Archive for December, 2005
Spectacular Fraud Shakes Stem Cell Field
December 23rd, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » In the News...
The article “Spectacular Fraud Shakes Stem Cell Field” had a rather interesting quote in it, with which I wholly disagree.
“It’s a stain on the honor and integrity of the whole field,” said Dr. Robert Lanza, a cloning expert at the biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology.
While I admit, his intent in this quote was to point out that the South Korean scientist who perpetrated the fraud (Hwang Woo-suk) basically ended up sending a large number of researchers on a wild goose chase, the phrase “honor and integrity of the whole field” caught me as particularly inappropriate. How can embryonic stem cell research possibly be considered honorable or full of integrity? I honestly don’t understand how these researchers live with themselves, knowing that each day, the materials they work with (embryonic stem cells) were created at the expense of human life.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not against stem cell research. I just wish our research efforts would be focused on the use of adult stem cells, which are becoming more and more readily obtainable from patients, and whose usage does not result in the destruction of human life.
The Complete Picture of Christmas
December 23rd, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies
This may be more suited to a discussion forum, or perhaps several different blog posts, but I wanted to post it to get a bit of discussion and help spur a bit of thought about Christmas. The following is a short Bible study that I put together for my Sunday School class back in 2001, slightly updated to make it a bit more applicable to web discussion.
1. What does tradition tell us about Christmas?
2. What does Scripture tell us about Christmas? (reference Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:26-2:20.)
3. Why do you believe there is a difference? Is the difference between traditional beliefs about Christmas and Scriptural accounts of Christmas important or significant to you? Why?
4. What can we learn from the scriptural accounts of Christmas?
5. How are these Biblical truths about Christmas important to you this Christmas, specifically?
Jingle Shells….
December 22nd, 2005 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun...
(no, the link is not to a song parody… just click it and enjoy!)
Jesus’ Miracle — A Christmas greeting from a Jewish brother
December 22nd, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » In the News...
Found this article on MSNBC.com today: Jesus’ Miracle — A Christmas greeting from a Jewish brother
Interesting perspective from one of our Jewish friends, in which he reflects upon his love for Christmas. I pray that out of his enjoyment of Christmas, his appreciation for Christians, and our common root of faith in God, that he will find joy in Jesus, not just as the object of the Christian faith upon which this season is based, but as Lord and Savior.
Jesus’s Prayer for Believers
December 15th, 2005 | 7 Comments | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies
John 17:20-23
20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Let me get this straight… I pray to Jesus, and He prayed for me? WOW!
Maybe that’s not real earth-shattering, but it’s something that should be (if it isn’t already) a comfort to each and every one of us who have faith in Him. Jesus cared about us as believers, enough to plead for us before God the Father.
But what did He ask God for? This is where it gets convicting. Unity. Unity amongst the church. Amongst believers. Amongst the saved. Amongst God’s children! Unfortunately, we’ve fallen WAY short of this — we have Catholics, Baptists, Episcopals, Assemblies, Unitarians, Lutherans, Methodists, and many others — all with at least partially differing beliefs about God’s will and ways. I can’t help but think, “Jesus must be SO disappointed”.
It’s a difficult topic to address, if you ask me. Unity is such a difficult thing to achieve, yet that’s Christ’s desire for His children. Where do we draw the line when it comes to differing views on Scripture or on God’s will? I don’t have the answer (I wish I did). I would have to say that certain things cannot be compromised (the divinity of Christ, salvation though faith, the virgin birth, inerrancy of Scripture, etc.), but the others? I guess we just have to learn to agree to disagree on things that are not clear-cut in Scripture (as so many things can be read more than one way). It’s a hard thing to do, I know… but absolutely necessary. That doesn’t mean we have to water down our faith, but it does mean that we need to maintain harmony amongst believers. How sad it is that our disagreements become yet more excuses for a lost world to reject our Savior.
I pray that God may touch the hearts of people of all denominations of Christianity, that we may all realize that our commonalities outnumber our differences, and that with Christ as our foundation, we can move forward in unity to make a difference in this world. Big goal, I know… but with God, all things are possible.
Public Enemy #1… to the church?
December 15th, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » In the News...
To the church, he’s public enemy No. 1 — MSNBC.com
Interesting article above regarding a “study” linking religious faith to societal ills, and reaction from a number of Christian leaders.
Just another researcher who doesn’t seem to understand the difference between correlation and causation.
Emergent Christianity?
December 13th, 2005 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff...
In the past couple days, I seem to be stumbling across a lot of links regarding “emergent Christianity”, “emerging churches”, “emerging conversation”, etc.
From what I can tell, it’s somewhat of a worldwide movement involving Christians of all denominations and backgrounds, looking at new ways of “doing church”. It seems to reflect the belief that traditional ways of doing church are not working well in today’s culture, and that we need to find new ways to reach non-believers with the gospel.
I’m really not quite sure what to think, though… I’m suspicious there’s much more to this than I understand, having only seen a few web links and a lot of controversy.
Anyway, here’s a small sampling of links:
Emergent Village
anewkindofchristian.com
emergent-U.S. blog
Anyone have any thoughts?
Not Just Ships in a Bottle…
December 13th, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun...
You’ve gotta admit, this is quite cool: Harry Eng Puzzle List (things in bottles). Amazing stuff.
Christmas Classics, Performed by Bunnies
December 12th, 2005 | No Comments | Posted in » Just For Fun...
Gotta love these Christmas classics, condensed to 30 seconds and performed by bunnies (produced by the folks over at angryalien.com):
They’ve got two of my favorites… It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story.
What Good?
December 12th, 2005 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies
Mark 8:34-37
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Does Jesus know how to ask convicting questions or what?
It’s so easy to get caught up in the things of this world: work, school, recreational activities, family… you name it. We spend so much time doing things to benefit ourselves, but what are we doing for Jesus?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that finding ways to enjoy this life is a bad thing — it’s just that this life is not everything. God created each one of us with souls, souls that will live on eternally, long after this life on earth is over. So I ask you, what are you doing that makes an eternal difference? Have you secured your eternal destination through faith in Christ? If so, what are you doing for Jesus (not to earn the salvation already given you, but out of love for Christ and in appreciation of the gift of salvation)?
It’s pretty clear from Scripture what Jesus wants us to do: “take up [your] cross, and follow me.” Don’t allow the things of earth to be your sole focus. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and make a difference for Him each day. No, it’s not easy, but what else can you do that will reap eternal rewards?
