nowhere.

MEETING THE ANCESTORS: Most religions / traditions agree on when the spirit leaves the carbon body. Some believe that the spirit then goes to join our ancestors, somewhere in the multiverse. The prospects not only of re-uniting with family and friends, but of meeting the spirits of previous generations - wow! We have seen mummified carbon bodies / skeletons / read stories of their lives, but the chance to meet their spirits appears unimaginable, but it provides a real opportunity to celebrate a future.

For the initial 99,000 years of homo-sapiens existence on Earth not much was written / written at the time and records are largely written some time after the event. As Robert Lacey in ,The Year 1000' states: We presume because we happen to have lived after our ancestors and can read books which give us some account of what happened to them, we must also know better than them. We certainly have more facts at our disposal. But whether today we display more wisdom or common humanity is an open question, and as we look back to discover how people coped with the daily difficulties of existence a thousand years ago, we might also consider whether, in all our sophistication, we could meet the challenges of their world with the same fortitude, good humour and philosophy.

With exceptions our ancestors discovered through most of their religions the principles of how we treat one-another and other creatures, the natural environment, more important than the selfish short-sighted animal instincts that have been more prevalent in very recent times. The challenge of life could be to achieve a balance between all features of our make-up?

Some people who belief that humans only exist as a carbon life, belief that we have one life and one life to enjoy. These people may be perfectly correct, but the creative theory can increase enjoyment of our human lives and definitely offers the opportunity for a great celebration for the next adventure. Only different human interpretation alters the original facts. Our individualism has created the different understandings of the spirit, but these differences originate from the brains of our carbon bodies. People have problems believing in a creator because of the differences / developments originating by our carbon frames.   We could, of course, have all been created the same so that we would all think and do the same, that we are individuals is a great celebration, but there can be penalties to overcome!.

BASIC PRINCIPLES: Traditions and customs help us live differently; consideration of our origin hopefully helps remind us of the original common principles, devoid of different interpretation? Not being created as robots living in a world with diversification has helped create all our differences? These differences have been directly used by humans and not by a creator, although if the creator gives us a spirit, we clearly have a choice. The choice is whether or not we contribute (directly or not) too many of the sufferings caused to others?

Perhaps it is human interpretation of religion, rather than the creator, who is directly responsible? That a creator gave us so much freedom demonstrates that the creator is beyond most human understanding? What the creator may have given our ancestors may have been the basic principles of how to cope with our individualism? If these principles do not now have the same importance due to different interpretation / difficulties in achieving them, what potential do they offer? We are going to look at some of these basic principles (please see below entitled basic criteria) to see what may have been relevant when we first evolved.

AMAZING STORY: Whether it is at conception or at birth, or when, or if, we do not know when the spirit joins the carbon body? What does the spirit offer to the carbon being, other than potentially taking on the indivualistic parts into eternity? Can there be only two choices - that life originated by chance, from nothing, or that life on our universe has been planned and originated from something? Science and history records the major development of mankind, but has yet to answer the question. We cannot answer it, but we use the assumption that the history of the earth has been planned and controlled. Whichever choice is accurate we believe it is an amazing story. IF POSSIBLE , please spend some time thinking about the choices (and, if possible, let us know what you think!).

THE CREATOR/S: GOD/S: we do not know if there is one creator (God) or more than one. We do not know what form they take, where they exist, how they exist / develop. To explore all these possibilities can involve some great journeys! On one journey we assume that the universe is one small part of a multiverse. Perhaps the creator originated from another universe - perhaps the ,heaven' is a universe 1cm above our universe? Perhaps the inside of a black hole is the heaven? As we are just researching the concept of the multiverse there is clearly so much we don't know. Each individual has been given the opportunity to make their own conclusions from the facts available to them. This may be how customs / traditions have developed - from individuals interpreting events based on their understanding of the information available to them. Hence there have been so many stories about the origin of a creator.

SPIRIT: Whilst the carbon parts of our bodies give us our individualism, perhaps we all are born with a similar spirit? Perhaps the ,judgement' that is spoken about in some religious teachings is a judgement on how we blend the two in our lives? Perhaps the only judgement is the ongoing rewards given to us on Earth, and for our spirit thereafter? Perhaps when our spirits are so troubled, this is when they cannot settle? Our assumption is based that the components that featured in the origin of the universe came from somewhere and over 13 billion years later humans were created. Those humans consist of a body born and dying and a spirit which lives on?

IMPOSSIBILITY: - it seems impossible based on the experience and knowledge available. The alternative, that it all just happened, because our experience tells us that nothing just happens, there is always something involved, some sort of catalyst; a creator. The stories relating to the spirit are widespread throughout history and appear in different ways. Interpretation of the spirit varies and these differences have been attributed to the creator, rather than the individuals / individual societies / cultures that initiated them.

SOCIETY: Each society sets their standards based on the evolution of their customs, traditions, religion; setting basic levels, but allowing different levels of tolerance. There are different attitudes to those members of the society who are different from the norm. and the benefits received vary greatly. This would apply to personal needs, rather than the needs of the society itself. For those who are unable to earn the average income (through sickness, disability etc) the opportunities / benefits are seldom equal to more fortunate members. For many societies, therefore, the carbon / animal needs / actions of the most fortunate appear to take precedence over the spiritual preference of treating others as you would like them to treat you?

It is also frequently said that actions taken at work / as an employee are different to the actions taken personally. There are occasions when someone will have little choice, but where the aim is to deliberately receive benefit from others, by your actions, which do not treat others as you would like to be treated, must mean that the spiritual needs are secondary. Surely different priorities cannot be selected to suit different situations, although this is very difficult to achieve (as already discussed).

 
INDIVIDUALISM: One of the greatest gifts is that we are all so different and everything around us is so different. It is fantastic, but this diversity also leads to misunderstandings, problems and perceived benefits. People receive different gifts at conception and throughout life and  it is right that the utilisation of these gifts should be praised and rewarded.  People who receive fewer gifts and who aren't able by events outside their control (death either natural or unnatural being the extreme) are giving the more gifted people the opportunity to benefit from the gift of individualism.

John Humphrys (In God we Doubt) quotes some early tragedies during his life and we hope that you will contribute your views to us. Three were related to our individualism (a lack of respect/ understanding / tolerance for others) and personal greed - Aberfan waste tip disaster; inter-tribe mutilations in Africa and human slaughter during wars. The earthquake in Nicaragua is a feature of the earth's formation and the benefits we receive from the Earth's resources. The release in 1984 of lethal gas in Bhopal, India caused pain and suffering to the innocent, whilst the company continues to prosper. This is another example of how we appear not to fairly use the resources given to us and rather than treat others fairly some choose short-term selfish monetary gains, in favour of treating others as we would like them to treat us?

Some people consider that the God of Love who created so many amazing things is directly guilty for the suffering that is caused by animal greed to others and natural events which relate to the formation of the planet as we enjoy it. Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sachs told John Humphrys in a Radio4 interview that 'God allows us to make mistakes because you know that your child is not going to grow into an adult unless you give that child the space to make mistakes and to learn by it'. If the creator gives us the spirit we have the opportunity to avoid / reduce mistakes depending on the influence we give to our animal needs rather than our spiritual guidance. The Archbishop explained that ,I can't quite see how a universe could be constructed in which some people's free will was, if you like, guaranteed to be aborted at certain points so that it wouldn't damage others. We are interconnected. Our freedom affects others.'

Pseudo-Macarius- Fifty Spiritual Homilies- 380AD - Man is given the freedom to choose. Some turn away from their spiritual traits and turned to evil as a result of their free will. When, therefore, a man is deep and rich in grace, there still remains inside him a remnant of evil. If a person is overwhelmed by temptations, caught in the raging waves of passions, man should not loose hope. If he puts his hope in God, evil diminishes and dries up. Certain people are afflicted with paralysis, mutilation, fever, sickness - a love of God can help man handle / cope with these. The more man progresses in the love of God the more simple and unlearned he considers himself. The more he studies and learns the less he feels he knows

Why follow the spirit - inner satisfaction from the knowledge of living as God prefers. For some life isn't easy and for some life is very short. Does this mean that their spirit reaches heaven that much earlier? Are just the folk who provide the extreme variation that the rest benefit from?

DIFFERENCES: Whilst differences in interpretation have  / do cause misunderstandings between cultures, faiths, tribes, countries etc these are man - made and it appears to be part of the freedom / diversity created that humans have been given these options. We are all created differently and inherit different charactistics and the influence that the spirit can have on this inherited make-up varies so that whilst it may be easy for one person not to steal it is much harder for someone else?

Ultimate happiness / success could include the progress that we each make towards living our lives based on principles rather than our inherited instincts. This is, difficult to monitor, because the starting point at birth is impossible to analyse. These variations are a gift. Religious records contain different reports and stories which some find alarming / inconceivable, but most are stories written at a different time for a different audience. Origin is trying to look at the issues looking at the basic messages, at the situation before the stories were written, looking at the meaning of the original message.

ACHIEVEMENTS: accepting that indivualism is a gift and that all the gifts we are given / are available, the greatest achievement is to make the most of the gifts given, to appreciate the gifts in others / in the universe, to try and give understanding to those with different gifts, to live in balance with the spirit and the body.

Basil of Caesarea - The Living Rules 358AD- the principles of Christian living include humility, valuing work for its own sake and not merely just as a way of earning one's keep and avoiding idleness.

Gregory of Nassa - Christian life is one of progress: perfection is unobtainable, but you should stride for a sense of growing in goodness. Everyone starts at a different point depending on their genes / experiences, but EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE PROGRESS.

PRAYER: Ambrose- 387-97 AD- Before all else we should be silent so that we are able to speak.

Dr Williams said in a Radio 4 interview with John Humphrys (In God We Doubt) ,Believing is a matter of being committed to the reality of God: the knowledge that comes, that grows, through a relationship. Grow in that relationship and you grow in a kind of certainty or anchorage in the belief.' It is a matter of spending time in your own way to get to know God.

UNDERSTANDING: Where individualism doesn't offer the easiest solution- individualism means that people suffer in different ways. People close to us may die, suffer injuries, etc, but why does it happen to them? Is this down to the gift of individualism? The benefits of a long, healthy life are countered by the associated disadvantage suffered by those who don't receive those benefits? These people are part of the gift of indivualism and their pain and suffering allows others the benefits of being different? Situations created by others may be part of invidualism, but others need to do all they can to treat others as they would like them to be treated.

CRITERIA: We have tried to separate the needs of the body from the needs of the spirit, although we need both in balance. These criteria are not rigid - some human genes will create swings either side of the norm., so these are general comparisons. Also local traditions and customs can have a marked influence.

Maximus the Confessor- Four Hundred Chapters on Love- 661AD. Scripture takes away nothing of the things given by God for our use, but it restrains immoderation and corrects unreasonableness.
It does not forbid eating, but forbids gluttony;
it does not forbid begetting children, but sets standards.
It does not forbid having or managing money, but sets standards.
The Scriptures do not forbid us to think of these things, for they were made to be thought of; what it forbids is thinking of them with passion.

Cril - Did not wish to divide or seek glory - he worked to be humble. He saw his teaching principles to be of most importance.

Buildings: help people wonder at man's skills / at the skills given by God.
Help man wonder at the glory of God.
Help man demonstrate wealth
Help us take pride in our inheritance and the gifts of our ancestors. 

The needs of the human body include subsidence (food and water). The natural
attitude towards others is for self preservation / survival of the fittest. Death is an ending. The disadvantaged are frequently viewed as weak and the strong praised. Money and possessions are a sign of strength / success. Sexual contact can be subject to natural urges. Care for others is not the highest priority.  Depression may be treated with drugs and high points may be boosted with alcohol and drugs. Disagreements can create conflicts and natural differences, and differences caused by religion; customs etc cause war and conflicts, sometimes in the name of religion, but if not in the name of religion, something else. As John Humphrys recalls in ,In God We Doubt' - the greatest horrors inflicted on humanity in the last century were inspired not by religion, but by atheists / communists.

The spirit is part of a 13+ billion year plan. The spirit requires thought, consideration, help (prayer), strength of mind, commitment. The spirit encourages us to treat people and everything on earth fairly and sensibly. The spirit is never ending. Money and possessions are part of a balanced life on earth and are a reward where they are not obtained by disadvantaging others. Sexual contact is honouring standards and respecting others. Achieving life with the spirit has, for the few who achieve it, provided greater long-term ,highs' than anything else, but it is far from easy. There is no need for conflict and the potential is for a great inner comfort.

SUMMARY: We have tried to look at whether we have a spirit free from all the human interpretations of what has happened since man evolved. We, and everything else, appeared from nothing by chance, or we have evolved from a planned start via a planned programme? If the former, it is unlikely that there is a spirit included within us and we have one life that ends when we die. If the latter we have a human body and a creator's spirit, the latter continues on our death, either somewhere else in the universe / multiverse or within another earthly life.

Assuming we all have a spirit, we have been given the choice on how we listen to it. We all have a different starting point due to our different genetic make-up and experiences. We are unlikely; therefore, to ever achieve the same balance between the needs of the 'animal' body and spirit, but prime success in life on earth could be achieving your own perfect balance?

Our experiences with religion, tradition and customs all help us be individuals and are important parts of our lives. However, they have blinkered the facts around our origin and our animal based actions - wars, disasters etc has been blamed on religion and has, for many, clouded the responsibilility for these things. Many religious records were written long after the event by people wanting to prove a point, based on their interpretation.

Many of us have taken the wonderful gifts and naturally beauty for granted and have used the misfortunes / disadvantages faced as a reason to question whether there is a creator / a god / a spirit. The misfortunes and disadvantages of life on earth are closely related to the benefits we receive, or are caused by man rather than a creator / spirit.

Our greatest challenge may be balancing the needs of the body and spirit, and in doing so, treating others as we would like them to treat us; doing all we can for fellow humans with less advantages than us and in leaving the earth for others as we have enjoyed it?

There are limited areas in which we can exercise free choice, without someone else's free choice impinging on ours, but the choice of whether to believe in creation, in a god and a spirit, is the only one that really matters, the only one that can never be taken away or imposed on us ( IN God We Doubt). We very much welcome your opinions.
April 2008.