The following item was originally posted in February 2007. I have added it to 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 (sometimes with a little editing). We often hear about "the scientific method." It would be better …
Month: February 2011
Skepchick
An atheist writer has an entry on her blog today about The GeoChristian (see Skepchick: Genesis and Geology). She obviously has more readers than I do, and she has sent them in droves to click on "Myth" on my Understanding Genesis 1 poll. Skepchick started her blog entry by saying some nice things about me …
YEC college scores #1 in academics
A week ago I blogged about the possible link between creationism, home-schooling, and apostasy. I am the first to admit that my hypothesis that there is a link between creationism and apostasy (falling away from the faith) was anecdotal, and I am pleased that there are many home-schooled kids raised on young-Earth materials come out …
Video: star size comparison
From Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 22, 2001: Star Size Comparisons The video ends with the statement, "No, you are not the center of the universe!" That is true, but I like what John Piper has said about this fact in his book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ: Sometimes people stumble over this …
John MacArthur on the age of the Earth and theistic evolution
Influential Reformed blogger Tim Challies recently interviewed the popular pastor and radio Bible teacher John MacArthur (5 More Questions with John MacArthur). One of the questions had to do with creation, evolution, and the age of the Earth: One pressing issue in the church today is that of creation and evolution. Do you believe that …
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An example of the difference Christianity makes in the world
From Movements.net by Steve Addison: India Christianity made it to India during or soon after the apostolic age. There is good reason to believe it was the Apostle Thomas who brought it there. There have been followers of Jesus in India for 2,000 years. Today Christians account for less than 3% of the population, but …
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The doctrine of creation before Westminster and before Darwin
Young-Earth creationists commonly assert that until the 1700s, the almost universal interpretation of Genesis 1 was six consecutive literal 24-hour days about 6000 years ago. They say that the only reason that Christian scholars since then have suggested alternative interpretations was because they have sought to impose science on Scripture. Justin Taylor, on his Between …
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Two quotes from H.G. Wells
I recently read two quotes by H.G. Wells, one written before World War II, and the other after. Can we doubt that presently our race will more than realize our boldest imaginations, that it will achieve unity and peace, and that our children will live in a world made more splendid and lovely than any …
The ESV Study Bible on creation — Dinosaurs in Job?
The ESV Study Bible is a theologically conservative Evangelical work, and is certainly one of the most comprehensive study Bibles ever produced. It has been out for only three years, but it looks like it will be a highly influential reference work for decades to come.One potential positive impact of the ESVSB relates to its …
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Spending priorities
What should Congress cut? According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, American Evangelicals are most likely to favor reducing funding for the following items in the federal budget: Aid to the world's poor Unemployment Environment Health care Scientific research Aid to U.S. poor In each of these cases, Evangelicals were more likely than non-Evangelicals …
Antarctic ice cores: a window to ice age climate change
American researchers have completed the second deepest Antarctic ice core ever drilled. Analysis of dust and entrapped air bubbles give a picture of the Earth's atmosphere and climate over the past 100,000 years. From the National Science Foundation: Ice Cores Yield Rich History of Climate Change -- Research project completes drilling for the year, reaching …
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Less oil and more oil
Two petroleum articles from Yahoo News... The first article is about declining petroleum outputs from Saudi Arabia: WikiLeaks: Saudis running out of oil The latest startling revelation to come via documents leaked to Julian Assange's muckraking website and published by The Guardian should give pause to every suburban SUV-driver: U.S. officials think Saudi Arabia is …
Creationism, home schooling, and falling away from the Christian faith
Warning: the following statement is anecdotal and not the result of any sort of formal research: Christian kids who are home schooled all the way from pre-school through high school are only about fifty percent likely to retain their Christian faith once they finish high school. As I said, this "statistic" is not the result …
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Romans 14:10-12 and the age of the Earth
Romans 14 is primarily about how Christians should handle differences over "disputable matters" (v. 1, NIV 1984). In this chapter, the apostle Paul writes about issues that were important to the church of the first century A.D., such as dietary questions and observance of special days, such as the Sabbath. Paul urged the believers to …
Christianity Today 2011 Book Awards
Christianity Today has released its book awards for 2011 (meaning, of course, books that came out in 2010). I haven't read a single one of them! Do you have any suggestions for one that I really ought to read? Or are there any that you really liked or disliked? Some of the books listed here …
Poll: Understanding Genesis 1
Welcome readers from Skepchick. I invite you to look around; a good place to start would be my Best of The GeoChristian page, which is only partially complete.There are newer posts beneath this one. Ever since eighteenth century geologists suggested that the Earth might be older than 6000 years, Biblical scholars have attempted to reconcile …
What one thing bothers me most about the world?
I was recently asked, "What one thing bothers you most about the world?" Here was my reply: The world isn't the way it is supposed to be. Rather than being a place of beauty, peace, and abundance, it is a place of desecration, conflict, and poverty. What bothers you most about the world? Grace and …
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Snow day and snow maps
The mega-storm that has affected over 100,000,000 people in the United States turned out to be somewhat wimpy here in St. Louis. At our house we got lots of rain, then about 0.25 inches of ice, followed by two inches of sleet, topped by a few inches of snow (hard to tell exactly how much …
New England under water
From the ESRI Map Book Online volume 25: What if all the polar ice melted? The description from the ESRI Map Book: This map is a depiction of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts/Cape Cod inundated by a 67-meter (73-yard) sea level rise resulting from a total melting of the polar ice caps. Although an unlikely …