Hello

I believe in the power of thought, but thought requires time and patience. In my sixty plus years, I have found that a measured high intelligence is often the best excuse for not using ones mind. We sloppily adopt the opinions of others whose prejudices are similar to our own and congratulate ourselves. Even when we give an ear to what others are saying, it may merely be a courtesy, because emotionally we are unable to detach from those ideas that we have not given satisfactory thought to, because we don't want the level of involvement that requires much precious time. Even those who are in the ninety-ninth percentile for intelligence can be lazy thinkers when the subject does not suit them or when the position before them challenges their long held views.

I also believe that we are not only thinkers but be-ers and be-ers must be emotional and spiritual as well as thinking. You will find that I am what is called an evangelical Christian and a charismatic. But, having said that, you must be careful, in that those names are what Lewis Carroll called "portmanteau words" - words that carry a wide variety of meanings both denotatively and connotatively.

You should also consider that unlike Coca-Cola and Ebay, no one has a marca registrada on the name Christian and it can be used by anyone, even people who repudiate the plain teachings of Jesus Christ. No one can get a cease and desist order from the court to stop imposters from using it. If you have been mistreated by someone in the name of Jesus Christ, there is little that anyone can do about it, but you cannot extrapolate from that that their's is true Christianity, anymore than you could conclude that there is no true physics, chemistry, biology or earth science based on the test papers that I have graded.

You will also find that I make a necessary distinction between religion and faith which are often confounded. A simple way to look at it is a religion depends on the adherent, a faith on the the One who one has faith in. As a general rule, it is much like one of those slides you see in so many photo processing and computer art programs: slide to the left and the picture gets redder, slide to the right and the picture gets greener. Much the same, generally, the greater the faith, the less the accoutrements of religion and vice versa. I know. I have been both.

In this blog, I may speak to matters that are strictly Christ centered or to matters of science and mathematics especially if they interface with the place of God in the life of humans or the nature of the universe.

I hope to be able to engage you with meaningful conversation and since I have never known a case where profanity has not detracted or subtracted from serious thought, so I ask you to omit it ( beside, I was raised in New York City and you would need to be inordinately creative to say something I haven't heard many times over - in English, in Spanish, in Yiddish, etc.) A good argument is in no way made more persuasive by invective.

I also ask, that if you disagee with me, you will have the courtesy to return to hear my response. It is intellectually dishonest and irresponsible to make no opportunity for a reply to your argument or emotional response.

Finally, you may well be more intelligent than I. I must trundle along with all the well known deficiencies of an IQ of 160 (be patient with me) and I tend to be somewhat mercurial in my selection of topics being one of those unusual people who are called ambi-brained, in that I favor neither hemisphere of the brain, as most do.

Before we go on, it seems to me, it will do well to tell you something about who I am, but I'll save that for the next blog. - Your friend, in Him.