teens

Our Christmas baby is 17 today. It doesn’t seem possible. Much of what is right and good in the world is in the hands of young people such as Kristina. She is a light of our world as she follows the light of the world. An amazing young woman.

Jesus works through those who invite him in. All over the country, I have had the privilege of seeing Christ in the teenagers I meet who have sold out to Jesus. I have so much hope for the future of his Kingdom work. I have to say I am especially prejudiced for the youth in my local church. FLY is the “bomb” or whatever the current vernacular for “outstanding” is. They continue to serve and grow; grow and serve.

You will get a chance to see them in action some day. They will be the ones leading in all arenas of life. They will be the ones who give you hope. If you don’t know them, just look for the ones reaching out with a helping hand. The ones who will marry and raise godly children of their own who will be a powerful influence in their community.

Good luck trying to stop them. I am afraid they have already been infected by the Holy Spirit. The world doesn’t have a cure. My “kids” are going to just keep spreading him around.

Happy Birthday, Kristina. You have no idea the wonders God has in store for you. He works through those whom he can trust. He is extremely busy with you. You see God in action already, but you haven’t seen anything, yet. He’s just warming up.

Going away with the family for the week. I will post again this weekend.

Feast of Stephen

Happy Feast of Stephen’s Day. As in,

Good King Wenceslaus went out
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even.

Don’t know if you ever sang this song, but it was a popular Christmas carol when I was a child. In fact, it is one of two melodies I can plink out on the piano. The other being Silent Night. Fascinating fact, no doubt.

Today we remember Stephen, the first person to die as a result of proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Millions have followed, but Stephen has the honor of being first. Read his story in Acts 7:1-8:3.

Let’s pray for persecuted Christians around the world today. Many die unknown to us, but certainly known to the Father.

Here is a thought. To those who persecute Christians for their faith, what are you so worried about if it isn’t true? Your religion or worldview should be more persuasive, should it not? Christians are told to examine the evidence. We are told to examine and compare other worldviews. That’s why the modern university movement was Christian driven. As the Bible says, “Test everything.” (1 Thes. 5:21)

speaking of Dover

Speaking of Dover, Pennsylvania, the day the court decision was handed down, I received an invitation to teach a weekend Why God? Conference in… Dover, Pennsylvania. The high school students will have a chance to explore the amazing wonders of the natural world from the macro to the micro. They will be able to examine the solid evidence for natural selection and ask questions about development that natural selection isn’t equipped to answer.

As I have stated, I don’t agree with having mandated instructions to science teachers to introduce students to some of the aspects of Intelligent Design. I do advocate looking at strengths and challenges to any scientific theory. According to the latest court ruling, this won’t happen in Dover. High School students there will be able to discuss strengths and challenges to Darwinian evolution. It just won’t be in school.

“Mom, can I have some money to go to a conference where I can freely talk about scientific theories? No, it’s not at school. It’s at church….”

Have a blessed Christmas!

Comments on Dover

Intelligent Design advocates didn’t support the way the former Dover Pennsylvania school board went about getting some aspects of Intelligent Design mandated teaching in the classroom. Being taken to court ended up being a good thing in that it showed how weak the support for absolute Darwinism really is today. The evidence presented gave a public forum to distance the attempts by Darwinists to characterize Intelligent Design as six day creationism. Only those who would choose to lie for political purposes will continue this straw man logical fallacy.

Another good result in the ruling is the judge showed clearly that he not only did not understand Design arguments, but he also swallowed Darwinian teaching hook, line, and sinker. The 1950’s heyday of Darwinian thinking is over, and it is not just design people who have figured this out. Other scientists like the structuralists and punctuated equilibrium folks are now being put on notice by this ruling, as well. Don’t even think of questioning anything Darwinian in a science classroom? Good luck. Enjoy the churn in the scientific community as the non- Intelligent Design scientists continue to stand up to the Darwinists.

In the meantime if you want your high school student to have the opportunity to ask questions of Darwinian thinking and have open discussion, you can always get involved here.

spirit and truth

When Jesus was asked by the woman at the well (Why didn’t she give her name? I can’t imagine going through life being called “guy who lives by Pierce College”),

John 4:19-20
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus’ answer gives a clue why Christians weren’t outraged at what happened at the Church of the Nativity.

John 4:21-24
21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The place of worship is not the essential ingredient; it is worshipping in spirit and truth. We view our “houses of worship” with respect and it is an outrage that the Church of the Nativity was so treated, but ultimately God is worshipped in spirit and truth, regardless of the building.

This brings us to another point. Jesus says God seeks true worshippers. Is it not also an outrage to not worship the one from whom salvation comes? What does Jesus think about those who know him but don’t worship him, or those who don’t know him and don’t seek him?

If he doesn’t care about our worship or he doesn’t care if people seek him or not, then why didn’t he just say,

“Don’t worry ‘woman at the well.’ It’s all good.”

what's the difference?

Antiochus Epiphanies had pigs slaughtered on the altar in the Temple of Jerusalem. As the pig is an unclean animal in Judaism, this is a huge sacrilege. He had idols of Greek gods put up, as well. Again, a direct violation of Jewish law. “No other gods before me” and “no graven images.”

It is interesting how a major festival comes out of defeating a foreign power who trashed a house of worship. Granted this is not just any house of worship. Yet, how different than the reaction of Christians over the desecration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by Palestinian terrorists back in 2002. Tradition holds that this church is built on the site of the birthplace of Jesus. Priests and nuns were taken hostage and the church became a “sanctuary” for known terrorists.

Finally, after a negotiated settlement, they left. The church was left in shambles. There will be no major holiday commemorating the cleaning out of the Church of the Nativity and getting rid of the explosives left behind. My guess is you have forgotten about this event, or perhaps weren’t even aware of it.

A holiday commemorated 2100 years later or an already forgotten event three and a half years ago. Why the difference? Chanukah or ? Christians didn’t seem to have a sense of outrage when one of their historic churches is desecrated. I am going to think on this today.

Chanukah

Hanukkah or Chanukah begins on December 25th this year. There will be festivities occurring from the Christian and Jewish communities on the same day!

“Chanukah” is Hebrew for “dedication,” and it commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by the Hellenistic Syrians under order of Antiochus Epiphanies in 167 B.C. Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish people revolted and defeated the Greeks in 165 B.C. The first order of business was to clean out the Temple of the pagan symbols and desecration that had occurred.

The story from the Jewish commentary, the Talmud, tells of there only being enough special oil to light the lamps of the Temple for one night. That one flask of oil lasted for 8 nights, however, and that is the miracle that is celebrated. The lighting of the 8 candles of the menorah recounts this event.

who is teaching?

I haven’t seen teacher faith affiliation surveys, but if 82% of Americans are self-identified as Christians, then my guess is the majority of public school teachers would identify as Christian. Should they be permitted to teach specific Christian principles in school?

Here is the dilemma. My wife and I are the primary faith nurturers of our children, along with other adult faith mentors from our Christian community. I don’t want public school teachers trying to give them a water-downed version of the gospel. I don’t like it when some of my daughter’s teachers let their political bias loose in the classroom; it is generally an anti-this or anti-that tirade rather than a principled, reasonable, balanced presentation.

Now put Christian faith in the mix. What kind of Christian faith would be taught? Take the role of women, for example. When some Christians teach that a married woman is under the headship of her husband they take that to mean he is always right; the boss of the house, and everyone just has to do what dad says. In my fantasy life would that this were true, but realistically, if marriage isn’t a partnership we are in trouble.

I don’t fret over the fact that some Christians follow this view of marriage, but biblically I would make a far different case for the meaning of the headship of the husband in a Christian home. Now, who is going to teach this to my children in school? I can choose what church I am part of and know what is being taught, but I can’t choose the biblical worldview of the teachers in my children’s classroom.

Christmas thoughts

I heard the latest Gallup poll showing 94% of Americans acknowledge some sort of God. More specifically, most polls show 82% identify themselves as Christian. Judaism (1.3%), Buddhism (.5%), Islam (.5%), and Hindu (.4%) are the next closest religions. With these statistics in mind, let’s reflect on the Christmas season.

You can’t blame businesses for decorating in a non-Christian fashion for Christmas. Happy Holidays and all the rest. Businesses will do just about anything to get you to buy from them in terms of marketing. They aren’t interested in your religious sensibilities; they are interested in turning a profit. So realistically, it must not bother most of the 82% consumer base of self-identified Christians if the businesses are secular. Believe me, you would have the whole Christmas story told in song and word every hour in every store if it actually made a difference in sales. As long as people buy with Santa and snowmen, stores don’t need the Christ Child.

As far as government funded institutions (schools, etc.) go, self-interest is also a logical influence. You could make a strong case for schools to promote a sense of patriotism, not a Christian worldview. Actively promoting the Christian worldview and reaching out in the name of Jesus is the call of Christians and Christian communities. Even with 82% of the population, the type of Christian faith promoted by public institutions would seem too diluted and too strained to make any significant difference. It’s not about political correctness as much as it is lack of effectiveness. Manger scenes and Christmas trees in a country of 82% isn’t far fetched, even for government agencies, but what form of Christianity would you use to get any more specific?

I will give an example tomorrow.

enlighting

A Japanese scientist finds that human hands, foreheads, and the soles of the feet emit detectable light.
(Discover Magazine, Nov. 2005, pg. 9)


29When Moses came down the mountain carrying the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face glowed because he had spoken to the LORD face to face. 30And when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-34)

There is a lot of glare coming from my forehead. It has been uncovered since the 80’s. Not by choice, but by allowing nature to take her course, as it were. Yet, fortunately, people are not afraid to come near me.

This light topic is pretty fascinating. It is interesting how much light keeps coming up in the story of God’s people in the Bible. It is interesting how important light is for the whole scientific venture.

The more we learn about light, the more interesting it makes my Bible reading. I am not trying to make a direct correlation between what the ancients wrote and what we are currently discovering. My faith is based on the evidence of the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead and its aftermath. The correlations are not insignificant, though. I will say it is fascinating to see the evidence of nature make my biblical study more intriguing.

light of the world

John 8
12Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."


Matthew 5
14You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.

Jesus calls himself the light and he calls me the light. It can’t get any clearer than this. He expects me to live my life the way he would live it if he were I. He expects you to live your life as he would live it.

If he has these expectations then he gives the ability. He is not telling us to do something that he doesn’t expect us to be able to do. There is nowhere in scripture where Jesus says, “Do this,” or “Be this,” that he doesn’t expect us to be able to do or be. The creator accomplishes whatever he wants.

“I am the light of the world.”

“You are the light of the world.”

Wow! You aren’t just a student getting ready to take a test today. You aren’t someone getting ready to go to work. You aren’t a “normal” person at all. If you follow Jesus, you are the light of the world.

light

John 1:1-5 (NLT)

1In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. 4Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Gerald Schroeder likes to speak of life coming from light beams. Using Einstein’s theory of special relativity and Louis de Broglie’s wave mechanics, Schroeder points out that matter is condensed energy, hence, light beams.

Now read John 1:1-5 again. The “life gives light.” What does light give? Life?

Ponder on this for awhile.

design is here to stay

The more and more powerful the instruments of investigation the greater the intricacies of design one will see in nature. This has always been a given in the scientific enterprise. What are scientists thinking who are shocked that there is controversy brewing about speculations they have made concerning “random and purposeless” development? How dare anyone question their worldview? It reminds me of the whole “don’t look behind the curtain” Wizard of Oz thing.

More than any other single factor, I think what is really behind a lot of the “don’t look behind the curtain” thought is this. If we are simply a product of our “particles” responding to our environment, then we are not ultimately responsible for our attitudes and actions. If my development is random and purposeless, then so is my life. Then I can live any way I choose. I can do anything I want. There is no right or wrong (except if you don’t agree with me; then you are wrong). Good or evil. There is just protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks and the rest mixing it up and making “me,” me. There appear to be those in positions of power at the university level, who lean in this direction.

If you are a proponent of “physicalism,” the physical is all there is, then you are tempted to ignore contrary evidence, in particular if you hold positions of power in your field. Your thirst for power may trump your insatiable curiosity to further explore the possibilities of the metaphysical. Like anyone else, if scientists are completely honest with themselves, they will go where the evidence leads. Period. It’s not as if a scientist is simply going to say, “It’s too complicated for me. Let’s just forget about it.” Whether we like it or not, design is here to stay.

why hide it?

Gerald Schroeder explains what happens when the Cambrian explosion was first discovered.

The reality of this explosion of life was discovered long before it was revealed. In 1909, Charles D. Walcott, while searching for fossils in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, came upon a strata of shale near the Burgess Pass, rich in that for which he had been seeking., fossils from the era known as the Cambrian. Over the following four years Walcott collected between 60,000 and 80,000 fossils from the Burgess Shale. These fossils contained representatives from every phylum except one of the phyla that exist today. Walcott recorded his findings meticulously in his notebooks. No new phyla ever evolved after the Cambrian explosion. These fossils could have changed the entire concept of evolution from a tree of life to a bush of life. And they did, but not in 1909.

Walcott knew he had discovered something very important. That is why he collected the vast number of samples. But he could not believe that evolution could have occurred in such a burst of life forms, "simultaneously" to use the words of Scientific American. This was totally against the theory of Darwin in which he and his colleagues were steeped. And so Walcott reburied the fossils, all 60,000 of them, this time in the drawers of his laboratory.

Walcott was the director of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. It was not until 1985 that they were rediscovered (in the draws of the Smithsonian). Had Walcott wanted, he could have hired a phalanx of graduate students to work on the fossils. But he chose not to rock the boat of evolution.

Today fossil representatives of the Cambrian era have been found in China, Africa, the British Isles, Sweden, Greenland. The explosion was worldwide. But before it became proper to discuss the extraordinary nature of the explosion, the data were simply not reported. It is a classic example of cognitive dissonance, but an example for which we have all paid a severe price.

It is these kind of stories that help fuel the skepticism towards Darwinian evolution. “Examine the evidence,” is replaced by “Examine the evidence if it fits in with a Darwinian approach.” This is why Schroeder advocates simply teaching the wonders of the complexity of it all and let the student make the physical coming from the non-physical connection.

Where did the non-physical causative agent come from? Acccording to Schroeder, it could be the laws of nature or it could be God. If it is the laws of nature the conversation can continue in a public education science class. If it is God, then the conversion can begin, but it will not be initiated by the teacher. The conversation won’t go that far with the students either. What kind of God? Which God? What do you mean by “God”? You can see why these conversations are best left outside of the classroom. Let’s examine the fascinating evidence and the human aspect of curiosity will kick in. This appears to be Dr. Schroeder’s approach.

fill in the blanks

Gerald Schroeder makes the point that to the debate concerning intelligent design in America is not necessary. He says rather than arguing about how and if a “fish became a frog,” teachers ought to simply focus on the wonders of the natural world. “Young people are smart enough to fill in the blanks of the metaphysical significance,” is how Schroeder put it.

The majority of science teachers in our schools are totally Darwinian evolutionists in their thinking. One would have to make the assumption that they would desire to highlight the utter complexity of the physical universe in all its macro and micro levels. Yes, students would fill in the blanks, but are they getting blanks to fill?

For example, when I speak to high school students in various parts of the country, about the “Cambrian explosion,” where virtually all the body plans for animal life appear suddenly about 530 million years ago, only a few hands go up in any audience. Think about it. Prior to this time in the history of life on earth, there is only evidence of some bacteria, plankton, and algae, then, wham, almost all the architectural structures for animal life at once? Is that a little unsettling?

Yes, unsettling to a Darwinian model of slow, gradual, infinitesimal change over vast periods of time for evolution. The Cambrian explosion has huge implications for a classic Darwinian model. There are evolutionary explanations for how this may have occurred, but there is no agreement on this, whatsoever. There is a lively debate going on in biology about these Cambrian events at this very moment, but it doesn’t appear to even be mentioned in many of our classrooms.

Why?

More tomorrow.

visiting the Chabad

I went to hear Dr. Gerald Schroeder speak last night at the Conejo Jewish Academy, in Agoura Hills. There is something about being asked to wear a yarmulke that just means something special is occurring in this place. Something special did happen. Dr. Schroeder was fascinating.

Gerald Schroeder is one of the key influencers of Antony Flew becoming a former atheist. Flew was the world’s leading spokesperson for atheism and then a year ago (December 9,2004), Flew announced he believed in a God. Not a particular one, but, in Flew’s words, “I'm quite happy to believe in an inoffensive inactive god.” Well, that’s a start!

Schroeder’s book, The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth, was the book that finally persuaded Flew to rethink of his former worldview. For a brief excerpt of this historic announcement, look here.

I will highlight a few of Schroeder’s teachings this week.

why Jesus?

Jesus clearly says he is God and a person needs to trust in him for forgiveness of sin. One example from John 8,

24"That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins."

Jesus calls himself, “I am.” The Jews he is speaking to in this situation from John 8 would know Jesus has just declared himself God, as “I am,” is the sacred name God gives himself.

Again, we see to die in your sins is not saying Jesus-followers don’t sin. It is saying there are two types of people in the world. Those who sin and trust in Jesus to take those sins upon himself and those who don’t trust in Jesus to do this.

God is totally just. God is totally pure. He promises that those who are 100% pure will be in his blessed presence forever when he establishes the new creation for good. Anyone who is not 100% pure can’t be in the direct presence of God. They will be separated from God and his blessings forever. A pure God cannot be directly in contact with the impure. A just God cannot say, “Just forget about the sin.” Someone has to pay for justice to occur.

Jesus is the way out. He takes the sin and destroys it. Only those who want the benefit of that destruction (forgiveness) receive it. It isn’t that forgiveness is not offered to everyone. It is. Once and for all time on the cross. It is just that you don’t have to choose to receive it. You can choose to not trust in Jesus. Then when you die, it will be with the results of your sin remaining on you. This will keep you from living with God forever. You won’t want to and he won’t want you to. He won’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.

Just like in life, you will convince yourself you are right and he is wrong. There is no second chance when you die because you haven’t taken the multitude of chances in this life. After you die it will be no different. Know God or no God. The choice is yours.

blameless?

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

When we face God at the final judgment, those who get to remain with him are those who are blameless. Those who are perfect. Right away you might say, “No one is perfect.” There is where you would be wrong.

19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. (Colossians 1:19-23)

Jesus offers to stand in our place. Take our punishment upon himself. We will stand before God perfect.

Now, those who do not trust in Jesus can theoretically be saved. If they can stand before God blameless on their own merit, then they will be able to live in his presence forever. The reality is no person can stand before God perfect. By not trusting in Jesus, he/she has already become the kind of person who cannot want to live with God for eternity. God honors this desire. This is why scripture says, “But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.”

Unbelievers become their own judge. The sentence is handed down before they even stand before God in judgment. The sentence? Separated from God forever. They get their wish. God is so loving that both believer and unbeliever get exactly what they want. The choice is not made by God. The choice is our own.

the day

In a Simpson’s episode where Homer wants to imitate Flanders faith life, Homer keeps a portrait of God on his desk at work. The image shifts as he moves it back and forth. A smiling God turns into an angry God as he moves the picture. As he does this Homer says, “Vengeful God; Loving God.”

Homer reminds us that the God of love is also the God of justice. Completely loving and completely fair. Sin cannot go unpunished. A price must be paid. That payment will become due at the “Day of the Lord.” This is a final time of justice when God brings in his Kingdom for good.

All people will be judged one final time. All people sin. All people will receive justice. So, what will that day be like?