Author: David Ellis

Don: For much of the history of man, things of the spirit and things of the flesh—things of nature and things of god—were combined and overlapped. Until the 19th century the term “science” did not even exist: The term used was “natural philosophy.” Its students were not scientists but “natural philosophers.” Their interest was to…

Don: We have been discussing the relationship between things of the body, which I will call science, and things of the spirit, which I will call faith or religion. In linking forgiveness (a thing of the spirit) with healing (a thing of the body), Jesus is simply recognizing the worldview of the time. Illness had…

Don: We have discussed forgiveness as a key element of community, and saw that Jesus made clear there should be no limits on it. He also, in the Lord’s Prayer, made clear that we must forgive others before god will forgive us. Scripture links forgiveness to confession, yet on several occasions— most notably and sweepingly,…

Don: Even today, the concept that illness may be a result of sinful behavior is somewhat prevalent. Patients diagnosed with cancer often tell me they have led relatively blameless lives and have done nothing to deserve it. Jesus developed the relationship between healing and forgiveness extensively in his ministry. There are more than three dozen…

Don: Last week we read from Isaiah 43:25 that god forgives and forgets our sins for his own sake. Psalm 23 says “He leads me through the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The notion that god does some of what he does for his own sake is common in both the Old and…

Don: I am dwelling on forgiveness in part because as a physician, I understand the pathology of forgiveness–or, to put it another way, the pathophysiology of unforgiveness. Guilt, bitterness, anger, resentment… all tend to have very disabling effects. We see it in patients on almost a daily basis. The effects have been studied. Adenergic hormones…

Don: Last week we determined that forgiveness may be one of the core pillars of community. We discussed the relationship between forgiveness and the “unpardonable sin,” the “blaspheming against the holy spirit” that Jesus talked about in Matthew 12. That question arises because after giving the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, and again at the…

At risk of being sued for copyright infringement, I have to share this extraordinary article from The Atlantic, because it seems to me to support the contention I have made in this forum and in my book Deus ex Machina Sapiens that science and religion can blend, and that science will increasingly reveal the physics…

Don: This is our tenth year of studying the Book of Matthew. We have reached chapter 18, which reflects what we are calling the “pillars of community.” These are key concepts expounded by Jesus that define what constitutes an effective community of strong faith. It is almost a handbook of the community called “the kingdom…