week 6 post 2

 Theologian Alistair McGrath wrote the book "The Science of God" not to describe the ways God works through nature, rather the deep ontological connection between science and religion and the metaphysical reasoning for traditions, social constructs, perceived realities and so forth. A Portuguese organization "Christians in Science" uploaded a video on their YouTube that describes this relationship unbiasedly and factually. The video begins by confirming a human inability to shift from a position of earthy observer to all knowing. As Marcelo Glacier stated in his primary units of his EdX course "Question Reality", most religions assert that a god-like omniscient entity would only exist in a separated realm where one would not be bound by space and time. 

The next main point made is that information just exists and is completely neutral-- and as humans, we are fully inferior to it. When someone thinks about anything, they are usually inclined to think about it with some prejudice. For example, Beth drinks coffee every morning, so when she smells coffee, she derives pleasure from it. Sue on the other hand hates coffee and is therefore repulsed by the smell of coffee. Does this mean that coffee is definitively pleasurable or awful? Of course not! Coffee just is. Another example of humans insubordination to empirical nature would be the absolute threshold. The absolute threshold is lowest level of stimuli an organism can detect. Right now there are probably little buggies all around you that are disrupting the air pressure around them to some extent. Despite this happening, you do not likely detect it, but does that mean it isn't happening? Again, no!

This gives way to social constructs. The example of Beth and Sue's relationship with coffee are personal constructs. Social constructs are a community or group understanding of some thing or some phenomena and need no external validation as long as they have community coherence. For instance, the color red does not really exist. For example, as stated in the 2011 TedxCambridge ted talk, Jeff Lieberman states: "Any of those light waves intrinsically have any color, there's just this change in frequency. But once those light waves go into your eye and into your brain, you create the subjective experience of color."

Yet, true reality exists outside of social constructs. Every observation is an interpretation of personal interaction with neutral information through the lenses of the respective community. Phil Borges in his TedTalk "Spiritual Awakening or Psychosis?" asserts through his travels that every social group has, in some way or another, made it their mission to figure out this reality that we are living in.

Thus, A metaphysical realm must be recognized as the ultimate non observable reality behind nature. This idea is seen all over spiritual and religious texts. Gods are almost always referred to as eternal, unchanging, prevailing and pure/non-differentiable. In 2nd Corinthians 4:18, Paul the apostle writes "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ... For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.". Antione de Saint- Exupery writes in the little prince "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.". And finally, in many eastern religions, a "3rd eye" is seen as a mystical  concept of invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight.

"time are space are modes by which we think and are not conditions which we live in" -einstein 

Phil Borges: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFtsHf1lVI4&feature=youtu.be

Science of God:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGufdWytCE4