2012 Online Apologetics Conference
How Accurate is the Bible?
Four excellent talks on the accuracy of the Bible by Dr. Ken Boa here.
Ken Boa worldview picture
I love this picture from Ken Boa’s website and use it as a 1280×800 pixel background image on my laptop. The full size image is here:
www.christian-apologetics.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/YHWH.jpg
I would like Ken to produce a really hi-res version of this image so that we can make a poster from it and stick it on the wall (hint hint…….).
And here is another one, this time from Tim Challies:
Peter Woit on the multiverse as a weapon against religion
From Uncommon Descent…
At Not Even Wrong, Peter Woit comments on Larry Krauss’s recent interest in the multiverse:
Today’s New York Times has an article by Dennis Overbye about Lawrence Krauss and his new book A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing
. Much of the book is an excellent discussion of cosmology and the physics of the vacuum, but it also devotes a lot of effort to discussing the meaningless question of “Why is there something rather than nothing?” and arguing against the invocation of a deity in order to answer it. Krauss is no fan of string theory, which he regards as overhyped, but he seems to have developed an attraction to multiverse studies recently, perhaps motivated by their use in arguments with those who see the Big Bang as a place for God to hang out.
Personally I’ve no interest in arguments about the existence of God, which epitomize to me an empty waste of time. Given the real dangers of religious fundamentalism in the US though, I’m glad that others like Krauss make the effort to answer some of these arguments. I’m less happy to see him and others adopting the multiverse as their weapon of choice in this battle, since it’s a lousy one and not going to convince anyone. In the New York Times piece we’re told:
“Maybe in the true eternal multiverse there are truly no laws,” Dr. Krauss said in an e-mail. “Maybe indeed randomness is all there is and everything that can happen happens somewhere.”
Given the choice between this vision of fundamental science and “God did it” as explanations for the nature of the universe, one can’t be surprised if people go for the man in the white robes…
Well, if God exists, science follows, but if there are truly no laws, science doesn’t follow.
Climate scientist admits stealing docs from conservative think tank
Theft, deceit and outright lies: How ugly can climate science get?
Prominent climate scientist Peter H. Gleick relied on deceit and subterfuge to solicit a cache of sensitive internal documents from conservative think tank The Heartland Institute before leaking them to the press — a fresh scandal that further darkens the highly charged debate on planetary climate change.
Gleick — an internationally recognized hydroclimatologist and author of the respected annual report “The World’s Water” — said he received an anonymous document in the mail that tipped him off to what he described as Heartland’s efforts to muddy public understanding of climate science and policy. He released the documents to expose their work “to cast doubt on climate science.”
In his blog on the Huffington Post, Gleick publicly confessed to deceitful tactics that he described as a serious ethical slip.
H/T to www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/climate-alarmists-caught-again/
Indivisible: “Body Armor for the Culture War”
From here.
We’ve heard for years that we’re in the middle of a “culture war.” A culture war, unlike a civil war, is not fought with guns and tanks, but with ideas, words, arguments, media, and education. Unlike ordinary political debates, it’s a fight over the fundamental principles on which cultures are based.
In our new book Indivisible, which will be officially released this Monday, February 20, we argue that Americans are “like tourists on a sunny beach. We’ve heard news of an earthquake on the sea floor, hundreds of miles away, but everything still looks normal. People are sipping iced tea, enjoying the warm sand and the sun overhead. Many think, ‘We’ve never had it so good.’ And yet, when we look closely, we notice that the beach is growing wider as the tide recedes toward the horizon.”
The tide seems to be receding even faster in the last few weeks. We all know that our economy is teetering and the federal government is endangering our children’s future with unprecedented deficit spending. As we observe in The Christian Post, 2012 was supposed to be the year when economic issues would dominate presidential debates, and so-called social issues would take a back seat. Instead, abortion, religious freedom, and marriage are also in the headlines.
The first two issues–abortion and religious freedom–come together with the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate that organizations, including religious organizations, provide health insurance that covers sterilization, contraception and drugs that induce abortion. The Catholic Bishops have been especially visible in responding to this assault on religious freedom. “This country once fought a revolution to guarantee freedom, but the time has clearly arrived to strongly reassert our fundamental human rights,” said the Most. Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of Peoria. “I am honestly horrified that the nation I have always loved has come to this hateful and radical step in religious intolerance.”
Amazon link: Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before It’s Too Late
Iran’s “Religion of Peace” about to execute Canadian programmer
From a Slashdot story…
Human Rights Groups Push To Save Condemned Programmer In Iran
“Human rights Groups are making one final plea to save the life of Canadian programmer, Saeed Malekpour, who was sentenced to death for writing a program to upload photos to the Internet. From the article: ‘Malekpour’s supporters have created Facebook pages and websites in his support dating to at least 2009. Amnesty International has requested on its website that concerned individuals write Iranian authorities inside and outside the country to demand that Malekpour not be executed.”
Discussion Panel: Tim Keller Responds to Oxford’s Questions
Here are the Oxford MP3s and videos featuring Tim Keller and Mike Cain. Including…
- A sceptical student encounters Jesus
- The Insider and the Outcast Encounter Jesus
- Two Grieving Sisters Encounter Jesus
- A Wedding Party Encounters Jesus
- The First Christian Encounters Jesus
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World
From Newsweek Magazine and World News here.
This article was written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is an ex-Muslim, now atheist, and visited New Zealand a couple of years ago. I listened to one interview she did with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National’s Saturday Morning.
From the article:
We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.
But a fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake.
If you doubt the evil being perpetrated by real Muslims (not the limp-wristed liberal Muslims of the West) then read Ali’s article.
Related Materials:
The Defense Never Rests: A Workbook for Budding Apologists
By William Lane Craig and Joseph Tang
Professor John Lennox — The Word of God in Creation MP3s
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum visiting New Zealand in April (and OZ in March)
Scholar and teaching machine Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum from Ariel Ministries is returning to New Zealand and Australia.
Itinerary from the beautiful Ariel Winter Mailer PDF here.
Ariel Ministries New Zealand office is here.
Struth, this is one full-on itinerary!!!
The latest details are here.
Date: Friday 6 April
Venue: Good News Bible Chapel Location: Napier, NZ
Date: Saturday 7 April
Venue: Good News Bible Chapel Location: Napier, NZ
Date: Sunday 8 April
Venue: Good News Bible Chapel Location: Napier, NZ
Date: Monday 9 April
Venue: Church on Vogel Location: Palmerston North, NZ
Date: Tuesday 10 April
Venue: Church on Vogel Location: Palmerston North, NZ
Date: Wednesday 11 April
Venue: North Beach Christian Fellowship Location: Christchurch, NZ
Date: Thursday 12 April
Venue: Rowley Avenue Bible Chapel Location: Christchurch, NZ
Date: Friday 13 April
Venue: Rowley Avenue Bible Chapel Location: Christchurch, NZ
AND AUSTRALIA TOO IN MARCH
Date: Saturday 3 March
Venue: Perth Messianic Assembly, Dianella Church of Christ Location: Dianella, AU
Date: Sunday 4 March AM
Venue: Perth – Nollamara Baptist Church Location: Nollamara, AU
Date: Sunday 4 March PM
Venue: Perth – Woodvale Baptist Church, 67 Woodvale Drive, Woodvale
Location: Woodvale, AU
Date: Monday 5 March PM to Thursday 8 March PM
Venue: New Life City Church
Location: Kewdale, AU 6105
Date: Tuesday 6 March
Venue: Bethany Baptist Church (Ministry House)
Location: Beechboro, WA
Date: Wednesday 7 March
Venue: Harvest West Bible College (Limited to college members only) Location: Belmont, Perth
Date: Thursday 8 March AM
Venue: Perth – Subiaco Church Youth Centre
Location: Subiaco, AU (08) 9388 1030
Date: Saturday 10 March
Venue: Melbourne – Celebrate Messiah Beit HaMashiach Messianic Congregation
Location: Caulfield South VIC, AU 3162 (03) 9563 5544
Date: Sunday 11 March AM
Venue: Belmont / Highton Baptist Church
Location: Belmont Victoria, AU 3216 (03) 5241 1453
Date: Monday 12 March PM, and Tuesday 13 March PM
Venue: Bendigo
Location: Bendigo VIC, AU
Date: Thursday 15 March AM
Venue: Adelaide – South West Baptist Church
Location: Seacliff, AU (08) 8377 1802
Date: Friday 16 March PM
Venue: CWMF (Christian Witness Ministries Fellowship)
Location: Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane, AU
Date: Saturday 17 March
Venue: CWMF (Christian Witness Ministries Fellowship)
Location: Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane, AU
Date: Sunday 18 March AM
Venue: CWMF (Christian Witness Ministries Fellowship)
Location: Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane, AU
Date: Monday 19 March to Friday 23 March
Venue: Capernwray Torchbearers Bible College
Location: Burradoo NSW, AU 2576
Date: Saturday 24 March
Venue: Tamworth Salvation Army Hope Centre
Location: Goonno Goonoo NSW, AU
Date: Sunday 25 March AM
Venue: Tamworth Bible Baptist Church Location: Tamworth, AU
Date: Sunday 25 March PM to Tuesday 27 March PM
Venue: Maroubra Baptist Church Location: Maroubra/Sydney, AU (02) 9344 3355
Date: Wednesday 28 March, and Thursday 29 March
Venue: Hobart
Location: Hobart TAS, AU
Date: Friday 30 March 5 PM – Monday 2 April 2 PM
Venue: Sydney – Meroo Camp Location: Seven Hills NSW, AU 9624 8947
CHECK OUT SOME BEAUTIFUL FREE TEACHING AND STUDY RESOURCES HERE.
Starbucks Coffee Co. Officially Support Sodomy and Gay “Marriage”
Media Release — 3 February 2012
Right to Life is disappointed that Starbucks are officially supporting sodomy and gay marriage.
Starbucks executive vice President, Karen Holmes in a letter dated 24 January 2012, to United States partners expressed enthusiastic support for homosexual marriage legislation in Washington State. The “important legislation” says Karen Holmes “is core to who we are and what we value as a company.”
Customer Relations at Starbucks stated that “Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognising marriage equality for same–sex couples. From our very earliest days, Starbucks have strived to create a company culture that put our people first and our company has a lengthy history of leading on and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion.”
It is disappointing but not surprising that Starbucks wish to re-define marriage and believes that support for sodomy and homosexual marriage is a core value.
The family is at the centre of a culture of life, it is the foundation of a stable society. It is the family that brings forth children, future citizens who are essential for the continuance of society. The promotion of same sex marriage is an attack on the institution of marriage and on society itself. Right to Life supports the human rights of the homosexual members of our community, however there is no human right to homosexual marriage.
The support of Starbucks for homosexual marriage is no surprise, as the company has been putting pro-homosexual messages on its take-away cups since 2006. Starbucks claims in its mission statement to embrace diversity. It promotes gay pride events but refuses to support events celebrating heterosexual marriage.
Pro-family leaders in the United States are now calling for an international boycott of Starbucks.
The Starbucks brand is managed in New Zealand by Restaurant Brands NZ Ltd which has 32 Starbucks Coffee shops in New Zealand.
Those in the community who believe that marriage is exclusively for one man and one woman will be offended by the attack of Starbucks on the family. They are encouraged to boycott Starbucks Coffee shops and to take their business to coffee shops that support the family and who do not support sodomy and homosexual marriage.
Right to Life requests Restaurant Brands to publicly dissociate itself from the support for homosexual marriage expressed by Starbucks USA.
Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life
Phone +64 3 385 6111
Research Professor Dr. Darrell Bock of DTS to visit New Zealand in July
Dr. Darrell Bock (DTS page, blog, Amazon
- Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary
- Professor for Spiritual Development and Culture at Dallas Theological Seminary
- Editor at Large for Christianity Today
- Past President of the Evangelical Theological Society (2000-2001)
- Author of over twenty books and is a New York Times Best Selling author
…and it tipped to be visiting New Zealand in July 2012. More to come…
(HT to Joe Fleener)
Thinking Matters Youth Conference coming to Auckland in February
Here.
More evidence of Darwinism’s demise?
From a peer-reviewed paper (source here).
Biological Theory
Volume 6, Number 1, 89-102, DOI: 10.1007/s13752-011-0007-1The Fate of Darwinism: Evolution After the Modern Synthesis
David J. Depew and Bruce H. Weber
Abstract: We trace the history of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis, and of genetic Darwinism generally, with a view to showing why, even in its current versions, it can no longer serve as a general framework for evolutionary theory. The main reason is empirical. Genetical Darwinism cannot accommodate the role of development (and of genes in development) in many evolutionary processes. We go on to discuss two conceptual issues: whether natural selection can be the “creative factor” in a new, more general framework for evolutionary theorizing; and whether in such a framework organisms must be conceived as self-organizing systems embedded in self-organizing ecological systems. (Emphasis added.)
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