THE UNIVERSALITY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC PHENOMENA AND THE IMMANENCE OF GOD IN A NATURAL THEOLOGY

Abstract. Following a survey of how universal the electromagnetic interaction (EMI) and light, its radiation, are in the living experience and spirituality of men and women, I make a case for the hypothesis that the EMI serves as a physical correlate for the immanence of God. This in turn will be used as partial support for the principal thesis of this article: given the vast spectrum of natural phenomena, from atoms to human brains, that operate via the EMI, we need seriously to consider the EMI in formulating a viable natural theology. The encompassing properties of the EMI provide a unifying and cohesive influence heretofore neglected by the natural theology community. I intend here to stimulate more rigorous study of this approach.     

GOD IN THE CAVE

When Finite and Infinite Goods was published in 1999, it took its place as one of the few major statements of a broadly Augustinian ethical philosophy of the past century. By “broadly Augustinian” I refer to the disposition to combine a Platonic emphasis on a transcendent source of value with a traditionally theistic emphasis on the value‐creating capacities of absolute will. In the form that this disposition takes with Robert Merrihew Adams, it is the resemblance between divine and a finite excellence that makes the finite excellence objectively of value, and it is the correspondence of an obligation to a divine command that makes the obligation objectively obligatory. I look closely at the complexity of this ethical division of labor—between the good and the right—mainly as it appears in the context of Finite and Infinite Goods, but also with attention to the broader corpus of Adams's writings, particularly his work on Leibniz and the essays of his that have been gathered together in The Virtue of Faith. I argue that there is a creative tension in his work between his desire to secure an objective basis for ethics and his affirmation of the value of grace, a love that is not proportioned to the excellence of its object. This tension, I further argue, ought to be resolved in the direction of grace.     

AN ESSAY ON BEAUTY: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF BEAUTY IN THE NATURAL WORLD

Abstract. The beauty of the universe presented by modern science under the positivist approach is regarded as sufficiently great that human contemplative capabilities are exceeded. An example of bottom-up viewing is presented and described as capable of producing levels of excitement best described as dangerous neurological storms. The existential quiescence resulting from apprehension of so much grandeur is discussed. It is suggested that our religious propensities need extensive rehabilitation and that appreciation of the beauty revealed by the positivists is likely to result in a cosmic paradigm shift that could destabilize traditional views of human identity.     

A GOD THAT COULD BE REAL IN THE NEW SCIENTIFIC UNIVERSE

We are living at the dawn of the first truly scientific picture of the universe‐as‐a‐whole, yet people are still dragging along prescientific ideas about God that cannot be true and are even meaningless (e.g., omniscience) in the universe we now know we live in. This makes it impossible to have a coherent big picture of the modern world that includes God. But we don't have to accept an impossible God or else no God. We can have a real God if we redefine God in light of knowledge no one ever had before. The key question is, “Could anything actually exist in the scientific universe that is worthy of the name, God?” My answer is yes: God is an “emergent phenomenon,” as real as the global economy or the government or the worldwide web, which are all emergent phenomena. But God arose from something deeper: the complex interactions of all humanity's aspirations. An emerging God has enormous implications.     

EVALUATION OF AN INTERVIEWEE SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM IN A NATURAL FIELD EXPERIMENT

The purpose of this study was to provide an evaluation of an interviewee skills training program in a field setting using a broad sample of interviewers, jobs, and candidates. The training program ( n = 158) derived its content from previous literature and used multiple instructional techniques. An experimental design was employed with a self-study (placebo control) group ( n = 140), random assignment, and many levels of evaluation criteria. Measures exhibited acceptable reliability, and statistical power was high for all analyses. Results indicated that class members responded positively to the program and demonstrated substantial learning. Interviewer evaluations of behavior failed to distinguish between experimental groups, however, and no differences were observed in job offers. Furthermore, no differences were observed between study participants and nonparticipants ( n = 174) in terms of interview behavior and job offers. This study illustrates the danger of relying solely on reaction or learning criteria in the evaluation of training programs. Several explanations are offered for the findings.     

EXPERIENCING THE WORLD AS THE EVOLVED IMAGE OF GOD: RELIGION IN THE CONTEXT OF SCIENCE

Religion must be seen as the result of the learning processes of humanity, as they manifest themselves in human interaction with and experience of reality. Such interaction depends on knowledge that provides the basis for practices of orientation and transformation. Religion as part of human culture provides resources for identifying lasting significance of experience in light of what appears to be ultimate conditions for a good and flourishing life. Thus, it is also possible to understand human distinctiveness as manifest in the dynamic practices in which humans participate, and of which religious practices are part. Therefore, it is not specific attributes that make humans distinct from other species but how they engage these in relation to the various experiential dimensions and ascribe significance to some of these in light of what they understand as ultimate sources of orientation and transformation.