More evidence of the Darwin lobby harming scientific progress

See How biologists who want science to be worth their trouble can free themselves from the Darwin lobby:

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a pro-Darwin lobby group that aggressively opposes creationism ,intelligent design, and even scientific criticisms of Darwinism in biology classrooms. In 2002, the pro-ID Discovery Institute published summaries of 44 articles in scientific journals and books that “represent dissenting viewpoints that challenge one or another aspect of neo-Darwinism (the prevailing theory of evolution taught in biology textbooks), discuss problems that evolutionary theory faces, or suggest important new lines of evidence that biology must consider when explaining origins.” The NCSE then contacted the authors of the articles to ask whether they “considered their work to provide scientific evidence for intelligent design” or “considered their work to provide scientific evidence against evolution.” – (p. 100-101)

Of course, the Discovery Institute never claimed that the 44 articles provided “scientific evidence for intelligent design” or “scientific evidence against evolution” … Nevertheless, the NCSE’s misleading questionnaire evoked angry responses from some of the articles’ authors who were understandably indignant at the suggestion that they were pro-ID or anti-evolution.

Even if critics of Darwinism are explicitly anti-Intelligent Design and/or atheists the Darwin lobby still sees them as enemies and wants to intimidate their research and publications.  Their pathetic, thin-skinned approach gets in the way of real science.

Grudges

John MacArthur noted in a Podcast this morning how we are most like God when we forgive.  Someone once said that unforgiveness is like taking a little poison every day and hoping that it hurts your enemy.

I once held a grudge against my boss’s boss, who I felt had done some serious wrongs to a good friend (among other things).  He was like the pig character in the comic strip and I was like the rat.  He was also a bully to nearly everyone in various meetings, including my team.  I knew how to stand up to him, but others didn’t.  Then one day I realized that I had to let the personal stuff go and just forgive him.  That was liberating.

But with respect to how he treated my team I realized I had a different obligation.  I let him know that his bullying, swearing and yelling were counter-productive to the results we both wanted to achieve because they were stifling discussions.  People were afraid to speak up and solve problems because of his shoot-the-messenger approach. The appeal to his self-interest worked, and he made a surprisingly rapid change in his approach.  And I didn’t get fired!  (I wasn’t a Kamikaze; I let Human Resources and my boss know ahead of time that I was going to confront him.)

Things don’t always work out that well but parsing the issue into the personal (forgive and let it go!) and the professional/ethical (turning the other cheek on behalf of those getting injured isn’t noble) made a huge difference.  God’s approach really works.  Go figure.

This is a sobering passage about unforgiveness:

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18: 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servantfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The longer you live the more things you’ll have to forgive.  If you hold grudges you’ll just become more and more weighed down with bitterness.  Really, let it go.

As MacArthur noted, the sins of others offend God way more than they offend you — just as your sins offend God way more than they offend others.  Let him deal with it.  You’ll love the freedom that comes with forgiving others, and your relationships will improve.

Anyone heard of Renovare’?

I was surprised to see a study group on something called Renovare’ being offered at a local church. I scanned the book they are using (The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows) and it looks pretty creepy. Lots of stuff implying that God will reveal special, individualized messages to you in prayer. He could do that, of course, but I’ve read a bit of the Bible and can’t think of a single passage that hints at that being normative or something we can get on demand. The “still, small voice” was audible — and was given to an Old Testament prophet who had just slaughtered a few hundred prophets of Baal after a dramatic showdown. So if you fit that job description, you too can expect audible messages from God!

One exercise from the book has you read a passage then note any word that “God seems to be emphasizing.” Then you “allow God to reveal to you the significance of this word.” This is bad on many levels. Aside from being un-biblical, it will lead people to think they aren’t really Christian or aren’t as spiritual as others because they don’t get personalized messages from God. Or people will make up some meaning that isn’t there and just fashion a god in their own image. Or they will feel peer pressure to make up something (hey, lying is always good for spiritual growth, right?).

There was lots on lectio divina in the book as well.

Maybe if we just read the 31,173 verses in context and really sought to understand them via normal Bible study techniques we’d be better off. God seemed to be keen on getting what He wanted into the Bible, so perhaps those drawn to lectio divina and Renovare’-type practices should make sure they have all those verses well understood before expecting God to give them something new and personalized.

“Reap the whirlwind”

Without reading further, do you know where the title originated?

One of the many, but admittedly lesser, reasons to read the entire Bible is that there are so many references and sayings that came from it.

Here’s where it came from.  I noticed it again as I was working through my “read the Bible in a year” plan again that I started last September (side note: I’m finally in the minor prophets and Revelation, so I’m almost there!).

For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:7, ESV)

So that verse became a well-known saying, but what was the point of it?  How often, if ever, do people read Hosea?

You can infer from the saying that reaping a whirlwind is probably a bad thing.  But just knowing the saying doesn’t tell you the all-important context.

• Who sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind?  The Israelites.
• What constituted sowing the wind?  Disobeying the true God and worshiping false Gods.
• What did the whirlwind look like?  Disease, destruction, slaughter and captivity.  Pretty gruesome stuff.

Here’s an example from Hosea:

Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute’s wages on all threshing floors. Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. (Hosea 9:1–2, ESV)

The Israelites worshiped and credited the false god Baal for their crops, acting as prostitutes earning their wages.

The false teachers in the church today, along with countless illogical and uninformed people, are fond of saying that all religions lead to God.  But you can’t flip more than a couple of pages in the Old Testament without seeing the recurring theme that the Israelites’ #1 problem was worshiping false gods and that God took that very seriously.  And the New Testament teaches at least 100 times that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  That isn’t what makes it true (his rising from the dead makes it true), but it does mean that it is impossible for Christianity and another religion to both be right on major issues.

Run, don’t walk, from those who teach that we have as much to learn from other religions as they do from us.  There is nothing anyone has to teach us about Jesus that isn’t in the Bible.  These false teachers give warning signs by claiming that other religions are valid, and they teach the opposite of the word of God on truly simple concepts (they think Jesus is pro-choice and supports “same-sex marriage,” among other things).

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13–15, ESV)

The Israelites reaped the whirlwind, and it was spectacularly bad.  Read all the Old Testament and see what I mean.

But Hell will be far worse, and forever.  Repent and believe while you have time.  If you are a believer, warn others of false teachers.

Really, this isn’t from The Onion

See Former Planned Parenthood official to lead attempt to reduce black infant mortality — Given that the #1 cause of death for blacks is abortion and that the abortion rate in the black community is 3x that of whites, the best way for her to help blacks would be to tell her former employer to stop doing abortions.

With the mortality rate for black Wisconsin infants among the highest and most unrelenting in the nation, that state’s largest public university has become co-manager of a $10 million grant to help prevent baby deaths.

Like the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, the Wisconsin effort is “based on the assumption that the problem of African-American infant mortality extends back through the entire life course of African-American females,” said Dr. Philip Farrell, a semi-retired neonatologist, former University of Wisconsin medical school dean and co-chairman of the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families steering committee.

“We’re hoping this investment will allow us to attract and leverage more dollars so that we can support even more interventions,” said Lorraine Lathen, a global health consultant, program leader of the Lifecourse Initiative and the university’s chief partner in the project. “We’re looking at the non-health-related situations that can lead to poor birth outcomes. Our project is really focused on systems change, looking at increasing access to health care for women throughout their life span, not just waiting until they become pregnant.”

“There are multiple causes for the disparity, perhaps a dozen factors that we believe strongly influence pregnancy outcomes,” [Farrell] said, adding that he is encouraged by the present momentum in Wisconsin’s assault against infant deaths.

Missing from that article? Lathen formerly worked as the “vice president of education” at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

This effort to reduce infant deaths is led by a woman who engaged in infant deaths at Planned Parenthood.

. . .

What black women WON’T hear about:

– Planned Parenthood’s role in aborting black babies, who are aborted at four times the rate of their numbers in the Wisconsin population;

- How Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, felt about the black people: “Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated;”

- How abortions increase the risk of low birth weight in future pregnancies by a factor of three, and of premature birth by a factor of two [both factors in infant deaths.]

Confronting fake concerns about religion in the public square

Friendly reminder: Many people advancing liberal arguments will try to dismiss the views of religious people just because they are religious people.  Too often people let them get away with that truly bigoted, prejudiced anti-religious argument.

These responses specifically address the marriage debate, though they also work when they try to dismiss your pro-life or other views that align with your religious convictions.  Feel free to use them as responses when people try to shut you up just because you trust in Jesus.

Here’s why I am free to support real marriage in the public square:

1. That First Amendment thingy.  We’re allowed to let our religious views inform our political views whether you like it or not. It doesn’t inhibit religious freedoms, it protects them.

2. My religion tells me that stealing, perjury, gay bashing and murder are also wrong.  Do you object to me letting those views inform my political views, or just the views you don’t like?

3. Lots of churches are thoroughly pro-gay, such as the UCC and the Episcopals.  I don’t recall you objecting to their advancement of the pro-gay cause.  If you were being consistent and if you really opposed any religious beliefs in the public square, shouldn’t you be objecting to their views just as strenuously?  Why do you just use that argument against views you disagree with?

4. You are begging the question by assuming what you should be proving.  You claim that we are denying “rights” to gays but you must change the definition of the word in question to draw that conclusion.  But the whole debate is whether to change the word and give them a new right.  You cheat and pretend that we’ve already changed the word and given them the right and then insist that we’re denying this existing right.  Sadly, pro-gay apologists commit this fallacy so reflexively that I doubt you realize what you are doing.

Ironically, the “rights” talked is best founded by a Christian worldview.  The Declaration of Independence notes this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

But most of the world – religious or not – doesn’t regard those truths to be self-evident at all.  They make sense in our culture because we are still running on the fumes of Christianity.

5. Did you ever notice how China, the former Soviet Union and other communist countries hold explicitly atheistic views yet all recognize the timeless truth that marriage, by definition, is a union of one man and one woman?  Implying that those who oppose government recognition of same-sex unions are trying to establish theocracies is silly –unless you are trying to claim that atheistic, Christian-hating communists qualify as religious-right Christian extremists.

6. Finally, and most importantly, I didn’t bring up religion.  You did.  I can argue this topic without it — though of course, if you want to know Jesus’ views on it I’ll be glad to share the biblical view with you.

I’ll never look at genealogies in the Bible the same way

I must confess that I find it hard to read through the genealogies in the Bible.  The best I can do is to scan for familiar names.

But I have a new appreciation for them after hearing the President of Faith Comes By Hearing speak at our church last Spring.  He noted how some of the people they take audio Bibles to initially fixate on the genealogies because they are so important to their culture.  Being able to trace ones ancestors is a key to leadership and respect.  When they see how Jesus’ lineage goes all the way back to David, Adam and others, they realize they should listen very carefully to him.  So parts of the Bible we may skim over are very important to them.

More about the Faith Comes By Hearing ministry from a previous post

As I mentioned in my summary of our Kenya mission trip, one of the highlights was taking the Proclaimer audio Bible to the local Christian hospital and churches.  This ingenious device is used to get the word of God out to those who can’t read.  They can be powered by electricity, solar or hand cranked so they can be used over and over almost anywhere.  We took versions in Swahili and English (and are working to get a version in Kimeru, another local language), so they can hear the word in their language.

Faith Comes By Hearing translates the Bible into hundreds of languages in audio form.  Having it translated in writing is important, of course, but when you consider how few people read you realize how important these audio Bibles are.

Last year we took one to Kenya as an experiment.  It was so well received that this year we took a dozen.  As you can see in the video below, my friend Stanley Gitari was eager to get as many of these as possible to get the word out to “all the corners.”  I never get tired of that.