The Association of Religion Data Archives has an interactive map showing the distribution of a large number of Christian denominations and other religious groups over time. Here are three maps showing the growth of my denomination, the Evangelical Free Church of America from 1980 to 2000: Maps are available for many denominations and groups, ranging …
A man who reads
My friend Glenn is one of the smartest people I know. With ACT, SAT, GRE percentiles in the upper 90s (some portions in the 99th percentile), I am an intelligent person. When I am with Glenn, I am reminded that I am only down at the bottom of the 99th percentile, because he outsmarts me …
Third anniversary of The GeoChristian
The first post of The GeoChristian was on March 16, 2006. At first I called the blog The Earth is not Flat, but later changed the name to The GeoChristian. The name GeoChristian indicates two important things about me. The first is my Christian faith, which is a core part of who I am. The …
Thagomizers
I learned something valuable as I was doing a little research for yesterday's post on Stegosaurus. The tail spikes on a Stegosaurus are called "thagomizers." This term comes from The Far Side cartoon, where a lecture in a cave man school states "Now this end is called the thagomizer, after the late Thag Simmons." Thag …
Stegosaurus in Cambodian temple?
Does this carving at the Ta Prohm temple complex in Cambodia prove that dinosaurs of the genus Stegosaurus were still alive in Southeast Asian jungles only 1000 years ago? Some young-Earth creationists think so. An example of a web page dedicated to this is found at Bible.ca: Dinosaurs in ancient Cambodian temple -- Amazing evidence …
Australia flooding images
While the southern parts of Australia have been burning over the past two months, the northern parts have experienced cool weather and heavy rainfall. The following images are of Normanton, Queensland, which has been cut off by flooding for several weeks. The first image is in natural color; the second is enhanced with infrared, which …
Creation Care and Climate Change
There is no inherent reason for a scientist to not be a Christian, nor for a Christian to care deeply about the creation. From the Harvard Divinity Bulletin: The Greening of Jesus by Mark Pinsky. Riding the train down to London last summer, after a two-week fellowship session on science and religion at the University …
Evolution in Texas
From Christianity Today: Darwin Divides -- Christian college professors split on Texas science standards. The state of Texas is working on revising its science education standards, and one of the proposals is to remove a requirement that teachers include weaknesses in the theory of evolution. Christian biology/science professors in the state are divided on this …
Unemployment Map
From the New York Times: The Geography of a Recession. Go to the NYT for some customization options. Grace and Peace
Snow in Georgia; 75 F in Colorado
From NASA's Earth Observatory -- Snow Along the East Coast: It has been in the 65 - 75° F (18-24° C) range here along the Colorado Front Range this week. We've had hardly any snow this winter, which has been somewhat of a disappointment. Grace and Peace
Humor for the week
I was in need of some humor this week. Here are a few things that have made me laugh: 1. Church Reduces Carbon Footprint; Worships in the Dark (from The Sacred Sandwich). Here are a few quotes: In an effort to stem the tide of global warming, Raintree Christian Fellowship began worshipping in the dark …
Required reading for science majors
The geoblogosphere (as well as the broader world of science blogs) has a meme going around: Imagine: YOU are asked to assign a half-dozen-or-so books as required reading for ALL science majors at a college as part of their 4-year degree; NOT technical or text books, but other works, old or new, touching upon the …
Reading — February 2009
Here are a couple books I finished in February: The Bible, Rocks, and Time, by Young and Stearley. This is the best book I've read on the relationship between geology and Christian faith. It is much more than a Biblical and scientific polemic against young-Earth creationism, though that is certainly a big part of the …
Wasteful spending on volcano monitoring?
I did not watch President Obama's State of the Union Address, but the geoblogosphere is abuzz about something Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal had in his Republican Party response: But Democratic leaders in Congress -- they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government …
More Google Earth — Car on side of building
Car on the side of a building, The Hague, Netherlands:
More Google Earth — iPod Indian
Indian with ear buds, east of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada:
More Google Earth — hippos
Hippos in the mud, west of Sitalike, Tanzania: Grace and Peace
Found on Google Earth: Atlantis (no) and pink bunny (yes)
The release of Google Earth 5.0 included better bathymetry of much of the ocean floor. (Bathymetry is the study of ocean and lake depth) Some have claimed that this pattern on the Atlantic sea floor west of the Canary Islands is the ruins of the mythical island of Atlantis. The area is over 100 miles …
Continue reading Found on Google Earth: Atlantis (no) and pink bunny (yes)
Bad arguments for Christianity
C. Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen has 14 Examples of Really Bad Apologetics. There are many good arguments (apologetics) for the truthfulness of Christianity: Historical evidence for the resurrection Historical evidence for the reliability of Scriptures Philosophical arguments for the existence of God, such as the cosmological argument Some of the bad arguments for …
YEC B.S. in geology program
Cedarville University of Cedarville, Ohio has added a Bachelor of Science in Geology program. From the Cedarville announcement: Cedarville University’s Board of Trustees recently approved the formation of the Bachelor of Science in geology degree, set to begin in fall 2009. Faculty will equip students for lifelong scientific leadership in career fields such as hydrogeology, …
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