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You Will Make Known to Me The Path of Life...
Psalm 16:11
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Monday, January 24, 2005
Absence
Sorry for the long absence. We are doing Rick Warren's 40 Days of Purpose at my church and it has really hit home
how much time I spend on line versus with my family. During the next couple of weeks, I will be "fasting" from the internet.
It won't be a total fast, but blogging will be lighter than normal. God Bless
Monday, January 17, 2005
Myth or Consequence - Part 3
The second position taken relating to the biblical fall of man is that it is a myth. Just as the Greeks and Romans
made up the gods and related stories to explain unknowns to the masses, many people consider the fall of man to be made up
as well, primarily for the same reason.
It is my contention, that most of the reasons used to defend the myth theory are really smokescreens for the real reason.
The real reason is denied, not to hide the truth, but I believe it is unknown or suppressed to most individuals. I will
address the smokescreens first and then the real reason.
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Friday, January 14, 2005
Myth or Consequence
The first position taken relating to the fall of man in my earlier post was undeniable fact. As I mentioned, this
is the position of most evangelical Christians and observant Jews. The majority hold this view because it is part of
the faith as taught. Deep reflection reveals that the fall is required for the faith as decribed in the Bible to be
necessary. If the fall is removed, then sin and death are not curses from God (Gensis 3:16-19). If there is no sin, i.e. being separated from a holy God, then all humans must be one with God or God does not exist.
A believer of God could take the position that all humans are one with God, but too much emperical evidence easily disproves
that assumption. The other alternative is that God does not exist. If that is true, why believe in Him?
There is much imperical eveidence that God exists exactly as discribed in the Bible (See Josh McDowell's Evidence
Demands a Verdict). So, we can con conclude the fall is a fundamental event in the history of mankind and man's
relationship to God.
More later...
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Thursday, January 13, 2005
Myth or Consequence
Lately I have been considering the biblical account of the fall of man and the introduction of sin into the world and
how the account is viewed by people. Generally they appear to fall into one of three positions. The first is acceptance
as written as undeniable fact. This is the position of most evangelical, born again Christians and most observant Jews.
The second position holds the account as a myth. Just as Greek and Roman mythology was man's weak attempt to explain
what he did not know, the account of the fall is a made up story passed down through the ages with no basis in reality.
The third position falls in between the others since some of the account must be true, but not all of it and each person can
choose where to draw the line between fact and myth.
In later posts, I want to explore each position in greater detail. For now I would like to spark some discussion
on my premise of the three positions. Feel free to comment.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Numbers
I thought I saw an ad for a new show coming soon based on how numbers affect people's lives. I was wondering if
a really good theorist on mathmatical sets could take readily available census data and put it into a set theory model that
could predict human behavior using the sets. Perhaps we could discover a set of behaviors via the mathmatical models
and then try to figure out what group of people fit in that set. I often wonder if God uses lots of simple things that
add up to very complex things, i.e. cells to human beings.
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Monday, January 10, 2005
Offline
I was unable to get my laptop to communicate with the internet through the hotel lines this weekend. I had looked
forward to lots of blogging and research, but alas was foiled. I just received a prerelease CD of spritual music that
at first blush is awesome. I will post more on it later.
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Stereotype or Prejudice?
For many intellectuals and secularists, people of faith are automatically discounted as inferior in mental capacity and
thought processes. Professor Robert Brandon, chair of the philosphy department at Duke University, was quoted in the
Duke newspaper The Chronicle:
"We try to hire the best, smartest people available," Brandon said of his philosophy hires. "If, as John Stuart Mill
said, stupid people are generally conservative, then there are lots of conservatives we will never hire.
"Mill's analysis may go some way towards explaining the power of the Republican party in our society and the relative
scarcity of Republicans in academia. Players in the NBA tend to be taller than average. There is a good reason for this. Members
of academia tend to be a bit smarter than average. There is a good reason for this too."
Charlotte Allen reports in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal site on a book written by Naomi Schaefer Riley, God on the Quad. Ms. Riley notes that enrollment is
rising at religious colleges at a faster rate than secular ones and that academic standards are rising even faster.
Accourding to Ms. Allen,
Ms. Riley has, however, more than proved her case that "the widely held notion that the members of strongly
religious communities in America are somehow intellectually backward is a myth."
So, what I want to know, is the widely held notion of being intellectually backward a stereotype that is now being
broken or is a prejudice forming that lives in the minds of certain individuals?
Sounds very similar to the old southern stereotype of blacks and to the southwest stereotype of Mexicans.
Because of differences, the stereotype forms and then it is transformed into prejudice when authority is challenged.
The prejudice leads to lies and hate. Discourse breaks down and rage seethes as the status quo is challenged.
Normally civil people turn to outrageous acts of violence (church bombings in the 60's and shooting at Bush campaign
offices in 2004) to protect the status quo. Is this the beginning of a new struggle in our society? Can we
effectively and calmly explain this prejudice to those who hold the notion that people of failth are intellectually inferior?
Will they listen to reason?
History teaches us the answer is most likely a resounding NO. But, Scripture teaches us to reach out to those
who do not know Jesus in love, just as He reached out for us. So, next time you are tempted to scream at an intellectual
for their hipocrisy, say a short prayer and use a gentle tongue to turn away wrath.
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Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Evangelical Elitists or Walking the Path of Life?
Alternet posts this article on the conservative elites that worship at The Falls Church in Falls Church, VA. The premise of the article is that
evangelical elites are no different than secular elites because they gather apart from "average people."
Michael Farris has built a college based on preparing evangelical Christians for leadership roles in America. Called
Patrick Henry College, the instution's mission is to prepare Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless
biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. ...
Are these examples of evangelical elitism or are these people walking the path Christ has laid down for them? It
is a question each person must answer. If they are trying to do these things because they feel they must "help" God,
they will fail. If each individual believer is focused on Christ, they will succeed because of the ability to do all
things through Christ who strengthens them.
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Decency Separated From Society
Often a reaction clearly makes the case for what is being protested. This happened in Winona, Minn. where a monument
with the Ten Commandments was vandalized with the words "church" and "state" separated by a black line. This action violates commandment number 8, Do not steal, by taking the pristine and making
it profane. It also violates commandment number 9, Do not lie, by implying that the display is unconsitutional.
Since the separation of church and state is not in the Constitution the markings are a perpetuation of an earlier lie.
The negative reaction to the display of the Ten Commandments is further proof that all of us should see them written on our
hearts.
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Safe on Private Land
In a novel approach to protecting the public display of the Ten Commandments, La Crosse, Wisconsin sold a piece of a
park with a Ten Commandment monument on it to a private group. The sale has survived judical review. Will there
be more like this? I continue to advocate the widespread public display of the Ten Commandments on shirts, hats, signs,
bumper stickers to the point that seeing them on a wall or on a monument evokes a "duh" reaction. Read more here and here. |
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
A better way..
Dennis Prager, a Jew, touts the Judeo-Christian moral code as superior to the three main alternamtives. IT is interesting
reading and he promises to continue developing the thought in future columns. Read it here. |
Monday, January 3, 2005
Back at Home
I was travelling in Florida all last week between Christmas and New Year's. I thought I would have time to do more
blogging, but ended up spending most of my time with my family. It was a great time! My kids playing with their
cousins and grandparents was a great sight. All the guys went out for lunch one day. We talked football, soccer
and cars. Awesome time. Make sure you spend some time this week building a relationship.
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