Is it self-organization or is it a life force? Current scientific thinking tells us that matter “self-organized” to create life. This is a possibility, but is it consistent with what we observe? We do not believe that atoms “self-organized” to create matter. We recognize instead that nuclear forces exist which act upon sub-atomic particles to […]
Contact! (Even Sagan’s rationalism reveals God)
Imagine being contacted by superior intelligence. Carl Sagan was known as an astronomer and an atheist. His often quoted observation that there are “billions and billions” of galaxies with “billions and billions” of stars led him to conclude that life on Earth is just a result of statistical chance and that other intelligent life must […]
Seeing God in a bubble chamber
The unseen force behind faith. In the laboratory, scientists readily accept trails in a bubble chamber as clear and undeniable evidence of particles and the forces that change their direction, even though they can see neither the particles nor the forces. Some people claim there is no evidence of God, but what is the unseen […]
The Judge
Upholding what is right comes at a cost. There’s a story about a judge whose own son was brought before her for a crime he had committed. The judge felt a deep grief that her son would violate the laws upon which she based her entire life. Tears welled in her eyes and she listened […]
What’s wrong with this picture?
Don’t be fooled by reflections. What’s wrong with this picture? Can you see it? It’s a reflection of a mountain in a lake, but the reflection is clearer than the original image. That can’t be, can it? What’s wrong is that the picture is upside-down. There’s a similar problem with Christianity. People look at Christians […]
Human “Beans”
All growth requires an external source of power. These two beans sat dormant for years. One week later, the one on the left was still just a bean, dormant and seemingly dead for all practical purposes. The one on the right came to life. What caused this dramatic difference? Just a little water. Once touched […]
Just one way to God?
Try seeing it from God’s view. I used to be put off by Christians saying that Christ is the only way to God. It seemed so narrow-minded to me. What I later learned though is that this isn’t something Christians say out pride or close-mindedness. This is simply what Jesus Christ said about himself. The […]
Let’s “Get Small!”
Only through humility can we truly understand greatness. I used to be pretty put off by much of what I experienced in church. I remember doing a group reading one Sunday in which we had to say, “Oh, what a manifold sinner am I.” I thought to myself, “Who? Me? What a joke! Maybe these […]
What can you say to an ant?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Suppose you saw a colony of ants building their hill in the middle of a road. They’d have no clue that what they were doing was putting them in grave danger. From your perspective, however, you could immediately assess the situation, see the danger and know the […]
Taking all the right steps
True love isn’t an emotion. I thought I’d taken all the right steps in life. I had a pretty wife, two wonderful kids, a good career and lived in a better house than I had ever expected. But somehow it all unraveled so quickly. The company I worked for was bought and we had to […]
Sailboats and Rowboats
Some journeys require faith in a power beyond your own. I was corresponding with a friend, an atheist, trying to explain my new faith in God through Christ. After two months of writing, I had yet to succeed in getting her to understand the meaning of knowing Christ as a personal savior. She had recently […]
Mind Over Matter
The role of matter and intelligence in life. We have a simple, but interesting, choice to make in deciding where we came from. We can never know for certain how life began, for no human was there to observe it happening. Reason can be used to support any belief about our origins, so, without hard […]
Religion is just like hockey!
No points are given for fighting. Have you ever been to a hockey game? Many people don’t like hockey because they just don’t understand it. You hear whistles being blown and play stopping for no apparent reason. You see people coming in and out of large boxes (the player’s benches) and small boxes (the penalty […]
Think of your own body
Is God to souls as we are to cells? Sometimes it’s hard to believe that God can actually be in touch with us as individuals, to hear our prayers. Even though I felt I my life had been touched and changed by God, I struggled with this concept. In a moment of prayer, as I […]
Mining for gold or digging up dirt?
The treasure often isn’t found on the surface. Mining is a very interesting process, one that requires a huge commitment of time and effort to produce anything of even the slightest value. We start by digging ourselves into a dark hole, hurling rocks and piling up tons of dirt all around us. No value […]
Seeing beyond the surface
Two perspectives from the same view of reality. Do you remember the first time you saw one of those Magic Eye posters, the ones that have a 3D image hidden in an abstract geometric pattern? When they first came out, I remember seeing a group of people in a mall standing around these unusual paintings. […]
When the lights come on …
Three possible reactions to the light. It’s interesting to observe the way that different animals respond to a light shining in the dark. The cockroach scrambles with terror for the nearest place of darkness. The deer stands frozen in shock, immobilized and unable to move in any direction. The moth turns from the darkness […]
Stuck in your own fishbowl?
What are your barriers to personal growth? Have you ever noticed how differently people’s lives turn out as they grow with age? Some grow in wisdom and understanding, handling life’s challenges with grace and earning the respect and admiration of others. Others hit a point at which they stop growing in character and maturity, trapped […]
Will the real King please rise!
The rest are just imitators. Elvis! The King of Rock and Roll. It’s amazing how many people want to imitate him. It’s more amazing yet how much variety there is in the impersonations. Some are pathetically bad. Some just make it into the realm of respectability. A few rare ones are actually good. But […]
Keep It Simple, Stupid
God has made it simple. We’ve made it complex. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid. A little abrupt perhaps, but an effective way to make the point that sometimes we just need to focus on the key points and not get lost in the details. Somehow we need to apply this concept to religion, which has […]