What is your view on the origin of life?

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Baile

I don't have a belief about this. But I connect with the Hermetic view, essentially: The ALL dreams; and we are that dream. And every "meaning of life" question can be answered by understanding the difference between relative and absolute truth. Because both exist.

Material life is real.
True from a relative pov (human).
Not true from an absolute pov (The ALL).

Our experiences are an illusion.
Not true from a relative pov (human).
True from an absolute pov (The ALL).

Shankaracharya once reportedly said:

The Universe is unreal.
Brahman is real.
But Brahman is the Universe.

One who understands this realizes that ALL is ultimately real and, at that point, the terms real and unreal become irrelevant.

[mickiel]

" The Houses of gods!"

When we research the past civilizations and just look at their patterns of living and the way they lived , one thing archaeology found that was consistent ; simple but true , was how they built their houses and arranged them in location. It was always in groups; ordinary houses or buildings , grouped around one larger and more magnificent dwelling that was the church , or temple , or mosque , or the " House of the god!" This was mostly true in all the civilizations in the Near East , the Tigris and Euphrates rivers , into Anatolia and the Valley of the Nile. Then into Cyprus , Thessaly, and Crete; into the Indus River valley, Ukraine and Central Asia , the Andean highlands and Mesoamerica ; and partly along the Yangtze! It later showed its patterns in the Malay peninsular , in Europe and Africa.

The " god-house" surrounded by " man-houses."

This taught us how " The god" was revered. In the earliest villages we found this , its incredible but we still see this somewhat today ; civilized man still adhering to his primate evolution ; still conscious of his Neanderthal origins.

This should open us to many lessons. Its a lot of knowledge just lying around in how and why we did this.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by mickiel

" The Houses of gods!"

When we research the past civilizations and just look at their patterns of living and the way they lived , one thing archaeology found that was consistent ; simple but true , was how they built their houses and arranged them in location. It was always in groups; ordinary houses or buildings , grouped around one larger and more magnificent dwelling that was the church , or temple , or mosque , or the " House of the god!" This was mostly true in all the civilizations in the Near East , the Tigris and Euphrates rivers , into Anatolia and the Valley of the Nile. Then into Cyprus , Thessaly, and Crete; into the Indus River valley, Ukraine and Central Asia , the Andean highlands and Mesoamerica ; and partly along the Yangtze! It later showed its patterns in the Malay peninsular , in Europe and Africa.

The " god-house" surrounded by " man-houses."

This taught us how " The god" was revered. In the earliest villages we found this , its incredible but we still see this somewhat today ; civilized man still adhering to his primate evolution ; still conscious of his Neanderthal origins.

This should open us to many lessons. Its a lot of knowledge just lying around in how and why we did this.

Isn't this all in the past? We don't build churches any more, in fact we pull them down-why should we need them? This discussion is rather getting away from the original question which could have had a fascinating follow-up.

It seems to me that in these times each of us is discovering his/her inner life, many of us don't need 'guidance', we are on a voyage of discovery.
What we will discover, through science, in the future, will bring us into a new, as yet only hinted at, undiscovered 'spirituality'.

[mickiel]

Originally Posted by Busby

Isn't this all in the past? We don't build churches any more, in fact we pull them down-why should we need them? This discussion is rather getting away from the original question which could have had a fascinating follow-up.

.

This sounds great Busby , I hope you take the discussion to that fascinating follow up. I think the thread has the ability to be split into several directions.

With but few exceptions , the plan of human group habitation from the end of the Mesolithic up to relatively recent eras is of a god-house surrounded by man houses. We began to find " god-rooms". The largest Neolithic site in the Near East is the 32 -acre " Catal Huyuk " , of which only one or two acres have been as yet excavated. Excavations at levels dating from around 6000 b.c. show that almost every house had a series of four to five rooms nestled around a god's room.

At Eridu, 5 centuries later, god houses were set on mud brick platforms, which were the " Origin of Ziggurats." Again origins within Origins. History is swollen with this. Often the layers in an excavation dig are ripe with origins of civilizations and god houses. And thus " Knowledge." Knowledge that can help our view of the origin of life.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by mickiel

This sounds great Busby , I hope you take the discussion to that fascinating follow up. I think the thread has the ability to be split into several directions.


.

It's each individual's view of the origins of life that interest me. And by the origin of life I understand the question to relate to the causes which brought about the first cell and how and why and where this divided - to start off what is apparently a universal chain reaction.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

One who understands this realizes that ALL is ultimately real and, at that point, the terms real and unreal become irrelevant.

We already know the ALL is real. From an absolute truth perspective, yes.

But I shared what I did, to explain how human physical-material reality, which is the dream of the ALL and therefore not "ultimately real," can be seen and understood as real. From a relative truth perspective.

[mickiel]

Originally Posted by Busby

It's each individual's view of the origins of life that interest me. And by the origin of life I understand the question to relate to the causes which brought about the first cell and how and why and where this divided - to start off what is apparently a universal chain reaction.

Well Busby you have an interesting view, taylor made for a thread like this or others similar. I think the first cell argument is a logical direction of belief , and I gave this;

http://creation.com/did-god-create-life-ask-a-protein ,

To show that it had arguments waiting on it to hear. But I did not argue it , I am off in a completely differing direction. In my view , the thread can be big enough to hold differing views , because the thread is NOT about just one view ; because if it was, I would be pimping God all through it. And I could make a strong case for it. Instead I am opening up history in another area that may give us a clue as to other historical views of the origin of life. I was showing how archaeology can be the camera of the past that we need to see a picture. How simple things like Architecture , ( The science of erecting buildings) , ( you like science - this is still science) , can give us some of the how and why our ancestors looked at how life began.

The "Hittites" in the center of their capital, " Hattusas" , now Boghazkoy , now in central Turkey , had four great Temples , perhaps trying to take the place of a " Ziggurat" , or " High Place" , mountain temples that invited dreams and hallucinations. But its the historical thinking I am getting at , these people were " Making rooms for the gods!"

"What gods", is an interesting subject for another thread. Here were are after origins of life , so we must consider "Why" the Kings and subjects of these Kings were paying tribute and obedience and building spaces for these gods. And is there origins anywhere in this?

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Baile

We already know the ALL is real. From an absolute truth perspective, yes.

But I shared what I did, to explain how human physical-material reality, which is the dream of the ALL and therefore not "ultimately real," can be seen and understood as real. From a relative truth perspective.

I think that we're on the same page albeit with slightly different wording. That's why words become inadequate at some point and one becomes more and more silent.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

I think that we're on the same page albeit with slightly different wording. That's why words become inadequate at some point and one becomes more and more silent.

Well after thinking I realized: Everything is the ALL, and the ALL is real, which would mean everything... is real!

[jimrich]

IMO, (I can't prove it) Life or Source always was and always will be. It's infinite and ineffable or mysterious so I don't try to figure it out - I just live it. My personal ego wants to understand and figure it all out but the impersonal me just wants to LIVE IT.

Originally Posted by mickiel

so life is indeed a mystery.

I agree.