Friday, March 20, 2009

Science cannot say what is not...

According to the title linked article, "French physicist and philosopher of science Bernard d'Espagnat won the Templeton Prize for religion on Monday for work which acknowledges that science cannot fully explain 'the nature of being.' ...The 87-year-old d'Espagnat played a key role from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s in the development of quantum mechanics, focusing on experiments testing the 'Bell's inequalities' theorem."

Isn't it interesting that scientists are giving out awards for work on the topic of religion? And isn't it even more interesting that the award goes to a guy who acknowledges that science doesn't have a say in matters of spirituality? Doesn't that seem like the scientists over the religion department are eliminating their positions?

"D'Espagnat said in prepared remarks that since science cannot reveal anything certain about the nature of being, it cannot tell us with certainty what it is not. 'Mystery is not something negative that has to be eliminated,' he said. 'On the contrary, it is one of the constitutive elements of being.' He added that he is 'convinced that those among our contemporaries who believe in a spiritual dimension of existence and live up to it are, when all is said, fully right.'

Not that I needed a scientist to tell me that my belief "in a spiritual dimension of existence" was "fully right," but it's nice to see science acknowledge - and even issue an award for showing - what theologians and lay people alike have known for thousands of years.

Monday, March 16, 2009

DC 202 - Week 3 - Work (Part 1)

For the next 2 weeks, we'll focus on the topic of work. The workload for week 1 of our discussion might look something like this:

Monday - Read Hebrews and Proverbs 24
Tuesday - Read "Does Your Job Matter?" by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, along with "Making a Spiritual Retreat in Your Heart" by Francis de Sales
Wednesday - Memorize 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 - Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to work with your hands, and to mind your own business, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody - and review previous memory verses, such as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Romans 12:1-2
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c and 2a-d (7 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3a-e (5 questions) and review memory verses