Reacting to the Word
My wife asked me to write a devotion for her devotional list and I thought it would make an excellent entry for this blog as well. 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazereth, 27to a virgin who was engaged to be married to…
The Clergy Project
Wesley Elsberry, on The Panda’s Thumb reports that the Clergy Project is nearning its goal of 10,000 signatures. As I write this, I see that it has attained that goal. I encourage all of my clergy friends to sign this document. It is not only protecting the teaching of science; it is protecting religious education…
Hanging Your Interpretation
I have just added a new essay to my collection on Biblical interpretation, entitled Hanging Your Interpretation. I have needed to write this essay for some time, as I often suggest using the procedure described, but have never presented any sort of detail about how it should be done. I am often asked for quick…
God’s Wrath and ID Rejecters
Robertson warns Pennsylvania voters of God’s wrath Robertson is just too easy a target, but I do want to take this opportunity to point out that the situation in Dover is a bit more complicated than acceptance or rejection of God. For example, I’m a Christian who believes that the entire universe and everything in…
Protecting Doctrinal Turf
There’s a church I drive by pretty regularly. They have a quite prominent sign, and on the front of their building they have a list of doctrinal positions held by their church. I used to think it was a singularly unwelcoming sort of thing to put on the front of a church. During Hurricane Ivan,…
Evolution Slate Outpolls Rivals – New York Times
Evolution Slate Outpolls Rivals – New York Times Intelligently designing voters designed a new school board. Though many votes were close, the sweep was apparently universal. I’m very pleased to see that the voters can make an intelligent decision like this. It is my hope that this becomes an example for the rest of the…
Must I Give My Life?
Your browser must not support the IFRAME tag! Does the command of Jesus to love one another mean that I have to give up my life? I’ve been involved in debating that issue over the last couple of weeks on the Compuserve Religion Forum.. It seems to me that the issue is not very debatable,…
The West Wing Debate
CNN.com – ‘West Wing’ candidates clash in live debate – Nov 7, 2005 I really enjoy The West Wing. As a show, while they have had many episodes I think were mediocre, they have also had shining moments in which they project an image of what politics could be like, and really should be like….
The Importance of Small Actions
Recently Rosa Parks passed away. Many people mourn her passing, and rightly so. She made a major difference in American life. But in another sense, the attention paid to her is strange–not “bad” strange, but “good” strange. We tend to notice people who do the big things, the spectacular things, the very public things. We…
Spiritual Warfare with a Comfy Chair
Before you start reading this, let me warn you that I sometimes make weird connections between one event or word and another. Last night I attended a portion of a 24 hour praise and worship marathon. Since I like my comfort pretty well, I took along a nice, comfortable, folding, cloth chair. As I sat…
Making Science Standards
Two members of the committe that produced the current science standards in Minnesota have written a summary of the process for the Florida Citizens for Science blog. The Minnesota experience is of interest to Floridians, because Cheri Pierson Yecke has been made our K-12 Chancellor. I recommend that Floridians read this summary and ask yourselves…
ID on West Wing
I want to congratulate West Wing on NBC for providing some thoughtful coverage of the ID issue. While scientific and theological articles and books may cover the issue more thoroughly, intelligent handling in the context of a popular TV show helps get the message through the culture. Presidential candidate Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits,…
Worship on a Pale Horse
In a number of worship services that I’ve attended lately, I have been looking for a word to describe what I experience. Unfortunately, I think I have found that word–pale. (I’ll get to the “horse” thing later!) I don’t intend this as a criticism of any particular church or worship service, nor of any particular…
Just Your Interpretation
There’s a quote that often ends discussion of Biblical interpretation. One party to the discussion will announce: “That’s just your interpretation.” Debate is supposed to stop. Everyone is supposed to realize that their view really has no advantage over anyone else’s, and just let the discussion die. One person with whom I correspond occasionally online…
Creationism and the KJV
One of the ways I use to check material that is written outside of my own field of expertise is to look at how the author(s) handle material that is within my field. This can come dangerously close to ad hominem, but I believe it is a valid approach used carefully. If an author misuses…
Your Church’s Heart
I heard an outstanding sermon yesterday at Gonzalez United Methodist Church. I really enjoy the opportunity to report positive things from churches that I visit. This one is only about five minutes from my home. The key quote that I wrote down in my bulletin was this: The heart of any church is seen in…
Some People Did It (Katrina Relief)
I want to recommend a story from MSNBC that illustrates how many officials and private individuals managed to respond to Hurricane Katrina. The key element in their response was thinking outside the box, or to use the term I used in my previous post, they were architects of the spaces. The article is Surviving the…
Fences: Mending or Rending
Note: This sermon was presented on September 11, 2005 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola. Readings for meditation were Mending Wall, by Robert Frost, The Holy Qur’an 49:13a, and The Picket Fence by Christian Morgenstern, translated by Max Knight (links are to places on the web where the reading can be found). It was…
Finger-pointing May Be Needed
I just got in my e-mail an article by Don Gaetz, superintending of Okaloosa County schools. You can find the article at A Port in the Storm on Gulf1 web site. Now before I get to my point, let me first say that I am fully in support of what Don Gaetz said about the…
Scale from Literal to Figurative
There is considerable debate in Biblical studies about what elements should be taken literally, and what should be taken figuratively. Several things tend to confuse this debate, including the perception that if one takes something any way other than literally, one is taking it less seriously. For many people, literal is equivalent to true or…
Debating Science
What is the best forum in which to debate scientific topics? How should advocates for science, specifically evolutionary science, determine how to approach such debates? There is currently a report of such a debate on the Citizens for Science web site (Friday night debate in Colorado Springs), in which Steven Mahone and Sam Milazzo debated…
Not Taking the Bible Literally
A group of people are gathered study the Bible. Various opinions are exchanged. “I wouldn’t take that literally,” someone says finally. Often, that is the moment that people move on. Not taking it literally is very often the excuse not to bother to figure out what a Bible passage has to say at all. Now…
Katrina’s Lessons
There’s a new essay on Philosoraptor dealing with Hurricane Katrina. Carol Roper makes some excellent points though she is somewhat harsher on the government than I was. What is clear is that we must find out specifically who is responsible, and hold them accountable. Saying the results are not acceptable, but all the people are…
Disaster Response
I’ve been following the news about Hurricane Katrina quite closely, and have noticed a large number of stories about how bureaucracy–generally people from the same offices that were created to aid in case of disaster–has been slowing down the response.