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Conscience, Time, and Life 111

money with these types of predictions. Who? When? Where? How? All
these questions come tumbling through your mind. Notice that the example
which I have given is still a statement of belief. I have asserted that there is
a connection between „you‟ and „the man of your dreams.‟ The difference
is that while I have told you the Perceiver fact and given you the
approximate Mercy label, I have not supplied the specific Mercy
experiences.
In mathematics, this is known as working with variables. For instance,
I could tell you that a rectangle which is five centimeters long and seven
centimeters wide has an area of thirty-five square centimeters. This is a
Perceiver fact in which you can believe. But, it is also a specific fact. On
the other hand, I could state that a rectangle which is „L‟ centimeters long
and „W‟ centimeters wide has an area of „L times W‟ square centimeters.
This also is a Perceiver fact describing a solid connection between a certain
set of numbers. However, this type of fact, stated now in terms of variables,
will tell you the area of any rectangle: Just multiply the width times the
length and you have the answer. Stating a fact in general terms does not
make it any less true, nor any less real. A general fact can be believed just
as strongly as any specific statement. The only difference is that it is much
more useful.

A fact must contain both time and generality to support life.

 This allows change to occur—within a system that remains solid.

 This permits freedom—within a framework which is stable.

Here is another example. Suppose someone tells you that “God has a
specific plan for your life,” or suppose that your boss informs you that your
company has a detailed plan of work and promotion laid out for you. It
might be that you do not want to step on a conveyor belt and be shunted
along for the rest of your life. Maybe, just maybe, you want to choose what
you will do. Again, I suggest that we have a problem of being too specific.
Suppose instead that the company tells you of the various options
which are open for training and advancement: “Whoever takes a course in
this subject will get a pay raise and a promotion.” The Perceiver
connection is still there: „Taking the course‟ is connected with „pay raise
and promotion.‟ However, who takes the course, what he takes and when
he takes it are left undecided; human freedom and spontaneity are still
possible. Similarly, I suggest that a religious system of belief can leave
room for human will and freedom if it is stated in terms of „cause and
effect‟—do a certain action and you experience a specific result.
I suggest that these same two qualities of time and generality are
present in democratic government. First, there is the process of
government. Laws and leaders are not inscribed in stone forever. Instead,
they can both be changed over time. Second, there is the institution of