The phrase "Symbiotic Christanity" is my term for a specialized body of knowledge and practice aimed at educating believing Christians (hosts) on the means of reliably communicating and cooperating with the Holy Spirit (symbiote) within them, after which "they shall all be taught of God". This summary serves as a "crib sheet" for those who have slogged through the essays, as well as a 30,000 foot snapshot of the current research direction of this website.
Symbiotic Christianty says the following three things about Man (that is, the human race):
Generation
As understood by the Bible writers, the Heart of Man is the generator/creator/processor of all thoughts, perceived and unperceived, primitive and synthetic, neutral or evil. This serves as an alternative model to the "classical" version that posits dual independent "minds" ("conscious" and "unconscious").
Selection
Perception of thought is done by the Inner Man. However, it is the Heart of Man within an unsaved person that completely determines which thoughts are presented to the Inner Man. The action of the Inner Man is limited to selecting one thought from among those presented to it. This selection is performed by "paying attention" to the thought, indicating the desire of the Inner Man to pursue that thought further. Moral cupability is incurred upon selection, not perception, with "evil" determined by the consequences of the thought being selected.
Rebellion
The Heart of Man is aware of the thought selected by the Inner Man, but has no obligation to obey or honor that selection, generating and presenting follow-on thoughts independent of appropriateness or pertinence. This rebellious non-cooperation by the Heart of Man is a consequence of the Fall of Man and reveals its corruption by sin. This rebellion extends to the Heart of Man not presenting thoughts about moral consequences to the Inner Man for consideration. This state of rebellion that prevents Man from even considering the truth of their spiritual state is called Total Depravity.
Symbiotic Christianty says the following three things about God:
CoHabitation
At the Conversion of the Inner Man though faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the appropriation by faith of His Righteousness, the Holy Spirit literally resides within the Believer by entering into and dwelling within their Heart, creating a symbiotic union of two different species into one New Man, Jesus Christ being the Initial Prototype and Master Template.
CoGeneration
From His place in the Human Heart, the Holy Spirit independently generates thoughts that are presented to the Inner Man in addition to those thoughts generated by the corrupted Heart of Man. All such thoughts are good and will inevitably lead the Inner Man to manifest righteous behavior if selected.
CoOperation
The Inner Man cooperates with the Holy Spirit by consciously selecting those thoughts generated by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit responsively cooperates with the Inner Man by forcing the Heart of Man to honor the selected thought or honoring the selected thought Himself independently of the Heart. The moral standing and growth of the Inner Man of the Believer is based on the totality and general tenor of the selections that are made.
Symbiotic Christianty claims that the following three benefits accrue to the Believer who lives life symbiotically in cooperation with the Holy Spirit:
Unification
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit subsequent to conversion incorporates each Believer into Jesus Christ, and through Him into the Divine Family and the Divine Nature. This makes available to all Believers all the powers, privileges, and benefits that are found in or made available to Jesus Christ. However, they are enjoyed proportionate to the participation of individual Believers in the life of the Divine Family and their adoption of the Divine Nature through the work of the Holy Spirit in carrying out those duties and responsibilities that come with membership in the Divine Family.
Illumination
The Holy Spirit can independently generate thoughts which, when selected by the Inner Man, lead the Believer unto all truth. This truth is not restricted to spiritual truth, but includes those truths which, if pursued, lead to the enhancement of the physical, social, economic, creative, artistic, and educational well-being and advancement of the Believer, The Church, and their Community.
Manipulation
Since all neurotransmitters have operational opposites, the emission of certain neurotransmitters can cancel out thoughts that would otherwise come to the attention of the Inner Man. Thus, temptations, compulsions, and addictions can be suppressed or re-directed by the Holy Spirit's interactive intervention in the neuro-biochemical system of the Believer who enjoys these benefits by selecting those thoughts about those vices that are generated by the Holy Spirit. This activity can also be used to manipulate those bio-chemical systems within the human body that are directly connected to or indirectly influenced by the nervous system. Via this interactive intervention, the Holy Spirit also generates thoughts which, when selected by the Inner Man, leads the believer into growing and enjoying those Fruit of the Spirit by adding positive emotional components to that fruit, as well as removed negative emotional components that prevent that fruit's manifestation.
The operation of the Holy Spirit within the Believer at the neurochemical level during conversion is, in and of itself, miraculous and transcends the natural order.
This body of knowledge and practice has been gained by employing a engineering based adaptation of the scientific method to acertain the leading of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of the principal investigators. Because human interaction is part of the process, inerrancy and perfection are neither possible nor claimed. Because the process is based on the scientific method, the knowledge base cannot be regarded as static and settled but is subject to expansion, amendation, and retraction . Because the process is engineering based, success is measured by the results, with the definition of "results" coming solely from Scripture ("By their fruits ye shall know them."). Thus, all findings are subject to review and revision, with large scale changes beyond corrections in spelling, grammar, and phrasing being noted in line in the affected essays.
Finally, the principal investigators state that the goal of this body of teaching and practice is to more efficiently bring about a sanctified life within the Christian Believer that is fruitful as defined by the Jewish and Christian Holy Scriptures, and is effected through the work of the Holy Spirit symbiotically residing within that Believer. Since the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Believer comes only after the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, this body of teaching and practice is not essential to Salvation and is not implementable by non-Believers. Symbiotic Christianity is one of many methods for the practice of what Reformed Arminianism calls "Union With Christ", and we beg the indulgence and forgiveness of our fellow Christians if, in our enthusiasm for what has worked wonderfully for us, the impression is given that this is the best or only way to live the Christian Life.
This Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, "Where God Wants Me", presents in a simple way one of the core ideas underlying all the essays in this website. My thanks to Sharon Beverly, a co-worker, for forwarding this to me.
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