Author: PaulFH

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The Ten Happiness Principles: #2

Continuing with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ten Happiness Principles, we come to number 2, Praise.

We don’t praise the good efforts of others enough.

We lift them, and in turn, ourselves when we praise something that someone else has done.

If we have an appreciative attitude to the blessing of life that we have been given, if we can awake and be thankful that we have awaken, surely we can be more attentive to those around us when they do something that helps us or helps someone and in turn show that we have noticed by praising them.

Obviously, praise needs to be genuine, but often being genuine only requires a change of perspective.

Just consider the last person you spent a few minutes interacting with. Had they done anything today that helped make your life easier or more comfortable or successful, or perhaps had you observed them do this for someone else.

If so, say so!

Praise is a boomerang!

The more we all try to give praise to others the more it will come back on us and in turn lift our spirits and encourage us to try even more to help others.

Appropriate and honest praise is important. So while praising others may bring us happiness, when it comes to praising our children, there are some important points to consider, as  Marnie Winston-Macauley points out:

Five Principles of Healthy Praise

The positive power of praise is well documented. As children grow, they need emotional feedback to mirror who they are. Praise is one way they learn about themselves. When they learn honest, specific positives, they develop confidence and esteem.

But lavishing general, over-reaching praise often has the opposite effect, setting the child up for unrealistic and fraudulent expectations. Telling a child: “You’re a wonderful, son,” “You’re the most honest person I know,” “You’re Mommy’s little angel,” “It’s always such a pleasure to be around you,” “You’re one great artist, writer, [fill in the blanks]. “You’re so smart, there’s nothing you can’t do,” they all sound like confidence boosters, but in fact, they land like “dares.”

These dares set up impossible standards. Parents may hope it’s true but our children know it’s not. After all, who could live up to such overwhelming kudos?

Praise is a lot like medicine. The right amount and type at the right time can restore and contribute to our child’s well-being. But too much of the wrong kind or given at the wrong time and we’ve got one sick puppy for whom the praise:

  1. is inaccurate and won’t jibe with his or her own self-view.
  2. raises anxiety as he feels like not only a fraud, but, like little David, one who may quickly lose his halo if he’s “found out.”
  3. could lead to impossible self-expectations. “I’m perfect or nothing,” then becomes the emotional compass.

So how can we praise without “punishing?”

#1: Praise realistic achievement specifically

“Thanks for helping me clean the basement. It looks like new,” or “You followed the recipe, and we all really enjoyed your cookies,” instead of “What a terrific cleaner or cook you are” telegraphs our children did a fine job, without raising anxiety by expecting them to be Bob Vila or Martha Stewart. Letting children know what they’re actually achieving offers a realistic emotional mirror. The message they hear? “My work really paid off! I did something new, and I can learn, listen, follow directions. It was fun, my family appreciated me. I feel sooo grown up and can’t wait to do more.”

#2: Praise proportionally

Proportion in any excellent recipe is critical. Too much sweet (praise) is as unhealthy as too much salt (criticism). Our child cleans her room well. It’s her job and her challenge. She deserves the simple, honest, recognition, not a marching band. We all want our children to own their real accomplishments, and not become “sugar junkies.”

#3: Praise in the here and now without prophesizing or readying your mantel for a Nobel Prize

In the Siddur we say each morning, “A person must always acknowledge the truth and speak truth in his heart.” Over-praising is a fundamental “untruth” and, despite well-intentioned praise, our children know they’re not deserving of all that glory. Not only do they feel the stress, they start to doubt themselves, and us. 

Ironically, hyper-praise can cause our children to either shut down, or become competitive at all costs. On the other hand, specific, proportional praise encourages children to believe in the value of a job well done.

#4: Helpful praise allows the child to infer the truth about himself and his character

Saying, “I really appreciate you telling me I gave you a five dollar bill instead of a one,” beats, “You’re always so honest!” by letting children get the idea – for themselves – that honesty is a positive quality, one they can and should continue as an ethical standard that is important, noted, and respected.

#5: Praise a good attempt, as well as accomplishment.

“Wow! An 85 in math. That was a tough test. And I know you were worried about it. This grade shows you really put a lot into it and it paid off!” tells the child effort and perseverance are more important than instant success.

Useful praise supports positive reality, acts as an accurate emotional mirror, and lets the child develop self-knowledge and ethics. With these character traits, children can then grow and mature with true confidence – confidence they’ve earned, and confidence they can trust.  – see http://www.aish.com/f/p/How_to_Praise_Your_Children.html

I would argue that Marnie’s wisdom here can also be applied to our interactions with other adults.

We need to find the opportunities to give praise, but it must be honest, specific, proportional and an invitation to critical self-reflection, rather than a conclusion and end in itself.

Next: The Ten Happiness Principles #3

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The Ten Happiness Principles: #1

Finding Happiness and Finding God: 

One of the greatest minds of this era, and one of the greatest thinkers in Judaism is, in my opinion, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (the very recently retired, Chief Rabbi of London). He gives what he believes are the top ten most important things we can do to find happiness. I wish to give his top ten and expand a little on each one through the next 10 short blog posts.

Some research studies have shown the Westerners, despite years of improving economic conditions, are generally no more happy than they were, and continue to seek the answers to their lack of happiness, through the masses of pop psychology offerings.

Research does appear to suggest that the wealthier people are, the happier they are (to some degree at least) and yet, research also seems to suggest that when adults have children they end up being less happy!!?

Given all the significant challenges of trying to quantify such as elusive emotion, or state of being, as happiness, perhaps we shouldn’t rely to heavily on such research!

At the same time, we all can reflect on our own personal experiences and on anecdotal evidence from the life experiences of our closest family members and friends, and how their happiness has changed through various significant life events.

For example, I saw first-hand how someone, very close to me, overcame a life-time of severe depression by taking on a job which involved taking significant responsibility for the welfare of vulnerable members of society.

I believe that these 10 Happiness Principles are 10 action steps which are foundational to a good and happy life. elizah1

Happiness Principle #1:  Give thanks:

Being appreciate for what we have is always a good approach that demonstrates a good attitude. There seems no question that those who are appreciative for whatever good, no matter how small or great, that comes their way, are generally much more content with their lives, and hence less jealous of others and consequently happier.

Part of this appreciation is the recognition that we normally have no control over the circumstances, or country, or economic state we are born and grow up in, but as adults, we do have control over how we respond to our personal circumstances.

As Rabbi Sacks states it: “For it is not what happens to us on which our happiness depends.  It depends on how we respond to what happens to us.” 

Of-course, that’s easy for him to say!  In reality, the practice of a good attitude is never easy!

To awake and start the day by being thankful that you have the day, that you are alive is a great start. Even being thankful that your normal bodily functions are working helps to engender a sense of calm and serenity.

The first waking prayer of Judaism fits this mold. It states: “I thank You, living and eternal King, who has restored my soul in mercy. Thank You, God, for giving me back my life.”

Giving thanks to the Almighty is a very common refrain in the Psalms. Just a few examples are Ps 7:17. 9:1.18:49, 30:4, 33:2, 35:18. 44:8, 45:17, 53:9, 54:6. 57:9. 75:1, 79:13 and so on.

The wording of Psalm 107:1 is often repeated: “Give thanks to YHVH, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.”

This attitude or thankfulness is also quite common in the Apostle Paul’s writings. For example see 1 Thessalonians 5: 14-18

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Messiah Yeshua for you.

If  you take the time to read through just some of the many Psalms that speak of giving thanks you will also see what Happiness Principle #2 is.

Next: Happiness Principle #2

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Torah Portion: Ha’azinu (Listen) – Deuteronomy 32:1 – 52

“This week we read the Song of Moses, one of Moses’ final speeches to the Children of Israel before his death. The only other words Moses speaks to the nation after this are the words of blessing in Deuteronomy Chapter 33.

But in Deuteronomy Chapter 32, Moses composes a long poem in which he praises G-d, discusses His relationship with His people and reviews historical events, some of which are revealed prophetically to him but have not yet occurred.

I would like to focus on two verses, each of which carry messages which speak to me in an especially relevant way.

“Remember the days of old, understand the years of each generation” (Deut. 32:7). Moses instructs his people to remember their history. In referring to the days of old, he hearkens back as far as Creation – remember the events of the universe from its very beginnings. Understanding the years of a generation implies a deeper comprehension of events, of people, of their actions and the consequences of those actions.

Moses understands what so few people understand today – that we are unable to understand our present if we don’t understand our past. If we don’t understand the ways of nature and the origins of the universe, and especially the fact that the universe was created by G-d, we will never be able to comprehend our role as human beings – to serve our Creator.

And if we don’t evaluate the events of history, the expectations G-d has from the Jewish people and from all peoples, His judgment over them and the consequences of our actions, then we will be doomed to failure every time.

The second verse that I find meaningful is Deut. 32:15 “And Yeshurun (a name for Israel) grew fat and kicked…then he forsake G-d who created him.” When life is good and blessings are abundant – then it is easy for Israel to forsake G-d, to forget that the source of our blessings is His generosity. When we are in trouble, it is natural to cry out for help. But when things are good, we tend to brag and attribute our success to our efforts alone. We forget that it is G-d who has blessed us, that it is He who created us, and to Him we owe our gratitude.

If all of Israel, if all of the world, would turn to Him in the height of our prosperity, the world would be a better place. The western world is a wealthy world and a secular world indeed.

If all of Israel remembered the lessons of history with regard to our conflict with the Arabs, and if our entire nation remembered that it is G-d who has created us and who is responsible for our blessings, we would all hold on to the gift He has given us and never let go. We would all treasure Biblical Israel forever.”

– Sondra Oster Baras, CFOIC, Samaria, Israel

Today in Australia (September 7th 2013) we have a National Election. We have been greatly blessed here and just like Israel, we have forgotten the source of our blessings. As we vote, we demonstrate as a nation whether we still have any small sense and appreciation of our Creator and His Grace towards us.

While it is difficult to choose who to vote for, as we are all imperfect men and woman, as are the political parties, there are though still some clear choices in who NOT to vote for.

We should not vote for those who reject the sanctity of life (through supporting abortion and euthanasia for example). Also we should not vote for those who would support such people and such parties (with their preferences for example).

May HaShem have mercy on us!

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Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness …” – Martin Luther King

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” – James Arthur Baldwin

To be free, you have to let go of hate.

And I suspect, as the quote from James Arthur Baldwin argues, that letting go of hate does initially open your heart to pain.

Yet, to be free you need to forgive those who have persecuted you. This does mean you need to accept and acknowledge the pain, yet remembering the hurt and accepting the pain is a process and a journey. It is a journey of release; of letting it out and letting it go.

Forgiveness does not meant forgetfulness; it does not mean forgetting the injustice or persecution that you have endured, but it does often mean remembering it so that you don’t re-live it, and remembering it so that you can be more empathetic towards others who may suffer similarly to how you may have suffered.

Such remembering is then a positive memory, a memory that no longer has pain attached to it. This can take considerable time. It doesn’t happen over-night, but is a journey that is best taken in company.

While you still feel pain, you are still suffering injury and therefore you have not fully freed yourself of the past, you are still, to a degree at least, living in it.

When you let those who have hurt you define you (by placing you in this position of pain), you have clearly not achieved liberty.

Hatred and freedom cannot co-exist. Anger and bitterness are the fruit of unforgiveness – if you still feel these powerful emotions, then you are still harbouring some un-forgiveness.

In a world devoid of God there is no justice and hence no true hope for restitution, for fairness and ultimate redemption. When you have a relationship with God and you recognize that He will ultimately bring Justice tempered always with Grace, you can then release your pain to Him, and then truly find freedom.

True freedom though may not be what you think it is. True freedom is the liberty and choice to seek the best for you, for your family; for your community and for your nation & your world. This is also the essence of ‘tikkun olam’ (repairing the world).

The best is a deep and abiding relationship with your Creator. Such a relationship involves loving your heavenly Father with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and this in turn means loving your neighbor as yourself. If you love God you will love His commandments. When you love His commandments, His Torah (divine instructions), you will walk in the Way (Psalms 119).

Be free – let go of hate!

To go deeper please check out: Freedom & the Law and Amazing Grace

* This short blog post was inspired by a great article on this weeks Torah Portion – see ‘Letting Go of Hate’ by Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks – http://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/167470055.html

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The Scientific Evidence For an Intelligent Designer Is Extremely Strong

There Are Not Enough Probabilistic Resources Available In The Universe To Reject God:
In other words, it would be utter foolishness to bet that God doesn’t exist, because the statistical and probabilistic evidence for His existence is overwhelming!

Today more than ever, science is learning that this universe has a beginning; that all the dimensions of this universe were created at some instant. That time, and space were created and that therefore before their creation, there was no time, or physical space.

Science has also seen overwhelming evidence that the universe that was created is incredibly designed. Also all our experience and evidence teaches us that only intelligence is capable of designing such complex interacting systems such as the cosmos as well as, at the microscopic level, the complex systems found in biological life such as protein machines and propellation motors.

In all the years of studying the Universe, in all the various domains from cosmology to biological systems to neuroscience, it is a fact that no example of complex and functional design has ever been found, where we can even suspect, that this design had no intelligence involved in its creation.

In fact, the exact opposite is the case. Where-ever we find such design and are able to determine the ‘designer’ we do find an intelligent source. For example, many well-accepted, uncontroversial scientific disciplines are utterly dependent on detecting design, and on inferring the past actions of an intelligent agent by examining present evidence. For example, consider the following areas of science:

  • Forensic Sciences, where a death is investigated to determine whether the person died by accident (i.e., chance/necessity) or by intent (i.e., murder).
  • Cryptanalysis, where code breakers examine patterns of characters to determine whether they convey a message or are simply random and meaningless noise.
  • Archaeology, where artifacts are examined to determine whether they were fashioned by man or by nature. Is the rock just a stone, or a tool?
  • Arson investigation, where one attempts to discern from charred remains whether the fire was set intentionally (by design) or resulted from a frayed wire (chance/necessity).
  • Copyright infringement and plagiarism, where scientists examine writings to determine whether they were accidentally or intentionally similar to the work of others.
  • the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)

All these disciplines make the same inferences that are made from the study of cosmology and astronomy, and from the study of biological information systems.

For example, it is well accepted that the motor in the ATP synthase enzyme is the most efficient motor even seen, with an efficiency close to 100%. It is remarkable to note the similarity between the structure and general operation of ATP synthase and a man-made rotary motor. This similarity extends even to the Brownian motor located within the ATP synthase rotary motor, a molecular-scale machine that drives ATP production[1].

Another paper (von Ballmoos et al., 2009) states:
“The rotational mechanism of the ATP synthase demands ingeniously designed interfaces between rotor and stator subunits, particularly between the rotating c ring and the laterally abutted subunit a, because rotation speeds up to 500 Hz must be tolerated in the absence of a stabilizing rotor axis. This proteinous interface also acts as the critical scaffold for torque generation and ion translocation across the membrane. To prohibit charge translocation without rotation, ion leakage at the interface must be efficiently prevented.”[2]

Another good example is detailed in this paper[3]  titled: ‘Sequence-Specific Peptide Synthesis by an Artificial Small-Molecule Machine’ Science, Vol. 339 no. 6116 pp. 189-193 (11 January 2013):

“Here, we report on the design, synthesis, and operation of a rotaxane-based small-molecule machine in which a functionalized macrocycle operates on a thread containing building blocks in a predetermined order to achieve sequence-specific peptide synthesis. The design of the artificial molecular machine is based on several elements that have analogs in either ribosomal or nonribosomal protein synthesis: Reactive building blocks (the role played by tRNA-bound amino acids) are delivered in a sequence determined by a molecular strand (the role played by mRNA). A macrocycle ensures processivity during the machine’s operation (reminiscent of the way that subunits of the ribosome clamp the mRNA strand) and bears a catalyst–a tethered thiol group–that detaches the amino acid building blocks from the strand and passes them on to another site at which the resulting peptide oligomer is elongated in a single specific sequence, through chemistry related to nonribosomal peptide synthesis.”

They write that their machine “is a primitive analog of the ribosome.” An analog is this case being a copy. A copy of a far more sophisticated design.

To create such complex, even if primitive, molecular motors requires these scientists to generate the complex and specified information of their designs which is then used in making the motor. Information that reliably indicates design has such high levels of such ‘complex and specified information’ (or ‘specified complexity’)[4].

Dr Stephen Meyer points out that “We have repeated experience of rational and conscious agents — in particular ourselves — generating or causing increases in complex specified information, both in the form of sequence-specific lines of code and in the form of hierarchically arranged systems of parts. … Our experience-based knowledge of information-flow confirms that systems with large amounts of specified complexity (especially codes and languages) invariably originate from an intelligent source from a mind or personal agent.” – ‘The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories’, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, Vol. 117(2):213-239 (2004).

Science and our own personal experiences have shown us that only intelligence is capable of creating such ‘prescriptive’ information.

One of the intriguing ways that recent science has further demonstrated the truth of these findings is in the use of reverse engineering.

From the very large aspects of the universe (i.e., big bang cosmology and galactic and stellar evolution) to the very small (i.e., the fitness of the chemical elements and the coding of DNA for life), the cosmos is so readily and profitably reverse engineered by its human inhabitants as to suggest that it was all engineered from the beginning.

“The linking of extraordinarily complex, but stable and functional structures with the production of value provides the strong impression of a calculating intentionality, which is apparently able to operate in a transcendent (overriding, overarching) fashion” – D.Halsmer, J.Asper, N.Roman, T.Todd, “The Coherence of an Engineered World,”International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, Vol. 4(1):47-65 (2009)

The most coherent view of the universe is that of a system of interdependent subsystems that efficiently interact to prepare for, develop, and support advanced life, subject to various physical constraints.

Similarly, human-engineered systems are characterized by stability, predictability, reliability, transparency, controllability, efficiency, and (ideally) optimality.

These features are also prevalent throughout the natural systems that make up the cosmos. However, the level of engineering appears to be far above and beyond, or transcendent of, current human capabilities, as well as having been in place long before human beings developed any such sophisticated systems.

Along with the overwhelming evidence that the production of ‘complex specified information’ requires an intelligent source and the growing appreciation that the very best of human designed systems prove to only be primitive analogs of existing biological and astronomical systems, is the apparent, but unexpected, match between the comprehensibility of the universe and the ability of mankind to comprehend it.

This unexplained matching is actually a prerequisite for any kind of reverse engineering activity to be even remotely successful. That is, we can’t effectively design a copy of a machine of system, if we don’t understand how it works. Such understanding, while sufficient to build ‘primitive’ copies, has to date normally proven inadequate to come close to matching the efficiency and effectiveness of the machines or systems being ‘copied’ via such reverse engineering.

Even more intriguing it seems is that we appear to be progressing in a step-by-step fashion, both in our ability to reverse engineer and our subsequent ability to design and produce our ‘copies’. That is, when we reflect on this step-by-step progress, it appears as if we have been led forward in our understanding and wisdom in a tutorial like manner as the puzzles of nature slowly unravel before us.

For example, Science was able to progress to Einstein’s theory of relativity in part because there existed an elegant mathematical description of gravity that approximated reality, namely the one Newton formulated. In a similar manner, much of todays progress in technology can be traced back to the successes of Einstein and others at the turn of last century.

The universe has proven so readily and profitably reverse engineered as to make a compelling argument that it was engineered in the first place, and further that this engineered design was built with humanity in mind.

It may help to appreciate that ‘reverse engineering’ is similar to the historical sciences, which essentially proceed by inferring history from its results; that is they reason from clues back to causes.

Further than this, they investigate various hypotheses to see which hypothesis, if true, would best explain the known data.

This may sound simple but where there are a number of possibly adequate competing hypotheses, this can prove very difficult. Also to establish a casual claim, that is a valid and logically consistent link between the ‘probable’ events of the past and our current understanding or interpretation, this scientific approach requires the identification of three things:

  1. Evidence that the cause proposed was present;
  2. Evidence that on other occasions it has demonstrated the capacity to produce the effect under study, and
  3. That there is an absence of evidence, despite a thorough search, of any other possible causes.

In investigating the apparent design in nature with this approach, we may struggle to explicitly be able to establish that the ‘cause’  was present (namely, the Creator or Intelligent Designer), but we are on strong ground for point 2 in that the evidence of human design does demonstrate such capacity. In terms of point 3, we have not been able find any other possible or plausible causes. Therefore, the analogous nature of our evidence from point 2 certainly gives strong circumstantial evidence for the existence of the Cause of point 1, the Intelligent Designer.

This is also the case with examples like the ATP Synthase motor and the bacterial flagellum motor for example. While their incredibly sophisticated and superior designs to not prove an Intelligent Designer, there are no other known or even hypothetical causes behind such designs.

The biological systems that these motors are part of are in fact, superior analogs of today’s computer systems:

“In each cell, there are multiple Operating Systems, multiple programming languages, encoding/ decoding hardware and software, specialized communications systems, error detection and correction mechanisms, specialized input/output channels for organelle control and feedback, and a variety of specialized “devices” to accomplish the tasks of life.”

– ‘Programming of Life’ by Dr. Donald E Johnson

Science has also learned that all living beings contain a blueprint, a code that determines their design, their structure, their function, etc. We now know that code is in the DNA and RNA of the cells of living organisms[5].

While there is still an awful lot we don’t know about the design of biological systems and the ‘coding’ used in them, and also for example, the complexities of neuroscience, the evidence continues to grow that such complex specified information and functional design is the result of an intelligent designer.

With respect to our lack of knowledge, Nobel prize-winner David Hubel of Harvard University (Medicine 1981 -Research on information-processing in the visual system) wrote in 1995:  “… This abiding tendency for attributes such as form, colour and movement to be handled by separate structures in the brain immediately raises the question how all the information is finally assembled, say, for perceiving a bouncing red ball. These obviously must be assembled—but where and how, we have no idea.“[6]


Since he wrote this very little progress has been made towards answering the question he posed (certainly none of his further papers answer it). The point being that there is still much to learn. However, what we do learn only confirms the incredible design involved that far exceeds our capabilities even today. We also continue to find no other causal agent, even in principle, that can adequately explain such design.

The conclusion that an object has been engineered is only a result of the success of reverse engineering and the consequential success of human designs analogs (almost all of which are only pale comparisons). Whether it is our cameras that mimic the human eye, our memory storage techniques that are still a trillion times less in memory/size of DNA storage, or our various, but much more inefficient motors, all these designs are still not comparable in functionality and sophistication.  These biological objects and systems that we are making analogs of clearly have purpose, in the same way that our ‘copies’ are designed with a purpose or ‘goal in mind’.

To repeat, when we look for evidence of plausible alternatives for the existence of such engineered systems, we can not find any. The great weight of evidence for any complex machine (like a car), is that that machine was designed. When the design is far better than the very best that humans can so far achieve the inference is even stronger.

The Anthropic Principle:

The anthropic principle (first proposed in the early 1970’s) states that the universe appears “designed” for the sake of human life. More than a century of astronomy and physics research, but most especially new evidence found since 1998) yields this unexpected observation:

–   the emergence of humans and human civilization requires physical constants, laws, and properties that fall within certain narrow ranges

–   and this truth applies not only to the cosmos as a whole but also to the galaxy, planetary system, and planet humans occupy.

To state the principle more dramatically, a preponderance of physical evidence points to humanity as the central theme of the cosmos.

While this is an inference from the best evidence (meaning it could conceivably be shown to be false), to date, on a daily basis, the evidence from the study of both the universe continues to confirm the reasonableness of this inference. When all of the factors that are at least somewhat understood are considered together, the prospects of a Universe evolving that is suitable for human life[7] turns out to be astronomically small.

Oxford physicist Roger Penrose said one parameter, the ‘original phase-space volume’, required fine-tuning to an accuracy of one part in ten billion multiplied by itself one hun­dred and twenty three times.

Penrose remarked that it would be impossible to even write down that number in full, since it would require more zeroes than the number of elementary particles in the entire universe! This showed, he said, ‘the precision needed to set the universe on its course.’

Support for the anthropic principle comes from an unwavering and unmistakable trend line within the data[8]: the more astronomers learn about the universe and the requirements of human existence, the more severe the limitations they find governing the structure and development of the universe to accommodate those requirements. In other words, additional discoveries are leading to more indicators of large-scale and small-scale fine-tuning.

In 1961, astronomers acknowledged just two characteristics of the universe as “fine-tuned” to make physical life possible. The more obvious one was the ratio of the gravitational force constant to the electromagnetic force constant.

It cannot differ from its value by any more than one part in 1040 (one part in ten thousand trillion trillion trillion) without eliminating the possibility for life. Today, the number of known cosmic characteristics recognized as fine-tuned for life—any conceivable kind of physical life—stands at around 38.

Of these, the most sensitive is the ‘space energy density’ (the self-stretching property of the universe). Its value cannot vary by more than one part in 10120 and still allow for the kinds of stars and planets physical life requires.

Evidence of specific preparation for human existence shows up in the characteristics of the solar system, as well. In the early 1960s astronomers could identify just a few solar system characteristics that required fine-tuning for human life to be possible. By the end of 2001, astronomers had identified more than 150 finely-tuned characteristics. In the 1960s the odds that any given planet in the universe would possess the necessary conditions to support intelligent physical life were shown to be less than one in ten thousand.

By 2001 those odds had shrank to less than one in a number so large it might as well be infinity (10173)[9].

 

As Sir Fred Hoyle commented, `A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature.”

In the opinion of physicist Paul Davies, `The impression of design is overwhelming.”

Physics today accepts  that some model of ‘Big Bang’ cosmology is the correct model for the creation of the universe from nothing and that this event was not a chaotic, disorderly event. Instead, it appears to have been fine-tuned for the existence of intel­ligent life with a complexity and precision that literally defies human comprehension.

In other words, the universe we see today-and our very existence-depends upon a set of highly special initial condi­tions. This phenomenon is strong evidence that the ‘Big Bang’ was not an accident, but that it was designed.

The Big Bang model is the standard paradigm of contemporary cosmology, its broad framework is very securely established as a scientific fact. Stephen Hawking has said, ’Almost  everyone now believes that the universe, and time itself, had a begin­ning.’

What some renown Physicists say:

Tony Rothman, (a theoretical physicist):

The medieval theologian who gazed at the night sky through the eyes of Aristotle and saw angels moving the spheres in harmony has become the modern cosmologist who gazes at the same sky through the eyes of Einstein and sees the hand of God not His  angels but in the constants of nature. . . . When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it’s very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it.

Bernard Carr (cosmologist):

One would have to conclude either that the features of the universe invoked in support of the Anthropic principle are only coincidences or that the universe was indeed tailor-made for life. I will leave it to the theologians to ascertain the iden­tity of the tailor!

Stephen Hawking:

It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.”
Allan Sandage, winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy (equiv­alent to the Nobel prize), remarked,

“I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle.  God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of exis­tence, why there is something instead of nothing.””

Robert Griffiths, who won the Heinemann prize in mathematical physics, observed,

“If we need an atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.”

Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-proclaimed agnostic:

For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of rea­son, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the moun­tains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” 

The evidence for an Intelligent Designer may not be conclusive in the sense that mathematics tells us two plus two equals four, but it is a cumulative argument. The extraordinary fine-tuning of the laws and constants of nature, their beauty, their discoverability, their intelligibility, all combine to make the Intelligent Designer hypothesis the most reasonable choice we have[10]. All other theories fall short.

“Rather than being one planet among billions, Earth now appears to be the uncommon Earth. The data imply that Earth may be the only planet `in the right place at the right time’.”

– ‘Chance Or Dance: An Evaluation of Design’ By Jimmy H. Davis, Harry L. Poe.

It appears that the evidence for a Designer and Creator of the Universe grows daily and exponentially. So accepting that there is a Creator, a God or perhaps Gods, behind it all, the next valid question may be, is he interested in us?

Recognizing that humanity is the pinnacle of creation and that the human brain and the human mind is the pinnacle of the universe being both the most complex and most intelligent creation, we immediately start to sense that this Universe was created with mankind in mind.

There is much cosmological evidence to support this contention; from the unique placement of our Solar System and of Planet Earth, as the book ‘The Privileged Planet’ explains, to the unique time in the evolution of the cosmos that allows us to be in the perfect epoch of time to investigate it.

“The remarkable cosmic coincidence that we happen to live at the only time in the history of the universe when the magnitude of dark energy and dark matter densities are comparable has been a source of great current speculation, leading to a resurgence of interest in possible anthropic arguments limiting the value of the vacuum energy. But this coincidence endows our current epoch with another special feature, namely that we can actually infer both the existence of the cosmological expansion, and the existence of dark energy.

Thus, we live in a very special time in the evolution of the universe: the time at which we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time in the evolution of the universe!

Observers when the universe was an order of magnitude younger would not have been able to discern any effects of dark energy on the expansion, and observers when the universe is more than an order of magnitude older will be hard pressed to know that they live in an expanding universe at all, or that the expansion is dominated by dark energy. By the time the longest lived main sequence stars are nearing the end of their lives, for all intents and purposes, the universe will appear static, and all evidence that now forms the basis of our current understanding of cosmology will have disappeared.”

– ‘The Return of a Static Universe and the End of Cosmology’
by Lawrence M. Krauss and Robert J. Scherrer (June 27, 2007)

“The idea that the natural world was designed especially for mankind is the very bedrock of the Greek, as well as of the Judeo-Christian world view. Western philosophers of the post-Roman era went so far as to formalize a discipline called teleology —the study of the evidence for overall design and purpose in nature. Teleology attracted such luminaries as Augustine, Maimonides, Aquinas, Newton and Paley, all of whom gave it much of their life’s work.” – ‘Design and the Anthropic Principle’ by Hugh Ross

Those who place their faith in materialism are the scientists who, despite the great funding and resources that they enjoy, are making limited progress in their research.

Most of the ground-breaking research especially in biological systems and neuroscience is coming from those who do assume design.

A good example is the research by Brain Surgeon, Dr Michael Egnor. In trying to understand how cerebral blood flow and how the brain was buffered from the force of blood pumped by the heart, he looked to human engineered pumps that did that same thing. Once he understood how they worked, he was able to then find and explain how the brain did a similar thing (another use of the principle of reverse engineering)[11].

For more details on the scientific evidence for God; for the Creator and Intelligent Designer of this Universe I recommend my series of Lessons on Intelligent Design – see the Intelligent Design tab at www.circumcisedheart.info

[1] A research paper which discusses its efficiency is here – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1692765/

[4] Something is complex if it is unlikely, and it is specified if it matches a pre-existing pattern.

[5] Two excellent books that go into detail on these issues are William Dembski’s ‘The Design Revolution’ and Stephen C Meyer’s ‘Signature in the Cell’

[7] Scientists now have a good understanding of what the basic requirements are for human life  – essentially carbon, water, oxygen, & energy but within an extremely narrow range of values.

[8] I give a more detailed summary of this ‘fine-tuning’ evidence in my Session 2 on Intelligent Design – see http://www.charismacomputers.com.au/Christian%20site/Intelligent%20Design/ID%20Session%202.pdf

[9] William Dembski, in his ‘The Design Revolution’ shows most convincingly that any probability with less than 1 in 10150 is as good as impossible. That is, it can not possibly have happened by chance, even if given the resources of the full history of time and space of the Universe. That is, if something exists and it’s likelihood of existing is less than 1 in 10150, then it must only exist because it was created.

[10] A great book on this is ‘The Privileged Planet’ by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards.

[11] A good speech on all this was recently given by the science writer Dr James Le Fanu – http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/entry/2013-07-17T12_17_54-07_00 (1 of 3 parts)

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Fighting Evil with Grace: We are called to put out the fire!

After a recent presentation, the former Chief Rabbi of London, Lord Jonathan Sacks responded to a question with these comments (excerpts only[1]):

“Abraham sees a palace. That means that he sees the world has order. Therefore, it has a Creator. But the palace is in flames! – which means the world is full of disorder. It is full of evil, violence, injustice. Now nobody builds a building and then goes away and deserts it. Therefore, if there is a fire there must be somebody in charge to put it out. The building must have an owner. Where is he? And that is Abraham’s question. Where is God in this world?

That is the question that gives Abraham no peace. Here, if I am right, that is the starting point of Jewish faith.

In Judaism, faith does not begin with an answer. It begins with a question. It doesn’t begin in harmony. It begins in dissonance.

Here it is: if God created the world then God created man. Why then does God allow man to destroy the world? How can we reconcile the order of the world with the disorder of human society? Can God have made the world only to desert it? That is Abraham’s question. Can it be the world has no-one in charge, no owner? That is his question. …”

Rabbi Sacks goes on to explain that there are only two logical possibilities here and what they are and imply, but that Abraham rejects both of them[2]!

“ … Either God exists, in which case there is no evil. Or evil exists, in which case there is no God. But supposing both exist? Supposing there are both God and evil? Supposing there are both the palace and the flames?

Now if that is so, if my interpretation is right, then Judaism begins not in the conventional place where faith is thought to begin, namely in wonder that the world is. Judaism[3] begins in the opposite, in the protest against a world that is not as it ought to be.

At the very heart of reality, by which I mean reality as we see it, from our point of view, there is a contradiction between order and chaos: the order of creation and the chaos we make.

Now the question is: how we do we resolve that contradiction?

And the answer is that that contradiction between the palace and the flames, between the world that is and the world that ought to be, cannot be resolved at the level of thought. It doesn’t exist! You cannot resolve it! Logically, philosophically, in terms of theology or theodicy, you cannot do it!

The only way you can resolve that tension is by action; by making the world better than it is. That is the only way you can lessen the tension between the palace and the flames. When things are as they ought to be, when there is only a palace and no flames – then we have resolved the tension. Then we have reached our destination. But that is not yet.

It was not yet for Abraham and it is not yet for us. And from this initial contradiction, from this cognitive dissonance, are born the following … fundamental features (of Judaism):

Firstly, the primary thing (in Judaism) is ‘doing’, is action, is deed, is mitzvah. Because only the mitzvah makes the world a little less dissonant between what it is and what it ought to be.

Secondly: the whole programme of Judaism, the project of the Torah, is ‘tikkun olam’ in the precise sense ‘mending a fragmented, fractured, world’. …” <end quote>

This is, I believe, the perfect definition of the ‘grace’ we are called to exhibit, if we desire to receive the Grace of YHVH!

We are to act with grace, with ‘overflowing love’ toward our neighbour, and our fractured, hurting world.

The Christian world is big on grace, but perhaps they are a little confused about it. I discuss this in my article ‘Amazing Grace’ – see here

[2] Part of the answer is a sense in which evil is not evil after all – confused? Read Rabbi Sacks article and book.

[3] Or we could say, the message of the Tanakh, the message of YHVH and His Son, begins here

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Maintaining Holiness Through Confronting Error

There are a number of verses that in some way sum up, or encapsulate the whole message of the Almighty and His Word.

Micah 6:8 springs to mind as does the Sh’ma (Deut 6:4 …).

Another of these is Gal 5:14 where the Apostle Paul states: “For the whole of the Torah is summed up in this one sentence: “Love your neighbour as yourself”.

Two important points to note here. The Apostle Paul is quoting from Leviticus 19:18 (part of this weeks Torah Portion, Kedoshim – Leviticus 16:1-20:27).

Here we read: “Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.”

I believe, both from the context, and what I am about to share that the phrase ‘tacked’ on the end here, ‘I am Adonai’ or ‘I am YHVH’ (the God of Israel), actually means, ‘love your neighbour BECAUSE, or IF, you love Me’.

Consider Lev 19:17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbour frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him.”

I believe that argument and wisdom being presented here is that, when someone wrongs you in some way, loving them is clearly not easy, but just avoiding them or keeping silent is not good either. If you do not speak with them about the issue(s) and try to get them to see where they have erred and hopefully, help them to recognize their sin and seek forgiveness, you are likely to resent them, and anger and bitterness are likely to grow in your heart and lead you into some error, mistake or sin.

If we recognize our Yetzer HaRa (our evil inclination or fleshly heart) as well as our Yetzer HaTov (our good or spiritual heart), we will recognize our tendency to err in this way and the call of the Shema to turn both our hearts to the Almighty (see my articles on the Hebraic Mindset for more on this).

Consider the case of Absalom. When he heard how Ammon had raped his sister Tamar, he keep his anger hidden in his heart for some two years and then had Ammon killed. This is the exact sinful consequence that Moses warns against in Leviticus 19:17 and also very much the theme that the Apostle Paul is speaking on in Galatians 5 when he quotes from Leviticus 19.

Returning to the idea that IF or BECAUSE we love God we are to love our neighbour, we see here a summary of the Ten Words and a summary of Yeshua’s answer to what were the two greatest commandments. The Ten Words were on two tablets. The first involves 5 commands that all relate to loving God and the second tablet has 5 commands that relate to loving our neighbor.

So again we are drawn back to the Ten Words, to the ‘moral code of the universe’.[1]

This Torah Portion is about holiness, about being holy because He is holy. This call to ‘rebuke your neighbor frankly’, is about acting to avoid sin entering your heart and therefore removing your holiness.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks paraphrases this in a very practical way:

“Love your neighbor as yourself. But not all neighbors are loveable. There are those who, out of envy or malice, have done you harm. I do not therefore command you to live as if you were angels, without any of the emotions natural to human beings. I do however forbid you to hate. That is why, when someone does you wrong, you must confront the wrongdoer. You must tell him of your feelings of hurt and distress. It may be that you completely misunderstood his intentions. Or it may be that he genuinely meant to do you harm, but now, faced with the reality of the injury he has done you, he may sincerely repent of what he did. If, however, you fail to talk it through, there is a real possibility that you will bear a grudge and in the fullness of time, come to take revenge – as did Absolom.”

I again strongly recommend the Rabbi’s Torah Portion, Of Love and Hate’ at Aish.com

– see http://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/202908911.html

ChiefRabbiLordSacks290x150

April 18th 2013

[1] For more on this see my articles ‘Siblings of the King’ and ‘The Path of the Circumcised Heart’ at www.circumcisedheart.info

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Deeds matter more than creeds

Prof Paul Johnson:
“… another characteristic of Judaism: the relative absence of dogmatic theology. … Their view of God is very simple and clear (he’s comparing it with the huge problems of dogmas and innumerable heresies within Hellenistic Christianity). Some Jewish scholars argue that there is (also) in fact, a lot of dogma in Judaism.

That is true in the sense that there are many negative prohibitions – chiefly against idolatry. But the Jews usually avoided the positive dogmas which the vanity of theologians tends to create and which are the source of so much trouble.  They never adopted, for instance , the idea of Original Sin. Of all the ancient peoples, the Jews were perhaps the least interested in death, and this saved them from a host of problems. It is true that belief in the resurrection ansd the afterlife was the main distinguishing mark of Pharisaism, and thus a fundament of rabbinic Judaism. Indeed the first definite statement of dogma in the whole of Judaism, in the Mishnah, deals with this: ‘All Israel share in the world to come except the one who says resurrection has no origin in the Law’. But the Jews had a way of concentrating on life and pushing death – and its dogmas – intro the background.”

The first creed of Judaism (Gaon around 900 CE) did not come into acceptance until Judaism was some 2500 years old! Even Maimonides 13 articles of faith, which have given ‘little rise to controversy’ have not been ‘endorsed by any authoritative body’.

“Judaism is not so much about doctrine – that is taken for granted – as behaviour; the code matters more than the creed.”

Quote from Johnson, ‘A History of the Jews’, p 161 

Or as put in the Mishnah: “Deeds matter more than Creeds”.

While Prof. Paul Johnson is a Roman Catholic, I doubt that few, even Jewish historians (and I love the work of Rabbi Ken Spiro), have given as good a history of the Jewish people as Prof. Johnson – he clearly loves the Jewish people; he explains the rise of both anti-Semitism and Jewish self-hatred so well, and he shows how dependent the entire world really has been on the wisdom and endeavours of the Jewish people.

His book should be read by all Jews (to encourage and uplift them) and by all Gentiles to enlighten them!

It is a big book – it took me awhile to digest but it was so worth it. 

The only time he goes a little wrong in my opinion, is when he tries to explain certain Christian perspectives rather than any Jewish ones!

His personal website is: http://pauljohnsonarchives.org/

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Are You Rich?

Do you have riches that will last? What do you really own? Are the material riches you have really yours?

A famous Rabbi(1) once said: “If you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell anywhere but in a place of Torah.”

In this statement he was to some degree echoing the words of King David who stated in Psalm 119:72 “The Torah you have spoken means more to me than a fortune in gold and silver.”

King David recognized that the Torah was worth far more to man than material riches. But perhaps he recognized even more, and that is that the riches of the world, the gold and silver is really the Almighty’s anyway, to do with as He sees fit. In fact, the Almighty, has promised that one day he will repeat on a bigger scale, the giving of gold and silver from the Gentiles to the Jewish people that he orchestrated for the Exodus.

Just as the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is a bigger miracle and a more incredible act of the Almighty than the Exodus, so too it appears, will be this latter day gift of Gentile gold and silver.

Jeremiah declared that a greater miracle was to come in Jeremiah 16:14-15

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.”

We have witnessed this greater miracle in our lifetime!

Similarly, the Almighty speaks of a rebuilding of His ‘Tent of Meeting’, His Temple in the last days:

“4 Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: 

‘6 Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give shalom, declares the LORD of hosts.” – Haggai 2

So not only are the material riches of the world really in the control of the Almighty and thus, these are not the riches that we should seek to keep for ourselves, there are many passages in Scripture that speak of the great treasure that is Torah and obedience to Torah.

Another common one is:

20 My son, obey your father’s command (i.e. Torah), and don’t abandon your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them always on your heart, tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you wake up, they will talk with you.
23 For the mitzvah (commandment) is a lamp, Torah is light, and reproofs that discipline are the way to life.” –      Proverbs 6

Some of the Rabbi’s have an interesting take on verse 22. They argue that it speaks of the eternal nature of Torah and its role in our death and resurrection.

They understand this verse as stating:

‘When you walk, they (Torah or the commandments of Torah) will lead you’ – that is, in this life you should be lead by the divine instructions that are Torah;

‘when you lie down, they will watch over you’ – meaning that when you are in the grave Torah will protect you even there; and

‘when you wake up, they will talk with you (or ‘they will be your speech’).’ – meaning that when you awaken to the World to Come, Torah will be what you speak.

As the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 will, at last be fully instituted, all will know Torah in their hearts,  – ‘… says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts …’ – Jeremiah 31:32.

May you discover that true treasure that is the Torah!

May you be abundantly wealthy in the only treasure that you can take with you when you die!

(1) Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma- see Pirkei Avot, ch. 6

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The Great Craftsman and Father

Torah Portion: Trumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19) – the making of the Tabernacle:

“How many are your works, Lord; in wisdom You made them all” (Ps. 104: 24).

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains that the word “wisdom” here – as in the many times it occurs in the account of the making of the tabernacle – means, “precise, exact craftsmanship” (see Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, III:54).

For some 40+ years now Physicists have been increasingly demonstrating that the creation of the Universe is extremely, mind-numbingly precise. In 1973-74 Brandon Carter, a British mathematician proposed that the universe appears “designed” for the sake of human life.

More than a century of astronomy and physics research has yielded this unexpected observation: the emergence of humans and human civilization requires physical constants, laws, and properties that fall within certain extremely narrow ranges—and this truth applies not only to the cosmos as a whole but also to the galaxy, planetary system, and the planet humans occupy.

This proposal and understanding is now called The Anthropic Principle. To state the principle more dramatically, a preponderance of physical evidence points to humanity as the central theme of the cosmos (for more on this see my 4 part series on Intelligent Design at www.circumcisedheart.info ).

But note also from Ps 104:24 the importance of order, of precision, of exactness. This Universe, with us human beings as its central focus, has been created with such incredible care.

We have also been created in the image of the Creator Himself. That is, He has instilled within us, the power to create, and to create with precision and great care as well.

So if we are to be all that we have been designed to be, we too need to align ourselves with our creative wisdom; with our ability and natural affinity for the creation of order. When we align our lives with the order and instructions (laws) of our Creator, then we separate ourselves from the creation that was not ‘made in His image’ and we in turn approach holiness (separation to God). order 2

The Almighty is Spirit and is so far above and beyond our limited minds that it is very hard to fully grasp His ‘wisdom’, His order and precision.

In describing the Tabernacle in such precise detail though and promising to dwell or live amongst the children of Israel (“They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.” – Ex 25:8), the Almighty not only enables the Jewish people to emulate His creative precision and order in their creating of this ‘meeting place’, but he practically and dramatically aligns Himself with them.

The call to build a Tabernacle may seem very strange though, as we know that the Almighty can not be contained within this Universe; and also that He is already everywhere within this Universe as well!

In Psalm 24:1 we read “The earth is YHVH’s and the fullness thereof, …”

We also read in Isaiah 6:3 “And one called to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is YHVH of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

That is, everything is God’s and God is in everything. So how can we give Him anything and how can he dwell in a Tabernacle made with human hands?

Part of the answer to the question of everything already belonging to God, is that there is one thing that does not belong to Him, and that is the ‘fear of heaven’. The Almighty has given us the gift of free will. It is always our choice as to whether we give Him our hearts; whether we ‘circumcise’ our hearts. Whenever we give gifts to God (as per Ex 25:2), the real gift is not the object but the repentant and obedient heart that does the giving.

So the Tabernacle enabled the Jewish people to demonstrate their ‘circumcised hearts’.

May I also suggest though, that when we consider the background of these slaves in Egypt, we can imagine how they would have struggled for a great many years to accept the presence and protection of their God throughout this ordeal. Now, He has rescued them from Egypt; He has demonstrated His awesome power and bestowed great blessings upon them. But they are perhaps still reprehensive and anxious like small children. They may need much assurance and comfort.

So how can this loving Father demonstrate on a daily basis that He truly is with His people?

He can create a place amongst them, where in a physical as well as spiritual manner, the people can see and sense His presence; His protection, salvation and love. More than the daily miracle of the Manna, the glory of God emanating from the Tabernacle presents a visible and tangible reminder of His presence.

As usual, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks brings this all out most eloquently in his Torah Portion here –http://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/139679273.html