Misplaced Priorities

“O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless. With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.” Psalm 60:11-12, NRSV One of the more troubling but deeply revealing emails I received while serving at the center of the pro-life movement was from a dear mom whom I’ll call Sarah. Choosing … 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

The Archimedean Point of Christ’s Death

One of my heroes of the faith is Fleming Rutledge, an 86-year-old priest in the Episcopal Church. Her masterful work The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ was named book of the year by Christianity Today in 2015—an amazing achievement for a 78-year-old! As a pastor who regularly leads communion, as well as a sinful guy who just wants … Read More

Silly Science (Part 2) and Why Creation is Still Good

One of the main contentions of Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is that “the belief in millions of years totally contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture.”[1] Last week we responded to one example YEC advocates Ham and Hodges gave in support of this (see here) and this week we will look at a second related to “disease:” “Evidence of diseases like … Read More

Silly Science (Part 1) and Why Work Hurts

I get frustrated with young earth creationists’ critiques of evolutionary creationism. They’re often full of contradictions and consistently based on uninformed, overly literal interpretations of ancient texts. Here’s a quick example of the kind of contradictions I mean from a recent review of my Genesis 1 and Science in the Constructive Conversation series: “Since evolution cannot be demonstrated by the … 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

Why I Believe Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Part 3 of 3

“Faith, in fact, is what gives fullness to our reasoning… Though every thinking being longs for God… it is powerless… to grasp him… it discovers God through the beauty and order of things seen, using sight as a guide to what transcends sight.” Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) One of the things I pride myself in is I can still beat … Read More

Reading Genesis 1 with Saint Augustine

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3, NLT I love Genesis 1 and one of the cool things about … 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