Atheist Meme #4:Science, Beauty and Awe

 I have not done one of these in a while, so I think it's about time.  I saw this meme this morning and it caught my eye, not because of the way it displays modern day secularists complete ignorance of what religion teaches about the nature of man...

...but because of the way it displays their complete ignorance of what science tells us about human beings. Quite simply, in all my years as an engineer, doing scientific research, I have never come across a study or research paper which provides evidence for the claim that a human child is "full of wonder" or "beautiful". You will be hard pressed to even find the use of this language in your average scientific paper.

   I wish I could ask the parents of this child, which are obviously filling her head with these erroneous views, what is the unit measure for "awe" or "beauty"? How many of these does a flower have over a Monet painting? How many "wonder units" will trigger that most common of all toddlers questions..."why?"

    The mistake this meme makes is that statements such as "you are beautiful" or "I'm full of wonder" are by their very nature philosophical. Science can say very little about wonder and the capability to appreciate beauty other than perhaps explain the neurological effects these unique human  experiences have in the brain. The most we should expect from science is to explain the "how" of these experiences.

    To find  the "why", why a child is beautiful and why it is full of wonder, we need more than science, we must turn to philosophy which tells us that man is much more than a collection of its own electrochemical and mechanical parts. Philosophy points towards a greater reality, spiritual and eternal. It is this reality which orients us towards what is true and beautiful.

   Religion just provides context to these philosophical ideas.

• Why can we say we are are filled with wonder? Because we were created for this purpose. To be attracted to truth and beauty.  
• Why are we attracted to truth and beauty? So that we can find out our true destiny, our place in  creation. We are oriented towards that which is eternal. 

  To put it in a Catholic context:

You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You - St Augustine

 This is what the true religion has to tell about us; that we are created with a deep need for truth, and we can only find this truth when we find the Creator.

 Up to now I have been focusing on the right side of the meme. Let me address the left side.

 Often secularists portray religion in a rather pessimistic (almost Calvinistic) way. They think that  religious people suffer from a horrendous case of self loathing. This is clearly evident on the list of what religion supposedly says about a young child. The problem with this view is that ignores one of the fundamental teachings of the Bible about human beings.

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness - Genesis 1:26

  We are created in the likeness of God, we reflect God's goodness and beauty, yes we are flawed and yes we make mistakes but fundamentally we are good because our creator is good. To quote the Cathechism of the Catholic Church:

1702. The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves

 So you see, religion exalts the human being, but for science, humans are just another subject matter.

 I hope this presentation helps dispel the erroneous ideas this little meme is propagating.

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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A New Take on an Old Classic

    I've always been a big fan of the rock band Guns and Roses. It was great to see them during the Superbowl half time. I think that Sweet Child of Mine is one of their most recognizable songs.

 Today I found this new take on this old classic. I'm also a big fan of New Orleans blues sounds (thanks to  James Lee Burk novels), so this song really resonates within me. I hope you like it as much as I do.

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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Neuroscience and Christian Idea of Friendship

     The idea of friendship is universal. All cultures, even the most primitive ones, have the concept of a bond-like relationship between individuals. We understand that there could be many reasons why such a bond is established between individuals in our culture.We also recognize, as a sign of maturity, the ability to establish these bonds with different people depending on situation and circumstance.   It is wise not to treat all of our relationships in the same way
   Back in the 4th century, St. John Cassian tells the story of "Blessed Joseph", a revered abbot who, answering a question by his novices, gives this explanation of the potential friendship bonds which could be created in common human relations:

 "There are many kinds of friendship and companionship which unite men in very different ways in the bonds of love. For some, a previous recommendation makes to enter upon an intercourse first of acquaintance and afterwards even of friendship. In the case of others, some bargain or an agreement to give and take something has joined them in the bonds of love. Others, a similarity and union of business or science or art or study has united in the chain of friendship, by which even fierce souls become kindly disposed to each other, so that those, who in forests and mountains delight in robbery and revel in human bloodshed, embrace and cherish the partners of their crimes. But there is another kind of love, where the union is from the instincts of nature and the laws of consanguinity, whereby those of the same tribe, wives and parents, and brothers and children are naturally preferred to others, a thing which we find is the case not only with mankind but with all birds and beasts."

 For Abbot Joseph the bond of friendship can be entered in many ways. Even members of the same family can experience this bond. However, because these relationships are based more on circumstances than in the quality of the individual, these bond could be easily broken.

But we see that all these kinds of love of which we have spoken, as they are common both to the good and bad, and to beasts and serpents, certainly cannot last for ever. For often, separation of place interrupts and breaks them off, as well as forgetfulness from lapse of time, and the transaction of affairs and business and words. For as they are generally due to different kinds of connections either of gain, or desire, or kinship, or business, so when any occasion for separation intervenes they are broken off.

    But not all friendships are of these nature. There are friendships that go deeper than what just the convenience of a business partner or the blood bond. Of these Abbot Joseph says:

Among all these then there is one kind of love which is indissoluble, where the union is owing not to the favour of a recommendation, or some great kindness or gifts, or the reason of some bargain, or the necessities of nature, but simply to similarity of virtue. This, I say, is what is broken by no chances, what no interval of time or space can sever or destroy, and what even death itself cannot part. This is true and unbroken love which grows by means of the double perfection and goodness of friends, and which, when once its bonds have been entered, no difference of liking and no disturbing opposition of wishes can sever.

   Christianity has many examples of such bonds of friendship: Francis and Clare, Benedict and Scholastica, Ciryl and Methodius. These are relationships we should hold as the highest ideal for Cristian Friendship. These holy people held bonds of friendship which transcended themselves. Their closeness was such that it was as if they each lived and existed within the other. For those who have never experienced this sort of spiritual union, it is very difficult to understand. Even the Bible uses such  language to describe the relationship between Jonathan and David:

1 Samuel 18:1 -  When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

   The Catechism of The Catholic Church speaks of such relationships in the sections entitled "The integrality of the gift of self."

2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends, who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality. (374)
Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.

    The teaching of the Church is clear: the bond of friendship, regardless of how or under what circumstances it is established, when tempered by the virtue of chastity, by the control of our human passions and appetites through the exercise of our reason, has the potential to unite in deep spiritual communion. This statement also implies that any two people united by a bond of friendship will develop different levels of spiritual communion depending on the level in which they choose to control their human desires. Chastity, in friendship, has the potencial of "knitting" souls like Jonathan's and David.

   The skeptic would argue that such "spiritual unions" belong more to the realm of "superstition" than to what hard sciences like psychology and neurology can prove. But in this case, skeptics would be wrong.

   Consider the work of Doctor James Coan, a psychology professor in University of Virginia's College of Arts & Sciences. Dr Coan recorded MRI brain scans of subject which were threatened with receiving an electric shock. He also scanned the brains of the same subjects while threatening to give electric shocks to complete strangers and to friends.  As expected, the regions of the brain responsible for threat response became active under threat of shock to the self;  when researchers threatened to shock a stranger, those same brain regions showed virtually no activity. But when they threatened to shock a friend, the brain regions showed activity nearly identical to that displayed when the participant was threatened.

   What does this mean? I'll let Dr Coan explain in his own words:

"The correlation between self and friend was remarkably similar. The finding shows the brain’s remarkable capacity to model self to others; that people close to us become a part of ourselves, and that is not just metaphor or poetry, it’s very real. Literally we are under threat when a friend is under threat. But not so when a stranger is under threat."

   I don't find these results surprising in light of the Church's teaching about friendship and about what it means to enter in spiritual communion with others. What I find surprising is how Dr. Coan explains the meaning of his research and its similarity to the ancient teaching of the Church. I guess it is true, there is nothing new under the sun after all.


   Here is the article explaining Dr Coan's research.

   And here is a copy of the original paper published by Oxford Journal's Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal.


"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

* All quotes from St. John Cassian. Are taken from:. "The Conferences of John Cassian". In P. Schaff & H. Wace (Eds.), E. C. S. Gibson (Trans.), "A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series: Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian (Vol. 11, pp. 450–451)". New York: Christian Literature Company.

http://intl-scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/06/13/scan.nss046.full

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Epiphany of Our Lord

     The other day I was reading an on-line article which described a condition affecting many people this time of the year. Experts call it “The Post-Christmas let-down”.  It is defined as the felling we get when after all the preparations, all the efforts, all the anticipation for “Christmas Day”, we find ourselves asking “That was it??  Is this what Christmas is all about?”  The cause for this problem is the way our culture raises the expectations for Christmas day. For weeks we are encouraged to expect the perfect present under the Christmas tree, we are encouraged to dream of a “White Christmas”, and we are promised that in this day will be as much fun as “Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh” “laughing all the way”. For many people however, the reality of this day is very different.  Most likely we did not get what we were hoping, or didn’t do all the things we wanted to do, and some us even, spent our Christmas wishing we could be with someone else or in some other place.
   In a culture which encourages and celebrates “Instant Gratification” we run the danger of putting all of our effort on making every second of Christmas day perfect, forgetting what we are really celebrating. So when the day is over we are left with toys to put away, presents to be return, kitchens full of dishes,  living room full of wrapping paper and empty boxes, and Christmas ornaments which need to be stored back to be used next year… Do this sound familiar??
   The reality is that for us Catholics December 25 is just the beginning of the Christmas season, a season which last 12 whole days and ends today with the feast of the Epiphany. A feast that, it seems to me provides an antidote to this dreaded Post Christmas Let Down.
   So my brothers and sisters, if you have been suffering from this Post Christmas Let Down, let me give you three simple steps to salvage what is left of the Christmas season:   Number One: take some time to reflect on what we were truly celebrating: Images of the sweet baby in the manger are nice,  but also remember that by taking human form, by appropriating for himself the flesh of the Blessed Virgin, and molding a human body from her, the creator of the universe has taken the whole of the human race and lift it up to a dignity greater than anything else in creation including the angels! Because of the incarnation we have been given the opportunity to one day be as close to God as Mary was when God Himself was in her womb, feeding of her and sharing of her own life! That is the mystery of the incarnation.
  Number two: spend some time looking at what you have received; look at each present as a token of love from God himself. What is God telling me through each present I have received? It does not matter if we are talking about a toaster or a video game; how does God want me to be happy with what I have received? What part of my life has been blessed by each gift received?
  Number Three, and this is the most important step, think about how am I going to use this present to give back to God in thanks? How can I give of myself to the person who gave me each gift?
   The beauty of the Christian celebration of Christmas is that we have twelve days to do this, and on the last day, today, the feast of the Epiphany we are given the Three Wise Men to show us how they were the very first people who celebrated Christmas with these three steps.
Let me show you; First they used science of their times and listened to the ancient prophesies, to realize that an amazing event was about to occur: the creator of the universe, loving His creation to the extreme, decided to enter into our history and become one of us.
   Second, they looked at their own resources, the gifts they had received from God as wise kings and scientists of their time, and understood that they were given these as a blessing; so that they could witness, be part of such a momentous event. So without delay they undertook the long trip to a far away land, a trip that would put them face to face with the living God, Emanuel, God in the flesh.
   Third, when they finally arrived to the house were the babe and His mother were, returned to him what they themselves had received, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, symbols of kinship, divinity and a life given for others out of love.
The Gospel reading tells us that the Three Wise Men were overjoyed when the saw the star stop at the house were Jesus and Mary were, the end of their long ordeal. Overjoyed, that is the felling we get when we celebrate Christmas the right way.
   The reason why we suffer of the dreaded Post Christmas Let Down is because in our mind Christmas ends on December 26. But for those who live their lives with the realization of the incredible gift God the Father has given us in Jesus, the realization that everything we have is a reflection of this blessing, which awakes on us a desire to return this blessing to Him by blessing others…for those who follow the example of the Three Wise Men, Christmas never ends, Christmas is a way of life. The one sure antidote against the Post Christmas Let Down is living our lives as if Christmas happens every day of the year.

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When Engineers Get Bored: Acoustic Levitation

  Acoustic Levitation is a very well understood phenomenon. In fact you can find many examples of this in Youtube. However students at University of Tokyo Nagoya Institute of Technology have taken this lab trick to the next level with their three dimensional manipulation of objects using acoustic standing waves. I will not bore you with the details, just watch the video and think how many practical applications can this technique have. Time will tell. Here is the video:

You can visit their web site for more information here.

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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Here are My 2014 Resolutions!

     Since the end of 2013 is upon us I think this is a good moment to list my next year's resolutions. Normally people keep these lists private, but as a way of making myself accountable...Here they are in no particular order.

• Eat better - I usually try to eat healthy but many days I just eat what I can find in the small cafe at work. I will make a better effort at eating a more balanced diet at work.
• Walk more - I had knee surgery this summer, so I was a bit inactive for the second half of the year. I'm planing a couple of multi-day hiking trips this year in preparation for a 2 weeks pilgrimage in a couple of years so I have to train and build up strength on my knees.
• Spend more time reading - I'm an avid reader but acquire so many books that I hardly have any time to keep up with my queue. I commit to read a minimum of 12 books on paper and another 12 on tape. This will make it a minimum of 24 books in 2014, a goal I feel is easily achievable.
• Spend less time on line - One of my time wasters is my "second-life" (I.E internet persona, which includes facebook, tweeter,etc,  as well as on-line gaming). It is very easy to disconnect your brain and spend hours just paging over completely useless information. With my limited time, I do not have the luxury for these.
• Record more of my music - I need to make an effort to record my music so that i can share it here in the blog.
• Increase my guitar repertoire - this is something I'm always doing, but I need to be more structured about it.

   So there you have it, my new years resolutions for 2014. Lets see how much I can accomplish this year!

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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Things Have Been Quiet Lately

     Things have been quiet lately here at the blog. Mostly because my time have been very taxed by ministry, family, work and a little renovation project I undertook at the beginning of October (If you follow me on Facebook you might have seen the pictures of my slow progress). Luckily the bulk of the  work is done and I will be able to write on-line a bit more.

My Little Project as it Stands Today.

     I was reviewing the list of posts I have on draft mode (Posts which for one reason or another I have not finished) and discovered that I have quite a bit number of unfinished business, so one of my new year's resolution is to finish and add these to the blog and to be more regular on my blogging. Most people abandon their resolutions at one point or another, however I have always been pretty good a keeping mine so we will see how long I can keep them up.

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support to my ministry, and also to wish you a most blessed Christmas season and a great 2014 year!

     "Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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