In the last issue, I explained the differences and similarities between the innate intelligence of the body and the soul and the resultant confusion. It subsequently occurred to me that some discussion on the difference between universal intelligence and God is warranted. Like the confusion between the soul and innate intelligence, I believe DD and BJ, in developing the chiropractic philosophy, wanted to strike a chord, to find common ground with the average mid-western American. So they chose to explain universal intelligence in theological terms, ultimately likening universal intelligence to God. I am surprised that more people did not balk at the mixture of the terms. In fact, it seems that very few people in the Palmer camp challenged the Developer’s use of God as a synonym for universal intelligence. A number of early chiropractors, like Craven, had a background in theology and many were familiar with the Judeo-Christian concept of God. Yet they still seemed to embrace the Palmer deistic view of universal intelligence. (The very act of capitalizing universal intelligence, as the Palmers always did, gives it a connotation of deity).
How then do we reconcile this difference? How do we explain universal intelligence in an acceptable theological term? Where Palmer made his mistake was in failing to understand the Judeo-Christian concept of God. God is imminent and transcendent. He is a personal being, actually three Persons in one in Christian theology, as well as, being omnipresent. His imminence was demonstrated on numerous occasions. He could talk to Moses, be present in a cloud of fire, and ultimately become a Man. At the same time God is transcendent. He has no limitation of time and space. There never was a time that God did not know everything that could, would and will happen. It is easy to see that the characteristics of God far exceed those characteristics that we usually ascribe to universal intelligence.
It is probably more correct to describe universal intelligence as a quality or characteristic of the transcendent aspect of God. Universal intelligence is the organizing principle, that which keeps the planets and the atoms moving about in an organized manner. The Bible teaches that God (actually Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity) is the One who does this. So the organization of this universe is a function of God. Therefore universal intelligence is one small aspect of the Judeo-Christian concept of God. To make the terms synonymous is to create confusion and be blasphemous at the same time. Universal intelligence is a wonderful thing. To the theologian it is a great indicator of a personal and transcendent God. To the chiropractor, it is the basis for our philosophy. All matter demonstrates organization. That organization obviously is also in living matter. What’s more, it is less organized when there is an interference in the nerve system due to vertebral subluxation.
Chiropractic philosophy, with its universal and innate intelligence, fits perfectly into Judeo-Christian theology. But it is only a small part of it. It does not have the answers for many issues that affect humankind. It does not explain the why of our existence. It does not solve the question of what happens after our earthly existence. Yet, to do what it is intended to do, i.e., maintain the expression of intelligence through matter, chiropractic does not have to answer theological questions any more than it has to answer questions regarding disease or its cause. We must keep chiropractic and medicine separate and we must keep chiropractic and theology separate. We have already seen the dangers and the harm done to our profession by mixing chiropractic and medicine. That same danger exists in mixing chiropractic with anything and everything else.
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