|
|
|
Back to Square One
Back to Square One Terry Dashner………………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013 We’ve come full circle. We’re back to square one. It has been a long journey filled with theologians, philosophers, scientists, and even atheists....
Coping with a Serious Data Loss from your Computer Hard Drive
Data loss is an expensive reality. It's a hard fact that it happens more often then users like to admit. A recent study by the accounting firm McGladrey and Pullen estimates that one out of every 500 data centers will experience a severe computer...
I Helped Exorcize a Spirit
Actually I have 'helped' exorcize spirits more than once but this particular one could have beeen taken by science to prove that exorcisms are not weird and do not need dogma or fear to be used with them. An Exorcism I Was Involved In: While...
Metaphors of the Mind
The brain (and, by implication, the mind) have been compared to the latest technological innovation in every generation. The computer metaphor is now in vogue. Computer hardware metaphors were replaced by software metaphors and, lately, by...
The Practical Power of the Shaman
Spirit of shamanism brings harmony and magic into everyday life Shamanism is a very practical spirituality. A modern-day shaman could live next door to you and the only clues you might have are that they get along well with people and animals and...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Square One
Back to Square One
Terry Dashner………………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013
We’ve come full circle. We’re back to square one. It has been a long journey filled with theologians, philosophers, scientists, and even atheists. Each has given his say. Each has stimulated thought and some have befuddled us, but everyone has had their say. And what have they said?
Saint Augustine of Hippo introduced the Christian church to Aristotle. Saint Thomas Aquinas introduced us to scholasticism and its original intent backfired in the face of Roman Catholicism. Instead of training the great minds of the Middle Ages for the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, it ignited the fires of Reformation. But each man had his say.
The Reformation brought us the Peace of Westphalia after thirty years of war in Europe. But long before the war, we had a Renaissance. Remember. According to Stanley J. Grenz, “It elevated humankind to the center of reality, proposed the principles that anchored the scientific method, and unleashed the forces that would undercut the political and cultural dominance of the Roman Catholic Church.” Francis Bacon (1561-1626) bridged the gap between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. He emphasized experimentation. In Bacon’s New Atlantis he described the idea society. Above all the society would look to science as its new savior. He had his say.
We moved from Bacon’s “knowledge is power” or knowledge mediates power over circumstances—altering our circumstances to match our desires. (Knowledge also brings violence with power, but Bacon overlooked that minor detail.) We moved into the Age of Reason. Again Grenz reminds us, “It replaced God with humanity on center stage in history. Medieval and Reformation theology viewed people as important largely insofar as they fit into the story of God’s activity in history. Enlightenment thinkers tended to reverse the equation and gauge the importance of God according to his value for the human story.” God is dethroned. Man is enthroned. And men have had their say.
In early times Anselm gave us a maxim, “I believe in order that I may understand.” The Age of Reason reversed the maxim: “I believe what I can understand.” The Age of Reason told us that God existed, but He was far removed from man. This doctrine—Deism—gave us the term: “Nature’s God” and “natural law.” And then came the philosophers. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is often referred to as the father of modern philosophy. He told us to doubt everything but one’s own existence. Said he, “I think, therefore I am.” He teamed with Isaac Newton’s orderly laws of motion and developed a philosophy that has lived
for 300 years. Because man stands alone as the observer in the universe, he can learn the laws of the universe through knowledge and eventually turn the world into a utopia. What a crock. But he had his say.
I could go on to speak of the eventual skepticism that came about when it appeared man was not going to save the world by knowledge. I could tell you about Immanuel Kant who turned skepticism upside down by denouncing John Locke’s “blank slate” theory of the human mind. Kant said the human mind was not passive but active in generating “causality.” This brought us back to metaphysical concepts that the Enlightenment had worked feverishly to undermine. Kant told us that there is a world beyond the natural; therefore, metaphysical concepts such as God, the soul of man, and freedom really did exist. I’m thankful that Kant brought us back to the Bible, in a round about way of course. Again, he had his say.
In the nineteenth century, order and symmetry went out the window. The age of postmodernism was dawning through the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche—God is dead—and Michel Foucault. These guys were way out there. But we gave them their say.
Then came the twentieth century. I believe we’ve come full circle from the power ministry in the Acts of the Apostles to the earth being the center of the universe during the Middle Ages to the power of human reasoning in the Age of Reason to the “God is dead” of the nineteenth century to the Existentialism of the twentieth century to the present day “uncertainties” of Quantum physics. We are back to square one. What is square one?
In the beginning God created…God is Sovereign over all. Just when we think we are pretty smart, having figured out the mysteries of the universe, some new thing like Quantum physics comes along and destabilizes the importance of man’s role in the universe. Man is not as big as he thinks he is. As a matter of fact, it appears that Relativity, the paradox of light—being waves and particles at the same time—is kicking our philosophical rear. I think it’s easier just to admit that I, a mortal man, am in utter dependence on the God of the universe. I, a mere man, need God’s help to see me through this maze. And if He has provided redemptive help by sending me His Son, then I would be a fool to ignore Him. God, give me Jesus. And when you are finished with me on this earth, beam me up to where you are.
After all, the only certainty I have in this uncertain life is Jesus. By Him all things exist.
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming again to straighten out our mess.
Pastor T
About the Author
Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK
|
|
|
|
|
| Science/AAAS | Scientific research, news and career information |
| International weekly science journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science/AAAS | Table of Contents: 1 December 2006; 314 (5804) |
| This Week in Science: Editor summaries of this week's papers. Science 1 December 2006: 1349. ... 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science. ... |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science.gov : FirstGov for Science - Government Science Portal |
| Science.gov is a gateway to government science information provided by US Government science agencies, including research and development results. |
| www.science.gov |
|
| ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news and science ... |
| ScienceDaily -- the Internet's premier online science magazine and science news web site -- brings you the latest discoveries in science, health & medicine, ... |
| www.sciencedaily.com |
|
| Science News - New York Times |
| Find breaking news, science news & multimedia on biology, space, the environment, health, NASA, weather, drugs, heart disease, cancer, AIDS, mental health ... |
| www.nytimes.com |
|
| Science News Online |
| Weekly magazine offers featured articles from the current issue along with special online-only features. Includes photo collection, archives, ... |
| www.sciencenews.org |
|
| Science in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Explore the fields of astronomy, biology, geology, mathematics, and physics and all of their related disciplines with resources designed for professionals, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Open Directory - Science |
| Agriculture (2454); Anomalies and Alternative Science (525); Astronomy (4208); Biology (20593); Chemistry (4852); Computer Science@ (2358) ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| BBC - Science & Nature |
| The best of BBC Science and Nature, from TV and radio, to the web and beyond. Take a tour from the smallest atoms, to the largest whales and the most ... |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Science - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Sciences versus Science: the plural of the term is often used but is difficult to ... Science education is also a very vibrant field of study and research. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Popular Science |
| Monthly magazine about current science and technology. |
| www.popsci.com |
|
| Science/AAAS | ScienceNOW: The Latest News Headlines from the ... |
| AAAS web magazine. Some free sample stories, subscription required for full text. |
| sciencenow.sciencemag.org |
|
| ScienceCareers.org | Science Jobs, Funding, Meetings, and Advice ... |
| Searchable database of jobs, sorted by field specialty. Can post resume and curriculum vitae. Includes tips for improving the workplace for employers and ... |
| sciencecareers.sciencemag.org |
|
| American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Research news, issue papers. Educational programs, science policy (US and international). |
| www.aaas.org |
|
| NASA - Science@NASA |
| News and features about NASA research, aimed at the general public. Includes sections on astronomy, space science, beyond rocketry, living in space, ... |
| science.nasa.gov |
|
| Science NetLinks: Resources for Teaching Science |
| Resources for K-12 science educators. |
| www.sciencenetlinks.com |
|
| Cool Science for Curious Kids |
| Fun and interactive site to help kids appreciate science. Why are snakes like lizards, and monkeys like moose? Find out here. |
| www.hhmi.org |
|
| Welcome to the Science Museum |
| London museum and library of science. Exhibitions cover all areas of science and technology. Includes online exhibits and a learning area. |
| www.sciencemuseum.org.uk |
|
| New Scientist - International News, Ideas, Innovation |
| Weekly science and technology news magazine, considered by some to be the world's best, with diverse subject matter. Articles from current issue and ... |
| www.newscientist.com |
|
| CNN.com - Science and Space |
| Offers news stories related environmental issues, archeology, astronomy, technology, geology and other science topics. |
| www.cnn.com |
|
|