Piper preaching through John's Gospel

The first message is up. John Piper gives his reasons for preaching this series here. I missed his massive series through Romans, but I'm anticipating following along through John.

Apologies aren't supposed to be THIS embarrassing

So in the ultimate load of hooey, the Church of England is going to issue an apology to Charles Darwin! Doug Wilson has a good article on just how hooetical it is. Apologies are supposed to be embarrassing because of what they reveal about past actions, not present ones, no?

My notes from Lennox's book on the whole Galileo / RC Church thing are here. Scroll down.

Anti-theft sandwich bags

I wish I would have thought of this....It's a sandwich bag that deters thieves. The question is, come 12:00, would it also deter me?

Power on behalf of the over-powered

I'm finding James Edwards' commentary on Mark's Gospel to be excellent. Here is what he has to say in conclusion to Mark 1.21-28, Mark's narrative of Jesus' authority on display in the synagogue in Capernaum:

The initial report about Jesus from the synagogue in Capernaum is not simply of a victory of the Holy One of God over bent and evil forces, as though two chess players were manipulating pawns on the board for their own advantage. Jesus' defeat of the “strong man” (Mark 3.27) is not at the expense of Satan's victims but on their behalf. Not only are unclean spirits expelled, but broken people are restored to health and wholeness and to the possibility of restoration with their Creator, in whose image they are made. The exousia [Greek, means 'authority', 'power'] of Jesus is astonishing not as a display of Jesus' grandeur but as a power of redemption for captives.

I think the Evangelist Peter would be happy with Edwards' concluding statements. They seem to be in agreement with Peter's own attempt to summarize much of the life of Christ:

...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10.38)

More Lennox resources

A friend emailed me, pointing me to some more resources from John Lennox. The site claims to be dedicated to growing its current offerings. Check it out.

A provocative post on grammar

I never knew, until now, that it was possible to write provocatively on grammar. Abraham Piper has managed to do it. Here's where it all started, and hear's where it all ended up.

The Fed-Ex delivery guy of the cell

[This is a guest post by my friend Margaret. She wrote this for Love for Truth at my request.]

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I have an enormous respect for scientists. Some of them have changed the way we live. Witness the computer. Others have changed the way we view the universe.

Still others have changed the way we view life. New discoveries revealing the complexity of life’s simplest forms are being made continually. And universities are very generous in making these discoveries available to the public, at no cost except a click of the mouse.

Harvard has a site called BioVisions which contains a short, animated movie called "The Inner Life of the Cell". It took a team of animators 14 months to make this 8 minute movie. [BTW, the Wikipedia entry on “The Inner Life of the Cell” has some links at the end of the article. One is the 8-minute animation; another is David Bolinsky’s speech when he introduced the movie.]

Bolinsky describes the cell’s protein micro-machines as “the envy of nano-technologists the world over.” And I love the motor protein which he calls the “Fed-Ex delivery guy” of the cell.

Bolinsky is fascinated by “truth and beauty” in the arts and sciences. He describes these as “awful things, meaning they are things you can worship.” This does not suggest that he believes in God; but it does mean that the things he is talking about are not trivial.

I do not believe in God because of these things. But such things do suggest that belief in an intelligent Creator is a perfectly rational conclusion, based – not on ignorance – but on valid evidence.

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MJK's note: The link provided above for "The Inner Life of the Cell" is the high speed version. Those with slower or faster web connections can view either of the following: slow speed version; super speed version. Also, for a shorter, non-narrated viewing, go here.

Trigg Palin, abortion, and Down's Syndrome

I really enjoyed this article.

HT: Challies

The atheistic Faith

It can be hard getting atheists to own up to the role faith plays in the formation of their own materialistic worldview (witness the comments section in this post). Yet Paul Giem makes the case convincingly in the origin of life context:

But it is heavily faith-based. We have no experimental evidence for this belief, and the theoretical problems appear insoluble. We have here belief against all the evidence, analogous to the most daring leaps of religious faith imaginable, that is to say, faith not only without evidence but in the teeth of evidence. And it is even worse; there is no appeal to a God Who could reasonably do the feat that needs explaining. It is a miracle without God (my emphasis).

Read the whole thing.

Some random links

First, flies escaping death in slow-mo.

Second: This is rich. A prosperity praise parody.

Third: My brothers are being killed in India. If you pray, please pray.