No Intelligence Allowed

"...differences over the development of life, unlike other disputes, spark so much controversy because the collateral stakes are higher than they seem. Where you stand on the origins question often influences your worldview on issues of human life, ranging from cloning to euthanasia." ~ Bruce Chapman

With "Expelled" coming out this weekend I thought this would be a good quote to talk about. It is true that our beliefs on the origins of life greatly affect our opinions on human life. I heard a good example of how evolutionary thought affects society in a song on the radio. Nickleback has recently released a song called "Animals" where the chorus says:

No, we're never gonna quit
Ain't nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we're animals
No, no matter where we go
'Cause everybody knows
We're just a couple of animals

What does it matter if we are immoral when we are all really just animals? For some time abortion was rationalized because it was believed that the fetus goes throw an evolutionary process in the womb. If that is the case why should it matter if we kill it while in a non-human stage? We put down animals when they are old and sick, why not the same with humans if we really are just animals?

Our views on origins of life do matter and affect the way we look at all of human life, even if we do not know it. If we are designed, intentional creatures; not products of purposeless, random events; then we have intrinsic value and reason to fight for human life. If not, then we might as well just act "like we're animals."

By His Grace,
Taylor

Fullness of the Faith

"No particular denominational body can encompass all the richness and completeness of the broad historic Christian faith. The various denominations reflect a collage of God’s redeemed people... The Holy Spirit and the truth of Scripture are not the exclusive property of any one denomination within Christendom’s vast domain. Therefore Christians of various traditions have both common elements as well as distinctive features to share with their brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations." ~ Kenneth Samples

I must first say that I stole the title from Mr. Samples' article (click on the title to see his article). I took it because I think that there is wisdom in thinking of denominations in such a fashion.

Many evangelicals today focus purely on the drawbacks to the many denominations that exist today. To be certain, there are many drawbacks, but denominations also provide a great service. One thing that often comes to my mind, which Mr. Samples points out later in his article, is that they provide a type of theological peer review. If we were all one denomination and all shared one creed on every theological issue we could very easily begin to exalt said creed as authoritative instead of Scripture and slip into heresy. With peers to critique our theology and offer a different perspective or interpretation we are (should be) brought back the Scripture to examine their beliefs and our own. Protestants who focus only on the drawbacks to denominations might want to consider what the Church would look like today if men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, or Ulrich Zwingli had not broken from the Roman Catholic Church and created a type of denomination.

Do we go overboard today? Yes, I believe we do. This, to me, is all the more reason to stop widening the gap by focusing on the drawbacks, stop disavowing all denominations (which is actually not possible), and start closing the gap by forming relationships with others from other denominations that can sharpen us in our Christian lives.

By His Grace,
Taylor

To Read the Old or the New?

"...if he must read only the new or only the old [Christian works], I would advise him to read the old... he is an amateur and therefore much less protected than the expert against the dangers of an exclusive contemporary diet... It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between... We all... need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period... None of us can fully escape this blindness..." ~ C. S. Lewis

I think this is very wise advise. We are all, in one way or another, a product of our age and therefore have similar blind spots which lead to similar mistakes. When we read a work from a different culture and a different time we can finally, in various ways, step outside of our cultural biases and see truth from another perspective. Indeed other ages had their own biases, but they are in at least some ways different from our own. They may have missed things we can see clearly, but they may also see things clearly that we miss and this is vitally important if we desire to glorify God in wisdom and truth. A diverse diet of old and new Christian works can give us brief glimpses of our biases and can reveal truth to which we may be blind if left to our own reason.

By His Grace,
Taylor