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 …
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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 …
More Conservative Environmentalism: Newt Gingrich
A book on the environment by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (and Terry Maple): A Contract With the Earth. I haven't read it yet (unlikely to be in bookstores in Bucharest any time soon) but it looks like a good read. Here is the beginning of chapter one, which is on Amazon's site: …
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A new world atlas: “Our Dumb World”
From The Onion: Our Dumb World: Atlas Of Planet Earth Misunderstand Your World. Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas Of The Planet Earth is destined to become the most important book of the new century—perhaps the most indispensable volume in your home reference library. In fact, go ahead and throw all of your other books …
Pollute the air, God doesn’t care
My previous post was about Chuck Colson's "Breakpoint" radio broadcast for today: Just Do It: Good Stewardship and Global Warming. In this broadcast, he refers to a disagreements among Texas Baptists regarding the construction of coal-fired power plants in their state. A pastor was quoted as saying: The pastor, in turn, assures [an opponent of …
More Conservative Environmentalism
Today's "Breakpoint" radio commentary by Chuck Colson is Just Do It: Good Stewardship and Global Warming. Colson is looking for common ground among Evangelicals: We evangelicals are so busy disagreeing with each other that we have lost sight of what can agree on:” good stewardship of the earth. Amen. Even in areas where there is …
Compassionate Environmentalism vs. Plunder the Earth
There is a growing awareness among Evangelicals of the importance of environmental issues. There are good Biblical arguments for the importance of taking care of the creation as part of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Increasingly, this is true among politically conservative Evangelicals; it …
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Geometry Movies
There are two types of people in the world: those who preferred geometry in high school, and those who preferred algebra. I preferred algebra. But whether you liked geometry or algebra--or even if you hated them both--you will enjoy the following geometry movies. Not Knot Part 1 and Part 2 -- All about knots. Outside …
The Thirteen Critical Problems Facing Contemporary Evangelicalism
Michael Spencer (the Internet Monk) recently posted The Thirteen Critical Problems Facing Contemporary Evangelicalism. I think I agree with him (at least to some extent) on every single point. Here they are: THE THIRTEEN CRITICAL PROBLEMS FACING CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALISM. Vast evidence of a growing doctrinal deterioration on the essentials and implications of the Gospel. The …
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Happy Reformation Day
I wish you a happy Reformation Day! I get excited about Reformation Day because I love the gospel, which had been obscured in the 1500s by the practices and doctrines of the Roman Catholic church. Today in each of my science classes at Bucharest Christian Academy, I took a few minutes to draw out from …
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