wordnet.princeton.edu defines the word GIST as
"the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience."
If you grasp nothing else from these IGITY pages, I hope you can get the GIST
GIST = God Is Simply Time
This "catchphrase" was coined by Elena P., a stranger from another country who independently contrived a very similar theory to IGITY. As the story goes, during the sleepless hours of early morning, realization came to her. Here are the notes she took on the matter, as taken from the IGITY discussion board:
Time is God
Time is infinite
Time heals
Time is everywhere at once
Time created everything
Time is measurable
Time destroys
Time allows for evolution
Time cannot be stopped
Time is compatible with Science
Bonus: We are all followers of time
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In a later correspondence, Elena corrected her first statement, seeing that the point is more clearly stated by saying that God is Time. This avoids any suggested proof of God, and encourages philosophical rather than religious thought. The reversal of this statement also gave birth to the GIST catchphrase.
However, it is important to note the original train of thought. Whenever I was first developing my IGITY theory, I also didn't immediately conclude that God is Time, but rather started thinking of the powers of Time itself. Thinking of Time as God helps to realize all of the things that "God" is given credit for, which are merely just consequences of Time.
Elena did a wonderful job outlining many of the properties of Time in her original thinking. Statements such as Time is infinite, Time is everywhere at once, and Time cannot be stopped highlight the uncontrollable and omnipotent aspects of Time. It can easily be argued that most people give their God these same properties. Statements such as Time heals, Time created everything, Time destroys, and Time allows for evolution help to show time as the "muscles" behind the occurrences and events that most people attribute to God. And finally, the statements Time is measurable, Time is compatible with Science, and We are all followers of Time explain why Time makes more sense than God. Time can be measured, whereas the presence of a God cannot. Time integrates beautifully with science and is essential to every field, whereas God tries to defy, battle, and disprove science. And every living creature, whether they want to or not, has some concept of time. Every human being is indeed a follower of time. We live, eat, sleep, and work in regular cycles of time.
The most interesting part about GIST and Elena's notes is that it was conceived by someone with no prior knowledge of my thought. Thanks to the internet, two people with a very similar philosophy were able to connect and converse. It makes me wonder how many other people out there have realized this very thing, but never made the information available. I know there are people who have already posted similar ideas, or variations of the central theme. Sir Anthony Hopkins directed and starred in the movie "Slipstream (2006)", which supposedly portrays the same God is Time idea (I have yet to see the film). This idea isn't new, and can be realized by anyone. As Elena said, "it is a truth that you can come to on your own without guidance." So whether these pages exposed you to the idea, or the idea exposed you to these pages, I hope you get the GIST of it.
Elena also produced a very clever and witty commercial for a contest on the internet called See Sophie Save. The video was removed from this page by request, but I feel inclined to say how the judges of that contest were fools, and Elena's submission was unjustly robbed of the award. I looked at many of the other submissions and none had the appeal of See Sophie Save. So here is to fixed contests on the internet - BOO!