Yet Another Christian Nobel Laureate

Charles Colson just brought another Christian Nobel Laureate to my attention: Arno Penzias. Dr. Penzias won the Nobel Prize in Physics for co-discovering cosmic background radiation.

Dr. Penzias says, “The creation of the universe is supported by all the observable data astronomy has produced so far. As a result, the people who reject the data can arguably be described as having a �religious� belief.” That is, people who refuse to consider the evidence because it conflicts with their preconceived ideas are following a “dogma” in the most stubborn sense of the word.

In an article in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Penzias told Dr. Jerry Bergman of the American Scientific Affiliation, “I invite you to examine the snapshot provided by half a century�s worth of astrophysical data and see what the pieces of the universe actually look like.… In order to achieve consistency with our observations we must … assume not only creation of matter and energy out of nothing, but creation of space and time as well.”

Penzias, a Nobel Prize winner, added, “The best data we have are exactly what I would have predicted had I had nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole.”

Read the rest of Colson’s commentary…

I’m updating the list of famous scientists who believe.

Wow, It Really Is Getting Harder

Staying sexually pure in a polluted world seems to be getting harder and harder. At least, that’s the impression anyone speaking with Christian college students would get…

Turns out they’re right.

Then there’s the intersection of biology and culture. Over the past 150 years, the average for menarchea woman’s first periodhas dropped from nearly seventeen to twelve years of age with no signs of stopping. (Among African-Americans in particular, the figure is closer to eleven!) Historical data for males is harder to come by but, without being too explicit, American males, on average, are “sexually functional” by twelve years of age. (Once again, the figure is slightly lower for African-Americans.) At the same time the average age for puberty and menarche has been going down, the average age for first marriage has been going up: from 22.8 for men and 20.3 for women in 1950 to 27 and 25 today. For the college-educatedthe status to which most Americans aspire, both personally and for their kidsthe average age is nearly two years higher. (Between 1970 and 1994, the percentage of women aged thirty to thirty-four who had never been married rose from 6 to 22 percent. For men, the figures were 9 and 30 percent, respectively.)

The bottom line of all these numbers is that young Christians are expected to remain sexually continent for a longer period of time than probably any generation that has preceded them. And they’re supposed to do this while living in the most sexually charged culture ever seen.

Read the whole article at Breakpoint

You might be interested to read the thoughts which prompted Breakpoint’s article:
* There’s No Such Thing As Premarital Sex launched it by claiming that once two people sleep together they’re married and seeks to support his position from the Law of Moses.
* A Horseless Carriage rebutted the charge. She did an outstanding job, and used a very persuasive analogy: To cite the Exodus reference requiring a man to make right his seduction of a virgin (which, incidentally, falls in a long list of ways to make retribution when bad things happen) as evidence that the act of sex, rather than a process of marriage and consummation, made the two people married, makes about as much sense as arguing that a law requiring a thief to pay for the pie he has already consumed really means that the pie was rightfully and beautifully his the moment the first bite crossed his lips. The author of the original article responds on the same page and clarifies his position (and even makes a few interesting claims along the way).

All worth reading and reflecting on.

Another Unexpected Positive Impact of Christianity

This BBC report caught me off guard: A decline in Christianity is taking its toll on the number of people willing to donate their organs for transplantation, according to a doctor.

Evidently the Christian belief that this body is temporary combined with the Christian ethic of doing good created many organ donors. Take either of those away and the pool shrinks rapidly.

Read the whole article…

Had A Great Birthday

I had a great birthday, thanks everyone!

birthday_party_010.jpg
I had a great birthday, thanks everyone!

I was one whipped puppy after what felt like a month on the road (actually, it wasn’t too far shy of a month). Tomorrow Paula and I head to Sacramento and Wednesday I fly to Vegas for a quick speaking engagement and then I’m home!

Anyway, we had a group of friends over to celebrate and we had a great time. I think one of the parts I enjoyed most was watching the ladies-only round of Halo on the XBox. It was pretty funny–I think only one of them had ever played before.

Speaking of XBox, I got XBox Live for my birthday. If any of my friends are curious my GamerTag is GTD. The only Live game I own is MechAssault.

I think that’s about it… I’ve caught up on the over 500 email messages (mostly junk) that I had waiting for me, so if you haven’t heard back from me yet it’s possible that I deleted your message by mistake.

Home Again!

If you’ve emailed me in the last three weeks I almost certainly haven’t replied. Sorry about that, but I really haven’t been able to keep up with my email deluge. I should be getting caught up over the weekend and by the early part of next week I should be done.

I just returned from the Northern California/Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. My hectic travels are nearly completed now (I do have to fly into Vegas next week, but it slows down after that for a while).

If you’ve emailed me in the last three weeks I almost certainly haven’t replied. Sorry about that, but I really haven’t been able to keep up with my email deluge. I should be getting caught up over the weekend and by the early part of next week I should be done.

I might take tomorrow off, though. It’s my birthday!

We’re Back…

We’ve returned from Springfield–it was a nice flight.

We’ve returned from Springfield–it was a nice flight (even if our flight path was a little odd–east from Kansas City to St. Louis and then back west to San Jose).

A severe thunderstorm tore through the Springfield area and both Kansas City and St. Louis were quite overcast when we left, so we were really looking forward to returning to sunny California.

We got here and everything was wet. Evidently there had been some pretty heavy rains just a little while ago.

I just found that funny.

Reading List For New Students

note for everyone who’s not a new student: there’s a new student orientation thingee happening today and on our promo pieces I promised them that we’d have some reading recommendations for them

So you’re coming to Stanford–that’s great! I know you’ve got a lot to read and do before you arrive, but I’d like to suggest some books you really need to check out.

How To Stay Christian In College by J. Budziszewski. If you only read one book from this list, make it this one! The author lost his faith while an undergrad and regained it after attaining his doctorate, and he’s packed this book full of extremely practical advice!

The Diversity Myth by Peter Thiel and David Sacks. This book is all about Stanford and its agenda when it comes to reeducating students (written by two Stanford grads). I need to preface my recommendation with several disclaimers: you should keep in mind that these guys have a huge ideological axe to grind and that there are always two sides to every story. In addition, the book is about a decade old, and so some of the details are no longer accurate. Finally, they’re not writing from a Christian perspective. Even after all those qualifications, I recommend that you read this book before you show up for your first day at Stanford. In case you’re curious, the title comes from the authors’ contention that there is no true diversity on campus.

Finally, consider reading The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Some people find it dense, and if you fall into that category I recommend The Life You’ve Always Wanted as an alternate. Either of these books will help you learn a life-changing lesson–that there’s a difference between trying to be like Jesus and training to be like Jesus. If all you do is try, you can kiss your faith goodbye once you go to college. If what do now is begin to train, you can thrive spiritually at Stanford University!

You might also want to check out previous posts we’ve made on Tips for New Students, Becoming Wise In College, and Books Every Educated Christian Should Know.

At Least The Mudhouse Is Not The Doghouse

Once again, I find myself sitting in the Mudhouse (Springfield’s coolest coffee shop) typing away on a laptop (borrowed, this time, from Stefanie Chappell–future Chi Alpha missionary to the Washington, D.C. area).

Once again, I find myself sitting in the Mudhouse (Springfield’s coolest coffee shop) typing away on a laptop (borrowed, this time, from Stefanie Chappell–future Chi Alpha missionary to the Washington, D.C. area).

I’m sitting here with Paula, Joe Zickafoose, Sarah Herman, Stefanie Chappell, and Noble Bowman, and Stefanie is urging me to blog something personal. To, in her words, “let out my deep feelings.”

Hmmm…

I am deeply happy to visit Springfield, and I am deeply happy not to live here anymore. Satisfied, Stef?

By the way, if you live in Springfield and Paula and I haven’t gotten together with you yet, call us soon–we’re leaving Friday morning!

Back in the Mudhouse

meeting with yet more people

Wow–what a whirlwind of activity! We’re seeing everyone we possibly can, and we’re having a great time doing it

I’m still not accessing my email all that frequently, but I’m checking as often as I can. If you don’t hear from me, don’t assume I’m brushing you off.

District council starts tomorrow…

At the Mudhouse

Paula and I are sitting in the Mudhouse in Springfield, MO typing away on our laptops. We flew in a little early for the Southern Missouri District Council and we’re connecting with old friends and colleagues.

Paula and I are sitting in the Mudhouse in Springfield, MO typing away on our laptops. We flew in a little early for the Southern Missouri District Council and we’re connecting with old friends and colleagues.

So far it’s been great–we’ve gotten together with Levi Augur (an alumnus from our ministry back at SMS), his parents (who graciously allowed us to stay at their house), Joss Walter (the first pastor to ever book us for a service), and Rich Avila (another pastoral-type person we know). We’re staying with Joe and Jayne Zickafoose, who are currently preparing to go establish university ministry in Scotland. It’s great!

While we were in the air our students back at Stanford organized and led the weekly worship service by themselves. I can’t wait to hear how it went–Paula and I are very excited at the level of passion and ownership they’re displaying!

My wife just informed me it’s time to go grab lunch, so I’m signing off. I may edit this later to add more details and correct any spelling/grammatical errors.