Creationists Vote to Ditch Genesis 1-3 for Being Soft on Evolution

Last updated on: August 26, 2012 at 2:13 pm By James F. McGrath

News from the future: At their 2025 annual meeting, a well-known young-earth creationist organization decided to finally take the step of removing Genesis 1-3 from their canon of Scripture. “It was long overdue,” said the organization’s longstanding president (who changed his name to an unprintable squiggle after discovering that his surname referred to a meat outlawed in the Bible). “We accepted Genesis 1-3 for a long time, emphasizing that it doesn’t mention evolution. But recently, it was drawn to our... Read more

Also an Argument for Believers’ Baptism

Last updated on: August 25, 2012 at 10:13 pm By James F. McGrath

This is circulating among atheists, but Baptists like myself obviously think it makes a good point too… HT Open Parachute Read more

Neil Armstrong RIP

Last updated on: August 25, 2012 at 3:34 pm By James F. McGrath

The news just broke that the first man on the moon has passed away. Neil Armstrong, the famous astronaut, died today at the age of 82. We will all, I am sure, remember with gratitude for his role in taking humanity to a world other than our own for the first time. Read more

Restoring Jesus

Last updated on: August 25, 2012 at 11:57 am By James F. McGrath

I’ve felt like there was some analogy or parable to be made from the recent case of a parishioner trying to do an amateur restoration of a famous painting, with this result: Perhaps the best or at least the most relevant analogy for the sorts of subjects that I deal with is this: The figure of Jesus, like anyone and anything from the past, gets lost from view as a result of the passing of time. But an expert can... Read more

The God of the Bible and the Genome

Last updated on: August 25, 2012 at 11:25 am By James F. McGrath

I came across this quote from Francis Collins on Reddit: I am sharing it because I thought it might lead to some interesting discussion. On the one hand, Collins’ perspective is an important and helpful one, since it illustrates that it is possible for people of faith to embrace mainstream science. And yet I don’t think that embracing of science can leave one’s faith unchanged, and that isn’t a bad thing. The Bible doesn’t know God as “God of the... Read more

“Jesus Taught Generosity and Charity, Not Government Assistance”

Last updated on: August 24, 2012 at 9:18 pm By James F. McGrath

I've heard this claim a lot lately, and it seems to me bizarre, particularly when it focuses on an example like the Good Samaritan. A friend actually told me recently that the Good Samaritan didn't rely on the government to take care of the man, appealing to that as if it were an argument against governments being involved in addressing matters of need or equity or safety. That seems to me to be making a virtue out of an unfortunate... Read more

Jesus’ Advice for Internet Users

Last updated on: August 24, 2012 at 10:44 am By James F. McGrath

I created a couple of images to help me make my point about fact-checking information found on the internet – making the point both by what is said, and by the fact that Jesus didn’t say these things, as one will know if one fact-checks the quotes! Feel free to share and circulate them! Read more

Bible-Related Nonsense

Last updated on: August 24, 2012 at 10:11 am By James F. McGrath

img class=”alignleft” src=”http://i.ytimg.com/vi/COeqlKXvgN4/0.jpg” alt=”” width=”202″ height=”151″ />I focus on information literacy skills in my course on the Bible – i.e. the ability to identify and utilize reliable sources of information amid the wide array of sources of varying degrees of reliability – and ridiculousness – that abound on the internet. And so I asked them at the end of class last time to come up with something bizarre that they have found or can find online that relates to the... Read more

Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Last updated on: August 24, 2012 at 9:28 am By James F. McGrath

Those who are not fans of Doctor Who will read the title of this post and think that I am going overboard in my praise of the show. Fans will know that I am in fact referring to the episode from the Sylvester McCoy era of the show, the final episode of his penultimate season, which had the title “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.” It is in fact interesting to ask whether the potential for confusion was intentional. It... Read more