I’ve recently stumbled across a video series that is well done and insightful in regards to dispelling the theory that certain features of life are irreducibly complex, and therefore, must have been created.  This is an argument that I just  wish that my brothers in Christ would simply give up.  The more I see illogical arguments for the existence of god the more I wish they would just go away.

There is no proof for God, and irreducible complexity isn’t even close to respectable.  If you have not heard of irreducible complexity then it is better if you just don’t, but if you want to, here is a good article on it  Irreducible Complexity.

IC has been put forth to aid in the defense of the bible indicating that the earth is only 10,000 or so years old, or, if it is older, that god designed the life about that long ago.  This Young Earth Creationism (YEC) view is dangerous to Christianity.  It is dangerous because it forces people to believe in something that is contradicted by all evidence here on earth.  I personally believe that the universe was indeed created by god, and he did it roughly 14 billion years ago and has used evolution as his mechanism to create all forms of life.  God is Great!

But this pseudo-science is trying to undermine the majesty of god’s creation by making up arguments that have no basis.  These videos encapsulate many of the best arguments that I have seen against this ill informed approach.

Irreducible Complexity: Cut Down to Size

and

Rebuttals: irreducible complexity

Enjoy.

I have found my beef heaven.  Between my wife and children (five of us, from college to eighth grade) I am the only one still eating beef, and that is quite unfortunate since I have finally figured out how to make roast beef the way I like it.  The way I like it is to resemble rare prime rib, and I had yet to figure that out.  But now I have!

I bought a 4.75 lb rump roast today at the local Food Lion since I did not want to drive the 20 miles to a store with good meat.  Originally I thought that I would get the butcher to cut me some thick cuts of the porterhouse on sale, but when I asked him to cut something thicker than 0.5 inches he said that he already cut all he is allowed to day.  What a shame.

Here is what I found:

• Preheat the oven to 500
• Put the meat in a shallow dish with plenty of garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper
• Cut onion rings and put them on the meat
• Cook the meat for 15 to 20 minutes (about 5 minutes per pound) at 500.
• Turn the oven off, and cook it for another 15 to 18 minutes per pound (Do Not Open the Oven Door!)
• Take it out, let it set for 15 minutes, cut and enjoy!

Now there are a couple of notes here.  First, when I say do not open the oven door, I mean it, do not open the oven door, even for a peek.  The idea is to keep the heat in the oven and let it cook.  I read a bunch of commentary on this approach and see that some people have an oven that automatically starts to vent when you turn it off.  To ward off that problem I just lowered mine to 200 degrees instead of turning it all the way off.

I also made a horseradish sauce to go with it.  A heaping tablespoon of prepared horseradish (not the sauce kind) with another 2 level tablespoons of sour cream, and some dill week works great.

This was absolutely great.  The picture is the one I made tonight.  I wish I would have known how to do this 30 years ago.  Good luck and let me know if you tried it!

Dave

It has been awhile since I have posted, but it has been because I have been busy and not lazy.  As far as thoughts, ideas and Christianity, I have read or am reading a couple of books.

First, I cannot recommend too highly Scot McKnight’s new book, The King Jesus Gospel.  This book largely makes the whole concept of my site irrelevant since it tells the true story of the gospel.  Exactly what I was looking for.

Next, I was intrigued by the historical Jewish approach toward many of our modern problems.  Richard Friedman and Shawna Dolansky have written a very readable book about subjects such as homosexuality, abortion, women, capital punishment and the earth (actually that covers the whole thing).  Their book, The Bible Now looks at the bible in the context of having to make decisions about these issues in today’s environment.  Although there are no new testament considerations since the authors are Jewish, the book is a must read for those of us who want to understand these decisions and absolutely required for those who hope to influence others.

I have also started to study the letter of James.  Although I already had the Tyndale version of the Doublas Moo commentary on James, I was looking for something a bit up to date.  For those who do not know, Moo has written two versions of a commentary on James and apparently I have been reading the inferior of the two.  After talking with appropriate theologians, I got Scot McKnight’s (I really like Scot) fairly recent and quite comprehensive tome on James.  If you want a comprehensive study I highly recommend it.  The historical and biblical research and interpretation is impressive.

I have also been trying to finish Scot’s Community Called Atonement, but that repeatedly goes to the back in light of the more recently publish works.  But it is quite good and recommend it.

I also have read and re-read a couple of times the John Piper response to N.T. Wright’s book on Justification.  The Future of Justification, A Response to N.T. Wright is a Calvinist rebuttal to the new perspective exposition of Tom Wright.  I am not a 5 point Calvinist, actually I am a zero point Calvinist, but I often find that counter arguments to concepts provide good illumination into the context under scrutiny.  In this case I am just further reinforcing my view that the Calvinist movement simply misses the point as to what Christianity is all about.

I have also read twice, Pope Benedict’s wonderfully illuminating book Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.  I know that many of my protestant friends will be reluctant to read  an obviously Catholic book, but it is well worth it.  This book is not full of church dogmatics, rather it is full of substantiated reason and exegesis of the core biblical texts.  Well worth the time.

I also went through N.T. Wight’s Paul for Everyone Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (New Testament for Everyone) with a study group of a couple months and found it amazingly useful.  Reading Tom Wright’s translation of the bible has me waiting eagerly for his new, personal translation.  The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation actually has come out!  As I am writing this I just ordered it, I can’t wait.  (and as I am still writing I got confirmation from Amazon that the book is on its way!)

The reading pile has gotten bigger with various other titles, but the one I most looking forward to is the classic by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.  I am into the first couple of chapters and quite entertained.

I hope you all enjoy some of these as much as I have.

I have had awhile to live with Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins now and am starting to feel comfortable with his message and content.  I am a fan of the audio media since I drive a minimum of one hour a day and try to get 30 minutes of exercise in too.  Along with some lounging in bed, mellowing out while eating lunch at my desk, I am nearly able to knock off his book in a day.  With just a little bit of extra time dedicated specifically to the task and it is a one day deal.

One of the very nice things about Rob’s book on audio is that he narrates the book himself.  I have experienced this in a couple of his other books and admit that it makes the experience quite nice.  Rob is an engaging speaker and his writing in the book reflects his speaking style.  I have read some folks who are rather dismayed about his style in writing, well, I suggest that you try the audio version and you will see why he writes the way he does.

The overall tenor of the book comes across as Rob sharing his view of the nature of God and the implications of that nature in the realm of what happens post-life.  He grounds most of his arguments in the bible, though I agree with some other commentators that he sometimes seems to lack precision in his exegesis.  I am going to withhold a firm conclusion on that until I have participated in some of the debates on the content.

For the most part, I feel he is making a case for a version of purgatory.  Since I was raised in the RCC I am quite familiar with this concept, but apparently there is not widespread familiarity in the protestant circles.  Purgatory is not a mechanism for getting a second chance in the after life.  It is a mechanism for being purged of our sinful selves so that we will better be able to become one with God in heaven.

Rob also makes a big deal in the book about inclusivism.  I certainly would classify myself as an inclusivist in that I don’t believe that someone has to have an overt knowledge of Jesus to be able to end up with God some day.  Look at it this way, if Gandhi, the Buddha, and all people who never had the opportunity to know about Jesus in this life are sent to hell, then I don’t think that fairly represents what is said in the bible.  Please read this section of the Wikipedia article for a compelling list of citations that make the argument for being an inclusivist.

I am especially fond of Rob Bell’s book because it will bring out the conversation of this important topic in churches around the country and around the world.  My Pastor of my last church, Western Hanover Church, refused to allow any topic like this to be discussed in the church and went so far as to kick me out of the church for trying to have a serious conversation about theology.  In his words he would say that theology divides people so we will not discuss theology.  Now that is an exercise in missing the point.  That church is a great example of one of the major points in Rob’s book.  The leadership of that church believes that everyone is going to be taken away to another place after they die, and that it is only people who profess to “believing in Jesus” that are going to go to heaven.  Therefore they refuse to do anything to help the problems in this world.

So I encourage the community of Western Hanover County to buy this book and discuss it!  It is important to the world.  Christianity is not about just sitting back and spending 1 hour a week in a church service, it is about helping our fellow man.

Anyone who knows me will attest of my preoccupation with Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Big Al is a tried and true Calvinist who feels that it is important for all of us to shun anyone who feels the primary message of Jesus is Love, and most particularly to shun the likes of Rob Bell for writing a book released yesterday, Love Wins.

I have not read Rob’s book yet, but in Al Mohler’s blog, he comes down on the side that Rob Bell being a heretic with this book as proof of his slide into liberalism.  Oh my, liberalism.

If you have time, tomorrow March 17, please tune in to hear Al Mohler and his buddies try to show that Love does not win, instead hell and hate do.

In an editorial article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Keith Mitchell talks about being nicer to each other and living the kingdom dream in general.  But there is a problem.

I agree and support what Keith is trying to do here, and agree with nearly everything he says.  Here is how he sets it up:

Has the time I have spent regularly reading through the Bible and praying affected not only how I think, but also how I act out in the world each day? Have I made the right choices? Am I doing what God wants me to do?

We should all definitely take the time to understand what it is that God wants us to do and then do it.  Keith goes on to give good examples of how he needed to improve on his relationships with other people.  A want to give a big Kudos to Keith for taking the lead and talking about this.

But then Keith says:

I believe that the reasons for those occurrences can be summed up this way: As we live out our lives through our faith — mine as a Christian by way of a born-again experience — we are participants in a rehearsal preparing us for the main performance that lies ahead.

Here is where I have a disagreement.

A rehearsal is something that really does not have a lasting impact, it is practice.  But that is not the case in our lives and the world.  Instead we are called to make this life, this One.Life in the words of Scot McKnight (I highly recommend this book), into the kingdom dream of Jesus by following him every day.

While I do understand that Keith is trying to convey that there is a follow on life after we are resurrected, we must not think of this one life as something that does not matter, it matters the most.  It is what we do in this life that says whether we get to the the main production in the end.  This is not something we can mess up and then still perform in the show, we need to get on the right path now.

I am going to document my pursuit of the vegan lifestyle.  For those who know me and my family personally, you will immediately realize that this is a very big deal for me.  Both of my sons and my wife are now vegetarian (well, pescitarian) but I am quite the lover of meat and all things good and tasty with meat and the love of…….I digress.

If you click on the pictures you will get a higher resolution version, and I recommend doing that.

I have bought the book, The China Study which outlines the benefits of going vegan.  Dad is the one who turned me on to the book though he was not even vegetarian at the time.  Now he is giving it the practical (eat non-meat when there are no meat left overs) approach and is having success.  My kids and my wife are quite successful and their endeavor has made me feel that I should do it too.  But I LOVE meat.

I also bought The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Cooking since I need to make sure that I can cook up a good meal for the majority of folks in the house outside of me going down the vegan path.  I must admit, having the financial commitment and the books staring me in the face on my desk has made the desire increase….and become real.

Yesterday was my first try at the vegan lifestyle.  I did OK considering I made it until about 7 pm before I steamed up a pound of shrimp and ate the whole thing with my own cocktail sauce.  Is that really all that bad?  At least that is the worst I did and I consider that a rousing success!

Today I made it until 8:30 at night, at which point I got a piece of processed American Cheeze Product from the fridge and sinfully sat at my desk and enjoyed every blissfully fatted piece of that wonderful…….ah, it was OK

I will write some more in the future about this.  I have a lot of experience to share including an old high school buddy who has written a book on the subject, and the obvious ups and downs of meat eaters and vegans sharing a house.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

I am a bit late to the party since the blow up happened last weekend and I am just getting caught up today, but the debate is not going to be a short term phenomenon.  Rob Bell, Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church (not to be confused with Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill Church) released a video talking about his new book.  Take a look:

That video has caused commotion in the internet world and this subject is destined to be the single biggest evangelical topic for 2011.

Christianity Today published this article about the goings on with Rob Bell and how people are reacting to it.  John Piper issued a short tweet saying goodbye to Rob Bell (it is linked in the CT article).  So what is the big deal?

The big deal is whether everyone can or will be saved.  That’s it.

I can’t wait for Rob’s book to come out and we let the Christian community get involved in the discussion.  This is going to be good.  As far as me, I currently believe that all people have salvation through Jesus and it is not predicated on knowing him.

Dave

Update 1 – Wow, check out this article from ABC. (Is that the same ABC we have in the states?)  It gives you an idea of the magnitude of Rob’s announcement and impact.  Please read it.

I have N.T. Wright’s Paul In Fresh Perspective, audio version, and I have been through it more than 5 times.  Tom Wright is my favorite theologian and he has done so much to expand and explain the Christian faith.

One of the most revolutionary things about Bishop Wright’s discussion of Jesus is how he frames up the gospel.  So here it is, the short gospel per N.T. Wright, I love it.

The good news is that the covenant had been fulfilled and that new creation had begun.  The great apocalypse had occurred revealing Jesus as Israel’s Messiah.  Jesus was, therefore, Lord of the world and Caesar was not.

N.T. Wright, Paul In Fresh Perspective

Dave

I had planned for my next post to be further analysis of my results and start to step into some application of the data to getting along with others.  But, I have hit the mother load in commentary on the research the kind people at Your Morals are doing.  I have added a link to my site and here it is:

the Your Morals Blog.

Remember, the surveys are at http://www.yourmorals.org

Have a great Day.