Emergent Being asks “What if something came from nothing?” It’s a story that scientists tell in the Big Bang. The better we make our telescopes, the farther we can see, but due to the distance light travels, the farther we see, the farther back in time we see. The limit is that we can only see back to the Big Bang and we can’t see past that.
Creation myths in many cultures claim that the Earth was created out of nothing. In Greek mythology, the titans and gods were born out of Chaos. Chaos was a state of everything and nothing at the same time. In Norse mythology, the world is created out of nothingness, called Ginnungap in the chronicles of the Elder Edda. In Maori legend, Te Kore is a void with unlimited potential. Te Kore can be interpreted as potential. All of creation emerges from Te Kore.
The void is not necessarily empty. It’s more like everything is there, but it isn’t unfolded yet. In Unitarian Universalism this is referred to as The Mystery. It’s a domain that’s beyond our comprehension. To us it looks empty. To the gods, it’s a studio for creating the universe.
Gods that spawn from the Void and from Chaos are also beyond human comprehension, although we can learn about their conquests, conflicts and adventures. In mythology, gods aren’t limited to a human form, although they may take one from time to time. Zeus turned himself into a swan and a cow, but gods can also be bigger than us, much more vast, an energy that stretches across galaxies.
If we accept the truth told by many religions, that God is Love, then these vast celestial beings, so far advanced beyond our human foibles, must have developed great love for the conscious beings they birthed, a love for creation. That gives me hope.
Read Emergent Being on page 219 of Flywheels.
