Walking Through Life With Your Eyes Closed

Legalism disturbs me.  In theological or secular terms, legalism is not the search for truth.  Legalism is a declaration of ABSOLUTE truth where there may not be any such thing.

I have no issue with respect for the truth.  I believe that there ARE incontestable truths.

I consider myself to be a Conservative Fundamentalist.  However, a Fundamentalist is NOT a Literalist.    A Literalist is, by definition, a Legalist.  A Fundamentalist is someone who believes that there are incontestable fundamental principles.  A Legalist is someone who believes that there is only one valid and acceptable interpretation of each individual detail.

It's not what you know that will hurt you...  It's what you know that just ain't so!

My book Following The Cloud will not be promoted by the Hiram Bookstore because contained in that book is the suggestion that the Earth might be more than 6018 years old!  I include everything from the Reformation to Quantum Physics and THAT'S the issue!?!  I was astonished to find that the owner of a bookstore with tens of thousands of books on every subject could object to such a thought. I was further amazed to find that he had no willingness to even consider any alternate possibilities.  In fact, there seemed to be a fear of considering any alternate interpretations to those that he already had.  The overt excuse he gave was that he might offend some Southern Baptist pastors that frequently come into his store.  But he revealed his real uncertainty when he said that believing that the Earth was older than 6018 years old "was a slippery slope".  What?  If you find out that a number somewhere is not what you thought it was, you can no longer believe in Jesus Christ?  That is a very weak faith.

I know for a fact that Southern Baptist pastors are NOT required to believe that the Earth is 6018 years old.  I took an Old Testament theology course in a Southern Baptist seminary class with 30 Southern Baptist pastors.  I listened to a Southern Baptist Theology professor explain the original Hebrew in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.  The Bible begins by saying, "In the beginning, GOD created the Heavens and the Earth."  Genesis 1:2, which is traditionally translated, "and the Earth was without form, and void...", can be read, in the original Hebrew, "and the Earth became without form and void."  The interpretation of that one word introduces numerous possibilities.  There is no actual suggestion of the specific elapsed time between the original creation and the beginning of the current cycle of creation.  From the beginning of Genesis to the end of The Revelation, the Bible presents GOD as the sole Author, Creator, and Sustainer of everything that was, is, or ever will be.  Whether the Earth is 6 thousand or 6 billion years old does not change that.

In every aspect of my life, I am required to analyze - to find out how things work.  As an engineer, what I choose to believe had better agree with what is.  If it does not, I might endanger the machine that I am designing and the lives of the people using it.  There are practical, physical, moral, and legal implications surrounding my understanding of the world and the rules that God has created to govern it.  Likewise, as a Christian and a theologian, I am encouraged to understand the underlying principles that God has established to govern His Creation.  I do not need to be afraid that I will discover a scientific principle that will invalidate the sovereignty of God.  My faith is not a blind faith.  I am not required to close my eyes to what is around me.  At the same time, I am not required to believe every scientific theory.  (This requires the ability to distinguish between theory and fact - not something everyone is qualified to do.)

"If the King James Version was good enough for Paul and Silas, it's good enough for me!"  (old joke - still relevant)  God has given us analytical tools to discern reality.  He has given us the tools to distinguish between theory and fact.  In the physical realm, those tools include thousands of specialized measuring instruments.   In the theological realm, God has given us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to discern what is so.  The Old Law in the Old Testament was based on ten simple principles (not, "The Ten Commandments", but "The Ten Words).  God was not commanding us to do or not to do ten things - He was telling us how things were.  The Old Law developed into an intricate and convoluted set of laws and regulations because Jesus had not yet brought the Holy Spirit and made the Gifts of the Holy Spirit available to every believer.

Legalistically closing your eyes to what is around you is crippling.  You build fences that are unnecessarily limiting.  You will miss many of the wonders of the world around you.  Your efforts will be wasted on needless crusades over issues that may not even exist.  Figuratively, you will walk out into traffic without looking.

Southern Baptists are missing many of the analytical tools that they need to discern theory from fact because they have rejected the pentecostal manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Their particular edition of the King James Version of the Bible in English does not supersede the interpretation of the original Hebrew or Greek that it was written in!  And the original document, even though it was inspired by God, still reflected the limitations of the original (non-technical) languages and the understanding of the original (non-technical) authors.  What is revealed to us in the Bible is NOT WRONG - but it was never intended to be a physics textbook or a complete, detailed, technical manual on the whole universe.  God has left us the tools and discretion to determine those things for ourselves.  Use them!

Common Core Is Just Common

There has been a lot of fuss lately over the relative merits (or lack) of Common Core.  When I first heard the discussions on the radio, I Googled a sample to see what all of the fuss was about.  At first, I couldn't see the issue.  So they were adding from left to right...  So what?  I do that some myself.  Then I realized: the concepts and techniques that they were using were basically similar to one of my favorite books from the 50s or early 60s: High Speed Math Self Taught.  I may not have read this book until I was in college.

Not only that, Common Core is about a year or two behind the standards that are already in place in Georgia.  Parents are actually being told, "Do not teach or allow your kids to do math the old way, they will get the wrong answer."  What the ____!  No, they won't!  This is math!  I don't care how different the method is, the answer had better be the same! 

To sum up Common Core in one sentence:
Common Core is teaching 3rd grade math to 4th graders using 7th grade concepts.

This is apparently just another phase in No Child Left Behind, more appropriately titled: No Child Allowed To Advance.  There is no 'core' to Common Core - it's just common (adjective: showing a lack of taste or refinement; rough; unsophisticated.)

  

Defend Yourself!

There is a common misunderstanding about the difference between defensiveness and defense.

Defensiveness is an excessive sensitivity to criticism.  It induces irrational and frantic behavior, fear, and an inability to respond appropriately to legitimate needs.  Defensiveness causes frustration, aggression, anger, and a feeling of helplessness.

Defense is an appropriate response to an attack.  Defense is any method which can be used to repel an aggressor and prevent injury or loss.

As an example of the difference between defensiveness and defense:  An American infantry squad is in battle in a third world country.  The enemy vastly outnumbers the American soldiers, but the Americans outclass the enemy in every way, in skill, in technology, and in knowledge.  The enemy knows this.  They know nothing about defense; their only strategy is to attack.  But they attack out of fear and defensiveness.  At every sound, at even the slightest glimpse of an American, the enemy soldier will empty an entire clip, spraying the jungle or desert in all directions with bullets from his machine gun.  The American, on the other hand, patiently waits, his automatic rifle set on single fire, confident in his ability to respond to the attack.  When the enemy comes into view...  Bang!  An enemy falls.  Bang!  An enemy falls.  No panic, no wasted resources, no frustration, no anger – and an ability to function normally in any other context or situation.

Right now, the Democrats are in full blown, frantic, insane, defensiveness.  They have no other strategy but attack.  Republicans have been hesitant to defend themselves from these irrational attacks for fear of appearing to act the same way.  This campaign started out with eight powerful candidates, any one of which would have probably made an acceptable president.  Every time one would appear to edge ahead, he would be attacked so violently that he would drop out.  None of them had an effective defense.

We are down to our last candidate.  Whether or not he is the best is irrelevant.  He is quite acceptable, and, based on his background, he might be exactly what the country needs at the moment. He must be defended – not with frantic defensiveness, but with calm, competent precision.

We must respond to panic with competence.

We must respond to ignorance with knowledge.

We must respond to lies with facts.

We must respond to hate and intolerance with love and tolerance.

We must respond to racist bigotry disguised as affirmative action.  Genuine racial equality is manifested by greater diversity in higher positions of leadership based on competence and acceptance rather than quotas and mandates.

Our country and all that we hold dear is under attack.  We must defend.

What is Engineering?

One of the causes of the current decline of the United States is the lack of interest in engineering. Over the last century and a half, many of the greatest triumphs of this nation have been engineering – railroads, bridges, cars, air conditioning and refrigeration, electric power – the list is incredibly long... And all items that we take for granted.


There is a huge public misunderstanding of what constitutes engineering. Especially on television, most accomplishments attributed to ‘science’ or ‘scientists’ are actually engineering. “Scientists are working on that right now.” No, they aren’t! Engineers are!

Science is the attempt to determine the characteristics of the world around us from known or observed data.

Engineering is the art of using knowledge, objects, and methods that perform definite known functions to derive other knowledge, objects, and methods that perform other functions.

If the objective is knowledge, quite possibly the field is science.

If the objective is function, then the field is almost certainly engineering.

Give engineers the respect they are due. And maybe, just maybe, return this country to its position as the greatest nation on God’s green Earth.

Reality Check: Global Warming

     In engineering, it is often very difficult to clearly define the forces on a particular piece of machinery. To evaluate the integrity of a design in the early stages, it is necessary to make general assumptions about load cases and operating conditions. Even when all of the loads are known exactly, it is frequently very difficult to analyze accurately because of the complexity of the mechanism or the shapes of the components.
     When faced with overwhelming complexity and uncertainty, engineers do what is called a 'Reality Check'.
     Take the most grossly oversimplified case imaginable just to get an idea of the correct order of magnitude of the problem.
     Here is a reality check for Global Warming. This is not intended to be a comprehensive treatment, just a 'reality check' to establish the order of magnitude of the problem. I used Wikipedia's 'Greenhouse Effect' as a reference. All of the 'assumed' values are credited and footnoted there.
     The Black Body Temperature of the Earth is 5.5 degrees C. Based on black body radiation, the mean temperature of the Earth should be -19 degrees C. Instead, it is +14 degrees C. Broadly generalizing, the net Greenhouse Effect causes global warming of 33 degrees C.
     Carbon Dioxide makes up approximately 10% of the total greenhouse gases. Therefore, Carbon Dioxide contributes to global warming of about 3.3 degrees C.
     Pre-industrial Carbon Dioxide content (from ice cores) is about 300PPM (parts per million). The maximum levels of Carbon Dioxide have been measured at about 383PPM. Therefore, man's contribution to Carbon Dioxide production is about 83/383, or about 20%. That sounds like a lot, but wait!
     That 20% is 20% of 10% of the TOTAL greenhouse gases. Man's ENTIRE 'Carbon Footprint' is only 2/10 of 1% of total greenhouse gases (.002).
     0.002 x 33 degrees C = 0.006 degrees C.
     0.006 degrees C = 0.12 degrees F.
     If humans were completely removed from the planet, the global warming would decrease by 0.12 degrees F.
     NOW, how excited can you get about billions of dollars to produce a change that will be too small to even measure - a change that is no change at all.  Do you really want change?

You Wouldn't Understand

     I am outraged and offended.
     I was listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air (NPR) as she interviewed Uta Hagen, a once-famous actress who, with her husband, ran a famous acting school.  Terry started to ask her something about the way she prepared for a scene and she interrupted:
     "Let me stop you right there.  Are You an actor?"
     TG: "No."
     "Then it's none of your business."
     She went on to give examples:
     "You would not ask a violinist about his bowing arm.  ...about his elbow position.  ...about his phrasing."
     "If he told you, you would not know what he was talking about."
     Terry Gross, who is probably one of the best interviewers in the world, recovered very gracefully and went on to explain that she would ask exactly those questions.  Her business is to ask those questions.  She said, "Understanding more about (a) craft, helps me to perceive things about that craft that I would not have perceived before."
     In fact, studies have shown that any knowledge in any area of expertise increases general intelligence in other unrelated areas of expertise.  In other words, IQ is to some extent directly related to sheer volume of knowledge.  It is never wrong to seek knowledge in any area.  The Bible says that the wise seek knowledge because wisdom is based on knowledge.
     As an engineer/apostle/teacher, a primary part of my calling is to learn as much as I can about EVERYTHING.  To seek out correlations and interconnections between seemingly unrelated fields of study.  To convey as best I can the wonder and delight of my discoveries to as many others as possible.
     I do not believe that anything is impossible to explain.  You may not be able to explain it to someone else, but you will understand and appreciate what I am saying (if I am truly any kind of a teacher at all).  To appreciate the calling of a teacher, go watch Stand And Deliver, Dead Poets Society, or even School Of Rock!  A real teacher considers it his fault if the student cannot understand.
     As the interview continued, Uta Hagen talked about being blacklisted as a communist during the 60s.  She taught acting because she was not allowed to act.  I realized then that her response to the first interview question came from hurt and bitterness.
     Not really called to be a teacher -- only arrogance and bitterness makes the statement, "I could tell you, but it wouldn't do you any good.  You wouldn't understand."