Many believers and Christians today have an underdeveloped knowledge of proper theology and proper biblical concept. It seems that they are guided more by political ideology rather than by sound biblical teaching. When discussing the purpose for the creation and existence of mankind and/or studying the book of Genesis and the creation story people do not seem to have a clear understanding of the purpose for man or of the rest of creation that ties it all together. I have heard the point made many times that God created man to glorify Himself. This is true. Yet if we do not understand or cannot explain fully what that means- we cannot really worship effectively or witness to other people effectively.

If we say to the unbeliever or potential believer, “God just likes to be worshipped,” and do not explain more fully, the listener may well go away guffawing because it could be said that what you have just described is a psychotic egomaniac- a God that has created an entire reality just so he can have someone to give him flattery and adulation. The truth is that there is far more to the concept of worship than this. Also, when teaching doesn’t cover this point with sound and thorough explanation it sends believers out ill- equipped to answer tough questions from the world.

So what is the purpose of mankind and all life, of all creation and of worship?

There are many verses throughout the Bible that proclaim the purpose for the creation of the cosmos. Simply put, all creation was made to glorify and reveal God. God created the Earth and mankind to reveal himself throughout the universe, to share himself with and through life and to commune with and through mankind and the rest of his creation. God made man special… with a special place and purpose in creation… to tend and take care of his garden and to be holy. Most people that are familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition know the rest of the story… man rebelled. Yet God’s original purpose for man and the rest of the cosmos is still intact, in force and has been reconciled by Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:18-20 says this:

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Colossians 1:15-20 says this:

The Supremacy of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Now let us clarify what worship is. Worship is not meant to be a groveling, flattering experience for man to kiss the feet of a God who needs adulation. Worship has the same purpose that man and all of the rest of creation has- that is to commune with God… to share in God’s presence… to participate with God. Worship is as much for man as for God. Worship is a gift from God for man to share in his presence and his glory, to commune and to experience holiness and be joined together in spirit and in truth.

Jesus himself, the King of all Creation (Col. 1:15-20), spoke these words to a Samaritan woman he encountered at a community well:

John 4:23-24

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Living a life of spirituality that is grounded in truth is worship. Worship is not supposed to be relegated to the few hours a week that we sit in a Church pew. In a sense, all life, all creation, is supposed to exist as worship.

I am always amazed at the resistance and debate that I get when I assert the Christian, people- perhaps even moreso than others, actually do have a role and responibilty to play in the maintenace of the natural world… AKA “the environment”. Too many Christians in my view, have made “the environment” something abstract… something that is “out there” separate from themselves and from God and something thus inconsequential to our walk as Christians and our concerns as men. It is true “the environment” is for mankind to be in stewardship over and for us to use. Yet, how are we to “be fruitful and multiply” if we do not acknowledge, understand and accept the full purpose God has charged us with in the Earth? Caring for the Earth and worshipfully observing our purpose ordained by God also enables us to better love our neighbors and maintain public health, to be witnesses for God’s purposes and better commune prayerfully with God.

How is it that Christians have allowed themselves to be distracted and deterred from this vital role we are meant to play by terms like “tree hugger”? Would you like to see the Church grow and like to see all those “environmental wackos” out there converted to people using their passions for enlarging the Kingdom of God? Then I think its time for the Church to rediscover this aspect of God’s intent for his people and include it as part of a Godly, balanced worldview. We are not talking about becoming environmental activists or engaging in godless naturalism here.

For more on these vital topics also visit these posts:

The Misuse of “Radah” (dominion)

A Biblical View of the Environment

A Christian View of the Environment

The Meaning of Genesis

Why Are We Here?

Project Earth: Preserving the World God Created

Quantum Freewill, the Breath and Spirit of God…

Doing Lunch With The Almighty

Poverty, Pollution and Environmental Racism

Eleven Inherent rules of Corporate Behavior

Is God Green?

Thank You For This Earth

Indigenous Mind

There are many views and opinions concerning the environment representing a wide range of world views. With this essay I intend to present a biblical view of the environment including its origin, present state, and future destiny.

Origin

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The Bible tells us that God existed before the universe and that He created it. For more details on the creation account read chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. Scientific Creationism also reveals intelligent design in the creation, thus testifying of an intelligent Creator.1

The purpose of creation is to worship and bring glory to God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1). See also Ps. 148 and Is. 40:25,26. It also testifies of God’s qualities. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

Man is made in God’s image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26). (Note: The plural pronoun testifies of the Trinity.) While every created thing has value in itself, man alone is created in the image of God. This contradicts the Eastern monism philosophy which says all is one.2 William B. Badke, author of Project Earth,3 says that the earliest responsibility of man and the only mandate given him concerning interaction with the earth is found in Gen. 2:15 which says, “The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it” (The Living Bible). The Hebrew word for tend can also mean “to serve” and the word for care may be translated “to keep safe, preserve, protect.” This mandate has never been rescinded.

God gave Adam and Eve dominion in the earth (Gen. 1:28). This means that the human race is to be in charge of the stewardship of the earth and to nurture it, not dominate and exploit it for selfish motives.

“Historian Lynn White was correct in placing some blame for environmental decay on Christianity. But it is a misunderstanding of the Bible, not God’s word itself, that is at fault here,”4 says Tom Sider, professor of theology and culture, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and president of Evangelicals for Social Action. British author Catherine von Ruhland says, “Christianity is often criticised as being the reason for much of the damage that has occurred on the planet. But we should make clear to the critics that it is not our faith, but a combination of scientific theory and industrial progress among unbelievers and our own wrong understanding of God’s Word that has brought about destruction.”5

Present State

The event that kicked off our present state, both physically and spiritually, is the fall of man. Along with the mandate of stewardship of the Garden, God told Adam and Eve that they had free access to anything in the Garden except the fruit of one tree which would bring physical and spiritual death (Gen. 2:16,17). This was simply a test of man’s love and obedience to his Creator. God wanted a relationship based on choice and without the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil man would not have had any choice to please or displease God. Needless to say man ate the forbidden fruit and here we are today.

Sin is the breaking of God’s commandment and it is sin that is the major environmental threat. Physical death and the ground being cursed are just two results of the fall (Gen. 3:17-19). By choosing to disobey our Creator and live in sin the Bible says that the land and animals mourn (Hos. 4:1-3). Sin has such a violent effect on the environment that the Bible says the land will vomit out the sinning inhabitants (Lev. 18:25). Sin is what motivates the destruction of the environment for financial gain (1 Tim. 6:10).

But God promises to heal the land if we will turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:14). (Understand that there will not be complete restoration until God recreates the earth, 1 Pet. 3:13 and Rev. 21:1). By turning to God and being filled with His Spirit we can have the sensitivity to people and the environment that is necessary (Rom. 8). Indeed, sensitivity to others will affect our treatment of the environment. For example, if we know that there are people who live downstream from us and depend on a river we use, we should be careful to not dump pollution into the river so they can have water that they can use. By our sensitivity to the people who live downstream from us, we will change our treatment of the river we use to do what we can to provide safe and clean water for others who depend upon the same river. Matthew 25 shows that insensitivity to people is also insensitivity to God and will bring His judgement.

Tony Campolo also says that since nature worships God, (Ps. 148) ecological destruction interferes with and silences the worship of God.6 He calls this blasphemy.

Ron Sider says, “The first purpose of the nonhuman creation is to glorify God not to serve us.”4 The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps. 24:1). We must realize our role in creation is to worship God and to be stewards of the earth. A steward is a caretaker, not an owner.

Unlike monism, which says all is one, a biblical view, while agreeing that in ecology all things are interconnected, says in the spiritual realm there are two orders — the regenerated and the fallen. The fall that Adam and Eve experienced has carried on over to every human since (Rom. 3:10, 23). But there is hope of regeneration. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).

God is deeply concerned with His creation and this is shown in many passages of Scripture. In Gen. 9:9,10 God made a covenant with all of creation not to destroy it with a flood ever again and He set the rainbow in the cloud to be a token of that covenant. In Job 39:1,2 God shows that He is with the wild animals when they give birth. Matt. 6:25-30 shows that God feeds the birds and clothes the fields. It is by His power that creation holds together or consists as Col. 1:16, 17 points out. Because God is so intimately concerned with His creation He promises to restore it.

Future Destiny

“Everything that Christianity hopes for is wrapped up with the ultimate fate of the earth,” says Glenn Paauw, author of The Garden of God.7 The Bible teaches that salvation is for all of creation, not just humans (Is. 11, Ez. 47). This world will be burned up with fire (2 Pet. 3) and God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1, Is. 65:17). True physical peace will reign (Hos. 2:18) and God will live with His people on the Earth (Rev. 21:3). Until that day Christians continue to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Some may say, “If the world will be destroyed by fire and recreated why should we be concerned about the environment?” Well let me sum up some reasons given thus far and introduce some new ones: 1) Destruction of the environment is blasphemy against God; 2) Stewardship is a responsibility; 3) Other people suffer because of the destruction of the environment; 4) Animals suffer; 5) Creation itself suffers (Rom. 8:19-21); 6) The danger is massive and urgent; 7) Common sense tells us to properly manage our resources to maintain a sustainable yield; and I would like to leave you with an idea from Tony Campolo which may be the most practical reason of all. He says the sooner or later we will all get involved in the environmental movement because sooner or later we will all get hurt because of what we’re doing to the environment.6

——————

1. For information on Scientific Creationism see Institute for Creation Research at http://www.icr.org.

2. For more information on monism see James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic World View Catalog, 3d ed. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997.

3. Badke, William B. (1991). Project Earth: Preserving the World God Created. Portland, Multnomah Press.

4. Sider, Ron J. (1993, June 21). Redeeming the Environmentalists. Christianity Today.

5. von Ruhland, Catharine (1991). Going Green: A Christian Guide. Great Britain, Marshall Pickering.

6. Campolo, Tony (1992). How to Rescue the Earth Without Worshiping Nature. Nashville, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

7. Paauw, Glenn (1992). The Garden of God. Colorado Springs, International Bible Society.

I just awoke from a dream and decided to set this all down in a post:

Ecclesiastes 3 (King James Version)

Ecclesiastes 3

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

13And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

14I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

16And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

17I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

18I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

22Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

_______________________________

These are some heavy thoughts with heavy implications. There are many great theological points and observations and even spiritual dynamics in this one passage. It tells us a good deal about freewill and God’s “purpose” for us as individuals. But it also tells us a great deal about theological truth and the sovereignty of God.

Contemplate this:

“yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast”

Ruach (Ruah) is Hebrew for ‘breath,’ and represents spirit- literally, the breath of God, synonymous with life. The root of the word is related to words meaning voice, thunder, and wind.

(hmmm this sounds very much like the American Indian concept of “The Great Spirit” or the spirit/medicine power that emantes from and/or is synonymous with the Creator. It is the power and presence called for in prayers.)

“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”
(Job 33:4)

The Great Spirit is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among Native American and First Nations cultures. Also called Wakan Tanka in Lakota, The Creator, or The Great Maker in English and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian and Provider in Cherokee. In Cherokee, the personal name of God was often rendered as Yehowa. Does that sound familiar? Some claim that this name is a syncretistic corruption. Others claim that this is an ancient usage that came with the Cherokees from the beginning.

The Great Spirit is generally considered equivalent in description to God of the main monotheistic religions (such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism). These main religions often describe a being who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving. They believe that God speaks through human intermediaries and issues spiritual laws that human beings are to follow, and an afterlife is promised. However the Great Spirit differs in that his panentheistic nature is especially emphasised; he is embodied in everything. This “embodiment in everything” IS actually a Biblical concept as well- as understood in the Hebrew term ruach. This term, ruach, can actually be thought of to include everything, in that afterall everything originates from the creative power of God. In American Indian thought, the concept of ruach is expanded a bit to allow for not only intelligent life, but all life and all matter which afterall does have at least the intelligence of an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God… because the abscence of God is NOTHINGNESS… no matter would exist… one atom would not be formed. Creation itself gives testimony and witness from its existence, its order, its balance, its nurturing quality, the fact that it contains intelligence and the existence of morality and/or moral order such as it is:

Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (for not seeing and/or acknowledging the sovereignty of God).

The only thing missing from American Indian theology was the Christ. History could have been much different for them if the people “evangelizing” them had generally been better living examples with better theological understanding themselves and also better understanding of those whom they sought to teach about God.

The Spirit of YHVH is YHVH Himself…

In the Tanakh, the word ruach generally means wind, breath, mind, spirit. In a living creature (nephesh chayah), the ruach is the breath, whether of animals (Gen 7:15; Psa 104:25, 29) or mankind (Isa 42:5; Ezek 37:5). God is the creator of ruach: “The ruach of God (from God) is in my nostrils” (Job 27:3). In God’s hand is the ruach of all mankind (Job 12:10; Isa 42:5). In mankind, ruach further denotes the principle of life that possesses reason, will, and conscience. The ruach imparts the divine image to man, and constitutes the animating dynamic which results in man’s nephesh as the subject of personal life.

When applied to God, the word Ruach indicates creative activity (Gen 1:2) and active power (Isa 40:13). The Spirit of God also works in providence (Job 33:4; Psa 104:30), in redemption (Ezek 11:19; Ezek 36:26-27), in upholding and guiding his chosen ones (Neh 9:20; Psa 143:10; Hag 2:5), and in the empowering of the Messiah (Isa 11:2; Isa 42:1; Isa 61:1).

In short, as the ruach is to the created nephesh, so the Ruach Elohim is to God Himself, part of God and identified with God. Ruach may be understood as the Author of the animating dynamic of the created order, the underlying Principle of creation, and the One that imparts the nephesh to the entire universe.

Ancient Israelite Concepts of Soul

The Bible gives few clues to the ancient Israelite idea of the soul or spirit. Three words which over time developed the meaning of “soul” are present in Tanakh: Neshamah, Nefesh, and Ruah. Tracing the evolution of these terms gives us some idea of the ancient Israelites’ beliefs regarding the soul.

In the Creation story, we read of God blowing a “breath of life” into the man of earth and dust (Genesis 2:7). The word used is a form of the Hebrew root indicating breath. Although this “neshamah” later becomes associated with the soul, the word here only describes the element that animates a body. This animating element is not, in early biblical tradition, separate from the body in life, nor does it possess any personality.

Similarly, ruah is the animating force from God. Most often used as “wind,” ruahmay also be used as “breath.” “God said, ‘My breath [ruhi] will not govern man forever, since he is flesh…’” (Genesis 6:3). Here, we see the added element of transience: The ruah ends its association with the mortal body at death.

The word nefesh is often used to mean “person” or “living being”. In the Torah, however, animals may also possess this life force–a “nefesh behemah.” The term nefesh is particularly associated with blood, as in “the life [nefesh] of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).

Nefesh does reflect a personal dimension. It may be used in the sense of “self” (including “himself”). Nefesh is also associated with personal desire or attraction. One’s nefesh may cleave to someone (as in the case of Shehem’s yearning for Dinah, Jacob’s daughter), or to evil (see Proverbs 21:10). In a later example of this usage, a person of considerable appetite is called “ba’al [possessor of] nefesh” (Proverbs 23:2). In all of these usages, the nefesh is connected to the body and its material wants.

In later books of the Bible, the soul (using all three terms) is mentioned apart from the body and as more than just an animating spirit. This subtle evolution of meaning reflects the growth of the idea of what we call the soul–the unique, everlasting, intangible part of a person. In the stunning poem that serves as the centerpiece of the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, the death of a person is described as occurring when “… the dust returns to the ground where it had been and the ruah returns to the God who had given it” (12:7). While previously we saw the life-breath leaving the body at death, here we see it as a separate entity that returns to God, rather than simply disappearing.

Nephesh

Appendix 13 to The Companion Bible

The word nephesh occurs 754 times in the Hebrew Old Testament.

In the A.V. and R.V. it is translated “soul” 472 times, while in the other 282 places it is represented by forty-four different words or phrases. In fifty-three of these places there is a marginal rendering which calls attention to the fact that the word is “nephesh“, while in 229 passages the English reader has hitherto been left in ignorance of the fact. The English word “soul” is in every occurrence the rendering of the Hebrew nephesh, except in Job 30:15 and Isa. 57:16.

Though, with these two exceptions, the English word “soul” always represents the Hebrew nephesh, nephesh is not always translated “soul”.

This Appendix will exhibit all the varieties of translation; and, while it is not intended to teach either Theology or Psychology, it will give such information as will enable every Bible reader to form his own views and come to his own conclusions on an important subject, about which there is such great controversy.

This can be done only by giving every occurrence of the Hebrew word nephesh.

The usage of the word nephesh by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God is the only guide to the true understanding of it.

It will be seen that the word “soul”, in its theological sense, does not cover all the ground, or properly represent the Hebrew word “nephesh“. The English word “soul” is from the Latin solus = alone or sole, because the maintenance of man as a living organism, and all that affects his health and well-being, is the one sole or main thing in common with every living thing which the LORD God has made. The correct Latin word for the theological term “soul” (or nephesh) is anima; and this is from the Greek anemos = air or breath, because it is this which keeps the whole in life and in being.

The first occurrence of nephesh is in Gen. 1:20, “the moving creature that hath life (nephesh)”. (*1)

The following are twelve classifications of nephesh :

I. Nephesh is used of the lower animals only, in twenty-two passages, and is rendered in nine different ways :–

II. Nephesh is used of the Lower Animals and Man in seven passages, and rendered in three different ways :–

III. Nephesh is used of Man, as an individual person, in 53 passages, and is rendered in six different ways :–

IV. Nephesh is used of Man, as exercising certain powers, or performing certain acts (may be often well rendered by emphatic pronouns), in ninety-six passages, and with eleven different renderings :–

V. Nephesh is used of Man, as possessing animal appetites and desires, in twenty-two passages, rendered in five different ways :–

VI. Nephesh is used of Man, as exercising mental faculties, and manifesting certain feelings and affections and passions, in 231 passages, and rendered in twenty different ways :–

VII. Nephesh is used of Man, (a) as being “cut off” by God; (b) and as being slain of killed by man, in fifty-four passages : and is rendered in eight different ways :–

VIII. Nephesh is used of Man as being mortal, subject to death of various kinds, from which it can be saved and delivered and life prolonged, in 243 passages, rendered in eleven different ways :–

IX. Nephesh is used of man, as actually dead, in thirteen passages, and is rendered in three different ways :–

X. Nephesh, in thirteen passages (all rendered “soul”), is spoken of as going to a place described by four different words, rendered as shown below :–

i. “sheol” = THE grave (as distinct from keber, A grave), gravedom (or the dominion of death), in five passages, rendered in this connection in two different ways :–

1. “grave”. Ps. 30:3 (R.V. “Sheol”); 89:48 (R.V. “Sheol”, marg. grave). (Cp. Ps. 49:15). (2)
2. “hell”. Ps. 16:10 (R.V. “Sheol”); 86:13 (marg. grave. R.V. “pit”, marg. lowest Sheol). Prov. 23:14 (R.V. “Sheol”, marg. the grave). (3)

ii. “shachath” = a pit (for taking wild beasts); hence, a grave. The Septuagint and New Testament take it in the sense of corruption; but, if so, not implying putridity, but destruction. Occurs in six passages, and is rendered in two different ways :–

1. “pit”. Job 33:18, 28, 30. Ps. 35:7. Isa. 38:17. (5)
2. “grave”. Job 33:22 (R.V. “pit”). (1)

iii. “shuchah” = a deep pit (cp. all the occurrences, Prov. 22:14; 23:27. Jer. 2:6; 18:20, 22). In one passage only :–

1. Pit. Jer. 18:20. (1)

iv. “dumah” = silence. Ps. 94:17. (1)

Total = 754

(*1) It is used of the lower animals four times before it is used of man; and out of the first thirteen times in Genesis, it is used ten times of the lower animals.

I have decided to post some of the e-mails from the voluminous, dusty archives of the ongoing conversation between D.S. Martin and other friends and myself. Here is the next installment of: Quantum Contemplations: Dialog Fluctuating In Eternity

From: Scott Starr To: D.S. Martin Date: Fri, 26
May 2006 08:23:06 -0500

Well, I have gone fishing about every night this week. I have found some prime locations all right in or real close to the city. I had great luck yesterday in a dirty flood control pond off of Meridian and I-40- back behind the Waffle house. I am going camping this weekend out at an awesome lake I found near Geary an hour to the west. We need to get together and catch some….and finish figuring out the cosmos.

have decided to post some of the e-mails from the volumoinous, dusty archives of the ongoing conversation between D.S. Martin and myself. Here is the next installment.

From: Scott Starr To: D.S. Martin Date: Fri, 26
May 2006 08:23:06 -0500

Well, I have gone fishing about every night this week. I have found some prime locations all right in or real close to the city. I had great luck yesterday in a dirty flood control pond off of Meridian and I-40- back behind the Waffle house. I am going camping this weekend out at an awesome lake I found near Geary an hour to the west. We need to get together and catch some….and finish figuring out the cosmos.

>From: “D. S. Martin”
> >To: “Scott Starr”
> >Subject: RE:
> >Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:32:53 -0500
> >
> >Yeah. I have missed the give-n-take.
> >
> >I’m sure that you haven’t had time to see the Elegant Universe…or maybe
> >you did, at that prime fishing hole behind the waffle house.
> >
> >But, the first hour of the series talks about Albert Einstein’s desire to
> >find the “Theory of Everything” or the Grand Unification Theory. One of
> >the scientists stated that Einstein wanted to, and believed that he truly
> >could, “know the mind of God” and that was the essence of his desire.
> >
> >The reason that this series is so important to me is the “String Theory”.
> >This may be a philosophy more than a theory.
> >But, if it can be proven, or more accurately “Not disproven”, then this
> >allows for the likelihood that reality is made up of more than the 3
> >dimensional, or 4 dimensional if you include ‘Time’ (I believe you must
> >include time), universe that we perceive.
> >
> >Under String Theory there is the possibility of up to 16 separate
> >dimensions.
> >
> >I cannot even begin to imagine what a “Fifth dimension” might look like.
> >It’s like describing a symphony to someone who has never heard sound.
> >
> >If I were living 2,000 years ago and were to describe a God who lived and
> >operated outside of our space/time dimension. I might very well use the
> >same terms that are used in the bible. The “Carnal” would be space/time
> >oriented and spiritual would be oriented in the higher dimensions of
> >’String Theory’.
> >
> >Remember, you asked me if I thought that satan was limited to space/time
> >like we are. My answer was devolved from Job 1 and Lk 22:31. There, it
> >appears that satan is limited by space/time, in his dealings with the
> >creation. However, I also perceive that he is not flesh and blood. Paul
> >even goes so far as to warn the Ephesians,
> >
> >
> >Eph.6:12, ‘For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against
> >the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this
> >present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
> >places.’
> >So, under the idea of ‘String Theory’ we have the current universe
> >operating in space/time, but we also have higher levels of reality or
> >dimensions, continuing all the way up to the highest (sixteenth) level.
> >
> >This allows for faith, science, God, satan, angels, cherubim, seraphim,
> >many other unnamed & un-described beings living in dimensions somewhere
> >above us and yet somewhere beneath God.
> >Satan is obviously in a higher dimension than we are and yet he is just as
> >obviously somewhere beneath the dimension of God.
> >
> >String Theory may not make any spiritual claims de facto, but the
> >implications of 16 distinct dimensions are obvious to anyone, who may be
> >trying to make sense of the place and realm of mankind, satan, and God
> >(Yahweh).
> >
> >Consider also how we are forced to describe these “Higher” levels of
> >reality.
> >If I were to exist in one of those “Higher” levels of reality and the
> >Creator were to show deep love and devotion to some of the little peons
> >down in in the simple space/time dimension, I may just get a little peeved.
> > I may want to extract a “pound of flesh.”
> >
> >There are so many things that make sense if “String Theory” is found to be
> >true.
> >
> >DSM
> >
> >p.s. I’m still hacking away at the Cosmos.
> >p.p.s. This idea of the ‘String Theory’ also, not unexpectedly, flies in
> >the face of one of my other beliefs however. Under this theory,
> >mathematics, through a series of formulae, is able to answer all questions
> >about the seen and unseen universe.
> >I don’t like that. Ugh!

> From: masterkhuul@hotmail.com
> To: ccwman21@hotmail.com
> Subject: RE:
> Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 19:28:02 -0500
>
> Do you remember the old lesson about how it is mathematically impossible
> for a bee to fly?
>
> i was also discussing stuff along these lines the other day…and I was
> discussing some thoughts I had about the idea of an infinite universe. It
> was, ‘ I have never understood the idea of infinite space…I mean it would
> seem like space would still be expanding since it would never have reached a
> limit…there must be an edge or an envelope out there somewhere that is
> still moving outward…therefore space is in some sense finite.
> When i was at Waco I did an internship at the PBS station at Baylor.
> There was a nationwide lecturship series that was going to tour and put the
> finest minds of theology together with the finest minds of science. I was
> assigned to go and video tape the opening week of the dialogue…the series
> was launching from Baylor. The last day was a Friday and most of the
> students that had been attending as part of their classes were no longer
> required to attend…so the attendance dropped from about 700 to about 175.
> At the end they were going to take questions. They had people write their
> questions on slips of paper and put them in baskets. They were going to
> select five questions. I myself put in like five questions of my own. It
> is still a point of pride for me that three out of the five questions they
> selected to have the panel answer came from me..the humble camera man. I
> still remeber the moderator saying on my third question,” And for our last
> item today, we have another really excellent question!…”
>
> I don’t recall all of my questions but I still remember two:
>
> 1. Science has recently made some discoveries regarding serotonin and
> how it can produce religious type…or even hallucinogenic effects when it
> is released within the brain ( from things like meditation, fasting, sleep
> deprivation, stress etc.) , some scientists have even contended that
> serotonin is responsible for the advent of all spiritual and religious
> thought and insight, has theology come up with an answer or answers to these
> contentions?
>
> 2. For many years the “Big Bang Theory” has been the prevailing theory
> about the beginning of
> the cosmos…even theology has kind of hithced their wagon to the “Big Bang
> Theory”, saying, “OK who or what do you think caused the Big Bang but God?”
> Under this theory the universe was thought to be 12 to 14 billion years old
> and still expanding outward uniformly. When the Hubble telescope was
> recently brought online science discovered that sections of the universe
> appear to be older…like 16 to 20 billion years old…and moving in other
> directions. What have these discoveries done to and what do they imply for
> both science and theology?
>
> On the second question I was fishing for the answer, ” It means that
> none of us really know what the heck is going on.”
> Of course none of them were about to make such an admission. To this
> day this “anomoaly”has not been resolved…or talked about much. Science
> will never admit that they have no idea and theology resigns even asking the
> questions to “an issue of faith”.
> The third question had something to do with time and relativity - the theory
> being if you could exceed lightspeed time would cease to exist…and since
> we cannot explain anything without the measuring rods of timespace..is
> science or theology prepared or working on anything that could explain
> reality sans what we know as the timespace continuum as a point of
> reference. The answer was that some theories were being worked
> out…concerning black holes,,,string theories etc…but ultimately though
> time is restricted to our physical dimension…it cannot be discarded…blah
> blah blah…
>
> more later..I am home from my camping expedition with a few pounds of fish
> filets and a sunburn.

From DSM,

Here it is, if your interested in the relative age of the universe.

A quick approximation for the age of the Universe can be approximated by the inverse of the Hubble constant. The calculated age turns out to be

Current best estimates of h₀ are

so the Universe is most likely somewhere between 12 and 16 billion years old, at least according to this method of estimation.
But recall that according to relativity, time is relative. We can guess the amount of time likely to have elapsed since the time when time was a meaningful quantity that could be measured. But we can’t say anything about any processes that might have occurred before the notion of time made sense. In some sense, quantum gravity could be an eternal stage of the Universe, and the Big Bang could be regarded as the end of eternity and the beginning of time itself.

I like the end of eternity analysis.

But, it seems to me, it would only be the end of eternity for those of us who, may happen to be stuck in this quaint little space/time universe.

However, for the rest of us who exist, only temporarily in this temporally composed training facility, i.e. the Universe, we see eternity as still existing outside the bounds of this tiny, but ever increasing sphere.

Which leads to the question, can space eventually exceed or overtake eternity?

How much eternity exists beyond the bounds of space?

Is there a limited eternity, (maybe only 25 miles of eternity, that would certainly affect the effect of the title of the movie classic “From Here to Eternity”, kind of like “From here to Shawnee” or to keep it in tropical paridise “From Peral Harbor to Waimea Bay)?

Or is eternity always just beyond the reaches of space/time, (and well, we might say eternal and infinite)?

Scientists, often naively limit reality to only what is thought to be knowable, or at least may be tested by empirical (carnal) tests.

DSM

From S. Starr:

Subject: 5th dimension?
Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 09:24:16 -0500

http://www.deanradin.com/NewWeb/deanradin.html

From my Father H.Starr, Jr.

I looked up some Bible reference for you to ponder, There are numerous verses that mention the heavens and this isn’t all just a few, Acts 2: 34, Ephesians 4: 10, Heb 4: 23, and several in 2 Peter begining at 2 Pet. 3: 10, and finally one that reads third heaven 2 Cor. 12: 2. Again it could mean sometining totally different but it does give reason to ponder.

Acts 2:34
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
” ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand

Ephesians 4:10
10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

Hebrews 4:12-14
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

2nd Peter 3: 10-17

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]

11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Peter 3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up
2. 2 Peter 3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come

Winona LaDuke speaks on Genetic Engineering, Biodiversity and Decentralization: A view from the Native American perspective.

Watch HERE

Click the small arrow in the corner to stay on this page while watching.

I remember the first time I found this simple, yet hauntingly beautiful clip. I couldn’t stop watching it. The melancholy, yet powerful song stirred something deep within me. I have to admit it was a deep, painful longing for a world I had really never known. My eyes misted. I couldn’t stop watching it. I went and found the lyrics for it. here they are:

A Perfect Circle - A Stranger Lyrics

Cast the calming apple
Up and over satellites
To draw out the timid wild one
To convince you it’s alright
And I listen for the whisper
Of your sweet insanity
while I formulate
Denials of your affect on me

You’re a stranger
So what do I care
You vanish today
Not the first time I hear
All the lies

What am I to do with all this silence
Shy away, shy away phantom
Run away terrified child
Won’t you move away
you %$@#&*! tornado
I’m better off without you
Tearing my world down

_____________________________________________________

This song is very in tune with my brooding mood at this time.

Its hard to explain. The feeling is a sweet, painful, righteous, longing and sorrow. Feeling it feels… right… as in appropriate… in order. Because in feeling it I know that I cannot but move to the unction of things on my heart. It motivates me. And that feels good and right.

(S.S. says, “I read in the Daily Oklahoman last week that one bee keeper in Edmond, Okla. testifies that 11,000 of his 13,000 bee hives have died out this year.”)

Bonus reading HERE.

“Bees are vital to pollinating crops that feed us all. Without bees, and there is a worldwide shortage of bees, food supplies would begin to dwindle. The article mentions a statement from Albert Einstein who once said that if the bees disappeared “man would have only four years of life left”