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    The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life: A Journey, a Dialogue, a Revelation
    The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life: A Journey, a Dialogue, a Revelation
    The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life: A Journey, a Dialogue, a Revelation
    Ebook136 pages2 hours

    The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life: A Journey, a Dialogue, a Revelation

    By Maxwell R. Wynter

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    About this ebook

    Years ago, while riding in the back of a truck after a school field trip, an eight-year-old boy and three friends talked.

    On this particularly starry night the center of their discussion focused not on the upcoming soccer game, but on the star filled sky.

    Who created the stars?

    God created the stars, they decided.

    But if God created all, who created God? It was a question that haunted the boy.

    He gains a sliver of understanding years later. As an adult, while undergoing surgery, he is called by ... a Light. Following the light, he begins to understand more about God, religion, and how the universe is connected to all life. In his fast-paced journey with his guide Gabe, he sees the future and the past.

    He then writes about his near-death experience and invites his friends to review his story and give their opinions. The resulting dialogue is a thought provoking story covering topics as diverse as the Big Bang theory, the reality of God, human relationships, string theory and the real meaning of life.

    In The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life, author Maxwell Wynter melds proven and un-proven current scientific thought with various religious beliefs to create a work of fiction that probes the origins of God. The result is a dialogue and a story of fantasy that questions life, faith, mans purpose in this world, and whether or not there is something ... after death.

    Anyone who has ever questioned religion, wondered about life after death, thought about their purpose here, their relationship with others, the existence of God or the relationship between science and religion should find this novel an interesting read.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateOct 9, 2008
    ISBN9780595913794
    The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life: A Journey, a Dialogue, a Revelation
    Author

    Maxwell R. Wynter

    Maxwell Wynter grew up in Jamaica and has a degree in Natural Sciences (Pure and Applied Physics), a post graduate diploma in Applied Physics and a Masters degree in Business Administration. His professional experience include stints as the CEO of a telecommunications company and a daily newspaper. He has been president of a national society of information technology professionals and has served as an officer of national media organizations in two countries. Max has also served on numerous corporate, government and not-for-profit boards in Jamaica and in Canada and was a founding commissioner of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission. Raised a Christian his frequent discussions with friends about the apparent contradictions between scientific facts and faith based beliefs led to “thought experiments” and his novel The Secret of God the Universe and Life. Max now lives in Canada.

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      Book preview

      The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life - Maxwell R. Wynter

      The Secret of God, the Universe, and Life

      A Journey, A Dialogue, A Revelation

      Copyright © 2008 by Maxwell R. Wynter

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      ISBN: 978-0-595-47097-6 (pbk)

      ISBN: 978-0-595-70878-9 (cloth)

      ISBN: 978-0-595-91379-4 (ebk)

      Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

      CONTENTS

      Acknowledgments

      Chapter 1: The Question

      Chapter 2: Journey Begins

      Chapter 3: Adolph Chandler

      Chapter 4: Artemis

      Chapter 5: Reunion

      Chapter 6: The Rescuers

      Chapter 7: Manuel Lux

      Chapter 8: Apocalypse

      Chapter 9: Science

      Chapter 10: A New Earth

      Chapter 11: The Great Spirit

      Chapter 12: Chandler’s Return

      Chapter 13: Who Are You?

      Chapter 14: Religion

      Chapter 15: Creation

      Chapter 16: Departure

      Chapter 17: Journey’s End

      Author’s Notes

      To my late mother, Hazel, who taught me about faith.

      Acknowledgments

      I am grateful to the following persons for their advice and contribution to this book (in alphabetical order):

      Harris Bell, Swami Bhajanananda, Nancy Biderman, Dr. Damien Black, R. A. Jenkinson, Steve Mulvina, Anthony Provenzano, Dr. Alfred Sangster, Norman Wright, my children, Adam, Melissa, and Nichole Wynter, my sister, Shelley, three elementary school friends whose names I have forgotten, … and Anne, whose love and support helped me to finish this work.

      CHAPTER 1

      —————————•—————————

      THE QUESTION

      Who made God?

      The question was posed in the back of an old truck that carried a class of eight-year-old children home from a field trip. The highlight of the day was a visit to an agricultural research farm where we’d witnessed the birth of a calf. We were seated on slats of wood evenly laid across the width of the vehicle. The sun had already gone down, and there was not much to see out of the side of the truck, so many of the children looked up at the stars on what was a beautiful, cloudless night. In one corner, my three best friends and I were looking up at the heavens and discussing things celestial.

      Look, a shooting star, said Wes pointing at a bright object moving across the sky.

      It’s not a shooting star. My brother says that it’s a spaceship, a Gemini, Mike responded.

      With astronauts, said Bob putting his glasses back on after cleaning them with the tail of his shirt.

      My mother says that when you see a spaceship you should say a prayer for the astronauts to come back safely, I added.

      We sat silently for a while, rocking with the movement of the rickety vehicle and thinking about astronauts.

      Do you think that they really know what they are doing up there? I asked.

      Of course they do, stupid; they’re astronauts. Wes was always trying to seem smarter than everyone else.

      I’m not stupid, stupid. My mother says that all they do is take pictures of the earth, I retorted.

      Bob exclaimed, Take pictures of the earth! But we already know what the earth looks like!

      Not from outer space we don’t, replied Wes.

      The conversation paused for a few seconds.

      What would you do if you were an astronaut? Mike asked.

      I’d look for space creatures, I answered quickly. I’d given this a lot of thought, ever since I had received a battery-operated flying saucer that propelled itself across the floor for Christmas some years earlier. I’d been fascinated with the multicolored lights that flashed on the dome in the middle. My mother had told me that vehicles like this might one day bring space travelers to earth from other planets. Space travel was, of course, on everyone’s minds and tongues in the early sixties: Russia had started the space race, and American astronauts had been to outer space and back. If man could travel in space, then creatures from other planets could too, and I was ready to go looking for them.

      Space creatures, they exclaimed in chorus. And everybody laughed.

      Do you believe in space creatures? asked Wes, looking at me quizzically.

      My brother says that there are millions of space creatures, answered Mike. His big brother was the smartest person in his universe.

      So why haven’t we seen any? Wes asked.

      Because they’re in outer space, stupid, I replied.

      We all laughed again, and I was pleased with myself for getting to throw a ‘stupid’ back at him.

      So who made the space creatures? Wes persisted.

      God did, Mike affirmed.

      You think that God made space creatures? Wes continued, now laughing.

      He made us, didn’t he? He made all of the animals and plants and all the fish in the sea; he made the calf that we saw being born today. Why wouldn’t he make space creatures? Mike answered.

      We were quiet for a while, looking at the stars. The more I thought about it, the more Mike’s supposition made sense. I figured God had to have the best job—not to mention the best imagination—ever. I imagined what it would be like to make space creatures, with all those terrific combinations of dangling limbs, coiled antennae, neon-colored skin, huge brains, and bulging eyes.

      That’s when Wes dropped the question: Who made God?

      What do you mean ‘who made God’? Mike finally responded.

      Who made God? If God made all of us and all the plants and the animals and the sun and the moon and the stars and the space creatures, if God made the calf that we saw being born today, then who made God? Wes asked again.

      The question had crossed my mind before, but I’d never asked my mother—the source of much of the information I acquired in my early years. A single parent, her faith in God had strengthened when my father left her, and she had seen to my early religious education. I had wondered about God’s origins but had not broached the topic, fearing that it might be a sin just to think about it.

      Nobody created God, Mike answered. God just is.

      But that can’t be, Wes insisted. If God created everything, then where did God come from?

      Isn’t it a sin? I asked.

      Isn’t what a sin? Bob asked.

      Isn’t it a sin to ask questions about God? I asked quietly, not sure of my ground.

      How can it be a sin, stupid? Wes asked, feeling superior again. If God wants us to believe in him, then shouldn’t he tell us where he came from?

      He hasn’t told us everything. There are lots of things that God wants us to find out by ourselves, Bob replied. Turning to me, he continued, I don’t think it’s a sin to try and find things out.

      So who made God, smarty pants? Wes asked Bob.

      I was somewhat comforted by Bob’s answer and also happy that Bob had come to my defense against Wes. However, I still felt a need to prove that I was smarter than Wes was, so I answered his question.

      I think, I said, quietly. I think that God was made by another God who was before our God.

      Why do you think so? Mike asked.

      My Mom says that Christians believe Jesus is the son of God. So if God made Jesus, the son of God, then God must have been made by a God who was before him.

      That’s it, said Bob. I think you are right.

      We all nodded our heads sagely, even Wes, realizing that we had just made a profound, earth-shaking discovery.

      It was the only answer that made sense, until a few seconds later when we all looked at each other and laughed as we shouted in unison, But who made the God before our God?

      I’ve been searching for the answer to that question ever since.

      CHAPTER 2

      —————————•—————————

      JOURNEY BEGINS

      It happened on an operating table in a hospital somewhere. The details of my life and how I got to the operating table aren’t important. It is my death that this story is about. Let’s just say that I’d had one too many fat, juicy double cheeseburgers—one too many cholesterol cells clogging up the wrong artery—and the next thing I knew I was having routine bypass surgery. That’s when it happened.

      I didn’t feel anything. Technically, I was fast asleep under the watchful eye of an anesthesiologist. Suddenly I was pulled from this deep, dreamless sleep to a state of awareness that I’ll never be able to properly describe to you.

      First, there was the Light. Not just a light but the Light. I felt … great. Yes, the word great works, but it isn’t quite enough. I felt at peace; all the stress I had ever had in my life was suddenly gone. I felt whole; there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I felt happy, as if every good thing that could possibly happen to a human was happening to me at once. I felt full, as if every craving I had ever had was suddenly satisfied. I felt warm, as if a cocoon had formed around me to protect me from the harshest environment and keep me safe. I felt loved, truly loved, as if hundreds, thousands, no, millions

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