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{ July 10, '98 }
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Matter is cool
The Gnostics of the first century believed that matter was evil. They rejected the body and believed that only the spirit was significant. They even went as far as saying that Jesus couldn't have been a real man because he would have to have had a body, made from evil matter. God couldn't dwell in flesh, they thought. The Gnostics had a grain of truth in believing this. Jesus himself said "The body counts for nothing," and that the spirit was more important. Yet the Bible does not sustain the Gnostics' belief; I believe matter is good.
The body is a magnificent engine of life. It is a self-contained microcosm, with many useful gifts. It can perceive matter around it by the light rays that bounce of their atoms. It can perceive pressure waves in air and in water as sound. It obtains energy from elements found in plants and animals around it. The body sustains a soul, a mysterious consciousness capable of free choice, of emotion, and of love. Matter is good.
Why, if matter were evil, would a good Creator create physical pleasure? There is pleasure in seeing nature's beauty, art, and even in seeing other humans. There is pleasure in listening to birds, water, wind, fire, and especially in music. There is pleasure in a good meal, in its taste and its smell. Flowers, trees, clean air, can awaken great pleasure in us through their aroma. Through mother's kiss, a paternal or fraternal embrace, there is great pleasure in physical contact. I sustain that the physical world cannot be evil.
Although we often use matter for evil, it is neutral to it. A pillow that gives me rest might be used to suffocate someone. A car that takes me places could become a murder weapon. Objects are only good or evil in the way humans use them. The underlying mathematical and physical principles we have discovered in our universe are the product of the mind of God. They cannot be evil. Matter is good.
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