[calvin] “miller addresses the holy communion of prayer, emphasizing that it is ‘two-way.’ meaningful communion with god through the holy spirit is not only a voice but also an ear. listening is the most valuable part of prayer. our focused silence is key to blocking out the inner and outward chatter (noise) . . . that surrounds us so we can commune with god and perceive his communion with us in the several forms it takes, such as dreams, visions, words, intuition and discernment. the holy spirit wants us to be open to him. our silence is a door for him to enter into our souls. our silence is an ear for us to hear. . . . it is important to understand that god permeates all that surrounds us, including our very selves, so that he hears every word we speak or think. miller points out that all of life becomes communion, ‘for he fills the very crannies of our minds and bodies.’ . . . by his indwelling holy spirit god continuously accompanies us, pervading the entire world of cognition. miller states that we should not ‘act as though he is somehow ‘out there’ and that we must ‘go’ to talk to him.’”

“Jesus said in john 14, ‘on that day you will realize that i am in my father, and you are in me, and I am in you.’”

in this blog post i am including comments by ken samples, theologian and philosopher with reasons to believe (WWW.REASONS.ORG). i have cited his work a number of times in my books and blogs and have highest respect for his teaching. excerpts in this blog come from the book, testabe faith: a reasons to believe anthology and the chapter, “isn’t faith incompatible with reason?”

“in historic christianity, reason and faith function in a complementary fashion. . . . both scripture and long-standing tradition teach christians to seek rational understanding of their faith. . . . the expression ‘faith seeking understanding’ best captures the spirit of the consensus of christian philosophy.”

samples cites three “great christian thinkers’ perspectives ON THIS POINT:

“augustine: ‘believe in order that you may understand.

“anselm: ‘i believe in order that i might understand.

“thomas aquinas: ‘i understand and i believe.

“the christian worldview offers a plausible explanation for affirming an objective source for knowledge, reason, and rationality. that explanation is found in a personal and rational god. christian theism affirms that an infinitely wise and all-knowing god created the universe to reflect a coherent order of laws and logic. . . . he also created humans in his image . . . and endowed them with rational capacities to discover that coherent order.”

by the grace of god and his bounDLESS love for fallen mankind the sin sacrifice of his son, jesus christ, has provided for the restoration of the intimate communion with his indwelling holy spirit sent as jesus promised after his resurrection to repentant sAINTS. GOD DESIRES THIS COMMUNION, LOST AT THE FALL, BUT RESTORED AND FULFILLED IN OUR TIME. OUR FAITH SEEKS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE “HOW” OF THIS COMMUNION, AND THIS HAS BEEN THE FOCUS AND OBJECTIVE OF MY RESEARCH FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. THE HOLY SPIRIT SEEKS TO COMMUNE WITH US AND HAS PROVIDED THE MEANS FOR IT. A RATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PROCESS ONLY GROWS FAITH IN THOSE WHO SEEK IT. I THANK KEN SAMPLES FOR PROVIDING SUBSTANCE TO FAITH COMPATIBLE WITH REASON.

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.”

Dr. wesley pinkham opens his book, Relational christianity, 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.”

pinkham speaks to the mutual indwelling that is the model for christian doctrine:

“in john 5:19-27 and 16:13-14, we see that the relationships between the trinity are self-emptying and self-giving. the father gives his authority AND POWER TO JESUS. YET JESUS GIVES IT ALL BACK BY REFUSING TO DO ANYTHING APART FROM THE FATHER. FURTHER, THE HOLY SPIRIT [INDWELLING THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL IN OUR TIME] SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF JESUS, AND GIVES GLORY TO JESUS IN THE PROCESS. THE MODEL HERE IS THAT OF INTERDEPENDENCE, UNEQUIVOCAL TRUST, MUTUAL INDWELLING, AND LOVING UNITY. THIS MUST BE THE MODEL FOLLOWED IN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, AS WELL AS IN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.”

“ONENESS WITH THE FATHER IN CHRIST BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A STATE OF BEING. IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE LOVED, VALUED, AND AFFIRMED THROUGH AN INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH THEM, NOT AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE DO OR FAIL TO DO. . . . RECEIVING CHRIST IS THEREFORE THE ACT OF ENJOINING THE RELATIONAL ONENESS OF THE TRINITY. THE IDEA OF ‘MUTUAL INDWELLING’ DESCRIBES AN ONTOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP. IT IS MUTUAL IN THAT THERE IS A BACK-AND-FORTH RELATIONSHIP [A BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTION]. IT IS ONTOLOGICAL BECAUSE IT INVOLVES INDWELLING - THAT IS, FINDING A PLACE IN EACH OTHER’S INTERNALITY. IF CHRIST INDWELLS ME, THEN MY ONTOLOGY [STATE OF BEING] IS DEFINED BY HIM. . . . THE ACT OF RECEPTION IS DONE IN THE HEART (EPH 3:17; 2 COR 3:3; HWV 8), WHICH IS NOT A STATIC SUBSTANCE, BUT RATHER THE CENTER OF THE HUMAN BEING’S FACULTIES OF AFFECT (EMOTION) AND INTENTION (WILL). FURTHER, THIS ACT IS AIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (JOHN 15:26; ROM 5/5, 8:9; 1 COR 6:11; 2 COR 3:3), WHO FACILITATES THE ONTOLOGICAL RECEPTION OF CHRIST. THIS, THEREFORE, ANSWERS THE HOW QUESTION. WE RECEIVE CHRIST IN AN ONTOLOGICAL MANNER BY ALLOWING HIM TO LIVE IN OUR HEARTS [OUR SOULS, CONSISTING OF MIND, WILL AND EMOTION], BY THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

BY READING MY BOOKS AND SELECTED BLOGS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MY OVER 25 YEARS OF RESEARCH HAS ADDRESSED THIS HOW QUESTION. iT IS A DUALIST INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MIND OF GOD AND THE MIND OF MAN THROUGH THE NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS OF THE BRAIN. IT IS A CAUSAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THAT WHICH IS IMMATERIAL AND THAT WHICH IS MATERIAL. LINGUISTIC, SPECIFIED INFORMATION IS TRANSMITTED THEREBY, GIVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

rajesh p. n. rao and andrea stocco published the findings of a study in plos one, november 2014, volume 9, issue 11 entitled “A direct brain-to-brain interface in humans.” a summary of their pioneering work was presented in scientific american november 1, 2014. if readers are interested in the details of this study, i refer them to the article above. i shall present several excerpts from the summary article that show how neuroscientists are beginning to generate data that may at least partially explain how jesus knew the thoughts of others, that it was a real and true event as recorded in scripture.

“brain-computer interfaces (bci) rely on data-processing techniques to extract a person’s intention to move and then relay that information to the device he or she wishes to control. in 2010 one of us (rao) had a realization: perhaps we could use this same principle to beam thoughts from one human brain to another.

“the gist of our strategy was to use electrodes arranged on one person’s scalp to pick up brain waves (ON EEG’S) . . . . hidden in that neural hubbub are signals that indicate what a person is thinking. we would focus on extracting one such pattern and then send it over the internet to a second person. the signal would dictate how to electrically stimulate the recipient’s brain. . . . we would use one person’s brain data to produce a specific pattern of neural activity in another individual.

“once a computer decodes a neural mesSAGE, THE MAIN QUESTION BECOMES HOW TO DELIVER IT. . . . TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION (TMS) . . . RELIES ON PULSES OF A MAGNETIC FIELD TO INDUCE NEURONS IN A SPECIFIC AREA OF THE RECIPIENT’S BRAIN TO FIRE.”

DETAILS OF THE METHODOLOGY ARE PRESENTED IN THE SUMMARY. “THE SUDDEN RISE AND FALL OF A MAGNETIC FIELD INDUCES A TINY ELECTRIC CURRENT IN THE NEURONS . . . ENGULFED BY THAT FIELD, MAKING THEM MORE LIKELY TO FIRE. WHEN THEY DO, A CHAIN OF CONNECTED NEURONS ALSO ACTIVATES [AS DESCRIBED IN MY WRITINGS, BOTH BOOKS AND BLOGS].” THE ENCODED ELECTRIC SIGNAL OF INTENTION DETECTED IN THE EEG OF THE SENDER WAS PICKED UP AND TRANSMITTED VIA THE INTERNET TO THE RECIPIENT IN THIS STUDY, INDUCING VIA TMS AN INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT IN THE TARGETED PART OF AN EXTREMITY. THE AUTHORS STATED, “SUCCESS! FOR THE FIRST TIME, A HUMAN BRAIN HAD COMMUNICATED AN INTENTION DIRECTLY TO ANOTHER HUMAN BRAIN, ALLOWING THE TWO BRAINS TO JOINTLY COMPLETE A TASK. . . . WE HAVE NOW REPLICATED OUR FINDINGS WITH SEVERAL OTHER PAIRS OF HUMANS. . . . WHENEVER AN INTENTION WAS CORRECTLY DETECTED BY THE EEG SYSTEM (IN THE SENDER), THE INFORMATION WAS COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY TO THE RECEIVER’S BRAIN USING TMS. . . . OUR NEXT SET OF EXPERIMENTS WILL EXPLORE TARGETING OTHER BRAIN REGIONS TO PRODUCE A CONSCIOUS THOUGHT.”

THIS STUDY IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTH OF THIS POST, BUT I WANTED TO PROVIDE A REASONABLE SAMPLE OF THE STUDY’S FINDINGS, SHOWING CONCORDANCE BETWEEN NEUROSCIENCE AND SCRIPTURE. I WILL NOW POST SEVERAL MORE BLOGS THAT DEAL WITH OUR BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, AGAIN SHOWING SUCH CONCORDANCE.

that we may be learning how we hear our thoughts is interesting, but perhaps neuroscientists are getting close to understanding how jesus knew the thoughts of those around him. the issue is how the waves that transmit specified information within the human brain/synaptic networks are transmitted to other neural networks. stay tuned. more information that deals with this issue is forthcoming.

Patrick Suppes and coworkers at the University of Southern California authored an article in 1997 entitled “Brain Wave Recognition of Words.” In many of my previous blog posts I have shared that cognition generates wave forms that transmit specified information through synaptic networks that the immaterial mind interprets. This article provides some early confirmation of this activity whereby the mind interacts with the material synaptic networks.

The methodology of these investigators involved recording electrical and magnetic brain waves of subjects “for the purpose of recognizing which one of seven words was processed.” Their results showed “that brain waves carry substantial information about the word being processed under experimental conditions of conscious awareness. . . . the relevant cognitive processing uses in an essential way time-varying populations of neurons.”

In my more recent blogs I have shared that linguistic, specified information is instantiated within wave forms transmitted by spike trains of action potentials with amplitude, frequency and shape and facilitated by quantum tunneling across synapses. It is a most complex process which is being increasingly documented by neuroscientists who are open to the interpretation of dualist interaction.

Moro makes the following comments at the end of his article:

“The very fact that the majority of human communication takes place via waves may not be a casual fact; after all, waves constitute the purest system of communication since they transfer information from one entity to the other without changing the structure or the composition of the two entities. They travel through us and leave us intact, but they allow us to interpret the message [by the immaterial mind] borne by their momentary [linguistically encoded] vibrations. . . .”

The author shares a very interesting finding in his article:

“. . . we found that the shape of the electric waves recorded in a non-acoustic area of the brain when linguistic expressions are being read silently preserves the same structure as those of the mechanical sound waves of air that would have been produced if those words had actually been uttered. The two families of waves where language lives physically are then closely related - so closely in fact that the two overlap independently of the presence of sound. The acoustic information . . . is part of the [neural] code from the beginning. . . . “

Perhaps this researcher is finding how we hear our thoughts! Perhaps this also applies to our hearing from the indwelling Holy Spirit via linguistic neural codes transmitted through our synaptic networks.

addendum

that we may be learning how we hear our thoughts is interesting, but perhaps neuroscientists are getting close to understanding how jesus knew the thoughts of those around him. the issue is how the waves that transmit specified information within the human brain/synaptic networks are transmitted to other neural networks. stay tuned. more information that deals with this issue is forthcoming.