[ Setting: A high mountain peak. ]
JED: Now this is a beautiful sight. I guess having been in the trenches it is appropriate to now sit atop the heights and take in a view.
ALLEGENTIA: There are so many beautiful places on your planet. I see you had a chance to see some of them. This one certainly is a delight. Tell me a little about your life.
JED: I did get to see quite a bit of my little corner of the planet, not much of foreign lands though. I loved the outdoors and decided early on to stop and ‘smell the roses’ as I went through it.
I had a long life and some of it was very difficult, like when the people I loved died. When I was younger my Dad called me his adventurous son, and I did have a couple of near death experiences, and a bunch of close calls to prove his point. What helped me through it all was my very clear impression about the goodness of God, so I lived my life not fearing death; I was sure I would go on. It was clear my attitude was very different from many other folks. A lot of people didn’t bother to think much about the other side until they got closer to it. Then mostly they felt the fear of the unknown.
Those who lived in fear of hell saddened me the most. I suppose a lot of your work during this flight is to comfort and reassure. It must be nice letting people know they are headed to heaven.
ALLEGENTIA: I have spoken to every kind of person and faced every kind of belief from your confused world. You were indeed in an enviable position to know you were going to continue, and especially to have had such a lucid view of God and his goodness. People waste so much energy worrying about the wrong things. Luckily, embedded in all of the superstition is a desire to be good, appreciate beauty, and know the truth. These values have always been motivating, if not guiding, every person who ever lived.
JED: Unfortunately, we have twisted and warped even those fine ideals for selfish purposes.
ALLEGENTIA: Yes, we have noticed humanity has an unfortunate inclination to justify its negative thoughts and actions. Yet the individual person always has a choice, and when the majority of the population becomes motivated to make practical progress, nothing will be able to turn the momentum. We angels deal mostly with individuals, and we can get caught up in their day-to-day struggles. That is when we take time to visit with the higher angels whose vision is long. They deal with the growth of the entire planet. We are soothed by the glorious vision of your species’ future.
JED: Then things are getting better on Earth?
ALLEGENTIA: Every day. We are very upbeat about the improvements you are making. Of course, as is always the case on a young planet, a lot of advancement is in reaction to some very poor choices. Even so, instead of staying with the old ideas and perpetuating the old ways, many people are trying to see a new way of thinking and, therefore, of being. What is helping the most is the advancement in the idea of God, even among atheists, agnostics, and radicals.
JED: It’s hard to be positive when there are so many problems all over the place.
ALLEGENTIA: We see there are pockets of humanity in great need of help. And we are painfully aware of those individuals who are exceptionally pathetic representatives of your species. But in spite of the difficulties you face, when we look at your total history and your glorious future, we can be encouraged.
JED: That’s good to know. Sometimes it is hard to see the positive change when it seems to be moving so slowly. I guess it helps to be farsighted. It sure is good to hear the idea of God is moving forward. So, tell me, what do angels consider to be a higher priority; to acquire values or to understand the nature of reality?
ALLEGENTIA: Since God is Reality, the better one knows either value or reality, the better they know God. We know there are people who equate true faith with belief in incomplete or even foolish ideas. Thus, for them, good ideas, and their associated ideals, become the most important measure of progress. For the fact finder, the seeker of reality, they are moving toward God anyway. The final fact of God will, for some, just have to wait until they get more information. Waking up after dying is a big help in jarring each person into taking a new look at things. Yet, for some, even that is not enough to prove to them the existence of God.
JED: Speaking of which, you just jarred loose a memory of Saint Thomas Aquinas and his five proofs for the existence of God. They always helped keep me focused. Let me see if I can recount them all.
First, there must be an original cause, therefore there must be an Uncaused Cause. Second, there must be a primal fact not dependent upon any other contingency, therefore there must be an Absolute. Third, there must be some central point around which all that moves revolves, therefore there must be an Unmoved Mover. Fourth, there must be a counter-point to the imperfect, therefore there must be Perfection. And fifth, there must be an intelligence which is above all intelligence, therefore there must be an All-knowing Being.
ALLEGENTIA: Very good. Thomas had a special connection with, and a great love for, God. In all of these proofs he thought of God as a person. It was such a fundamental fact for him he did not even think of including it as a separate sixth item. He might have also added, “Since we are persons there must be a source of all Personality: The Father of all creation.”
JED: It sure is going to be interesting up there. I am expecting a lot of new things. I also expect my expectations will seriously need some updating. I am so looking forward to seeing my wife again. She completed me. My desire to gain her respect and admiration raised me up and improved me. I give her much of the credit for any good I am.
ALLEGENTIA: Love is like that. I am sure she is better for loving you too. When we look at the progress of the whole planet we also seek the inspiration of the sweet stories of special relationships.
JED: It is nice to think of her. Of course, it will be a treat to see her and to continue our adventure, however I know there are a few other things I have to take care of in the meantime.
ALLEGENTIA: I know she will be glad to see you again too, and, of course, we will help you with the other things you have to take care of.