The Law of Influence and Christian Public Engagement

Should Christians be engaged politically? Should they make arguments in the public square? While some are calling for Christians to abandon the political arena due to perceptions that we are “too political,” this would ultimately be unwise and a net loss for everyone because of the moral vacuum it would create. “The alternative isn’t to not do politics,” observes Michael Gerson. “The alternative is to do it better.”

One thing is certain—someone will influence our society. Someone will make laws. Someone will raise the topics for national, judicial, and constitutional debate. So why not labor as faithfully and prudently as we can for the greatest good of others and thus fulfill our role to be salt and light (cf Matt. 5:16)? As Christians, this is one way in which we can love our neighbor as ourselves.

Regardless of the spirit of the age, we are to use whatever tools and opportunities are arranged for us by God for his glory and for the proclaiming of the good news of the kingdom.

To find out more about our biblical responsibility to engage the public square, see my new book Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture

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Some Advice For Katy Perry On Her “Very Public” Evolving Faith Journey-Keep Asking Why

Pop icon Katy Perry was recently on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine and was interviewed about what it was like growing up. In her words, “I didn’t have a childhood.” The article goes on to explain how the twenty-six-year-old’s inquisitive side was relentless and says she felt compelled to push the boundaries strict family life. She said: ‘I have always been the kid who's asked 'Why?'’

Kids and teenagers need a safe place to ask big questions and grapple honestly with life—their experiences, hopes, fears, doubts, and desires. Christianity is the kind of thing that you can investigate—it will hold up to scrutiny. It actually rises to the level of being true or false and there are good reasons to believe that Christianity is true.

Let me be clear. It is not my intention here to pass judgment on how her parents—who the article says are evangelical Christians—raised her or what they did or didn’t do. I don’t know. I was not there. I do know already how hard it is to be a parent. But apologist Josh McDowell’s words are appropriate here: “Truth without relationship leads to rebellion.” We must remember these wise words. Maybe that's her story.

Now for some—admittedly unsolicited—advice to the mega pop star for her spiritual journey and her understanding of faith. Perry explained: ‘In my faith, you're just supposed to have faith. At this point, I'm just kind of a drifter. I'm open to possibility.'

Being “open minded” can be a good thing for a season of exploration. However the goal of opening your mind is to eventually close it around truth. But the notion of faith for faith’s sake that she espouses is both ubiquitous in our culture and deeply flawed. Here’s why: Faith is only as good as the object in which it’s placed. Sincerity is not enough. That is true when it comes to parachutes opening when they are supposed to or whether the God of the Bible exists. If our own desires, experiences, and beliefs are the object of our faith then we are doomed to an ever changing faith because our beliefs, desires, and experiences constantly change. We need something outside of ourselves to anchor our faith—something or someone that is a worthy object of faith. I would suggest Jesus of Nazareth as an excellent candidate to investigate.

Moreover, I would gently remind Katy that belief is not what ultimately matters—truth is. In other words, people are entitled to their own beliefs, but they are not entitled to their own truth. Our believing something is true does not make it true. The Bible isn't true simply because I have faith. Truth is what corresponds to reality—telling it like it is. There is a way the world is and we either cooperate with it or bruise ourselves against it. Truth is discovered, not created.

So with much compassion for a young woman who is now on the biggest stage there is, I would encourage Katy to keep on looking and keep on asking the why questions. Because it may be that what she really rejected was not the life Jesus offers, but a caricature of Christianity that says it’s all about the rules you need to follow. At the end of the day, Christianity best answers the big “why questions” of life.

• Why are we here?


• Where did we come from?


• What is life all about?


• Is this life all there is?

It may be that she is running so hard away from her past that she is not running toward anything. But one day she will stop running away and ask where she is going. I hope and pray that when that day comes she will find the truth that has been there all along—her heavenly Father who created and loves her longs for her to come home. (Luke 15:11-31)​

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Are Christians "stingy" for believing in the cross as a substitutionary atonement for our sins and the reality of hell? Dan Kimball says NO

I came across an interesting article by Dan Kimball in Outreach magazine. Here is a very perceptive excerpt in light of the recent cultural conversation regarding Love Wins by Rob Bell and its impact on evangelism:

Evangelism de-emphasized further. Another critical concern centers on the potential evangelistic ramifications of believing that all are saved (even through Jesus). Some have said that if we even resist the possibility that all are saved in the end, we have a “stingy” view of salvation. I find that comment almost offensive. As I said before, I would love to believe that all are saved in the end. But my personal convictions and years of studying Scripture and church history won’t allow that.

Believing in the cross as a substitutionary atonement for our sins and the reality of hell isn’t “stingy.” It would be if I delighted in the truth that all aren’t saved or became self-focused and didn’t do anything about it. But I and many others want to see God’s forgiveness shared so abundantly with other people that we have devoted ourselves to being on mission. We have started churches, taken risks and given our all to see people experience the grace, love and freedom found in Jesus in this life—and after we die.

Thinking about someone who will not experience being with God in heaven for all eternity grieves and horrifies us. And then motivates us to do something about it. That’s so much of what the church’s mission has been and is about. It’s what you see driving Jesus’ disciples in the book of Acts as they went out to speak about judgment, repentance, being “saved” and explained the Gospel as both kingdom now and future. How would Acts read if the disciples had believed everyone was eventually saved? We do need to study Jesus’ wise words on experiencing the kingdom in this life, but don’t forget that He also talked about judgment and afterlife, as did Peter, Paul, John and the writer of Hebrews. It seems that if the disciples had embraced a universal reconciliation view of everyone being saved, it would have totally taken the steam out of their message of urgency. How would Paul’s famous message at Mars Hill be different if he believed that all those worshipping other gods would eventually be saved in the end?

Read the rest of this article.

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New Research from the Barna Group on the Theological Literacy of the Church

Here is some of the Barna Group's summary on the theological depth and biblical understanding and fidelity of the Christian church:

"The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. What used to be basic, universally-known truths about Christianity are now unknown mysteries to a large and growing share of Americans--especially young adults. For instance, Barna Group studies in 2010 showed that while most people regard Easter as a religious holiday, only a minority of adults associate Easter with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Other examples include the finding that few adults believe that their faith is meant to be the focal point of their life or to be integrated into every aspect of their existence. Further, a growing majority believe the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God's presence or power, but not a living entity. As the two younger generations (Busters and Mosaics) ascend to numerical and positional supremacy in churches across the nation, the data suggest that biblical literacy is likely to decline significantly. The theological free-for-all that is encroaching in Protestant churches nationwide suggests the coming decade will be a time of unparalleled theological diversity and inconsistency."

We have a lot of work to do (Eph. 4:11-16). For the other 5 megathemes from Barna in 2010, click here.

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Recovering the Real Lost Gospel by Darrell Bock

The Gospel is Good News! In Darrell Bock's new book, he provides a rich Biblical and Theological discussion of the Good News. This is a clear, crisp, and deeply biblical discussion of the message our world needs to hear (and only 176 pages!).

"What is the GOSPEL? Perhaps that seems like a foolish question. But Dr. Darrell Bock believes that the modern day Church is confused about what the Gospel really is.

"The gospel represents the Jesus community's core email to the world. Yet when I hear some people preach the gospel today, I am not sure I hear its presentation as good news. Sometimes, I hear a therapeutic call - that God will make us feel better or prosper more. Other times, I hear so much about Jesus paying for sin that the gospel seems limited to transacting debt removal, a kind of spiritual root canal. Still other times, I hear a presentation that makes the gospel seem more about avoiding something from God versus experiencing something with Him. Other presentations make me think Jesus came to change politics in the world. Such political presentations make me wonder why God did not send Jesus to Rome rather than Jerusalem. None of these is the gospel I see in the Scripture, though some are closer than others." - Darrell Bock, Recovering the Lost Gospel"

Check out this brief video:

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I've Got Good News...

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying." - Titus 3:3-8

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Christianity, Politics, and Faithfully Engaging in the Process

Christianity Today Interviews Michael Gerson on Christianity and Politics:

Christians' retreat from American politics would be a mistake, argues Michael Gerson, against those who prefer more behind-the-scenes forms of cultural engagement. As President George W. Bush's speechwriter for five years, and now as senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement, Gerson has seen first-hand how policy has tangible cultural effects. Gerson recently co-authored City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era(Moody) with Peter Wehner and began a one-year fellowship with the ONE Campaign, the Bono-backed nonprofit devoted to funding international aid programs. Gerson will be working on the campaign's religious and conservative coalition on development, disease, and trade issues. "I am not, however, in charge of distributing U2 tickets," he says.

Gerson spoke with CT online editor Sarah Pulliam Bailey about why Christians should remain vigorously engaged in the political sphere.

You gently critique the Religious Right, saying, "The biggest problem with the Religious Right has not been tonal or strategic but rather theological." Could you flesh that out? How might Christians approach politics differently?

We are in a moment of transition. There's a discontent with an older model of social engagement. One reason is tonal. The Religious Right reacted to the aggressions of modernity, to the impression that leading institutions were imposing an alien vision on American society. Its fundraising appeals presented politics through the prism of a bitter divide. It was the children of light against the children of darkness.

Another element is political and strategic. Because it brought many moral concerns to public life, the Religious Right became an appendage of another political ideology: the Republican Party. So you would see voter guides that were not only on moral issues but also on tax policy and missile defense. I am a conservative, but I think the Christian faith stands in judgment of all political ideologies. When it's too closely identified with any of them, it becomes a tool in someone else's power game.

The third element is theological. After 9/11, when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson publicly blamed the suffering of the American people on various American sins, they left out other sins: exploitation of the poor, pride, and vanity. When an American religious leader says that Orlando might be destroyed because of Gay Day, and a hurricane hits Disney World on Gay Day, it seems cruel rather than compassionate.

The book also addresses the underestimated virtues of the Religious Right. The movement led conservative Christians back into social engagement after a period in the wilderness, and it raised issues about the value of human life and the importance of traditional values and family. (read the rest of the interview)

City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era

We need careful reflection and we need faithful action. Voting tomorrow is an important exercise of our civic responsibility and our call to engage as good ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

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Living as a citizen of the kingdom in the city of man

Politics. Few words are more controversial today. How should Christians, who seek to be thoroughly biblical, engage in the arena of politics? Great question. Here are three books to set you on your path and one just came out (City of Man by Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner) with a foreword by Tim Keller.

Here is an interview with Michael Gerson by Hugh Hewitt.

These are challenging days. We need to think carefully and Christianly about how we engage in the public square.

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Muslims Coming to Christ at Historic Rate Evangelists Say

There is a lot in the news right now about Islam and Mosques...so I thought I would share this recent story to remind us that God is powerfully working to draw Muslims to Himself!

"Christians ministering quietly in the Middle East say Muslims are coming to Christ at an unprecedented pace despite intense persecution of those who leave Islam.

"Probably in the last 10 years, more Muslims have come to faith in Christ than in the last 15 centuries of Islam," said Tom Doyle, Middle East-Central Asia director for e3 Partners, a Texas-based missions agency.

A former pastor, Doyle has been to the Middle East around 80 times and last week returned to the U.S. from a trip to Jerusalem, where he said both Muslims and Jews are turning to Christianity.

Earlier this month, more than 200 former Muslims were baptized during a training conference in Europe led by Iran-born evangelist Lazarus Yeghnazar. Brenda Ajamian, a former missionary to the Middle East who partners with Yeghnazar's 222 Ministries International, said the event was unlike anything she'd seen during her years ministering in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.

"That many Muslims who converted to Christ in one place boggled my mind because missionaries have worked in the Arab world and Muslim world generally for years and without much fruit," Ajamian said. "God is at work among Muslims."

Ajamian said she was told at the conference that drug addiction and depression run rampant in many nations, particularly in Iran, where the cleric-led government has attempted to squash pro-democracy movements. "People are so fed up with the kinds of lives they lead. ... They're turning to Christ even in spite of the very real possibility of persecution and death and imprisonment," she said.

Desperation is also a big factor in bringing many Jews to Christ, Doyle said. "In the last 20 years more Jews [also] have become followers of Jesus than in the last 2,000 years of Christianity," he said.

Radio, television and Internet-based Christian programming have been key in evangelizing Muslim nations. Yeghnazar claims more than 3,000 Iranians are converted each month through his Farsi-language television and Internet broadcasts.

And Doyle said Father Zakaria Botross, a born-again Coptic priest, reaches about 60 million people through his television programs broadcast across the Middle East. "The apostle Paul to the Muslims is no question Father Zakaria," Doyle said.

But many Muslim-background believers have said they came to Christ after having dreams and visions of Jesus.

"I can't tell you how many Muslims I've met who say: ‘I was content. I was a Muslim, and all of a sudden I get this dream about Jesus and He loved me and said come follow Me," Doyle said.

Doyle notes that the supernatural is an important part of the Islamic faith. Through the course of his life, Mohammed claimed to have had visions and encounters, particularly of the angel Gabriel.

"God is going into their context," said Doyle. But instead of finding guidance from Allah, Muslims are finding Jesus...." (Read More)

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2010 EPS Apologetics Conference: Set Forth Your Case - Equipping Christians for Discipleship and Evangelism

I want to tell you about an incredible conference you don't want to miss. I have attended this conference several times over the years and was blown away by the quality of training made available. This year I am honored to participate on a panel discussion on apologetics and youth.

"Come for three days and learn from Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Greg Koukl, Randy Newman and twenty-five other influencers in Christian apologetics as they equip you about the issues facing contemporary Christian witness. Enjoy individual plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and panel discussions on cutting-edge issues facing contemporary Christian witness."

View Sessions and Tracks, click here

Here are the Top Five Reasons to Attend:

1. Receive training from nationally-recognized leaders and communicators in prominent areas of apologetics, theology, philosophy, history and science.
2. Grow in confidence in God and the truthfulness of Christianity as a worldview.
3. Catch a vision for how apologetics work and training is fruitful for the local church.
4. Learn how to graciously persuade and compel people to consider reasons and evidences for Christian truth claims.
5. Network and partner with fellow Christian leaders, organizations, teachers, and authors intent on equipping and edifying people to be an empowered witness for God and His kingdom in our communities.

When & Where?

November 18 - 20, 2010
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church
Marietta, Georgia

To register, click here

More information to come soon, but if you can, sign up today. The challenges facing the church today are staggering. Are you ready to respond? (1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3).

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Latest think Christianly Podcast - Spiritual But Not Religious?

CNN recently had an article about the growing number of emerging adults who are self-identifying as a "spiritual but not religious." What does this mean for Christianity and its claim to be Total Truth? Find out on the latest think Christianly podcast.

Click here

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Are You Still Thinking Like a Non-Christian?

Our churches are filled with people who are spiritually born again, but who still think like non-Christians.—William Lane Craig

Pop Quiz: Try to make a list of all the beliefs that you have that the culture around us doesn't. (any difference?)

Could you show someone from the Bible, why the Trinity is important? That Jesus claimed to be the only way to God? Could you tell someone why it is reasonable to believe God exists? If you have been a Christian for longer than a year or two, you can read, and you own a Bible--without trying to induce guilt--the answer ought to be yes.

How are you doing? As Christians, our intellectual habits should be different from those around us. Engage your mind (Luke 10:27; Rom 12:2; Col. 2:8; 2 Cor. 10:3-5)--it is an act of worship. Our world desperately needs thoughtful Christians. You can become one--start here:

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Americans, Truth, and Ice Cream

“Americans think of God, religion, and morals like ice cream and not like insulin. They choose religious views according to tastes, according to what they prefer rather than according to what's true. Non-believers view religion like ice cream. Remarkably, Christians often do the same thing.”--Greg Koukl

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Living in a Postsecular Culture

C. John Summerville, in his book The Decline of the Secular University, makes an important observation about our society:

America is not "secular, but postsecular, by which I mean a situation in which cultural fashion has replaced intellectual argument."

What this means is that people, politicians, and the media operate according to slogans and what is popular and witty, not what is rationally sound or well documented. Our culture feeds on desires and feelings which leaves precious little time for thinking and evaluating. And this is killing us--both personally and as a society.

What we need is a church and a new generation of Christians who are willing to think for the glory of God (Rom.12:1-2).

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To Know and Love God

Theology is very important. What we really think about God is the most important thing about us.

"The study of theology is considered by many to be dry, boring, irrelevant, and complicated. But for those who want to know God, the study of theology is indispensable. The word “theology” comes from two Greek words, theos (“God”) and logos (“word”). The study of theology is an effort to make definitive statements about God and his implications in an accurate, coherent, relevant way, based on God's self-revelations. Doctrine equips people to fulfill their primary purpose, which is to glorify and delight in God through a deep personal knowledge of him. Meaningful relationship with God is dependent on correct knowledge of him.

Any theological system that distinguishes between “rational propositions about God” and “a personal relationship with God” fails to see this necessary connection between love and knowledge. The capacity to love, enjoy, and tell others about a person is increased by greater knowledge of that person. Love and knowledge go hand in hand. Good lovers are students of the beloved. Knowledge of God is the goal of theology."--Erik Thoenness

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Thinking Green — The New Religion

Al Mohler has written an interesting article worth reading...

"The human species is inherently and resolutely religious. The Bible and the Christian tradition affirm this truth, even as we know that the religious impulse can so easily transform itself into idolatry.

Even the most cursory look at the world's cultures will indicate the religious fervor that characterizes humanity. The only observers who seem shocked by this universal phenomenon are the secularists and the prophets of secularization theory who were absolutely certain that religious faith and religious fervor would disappear in the modern world.

Needless to say, it hasn't turned out that way. The theory of secularization is a shadow of its former self. Leading proponents like Peter Berger of Boston University now acknowledge that the secularization thesis was not an accurate predictor of the fate of religious belief in the modern world. The modern world is not secularized. Indeed, many of the most heated conflicts around the world today involve conflicting faiths. As Berger has commented, it turns out that a few European nations and the American intellectual elites are the exceptions, rather than the rule.

And yet, the intellectual elites are not so secular as they believe themselves to be. As it happens, their religion may not be theistic, but it is a religion all the same.

That fact is confirmed in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Stephen T. Asma, a professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, argues that the new religion of many secular folk is ecology. As Asma explains, many secular types suffer from "green guilt."

In "Green Guilt," he writes:

Now the secular world still has to make sense out of its own invisible, psychological drama-in particular, its feelings of guilt and indignation. Environmentalism, as a substitute for religion, has come to the rescue. Nietzsche's argument about an ideal God and guilt can be replicated in a new form: We need a belief in a pristine environment because we need to be cruel to ourselves as inferior beings, and we need that because we have these aggressive instincts that cannot be let out.

Asma rightly notes that Friedrich Nietzsche, the nihilist who famously declared that God is dead, understood that religion was not dead at all. He "was the first to notice that religious emotions, like guilt and indignation, are still with us, even if we're not religious."

These "religious emotions," including guilt, explain why so many..."(for the rest of article)

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"Let’s Talk About Faith" - New York Times op-ed

Ross Douthat has written a very perceptive op-ed piece at the New York Times and is well worth the read regarding faith in the public square (related to Brit Hume's comments and the controversy this has stirred up).

Christians are called to engage our world with the good news Jesus offers. It is either true and the hope of the world, or false and a delusion of great proportions. But Christianity needs to rise to the level of true or false. And we need to talk about it in those terms. Not the neutered and self-referentially incoherent language of "that's just true for me."

I have picked out some especially insightful quotes to consider:

"Liberal democracy offers religious believers a bargain. Accept, as a price of citizenship, that you may never impose your convictions on your neighbor, or use state power to compel belief. In return, you will be free to practice your own faith as you see fit — and free, as well, to compete with other believers (and nonbelievers) in the marketplace of ideas...."

"This doesn’t mean that we need to welcome real bigotry into our public discourse. But what Hume said wasn’t bigoted: Indeed, his claim about the difference between Buddhism and Christianity was perfectly defensible. Christians believe in a personal God who forgives sins. Buddhists, as a rule, do not. And it’s at least plausible that Tiger Woods might welcome the possibility that there’s Someone out there capable of forgiving him, even if Elin Nordegren and his corporate sponsors never do."

"When liberal democracy was forged, in the wake of Western Europe’s religious wars, this sort of peaceful theological debate is exactly what it promised to deliver. And the differences between religions are worth debating. Theology has consequences: It shapes lives, families, nations, cultures, wars; it can change people, save them from themselves, and sometimes warp or even destroy them.

If we tiptoe politely around this reality, then we betray every teacher, guru and philosopher — including Jesus of Nazareth and the Buddha both — who ever sought to resolve the most human of all problems: How then should we live?

It’s reasonable to doubt that a cable news analyst has the right answer to this question. But the debate that Brit Hume kicked off a week ago is still worth having. Indeed, it’s the most important one there is." (read the whole article)

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Brit Hume, Tiger Woods, and Turning to Jesus (a little context)

Well, Brit Hume has lit up the blogosphere and made headlines with (what seemed to be from the clip--just search You Tube) a genuine concern for Tiger's well-being.

Now, from the huffington post, to fox news, to everywhere in between. People are talking about Brit Hume, Jesus, and Tiger. There are lots of things we could weigh in on (e.g., the validity and veracity of his claim? Should it be uttered on the news? If Islam or New Age were commended instead of Jesus, would there be the backlash? All interesting questions.

So....What did Brit Hume actually say?

"Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person, I think, is a very open question. And it's a tragic situation. . . . But the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal, the extent to which he can recover, seems to me to depend on his faith.

"He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.' "

In our increasingly secular and pluralistic society the fact that this was greeted with outrage is unsurprising. But for all those hoping to vilify Brit Hume for sharing what he has found to be true, one should it a least understand some personal context (whether he should have said it or not on a News show, I'll let you decide).

Brit lost a son to suicide in 1998. I can't imagine the pain of that as a father. And in an interview in 2008 when he retired from as Washington Bureau Chief for Fox News, he said:

"I certainly want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died, I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it."

My point is this. Maybe in a moment of candor, Brit was being deeply honest with Tiger. Simply expressing what / who he has found that has changed his life?

....Here is an interesting article from Politics Daily

here is a post by Stand to Reason looking more at the specific claim.

Here is Brit talking later about what he said on Sunday:

Leap of Faith

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California Science Center is sued for canceling a film promoting intelligent design

Here is some of the LA Times article (and more about Intelligent Design "ID" below):

"A lawsuit alleges that the state-owned center improperly bowed to pressure from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as e-mailed complaints from USC professors and others. It contends that the center violated both the 1st Amendment and a contract to rent the museum's Imax Theater when it canceled the screening of "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record."

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the American Freedom Alliance, an L.A.-based group described by senior fellow Avi Davis as a nonprofit, nonpartisan "think tank and activist network promoting Western values and ideals."

The AFA seeks punitive damages and compensation for financial losses, as well as a declaration from the court that the center violated the Constitution and cannot refuse the group the right to rent its facilities for future events.

The AFA had planned an Oct. 25 screening of two films at the Exposition Park museum -- one a short Imax movie called "We are Born of Stars," which favors Darwin's theory; the other, "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record," a feature-length documentary that criticizes Darwin and promotes intelligent design.

Intelligent design is the theory that an intelligent being, rather than impersonal forces such as Darwinian natural selection, is responsible for shaping life on Earth. An overwhelming majority of scientists and science and natural history museums consider the theory of evolution to have been proved beyond a doubt by genetic and fossil evidence. Critics of intelligent design have dismissed it as a superficially scientific cloak for the straightforwardly religious belief known as Creationism that's anchored in a literal reading of the biblical Book of Genesis...." (More)

For more on this story click here.

Just for the record and the 1 millionth time. Intelligent Design is not Creationsim derived from a literal reading of Genesis...well, I now feel better. (they are separate issues)

If you would like to understand Intelligent Design in plain language, see this book by Sean McDowell and William Dembski:



For understanding how to navigate issues of Science and Faith (as well as interpreting Genesis 1-3 and how all that fits with the age of the earth and Darwinian evolution) look no further than Science and Faith: Friends or Foes by C. John "Jack" Collins. (Hebrew scholar and MIT graduate)

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Christian Discipleship of the Mind

I came across this great quote (HT / Apologetics 315)...

"As a disciple, the Christian philosopher is enthralled with Jesus, he trusts Him, and wants everything in his life to enhance Jesus' reputation among the nations. The Christian is here primarily to serve a Name, not to make a name, and the disciple recognizes that in Jesus all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge reside."- J.P. Moreland

Amen.

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