Pastor Craig's ConSpiritu Blog

SpiritQuest: Faith and the Life of the Mind September 26 th Evening Presentation Notes and Comments “To what End? Meaning, Morality and Purpose” To what end do we direct our intellectual endeavors? Is there purposefulness in the universe? How might the notion of doing that which is right be a constitutive part of reality? Begin with a description of my senior research project at Willamette University: “The Effect of Acute Doses of Ethanol on the Sleep-time Responses of Several Strains of Inbred Mice.” 1.    Research was sponsored by the Veteran’s Administration 2.    Several Researchers at Portland’s VA Medical Research facility were studying alcoholism from various angles: psychology, neurochemistry, genetics, etc. 3.    I worked with a researcher who was researching the genetic component of the development of tolerance to various effects of alcohol (ethanol, or EtOH as it was symbolized): a.    Sleep-time response b.    Startle ...

SpiritQuest: Faith and the Life of the Mind September 19 th Evening Presentation “Emptying into Fullness: Complexity, Diversity and Creativity” How might the Eastern Orthodox understanding of the self-emptying of God provide insight into the paradox of entropy and increasing complexity of evolving systems? Might scientific inquiry suggest new avenues for faith-filled contemplation? Issues: 1.    Models and paradigms and worldviews a.     There are general assumptions about reality, including humanity's   place in Nature. b.     There are general “rules of the game” for approaching problems which are generally agreed upon. c.     Those who subscribe to a given worldview share a definition of the assumptions and goals of their society. d.     There is a definite, underlying confidence among believers in the worldview that solutions to problems exist within the assumptions of the worldview. e.   ...