Welcome to The GeoChristian. Out of over 600 posts on my blog, this one on demotivational posters is the one people find most often via search engines. The purpose of The GeoChristian is twofold: 1. To enhance science literacy within the Evangelical Christian community. 2. To present a Biblical Christianity that is hostile to neither …
Month: November 2007
Stem cells from adult skin cells
This is very important news. After years of having abortion advocates and liberal politicians pushing embryonic stem cells on us---despite the greater promise all along of other stem cell techniques--- researchers have found a way to coax human adult skin cells to become stem cells. This takes care of both the ethical problems of using …
For the Beauty of the Earth — Chapter 5
Chapter 5 of For the Beauty of the Earth, by Steven Bouma-Prediger is called "How should we think of the earth? A theology and ethic of care for the earth." The most promising ecological ethic is one that asks not primarily, What do we need to do? but Who do we need to be? Neither …
BCA Seniors’ Personal Mission Statements
The seniors at Bucharest Christian Academy recently wrote personal mission statements, some of which are posted on BCA's Virtual Refrigerator site. Here is my oldest son's statement: Click here to see more statements. Grace and Peace
An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything
In Physics, we just finished a unit on Einstein's special theory of relativity. Relativity is counterintuitive at first, but most high school seniors can grasp the basic concepts once some groundwork is laid. After going through time dilation, length contraction, the twin paradox, and E=mc2, we took three days to watch "The Elegant Universe," a …
Continue reading An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything
Mass Movement Videos
I'm doing a section on mass movement in Earth Science, and showed a couple videos to introduce the topic: Landslide -- someone knew this one was coming, and were ready with cameras. Colorado debris flow -- a mixture of rock, soil, and water after heavy rains. Grace and Peace
Venus — Lightning, Solar Wind
The European Space Agency has animations of lightning on Venus and the interaction of Venus' atmosphere with the solar wind. Grace and Peace
Google Maps — Terrain
Google maps (maps.google.com) has added a "terrain" option. Until now, one could view maps, aerial images, or both together. Now there is a terrain option, which allows viewing of a shaded relief map. It looks pretty good; my only complaint is the green-yellow-brown-white color scheme they included with it. When viewing maps at a state-wide …
For the Beauty of the Earth — Chapter 4
Chapter 4 of For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care by Stephen Bouma-Prediger is called Is there a connection between scripture and ecology? --- Biblical wisdom and ecological vision. Some lessons from Genesis 1-2: God is the creator of all things. Humans are given the delegated, royal responsibility of ruling …
Lynn White on Francis of Assisi
In my previous post, I referred to Lynn White's 1967 essay "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis." Here is an extended quote from the end of the article regarding Francis of Assisi: Possibly we should ponder the greatest radical in Christian history since Christ: Saint Francis of Assisi. The prime miracle of Saint Francis …
For the Beauty of the Earth — Chapter 3 — Complaint #4 and “Some Better Explanations”
"The ecological crisis is the fault of Christianity." I'm continuing to read For the Beauty of the Earth, by Stephen Bouma-Prediger. The fourth complaint against Christianity given by environmentalists is that because the Christian worldview is largely responsible for the rise of science and technology, Christianity is to blame for the ecological crisis that is …
Woolly Pocket Change?
A few weeks ago I noted that the Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a series of $4 coins for collectors featuring dinosaurs (click here). They have also minted a one ounce platinum coin with a face value of $300 with a picture of a woolly mammoth. You better order it soon, however, as they only …
Cool Ski Areas
It is time to start thinking about snow. Famous paintings of ski areas, produced for use as the base for trail maps, can be found at James Niehues -- Resort & Panoramic Illustrator. This image is of Vail, Colorado Grace and Peace
Sand Sculptures
Cool sand sculptures. Grace and Peace
Giant’s Causeway
A cool geology picture: Giant's causeway is a feature along the coast of Northern Ireland with hexagonal columns of basalt. Columnar basalt is common, and forms when a lava flow contracts as it cools, forming polygonal columns. These are usually six-sided, but the columns can have anywhere from four to eight sides. Wikipedia article on …
Wiping away environmental guilt
From grist.org: The Wipe Stuff: Which recycled TP brand is best? We wipe away all doubt. Deciding what kind of toilet paper to buy is a delicate issue. Perhaps most significantly because you want to protect those delicates---but what about this delicate planet of ours? According to the NRDC, if every household in the U.S. …
For the Beauty of the Earth — Chapter 3 — Complaint #3
I'm continuing my summary and review of For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care by Steven Bouma-Prediger. The third reason that many environmentalists blame Christianity for the ecological crisis is eschatological: If this world is going to burn, why take care of it? If Jesus is coming back soon, why …
Continue reading For the Beauty of the Earth — Chapter 3 — Complaint #3
Geologic Map of Montana
The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology has produced a new geologic map of the state. I own a very worn-out copy of the previous edition, which was published in 1955. The geology of the state hasn't changed since then, but our understanding of the state's geology has grown considerably in a half century. The …
Where in the Bible World? #1
I'm re-focusing my "Where in the World?" Google Earth search on Biblical locations for a while. Where in the Bible world is this? How did this peninsula form? Grace and Peace
Unicorns, the Bible, and education
This item was originally posted in November, 2006. It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have new readers of The GeoChristian, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my favorite blog entries. This entry about "unicorns in the Bible" points out the silliness of some arguments against the reliability …
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