OK, admit it, when you look at this picture, it does remind a modern person of helicopters and spaceships, right? So is there a logical explanation for this – one that doesn’t involve ancient aliens? There most certainly is, and I’m grateful to Michael Heiser for drawing attention to it. Click through to the MDW-NTR blog to see what it is. Fascinating! Read more
From Joe Heller via Open Parachute. I don’t think the scientist does a good job of conveying scientific knowledge. It is rarely “just the facts.” We sometimes choose to speak that way, but when we do, it is often unhelpful, because denialists regularly think that they are looking at the facts, too. And so one needs to emphasize that merely insisting one knows or that one doesn’t believe does not make one right, and the collective judgments made about the facts,... Read more
Crystal St. Marie Lewis blogged about a mantra that is associated with Joel Osteen, suggesting that the following is a better alternative: This is my Bible. I am a witness to what it says, and a student of why it says what it says. I can do as much research as I wish on the origins and intended uses of these texts. Today, I understand that my biases impact my perception of what God’s Word is, versus what these words are, However, I humbly and boldly... Read more
This episode begins with Claire’s eye. She is no longer pregnant, and hears a baby crying in the jungle. She follows the sound, and meets John Locke, whose eyes are one black stone and one white one. He tells her that he was her responsibility, but she gave him away. Eventually she finds a crib, and under the blankets there is blood. Claire turns out to have been sleepwalking and having a nightmare. In a flashback, Claire goes to a... Read more
There is no way to “unlock” the Gospel of Matthew. It does not have hidden secrets. It is a text, and it has no underneath, and so no hidden depths. It is all surface. There isn’t some sort of skin that you can peel back and see something more profound underneath. What you see depends on your focus. Because of this, I see myself as a sort of tour guide or park ranger–I can point out to you the path... Read more
In this episode, Sawyer makes reference to Jack trying to “buy his way into heaven” by trying to patch Sawyer up, after the attempt to torture information out of him had resulted in a knife fight in which he was injured badly. Sayid set out in the last episode to explore the island. In this one he finds a rope running from the beach and traces it back towards its source, but sets off a tripwire and is caught in a trap. When... Read more
The title of this episode may remind one of “flatland,” that famous illustration of dimensions, and so it should. In “Flatline,” the Doctor and Clara encounter beings from a universe of two dimensions, who have been causing the disappearance of people on a particular housing estate in Bristol. The lack of police interest is highlighted, and in the process Doctor Who offers comment on the inequalities that exist in Britain as in the rest of the English-speaking world, not to mention... Read more
It is entirely possible that Ken Ham genuinely believes that his life’s work is filling holes in the cracks in the dam that he thinks keeps the flood of atheism from sweeping over weak Christians. But as I’ve pointed out here before, the truth is quite different. The flood he fears actually includes much that is true. The web of lies he weaves is designed to bolster not Christianity per se, but his own dubious understanding of Christianity. And thus the... Read more
I have loved this episode since the first time I saw it. It takes a character like Sawyer who has been trying hard to be unlikable, and digs into his background. When Sawyer sees the kid who reminds him of himself, he walks away from a deal. The letter is a wonderful touch, as it helps us to see how we as people are prone to become what we hate. And why we feel the need to be hated when... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In