Hi Brian,
I suppose when i say "higher truth" what i mean is that you and i may glean something may be right or wrong that goes beyond simply subjective feelings. For example, one of the mistakes President Roosevelt made during World War II was that an apparent ship carrying Jews left Germany and sought asylum in the United States. Roosevelt sent the ship back which ended up returning to Germany. All of those Jews could have been saved had Roosevelt chosen to allow them to stay. Now, you and i can discern that Roosevelt made a mistake, the "right" thing to do would have been to allow them to stay. The "right thing to do" goes beyond just subjective feelings. We may be discerning a right or wrong that goes beyond just you or me? what is the source of that "right" or "wrong"? Why does our conscience dictate that there is a "right" or "wrong" that we can both attest to?

For a broad overview of Spinoza's theology:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza/

Esp. the part about God.

But actually, the best comparison between Spinoza's God and the Catholic God is made by Spinoza himself in the closing remarks to Part 1 of his Ethics.

http://capone.mtsu.edu/rbombard/RB/Spinoza/ethica1.html#Appendix.

HI Paul,
That's an interesting point. I don't know enough about Spinoza's understanding of God to give an intelligent response. While i don't believe that God has a beginning i wonder if perhaps Spinoza's openness and reflection on the universe and theology didn't lead him to some conclusions that are true? Do you have a website you could recommend that perhaps summarizes his philosophy?

Ah! These 'insolvable puzzles'. I only can attempt to gather as much 'help' in finding a solution, through going through the different religions and faiths looking for insights that I believe they all offer.. For there to be (at least the potential of divine immanence) within human nature, is I believe, what is said to distinguish humanity from other aspects of nature, animals to neurons. etc. So, this is but one definition of what is meant by 'immanence'. I have to admit that I can't make up my mind completely on this and many other issues, which makes me not only a pantheistic believer in Sprinoza's thought, (at least many aspects of it) but also an 'agnostic'. Yes, it's indeed difficult to 'Know Thyself', but I will not give up faith despite the dilemna of not being able to truly 'know who I am'. All the best, Paul.

I'm glad we agree with the reveling!

As for expanding the concept of ``deity''. I'm still thinking about what the idea of God is, and whether pantheism is too broad. But I think that, if God is understood simply to be the "necessary being", then there would be theists (who think the necessary being is separate from the universe), pantheists (who think the necessary being is the universe) and atheists (who think that there is no necessary being).

Using this distinction, what separates atheists from pantheists would be the question of whether any fact is contingent. My intuition is more and more that nothing at all is contingent. Randomness is more a description of human ignorance than a description about the nature of reality.

That said, I have no idea what to do with quantum mechanics, and so I am not yet a pantheist. Randomness seems to be an essential part of physical reality as I understand it so far. My intuition doesn't agree with empirical facts, and since I'm a scientist, I'll stick with the empirical facts.

I'm not sure I understand. If the Trinity was true and I was Jesus, then I'd be God. That's sort of a maximal immanence.

If Spinoza's right, then:

In this sense the voice of Christ, like the voice which Moses heard, may be called the voice of God, and it may be said that the wisdom of God (i.e. wisdom more than human) took upon itself in Christ human nature, and that Christ was the way of salvation." (Spinoza, Tractatus, 1:49)

And, if Spinoza's right about us being as much God as Christ, then we also have maximal immanence. This seems to be a much closer relationship to God than what Catholicism offers? Although not the Eastern Orthodox, because of their doctrine of theosis, which does seem very similar to this idea (at least on the level of the language).

...Not to mention the incredible complexity of molecules within and around each of those billions of neurons, and the incredible complexity of each of the atoms that make up those billions of molecules. Mixed together with a couple billion years of incredibly complex evolution...

Seems like the only thing to disagree about is what to call whatever put all this in motion -- Catholics want to call it God, Atheists want to call it anything but God... So there's plenty of common ground! :)

Paul - I have often wondered why not or if possible - the pantheism of Spinoza cannot be related, according to Christianity with the 'immanence' of God. I have just in the last hour or so realized that it is because the Trinity is associated with Logos, The Will and Judgment, and thus reflects the 'possible' or potentiality of divinity within man's consciousness, something Christianity has always considered distinguishes us, not only from the 'material' aspects of nature, but of bird and beast. The Immanence of Jesus I thus now understand is limited in meaning to define the consciousness of the Divine Logos, potentially at least within all mankind through Christ, and not a 'general' immanence of rationality within nature.

As the Will, (as in this article) is identified with Love, Agape and God the Father it would possibly be the highest in the hierarchy. However, even in Catholicism, there is a kind of acknowledgement of some sort of equity or rather 'equality' in the triune relationship, I believe. But Jesus also said that the only way to the Father, was through him, The Logos, or intellect. We also must remember the Holy Ghost, which I associate with the third of the trinity: Truth Goodness and Beauty, (or Kant's three critiques), or Truth, the Way and The life. Kant in his Critique of Judgment shows that the conception of beauty is related to the emotions, and many other aspects. I have given a summary of this in a past post. Have a good day.