New discovery of an a very old Copy of the Gospel of Mark?

Pretty exciting stuff.  If this pans out as authentic, this 1st century fragment of the Gospel of Mark predates the existing earliest MS by 100 to 150 years and places it's origination within the lifespan of some of the original followers of Christ.  Pretty cool. 

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

Lent

Here we are, almost a week into Lent.  Are you observing?  Apparently Lent is not just for Catholics.  Who knew?  I'm kidding of course, sort of.  I've never really thought much about it before.  Unless I ran into a person who apparently didn't see the smudge on their forehead before they left their house in the morning, Ash Wednesday would most likely come and go without me even noticing.  It's a shame really.  A practice that once was ubiquitous in the early church remains largely ignored by much of the modern church.  But there does seem to be a resurgence of late, enough of one to catch my attention at least.  And rightly so.  It's a shame that many of the practices that influenced the early church have been lost under the envelop of Grace.  I understand that practicing Lent does not earn me any points with God.  It won't influence my redemption.  What I don't understand is why this extended time of reflection, repentance, and penitence, while it doesn't impress God, isn't impressed on more people of the church today.  My church is silent on it, as I expect most to all Fundamental Baptist churches are.  Why wouldn't this be something every Christian gets behind?  I often lament how empty Easter feels.  Maybe its just me, I don't know, but what should be the most joyous and moving day of worship for Christ followers comes and goes about as fast as the ham that follows.  Come on people!  Easter is not the greatest of Sundays because of the special music!  So this year, I'm preparing... and it began last Wednesday.   

To be honest, I'm not sure what to expect.  I'm hoping that I will find Easter to be the pinnacle it's meant to be.  I'm hoping to reach a certain harmony with what God is doing with me and my family.  I'm hoping to experience God in a fresh way.  But ultimately, it's not about me.  So we'll see.  35 days to go.

Why I Gave Up On Young Earth Creationism, part 1.

There was a time when I was passionate about young earth creationism.  I absorbed as much material put out by ICR and AIG and other young earth groups as I could.  I subscribed to their newsletters, read their books and watched their videos and even had the privilege to hear Ken Ham speak.  I even studied biology under some pretty good young earth scientists at a fundamentalist university with the intent of advocating young earth creationism some day.  I loved it, and what else could a knowledge hungry Christian believe?  Sure there were old earthers, and gap theorists, and worse yet, theistic evolutionists hovering on the fringes of Christianity, but none of those groups were consistently faithful to the Word of God, right?  And the scientific evidence, well it was consistent with the Genesis account, as long as it was interpreted with the correct 'world view', right?

So what happened?  Well, I guess I grew up.  I'm not saying that those hanging on to young earth creationism are immature, uneducated, or lacking in any way.  I totally get that compared to many young earth advocates, I'm pretty much an idiot.  But I just don't get it anymore.  By don't I mean can't.  By growing up I mean that I see things differently now.  Like a child learns and grows through play, through seeing, feeling, and experiencing, what I see, feel, and experience in creation has a profound influence on how I think and ultimately, my faith.  And while I understand why many Christians hold onto it with such passion, I can not be honest with myself and subscribe to 'scientific creationism.'  

As a young earth creationist, I found myself more concerned with finding holes in evolution theory than supporting young earth theories.  And now, looking back, that makes sense to me.  Young earth creation is not based on science.  It's based on a particular interpretation of the first chapters of Genesis.  If science doesn't agree, it must be wrong.  Evolution, on the other hand, is based on science.  And with just about all science, it is a work in progress and as such, open for criticism.  Despite what some may purport, it does not explain everything.  It is not perfect.  I'm confident that decades from now, as more of this world is revealed to us, many of the theories in evolution will have changed.  Some changes may be subtle.  A few revisions may even be drastic.  That is science.  Though as a science, evolution will not go away.   I don't see the lack of surety as a bad thing.  We are constantly learning, adjusting, pursuing.  I don't believe God gave us the Bible so that our knowledge would be full.  It's not a matter of God's words versus man's words as so often repeated by Ham and his followers.  It's about good science and pseudoscience.  Good science refines itself.  Pseudoscience does not. It does not adjust itself to new information but rather looks for new information to confirm itself.  Creationists ask evolution for irrefutable proof (an impossible demand) while providing not an inkling of evidence (a seemingly simple expectation) for itself. 

Almost every Christian I know personally would rebuke me for giving up on young earth creationism.  I'm fine with that.  That's the circle of fellowship I've put myself in.  I'm not out to change anyone's mind, just come clean about mine. 

Creationism in the Classroom and Indiana

The Indiana Senate recently passed a bill allowing for the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in public school science classes as reported by Fox News.  As with other states that have passed similar legislation, bills like this tend to attract national attention and the ensuing backlash will likely kill this before it gets any further (Science).   Even if a bill like this could make it all the way to law, I'm having a difficult time understanding the practical aspects of it.  Would schools districts introduce creationism into its science curriculum?  Not likely, but even if it did, and as the bill states, it allowed for Christian, Judaic, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Scientology interpretations of origins, who would be qualified to teach it?  How many high school science teachers out there can claim expertise on world religion and alternating views on cosmic origins?  Even still, what do these alternating views have to do with science?  There was a time when I favored the push to 'teach the controversy' and thought it was good due diligence.  What would be the danger?  But, scientifically speaking (and that's all we should be concerned with in science class), there is no controversy.  The controversy exists somewhere outside the lab.  That's not to say that evolution has all the answers and is without its flaws.   It, like any theory of science, is under continual revision and adapts to the accumulation of knowledge, but any honest approach to the empirical data available today will suggest an evolution of life that at least somewhat resembles Darwin's theories. 

I also wonder what the instruction of creation theories in science class says about the usefulness of science?  On one hand we teach the importance and practicality of science, of making observations, formulating and testing hypothesis, honestly reporting conclusions, and finally arriving at theories that best explain the observations, and then follow up with instruction in theories not based on observations, that are not testable, that weren't arrived at by pouring over the data.  All in the same science class?  Does good science (peer reviewed, repeatable, demonstrative) have value when bad science (imagination, hand waving, and conjecture) is legitimized as an equal counterpart? 

I'm not saying that creationism (non-evolution kind) cannot be true.  It may be.  I'm also not suggesting that it shouldn't be studied.  I enjoy the entertainment that is provided by 'fringe' science and I think it has its place.  I'm open to everything.  But, even though I find the hunt for bigfoot and the accounts of non-terrestrial experiences fascinating, I wouldn't want them taught in science class (not yet at least).  If science as we know it today is to be trusted, the probability that theories supporting the views of young earth creationists are correct are slim, which, as a side note, explains the demonization of mainstream science by certain young earth groups.  Science education (especially at the high school levels) should focus on available data, and if the data suggests a certain origin for humans, so be it.  As a Christian, I should accept that.  I am not forced  to believe it, but I should at least acknowledge the fact that science does say something about the world we live in and suggest a certain history for it.  What we do with what science suggests and how we choose to integrate it into our belief systems makes great discussion for the philosophy class that meets down the hall, I just don't see how it fits into a science curriculum, unless of course we are on the verge of a dogma shattering discovery, and then, of course, fringe will become mainstream and get its own chapter.

Took a stroll to the Super Bowl today... which apparently is a stop on the way to Hell!

Another beautiful winter day in Indianapolis.  Those warm climate host cities have nothing on us.  With the Super Bowl festivities climaxing a few hours from now, I decided to take a stroll down to the Super Bowl village to mingle with the rich and famous.  Not really.  Though the streets were filled with limos and police escorts, the walkways swarmed with red & blue jersey wearing, bud-light toting, happy to-be-here fans.  Swarmed might be an understatement.  The pilgrimage of the faithful brought thousands to Indianapolis.  I must admit, I felt a bit of pride in our small market city, formerly only known to some in association with corn fields and race cars.    The zip line was running at full capacity.  The music stages boomed.  The party tents rocked.  Fans cheered.  The street preachers preached.  Yep, no gathering of people en masse would be complete without the megaphone preacher and his sign holding side kicks.  In the few blocks I walked, I counted a half-dozen men declaring boldly their claim of the Gospel.  Most were fairly innocuous.  For the most part, people just strolled by, some mumbling under their breath, others pretending not to hear.  I always wonder about the effectiveness of this type of evangelism.   Preaching to those who want to listen is one thing, but preaching to those who don't, well that's just being a nuisance.  Does God call Christians to public nuisance?  I don't know.  Not all were mere obstacles to get by though.  One man was a bit of a traffic stopper.  He managed to gather a bit of a congregation.  When I first saw him, he was battling a not entirely sober man over the mic.  You couldn't miss him.  All mic'd up, he stood above the crowd and was adorned with boldly printed signs declaring that "ALL drunkards, whore mongers, homosexuals, thieves ... are going to HELL!".  His spoken message was pretty much that as well.  His list of hellians included Rappers, rock singers, and pretty much all those football worshiping fans within earshot.  The crowd mockingly loved him.  I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh a little,  though hoping that this wasn't the only impression of Christ these people get.  

Sometimes its easy to get discouraged, frustrated, even embarrassed by those claiming to serve the same God as I do.  I find myself falling into this trap often.  The thing is though, God isn't phased by all this.  His plans are still sure.  His work is still evident in those faithful to the truth of the Gospel.  People have been getting in the way of God since the beginning of, well, people.  I guess that's part of what makes him great.  Though we are dependent on him, he is not dependent on us (though wants to use us, imagine that.) He is always God always sovereign.  And though I often wonder about the specifics of what He is doing, and get frustrated by questions and insecurities, I know that He is still at work in this world, despite the actions of those who bring evil on fellow humans, despite the hubris of those who mock His name, despite the foolishness of those who make a mockery of His Name, despite those who are faithful to church but not their calling, despite me.  Though he made us all image bearers, God doesn't seem too worried too much about His image.  Maybe I should worry less about it as well, while reminding myself that he has called me to bear it.