Sunspots 898

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*: 

Christianity: Christianity Today reports on the openness to women in various leadership roles, in Protestant churches.

Education: A Conversation article on violence against teachers by students. About 10% of teachers have been so attacked.

A Conversation writer discusses some ways that the Metaverse (the author doesn't know how to define or describe it) is helping college education.

Finances: NPR reports on how prisoners earn income behind bars, and what the income is.

Science: The Scientist on the energetics of chewing, (It takes a lot of energy.) and the possible relationship to humanoid evolution.

NPR reports that a company is planning to bring back the Tasmanian "tiger," which has been extinct for over 80 years. There are questions about trying to do this.

NPR also reports on some interesting (and possibly dangerous to humans) behavior by orcas/aka killer whales.

A Conversation writer discusses his own research, which indicates that dolphins use "signature whistles -- brief sequences of noise that the animals emit," which are not copies of those emitted by other dolphins, to identify other dolphins.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 883

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

The Arts: Christianity Today reports that the lead that holds stained glass pieces together, in decorative windows, from the late 1800s, is in danger of no longer being able to do so, because of slow oxidation.

Christianity: NPR reports that Orthodox churches, some of which are backing Putin, in the US are attracting far-right people.

Education: (sort of) FiveThirtyEight on laws to prevent teaching about racism.

Environment: A small dolphin, living in the Gulf of California, has a population of about 10 animals, according to Gizmodo.

Gizmodo reports that recycling doesn't really work.

Gizmodo reports that Emperor penguins are in serious danger of extinction, caused by global climate change.

Health: The Scientist reports that taking oral antibiotics may have profound effects on the microbes that normally live in the gut.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight shows us the results of some recent polls on abortion.

Science: The Scientist reports that sunscreen can damage coral reefs.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading. 

Sunspots 755

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Computing: ListVerse tells us about 10 popular web sites/apps that started out as something considerably different. (Amazon used to sell books, nothing else, for example.)
National Public Radio reports on some sophisticated on-line scamming techniques.
Gizmo's Freeware describes a free program that easily downloads YouTube videos.
 
Education: Grammarphobia: Should it be Moses's staff, or Moses' staff?

The Panda's Thumb says that the Ohio lower house has passed a bill with some disturbing implications. To quote from the blog post:  House Bill 164, labeled the “Student Religious Liberties Act,” would amend the state’s Education Code to forbid schools from “prohibit[ing] a student from engaging in religious expression in the completion of housework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments.” The blog post points out that this would seem to prevent a teacher from marking an answer like this as wrong: "God told me that the capital of Ohio is Tallahassee."
 
Politics: Relevant says that Stephen Miller, influential White House advisor, has to go. He seems to be the driving force behind President Trump's immigration policies, which, among other things, have drastically cut the number of refugees entering the US, and tried to prevent all Muslims from entering the country.

Relevant also reports that the US detains more of its children in various facilities, than any other country.

Science: The Scientist reports on a study that indicates that very few children are the result of an extra-marital affair.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 721

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Computing: PC Magazine tells us about some ways to use Google Calendar that you probably don't know about. (Anyone with a Google account and an internet connection can use Google Calendar.)

Gizmodo reports on the sophistication of various methods of phishing. Scary.

Your Android device may have anti-virus software that is not as good as it should be.

Gizmodo reports that t he CEO of AT&T apparently got a robocall while he was giving a presentation.

Education: (and Finance, and Politics) The Associated Press reports that some Republican state legislators, and governors, have suddenly become supporters of public schools.

Humor: (or something) Listverse tells us 10 interesting things about horses.


Politics: S. E. Cupp examines the field of Democratic candidates for President. She concludes that only Oprah Winfrey (who isn't running) can beat the President.

Catherine Rampell discusses socialism, and analyzes the President's warnings about it.

Science: There is no Nobel Prize in mathematics, but Gizmodo reports that a woman has won the equivalent Abel prize, and discusses her contributions.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 691

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (And Science) Gizmodo reports that scientists have sketched the Mona Lisa using bacteria. Really.

Christianity: A theologian discusses "God and Creation." The essay is a readable summary of theology, and inspiring.


Education: A Scientific American writer tells us why STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) students also need the humanities. And it isn't "to make you more well-rounded."

History: The BBC reports that the recent weather in the UK  has made it possible to discover important historical, or pre-historical, sites from the air. There are photos. I thank one of my brothers for this link.

Politics: Gizmodo reports that the US Defense Department is preparing for climate change. The report also notes that "climate change" was not a phrase found in the Defense Authorization bill. "Environmental Condition Projections" was used.

World Magazine reports on how the administration of Liberty University suppressed articles in the student-run campus newspaper.

Scientific American has an essay on the types of work that immigrants do (and don't do).

ListVerse reports on 10 border walls no one talks about. (At least they don't make US news reporting.)

Michael Gerson comments on the current President, who is a celebrity, not famous -- there's a difference, he says.

Science: Christianity Today reports on a Pew Research study, which found that Christians aren't much different than other US citizens, in their views on the applications of genetic technology. (Mostly negative) The respondents were mostly in favor of using genetic engineering to wipe out dangerous mosquitoes.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 655

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: According to Relevant, an upcoming "faith-based," and "pro-second amendment" movie is giving away an assault rifle as a promotion. Faith in what, or whom? Faith in the Christ who rebuked Peter for using a weapon, asked the Father to forgive His executioners, and admonished us to turn the other cheek, or faith in weapons? Perhaps I'm over-reacting . . .

Christianity: A Relevant writer discusses non-ideal family holiday get-togethers.

Christianity Today writes about how many Christians have fallen for fake news, and how to avoid this, and why it matters.

USA Today lists the 10 US states with the most generous people, and the 10 least generous.

Relevant discusses some myths about Christmas that lots of people believe to be true.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware reports on a utility that searches through your recent searches -- when you remember that you found XYZ, but can't remember how.

Education: (sort of) National Public Radio investigates a high school which had every student accepted to college, whether they should have been, or not.

Politics: The Trump administration has agreed to participate in attempts to reduce some atmospheric emissions, according to Scientific American.

Wired discusses the dangers of attacking ethnic groups on social media, as President Trump recently did.

Two US Senators, one from each party, have jointly introduced legislation which would require the Department of Homeland Security to assist in making voting more secure from hacking, and help replace outdated equipment. Both Senators are on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

FiveThirtyEight discusses the cake-baking case, and how the religious right seems to have changed strategies, and its view of the political landscape.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 635

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Listverse tells us about the original Star Trek characters, 10 of them.

Christianity: Perry Noble, fired from the pastorate of what is probably the largest church in South Carolina, because of his alcohol use, almost committed suicide.

Christianity Today on why racially uniform congregations are unfortunate, and why we integrated worship is a good thing.

(Sort of) Relevant reports that a human chain rescued some people from drowning, caused by a riptide, on a beach in Florida.


Education: Scientific American reports that college students would do better if they didn't bring laptop computers to class.

Food: (and religion) Relevant reports that the Catholic church refuses to use gluten-free wafers as part of communion.

Health: (sort of) Listverse tells 10 true horror stories of medical malpractice.

Scientific American reports that most people have at least one episode of mental illness some time in their life, and most of us recover from such episodes.

Listverse discusses some interesting facts about breast implants.

Politics: (or something) The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is composed of 90 large cities, from around the globe, who are attempting to mitigate climate change. It was interesting to discover, in the list of members, huge cities that I had not heard of.

Christianity Today reports that there will be a lot less Christians immigrating to the US in 2017 than did in 2016, because of the Trump administration's policies on admission.

National Public Radio reports that six Afghan girls, formerly refused visas by the US State Department, have been allowed to participate in a robotics competition in the US. President Trump evidently intervened on their behalf.

I didn't choose the title of this post, in the Village Voice, but it's a sane and sobering corrective to the political strife that most of us engage in.

Michael Gerson, Washington Post: "A faith that makes losing a sin will make cheating a sacrament."


Science: Scientific American on how babies perceive and distinguish colors.

Nature reports that scientists have figured out how to store a brief, low-resolution movie in bacterial DNA.




Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 610

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: A 1 minute, 46 second video of popcorn kernels popping.

Christianity: Russia has recently clamped down on evangelical (and other) religious activity, according to Relevant.

Christianity Today points out that Cardinal Dolan's reading, at the Trump inauguration, was from the Apocrypha.

Christianity Today reports that the abortion rate in the US has hit an all-time low.


Computing: WordCounter counts the number of words in entered text (you can copy text in from a document). It also gives the number of sentences, the reading level, and other statistics.

Education: Something called the Matthew 25 Declaration on public education.

Humor: (or something) Listverse posts little-known facts about some classic TV shows. (One such fact -- the person who invented the re-run.)

Listverse also posted about 10 "epic typos" in history. Amusing, unless you were affected.


Politics: Politico reports on British espionage in the US, prior to World War II. The British were trying to influence the US election, hoping that this would bring the US into the war against Germany. Does this remind you of anything?

The New York Times reports on fake news, but with a twist. The researchers made up news stories that were never published at all, and, when asked, some people claimed that they had seen these stories, and believed them.

Science: Scientific American reports on a huge wave in the atmosphere of Venus.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 605

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Listverse reports on 10 bizarre stained glass windows. Really bizarre.

Christianity: Relevant tells us that many Christians unknowingly repeat errors in their perception of the Christmas story.

Relevant also reminds us that no one ever became a believer because a Christian scolded them.

"Six Reasons Prayers are not Answered." (Actually, there are more in the article.)


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware reports on a capable free replacement for Microsoft Office.

And Gizmo's points to a free program that lets you download a YouTube video as an .mp3 file -- video to sound only, meaning you can play it without being connected to the internet. However, you lose the video.

Education: The New York Times reports that spending more money on education "probably" improves it.

Health: Listverse reports on people who have had various creatures living in their ears.

Humor: (or something) Scientific American reports on why it's so hard to get a gift that pleases the recipient. (There's an explanation.)

(or something) National Public Radio reports on the return of a book that was apparently checked out of a library in the UK, over 120 years ago.
 
Politics: (Or something) CNN reports that there has been a large pipeline leak, about 150 miles from the much-publicized standoff (so far) on the Standing Rock reservation.

Science: Scientific American reports that 13 bird species have been recently been declared extinct.

Scientific American also tells us that we should be getting ready to keep a comet from hitting the earth, but we aren't.

Listverse reports on 10 things you probably didn't know about the solar system. (I didn't.)

FiveThirtyEight tells us that we are all part virus. Really.








Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 555

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and health) A post on the BioLogos Forum considers the question of whether cancer is part of God's good creation.

Ken Schenck on what the Bible does, and doesn't say, about capital punishment.

Relevant has posted some pertinent quotes from Jim Elliot, a missionary who, at 28, was murdered by South American tribal people, 60 years ago. (That tribe later became mostly Christian, partly because Elliot's wife was a missionary to them.)

Education: (sort of) The History Blog reports that a skeleton unearthed in Scotland may be that of a 16th Century pirate.

National Public Radio reports that children learn better in school if they have more recess time than most schools give them.

Finance: National Public Radio discusses the lottery: The odds of winning, whether winning would make you happy, how much you'd get if you won, and a lot more interesting stuff.

Health: The New York Times reports on the financial reasons why hospital stay lengths are shrinking.

Philosophy: (and science) Physicists wonder about how real the "real" world really is, according to NPR. (I have taught college physics, and this conversation is about a century old, by the way.)

A post on Speculative Faith considers whether the droids of Star Wars are slaves or not.

Science: Time, and many other news organizations, report on the discovery of four new elements in the Periodic Table. Wired also reports, indicating that discovering even more elements will be even more difficult.

Wired has selected the volcanic (as in real volcanoes) event of the year 2015.

Wired also tells us about a wasp with an amazing ovipositor. (There are a couple of videos in this post.)

 
Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 535

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:


Christianity: Relevant tells us that private communion shouldn't be a chore, and makes some suggestions to make it more interesting. They suggest communion through food, among other things.

Stephen L. Corey points out that God created, or at least allowed, people who are not exactly male or female.

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware on privacy (or not -- some leaks can be fixed) in Windows 10.

Education: National Public Radio reports on how public schools in the US are neglecting the smartest kids.

Science: National Public Radio reports on research linking our leanness, or lack thereof, to our gut bacteria.

NPR also reports on very low-frequency communication sounds made by elephants.

Wired reports that Pluto's atmosphere seems to be being renewed. Its gravity is too weak to hold it as well as the earth holds ours.

Wired also explains why water gets stale when left out overnight.

Wired also reports on an on-line database of mathematical sequences, and the man who has maintained this database for 50 years. (Examples: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 . . ., the Fibonacci sequence, or 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29 . . ., the prime numbers.) There are many, many more of these sequences in the database.


Image source (public domain)

Why educated people should know something about science

An acquaintance of mine, a frequent blogger, is Dean of a Seminary, for a Christian university. He posts on lots of different topics. But he rather surprised me, a couple of days ago, by defending the teaching of science and math in a university curriculum. This was a preemptive strike at those who say (sometimes loudly and frequently) "Why should we have to learn this? We'll never use it."

It shouldn't have surprised me, because Professor Schenck, I happen to know, began his college career as a chemistry major at the school where I taught until my retirement. He was called to the ministry while in college, and changed majors.

So why should science and math be included in a college curriculum, even for music, art, and English majors? Here's what he said, with some brief commentary by me:

1. Knowledge in science and math is based on evidence. Scientists and mathematicians are not supposed to claim to have discovered something without giving good evidence for what they are claiming. Unfortunately, some people seem to think that "Because I said so," or "Because that is what I want to believe," is good enough. It shouldn't be a way of establishing "truth."

2. "This may sound mean, but one of the most important functions of math and science in a curriculum is to confront us with how stupid we are. In America, everyone thinks their opinion is as valuable as anyone else's." - To me, this is a re-statement of point 1.

3. Studying science and math help us understand how the world works.

Schenck went on to say that he understood that Christian colleges need to be very careful in dealing with certain matters, by which he meant origins, and Young-Earth Creationism. Some of their constituents, including donors, Board members, students, and some faculty, may believe that YEC is the only valid Christian belief, and stop giving, enrolling, or teaching, if a faculty member of a Christian college is bold enough to claim that there may be alternatives.

Here are two additional reasons for studying science and math in college. They are mostly expansions of point 3:
4. Educated people should have some idea of how dependent on the natural world we are, and also that we need to take care of it. In fact, we have a God-given duty to do so. We are absolutely dependent on photosynthesis, radiation from the sun, the properties of water, Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen, and a lot of other things.

5. Educated people should have some idea of how large the universe is, how old it appears to be, and how small cells, molecules and atoms are. They should also have some idea of the diversity of life, and the variety of materials that the universe is made of, and the many types of objects found in the universe.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 514

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity (and Mathematics): He Lives has addressed the question, posed by some, about 1 Kings 7:23, which implies that the Israelites thought that the circumference of a circle was 3 times its diameter, not pi (3.14159...) times its diameter.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware gives an annotated list of 18 free Android games that have been downloaded more than 100 million times each.
Education: Relevant reports on a study that says that US Millennials "aren't very skilled."
First Things has a short essay on why studying the humanities in college is important, and how university officials, who say that, aren't really being specific enough.
 
History: King Richard III of England is to be re-buried. He died in 1485. Read more at the History Blog.
Humor: "The 50 Funniest Puns in the History of Funny Puns." Sample: A plateau is the highest form of flattery. Thanks to a niece for drawing my attention to this web site.


Image source (public domain)

Losing our moral compass and elementary education

An eye-opening essay from a college philosophy professor with a second-grade child makes an interesting claim. That claim is that second-graders, and others, are taught that there are two mutually exclusive things: facts and opinions. (Also known as facts and beliefs.) Furthermore, they are taught that value claims are opinions. But classroom rules, such as "you shouldn't copy someone else's work" are value claims. So there is a logical mess imposed on children by their teachers, and the educational system, that most teachers don't perceive. And, says the author, it's no wonder that college students think that there are no moral absolutes -- they are all opinions.

The article gives examples of ideas that are both facts and opinions, and his examples are easy to understand, and convincing.

I think the man is on to something.

I'm not an expert on the Common Core, and I don't think the author is, either. He says that the Common Core standards impose this dangerous distinction. No doubt they do, but my understanding is that elementary students were taught such distinctions before the Common Core was ever thought of. It is important to understand when someone is stating an opinion which is not based on truth, such as, unfortunately, most of the advertisements on TV, for example.

The author teaches philosophy of religion at a public college. He says nothing about Judaeo-Christian beliefs, as such, in his article. Which, by the way, appeared on an opinion page in the New York Times.

Thanks for reading. Read the article.

50 years at Southern Wesleyan University

50 years ago, during Labor Day weekend, I arrived at Central Wesleyan College (CWC, now Southern Wesleyan University, SWU). I thank God for how he led me, then, and now. I don't deserve it, and didn't.

I had just finished a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I had become a Wesleyan, and liked working with young people, and really couldn't see myself as a researcher, so I thought I should try to get a position with one of the Wesleyan colleges. One of them wasn't interested. Two others were. I couldn't make up my mind as to where to go. One night, at mid-week service in the Wesleyan church in Madison, founded by the late Floyd and Olive Titus, there was an invitation for prayer requests. I raised my hand, asking God to give me guidance in my choice. He did. When I returned to my residence, I was told that there was a call from Dr. Mullinax, in Central, South Carolina. I returned his call, and he asked if I had made up my mind. I told him that I just had done so, and agreed to begin work at CWC in the fall. I didn't know, but was later told, that Paul Wood and Claude Rickman had gone to Dr. Mullinax, President of CWC, during their mid-week service, and suggested that it might be a good idea to call that fellow LaBar. Mullinax apparently agreed.

CWC, now SWU, doesn't do things so casually anymore. I had never been in South Carolina until I drove to the campus to take the position, and none of the officials at CWC had ever laid eyes on me. I was not interviewed, I just applied, and, as told above, eventually we agreed for me to become part of CWC. Nowadays new faculty visit the campus, are carefully interviewed by several faculty, perhaps also by students and appropriate administrators, and are often asked to give a lecture or other presentation, before a contract is issued to prospective faculty.

It turned out that the other Wesleyan institution that was interested in my services did not last for more than a few years after I came to South Carolina, and merged with another Wesleyan college.

God helped me, during my 50 years at SWU, to find a godly wife, among the student body. (That sort of thing is frowned on, too, now, for understandable reasons.) He helped me in selecting other faculty to join me in the teaching of science of all kinds, and mathematics and computing, all within the Science Division. I recall, for example, when Academic Dean Claude Rickman and I met each other in the hall outside his office. He had received a letter of resignation from our chemistry teacher, and I had received a letter of inquiry about a position in chemistry, on the same mail, and we were going to see each other about what to do about this, with neither of us knowing about the other letter. (The applicant was hired, and taught chemistry well for a few years, then left for personal reasons. She could have continued, if she had chosen to.) My wife graduated at the head of her class, and both our children graduated from other Christian colleges.

I am thankful that many students influenced me for good, and for the wonderful experiences that I had while at CWC/SWU. These included the chapel services. I don't think I ever missed one, unless I was off campus, with one exception. A rabbit died as a result of a treatment, and a couple of students and I decided that it would be a good learning experience to do an autopsy on the animal, which lasted through chapel time. It was a good learning experience. I saw young people genuinely repent, and people receive a genuine call to some sort of ministry, many times. This was a great privilege. I saw, or heard from, students who came to SWU for all sorts of reasons, such as an athletic scholarship or because a friend had come, but who knew little or nothing of the Christian life, become Christian examples, and, sometimes, be called into some special Christian service.

SWU has grown significantly. There were about 200 students when I came, almost all of them living on campus. Now there are about ten times than many, and many of these are adults who live near our extension centers at various points in South Carolina.

I retired at the end of the 2004-5 academic year. However, I have been privileged to teach in summer school, and also to teach in the evening program, on the main campus, and in Greenville and North Charleston, South Carolina, since that time. Last week, I was asked to fill in in one course, for the woman who more than replaced me at SWU. She has a serious health problem, and was unable to function well enough to teach. It was a privilege to attempt to replace her briefly. I pray that she will be able to return to full strength, and do the service that God has called her to do, and that she has been doing, so well, at SWU for nine years.

Thanks for reading..


 

Sunspots 485

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A post in Relevant says that complaining is a spiritual problem.
Education: National Public Radio reports on Turnitin, a service that checks the papers submitted by college students, for plagiarism.
Health: An amazing 3-minute video on what we look like to an ultraviolet camera. The video also shows graphic evidence that we should use sun-screen, aka sunblock, and that glass blocks UV waves. See here for a report on the video, in Slate.
Humor: (Or something) Coffee is now being made from coffee beans eaten, then passed through the gut, of elephants. Really, says National Public Radio.
Science:  Wired reports that city spiders grow bigger than spiders not in urban areas.
NPR reports on using people with Down syndrome as subjects for research into Alzheimer's. It turns out that, if they live long enough, all people with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's.
Wired also reports on fungi that control the behavior of ants.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 435

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: "The point of faith-filled education is not to indoctrinate but to bring faith into dialog with evidence and the flow of the discussion in humility. Education may not change your positions but hopefully frees you to take the positions you do with greater awareness of the evidence and options." - Ken Schenck, Dean of Wesley Seminary. Unfortunately, some believe that the point of education, faith-filled or not, is exactly to indoctrinate.

Science: National Public Radio reports on the discovery of the world's largest volcano, by far. It's inactive!

NPR also reports on the discovery of a region of the brain that enables us to quickly sense quantities, without having to manually count them. This works for small quantities. Few, if any, people can sense a hundred or so objects correctly.

Wired reports on the Bobbit worm, a really ghastly looking predator, which can grow to 10 feet in length.

Wired also reports on a huge storm circling Saturn.



Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 430

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (and Animal Behavior) National Public Radio reports on a Thai orchestra. The members are retired work elephants.

Christianity: Ken Schenck points out the flaws in both communism and capitalism.

Computing: You probably know (and do) all this, but just in case, Gizmo's Freeware has published "Twelve Things You Need to Know About Internet Privacy."

Education: The Pew Research Center has published a study of how modern digital tools impact the writing of high school students.

Health: Two reports on dieting, from National Public Radio:
Fasting for two days can help lose weight.

How to get off the diet plateau.



Image source (public domain)

Two articles on the danger of (only) Young-Earth Creationism

I recently read two articles on the danger of Young-Earth Creationism. What, you may ask, is this danger?

As Carolyn Arends put it, in Christianity Today: "If we've misread Genesis when we've taken it as a scientific account, and if it turns out God has used millions of years and evolutionary processes to make this world, then we've asked our children to believe something untrue as part of accepting the gospel. Couldn't that lead them to leave the church, when the cognitive dissonance between the empirical data and what we're asking them to believe becomes too great?"

The answer is that yes, it could. 

The other article is by a Christian geology professor, who was raised as a Young-Earth Creationist. As he went through college and graduate school, he saw that what he learned in geology was just not compatible with a recent age of the earth. He says that he has also ". . . seen students break down into tears as they stood on an outcrop of rock and saw evidence that contradicted what their church had taught them."

There is another danger, which neither author mentioned. That is that non-believers, who know some geology, will say, aloud, or to themselves: "Well, if the Bible teaches that the earth is only a few thousand years old, and it really isn't, why should I believe what the Bible teaches about sin and redemption?" Or, as a pastor in a university town put it, wondering why so few science majors attended his church, "the evangelical posture towards modern science has missional consequences."

I am not a geologist, but I have read some geologists, Christian geologists, who are convinced that there is no way that the rock layers and patterns on earth can be naturally explained, other than by many, many years of geological activity.

Glenn Morton, who had a career as a petroleum geologist, after receiving training from a YEC graduate institution, describes how he "was almost through with Christianity," after he found that the Young-Earth geology he had been taught did not work. He asked other professional geologists with YEC training if they had used that training in their work. They had all found the same thing -- YEC geology doesn't describe the way things really are. They weren't using YEC geology in their profession, because it didn't work.

It is possible that Young-Earth Creationism is correct, in spite of the geological evidence, and that God created the world with the appearance of great age. But if that were true, it would raise other questions.

Is Young-Earth Creationism definitely false? I can't say that, because I don't know for certain that it is. But better bible scholars than I have said that the Bible does not need to be interpreted as supporting that view. Read Arend for a brief discussion. Young-Earth Creationism should not be presented as the only valid Christian view on origins. Doing so runs the risk of driving away some of our youth, and of unnecessarily cutting off some unbelievers from the gospel.

Thanks for reading.

Homeschoolers wanting texts that teach evolution

According to a recent article in The Atlantic, there are homeschooling evangelical Christian parents who are disgusted with some of the science texts written for the homeschool market -- texts that teach that the earth is only a few thousand years old, and also teach that anyone who rejects that idea rejects God.

Interesting, indeed. I suspect that such people are a small minority.

Going into the world with a dogmatic view that the earth is only a few thousand years old has consequences. One consequence is that telling someone who needs Christ that that’s what the Bible says, when they have good reason to believe that it’s false, is likely to make them doubt what the Bible says about the need for salvation from sin, and Christ’s offer of redemption. If the Bible is wrong about geology (it’s not, but it doesn’t really say for sure that the earth is only 10,000 years old!) then how can it be trusted about sin and salvation?

See here for more on Young-Earth Creationism.

Thanks for reading.