That black cat. Part 4

That black cat

Part 4: Accomplished – reunited at last!

However, thinking for a moment, the illustration was always ridiculous because haven’t we all accepted that God is nothing like a cat. Some of the ancient Greek images suggest that they may have thought of the gods in concrete terms – that Zeus, for example, was like a superhuman being, who might be seen at particular times and places, doing specific acts. But all today accept that – if God exists – then he is a spiritual being. And this does open the path for conclusions like “God is the feeling of love that I get when I consider how good it is to be alive” – “and that is what I discovered when I finally stopped being frightened and frantically searching, in that dark room, in my blindness. When I accepted that this is my state of life, it was then that I did find something. Not easy to describe, but I did discover a presence, a feeling of being loved, a whispering voice. I cannot tell you what this “thing” is. And I’m not even sure that “thing” is the right word. It’s not like a cat you know! I can’t pick it up and show you it. It’s not solid like a thing; it’s ephemeral and insubstantial – and I know those sound like negative words. It is an experience rather than a thing. A relationship rather than a body. So, in a way, I agree: I found nothing – no “thing”. But I did experience a relationship, and in all my other experience in the world, when I have experienced a relationship, it’s because someone was there”. Notice, how we have moved far beyond the statement “God is the feeling of love that I get when I consider how good it is to be alive” – which is an emotional response that an atheist could easily make – and they would simply drop the word, “God” from the start of the sentence. We have moved back deeply into the sense that something is present, ready to be found.

So, regardless of the evidence, despite the evidence – or, rather, because of the evidence, because of my experience, I have concluded – have had to conclude, and certainly regard it as legitimate to conclude – that there is someone there. I have found the cat. There is no cat, but I have found it anyway. I have certainly found what there is to be found. You were wrong to say in your illustration that it’s like looking for a cat “that isn’t even there”. Of course, superficially, you were also right – but only because you misunderstood what this particular cat is like.