Divine Action In The Framework Of Scientific Knowledge
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Divine Action in the Framework of Scientific Knowledge
Author: Christoph Lameter
language: en
Publisher: Christianity in 21st Century
Release Date: 2005-01-01
Most theologians stopped claiming that God could act in the universe during the Enlightenment because the world was envisioned to be completely describable and governed by scientific laws. Surprisingly the development of quantum theory has resulted in the discovery of limits to causality. The universe is now no longer considered to be a closed system and therefore an account of divine action compatible with scientific theories might be possible.First, the concept of divine intervention as envisioned in the nineteenth century is investigated and a survey of the development of quantum theory is provided. The disputes on the interpretation of quantum theory and the issues coming with the measurement problem are noted. It is suggested that the controversy continues because the straightforward acceptance of quantum theory—as already suggested by John von Neumann in 1932—would imply a connection between mind and matter and question the notion of an objective, observer independent universe. It is shown using the literature on quantum theory that other solutions to the measurement problem are questionable on scientific grounds alone. Henry Stapp's recent rearticulation of von Neumann's ideas and his integration with Werner Heisenberg's thought is then selected as a promising basis for a theory of divine action.Existing theories of divine action are investigated from William James's idea of an indeterministic universe to the contemporary approaches by Robert Russell and Nancey Murphy. Contemporary proposals are based on the notion of quantum events. A search is made for a scientific basis for quantum events but it is found that none of the interpretations of quantum theory would be compatible with the idea of quantum events in other contemporary quantum divine action proposals.Finally, a new theory of divine action is proposed. Divine action is conceived of as a holistic act, analogous to Stapp's understanding of personal agency, through quantum determination. The universe (understood to be represented by a wave function) is creating potentialities that are then collapsed by a consciousness. These consciousnesses could be the minds of humans or the mind of God. Therefore the universe is proposed to function not as a mechanism but—as also suggested by Karl Heim—like an interactive communication medium.
Divine Action and the Human Mind
Author: Sarah Lane Ritchie
language: en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date: 2019-07-25
Is the human mind uniquely nonphysical or even spiritual, such that divine intentions can meet physical realities? As scholars in science and religion have spent decades attempting to identify a 'causal joint' between God and the natural world, human consciousness has been often privileged as just such a locus of divine-human interaction. However, this intuitively dualistic move is both out of step with contemporary science and theologically insufficient. By discarding the God-nature model implied by contemporary noninterventionist divine action theories, one is freed up to explore theological and metaphysical alternatives for understanding divine action in the mind. Sarah Lane Ritchie suggests that a theologically robust theistic naturalism offers a more compelling vision of divine action in the mind. By affirming that to be fully natural is to be involved with God's active presence, one may affirm divine action not only in the human mind, but throughout the natural world.
The Boundless Love of God
Author: E. Stan Lennard M.D. Sc.D.
language: en
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Release Date: 2019-06-18
The Boundless Love of God: A Holy Spirit Story E. Stan Lennard, M.D., Sc.D. Christianity is evidence based, and this book innovatively shows concordance between Scriptural narratives and applications from the neurosciences that speak to personal interaction between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit and soul through the synaptic networks of the brain. Direct and personal communion with the Holy Spirit is restored when one accepts the New Covenant of the Gospel in repentance. It was given by the grace and boundless love of God for Man through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This book tells the story of the redemption of fallen mankind by the work and power of the Holy Spirit. It is a common belief in the Church that personal, direct communion from the Holy Spirit to mankind ceased at the closure of the Canon of Scripture. The information presented in this book shows that interaction between the Holy Spirit and the mind of man enabled by the human spirit is bidirectional and continues in our time. Evidence is presented from theological and scientific resources that confirms dualist interaction between the immaterial mind and the physical brain of man. It further substantiates personal, direct interaction between the Holy Spirit and the mind of human beings. The model for study used in this book is the neural synaptic network and incorporates the microsite hypothesis of Nobel laureate Sir John C. Eccles. Dualist interaction proposed by Eccles has been increasingly substantiated by contemporary theologians and investigators in the neurosciences and information theory, building on advances in quantum wave theory. The author addresses the mechanism for dualist interaction involving probabilistic quantum tunneling across synaptic clefts. Specified information with meaning and purpose actualized within neural codes is transmitted within spike trains of action potentials distributed through synaptic networks. The trigger for initiating spike trains is postulated as an immaterial energy source by which the Holy Spirit communicates with the mind of man. Through a lifetime of learning archived in memory, the cognitive mind of humans interprets neural codes enabled by their unique capacity for language. Communication from the Holy Spirit or other human minds as senders to human minds as recipients draws upon current understandings of information theory. Evidence presented in this book provides a compelling rationale for the reality of bidirectional communion with the living, personal Holy Spirit in our time. That Jesus Christ indwells those who accept his truth as a personal, living Spirit is confirmation of the promise in John 14:15–21. Interaction with God by his atoning grace through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit gives receptive mankind hope and counsel today and into eternity to His glory.