Any christian mathematicians or physicists?

[ebia]

All I know about Lennox is that he is a YEC.

I'm pretty sure he's not.

 

[Sayre]

I'm pretty sure he's not.

A friend of mine is in trouble, lol... I've been invited to an event Lennox is hosting under the guise that he is a YEC. If he isn't, then I've been hoodwinked.

 

[Embedded]

The society it should be, in my mind, is the one like that in Joshua's time in the Old Testament. It is more (better) than a theocratic system. Judaism survived for millenniums with a good reason.

Joshua's time in the Old Testament was a time of divinely sanctioned violence and genocide... and you would prefer this? wow.

 

[juvenissun]

Joshua's time in the Old Testament was a time of divinely sanctioned violence and genocide... and you would prefer this? wow.

Your view of it is seriously limited and prejudiced.

I am not surprised because I assume you have never spent time in trying to understand it. In case you are interested, I don't mind to talk to you about it.

 

[Embedded]

Your view of it is seriously limited and prejudiced.

I am not surprised because I assume you have never spent time in trying to understand it. In case you are interested, I don't mind to talk to you about it.

I didn't prejudge it, I read it. I have no desire to live in such a place. I have no desire to live in a theocracy.

 

[essentialsaltes]

All I know about Lennox is that he is a YEC. He is coming to my city soon - is he worth listening to?

As ebia, notes, Lennox is OEC. Anyone who can make Answers in Genesis post a huge screed (that starts with a quote mine - see footnote 1) against him is probably worth listening to.

Polkinghorne is also OEC. The only faculty-level physicists who are YEC will be found at one of the YEC institutes, I feel certain. (Mathematicians tend to be crazier, so who knows?)

 

[ebia]

As ebia, notes, Lennox is OEC. Anyone who can make Answers in Genesis post a huge screed (that starts with a quote mine - see footnote 1) against him is probably worth listening to. Polkinghorne is also OEC. The only faculty-level physicists who are YEC will be found at one of the YEC institutes, I feel certain. (Mathematicians tend to be crazier, so who knows?)

TE rather than OEC.

 

[Mr Clean]

Your view of it is seriously limited and prejudiced.

I am not surprised because I assume you have never spent time in trying to understand it. In case you are interested, I don't mind to talk to you about it.

You got my curiosity going. What is it about Joshua's time that appeals to you as a proper form of governance for the world today?

 

[Radagast]

My question will be short: `How did you come to believe in the existence of God and to become a christian?'

I've been a Christian almost as long as I can remember. To me, Christianity makes more sense than any alternative.

If I wasn't a Christian, being a mathematician would (on its own) push me at least as far as being a Platonist. I believe that the truths of mathematics go beyond the physical universe.

 

[leftrightleftrightleft]

Hi there,

My question will be short: `How did you come to believe in the existence of God and to become a christian?'

Thank you.

I'm a geophysicist by training currently working on my masters degree. I was raised in a non-religious but still overtly spiritual home. There were always books lying around by people like Eckhart Tolle, Mitch Albom, and Yogananda Paramahansa. Buddha statues and Bible quotes sat side by side in the living room. As such, I have always had some concept of deity and the divine. I think God was a familiar presence growing up, although never the anthropogenic God described in the Old Testament; we sometimes went to the local Catholic church mass services.

I converted to Christianity for a bunch of reasons, mostly because I found the wisdom of Jesus and the Christian Way of Life to be compelling and I found other alternatives' wisdom to be less compelling.

 

[juvenissun]

I didn't prejudge it, I read it. I have no desire to live in such a place. I have no desire to live in a theocracy.

I said that it was better than theocracy. You might have read it. But I would say you have most like browsed over it. It is much much more than you think it is.

 

[juvenissun]

You got my curiosity going. What is it about Joshua's time that appeals to you as a proper form of governance for the world today?

Good question. If you read Judges, you know that there was no central governance then in that region. In today's analogy, it is like no federal government in the US.

 

[Embedded]

Good question. If you read Judges, you know that there was no central governance then in that region. In today's analogy, it is like no federal government in the US.

Uh, the very title of the book gives it away. They were 'governed' by judges. The book claims the judges were appointed by god to direct the people to obey gods laws ... thus, a theocracy. Or are you using a different definition of theocracy?

 

[ebia]

Uh, the very title of the book gives it away. They were 'governed' by judges.

Well, yes and no. Most of the time there is no-one in charge, everyone "does what is right in his own sight", things go horribly wrong, a judge arises and fixes it up, repeat.

Which sets up not having government as not working so that the people demand a king - and that doesn't work either but in different ways.

Looking to the OT for a model of government seems wierd when a lot of its point is showing how various forms of government don't work.

 

[juvenissun]

Uh, the very title of the book gives it away. They were 'governed' by judges. The book claims the judges were appointed by god to direct the people to obey gods laws ... thus, a theocracy. Or are you using a different definition of theocracy?

But, that is a local level government. And it is not a sense of theocracy like the Catholic church in middle age Europe. It is a God-centered society with a minimum human governance. That is why I said it is a system better than theocracy. In fact, it is much better.

 

[juvenissun]

Well, yes and no. Most of the time there is no-one in charge, everyone "does what is right in his own sight", things go horribly wrong, a judge arises and fixes it up, repeat.

Which sets up not having government as not working so that the people demand a king - and that doesn't work either but in different ways.

Looking to the OT for a model of government seems wierd when a lot of its point is showing how various forms of government don't work.

Yes, it is like the change of the physical earth. What happened will never be repeated. However, this very fact itself should be strange enough.

God tells us: do it this way. We did not listen, so it could never happen again. However, theoretically, it was still the best social/political system we ever know.

 

[Embedded]

So um... When a bridge needs to be built (or repaired), a well dug, a ditch, a school, a hospital, etc... who organizes and supervises such a work? Does it 'just happen'? Does a capable 'judge' just poof into existence when some community needs it done? How are such things paid for? If there is an epidemic, flood, tsunami, earthquake, major industrial accident... or an invasion... who organizes the relief, rescue, defense? Does everyone just 'do-the-right-thing'? How would they know what to do? Would they train and practice? Who organizes it and does the training?
Who builds and maintains the roads, airports, seaports, air traffic control system, GPS system? How is it paid for? Who collects those funds to provide these services? Who determines what the priorities are for spending the collected funds?

When the 'judges' are not around who deals with the day-to-day legal decisions? Who determines and interprets Gods laws for the community(ies)? Who enforces them? How?
Is it a priesthood? A council of local elders? How is a priesthood or council selected?

When a new judge 'materializes' does he or she just appear out of nowhere or are they someone from the same or nearby community? Do they simply walk up to the town square and say, "Yo, I'm the new Judge." ? Or does god appear and introduce them?

There are a zillion other questions about this form of (non)government you propose that are not answered in either Joshua or Judges. I don't expect you to answer all the above. But perhaps you can answer these two...
If it is such a wonderful (non)system of (non)government, why don't the Israelis do it now?
How is it different than what the Taliban wants to do in Afghanistan?

 

[ebia]

Yes, it is like the change of the physical earth. What happened will never be repeated. However, this very fact itself should be strange enough. God tells us: do it this way. We did not listen, so it could never happen again. However, theoretically, it was still the best social/political system we ever know.

Scripture seems pretty clear that it never worked.

 

[ebia]

How is it different than what the Taliban wants to do in Afghanistan?

The Taliban ran an extraordinarily efficient government for the brief period when they were in a position to do so.

 

[juvenissun]

So um... When a bridge needs to be built (or repaired), a well dug, a ditch, a school, a hospital, etc... who organizes and supervises such a work? Does it 'just happen'? Does a capable 'judge' just poof into existence when some community needs it done? How are such things paid for? If there is an epidemic, flood, tsunami, earthquake, major industrial accident... or an invasion... who organizes the relief, rescue, defense? Does everyone just 'do-the-right-thing'? How would they know what to do? Would they train and practice? Who organizes it and does the training?
Who builds and maintains the roads, airports, seaports, air traffic control system, GPS system? How is it paid for? Who collects those funds to provide these services? Who determines what the priorities are for spending the collected funds?

When the 'judges' are not around who deals with the day-to-day legal decisions? Who determines and interprets Gods laws for the community(ies)? Who enforces them? How?
Is it a priesthood? A council of local elders? How is a priesthood or council selected?

When a new judge 'materializes' does he or she just appear out of nowhere or are they someone from the same or nearby community? Do they simply walk up to the town square and say, "Yo, I'm the new Judge." ? Or does god appear and introduce them?

There are a zillion other questions about this form of (non)government you propose that are not answered in either Joshua or Judges. I don't expect you to answer all the above. But perhaps you can answer these two...
If it is such a wonderful (non)system of (non)government, why don't the Israelis do it now?
How is it different than what the Taliban wants to do in Afghanistan?

I am not even trying to answer these questions. However, there are "many" commandments given in the Pentateuch with the exact purpose of dealing with those problems.

Examples are many many. For example, in the judicial system, the "Judge" is not even in the picture. It is mostly handled by priests (Levites). (But don't envy them. Everyone has a home, but not any Levites. They are homeless people).

Modern people could not even imagine how would that kind of society work. But if you carefully read the Scripture, you will certainly appreciate the beauty of that system.