{"id":414,"date":"2012-06-09T19:19:25","date_gmt":"2012-06-09T13:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intelligent-torvalds.74-208-171-134.plesk.page\/?p=414"},"modified":"2024-01-01T08:33:45","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T14:33:45","slug":"jesus-artifacts-part-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/?p=414","title":{"rendered":"Jesus’ Artifacts, Part 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not saying one word against the truth of the Bible<\/a>, even its universal absolute truth.\u00a0 Believers, however, rarely argue among themselves that the Bible in all its context is the universal absolute truth.\u00a0 The arguments are over someone\u2019s understanding of some part of the Bible, in other words we argue over sermons<\/a>.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even intend to argue against the absolute truth of a sermon prepared and delivered as the Lord intended for a particular congregation that has produced actual obedient results.\u00a0 I am simply saying that it is not necessarily universally applicable to every other congregation on the planet any more than the absolutely correct protein for, say, a liver cell is necessarily (for that reason alone) the absolutely correct protein for eyes, skin, teeth or lungs.\u00a0 So I am using my current knowledge of the DNA-RNA-protein complex<\/a> as an analogy to demonstrate how even absolute truth might not be universally applicable and might appear to be completely contradictory when that universality is tacitly assumed.<\/p>\n

So how true is this analogy?\u00a0 Or, another way of saying essentially the same thing is, How binding should \u00a0this analogy be in your thoughts and actions?\u00a0 Guess what?\u00a0 For you, it is only as true and binding as you believe it to be.\u00a0 In this sense faith (and its consequent commitments) is a protection against wild swings of trajectory or action.\u00a0 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes<\/em>,1<\/sup><\/a> is how Paul put it.<\/p>\n

I am working not only with my acknowledged understanding of the Bible but with my understanding of others\u2019 understanding of microscopic physical phenomena.\u00a0 That is at least two, probably three, times removed from the simple goodness of \u201cGod said it; I believe it; that settles it<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0No matter what your current belief about the validity of my analogy is, it is likely to change.\u00a0 Human knowledge of the DNA-RNA-protein complex will undoubtedly change.\u00a0 Our current knowledge is the first knowledge of a rather small piece of the whole genome.\u00a0 As we learn more about the rest it may reinforce and exalt our current understanding, or it may demonstrate that what we now know is relatively insignificant or even fundamentally flawed.<\/p>\n

But for me, having gone through the process, I\u2019m going to stand for the time being by what I have learned.\u00a0 Perhaps the most obvious stance I am taking is that this is not called PREACHERS DON\u2019T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE BIBLE<\/a>, it is called WHAT KIND OF CARPENTER IS JESUS.<\/p>\n

Well, have I learned anything about that?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already mentioned that I recognized Jesus as a cleverer programmer<\/a> than I am.\u00a0 (And perhaps now is as good a time as any to acknowledge that any of my inferences will be about Jesus as a craftsman in general rather than a carpenter specifically.)\u00a0 I am so taken with the DNA-RNA-protein complex I would love to wax poetic in my praise of his excellent craftsmanship.\u00a0 The only thing that stops me from doing that here is the recognition that it is faith that allows me to see things that way.\u00a0 James Watson, for instance, looked at the same DNA-RNA-protein complex and did not conclude that it is \u201cabsolutely the best and most efficient way\u201d2<\/sup><\/a> to do things.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Why does the information in DNA need to go through an RNA intermediate before it can be translated into a protein?\u201d3<\/sup><\/a> he asked.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Frankly, I\u2019m not wise enough to criticize the Lord\u2019s creation like this.\u00a0 All I know of DNA, RNA and proteins comes from James Watson and a few others like him.\u00a0 So I am compelled to fall back on my one little skill, that philosophical bent of my mind.<\/p>\n

Watson pointed out that DNA can store information but can\u2019t catalyze chemical reactions.\u00a0 Proteins catalyze chemical reactions but can\u2019t store information.\u00a0 DNA and proteins are each dependent on the existence of the other.\u00a0 RNA on the other hand \u201ccan store and replicate genetic information\u201d and \u201ccan catalyze critical chemical reactions.\u201d\u00a0 So Francis Crick imagined an RNA world that pre-existed the DNA-RNA-protein complex understood presently.\u00a0 RNA persists today as a kind of piecemeal vestige of that evolutionary history, according to Watson.\u00a0 For Watson, apparently, a DNA-protein complex would be more efficient than the DNA-RNA-protein complex.\u00a0 An RNA-protein complex would be out of the question because RNA is not a very stable molecule.\u00a0 DNA is a definite improvement for long-term information storage.\u00a0 Why proteins came into the picture is not entirely clear, except that the only chemical reaction Watson mentioned that RNA catalyzes is the bonding of the amino acids that make the chains that fold into proteins.\u00a0 But remember, DNA is not able to catalyze these chemical bonds.<\/p>\n

Even after Watson\u2019s explanation I was left scratching my head and still thinking that the DNA-RNA-protein complex sounded like the best thing for the job at hand.\u00a0 You see, James Watson and I have different agendas.\u00a0 If the DNA-RNA-protein complex proves to be the irreducible level of complexity necessary for the existence of life, I\u2019m unconcerned.\u00a0 God is smart enough to handle that level of complexity from the very beginning.\u00a0 Watson\u2019s faith in the theory of evolution<\/a>, on the other hand, would be called into question.\u00a0 This is an awful lot to ask of chance-directed processes.\u00a0 So in my opinion it is Watson\u2019s faith that prompts him to question the efficiency of the DNA-RNA-protein complex while my faith prompts me to praise Jesus.<\/p>\n

So while engaging in poetic praise of Jesus\u2019 craftsmanship is a good and necessary thing for me to do as a matter of worship, here I\u2019ll limit myself to a simple observation.\u00a0 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit<\/a> is spirit<\/em>,4<\/sup><\/a> Jesus told Nicodemus.\u00a0 We have known for nearly two thousand years that this life \u201cborn of the Spirit\u201d had some relationship to the Bible.\u00a0 We\u2019ve argued over the details of that relationship for most of that time, but generally agree to some manner of relationship.\u00a0 It is interesting to me at this late date to find an information storage and retrieval system like the DNA-RNA-protein complex in some relationship to life \u201cborn of the flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t create the DNA-RNA-protein complex out of my imagination.\u00a0 In fact, I learned about it from people who might reasonably be called hostile witnesses.\u00a0 Yet even in the descriptions of hostile witnesses I can recognize enough of the hallmarks of a particular individual\u2019s craftsmanship\u2014in both the Bible-Preacher-obedient-congregation<\/a> complex\u2019s relationship to life born of the Spirit and the DNA-RNA-protein complex\u2019s relationship to life born of the flesh\u2014to be willing to modify my views about the former by reference to the latter.<\/p>\n

What kind of carpenter is Jesus?\u00a0 He is the kind of craftsman whose handiwork displays the individually recognizable traits of his craftsmanship.\u00a0 In other words, whatever those distinguishing features are that make it possible to recognize a favorite composer\u2019s music, or a favorite artist\u2019s paintings, or a favorite architect\u2019s buildings, those features are also evident in the artifacts of Jesus\u2019 creation\u2014the DNA-RNA-protein complex and the Bible-Preacher-obedient-congregation complex, life born of the flesh and life born of the Spirit respectively.<\/p>\n

\n
Who am I? Part 1<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Fear – Genesis, Part 8<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Torture, Part 4<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Who Am I? Part 8<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
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1<\/sup><\/a> Ephesians 4:14 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2<\/sup><\/a> DNA: The Secret of Life, James D. Watson with Andrew Berry, Copyright 2003 by DNA Show LLC, published by Knopf, a Borzoi Book, August 2004, pg. 85<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3<\/sup><\/a> Ibid<\/em>, pg. 83<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4<\/sup><\/a> John 3:6 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not saying one word against the truth of the Bible, even its universal absolute truth.\u00a0 Believers, however, rarely argue among themselves that the Bible in all its context is the universal absolute truth.\u00a0 The arguments are over someone\u2019s understanding … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[292,293],"class_list":["post-414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesus-artifacts","category-what-kind-of-carpenter-is-jesus","tag-ephesians-414","tag-john-36"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=414"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22441,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions\/22441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}