NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Nails, Spit Balls And Intelligent Design

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Michael Zimmerman, a rabid antagonist of Intelligent Design (ID) recently defended, in true zealot fashion, what he considers the crown prince of science, evolution, claiming that ID was dead.

His remarks were motivated by John C. Avise’s article (“Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome”) presented at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Zimmerman was elated by the article and his comment was, “the last nail was just placed in the coffin of intelligent design.”

Avise didn’t use those exact words but they do summarize his stated intent.

Simply speaking, the article suggested that imperfections in the human gene code are evidence of chaotic design (my word) and hence ID is out. You can see the full text here.

After reading Zimmerman’s exuberant response I had to see the article for myself. What I found was anything but a funeral. In a few sections the terminology was well over the heads of most down to earth people – very much like academic journals – but for the most part was readable. I’m sure a special effort was made to keep this statement within the intellectual reach of lower life forms. [Read more…] about Nails, Spit Balls And Intelligent Design

“Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman

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Emotional Intelligence is a must read for every parent. It speaks to an area of human development that has huge implications for personal health, relationship happiness and success in business (what every parent wants for their children).

Emotional issues, however, have been mostly ignored up until recent history and current research is scattered here and yon. Goleman brings all the relevant information together in one source and makes the point that emotional health is not only imperative it is possible for all.

The good news is, the information is useful for every person at any stage in life. Whether your children are young adults or prenatal it’s never too late or early. Even older adults have something to gain from this read.

Goleman does what hasn’t been done before, associating intelligence with emotion and suggesting that this kind of smarts is as important, if not more, than the academic kind. In fact, he sites studies that suggest the difference between success and failure has more to do with emotional intelligence (EQ) than it does with IQ. That is actually the opening argument of the book, “Why it (EQ) can matter more than IQ.” [Read more…] about “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman

The 10-90 Rule of Evangelism

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In the last half of John chapter 2 Jesus did some very unusual things. Nothing improper and definitely within the law but very much out of the ordinary. No one saw it coming. He threw everyone and everything involved in commercial activity out of the Temple. We usually say He “cleansed” the Temple but that is just a nice way to say He caused a ruckus.

Taking a homemade whip He drove out all the sacrificial animals and the people selling them. He also turned over the tables on which they were exchanging money and doing business.

At first glance His actions seem a little out of character for the One about whom children sing “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” but it was exactly what the situation called for and served an important purpose. Not only did He right some very serious wrongs but once done He had everyone’s attention. The only people unhappy about this were the religious leaders, who no doubt benefited from the business, but even they could not ignore Jesus after this sensational happening. I’m sure the crowds and the disciples waited with bated breath to see what came next.

And what did He do next? He performed miracles. We don’t know the number but we are told many people, seeing this, became believers.

The interesting thing is, the Bible says Jesus did not commit Himself to any of these new believers. That also seems a little bit out of the ordinary especially for One who was known for disciple making, but the fact is, He hadn’t yet committed Himself to anyone, including the already named disciples: Peter, Andrew, John and so on. It wasn’t till much later (Luke 5) that Jesus called the disciples into full time service and He didn’t appoint the twelve as Apostles until even later.

He waited until the more fractious moments had come and gone like the people of Nazareth attempting to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4) before calling and appointing Apostles. By then they were beyond infatuation. He didn’t want anyone misunderstanding the call to service.

But, we learn a very important lesson about evangelism from what Jesus did here. Even though the time was not right for Him to commit to disciples the time was right for Him to call the masses to salvation, an exercise we usually refer to as evangelism. His approach to evangelism in this chapter is was I call the 10-90 rule of evangelism. Following explains why: [Read more…] about The 10-90 Rule of Evangelism

Parable Of The Talents – Making It Happen

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The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is one passage that places great significance on human productivity. Not activity, not busyness, not even consistency but results. Caution is almost spoken against. If we read this parable properly we get the idea that God is more concerned about the growth we stimulate than He is about the methods used to get there.

In the passage Jesus tells of an investor, the Master, who gives money to three different asset managers. The amount given to each is proportionate to his abilities.

One man receives five thousand dollars, a second receives two thousand and a third receives one thousand and obviously, the intent is for each to increase those monies through investment.

After an appropriate amount of time the Master returns to check on the growth of each account. To his approval, the first two double the original investment to ten thousand and four thousand dollars respectively.

To his dismay, the third gained no increase and the explanation for this failure draws severe criticism from the investor. [Read more…] about Parable Of The Talents – Making It Happen

Why Must God Have First Place?

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God is first when we love everyone they way He does.

God Loves Everyone
We Should Too

Recently a Googler asked “why should I put God first in my life?” Good question. It is very different to what people usually ask – HOW do we put God first – and the answer isn’t obvious.

No ready explanations are found in the Bible and many people won’t even entertain the question. They can’t. It’s too much like questioning God’s right to have first place and believers tend to shy away from that type of discussion, although I think God would encourage it.

Most avoid saying anything about “why” God should have first place other than quote Jesus who suggested the only place God will have is first:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… (Matt. 6:33)

And

The first of all the commandments is…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength… (Mark 12:29-30)

But aside from these two statements, He didn’t give much in the way of explanation. Obviously, He thinks we are clever enough to figure it out and if that is true then it’s only the lazy or fearful person that avoids the question. So, we will have to do a little thinking.

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Let’s begin by asking a few associated questions. There are several to consider: [Read more…] about Why Must God Have First Place?