Dr. Pinkham cites Keith warrington who stated that “in ephesians 3:1-21 paul ‘reveals that the spirit gives us his power, his ability, his wisdom and his revelation for one purpose and one purpose only - it’s to help us know how much god loves us . . . to help us discover the inestimable nature of god’s love - for you and me.”

pinkham states, “the trinity is really the heart of the theological perspective of this book. . . . god is one. god is three. god is personal. god is relational. if god is fundamentally personal and relational, as the trinity certainly is, then the way we approach god must be personal and relational. the way we speak about god to others must be interpersonal and relational. the way we attempt to solve the problems in our lives must be interpersonal and relational.”

readers of my books and blogs surely have noticed that i refer frequently to dualist interactionism. this term refers to the reality of personal, intimate interaction between the mind of god/his holy spirit given by the resurrected and living jesus christ and the mind of man made possible by god’s created neural synaptic networks that transmit specified information from god to man, giving counsel, direction and help. this relationship with our savior must be one with god as he indwells our souls with his spirit, our human spirits allowing the holy spirit to be our guide, as it was with jesus christ and remains now and forever.

pinkham goes on to state, “. . . the trinity is a required foundation for the development of all other christian doctrine.”

Dr. pinkham opens his book with these stATEMENTS IN HIS INTRODUCTION:

“THERE IS A LACK OF SELF-UNDERSTANDING IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. THE WEST IS FACING A CRISIS OF MEANING, AND CHRISTIANITY IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PROVIDE A CREATIVE ANSWER. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO DO SO, CHRISTIANITY MUST FIND ITS DEFINING, UNIFYING CENTER. TO RESPOND TO THE OVERARCHING CRISIS OF MEANING, CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND THE TRUE NATURE OF THEIR BELIEF.

THIS BOOK SEEKS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: ‘WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY?’ ANOTHER WAY TO ASK THIS QUESTION WOULD BE: ‘WHAT IS THE UNIFYING HEART OF JESUS’ LIFE AND TEACHINGS, AND HOW CAN wE LIVE ACCORDINGLY? WE SUGGEST THAT THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IS INTERPERSONAL ONENESS. . . . THE TRINITY IS QUINTESSENTIALLY INTERPERSONAL AND INDIVISIBLY ONE (DEUT 6:4; 1 JOHN 5:7). FURTHER, THE INTERPERSONAL CREATOR HAS CREATED INTERPERSONAL BEINGS AFTER HIS KIND, HAVING MADE HUMANS IN HIS IMAGE (GEN 1:26). WE SUGGEST THAT THE CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY REFLECTS THE VERY NATURE OF GOD - THE TRINITY - HIMSELF: LIVING IN PERSONAL ONENESS.” . . . THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF THE HUMan being - that is, our anthropology - will be incomplete if it is not defined by its godward orientation.”

in the preface of the book dr. pinkham stated, “this work centers of one idea: reality is relational. i argue that god has created human existence in this way, and that christianity can only be properly understood in this context.”

i begin by including several statements by marty folsum, ph.d., who composed the foreward to this book. he defines the theme of this book elaborated so well by the authors.

“we need to rediscover the relationality of the god who made us and holds us as beloved children. . . . relational christianity is the fruit of relational theology . . . [which] reveals and confirms that god is not passive, abandoning us to work ouT a relational plan, but is active and involved. god goes before us and is still with us. GOD IS STILL SPEAKING; WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LISTEN [ITALICS ADDED]. . . . the revelation of god in christ as the ground and grammar of all relationaL THINKING.

“THE TRINITARIAN GOD IS RELATIONAL. BY THAT, I MEAN THE ONE GOD EXISTS IN THE FORM OF THREE PERSONS WHO LIVE AND LOVE WITH AN INSEPARABLE UNITY. RELATIONAL CHRISTIANITY MUST NEVER DEPART FROM THIS EVER-PRESENT EMBRACING BY THE GOD WHO SPEAKS AND CALLS US HOME.

“BY THE ONGOING WORK OF THE SPIRIT, WE MAY LIVE IN INTIMATE CONNECTION TO THE ABBA OF JESUS, WITH JESUS HIMSELF, AND EXPERIENCE GOD’S EMBRACE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, . . . ‘THE BODY OF CHRIST.’ . . . WE ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN GOD’S MANNER OF RELATING AND ACTS OF LOVE. THIS IS THE ACTUALITY OF THE RELATIONAL.”

in my october 17 blog post above i stated, “I PRAY THAT MY WRITINGS IN BOOKS AND BLOGS SPEAK TO THE TRUTH AND PROCESS OF THE PERSONAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MIND OF GOD AND THE MIND OF MAN THROUGH HIS CREATED NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS.” i have completed a thoughtful and prayerful reading of a book coauthored by wesley m. pinkham and jeremiah gruenberg, brought to my attention by Dr. Pinkham, entitled relational christianity: a remarkable vision of god, wipf & stock, eugene oregon, 2022. i will be including a considerable number of exerpts from this book that speak to the reality of the personal interactive communion our creator god designed mankind to have with him. it is a dynamic communion that is trinitarian, described by the authors as a “reciprocal kenosis” that establishes a reciprocal oneness between the Father, Son and holy spirit and the spirit and soul of mankind within the church. it is my prayer that my writings give clarity to the mechanism of this process and evidence that it is real in our time. i thank dr. pinkham for identifying this wonderful work to me. we shall see the depth and power of the communion created by god as we examine the excerpts. I heartily recommend this book to you.

my studies and writings for over 25 years have considered dualist interaction between the mind of god/holy spirit and the spirit, soul/mind of man through god’s created neural synaptic networks of the brain. it is an interaction between the immaterial mind of god and man and the material synaptic networks of the brain. i have drawn upon biblical and neuroscientific resources and demonstrated a concordance between the two entities. one can ask, “so what?” what is the ultimate purpose and benefit of documenting this interaction and showing, at least in part, how it functions? again, i cite dr. ross:

“likewise, christians in the sciences can help christian theologians recognize god’s handiwork in nature, revealing more about his wisdom, artistry, and other attributes that draw people to seek a relationship with him. a (moderate) concordist approach to teaching on god’s revelation can help deepen christians’ trust in the bible while also drawing skeptics to its message. such teaching will restore the value of loving the lord with all our mind, as well as our heart, soul, and strength.”

in my books and blog posts i have often noted that my research into dualist interactionism utilizes the neural synapse as a model for study. in chapter 20 of dr. ross’s book he discusses the use Of a model:

“in science, the term ‘model’ refers to the schematic description of a physical or living system, or combined set of systems, that accounts for its origin and operation. a model is more than an idea, inference, method, hypothesis, or rudimentary theory. it is a reasonable and well-developed attempt to explain the entire scope of a particulAR SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THAT SYSTEM’S RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PHENOMENA. . . . USING A MODEL APPROACH SUPPLIES RESEARCHERS AND BIBLE SCHOLARS WITH A SUFFICIENTLY DETAILED OUTLINE TO ASSIST IN FURTHER STUDY. IT PORTRAYS HOW, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY A PHENOMENON, OR A SET OF PHENOMENA, TAKES PLACE. IT ANTICIPATES FUTURE DISCOVERIES OR BIBLICAL INSIGHTS THAT COULD EITHER VERIFY OR FALSIFY THE MODEL’S EXPLANATION. IN SCIENCE, THE BEST MODELS ALSO YIELD SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH THAT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYSTEMS OR PHENOMENA THEY ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN. . . . GIVEN THAT NEITHER SCIENTISTS NOR THEOLOGIANS CAN KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ANY PARTICULAR SYSTEM, NO MODEL CAN OFFER A PERFECT EXPLANATION. HOWEVER, AS DIFFERENT MODELS ARE COMPARED AND CONTRASTED AND MORE THOROUGHLY TESTED, SCIENTIFIC AND THEOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING ADVANCES.”

i am including an excerpt from chapter 19 in dr. ross’s book that speaks to the complex, yet truly wonderfully designed, interactions between synchronous neural synaptic networks that function in the processing and interpretation of specified, encoded information by the immaterial mind. In my books and blog posts i have focused primarily on the encoded cognitive activities of the neocortex that are interpreted by the mind. in dr. ross’s comments we shall see that the mind interprets and integrates complex, multiple synaptic networks of neural codes beyond the neocortex. his comments address a comparison between the brains of neanderthals and human beings, homo sapiens sapiens:

“with a smaller right cerebellum providing only limited connections to the prefrontal lobes, neanderthals would have lacked language processing capability. modern humans’ larger cerebellum endows them with a ‘larger capacity for cognitive information processing’ and for ‘episodic and working memory capacity.’ the much larger superior medial part of the human parietal lobe gives humans the ability to engage in ‘highly integrated tasks, including visuospatial imagery, episodic memory and self-related mental representations.’ the larger superior lateral portion of the human parietal lobe allows for humans’ ‘integration and coordination between the self and the external space, generation of body image and sense of agency.’”

my inclusion of this information should reveal the power and majesty of our creator god who designed our capacity for communion with him via his holy spirit and with each other!

i am reading the latest book by dr. hugh ross, founder of the now global ministry, reasons to believe (www.reasons.org). its title is rescuing inerrancy: a scientific defense, RTB press, covina, ca, 2023. i wish to share excerpts from chapter 11 that are relevant to what i am sharing in my blog posts concerning the personal interaction between the holy spirit and the spirit and mind/soul of mankind:

“the 39 human writers of the bible’s 66 books understood that the holy spirit was the guiding voice behind everything they wrote. in many biblical passages, the human authors explicitly declared that what they were writing was inspired by god himself. the phrase ‘thus says the lord’ appears 427 times in the old testament. . . . the apostle paul assures the early christians, ‘all scripture is god-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness’ (2 timothy 3:16), and the apostle peter affirmed that ‘prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from god as they were carried along by the holy spirit’ (2 peter 1:21). . . . the bible’s redemptive theme is sustained by the record of nature. that god began his work of redemption before he created anything implies that all of nature is designed to make possible not only the existence but also the redemption of a vast host of humans. [the neural synaptic networks of the human brain have been so designed by god to provide a personal means for counsel and redemption.] . . . the holy spirit knows the meaning of what has been written and promises to guide us toward ever-deeper understanding. he uses genre and prayerfuly discerned interpretive principles to help us today [bold type added], just as he helped ancient peoples of the world and will help future generations.”

i pray that my writings in books and blogs speak to the truth and process of the personal interaction between the mind of god and the mind of man through his created neural synaptic networks.