Philosophical Reflections With

Matthew M. Umukoro

mattmukoro@gmail.com  (08034052655)

 

 “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made through Him, and nothing that was made was made without Him” (John 1:1-3).  The genesis of the World, through the Word, can be found in the Book of Genesis 1:1-31, which states that God created Heaven and Earth, as well as all creatures, both living and non-living: the oceans and their contents, the mountains, the sublime forests and the animal kingdom, the birds of the air, the planetary system, the sun, the moon, the stars, alternating day and night, ending up with the creation of Man on the sixth day, and giving him dominion over all creatures.

Scientists have vehemently doubted the authenticity of the Biblical creation story, insisting that every creature or object on earth evolved from one stage to another from time immemorial to the present day. The fatal flaw in the evolutionary theory, however, is the inexplicable lacuna about the foundation of all things; how the very first set of items and creatures came into being. Since nothing can evolve out of nothing, who created those first set of beings from which the evolution process took over? No matter how much we try to circumvent the fact, we cannot run away from the existence of that First Cause or Creation Force responsible for the foundation of all Creation; a supernatural Power that defies scientific or rational explanation. God is the Supreme Authority that exists out of time, with no past, no present, and no future; with neither a beginning nor an end.

Three Words are implied in the opening statement above. The Word that was at the beginning was the Holy Spirit, while Jesus Christ was the Word that was with God, and the Word itself was God.  In John 8:58, Jesus declares: “Before Abraham was, I am”, which confirms that Christ was there at the very beginning. Hence, the eternal union of the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) collaborated in the creation of the World, through the Word, at the beginning of time. Each pronouncement that God made was effectuated by the Holy Spirit, under the divine superintendence of Christ. Even though each one of the three entities often manifests himself as a unique force, the greatest and unfathomable mystery of all time is the mystery of the Holy Trinity; Three Persons in one God, at once distinct but inseparable, like the three sides of a cone.  The concept of Three Persons in One God transcends human belief and is wholly based on unquestioning and unquestionable Faith. 

Apart from acting in concert, each of the Three Persons of the Trinity also manifests himself individually at different times. During the Baptism of Our Lord by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice of God the Father was heard loud and clear saying, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Quite often, Jesus found himself looking upwards and praying to God the Father, as witnessed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He stood apart from his disciples, fell on his knees and said “Father, if you are willing, take this chalice away from me. Yet truly, let not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).  God the Son was agonizing over the pending ordeal that he was to face as the Second Person of the Trinity. An Angel then appeared to him from Heaven, to strengthen him, while the disciples had fallen asleep.

Also, before feeding the multitude consisting of no less than five thousand men, not counting the women and children, he looked up prayerfully and blessed the only five loaves and two fish available, which multiplied into thousands, leaving twelve full baskets of remnants, after everybody had had their fill (Matthew 14:19-21). These were some of the several occasions in which God the Son called upon God the Father for assistance, underscoring the significance of prayer in Christian life. If Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity prays to God, who are we mere sinful mortals, to neglect the potency of prayers in solving our problems?

Then on Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit was seen in action, descending on Mary and the apostles, empowering them to preach to the heterogeneous congregation of varied nationalities, while everyone heard them in their own peculiar tongues. This was the founding of the Church, when the disciples began to preach in tongues, speaking in other languages different from theirs; not speaking in meaningless jargon, as erroneously conceived.  The Holy Spirit manipulated them to speak in other tongues, or acted as an interpreter of their language to the varied congregation.  “And there appeared to them separate tongues, as if of fire, which settled upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak in various languages, just as the Holy Spirit bestowed eloquence to them…Then all were astonished, and they wondered, saying:

‘Behold, are not all of these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we have each heard them in our own language, into which we were born’” (Acts 2:3-8). Speaking in tongues is the special gift of the Holy Spirit which turns the anointed speaker into a polyglot, investing them with the capacity of addressing the congregation in different languages, so that the message gets to all. It is not Biblical to interpret this to mean speaking in non-existent or incomprehensible languages.

Just as the Holy Trinity brought the world into being through the Word, human beings themselves are regularly inspired to engage in all forms of creativity through intellectual manipulations. This has resulted into a whole series of artistic and scientific achievements which have improved the lot of humanity, and made the world a better place. God created man; man created the city.  It is our fervent hope that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who collaborated to create the world, will continue to sustain it until the Second Coming of Christ.