Relax: Everything is going to be OK

That is the essential message of a newly published book written by a Citrus College professor; you don't have to choose between a literal creator God or a blind, indifferent universe.

"God is a Symbol of Something True" by Citrus College Professor Jack Call, Ph.D., may help readers' sort out their own religious beliefs, and, no matter what those belief systems may be, to understand that everything is fundamentally all right.

There are certain events in the world and our lives over which we have absolutely no control.

God is a symbol of the ways in which we are helpless yet safe, he writes.
Each chapter begins with a question that anyone could use as a starting point when wondering about life's big questions.

How and when did it all start? Why is there good and evil? Do we really have free will?
Call suggests different approaches to these questions considered from varying philosophical viewpoints.

The book requires the reader to concentrate on abstract ideas.
It takes a balanced approach for all types of believers or non-believers.

Call compares and contrasts theories of philosophers such as John Locke, Descartes and Epicurus and explains how or why they may be right for the reader.

For example, when tackling the issue of free will, Call explains the viewpoint of Epicurus, which is that we are in control of everything that we do.

Then Call explains an opposing scientific point of view using natural law examples from Newton and Einstein that indicate we really are not in control of anything in the universe.

As he addresses new questions in each chapter about this life and the after life, Call posits answers to help clarify his position.

His main point, that everything is fundamentally all right, may appeal to a broad range of readers.

Call explains that readers do not have to choose between a literal God or any specific religious interpretations for the universe to be okay.

You try to make sense of it because just saying you believe it isn't enough, he said.

If you approach the Bible as literature, it is like any other great work that keeps you wondering what it means.

"You are not required to accept literally what the Bible or any other religion says because they can't all be true. They clearly call out for interpretation," Call said.

"God is a Symbol of Something True" is available online and in the Owl Bookshop for $24.95.

Now that the book is available to students, Call said his office door in CFI 118 is always open to anyone who would like to discuss the book with him.

Call will be interviewed by Barbara Bruce a radio station host located in Arizona that can be heard online at http://www.970kvm.com/ on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m.