Pics from a trip to Sliding Rock and some random waterfall up in Pisgah National Forest this summer. Guests of honor were Kripa & Kushal. Chauffer was Leigh. Tour guide was Josh Spiers. Random person hanging around in the back seat and making faces at everyone else was Caraleigh.
I just finished reading “The Case for a Creator” by Lee Strobel, and it’s a fascinating read. He concluded his book with an extended quotation by Alister McGrath’s book “Glimpsing the Face of God.” I liked the quotation so much that I decided to post it on my blog. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!
“Many have found that the awesome sight of the star-studded heavens evoke a sense of wonder, an awareness of transcendence, that is charged with spiritual significance. Yet the distant shimmering of stars does not itself create this sense of longing; it merely exposes what is already there. They are catalysts for our spiritual insights, revealing our emptiness and compelling us to ask whether and how this void might be filled.
Might our true origins and destiny somehow lie beyond those stars? Might there not be a homeland, from which we are presently exiled and to which we secretly long to return? Might not our accumulation of discontentment and disillusionment with our present existence be a pointer to another land where our true destiny lies and which is able to make its presence felt now in this haunting way?
Suppose that this is not where we are meant to be but that a better land is at hand? We don’t belong here. We have somehow lost our way. Would not this make our present existence both strange and splendid? Strange, because it is not where our true destiny lies; splendid, because it points ahead to where that real hope might be found. The beauty of the night skies or a glorious sunset are important pointers to the origins and the ultimate fulfillment of our heart’s deepest desires. But if we mistake the signpost for what signposted, we will attach our hopes and longings to lesser goals, which cannot finally quench our thirst for meaning.”
One of my favorite songs by Hillsong.
I was glad to find these two videos on Youtube today; they are videos of a debate between skeptic Tim Callahan, author of "The Secret Origins of the Bible," and Dr. Gary Habermas, one of the world’s foremost scholars on the Resurrection of Christ. In this debate they discuss whether or not Jesus’ resurrection was a legend that grew out of earlier pagan myths about gods or godesses who died and rose again.
The reason that I was glad that I found these videos is because this is a "hot topic" today. I have met many people who are under a vague impression that there were a lot of myths of gods who were killed and then rose again after three days, and Jesus was just another one on the list. These people were invariably told this by some university professor, or they heard it in some movie, or a friend told them, or they read it in a book, or something like that. No one seems to know dates or times or names.
I have done some reading on the subject and I am convinced that the reason no one knows dates or times or names is because they do not exist. It is true that there were several resurrection myths in pagan religions, but they post-date Christianity. The question is, "Who influenced who?"
Here’s another tune by Hillsong United that I really like:
I discovered this song earlier today and I love it! I’ve been listening to it all day. Check it out…
Verse 1
And now the weak say I have strength
By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead
And now the poor stand and confess
That my portion is and I’m more blessed
This is a lecture that Dr. Gary Habermas gave at UNC Chapel Hill, on April 11, 2007. Dr. Habermas was raised Christian, but became a religious skeptic. For over 10 years he "faced uncertainty about key Christian claims and searched other religious and non-religious systems, especially naturalism. Dr. Habermas eventually converted to Christianity because of the Resurrection of Jesus. As I have heard him say many times, "Christianity stands and falls on the Resurrection…if Jesus rose from the dead then He was who He said He was, and Christianity is true; If Jesus did not rise from the dead then Christianity is false". He is now a world-renowned scholar on the Resurrection.
For more videos, ariticles, and podcasts, check out his Web site at http://www.garyhabermas.com.
A few days ago my aunt sent me an email a which contained the 10 images that astronomers voted were the best taken in the past 16 years by the Hubble Telescope. I just got around to reading the email tonight, and I have to say that I was simply amazed. I have always loved looking at the stars, and I have spent quite a bit of time browsing through pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope and other telescopes, but these were some of the most amazing pictures I have ever seen.
The first thing that I did was to get on-line and make sure that the email was legit. We all know that many (if not most) of the emails that get forwarded around have only a little truth in them. It just so happens, though, that the images contained in this email are legitimate. Not only are they legitimate Hubble pictures, but they were in fact selected as the top 10 pictures from the last 16 years.
Sometimes God just catches me by surprise. Right now I am sitting in my favorite hang out spot (CrossRoads Coffee), and I decided to do some school before bed. I reached into my backpack to get my textbook and I felt my Bible in there. That reminded me that I had not read my Bible yet today, so I decided to do that before school. After all, as a theology major my schooling is all about the Bible, so it only makes sense to actually read it, right?
So I opened up my Bible to 2nd Peter, which is the book that I have been studying recently, and I started reading. Near the end of the first chapter a verse caught my attention in a way that it never has before, and I was surprised–surprised by joy. (To all you C.S. Lewis fans: Yes, I am unashamedly ripping off one of his titles.)
Which Bible translation is the best to use? The answer is, “Several.” In my opinion, it is good to read from several different Bible translations. It is amazing how easy it is to skim past things once a person has read through the same material several times from the same translation. Many times, reading from a different translation will bring new insights. Even though they often say the same thing, the simple fact that it is worded differently will cast the information in a new light.
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