A CHRISTIAN PARADIGM

(The purpose of this paradigm is to provide a rational basis for both science and religion. Both evolution and Divine Creation are supported.)

THE CREATION

This universe did not just fall into place spontaneously without reason. It was created. It was not created atom by atom and molecule by molecule in all its final detail, but as a set of laws. If there was a big bang, it is because there is a set of laws which caused the big bang to come into existence. If stars and planets formed, it is because there is a set of laws which enable them to form. If there is life, it is because there is a set of laws which governs its existence.

The laws come first. The details come into being as a function of those laws.

The reality of our universe is in the laws, not in the details. The details are simply the way that we perceive the workings of the original laws.

Science explains the universe by observing the details and creating mathematical models which attempt to imitate the original laws. It cannot explain how the original laws came into being.

The following paradigm is an attempt to provide a rational basis for both scientific analysis and spiritual insights.

CHRISTIAN LOGIC

In this day and age, where logic plays an increasingly important role in our lives (computers cannot function without it}, it is imperative that we see our Christian faith and traditions in the light of logic. The paradigm shows that the traditions and tenets of faith can indeed have a logical basis.

INTRODUCTION

A person with a scientific mind may tend to ignore anything which pertains to a spiritual reality because it seems to be irrational or illogical. One purpose for this paradigm is to show that it is possible for both science and spiritual reality to have a common, rational, basis.

A paradigm is a model that you hold in your mind to help sort out all the things and events that you come across in your universe. If your paradigm can only offer a model of physical things like matter, energy, and force-fields in space-time, then your paradigm is too small. Science offers a paradigm which is a set of models (usually mathematical models) which simulate physical reality. Some are highly accurate and are useful while others are not so accurate. They are based on data from the five senses or from data from instruments which translate data to the five senses. But are all the data of reality translatable to the five senses? We should keep a healthy respect for that which we do not know. We should realize that science is not complete in itself. It needs to be complimented by other views of reality such as through religion which offers another kind of paradigm of reality which uses metaphorical models. The problem, however, is that the various paradigms based on science or various religious viewpoints tend to conflict with each other. We need a paradigm that can offer a rationale to both science and religion.

FOUNDATION

This Christian Paradigm is a logical structure built on the foundation of the Trinity as defined by traditional Christian thought. The Trinity, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, is the only foundation of the universe.

THE FATHER

The Father is the Creator and the Source of Will in the Universe. There is only one Father and one Will.

Our Father in Heaven...Thy Will be done.

THE SON

The Son is the Source of Reason, LOGOS, in the universe. There is only one Son, one Reason, one LOGOS, one Christ. (Traditionally, the LOGOS in John 1.1 was translated as "the Word," but the Greek LOGOS can also be translated as "Reason.")

Let's forsake the tree of good and evil and accept the Tree of Life, the Christ, the Source of Reason.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is the Source of Awareness in the universe. There is only one Holy Spirit and one Awareness. It is the Holy Spirit who brings all things to our remembrance.

May the Spirit of Truth shine in our lives.

UNITY

Each of the three attributes of reality: awareness, will, and reason, is fruitless without the other two. Will, without awareness and reason, results in chaos. Awareness, without will and reason, is a void with nothing to be aware of. A world without will and reason is a world without ideas; a void. Reason, without awareness and will, cannot function. The three must function together as one.

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REASON

Reason cannot be defined. It is known only by its fruits. The universe in which we find ourselves is a product of Reason.

AWARENESS, WILL, and REASON

Awareness, will, and reason do not spring from biological processes. The biological processes are given to us as instruments with which we can exercise our awareness, will, and reason. We are learning to use them. This paradigm uses the Aristotelian principle that any logical system must have undefined objects, and these "objects" are awareness, will, and reason. All other objects in the paradigm are defined in terms of these three. We do not define them but we know that they exist because we can use them.

IDEAS AND CREATION

Ideas are generated by the Trinity and are separated from each other only by their intrinsic characteristics. No two ideas are identical. The number of ideas is finite but infinitely expandable. Creation is the process of idea generation by the Trinity. Ideas can also form links between two or more other ideas to form entities. An entity can be defined here as a set of linked ideas. No two entities are identical but they can have ideas in common. An idea can be incorporated in any number of entities. An entity is living if it is linked to the Will and to the Awareness of the Trinity. We, humans, all share that same Awareness and Will. There are some who share the Reason also.

An idea, created by the Trinity, is a permanent part of the universe. It was created, therefore it exists. It cannot be erased from the universe. It does not have a beginning or an end in time because it transcends time. Time itself is an idea or set of ideas.

SPACE-TIME, MATTER-ENERGY, AND FORCE-FIELDS

Space-time, matter-energy, and force-fields are models in which science simulates the basic building blocks of our physical universe. In this paradigm these are entities or sets of ideas. These scientific models are valid as a sub-set within the paradigm. The paradigm, however, allows the models to be seen from a broader viewpoint. They simulate the building blocks of our particular physical universe, one of an essentially infinite number of possibilities. Space-time is a set of ideas, or entity, which forms a matrix in which dynamic relationships can occur between other entities. An entity can appear at multiple points within space-time through links between that entity and points within the space-time matrix. An example is the electron. The electron is a unique entity but it appears at multiple locations within the space-time matrix through multiple links. Each electron appearing within the space-time matrix is a separate entity only because it has different coordinates and no two electrons, manifesting within space- time, can share the same coordinates. In other words all electrons manifesting in space- time share the properties of the one electron except the individual coordinates and energies.

Space-time, matter-energy, and force-fields and their interactions are models reflecting our perception of our physical universe. In this paradigm they represent the ideas or entities which make up the universe in which we find ourselves. They are probably not the only building blocks of our universe but they are the ones that we have found so far.

The purpose of space-time, in the context of this paradigm, is to allow the one to manifest as many. One electron manifests as many individual electrons. One mind manifests as many individual minds.

THE UNIVERSE AND NATURAL LAW

Natural law is an entity linked to space-time which controls the interactions between all of the other entities which manifest within the space-time matrix. The natural laws of our particular physical universe are simulated by the models of science which are based on observed phenomena. Our universe is a particular set of entities, such as space-time and natural law, linked to form a unique system. Any number of universes can exist. Universes can share ideas and entities. If two universes are identical except for one idea they would be two separate universes but everything would be shared between them except that one idea. Ideas and entities are never duplicated but they can be shared.

TIME

Time is an axis in the space-time matrix. Changes occurring in the universe are subject to natural laws and take place along the time axis. All changes in the entire universe take place in the present moment. If we define the present moment as t=0, then the universe is static for negative time and undetermined except as probabilities for positive time. "Now" is your eternal dwelling place. "Time", as we perceive it, is an illusion. The "future" is a sea of probabilities and possibilities. The "past" is a record of what you have done with your possibilities and probabilities.

PHYSICAL SUBSTANCE AND LIFE

Physical substance is a set of entities which are subject to the natural laws of the universe. These are simulated by science as models involving matter-energy and force-fields as they interact within the space-time matrix. Life is a special set of entities in which form is determined by DNA code as described by current science models. The process of generating life forms through evolution and reproduction is a function of natural law. It is a system which results in a large diversity of life forms. Each living entity is linked to the Will and evolution is driven forward through each living entity's will to survive in a universe which is hostile to the survival of life forms. We, at least some of us humans, are linked to the Awareness and Reason in addition to the Will so we can be aware of ourselves and our environment in addition to having a will to survive. Our ability to be aware and to reason and our ability to perform willful acts are tempered by our sense organs and nervous systems so we each experience life in a unique way as individuals.

Every life form depends on its links to the Trinity, the one source of Will, Awareness and Reason. The links manifest in each life form as its ability to be aware, its ability, if any, to make willful decisions or its ability, if any, to reason. These abilities, however, are focussed within the physical body including the senses and nervous system which screen out all irrelevant data.

INDIVIDUALS

An individual is a life form linked to Trinity. The end result of our world system is the creation of a large diversity of individuals through the processes of evolution and reproduction. We are each individuals because we each have access to Awareness, Will, and Reason from a unique viewpoint. An individual is formed through processes of reproduction as defined by natural law. Each birth results in a new individual with no previous experience in the universe. Just as evolution results in a diversity of species, a diversity of individual types within each species is the result of reproduction. Each individual's nervous system develops as part of a learning process. Through the interplay of awareness, will, and memory the individual becomes aware of self as an independent individual.

Our viewpoint is determined by our physical body structure, our position in space-time, and the memories which we have access to. The process of becoming an individual begins at conception and proceeds through the development of sensual awareness, experimentation, and accumulation of memories. We each must learn how to be an individual. This process is facilitated in a hostile environment where opposition from ones surroundings forces development. The main driving force is the will to survive. In the process of learning to be an individual, one is also learning to interface with other individuals. One learns that survival is easier by cooperating with immediate family or clan members. This is the next main learning experience; learning to respect other individuals.

NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system is an autonomous part of an individual entity and it is the vehicle in which individuality is formed. It has two functions; to provide automatic responses as an aid to individual survival and to modify the link between the individual and the Trinity. A certain balance is maintained between the individuals use of free will and the constraints imposed by automatic response. The individual's primary contact with the universe is through physical senses which are linked to the nervous system. Individuality is formed and nurtured within the constraints imposed by the nervous system but, once formed, it also exists as an entity linked to the Trinity and will continue to exist even when the nervous system terminates.

MEMORY

As the individual evolves after birth there is a constant interplay between sense input, automatic response and free will. All of this activity is "frozen" in the past- time existence of the universe. (see "TIME") If an individual had instant access to all that information, it would be chaotic. The nervous system, specifically the brain, filters the awareness of this memory so that the individual is not overwhelmed with irrelevant data. The brain can effectively block irrelevant data because an individual's awareness is normally focussed on functions of the physical body including the brain and the physical senses. The individual remembers by willfully opening the channels which are accessible through the nervous system. Memory is usually confined to the individual's own experiences. It should be emphasized that the brain does not store memory but it filters data which exists permanently in past-time. If part of the brain becomes defective, the individual may actually become aware of a larger amount of data but much of it may be irrelevant or confusing. When part of the brain is in a sleep state, data may be partially filtered along with unfiltered extraneous data resulting in dreaming.

An individual remembers through association. A healthy brain filters past data into awareness only if the data can be associated with current experience including belief systems, education, environment, and current activities. The brain also filters the individual's links to Awareness, Will, and Reason. The filtering insures that the individual has the mental facility consistent with the individual's current reality.

CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness is the interaction of an individual's awareness, will, and memory. Will is required to focus the awareness onto a specific target, and memory is required to give meaning to the result.

DEATH

The physical body, through natural law, eventually dies. The apparent purpose of life appears to be the creation of diverse types of individuals. The individual, as an independent entity, is permanent as a set of memories linked to the Trinity and there is no reason to believe that it terminates along with the physical body.

EXTENDED MEMORY

There has been some evidence that an individual, under rare circumstances, can experience memories belonging to a different individual. In cases like this when the memory apparently belongs to a deceased individual the term "reincarnation" has been used as though the deceased individual was reborn as the current individual. This, however, would not be the simplest explanation when considering this paradigm. It is simpler to assume that an individual's memory has somehow bypassed the brain and has made contact with the static universe in past time. A similar explanation may also apply to cases of "psi" phenomena. This extended memory may not be totally reliable, however, because without guidance through the brain one may confuse the past of this universe with the past of alternate universes.

EMOTIONS

The emotions are automatic responses to sense input and memories. They are one of the automatic functions of the nervous system.

SENTIENT ENTITIES

A sentient entity has been defined as an entity, a set of ideas, linked to the Trinity through Awareness, Will, and Reason. An individual is a sentient entity. A group of individuals can also be a sentient entity. As an example: a husband is a sentient entity and a wife is a sentient entity but the husband and wife, as a couple, is also a sentient entity. The "couple" is an individual entity possessing the characteristics of both the husband and the wife and can wilfully act through either husband or wife through mental suggestion. The suggestion would occur on an unconscious level in the recipient but would manifest as a thought or urge. Group entities occur at all levels: families, clans, nations, companies, organizations, etc. or wherever there is a common set of ideas shared by a group of individuals. Each of us is a group entity. Our so-called physical bodies are made up of individual entities as cells, organs, etc. Each of these entities, or sets of ideas, function both as individuals and as constituents of the whole body. We function as group entities with very tight control over our individual cells because each cell shares the same unique pattern which determines our individuality. This pattern manifests as the configuration of genes in our chromosomes; each chromosome manifesting in every cell of our bodies. The set of ideas represented by our chromosomes is fixed in our universe and cannot be erased.

COLLECTIVE ENTITIES

Collective entities are group entities in which the constituent individuals share a set of ideas in common. These collective entities are of many diverse types and have varying degrees of influence over their constituents. Families, clans, companies, nations and races are just a few of the obvious collective entities in the world. Some other entities mentioned in Christian scripture are also collective entities. These include angels, devils, baals, powers and principalities to name a few. The influence on their constituent individuals can be either helpful or harmful depending on the nature of the entity.

ADAM

Adam, as first man, is the collective entity which includes all people born of the flesh. Adam is not just a historical figure in some speculative past existence but is here and now with the power to influence all people.

SIN

It is written that sin came into the world because of Adam. But if Adam influences all people here and now, then he is the sustainer of sin here and now. The sin, in the context of this paradigm, would be an interference with our link to Reason. Adam interposes a pseudo-reason as a substitute for the one true Reason which is from the LOGOS, the Christ. It is to be emphasized that we are not being punished for the sin of some ancient ancestor but that we are all under the cloud of sin which exists here and now.

CRUCIFIXION

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the Christ is not just a historical event but one eternally here and now in which any of us can participate. It is the death of the old self under Adam and resurrection under a new collective entity, the Church, headed by Jesus and linked directly to the one Reason which is our heritage through the Trinity.

REPENTANCE

Repentance involves giving up, renouncing, all affiliation with worldly collective entities. This does not mean, however, that we no longer pay worldly tribute to them. We are in the world but not of it. We "give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar." (Mat 22:21) Also: "Make friends with mammon so that in case you fail, you will be taken up into the more spiritual realms." (Luke 16:9) (Taken up into the more friendly, angelic collective entities in case you fail to complete your transformation through the crucifixion event.)

SAVIOR

It is very difficult, if not impossible, for us to free ourselves from all collective entities without the help of the Savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son.

ANAGOGE

The paradigm is a map. It is not the territory. When you find your place in it you no longer need it. It is an anagogic metaphor pointing towards a higher understanding.

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Copyright (c) 1998 by Kenneth W. Paschen. This document may be copied and distributed freely only in its entirety, including this copyright notice, and without modification. The document is not to be used for any commercial purposes. Comments can be posted on the following forum:__Limitations of Science__

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