All Things Visible and Invisible

I had a friend, Braxton McKee, in Medical School who teased student nurses. He would watch them and when they were doing something such as swabbing an area of skin prior to giving an injection he would ask the, “Why are you doing that?”

“To kill the germs.”

It was the answer he was waiting for. “Have you ever seen a germ?”

“No, not really.”

“Well, then how do you know they exist?

However, it did reveal a common belief pattern that pervades our lives. I am writing this in the 2nd year of the 21st century. We are surrounded by things that are invisible. They are invisible but we believe in those invisible things and take action to use or avoid them.

The invisible stuff exists in our computers, TV’s, telephone lines, radio waves, Global Positioning Systems, microwave ovens and numerous gadgets that serve our desires and needs. We take precautions against viral agents and are especially concerned about human spermatozoa and eggs. The egg is just barely visible and is never ever seen outside of a special laboratory situation. The HIV virus is a plague that threatens entire nations.

We certainly do not have trouble accepting the existence of things we cannot see. My grandfather, born in 1875 in Poland, refused to believe in radio waves. He insisted the transmission was through the electrical outlet into the plug.

In 325 AD the Christian Church gathered its leaders to discuss concepts held by Christians and codify them. The document is a statement of beliefs by Christians. It is called The Nicene Creed.

The Creed begins with, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, (and ends with) ……….. and of all things visible and invisible.”

“…omnium visibilium et invisibiliun.” The Latin for, “...all things visible and invisible.” The original document was written in Latin.

In another chapter I will examine the importance of the word, ‘maker’ or creator.

There were controversies concerning the wording further along in the Creed but there has never been any dissent about these opening lines, especially the focus upon the visible and the invisible.

It is as if those early Church leaders anticipated our time and situation. I doubt they would have thought of electrons, atoms, viruses and the nano technological world. They probably thought of angels, Saints and The Holy Ghost as representing the invisible world. The current thinking of those scientists who examine the structure and nature of our world is their belief that there are between 6 and 13 dimensions and we live in one set of these. The majority also hold that there is an anthropic principle which states that the universe must be stable to support intelligent life. Of course it follows that our universe is made that way. But, it is also thought that there are other universes that can hold intelligent life that differs from our set of conditions. It is also possible that one of those universes contains a universe that mirrors our own and that in that universe a person like you is reading these words as you read them.

Isn’t it easier to believe in spirits, Saints and angels?

Our problem with their belief as contrasted with ours is the ‘proof’ we have of the existence of our invisible agents. We know AIDS is real, as are all the devices that employ electricity. They are testimony to the presence of those invisible things.

Of course, the writers of the Nicene Creed, and many others today, would say they have proof of the existence of other unseen things such as healing by prayer, the intercession of Saints, the Virgin Mary and of Guardian Angels.

In the time between 325 to 2006, we have seen the explosive effects of our efforts to understand the world about us. The discovery by Copernicus that the earth went around the sun was unsettling because some feared such an idea would undermine our religious beliefs. We can look at it from another perspective. We could say that Copernicus was actively engaged in exploring the nature of God by closely examining God’s creation. After all what more is there except heaven and earth?

Another view of the relationship between the statement in the Nicene Creed and the world of today is this. The Creed laid the groundwork for the development of science and exploration. By insisting on the belief in things that are invisible they insisted that those who believe keep their minds open. Just because Church leaders later revealed that they were opposed to keeping belief open does not negate the effect the Creed had, and has, on those who read it carefully.

We may adopt that viewpoint that scientists are doing what God told us to do. They are extending our ‘dominion’ over the things God has made for us. In that case then Stephen Hawking, Einstein, Nicoli Tesla, Thomas Edison and countless others would be as revered as St. Paul, Mother Teresa and Joan of Arc. Those who expand our knowledge are doing the work of God.