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Entries by Dr Dion Forster (1887)

Thursday
Aug212008

Your South African 'tax dollars' working for you... Take a look at this fine!

Today a friend of mine received this fine in the post... Take a look at the speed (right hand side).... The Cape Town city sent him a fine for doing 0km/h!! Yes, he was standing still, and so got a fine!

There are two possibilities, either he was doing so fast in his 'pickup truck' that they could not measure the speed. This is unlikely... I've seen his pickup truck! Or, the traffic department is now sending fines to people because they're NOT speeding!!!

Hmmm.... R2 to post this fine... I wonder how many R2 of our taxes are being spent to send fines for standing still!?
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Thursday
Aug212008

Celebrating and giving thanks for the 20th anniversary of the UDF (United Democratic Front)

Today, 21 August 2008, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the United Democratic Front. For those who lived under Apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's you will know that the Apartheid government placed very strict restrictions on political and civic organisations that were standing for justice, equity and human rights in South Africa. In fact, the oppression was so stringent that many individuals and organisations were severely persecuted.

The UDF was started to build solidarity and co-operation between many different organisations that were working to deconstruct and undermine the Apartheid regime. Of course, as with any organisation of this size, there were some elements that were somewhat controversial. However, on the whole, the UDF did incredible work to keep the struggle active and co-ordinated. I remember experiencing a great deal of passion, learning a great deal about justice and mercy, and finding many likeminded persons at UDF meetings at WITS, in Soweto and JHB in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Today I give thanks to God for the many women and men, Christian, and those who were not Christian, who worked to bring political freedom to South Africa (which was eventually realised in our first 'free' elections in April 1994). Of course there is still a great deal of work to be done aluta continua! We long for the continued work for true freedom and liberation. Many still live under very sad and difficult conditions, apartheid (now an economic reality rather than a racial ideology) is still very much alive and active in South Africa.

So, I give thanks for 20 years of united work for democracy, and long to see further united work for the realisation of a society that reflects the mercy, justice, and blessing of God's Kingdom of Grace!

- Luke 4:18-19 (notice how Jesus describes his ministry)
- Isaiah 11:6-9 (a glimpse of the Kingdom of God from the Old Testament)
- Revelation 21:3-5a (another glimpse of the Kingdom of God from the New Testament)

Wednesday
Aug202008

Procrastination and productivity...

I understand the tension that exists between procrastination and productivity - in fact, to relate them to one another scientific terms one would be able to say that they are 'inversely proportionate'... As the one rises the other falls and vice versa!

I have been running at a hectic pace since the 4th of August! There seem to be more demands than hours in each day... But I take solace in the fact that I am engaged in acts of service and obedience.

I read a lovely little quote today:

'You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do...' Henry Ford (1863-1947)

So, it is off to my next meeting, and then two more after that. I am home tomorrow evening at least! This has been a heavy week!

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Wednesday
Aug202008

Count your blessings! I wonder how South Africa compares?

A friend sent me this very interesting article about research from the University of Nigmegen in the Netherlands. It showed that the churches in the city of Rotterdam were so effective in their social outreach programs that they city indicated it would not be able to function without their input (which amounts to approximately 130 Million Euros per year).

I have two thoughts about this. The first is simply, WELL DONE! It is wonderful to see the Church doing good work! I am convinced that the most significant testimony that any Church can have is to make a significant tangible impact upon its surroundings. The second observation is this, in contexts where faith is a deliberate choice (such as the largely secularized European countries), the faithful tend to be far more committed and active in their faith. In contexts such as ours where faith is commonplace, expressions and commitments of faith tend towards the mediocre, rather than the extra-ordinary.

What is your experience? If the Churches in your city or town were to close down would anyone notice the effects?

Secularists on both sides of the Atlantic have clamoured for the separation of church and state, religion and politics, opposing the use of public funds for faith-based initiatives. But a recent study commissioned by the city council in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on the social benefit of Christian churches, suggests that if the churches were to stop their volunteer activities today, the city would go bankrupt. They save the city up to 130 million euro each year and contribute significantly in creating social cohesion and integration.

The researchers of the University of Nijmegen approached 272 churches in Rotterdam for their enquiry, and discovered the largest number of churches to be evangelical fellowships (36%). The Protestant Churches of the Netherlands (PKN) formed 18% and the Roman Catholic Churches 13% of the total. The remainder were made up of other ecumenical churches. While in some European countries, like France, Poland and Belgium, evangelical fellowships are still branded by secular authorities as 'sects', it is clear from the Rotterdam research that such fellowships are rapidly becoming 'mainstream', swelled by large numbers of evangelical migrant Christians.

Against the expectations of secularists, the number of church members in the city was not found to be diminishing. At around 200,000, they in fact represented one in every three Rotterdammers. Of these, one in four attended church regularly, some 50,000, or 9% of the city's inhabitants. Half of these regular church-goers - some 25,000 - are active volunteers, mostly spending more than eight hours each week in volunteer work. These activities include intercultural and interreligious engagement, informational and educational courses, and social aid programmes. Volunteers offer emergency financial aid, run food banks (see photo) and meals-on-wheels programmes, assist those grieving, help with homework, teach language and computer lessons, support assault victims, prostitutes, asylum-seekers, refugees, homeless and prisoners... and much more. The researchers also found that migrant churches contribute just as much as the non-migrant churches. This broad, wide-ranging, non-bureaucratic and non-discriminating social help has until now gone largely unrecognised by officials.

According to the researchers of the University of Nijmegen, it is time for city fathers in Rotterdam and elsewhere to give recognition and concrete financial assistance to the considerable contribution of the urban churches. This is also clearly stated in the report's official title: 'Count your blessings!'

Source: Jeff Fountain, Hope for Europe

Tuesday
Aug192008

Another article published! Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae.

I never grow tired of having a chapter, or article, published! It is an incredible joy to see one's thoughts in print, and to know that they are available to others in their research.

This article number 3 for 2008. I had better start working to get something ready for 2009!

Thank God for this wonderful joy - I don't deserve any credit.!
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Sunday
Aug172008

Another step in the direction of 'The Matrix' and 'singularity'?

I am as amused by the persons who think that 'The Matrix' will actually become a reality as most of you are. However, there is something absolutely amazing about the philosophical conundrum that arises when one mixes biology and mechanics... The base question is simply, at what point does a human become a machine, and vice versa.

For example, after my accident I had pins, screws, and plates put into my leg... Now most people would agree that it is still a human leg... But what if my eyes were replaced, I received a cochlear implant to hear with, my heart was replaced, and I received a nano brain!? Would you still say that I was fully human!? Where is the 'tipping point'... Perhaps the question is moot since according to the post I made on Friday there is no truly ontological separation between sentient beings and the rest of creation...

I think that we (humans) may be in for quite an education when we come to discover that God loves ALL of God's creation with passion, care, and creativity, and that these 'hallmarks' of God's favour don't just rest upon us as humans. Perhaps a for of symbiosis between human persons and their technology is part of God's evolutionary plan for the cosmos! Now, before you react to this statement just consider how dependant you are on the technologies that are so commonplace in most of the developed world - cell phones, the internet, your car, television, medical science etc., etc. We could harldy make it through a morning, let alone a day, without relying on the inextricable link that exists between us and the technologies we have woven into our lives... what happens when we weave such technologies 'tangibly' into our very selves!?

I found this post quite interesting nonetheless! What do you think, is 'The Matrix' nearer than we thought?


200808141047.jpg

John Shirley says: "Robot with a biological brain (wrote about this in my Eclipse novels, never thought it'd happen in my lifetime)."

The robot’s biological brain is made up of cultured neurons which are placed onto a multi electrode array (MEA). The MEA is a dish with approximately 60 electrodes which pick up the electrical signals generated by the cells. This is then used to drive the movement of the robot. Every time the robot nears an object, signals are directed to stimulate the brain by means of the electrodes. In response, the brain’s output is used to drive the wheels of the robot, left and right, so that it moves around in an attempt to avoid hitting objects. The robot has no additional control from a human or a computer, its sole means of control is from its own brain.
A robot with a biological brain
UPDATE: Tom Simonite, online technology editor at Newscientist.com says: "I noticed you linked to the ZDnet coverage of robot with a rat's brain at Reading University. We've put together a video of it using its brain power to avoid obstacles."
From boingboing

Sunday
Aug172008

Turn the tide on '419' scams... get into 'scambaiting', or maybe NOT!

This internet is a vast frontier as wild as the wildest experiences of the wild, wild, west! Outlaws abound! Among the most notable of these are the Nigerian (and other) '419' scammers who prey on unsuspecting and kindhearted people to rob them of their life's savings... You all know the letters "Dear beloved one, I am Mrs XX wife of deceased diplomat YY who was given a $1 Billion... Please can I access the money through your bank account?"

I had heard about 'scambaiting' previously, but now there's a book on the subject. In short, scambaiters turn the tide on the scammers by getting them to perform hilarious acts to 'prove' their trustworthyness to the persons they think they are scamming. These include things like sending stuff from Nigeria, posting photos of themselves in certain places, or doing certain things... In short, the scammer gets scammed...

Here's more from Cory Doctorow - (Warning! This could be dangerous! So, don't try it at home!!!)

Sadly, for persons such as myself who deal with fairly substantial ammounts of donor funding that gets directed to social upliftment programs, there is a need to be incredibly discerning about requests for assistance and clear and verifiable credentials... It is sad that I need to be so untrusting, but it is a reality that has to do with my own safety, and the safety of the funds in my care.

Every idea implies its opposite, and there's no clearer proof of this than the amazing Internet practice of "scambaiting," well-documented in Eve Edelson's Scamorama: Turning the Tables on Email Scammers.

You know those ridiculous fraud emails you get from deposed princes, corrupt bankers, desperate widows (and so on), with weird capitalization and punctuation, asking you to advance them some money so that they can liberate a giant, multibillion-dollar sum and give you ten percent for your trouble? These "419" letters originate from all over the world, but Nigeria's perfect storm of connectivity, corruption, lawlessness and poverty meant that the "Lads" of Lagos have elevated ripoff letters to a high art.

And for every Lad, there's a scambaiter. Scambaiting is a vibrant internet sport that involves turning the tables on 419 scammers, getting them to undertake ridiculous rituals, expend money and energy, humiliate and debase themselves as they seek to ruin their "victims'" lives through fraud.

Scamorama is a popular website for scambaiting, and its creator, Eve Edelson, has put a lot of thought into the nature of the 419 con and those who seek to disrupt it. In Scamorama (the book), Edelson traces the history of scamming back to the middle ages and forward to the present day, giving practical advice on not getting taken in and scam-proofing your friends and family.

But where Scamorama really gets going in as a HOWTO manual for scambaiting, with long, hilarious email exchanges between baiters and scammers, and good tips for running your own reverse con.

As hobbies go, scambaiting sounds like a pretty fun one -- and it has redeeming social characteristics, since the 419 con artist who is busily whittling you a Commodore 64, sojourning to Amsterdam to meet an "eccentric clergyman" who will front him $20,000, or re-enacting the Monty Python Dead Parrot Sketch is a con artist who is not ruining the life of some more trusting soul. Scamorama on Amazon, Scamorama.com

See also:
* 419 scammers tricked into re-creating Dead Parrot Sketch
* 419 victim shoots Nigerian diplomat
* NPR "Xeni Tech": Scambaiters and Monty Python, 419-style
* Laura Bush's 419 letter
* Dick Cheney's 419 letter
* Dutch court locks up 419 scammers
* Busting a 419 scammer spammer
* Nigerian Letter scammer convinced to carve replica Commodore 64
* Man loses money trying to double it by marinating
* Nigerian letters fuel Lagos's Internet Cafe boom
* Nigerian legit email hard to distinguish from 419s

Saturday
Aug162008

Well done Percy! 100 test caps!

The atmosphere at Newlands is charged! As Percy Montgomery walked onto the field this afternoon the crowd erupted! This is Percy's 100th test cap, more than any other player in South African history!

Today I have the INCREDIBLE honoir of watching from the President's box!

go bokke!
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Friday
Aug152008

And the winner of the Spoof Championships is.... (AND the Hansie movie)

.... And the winner pof the South African Spoof Championship is.... Mr Dave Bennie (who beat Prof Skip Krige from UOVS)

By the way Frans Cronje was also here (the brother of the late Hansie Cronje) and we got a sneak preview of the Hansie Movie! All I can say is book for the 24th of September! It is a fantastic movie! We were given tickets for the launch on the 18th, I'll let you know what the whole movie is like, but from what we saw, it is stunning! Well done Frans! A real testimony to God's forgiveness and grace!
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Friday
Aug152008

Sporting 'traditional' wear for the South African 'spoof championships'!

Tonight I am taking part in the South African 'spoof championships' look here for the rules: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/~phscz/spoof.html

Ours is 'cleaner' than most since we're Christian gentlemen. The dress is formal or traditional, so I decided to wear my kilt (tilt your head ma'm).
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Friday
Aug152008

Is radical unity between God and creation (and created beings) New Age, or is it in fact a Biblical view of reality?

A friend emailed me a few days ago to ask a question about some research he is doing. I hope to be able to chat with him in person when he comes down to Cape Town. However, one aspect of our email conversation struck with me.

I have often been confronted (because of the nature and content of my own research) with the question about the quantum theoretical view of reality and fundamentally interconnected and interrelated and some elements of new age spirituality. In particular persons have asked me whether what I propose is not some form of new age spirituality - my response is quite simply NO! I believe that a view of reality in which everything lives, and moves, and has its being in Christ is the only truly Biblical view that one could hold with any Christian integrity (Acts 17:28)! Whilst God is wholly 'other' from creation (in the sense that God is creator whilst we are creation) does not suppose that we are separate from God! There is great unity in distinction! The mystery of the Christian Trinity is a testimony to 'otherness' in radical unity....
Anyway, here's a version of the email that I sent to my friend explaining some of my reasoning, and pointing to some things that I've written about this radical unity between God and God's beloved creation.
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This is a very interesting topic indeed! I have written a few things in this area, and done some research on identity, consciousness and the new science. Here are a few documents that you can download to see some of what I've written on this subject. I prefer to speak of quantum theory and integrative theory rather than pure quantum mechanics (which is a sub-field of quantum science, which in turn is a sub field of quantum theory - one of the things that we learn in the 'new science' is that the boundaries between science and spirituality, or for that matter identity and being, are quite thin, and often don't exist).
A) You can download a copy of my doctoral thesis here: http://www.spirituality.org.za/files/D%20Forster%20doctorate.pdf This has the most detailed discussions I've yet written on some of these ideas (quantum theory, identity, relationship and consciousness). In particular you may find the following of interest:
1. Simply search for 'quantum', 'tunneling effect', 'EPR', 'implicate' or 'Bohm' in the PDF and see what I've written about quantum theory.
2. There is a chapter devoted to your subject (Chapter 3 that is entitled 'Consciousness and the functioning of the human brain: A discussion of biological, physical and philosophical theories relating to individual human consciousness and the brain'. In particular section 3.4.3 is worth considering, the first part talks about computational models of the brain from the perspective of classical physics (i.e., Newtonian physics and Euclidian mathematics), and section two in that same subsection discusses quantum theories of the brain and consciousness in relation to identity - it is entitled 'A holographic model of the conscious brain: A perspective from quantum physics'.
3. Chapter 4 of the thesis is, in my opinion, much more radical than quantum physical (or quantum spiritual) theories of identity and conscious. In this chapter I present and discuss the incredible work of Ken Wilber the integrative theorist who is a brilliant scientist, philosopher, and a deeply spiritual person (Buddhist, not Christian... But we pray!) Section 4.3 is of particular interest, it is entitled 'Holistic consciousness in relation to Ken Wilber's four quadrants of reality'. In summary all of quantum theory would fit into the upper right and lower right of Wilber's four quadrants, then there are the upper left, and lower left which are largely not considered by even the most enlightened of quantum theorists!
4. I also do some work in chapters 5 and 6 on the relationship between all of this 'stuff' and African models of relationship and identity which are much more balanced than those of the dualistic 'West'....
So, that's enough for the thesis.... By the way, it is soon to be published as a book. The working title is 'Why you're not who you think you are: Adventures in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and theology'
B) I have also done some work on the quantum stuff in one of my recent books entitled 'Christ at the centre - discovering the Cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths' You can download PDF copies of the book here: http://www.spirituality.org.za/2008/04/copies-of-my-three-most-recent-books.html In this book I devote just short of a chapter to quantum physics (and micro biology in relation to the 'new science'), you'll find it at around pp. 34-52.
C) In my recent little book 'An uncommon spiritual path - finding Jesus beyond conventional Christianity.' you'll find a similar discussion around pp. 79 ff. You can also download a copy of that book in PDF format here: http://www.spirituality.org.za/2008/04/copies-of-my-three-most-recent-books.html
D) Finally, I wrote his paper which gives some insight into the relationship between quantum theory and the evolution of the cosmos from the 'gross' material level to the 'subtler' spiritual levels. This is quite a controversial paper in and of itself... Here I argue that the extinction of humanity may well be part of God's evolutionary plan for the perfection of creation... The problem with us humans is that we tend to centre all of reality upon ourselves (even God)! So, this may be one possible way of placing God at the centre of creation once again.... Anyway, it was more tongue in cheek than serious, plus it got published because it was so contentious! You can download the paper here: http://www.spirituality.org.za/files/Post%20human%20evolutionary%20cosmology%20Teilhard%20de%20Chardin.pdf

Well, there you have it... Since my understanding is clearly that quantum theory is one possible explanation of the breakdown of duality between spirit and matter, and so a measure of identity in which we come to discover the mystery of the person of Christ who draws all creation truly into himself (Ephesians 1:10), and the Holy Spirit who holds all things in constant, present, existence (Colossians 1:16-17), I do believe that there is value in appropriating and understand this new 'language' for the purposes of expressing and grasping the mystery of being fully alive in Christ. I do not think this is 'new age' in any way. I think is fundamentally biblical and scriptural! One of the HUGE problems with the characterization of such spirituality as 'new age' is that it is based more on Western dualism than scriptural unity. Most of the Bible (the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures) does not have the radical dualism between spiritual and profane, between religion and ordinary life, and between divine reality and the created order. This dualism was introduced INTO the New Testament through neo Platonists (of which the Apostle Paul was primary), and the Gnostics - Hebrew is the clearest neo-platonic dualism in scripture.... That is interesting in and off itself since it is supposedly the most 'Hebrew' of the New Testament books, yet it has the most impeccable Greek of all the New Testmanet writtings and displays a clear textual vorlage to the Septuagint and the Greek philosophical schools of the time... But. of you read the chapter listed under B) above you'll get quite a detailed discussion on how we went from Old Testament harmony between God and creation, interior life and exterior life, through the Greek philosophers, to Descartes, Netwon, Francis Bacon, and ultimately Western metaphysics. The point is quite simply that most of the Old Testament, and some of the most 'lucid' elements of the New Testament (which is the majority of the teaching in Christian scripture) proposed an integrated view of reality (which has sadly been lugged in with the 'new age movement' when in fact it is simply Biblical!), not the dualistic view of reality that conservative evangelicals have labeled as orthodox...
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Well, let me know what you think (if you have the mirth to wade your way through my scattered A.D.D thoughts!)

 

Friday
Aug152008

The humiliating path of reconciliation...

'God sets out upon the humiliating path of reconciliation and thereby pronounces the world free. God wills to be guilty of our sin, and takes over the punishment and suffering sin has brought upon us. God answers for godlessness, love for hatred, the saint for the sinner. Now there is no godlessness, no hatred, no sin which God has not carried, suffered, and atoned. Now there is no reality, no world that is not reconciled and in peace with God. God did this in the beloved son Jesus Christ.'

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer  Meditations on the Cross