REALITY, CREATION, AND DUALITY

Before we can really understand spiritual principles we have to have a grasp on what spirituality itself
is. Spirituality is an ancient wisdom that enables us to have both intellectual and experiential
knowledge of divine things. This is how we address the questions of life. Of course, in giving ourselves
to a spiritual path this brings up many other questions. As the philosopher Nicolas Gomez Davila
wrote:

“The unbeliever imagines that religion pretends to offer answers, while the believer knows that the only
promise it makes is to multiply questions.”

Some of the questions that naturally arise as a result of spiritual inquiry are:

• Who am I?
• What am I?
• Why am I here?
• Who and what is God?
• How can I know divine truth?
• How can I experience spiritual realities?

To address these questions we first need to see what Sacred Scripture says about our creation and
subsequent events in the lives of our First Parents.

The First Rebellion

In human history there are three rebellions of vast importance. We will focus in this discussion on the
first.

Quantum Theory and the Fall

Quantum Field Theory, due to recent breakthroughs in quantum mechanics, has become a widely
discussed topic in both science and philosophy. When all the data is compiled, the metaphysical
implications are astounding, undermining the Materialist conception of the cosmos. Are we connected
to our planet? To the cosmos? To each other? Before we get into the specifics we need to take a brief
look at the research that leads to the fact of the Quantum Field and its metaphysical implications. The
late Dr. John Wheeler (1911-2008), Physicist and Professor at Princeton University, proposed, based on
scientific data alone, that we live in a "participatory universe", where everything is connected. Albert
Einstein too expressed deep concern over data pointing to the potential that we live in a universe where
we could actually influence matter in any particular place, while we're somewhere at a distance. He
referred to this as the"Spooky Action at a Distance" phenomenon.

If we are connected, then there must be "something" through which our emotions, desires, and will
move in order to interconnect. The idea of a field of energy seems to have gained significant attention
in scientific circles in the late 1800s, and was known as the "Aether Field", though that name has been
long since rejected. From April to July of 1887, Dr. Albert Michelson and Dr. Edward Morley, at what
today is Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, began experiments to detect the "Aether
Wind".2 The basic idea being, if the Aether Field exists, then it should interfere with light waves due to
an Aether wind- the motion of that field in action. The end result of the experiment was that they found
nothing to indicate any such interference, and concluded that no such Aether Field existed. Science
pretty much continued to disregard any suggestion of an energetic field connecting all things for many
years to come. Then, in 1986, an experiment conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Air Force, using
much more sophisticated equipment than Michelson and Morley possessed, found that there is indeed a
field of energy connecting all things, and Michelson and Morley were actually very close to finding it.
The results of this experiment were published in the peer reviewed Nature Research Journal of August
1986.3

Subsequently, the University of Geneva conducted an experiment under the direction of Dr. Nicholas
Gisin, the results of which were released worldwide in July 1997. It was known as the Twin Photon
Experiment. Photons are the light particles that all atoms are made of. They're the substance of the
universe. This experiment sought out to discover how these photons are influenced by the Quantum
Field. They split a single photon into two, creating twin photons. This meant that there was control in
the experiment, since both photons had the exact same identical properties. They placed each in a
device that propelled the photons into two different/opposite directions along two fiber optic cables,
each measuring seven miles in length. This meant when the photons reached their target at the end of
the cables, they were a total of 14 miles apart. They then manipulated one of the photons, "tickling" it,
as they referred to it, and a very interesting thing happened. When they interacted with one photon, the
other, even 14 miles away, reacted as though it was having the exact same experience of manipulation.
For example, when they forced one photon to rotate in a given direction, the other photon would rotate
in the same direction at the same moment in time. When they electrically charge or discharged a photon
in one place, the exact same thing happened to the other photon. This connection is what is termed in
scientific circles as "entanglement".

The metaphysical implications are important to understand. They strongly indicate that what happens in
this field influences our world and our daily lives, and we in turn influence the field. This challenges
the Materialist conception of all things as essentially separate. We know that the Quantum Field exists,
and we know that we're connected to it, so the next question is, what does the field do exactly? There
are three things that emerge from what Quantum Theory tells us of the field.

1. The field appears to "contain" all that exists, and science can tell us nothing of what might exist
outside the field itself. Everything that has ever happened, or that is happening, are contained in this
field.

2. The field is a "bridge" between us, our world, and each other. When we offer prayers, the science
says the field will carry that prayer somewhere. Furthermore, what occurs in this field impacts the
entirety of humanity on some level. More importantly, the field appears to be a bridge between us and
something/someone greater than us-a transcendent world and being outside space, time, and matter.

3. The field reflects back to us the world we create as a result of our thoughts and actions. If our world
is one of suffering, pain, conflict, disease, and death, it is precisely because we are ontologically
embodying those things.

Nearly every ancient culture, no matter the religion to which it adhered, held that all life was
interconnected. This was a core premise of nearly every people group. Now, being pagans they
misinterpreted what is in essence a perennial truth, and developed pantheistic notions based on it. But
the fact that pagans knew this principle, and misunderstood/misapplied it shouldn't scare Christians
away from accepting the truth of it, since it does find significant support in Sacred Scripture. Stay with
me and you'll see.

God created man in His image and likeness. In our original state we didn't experience disease, decay,
suffering, and death. The natural order (the cosmos) was perfect as well. The natural world produced
fruit of its own accord, animals didn't kill each other, nor did they pose a threat to man. Both animals
and humans ate plants for food (Genesis 1:29-30). The world in which Adam and Eve lived had perfect,
temperature, perfect humidity, and nothing within creation could detract from their enjoyment of it.
God declared the earth and the entire cosmos "very good". (Genesis 1:31) What is very good before the
eyes of God can't have flaws. It was, in short, paradise.

However, when Adam made the willful choice to disobey God, all of that changed.

• Humanity fell from their created state, and took the entirety of the cosmos with them.
• After the Fall, the earth no longer produced food of its own accord, but it was "cursed" because
of Adam's decision, and man would toil for his food.
• Additionally, Adam and Eve would die. (Genesis 3:17-19)
• Eve's decision impacted every woman in existence, who now would experience great pain in
childbirth. (Genesis 3:16)
• After the Fall, since the natural order of our planet had been disturbed, man was given
permission to eat animals, since at this point animals had become predators. (Genesis 9:1-3)
• And ultimately, man was cast out of paradise.

So, what does this have to do with the Quantum Field? Since we know that our actions have an effect
that ripples across the Quantum Field, and potentially impact human history on some minor level, this
fact confirms the biblical account of Adam's actions having a universal impact.

The Apostle Paul touched on this when writing of Adam as the Federal Head of humanity.

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."-1 Corinthians 15:22

"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death
spread to all men..."-Romans 5:12

Quantum physics, then, confirms what Sacred Scripture teaches on the impact of one man's actions on
the entirety of humanity and creation. Adam affected the Quantum Field to a greater extent than we do
precisely because he was the Federal Head of humanity, and as such his actions carried eternal and
transcendent implications.

Enter Christ into the picture and some fascinating possibilities emerge.

Could it be that the actions of Christ, in entering into human life and living it perfectly, then laying
down his life to reverse the effects of sin, impacted that Quantum Field to a greater extent than Adam,
literally reversing the impact "wave", so to speak, of Adam's disobedience? If I'm correct, Christ, as the
"second Adam", and as the new Federal Head of humanity, had an impact so tremendous that, when we
make the decision to reject the actions of sin, we, through Christ, also impact the Quantum Field and
become "a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) In
short, the twin photon effect occurs when we place ourselves in Christ, allowing ourselves to be
transformed by His actions, becoming like Him. What God did in Christ 2,000 years ago, occurs in us
even at 2,000 years of historical distance.

Creation is also transformed. "...in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself.."-2 Corinthians
5:19

Notice that Paul doesn't just say God reconciled humanity, but the entire world-the totality of the
created order. The redemption quite literally repairs the damage done in the Quantum Field, which
ultimately will lead to a paradise restored-a new heaven and new earth. (Revelation 21:1)

The questions that arise from Quantum Theory are indeed fascinating, and if viewed carefully through
the filter of Sacred Scripture could unlock some amazing mysteries of creation and life to us.

Our existence was meant to be lived in complete, infinite fellowship with God, growing in wisdom and
knowledge, living in absolute peace, and having a higher understanding of the interconnectedness of all
things and of reality. God created us to be filled with the unlimited light of His truth, to enjoy a loving
relationship with Him, and to be the stewards of the earthly paradise. This purpose is the meaning and
direction of everything that happens in our universe; it is all to help us meet our created end. All natural
law and spiritual law are grounded in this purpose for humanity. Even the things that are painful, and
the attacks of the Adversary, are all used and/or directed at that purpose.

After the fall, our existence has been corrupted. It has become “worldly”. The Hebrew word for world
is olam, coming from the root word “Alem”, meaning “hidden, unknown”. In a sense, to say one's
lifestyle is worldly is to say that their created nature and end is hidden from them due to their own
rebellion. The world can also mean “that which is unknown”, essentially suggesting that our existence
is now one of ignorance of spiritual reality. This is certainly the case when you consider the fact that we
don't have any sense, under normal circumstances, of spiritual reality. We only sense the natural reality.

The way in which we perceive reality is faulty, as it is through a corrupted sense perception. A helpful
illustration is to think of yourself as a computer, with five disk drives. These disk drives correlate to our
five senses. When an exterior experience enters one of the disk drives, that drive (that sense) interprets
what that thing is and what it means. While the drives do an okay job of interpreting natural
experiences and things, spiritual things become difficult. So when a spiritual thing is entered into the
disk drives, they're unable to properly read the data, because the disk drives themselves are corrupt. As
a result, the interpretation of the data gets reduced to the natural, since this is all the computer is able to
comprehend. Whatever this computer, based on the five disk drives, interprets, becomes our reality. So
the spiritual object entering the drive isn't understood as it really is, but we develop an illusion instead
of the reality. The interpretive program in the computer is what we can call the self-centered aspect of
fallen man, or Egoism. This is the part of us that is only concerned with what advances our desires for
pleasure. It looks at the data and asks, 'How does this impact me?' So the data is only interpreted
subjectively, not objectively. As a result, external reality is often quite different from the perceptions we
have of what is real. Now this problem would keep us from understanding spiritual things at all, if we
had nothing else to rely on. We need an additional sense that permits us to comprehend spiritual reality.
We can't ever begin to approach spiritual reality as long as we're firmly trapped in Egosim-the what's in
it for me approach, a constant desire to receive or take. Fortunately, God has provided the motivation
for us to get out of the bad programming of our computer. It is called “prevenient grace”. None of this
is to say that we aren't created with the will to receive or take. We are, and that will to receive is used
by God to help us tap into His prevenient grace, helping us respond to spiritual data He has given. An
illustration is again helpful. Wherever you are right at this moment, when you move, change position,
get up, take a drink-whatever you do is motivated by the fact that you've become in some way
uncomfortable and a need has arisen within, so you move to achieve a more comfortable or pleasurable
situation. Through previent grace, this natural desire can be used to bring us to a point in which we're
no longer comfortable with the corrupt data we've been receiving, and we “move” to find the more
comfortable, pleasurable spiritual reality.

Most people start of with the most basic of desires (food, shelter, etc.). These desires relate to eating,
sleeping, mating, and defending what is ours. These are desires we have in common with animals.
Once these desires are met, we generally progress to a greater desire, which is for wealth. Once
achieved, we no longer need to worry about the basic desires, since wealth affords us those in plenty.
And whether or not wealth is met, most will move on to the desire for power, which is greater than the
two desires before it, since it encompasses both, having the ability to control the means for all the lesser
desires. Then another even greater desire pops up: the desire for knowledge. We attend college, study
hard, get our degree, but discover that the knowledge of this world doesn't fulfill us, because all it
offers is mechanistic answers as to how things work, or history, etc. There are no answers related to the
existential questions. Who am I? What am I? Why am I here? Is God real? Many of us, having
experienced these lesser desires come to a point in life where we find there is still a yearning, an
ultimate desire for something beyond this world. This yearning, working through our desire to receive
pleasure, is God's prevenient grace working in our very being. It is itself a spiritual reality you can
perceive clearly, and unlike the lesser desires, it grows eternally, bringing us closer to God, if we
abandon ourselves to its call.

Once we embrace the Messiah, we are sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit. We have received,
which is according to our nature, but now we find another desire has been planted within us-the desire
to give. God is motivated by the desire to give His children all the blessings of His infinite wisdom, and
to receive our love, adoration, and worship. His desires form a perfect symbiotic relationship, whereas
ours, as a result of the fall, are imperfect and self centered. They're a negative Egoism. However,
through the Messiah, we have access to the Holy Spirit, and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
we find the desire to give has formed that isn't conditional upon what we receive, but purely a desire of
agape-unconditional loving.