elaborating on the previous post, dr. olson writes, “paul tells us that only we who have the holy spirit dwelling within us can know god and the thoughts of god and this happens through a [holy] spirit-to-[human] spirit communication. he adds that those who don’t have the holy spirit think that our beliefs are bunk, or foolishness. the reason that they don’t get it is because they depend on their mind to discern, whereas this knowledge can only be discerned by our [human[ spirit. our [human] spirits discern this knowledge directly from the holy spirit.”

Dr. olson writes that the apostle paul stated “that the holy spirit dwelling within [italics added] us is directly informing our [human] spirit of new knowledge. this would mean the communication is not coming in via the normal channels of our senses and intellect or mind. what the holy spirit is telling us in this case is coming in directly from [the holy] spirit to [the human] spirit.”

i offer a note of clarification concerning the spirit-to-spirit communication above. as one reads scripture the word spirit may relate to the human spirit or to the human soul, comprising the cognitive mind, the will and emotion. i have addressed this distinction in my writings. indeed, the holy spirit has direct interactive access to the human spirit which, in turn, interacts with the neural synaptic networks generating linguistic codes with meaning and purpose. the cognitive mind of humans interprets the codes, accounting for acquiring “new knowledge” or understanding or discernment. in earlier blog posts i have addressed this topic in detail. i distinguish between the human spirit and the human soul in my writings.

i include a statement by john wesley, founder of the methodist church:

it is hard to find words in the language of men to explain the deep things of god. indeed, there are none that will adequately express what the spirit of god works in his children. but . . . by the testimony of the spirit, i mean, an inward impression on the soul [in my writings i have addressed how the dual interaction between the spirit of god and the immaterial cognitive mind, will and emotion (soul) of man occurs through the neural synaptic networks of the human brain], whereby the spirit of god immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit, that i am a child of god; that jesus christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; that all my sins are blotted out, and i, even i, am reconciled to god.

Olson begins chapter two identifying who the holy spirit is. “one thing that can definitely be said is that the holy spirit is not an ‘it’. the holy spirit is a person [italics added]. . . . is the holy spirit truly divine? scripture reveals to us that the holy spirit is god and it does so in abundance.”

“. . . when jesus was with his disciples at the last supper shortly before he went to the cross,” it is recorded in john 14:15-17 that he said, "“if you love me, keep my commandments. i will pray to the father, and he will give you another counselor, that he may be with you forever: the spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive, for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you [bold type added].”

i begin posting an excerpt from the introduction in Olson’s book:

“. . . the holy spirit sets us apart, regenerates our [human] spirit, and opens the door to a deep relationship with god. through sanctification, the spirit guides our transformation into a new creation and nurtures our spiritual life so it may grow and flourish.”

as we proceed through the following blogs, we shall gain a deeper understanding of the truths related in the above post.

The book to which i am referring is by don c. olson, ph.d. it is entitled the holy spirit: who he is and how he works in our lives. the subtitle summarizes the book’s contents very accurately. it is a book that i recommend to those who wish to learn more about the holy spirit, so often neglected in the christian church. soon i shall be posting excerpts from the book as blogs.

all credit will be given to its author, “a scientist who came to the christian faith later in life, wrestling with questions yet seeking deeper understanding. [he is] someone who stands in awe of the spirit’s work.” (comments by steve cochran on book cover)

i am finishing an excellent book by a fellow christian apologist who addresses practical aspects of the Holy spirit. i shall be posting excerpts from that book that will complement my blogs dealing with the holy spirit.

I cite Dembski:

“More generally, in any inquiry, scientific or otherwise, if we are trying to understand an information transfer, the first thing we witness is an information relationship, and only then are we in a position to uncover how energy might have given rise to that relationship. Some form of energy must presumably be involved - we are supposing that information transfers require energy transfers (though not necessarily material energy transfers). Moreover, if the energy can’t be material, then it must be nonmaterial.”

In my studies and writings I have relied significantly upon the work of William A. Dembski. I am sharing his comments that consider how God, who is immaterial and Spirit, interacts with the material world, including the human brain. Quantum mechanics gives nondeterminism to the universe which characterizes it as being informationally open and accommodating free will. Here is Dembski’s informative quote taken from my book, The Boundless Love of God: A Holy Spirit Story:

“. . . such [an open] universe will produce . . . patterns of events that stand out against the backdrop of randomness. . . . Such patterns [intended by God] could reasonably be interpreted as constituting novel information inputted from outside the system . . . in a nondeterministic universe, diving action could impart information into matter [e.g. a neural synaptic network] without violating any physical laws by which matter operates . . . A deity capable of co-opting randomness would impart information by arranging outcomes [with small probabilities and specification], but do so by channeling the material energy in ways that violate no principle governing matter. If divine action takes this form, the problem of finding the missing material energy by which God introduces novel information into the world simply does not arise. . . . information is then being transferred without any transfer of material energy. . . . Quantum mechanics . . . offers such a picture of the universe, allowing God free play at the quantum level. . . . In a world of irreducibly chance or random events [integral to the neural synapse], as some interpretations of quantum theory allow, [the Mind of] God can channel such events [and communications] toward preordained ends.”

Since the mind of Man is created in the image of the Mind of God, the postulate that Dembski shares reasonably applies to the immaterial mind of Man which can also channel communications of encoded information toward preordained ends with meaning and purpose.

I cite Alvin Plantinga in my second book who also addresses the openness of the universe to novel information. Here are my comments:

Plantinga states that classical science does not claim that the universe is causally closed. His statements are consistent with special divine action in the world. Just as God, who is immaterial and Spirit, can act in the physical universe, so too can the immaterial minds of human beings. There is no objection to special divine action or for human free action, dualistically conceived. Plantinga goes further to state that the indeterminism of quantum mechanics offers even less of a problem for divine action than classical science. “. . . special divine action . . . is by no means incompatible with quantum mechanics . . . because . . . quantum mechanics doesn’t determine a specific outcome for a given set of initial conditions, but instead merely assigns probabilities to the possible outcomes.” Plantinga states further, “Perhaps He is also very much a hands on God, constantly active in history, leading, guiding, persuading and redeeming His people, blessing them with ‘the internal Witness of the Holy Spirit’ (Calvin) or ‘the Internal instigation of the Holy Spirit’ (Acquinas) and conferring upon them the gift of faith.”