the Book of Psalms: Psalter

This morning I got The 1979 US Book of Common Prayer (http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/bcp.htm) in PDF in order to read the section on the Book of Psalms (Psalter) as per the recommendation of a minister. Immediately being such a geek (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/05/being-geek-and-christian.html), I made a 639 KB PRC file (electronic book) to read on my mobile using MobiPocket. To no one's surprise, I'm not too eager to read such book. If reading the Psalms is so bloody important for me to do, I'd just read them from any of the translations and/or versions of the Bible that I've got.

I guess my desperation to get this book was merely to convert the PDF to PRC. Maybe I'm too much of a geek (sciences, music, etc) that I keep thinking and over-analyzing everything -- hence failing to have an open mind to be a "real" Christian. Could it be that I'm too stupidly smart for my own good? Then again, I could simply be stupid and lack patience and faith.

My over all lack of interest to read this book is by no means an act of disrespect to this book and/or the ideas expressed in it, those who wrote it and/or updated it, its history and/or its relation to the Church of England, the Anglican Church and/or anyone else involved with such book. I might just be avoiding such a long and strict reading based on the words of man. Then again, I could still be stupid and lack patience and faith.

Dr Michio Kaku on God

As much as I believe in God, I like science and especially physics. These are two points of view on every possible thing on this universe.

I like this short video of Dr Kiki Sanford (http://www.kirstensanford.com/) interviewing Dr Michio Kaku (http://www.mkaku.org/) on the topic of God.



It's interesting when you try to prove your religious beliefs with science.

religion, science fiction, real science

What does me smile is the hidden meaning while using the word "Babel" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011:1-9&version=KJV) its or concept in science fiction and computer science. In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (BBC, 1981; http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/ & movie, 2005; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/), the Babel is a fish that people would put in their inner ear that would translate what others would say. In "Doctor Who" (BBC, 1963-1986 & 2005 to present; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ & http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/) the TARDIS (the character's space-time vehicle, practically a secondary main character with an intelligence and life of its own; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/characters/TARDIS) can translate languages directly into the mind of those who travel in it and are its proximity. In the computer field, Babel Fish (perhaps more of a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" than to the Tower of Babel, http://babelfish.yahoo.com/) is a translation service that has a fish as its mascot and as part of its logotype. Maybe I'm too much of a nerd mixing religion with science fiction and "real" science.

being a geek and Christian

My major areas of interest are computer science and other technologies, music, movies (foreign, independent and just plain weird), poetry and prose, religion and television (my TiVo) as well other areas in science (mental disorders, physics, etc). I listed these fields of interest alphabetically for fun and because of my OCD.

After bragging about myself, I must humbly explain why I did it. There's the belief that a person of science (computers in my case) is too skeptical due to lack of hard evidence to have faith in the Godhead regardless of religion.

Said the latter, at times I think too much in what science has revealed to us mortals as true and have difficulty having the kind of blind faith that religion as a cultural norm demands. My deviant behavior at times can be too much to take. For example, the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15) wasn't consumed and my comment during Bible study was about the lack of fumes (chemical and physical changes in the carbon-based living organism) to emphasize on the miracle described in the Bible. As a matter of fact, I'm still trying to place dinosaurs in the creation of the world as explained in the book of Genesis. Sometimes it's practically impossible to marry scientific facts with religious beliefs.

1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. 3 "This is amazing," Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it."

4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"

"Here I am!" Moses replied.

5 "Do not come any closer," the Lord warned. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey--the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt."

11 But Moses protested to God, "Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?"

12 God answered, "I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain."

13 But Moses protested, "If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what should I tell them?"

14 God replied to Moses, "I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you." 15 God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.

Exodus 3:1-15 (KJV)

In all how does God affect science and the universe? I'm still trying to find out. Does this make some kind of science expert? No, it only makes me curious to learn and relate science and God in a way that I can argue to my atheist friends.

science & God

The toughest part of being a Christian for me at least is coming from a scientific background. I question everything and everything simply comes back to physics. I try to explain both realities all the time looking for a way that one intertwines with the other and prove each other true. Did God create the universe? Yes, he did and this event was the so-called Big Bang. After all God had to start everything in a major way, practically in a spectacle for everyone to cheer (hooray for God).