CUE ORG For Better Education And Information

Removing the Stumbling Block for Theism

Philip Clayton is an advocate for a view of the universe that is dynamic and always evolving. In a word, he is an “emergentist.”

Since graduating from Yale University in 1986 with a joint doctoral degree in philosophy and religious studies, Clayton has devoted his academic career to a bringing the worlds of science and religion closer together. His interest in emergence dates back to the mid-1990s when he began to think about how God relates to the world, and his research culminated in the book Mind and Emergence (2004).

Clayton is Ingraham Professor of Theology at Claremont School of Theology and a professor of philosophy and of religion at Claremont Graduate University, both in California. During the 2006-07 academic year, he will be a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School.

Science & Theology News acquisitions editor Matt Donnelly asked Clayton about why the emergence of new entities in the universe is important, how he responds to skeptics of emergence research, and what emergence theorists should do to earn a place at the table with the mainstream scientific community.

Q: What is emergence, and why is it important?

A: Emergence represents a unique philosophical paradigm with roots going back well into Western history. It assumes, first, the primacy of process: Reality is not static but in continual change or development.

Its second assumption is ontological novelty ongoing evolution produces genuinely new things. Finally, it assumes that distinct levels of reality emerge. Reality doesn’t consist merely of fundamental particles and forces. In it we can distinguish distinct levels that, though codependent, each of which manifests its own patterns and distinct forms of causation.

Q: What accounts for the growing popularity of emergence?

A: There are two reasons for the explosion of the interest in emergence and for the growth of this new field called emergence studies. With the advent of the New Synthesis in biology in the 1930s and 40s, and the discovery of the structure of DNA in the 50s, reductionism seemed to have won the day. But subsequent decades brought home the limitations to the reductionist model, as I tried to show in Mind and Emergence.

The second reason concerns recent developments in biological research. The formation of high-level centers for systems biology, at Harvard and elsewhere, has produced accounts of cell functioning previously unavailable. Scientists are now tracing the complex interplay of genetic and environmental causes. They’re identifying the effects of feedback mechanisms within the cell, the epigenetic triggering mechanisms for gene expression. We’re learning that the entire natural world works by similar processes of interaction, for which “emergence” is a shorthand description. And you can recognize analogous but not identical patterns in the emergence of classical physics from quantum physics, in the phenomenon of superconductivity in solid-state physics, and elsewhere.

Q: How did you become interested in emergence?

A: Through the divine action debate. As early as 1977 I had started to work on religion and science questions. In the early 90s I began to get involved with the [Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences] programs. [CTNS founder and director] Bob Russell’s interest has always been to see whether a place can be found for divine action in the context of mainline science.

The concept of emergence was just beginning to get significant attention in the early 90s. At that time philosophers were mostly siding with “weak” emergence, using the concept of supervenience.

By the time the biology and evolution volume in the Vatican/CTNS series was published [in 1998], I began to recognize that there was a problem and where the solution might lie. The problem was the attempt to locate divine action primarily in the context of physics as if the standard ways of conceiving the world in physical theory could provide the framework necessary for speaking of divine action. The entire approach began to seem increasingly problematic.

Q: Astrobiologist Paul Davies has said that emergent properties are scientifically useless unless they do something. Do you agree with him?

A: Paul’s program represents the crucial first step in what for the science-and-religion debate must in the end be four different research programs. Step one is to identify specific instances of emergent phenomena in the natural world and to test the claims about them scientifically. Step two is to extend that same logic beyond the point at which Paul Davies’ sorts of tests are applicable, that is, to look for analogous forms of emergence in areas of the natural world where emergent laws are harder to identify. The third step is to work out a rigorous philosophical theory of emergence across the various levels of reality. Only then can we use the results to relate the various religious traditions to the natural world in a new way using this concept.

Q: What’s the relationship between emergence and evolution?

A: I’m very uncomfortable with attempts to divorce emergence theory from biology. And the only scientific biology available today stems from the work of Darwin, though Darwin’s insights have obviously been modified in many respects. I would like to suggest that emergence first be understood as a way of understanding biological evolution more deeply and not as a competitor to it.

This approach makes emergence a theory of how, over the course of natural history, more complex entities and systems evolved from simpler ones. As a research program it’s to be sharply distinguished from the programs of Richard Dawkins and other genetic reductionists. Our claim is that it offers the empirically more adequate account of how natural selection has actually proceeded. Developments within the biological sciences over the last several decades provide strong evidence, I think, that a one-sidedly genetic account of evolution is mistaken.

Q: Emergence has a few rivals, such as biologist Stuart Kauffman’s self-organization theory on the one side and intelligent design on the other, which are competing ways to explain the world that don’t necessarily use the term “emergence.” How do you evaluate these competitors?

A: There were several clear competitors that didn’t in the end produce sufficient empirical results. One thinks of early systems theory, information theory and some of the bolder self-organization theories. Stuart Kauffman, however, is not a rival but an ally. For example, last year he and I co-wrote an article for Biology and Philosophy in which we endorse an emergentist model of the first self-reproducing cell.

Intelligent design represents an interesting question. It is not necessarily a rival with regard to the science itself. Rather it’s a rival in claiming that a certain metaphysics, in this case the existence of an intelligent designer, is somehow built into the scientific results. By contrast, emergentists maintain that only after one has studied the phenomena of emergence in natural history scientifically can one then move on to the metaphysical question, “So, how is all this best explained in metaphysical terms?” One may or may not then hold that theism offers the best final overall explanation.

Q: What is the best way to explain emergence from within a religious context?

A: There are at least four possibilities: religious naturalism, radically emergentist theism, process theology and some form of classical theism such as Trinitarian theology.

Q: Does emergence make one of those possibilities more likely?

A: It’s unfortunate that many people writing on emergence are reticent even to explore the metaphysical or theological implications of the scientific data. I see two opposite mistakes. Some view metaphysics in Kantian fashion, as lying beyond the pale of human reason, and they dismiss it with a sneer on their lips. Others brashly jump to God from certain scientific results, as if science wore its metaphysics on its sleeve. In between those who dismiss all speculations about the implications of emergence as unfounded and those who try to derive a metaphysic directly from the data of emergent complexity are those scholars who are ready to explore the subtleties of the middle positions.

What we need are sophisticated studies that explore the interplay between theological hypothesizing and scientific hypothesizing, between grand metaphysical theories and the best scientific explanations we have.

Q: You recently wrote, “Science in the age of emergence is beginning to remove the blinders that once made it antagonistic to spiritual realities.” Does this reflect a new openness between science and religion?

A: Yes. During much of its modern history, science has been dominated by the paradigm of reduction. Emergence represents an important modification though I won’t say the elimination of that paradigm. If reductionism were true, theism could be at best a leap of faith, one that would always stand in tension with the best scientific accounts of the world. If emergence theories are right, then at least that one stumbling block for theism has been removed. Emergence will not prove the existence of a god of any kind, but it does make believing in God, and relating that belief to science, a more viable and, I believe, a more attractive endeavor.

Matt Donnelly is acquisitions editor at Science & Theology News.

April 13th, 2008

Meaning and Marketing - The Will

You are now inside one of the top theological schools in the world and you are sitting in Dr. John Hobbs’ Class on Theology with first year Freshman students. The seminary is reformed, protestant, Christian and is located in the south of the USA.

Do you know where you are now? Do you like being here? If not, you know what to do.

Dr. Hobbs is a phenomenon in himself. You don’t have to know the fear of the Lord in his classroom because you are afraid already.

Dr. Hobbs surveys the back seats in the classroom and makes an announcement. “I notice that some of you were not in class last week. If you don’t think I’ll flunk you, just check the archives of this seminary.”

Dr. Hobbs does not tolerate nonsense in any way and he is unsympathetic when it comes to grades and excuses.

He is in his fifties and has bad arthritis. His skin is very white and pale and you wonder how the man is even living. He speaks with a deep southern accent, but his voice is crystal clear.

Somehow we are on the subject of Creation:

“Why did God create the world?” intones Dr. Hobbs, and he doesn’t wait for an answer. “Because He willed to create it.”

“Why does the world continue to exist?” “Because He Wills for it to continue to exist.”

As for the WILL, most of the students in the Classroom don’t even know what that is and probably could care less. They just want to get out of Class in a hurry because they already have what counts - luv, joy, peace, etc. They got Jesus in their hearts. They know that, or some of them do, and that’s all that matters.

“Jesus, Jesus! You know how much we luv you. But whatever you do, please, please, please - don’t ask us to think.” Is that why we are here?

The top Marketers, the biggest money makers, are always ready to remind us of two things:

(1) You would if you could…

(2) You can if you will…

And they are absolutely right. If you think about it- Dr. Hobbs and the Marketers are saying exactly the same thing, but for a different end and a different reason.

The WESTMINSTER CATECHISM: “What is the chief end of Man?” (Assume “Women” are included)

Now listen, not to the Classical Answer, but to Dr. Hobbs’ paraphrase or his own rendition of the answer - “The Glory of God is a human being FULLY ALIVE!”

What does it mean for you to be FULLY ALIVE?

Go ahead… Fill in the blank and answer the question:_________________________

How do you like your answer? Does it fit you like a suit? If not, do you want to change it? Go ahead and change it, if you want to.

Have you got your answer now? If not, you are making excuses. Go ahead and just tell yourself what would it mean for you to be FULLY ALIVE and write your answer down on a sheet of paper.

Even if you don’t know your answer, go ahead and venture a hunch or a guess. There is nothing wrong with that. No venture, no gain.

The Creator Himself/Herself/Itself - I AM - He/She/It loves answers that are shortsighted because it is better to be shortsighted than to have no sight at all. The Creator - the Great I AM - will honor your courage as you attempt to define for yourself, what it would mean for you to be Fully Alive, what it would mean for you to be YOU.

It is better to want something, even if it falls short, than to want nothing at all, and you end up doing nothing and learning nothing. It’s even better to sell yourself short than to not sell yourself at all. At least you are trying and doing your best and sometimes your worst, but your Creator - I AM - will honor your efforts and commend you for them no matter what the results.

The Creator has placed in you the WILL to be and when you exercise that Will as an artist, a scientist, a designer, or as a Marketer - you are being a Co-Creator with I AM and there is nothing better, nothing more fulfilling on earth.

Okay! You have now defined yourself and stated for yourself what it would mean for you to be fully alive, truly fulfilled, what it would mean for you to be YOU.

Great! Congratulations!

Now, how do you get to that? How do you become that?

I AM wants you to be Fully Alive. So do I. So do you. Now let’s get the job done. Can if be done, can it get done? Yes, it can, if you want to.

Do you want to? If Yes, then let’s get moving.

And you know how much power you have, don’t you? If not, you can go back and read Meaning and Marketing: The Eye of the Storm. How much Power did Patricia Smith have and how did I AM use that power?

She had the Power to give birth to a Brand New Universe and She became ONE with her Creator in the process. Charlie now has a new playground, if he wants to. He will soon find himself dancing among the stars.

Do you believe all this? You can if you want to. Do you want to? Do you want to dare to wish upon a star? If so, our next step is to find a way:

How to access that Power, how to tap into that inexhaustible supply of sheer energy, that is the fuel we seek in order to become FULLY ALIVE, which is to get and to receive what we really want and what we really deserve.

In the next Lesson - Meaning and Marketing - The Links! - I will show you a way to access that POWER, that ENERGY that will allow you to reach for your true DESTINY.

I AM is waiting for You. What are You waiting for?

Answer to Test Question in Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm:

How much power does the Spider now have and what is She going to do with it?

Answer: The Spider has as much power as you want her to have. Use her as one of your links in Meaning and Marketing - The Links. Give her a name if you want to. “Charlotte” will do. When you are feeling low, experiencing a lack of energy or inspiration, remember Charlotte. She will empower you. She now has the Lightning Bug inside of her and I AM is light. This is no ordinary lightning bug. She survived the fall Equinox before she met her destiny inside Charlotte.

What is Charlotte going to do with her power? Continue to spin her webs, eat other insects, and spread her fertility to the winds. Hopefully, She and her kind will also ward off Black Widows.

Go for it, Charlotte! And don’t get in my way or I’ll knock your web down.

Resources:

Charlotte’s Web E. B. White, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

The Parable of the Ten Pounds The Bible, The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 19:11-27

An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A way of Being the Christian Community John H. Leith

The Courage to Create Rollo May

The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition M. Scott Peck

Paul Snell lives with his wife, Jean, and younger Son, Steven, and their dog Blackie, in Lexington, NC. He is a former Presbyterian USA minister and has been in Network Marketing full time since 2002. Paul, at the age of 61, has recently been diagnosed as Bi-Polor with A.D.D as a minor component. He, with the encouragement of his great Mentors at the PowerShift Loop, is an Advocate for the treatment of mental illnesses - all kinds.

February 10th, 2008

Did You Use Your Sword Today?

It’s real easy to look at the physical world around us and
not see swords being used. To even find one it is often
necessary to go to a museum. So what am I talking about?

The Word of God
Do you know that the Word of God is the sword of the
spirit? We are told in Ephesians 6:17 that it really is.
This truth is more powerful than we realize…

Trickery
We find this verse in the section that explains that we
are to put on the whole armor of God. He tells us to
do this so that we are able to stand against the wiles
of the devil.

The word “wiles” means ‘trickery’. We wear the whole
armor of God to protect ourselves from the trickery of
the devil.

Spoken Word
Jeremiah 1:12 tells us that God is alert as He looks out
for His word to do as His Word says. He doesn’t sleep
or avoid it in any way. He is alert and anxious to do
what He said He would do.

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit.
We are told things all day long that may or may not be
true. We need to overlook this and realize that God
never lies (Titus 1:2) and He speaks the truth.

Take Heed
It’s really no wonder why God told us in Mark 4:24 to
take heed what we hear. The voices we hear might
not be led by God.

We need to only listen to God’s Word. There are no
gifts that are greater in this world. There are only two
choices. There is life or death.

God’s Word is what brings life to us…

Did you use your sword of the spirit today?

Feel free to distribute this article if it is kept as is,
including the Resource Box at the bottom.

-Michelle Jacobson
contact@seedministries.com

Where Are The Christians?

This article was written in 1993.

At my home congregation, we recently viewed the video series
called “Children At Risk” by Dr. James Dobson and Gary L. Bauer.
There is a companion book by the same title which is available
at local Christian book stores. The subtitle is “The Battle for
the Hearts and Minds of Our Kids.” I highly recommend this book
and video series to anyone who has the same concerns for our
nation as I do. As I set there and listened to Dr. Dobson and
Mr. Bauer talk about the excesses which are so prevalent in our
nation today, I kept asking myself, “Where are the Christians?”

When I was growing up in Ohio in the 50’s, I can remember going
to school as a first grader and listening to my teacher read a
Bible story each morning. I know for sure that my first, second,
third and fourth grade teachers read Bible stories each morning.
We also recited the Lord’s prayer as part of our opening
exercises. I can remember Thanksgiving programs, Christmas
programs, and Easter programs all having Christian themes. I
recall as a high school student in the early 60’s my English
teacher reading from the Bible as part of the class. I became a
teacher myself in 1969, and I too had the students recite the
Lord’s prayer in the opening exercises. The United States
Supreme Court decided that to have prayer in the classroom was a
violation of the separation of church and state. And since then,
things have gotten exceedingly worse. Today, in 1993, it is
evident that the humanists are determined to eradicate all
evidence of Christian values and practice in both public
education and government. Every time a new attack is made on the
church by the humanists, I wonder, “Where are the Christians?”

I recall when I was a youngster one never heard profanity on
television. Nudity on television was simply unheard of. The
television programs in the 50’s and early 60’s were wholesome.
Programs like “Leave It To Beaver,” “Ozzie & Harriet,” and “Mr.
Ed” were the norm. Now you can not turn on the television
without being exposed to profanity of the grossest nature and
nudity is commonplace. Extra martial affairs are promoted every
day on the “soaps.” Violence of every kind is exhibited night
after night on almost every channel. The talk shows which are on
every evening exploit the most bizarre subjects, all in the name
of educating the public. Again, as I set in my family room and
flip through the channels with my remote control trying to find
something decent to watch I wonder, “Where are the Christians?”

When I was a teenager and learned what homosexual meant, it was
something that was scorned as a perverted life style. I can
recall how people would talk about various movie stars that were
reported to be homosexual, and how terrible it was that a person
that was looked up to by so many would live like that. I did not
personally know anyone who was homosexual. Now it seems that
homosexuality is not only openly accepted by the
“establishment,” it seems as if it is being promoted daily.
Program after program on television is designed to tell us that
homosexual behavior is just an alternative life style. The
President of the United States is promoting homosexual behavior
by attempting to force the armed forces to openly accept
homosexuals. “Gay Rights” groups are being treated by the media
and many in government as the “good guys” while Christian
opponents are painted as the “bad guys.” Whenever I get the
opportunity, as an educator, I speak out against homosexual
behavior, and I find that these comments are received with
contempt more and more often. Again I wonder, “Where are the
Christians?”

Pornography is known to cause serious psychological problems
later in life when it is available to and used by children. Yet
these books and films are extremely easy to get, even by
children. Not only are women exploited in this perverse
material, but children as well. It is truly a sick mind that
will take innocent children and photograph them in this manner,
and an equally sick mind that gets pleasure from seeing those
photographs. Need we ask, “Where are the Christians?”

Sex education is now being taught in almost every school
district in the United States. In many cases the “education”
that the children are getting is promoting “safe sex” as the
appropriate way to guard against life-threatening diseases such
as aids. Children in elementary school are being taught how to
put condoms on. Condoms are being distributed in high schools
all across America under the guise of “protecting our youth.” I
have even heard that different methods of sexual activity are
being taught. And if all this is not bad enough, our children
are being taught that homosexual and bisexual conduct is normal
and just an alternative to heterosexual conduct. Are you
beginning to wonder, “Where are the Christians?”

Have you listened to the music that many of our children are
listening to? The “hard rock” music which is being fed to
today’s youth in mega-doses is laced with devil worship, death
and suicide messages, suggestions that killing police officers
is good, and drug use as a desirable form of recreation. Without
sounding redundant, “Where are the Christians?”

I have just about run out of room for this article and I have
not even touched on abortion as a form of birth control, the
decline of the family, dropping church attendance, the abuses of
America’s institutions of higher education, media bias,
government bias, and euthanasia. To give each of these topics
just the cursory mention that I have given the other topics
would take more space than I have left in this article. I wonder
if Jesus is asking, “Where are the Christians?”

After reading all of this, I hope that you are as angry as I am
at the shape our country is in. How did we let this happen?
Where have we, the Christians, been during the last thirty years
while all this has been developing? Could it be that we have
become so complacent that we won’t even make an effort to
complain about this mess? Or is it that we have been so busy
making all that money that we have been blinded to reality? Or
is it that we now put party politics (Republican or Democrat)
before our Christianity? And here is the clincher: How much
worse does it have to get before we wake up and start doing
something about it? For the last time, I ask YOU, “Where are the
Christians?”

You may be thinking that there is not much, if anything, that
one person can do to correct this mess. However, that is not
true. Especially when we consider the millions of people who
claim to be Christian. So, what can you and I do?

First, we need to start immediately praying for our nation, its
problems, its leaders, and its Christians each and every day.
God hears and answers prayer! What if millions of people went to
God every day and prayed as I have indicated? Great things would
certainly have to happen. Remember, “The effective, fervent
prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16b)

Second, it time to get serious by making our voices heard with
the “powers that be.” We should be continually writing our U.S.
Congressmen and Senators and speaking out on the issues that
concern us. We need to continually be writing letters to the
news media that support the perverse life styles of the
homosexuals and the like. We need to write letters to sponsors
of programs which we feel are inappropriate to be broadcast
during family viewing times. We should refuse to purchase goods
from companies that refuse to listen to our concerns. We should
refuse to support any candidate for any office that holds views
that are anti- Christian or conducts themselves in a manner
which is not consistent with our Christian beliefs. If there are
no candidates from either major political party which we can
support, then it is time to get Christians to run for office and
go all out to support them.

And third, it is time to start putting pressure on our Christian
friends, family, and neighbors to join in this fight. It is time
to hold the leaders of our congregations responsible for
organizing our churches in this effort to bring Christ back to a
position of honor and glory in America.

And finally, it time for each one of us that claim Christ as our
Lord and Savior to stand and be counted in this effort. Let’s
look at some of what the Scriptures have to say about this: “He
who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather
with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew 12:30); “Every kingdom
divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city
or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew
12:25b); “if My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14); and one of
my favorite Scriptures, “…choose for yourselves this day whom
you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.” (Joshua 24:15).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if the Christians in America do
not take a stand and start fighting for what we believe, America
as we know it (or have known it) will soon cease to exist. We
must start today, NOW, and not quit until we have taken back our
country from the humanists. Do we have the courage to be like
Isaiah? “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall
I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send
me.’” (Isaiah 6:8)

All scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless
otherwise noted.

January 1st, 2008

Missions to Unreached People

Missions to unreached people have been popping up in our culture long ago. Many who have a desire to do missions to unreached people want to become educated on these particular groups but might not know where to begin. Others who are interested in missions to unreached people might want to discover some type of training that will help equip them for this line of ministry. The question is, where would one who is interested in missions to unreached people begin their search?

Many times those who are interested in missions to unreached people seek out some type of training. This can come in the form of schooling and discovering what types of classes would aid in this process. The desire in these peoples’ hearts for missions to unreached people might have begun as a small child. Maybe their parents were missionaries to the remote parts of Africa. Maybe they were use to being in a country that differs greatly from ours and wanted to continue in their parents’ footsteps. Maybe their parents’ job was to try and reach these people groups by learning their language, about their culture, and about what they believed. Maybe their parents had a hearts for missions to unreached people and passed the desire along to their children.

So here you are that child who is now grown. You are still holding on to that desire that your parents passed on. You find yourself back in the United States and want to become equipped to do the type of ministry your parents do. What kind of training will you need to seek in order to do missions to unreached people? Maybe starting with looking at a Bible college would be your best bet. These types of schools make it a priority to focus on missions and can help you learn the necessary skills to do missions to unreached people groups. They can provide you with classes that focus on evangelism and theology. Some of their professors might even be familiar with the mission field you were raised on and can show you how to communicate with those who are not familiar with the English language. In addition to that, one of your internships might be to pair up with a Christian organization that focuses solely on missions to unreached people.

Once you get connected with one of those Christian organizations, the real work begins. You have your training and have the head knowledge to work with missions to unreached people. The next step is to learn all you can about the unreached people group you might be sent to. You may be the very missionary sent out who discovers a new group that has never been known. What a fantastic opportunity fit would be for you to be involved with the missions to the unreached people of that area.

For more information about missions to unreached people, visit:
http://www.christianet.com/christianbusinesses/missions/index.htm
http://www.christianet.com

November 18th, 2007

Let the money circulate

Spiritually, money is a form of energy. It is the physical counterpart of the spiritual force. Therefore, it is highly beneficial that money is well-circulated, just like the blood in the human bodies, which have good health if blood circulates well and bad health if there is poor circulation.

When money circulates freely in a person’s life, that person is on good financial ground, says psychic Maria Duval. However, if the person starts to hoard and put money under own bed as a back up to the “rainy” days, then there will be financial sickness. In this case, you’ll hardly be able to grow your wealth as spiritually your wealth is stuck.

A person must convince his or her mind that richness is going to flow freely into your life forever, and that will always be a divine surplus. In fact, wealth is a state of consciousness and is a tangible product of the mind.

September 3rd, 2007

Teaching Toddlers About Faith

Teaching Toddlers the Truths of Our Faith Review of Holy Baby 2:
Jesus Loves Me, He is the Bread of Life By Lisa M. Hendey

With the October release of their second DVD aimed at Catholic
babies and toddlers, The Rosary Project has hit another home
run. Holy Baby 2: Jesus Loves Me, He is the Bread of Life will
please both little children and the people who love them.

This forty minute DVD offers options for listening in English,
Spanish and French, as well as a “song only” option which
enables the user to select video accompaniment for their
personal favorite song selections. While the DVD is clearly
aimed at the under four crowd, older siblings and parents can
also listen and learn as some of the classics of our faith are
taught. Unlike so many “baby” CDs that tend to grate on a mom’s
nerves, Holy Baby 2: Jesus Loves Me, He is the Bread of Life
offers a wonderful blend of beautiful music, classic Catholic
prayers, and scriptural references, with the backdrop of high
quality video clips.

The DVD’s Eucharistic devotion is clear from the opening
credits, which dedicate the project to the memory of Pope John
Paul II, in thanksgiving for the inspiration offered by his
“Year of the Eucharist”. The video’s content and scriptural
references teach about the Eucharist in a manner which is both
understandable and dogmatically correct. Among the many charming
“actors” featured in the DVD, your child will likely be drawn to
repeated images of the smiling priest featured in the
Eucharistic segments.

Speaking of actors, my favorite stars in this particular
production are the children who grace the video. A broad range
of ages and ethnicities are represented, doing typical things
kids do. Another star of the show is the computer generated
“Baby Bosco” character and loveable pup “Grigio” who appear
throughout the DVD.

One of my favorite components of Holy Baby 2: Jesus Loves Me, He
is the Bread of Life is the music. Both adult and children’s
voices are presented and the tunes range from the ageless
favorite “Rise and Shine” to church classics such as “Joyful,
Joyful We Adore Thee” and “Faith of Our Fathers”. Running
throughout the DVD is a beautiful new “Catholic version” of the
tune “Jesus Loves Me”, which is lovingly adapted with a new
Catholic focus.

The DVD includes numerous prayers you will want your child to
know and love, ranging from the Sign of the Cross and the Our
Father to St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s Prayer of Adoration.
Additionally, the DVD includes several thematic scripture
readings. The only shortcoming that I found in the video relates
to these readings: I would have liked to have heard the
citations for the bible sections or seen them printed on the
screen when the readings were proclaimed. The exact bible
references are, however, printed on the DVD’s cover.

If you’ve got a little Catholic in your life, you’ll want to
purchase The Rosary Project’s Holy Baby 2: Jesus Loves Me, He is
the Bread of Life. With beautiful music, artful and inspiring
video, and a true focus on our faith, this DVD should have a
place in every Catholic home. I’m looking forward to Holy Baby 3
and will be adding this to my list of gifts for future baby
showers and baptisms.

To purchase Holy Baby 2: Jesus Loves Me, He is the Bread of Life
visit
http://www.aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/Store.ItemDeta
ils/SKU/3812/affiliate/CatholicMom3834/T/3

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous
web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and
http://www.christiancoloring.com. Visit her at
http://www.lisahendey.com for more information.

June 27th, 2007

Did Jesus Exist?

We’ve had an interesting discussion this past week or so at the Chief Joseph Discussion Group. One of our members asked the question, “Did Jesus exist?” In other words, was he real, just a myth, or some combination of the two?

This reminds me of that wonderful movie, Miracle on 34th Street. For those of you who’ve never seen it, the movie asks the question, “Does Santa Claus really exist?”

At the end of the movie, the answer to that question was: “It doesn’t really matter.”

Here’s Chief Joseph.

CHIEF JOSEPH

This is a most interesting question to us in these dimensions of spirit.

It’s interesting because, as we observe you — our dear friends on the earth plane — we clearly see how many of you strive to base your lives on this historical figure you call Jesus.

Did Jesus exist? Was he real? How do you separate fact from fantasy? Myth from mumbo jumbo?

First, let us say the image, the vision many of you hold of Jesus, the Christ, is a magnificent one. You’ve created him as you would like to be yourselves.

Does that mean he’s not real?

Not at all. He is real — he lives in your hearts. He represents the joys, the hopes, the dreams all of you hold for yourselves and your loved ones.

In a very real sense, Jesus is your creation. The creation of a vision, a dream you have — a dream of heaven on earth when peace and love will reign supreme among all peoples.

Are we saying he did not exist in the physical over 2,000 years ago?

No, we are not saying that either.

But we are saying the figure many of you view as the historic Jesus did not exist in the way you think he did.

Your historic Jesus was a composite of at least several different and powerful spiritual teachers who lived around that time.

Those who wrote the words of your Bible, the early versions, were doing the same thing many of you are today — creating Jesus the way you would like to create (or re-create) yourselves.

They were seeing in him the qualities, the power, the love they wanted to see in themselves — and which you would dearly love to see in yourselves.

Well friends, you do have those qualities, that power, that love within you. But you don’t believe it. And so you’ve created a leader, a guru who has all that. Someone you can look up to, imitate and — some day — hope to be like.

That is what Jesus is all about. That’s what any true leader is all about — one who inspires you to be the best you can be.

He or she is not there to save you, but only to remind you of who you really are.

You are your own savior.

Copyright © 2006 by Great Western Publishing

*********************

Since 1992, John Cali has been communicating with a spirit called Joseph. In one of his many physical lifetimes, this spirit was incarnated as the legendary Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe in what is now Oregon.

Email: john@greatwesternpublishing.org
Website: http://www.greatwesternpublishing.org
Free newsletter at: chiefjoseph-on@mail-list.com
Private readings with Chief Joseph at: readings@greatwesternpublishing.org

May 26th, 2007

A Letter to Noah

January 1, 2005

Dear Noah,

I am writing to know about your life and times, and to tell you about the startling things that are happening in this world today. But I know that I have already jolted you by the date on this letter. You might be wondering what it means.

You see, many things have changed since your birth in 2970 B.C.E.—almost 5,000 years ago. While you counted 30 days for a month, our one month today is 28 days. Now, we count up but in your time, you counted down. Because ours is the Common Era while your time was Before Our Common Era. This is one of the new things you do not know. So since it is strange to you, do not bother to date your letter when you write back.

I have read about you –how you built that gigantic ark and condemned the world by your faith. I thought that it would be nice for you to tell your story. I think that your father, Lamech, must have told you much about Adam since their lives overlapped. More so, he was with you 5 years before the flood, so he must have used most of the 777 years of his life to tell you ancient stories.

Did he say that Adam and Eve were actually deceived by a snake to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden? Because some say that they were guilty of sexual sin. They say that the tree of the knowledge of good and bad in the middle of the garden was a figurative language. Was that really so? Is Hebrew, the language of God, full of double entendre?

Some even say that Adam was a fictional character because the name Adam means man. Did Lamech, your old man, tell you so? I am sure you must know the facts about these things.

I also know that you knew your grandfather Methuselah so well since he died in the year of the flood in 2370 B.C.E. I know that he did not perish in the deluge, that he died his own death. But how come he lived that long—969 years! In fact, he would be in a better position to tell you what really happened in Eden and about Enoch, that other righteous man like you, who lived for just 365 years.

I say ‘just’ because you people in those days lived long, like you who lived for 864 years. Some say, however, that you people did not really live that long; that the years were actually months. Is that true? Did you live for only 864 months or 72 years? Today the fortunate ones among us live 70 or 80 years—as brief as the life of the small sparrow. That may also surprise you.

But why did God take Enoch so that his corpse was not seen? He also did that to the dead body of Moses. Sorry, you do not know this man who made a copper serpent that was later worshipped. But he was best known as the meekest man that ever lived on earth, who died for playing God and was buried in a concealed grave. Now wait a moment: Did God fear that wicked people would dig up the bones of these godly men and do things to them, or was it a mark of honor in days of yore to bury righteous servants of God in unmarked graves?

You must have been happy to have been born close to creation—tenth in the line of Adam and born 126 years after his death. Since your dad, Lamech, had other sons and daughters, I would like to know how you lived together. Did you squabble and kill one another like Cain and Abel? Or did one sell the other? Or was there a rapist in the house? There were families where such things were practiced long after your time. But I must tell you that we do all of these today. I will tell you about these things before I conclude my letter.

But how were you raised that you came to have so much faith? And what occupation did your parents teach you? Did you farm, herd, or hunt animals? If so, how was farming, animal rearing, or hunting in those days? Did you enjoy it? There are all kinds of work these days. Some people are paid for spying, for example. But the best paid workers are those who make dangerous weapons to kill their brothers. Were there such jobs in your time?

Now, when your father named you Noah, meaning Rest or Consolation, did he know of the impending flood? Because he had said that you were going to bring comfort to their work and the pain of their hands arising from the ground which God had cursed.

But tell me: How did you fare in those days when those giants called Nephilims or Fellers wreaked havoc on the earth? Did they hurt you or your children, Japhet, Shem, and Ham? I wonder how you were able to remain righteous and faultless amidst the violent, idolatrous, and immoral world of those days. Even your family members were separated from the sinners, too. You must have been specially blessed, Noah!
…………………………………………..
I am sorry for the long letter. Please take time to explain to me the many things that happened in your time of both the questions I asked in this mail and of others that I did not remember. I know that I may have written many new things that you do not know. One thing I must tell you is that this world is moving so fast that I do not even understand it. But if I were to write all I know, your ark would not contain the story of this world!

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,
Disenchanted Son.

(EXCERPTED FROM THE BOOK, “A LETTER TO NOAH,” TO BE PUBLISHED SOON. IF YOU ENJOYED READING THE STORY AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TOWARD ITS PUBLICATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, and author of Chasing Shadows! and How to Write a Best-seller.
For his works and free helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

Arthur Zulu is an editor, bookreviewer, and published writer.

May 22nd, 2007