Life Is Linear - Living Is Cyclical

By Dr. Frank A. Lucas

Today, trying to survive, let alone flourish, in the constant barrage of opinions and "science says" is challenging for some and sadly impossible for others.

What if there is one place where you could find a way out, one source that

* has stood the test of time,

* doesn't change with the actions and motives of strangers,

* has guided multitudes and generations of people through the ebbs and tides of their lives?

What if there's a map to help guide you to that source?

Would you read it?

Life is linear; living is cyclical. It is a map to help guide you out of the land of confusion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889434351

Book preview

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Life Is Linear - Living Is Cyclical

Dr. Frank A. Lucas

ISBN 979-8-88943-434-4 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-435-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Frank A. Lucas

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All biblical citations were taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise indicated.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Explaining the Unexplainable

Preface

Introduction

Section 1

Everything Has a Beginning

The nature of evolution

Good and evil

The power of two

The power of one

Section 2

What Is Society?

What is human societal evolution?

Human social structure

Literacy: language, writing, and reading

Stone-age genetics in a modern society

Section 3

Living Is Cyclical; Life Is Linear

Introduction

Living is cyclical

Life is linear

There are three states of the linear life

Section 4

The Human Brain

Brain chemistry

Section 5

Emotions

The five emotions

Section 6

How the Human Body Works

Composition of the human body

A caveman in a modern world

Living your linear life—in a nutshell

One final thought

Bonus section: food for thought

Are you digging your grave with a fork?

The balanced diet is myth

Chemcuisine: the new-standard American diet

Processing food facts

Food doesn't come in a box

Parasites in humans

The healing crisis

How to achieve a healthier lifestyle

Surviving modern medicine

Who is responsible for keeping you healthy?

A new perspective

Choices have consequences

Holistic health is about making choices

Conclusion: It's Your Life—It's Your Choice

It's Your Life—It's Your Choice

References

About the Author

Explaining the unexplainable

Explaining the Unexplainable

Philosophy is loosely defined by some people as "the love and pursuit of wisdom. Others refer to it as explaining the unexplainable."

An interesting aspect of aging is the luxury to ruminate and, in the process, seek to share the wisdom garnered from the experiences of living life with subsequent generations.

There are people who contend that this luxury has contributed to the inventory of human wisdom, the reservoir of common sense; others, not so much.

Regardless, philosophy entails the study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language.

This effort is a philosophical presentation of my exploration of "How and why me?"

The following is a humble attempt to share the observations and conclusions garnered from my years spent experiencing my linear life.

Preface

After the Christmas dinner 2021, we were discussing current events. My middle granddaughter chimed in with a question, Grandpa, don't you think some of this stuff has a gray area?

I said, No.

She then asked, What do you believe?

As you can imagine, my two sons promptly stood up and walked outside to grab some air because they, being first my sons and, second, the fathers of my twentysomething granddaughters, knew what was coming. I answered, There's only right and wrong choices. Both choices have consequences: expected or unexpected. It's the way you make the choice that counts.

Then she asked, What do you mean by that?

I said, Expected consequences are easy. They're what you wanted, one and done. It's the other one that's the problem. When you get something different than what you wanted, it tells a story.

Sounding a bit irritated, she followed up with, What are you talking about?

Undaunted, I said, It's a three-part story: not me, why me, and poor me.

Failed emotional choices are explained with excuses, so you can let yourself off the hook and become a victim.

On the other hand, intellectual choices can be explained with facts. Failed intellectual choices are lessons learned. You suffer the consequences, stop digging the hole you dug, figure out a way out of the mess you made, get more knowledge, and do something different when you're facing the same or similar situation. The more you know, the more likely you'll get what you expected.

There was a pause at the table. Then, out of nowhere, one of my daughters-in-law said, You were raised Catholic, weren't you? suggesting those teachings somehow explained my answer. In one sense, it was true at one point of my life, but not now. So I said as much.

Then came the next question: What are you?

Never one to dodge a question, I answered, Christian, hoping that issue was settled.

But it wasn't! She then asked the big question: What does that mean?

That question caught me by surprise, so it took a moment to gather my thoughts.

Then I said, I believe in God, and he's the Creator and master of all things. He's an omniscient, omnipotent, ever-present, loving Father. I believe, Jesus is the Son of God. Through him, I have forgiveness and salvation, and I will be judged based on my motives and actions during my life.

That must have been enough because we cleared the table and continued the festivities of the day.

But it wasn't enough for me! It opened a vein. This book is a compilation of my pursuit for answers to the questions who, what, where, and why I am. Growing up, my father somehow seemed to know everything I did, for better or worse. I quickly learned the comfort of his smile when I met his expectations and the shame of his frown.

Then it occurred to me: Father God is everywhere. Meeting His expectation will earn His smile. That's the place to start.

Life Is Linear: Living Life Is Cyclical contains the answers I'll happily share with my grandchildren and you.

Introduction

There are four subjects that are better to avoid discussing: politics, religion, gender, and science.

Nonetheless, I've chosen to write about them anyway because they're important!

Here's where I decided to start—with fourteen basic considerations:

Sometimes, the obvious is the most difficult concept to grasp.

I can't know what I don't know.

Knowledge has its limits; ignorance is limitless.

Opinions are like armpits; everyone has them, and they all stink.

Don't tell me; show me.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Evil people do evil things.

Figures never lie. Liars always figure.

Stand for something, or fall for anything.

I exist; therefore, I am.

Discover what you're good at, then do it.

Live life one day at a time.

You can't ring the same bell twice, but you can ring it again.

And finally, don't do anything you wouldn't want to live with.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

So let's get started.

In 1969, a band named Three Dog Night penned a song named "One" (is the loneliest word you'll ever hear…)

Holy Scriptures write (Genesis 2:18), And the Lord God said, It is not good that The man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.

Herds, flocks, even forests are just a few examples of individuals forming groups.

For humans, these groups are called societies.

Did you ever wonder why or how this world we know all came to be?

Section 1

Everything Has a Beginning

There are many people attempting to explain the observable, experiential human condition. They are searching for answers to universal questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

There was a big bang.

For example, scientists espouse several different versions of a big bang, featuring a theory that a confluence of gases, elements, and lucky cascading events were, and are, responsible for the observable natures of the human condition.

From this accidental confluence of gas, element, and luck, our world evolved:

Fact is, you can't know what you don't know.

For this presentation, I readily admit, I lack the standing to expound on the various versions of the big bang theory.

Luck of

the Draw

Nonetheless, it seems to me that basing all of creation and the human experience on the lucky confluence of an atom, gases, and a boundless free-for-all demeans the observable elegance of our surroundings and human accomplishment. Plus ignoring an explanation for the source of these original two components and the source of ignition may need more investigation.

God

did it!

On the other hand, theologians, and religions of many stripes, espouse versions of the theory of creationism—the existence of an all-powerful, omniscient, loving God—that, over the course of His time, created it. I have, over the years, reviewed and/or studied various archaeological, aboriginal, and religious accounts of creationist-like beliefs.

Regardless of the religion, Western, Eastern, mystical, parochial, Protestant, or tribal origins, the common explanation of creation among them is an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent yet vengeful God created all of it. And that explanation has offered comfort and warning to cultures and societies since time in memoriam.

For example: The first book (Genesis) of the Old Testament of the King James version of the Holy Bible is a version of the widely accepted creationist description.

It begins with the phrase, In the beginning, God created…, followed by a litany of creation events: sun, moon and stars, day and night, seasons, land, water and seas, plants and animals, man and woman, good and evil, curiosity, free will, and consequences.

From nothing, God created

Then God made it rain, causing plants to grow, flourish, and be fruitful, producing an idyllic world.

Then, from the dust formed a man, Adam, to benefit, tend, care for this garden that contained two trees in particular: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which God forbade the man of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.

Then from the ground, God formed every beast and fowl and brought them to see