REVIEW: Dr. Sarfati Answers Science Questions LIVE!

http://backpack.podbean.com/e/dr-sarfati-answers-creation-science-questions-live-10262014/

BACKPACK RADIO: Episode #214 [October 26, 2014]

Sometimes my kids, all earnest and curious about the world, ask me random questions like, “How far away is the moon?” and “Where are snakes’ butts?”

Inevitably, I’ll answer, “Ask your dad.”

Yeah, I’m that kind of mom.

Early on, I made sure my kids knew what daddy did for a living. When the fridge would break, the eldest declared, “Daddy will fix it! He’s a scientist!” When a battery needed to be changed, the little one would—as instructed—dump it on his desk to wait for his return home. “Daddy’s a scientist! He can do it!”

You’ve got that one right, kid!

True. I married a scientist, and I did it so I never had to change a light bulb again.

Why they never want to know whether or not a verb agrees with its subject, I don’t know. Why they do not want to listen to a spontaneous, albeit fascinating, lecture on the modern novel, I’m not sure.

Really, they just want to hear about the mysterious, elusive, seemingly intangible snake butt.

And, well, you know what I’m thinking: I don’t give a rat’s a## about that. Let’s talk Hemingway, Mark Twain.

Ah, well, science!

I had the opportunity to be among the live audience for this show, and I’m so terribly thankful for guys like Jonathan Sarfati of Creation Ministries, who was on hand to celebrate Backpack Radio’s Fourth Anniversary. I’m thankful for the way Sarfati and others have worked so hard, so tirelessly—often in the face of academic ridicule that is painful and downright nasty—to show Truth.

I actually listened to this broadcast (on computer for the second time) immediately before I listened to Episode #5 on “The New AtheisticMorality” (from October 2010). I happen to also be reading this other book by Nancy Pearcey called Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity. My hope is to write another reflection on Episode#5 soon, and a semi-official/really-kind-of-informal book review of Pearcey later. Taken together, however, there’s an interesting and important message for Christians. We’re talking worldview. People like Sarfati and other scientists are on the front lines, so to speak, of a raging battle between presuppositions. I think it brave, frankly, to be so forthright.

I was pretty much raised as a creationist. I distinctly remember one instrumental book I read during my Christian high school education: The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris. I really don’t know how the book has weathered the years, but I do know that when I officially became an “adult” and owned my own bookshelves, I went ahead and made sure I had that book on them. The real science impressed me.

In college, I remember the early scoffing. There were two separate occasions when I admitted that I thought that God created the world and we did not evolve from apes. I remember these two instances, especially, because I was on the road during both of them. Traveling with friends. Talking. No doubt getting into it because people talk about big stuff on the road, and we were college kids. We had ideas, and a few of us said we believed in God—I was not the only one. But when I said that I did not believe in Darwinism, the mouths of friends dropped open. Seriously! You believe in Adam and Eve?!?

The not-so-subtle implication was that only idiots believe in creationism.

What I admire so much about Sarfati and other scientists like him is his willingness to work faithfully in a pretty hostile environment. Why would one do this? What compels such work? What kind of understanding does this involve?

I hope that listeners fully engage with this material. My guess is that many, many people—the religious and the irreligious alike—would be surprised (really surprised!) by the intellectual rigor and integrity and stamina involved in this kind of hardcore scientific work.

LINK to hear the show

Written by Jennifer Bell

Counter-Cultural Church: Episode #207: September 7, 2014

Hear the episode Counter-Cultural Church

Well, this is kinda exciting. Pastor Vermon is working on a book in conjunction with The Gospel Coalition. Unfortunately, stars got in my eyes when I heard the phrase “working on a book,” but it’s my understanding that The Gospel Coalition is planning a five-book series (working with The Good Book Company), and Pastor Vermon’s forthcoming bestseller will be the second one in said series, which will focus on the “Counter-Cultural Church.” While you might get a little teary-eyed over the fact that it has nothing whatsoever to do with Harry Potter, please join me in taking comfort and finding peace in that it also bears little resemblance to Fifty Shades of Grey. Actually, let’s be clear about this: it bears no resemblance to Fifty Shades of Grey.

I have to admit that I was a little confused by the concept of counter-cultural. What were the implications? Counter-cultures, by definition, run up against mainstream cultures. Were we talking about Bohemians? Hippies? Hipsters? Punk? Hip-hop? Comicon again? (You guys!)

And, of course, the very use of the terminology begs another question: what is the mainstream culture?

Pastor Vermon’s discussion (which is also featured in a sermon series that you can find here) draws largely on the metaphor of the counter-cultural church acting as a light in a dark world. This metaphor hits upon a major concept: the church is distinctly in the world, but not of it. No matter how many times you long-term believers have been exposed to that lingo—in the world, but not of it—it behooves you to think deeply about it again.

What does that mean? To be in the world, but not of it? (I especially liked when Pastor Vermon noted that light is meant to operate in the darkness—not shine brightly in a light shop. It reminded me of that light store on Central Avenue in Phoenix; it’s been there forever—I think I went there in the seventies with my parents).

Perhaps, this really requires us to not live in fear!

Let’s be honest: it’s not easy to be a Christian in a secular world. There’s a tendency to withdraw, go all commune-y, create our own kinda weird and often off-putting rules of engagement; OR we sometimes rush into the world like—pardon the cliché—bulls in china shops, making all kinds of statements to put people in their rightful place, letting them know just who speaks Truth. We get weird, and/or we get in your face.

I guess the big question, then, is: Even though you’ve probably heard this in the world, but not of it business a million times, what does it actually look like for you?

In order to be more than vocal protestors or conscientious objectors, we need to be creators of culture. We need to build, and not just destroy. How do we build? Pastor Vermon discusses a number of topics, including the not-so-hot trend of homogeneity within the church body, and the need to be self-sacrificing church in a self-serving world.

A few standout moments from this show illustrate why we’ll need to get this book, and see if he’ll autograph it too:

·      I thought a very good and relevant point was made when Pastor Vermon noted how we often want to do good on our own terms, and Pastor Bob added, “We want to get these good deeds over with and get my reward.” As much as I hate to admit it, I think this is often the spirit in which we sign up to do charity work. Our time spent in service is an opportunity to feel good about who we are as people. Is this necessarily a bad thing? Not sure. But it gives one pause.

·      Christians often settle for strained familial relationships, and Pastor Vermon issued my favorite quote in the show when he said, “It is compromising your humanity.” Yikes. We totally accept strained familial relationships—BUT this can’t mean that we make nuisances of ourselves, asking them when they’d finally like to let Jesus into their hearts, since their life sucks, while we’ve so obviously got it made. Again, we’re forced to think of familial relationships in this context: How should we be in the world but not of it when it comes to in-laws or those pesky atheist siblings or unsavory-but-loveable-for-maybe-one-hour relatives who show up at major holidays?

·      Pastor Vermon mentioned that one of our biggest opportunities to show that the Gospel is in fact the Gospel is in the area of joy; we can be joyful in the midst of suffering. Can you say conviction? Here’s what I’ve previously written about joy.

I think, then, this topic requires further exploration. There seems to be this unspoken spectrum on being in but not of the world. On the one had, we can be too in. On the other, we can be withdrawn, misfits, weirdoes. But, even as I write this, I (who struggle with worldliness) honestly wonder if we should be misfits and weirdoes. Should we kinda embrace misfitery? Is this part of suffering for Christ’s sake? Didn’t Paul have a lot to say about this?

There you go. The spectrum might need to be filled out quite a bit.

Review by Roosevelt Community Church member, Jennifer Bell

BACKPACK RADIO REVIEW: "The Vermon Trilogy" (11/17/13) Episode #165:

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Listen to the show here: Episode #165: TheVermon Trilogy (11/17/13), or “Who Am I?”

Vermon Pierre, the lead pastor of Roosevelt Community Church, wrote three blog posts for the Gospel Coalition. They’re related, maybe.

As I thought about it—and I’ve actually been thinking a lot about it, personally, because it’s part of the fiction I’m working on—there is a common thread: how we define our own sense of self. Personal identity. What does it mean to be individuals, and what does it mean to be in a church? Is one more basic than the other? Is one subjugated by the other? Who are we, basically, within the Body of Christ? And, then, who is this Body? (Poor Pastor Vermon. I’m probably taking his totally normal ideas here and using them to serve my own psycho agenda. He’s all like, I’m just talking about suits and ties! Who said anything about the subjugation of self?)

Go with me on this, because I’m not going to do too much more than raise questions.  My own reflection here is a little jumbled. I’d really welcome your responses! Here are the original blog posts:

1: “The Awesome Church”
2: “Don't Throw Out Your Nice Suit Just Yet”
3: “Why I Wanted to Go to the Million Man March”

The Awesome Church: In this first piece, Vermon speaks about how we’ve entered this era in which it’s super easy for the church to self-promote through social media. The minutia of church life, as well as the big stuff—sermons, for instance—is instantly available online, to all. So, here, are some questions for you to discuss amongst yourselves:  

Should social media be used by churches, and how? Is this part of transparency? While self-promotion is not so hot, what about the opposite extreme: churches acting as “secret societies,” in which you’ve gotta be “plugged in” (see, I’m using the lingo) to get access to the good stuff? If not painting an awesome picture of all of the amazing accomplishments of your church, what picture of the church should we be painting? Is the minutia wrong?

I kinda like minutia. Though that may just be me.

What in the world does this have to do with personal identity or the subjugation of self? Well, let’s see . . . Is there something wondrous about the ability to assert our sense of self in the contemporary technological age—or it necessarily narcissistic? What are the implications of self-assertion? Is it ever appropriate? Individually, we want to have a personal identity, right? Isn’t this part of being made in the Image of God? Weren’t we created specially, personally, individually? Is the desire to be known connected to self-promotion? In the Bible, we’ve got those not-so-veiled references to sex, in which a man knows his wife. We’ve all seen those parts. I think I breezed over one the other day when reading to my kids. There’s the sex, yes. But what else is implied in knowing someone intimately? Are we trying to be known on social media? Are we trying to define our personalities? Do churches have personalities? Is marketing good, desirable? Is it the same thing as promotion? How might this be distorted by narcissism and sin? Is it always narcissistic to publicly define ourselves or our church? Where is the fine line between self-promotion and humility?

And what do you think about the ice bucket challenge?

Don’t Throw Out Your Nice Suit Just Yet: Here, Vermon talks about how clothes make the man? No, he talks about the way our clothes in churches speak, often enough, to other Christians. Seeker-friendly churches (are we all to be “seeker-friendly”? Just what is that anyway?) might be sensitive to appearances. We dress up for the traditionalists. We dress down for the hipsters.

On the show—I could be wrong here—it seemed as if the guys were slightly dismissive of one response to the blogs that suggested we might want to dress up as if we’re meeting a king. We’ve sorta lost the awe of meeting royalty, the guy implied. I think this response might’ve been a little blown off as being beside the point. Though I’m wondering if that is the point: we should dress for God, not the people?

I need to be honest here. I don’t like dressing up for church one bit. I like my blue jeans very much. Out of four Sundays in a month, I’ll wear nylons (yuck!) maybe once. So, tell me something: should we be dressing up? Am I failing to properly teach my kids something by letting them wear their shorts and jeans?

As far as personal identity goes, how are clothes related to identity? If our identity is in Christ, what should we be wearing? Besides the obvious jokes I’m not going to make about tunics and Birkenstocks, what about that other stuff—like women covering their heads? Do we have to talk about that? (I don’t really want to.)

Why I Wanted To Go To The Million Man March: In this final post, Vermon talks about the significance of the multi-demographic makeup of churches. This raises some interesting questions about cultural identity.

I’m just going to give you his wife’s recent blog post, which I sorta love: Dennae Pierre’s “on what marrying a black man has taught me & why Ferguson matters (part 1).” One reason why I love it is because Dennae talks about how she used to think to herself, prior to her marriage, as someone who’s—quite simply “got it.” I know I’ve totally thought the same thing about myself, even though I like to say I’m married to the whitest guy on earth (this really isn’t true, I’ve learned). As it turns out, we may not have it like we think we do. I think we are way too dismissive of the significance of cultural experience. Becoming a member of the Body of Christ doesn’t negate our individual identities.

So where does cultural identity come into play when talking about our sense of self? Is this something that should be ultimately insignificant when we’re talking about the Body of Christ? I think we’re at the point when we’d say it is significant, but how? Why? This is another unique aspect of who we are as individuals. To what extent is this to be brought up, and to what extent is it to be subjugated?

I hate that word, actually. But I’m trying to make sense of personal identity.

This radio show, and Vermon’s blog posts, create a forum for discussion—not just on churchy stuff, but on what individuals within the body are like.