Featured Posts
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What Is Biblical Literacy?
We complain about it, write about it, claim it’s important or even critical, design programs to create it, but what is it? I don’t mean that none of us know what we mean when we say “biblically literate” or “biblically illiterate,” but do we all mean the same thing? I don’t think we do, and…
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Fences: Mending or Rending
The following is a sermon I presented at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Pensacola on September 11,2005 and originally posted here on September 13, 2005. I’m reposting it because when I went to look for it, I found that the original post had somehow been truncated, and also because there is a one word at a…
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Experiencing the (Baptism of the) Holy Spirit
This is a topic where I tend to make just about everyone uncomfortable. Long time readers may recall a previous discussion of speaking in tongues, and my own experience of it. Those who expect me to be intellectually oriented and rational are uncomfortable with mystical experiences, and many who are comfortable with the mystical experiences…
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Random Designer III
Continuing to work through this book, chapter 6, “Magnificent Molecular Micro-Machines” presents a great deal of the complexity of the cell, and its form and structure. I’m going to start this time with a quote: At first glance, it would seem impossible to generate such increidble diversity from such a small pool of amino acid…
Christian Carnival #201 Posted
. . . at Thinking Christian.
Links for 12/7/07
Here a just a few things I think my readers might find interesting, but that I won’t get much time to comment on: Human events has an article on intelligent design by a conservative who doesn’t think much of it. In fact, he thinks the main stream media cover it because it’s embarrassing to conservatives….
Christian Carnival #201 Posted
. . . at Thinking Christian.
Heresy Hunting with Closed Ears
Since I write frequently on minimizing the number of essential doctrines, and maximizing lines of communication, I just had to call attention to this blog, Herescope. It’s “About” tells the story: This non-interactive blog contains information revealing heresies and false teachings affecting the Church today. . . . [emphasis mine] Need I say more?
Creation-Evolution Posts and Reading Recommendations
I’ve been posting a good deal about evolution since the Florida science standards have been rewritten and it’s time for comments. Early next year we’ll be dealing with a vote. Generally people think the new standards are good, but as is not uncommon, a different standard is applied to evolution than to other scientific theories….
Barbara Forrest makes Statement on Firing of Chris Comer
I blogged before about the firing of Chris Comer. PZ Myers now has a post that includes the full statement by Barbara Forrest about this. Comer was apparently fired for forwarding a memo announcing Barbara Forrest’s talk in Austin. It’s a good statement.
Random Designer II
I’m continuing to blog through this interesting book by Dr. Richard Colling, and I’m enjoying it a great deal. I want to note that this isn’t a review; rather, it’s simply journaling the experience of reading the book. I’m doing this because this book appears to me to be a powerful experience in itself. It’s…
My (Alleged) Hatred of Fundamentalists
Well, as I usually do when I try to be brief (a very rare event!), I stepped in it again and managed to set off some warning bells for some people when I posted about the teacher who was arrested in the Sudan for naming a teddy bear “Mohammed.” Actually, nobody accused me of hatred,…
Heresy in the Bible?
I’ve noted a tendency amongst both friends and enemies (hopefully this is hyperbole!) of mine to declare people heretics for some very brief statements, especially in matters of soteriology. People are particularly quick to pick up on any suggestion of legalism or Pelagianism. But I notice that the Bible writers are not terribly careful to…
Florida Science Standards go from F to High B
. . . and I think they’re headed for an A. The writing committee is to be commended for their hard work. The National Center for Science Education and Florida Citizens for Science have issued a press release giving an evaluation of the new standards by one of the experts who participated in giving the…
Random Designer I
A while back I blogged a bit about Richard Colling, an evangelical Christian, microbiologist and a supporter of the theory of evolution. The major item of controversy at the time was his book, Random Designer, which seeks to combine his Christian faith with his acceptance of evolution. I’m going to blog my way through his…
The Gonzalez Tenure Issue
The Gonzalez tenure issue has bothered me considerably, and not for the reasons that the Discovery Institute would like. There seems to be a bias that suggests that academic freedom must mean that there are no constraints whatsoever on what a professor may teach or do, before or after hiring and before or after tenure….
Rose Colored Glasses?
I’m working on a long post on 2 Corinthians 5, but in the meantime, try answering some of these questions.
Of Science, Faith, and Feelings
Practically everyone today is heavily dependent on the results on the work of scientists. We are quite content to trust the work of scientists when we climb aboard airplanes, drive our cars, or post blog entries. Of course, a great deal of technological building has been done on the basic discoveries of the scientists, but…
15 Days for Insulting Mohammed Not Enough for Some
A British teacher was sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation (which should be a blessing!) for insulting Mohammed. You can read the story here. Yet this outrage is not sufficient to satisfy some Muslim hardliners. There were protests in Khartoum calling for her execution. The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, has said she doesn’t want…
The Continued Saga of Science Education
The state’s director of science curriculum has resigned after being accused of creating the appearance of bias against teaching intelligent design. (Source: Austin-American Statesman A number of other bloggers have commented on this already (Pharyngula here and here, Wesley Elsberry, and The Panda’s Thumb), and you can review the story there. I’m generally a “late…
Happenings Around Here
I’ve been posted much less this week than I have in the past. In fact, I haven’t posted yet this week, which is a miracle of silence on my part! The reason of all this undue restraint is that it has been quite a week. I’m posting now from a new computer. This isn’t really…
Tools Link
On Not Being a Sausage has Bible Software: You get what you pay for, regarding Bible software. Shocking, but true!
Journalism and Objectivity
It’s pretty fashionable to complain about the main stream media, especially on blogs. We bloggers are, to hear us tell it, the answer to MSM bias. Now I do think that blogging has a positive impact by allowing expression of a greater variety of viewpoints. Often bloggers are quality journalists as well. (I don’t count…
Psalm 100
John Hobbins has an excellent post on the structure of Psalm 100.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, that pretty much says it. I will be having fun with friends and family, though I’ve already done a bit of casual blogging in the early morning hours. Blessings to all. If you’d like a thanksgiving post, try this one that I wrote for my wife’s devotional list.
The Fear of Being Wrong
If you do anything at all you’re going to be wrong at one time or another. You can be as careful as you want, and still sometime, somewhere, you’ll be wrong. Doubtless I’ll be wrong somewhere in this blog post. It could be a misspelling, a missed word, a badly chose word, or it might…
A Note on Evolution, ID, and Ethical Behavior
No, this isn’t going to be an extended discussion of the ethics of intelligent design advocates, though one of their number does come into it. One of the frequent charges made against evolutionary theory is that it undermines the basis for morals. Various anti-evolutionists have blamed evolutionary theory for everything from the holocaust to bad…