tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80526342171615407242024-02-22T05:38:17.749-06:00Still LearningDaniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-84095691399991292592015-02-27T19:51:00.001-06:002015-02-27T19:51:37.770-06:00Who Saw What Colors in #TheDress? My Poll Results!<br />
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After all of the chatter concerning the color of what is now called "TheDress," I got annoyed with what people termed "the science behind TheDress. They talked about cones and frequencies, but no one could suggest anything about the individual differences across people. I should probably have left it alone (this is not my area of research expertise), but I decided to take an informal poll on Facebook to see examine a few factors and see if they were related to the individual differences in seeing the colors of the dress.<br />
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Here are the questions that were posed:<br />
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- What color is the dress? - Black & Blue, White & Gold, Changing (I have seen it both ways)<br />
- How old are you?<br />
- What is your gender?<br />
- What color are your eyes? - Blue or Green, Brown, Hazel<br />
- How would you describe your mood when you first saw the dress? - very sad, a little sad, neither happy nor sad, somewhat happy, very happy<br />
- Have you been prescribed corrective lenses? - yes or no<br />
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I received 52 responses! I used binomial logistical regressions to examine which of these factors increased the likelihood of an individual choosing one of the three options concerning the color of the dress. Controlling for the other factors, the most closely related of these variables was gender! Look at the table below.<br />
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Although people on the internet have suggested it, neither mood or wearing corrective lenses appeared to be related to which option was chosen. However, there was some modest results from the factor of eye color.<br />
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These results suggested (the results of the logistic regressions, not just the graph) that those with blue/green or brown eyes were more likely to see the dress as either blue & black or white & gold, not changing from one to the other.</div>
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Due to the strong effects of gender, I was wondering if any of these factors were related to the propensity to be different from the majority of one's gender. This would involve seeing the black & blue dress for women and the white & gold dress for men. A logistic regression using the aforementioned factors suggested that age was an important predictor of this particular difference. As you can see below, the individuals who saw different colors than the majority of the genders tended to be the younger ones in the sample.</div>
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I am not going to speculate why these relationships may exist. I will leave that to everyone else. I will say that it is not too surprising, since previous findings in psychology concerning colorblindness and other vision related factors have found gender differences. What do you think?<br />
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<br />Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-85422760346035452013-03-01T12:04:00.001-06:002013-03-01T12:04:24.025-06:00I Fear Voices<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes it seems easy to only listen to voices of fear. If I am looking at a job opportunity advertisement, there are two possible fear-related voices I can hear. One voice is imploring me to apply for the job, in fear that this application may stand between me and facing the difficulties of unemployment. The second voice declares that applying for this job would be a waste of time, since I am not good enough for the job. Both of these voices shout at me at varying volumes dependent on the characteristics of the job and how I am feeling at the time. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I think this level of cognitive effort might be what can make job searching such a taxing process. When I spend effort trying to silence these emotional voices of fear, I am not thinking clearly. Even the more healthy fear that encourages me to try can still be debilitating.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In Luke 8, Jesus’ disciples were crippled by the deafening voices of fear. The winds and waves tossed their little fishing boat so that the water began to close in. They must have been very confused at the contrast between this dangerous situation and the peaceful slumber of Jesus amidst all of it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In this situation, it seems like the disciples may have ceased thinking clearly. The voices of fear may have been telling them that Jesus was just a really deep sleeper and he did not know what was happening. Maybe they were thinking that he was sleeping because he did not care about them. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Finally, the disciples did what I need to do. They alerted Jesus, simultaneously admitting their fear and acknowledging his authority. He responded by calming the storm. Their fear was vanquished. They knew Jesus was in control. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know there is a plan and that it is a perfectly good plan. Amidst the wind, I pray that God will grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.</span></div>
Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-39607562910384342472013-02-14T20:07:00.000-06:002013-02-14T20:07:14.217-06:00Obscurity or Oprah?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I have to admit that sometimes I long to be heard. I will have some interesting epiphany while riding my bicycle or taking a shower. From there I want to move on to do a little background work to support or refute whatever idea has taken me captive. If that does not send me down the rabbit hole of obscurity, the next step is a difficult one. My thoughts start to build pressure and I wonder: “who might benefit from this insight?” Eventually, that question gets reduced to; “who would not be utterly frustrated and annoyed by listening to me ramble about this?” Finally, I look for an opportunity and jump at the chance even if it is not necessary. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since you are reading something I have written, you probably have found yourself in this category. You also might be one of the ones who has at times regretted that you were too nice to somehow prevent me from needlessly sharing one of my rants with you. I am sorry. I feel like God has called me to think deeply and share my thoughts with others, yet this does not make it right to share when the situation is not appropriate.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In reading about the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4, I wonder if Jesus may have had similar feelings to my own. He had more insight for the world than anyone. He saw the injustice and spiritual apathy in his world. Surely Jesus had volumes of valuable wisdom to share, yet he spent the first 30 years of his life listening and working with hands. Then someone comes along and offers Jesus the chance to go from obscurity to Oprah, with all the world hanging on his every word.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thankfully, Jesus did not jump the gun. Instead, he pointed to his father to sustain him. He spoke when his father led him to speak, in a time in which his words were needed. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know this word has implications for my own desire to be heard. How about you? Do you think you should consider carefully your timing and audience with your next tweet, status update, or blog post?</span></div>
Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-65778079008242635072013-02-06T09:19:00.001-06:002013-02-06T09:19:18.463-06:00Denied: The Shotgun Approach<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When I was in high school/college, I struggled with rejection. People say that you need to simply “shake it off,” but it is not always that easy. I would find myself personally invested in an opportunity and be devastated if it did not come out in my favor. I would wonder for hours about what went wrong. Rejection sometimes motivates people to try harder and succeed when the next opportunity arises, but it had the opposite effect on me. It would make me want to roll over and not consider myself at all worthy of attacking the next opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then after finishing graduate school (my master’s), I had to get a job. The market was not good, so I knew I needed to work really hard. So I tried the shotgun approach. I pounded the keyboard day after day. I sent out one or two applications a day. I applied if the opportunity was even remotely related to my training. After a month or so of this routine, the rejection letters started to roll in. As they did, I noticed something strange. I did not really care. I thought it was funny because here I was getting this nice letter about a job for which I did not even remember filling out an application. After a while, I ended up getting a job that I loved. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Later on, I used the same technique with online dating. I would see a new match and gauge my gut reaction, then I would quickly send her a message without thinking too much. I sent these messages quickly enough that I would not always remember them, so not getting a response would not phase me. Again, the technique worked. I did find the love of my life.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Although I do recommend that others try my technique, it may not work for others. My ingenuity is not the point of my story. I think improving my ability to cope with rejection has been one avenue that God has used to transform me into someone that is more capable of being successful in life. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 3:18 that we are continually being shaped in his likeness. In the same chapter, Paul also wrote that being in God’s company espouses freedom and boldness.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As I now find myself in a position of job searching once again, I am not completely free and bold. Thankfully, I can look back and see growth. I am still learning, being shaped and molded. I pray that I will continue to seek the sweet nectar of freedom!</span></div>
Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-36657742667079634432013-02-01T09:28:00.000-06:002013-02-01T11:15:58.956-06:00To Wait<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I started to feel a little anxious. The opportunity looked good, possibly even attainable. Unfortunately, they wanted one thing that I lacked. They needed me to send them a transcript. Having been around several different colleges, I had the feeling that this might not be an easy or quick process. Recalling previous experiences with long lines, I requested that they send me the transcript in the mail, thinking: “only 4 miles away, how long could it take?” Then I started to wait.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Five days came and went with no transcript. With my anxiety rising, I decided to call. The person at the office told me that it usually only takes 5 minutes to get one in person. The next day, I was on campus and contemplating whether to go or wait. I listened to an internal voice speaking of continuous chaos around the bend. I wondered if it had gotten lost in the mail (which has never happened to me before), or if the days I might have to wait longer could cost me this job opportunity. After all the contemplation, I let my anxiety win and I went by the office. There was no line and it took about 5 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">About an hour after I got home and began the process of completing my application, I heard the mail slot close and saw the letter containing my transcript fall to the linoleum. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Waiting is a theme in the Bible. Esau sold his birthright because he could not wait long enough. Abraham could not wait for God to give him a son with his wife Sara, so he had a child with Hagar. The Israelites in the desert could not wait long enough, so they made a statue. Despite the difficulty, the prophets in the Old Testament speak very often of the virtue of waiting on God. In Luke 12, Jesus told his disciples not to worry, but to wait and be ready to open the door.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Even though I believe the promises of God, it is still hard to wait! How do you wait? How do you silence the control-seeking voice in your head?</span></div>
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Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-56227742151549290192012-04-04T08:23:00.000-05:002012-04-04T08:23:24.025-05:00In Context<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One of the core ideas that is inherent in individualistic cultures is the righteousness of human agency. We tend to think that a person who has ability and a little moxy should be able to succeed in any walk of life. Our heroes are people like Abraham Lincoln, who is said to have risen from humble beginnings to become one of the most beloved presidents and the one who put an end to the injustice of slavery.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Upon further inspection of Lincoln’s Wikipedia article, you can see that some of these aspects of Lincoln’s life were not accidental or solely due to his agency. It says that Lincoln attended a “Separate Baptist” church which opposed slavery. His father also moved their family from Kentucky to Indiana partly because of his father’s opposition to the slavery. It seems like Lincoln’s young life involved many encounters with slavery as well as moral teachings concerning it’s injustice.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In some ways, the life of Paul was not a whole lot unlike the life of Abraham Lincoln. Although he is known for his passionate missionary work, it is not hard to see the hand of God molding his pre-conversion life. His place as a Roman citizen and his Jewish education would later be used for his work. In his biography of Paul, John Pollack suggested even that Paul’s position as a prosecutor of Christians may have resulted in him witnessing the testimonies and devotion of hundreds of Christians prior to his conversion on the road to Damascus. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When Paul was writing his letter to the church in Corinth, he seems aware of how life is much more than the result of one’s desire and hard work. In the third chapter, he casts himself in the role of only a sower of seeds. Although he worked very hard, he knew that the success of his hard work was always dependent on God’s agency. <br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In modern individualism, I think it is easy to forget the role of God. We start to blame others (usually) for our failures and credit ourselves for successes. We also start to believe what others say about our ability or lack there of. Although I do not see any harm in learning from mistakes or celebrating our victories, I think it is very important that we acknowledge the hand of God in all of them. </span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-69854590411435767592012-03-20T08:54:00.001-05:002012-03-20T08:54:39.094-05:00Understanding Tebowmania<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Like many other people, I have been perturbed by the ordeal of Tim Tebow. The kid has not done anything wrong, he has merely done his job and represented his faith to the best of his ability. Despite his hard work and success, he has been met with tribulations ever since he left the confines of Gainesville, Florida. First he was welcomed with fanfare, then he was ostracized by his boss. What was his reaction? He continued to work hard for the team and was not afraid to speak out about his faith. The media then largely reacted by relegating him to the role of popular back-up and dismissed his popularity as a fleeting relic of his college success. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When hardship and frustration led his boss to reluctantly put him on the field, Tebow continued to do what he does, play hard and win games. His success despite the odds inspired his team, but it still has not endeared him to the sports world. Many have even criticized and mocked him because of his unswerving spiritual commitment.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think the church in Corinth may have had a lot in common with Tim Tebow and his predicament. The culture of Roman Corinth likely rewarded those whose mindset involved the abstractions of greek philosophy and the hedonism of the prevailing sexual idolatry of that city. In the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells them not to be surprised when people do not understand them. Even though they are misunderstood, Paul continues to exhort them to have the mind of Christ, using their spiritual judgment to love others.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think Christians are often good at being misunderstood, but we often use this difficulty as an excuse to disengage from loving others or to have an “us against them” mentality. The script for this type of situation has been has been championed by the religious right in the world of politics. An alternative pathway has also been to go under the radar and pretend that our faith does not motivate our actions.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I am sure Tim Tebow has many human flaws, but I think he is a pretty good example of the third way that Paul is suggesting to the Corinthians. May be Tebowmania is the result of Christians seeing a successful young man who is misunderstood, yet perseveres in loving and serving others. It is like the Christians of America now have our very own real-life Rocky. Although he is inevitably not perfect, I think Tebow’s example can help us to live out a misunderstood life with the love of Christ.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-47357850953183652372012-03-16T08:38:00.001-05:002012-03-16T08:38:40.148-05:00No Words<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When I was a freshman in college, I found myself in the cafeteria of one of the largest jails in the United States. Staring at me were about 150 fairly rough looking incarcerated women in matching orange scrubs. As I had entered this room, I saw the dejected eyes of those who had just been admitted and stripped of their dignity and individuality. When it came my time to speak, I felt their eyes fixed upon me as my heart pounded loudly.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Before we went to this jail, I was told to prepare a short sermonette to share with the inmates. Although I considered myself to have fairly adequate knowledge of the scriptures, I had a hard time mustering a relevant message for these people. I am not sure if there exists another group of people in the world to which I shared less experience. At some point during my preparation, God must have led me to the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In this chapter, Paul encourages the Corinthians that God has chosen the weak to shame the strong, the despised to displace the heralded, and the foolish to outwit the wise. According to what I have read, this message would have been particularly pertinent to the inhabitants of Corinth. Only seven years before Paul’s first visit, the Romans had re-established Corinth as a Roman city. Upon re-establishment, Corinth was re-populated largely with disparate freed slaves from all over the lands that had been conquered by the powerful Romans. The church in Corinth was likely made up of peoples who knew what it was like to be on the bottom rung of the social ladder.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As the words of Paul coming from my lips echoed through the linoleum of that Californian jail, I felt a sudden surge of confidence. Although this bony eighteen year-old white kid had no words for these people, God did have something to say. I think I was seeing firsthand what Paul was describing in the verse I was reading. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the end, the only person I know who was changed that day was me. I learned that the truth of God is larger than both my strengths and my weaknesses. It permeates through the deepest and darkest regions of all creation, seeping through the cracks of the most impenetrable barriers.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-7639143988806424502012-03-09T10:36:00.000-06:002012-03-09T10:36:53.150-06:00Stop Copying Me<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Imitation might be the most basic form of <a href="http://ilabs.washington.edu/meltzoff/pdf/99Meltzoff_BornToLearn.pdf"><span style="color: #1919a7; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">learning in humans</span></a>. Researchers have shown that infants who are less than an hour old are already capable of some form of imitation. At two or three weeks old, babies can imitate tongue protrusion. I must say that this is my personal favorite skill to demonstrate in real life. I think it is amazing that at a time when connecting with a non-verbal, non-ambulatory being is so remote, you can stick your tongue out and they will likely do the same. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This tendency to imitate does not go away when we become adults. Research also suggests that adults tend to unconsciously imitate the speech and gestures of their conversational partners. In fact, a recent study even showed that humans can unconsciously imitate a person’s speech patterns and sounds even if they only see the person’s lips moving without hearing the actual <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100805103907.htm"><span style="color: #1919a7; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">sound.</span></a> For some skills, imitation may be the most efficient means of learning. By imitating others, we can avoid making the mistakes that we would inevitably make if we were to learn things through trial and error.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Knowing humanity’s very basic tendency to imitate, it is not very surprising that Paul encouraged the members of the Church in Philippi to imitate Christ. He is compelling them to take on Christ’s humble and loving nature and perspective. It seems that Paul spoke of the life of Jesus with the Philippians enough that the probably had a good vision of what that meant.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I see this aspect of the New Testament as a stark contrast from how God related to his people in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God started with a few general rules (the ten commandments) and then followed that up with some more “best practices” (see the book of Deuteronomy). With the coming of Christ and the New Testament, the overall message is basically “see what he did, do things like that.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I know it sounds very simplistic, but I wonder what would happen if the Christians of today took Paul’s message seriously, instead of making it into a brief fashion fad for teenagers. Since God has created us in such a way that imitation is very natural, What should we do with it? How then should we be teaching our children? How should we be learning from each other?</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-42818085890954249612012-03-05T09:25:00.001-06:002012-03-05T09:25:43.193-06:00Approach or Avoid?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One of the professors at the University of Texas at Austin recently did an experiment in which his undergraduate guinea-pig participants were instructed to attempt to achieve on a simple video game-like task. For one group, they were told that they would be entered into a lottery to win $50 for every time their score reached a particular goal. For the other group, they were told that they would be entered into the lottery based on their performance as long as it did not fall below a particular goal. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Although these two conditions may seem equivalent, the results were quite different. When participants had the focus of trying to win entries to the lottery, they performed better than when they had the focus on avoiding a loss. It seems like the chance of loss leads people to be afraid and be anxious. In another experiment, participants who had unfairly lost a game due to a “glitch” in the system were more likely to make a selfish choice.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In Philippians 1, Paul encourages Christians to persevere without being afraid of individuals who oppose them. He even wrote that for him death and suffering are not in opposition to his mission in which he seeks to be with God. Paul seems to believe that a Christ-centered life is one of continuous pursuit, not avoidance of suffering. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately, it seems that many Christians often relegate their religion to the practice of avoiding feelings of guilt, shame, or even pleasure. As a loss averse species, we try not to lose our homeostasis with our status quo. By contrast, the life described by Paul involves a relentless quest of knowing God that is so epic that it will take us beyond the grave. Are you seeking, or are you still trying not to lose?</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-37500914582632613652012-02-24T07:37:00.000-06:002012-02-24T07:37:38.186-06:00In Tents<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One of my professors from college once told our class what he thought was a description of maturity. He addressed his comments to the ladies in the room and told them that if they were looking to date, that they should look for a man, not a boy. He said that boys are interested in getting and playing, while men are interested in giving and working. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At the time his words were pretty convicting to me, because I realized that as a legal “man” of 19 years, I more closely fit his description of a boy. I had very little direction and was not contributing much to the world around me. I even started wondering if it was this type of life orientation that was stifling my ability to be successful in the dating world. If you want to motivate a 19 year-old toward self-examination, tell him that it may impact his dating life.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul warned the church in Thessalonica against becoming idle. He reminded them of how he chose to earn his keep when he was with them. Tradition has it that in addition to being a preacher and intellectual, Paul made tents from goat skin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I guess I could argue that 19 year-old me did not really see how the world needed me to contribute. At least then my professor’s words inspired to start seeking. As my professor suggested, may be learning to find joy in contributing is a sign of maturity that only comes when it is ready. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At the same time, once we are on the other side of maturity, I think we still need an occasional reminder. We need to be reminded that this broken world does need Christians to comfort the broken, feed the hungry, and give to the poor.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-15444783764448469232012-02-21T08:53:00.000-06:002012-02-21T08:53:01.826-06:00Cold Shower Chaos<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Last year I was continually frustrated from having to take cold showers. Sometimes it would be fine, other times it would be cold. When the management company sent someone to test the hot water heater, he checked the temperature while running the water for 10 minutes and said it was fine. I knew it was not fine, although I did not know what was wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Like a true scientific thinker, I developed a method of systematic observation in order to develop a theory of what was wrong. For a couple of weeks, my roommate and I logged the day and time of each shower, as well as a rating of the warmth of the water. I just knew there had to be some pattern or order that I (as well as the plumber) was missing. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am not the only one who seeks to make order out of the world, this ability seems to be an important part of being human. Paul’s encouragement in the first chapter of his second letter to the Thessalonians brings about thoughts of this utopian world of justice where good is rewarded and doing wrong brings punishment. It seems simple and right.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Unfortunately, my experience in the world, like the heating of my water heater, does not seem to be so simple. Sometimes I see the wrong, but not the punishment, sometimes the I see punishment, but not the wrong. I also see the good without seeing the reward, or the reward without the good. From such a convoluted picture, it is not hard to fathom that some would interpret all of this as chaos.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">However, the perception of order depends on the capacity of the mind to perceive order. Although the plumber did not see order in the hot water heater problem, scrutinizing the results of our systematic observation revealed that if it had been more than 12 hours between someone using the shower, the water would be cold when the next person used it. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In a world that seems very random, I believe that order is often difficult to see, sometimes so difficult that it can only be perceived by God. His consciousness is not constrained by time like our own. We can only see parts, he sees the whole.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-54941719120911734672012-02-16T08:02:00.001-06:002012-02-16T08:03:09.610-06:00A Scientist in Church<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It is part of the ethos of scientists to be skeptical in many areas of life. I think this is particularly true because as a scientist, we also have a particular incentive to make claims of discovery. Our propensity to discover new and important knowledge that may impact society is likely the fuel that keeps the flame of science from being snuffed out. At the same time, making claims that cannot be replicated is a sure-fire way to ensure that one’s career and reputation will be snuffed out. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In addition, I have had personal experiences in which a rational and well thought-out experiment can have unexplained and counterintuitive results. Therefore, I can say unequivocally that there was at least one thing wrong with my thinking about that particular experiment. Unfortunately, I think many people outside of science rarely get to this process of their own flawed logic in such a tangible way. People largely prefer to support their thinking process despite the evidence.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In First Thessalonians 5:19-22, Paul tells the people that they should test what they hear people say about the scriptures. What he said implies that some of the information being spread was not in accordance with spirit and truth of God’s word. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first lesson Paul appears to be giving is that Christians should not automatically dismiss new ideas. Far too often, the culture of Christianity involves exactly the opposite of what Paul is suggesting. We retreat to our churches to find other people who agree with us, not those who might challenge us to think differently.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Instead of automatically accepting or rejecting ideas, I think Christians could use a little more science-styled thinking. The science-oriented thinker does not outwardly reject or accept newer ideas, but they tests them to assess their validity or utility. What if Churches started testing new ideas? How might that change how we treat people who think differently than us? </span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-83158781053585397062012-02-07T09:01:00.001-06:002012-02-07T09:01:37.490-06:00Flaming<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I tend to be an early morning person. I have a hard time sleeping in even if I try. My mother says that she would have to fight tooth and nail to wake up my brothers for school, but I would often already be awake when she came in to wake me. I think I just do not sleep very deeply.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A scientific explanation is that it seems are bodies are largely created to be more active in the day and rest at night. We do not regularly use awesome raccoon night vision or dolphin echolocation to navigate our environment. We rely on the light to keep us from running into things or other things from running into us. Our bodies also intake necessary vitamin D from the sun’s rays.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In first Thessalonians, Paul wrote about being children of a different kind of light. He says that being in this light implies awareness and alertness. This light helps us to not be afraid of others knowing us and knowing others. It also involves being vigilant of our role in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Living in a pre-electricity world, I can imagine that Paul’s concept of night and day was probably much more potent to him and his readers in Thessalonica. Night may not have been considered a time when people necessarily I have read that people who lived in cities before electricity rarely ventured out of their homes after dark because doing so was not very safe.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As much as I find myself attracted to physical and metaphorical light, I know that I am not always living in this reality. My life rhythms get out of step and I find myself running and hiding in the dark. Usually it takes another person to notice it, someone says “Where have you been?” Then I know, then I see a flickering flame in a dark room. I hope you people in your life that may speak such truth to you, and I hope you feel the need to speak it to others.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-76180341006869950212012-01-27T07:48:00.000-06:002012-01-27T07:48:17.623-06:00Controlled.<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I read about a <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240724.php"><span style="color: #1919a7; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">study</span></a> this morning about Religion and self-control. The participants were asked to do crossword puzzles in which the words were either religiously oriented or random. After doing the crossword puzzles, the participants went on to complete other tasks that required them to exercise willpower or self-control. The article suggested that the participants who saw the religious words performed better on the self-control tasks than the participants who saw the random words.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This finding is not too surprising to me, because people often associate religion with trying to control yourself and not sinning. Some people suggest that this may be the whole purpose of religion, helping us control our hedonistic urges. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul seems to be endorsing self-control. He says that Christians should live a holy life, abstaining from merely following our basic desires. However, Paul did not say that this is the primary ends to which the life of a Christian is aimed. He said in verse 5 that this ability to be self-controlled is a trait which may overflow from knowing God.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I think the overall idea is that knowing God may help one to have a different purpose in life, rather than doing what makes you happy at the moment. If we are going about the aims of God in the world (loving our neighbors, seeking justice, showing mercy), controlling ones’ self becomes merely a means to a much bigger end of seeking his kingdom on earth.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-30815524209549285322012-01-20T08:34:00.000-06:002012-01-20T08:34:56.228-06:00Admirer<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I once received an awkward love letter from a secret admirer. I found it in my college mailbox, covered in red hearts, written in red ink. Although I must admit that my inner 12 year-old received an ego boost, while my 19 year-old logical cortices were introducing some skepticism. I had received a prank love letter some years before and I was wondering which current friend of mine was riddled enough with cruelty to take the time to orchestrate such a prank.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The content of the letter seemed pretty standard for an anonymous love letter. It suggested that the author was really impressed with me. She gushed about my personality and how she found me attractive. She said she thought we would be a good match for each other, but she was afraid to divulge her identity. Even though I was in disbelief regarding the author’s authenticity, I still blushed. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In reading the second and third chapters of the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica, I could not help but notice how it also sounds like a gushy love letter. Paul said that the Thessalonians were his “glory and joy,” he also described an “intense longing” to see them again. He also mentions overflowing love for them.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It seems to me that this type of outpouring is a largely unrecognized benefit of spiritual mentorship. Because Paul had taken the time to teach the Thessalonians and modeled a Christ-focused life, he had invested effort in their success. He had watched them slowly progress and cheered them on. This sounds like a lot of work, but as the letter suggests, the result was overflowing love for them.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What would happen to the Church if we looked beyond our own navels and opened ourselves to this kind of love? What if you gave your heart to spiritually mentoring someone else? To whom would you write a Thessalonians-type love letter? Could you be an admirer like Paul?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">P.S. The love letter I received was not a prank, the author did reveal herself to me. It was so awkward that I just kind of laughed and we never spoke about it again.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-55472488013435654342012-01-16T15:29:00.000-06:002012-01-16T15:29:17.286-06:00King-dom.<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed that his people would no longer be treated as second-class when compared to others. His inspirational life was focused on speaking for those who could not speak for themselves, calling all people to recognize our kinship as brothers and sisters.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Many years before, a similar message was written and spoken by the Paul, who seems to have been fighting a similar battle in different circumstances. He wrote in his first letter to the church in Thessalonica concerning the injustice the new Christians were facing from the Jewish people. In the book of Acts, we see Paul had many disputes with Jewish Christians concerning their belief that only Jews could be saved, making non-Jewish believers second-class in their eyes. Despite Jesus’ assertion that the kingdom was for all (Matthew 28), it still took a literal vision from God to convince Peter that the kingdom of God was for Jews AND everyone else. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It seems like these types of struggles have been present for all of recorded history, when different groups of people do not accept each other and attempt to subvert the humanity of one another. Humans are by our nature relational beings who tend to form groups with many different purposes. Not surprisingly, we tend to prefer individuals who are in our groups over those who are not. It seems that conflict often arises when groups perceive some type of scarcity of resources between groups. For example, sports teams may have conflict because only one team may win.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In my opinion, many of the struggles with prejudice throughout the years are rooted in our misperception of scarcity and similarity. We somehow think that another group’s success may result in our failure, or another group’s power will require our submission. We also see certain groups as fundamentally different from ours, when it is likely that we are actually very similar.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On this day when the United States stops briefly to recognize the message of a great man, I think we need to search our hearts. We can ask ourselves; are we really in a power struggle between each other? Are we really so different? Jesus, Paul, and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a love that transcends our group boundaries, making us into one group, all brothers and sisters. Let your kingdom come...on earth as it is in heaven.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-4575374645896522222012-01-13T08:50:00.003-06:002012-01-13T08:50:43.602-06:00Changing?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It is amazing to me whenever I see genuine change occur in the life of a human. To me, it seems to be nothing short of a miracle. One side effect that we seem to have suffered from being given self-aware and analytical minds is an uncanny ability to justify ourselves and selectively attend to that which suits our current paradigms. When we cannot ignore, we will even take fantastically epic measures to slice and dice contradictory evidence which threatens that which we believe to be true. As a scientist, I have worked very hard at developing this ability.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For change to occur, it seems that something has to either circumvent or demolish our powers of explanatory mental gymnastics. As improbable as it is, it happens. There are those times in which reality bursts through our maze of consciousness with an elegant brilliance. Unfortunately, these moments of change are notoriously difficult to affect, predict, or understand.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In Thessalonica, Paul started a change in many people. Acts 17 says that he started in the synagogue, reasoning with the people. Soon after, Paul was run out of town by an angry mob. Despite the short duration of his trip, Paul wrote in First Thessalonians about how his words caught the fire of the Holy Spirit. The people of the town rioted upon his first visit, yet in his first letter he cannot stop talking about their love and generosity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">True change always requires God. Paul seems to have understood this truth. Of course humans may get the privilege to be involved, but God is the only one with sufficient power to orchestrate all of the factors that have an effect on whether change will occur. When I try to change without God, I always find myself trying again.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-26620104278298026182012-01-12T11:00:00.002-06:002012-01-12T11:04:38.110-06:00In Step - New Series for 2012<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been a while since I have studied and blogged about a book of scripture in order, which is what I have previously enjoyed doing. This morning I have a new idea. I am going to read the Pauline Epistles in step with the order in which Paul is said (by Wikipedia) to have written them. I think this might result in some interesting insights, as reading scripture usually does. Here is the order:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you like to join and contribute to the discussion? I think it would be awesome to get multiple perspectives on the same text. </span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-21153211341393292542011-12-22T11:13:00.000-06:002011-12-22T11:13:58.375-06:00Do you Speak God?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I recently listened to the audiobook of one of my academic heroes, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Collins"><span style="color: #1919a7; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">Francis S. Collins</span></a>. He is a brilliant physician/geneticist, the former head of the Human Genome Project and the current director of the National Institute of Health. He also is a Christian and plays guitar.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The book, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Language-God-Scientist-Presents-Evidence/dp/0743286391"><span style="color: #1919a7; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">The Language of God</span></a>,” presents several scientific arguments which suggest that current scientific understanding is not incompatible with the existence of God. He also discusses some of the different viewpoints on the topic and reviews their scientific merit. Collins also weaves into the book his own journey from atheism to Christianity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I really enjoyed how Collins challenged what he called the “God of the Gaps” thinking. This refers to the way people often want to ascribe to God aspects of the world which are currently unexplainable by science. He attributes many of the clashes between science and religion to such controversies, such as the conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Instead, we can see God not only in the gaps of that which is natural, but as the author of the mechanisms which science has discovered. I think we can use such a paradigm to learn more about how our world is a manifestation of the one who created it, a word from God. I highly recommend that those who are curious about such matters should give this book a read!</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-23715712983686921132011-12-21T11:54:00.002-06:002011-12-22T11:14:18.509-06:00'Tis the Season for...Debate?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It is interesting to me how this time of year is one of two times in the year that major media outlets choose to discuss religion. A couple of nights ago, the national geographic channel was showing back-to-back specials which all included Jesus in one way or another. The History Channel also did a special on “Proving God” last week as well. It seems this is also the season in which the network news enjoys turning greeting statements and outdoor displays into overblown debates about the division between Church and State. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately, I feel that possible harm can result if one does not consume this type of media with a critical understanding of media. It has been my experience that the media prefers to tell a dramatic story instead of an accurate one. Scholarly discourse usually includes extremist viewpoints that are not very highly respected in a scholarly community, yet these viewpoints are what make it to the television. I can just imagine that many legit historians and theologians slap their foreheads over and over this time of year.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">However, I think this discourse can be valuable, if nothing else, that it might inspire people to think about God and embark upon their own quest to know him. I tend to return to new writing concerning God and science this time of year. As a scientist and a Christian, I think it is valuable for me to be knowledgeable about the topic. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What kind of feelings do you have about these public discussions? Are they harmful or valuable? Do they inspire you?</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-16491049519170400782011-12-10T13:54:00.001-06:002011-12-22T11:15:06.329-06:00Would Jesus Occupy?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It seems to me that the occupy movement has brought into the limelight political polarities among Christians because of the different reactions. One side seems to view the Occupy movement as a righteous crusade seeking justice for the poor. Other perspectives seem to suggest that the movement is a sad result of our increasingly entitled generation. Both sides have produced at least some Biblical evidence to support their views. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In my view, the real question is this: What did Jesus do in response to the economic and religious injustice of his day? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It seems to me that Jesus’ primary response was to take his message of love to both the perpetrators and the victims of economic injustice. For example, those who were entrusted with collecting taxes for the Roman government were known to be perpetuators of economic injustice. Therefore, Jesus spent time with them (such as Zaccheus) and sometimes chose them to be in his small group of apostles (such as Levi). Jesus also encouraged these people to be generous (such as the Rich Young Ruler). Finally, Jesus spoke to the rich and poor alike about the difficulties and meaninglessness associated with greed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I am not sure what this type of ministry would look like in this day and age. Even though you might not see it on the news, I have no doubt that God is at work in our world to bring about his kingdom of justice. I think our task is to find how we can follow Jesus’ example in taking part in his work.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-74520454241894108432011-12-02T11:27:00.001-06:002011-12-22T11:17:30.053-06:00Suh-table Behavior?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndamukong_Suh">Ndamukong Suh</a>’s controversial <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXDmCVSnn1U">“stomp” </a>on another player in the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers has sparked a lot of debate. Suh asserts that he was merely removing himself from the situation, although many say that his body movement as well as his aggressive playing style would suggest otherwise. Suh has since been handed a two game suspension from the NFL, which he is appealing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Why do you think such a talented and articulate young man would behave this way? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Psychological studies have suggested that humans tend to have an asymmetrical bias in our thinking about what causes behavior (Malle, 2006). When one thinks about his or her own negative behaviors, there is a tendency to cite situational factors. Therefore, it is not surprising that Suh has asserted benign intent in this incident.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When thinking about another person’s negative behaviors, we have a tendency to cite a person’s flaws in personality. Therefore, it is likely that the NFL will recommend anger management therapy for Suh to encourage him overcome his personality-based flaw.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think this issue illustrates a very important concept in the way that humans view other people. The take-home message is that our view of what causes other peoples’ behavior sans investigation is usually fundamentally flawed in one way or another. Of course society has to punish and instruct to protect itself. I think we must continue to seek more accurate knowledge of human behavior that will lead us to treat each other with an increasing amount of justice and grace. However, I think we must also know that doing so will always be imperfect because of our imperfect thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Thankfully, Isaiah 55:8 suggests that God does not share our fundamental bias. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Also in Psalm 139, David also gives a beautiful account of the all-knowing nature of the creator, saying “Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Therefore, I believe that in his infinite wisdom, God has the only perspective that can infinitely see both the situational and personal factors involved in human behavior. Thankfully, he is the one to which we must give an ultimate account.</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-54466496873861466092011-11-16T08:55:00.001-06:002011-12-22T11:15:45.584-06:00Are You Free?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Yesterday, I listened to a <a href="http://www.brainsciencepodcast.com/">podcast</a> which discussed the significance of an accomplishment by researchers in which they were able to create a mechanism so that a monkey could control an electronic arm only using it’s brain. This may sound like merely a neat trick to some, but it is the process in which this was accomplished that was described as important. In order for this to work, the researchers had to successfully model the process of arm movement in the monkey’s brain. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is a big deal because the more we learn about the brain, the more we learn how complex it is. In the past, neuroscientists focused on finding nodes in which particular functions were accomplished. Modern imaging techniques now make it possible to see that brain activity is far more complex than we could have imagined. Therefore it is not surprising that the researchers noted that their model was not exactly correct, the monkey’s brain did have to adapt partially in order to move the arm effectively.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think this discovery is interesting in regard to the free will vs. determinism debate. This research suggests that if we have a sufficient model, we can predict and model behavior. I see it as evidence toward a deterministic perspective. Being able to predict behavior suggests that there is a discoverable pattern in the brain which governs the process that we see in behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">At the same time, a monkey moving an arm is quite a distance from many of the complicated processes and decisions that humans encounter on a daily basis. Theologians have also investigated this issue, often coming to many different conclusions. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If you will, I hope the reader will engage with me as I review evidence from psychology and scripture concerning this debate. Are you free to come on this journey?</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052634217161540724.post-90072195692131543642011-07-25T10:52:00.000-05:002011-07-25T10:52:40.024-05:00Shortcut in a Bottle<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One time I walked into a college dorm room to find a friend of mine glued to the television, watching an infomercial. Of course I thought this was odd, I think infomercials may be the way that God punishes people who stay up too late at night. I am not sure why they even call them “info” instead of just really long commercials. It is not like that actually involve any thing informative. This particular infomercial was selling some type of dietary supplement which they basically said was “Exercise in a Bottle.”</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicH-VeozRo6lgYCgUDetsyz7E0yroPMN7AEtf1LtRLnfZVK1ZytyNxUJpPmLN4j4EfYUn3gHFlXEhEX2K77eIbIjW2QTuIEfFw70VsEEAa5LJKYBQQgewBSMWt7HVZnlvBaGOCZQFwgsj-/s1600/self-esteem-meds1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicH-VeozRo6lgYCgUDetsyz7E0yroPMN7AEtf1LtRLnfZVK1ZytyNxUJpPmLN4j4EfYUn3gHFlXEhEX2K77eIbIjW2QTuIEfFw70VsEEAa5LJKYBQQgewBSMWt7HVZnlvBaGOCZQFwgsj-/s320/self-esteem-meds1.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It seemed that my friend was totally buying it. He seemed genuinely excited about being able to be slim and trim by just taking this pill when he wakes up in the morning. I had to laugh a little. Even as a young college student, I was learning that things are almost never that simple or easy. As an adult, it often seems comical how bent our culture is on attaining meaningful goals without putting in the necessary effort. May be you would not get exercise in a bottle, but how about a surgery? How about being able to skip over years of hard work and go straight into financial security simply by choosing the right lottery numbers?</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In Matthew 16, Jesus calls Peter quite possibly the worst name thing he could - “Satan.” This seems really strange, because in the previous paragraph, Jesus was telling Peter that he was going to be the rocky foundation of his future community on earth. The reason why Peter was rebuked so strongly was that he had just rebuked his teacher. Jesus told Peter that he was going to suffer and die, but Peter could not believe that Jesus would have to suffer so mightily. Peter seems to have been thinking, “surely there is an easier way, some kind of shortcut around it.” The idea is actually very similar to what Satan offered Jesus in Matthew 4:8. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It seems that there are an increasing number of shortcuts that arise around us. Sometimes even religious ones. Some would suggest that you can be close to God simply by donating to their cause. Other voices might say that you can shortcut religion itself and simply be “spiritual.” Unfortunately, Jesus’ words should echo in our minds a reminder of how the promise of shortcuts inevitably leads to something that is short-lived, or not even lived at all (as was the “exercise in a bottle,” which was probably just caffeine and Ephedra).</span></div>Daniel A. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505507211342086373noreply@blogger.com0