“The process of spiritual formation in Christ is one of progressively replacing destructive images and ideas with images and ideas that fill the mind of Jesus himself” (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart). Our beliefs and our thought life provide the live possibilities for us to choose in the day in and day out of life. If our thoughts are mostly away from God, then our choices most likely will be as well. Renewing our mind is fundamental to being an apprentice of Jesus (Romans 12:2).
Taking Jesus at His Word
Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?”
As I prepare to attend a funeral of a loved one today, I answer yes to Jesus’ question–I believe…I take him at his word. He is the only one who can make good on that bold claim because he is the only one who has conquered death. I am thankful that the ultimate sting of death has been conquered, but am reminded of the pain we still endure before Jesus makes all things new (Revelation 21:1-7).
Truth
“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.”—Allan Bloom
“To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what it is not that it is not, is true.”—Aristotle
“…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”—Jesus
“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair”—C.S. Lewis
We all need a guide…in good times and bad
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, a]”>[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Familiar, but powerful words. Amen
Michael Behe’s Censored then Uncensored Interview on Intelligent Design with John Mcworter on Bloggingheads.tv
I enjoy drawing attention to debates and conversations that matter. Here is one. Behe’s cordial interview about his book, the edge of evolution, was taken down 6 hours after it was posted. But then Robert Wright reinstated the post (good for him!). This is a thoughtful 45 minute interview.
What is the harm in that? Could it be that dissent from the standard Darwinian story is simply not allowed? period? I watched the interview. Behe does not say “God did it.” What he says is, all the evidence we possess about random selection and random variation does not show how irreducibly complex systems could have evolved. It is an empirical argument; not a god of the gaps argument from Behe’s point of view. I say, let the conversation continue and the best ideas win!
For more on this controversy, see this post at Evolution News
For more on this issue, see: The Edge of Evolution or Signature in the Cell