With the tiny sliver of knowledge I’ve gained of the tiny sliver of knowledge humans have gained about neurology and consciousness, I think it’s pretty hard to correlate any specific brain activity with the peace of God. Brain scans of religious meditation practitioners are different from those of average people. If I remember correctly, the default mode network is less active and frontal lobes are more active–signs of a disciplined mind, i suspect.
My DMN is highly active (how else to account for all the pinging thoughts?), and yet I experience the peace of God. It varies in intensity, but it’s personally indisputable. I’m curious about what that looks like to a neurologist, but it probably looks a lot like other types of phenomenon.
Brain scans of grandmothers looking at pictures of their grandchildren look a lot like brain scans of people having other types of highly pleasant experiences. We need more refinement before we can tell the difference between specific types of phenomena. I hope humans keep working at that!
It seems that even the definition of peace is not universal.
I do not induce the peace of God, or claim such a process possible. As far as I am concerned the peace is an overwhelming sense of calm and contentment. A complete lack of worry or anxiety.
As I see it such a state would probably be upset just by the attachment of the device to measure it.
The “peace of god” is one of those things that is mostly just a personal experience. It’s mostly meaningless to others. As in there is no way to prove the peaceful feeling you have is supernatural from god or a magical banana or just yourself. I think all forms of trying to get scientific data on anything supernatural is fruitless.
It’s like when someone is driving to Walmart… but decides that the Holy Spirit is telling them to go to Publix instead. I’ve met people who lets the Holy Spirit guide what outfit they wear in the morning because by wearing yellow vs blue it may be a sign to some random person that drives past them type of stuff .
Yes, I think you are right about both. Have you ever read William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experience? It’s a wonderful and fascinating book. The first time I read it, i was captivated because other people had experiences that sounded a lot like my own.
Exactly, just because you see that activity is taking place in an areal of the brain gives you no indication of what is going on there. There are similarities in external appearance despite the internal experience being completely different.
I pedaled about ninety miles one day and “missed” over twenty of them in just that way.
Had that happen last week! I was talking to someone and went three blocks on “automatic” before I realized it and had to loop around to get on a proper route.
One major difference being that we have years of experience in following routes.
This was a most interesting read; especially in view of my Masters studies which explored spiritual health care in nursing. I have added care of the mind & spirit in our chronic disease management plans.
That falls short. The forehead is the “wall” that either welcomes or blocks thoughts from outside a person, the barrier between order and chaos; like a wall, it represents the outer display of a person, i.e. what we show to the world. Thus to have Yahweh’s words “on your forehead” is to declare to the world that you belong to Him and to act in such a way that His ways are what are “posted” on your “wall”.
So it includes the brain, but is a lot more than that, and to “bind them on your forehead” is to commit to living as an example of just Who Yahweh is – not just think about Yahweh’s character but to act it out.
This is also the type of forum where if somebody is accelerating down a demonstrably wrong road, others tend to speak up and point that out. Not saying you are necessarily - I don’t know you well enough - I’m only saying that sometimes brakes are useful if somebody is missing the mark. Some of us are a pretty reflective lot here; we may have our own pedals pushed down too, but we keep our eyes wide open and know that the brakes may also prove essential at times for our own or somebody else’s well being. The pedal can be your enemy at least as easily as your friend.
That said, may any Godly seeds any of us plant find good soil! Blessings and peace to you as well.
Or even if just a little course correction is needed.
And some of us have our pet foci; mine are the Cross and the text, and when something looks off-center I’ll usually say so.
That and I get fired up when someone gets science wrong – not that they disagree with it but that they represent accurately what it is with which they disagree.
Sir. Your entitled to believe what you want. Any one who is Christian will obey ten commandments. These are God’s laws. In gospel of acts, paul became Christian. The term Christian is heard in gospel of acts for first time. These are believers of old testament.
Seems to me you just want to argue. King Agrippa told paul in Acts, I almost converted to Christianity. Science does prove the bible. Is truth.
I already explained my defensive position. Seems to me you’re trying to trip me over. Im here to plant seeds for God. Its public forum, and people say what they believe. Its written in Titus, not to get entangled in striving, and debating Gods word, doesn’t profit anything. My position is understood, and the alternative pretext isn’t warranted. Of being corrected.
Again, I explained myself. I respect other people beliefs and perspectives. I understand this is open conversation format. Again, we understand my defensive position, and titus chapter 3. I moved on to other subjects. Take care.
And that’s fine for you to move on. Others may not have moved on, though, and may wish to post reactions to things you’ve already written. You have every right to make your statements and end your part of the conversation. But you aren’t allowed to forbid others from posting their responses.
[…though responders should certainly take note that you didn’t wish for any further engagement, and their own responses then can just be addressed to the forum or public at large rather than directed at you. But most of us here will usually address our response to the speaker as a matter of common courtesy rather than assume they are ‘no longer in the room’, so-to-speak. It’s just the way things tend to work in public forums.]
I have moved on. Im not trying to discourage anyone from posting. I felt last post, it seems he might be trying to trip me up. I relayed already, of problems I had on other forums. I believe this forum is different, and hope im right. Other forums. Few characters were distorting Gods word. And false statements.
I conveyed why I stopped going on other forums. Take care.
28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre
28:12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre
28:21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her
Ezekiel 28 is directed to these people (prince of Tyre, king of Tyre, and Sidon) so Lucifer has nothing to do with it.
None of this is in the Bible. This story you have made up has nothing to do with reality.
(italics added to show what you have inserted)
Psalm 14 is as follows (141:1 is a typo, I presume)
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none that does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there are any that act wisely,
that seek after God.
3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt;
there is none that does good,
no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.
7 O that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.
Your additions and alterations of the text is something God has promised to reward with plagues.
A Christian who understands the Cross doesn’t need the Ten, or any others. Pointing to the Ten takes away from Christ.
I want people to keep focused on the core, which is Christ, and Him crucified, as Paul said. The Cross is why the Apostles and the Holy Spirit could reduce the entire Mosaic Law to just four admonitions – no commandments needed! Compared to the Cross, all the commandments ever are nothing but ashes sifting in a breeze.
Jesus didn’t say, “I am the Way, except you have to follow the Ten words; I am the Truth, except you have to know commandments; I am the Life, except you have to live by some laws”, He just said “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”.
Christ fulfilled the Ten – He filled them full, so they need nothing more. Aiming at obeying the Ten is like trying to pour more wine already overflowing: there is no gain, no benefit, from it. Christ is all!
I plant Christ, not law. The law could never bring righteousness, and that’s still true. Adhering to law is the work of the flesh; walking in Christ the Light is life and light. The Ten cannot add anything to a Christian; the two nails in His hands are greater than ten times the Ten!
