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Think Christianly

Think Christianly: July 2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

Science, Religion, and God of the Gaps - John Lennox Video

Here is a helpful video by Oxford University Philosopher of Science John Lennox:



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Monday, July 26, 2010

Should Christians 'Move on' from evolution-creationism debate?

Here was the concluding quote of a recent article on evolution, creation, and intelligent design: "My generation of evangelicals is ready to call a truce on the culture wars. It seems like our parents, our pastors, and the media won't let us do that. We are ready to be done with the whole evolution-creation debate. We are ready to move on." Is Rachel Evans correct? I don't think so.

You can read the whole article here

This article was confused and disappointing on several levels.

Click here for more discussion on faith and evolution

First, move on to what exactly? It is not at all clear what one would be left with to move on to if Naturalism / Darwinian Evolution is affirmed completely.

Second, people continue to equivocate on what they mean by evolution. Evolution can mean several different things (from simply change over time, change within species, or full blown Darwinian evolution). Definitions matter in this debate. Evidence for one is not necessarily evidence for the other.

Third, it is baffling to me how so many people (on both sides) can misunderstand what intellignet design is and how it differs from creationism. In the age of the interenet this shouldn't happen. Google intelligent design by someone who actually holds the view and then interact with it.

For example, this is from intelligentdesign.org:
"Is intelligent design theory the same as creationism? No. Intelligent design theory is simply an effort to empirically detect whether the "apparent design" in nature acknowledged by virtually all biologists is genuine design (the product of an intelligent cause) or is simply the product of an undirected process such as natural selection acting on random variations. Creationism is focused on defending a literal reading of the Genesis account, usually including the creation of the earth by the Biblical God a few thousand years ago. Unlike creationism, the scientific theory of intelligent design is agnostic regarding the source of design and has no commitment to defending Genesis, the Bible or any other sacred text. Honest critics of intelligent design acknowledge the difference between intelligent design and creationism. University of Wisconsin historian of science Ronald Numbers is critical of intelligent design, yet according to the Associated Press, he "agrees the creationist label is inaccurate when it comes to the ID [intelligent design] movement." Why, then, do some Darwinists keep trying to conflate intelligent design with creationism? According to Dr. Numbers, it is because they think such claims are "the easiest way to discredit intelligent design." In other words, the charge that intelligent design is "creationism" is a rhetorical strategy on the part of Darwinists who wish to delegitimize design theory without actually addressing the merits of its case."
Here are some helpful resources to explore this further:

Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy by William Dembski and Jonathan Witt



and Science and Faith by C. John Collins



and



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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Denver woman named America's top world-changer under 25

Friday, July 23, 2010

Teen disconnected from technology — and liked it

Check this out....it is possible for a teenager (and the rest of us) to unplug....living proof!

“I knew I was addicted, but I didn’t want to seem like it,’’ Deisha says. But in the show’s opening segment, she acknowledges, “I text more than I talk.’’

....Deisha’s choice to unplug helped her define what she thinks is appropriate: no phone at all. At the end of the week, she got her phone back, and immediately handed it over to her mother.

“I noticed how much fun I was having without it,’’ she says.

Without it, she has poured her energy into her passion for writing. She just finished her first book, “Don’t Forget to Tuck Me In,’’ which she says is about “a modern girl with working parents who waits to be tucked in at night.’’ Her mother has promised to help her publish it.

Her decision has influenced her family, too. On a recent afternoon, there were four wireless land-line phones visible in their kitchen alone, and a TV screen dominated the living room. But Brown Campbell insists that they are downgrading. The old television, which broke, took up an entire wall, she says.

Both mother and daughter say the most important lesson of Deisha’s experience is the value of time spent together.

“I learned to separate family time from the cellphone,’’ says Brown Campbell. Now, when her BlackBerry buzzes while she’s out at lunch with her children, she waits until later to respond.

Deisha approves of the change in her formerly “textaholic’’ mother. “You don’t need technology,’’ says Deisha. “You want it, but it’s not that important, and once you get rid of it you’ll have a great time.’’

Read the rest

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Need for New Breed of Young Christian Defenders says D'Souza

Here is an article where apologist Dinesh D'Souza is interviewed regarding the need for apologetics today. (click here)


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Monday, July 19, 2010

What happened to studying?

Here is an interesting article on the study habits (or lack thereof) of this generation from the Boston Globe (click here). Part of growing as a person is learning how to think and investigate; learning to integrate. As Christians we need to be training the next generation not just what to think, but how to think. (Matt. 22:37)


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Friday, July 16, 2010

Is Christianity Relevant?

Only if it's true...

“If Christianity should happen to be true – that is to say, if its God is the real God of the universe – then defending it may mean talking about anything and everything. Things can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is false, but nothing can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is true.” - G.K. Chesterton




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Monday, July 12, 2010

The Promise of Christianity

"The promise of Christianity is the joy and power of an integrated life, transformed on every level by the Holy Spirit, so that our whole being participates in the great drama of God's redemption." - Nancy Pearcey

Just say no to fragmented / compartmentalized living--think Christianly!



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Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Invitation of Jesus

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”--Matt. 11:28-30

Everyone is an apprentice to someone...who are you learning from?

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Problem of Spiritual Transformation

"In sum, the problem of spiritual transformation (really, of the normal lack thereof) among those who identify as Christians today is not that it is impossible, or that effectual means to it are not available. The problem is that spiritual transformation into Christlikeness is not intended. People do not see it and its value, and decide to carry through with it. They do not decide to do the things Jesus did and said. And this in turn is, today, largely due to the fact that they have not been given a vision of life in God's kingdom, within which such a decision and intention would make sense. The ‘gospel’ they have heard did not bring that vision."--Dallas Willard

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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Young Christians Need a Brain & Heart Religion...

“As Christian parents, pastors, teachers, and youth group leaders, we constantly see young people pulled down by the undertow of powerful cultural trends. If all we give them is a "heart" religion, it will not be strong enough to counter the lure of attractive but dangerous ideas. Young believers also need a "brain" religion-training in worldview and apologetics-to equip them to analyze and critique the competing worldviews they will encounter when they leave home. If forewarned and forearmed, young people at least have a fighting chance when they find themselves a minority of one among their classmates or work colleagues. Training young people to develop a Christian mind is no longer an option; it is part of their necessary survival equipment.”[1]



[1] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 19.

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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Good Intentions

“We intend what is right, but we avoid the life that would make it reality.”—Dallas Willard

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Friday, July 2, 2010

Stephen Meyer Video on Intelligent Design

"Definitions of intelligent design used in the mainstream media are either so superficial as to be meaningless, or completely wrong in stating that ID is creationism and anti-evolutionary. One of the best basic definitions is from www.intelligentdesign.org:

The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.
In his groundbreaking book, Signature in the Cell, Stephen Meyer expands on this definition and builds a strong, scientific case for the theory of intelligent design. Here is a short video of Meyer explaining his definition of ID as he used it in his book." (HT / Evolution News and Views)

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