This document discusses research into the relationship between spirituality, religious experiences, and the brain. Several studies are described that have identified areas of the brain activated during meditation, prayer, and spiritual experiences induced through drugs or electromagnetic stimulation. Some researchers argue this shows that religious experiences are simply neurological phenomena produced by the brain, while others counter that the brain allows for spiritual experiences but does not create religious concepts. The document does not take a definitive position, concluding that whether the brain creates God or God created the brain is ultimately a matter of faith.
Philosophical presentation about existence of God and against the existence of God,Problem of Evil,teleological argument,Empirical argument,North South University,God,Monotheist,Islam,Hinduism,Christianity,
Spirituality VS Science Or Spirituality With ScienceSakshiDeshpande9
By students of GES Society's Sir Dr. M.S.GOSAVI COLLEGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, Nashik.
A report that gives an insight of Spirituality and Science going hand in hand.
Philosophical presentation about existence of God and against the existence of God,Problem of Evil,teleological argument,Empirical argument,North South University,God,Monotheist,Islam,Hinduism,Christianity,
Spirituality VS Science Or Spirituality With ScienceSakshiDeshpande9
By students of GES Society's Sir Dr. M.S.GOSAVI COLLEGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, Nashik.
A report that gives an insight of Spirituality and Science going hand in hand.
This was a presentation we used along with \'How to choose your God\' in our Church youth Bible Study group. It presents a logical framework to understand the existence of God and how God reveals Himself thru creation, conscience, communication (over the ages) and ultimately thru Christ.
Browning's Fundamental Practical TheologyKevin Smith
This presentation outlines and evaluates Don Browning's vision of A Fundamental Practical Theology. The presentation was prepared by Dr Kevin Smith, the Vice-Principal of the South African Theological Seminary.
La historia del automóvil empieza con los vehículos autopropulsados por vapor del siglo XVIII. En 1885 se crea el primer vehículo automóvil por motor de combustión interna con gasolina. Se divide en una serie de etapas marcadas por los principales hitos tecnológicos.
Uno de los inventos más característicos del siglo XX ha sido sin duda el automóvil. Los primeros prototipos se crearon a finales del XIX, pero no fue hasta alguna década después cuando estos vehículos empezaron a ser vistos como algo "útil".
This was a presentation we used along with \'How to choose your God\' in our Church youth Bible Study group. It presents a logical framework to understand the existence of God and how God reveals Himself thru creation, conscience, communication (over the ages) and ultimately thru Christ.
Browning's Fundamental Practical TheologyKevin Smith
This presentation outlines and evaluates Don Browning's vision of A Fundamental Practical Theology. The presentation was prepared by Dr Kevin Smith, the Vice-Principal of the South African Theological Seminary.
La historia del automóvil empieza con los vehículos autopropulsados por vapor del siglo XVIII. En 1885 se crea el primer vehículo automóvil por motor de combustión interna con gasolina. Se divide en una serie de etapas marcadas por los principales hitos tecnológicos.
Uno de los inventos más característicos del siglo XX ha sido sin duda el automóvil. Los primeros prototipos se crearon a finales del XIX, pero no fue hasta alguna década después cuando estos vehículos empezaron a ser vistos como algo "útil".
La experiencia en los eventos | la experiencia en eventos de recaudación de f...Dagyi Rivera Gonzalez
El papel de un event planner en el siglo 21 es más que solo capturar cotizaciones o cazar clientes, debe ser un profesional que ayude a las organizaciones a conectarse con sus clientes potenciales, debe ser un generador de oportunidades de negocios a través de la gestión de la experiencia del cliente y los eventos.
Custom is a bigproblem when it comes to international transports. If you want your shipment to go through a hassle, it is fine, but if you wish the other way round, CCF-ex.com can help you. We provide customs clearance for international agents.
Science and technology are fundamental factors in the growth and development of every society. Strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education is vital to students’ success in an increasingly technological and global economy. It is a critical building block for exploration, innovation, and the economy, and the catalyst to attack problems affecting the world… and it is a catalyst for jobs. The under-representation of women in STEM fields is a potentially massive loss economically.
The natural friendship between science and spiritualitySuzanne Yada
Presentation given by David Brett Richardson of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley's Personal Theology series, December 4, 2011. Uploaded here with his permission.
Neuro Quantology is an international, interdisciplinary, open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research and review articles on the interface between quantum physics and neuroscience. The journal focuses on the exploration of the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness, cognition, perception, and behavior from a quantum perspective. Neuro Quantology is published monthly.
2 Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons Derek Parf.docxfelicidaddinwoodie
2
Divided Minds and the Nature of
Persons
Derek Parfit
Derek Parfit, who was born in 1942, has been a philosopher at All Souls
Coilege, Oxjord for many years. He has also taught frequently in the United
States. The main subjeas on which he has worked have been rationality,
morality, personal identity, and juture generations. These are the subjeas of
his book Reasons and Persons, publis hed by Oxford University Press in
1984.
It was the split-brain cases which drew me into philosophy. Our
knowledge of these cases depends on the rcsults of various psychological
tests, as described by Donald MacKay.! These tests made use of two
facts. We control each of our arms, and see what is in each half of our
visual fields, with only one of Ollr hemispheres. When someone's
hemispheres have been disconnected, psychologists can thus present to
this person two different written questions in the two halves of his visual
field, and can receive two different answers written by this person's two
hands.
Here is a simplified imaginary version of the kind of evidence that such
tests provide. One of these people looks fixedly at the centre of a wide
screen, whose left half is red and right half is blue. On each half in a
darker shade arc the words, 'How many colours can you see?' With both
hands the person writes, 'Only one'. The words are now changed to read,
'Which is the only colour that you can see?' With one of his hands the
person writes 'Red', with the other he writes 'Blue'.
If this is how such a person responds, I would conclude that he is
having two visual sensations - that he does, as he claims, see both red and
blue. But in seeing each colour he is not aware of seeing the other. He has
two streams of consciousness, in each of which he can see only one
colour. In one stream he sees red, and at the same time, in his other
stream, he sees blue. More generally, he could be having at the same time
two series of thoughts and sensations, in having each of which he is
unaware of having the other.
This conclusion has been questioned. It has been claimed by some that
there are not two streams of consciousness, on the ground that the sub-
dominant hemisphere is a part of the brain whose functioning involves no
The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) at Kamakura, Japan, construded in 1252, Derek Parfit s denial of
the concept of a person is remarkably similar to a central tenet of Buddhist philosophy (photograph by
Colin Blakemore),
20 Persons
consciousness. If this were true, these cases would lose most of their
interest. I believe that it is not true, chiefly because, if a person's
dominant hemisphere is destroyed, this person is able to react in the way
in which, in the split-brain cases, the sub-dominant hemisphere reacts,
and we do not believe that such a person is just an automaton, without
consciousness. The sub-dominant hemisphere is, of course, much less
developed in certain ways, typically having the linguistic ...
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on Modernism and Scientific Materialism at the 2015 International Christan Evidence Conference at York College in York, Nebraska, June 19-21. He gave a brief overview of the history of modern science and then give a world view critique of the philosophy, comparing it to Christianity. Here are notes and power points from the presentation.
One dies and ... is everything over? ... or we have a spirit that transcends death. This is the topic that we will develop next: Consciousness, Transcendence and Immortality - HOW THE EXPERIENCES NEAR DEATH PROVE THAT CONSCIOUSNESS EXISTS BEYOND THE PHYSICAL BODY
Introspection and enlightenment a case for teaching intelligent designJulio Banks
This essay provides justification for teaching Intelligent Design along with Biology. Adolf Hitler and Stalin used the results of the
Theory of Evolution to commit atrocities against humanity.
THE BLISSFUL BRAIN The neuroscientist Shanida Nataraja, author of The Blissful Brain, has proven that meditation has real benefits for brain functioning. She explains to us what effects’ meditating has on blood pressure and depression, through the latest insights of brain imaging studies. THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES Universal Melody. The Romantic Dance between the Sun and the Earth. What do Jupiter or Neptune Sound Like? MONEY REDUCES TRUST IN SMALL GROUPS Are we more selfish when money is involved? Why is money able to change the way we behave? IS THERE A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR NDE? Psychological theories and Evidences for the Near Death Experience
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body ProblemChapter 7. The Mind-Body Pro.docxspoonerneddy
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body Problem
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body Problem
Chapter 7
The Mind-Body Problem
During week 6 read the second half (Sections 6-end).
Copyright by Paul Herrick, 2020. For class use only. Not for distribution. This chapter: 32 pages of reading.
1. Are You Your Brain?
Sometimes we refer to our brains; other times we refer to our minds. BJ the Chicago Kid titled his second album In My Mind. But Screeching Weasel titled its third studio album My Brain Hurts. Are the mind and the brain two different things? Or are they one and the same? To put the question another way: Are thoughts, sensations, mental images, and such nothing more than physical events or processes of the physical brain? Are they just neurons (brain cells) firing or something like that? Or is the mind an immaterial, nonphysical entity distinct from the brain but interacting in some way with it? In philosophy, these and related questions make up the mind-body problem.
Since ancient times, the common view has been that the mind—the part of us that is conscious, that thinks, that makes choices, that bears moral responsibility—is immaterial and cannot be physically seen, touched, weighed, or otherwise directly detected by instruments. On this view, the mind--often called the “soul,” “spirit,” or “self”—is not the brain or any part of the body or any physical thing at all. However, since mind and body obviously interact, the common view has long been that the mind or soul can affect the body and the body can affect the mind. More specifically, the immaterial mind can cause changes in the physical body, through the interface of the physical brain, and the brain can cause changes in the mind.
In philosophy, this traditional view is called “mind-body dualism” (“dualism” for short) because it claims that mind and body are two distinct things. The common view is sometimes also called “mind-body interactionism” because it claims that mind and body, though distinct, interact. Philosophical dualists argue that the universe divides into two radically different kinds of substances—mindless matter and thinking mind or, as some prefer to put it, matter and spirit, or as still others put it, matter and consciousness.
Most religions of the world teach a dualist account of human nature. Each human being, they generally claim, is composed of an immaterial mind or soul joined to a material body. On the religious view, the mind, or soul, rather than the material body is the part that will be judged by God in the end. As the basis of moral responsibility, the soul is the root of one’s identity as a person. In other words, the soul is the true self; the material body is merely the soul’s temporary lodging place during its journey on earth. Most religions also teach a doctrine of immortality, or survival—the claim that the immaterial soul lives on in a higher realm after the death and disintegration of the material body.
If dualism is true and your immaterial mind, or soul, is the .
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body ProblemChapter 7. The Mind-Body Pro.docxrobertad6
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body Problem
Chapter 7. The Mind-Body Problem
Chapter 7
The Mind-Body Problem
During week 6 read the second half (Sections 6-end).
Copyright by Paul Herrick, 2020. For class use only. Not for distribution. This chapter: 32 pages of reading.
1. Are You Your Brain?
Sometimes we refer to our brains; other times we refer to our minds. BJ the Chicago Kid titled his second album In My Mind. But Screeching Weasel titled its third studio album My Brain Hurts. Are the mind and the brain two different things? Or are they one and the same? To put the question another way: Are thoughts, sensations, mental images, and such nothing more than physical events or processes of the physical brain? Are they just neurons (brain cells) firing or something like that? Or is the mind an immaterial, nonphysical entity distinct from the brain but interacting in some way with it? In philosophy, these and related questions make up the mind-body problem.
Since ancient times, the common view has been that the mind—the part of us that is conscious, that thinks, that makes choices, that bears moral responsibility—is immaterial and cannot be physically seen, touched, weighed, or otherwise directly detected by instruments. On this view, the mind--often called the “soul,” “spirit,” or “self”—is not the brain or any part of the body or any physical thing at all. However, since mind and body obviously interact, the common view has long been that the mind or soul can affect the body and the body can affect the mind. More specifically, the immaterial mind can cause changes in the physical body, through the interface of the physical brain, and the brain can cause changes in the mind.
In philosophy, this traditional view is called “mind-body dualism” (“dualism” for short) because it claims that mind and body are two distinct things. The common view is sometimes also called “mind-body interactionism” because it claims that mind and body, though distinct, interact. Philosophical dualists argue that the universe divides into two radically different kinds of substances—mindless matter and thinking mind or, as some prefer to put it, matter and spirit, or as still others put it, matter and consciousness.
Most religions of the world teach a dualist account of human nature. Each human being, they generally claim, is composed of an immaterial mind or soul joined to a material body. On the religious view, the mind, or soul, rather than the material body is the part that will be judged by God in the end. As the basis of moral responsibility, the soul is the root of one’s identity as a person. In other words, the soul is the true self; the material body is merely the soul’s temporary lodging place during its journey on earth. Most religions also teach a doctrine of immortality, or survival—the claim that the immaterial soul lives on in a higher realm after the death and disintegration of the material body.
If dualism is true and your immaterial mind, or soul, is the .
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
2 Peter 3: Because some scriptures are hard to understand and some will force them to say things God never intended, Peter warns us to take care.
https://youtu.be/nV4kGHFsEHw
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
Discover various methods for clearing negative entities from your space and spirit, including energy clearing techniques, spiritual rituals, and professional assistance. Gain practical knowledge on how to implement these techniques to restore peace and harmony. For more information visit here: https://www.reikihealingdistance.com/negative-entity-removal/
Why is this So? ~ Do Seek to KNOW (English & Chinese).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma teaching of Kamma-Vipaka (Intentional Actions-Ripening Effects).
A Presentation for developing morality, concentration and wisdom and to spur us to practice the Dhamma diligently.
The texts are in English and Chinese.
Exploring the Mindfulness Understanding Its Benefits.pptxMartaLoveguard
Slide 1: Title: Exploring the Mindfulness: Understanding Its Benefits
Slide 2: Introduction to Mindfulness
Mindfulness, defined as the conscious, non-judgmental observation of the present moment, has deep roots in Buddhist meditation practice but has gained significant popularity in the Western world in recent years. In today's society, filled with distractions and constant stimuli, mindfulness offers a valuable tool for regaining inner peace and reconnecting with our true selves. By cultivating mindfulness, we can develop a heightened awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, leading to a greater sense of clarity and presence in our daily lives.
Slide 3: Benefits of Mindfulness for Mental Well-being
Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, improving overall quality of life.
Mindfulness increases awareness of our emotions and teaches us to manage them better, leading to improved mood.
Regular mindfulness practice can improve our ability to concentrate and focus our attention on the present moment.
Slide 4: Benefits of Mindfulness for Physical Health
Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can contribute to lowering blood pressure, which is beneficial for heart health.
Regular meditation and mindfulness practice can strengthen the immune system, aiding the body in fighting infections.
Mindfulness may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity by reducing stress and improving overall lifestyle habits.
Slide 5: Impact of Mindfulness on Relationships
Mindfulness can help us better understand others and improve communication, leading to healthier relationships.
By focusing on the present moment and being fully attentive, mindfulness helps build stronger and more authentic connections with others.
Mindfulness teaches us how to be present for others in difficult times, leading to increased compassion and understanding.
Slide 6: Mindfulness Techniques and Practices
Focusing on the breath and mindful breathing can be a simple way to enter a state of mindfulness.
Body scan meditation involves focusing on different parts of the body, paying attention to any sensations and feelings.
Practicing mindful walking and eating involves consciously focusing on each step or bite, with full attention to sensory experiences.
Slide 7: Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life
You can practice mindfulness in everyday activities such as washing dishes or taking a walk in the park.
Adding mindfulness practice to daily routines can help increase awareness and presence.
Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our needs and better manage our time, leading to balance and harmony in life.
Slide 8: Summary: Embracing Mindfulness for Full Living
Mindfulness can bring numerous benefits for physical and mental health.
Regular mindfulness practice can help achieve a fuller and more satisfying life.
Mindfulness has the power to change our perspective and way of perceiving the world, leading to deeper se
3. Does our hard-wiring
create the powerful
God Experience, or
does God create our
psycho-physical wiring?
In Philadelphia, a
researcher discovers
areas of the brain that
are activated during
meditation.
At two other universities in San
Diego and North Carolina, doctors
study how epilepsy and certain
hallucinogenic drugs can produce
religious epiphanies.
In Canada, a neuroscientist fits
people with magnetized helmets that
produce "spiritual" experiences.
4. Using powerful brain
imaging technology,
researchers are
exploring what mystics
call nirvana, and what
Christians describe as
a state of grace.
Scientists are asking
whether spirituality can
be explained in terms of
neural networks,
neurotransmitters and
brain chemistry.
"The brain is set up in such a way as to have spiritual experiences and
religious experiences," said Andrew Newberg, a Philadelphia scientist
who wrote the book "Why God Won't Go Away."
"Unless there is a fundamental change in the brain, religion and
spirituality will be here for a very long time. The brain is predisposed
to having those experiences and that is why so many
people believe in God."
5. The image shows the brain before meditation and prayer(on the left) and
during prayer (on the right) where we see that during the involvement in
prayers and meditation, blood flow has increased. The frontal lobe
region is responsible for controlling emotions and agitations in humans and
a region also important for the acquisition and practice of complicated
perception-movement abilities.
Single-Photon-Emission Computed Tomography
6. The image shows a blood flow decline in the Parietal lobe at the region
where humans sense their time and space limits. It was concluded from
these results that during prayer, contemplation and seeking God, the
limits of self-consciousness disappear and a feeling of peace and freedom
starts in the person and one feels closer to God in a way that no words
can describe.
7. Many believers are offended by the
notion that God is a creation of the
human brain, rather than the other way
around. It reinforces atheistic
assumptions and makes
religion appear useless.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
8. Newberg (University of Pennsylvania) found decreased activity in the
parietal lobe, one of the parts of the brain that helps orient a person in
three-dimensional space.
"When people have spiritual experiences they feel they become one with
the universe and lose their sense of self," he said. "We think that may
be because of what is happening in that area -- if you block that area
you lose that boundary between the self and the rest of the world. In
doing so you ultimately wind up in a universal state."
9. Could the flash of
wisdom that came over
Siddhartha Gautama -
- the Buddha -- have
been nothing more
than his parietal lobe
quieting down?
Could the voices that
Moses and Mohammed
heard on remote
mountaintops have been
just a bunch of firing
neurons -- an illusion?
Could Jesus'
conversations with
God have been a
mental delusion?
10. Some weep, some feel God has touched them,
others become frightened and talk of demons
and evil spirits. "That's in the laboratory,"
Persinger said. "They know they are in the
laboratory. Can you imagine what would happen
if that happened late at night in a pew or
mosque or synagogue?"
His research, Persinger said, showed that
"religion is a property of the brain and has
little to do with what's out there."
Dr. Persinger (a professor of neuroscience at
Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario ) fit
a set of magnets to a helmet-like device.
Persinger runs what amounts to a weak
electromagnetic signal around the skulls of
volunteers.
Four in five people, he said, report a "mystical
experience, the feeling that there is a sentient
being or entity standing behind or near" them.
11. "It's irrational and dangerous when you
see how religiosity affects us," said
Matthew Alper, author of "The God
Part of the Brain," a book about the
neuroscience of belief. "During times
of prosperity, we are contented.
During times of depression, we go to
war. When there isn't enough food to
go around, we break into our spiritual
tribes and use our gods as justification
to kill one another."
Those who believe the new
science of neuro-theology
disproves the existence of
God say they are holding up
a mirror to society about the
destructive power of religion.
They say that religious wars,
fanaticism and intolerance spring
from dogmatic beliefs that
particular gods and faiths are
unique, rather than facets of
universal brain chemistry.
12. Belief and faith, believers argue, are
larger than the sum of their brain
parts: "The brain is the hardware
through which religion is experienced,"
said Daniel Batson, a University of
Kansas psychologist who studies the
effect of religion on people.
"To say the brain produces religion is
like saying a piano produces music."
At the Fuller Theological Seminary's school of psychology, Warren
Brown, a cognitive neuropsychologist, said, "Sitting where I'm sitting
and dealing with experts in theology and Christian religious practice, I
just look at what these people (neuroscientists) know about religiousness
and think they are not very sophisticated.
They are sophisticated neuroscientists, but they are not scholars in the
area of what is involved in various forms of religiousness."
13. Religious Models of the Brain
• The soul
• Dualism
– Important to classical Christian doctrine
– At odds with a scientific approach to the
brain
• Revelation
• Spiritual experiences
14. The Soul
• Where is the soul - what bodily or brain
structures form the soul?
• Brain science seeks to directly examine
the neurological basis of all aspects of
experience
• If a stroke damaged the part(s) of the
brain where the soul resides, what would
that look like?
• If the soul cannot be injured, then what is
it?
15. Dualism
• Classical Christian dualism--there is an immortal soul
• Adventists traditionally reject the doctrine of the immortal
soul, and claim adherence to “holism”
• Holism in the sense of an absence of an immaterial soul has
some obstacles:
– If there is no immortal soul, how do you explain the
resurrection?
– If there is no immortal soul, how do you explain the
incarnation?
• In response, Adventists typically end up in a position of
resisting an immortal soul while maintaining a strong dualism.
• How does the immaterial soul interact with the material
body?
16. Divine-Human Interaction
• Revelation--God communicates to human
beings through our brains
– Which parts of the brain are responsible?
• Brain science can elucidate conditions which
externally appear similar to inspiration
• Drugs, meditation, ritual are effective in
facilitating spiritual experience. Do they
summon God?
17. If God existed and created the universe,
wouldn't it make sense that he would install
machinery in our brains that would make it
possible to have mystical experiences?
18. But it is likely that neuro-theology will
never resolve the greatest question of
all--namely, whether our brain wiring
creates God, or whether God created
our brain wiring. Which you believe is, in
the end, a matter of faith.
20. Laminin
Every living
creature has
laminin inside of
them...the purpose
of laminin is that it
basically keeps our
bodies from falling
apart. It holds us
as one united
whole.
21. God holds us
together with
laminin and
saved us with
the cross.
Laminin, a protein in our body that literally
holds our skin, organs, and everything else in
our body in place. It is literally the glue of
our body. Guess what shape laminin is in?
The shape
of a cross.
22. Colossians 1:17 - “He
(Christ) is before all
things, and in Him all
things hold together.”
23. ‘And he (Christ) is before all
things and in him all things HOLD
TOGETHER.’ I have even
acknowledged the term ‘HOLD
TOGETHER’ indicates that Christ
is the glue of the universe. I have
always believed it to be true
because God’s word says it but
now, hidden deep within the
molecular structure of the human
body there is a signature of the
truth displayed.
Colossians 1:17 - “He
(Christ) is before all
things, and in Him all
things hold together.”
24. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully
made. What a blessed assurance and
reassurance for our oft-tormented
souls to know that there is One who is
able to hold us together no matter
what circumstances in life are imposed
upon our fragile existence.
Laninin
25. At the center of virtually every galaxy is a
brilliant spheroid of light, made up of
hundreds of thousands of stars.
At the galaxy’s core, they are so closely
spaced that they produce a uniform,
powerful light that has the appearance of
being solid.
26. But like the cross of Christianity, it shines forth for those
who will see it — who will still be brought to the point of
decision about their eternal destiny. It shines dimly, sending
forth a final message of hope — and warning.
A curious cross has
now been dimly
perceived in the
heavens. What it is, no
one really knows.
27. The cross is a sign that beams a message of truth into the soul of humanity almost
devoid of that commodity. The meaning is as clear as it is convicting. If one has not
had an encounter with the cross, one has never dealt with the Truth.
Many refuse to accept that truth, but we are told that one day a "sign" will appear
over the earth, signaling that the Lord is coming to make manifest the work that
was completed at the cross.
Matthew 24, verses 29 and 30
mention the return of the Lord,
preceded by the greatest sign in
the history of the planet.
"Immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light ... then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man in
heaven ... they shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and great
glory."