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Hold it!

Page history last edited by pinkhamc@... 5 years, 2 months ago

This page is for ideas that don't fit anywhere else yet or are so brief that they need work.

 

Life After Death

As a biologist, I have to agree with the natural scientist who believes there is nothing after death.  This thing we call consciousness appears to need a live brain to exist.

 

As a believer, I have to disagree with that position of the natural scientist.  The evidence for the afterlife is so compelling in the Bible, there are interesting stories of near-death experiences that sound too much like what is revealed there, and most importantly, the evidence for and logic of the truths revealed in the Bible is similarly totally compelling.

 

As an evolutionary theocreationist and the above, I wonder how intelligent design advocates can believe in life after death.  Serious consideration reveals that life after death is something very different from what we know.  It is something only God can arrange.  In fact it is so difficult that it would be too much for a God who simply calls into existence a fully-formed universe.  It is so challenging, that it would take a God who imparts to His creation the necessary attributes that starting with "empty and void," followed by a Big Bang, it would evolve through cosmological, chemical, and biological evolution to bring forth you and me exactly according to His plan.

 

In short, God is capable of so much more than ID advocates credit Him with and furthermore, He would need that much more to be so unconstrained by the biology of living as to give us life eternal.

 

Correspondence With a Believer About Teaching and Walking with God

Good Afternoon Anthony,

 

How wonderful to hear back from you so quickly.

 

I am delighted you took the time to read my thoughts on theodicy.  You are the second email today on that entry.

 

In answer to your questions, "How did you use your teaching career to further the Kingdom of God, and what does furthering the Kingdom of God look like?” I would say in answer to your second question that I always try to be open for the Holy Spirit to tell me something.  In fact, each day I pray this prayer, “God I give You and You alone permission to place thoughts in my head from the spiritual realm.  Further, I know today I will have thoughts that are dishonoring to you.  When they occur bring them to my attention immediately so I can turn from them.  I also know that I will encounter thoughts of others that are dishonoring to you.  When they occur please show me how to counter them.”  I have found that prayer to be of immense benefit.  Related to that, I wait for a clear indication from the Holy Spirit to proceed through an open door, but I also try to give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to have doors that He can open. 

 

By way of a couple of examples of the former answer, when I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me about approaching the young man heading toward me… (For the rest of the story, see “The Norwich Story” at Norwich Christian Fellowship in my blog.  When out of the blue I got a letter from Oxford University to participate in an Oxford Roundtable on “Faith and Science, the Great Matter”…(For the rest of that story see “How Astrobiology and Faith Came to be Woven together in Carl's Life” where you should scroll down to the last paragraph.)

 

By way of an example of the latter answer, I am waiting for God to say go ahead and begin work in earnest on three projects he has given me: The Trouble with the Trinity; Theodicy, and insights He has shown me that expand our understanding of Natural Revelation.  Events appear to be setting up for that to happen.  I regard your email and the other I received today as one of the sets of keys needed to open one of those doors God is setting before me.

 

In answer to your first question, How did you use your teaching career to further the Kingdom of God, I would say first that it was God who used my teaching career to further my understanding of His Kingdom.  For example, see slides 29-32 of “GMCAC Presentation on the Cell.”  I would say second, that I always began each course I taught with the following words (Norwich is a secular school). “I am teaching this course from a scientific perspective, as such it will involve acceptance of the fact of evolution.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Christian and I see NO conflict with this position.  If anyone is bothered by this either because you don’t see how a Christian can embrace evolution, or you don’t see how a scientist can embrace Christianity, I am more than happy to continue the discussion after class.   I will do my best to keep my Christian beliefs out of the class, although they cannot but help influence the teacher I am.

 

I hope we can continue this dialogue.  I see great potential in you as a teacher!

 

Best, Carl

 

Carlos F. A. Pinkham, PhD

COL, USA Ret

NU '65

 

Co-Director, Vermont Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Fair

Partnership Director, VSTEMF

Member, Vermont STEM Collaborative

Faculty Founder, Norwich Christian Fellowship

 

Active Professor Emeritus

Biology Department

Norwich University

Northfield, Vermont

802 485-2319 (W)

802 485-2333 (F)

 

http://mentiscopia.pbworks.com

 

From: ....... ..... [mailto:xxxxxxx15@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 1:42 PM
To: Carlos Pinkham
Subject: Theodicy Discussion at Horizons

 

 

Good Afternoon Carl,

 

I hope you remember me, we met one week ago at Horizons church and discussed your teaching career and your faith. I wanted to reach out to you and tell you that I was very grateful for the conversation and the point of contact that you gave me. I read over some of your beliefs of theodicy on your blog and found them to be very interesting. I did not create any of my own beliefs or really extend myself into them simply because at this point in my walk, I am trying to get a better hold of scripture and how to apply it to my life, or perhaps apply my life to it. 

 

I was wondering have you ever been involved in ministry if not why? Also I wanted to ask you a question that a ministry mentor of mine asked me and in the moment I did not have an answer to, until I read "Mere Christianity." The question was (following me telling him that I wanted to pursue teaching philosophy) how will use that to further the kingdom of god? So my question to you is the same... How did you use your teaching career to further the kingdom of god, and what does furthering the kingdom of god look like?

 

Thank you in advance for your consideration, I am sure you are a very busy man and I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.

 

Very Respectfully,

 

Anthony ......

 

Epigenetics and Who We Are

Epigenetic factors control expression of our genes.  Does God or Satan control the epigenetic factors? 16) 05 08.

How can I please You today, Lord? 16 05 08 (sermon thought

 

17 04 03

sin nature -> sin -> death

in OT, man takes his sin, transfers it to sacrificial lamb -> lamb sacrificed -> sin taken w it to its death.  Problem: sin nature remains

 

in NT, man takes his sin nature, transfers it to Jesus & acknowledges that transfer; Jesus takes sin & sin nature w Him to His death-resurrects from that death allowing man to resurrect w Him w/out his sin and sin nature.  (problem, my sin nature remains to some extent)

 

19 01 25

Light is invisible until it strikes some matter and is changed by the properties of that matter and re-emitted as a visible wavelength.  A visible wavelength is "visible" only when eyes sensitive to that wavelength are there to intercept it.  When God said, "Let there be light in Genesis 1:3, clearly only He was there to see/sense it.  Since that light had no matter to interact with (E = MC2 had not yet converted light energy into matter), it seems likely, then, that God can sense light at all wavelengths; otherwise how would He know for sure that He had created light?  Perhaps the answer instead lies with the thermal energy that accompanied this first light.

 

 

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