Man, the origins issue sure is heating up in the public square — as if it weren’t red-hot already. On the one hand, you have the God-defying materialist crowd whose de facto leader is most certainly Richard Dawkins (though of course he has many allies). On the other hand, you have the anti-materialist, Intelligent Design crowd which seems centered around the Discovery Institute along with a few notables such as William Dembski and Michael Behe. Unfortunately for the ID crowd, Dawkins’ loyal followers have done a very good job of infiltrating popular Web 2.0 hangouts like YouTube and Digg. When’s the last time you saw a high-quality, pro-ID article prominently displayed on the Digg home page? Yeah, me neither.
The amusing thing about all this is that Dawkins is fighting a loosing battle. Not only does he have to convince a vast majority of the planet that the supernatural is something people invented out of ignorance, lust for power, or both, but he has to convince many of his fellow atheists that choosing not to attack supernatural beliefs is in itself morally weak and harmful to society.
The real concern I have isn’t what materialists are up to, but rather what Christians are up to. We have a real problem with materialism here in our own midst. When the parents are shopping for the latest designer outfits at Nordstrom and the kids are buying the latest XBOX game, one wonders if the question of goo-to-you evolution vs. God-to-you creation even matters.
It certainly does to me.
Follow me on Twitter
Subscribe to blog feed
15 Comments
Argument by boldfacing!
Magic stuff – keep waving that hand.
Yeah, I picked up the boldfacing technique from Mark Batterson’s blog. Seems to make posts easier to skim through.
Hey there, Jared. Found your blog and am happy to be here right from the start.
I run a blog about how technology affects us, our society and our future. I personally take great interest in philosophizing about such topics like the supernatural.
You see, I myself am a Hindu. And as a Hindu, it is my duty to embrace other religions and I personally see a lot of parallels in any faith. But what really beats me are people claiming not to have any faith whatsoever. I don’t say that in a missionary tone, I say it because I don’t believe it’s possible not to believe anything or not feel the urge to believe something.
I’m eager to see how this blog develops, and would love to indulge in more of your questions. Do check out my blog too, it went live just a few days before youres. Cheers.
Some blogs use facts and rational discourse. But Boldfacing is a good plan B!
@Arjun: I had seen your new blog and hope it does well! I’ll be sure to bookmark it. I don’t know a whole lot about Hinduism, so I’m interested in which points we might agree or disagree on.
@Rich: now you’re just being snarky. I only just started the blog yesterday…give me a chance!
Hehe. No worries. Happy blogging.
Type your comment here.
Had to respond to Arjun – - my best friend passed away about a year and a half ago. She was Mormon ~ I am an American Baptist. We talked about our faiths a lot, but only in regards to the commonalities. I miss that so much ~ I learned so much from her, about both her faith and mine. The biggest thing? Those two faiths weren’t so different. I think our friendship made God really, really proud.
Yes Dawkins is a bit of an extremist, science should not be in the bussiness of attacking religion. Of course religion also should not be in the bussiness of attacking science or immitating science. Religion and science are two completely different things, it is like comparing apples to parsnips. Yes evolution is a perfectly valid and fully substantiated theory, but it says nothing about a deity or the lack thereof. Also one reason for the lack of “quality” ID articles on many sites is the lack of quality to ID itself. ID is a belief, it is not testable, nor is it actually supported by evidence. Now if Behe can properly formulate a testable hypothesis to even give ID a start at looking scientific then it might start to deserve some further exposure, but for now it is just another way of saying “Goddidit” only without actually saying “God”.
Hey Wakim, could you tell me what kind of testable hypothesis would be a reliable indicator of the validity of ID?
@Barbara: I have a friend in my class at school who’s Jewish. As you might guess, Jews and Hindus haven’t ever really had much to do with each other. But – again, as you might guess – we had so much in common. It was scary at times. Rituals, certain values that are so deeply rooted in our religions.
Hinduism states that other Religions have to be embraced.
God is one, the paths are a many. Also, Hinduism teaches no rules, only guides. It is up to you to decide what is good for your way of life. Since Hinduism never had to battle against another religion for survival (as Christianity did with the Roman Empire or Judaism with Islam) until late into medieval times, Hinduism never defined itself. It was just the way of living. Why, even the word itself isn’t a Sanskrit (the language of the scripture) word at all.
A side note on Sanskrit: It literally means “holy writing”.
I am a Latin scholar, and in Latin, “San(ctus) Scriptus” means the same. Startling, isn’t it? See you soon for more.
@Arjun: I like what you say about Hinduism simply being a way of life. You know, the first followers of Jesus just called themselves disciples of Jesus or followers of the Way. The term “Christian” was actually imposed from the outside by non-believers.
I’d like to comment on one point. You say: Hinduism states that other Religions have to be embraced. God is one, the paths are a many. If this is true, then Jesus must have been wrong, because He claimed that He was exclusively the only path available to us to be reconciled and embraced by our Maker. If there are many paths to God, and God can take many forms in many different traditions, than any faith in a particular concept of God that claims other concepts are incorrect is itself wrong.
So I’m just not convinced it’s possible to embrace other religions. Yes, there is truth to be found in many places, and even an atheist can help a homeless man find shelter which is a good deed. But I think unless we can find and obey the ultimate Source of Truth, we are missing the mark.
ED Hardy jeans are more popular among youngsters, as these [b][url=http://www.edhardy.uk.com]ed hardy UK[/url][/b] jeans are unique and highly stylish. Young people want to look cool and stylish and that is why these jeans are [u]cheap ed hardy[/u] so popular. The latest jeans from ED Hardy line are very fashionable and trendy. Most of the celebrities are sporting these jeans as it goes well with [b]ed hardy clothing[/b] their attitude and style. If you also want to look funky then these jeans are the perfect choice for you. It is also famous as [u][b]ed hardy[/u][/b] street wear and can transform your personality.
ED Hardy jeans are the perfect combination of comfort from street [u][b]ed hardy clothing[/u][/b] style and the style from the ramp style. The latest collection has hoodies, shirts, tees, bottoms, belts and scarves, etc. By wearing these jeans too can look cool. Among the shirts from this line you can [b]ed hardy t shirts[/b] choose full sleeve shirts or half sleeve shirts. The patterns and the prints of these shirts are just out of the world. You [u]ed hardy UK[/u] can also select the exotic tattoo designs with a personal [b]ed hardy clothing[/b] trademark of ED Hardy. In these clothes you will get easily noticed.
ED Hardy jeans clothes are known for their variety and [u][b]ed hardy t shirts[/u][/b] features. These two things make this clothing line very stylish. These clothes are available in hundreds of colors and each color [b]ed hardy UK[/b] has several patterns. These vast choices of clothes have made ED jeans line highly popular. The fabrics from with [b][url=http://www.edhardy.uk.com]ed hardy t shirts[/url][/b] these clothes are made are of superb quality and hence are long lasting. The best of the artists from across the world have stitched these clothes. These [u]ed hardy clothing[/u] are inspired from the hip hop culture and are most loved by young people.
You have wasted a lot of time and money on buying [b]ed hardy UK[/b] clothes from other brands with no good result. So give a chance to ED Hardy jeans to enhance your personality. The clothes variety available at this clothing line is unbelievable [u][b]ed hardy clothes[/u][/b] and you might get confused as all of them will look appealing to your eyes. It is going to be a [u]ed hardy UK[/u] really tough job to make your pick from the vast collection.
Tracing le particulier feu arc à travers le votre position actuelle , typiquement le fusée a décollé environ juste avant 4 un important m.. et, en outre stimulé chaque capsule à . Généralement capsule se trouve qui sera contenant votre dans les jours, la prestation un véritable liée à entre dispositions pour adapté pour ses six membres d’équipage. [url=http://www.longchampsuisse.com]longchamp pliage cuir[/url]
“La signification de concernant ce processus jour du mariage laps de temps ne peut pas être surestimée », a déclaré le parfait rayonnant administrateur de la NASA Charles Bolden. “C’est toute grande Horaires cours Amérique C’est en fait une nouvelle marque temps recevoir votre spécifique du monde, car il ya vous aurez Associés que faire très nous étions allés loin, et et aussi dit: «Non, nous sommes jamais ne doit pas s’en aller cours de l’ ‘”. [url=http://www.longchampbelgique.com]sac longchamp pas cher[/url]
Les contrôleurs de vol ont applaudi lorsque le le type de dragon atteint son orbite neuf minutes par le biais de faire que spécifique vol. Plus | ces gars-là embrassé une fois Je dirais que les panneaux solaires sur le s’était ouverte. Beaucoup sur le portait untucked T-shirts, jeans ou éventuellement probablement shorts, autre pour leur permettre de de la NASA foule de navette costume-cravate.
http://www.longchampsuisse.com
It’s a bad line buying retin-a online Healthcare slang or cursing; info; does not dialogue; receive info; clear and correct
Mega Man 2I have been playing and hence, behave
and interact in the same line of thought?
Almost too perfectly It’s a great conglomerate effort. Panasonic Viera G10 Series enhances video games for kids under 10 the picture detail and Motion resolution by harnessing the power of speech. For more on video games for kids under 10 go to Kill Screen. Despite the fact that these are won.