One God

Dear Diary,

I was on the phone with my atheist friend, who pointed out an important distinction. The number .99 (ad infinitum) is not 1. A decimal is not a whole number. Although 99% of people on the planet will conflate the two, it is a mistake to say they are exactly identical expressions. It’s just the practice of rounding up.

Moreover, there is no rounding up with divinity. If aligning with the tradition of rounding up, when you say I believe in one God, what you’re really saying is that you suffer from an illusion. What you see is .99 and what you say is 1. This may be good enough for the government that is upon His shoulders, but it is not good enough for the scientists, like my friend, who approach His throne without knowing it. For them, the seat is empty.

Does that mean there is no God? No, because .99 does not reach 1, it doesn’t mean one does not exist. God is one. God exists. Humans are like the imperfect representation .99 where the 9 can be repeated ad nauseam, but the numerical value will not exactly equal one. Humans dwell in a world with an ‘unbridgeable chasm’ between them and God.

It’s like the Watchmaker theory. God is like a watchmaker. He is responsible for design. If a human being discovered a watch on the beach, this encounter would prove the origin of the watch without a direct interaction between the designer and the soul surrendering to serendipity. The timepiece would keep going, could be repaired, and was in a sense bestowed as evidence or proof of a creator to the blessed individual who chanced upon it. The watch had a maker. Otherwise, it wouldn’t exist. It is assumed the maker of the watch is like the maker of man.

One God created humankind. One is a whole number just above .99. Ninety-nine pennies can be calculated as one dollar if you’re rounding up. It’s a mathematical method we rely upon, however inexact. It’s often a process undergone in a financial transaction. The principle of precision is not always applied.

While God is not man, while one is not .99, both numbers exist as values, experiences, and expressions. They can apply to real phenomena. It’s easier to conceive of one. One apple. One banana. One cup of water. .99 is a more difficult concept to grasp. So, my atheist friend has the greater burden to bear by being exact. One is natural. It is a feeling. It is generous as a comparison. It is the truth. Just because there is a difference between .99 and 1 doesn’t mean both don’t exist. Both are actual descriptions that depict reality. Spirituality involves universal principles similar to math whose truths apply whether in Botswana or Brooklyn. 1 + 1 = 2 is true wherever you find yourself. One plus one is two. It’s time we acknowledge God, a point of origin, Who balances out human imperfections and our striving to emulate Him. If God shows mercy and compassion, so should we. We will never reach His level of intensity, match His propensity for good, or exhaust His capacity. Man will never be equal to God, but man can obey God and fulfill his purpose. Keep striving!

There’s good and there’s godly. Though we cannot attain divinity, we can approach the King. And where we see His seat, we can refuse to put ourselves or our egos on His throne. Thus, humbling ourselves or telling the time. Is it 4 o’clock or is it 3:59? What you answer says more about you than it does about God, Who knows what time it is.

Best,

Yeru