Brain Science

BRAIN SCIENCE AND THE GOD WHO IS WITH US: PERCEIVING JESUS WITH US - - A three part Adult Sunday School Series

Everyone who usually comes to DNSS and some who usually don't + calling on all young adults! Please come and join in for three Sundays May 17, May 24 and June7 (May 31 I'll be away).

May 17 we'll start our focus on how important it is to connect with our heart (emotional brain - Level 4) and invite: "Jesus, help me to perceive your presence." We'll make a brief study into the different notions of perceiving in the scriptures, share stories and discuss, how do we perceive Jesus presence with us?

May 24 and June 7, we'll go on to discuss the scriptural connection to the 5 Level brain that God has created us with to metabolize our experiences, includingpainful ones, through to wisdom, growth and maturity. We'll look at how Immanuel, God with us, connects with us and is a powerful source and presenceat Level 1 (attachment and bonding), Level 2 (capacity to handle even overwhelming

experiences), Level 3 (our relational connection brain), Level 4 (our emotional connection) and Level 5 (our cognitive, rational and belief oriented brain).

Please join in. JAMES

Coming up...

Just to let you know, we will be spending one more week on the topic of "truth" (and no, we will not be wrapping up, and/or answering all that is to be answered) - but I plan to show a couple of videos from the "Does God Exist?" debates.

Then in the following weeks, James Krahn will be leading us in a discussion on Brain Science.

Truth

Well, a little while ago we talked about trust in our DNSS sessions. I must have been thinking about other words that start with those t--r--u letter, or maybe it is the contemplation of the post-Easter church. I often wonder what it was like for those disciples waiting in the upper room, and as the stories started to trickle in (we've seen him!), how hard was it to hear? How difficult was it to believe? How many people felt like Thomas?

And of course that led me to: Truth.

And that's what we will be talking about this Sunday in DNSS. See you then.

Social Side Effects

I came across this article on Jim Wallis' blog that I think would be of interest to a lot of us DNSS'ers... indeed, all of us GoWers...or better all people of faith.

It is called the Social Side Effects of Global Warming. Read it, then check out the latest homily: Easter in an Ecological Age.

Here is the Blog link:

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/22/the-social-side-effects-of-global-warming/

FlickFest Memories

Once again the Jesus film fest was profound, transcendental and just plain good (!) This has been a growing tradition for Kerry and myself during Holy Week. As usual, there were many gems, and much food for thought. Not sure if Bill planned it this way, but each day had a bit of a theme for me.

The traditional Bible epic day was Thursday - "Peter and Paul", a movie I had not seen or ever even heard of(!!), featuring a stellar performance by Anthony Hopkins as Paul. It made me run home and want to read the book (Acts).

Friday was doc day, documentaries that is. I finally watched "Jesus Camp", a very well made thought-provoking film. Speaking to someone after they said the movie reminded them of old films of the Hitler Youth - chilling. It was good that is followed by the film, "Jesus, You Know" (I forget the original Austrian title). I found this compelling, and slightly voyeuristic, to follow the stories of three people as they prayed. There was an honesty to the film that moved me and made me think about how I talk to God.

The Dylan movie ("Dylan, The Jesus Years") was perhaps the only disappointment. The content was okay, but it was buried admidst some of the worst and cheesy editing I have seen. I don't think Bob would have approved - probably why he doesn't appear in the film.

Then Saturday was the modern retelling day. "Jesus of Montreal" is a stellar movie that grows each time I see it. There are many layers and subtle metaphors to this story of a group of actors putting on a passion play in modern day Montreal. The devil shows up as a lawyer, a last supper is pizza on a hillside, and the resurrection metaphor totally blew me away. I won't ruin it for those who have not seen it - but I encourage you to go forth and rent. Then the final film, and maybe the most puzzling, was Abel Ferrara's "Mary". I know this director's work and I wasn't sure what to expect - he had made some films that are difficult to watch. The images, stories and again metaphors behind this movie will stick with me for a long time - both because of resonance and because I am not sure I fully understand. Believe it or not, those are exactly the kind of movies, and books, that I enjoy. The ones that make me work (think).

Many thanks to Bill and Knox United for putting this on again. It's becoming almost liturgical for me.

Until next year....

On another note: DNSS returns this Sunday with Marcus giving a follow up to his presentation on his work with Hydro and First Nations.

See you then.