Saturday, September 10, 2011

Penn State Blues

I'm sitting here Sept. 10 watching University of Michigan playing almost as dismally as Penn State did this afternoon. My husband got his engineering degree at Michigan and I got my animal science degree at Penn State. My mother, who is a die-hard PSU fan and has a great sense of humor, said she wanted to phone Joe Paterno and ask if he ever heard of sacking the other team's quarterback. Apparently she felt they had opportunities they never took. I told her that's something you would see on an Internet sports board. So, instead of that I'll put it on my blog. She's pretty safe since I don't get much traffic anyway.

In a large change of subject, my prayers go to all who will be at 9/11 services tomorrow. May you be safe, and may your grief be replaced with the peace of God which passes all understanding.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Studies in Heaven?

When I first started this blog, I said there were three things I am especially interested in. They were: 1) Latin America and the Spanish language; 2) women's rights, especially in the Church, and; 3) creationism and ID theory.

I find that as time goes on, my interests have shifted almost primarily to the third, as it concerns biology, evolution and creation. That has probably been reflected in the number of entries devoted to this subject from early on.

Biology is so fascinating that I can't tear myself from it even when I try. Of course, biology is crucial in understanding things like medicine and even psychology. But I am not involved in these endeavors and my interest is mainly from a perspective of being awed by God's abilities.

But sometimes I wonder, will biology be relevant in heaven? Will God reveal the history of his creative steps on Earth to us? Paul had said that our bodies will be different after death, and one wonders to what extent that will be. There is description in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 about this. Will we no longer care about the details of how our bodies work here?

I suppose those who have devoted their lives to study of these subjects may have hold-overs in heaven. They'd like to finally find out about confusing fossils, or which biological characteristics may have developed on their own and which had been affected directly by God. And perhaps with increased understanding we may be able to follow more of the systems of biology and see how it all works together. The earthly body is so remarkable that it would make good subject matter even in heaven.

The above Bible chapter is a powerful one in that at the end, Paul says we should stand firm and work for the Lord. God gives victory over death through Jesus Christ. As far as a person's interests go, this should be the priority, an organizing factor for which all other interests fall in their rightful place. It can be a little hard for each of us to discern how to do this best, but it is what I will try to do from now on.