15 Thoughts to Myself

  1. [While driving somewhere] The radio sucks…. (reaches for Ipod to turn on screamo) . . Ah, much better.
  2. Gosh, I love writing lists. Maybe I should write a list as my blog today.
  3. That’s a great idea, I think I’ll do it.
  4. As of tonight (Friday), I’ll have gone to two big time sporting events in Maryland: An Orioles game at Camden Park and a WNBA Game
  5.  . . . Okay, so maybe as of tonight I’ll still have only gone to one big time sporting event.
  6. I am excited for the NFL Preseason.
  7. Speaking of the NFL, I hope I draft a decent fantasy team this year.
  8. I had fun randomly meeting a graduate professor of at a coffee shop, the other day, and discussing morality, culture, and karma .  . . Was it mean when I said karma was an evil ideology . . . ?  (Shrugs shoulders at self) . . . Nah. . . .
  9. At least in Purgatory, you know what you are suffering for, and are able to think back “Oh, yeah, I do deserve this”  . . But in karma, you have no idea why you are suffering because you can’t remember your past life. . . Gosh, karma IS evil!
  10. I’m glad I don’t believe in purgatory or karma. They’re both evil. Karma is just more evil.
  11. O man, I have lots of lectures to write for my Ethics class, I had better wrap this up soon. . .
  12. [Slurping noise] This dark roast Panera Bread coffee sure is goood. I am glad I get free re-fills.
  13. I wonder if anyone will read this?
  14. I wonder if the people who do read this will think I’m nerdy?
  15. I don’t care if they think I’m nerdy, I had fun.

J Crew Ad: Boy in Pink Toe-nails. Normal?

You have got to see this.

Some phrases thrown around:

  • “neon nails”
  • “gender experimenting, okay”
  • “parents are to encourage exploration”

My questions:

  1. Are gender roles universal (or ‘pre-assigned’)?
  2. Is this harmful to this boy?
  3. Is this harmful to other children who play with this boy? and/or visit their house?
  4. Does God have anything to say on the issue?

(smarter than me) Christians (cont.)

Lately, I have spent my Friday nights playing some Church-league softball which has been a ton of fun. But due to the rainy weather this week, tonight our games were cancelled. (insert sad face here ____)

So, here’s how my night went:

  • 5:45 pm Finished writing my 3 exams I’m giving next week in class
  • 7:20 pm Went to Tendo Buffet (sushi and Chinese food)
  • 9:00 pm Got home, read some “God Delusion”  by Richard Dawkins and wrote about a page critique (after reading 6 pages in his chapter on Old and New Testament morality)… this could turn into a future essay project for my students–yes, two birds one stone!
  • 11:00 pm-present Listened to one of my new favorite speakers: Dr. William Lane Craig

Craig is a professor of Philosophy at Talbot Seminar in Southern California. He has authored or edited several books and has publicly debated Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens–two leading atheists of our day, known as the “New Atheism”. (The Sam Harris debate can be found here) The man is basically a genius and I unconditionally accept anything he says as true :)

The lecture on logical arguments  for the existence of God can be found here (this is what I listened to tonight…. well, then I moved onto to re-watch his Harris debate). His cosmological argument is the only one he addresses here. But, I would HIGHLY recommend any of his other teachings you can find (literally hundreds of them on Youtube), especially his debate with Sam Harris that I will again recommended below:

In my Apologetics class, we watch his debate with Christopher Hitchens. Afterwards the students ask things like “Was that the best atheist they could find?” because Craig wins so soundly.

I’m not exaggerating when I say the man is an atheist killer, but in the politest sense, of course. (If anything, in my opinion, he is too humble and nice to his opponents–but you can judge for yourself)

New Books: Current and Summer Reading

Don’t we all want to go deeper?

Whether it be unanswered questions about our faith or generic topics in culture, God has placed within us all (even those who deny his very existence) an intellect . Sadly, some, hindered by the education process itself (high school), never discover their true passion for learning. Others of us possess an unquenchable desire to question the norm and think critically about–well, everything.

As I go deeper into my field of theological education, I am finding more topics that I have always, or somewhat recently, found a curiosity for:

  1. Morality
  2. Politics
  3. Theology and Apologetics (surprised?)

So, to take me deeper in these topics, I’ve hired a few personal ‘tutors’.

No, these aren’t actual teachers, but they are teachers. Confused?

I’m talking about books.

Here’s a list of books I’ve recently purchased to take me deeper in the above 3 topics…

  1. Morality: Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Cope and Introduction to Christian Ethics by Samuel Wells and Ben Quash
  2. Politics: Politics According to the Bible by Wayne Grudem
  3. Theology and Apologetics: Evil and Resurrection by NT Wright

Okay, so the last two are DVD’s, but come on, who says a good documentary can’t be fulfilling and save you weeks of time? Especially since NT Wright authors books the size of cement blocks!

Well, I just thought I would share my current and summer reading with ya’ll.

What’s on your reading lists?

(smarter than me) Christians (cont): John Lennox

Last week, I began a introducing my blogging friends (that’s YOU) to some Christian thinkers that I have learned a lot from.  You could say, these are my “heroes” of the faith.

In my last post, I introduced Francis Collins, former lead of the Human Genome Project.

In this post, I want to introduce Professor of Mathematics and Science at Oxford University, John Lennox.

John Lennox holds three–count ‘em, three–Ph.D’s.

Yeah, he’s basically the man.

Skeptics of Jesus who argue that Christians are irrational people who blindly believe religious claims: (1) probably have not had an intelligent conversation with a true Christian–which I apologize for, and (2) has never encountered Dr. Lennox.

Similar to Francis Collins, I think he’s awesome.  Judge for yourself.

Francis Collins: Agree to Disagree

Earlier, I posted two videos on Francis Collins: his testimony and how his doubts drive him to maintain a vibrant walk with the LORD. I find his view on doubts helpful.

Despite being an incredible source of encouragement to me intellectually, I find some of Collins’s views to be curious, and at times, theologically problematic.

Here’s an interview in which he is asked several questions about his belief about mankind and evolution written about in his book “Language of God”.

Judge for yourself.

(Smart Christians) Francis Collins: His Story and Doubts

People are often times led to believe they either must be a “science person” or a “religious person”. I find such a claim to be rather disturbing.

After examining my faith over the years now, I have found that some of the most articulate and intelligent people, defying the stereo types, are in fact Christians. As I stumbled upon considerable doubts, these people have been a blessing to me in my own journey, leading me as a guide through my faith-walk.

In these next few blogs, I want to introduce you some of these people in hopes that they would be a blessing a source of encouragement.

First is Francis Collins. He was the lead-scientist for the Human Genome Project–aka he’s super brilliant. Below is his testimony of faith in 3 minutes and then his struggles with doubt.

The Bible is not a “Love Letter”

We’ve all heard it, multiple times from multiple speakers at multiple conferences. We’ve all read it in devotionals and heard it in sermons. You know what I’m talking about.

When someone passionately desires their audience to read the Word they often times use this phrase as motivation:

The Bible is God’s love letter to man.

Now, I’m not against love. But, I am against false advertisement. Let me explain.

With this statement, Christians are being led to believe that when they open up the Scriptures they always will receive kind, even romantic words from God. These words should produce, we rightly conclude under such misleadings, eewy gooey, overflowing feelings of happiness and joy.

However, can you read the many all-too graphic words in Scripture and still feel such a way?

A lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.  [7] “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores.  [8] They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.  [9] Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? (Jeremiah 5:6-9 ESV)

How about this one:

[4] “You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return?  [5] Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.  [6] I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.  [7] Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the LORD.

[8] “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.  [9] The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them? (Jeremiah 8:4-9 ESV)

I’ll refrain from mentioning the torture of the wicked, overseen by Jesus himself, as penned by the Apostle John in Revelation 14. That would be too overwhelming for one blog entry.

After hearing such “eewy gooey” words, note how Jeremiah the prophet responds:

[18] My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. (Jeremiah 8:18 ESV)

Might I suggest that Jeremiah properly understood these words from God. And, his proper understanding did produce an emotional response. However, it was emotion of grief–not the emotion of love.

When we hear the devastating Word of God, we too should grieve.

Am I saying that God does not write these words with a motivation of love for his people? No. I think that is clear from the first 5 chapters of Jeremiah’s book.

But, and I see this happen all the time, we cannot simplify the complexity of God into a single attribute of love. He has other attributes too. In the passage above we see God’s holiness and wrath (intense hatred of all sin).

What arouses this response from God? Not the obedience of his saints–that produces affection and faithfulness. It is unrepentant sin. This is what causes God great anger and serves as motivation for his eventual punishment via exile of Israel. (note: exile was when Israel was attacked by a powerful army, slaughtered in mass numbers, their cities were ruined, and afterwards essentially reduced to prisoners of war forced to live in a foreign country against their own will–not exactly “lovely” in my opinion.) :)

So . . . it seems, when put to the test, “The Bible as a love letter” does not account for the complexity of abrasive truth and occasional violence (I did not even mention Joshua’s holy war, David’s adultery, or Absalom’s hanging from a tree) found in the Scriptures. On this note, as it has been said before, unlike most PG or PG-13 chick flicks, the Bible, if a movie, would receive the “R” rating for its offensive content.

Therefore, let me see if I can’t put forward a better, more comprehension way to describe the amazing truthfulness of God’s Word to our people:

The Bible is prophetic.

This summary statement allows for both God’s rebuking of injustice and sin and the affirmation he gives to those characterized by heartfelt obedience.

At times, the Bible should break our hearts, and like Jeremiah, cause us to weep over our sin, the sins of our families, nation and friends as we see the perfect faithfulness and purity of God who offers himself in covenant to all people.

At other times, it should comfort us immensely.

Perhaps my next post should explain the comfort we can receive from God’s Word. . . ? :) Or maybe you’ve  been overloaded by sermons and  devotionals on that one already. Let me know.

Movie Review: Adam

(Semi-spoiler)

“To be loved is wonderful, but to love is a necessity”

Adam suffers from Asperger Syndrome.

When a pretty teacher, Beth, moves into his apartment complex, their interactions begin rough, due to Adam’s unusual social behaviors–caused by his disorder.

Despite being reluctant to get involved in typical commercial movies, I admit I pleasantly walked this emotional staircase.

Now that he is without his father, Beth unassumingly commits to helping Adam. Yet, beyond his first love–the natural sciences–Adam struggles to understand Beth and any true complexities of being.

As the plot unfolds, a couple interesting questions linger:

  1. Is everyone capable of love?
  2. In what way is love connected to necessity?

The first is posed to the audience–well, at least, it was something I walked away wondering–as hopelessly-literal Adam struggles to interact with people in a meaningful way.

The second seems to be answered by the movie indirectly, although its implications, in the end, are rejected (by who, I will not say–text me for the spoiler :) ).

As the movie winded down, I confess my restlessness. My desires were left unfulfilled as the strings were left untied.

However, when I find myself feeling this way, I know I just experienced a worth-while movie.

If, like me,  you desire a thoughtful collection of dialogue, characters with depth, even if their flaws lead to their own unraveling, I would commend “Adam”.

Why did do Jesus the things he did?

What did it mean when Jesus said “your sins are forgiven, now go show yourself to the priest”? The first part I think we understand pretty well, the second part is clouded in 2nd Temple, Jewish culture.

What did it mean when Jesus cleansed the Temple? Most would say it’s because he was against the commercialized business. Is there a different or additional reason?

NT Wright, ancient historian and former Anglican Bishop, offers clarity on the topic.

If nothing else, you’ll at least enjoy his accent. I’m sure of it.