Earth Day 2014 — Conservative environmentalism — seeking balance

Today was Earth Day, 2014. For many, it was a day to celebrate the Earth, to give thanks for its fruitfulness, and to express concern about threats to both the planet and we humans that inhabit it. As a Christian, I also rejoice on Earth Day in the Creator, who has graciously placed us both …

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Do you believe in human rights? Then it makes more sense to believe in God than to believe that God does not exist.

Timothy Keller, in his book The Reason for God, demonstrates that while it is fairly straight-forward to make a religious case for human rights, it has proven very difficult to construct a case for human rights from a purely secular foundation. If the cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all there …

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Rush is wrong — Analyzing Limbaugh’s statement on God and global warming

On August 12, 2013, Rush Limbaugh made the following statement on his radio program: "If you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming." This, of course, is utter nonsense. Unfortunately, millions of American political conservatives and Evangelicals believe Rush is right on just about everything, but Limbaugh is clearly wrong …

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Analyzing an atheist ad campaign

The following item was originally posted in November 2010, and 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. Yesterday, I wrote about a new advertising campaign from Answers in Genesis. In this present …

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Dead Reckoning TV on the renewal of creation

One cannot have a complete biblical doctrine of creation without incorporating what one believes about the future of creation. Some Christians believe in the utter annihilation of the present world when Christ returns; that God will completely destroy Earth before establishing the eternal order. This doctrine can, unfortunately, lead to what some have called "disposable …

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Seeking to blog about controversy with a spirit of grace

Ligonier Ministries has posted an excellent article which can help us think through how to speak and write about issues that are controversial within the Christian church. Some important values as I write articles for The GeoChristian include that I would communicate with grace and humility, that the body of Christ would be edified, and …

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GeoScriptures — Genesis 2:16-17 — The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the fruit of sin

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” -- Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV 1984) According to Genesis, God created Adam and Eve and placed them …

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Around the web 2/18/2013

CHELYABINSK METEOR WAS REALLY AN AMERICAN WEAPONS TEST -- At least according to one Russian politician, as reported at Russia Today: US tested new weapon, no meteor in Chelyabinsk – Russian LibDem leader. Astronomy Picture of the Day has a good video of the meteor. LEAVING THE HATE CHURCH -- Two granddaughters of Fred Phelps---pastor of the heretical "God Hates …

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We were wrong

Here is my belated Martin Luther King Jr. Day post, a quote from How Martin Luther King Jr. Overcame “Christian” White Supremacy by Southern Baptist Russell D. Moore. On the question of civil rights in the American Christian context, there is little question that, with few exceptions, the “progressives” were right, often heroically right, and the “conservatives” …

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GeoScriptures — John 1:1,14 — God in a dot

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. -- John 1:1,14 (NIV 1984) Perhaps one of the most extraordinary claims of the Christian faith is not that God created the universe (many philosophers believe there must be …

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GeoScriptures — Ephesians 4:15 — Speaking the truth in love

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." -- Ephesians 4:15 (NIV 1984) In Ephesians 4:15, Paul calls on Christians to do two things at once. The first of these is that we are to speak the truth. The second is that we …

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Around the web — 5/31/2012

Another rapture prediction! -- Hal Lindsey was wrong (The Late Great Planet Earth). Edgar Whisenant was wrong (88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988), Harold Camping was wrong (his well-publicized prediction of the rapture in 2011). Don't worry, however, because the Bible tells us that the rapture will really be in 2014 or 2015. …

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Does dirt have the same value as a human? Some thoughts on Bolivian Mother Earthism

From FoxNews: U.N. Prepares to Debate Whether 'Mother Earth' Deserves Human Rights Status United Nations diplomats on Wednesday will set aside pressing issues of international peace and security to devote an entire day debating the rights of “Mother Earth.” A bloc of mostly socialist governments lead by Bolivia have put the issue on the General …

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The problem with fanaticism — it’s not what you think

"It's OK if someone is a Christian, as long as they aren't fanatical about it." We all know what they are talking about. Religion is OK to most people (except to Richard Dawkins and kin), as long as people don't get fanatical about it. Fanatics make the news, and it isn't pretty. Fred Phelps and …

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Fifty million little leaguers and pianists later

Almost twenty years ago I got into a discussion about abortion with a female coworker in the break room. I'm not sure how the topic came up; I don't go around looking for controversial topics to debate with my coworkers. She was in her mid- to late-twenties, and like me, was at the beginning of …

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Operation World — missions and the Earth and environmental sciences

One of the most significant influences that directed me into missionary service (my family served with ReachGlobal---the international mission of the Evangelical Free Church of America---from 2002 to 2008) was when we purchased a copy of Operation World back in the early days of our marriage. This book is a day-by-day prayer guide to the …

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