Babel Is Falling

Babel is Falling! Or is it?  

The story of the tower of Babel is interesting. Perhaps it is allegorical (some are sure this is all it is) or perhaps only partially true, based on a kernel of truth - an 'inspired by true events" story. The story goes like this. The human race decided that the path back to Heaven that God created was too difficult. Why not instead go straight to Heaven on your own terms? The arm of flesh will vault fallen man to godhood without the work required by God.

Now, God may have created a way back to His presence, but it was no easy task. In essence and in vague terms God's path was to create an environment wherein each individual would be subject to trials specifically designed and tailored to them in order to test them to their utmost. The purpose of this testing is to change the very nature of the individual. Into what? 

God wants to give you everything He has. That means all of His power. Peter Parker is almost right - "with great power comes great responsibility".  But think of total power - "if power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely". You can not wield power like that unless you are completely in control of yourself. You need to control all natural instincts, resist all temptations, obey all truth. Very very few people can do this. But the trials that God designs for each of us is geared to this end - to make you a perfect man. 

But who wants to go through all of that to get to Heaven (you must read "Get to Heaven' as "Wield all of God's Power"). Why not just grab for that power yourself?

So they decided to build a tower to the seat of power.

Now, when viewed as an allegory it is rife with lessons. 1. God's power is all encompassing and all powerful.  2. God has a correct path which when traveled will train the individual to correctly wield that power. 3. You can not get that power any other way than what God has designed. 4. The arm of  man is inadequate.

So.....why is Babel Falling today?

We as a people have begun building our modern day equivalent of the Tower of Babel. Adam partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Cool. Thanks Adam. We needed to fall to gain this knowledge. And this knowledge is an essential step. A Cherubim and a Flaming Sword were placed at the foot of the Tree of Life to keep him from partaking and therefore living forever in his fallen state. We are NOT to live in this fallen state forever. We are NOT to create life in our image. We are NOT to wield all power. Yet these goals are exactly where technology is quickly leading us. 

By some heady but apparently fairly accurate estimations (Hello you Singularitarians out there!), we will have finished our tower in less than 35 years. Technology will allow us to know all things (omniscient), be aware of all places (omnipresent-ish, see the Heisenberg principle....if only there were a Heisenberg Compensator out there, better check with Gene about that), and wield all power (omnipotent). It will allow us to live forever (in our fallen state). 

Ultimately the greater and greater advances in technology are creating ever larger  consequences. These consequences are both terribly beneficial and amazingly destructive (steel, engine/electricity, atomic power, telecommunications, genetic manipulations and on and on and faster and faster). We are, in my humble opinion, careening toward a future wherein the power we place in our own hands is becoming unwieldy. One false step and terrible destruction awaits (ever hear of the nanotechnology nightmare scenario termed gray goo? oh boy! See the final scene in The Day The Earth Stood Still for a sneak peak.).

So if we are closing in on the upper levels of our modern tower to Heaven, from my perspective, only two possible outcomes are eminent. 1. God will strike us before we can finish the tower and partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life (thereby living forever and holding God's omnipotence). 2. We make it to Heaven to find nobody there.

The outcome will be nothing more or less than the revealing of God to man (or the revelation that there is no God)!!

As a man of faith, I feel it my duty to continue my quest of self perfection and spiritual growth. I feel that God talks to me, which is an essential part of this path. I also feel in fair confidence that the tower and it's builders must be struck. (I hope that this does not become a crusade of Christian versus science!) But I admit (as even Mother Theresa did) that there is somewhere in the back of my mind the thought that the tower is being built at incredible speed and no one has struck us yet.

Will Babel Fall? At the current pace of construction, we will know by 2045.

ish.