Response Theology

John T. James PhD

Description

Dr. John James melds Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and Francis Collin’s The Language of God into a well-reasoned and Spirit-driven exposition of true Christianity.

Science and Religion should never in be in conflict as Dr. James, a Ph.D. scientist and Christian mystic carefully demonstrates. He employs many personal experiences in the science realm and in the Christian realm to show how the two are wonderfully complementary – as long as each remains in their respective places. Science is of the natural world, and as Jesus declared, his kingdom is not of the world – it is a kingdom defined by Holy Spirit, which he left for us in his absence. The author uses many biblical passages to show that the core message of Christianity is to live a life of love for others, despite the personal crosses life may hand you. This he calls ‘Response Theology.’ He provides deeper insight into what ‘love’ means for Christians. In Greek the world for love in the New Testament is agape – unconditional, selfless, sacrificial, and in-action love. He takes the reader through a critical and well-reasoned tour of areas in Christianity that need rethinking. Is the Bible inerrant? How can reason be applied to biblical interpretation? Is God really omnipotent? Did God specifically create you? Is God good all the time? How does Holy Spirit enter your heart? How may we commit our lives to doing God’s will? What are the implications of believing that God is Agape Love as the apostle John wrote? These are important areas of Christianity that require attention in a world filled with counterfeit Christianity.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian atheism
• Biblical hermeneutics
• Christian mysticism
• Theology
• Relationship between religion and science
• Holy Spirit
• Evolution
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 31 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664274877
• Langue: English

Extrait

RESPONSE THEOLOGY


Agape Love Powered by Holy Spirit




John T. James, PhD







Copyright © 2022 John T. James, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.



WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7488-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7489-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7487-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022914492



WestBow Press rev. date: 08/29/2022








Scripture marked (NJB) from The New Jerusalem Bible © 1985 by Darton Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday and Company Ltd.

Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture marked (NWT) from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, © 150, 161 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.



Sometimes, I retell biblical stories citing scriptural references, but when no specific biblical reference is used, I will not cite the editions I read to retell the story. For example, I retell as a shortened version of the Good Samaritan story from Luke and Jesus’s encounter with a Samaritan woman at the well from the gospel of John.















About the Cover

The Hubble Space Telescope picture is from the central region of the Whirlpool Galaxy. Scientists see the dark center as an ‘X.’ Christians see a dark cross within the image that reminds them that they must dedicate their lives to following Christ who died on a cross that they may be indwelled by Holy Spirit.
I acknowledge the role of my daughter Laura in selection of this image. For Christmas 2005 she gave me her painting of this image. It has been part of my heart and mind since then.








This book is dedicated to Alex, my firstborn son who had his life stolen that I might find the Way.
Jesus said: I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
—John 14:6 NJB









The author’s proceeds will be given to Servants in Faith and Technology, Lineville, AL.



CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologue

1. A God Worthy Of Following As A Committed Christian
2. The Bible Is Not Inerrant
3. Women In Church Leadership
4. Is God Omnipotent?
5. You Were Not Specifically Created By God
6. God’s Will And Blessings
7. Fear Not
8. The Power Of Holy Spirit
9. God Is Agape
10. Prayer And A Life Of Reflection
11. Response Theology— A Summary And Parting Thoughts
12. Creed Of The Committed Christian



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to thank friends who patiently gave feedback as I wrote each chapter of this book. They know who they are: Harry, Tony, Ryan, Cameron, Amanda, Mimi, and Gretchen.



PROLOGUE
By profession, I am a medical scientist having retired from NASA several years ago. Traditional Christian doctrines once created conflicts in me as I tried to believe what I was taught as truth, but I kept running up against what I knew to be true as a scientist. I was troubled by inconsistencies in what I was expected to believe.
My scientific interests spanned many disciplines—astronomy, physics, chemistry, pathology, and finally toxicology. This book is intended to revitalize Christian thinking by combining reason (science) and a fresh look at the Bible. I am not a theologian, which gives me the freedom to reject unreasonable doctrine, but at times, that may open the door to theological challenges from those experts who bore into the crevices. I hope to keep my thinking at top level—seeking overall messages of truth rather than microscopic examinations of selected biblical passages.
As a scientist, I bear witness to the elegance of the Creator’s will. As a Christian mystic, I understand that there is a realm of truth that science cannot fathom. As a former atheist, I had to ask myself, What God is it that I do not believe in? For atheist readers, I offer a fresh idea of God in which you may find truth and experience.
As a scientist, I have witnessed phenomena of nature that you cannot dream of understanding, nor can I. As a radio astronomy student at the University of Virginia in the late 1960s, I was at the vanguard of the study of pulsars—newly discovered stars that rotate so rapidly that their “beam” can be observed up to thirty times per second. 1 I was able to do this with what was then the largest moveable radio telescope in the world (300 feet across) in Green Bank, West Virginia. The pulsar that produces such rapid pulses is embedded in the crab nebula (fig. 1), which was born when that star exploded in 1084 CE. Astronomers call such violent explosions supernovae. Interestingly, this was thirty years after the great schism (separation) between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Figure 1. Crab nebula imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (NASA)
As a pathology graduate student working at the National Cancer Institute in the late 1970s, I was involved with a team of leading cancer researchers. My task was to discover the molecular basis for the differences in susceptibility to a carcinogen that causes colon cancer in some strains of mice but not in other strains. I found that the persistence of specific types of damage to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in the colons of the mice was directly correlated with the causation of cancer.
During my research, I marveled at the wisdom with which DNA was created to order the basis of all higher life on this planet. Only four bases organized in different patterns form long, double-stranded sequences of DNA; these aggregate in pairs to form our genes. And these gene sequences can be repaired by molecular mechanisms that continuously sustain the integrity of DNA unless it is attacked by an overwhelming army of carcinogen molecules. Under persistent attack, the cell’s DNA is thrown into chaos that does nothing more than cause uncontrolled growth of cells. This is cancer. I could observe these invasive cells with a quality light microscope and tumors with my naked eye (fig. 2). 2 But in the strain of mice capable of repairing the damaged DNA, no tumors were developed, and only a few precancerous cells could be detected by microscopy.

Figure 2. Tumors produced in the colons of white mice by a chemical carcinogen. Black mice given the same dose could repair the DNA (molecular) lesion that was mutagenic and caused cancer. Tumors (bright lumps) are evident when colons are resected lengthwise as shown.
My scientific efforts have taken me to be on the Space Shuttle only a couple of hours before launch grabbing samples of the vehicle’s atmosphere for analysis in the toxicology laboratory at Johnson Space Center. I concluded that it took more guts than I possessed to ride one of these machines into space.
More recently, I have had the privilege of being given enough authentic moon dust to lead a team of remarkable scientists who completed a study of the toxic properties of this exotic gray dust. 3 My hope is that one day, our findings will guide engineers who build habitats to sustain humankind’s permanent presence on the lunar surface.
My early journey as the son of Christian parents involved trials at several churches in the small city of Garden City, Kansas. I have a now treasured RSV Bible presented to me in 1954 by the First Methodist Church. Once my family moved to Wichita, Kansas, we participated in a Presbyterian church that was being formed. I grew up in that church being subjected to Sunday school and painfully sitting through sermons. I seldom had conflicts with my loving mother, but when it came time for me to graduate high school, the church asked all the graduates to wear their caps and gowns to the church service. I was vehemently opposed to that because I did not think pomp belonged in church. Looking back, I am ashamed of my behavior.