Axiom # 3 – Humankind is imperfect

Humankind is but a reflection of its Creator. There are no absolute human beings. There are only those who are either less or more blessed than others. On the scale of the universe humankind is but an insignificant speck the obliteration of which would do little to disrupt the harmony or tilt the balance of the remaining universe.

Science has made prodigious attempts to both measure and chart what they believe, and what their data suggests, is a universe that is expanding at every point and in every direction. This data and the laws of physics make it impossible for them to determine at what point or location the expansion originated or what cause precipitated this expansion. They theorize that at some moment in the ancient and indeterminable past that all the matter in this universe and all universes beyond was gathered into a single mass and that internal forces consistent with known laws of physics caused it to explode in what is quaintly called the ‘Big Bang’ theory and that ever since, all matter has been expanding in all directions away from itself and from its point of origin.

What is left unresolved is from whence came this lump of matter in the first place? Who or what created it? Who or what created the laws of physics to which its behaviour is so obedient? How did living organisms arise from an inanimate lump? How, out of all the living organisms that did arise, did humankind arise who is capable of independent thought, of recognizing that it did not create itself, of seeking to discover Who did create it, and of discovering the laws of nature by which it was supposedly created?

How is it that this little fly speck called humankind, in an infinite universe, has been endowed with the ability to question its own existence and through the power of intellect, to reach back through time and attempt to discover, not only the elements of its own conception, but also the elements that brought about the conception of all that exists?

A more than formidable task, requiring a prodigious output of combined intellect, expended on a project that produces more questions than it answers.

What science in particular, and humankind in general, do know for certain is that the universe is vast, its boundaries are unknown, and its regions are beyond charting. Of its millions of galaxies ours is only average. Of the millions of solar systems within our galaxy that ours is small, dim, and not worthy of much excitement. Of all the planets in our solar system ours is one of the smallest and yet there are still those who believe that humankind is the only form of intelligent life in this vast, immeasurable expanse.

Only the most arrogant and presumptuous of minds would seek to advance the belief that such an insignificant speck as humankind, that is almost invisibly deposited in the infinite expanse of the universe, should be the sole benefactor of God’s boundless grace. Such a belief is not only arrogant and presumptuous but is not predicated on any concrete evidence to support its claim, flies in the face of statistical likelihood, and simply offends the intellect.

If humankind were not imperfect then it would have nothing to learn, no weaknesses to endure, no shortcomings to overcome, no questions to answer, no problems to solve, and no failures from which to learn. If humankind were not imperfect then there would be no need for science, no need for education, no need for religion and, in fact, no need for anything.