I was traveling last week and unable to do justice to a wrap up on Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design – but having considered some of the discussion, digested and pondered the content, I would like to put up one final summary post. I welcome comment and clarification both pro and con. Intelligent Design is the hypothesis that intelligence was involved in designing creation, particularly the creation of life, and that the effects of... Read more
Dante took theology about the afterlife and turned it into an epic adventure, modeling his story on Homer’s stories and on Virgil’s famous The Aeneid and in many ways taking them to the next millennia of history. In the East, instead of finding a Dante’s journey into the underworld and then back up to heaven, we find poets who told stories of Christ’s victory of Death and the Devil and Hell. The principle poets are Ephrem the Syrian and Romanos... Read more
Should humans “captivate” killer whales and other animals, deprive these animals of their normal life and habitat and risk the lives of humans? What do you say? Read more
Heavenly Father, in you we live and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight. Through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. † Read more
My midday Bible posts are on break for a couple of weeks. I will begin a long, long series on the Book of Psalms, exploring this theme: What image of God do we find in the prayers of Israel in the Psalms? Comments or suggestions? Read more
Some of you have seen this review of mine at Christianity Today. I’m happy to hear your responses at this site, but I’ll only clip the opening two paragraphs from the CT piece. I like Brian, and I think Brian is a good man, and I think he said important things that we evangelicals need to hear, but what I think of Brian as a person is not the same as what I think of his latest book: A New... Read more
In Eugene Peterson’s new book, Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ , Peterson probes into his own history and his own experience of the church to draw out some powerful — stunning might be the better word — observations about the church. Three points to make today, and I ask these questions: Is this your experience? How has the church been “Americanized” or “consumerized”? What do you think can be done about it? First, as a child and youngster,... Read more
If I were a seminary president, which I’m not, or if I were a seminary dean, which I’m not, I’d require both professors and students to read a book a year — together — about the current state of the church and faith in the USA. We’ve looked at Christian Smith’s recent book, but there’s a book lurking in the background that has a bigger scope in mind, and it’s been out more than a year. That book is by... Read more
At the Lord’s supper event in our churches, we are to have this disposition: “I am standing before God trying to realize how important it is for me to acknowledge that I am a sinner.” And Fr. Dajczer, a famous Polish priest, develops the attitudes of both the younger and elder son in the parable of the prodigal son. It is too easy to say “I’m not the elder son” and forget the younger son’s path was to sin and then... Read more
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
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