Burl

Not much impact yet, but I’m 64 with severe lung issues and a wife that works in the ER so I expect to get hit by this bug pretty hard. I posted before we knew about COVID-19 that an economic failure was coming. That was obvious from economics reports. I suspect closing everything is a convenient scapegoat.

Yes, some churches don’t move beyond the Sunday School level but that’s a good beginning. I don’t care much for those churches either. They remind me of parent-teacher nights and having to squish up in my daughter’s desk.

In the OT God and Mankind are essentially separate from each other. The relationship is largely the Hebrews purifying themselves to allow God to use them as tools in bringing forth the divine will. This relationship starts to gradually change to a panentheistic one which is fully completed at Pentecost. John 14 explicates the theology behind the objective reports in Acts 2. Panentheism is synonymous with at•one•ment. This change in our relationship with God is the good news Christians are expected to promulgate. Unfortunately this degenerated into proselytism, but that’s people for you.

Panentheism is theistic, and I do understand everything about Jesus panentheistically. I don’t think panentheism has been avoided, but public preaching necessarily needs to kept basic and culturally relevant. Pastors preach about the timelessness and omnipresence of God, which is really panentheistic. Most people don’t even want to go to church, much less take a deep dive into the philosophy of religion.

When I brought up Germans I was trying to express how the Nazi government corrupted and perverted the Christian citizenry. Sin, vice and evil have a spreading nature. Like rust, small bits are inevitable but without constant maintenance the rust runs invisibly under the paint and subtly destroys whatever it touches.

Even Calvin admits (somewhat grudgingly) in his NT notes referencing Acts 17:28 that we do exist within God. [ For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Acts 17:28 ] That should convince most fussy traditionalists. Peter Abelard (1071-1121) developed the at•one•ment concept of atonement as an expression of God’s love for mankind. Abelard ought to be nominated as the first progressive Christian.

He is saying, “I SELF-IDENTIFY AS A CAT!”

Biblically, Christians are panenthiests. We exist inside of God. This is what Jesus accomplished in the atonement. He brought mankind into God - the at•one•ment. The atonement was everything in Jesus life from incarnation to his eventual session at the right hand of God until the present. It was God’s full experience of humanity.

Which is why we refer to this as evil or wicked. The Germans were good Christians who were spiritually occupied by National Socialism. Evil is a creeping contagion. I think it starts when you hog all the toilet paper.

The Christian concept of at•one•ment. Post-Jesus there is a mutual connection.

Certainly biology is involved, but that is about all one can say. Learning, cognitive and spiritual components are not excluded.

“Written in gray matter”. Reminds me of the failed search for the engram.

Wiggle the language a bit and you have a fundamentally Christian statement. One of the purposes of Jesus’ incarnate existence was so that God could experience humanity.

Define this term then tell me your thoughts on the matter.

Nitpicking. Go through his notes if you insist. I’m confident you will find references to quantifiable differences. Suffering, beauty, love, gratitude, fear . . . and God

The traditional Christian practices of humility as well as avoiding sin and vices are very helpful in reducing suffering.

Darwin quantified evolution using the beak dimensions of various finches. Non-material things (including gods) are not suitable subjects for science. Pseudoscience, semi-science and social science often try, but there are always questionable assumptions involved.

The Japanese do the dense population/small house/no crime thing exceptionally well. The key seems to be an almost complete lack of diversity and an extreme sense of nationality.

Quantifiability is a requirement for science. Yes, the scientific observation of god is not possible. You need logic & reason for that.

Didn’t Jesus say to the disciples if he did not die the parakeet could not come?

Sounds confusing to me. String theory has some obvious connections but I don’t understand that either. Back to the Gospels and Hebrews for me.

The four parakeets of the apocalypse.