The soul as quantum information within microtubules

Posted on by
5

An interesting new theory on what constitutes the soul.

Read it all here:

A near-death experience happens when quantum substances which form the soul leave the nervous system and enter the universe at large, according to a remarkable theory proposed by two eminent scientists.

According to this idea, consciousness is a program for a quantum computer in the brain which can persist in the universe even after death, explaining the perceptions of those who have near-death experiences.

Dr Stuart Hameroff, Professor Emeritus at the Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychology and the Director of the Centre of Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona, has advanced the quasi-religious theory.

It is based on a quantum theory of consciousness he and British physicist Sir Roger Penrose have developed which holds that the essence of our soul is contained inside structures called microtubules within brain cells.

They have argued that our experience of consciousness is the result of quantum gravity effects in these microtubules, a theory which they dubbed orchestrated objective reduction (Orch-OR).

Thus it is held that our souls are more than the interaction of neurons in the brain. They are in fact constructed from the very fabric of the universe – and may have existed since the beginning of time.

The ideas of Roger Penrose are not easily trifled with: he is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford, as well as Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College, and he wrote The Emperor’s New Mind, a book which effectively dismissed the notion that a computer will ever be “intelligent” in any useful sense of the word.

Nevertheless, from a Christian perspective, while he regards mind or soul as more than mere mechanical brain functions – and, interestingly, consistent with Alvin Plantinga’s modal argument for dualism – his theory still won’t quite do.

According to the creation account in Genesis, man was made in the image of God. Man’s spirit, soul and mind are created by God and, just as he exists independently from the material universe, I would contend, also have their essential being outside of our material universe – even the material universe represented by the quantum gravity effects of microtubules.

According to Penrose, if the universe were to cease existing, all the souls that had dissipated to “the universe at large” would also cease to be, a limiting theory quite inconsistent with the Biblical notion of man dwelling in eternity with God.

How to sell pizza: aggravate Christians

Posted on by
9

I really have no idea why the Chapel Bar and Bistro in New Zealand thinks this is a good idea, but they have decided that the best way to advertise their booze and pizza is to show Jesus and Mary in bed together – to keep it relevant, there is a box of half eaten pizza under the bed.

Christians will probably just ignore the advertisement: mainly because isn’t true, it’s a really stupid way to sell pizza and, for those who care to listen, there are scary warnings not to do this kind of thing.

Now, if this had been a representation of Mohammed in bed with the nine year old Aisha, it would have been quite accurate – although still not a particularly effective incentive to buy pizza. I wonder if representing Mohammed as a paedophile would have resulted in outraged Muslims breaking windows, setting things of fire and threatening to behead anyone who has the effrontery to insult their alleged prophet by drawing attention to something that he actually did?

And how long would it take for Obama to apologise for the ad?

Creeping Hegelianism in the Anglican Communion

Posted on by
Reply

The Anglican Consultative Council is meeting in New Zealand: it is rather like an Entmoot, except it moves more slowly and is more firmly rooted in fantasy.

Considering Rowan Williams – when not waxing eloquent on sharia law and dressing as a Druid – has spent his entire tenure on attempting to find a middle ground between irreconcilable opposites, perhaps I should have made the headline “Galloping Hegelianism….”. No matter. Rowan is still at it and is joined by General Secretary Canon Kenneth Kearon, who says:

Speaking at the first plenary session of ACC15, the Canon Kenneth Kearon told delegates assembled in Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, that Anglicanism at its best “reaches out to those with whom we differ, recognising that together we will come to a deeper and far richer understanding of God than any of us could do on our own or if we only share the company of like-minded people.”

This only works if the non-like-minded people, at a minimum, hold to the truth of the basics of Christianity. As it is, the liberals Kearon is suggesting might provide a “far richer understanding of God” routinely deny the uniqueness of Christ, his divinity, his Virgin birth, his atoning sacrifice on the cross and his physical Resurrection: they believe in a different God. There is no possibility whatsoever that listening to heretics expound on false gods will shed any illumination on the objectively real God that has been worshipped by Christians for the last 2000 years.

Kearon would have us sit down with the least like-minded person we could find – Richard Dawkins, say – “reach out” to him, have endless dialogue and triumphantly emerge with a synthesised faith of – agnosticism.

I met Kearon in 2010 and suggested to him then that Anglican Communion meetings move so slowly that, by the time anything is done, there will be no Anglican Communion – in the West, at least. He stared past my head with watery blue eyes and intoned in a mild Irish brogue: “no, no, things move slowly but it will last longer than that”.

One thing is certain: when the lights finally go out at Lambeth, there will be a few dust encrusted clerical relics – eyes slowly closing, beards unkempt and stiff with congealed spittle – still having conversations on “continuing Indaba, ecumenical dialogues and inter faith issues.”

Canon Kenneth Kearon’s diagnosis of what ails the Anglican Communion

Posted on by
5

Apparently, it’s fundamentalism.

From here:

“One of the features of fundamentalism is that you begin to believe that your apprehension of God is the right one and complete one, and consequently, all others are wrong. There are far too many unreflective fundamentalisms around in our communion today – conservative fundamentalism, liberal fundamentalism, catholic fundamentalism – all characterized by a certainly in their rightness, coupled with an intolerance of the faith perspective of others with whom they differ.”

That would make John the Baptist, St. Paul, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles all fundamentalists.

Even worse, since he claimed that his “apprehension of God” was not only “the right one” but that those who apprehended him apprehended God, it would make Jesus the definitive fundamentalist: a veritable paradigm of fundamentalism.

Jesus would have made a dreadfully intolerant Anglican – according to the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.

The Diocese of Edmonton consigns itself to history’s church dustbin as it converses itself into irrelevance

Posted on by
2

A brief perusal of the diocesan rag reveals:

The diocese voted by 80% laity and 70% clergy to bless same-sex liaisons, demonstrating the lemming like instinct of catering to 0.69% of couples at the expense of 99.31% of couples. This calls for a “we are the 99.31%” Occupation initiative.

The bishop is telling everyone not to worry: she wouldn’t do so if there were not good reasons to worry.

The diocese is convinced that the Gospel has a more than infinitesimally tenuous connection to the Five Marks of Mission.

The bishop makes much of “walking together” and “finding common ground” – clearly, she didn’t notice how well that worked for Rowan Williams.

Apparently, the diocese has “embraced a proactive approach to ministry”; it obviously believes that committing verbicide in the interests of maximising incoherence is going to help.

The expected clichés are scattered with abandon throughout the paper: “standing together against global injustice”; “sustain and renew the life of the earth”; “safeguarding creation”; “transforming unjust structures of society”; “fair trade diocese” …. And so on, forever and ever awomen.

All that is missing is the only thing that is needed: a desire to bring people to reconciliation with God the Father through the atoning sacrifice of God the Son in order that they might attain life everlasting.

The future of the family according to the Anglican Church of Canada

Posted on by
5

This cartoon was published in the November edition of the Anglican Journal:

 

It refers to a report from Statistics Canada that claims a 42% increase in same-sex couples over the last five years. It seems the report is flawed, since room-mates who are married – not to each other – could have been counted as same-sex couples.

No matter: even if the report is accurate, the percentage of same-sex couples is still only at 0.69% of the total number of couples.

What is interesting about the Journal’s publishing of this cartoon is that, yet again, the compulsive obsession the church has with legitimising homosexual activity has blinded it to the transparently obvious fact that the future of the family does not reside – and can never reside – in people of the same sex being barrenly “married” to each other.

What is Occupying Bishop Dennis Drainville?

Posted on by
12

Whenever I see Dennis Drainville mentioned I am overcome by an overwhelming desire to make an unkind play on words using his name and the direction his diocese (Quebec) is heading; so far my will of iron has helped me resist the urge.

It seems that the bishop has been a “lifelong social activist”, a phrase almost completely devoid of any meaning other than as a label for people who like wandering around carrying placards containing phrases equally devoid of meaning. Like this:

Speaking of phrases devoid of meaning, Bishop Dennis Drainville has decided that the Occupy movement has provided the cosmic illumination that: ‘They are the 1 per cent and we are the 99 per cent.’ It doesn’t get much deeper than that. The bishop himself, by virtue of being in the upper echelons of an elitist church hierarchy and earning a typical bishop’s salary of over $100,000 per year, is probably in the 0.001 per cent.

As the bishop notes, “the gulf between the rich and poor is widening”; it’s almost as wide as the chasm between Anglican bishops and normal people.

From here:

The Occupy movement has created a focused public debate on economic and political institutions and provided “a new and powerful critique” of them, says Bishop Dennis Drainville of the diocese of Quebec.

Invited to speak at various events Sept. 28-30 sponsored by Occupy Nova Scotia and churches in Halifax, Drainville noted that the anti-capitalist movement that spread around the world in 2011 has brought new awareness to the notion that ‘They are the 1 per cent and we are the 99 per cent,’ ” Drainville told those attending his lecture at the Atlantic School of Theology. “This formula underlines the structural inequalities of our political and economic system and highlights the collusion between the corporate and political elites,” he said.

 

Anglican Church of Canada: Justice Camp

Posted on by
5

The Anglican Church of Canada’s Justice Camp is a place where Anglican priests are sent for decontamination and re-education after they have had a close encounter with the Gospel. This Church Gulag is also a place of incarceration for particularly troublesome laity; it was only through the most extreme subterfuge that I managed to avoid it during my sojourn in the Diocese of Niagara.

One of the tortures employed is being forced to sing songs like this one. Some victims have been known to bite off their own tongues during the refrain:

(Tune: My Favorite Things)

Meeting with Linda, with movers & shakers,
Activists, greenies, and health-and peace-makers,
MP’s and editors, right on the ball,
Help us respond to our fai-aithful call.

Postcards and letters and online petitions,
Rallies and sit-ins with local musicians,
Scripture reminds us to take care of all-
Working for justice can be such a ball!

Refrain:
When our greed strikes,
When our fears roar,
When we’re feeling proud,
We simply remember our fai-aithful call –
And then we can speak out loud!

Ruth & Amanda said, “MPs will hear ya,
But missing deadlines and dates won’t endear ya,
Start with small steps and do homework, you-all,
If you’d be faithful to Jesus Christ’s call.

Issues of justice and tools to affect them,
Singular voices connect good intentions,
Sacrifice, courage, the zeal of St. Paul,
Help us respond to our God’s faithful call

Refrain
Coming from churches both rural and urban,
We’ve heard of problems both dark & disturbin’,
But with the expertise here in this hall,
We’ll start the healing that answers God’s call.

h/t LSP

Toronto’s Anglican Book Centre to close

Posted on by
8

From here:

It is with sadness that the Anglican Church of Canada and Augsburg Fortress Canada announce that the Anglican Book Centre at 80 Hayden Street will close on Jan. 18, 2013. Canadian Anglicans will still be able to order resources online and by phone through Augsburg Fortress Canada.

“Religious book and gift stores across Canada have faced significant challenges resulting in the closure of over 120 stores in the past 10 years,” said Andy Seal, Director of Augsburg Fortress Canada/Anglican Book Centre.

“Sales at our Hayden St. store have decreased each year since 2009. By 2011 Toronto sales were 28% below the break-even level. In spite of hard work and innovation, the trend has continued in 2012.”

I am rather sorry to see this since I have spent many hours browsing its shelves – although, not recently – and met a very congenial chap hawking ABC wares at the ACoC synod in 2010. He let me recharge my laptop battery at his stall even after I told him I belonged to an ANiC church.

Although I find myself somewhat dolorous at the prospect of entering an era of paperless books – almost all my books I now buy are for my Kindle – I don’t miss the overweight charges when I fly with too many books in my suitcase.

As this headline has it, “Modern technology catches up with Toronto’s Anglican Book Centre causing it to close”. I would have been happier with keeping the bookstore and seeing: “Modern technology catches up with the Anglican Church of Canada causing it to close.”