God vs Science

Sig Longren sent me this. Enjoy!
Dear Tina
I did not write the following piece, but felt that it really speaks to issues I have been discussing in these Tips for the past little while. I'm not going to tell you now who the source of this piece is, but have no fear, I will tell you who it was at the end. }:-) Sig's sig

God v.s. Science

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.'
The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely. '
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'
'Yes'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Er..yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. 'From God'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir..'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'
'Yes'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer.

Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues with another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him.'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not..'
'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist... What do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies.. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat? '
'Yes.
'And is there such a thing as cold?'
'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'.. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor.. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man = answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'
The professor sat down.


}:-)
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Sig Lonegren
SunnyBank Centre
9, BoveTown
Glastonbury
Somerset BA6 8JE
England
www.geomancy.org
www.sunnybankglastonbury.co.uk
sig@geomancy.org

Einstein

p.s. Oh yes, the second student was Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein wrote a book titled God vs. Science in 1921...

KS&L 314: Where are the Dragons?

Have you ever taken a moment and stepped away from the breakneck speed of life today, and pondered something utterly off the wall? Perhaps there are all kinds of amazing things to work though, think about and resolve and yet, sometimes, it is good to consider something else that does not necessarily have an answer. So, lets create something.

Think back, close your eyes and imagine that you are back in the time of King Arthur, part of the Chinese Royal Court or a member of the Inca or Mayan Empires. Imagine that you are the brave knight or warrior who must save a damsel, emperor or high priest from the dangers of a fire-breathing, human-hungry, foul-smelling dragon. You must face a menacing creature that lives in some type of damp, dark, dangerous cave. Lots of brave fellows who have come before you have failed. Part of you thinks this is pretty much a no-win situation but life is pretty short in these times anyway, so the rewards from a grateful ruler are worth the effort, so you give it a try.

Your exploits become the stuff of legends: local folklore is now based on your adventures. Even though the dragon was victorious, you will now live forever in the hearts and minds of brave warriors everywhere: right, you and that poor sacrificial virgin, together for eternity.

Legends, whatever we may think we believe, are basically founded on some level of truth. The facts of the past are often difficult to verify, but the basics of the stories are handed down for centuries. So the question becomes: whatever became of dragons? Dragons, and legends of dragons have existed throughout ancient history in virtually every culture on this planet, including Europe, China, South East Asia, as well as Central and South America. There are dragon legends in Scandinavia, Africa, and Babylonia as well. Pretty busy creatures, those dragons!

The legends universally tell of great heroes fighting terrifying, fire-breathing dragons, all covered with vicious horns and fearsome scale covered tales. Dragons have bulging eyes and flaring nostrils. Every single dragon legend indicates that the Dragons of the past could breathe fire.

However, the curious aspect of the ancient stories is the fact that in all this time, among all the archeological digs and discoveries of all of history, not one dragon skeleton has ever been discovered. The images, drawings and paintings depict creatures that do not resemble dinosaurs, because dragons are not prehistoric. Dragons are unique in body structure and the really curious aspect is that the global depiction of dragons is utterly consistent, no matter where you go. There has never been anything quite like them uncovered anywhere in the world, yet the word ‘dragon’ exists, the legends persist and the daily references to dragons refuse to desist.

No one anywhere can provide tangible proof that dragons ever existed yet global legends say that they did. How can the imaginations of all the people of all of these cultures be so consistent in dragon characteristics, if they were not all describing the same thing because that is exactly what they saw? What did they see and where did these ‘dragons’ go?

Even the Metaphysical Community and the Catholic Church use a resin, aptly called Dragon’s Blood, as if the magic concepts of old are still operable today. Burn Dragon’s Blood resin/incense and a spiritually powerful white smoke comes up. The concept of the power of a dragon’s blood literally persists to this day.

Were ‘fire-breathing’ dragons alien spacecraft? Were they weapons of war by alien cultures used to terrify local populations? No one knows and few people speculate. We accept that dragons existed but we can’t prove it. Sometimes we believe that things exist but we can’t prove it and it does not necessarily make any of us crazy. Sometimes we can look into the past at what we believed and somehow we just adopt it too.

Maybe the symbolism that dragons offer, which can be positive or negative, still impacts us. What we believe helps to define us. Maybe this is just a fun topic to open conversation doors or maybe some day, someone will provide an answer to the legends of dragons. In the meantime, what a fascinating topic to ponder!

Stephen Ministries

Recently, while in Virginia Beach, I was invited by my friend Marrian Nichael to speak at Stephen Ministries to the counselors there. This group of caring counselors generously welcomed me into their midst and we had a wonderful discussion on ideas for healing grief. This Ministry offers help to grieving people all over the world.

In Stephen Ministry congregations, lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors and congregations provide quality caring ministry for as long as people need it.

The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen, who was the first lay person commissioned by the apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need.

People Who Need Care . . .

· Receive quality, Christ-centered, confidential care for their hurts and needs

· Find hope, healing, and a new sense of self-worth through the support of a Stephen Minister

· Know they are remembered and supported by their congregation in times of personal difficulty

· Receive ongoing care for continuing needs long after the onset of a crisis, when many others have forgotten about them

· Grow in a deeper relationship with their Lord as they experience God's unconditional love for them through their Stephen Minister

Find them at: www.stephenministries.org

Airline Travel Tips and Dealing with TSA

Many of us travel throughout the United States and some of us travel all over the world. If we fly, we are all going to have to pass through the gauntlet of the Transportation Safety Administration’s equipment, personnel, rules and attitudes. Most of the time we are met with down-to-earth people, just seeking to do their job of protecting the flying public. When we meet these kinds of people, we can feel like we are all on the same team.

However, our irritation always rises when we are ‘randomly selected’ for secondary inspection. Then, we feel immediately separate from the TSA worker; now it is a potential adversarial relationship. What can make this worse is the new little glass ‘house’ we are put in before we get to retrieve our belongings. Here is the scenario that I personally experienced and how I will be handling it in the future.

1. I went through the initial line where they check your boarding pass and ID.
2. I removed my shoes in a bin.
3. Then I took off my jacket, sweater and put them in a bin.
4. Then I put the plastic bag encased contents of my purse in a bin.
5. Then I put my purse in a bin.
6. Then I put my laptop in a bin.
7. Then I put laptop-carrying case in a bin.
8. Think about it: that is six bins of belongings for one person.
9. ‘Randomly’ I was selected for additional screening in the glass house.
10. At this point I complained that no one was watching my things. I asked if TSA was making sure that my laptop and purse and ID were not taken.
11. TSA bluntly told me that this was my responsibility and that I was to ‘watch my stuff on the line’ and at the same time pay attention to the person who had placed me so that my back was to my things.
12. I pointed out that I could not do both, watch my things and give my attention to the TSA worker ‘wanding’ me. I was brusquely informed that that was not their problem. I was ordered to pay attention.
13. By now I am frantic to make sure that my identity and possessions in those six bins are not stolen or tampered with.
14. When I exit the little house of inspection, all of my things are scrunched up at the end of the assembly line. No one is watching them. People are making sure they can get their own things.
15. When I get out of the secondary inspection I just barely have time to redress, reassemble all the contents of my purse, verifying that all is there, grab my laptop, repack and then get to my gate.

However, the next time I fly, I seek out a TSA supervisor and describe the above scenario and ask about my rights in the situation. I am told the standard line: it’s your responsibility to watch your stuff. At this point I am pretty sure that it is not my responsibility. I point out by showing the supervisor how the person has their back to ‘their stuff’ and cannot possibly watch anything except pay attention to the TSA worker in front of them. I then point out that the individual’s things are now completely unattended and vulnerable to theft. In the rush of people and belongings, no one can say what belongs to whom. I pointed out that it takes mere seconds to steal a wallet, laptop, camera or an iphone.

Finally, this supervisor, understands the problem and gives me a solution: I have the right to always insist that my things be in the little house before I am searched.

What makes all of the above even more unnerving is the fact that in the airport in Philadelphia, a TSA worker placed a bag of white powder in a young woman’s luggage and then grilled her about it before he laughed that he was just ‘joking with her.’ While that man was fired from TSA, this little incident illustrates the vulnerability our belongings experience while on that conveyer belt.

We are each responsible for our things and to be vigilant. If it does become necessary to enter secondary screening, then politely ask for a supervisor – which is your right – and then request that all of your things be in the little house with you. Only then will you know that your things are not being tampered with and that your belongings will remain in tact.

KS&L 313 Why God DOesn't Always Give Us What We Ask For Part 2

God does not always give us what we ask for; he gives us what we inherently need to make us stronger.

How do our choices affect our interaction with God? We know that what we fear the most we inevitably attract to ourselves. God provides us with an experience so that we can learn how to be less fearful. If we are really strong, and brave that fear, we may have the possibility of not having to face that fearful situation again. While we may not have to face that particular one again what often happens is that we are tested to see if we genuinely learned the lesson. Sometimes we are tested repeatedly with variations on a theme, especially if we absolutely must get this right.

A great example is learning to stand up for ourselves. This is a critical lesson to learn. If you get to learn it as a child, then the occasions for demonstrating this ability as an adult will be less challenging. In many cases you may be called upon to show someone else how to stand up to a tough situation, especially if you are a most courageous person. Learning to stand up for yourself teaches you that you are a courageous person and then this inner faith shines out and you can become an inspiration for others.

In other learning scenarios that make us stronger, difficulties are placed in our path so that we can learn to question why something is happening to us. We can use a problem in our lives to learn to have a different perspective as the following example shows.

There was the curious story of the woman who was utterly terrified of snakes, specifically rattlesnakes. Throughout her life she encountered this species of snake. She described meeting the snakes on hiking trails, in parking lots and of finding them in her garage. She once found one in her house. At no point in this bizarre scenario did it ever occur to her to ask herself why she kept encountering rattlesnakes. She just decided that she was inherently unlucky.

Perhaps the obvious lesson was to ask why she was having this experience with this type of snake instead of just shrugging it off to bad, scary luck. Maybe God was giving her the experience she needed to grow into a less fearful person. Another possibility is perhaps she needed to look around her and see who was being untrue to her, who was acting like a snake to her. A key element in the lesson was to look at the signs and symbols in her life.

When we don't need a lesson anymore it stops happening. When we don't need the experience of certain types of people in our lives they will no longer be with us or have an influence on us. Literally God offers us personally unique lessons of all kinds. As we willingly embrace each learning opportunity we evolve as souls.

Maybe it has nothing to do with whether or not God 'never gives us more than we can handle' as much as it is that God gives us the lessons/experiences that we require to grow as souls.

Can't seem to land that job you want? Can't seem to get a financial break? Consider that there may be something very negative going on in your life. Sometimes you have to analyze what may be happening esoterically before you can move forward. Sometimes you have to change your perspective to make it all work, which may have been the point in the first place. Here again maybe you need to look at life differently.

Thank goodness God doesn’t always give us what we think we want. Blessedly God gives us the lessons we can use to grow and learn. It is in those challenging occasions of difficulty that we truly are allowed to use our spiritual muscle and learn how to grow as souls.