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Showing posts from August, 2009

God Is

God’s existence has long been debated. Atheists and Christians alike argue forcefully for their position, but the argument I will give in this post is one of the arguments I find convincing. In fact, this argument has never been adequately answered. This post is my ‘spin’ on an argument put forth by both William Lane Craig and James Patrick Moreland , among others. God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. This is foundational for a popular argument for God’s existence. Reason demonstrates that something in the past must have always existed. It is not possible to count to the end of the series of real numbers. You can always count one more. It is an infinite series of discrete things. You can’t count to the end of a series like that. It has no end. There is always one more. Let’s assume the common understanding of time as an example (please see the note at the bottom on time). It is just as impossible to reach the end of time as it is to count to the end of a series of real numb

Under the heading “I can’t believe it’s true”

Bioenergy will be used to fuel a coal power plant . I sure hope this works. Reminds me of the Mad Max movie “ Beyond Thunderdome .”

To Digress - The Health Care Crisis and Individual Choices

I have followed with interest the news stories regarding the current ‘health care crisis.’ Some examples of the better articles are here , here , here , and here . Efforts to blame some group or the other abound. But I blame us. If we all lost some weight there would be a clear reduction in the health care costs currently experienced. The same is true for smoking, alcohol / drug abuse, high salt diets, not exercising, etc. One article makes it clear: If people would just do four things -- engage in regular physical activity, eat a healthy diet, not smoke and avoid becoming obese -- they could slash their risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke or cancer by 80%, a new report has found. But less than 10% of the 23,153 people in the multi-year study -- published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine -- actually lived their lives this way. Like it or not, our lifestyle choices are fueling the medical care crisis. It’s our fault. There must be some individual responsibility, o

The Gospel, The Spiritual Gift of Hospitality, and Crime

Today’s BreakPoint commentary by Prison Fellowship Mark Early tells a story that speaks clearly to the best answer to our crime problem. Here’s the conclusion: And as we go about doing what God commanded—visiting those in prison and sharing the good news—it won’t just make a difference in private attitudes, but in public safety. So that the next time [criminals and victims] meet, it can be across the pew instead of across the barrel of a pistol. BreakPoint links to related news stories here and here . It sounds trite, but we must share the gospel, or they may kill us .

Contextualization – A Dirty Word?

The Resurgence has an article on a church planted by a man who is quickly becoming one of my heroes: Tim Keller. He planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church , a body of believers in the heart of New York. His address to the Desiring God conference on The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World is an good treatment of the controversial subject of contextualization. You can find a good summary of his approach here . Some Tim Keller quotes to inspire discussion: Contextualization is not giving people what they want. It is giving God’s answers (which they probably do not want) to the questions they are asking and in forms they can comprehend. 'Contextualization' is unavoidable. You yourself have 'incarnated' Christianity into a culture. As soon as you choose a language to preach in and illustrations and humor--you've contextualized. You are 'closer' to some people and 'farther' from others. And it is also right to have a heart for a certain p