Christianity and the rise of western science

What was that about science and religion not working together? Christianity and the rise of western science – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

In spite of this widespread view on the historical relations between science and religion, historians of science have long known that religious factors played a significantly positive role in the emergence and persistence of modern science in the West. Not only were many of the key figures in the rise of science individuals with sincere religious commitments, but the new approaches to nature that they pioneered were underpinned in various ways by religious assumptions.

That Word

Submisson in marriage: That Word:

I begin here: this is simply the best discussion of the roles of a married couple I have read. A robust theology — christology and trinitarian thinking — is every where and it avoids simplicities that seem to find their way into discussions of roles. So here are some points from the chapter

Love Your Enemies, Huh?

Another clip that didn't make it into Collision. Love Your Enemies, Huh? | The Resurgence:

Hundreds of hours of footage was shot and edited down to 90 minutes of solid debate and conversation. The clip you see above didn't make into that 90 minutes. Consider it deleted scenes. This is the first time it's being released, and we have it here for you to learn what it means and looks like to make a defense for your faith. 

21 Words for Fathers

No a bad 7 and a half minuet clip of advice for fathers: 21 Words for Fathers | Topical

How the Church Has Changed

Scot Mcknight has listed 12 things he has seen in church that has changed in his life time: How the Church Has Changed:

I drew up a list of changes, and did my best to ponder what other churches in my hometown (Lake Wobegon, of course) were like … and I hope the following list represents a fairly accurate set of characteristics and changes. This is not really a journey into nostalgia but an exercise in comparison. But here goes, in no particular order of importance:

The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage

They have been saying this for years: The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage - NYTimes.com:

But that belief is contradicted by experience. Couples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.

Introduction — A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture

A nice balanced answer by Sproul: Introduction — A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture by Keith Mathison | Ligonier Ministries Blog:

...the speakers were asked this question in connection with the ongoing debate between Christians who think the universe is less than 10,000 years old and those who think it is much older. Dr. R.C. Sproul took about five minutes to answer the question, and what he said in that brief period of time should be heard by every Reformed Christian who is interested in this subject and by every Reformed Christian who is discussing and debating it.

15 Tips on Blogging from John Newton

Some good advice from old, updated for today: 15 Tips on Blogging from John Newton - Desiring God:

Here are 15 lessons from John Newton on letter-writing that will serve blog writers (all quotes taken from The Works of John Newton, 6-volumes).

"We're Starting a Record Label": Pastor Mark Interviews Jon Dunn

Christian music is bad, unless Marshill does it. Then it isn't: "We're Starting a Record Label": Pastor Mark Interviews Jon Dunn | Mars Hill Church:

Bottom line, whatever you think has defined “Christian music” up til now, you can forget it: “We don’t limit our bands to the Christian cul-de-sac of U2 circa 1987,” says Dunn. [Editor’s note: Said with all due respect to Joshua Tree and U2, who have a solid contingent of fans at the church.] In short, it’s a label defined by Christ and culture and corporate worship.

Which Has Both Pros and Cons . . .

Yes this is true, but I think there is power in the presence of someone.Which Has Both Pros and Cons . . . | Who Is Sufficient?:

"Your parishioners listen to other preachers on the radio, watch them on TV and on the Web, and download pdcasts to their iPods. Like it or not, you are not the best preacher that your people have listened to this week. Your congregation has compared and contrasted you with the best-known preachers of the day . . . People in the pews want the electronic perfection projected by the religious superstars of our day. And we cannot give it to them. The electronic media have made it easier to compare preachers today than ever before" (Edwards, Deep Preaching,  p. 6).

Was Haman Hanged or Impaled?

Some KEC talks this year from Esther touched on this idea: Was Haman Hanged or Impaled? by Benjamin Shaw | Ligonier Ministries Blog:

In the work of the Greek historian Herodotus, impalement is regularly presented as a Persian punishment (see The Histories, 1.128, 3,132, 3.159, 6.30 as examples). Given the setting of Esther, it thus seems likely that the manner of punishment for Haman was in fact impalement. In other words, the fifty-cubit “tree” built by Haman was intended to display Mordecai’s body impaled in such a way that no one could avoid seeing it. As it turned out, however, it was Haman, whose death (and the folly leading to it) was put on display for the entire population. This view is also confirmed by both recent commentaries (by Jon Levenson, for example) and by older commentaries (Keil and Delitzsch). In this case, I think the TNIV and the NLT to be more correct in their translation than the ESV or the NASB.

By What Standard?

Not a bad clip from a debate between Wilson and Hitchens that didn't make it into the final movie: By What Standard? | The Resurgence

The Gospel of God’s Glory

Scott McNight on Chandlers book on the Gospel. One day soon I am going to read his King Jesus Gospel (I've bought it, I just need to open it when I am finished with a few other books I am reading at the moment): The Gospel of God’s Glory:

So he begins as does all the soterian gospel approaches (see my book, The King Jesus Gospel, for soterian approaches) — with God, and with “man,” and with Christ and with response, which means his gospel looks like Greg Gilbert’s (What is the Gospel?) and, to be honest, much like every soterian gospel from the days of Billy Graham and Bill Bright onwards to our day. But Chandler’s approach is not the same, and I’d like to emphasize here that these four elements in the typical evangelistic presentation are essentially biblical and important elements in the doctrine of salvation, even if there are a variety of ways of expressing them.

The Doctrine of Revelation - In Tweets

This is a good series: 2. The Doctrine of Revelation:

Reformed Theology - Infographic

I like these: Reformed Theology_lowres.jpg (1296×1728):