Christians Divided Over Science Of Human Origins

[Y]ou're either going to accept that the Bible gives us the authoritative word concerning the entirety of our understanding of things relative to who we are as human beings, what God did in creating the world and what God did for us in Christ. If the Bible is not the authoritative source for that and instead has to be corrected by modern science, then the Bible is just there for our manipulation, and quite frankly, the Gospel is there for constant renegotiation. It ends up being another Gospel, the very thing the apostle Paul warned against.

So said Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in this very interesting discussion from an NPR podcast about evolution science and the Genesis story of the Fall. I have a difficult time understanding such misguided attitudes that pit faith against reason and seem to "kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:5 KJV). Perhaps coming from a Catholic background accepting evolution just wasn't as difficult for me than for a Southern Baptist like Mohler. Indeed, this 1994 document from the Pontifical Biblical Commission speaks about the dangers and folly of such thinking:

Fundamentalism also places undue stress upon the inerrancy of certain details in the biblical texts, especially in what concerns historical events or supposedly scientific truth. It often historicizes material which from the start never claimed to be historical. It considers historical everything that is reported or recounted with verbs in the past tense, failing to take the necessary account of the possibility of symbolic or figurative meaning...

It is often narrowly bound to one fixed translation, whether old or present-day. By the same token it fails to take account of the "re-readings" of certain texts which are found within the Bible itself...

The fundamentalist approach is dangerous, for it is attractive to people who look to the Bible for ready answers to the problems of life. It can deceive these people, offering them interpretations that are pious but illusory, instead of telling them that the Bible does not necessarily contain an immediate answer to each and every problem. Without saying as much in so many words, fundamentalism actually invites people to a kind of intellectual suicide. It injects into life a false certitude, for it unwittingly confuses the divine substance of the biblical message with what are in fact its human limitations.

The mental gymnastics one must engage in to ignore evolution and deny what seems to be pretty clear from all disciplines of science, that the universe is older than 6,000 years, life evolved and humanity did not arise from a single couple, seems to make a mockery of faith in my view. I do not expect a Bronze Age writer to expound upon scientific theory as we might do so today. Such was not a part of their culture and would have been completely alien to their understanding of the world. No, the Creation story in Genesis wasn't meant to be taken as science or history in my view but instead as myth which conveys a moral tale with essential truths about the faith. It seems to me rather silly to be continuing an argument about this that should have ended decades ago. Still, a good discussion and a podcast I recommend.

The Forgotten Refugees

Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5.

No matter what your views are on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, this documentary tells about an important part of it that is usually overlooked or is completely unknown by too many. A well-made and very interesting film.

You can also buy the DVD at Amazon here.

The Rise & Fall of Oliver Cromwell

Very good documentary with David Starkey about that brutal Roundhead, bane of Irish Catholics and even British Anglicans.



Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5.

Kevin Roose on "The Unlikely Disciple"

Great talk by Kevin Roose about his book The Unlikely Disciple:

Kevin Roose at Gel 2010 (author, The Unlikely Disciple) from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

The Unlikely Disciple

I got this one, along with a great big pile of other books, very cheaply thanks to the implosion of Borders. Their unfortunate demise was to my benefit I suppose you could say, because this is one of the best books I've ever read about a slice of contemporary culture. Besides the premise and subject matter, what makes this book all the more amazing to me is that the author Kevin Roose was only 19 at the time. He has an incredible talent from what I saw in this book and I hope to see more from him in the future.

The book's premise was very intriguing to me of a Northern secular liberal secretly infiltrating a prominent bastion of the American Religious Right: Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church, the heart of the Evangelical empire of the late Jerry Falwell. Here was the man who for most of my life had been on a crusade of sorts against folks like myself, with such incredibly noxious rhetoric that I certainly had no problems agreeing with Barry Goldwater when he said that "every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass". Yet what Roose discovered once he was there, really surprised him:

[T]he Liberty students I've met are a lot more socially adjusted than I expected. They're not rabid, frothing fundamentalists who spend their days sewing Hillary Clinton voodoo dolls and penning angry missives to the ACLU. Maybe I'm getting a skewed sample, but the ones I've met have been funny, articulate, and decidedly non-crazy.

I have to say that this is what made Roose's book so compelling to me. By this I do not mean that I was shocked to find out that the people he met didn't fit the stereotype he had imagined, I myself have had similar experiences with a number of Religious Right folks over the years, but the level of detail and description he gave was a good and much needed reminder of this to me. Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in politics and/or our own particular grudges that we tend to forget that most of those we disagree with aren't living personifications of evil but just as flawed and human as we are, trying to make sense of everything the best way they can. This doesn't mean that one should jettison their principles or whitewash their disagreements with others, not at all, only that we need to maintain perspective and not lose sight of the humanity of others. Lest anyone on the Right get cocky, this is something they need to do just as much given their demonization of gays and liberals (no, the terms are NOT synonymous) which has been as bad as what the Left has done against folks on the Right. Besides the story he had to tell, which by itself was fascinating to read, I guess this reminder was the best thing I took from Roose's book. Given the anniversary of 9/11 which recently passed, that is something I know that the late Fr. Mychal Judge would approve of as well.

Victim 0001

Excellent podcast about the life of the late Fr. Mychal Judge from RTÉ Radio 1. Check it out.

Fr. Mychal's Prayer

Nice prayer from the late Fr. Mychal Judge that I found at a website dedicated to his memory:

Lord, take me where You want me to go,
let me meet who You want me to meet,
tell me what You want me to say,
and keep me out of Your way.

These good folks at Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City were kind enough to turn Fr. Mychal's prayer into a decent hymn:

"St. Athanasius on Repentance"

I had mixed feelings watching this video from the series "Saints Speak" by Arcadia Films:

1. Intrigued by the concept. Who wouldn't want to hear the saints speak about various matters that concern each one of us?

2. Disturbed that thanks to actor Morten Kublick's very good looks, I'll never look at St. Athanasius the same way again. "Thou shalt not lust after saints" has got to be a corollary to at least one of the Commandments.

3. Amused at how incredibly over-the-top the music, acting and effects are. In a sense it's almost a pious version of Rocky Horror in that it is actually good because it's so bad. Only what am I supposed to throw at the screen instead of toast, rice and hot dogs? Rosary beads?

Eh, even with all of this this video and the others in the series will undoubtedly still inspire some folks so in spite of the unintentional humor that's good I suppose.

Prisoner of the Vatican

I recently finished reading this fascinating history of the fall of the Papal States and the birth of modern Italy, along with the contentious early years between the papacy and the Italian monarchy. For many Catholics today used to pontificates like that of the late John Paul II, reading about Pius IX & Leo XIII scheming with foreign powers to undermine the 'godless' Italian state and working for the restoration of their own temporal power, is probably a bit shocking. I can see the need for a sovereign Vatican City but theocracy a la the Papal States holds absolutely no appeal to me. Still, while the papacy may not come across in the best light in this history neither do the early modern Italian leaders. Some of them were just as fanatical and just as objectionable as some of those in the papal party, only from the other side of the spectrem of course. Losing the Papal States was probably the best thing to happen to the Church in quite a long time. One thing for sure is that is helped bring us popes like John XXIII or JPII, who while flawed were both good men and probably never would have sat in St. Peter's Chair if the events of this book hadn't of happened. An interesting bit of history and a book I highly recommend.

Ossuary of Caiaphas Daughter-In-Law Authenticated

The Helek Tov blog links a news story about recent authentication efforts for the ossuary of Miriam, daughter-in-law of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest infamous in the New Testament for his participation in the condemnation of Jesus two thousand years ago. In reading this article I was reminded of probably the best portrayals of the man I've seen on-screen. This was in the 2008 BBC production called The Passion, with Caiaphas being played by actor Ben Daniels. This was the first time I recall seeing Caiaphas as being a complex person with real depth, and not the 2-dimensional stereotypical villain twirling his moustache as he places a bound and hapless Jesus on the railroad tracks to meet His fate from an oncoming locomotive (cue sinister laugh).

Or something like that.

Daniels made Caiaphas come alive to me, a real person with all the passions and human weaknesses that make him who he is. He is shown as a being a family man, a devoted Jew and leader of an oppressed people suffering under foreign occupation. All of these things put together make the story of Caiaphas that much more appealing in one sense because to me it warns each of us how easily we can allow that which we are most passionate about and seek to protect the most regardless of the cost, deceive us and lead us down a very bad path. As Simon Round from the UK's Jewish Chronicle reportedly wrote about this:

In the Gospel according to Stafford-Clark [The Passion’s producer], Caiaphas is portrayed sympathetically. He presides over a volatile Jerusalem (some things never change) where the balance of power is threatened not only by the arrival of Jesus but also the appearance on the scene of violent terrorists (the Judean People’s Front?), all of whom threaten the tenuous autonomy of the Jews in the Holy City.

But however sensitively Caiaphas is treated (we even see him stroking his pregnant wife’s stomach), he still hands Jesus over to the Romans...

What this portrayal of Caiaphas brings home to me at least is that in a sense we are all Caiaphas, easily just as capable of doing what he is reported to have done or worse even if our own particular reasons why might differ somewhat. Now that's a sobering thought.

As for the news linked at Hekel Tov about this ossuary from Caiaphas' daughter-in-law, I'm glad to see this and hope we discover more about the man and those around him whom he loved. I suspect that the more we learn about the real Caiaphas the more we may learn about ourselves.

Sister Wendy's Grand Tour of Rome

There is something about Sister Wendy's passion for art that I find to be captivating. It was good to be reminded of this particular video after seeing Rob Cain's old post about Bernini's masterpiece Apollo & Daphne.

What does the Bible say about usury?

While I'm not returning to blogging just yet (if ever), I wanted to post a response I left to a "Christian" responding to this excellent posting by John Shore. If there's one thing that really bugs me in an online discussion, it's those folks who like to cut-and-paste other people's writings - especially from fundamentalist apologists - without putting any original thought or effort into their comments. I mean sure, if you do not know how to express yourself well than by all means give a few words and perhaps a link to the article you think is relevant to the subject under discussion. Yet save the cut-and-paste jobs, they are truly annoying and are largely ignored. The next pet peeve I have with such cut-and-paste jobs is the mind-numbing illogic used by these fundamentalist apologists being cribbed from. Which brings me to the reason for this post. A commentor used the online article What does the Bible say about homosexuality? by Matt Slick to respond to John Shore's posting and I must say that this is filled with some of the most absurd reasoning I've seen in quite awhile. I find this mentality of "the Bible says 'X' is a sin and that will never change!" to be completely ignorant of how much Christian and Jewish theology have developed and changed over the centuries. With this in mind I decided to take one example of something the Bible and Christians until the time of the Reformation clearly condemned as being sinful has developed and changed since then: the taking of any interest on money and goods, i.e. usury. I'm sure that everyone has been hit with this online and just in case this may help others I want to post my response here at my blog as well. So in honor of the "Christian" commentor at JohnShore.com and in keeping with the reasoning of Slick's article, let's see how usury should be viewed in light of the Bible's teaching (with some editing from my original posting):

There are those who like to say that the Bible does not condemn usury**. Various verses are cited (out of context) and the verses that people use to show that usury is wrong are explained away. The world wants to change God’s words and meanings into something more suitable to its sinful desires. Nevertheless, the truth stands: The Bible condemns usury as a sin. Let’s look at what it says.

Exodus 22: 25-27: "If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious."

Deuteronomy 23: 19-20: "You shall not charge interest to your brother -- interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess."

Leviticus 25: 35-37: "If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit."

Nehemiah 5: 10-11: "I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury! Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them."

Psalm 15:5: "He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved."

Jeremiah 15:10: "Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me."

Ezekiel 18:13: "If he has exacted usury Or taken increase -- Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him."

Luke 6:34: "If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again."

Usury is clearly condemned by the Bible; condemned by the early Church, including ALL the Fathers who commented on the subject and the early Church councils like Nicaea; condemned by Reformers like Martin Luther. It goes against the created order of God. He created us all to live as brothers and sisters, to lend to one another without the taking of interest. This is what God has ordained and it is what is right. Unlike other sins, usury has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple: They are given over to their passions. That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Psalm 15:5). As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. Without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus. Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.

What should be the Christian’s Response to Usurers?

Just because someone practices usury does not mean that we cannot love him (or her) or pray for him (her). Usury is a sin and like any other sin, it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible. It needs to be laid at the cross, repented of, and never done again.

As a Christian, you should pray for the salvation of usurers the same as you would for any other person in sin. The usurer is still made in the image of God — even though he is in grave sin. Therefore, you should show him the same dignity as anyone else with whom you come in contact. However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin. Don’t compromise your witness for a socially-acceptable opinion that is void of godliness.

Pray tell, Brother Slick, what are you doing to combat the wicked abomination that is usury? What of our Christian brothers and sisters who borrow money/goods at interest or lend money/goods at interest in clear defiance of God’s Word? Worse yet, what of the "Christian" businesses and even churches (!) who have compromised their witness for a socially-acceptable opinion that is void of godliness by borrowing money/goods at interest or lending money/goods at interest? Our whole economic system is built not upon the Word of God but instead upon the worldly views of that perfidious usury-lover and usurer-enabler John Calvin!

** - "Usury (comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, 'interest' or from the Latin usura 'interest') originally meant the charging of interest on loans. This included charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change." – Wikipedia article "Usury"

For more on the history of usury and Christian theology, see the following:

Usury (Economic History Association)

Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be... (AskThePriest.org)

Reforming the Morality of Usury: A Study of the Differences that Separated the Protestant Reformers by David W. Jones

History of Usury Prohibition (AlastairMcIntosh.com)

Usury (Pharsea - Christopher West)

Usury & The Church of England (Rev. Henry Swabey)

Israel displays coins from ancient Jewish revolt

Interesting discovery.

Recommended Reading

I've finally finished reading Prayers for Bobby. This is the true story of Bobby Griffith a young gay man whose inability to reconcile his sexuality and the fundamentalist religious tradition in which he was raised, led him to take his own life.

A very sad and poignant tale. Sad for obvious reasons but also poignant in the story of his mother's redemption of sorts: the arduous and painful journy to overcome the rigid beliefs she held that helped drive Bobby to take his own life. This book is about her story as well as Bobby's. I can't do this book enough justice in describing it but I do highly recommend it.

Also check out the movie that was based upon this book and stars Sigourney Weaver.

How The Earth Was Made

A really cool History Channel special I happened to find on iTunes. A very fascinating look at the possible history of our planet. After watching this and given the Rare Earth Hypothesis championed by geologist & paeleontologist Peter Ward, I just cannot see how anyone can deny the existence of God. It's one thing to claim that one particular religion is in error, or even that all known religions are filled with errors given man's fallibility, yet it is quite another to claim that there is no God at all. Given the complexity of Earth's formation and 4.5 billion year history, as well as the possibility that our humble planet may be a rarity in this vast universe, all of this just screams the miraculous to me. Evolution is a no-brainer to me but attributing Life to "gamma rays that ignited the life-spark that ultimately created single-celled life-forms which, eventually through the magic of evolution", brought us man,to paraphrase Jonah Goldberg, takes far more faith in my estimation than believing in a Deity.

You can find the other parts to this show here. Enjoy.

Dumb ideas that never should have left the drawing board...

1. Gay Bible. Jews & Christians have been "re-interpreting" the Bible for centuries so why do we need a bogus re-write?

2. Prop 8: The Musical. Cheesy. Corny. Counter-productive. Yet good to see Neil Patrick Harris.

Wall Dating to Second Temple Unearthed

Fascinating discovery in Jerusalem:

The remains of the southern wall of Jerusalem that was built by the Hasmonean kings during the time of the Second Temple have been uncovered on Mount Zion, the Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

The 2,100-year-old wall, which was destroyed during the Great Revolt against the Romans that began in 66 CE, is located just outside the present-day walls of the Old City and abuts the Catholic cemetery built in the last century where Righteous Gentile Oskar Schindler is buried...

The Second Temple Period wall, which was built without mortar, was "amazingly" well-preserved today to the height of three meters, more than 2,000 years after it was constructed, [excavation director Yehiel] Zelinger said.

He voiced the hope that the First Temple wall would be uncovered next. (Jerusalem Post)

A second 'Wailing' Wall? It will be interesting to see if this site comes to be as revered to Jews mainly, but also Christians, as the well-known Western Wall is. The fall of Jersualem in 70 AD certainly was a pivotal moment in history, affecting the faith and lives of countless millions of two great religions. One cannot help but be moved reading Josephus' account of the terrible suffering and desperation of the Jews fighting the Romans as the Holy City burned and the Great Temple fell. If this find can be expanded upon and remnants from David's temple can be discovered as well, what a boon to archaeology this would be as well as a welcome find to this great king's spiritual descendants.

Israel to Display the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Internet

Pretty cool, I can’t wait to see them! Not that I read Hebrew but it will allow those who do greater access to add more to discussions about the biblical text along with canonical studies.

h/t - Hot Air

Thought for the day...

"Politics has changed religion - it's like mixing ice cream with horse manure. It doesn't do anything to the manure but it ruins the ice cream. This has caused great harm to religion - we will live to regret the error." - Rev. Tony Campolo

Good quote but in some twist of irony, Campolo is a bit guilty of this as well though from the more liberal end of the political spectrum. Nevertheless, some food for thought.

h/t - Paradoxy

Music to stir one's soul...

When I was growing up in the 1980s I used to really like Contemporary Christian Music, also known as Christian Rock. Singers like Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, etc. sang about faith in God and living for Christ that I found really inspiring. At times this music was my "sanctuary" of sorts, a retreat from a world hostile to gays. Perhaps that seems ironic to some given that most of these singers come from a particular faith tradition that has traditionally been very hostile to gays. Yet music is a powerful thing and it was the message that they imparted through their songs which I found to be comforting and gave me hope of God's love. Through the years since then I turn to this music from time to time and it's like greeting an old friend. Yesterday, during the commute, I listened to a favorite of mine: Rich Mullins, who was unfortunately killed in a car accident in 1997. Mullins seemed to be a humble fellow whose faith in God and love for his fellow man rang out in his music. One of my favorites is his muscial version of the Apostles' Creed:

Rich Mullins - "Creed (Credo)"



Upon arriving home last night, I was pleased to find a number of good selections from Eugene over on Paradoxy. One in particular I found to be especially moving was by a much younger singer named Bebo Norman. His song "Nothing Without You" is just awesome:



Funny how we can recognize just how much we rely upon those whom we love, but all of us are guilty of ignoring at times the same when it comes to the Almighty. Great music and I thank Eugene for posting stuff I wasn't familiar with.