Sunday's Prayer

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in my heart the love of your Name; increase in me true religion; nourish me with all goodness; and bring forth in me the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

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Thought for the Day

Prayer (I)

Prayer the Churches banquet, Angels age,
Gods breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth;

Engine against th' Almightie, sinner's towre,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six daies world-transposing in an houre,
A kinde of tune, which all things heare and fear;

Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse,
Exalted Manna, gladnesse of the best,
Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest,
The milkie way, the bird of Paradise,

Church-bels beyond the stars heard, the souls bloud,
the land of spices, something understood.
--George Herbert

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Thought for the Day

A basic requirement is that a person not look upon his authority as giving him a right to all kinds of privileges, and much more, that he not use it to appropriate the community's resources to himself. similarly, authority is in the service of truth, and not vice versa: something is not true because the authorities say so, but rather, the authorities must speak the truth.
--Bakole wa Ilunga

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Thought for the Day

The truths which are not translated into lives are dead truths, and not living truths.
--Woodrow Wilson

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Thought for the Day

I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to "rejoice" as much as by anything else.
--C. S. Lewis

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Thought for the Day

He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great. Failure is the test of greatness.
--Herman Melville

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Thought for the Day

For every civilization or every period in history it is true today: Show me what kind of God you have and I will tell you what kind of humanity you possess.
--Emil Brunner

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Sunday's Prayer

Grant to me, O Lord, I pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that I, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Thought for the Day

We were born believing. A man bears beliefs, as a tree bears apples.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Thought for the Day

A person may sometimes have a clear conscience simply because his head is empty.
--Ralph Sockman

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Thought for the Day

Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it.
--Confucius

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Thought for the Day

Prayer is not bending to my will, but it is a bringing of my will into conformity with God's will, so that His works may work in and through me.
--E. Stanley Jones

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Thought for the Day

God is love and love s goodness giving itself away.
--Edith Stein

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Brain scans: The New Phrenology?

The 8/17/08 Sunday Globe had an interesting article in the Ideas section about the value of brain scans. You no doubt have come across pictures of brain scans--those colorful fMRI pictures that show up regularly in the media--with the claim that they have demonstrated that area of the brain that has to do with love, religion, anger, criminality....

As it turns out, there is a lot of bad science involved in this new fad. Interestingly, at the conference I attended in England a couple of weeks ago, I think it was neuropsychologist Malcolm Jeeves who in our seminar on Science and Theology in discussing fMRI scans said that he thought that this was the new phrenology. Phrenology became popular in the nineteenth century and supposedly those well versed in this "field" could tell about your personality and intelligence by locating the bumps on your head. It was very popular for a short time, until it was shown to be the pseudoscience that it is.

The author of the article notes that some eminent scientists in this field are concerned about the misuse and over-interpretation that is occurring in this field and have written a number of papers recently critical of some of the shoddy science that is going on.

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Thought for the Day

No human power can force the impenetrable entrenchments of liberty in the human heart. Force can never persuade men; it can only make them hypocrites.
--Francois Fenelon

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Sunday's Prayer

May the God of peace who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen
--Hebrews 13:20-21

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Thought for the Day

God does not seek the most perfect human being with whom to be united, but takes on human nature as it is. Jesus Christ is not the transfiguration of noble humanity, but the Yes of God to real human beings...
--Deitrich Bonhoeffer

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Thought for the Day

Only he who believes, obeys, and only he who obeys, believes.
--Deitrich Bonhoeffer

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Thought for the Day

Finally beloved whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your minds think about these things.
--Philippians 4:8

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Thought for the Day

The mystery of idolatry is that persons reflect what they possess. Idolatry is being possessed by a possession and thereby refusing God's claim on oneself and shirking one's responsibility toward others in the community.
--M. Douglas Meeks

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Thought for the Day

Post-modern man is more profoundly perplexed about the nature of man than his ancestors were. He is on the verge of spiritual and moral insanity. He does not know who he is.
--F. S. C. Northrop

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Thought for the Day

It is easy to be honest enough not to be hanged. To be really honest means to subdue one's prepossessions, ideals--stating things fairly, not humoring your aargument--doing justice to your enemies...making confession whether you can afford it or not; refusing unmerited praise; looking painful truths in the face.
--Aubrey De Vere

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Sunday's Prayer

O eternal God, sanctify my body and soul, my thoughts and intentions, my words and actions, that whatsoever I shall think or speak, or do, may be by me designed for the glorification of Your Name, and by Your blessings, it may be effective and successful in the work of god, according as it can be capable. Lord, turn my necessities into virtue; the works of nature into the works of grace; by making them orderly, regular, temperate; and let no pride or self-seeking, no covetousness or revenge, no little ends and low imaginations pollute my spirit, (or) unhallow any of my words and actions, but let my body be a servant of my spirit, and both body and spirit servants of Jesus; that, doing all things for Your glory here, I may be partaker of Your glory hereafter, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
--Jeremy Taylor (1663-1667)

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Thought for the Day

Two things fill the mind with ever new increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.
--Immanuel Kant

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Homeward Bound

The closing worship service and Eucharist last evening was good. John Polkinghorne was one of the celebrants of the Eucharist and it meant a lot to me to be served by him. Will Willimon gave a good sermon and the service concluded with Amazing Grace accompanied by bagpipes. I can't describe the feeling in Great St. Mary's Church packed with people singing this hymn with the bagpipes. It gives me chills now to think about it. It was very moving.

Here is a picture of the bagpiper at the reception at Queens College afterwards, and a picture of one of the courtyards there.


Unfortunately, the reception was outdoors and just as it began we had a pretty significant thunderstorm. Afterward, however, there was a rainbow that I tried to capture in this photograph:

I just had breakfast and head home today. I have a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from Cambridge to Heathrow, then a several hour wait until my flight to Logan. This has been a great conference and I feel thankful to God for giving me the privilege of being able to attend. God is good!

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Thought for the Day

To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to make something of oneself (a sinner, a penitent, or a saint) on the basis of some method or other, but to be a human being...the human being that Christ creates in us.
--Deitrich Bonhoeffer

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Cambridge Day 5

We only have the closing service and reception this evening and the conference is over. Will Willimon is preaching at the service at which they will also celebrate the Eucharist. I am looking forward to both the service and the reception.

The last two keynote addresses this morning were by psychologist Paul Vitz and writer Philip Yancey and both presentations were excellent. I have been talking with Paul off and on during the institute, and introduced myself to Philip Yancey this morning before he spoke. He is the same age as I am and I have been reading his articles and books since I first discovered him in (the now defunct magazine H.I.S.) and began reading his books. He has been a major player in my own spiritual life so it was fun to get to actually meet him.

I can't remember when I have learned so much and had such a great experience at a conference. The informal discussions that occurred at coffee shops and pubs with other attendees were as beneficial as the formal addresses and workshops. I made some new friends with whom I hope to keep in contact, and talked with a lot of interesting people, all of whom want to honor God in their lives. I know that it is going to take a long time to process and integrate this experience, and I suspect that some of it will occur at a more subliminal level. I love the C. S. Lewis Foundation's belief in integrating intellectual life with the arts and sciences.

I am looking forward to going home, but at the same time I will miss Oxford and Cambridge. There is the intersection of so much history and beauty. I love the gardens that you find in the various colleges and parks. Here are a few pictures of two gardens one of which I just discovered today at Clare College.


This is a close-up of the far side of the garden in the last picuture.

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Thought for the Day

Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you get neither.
--C. S. Lewis

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Cambridge Day 4

Today was the last full day of keynote addresses and the symposium presentations and it is a good thing because my brain is on overload. Philosopher and theologian, Nancy Murphy from Fuller Seminary gave a pretty heavy duty talk entitled, "Science, Souls, and Society: Why Christians Should be Nonreductive Physicalists," and in the symposium Malcolm Jeeves, a neuropsychologist and former president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, gave a talk with the title, "The Human Quest: Some Recent Thoughts." The last symposium hour was a panel of many of the presenters in which we could ask questions.

I felt privileged to be in the presence of such brilliant people. Here is a picture of the panelists:
R. J. Berry, Douglas Huffman, John Polkinghorne, Nancy Murphy, Paul Vitz, and Malcolm Jeeves.

I feel as though I need months just to process the things that I have learned.

Equally important, though are the conversations that I have had with other attendees. The conversations that happen at other times have been helpful in addition to making some new friends.

On another note, I have included a picture of one of the alleys that I take to get from Clare College where I am staying to Great St. Mary's where the keynote addresses are held.

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Thought for the Day

Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid s to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
--George Washington

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Cambridge Day 3

It has rained almost the whole day. But the keynote addresses were lively as was the symposium on science and theology. Nigel Cameron, a bioethicist, gave both a keynote address and a presentation at the symposium. He laid out some of the difficult bioethical issues facing us. He said that the past 30 years the main focus has been on what he calls embryology. He believes that the central focus for the next 30 years will be human enhancement/augmentation.

William Romanowski, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin College, gave an engaging and witty presentation, "Off to See the Wizard: Cinema, Self, and the Search for Meaning." In the afternoon symposium, in addition to Nigel Cameron, R. J. Berry, retired geneticist from the University College, London presented.

We ate our first meal in the Dining Hall at Clare. (For breakfast we eat in a downstairs room called "The Buttery.") On the walls there are portraits of famous Clare graduates, among whom are Latimer (burned at the stake by Queen Mary) and Cornwallis. Here is a picture of dinner:

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Thought for the Day

Put at its most stark, the choice between seeing authentic human life as a life of participation in a supreme reality of wisdom, compassion and bliss, or as the triumph of the will to power and survival, a temporary triumph to be sure, doomed to final failure.
--Keith Ward

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Cambridge Day 2

Whoa! A very full day today. Morning devotions began at 9:00 .m., followed by the first keynote address by William McClay on "Losing and Saving the Self," followed by the second keynote address by colleen Carrol Campbell on "The New Faithful: A New Generation Finds Meaning in Christian Orthodoxy."

Our meeting space is Great St. Mary's Church. I have included a picture of the outside and inside.


The highlight for me, I have to admit, was Sir John Polkinghorne's presentation at the Science and Theology Symposium in the afternoon. The title of his presentation was "How Do Science and Theology Interface?" I wish that he could have been a guest lecturer at my summer bible study! Here is a picture or yours truly with this great scientist and Anglican priest.

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Thought for the Day

The job of the Christian is to try and give an example of sanity, independence, human integrity, good sense, as well as christian love and wisdom, against all establishments and mass movements and all current fashions...
--Thomas Merton

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Cambridge Day 1

This morning I attended Great St. Andrews Church 10:00 a.m. worship. I was expecting a tiny group of elderly people in a giant church, but instead found a full and vibrant church filled with children and students. They service was a pretty unsophisticated contemporary service with overhead projectors, but it definitely felt alive. Here is a photo of the inside from the balcony where we sat.


At 1:30 p.m. we headed out for the town of Ely about a 40 minute ride to the northwest of Cambridge to visit Ely Cathedral, an enormous Cathedral that was initially a chapel built in honor of St. Etheledreda in 673. Here is a picture of the front and side, and another of the front. It is a mammoth building.


The stained glass windows were magnificent and I have included the windows at one end of the nave and another the second at the end of one of the transepts.


At 4:00 p.m. we worshiped at the Evensong service which lasted about 1 1/2 hours. Here is a picture of the inside of the nave.

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Sunday's Prayer

Lord God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ, triumphed over the powers of death and prepared for us our place in the new Jerusalem: grant that I, who have this day given thank for his resurrection, may praise you in the City of which he is the light, and where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

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Transfer Day

I awoke to a gray and rainy day this morning. This worked out pretty well because today was "Transfer Day": we left Oxford at 10:00 a.m. and headed for Cambridge. We made good time and the trip took us 2 1/4 hours. We are split into two groups, one staying at Robinson College where I stayed six years ago, and the others, including myself, at Clare College. Clare College was the second college of Cambridge University, founded in 1326. There are two parts to it: the original site and the expanded site on the other side of the Cam River where the rooms are located in which we are staying. The dining hall is in the old part. In any case, it is a beautiful college. Fortunately, not too long after we arrived, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

Clare College is right next to Kings Chapel, a truly magnificent building. The first picture is one of the inner courtyard of the part of Clare where we are staying. The large fir tree in the middle is huge and must be very old.

The next picture is a view of one of the amazingly beautiful flowers in the courtyard.

Next is a picture of a number of people punting on the Cam.

The last picture is of the inside of the chapel.

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Oxford Day 5

Dana Gioia, an outstanding poet and the chairman of the National Endowments of the Arts, who I mentioned in yesterday's previous post gave one of the keynote addresses this morning, "Art and the Search for Meaning." It was a powerful and I thought compelling presentation and what was even more amazing is that he talked for 45 minutes without notes, reciting Shakespeare from memory, and did so in an incredibly fluid manner. I must say that I am in awe of his brilliance and his ability to connect and communicate with an audience.

I will share a couple of quotations from my notes.
-"When you take spirituality out of art all you are left with are barren methodologies."
-"Art awakens us to fundamental reality of our humanity, the fullness of our humanity."
-"Art doesn't produce beauty, it participates in beauty."
-"We need to reconnect ourselves with beauty as a necessary human goal."

I have a lot to digest.

Tomorrow is called "Transfer Day." We head out for Cambridge in buses (called coaches) at 10:00 a.m. for our two and a half hour drive there. In some ways it will be sad to leave Oxford, but I am looking forward to Cambridge. They are quite different, but each beautiful in its own way. Below is a picture of St. Mary's where both worship and concerts have been held.

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Thought for the Day

Art doesn't produce beauty, it participates in beauty.
--Dana Gioia

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