God Bless South Africa

I just returned from a breathtaking adventure in South Africa, participating in an apologetics conference at Kerksondermure with other apologists from Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlote, NC, and having the opportunity to speak in several schools (the university in Potchefstroom, and Johannesberg Bible College) and other venues. During my stay, I had the wonderful priviledge of staying with a family who took me in as one of their own. Besides the apologetics work that I was there to do, my host family took me to Pilanesberg to experience quintessential Africa. We saw rhinos, zebras, elephants, giraffs, a cheetah, and more of Africa’s exciting wildlife in their natural habitat. More later . . .

Me and Mr. TE: A Discussion Hovering Around Theistic Evolution

The following is the better part of several email exchanges I had with a Christian (Mr. TE) regarding the issue of theistic evolution (TE). We enter the exchange with Mr. TE responding to an earlier email of mine in which I reject TE. I sent a more lengthy reply to him. Mr. TE responded to several points in my reply. I then rejoin his response.

 

Mr. TE’s first argument:

Richard, How can you dismiss TE as wrong when the most prominent and accomplished authorities in the field in Christendom, namely Behe, Collins and McGrath, all agree on the factual nature of common descent? By what authority do you dismiss their testimony? Surely you must admit that they collectively know something about this issue and that it should be looked into. Granted

Ladies and Gentlemen, Norman Has Left the Planet.

I don’t know where I was when the news broke. I’m embarrassed to admit that it took me months to discover that the sad (for us) event had even taken place; and then it was only accidental. Larry David Norman, truly Christian rock’s greatest composer, went to be with the Lord February 25, 2008, at the young age of 60. Visit http://www.larrynorman.com/ for all things Norman. God bless his ministry for all it has done. He touched many lives for Christ, including mine.

Hypocracy at the University of Georgia

We’re supposed to believe that the reason the faculty and others at the University of Georgia are concerned with having Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as this year’s graduation speaker is that it sends the wrong message after a year of sexual harassment episodes at the school. Presummably this is because the issue of sexual harassment was raised during Justice Thomas’ comfirmation hearing when allegations of sexual harassment were leveled against Thomas by Anita Hill. We have a word where I’m from for such absolute bilge and nonsense, but I won’t polute my blog with any vulgarity. Here’s what I believe. The faculty and others who express such concerns are either hypocrites or are living in self-deception. Why? Ask yourself: Would these same people express such concerns and opposition if Bill Clinton was to be the graduation speaker even though there is exponentially more evidence that Bill Clinton actually engaged in sexual harrassment than Clarance Thomas? To ask the question is to answer it. QED

Constitutional Rights?

One of the phrases that I’m trying to purge from my vocabulary is the phrase “constitutional right.” You hear a lot of people talk about their own “constitutional rights.” The problem with this type of talk is that, in a very important sense, there are no such things as constitutional rights. This type of speaking conditions people into wrongly thinking that their rights are somehow grounded in the Constitution and arise therefrom. This is a dangerous way to think. If it is the case that a right is grounded in the

Dawkins’ COMA

Regarding the relationship of science and religion (as generally deliniated) Stephen Jay Gould, Alister McGrath, and Richard Dawkins serve as good illustrations of three positions taken. Gould was a palentologist from Harvard. He proposed the concept of NOMA which stood for “non-overlapping magisteria.” The idea is summarized by Gould: “We may, I think, adopt this word and concept to express the central point of this essay and the

The University of Common Sense

The Atlanta area is blessed to be able to hear the wisdom and common sense of Herman Cain on WSB 750 New/Talk each weeknight from 7 to 10 Eastern Time. Occasional, Herman’s wisdom and common sense is augmented by his callers. Tonight, that wisdom came through the voice of a caller named Michele who lamented the fact that, while many complain about the climbing price of gasoline, not enough people are likewise lamenting the fact that our Democrat-controlled Congress is about to let the Bush tax cuts expire and are also planning on adding to that climbing gasoline price by tacking on additional gasoline taxes (both of which will hit our wallets worse than the gasoline price increases alone). Herman observed the syndrome that plagues too many Americans, viz., out of sight, out of mind. It’s apparently not immediately obvious to the average American (and too many don’t play close enough attention) that this is what the Democrat-controlled Congress has planned for us. This ignorance reminds me of the guy who commented that he wasn’t worried about taxes because he wasn’t paying any taxes this year. Why? Because he was getting a refund! Heaven save us from such ignorance.

Forty-Two Years Ago Today

I remember being in the our front yard one afternoon after school on Marwood Dr. in Jackson, MS. One of my older brothers had had his telescope out looking at the cloud formations. It began to rain so my brother scooped up his telescope and he and I ran into the house. I sat down to watch television. It was about 4:30. We had a window over the kitchen sink that looked out into our carport. Suddenly, the rain and wind became so intense that

Thank God for William F. Buckley, Jr.

I must add my voice to the chorus that is celebrating the life and contributions of William F. Buckley, Jr. I had the honor in a receiving line of meeting, shaking the hand of, and getting the autograph of Mr. Buckley when he came to lecture at a university near my home town. By this time, he had been one of my heroes for years. I watched “Firing Line” every chance I got. Thank you, Mr. Buckley, for giving conservatism one of its most formidable voices of rationality and defense. Thank you, Lord, for sending Mr. Buckley our way. May his legacy be carried on.

Neutrality vs. Hostility

I caught the tail-end of a news story on the radio that said that the term ‘God’ had to be stricken from some web-site (according to someone) because of the government’s neutrality on religion. Presumably, the web-site was operated by some government entity in the US. I wondered why government neutrality regarding religion required that the term ‘God’ could not be used on its web site? Is not the government neutral with respect to race? Does this mean that the term ‘African-American’ cannot appear on a government web site? Is not the government neutral with respect to gender? Does this mean that the term ‘woman’ cannot appear on a government web site? What makes religion so different? If it’s not the notion of neutrality, then why base the argument on that? Could it be that the government is not neutral but rather is hostile with respect to religion? As Arsenio Hall used to say “Things that make you go hummm.”