A quiet, humble, and bright student with whom I once had the pleasure to work would ask questions about facts that were not in dispute. Not just one question; sometimes three or four. Feeling initially confident about my grasp of the fact, then finding myself unable to answer the questions, I was delighted to discover what I called the porosity of fact. The metaphor comes from the physics of the atom: solid enough to get the job done, but mostly empty space.
The porosity metaphor also covers apparently insuperable obstacles: there’s always a way around it or through it. At least that’s my initial assumption.
The porosity metaphor is akin to another metaphor: permeability, a metaphor from the biology of cell membranes, which are more or less permeable by certain molecules. Permeability comes to mind when I am thinking about the mind’s capacity to cooperate with God. I believe that the Creator did not just design us physically, give us a mind, and throw us into the evolutionary drama to sink or swim. I believe that he ministers to our minds very intimately and delicately. Consider Isaiah 11:2.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD.
I interpret “fear” as awe, respect, reverence, and worship; and proceed as follows. I do not assume that this is a complete list of God’s ministries to our minds, but I do embrace that the mind has functions—or clusters of functions—such as understanding. These functions can receive divine assistance. Praying for self or another person, I sometimes pray for greater permeability for functions of mind.
The simple way to get the main idea across is to say that the spirit of God attempts to bless the human mind, and that we can try to become more open to the spirit and can pray for help in doing so. The porosity and permeability metaphors symbolize the conviction that reality is more complex than it appears and offers more potentials for cooperation with God than we suspect.
Just what I needed this morning. Thank you Jeff.
Just what I needed this morning. Thank you Jeff.
Dr. Wattles,
In “The porosity of fact, situation, and mind” , you quote Isaiah from the Bible: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD. ” In my opinion, the new philosophy of living is based on the love of the Lord, as a son would love a true, beautiful, and good father.
Sandor, thank you very much for writing to me and for affirming such important central truths as the core of an appropriate answer to questions in the new philosophy of living.
I try in my writing to move back and forth between what I call the way of simplicity and paths of thoroughness. When you speak of the centrality of love for a true, beautiful and good father, I feel an excellent expression of the way of simplicity. Paths of thoroughness go into detail to explore the big concepts that are central to the way of simplicity. For example, in philosophy of mind we ask about the main functions of mind and may reflect on the possible divine support for these functions.
I believe that the both the way of simplicity and the paths of thoroughness need each other. If paths of thoroughness lose sight of the larger truths, then they may descend into needless analysis and debate. But the way of simplicity is nourished by explorations along such paths (if they are done well). Deep simplicity comes from laboring in the fields of thoroughness.
Visiting your website prescribedevolution.com and looking quickly at the first article on biophysics, I appreciate your capacity for telling in great detail a story that someone else would tell by quoting some verses from the Book of Genesis. In my opinion, the two kinds of discourse are complementary.
Once again, thank you for your centering word!
Dr. Wattles,
In “The porosity of fact, situation, and mind” , you quote Isaiah from the Bible: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD. ” In my opinion, the new philosophy of living is based on the love of the Lord, as a son would love a true, beautiful, and good father.
Sandor, thank you very much for writing to me and for affirming such important central truths as the core of an appropriate answer to questions in the new philosophy of living.
I try in my writing to move back and forth between what I call the way of simplicity and paths of thoroughness. When you speak of the centrality of love for a true, beautiful and good father, I feel an excellent expression of the way of simplicity. Paths of thoroughness go into detail to explore the big concepts that are central to the way of simplicity. For example, in philosophy of mind we ask about the main functions of mind and may reflect on the possible divine support for these functions.
I believe that the both the way of simplicity and the paths of thoroughness need each other. If paths of thoroughness lose sight of the larger truths, then they may descend into needless analysis and debate. But the way of simplicity is nourished by explorations along such paths (if they are done well). Deep simplicity comes from laboring in the fields of thoroughness.
Visiting your website prescribedevolution.com and looking quickly at the first article on biophysics, I appreciate your capacity for telling in great detail a story that someone else would tell by quoting some verses from the Book of Genesis. In my opinion, the two kinds of discourse are complementary.
Once again, thank you for your centering word!
The porosity and permeability metaphors are excellent tools for grasping insight into how God minsters to our mind, spiritualizing it in the process. I would extend this metaphor by calling attention to the fact that the cells have pores or openings that allow certain molecules to cross into the cell without restraint; other pores require that substances be transported through them. These openings are essential to maintain the cell’s viability.
When the spirit of God ministers to the mind, it gains access to the internal working of the mind by using these pores. But in addition, a wonderful thing happens when the spirit of God uses these pores. As a result of using these pores, the pores become even more acceptable to the passage of the spirit’s ministry so that ministry becomes more efficient.
In addition to this increased efficiency of the spirit’s ministry, the pores take on a more selective nature. It allows the qualities of the ministry to increasingly pass with lessened resistance while it increasingly blocks the passage of deleterious substances. In short, goodness is increased while over time evil is decreased.
The net effect of this process over time is to infiltrate the mind with God’s goodness to such an extent that the conscious self becomes aware of its spiritual nature, becomes aware that the self while remaining material is also increasingly becoming spiritual. This new spiritual reality is the soul, and this soul declares that it is a child of God.
This process is also greatly facilitated on the human end by prayer, worship, and unselfish service.
Dr. Perry
The porosity and permeability metaphors are excellent tools for grasping insight into how God minsters to our mind, spiritualizing it in the process. I would extend this metaphor by calling attention to the fact that the cells have pores or openings that allow certain molecules to cross into the cell without restraint; other pores require that substances be transported through them. These openings are essential to maintain the cell’s viability.
When the spirit of God ministers to the mind, it gains access to the internal working of the mind by using these pores. But in addition, a wonderful thing happens when the spirit of God uses these pores. As a result of using these pores, the pores become even more acceptable to the passage of the spirit’s ministry so that ministry becomes more efficient.
In addition to this increased efficiency of the spirit’s ministry, the pores take on a more selective nature. It allows the qualities of the ministry to increasingly pass with lessened resistance while it increasingly blocks the passage of deleterious substances. In short, goodness is increased while over time evil is decreased.
The net effect of this process over time is to infiltrate the mind with God’s goodness to such an extent that the conscious self becomes aware of its spiritual nature, becomes aware that the self while remaining material is also increasingly becoming spiritual. This new spiritual reality is the soul, and this soul declares that it is a child of God.
This process is also greatly facilitated on the human end by prayer, worship, and unselfish service.
Dr. Perry