Celebrating Jesus as the Life and Light  

“In him was life, and the life was the light of all people…the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:4,9 (NRSV) For the last four months, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about John’s famous prologue (1:1-18). Throughout the Christmas season, this passage loomed large and now, as we enter Holy Week, I continue … Read More

Responding to Ken Ham and Other YEC Arguments

Hey Freinds, I’m excited to let you know about a new chapter in the Genesis 1 & Science booklet that’s part of the constructive conversation series. It’s 100% devoted to responding to Ken Ham and common young earth creationist (YEC) objections. There are also quite a few smaller updates throughout the resource, as well as two fresh reviews that you … Read More

Another Opportunity for Shared Impact

The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours out speech,and night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words,whose voice is not heard. Psalm 19:1-3, ESV Hi All, Updates to the Genesis 1 and Science booklet in the Constructive Conversations series are now live and ready for some good … Read More

New Resource on Genesis 1 and Science!

Hey Friends, I just published a new “constructive conversation” booklet this week called Genesis 1 & Science: A Constructive Conversation. It’s available as a paperback and eBook. The first in this series, you may remember, was Baptism and Its Significance. My thanks to Connie Molitor for the great new covers that connect this series with this blog (notice the mustard-colored … Read More

On Human Life Spans and Windows of Grace

“Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not always abide in [or contend with] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be a 120 years.’” Gen. 6:3, ESV The verse above is notoriously difficult to translate, partly because the first part of the verse is unclear (is it “abide in” or “contend with”?). Below are the two main … Read More

Civility Again: Why We Need to Say More About How We Say Things

I was grieved this week. Not only because children were being separated from their parents as a result of the new “zero-tolerance” policy at the U.S.-Mexico border—something that has been opposed by major evangelical organizations for weeks, but because I saw relationships severed due to the emotional and ugly rhetoric on both sides. We so easily villainize each other and Christians … Read More

How I Changed my Mind About Genesis 1 and Science, Part 5 of 5

I am incompetent to endorse evolution. My point is that the scientific consensus endorses it, and, like B. B. Warfield, as an exegete and biblical theologian I see no need to interpret natural selection for the origin of species within an atheist worldview. Natural selection can be accepted within a framework of trusting Scripture as inerrant as to its source … Read More

How I Changed my Mind About Genesis 1 and Science, Part 4 of 5

If indeed nature and Scripture have the same author, as Christians affirm, then there cannot, ultimately, be any disagreement between what we “read” in one book and what we read in the other.[1]– Dennis R. Venema, Ph.D. and professor of biology Theology shouldn’t merely withstand scientific discovery—it should celebrate it as a display of God’s handiwork.[2]– Daniel M. Harrell, Ph.D. … Read More

How I Changed my Mind About Genesis 1 and Science, Part 3 of 5

Neither the Bible nor nature are self-interpreting, so our interpretations in either realm are always potentially fallible and wrong.- Gordon Fish, Ph.D. physicist and patent agent Unwillingness to critically challenge one’s interpretative methods sounds dangerously close to declaring personal infallibility.- Stephen Ashley Blake, President of Realm Entertainment We mentioned last week that there’s evidence that God in his kindness used … Read More

How I Changed my Mind About Genesis 1 and Science, Part 2 of 5

The most hurtful theologically-driven myth of all times [is] that human beings are… specially created and endowed with souls, whereas ‘they’—all other creatures—were not.[1] -David P. Barash, Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Washington Once many of us climb out of the swamp of our own, often fear-based and isolated, Christian subcultures, we’ll be better prepared to respond … Read More