Death of a pet
Our cat Jasper died yesterday. My wife and I got him about fourteen years ago, right after we were married. He had been sick for quite a while, so it was not unexpected. (No, he is not dead in this picture, that was just one of his favorite spots for "hanging out")

The death of a pet can be used as a way to help our kids understand how to deal with truly sad events. Death is not something to be hidden away and not talked about; instead it should be discussed and understood as part of the process of life. When it was obvious that Jasper was not going to make it much longer, we allowed all the kids to say their "last words" to him. After he had died, we called the kids in and let them see him and say goodbye. There was much crying and sadness, but after a while the talk turned to the funny experiences we had with him and how much we loved him. At dinner we thanked the Lord for letting us have him in our lives.

One of my kids keeps talking about how Jasper is in heaven and how much he must be enjoying himself. My wife and I decided it that there is no point in discussing the theology of animals in heaven. You never know: it may be possible that our pets will be there with us.

There is still some sadness around the house, but most of the attention is now turned to Jasper's sister, Josie. The kids all appreciate her so much more. I hope this experience has helped our kids (and us) deal with death (and other trying times) just a little bit better.  ¶ 3:27 PM 0 comments

  Visions of the future I am big fan of science fiction novels. I recently got my hands on a "Top 100" list of the best sci-fi novels of all time and I am making my way through these. It turns out I had already read 17 of the top 20, so I am trekking down to the used book store to work through the rest.

One of the things I have noticed in reading science fiction is that the authors tend to take one of two views about the future of earth: either it will degenerate into chaos, with life on earth being filled with crime and shortages (doomsday) or mankind will solve their problems and work together to explore the stars (utopian). This is, of course, a generalization and not all SF novels do this. But it gets me wondering about the mindset of these authors. The "doomsday" authors have a very low view of man and are very pessimistic about the future that technology will bring. The "utopian" authors believe in the goodness of men to overcome our problems and come together as a world. It would be an interesting study to classify all the SF written in the past fifty years or so and see what sorts of trends we could find.

But this gets me thinking: as Christians, what sort of future are we envisioning? On the one hand, we can look at the fallen nature of man and the coming apocalypse described in Revelation and take a very pessimistic, or doomsday view. On the other hand, we can be working for bringing Christ's kingdom to earth and take an essentially positive, though probably not utopian, view.

I, myself, take a middle road. I don't expect to see any of the doomsday scenarios play out, at least not until the Lord returns. I also don't see any utopias coming any time soon. As human beings, we will always be faced with the same problems of good and evil, they just may be in different forms. What I do hope for is that advances in science and technology can help us overcome many of the physical problems we encounter: cures for sickness, help for the disabled, better quality of life as we age. I also see that technology can be used as a way to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now that is something to be working towards.  ¶ 11:22 AM 0 comments

  Some interesting pieces around the web Weblogs were originally created as a way to help people manage their web experience. Well, I'll do that today! Here are some interesting pieces from around the web:

• John Mark Reynolds gives some cheerful news for 2006.
  
  
• The Church Report lists its top 50 most influential Christians in America. Some interesting choices here and some surprises.
  
  
• Doug Tennapel shows why Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was so great.
  
  
• ...and on the same blog Mac points out how King was treated by the right in his day as a warning for us today.
  

Enjoy reading.  ¶ 6:59 AM 0 comments

  Hilarious This post is hilarious.  ¶ 7:32 AM 0 comments

  MLK

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on him
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
So let it be
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
So let it be
Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on him

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
(nobody like you...)
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

  ¶ 7:07 AM 0 comments

  Predictions It's January, so everyone is making predictions. A couple of the most interesting are from John Mark Reynolds and Robert X. Cringely. John Mark Reynold's predictions are "cultural", while Cringely's are predictions for technology and the computer industry.

The most intersting prediction from Reynolds is his thinking on Iran. He states:

Iran will become more important in the news than Iraq. Iraq will begin to move toward peace and the mullahs will feel the threat of reaction to a democratic neighbor in their own people. When in trouble, dictators demonize Jews and Americans. Expect the nuclear program to continue and for someone (Israel if the worst happens) to take it out. Have the doves so ham-strung Bush that he will not be able to keep this rotten regime from getting weapons we know they will use?

I think he is right on here. This is a regime that must be watched carefully and we must be ready to act. Their latest strategy is to deny that the Holocaust every occurred. They are going to hold a conference on it. And these guys are going to have nukes? I don't think so...

Cringely's most interesting prediction is probably this one for Google:

Google will continue to roll out new products and services as it builds out its infrastructure for a huge push in 2007. They'll need money, of course, so I predict a supplemental stock offering timed with a 20-to-1 stock split. 2006 is a building year for Google.

I'm not sure what "a building year" for Google means, and I'm not sure I agree. I think that Google will begin to use its dominance to solidify its position as the place to go on the net. We will see.

And predictions from me . . . maybe later, not today. Now I'm off to keep working on my dissertation.  ¶ 6:46 AM 0 comments

  Search
A couple of months ago I read The Search by John Battelle. I found it so compelling that I am going to use it as part of my E-Business Strategy course this spring. It is the story of the search industry, with a special focus on Google. According to the author, the folks at Google feel that only about 5% of the search "problem" is solved so far. These search companies want to get inside your head and determine your intentions so that when you search they will fully understand what you want and provide you with the exact result. A fascinating idea. But just how will they get inside my head? That is the question.

Pondering this idea of search has led me to another path: how could technology be used to help those seeking information about Christianity? How can the results be presented so that the seekers can truly find Christ? Do a search right now on "Jesus Christ" and you will find a mix: Campus Crusade's web site, results from a PBS special, a Mormon web site, and a news story discussing the idea that maybe Jesus never did exist. Campus Crusade shows up first, so I am guessing that they have done their homework in regards to search results on the term "Jesus Christ". Kudos to them.

I have been playing around with the idea of developing a site that can be used as a resource for those working to understand the Christian worldview and theology. This would not be an evangelism site, but instead a place where current events and philosophies can be discussed in an environment that is trusted but allows for differences of opinion. Think Wikipedia for Christian thought, but with a guarantee of well-thought articles and opinions. Is this a good idea? Do you know of other sites that do this well? Send me your comments and ideas.  ¶ 8:00 AM 0 comments

  Mark D. Roberts on Islam Mark D. Roberts has started a series on Islam, specifically on the interview that Hugh Hewitt did with Joseph Fessio. This will be well worth the read. Anyone who wants to know what our world may look like in the next few decades should understand this.  ¶ 7:03 AM 0 comments

  The coming tragedy? The world sits by while Africa starves. As Christians, this is our concern. But what can be done?

Sometimes it seems as if the evangelican church is so inward focused (faith) that we do not make it a priority to find those in need and help (works). But "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14-20). I will be looking for ways that we can help and posting them to this site.  ¶ 6:49 AM 0 comments

  The coming battle I've said before that I think we are now in a war with Muslim extremists. This interview that Hugh Hewitt had with Father Joseph Fessio adds a dire warning. First, he states that Europe may eventually become Muslim, with governments that outlaw religious freedom. Second, he sees no way for Islam to change via a Reformation, such as Christianity did. Read the summary of it at hughhewitt.com or the full interview at radioblogger.com.  ¶ 10:06 AM 0 comments

  Still going... Just in case you weren't paying attention: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the tenth biggest movie of 2005 and was #1 last weekend, moving back ahead of King Kong.

Pretty good for a movie that opened in December. I look for it to have "legs" and continue to do well throughout January. DVD sales next Christmas should be amazing,too. Filming of the second movie, Prince Caspian is rumored to have started for release in December 2007! Aww, we have to wait that long?  ¶ 8:04 AM 0 comments

  Lessons from Dover The Dover intelligent design case was completed yesterday when the Dover School Board rescinded their policy of presenting intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in high school biology classes. For many in the ID movement, this must seem a setback. But for those ID proponents who seek to present a sound, scientific alternative to evolution (and not to just push Creationism), this was expected. It is too early for Intelligent Design to be considered as a scientifically equivalent alternative to evolution.

Thomas Kuhn's famous book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions teaches us that science does not like to change. A scientist wants to build on existing theories, understanding the world more deeply through experimentation and study. This can only be done through the creation of "paradigms", which are simply ways to view the world, summarized here and excerpted below:

Throughout thirteen succinct but thought-provoking chapters, Kuhn argued that science is not a steady, cumulative acquisition of knowledge. Instead, science is "a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions" [Nicholas Wade, writing for Science], which he described as "the tradition-shattering complements to the tradition-bound activity of normal science." After such revolutions, "one conceptual world view is replaced by another" [Wade].

Although critics chided him for his imprecise use of the term, Kuhn was responsible for popularizing the term paradigm, which he described as essentially a collection of beliefs shared by scientists, a set of agreements about how problems are to be understood. According to Kuhn, paradigms are essential to scientific inquiry, for "no natural history can be interpreted in the absence of at least some implicit body of intertwined theoretical and methodological belief that permits selection, evaluation, and criticism." Indeed, a paradigm guides the research efforts of scientific communities, and it is this criterion that most clearly identifies a field as a science. A fundamental theme of Kuhn's argument is that the typical developmental pattern of a mature science is the successive transition from one paradigm to another through a process of revolution. When a paradigm shift takes place, "a scientist's world is qualitatively transformed [and] quantitatively enriched by fundamental novelties of either fact or theory."

Kuhn also maintained that, contrary to popular conception, typical scientists are not objective and independent thinkers. Rather, they are conservative individuals who accept what they have been taught and apply their knowledge to solving the problems that their theories dictate. Most are, in essence, puzzle-solvers who aim to discover what they already know in advance - "The man who is striving to solve a problem defined by existing knowledge and technique is not just looking around. He knows what he wants to achieve, and he designs his instruments and directs his thoughts accordingly."

So, how then, does science change? We don't believe the earth is flat or is the center of the universe anymore.

During periods of normal science, the primary task of scientists is to bring the accepted theory and fact into closer agreement. As a consequence, scientists tend to ignore research findings that might threaten the existing paradigm and trigger the development of a new and competing paradigm. For example, Ptolemy popularized the notion that the sun revolves around the earth, and this view was defended for centuries even in the face of conflicting evidence. In the pursuit of science, Kuhn observed, "novelty emerges only with difficulty, manifested by resistance, against a background provided by expectation."

And yet, young scientists who are not so deeply indoctrinated into accepted theories - a Newton, Lavoisier, or Einstein - can manage to sweep an old paradigm away. Such scientific revolutions come only after long periods of tradition-bound normal science, for "frameworks must be lived with and explored before they can be broken." However, crisis is always implicit in research because every problem that normal science sees as a puzzle can be seen, from another perspective, as a counterinstance and thus as a source of crisis. This is the "essential tension" in scientific research.

ID researchers should be working toward a "revolution" around the origin of life. Instead of forcing ID into textbooks through political maneuverings, they should be continuing to work on ID as science. As I have stated earlier in this blog: if evolution is indeed untrue, then science will eventually declare it so. Even if they have to do it kicking and screaming.  ¶ 7:01 AM 0 comments

  Blogging in a postmodern world Blogging is the perfect medium for the postmodern world. Postmodernism says that there is no one objective truth but, instead, each person's experience allows them to understand their own truth. Our friends at Wikipedia can help with the definition of this a bit (taken from the entry for Postmodern philosophy):

The writings of Lyotard were largely concerned with the role of narrative in human culture, and particularly how that role has changed as we have left modernity and entered a "postindustrial" or postmodern condition. He argued that modern philosophies legitimized their truth-claims not (as they themselves claimed) on logical or empirical grounds, but rather on the grounds of accepted stories (or "metanarratives") about knowledge and the world -- what Wittgenstein termed "language-games." He further argued that in our postmodern condition, these metanarratives no longer work to legitimize truth-claims. He suggested that in the wake of the collapse of modern metanarratives, people are developing a new "language game" -- one that does not make claims to absolute truth but rather celebrates a world of ever-changing relationships (among people and between people and the world).

Thanks to the Internet and tools like Blogger, everyone now has the ability to post their thoughts and feelings for all to read. And everyone's opinions are equally valid, right? Well, no.

As Christians, what are we to make of this? Mac over at Tennapel.com has this interesting post discussing postmodernism and Christianity. He makes some good points, but he left something out. First this:

Therein lays the key, because it is no more necessary that a new convert believe there is objective truth than the Jewish converts in Galatia needed circumcision to become followers of Jesus (and Paul suggests that those who would insist upon that condition should just go all the way and castrate themselves). The insistence is first and foremost on faith alone and making real connection with God in Christ.

After that, all of our theologies are flawed and mirror dim.

Do I believe there is objective truth with a capital “T”? Well, yes. I’m just not the authoritative repository of it, and neither are you.

No...but the Word of God is. We must always clearly state that the Word of God is objective truth. However, this does not mean we cannot have open discussions with folks. He continues...

Well after hitting a few Christian blogs on Postmodernism, it became clear to me that while subjectivism is a philosophical issue (it isn’t a practical one) the real resistance in Christian circles is the utter distaste for dialogue and biblical narratives.

It’s just so much work to actually study the biblical narratives! Can’t someone just boil it all down for me in tract form? Oh look! They did!

And openly and respectfully talking with people? Gah! Can’t we just judge them and be done with it?

...

But I’ll point you to two example for Postmodern consideration. The first is the woman at Jacob’s well in John 4. The second is Philip out in the desert with the Ethiopian eunuch (toward the end of Acts 8).

The examples show how the Lord found people where they were and used their stories as a way of helping them to faith. This I wholeheartedly agree with. We must be willing to dialog with everyone and meet them where they are.

This is where blogs come in to play. A blog allows us to see people where they are. It helps us understand the different philosophies, trains of thought, and logic that is being used to understand the world. I read blogs both to enlighten myself as well as to understand the world around me.

It is imperative that we understand who the person (or persons) behind a blog are before we begin reading so that we know how to approach it. History teaches us that those with great oratory powers could persuade great numbers of people to follow them; so it is with blogging. Someone who is a talented blogger can begin gaining influence over their readers.

That being said, I follow the practice of reading at least one blog a day of someone I admire and one blog a day of someone with whom I do not agree. This helps me understand others and give me the ability to meet them where they are.

For me, some good blogs of those I do admire are:

• Hugh Hewitt
  
• Doug Tennapel
  
• Mark D. Roberts
  
• John Mark Reynolds
  

A couple blogs I keep up with from those whom I do not always agree:

• The Huffington Post
  
• CrossLeft
  
• apophenia (blog of an IS researcher in my field)
  

I am not scared of postmodernism; I want to use the power it brings. In this postmodern world, we cannot persuade people to follow Jesus through logic alone. We need to engage them where they are, hear their stories, understand their worldview. Not only will this allow us to reach others, it may allow God to work in our lives in new ways.  ¶ 6:58 AM 1 comments

  Happy New Year! OK, it's the day after, but the New Year begins today for me. I am sitting in front of the TV with my family watching the (wet) Rose Parade and eating Pop Tarts (a family tradition). Thanks to the magic of laptops and wireless DSL, I can do this (is that a good thing or a bad thing?).

I have taken quite a bit of time off this blog, but I will be posting again regularly this year. Though I have not finished my dissertation, it is getting close and I should be a Ph.D. in the next couple of months (pray for me on that one).

One last thing: you can now access my blog at http://www.lessonsfrombabel.com. Bookmark this new URL because I may be changing from blogger later this year and this URL will point to the new blog once I move.  ¶ 9:11 AM 1 comments