Ellis, your questions and my responses:
Q1. What on earth has willpower to do with God and Science?
A1. In a word, nothing! Ellis, I repeat what I have said before about the "God" you mention in your question--the one believers say they believe in, and the same one that atheists say is an illusion.
I agree with those who say that unless such a "God"--the God of the Bible, the Koran and certain narrow theisms--agrees to show up at a research lab to be questioned, probed, weighed, measured and otherwise explored--is an illusion and has no role or place in science.
BEYOND and within EXISTENCEG.O.D., on the other hand is a complex and not a simple idea, but something else, something unimaginable. G.O.D. is definitely NOT a dimensional being like the gods and God are imagined to be. G.O.D. is an aseity--a very special and complex concept.
This why I need to use a special acronym, not just a regular noun. When what we today call laser--an acronym for
light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation --technology was invented, the inventors had to use more than a simple noun to express was it was:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aseityhttp://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Gods-Attributes/Aseity/ G.O.D.is not someone who exists in space/time, but rather
[b]IS[/b] space/time.
Existing in space/time, like we are now, is prison-like limitation.
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Q2. Is will power like god because it is invisible?
A2. Willpower--same as G.O.D.power to me--is like many natural gasses (Hydrogen, oxygen, etc.) invisible to the sight.
But invisible gasses are very real, sensed in others ways by other senses and they can have great impact on life. Think of willpower in the same way. Knowledge of it and how to use it can certainly have an impact on life itself.
FROM the reviews of the book,
"WILLPOWER"--Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. The book is by Roy Baumeister, an extraordinarily creative scientist who is also the most distinguished experimental social psychologist in the world, and John Tierney, a phenomenally perceptive journalist. Both have teamed up to put will back into its rightful center-stage place. Ignore it at your peril.
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And overview of the book from a number of sources:
[quote]WILLPOWER is about the science of self-control--the kind we need to live lives that are physically, mentally and spiritually successful from birth to old age. It affects almost every aspect of our lives.
WHAT LEARNING HOW TO TURN ON WILLPOWER CAN DOPeople who have learned how to have willpower--and it can be learned--are the ones who eat a healthy diet, get rid of an addiction, exercise, manage their time well and resist the temptations that can often destroy individuals, families, communities and even nations.
The fascinating research on the subject will provide you with simple tricks to help us tap into this important quality.
Once you start reading about this exciting new science of self control, you won't be able to stop. It is a highly intelligent work filled with helpful information and great advice about a core element of modern living.
Long before what we call modern psychology came along as the science of behavious, its mother, pneumatology and her mate philosophy paid a lot of attention to will, willpower and to mental energy. Modern psycholgy shunned them. What a mistake! This masterpiece undoes the damage caused by the mistake.
THE REALLY GOOD NEWS IS; WILLPOWER IS A TERRIFIC AND ENTERTAINING READ
