I often re-read Chapters 1 and 2 just for the fun of it. They describe the size of the Universe and strongly infer that millions, if not billions, of ensouled civilizations inhabit it. To my reckoning, it should be difficult for anyone to read these two chapters and still adhere to the belief that humankind is alone in the Universe.

I particularly appreciate the quote at the beginning of Chapter 2 by Monsignor Balducci, Special Emissary to the Vatican. The Monsignor wrote, It is illogical and a bit arrogant to believe we are the only beings in Gods creation. It is both logical and desirable that they exist, since all that God creates gives glory to God the Creator. I especially like his logic that it only makes sense that they exist. Why wouldnt an all-loving God want to expand His creation since all that God creates gives glory to God the Creator?
But if were willing to take Monsignor Balduccis leap of faith that it only makes sense that they exist, it also requires another significant leapone cant exist without the other. Accepting the reality of other civilizations as part of Gods love and creation forces us to accept the larger reality that God plays an active role in their lives, too. And this loving role probably includes periodic incarnations of other Sons of God to assist in their evolution, closely mirroring Jesus role on Earth. It would only make sense, wouldnt it?

For the sake of illustrating this point, imagine for a moment that humankind is the only ensouled civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy, despite Carl Sagans estimate that up to one million civilizations may exist in our Galaxy alone. Lets also assume for a moment that Jesus of Nazareth has been the only incarnation of the Father-God on Earth.

Chapter 1, The Great Designer, discusses the reality of the existence of perhaps 120 billion other galaxies. Therefore, lets apply here the same formula discussed aboveeach of these galaxies contains only one ensouled civilization saved by only one Savior. I dont think these minimum assumptions require a serious stretch of anyones imagination.

So, for the sake of this exercise, we have now accepted the size of the Universe, the number of its galaxies, and the contention that each of these galaxies has only one ensouled civilization. We are also now inclined to accept the possibility that an all-loving God would probably want to extend to them the same degree of love and concern extended to us on Earth by providing them with an incarnation of Himself.

If you can accept these possibilities up to this point, are you not compelled to accept the existence of literally billions of Saviors? One Savior per galaxy! If so, what does that say about our possessive attitude concerning what constitutes religious truth? Are there 120 billion different religions practiced in the Universe? Did God make different rules for different planets or galaxies? Or did perhaps the God that governs all of us create a universal natural law for the entire Universe?

If so, does this natural law emanate from a field of Being that lies at the foundation of all existence in the Universe? And does the nonlocal reality of this field unite us all in a common heritage? And wouldnt it make sense that this heritage would be the formless Supreme Being of absolute, eternal nature, the Divinity that rests silently at the core of Being, of all Creation? And wouldnt such an all-loving Supreme Being acknowledge the need for all civilizations to have Him periodically incarnate in a personal form, with a specific nature, exhibiting the many attributes we usually associate with the Son of God?

And wouldnt these attributes include the worship of Sons of God in a manner reflecting the time and culture in which He manifested? And wouldnt these Sons of God have made sure that Their original disciples received and disseminated Their teachings in a form that taught the existence of Their universal nature and a means to assimilate it at the level of Being?

I sincerely believe that the answer to the last seven questions is an unequivocal yes!
Eventually, all of us will grow out of our state of confusion and accept the reality of a Universe filled with life. And sentient beings throughout the Universe will recognize our common destiny and our Divine heritage. When this happens, we will not be at the end of our evolutionary journey. All the evidence suggests that we will then only begin to recognize the meaning of infinity and, thus, of the truly long-term consequences to our Fathers gift of life to us.

And the evolutionary process may never end. And why should it? Why would God want to stop the expansion of His own existence? Doesnt it make sense to say that He will want to grow in loving variety throughout all eternity? I see nothing to indicate that God is planning on eventually closing shop.

I sometimes fantasize about the expanded levels of consciousness that must be prevalent on many of these galactic planets that are perhaps thousands of years ahead of our civilization, and thus have had the time to evolve to higher states of awareness. How enlivening it must be to live in an atmosphere where war and inhumanity to others has been relegated to history. We take for granted that our 21st century civilization rests at the vanguard of civilized and enlightened behavior, conveniently overlooking the slaughter of 100 million of our earthly siblings over the past 100 years.

If Gods creation of billions of ensouled civilizations on billions of planets gives glory to God the Creator, its fun to conceive of the billions and trillions of examples that must abound of the creativity exhibited by His created souls. Think metaphorically of the billions of Sistine Chapels, the billions of Beethoven Fifth symphonies and the billions of children growing up knowing no distinction between their poetic dream world and everyday reality.