When it comes to religion, people often have more questions than answers. In A Beginner’s Guide to God, author Eric Neal hopes to eliminate some confusion surrounding religion and provide a clear and universal pathway to the creator.

In this guide, Neal addresses some of life’s biggest questions: Does God exist? What happens when we die? Is this our only life? Who created the universe? How was the universe created? Why was it created? What is the spiritual realm? Why do people believe in a higher power? In addition to addressing the large questions, A Beginner’s Guide to God explores the origins, history, and leadership of some of the world’s major religions and provides a synopsis of their teachings.

A Beginner’s Guide to God offers a general guide to spark interest and clarify aspects of mankind’s most important questions. Its goal is to help us make sense of religion, its progression, and the existence of a higher power.

This is Eric Neal’s first book, produced after many years of contemplation on the plight of religion in the modern age.

A Beginner's Guide to God

(And We're All Beginners)By Eric Neal

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Eric Neal
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-4847-9

Contents

Preface.........................................................xiPART 1 THE BIG PICTURE..........................................11. The Big Questions............................................32. Religion.....................................................93. Progressive Revelation.......................................134. Interpretation...............................................195. The Spiritual Side...........................................21Barriers to Belief..............................................22Life after Death; Heaven and Hell...............................246. Where to from Here?..........................................27PART 2 REVELATION...............................................297. The Prophets.................................................31Idris...........................................................32Krishna.........................................................33Abraham.........................................................34Moses...........................................................34Zoroaster.......................................................37Buddha..........................................................38Jesus...........................................................40Muhammad........................................................41The Bab.........................................................42Baha'u'llah.....................................................438. The Enigma of the Fulfilment of Prophecy.....................479. Focus on the Positive........................................49References......................................................51

Chapter One

The Big Questions

What happens to me when I die?

There can be no more important question than this.

We are on this earth for maybe seventy to eighty years—a bit longer in some cases—but unless we have the right combination of good genes, a healthy lifestyle, and a few other things going for us, we're not likely to be around much after we turn one hundred. Nobody has invented a magic potion yet to allow our human bodies to last forever, and it's not likely that this will happen before we leave for good.

So, seeing we won't be around here forever, what happens after that, and how do we find out? This is where our journey begins.

You likely fall into one of three categories:

a. believer

b. atheist

c. agnostic

Let's look at these three categories and what they mean.

A Believer

If you fall into this category, it means that you believe that there is a higher form of thought than human thought. And by this we don't mean superior beings from another planet, if they exist. Because even if they existed, they would be asking the same question: Is there yet a higher form of thought?

An Atheist

If you fall into this category, you are not likely to be reading this book, unless you have curiosity as to why people might think differently from you. An atheist doesn't believe in a higher thought than human thought, except for the possibility of extraterrestrial beings. This line of thought is understandable. It is a very clinical thought process that won't entertain anything that can't be scientifically proven.

However, let us examine this a bit further. Because we have thought processes, it is assumed that we can figure out anything. But this is not necessarily the case. If there is something that is beyond human comprehension, it is just that—beyond our comprehension.

Look at that table in front of you. Okay, so maybe there isn't a table, but just pretend there is. Yes, we have the ability to imagine something that we know exists even though we may struggle to imagine something that we haven't seen in some form or another.

Who made that table? A man or maybe a woman? We know that, but does the table know that? Of course not, because the table does not have the capacity to know that and never will.

What if the power that created the universe is as far above our Understanding as the human mind is above that table's understanding? We would never be able to understand that power. So it's a matter of leaving ourselves open to the possibility that such an intelligent power exists. Generally, an atheist would not do that.

An Agnostic

If you are confused as to whether you are a believer or an atheist, then maybe you fall into the agnostic category: you believe in the possibility of some intelligent power beyond our comprehension, but you are not sufficiently convinced to say you are a believer.

This book is really aimed at you.

However, the book is also for believers who need some clarification or additional perspective about what they have learned through various other media.

More Questions

In addition to our initial question—"What happens to me when I die?"—an inquisitive mind would likely wonder about other questions, such as the following:

a. Who or what created the universe?

b. How was it created?

c. Why was it created?

d. Is it really infinite in size?

e. If not, what's at the end of the universe? Empty space? And isn't that also part of the universe?

f. Is some invisible force in control of my life in one way or another?

Will science ever discover the answers to these questions, or do the answers lie outside the realm of human comprehension, regardless of scientific advancement? Maybe the answers lie in the spiritual realm.

What does the spiritual realm mean?

There are many different levels of existence, often referred to as "kingdoms."

There is the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and the human kingdom. The inhabitants of each kingdom generally have an appreciation of the kingdoms below their own and make use of the properties of these kingdoms to advance within their own kingdom. For example, humans fully utilize the mineral kingdom (e.g. the properties of soil and water), the plant kingdom (vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.), and the animal kingdom, but the lower kingdoms have little or no understanding of the higher kingdoms. The illustration of the table and its maker is an example of this.

Is the human kingdom the highest level of existence? The purpose of this book is to seriously consider the existence of a higher form of existence, generally referred to as the spiritual kingdom or spiritual realm. As the term infers, it relates to things of the spirit. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "spirit" as the vital animating essence of a person or the intelligent, non-physical part of a person. This higher kingdom (and there may be more than one) is beyond our comprehension, so the extent to which we recognize the existence of the spiritual kingdom is a matter of faith. The level of such faith often depends upon our study of and reflection on the teachings relating to the many religions that have been revealed to mankind throughout the centuries.

Why do believers believe in a higher power or a higher form of thought? Probably for one or more of the following reasons:

a. They have had some experience in their life that is too amazing to be a sheer coincidence. Such events can happen time and time again, which makes the chance of them being just coincidences an impossibility, leaving people with the feeling that their lives are being led in a certain direction by an...