Our Akron Roundtable speaker was Dr. Frank Douglas President & CEO, Austin BioInnovation Institute.

Although I am a Presbyterian, and sinfully proud of it, I am fond of our brothers and sisters in the UCC (United Church of Christ). I borrowed from and gave credit to one of theirs for this months prayer, Olivia Masih White, Ph.D., a professor of genetics and a longtime member of the United Church of Christ.

Here's Dr. White's prayer:

We thank you, O God,
for the wisdom and knowledge you bestow upon scientists
who work at revealing the secrets of creation.
We stand in awe and wonder at the history of the universe
and of life on this planet.
This knowledge strengthens our faith in your creative power.
We are grateful for this wonderful creation
and for being a part of your blessing. Amen.

Akron Roundtable is held at noon on the third Thursday of every month, Akron Roundtable is a non-partisan forum. Each event, held at the Quaker Station located at the Quaker Square Inn on the campus of The University of Akron, begins at 12:00 noon with the speaker's address immediately followed by a question and answer session. Doors open for the event at 11:45 a.m. The event concludes at approximately 1:15 p.m. $20



This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Bringing the Impossible Together The Akron Art Museum has an exhibit of M.C. Escher's work through May 29th. I urge you to visit and enjoy 130 works on loan from the Herakleidon Museum in Athens, Greece. Escher deals with mind-bending explorations of perspective. Trace the water course in the lithograph "Waterfall" at the right and you will see that water flows up! Of course, such a structure could not exist in the "real" world. The water falls up only by the genius of M.C. Escher in presenting 3-D perspective in a 2-D print. However, part of the exhibit is a actual 3-D model of the lithograph print "Waterfall". It is a distorted mess with unattached columns flying unsupported into space. It seems to have been caught in mid-explosion.

Waterfall by M.C.Escher

Yet, when viewed through a carefully mounted pinhole, the jumbled parts resolve into a perfect copy of the print! The columns attach, the arches meet, and the watercourse connects...up. The model was constructed so that from that one viewpoint only, its appearance matches the scene in the Escher's print.

Escher's work reminds us how important perspective is in how we view reality. Looking at reality without depth or standing still at a certain spot with only one narrow point of view, we can be convinced that water falls up!

I hope you move up and down, back and forth, and even to the right or left when you look at the world and don't let your perspective (or even M.C. Escher) fool you.

I also hope you move around enough so that every now and then, when you hold yourself just right, you can see the world as God sees it. All connected and correct where even what we believe to the the laws of human nature bend to God's vision.

Where God Looks

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Our Akron Roundtable speaker was Senator Sherrod Brown United States Senator from Ohio on this special Monday edition of Akron Roundtable.

Here's the prayer I offered:

Giver of all that is good,
We see protests in Egypt
and thank you for our freedom.
We see chaos in Haiti
and thank you for good government.
Help us to use our freedom
to bring good to all people
together at these tables
and at yours.
Amen

Akron Roundtable is held at noon on the third Thursday of every month, Akron Roundtable is a non-partisan forum. Each event, held at the Quaker Station located at the Quaker Square Inn on the campus of The University of Akron, begins at 12:00 noon with the speaker's address immediately followed by a question and answer session. Doors open for the event at 11:45 a.m. The event concludes at approximately 1:15 p.m. $20



This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Micah 6:1-8

How Can You Walk With God?

Photo by Shawn Hoke Photography © Some Rights Reserved

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

May Still Be Good for Others This is a photo of my wife and daughter leaving on a cross country trip. They are fine, but the car was wrecked and totalled less than 90 days after this picture was taken. My daughter, Rachel, was driving with her friends when she lost control of the car and it flipped over. No was was seriously hurt as they hung suspended upside-down. Rachel had made everyone put on their safety belts before starting, a iron rule in our family as she was growing up. She was buckled in almost daily for over 20 years before it made a difference.

(c) by Christy Ramsey some rights reserved

Recently, I learned that as the car was flipping over, Rachel's frightened friend looked to her figuring she would know what to do. Rachel had wrapped her arm around her face in case the windshield shattered. Her friend imitated her. The windshield held, but the passenger side window exploded all over her friend. But since her friend had her face covered, just her elbow was bloodied. Her arm had protected her face and eyes.

Rachel buckled her safety belt and made others do so for decades before it made a dfference. But she also protected her face and eyes for just seconds. This didn't make a difference for her, but might have saved the eyesight of her friend who looked to her for the right way to act.

When I think I might be okay for me to take a risk or that I could survive temptation...I think of the frightened friend that looked to Rachel and how what she saw in Rachel kept her from losing her sight.

A Good Imitation

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. - 3 John 1:11

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.