Month: February 2003

Galileo And The Pope: Perspectives

Check out this brief interview with Professor Lindberg (history of science prof at Wisconsin-Madison) Did Martin Luther Get Galileo in Trouble?

How did the church respond to Galileo’s theory?
There was a committee established called the Holy Office, which had the responsibility to determine the truth in matters of faith. Charges were leveled against Galileo, and so the heliocentric question came before them.

We don’t know much about what went on in their considerations. But it’s important to look at the whole picture. And one part of that picture is that the scientific community is overwhelmingly opposed to Galileo. That is, the evidence that Galileo has is not particularly powerful. It’s not overpowering. He was looked on as a crackpot by lots of scientists.

If we combine this picture with the authority of the Catholic Church to interpret the Bibleand their new attention to literal interpretationit’s just clear what the answer is going to be. They’re not going to violate their own hermeneutic exegetical standards in order to adopt this crackpot minority opinion of the scientific community.

So then he goes before a papal court. It wasn’t his science that was on trial, though. What was he tried for?
Obedience was the only issue in the trial. And he was guilty. Everybody could tell he was guilty because Galileo doesn’t just discuss the pros and cons of the theory, he just advocates all the way. It was a blunder on Galileo’s part.

Galileo then recants. Why?
He had two choices. There was the threat of imprisonment or he could recant. Everybody knew it was a formality, so he didn’t cost his cause anything to recant.

How did the theory of the sun as the center of the universe finally get accepted by the church?
Once Newton’s theory of gravitation came along, you had overwhelming arguments in favor of heliocentrism. The church says, “Okay, now we’ve got proof, so now we will reinterpret the Bible.”

By the end of the 17th century, the church was on board, though Copernicus’s book stayed on the index of prohibited books until 1835. This geocentric model remained an albatross around the Catholic Church’s neck.

Interesting stuff.

More Scientists Who Believe

I just ran across a link for the American Scientific Affiliation: a fellowship of men and women in science and disciplines that relate to science who share a common fidelity to the Word of God and a commitment to integrity in the practice of science.

They have an absolutely incredible respository of articles and links to resources. If you’re in the sciences, you need to check this out!

Cult On Campus

Heads up–there’s a cult active at Stanford. One of Andrew’s friends was approached this week by a group called “Students For the Truth at Stanford.”

They are a part of the “Local Church” founded by Witness Lee. The version of the Bible they hand out is called “The Recovery Version.”

This is not simply another Christian group like Cornerstone or InterVarsity. Those are wonderful groups that are good to be involved in (obviously, we’d prefer you plug into Chi Alpha, but that’s just ’cause we want to know you).

This group is fundamentally different. The Local Church is known for demanding absolute and unhealthy obedience from its followers. Here’s my counsel to you: groups like this mess up your life. If someone approaches you, give them absolutely no information about yourself or where you live. Be polite but firm.

Here are some links you can investigate:

Critical Perspectives
Apologetics Index
Living Truth Ministries
Christian Research Institute

Their Perspective
Students For The Truth At Stanford (does not seem to be actively maintained)
Living Stream Ministries
Bibles For America

Tony Campolo, John Gallegos, Jeff Bills, and Eddie Rentz

Tony Campolo and three Assembly of God pastors. No–this isn’t a joke. Why do you ask?

Yesterday morning I went to hear Tony Campolo speak at ‘Straight Talk’, a really cool ministry to businesspeople sponsored by Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.

He was really funny–I’d always heard that he was a funny guy, but he was REALLY funny. He was also insightful. He contrasted two basic orientations to life (emotional and rational, people and principle, yin and yang, Pentecostalism and Prebyterianism) and talked about how Jesus was able to integrate them both.

Whenever I’m around a world-class speaker I always try to glean some tips. He didn’t do a good job of connecting with members of the audience beforehand (we shared a breakfast table separated by one person and barely exchanged two sentences), although I think some of that may have been due to the structure of the event rather than his proclivity (there really wasn’t much of a chance to talk). He did an excellent job of using humor to make profound points, and was an outstanding storyteller. In fact, his talk was really a series of stories connected by some logical transitions.

He was also outstanding at localizing his message. He had tons of jokes about Presbyterians and Menlo Park and other things his audience would resonate with. I’ve got no doubt he’s given basically the same talk many times before, but it felt fresh and special because of the localizations.

Side note: Tony mentioned that he thinks Pentecostalism is theologically inconsistent. I wish I had been able to talk to him about that… but duty called.

As soon as the meeting was over, I had to book it up to Woodland to meet with two pastors (AGTS classmate John Gallegos and Jeff Bills), and then I drove to Sacramento and met with another pastor (Eddie Rentz, the former national youth director for the Assemblies of God: check out his google), and started to drive home just in time to catch the traffic jams.

After returning I visited a student in his dorm room, and then came home around 7:30pm. Twelve hours on the road–not a bad day.

I Lived In A Condemned Building

some dorms on my undergrad campus are destroyed by explosives

On a completely random note, one of the dorms I lived in back in my undergrad days was demolished via explosives last weekend.

I always said it should be condemned, I just never thought they’d take me seriously…

See the multimedia footage.

Developing a Reading Plan

I just received an email from a friend named Earl Creps

land of plenty movie

(he’s the director of the doctoral program at my alma mater, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary).

Anyway, it’s all about how to read for personal growth. I thought it was worth sharing an excerpt here. In case it’s not obvious, he’s speaking within the context of spiritual and organizational leadership.

I think points 3 and 5 are particularly good.

Here are some keys to maximizing the effectiveness of your reading…

1. Read the classics: dial up amazon.com and search for the works of
James McGregor Burns, Henri Nouwen, Warren Bennis, etc. While we can debate
“what’s a classic?,” books of this sort will get you into the game in a
hurry.

2. Read the latest and skip the middle: if you’re just getting into an
organization forget what was written any more than 2 years ago [except for
leadership classics] and read from here forward. Most of the stuff in the
middle is derived from the classics anyway.…

3. Trust your life to guide your reading: When I’m feeling fresh, I
read in my specialties [self-leadership, emerging culture, power ministry].
When I’m tired, I read 90 degrees out from my specialties [, i.e.,
professional literature from other fields such as technology or psychology].
When I’m burned out, I read 180 degrees out from my academic interests
[e.g., fiction, history]. Somehow, I always find more illustrations,
principles, and other ultimately useful material in this “diversionary”
reading than just about anywhere else. I also find it hugely refreshing. A
tired mind cannot absorb much anyway.

4. Any work is a “leadership” book if it’s read by a leader: the leader
of the future must be an interesting, well-rounded person, not an
incompetent mystic or a corporate-clone technocrat. Younger adults
especially are all about who you are, not just what you can do.

5. Putting it together: Reading in your field makes you competent.
Reading out from your field [90 degrees] makes you broad-minded. Reading
opposite your field [180 degrees] makes you interesting and creative.

My major recommendation for left-brainers: develop a reading plan that
includes 0, 90, and 180-degree dimensions.

My major recommendation for right-brainers: start listening to your life
and read in response to it, dude.

Blessings,

Earl

An Old Stanford Student Testimony I Ran Across

I just ran across an online article by Heather Williams, who became a believer at Stanford: Overhaul at Stanford.

When I entered Stanford, I was not a Christian. The world lay at my feet then, waiting to be revolutionized. I attended political meetings, took classes on racism and social justice, and immersed myself at the community service center. I believed in the power within me to make a significant difference in the world. I tutored underprivileged elementary school kids; I ran the day camp at a homeless shelter; I collected leftover food to feed the hungry. Yet, the more I tried to change the world, the more frustrated I became. I confronted bureaucracy, apathy, and…sin. I began to think that maybe human nature needed a basic overhaul.

During this time I was challenged to read the Bible by a friend of mine. I had come to college hating the Bible. I thought it was sexist, homophobic and rigidly self-righteous — the basic blueprint of intolerance. You see, I grew up in the “Bible Belt.” Throughout high school, most of the Christians I encountered were more concerned about knocking some sense into me with the Bible than they were concerned about explaining to me what its pages contained. Most were vocal about their conviction that I was going straight to hell because of my liberal agenda. Yet, when my friend in college challenged my actual knowledge of the Bible (garnered from childhood Sunday school lessons and the literature class examining history’s “great works” my freshman year), I realized that I knew very little about Jesus and His followers…

It was published back in ’96, so don’t expect to see her walking around campus.

LSU Chi Alpha Student Healed of Asthma

I just heard this wonderful news from LSU Chi Alpha:

“One of the best things God has done for me,” said Zechariah Brewer, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, “is heal me of asthma.”

When Brewer was in the 10th grade, he began using an inhaler because of occasional breathing problems. Within a year, he was put on daily medications. Over the next few years, the dosages were increased.

By the time the business administration major, who accepted Christ when he was 15 years old, entered college he was resigned to the fact that he was going to have to cope with asthma for the rest of his life. But, early in the fall semester he decided to try something he had never considered before.

“I went to a Chi Alpha prayer meeting after work and asked Campus Missionary Nick Callaway to pray for my healing,” said Brewer. “He gathered a few other believers, and they laid hands on me and began to pray.”

The next morning, Brewer went out for a run and to his amazement his lungs were healed. From that point on, he has been walking around breathing more freely than he has in years. All it took was a simple prayer of faith.

“I told God, ‘I know You’ve healed many people, and I want to believe that You’ll heal me,’ ” Brewer said. “That was when my prayer was answered.” (source)

Happy Groundhog Day!

six more weeks of winter

Side note: legendary prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil has weighed in: we face six more weeks of winter.

Fortunately, I live in California. I’ve forgotten exactly what winter is like…

Here’s a seasonal joke for your amusement:

Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, “Ill bet you don’t know what day this is.”

“Of course I do,” he answered as if he was offended, and left for the office.

At 10:00 a.m., the doorbell rang and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box of a dozen long stemmed red roses. At 1:00 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two-pound box of her favorite chocolates was delivered. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress.

The woman couldn’t wait for her husband to come home.

“First the flowers, then the chocolates and then the dress!” she exclaimed.

“I’ve never had a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my life! (source)

Wow–Space Shuttle Flashbacks

Brief reflections on the space shuttle explosion.

I woke up this morning to the news that the Space Shuttle blew up on re-entry.

I had two thoughts rush through my mind immediately:

1) Wow–I vividly remember the last time this happened. It shocked me deeply–the idea that our science wasn’t perfect and that America could make a mistake and that heroes could die.

2) The first Israeli astronaut was on the shuttle, and it’s such a high-profile American symbol: it sure would be an attractive target to terrorists… Accidents happen, and I hope that’s all it was. If it was terrorists, it would have to be some sort of sabotage before the shuttle took off (that, or someone on the shuttle would have had to turn traitor–something I consider extremely unlikely).

I have intense sympathy for the families of the astronauts: may God comfort their hearts with His peace.

[update: my wife mentioned that it looked as though I actually suspect terrorist activity. Not so! I’m reporting the first two thoughts that flashed through my mind, not giving my current opinion. For the record, I think it’s improbable that terrorist activity caused the Space Shuttle to disintegrate.]