Observation shows that human creative activity has a physical, a
social and a spiritual aspect. (By human creative activity I mean
useful and constructive activity by human beings). The physical
aspect of our creative activity concerns our activity in relation
to the physical universe. The social aspect relates mainly to
human behaviour and interaction amongst humans. The spiritual
aspect of our creative activity primarily concerns our activity
in relation to God. Over time, mankind has acquired considerable
knowledge of the physical universe. This knowledge has been
classified as the physical and natural sciences. Knowledge we
have acquired of human behaviour and interaction amongst humans
has been classified as social science. This has not been the case
with knowledge we have of the spiritual aspect of life. Such
knowledge has not been classified as spiritual science. This is
so because much of what at present constitute spiritual facts and
beliefs cannot be considered as science. A lot of such facts are
not backed by proof and many of the beliefs are not founded on
reason. Unverifiable conjectures about phenomena and existence
beyond this life are professed as truths. The situation at
present is such that spiritual works available to us contain
fiction, misconceptions, superstition and falsehood in addition
to actual facts. I will use some examples from the Christian
teaching and Holy Bible to illustrate this point.
Consider the Bible account of the creation of Man and his fall
from grace, (the Bible, Genesis 2:7-24 3:1-24).
We are told that God created Adam and Eve and established them
in the Garden of Eden where He had made adequate provisions for
their needs. All went well until the serpent came along and
deceived them into disobeying God. The act of disobedience in
the Garden of Eden caused Adam and Eve to lose favour with
God. Christians believe that the sinfulness of Adam and Eve
subsequently passed on to all generations of mankind. That, in
their thinking, is responsible for mankind’s fall from grace and
the human proneness to commit sin. The Christian concept of
original sin which is that sinfulness is a part of mankind’s
nature is founded on this Bible story.
Now let us examine this Bible account rationally. It has been
scientifically established that mankind has inhabited the earth
for over a million years. The coming into existence of the human
being is, therefore, a primeval event that is prehistoric and
immemorial. Surely, any account of this even cannot be anything
but an invention. Moreover, the incidents related in this Bible
story are inconsistent with natural phenomena. God does not talk.
Snakes do not have the faculty of speech. Knowledge is not gained
by eating the fruit of a tree, neither is it possible to attain
everlasting life in this way. This tale, by all indications, is
only a Jewish fable. It is not a true account of real events.
However, Christianity accepts it as a factual historical event
and has built its all-important concept of original sin on it.
Clearly, this is a case of fiction being passed for fact.
Let us go on to consider the concepts of heaven and hell as
propagated by the Christian faith. Heaven, we are told, is the
home of God where people who do God’s will on earth will spend
eternity with Him in bliss. Hell, on the other hand, is the place
of punishment where those who lived sinful lives will suffer
everlasting torment after death.
Now let us think seriously about these issues. God does not have
physical substance, God is spirit. Because spirit has no physical
limitations, God is everywhere at all times. In other words, God
has infinite presence. Since God is infinite in expanse, so to
speak, it does not make sense to say that God has a particular
place of residence. The concept of home is a physical concept
which has no application in the spiritual realm. Reason clearly
shows that heaven, in actual fact, does not exist.
And to the question of hell. Forgiveness is a cardinal moral
principle of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ in his teachings
stated unequivocally that we should always forgive others no
matter how many times they offend us. If one desires to commune
with God, one must have a forgiving heart, he taught. How then
can we think of God as being so unforgiving as to establish a
place of everlasting torment for those who go against His will.
The very idea of hell implies that God is wicked and unchristian.
It is, without doubt, a misconception to associate God who is
infinitely good with such a cruel idea. In reality, heaven and
hell are misconceptions that have passed for spiritual facts.
Let us now consider superstition in the Bible. The gospel tells
us about a father who brought his epileptic son to Jesus Christ
for healing, (Luke 9:37-43). The account says that Jesus rebuked
the demon in the boy. It came out of him and the boy was
instantly cured.
Let us examine this report in the light of our knowledge of
medical science. Epilepsy is a nervous disease and we know from
medical science that demons are not responsible for illness.
There is actually no proof that evil spirits exist. The belief in
their existence and that they are responsible for ailments is
irrational. Such belief amounts to superstition.
And now to the matter of falsehood in the Bible. We shall examine
the Bible account of the conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy
Ghost and the reports of his resurrection and ascension.
Knowledge is usually brought to mankind through people of high
intelligence. In some cases such people are gifted with extra-
ordinary mental or creative abilities. People like this,
referred to as men of genius, very often take us to new levels in
knowledge of the universe. One such person was the mathematical
genius, Albert Einstein, who brought us exciting new knowledge of
the physical universe. Jesus Christ belonged to this class of
people. He was a luminary who made revolutionary contributions to
spiritual knowledge. Unfortunately, the Jewish educated class of
his time did not understand or accept him. That probably explains
why he chose his disciples from amongst the uneducated, fishermen
and the like. These followers, who obviously were not men of high
intelligence, did not recognize him for what he was which was
simply a man of extra-ordinary mental abilities and l! earning.
His remarkable accomplishments were, rather, what made profound
impressions on them. It is reported that he healed all manner of
sickness, raised the dead, and fed thousands of people with few
loaves and pieces of fish. We are told that he walked on water,
waves became still at his command and a fig tree that he cursed
withered. They (his followers) were awed by these incidents and
began to perceive him as a deity. Jesus Christ noticed this
idolization and at the end of one of his sermons said to his
followers and the crowd present, (Luke 6: 46-49).
"Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?
Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I
will show you what he is like, he is like a man building a house,
who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock and when the
flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not
shake it, because it has been well built. But he who hears and
does not do them is ike a man who built a house on the ground
without a foundation against which the stream broke, and
immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great".
Jesus Christ was clearly not happy that he was being idolized
while little attention was paid to his message. He was just a
genius who had used his extra-ordinary talent to gain profound
spiritual knowledge. His primary concern was to impart this
knowledge to others. His desire was for people to listen, learn
and practice what he was teaching them.
After his death, however, his followers who did not fully
understand him or his work declared him deity. To lend credence
to this claim, they presented us with the story of his conception
by the Holy Ghost and the tales of his resurrection and
ascension.
Let us now subject these things to logical reasoning. Spirit does
not have physical substance. A thing that does not have physical
substance cannot be divided, reproduced, split or apportioned
into two or more separate and different units. Spirit, therefore,
cannot exist in the form of separate and individual entities.
This means that you cannot have one spirit called, say, Michael,
separate and different from another spirit called, say, Gabriel,
separate and different from another one called, say, Satan, etc.
Existence in this form is a physical phenomenon that does not
occur in the spiritual realm. It logically follows that there can
be only one spirit in existence. That spirit is God. Clearly, no
Holy Ghost exists and Mary the mother of Jesus was not made
pregnant by any such spirit.
Let me add at this point that the human being does not have a
spirit or soul. Our mind, which creates the illusion of a spirit
in our body, is actually a mechanism of the brain by which we
perceive and experience spiritual as well as physical phenomena.
Logical reasoning has shown that there can be only one spirit in
existence and also that heaven does not exist. Going by these
conclusions, the tales of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus
Christ do not make sense. If there can be only one spirit in
existence, what then did Jesus Christ become after he
resurrected? If heaven does not exist, where then did he ascend
to? The claims of a resurrection and an ascension are
inconsistent with logically established spiritual realities.
The Bible account of the conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy
Ghost and the reports of his resurrection and ascension are
definitely falsehood.
The occurrence of untruths, conjectures and fallacies in current
spiritual teachings is not peculiar to the Christian faith. I
have found a high incidence of this flaw in other spiritual works
and teachings that I have come in contact with. I am, however,
hopeful that my spiritual works will help clarify matters and
also enable mankind to gain full spiritual enlightenment.
My spiritual knowledge was obtained by study and experimentation
with spiritual facts and principles, by observation of spiritual
phenomena, and by logical reasoning. It qualifies for
classification as science. The knowledge I bring I therefore
present as a branch of learning I have called Spiritual Science.
The aim and scope of Spiritual Science are to provide such
spiritual knowledge of existence as will enable mankind gain
complete happiness and success in life.
God has endowed me with extra-ordinary mental abilities. It
is by His grace that I have gained full spiritual knowledge
of existence. I recognize my moral obligation to share this
knowledge with others and help others gain full spiritual
enlightenment. I have a duty to work for the spiritual
enlightentment of mankind. It is my fervent hope that you will
maintain an open mind and try to comprehend the spiritual
knowledge which I bring to you. Being fully enlightened
spiritually will enable you to live your life the right way. When
you live the right way you will undoubtedly find complete joy and
success in life. May the grace of the Almighty God be with you
always.
This article was excerpted from Spiritual Science, a book by
Emmanuel Emezie. Information about the book and how to order
it is available at this url:
http://www.spiritualsciencesociety.org/publications.html
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