DOCSLIB.ORG

The Mind of God (Jerry Fite)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Mind of God (Jerry Fite) “And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers…” (Acts 13:32) Vol. XXVIII March 18, 2018 No. 11 The Mind Of God (Jerry Fite) e heard this week of the would know, if there were a to the people in England is the death of Stephen God…” then he added, “which fuse of the firecracker. If not Hawkin g. Mr. Hawk- there isn’t, I’m an atheist.” God, who lit the fuse? Wing, a renown theoreti- cal physicist and cosmologist, No understanding of the Steven Hawking replaced died Wednesday morning in his existence of the universe is com- God with “science.” He observed home in Cambridge, England. He plete without knowing how the that “God is the name people give was 76 years old. The fact he universe came into existence. Mr. to the reason we are here. But I lived into his 70’s is remarkable Hawking believed space, matter think that reason is the laws of in that at the early age of 21, he and time were essential elements physics rather than someone with was diagnosed with ALS, the neu- for the existence of the universe. whom one can have a personal re- romuscular wasting disease. In The Bible reveals in the first verse lationship.” His impersonal his last years, he was only able to that space, matter and time came “God” was the collective laws of twitch his right cheek muscle in into being at the same time. “In physics. The problem with this order to activate a digitized pro- the beginning, God created the reasoning, is that laws are observ- gram of letters and words with heavens and the earth” (Genesis able after something begins, not which he could communicate his 1:1). “In the beginning” – (time) “the force” bringing the universe thoughts. “the heavens” (space) and “the into existence. The belief in the earth” (matter) came into exist- creative force of the eternal om- Stephen Hawking was ence when “God” (the source) nipotent God does not contradict driven to discover the complete “created” (the force) the universe. the laws observable after the be- theory of the universe. He wanted Mr. Hawking affirmed the neces- ginning of the universe. The real- all to be able to know why we and sity for space, matter and time. ity of God fills in the important the universe exist. In his 1988 He believed the universe had a be- gap of the “first cause” that ob- best-selling book “A Brief History ginning. He also believed the servable laws of physics cannot of Time,” Stephen Hawking “big bang” was the singular event fill. writes, “…if we find the answer to for the universe’s beginning. But The New York Times hon- that, it would be the ultimate tri- He refused to acknowledge God ored Mr. Hawking with, “His umph of human reasoning – for as the reason for its existence. Mind Roamed the Cosmos.” But then we would know the mind of sadly, this brilliant mind had no God.” In Hawking’s mind, “God” room for God, the Creator, nor the was not needed to explain the rea- hope of heaven in the afterlife. He Stephen Hawking did not son for the existence of the uni- lived life roaming the cosmos in believe in the existence of God. verse. In terms of an Englishman, his mind, but he entered the after- He used the word “God” in a fig- Hawking opined, “It is not neces- life without excuse for not per- urative sense. What he meant by sary to invoke God to light the ceiving the power and wisdom of “know the mind of God” is, “we blue touch paper and set the uni- God behind the existing universe would know everything that God verse going.” “Blue touch paper” (cf. Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1). .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Is Plato a Perfect Idealist?
    IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19, Issue 3, Ver. V (Mar. 2014), PP 22-25 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org Is Plato a Perfect Idealist? Dr. Shanjendu Nath M. A., M. Phil., Ph.D. Associate Professor Rabindrasadan Girls’ College, Karimganj, Assam, India. Abstract: Idealism is a philosophy that emphasizes on mind. According to this theory, mind is primary and objective world is nothing but an idea of our mind. Thus this theory believes that the primary thing that exists is spiritual and material world is secondary. This theory effectively begins with the thought of Greek philosopher Plato. But it is Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) who used the term ‘idealism’ when he referred Plato in his philosophy. Plato in his book ‘The Republic’ very clearly stated many aspects of thought and all these he discussed from the idealistic point of view. According to Plato, objective world is not a real world. It is the world of Ideas which is real. This world of Ideas is imperishable, immutable and eternal. These ideas do not exist in our mind or in the mind of God but exist by itself and independent of any mind. He also said that among the Ideas, the Idea of Good is the supreme Idea. These eternal ideas are not perceived by our sense organs but by our rational self. Thus Plato believes the existence of two worlds – material world and the world of Ideas. In this article I shall try to explore Plato’s idealism, its origin, locus etc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Metaphysical Doctrine of Creation
    The Metaphysical Doctrine of Creation THOMAS V. MORRIS The majestic introduction to the book of Genesis proclaims that1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the key to a distinctively theistic perspective on reality. This one statement captures the heart of a theistic world-view: We live in a created universe. For centuries, theists have held that the most important truth about our world is that it is a created world. And it is no exaggeration to add that one of the most important truths about God is that He is the creator of this world. Aquinas once expressed the core of the doctrine of creation quite suc- cinctly with the single sentence: Anything that exists in any way must necessarily have its origin fromGod.2 The philosophical view which is here so crisply and simply conveyed, I shall refer to as the metaphysical doctrine of creation . I understand it as a thesis about the metaphysical or ontological dependence of all things distinct from God on God as their source of being, the ultimate cause of their existence. As a philosophical thesis, the metaphysical doctrine of creation is not to be thought of as necessarily allied to, or as in competition with, any particu- lar scientific theory of physical cosmology or biological development. A few years ago, many religious people enthusiastically welcomed and loudly en- dorsed what is popularly known as the Big Bang Theory of Physical Cosmol- ogy. The physical event which was postulated to have issued in an almost inconceivable, explosive origination of our current cosmos was widely bap- tized as a scientific acknowledgement of the act of divine creation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emergent, Self-Explaining Universe of Paul Davies – a Summary and Christian Response
    S & CB (2012), 24, 33–53 0954–4194 PAUL HIMES The Emergent, Self-explaining Universe of Paul Davies – a Summary and christian Response Physicist Paul Davies has emerged as one of the most popular scientists of the twenty-first century, despite his critique of the scientific establishment and its perceived failure to account for the origins and rational nature of the universe. Davies argues that the scientific consensus on cosmology rests on faith, both in its failure to provide an ultimate explanation for the origin of the universe and in its blind acceptance of its rational laws. As an alternative, Davies postulates an ‘emergent’ universe which contains the cause of its own existence and which renders unnecessary any sort of a personal deity. Yet Davies’s alternative falls short of providing a satisfactory cosmic explanation. Davies himself cannot adequately account for the principle of backward causation which creates his universe, and thus his paradigm still relies on a transcendent principle that remains unexplained. Furthermore, Davies’s objections against a personal god can be answered on philosophical grounds. Thus Davies’s hypothesis does not provide a superior alternative to the Christian view of God. key words: Paul Davies, physics, universe, emergent, self-causation, quantum mechanics, cosmology, time, teleology, cosmological argument, fine-tuning introduction Douglas Adams’ classic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy tells the story of an advanced civilisation that builds a magnificent supercomputer for the sole purpose of providing the ultimate answer to the meaning of ‘life, the universe, and everything’. After millions of years of calculation, the an- swer, much to the confusion and frustration of the advanced civilisation, turns out to be ‘42’.1 Physicist Paul C.
    [Show full text]
  • The Quantum God: an Investigation of the Image of God from Quantum Science
    The Quantum God: An Investigation of the Image of God from Quantum Science By Meaghean H. Richardson A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies June, 2015, Halifax, Nova Scotia Copyright Meaghean H. Richardson, 2015. Approved: Dr. Anne Marie Dalton Supervisor Approved: Dr. Mary Hale Reader Approved: Dr. Magi Abdul-Masih Examiner Date: June 5, 2015 2 ABSTRACT The Quantum God: An Investigation of the Image of God from Quantum Science By Meaghean H. Richardson This thesis is an investigation of the image of God arising from understandings of quantum science and argues that it enhances ideas about God. It considers the significance of religious interpretations of quantum science and briefly examines the case of Christian theology and God’s actions in the world. The nature of quantum phenomena requires the use of imagery likened to that used in many mystical and religious traditions. Using a multivalued approach, I give equitable consideration to multiple scientific and theological interpretations to describe the God-concept presented by sources writing on the mystical implications of quantum science. The quantum demands an intellectual and academic openness, requiring the use of resources outside of science, and pushes for a holistic approach and a transition to a postmodern paradigm. Therefore, the quantum is said to be a re-enchanting force, calling for a re-evaluation of the spiritual dimension in our overall understanding of reality. June 5, 2015 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must first thank my parents for their support of every kind while I chase my dreams.
    [Show full text]
  • SCIENCE and the EASTERN RELIGIONS: TOWARDS an INTEGRAL VISION of REALITY Course: PS 20
    SCIENCE AND THE EASTERN RELIGIONS: TOWARDS AN INTEGRAL VISION OF REALITY Course: PS 20 Institution: Little Flower Seminary, Institute of Philosophy and Religion Instructor: Fr. Augustine Pamplany CST Instructor’s email: [email protected] Course Description The course will be given as a four credit basic course for the second and third year graduate students of the department of philosophy and religion of Little Flower Seminary and as an elective course to the guest students of the Institute of Science and Religion at Little Flower Seminary. The Course is an attempt at an Eastern Religious appropriation of the major insights of the modern western science in its wide-ranging fields. The course draws the data from an interdisciplinary dialogue between science and religion to re-conceive God, world and the Human in a manner fitting to the modern intellectual scientific culture in general and to the philosophical and religious context of India in particular. Hence the course unfolds itself at three levels. 1. Describing the intellectual setting of the intersection of science and mysticism 2. Critical inter-sectioning of the scientific and mystical worldviews from the perspective of the Kosmos, Bios and Nous. 3. Articulating the metaphysical, anthropological and theological implications of the inter-sectioning of science and mysticism. While Eastern religious approach is dominant in the course, the course presupposes the Christian perspectives on the ongoing debate and deal at some length with the same where and when necessary. Concise
    [Show full text]
  • The Mind's Road to God- St. Bonaventure
    The Catholic Primer’s Reference Series: The Mind's Road to God St. Bonaventure Caution regarding printing: Before you print, please check the page count of this document after it is fully loaded. Many Catholic Primer eBooks and documents are hundreds or even thousands of pages in length, depending upon individual printer settings. The Catholic Primer Copyright Notice The contents The Mind’s Road to God by St. Bonaventure is in the public domain. However, this electronic version is copyrighted. © The Catholic Primer, 2005. All Rights Reserved. This electronic version may be distributed free of charge provided that the contents are not altered and this copyright notice is included with the distributed copy, provided that the following conditions are adhered to. This electronic document may not be offered in connection with any other document, product, promotion or other item that is sold, exchange for compensation of any type or manner, or used as a gift for contributions, including charitable contributions without the express consent of The Catholic Primer. Notwithstanding the preceding, if this product is transferred on CD-ROM, DVD, or other similar storage media, the transferor may charge for the cost of the media, reasonable shipping expenses, and may request, but not demand, an additional donation not to exceed US$15. Questions concerning this limited license should be directed to [email protected] . This document may not be distributed in print form without the prior consent of The Catholic Primer. Adobe®, Acrobat®, and Acrobat® Reader® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Word Is an Angel of the Mind: Angelic and Temple Imagery in the Theology of John Mansur, the Damascene
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects The orW d Is An Angel Of The indM : Angelic And Temple Imagery In The Theology Of John Mansur, The aD mascene. Elijah Nicolas Mueller Marquette University Recommended Citation Mueller, Elijah Nicolas, "The orW d Is An Angel Of The indM : Angelic And Temple Imagery In The Theology Of John Mansur, The Damascene." (2014). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 354. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/354 THE WORD IS AN ANGEL OF THE MIND: ANGELIC AND TEMPLE IMAGERY IN THE THEOLOGY OF JOHN MANSUR, THE DAMASCENE. by Elijah Nicolas Mueller A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2014 ABSTRACT THE WORD IS AN ANGEL OF THE MIND: ANGELIC AND TEMPLE IMAGERY IN THE THEOLOGY OF JOHN MANSUR, THE DAMASCENE. Elijah Nicolas Mueller Marquette University, 2014 This dissertation looks at the scriptural images of angel and temple, as they occur in key works by John Damascene: on the Heresies, chapter 100 “On the Ishmaelites;” Three Treatises on the Divine Images, and on the Orthodox Faith. Angelic and temple imagery forms an important core which holds together liturgy, ascesis, and theophany. These types of images constitute a consistent mode for understanding theology and anthropology. As part of revelation, they are important in the early Islamic context. Angel and temple imagery were used by John Damascene to push back against Islamic revelation claims and Islamic challenges to the centrality of these images from an older, more developed and ascetic way of dealing with the imagery of Jewish and Christian revelation.
    [Show full text]
  • A Christian Physicist?
    A Christian Physicist? Can a committed Christian seriously engage in the study of physics? I certainly chose to. My thirst for knowledge of this world only grew stronger after committing myself to Christ and growing in my faith throughout my teenage years. Choosing to attend a small Christian college, I was drawn to physics for its explanatory power in describing our world. Several former students of my favorite physics professor expressed this well in their recollections of how physics served to open up to them a new way of seeing the world. One student wrote of his first class in physics, “Dr. Graziano began by integrating F = ma = m (dv/dt) vectorily and the world changed for me. Suddenly, things that I took for granted had a reason for their happening.” 1 Indeed, physics helped us make sense of the world, serving as a mental tool to facilitate our investigation into unlimited phenomena ranging from the microscopic realm of subatomic particles to the macroscopic extent of the cosmos. All appeared to be governed by laws that we could understand and apply. Those brief undergraduate years were followed by a couple of intense graduate level years, allowing me to then join researchers on the cutting edge of the field of elementary particle physics. However, the question of how physics relates to my faith had only just begun and has taken the better part of a lifetime to explore and appreciate. My faith would be put to the test as a graduate student, when I was required to read a book on cosmology called “The First Three Minutes” 2 by Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg.
    [Show full text]
  • PSMLM Presents Two Sets of Essays That Discuss the Interrelated Themes of Causality and Skepticism
    Volume 10, 2012 The Proceedings of the Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics (P.S.M.L.M.) is the publication of the Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics, collecting original materials presented at sessions sponsored by the Society. Publication in the Proceedings constitutes prepublication, leaving the authors’ right to publish (a possibly modified version of) their materials elsewhere unaffected. The Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics (S.M.L.M.) is a network of scholars founded with the aim of fostering collaboration and research based on the recognition that recovering the profound metaphysical insights of medieval thinkers for our own philosophical thought is highly desirable, and, despite the vast conceptual changes in the intervening period, is still possible; but this recovery is only possible if we carefully reflect on the logical framework in which those insights were articulated, given the paradigmatic differences between medieval and modern logical theories. The Society’s web site (http://faculty.fordham.edu/klima/SMLM/) is designed to serve the purpose of keeping each other up-to-date on our current projects, sharing recent results, discussing scholarly questions, and organizing meetings. If you are interested in joining, please contact Gyula Klima (Philosophy, Fordham University) by e-mail at: [email protected] © Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics, 2012 1 EDITOR’S NOTE: Volume 10 of the PSMLM presents two sets of essays that discuss the interrelated themes of causality and skepticism. The pieces of the first set were read by Edward Feser, Gyula Klima and Michael Rota at the 2011 SMLM session on the theme of causality in its modern and medieval contexts, sponsored by the American Catholic Philosophical Association and hosted by St.
    [Show full text]
  • A Physicist's Belief. John Polkinghorne's Consonance Of
    Rocznik Filozoficzny Ignatianum The Ignatianum Philosophical Yearbook • https://czasopisma.ignatianum.edu.pl/index.php/rfi XXIV / 1 (2018), s. 97–116 Sprawozdania i referaty Reports and conference papers • • • PL ISSN 2300–1402 Andreas Losch∗ ∗Universität Bern A physicist’s belief. John Polkinghorne’s consonance of theology and science1 When popular physicist Stephen Hawking dreams at the end of his best-selling Brief history of time of a Great Unifying Theory (GUT) which would be able to merge the major physical theories describing the laws of nature, he goes on to say: However, if we discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable by everyone, not just by a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we should know the mind of God2. John Polkinghorne, Hawking’s colleague at Cambridge Univer- sity, is on the one hand critical of such an approach. “What is God do- 1 This contribution is a translated, edited and much abbreviated version ofchap- ter 2 in Andreas Losch, Jenseits der Konflikte. I thank the publisher Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht for the permission to make use of the material. 2 Hawking, A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes, p. 193. 98 Andreas Losch ing in the book at all?”3. On the other hand, he is himself searching for his own very particular version of a GUT.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Arguments for the Existence of God Peter S. Williams (MA. Mphil
    Arguments for the existence of God Peter S. Williams (MA. MPhil). Arguments for God work by making explicit the existence of real connections between God and Creation , so that one is put in the position of having to choose between acknowledging the conclusion or rejecting either the validity of the argument or the truth of one of the relevant premises. An argument for God places God in one balance pan and some other aspect of reality in the other pan and tries to establish a link between them such that the weight of the evidence raises the case for belief. There is nothing that cannot be used as the launch-point for an argument for the existence of God because God is related to the whole of reality. For example, the moral argument tries to establish the existence of a connection between objective moral value and God’s existence. If one acknowledges that the argument is logically valid but nevertheless wish to deny the conclusion, one must deny the existence of objective moral value. It is now received wisdom that arguments for God are cumulative, or, at least, are best approached cumulatively; that is, the weight of evidence for God accumulates as one adds arguments to an overall case that doesn’t rest on any one argument. In other words, the more different links between God and reality one can uncover the more rounded a picture of God one can build up and the more certain one can be that the arguments point to God. The design argument doesn’t provide much if any evidence for the existence of a necessary being, whereas the cosmological argument doesn’t provide much if any evidence for an intelligent designer; but put the two arguments together and they compliment each other to show that the universe has a necessarily existent intelligent cause.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical and Religious Origins of the Private Inner Self”; Anindita N
    The Mythic Reality of the Autonomous Individual with John A. Teske, “Editorial Overview”; Edwin C. Laurenson, “Agency, Freedom, and the Blessings of Opacity”; Phillip Cary, “Philosophical and Religious Origins of the Private Inner Self”; Anindita N. Balslev, “The Enigma of I-Consciousness”; Lene Arnett Jensen, “The Cultural Development of Three Fundamental Moral Ethics”; Amy Banks, “Developing the Capacity to Connect”; John A. Teske, “Externalism, Relational Selves, and Redemptive Relationships”; Kenneth J. Gergen, “From Moral Autonomy to Relational Responsibility”; Steven L. Winter, “Reimagining Democratic Theory for Social Individuals” PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS ORIGINS OF THE PRIVATE INNER SELF by Phillip Cary Abstract. The modern concept of the inner self containing a private inner world has ancient philosophical and religious roots. These begin with Plato’s intelligible world of ideas. In Plotinus, the intelligible world becomes the inner world of the divine Mind and its ideas, which the soul sees by turning “into the inside.” Augustine made the inner world into something merely human, not a world of divine ideas, so that the soul seeking for God must turn in, then up: entering into itself and then looking above itself at the intelligible light of God. In modernity, “ideas” become the immediate object of every act of mental perception, the essential inner objects of the mind’s eye. Locke makes the inner space inescapably private, excluding the divine inner light. Postmodern attempts to reconceive the relation of mind and world, rejecting the modern conception of a private inner self, will need to deal with lingering Platonist intuitions about the immediacy of the mind’s vision.
    [Show full text]