In his book No Free Lunch William Dembski commented on gaps and science. The “gaps” in the god-of-the-gaps objection are meant to denote gaps of ignorance about underlying physical mechanisms. But there is no reason to think that all gaps give way to ordinary physical explanations once we know enough about the underlying physical mechanisms. The mechanisms simply do not exist. Some gaps might constitute ontic discontinuities in the chain of physical causes and thus remain forever beyond the capacity... Read more

Jesus died for our sins, so the earliest Christian creed has it (1 Cor 15:1-8). It is one thing to dip that language into the OT sacrificial system and the temple’s language, but how did the “pagans” understand someone like Paul announcing that Jesus died “for our sins”? Good question. Simon Gathercole, in his tidy little book Defending Substitution examines that question. It would require a long post to summarize unfamiliar names and texts so instead I’ll zoom in on three... Read more

From Tara Beth Leach: But still, I can think of a few good reasons why not to attend church. 1. Don’t attend church if you’re looking for an exclusive club. Don’t come to church if you’re looking for an exclusive club where everyone talks alike, looks alike, and dresses alike. Don’t come to church if you’re looking for a dominant culture or socio-economic status. Don’t come to church if you’re looking for an exclusive club that rejects anyone who doesn’t fit the... Read more

By Michelle Van Loon www.michellevanloon.com www.MomentsAndDays.org As a Messianic Jew, I’ve been heartened by the interest I’ve seen among some lay people to connect with the Jewish foundations of their faith. Academics have access to scholarly works, and the tools to thoughtfully assess them, but there aren’t a lot of sound materials out there that can help connect a popular audience with the Jewish Jesus in his first-century context. A search of the internet for Hebrew roots material can be... Read more

By Pastor/Professor Dennis Edwards When I started out as an urban church planter, nearly 30 years ago, there were just a few books focused on urban ministry, such as Ray Bakke’s classic, Urban Christian, and even less discussing multicultural ministry (no surprise, considering the Homogeneous Unit Principle of Church Growth was pushed in seminaries in the USA). The few books that started to emerge were typically the “here’s our story” kind of book, which might serve as a source of... Read more

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen. BCP Read more

Again, thanks to Kris and HT:JS for so many links this week. Kids and Facebook: BOSTON (AP) — Child development experts and advocates are urging Facebook to pull the plug on its new messaging app aimed at kids. A group letter sent Tuesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues that younger children — the app is intended for those under 13 — aren’t ready to have social media accounts, navigate the complexities of online relationships or protect their own privacy. Facebook launched the free... Read more

By Mike Glenn I spent most of my life in school. From kindergarten to graduate school, my life was measured by term paper due dates, reading assignments and of course, finals. I don’t know what else I learned, but I did learn how to take tests. I also learned the most important thing to learn is what’s on the final. Do whatever you had to do, but find out what’s on the final. You could ask the professor, but this... Read more

What do you think? [HT: JS] Nick Bilton: It’s impossible to predict where Facebook and other social sites will be in five years. Will they be largely extinct? Will they be more akin to Netflix, or like TV channels we can group-comment on? Will they have fixed their problems and be thriving? Just a couple years ago, most people believed Twitter was dead on arrival, and then Donald Trump came along and made it his 24-hour mouthpiece. Facebook could go in this... Read more