"Sometimes God takes the disease away from the person.
Sometimes God takes the person away from the disease.
Both are miracles of healing."
~ spoken by a hospice visitor, name unknown
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Life Is a Journey
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, champagne in one hand ... strawberries in the other and screaming: 'Woo Hoo! What a ride!' "
Monday, August 15, 2011
The God of the Old Testment and the New Testament
response to a friend who found it hard to relate to the "harsh" God of the Old Testament as opposed to the more loving God of the New Testament:
If you remember raising your own children, you treated them differently at each stage of life. You disciplined them differently at 2 than at 15. Now that they are grown and are parents themselves, you relate to them in a new way, on a more equal basis.
I think it is the same with God. In the Old Testament the people did a lot of immature and destructive things, and God had to bail them out over and over and over again when they ended up in destitution, slavery, and poverty. As the people matured in their faith, God was able to relate to them on a higher level.
By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people had formed strong faith traditions and had overcome their tendency to worship pagan idols. At this time God appeared to them through Jesus Christ and told them to go to all nations and teach people about God and to bring the Kingdom of God on earth to every nation in the world, one soul at a time. Those who accepted this responsibility have been working for 2,000 years to bring the Kingdom of God to all nations and all souls, and today 2.1 billion people identify as Christians, 33% of the world's population.
source: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Unfortunately true Christianity has not completely changed the world yet. As Einstein said,
I believe all the social ills of humanity represent unfinished work that Christians are called to do -- to help and heal. It is a big responsibility but God wants us to help people as we have been helped.
God loves you like a good father. You are God's beloved son, created in the image of God and destined to be a blessing to the world.
~ Truthful Grace
If you remember raising your own children, you treated them differently at each stage of life. You disciplined them differently at 2 than at 15. Now that they are grown and are parents themselves, you relate to them in a new way, on a more equal basis.
I think it is the same with God. In the Old Testament the people did a lot of immature and destructive things, and God had to bail them out over and over and over again when they ended up in destitution, slavery, and poverty. As the people matured in their faith, God was able to relate to them on a higher level.
By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people had formed strong faith traditions and had overcome their tendency to worship pagan idols. At this time God appeared to them through Jesus Christ and told them to go to all nations and teach people about God and to bring the Kingdom of God on earth to every nation in the world, one soul at a time. Those who accepted this responsibility have been working for 2,000 years to bring the Kingdom of God to all nations and all souls, and today 2.1 billion people identify as Christians, 33% of the world's population.
source: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Unfortunately true Christianity has not completely changed the world yet. As Einstein said,
“If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity. It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can.”
(Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York, Bonanza Books, 1954, 184-185).
source: www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html as of 8/2011
I believe all the social ills of humanity represent unfinished work that Christians are called to do -- to help and heal. It is a big responsibility but God wants us to help people as we have been helped.
God loves you like a good father. You are God's beloved son, created in the image of God and destined to be a blessing to the world.
~ Truthful Grace
Decreasing Worry and Psychological Stress
A recent study also says that those who trust in a benevolent, loving God report "significant decreases in worry and psychological stress."
Interesting idea: If a person has been cruelly taught that God hates them and wants to punish them, choosing to believe that God doesn't exist might decrease their worry and psychological stress. However, it would not give them the help and comfort and peace that knowledge of a benevolent God would give.
~ Truthful Grace
Interesting idea: If a person has been cruelly taught that God hates them and wants to punish them, choosing to believe that God doesn't exist might decrease their worry and psychological stress. However, it would not give them the help and comfort and peace that knowledge of a benevolent God would give.
~ Truthful Grace
This is What Redemption Means
"Again and again the Gospels note that Jeus withdrew 'to the mountain' to spend nights in prayer 'alone' with his Father. These short passages are fundamental for our understanding of Jesus; they lift the veil of mystery just a little; they give us a glimpse into Jesus' filial existence, into the source from which his action and teaching and suffering sprang. This 'praying' of Jesus is the Son conversing with the Father; Jesus' human consciousness and will, his human soul, is taken up into that exchange, and in this way human 'praying' is able to become a participation in this filial communion with the Father." . . .
"We have said that in Jesus' filial communion with the Father, his human soul is also taken up into the act of praying. He who sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9) The disciple who walks with Jesus is thus caught up with him into communion with God. And that is what redemption means: this stepping beyond the limits of human nature, which had been there as a possibility and an expectation in man, God's image and likeness, since the moment of creation."
Jesus of Nazareth, by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benefict XVI, Doubleday, New York, 2007, p. 7-8
"We have said that in Jesus' filial communion with the Father, his human soul is also taken up into the act of praying. He who sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9) The disciple who walks with Jesus is thus caught up with him into communion with God. And that is what redemption means: this stepping beyond the limits of human nature, which had been there as a possibility and an expectation in man, God's image and likeness, since the moment of creation."
Jesus of Nazareth, by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benefict XVI, Doubleday, New York, 2007, p. 7-8
Rude People
When people are rude to you and you are rude back, they never remember that they were rude to you first. They only remember that you were rude back.
~ Truthful Grace
~ Truthful Grace
Xenophobia, Paranoia, and Narcissism
definitions from various dictionaries:
Xenophobia
1 : fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign
2 : fear or wariness of people with whom a person is not familiar
Paranoia
1 : fear (and expectation) of attack and betrayal, resulting in avoidance of tenderness and intimacy
2 : a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others
3 : an unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions, and resulting in constant suspicions of the motives of those around them and belief that certain individuals, or people in general, are "out to get them"
4 : a way to uphold the narcissist's grandiosity, to prove how important and feared he is
5 : a way to fend off intimacy that exposes his weaknesses, shortcomings, and deep buried emotions - hurt, envy, anger, aggression
Narcissism
1 : egoism, egocentrism
2 : love of or sexual desire for one's own body
3 : excessive preoccupation with self and lack of empathy for others
4 : feelings of shame or humiliation, depression, and mania
5 : dependence upon external stimuli - adoration, adulation, affirmation, applause, notoriety, fame, infamy, and, in general, attention of any kind
Psychologists suspect that the cause of narcissism is severe mental or physical pain in childhood at the hands of a powerful, idealized mother-father figure.
Coping Mechanisms
* splitting (seeing things as black-white, good-bad, weak-strong)
* projection (accusing others of having the disowned aspects of your self)
* ignoring the future consequences of their actions
* ritualized behavior
All sin comes from the failure to love.
Jesus Christ:
Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount NRSV
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luke 17:1-6 NRSV "You Must Forgive"
1 Jesus said to his disciples, "Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! 2 It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. 4 And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, 'I repent,' you must forgive."
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
Exodus 22 NRSV
21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 23 NRSV
12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.
Leviticus 19 NRSV
10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19 NRSV
33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.
34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Numbers 15 NRSV
14 An alien who lives with you, or who takes up permanent residence among you, and wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD, shall do as you do.
15 As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the LORD.
16 You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.
Deuteronomy 1 NRSV
16 I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien."
Deuteronomy 10 NRSV
19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 23 NRSV
7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land.
Deuteronomy 24 NRSV
17 You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge.
Deuteronomy 27 NRSV
19 "Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice." All the people shall say, "Amen!"
Jeremiah 7 NRSV
5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
Jeremiah 22 NRSV
3 Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
Zechariah 7 NRSV
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
Matthew 25 NRSV
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
God's Everlasting Covenant with David
2 Samuel 7:1-17 NRSV
8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Xenophobia
1 : fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign
2 : fear or wariness of people with whom a person is not familiar
Paranoia
1 : fear (and expectation) of attack and betrayal, resulting in avoidance of tenderness and intimacy
2 : a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others
3 : an unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions, and resulting in constant suspicions of the motives of those around them and belief that certain individuals, or people in general, are "out to get them"
4 : a way to uphold the narcissist's grandiosity, to prove how important and feared he is
5 : a way to fend off intimacy that exposes his weaknesses, shortcomings, and deep buried emotions - hurt, envy, anger, aggression
Narcissism
1 : egoism, egocentrism
2 : love of or sexual desire for one's own body
3 : excessive preoccupation with self and lack of empathy for others
4 : feelings of shame or humiliation, depression, and mania
5 : dependence upon external stimuli - adoration, adulation, affirmation, applause, notoriety, fame, infamy, and, in general, attention of any kind
Psychologists suspect that the cause of narcissism is severe mental or physical pain in childhood at the hands of a powerful, idealized mother-father figure.
"Freud used the phrase “the narcissism of small differences” to describe the work of British anthropologist Ernest Crawley. Crawley discovered that groups with greater degrees of similarity would often treat each other with greater degrees of enmity and aggression than strangers. Indeed, the people most similar to us upset us the most, because we expect them to be exactly like us, and are disappointed when they aren’t. (Which is why it shouldn’t be a surprise that in the Book of Genesis, sibling conflict is the virulent and frequent. Siblings are the ones most like ourselves, and therefore the people most capable of inspiring the narcissism of small differences)."
http://chaimsteinmetz.blogspot.com/2009/08/why-jews-fight-why-your-kindly-uncle-is.html
Coping Mechanisms
* splitting (seeing things as black-white, good-bad, weak-strong)
* projection (accusing others of having the disowned aspects of your self)
* ignoring the future consequences of their actions
* ritualized behavior
All sin comes from the failure to love.
Jesus Christ:
Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount NRSV
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luke 17:1-6 NRSV "You Must Forgive"
1 Jesus said to his disciples, "Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! 2 It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. 4 And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, 'I repent,' you must forgive."
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
Exodus 22 NRSV
21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 23 NRSV
12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.
Leviticus 19 NRSV
10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19 NRSV
33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.
34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Numbers 15 NRSV
14 An alien who lives with you, or who takes up permanent residence among you, and wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD, shall do as you do.
15 As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the LORD.
16 You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.
Deuteronomy 1 NRSV
16 I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien."
Deuteronomy 10 NRSV
19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 23 NRSV
7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land.
Deuteronomy 24 NRSV
17 You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge.
Deuteronomy 27 NRSV
19 "Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice." All the people shall say, "Amen!"
Jeremiah 7 NRSV
5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
Jeremiah 22 NRSV
3 Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
Zechariah 7 NRSV
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
Matthew 25 NRSV
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
God's Everlasting Covenant with David
2 Samuel 7:1-17 NRSV
8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
A Plentitude of Top Predators?
This is weird! Wonder what it implies about humans???
"Biomass boomed over 460 percent, with carnivores increasing 4 times and top predators increasing 11 times. The plentitude of top predators is a hallmark sign of a healthy ecosystem."
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/197624/20110814/underwater-california-baja-conservation-marine-park.htm
‘No Take’ Policy Works Wonders at Mexican Marine Park
By IBTimes Staff Reporter | August 14, 2011 7:47 PM EDT
A “no take” policy, which prohibits fishing and other extractive activities, has worked wonders at a Mexican marine park.
Just 15 years ago, the Cabo Pulmo National Park area in Mexico was devastated by overfishing. The large predators were gone and there were only medium sized fishes left.
Now, marine life is thriving so much that the 71-square-kilometer area is almost like a pristine environment left untouched by mankind, according to a 10-year study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, which published its findings in the “Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE” journal.
Large fish species now found in the park include parrotfish, groupers, snappers, and even sharks.
The scientists first measured the biomass of the park in 1999, a few year after the “no take” policy took place, and did not notice a dramatic change.
However, by 2009, the park almost made a full-fledged recovery. Biomass boomed over 460 percent, with carnivores increasing 4 times and top predators increasing 11 times. The plentitude of top predators is a hallmark sign of a healthy ecosystem.
"Biomass boomed over 460 percent, with carnivores increasing 4 times and top predators increasing 11 times. The plentitude of top predators is a hallmark sign of a healthy ecosystem."
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/197624/20110814/underwater-california-baja-conservation-marine-park.htm
‘No Take’ Policy Works Wonders at Mexican Marine Park
By IBTimes Staff Reporter | August 14, 2011 7:47 PM EDT
A “no take” policy, which prohibits fishing and other extractive activities, has worked wonders at a Mexican marine park.
Just 15 years ago, the Cabo Pulmo National Park area in Mexico was devastated by overfishing. The large predators were gone and there were only medium sized fishes left.
Now, marine life is thriving so much that the 71-square-kilometer area is almost like a pristine environment left untouched by mankind, according to a 10-year study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, which published its findings in the “Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE” journal.
Large fish species now found in the park include parrotfish, groupers, snappers, and even sharks.
The scientists first measured the biomass of the park in 1999, a few year after the “no take” policy took place, and did not notice a dramatic change.
However, by 2009, the park almost made a full-fledged recovery. Biomass boomed over 460 percent, with carnivores increasing 4 times and top predators increasing 11 times. The plentitude of top predators is a hallmark sign of a healthy ecosystem.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
50 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in God
http://www.adherents.com/people/100_Nobel.html
Tihomir Dimitrov's online book of quotations 50 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in God (2007) is mostly about scientists, although it also features sections about non-scientist Nobel Prize winners. The book can be found at http://nobelists.net/
The author's website describes the book: "This book is an anthology of well-documented quotations. It is a free e-book."
It should be noted that 50 Nobel Laureates is written primarily for inspirational purposes and is not intended to be a source of detailed or balanced biographical data. Nevertheless, the book is a treasure trove of interesting information. Also note that the author's criteria for including Nobel Laureates who "believe in God" does not imply a specific type of belief or adherence to any specific religious group or denomination. The individuals included in the book represent a wide range of religious beliefs, religious affiliation, and religious practice.
50 Nobel Laureates includes this chapter on Albert Einstein:
1. ALBERT EINSTEIN – NOBEL LAUREATE IN PHYSICS
Nobel Prize: Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to Quantum Theory and for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Einstein is one of the founders of modern physics; he is the author of the Theory of Relativity. According to the world media (Reuters, December 2000) Einstein is “the personality of the second millennium.”
Nationality: German; later Swiss and American citizen
Education: Ph.D. in physics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, 1905
Occupation: Patent Examiner in the Swiss Patent Office, Bern, 1902-1908; Professor of Physics at the Universities of Zurich, Prague, Bern, and Princeton, NJ.
♦♦♦ Quotes ♦♦♦
1. “I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” (Einstein, as cited in Ronald Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times, London, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1973, 33).
2. “We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books, but doesn’t know what it is.
That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a Universe marvellously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations.” (Einstein, as cited in Denis Brian, Einstein: A Life, New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1996, 186).
3. “If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity. It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can.” (Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York, Bonanza Books, 1954, 184-185).
4. “After all, haven’t the differences between Jew and Christian been overexaggerated by fanatics on both sides? We both are living under God’s approval, and nurture almost identical spiritual capacities. Jew or Gentile, bond or free, all are God’s own.” (Einstein, as cited in H.G. Garbedian, Albert Einstein: Maker of Universes, New York, Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1939, 267).
5. “Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a Spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe – a Spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.” (Einstein 1936, as cited in Dukas and Hoffmann, Albert Einstein: The Human Side, Princeton University Press, 1979, 33).
6. “The deeper one penetrates into nature’s secrets, the greater becomes one’s respect for God.” (Einstein, as cited in Brian 1996, 119).
7. “The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior Reasoning Power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible Universe, forms my idea of God.” (Einstein, as cited in Libby Anfinsen 1995).
8. “My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior Spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality.” (Einstein 1936, as cited in Dukas and Hoffmann 1979, 66).
9. “The more I study science the more I believe in God.” (Einstein, as cited in Holt 1997).
10. Max Jammer (Professor Emeritus of Physics and author of the biographical book Einstein and Religion, 2002) claims that Einstein’s well-known dictum, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” can serve as an epitome and quintessence of Einstein’s religious philosophy. (Jammer 2002; Einstein 1967, 30).
11. “The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to us in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition. It is a very high goal which, with our weak powers, we can reach only very inadequately, but which gives a sure foundation to our aspirations and valuations.” (Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years, New Jersey, Littlefield, Adams and Co., 1967, 27).
12. “In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.” (Einstein, as cited in Clark 1973, 400; and Jammer 2002, 97).
13. Concerning the fanatical atheists Einstein pointed out:
“Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who – in their grudge against the traditional ‘opium for the people’ – cannot bear the music of the spheres. The Wonder of nature does not become smaller because one cannot measure it by the standards of human moral and human aims.” (Einstein, as cited in Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology, Princeton University Press, 2002, 97).
14. “True religion is real living – living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness” (Einstein, as cited in Garbedian 1939, 267).
15. “Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality or intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a higher order.
… This firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior Mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God.” (Einstein 1973, 255).
16. “Strenuous intellectual work and the study of God’s Nature are the angels that will lead me through all the troubles of this life with consolation, strength, and uncompromising rigor.” (Einstein, as cited in Calaprice 2000, ch. 1).
17. Einstein’s attitude towards Jesus Christ was expressed in an interview, which the great scientist gave to the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post (26 October 1929):
“- To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?
- As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.
- Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?
- Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.
- You accept the historical Jesus?
- Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.” (Einstein, as cited in Viereck 1929; see also Einstein, as cited in the German magazine Geisteskampf der Gegenwart, Guetersloh, 1930, S. 235).
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
http://nobelists.net/
Tihomir Dimitrov's online book of quotations 50 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in God (2007) is mostly about scientists, although it also features sections about non-scientist Nobel Prize winners. The book can be found at http://nobelists.net/
The author's website describes the book: "This book is an anthology of well-documented quotations. It is a free e-book."
It should be noted that 50 Nobel Laureates is written primarily for inspirational purposes and is not intended to be a source of detailed or balanced biographical data. Nevertheless, the book is a treasure trove of interesting information. Also note that the author's criteria for including Nobel Laureates who "believe in God" does not imply a specific type of belief or adherence to any specific religious group or denomination. The individuals included in the book represent a wide range of religious beliefs, religious affiliation, and religious practice.
50 Nobel Laureates includes this chapter on Albert Einstein:
1. ALBERT EINSTEIN – NOBEL LAUREATE IN PHYSICS
Nobel Prize: Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to Quantum Theory and for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Einstein is one of the founders of modern physics; he is the author of the Theory of Relativity. According to the world media (Reuters, December 2000) Einstein is “the personality of the second millennium.”
Nationality: German; later Swiss and American citizen
Education: Ph.D. in physics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, 1905
Occupation: Patent Examiner in the Swiss Patent Office, Bern, 1902-1908; Professor of Physics at the Universities of Zurich, Prague, Bern, and Princeton, NJ.
♦♦♦ Quotes ♦♦♦
1. “I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” (Einstein, as cited in Ronald Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times, London, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1973, 33).
2. “We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books, but doesn’t know what it is.
That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a Universe marvellously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations.” (Einstein, as cited in Denis Brian, Einstein: A Life, New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1996, 186).
3. “If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity. It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can.” (Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York, Bonanza Books, 1954, 184-185).
4. “After all, haven’t the differences between Jew and Christian been overexaggerated by fanatics on both sides? We both are living under God’s approval, and nurture almost identical spiritual capacities. Jew or Gentile, bond or free, all are God’s own.” (Einstein, as cited in H.G. Garbedian, Albert Einstein: Maker of Universes, New York, Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1939, 267).
5. “Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a Spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe – a Spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.” (Einstein 1936, as cited in Dukas and Hoffmann, Albert Einstein: The Human Side, Princeton University Press, 1979, 33).
6. “The deeper one penetrates into nature’s secrets, the greater becomes one’s respect for God.” (Einstein, as cited in Brian 1996, 119).
7. “The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior Reasoning Power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible Universe, forms my idea of God.” (Einstein, as cited in Libby Anfinsen 1995).
8. “My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior Spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality.” (Einstein 1936, as cited in Dukas and Hoffmann 1979, 66).
9. “The more I study science the more I believe in God.” (Einstein, as cited in Holt 1997).
10. Max Jammer (Professor Emeritus of Physics and author of the biographical book Einstein and Religion, 2002) claims that Einstein’s well-known dictum, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” can serve as an epitome and quintessence of Einstein’s religious philosophy. (Jammer 2002; Einstein 1967, 30).
11. “The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to us in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition. It is a very high goal which, with our weak powers, we can reach only very inadequately, but which gives a sure foundation to our aspirations and valuations.” (Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years, New Jersey, Littlefield, Adams and Co., 1967, 27).
12. “In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.” (Einstein, as cited in Clark 1973, 400; and Jammer 2002, 97).
13. Concerning the fanatical atheists Einstein pointed out:
“Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who – in their grudge against the traditional ‘opium for the people’ – cannot bear the music of the spheres. The Wonder of nature does not become smaller because one cannot measure it by the standards of human moral and human aims.” (Einstein, as cited in Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology, Princeton University Press, 2002, 97).
14. “True religion is real living – living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness” (Einstein, as cited in Garbedian 1939, 267).
15. “Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality or intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a higher order.
… This firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior Mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God.” (Einstein 1973, 255).
16. “Strenuous intellectual work and the study of God’s Nature are the angels that will lead me through all the troubles of this life with consolation, strength, and uncompromising rigor.” (Einstein, as cited in Calaprice 2000, ch. 1).
17. Einstein’s attitude towards Jesus Christ was expressed in an interview, which the great scientist gave to the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post (26 October 1929):
“- To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?
- As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.
- Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?
- Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.
- You accept the historical Jesus?
- Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.” (Einstein, as cited in Viereck 1929; see also Einstein, as cited in the German magazine Geisteskampf der Gegenwart, Guetersloh, 1930, S. 235).
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
http://nobelists.net/
Healthy Affirmations
Healthy Affirmations
- it's only hard, not impossible
- today is the best place to be
- expectations are premeditated resentments
- if I don't take care of me, I can't take care of you
- learning to be comfortable when it's not all about me
- let it begin with me
- life is messy — roll up your sleeves
- progress — not perfection
- speak gently and carry a big present
- your opinion of me is none of my business
Thera-Wear© 2005 Copyright
www.thera-wear.com
- it's only hard, not impossible
- today is the best place to be
- expectations are premeditated resentments
- if I don't take care of me, I can't take care of you
- learning to be comfortable when it's not all about me
- let it begin with me
- life is messy — roll up your sleeves
- progress — not perfection
- speak gently and carry a big present
- your opinion of me is none of my business
Thera-Wear© 2005 Copyright
www.thera-wear.com
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
A Positive Attitude
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
~ Author Unknown
~ Author Unknown
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