tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40434820400543694562024-03-14T11:59:51.409-06:00The Question GroupDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-62992924755369368932011-06-06T13:44:00.005-06:002011-06-07T20:37:52.174-06:00The "Lightening Storm"<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I listened to a recent <a href="http://www.npr.org/">NPR</a> story on Dr. David Eagleman, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Incognito-Secret-Lives-David-Eagleman/dp/0307377334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307389414&sr=8-1-spell">"Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain" (Pantheon, 2011)</a>. In addition to discussing the way in which the brain makes contracts with itself, Dr. Eagleman also expounds on how the brain handles time as well as the hypothesis that God is nothing more than a creation of our brains as they try to make sense of the world. Eagleman calls himself a "possibilian," meaning one who believes every possible hypothesis ought to be given equal weight in undergoing scientific examination, no matter how far-fetched it sounds. Oddly enough, the hypothesis that God exists does not appear to qualify. I invite you to read the transcript <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=136495499">here</a>, especially this section on God and the brain, a little more than halfway down the webpage.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">This is not at all my first encounter with this question. A classmate of mine in graduate school currently studies Islam, Neuroscience, and the Philosophy of Mind, positing this same hypothesis as it relates to the religion of Islam. In some sense, when we talk of Christianity, we are discussing beliefs and the origin of those beliefs.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">What do you think? Are beliefs merely the result of neural firings in the brain? How can we be sure either way? Are we able to reconcile neuroscience with 'truth' - with what we know to be true and beliefs that seem to be more than just a "lightening storm" (to use Eagleman's description of neural firings)? What do you think of Dr. Eagleman's hypothesis?</p>Clinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424133987128240511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-71114287748099750352011-05-19T15:40:00.000-06:002011-05-19T15:41:33.154-06:00Hawking and Heavenhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/may/17/stephen-hawking-heavenDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-6449690145893561732011-04-29T08:54:00.002-06:002011-04-29T09:04:51.228-06:00Craig Blomberg on the ResurrectionIt was exciting to have great crowds of folks for all of our Questions Groups this month. Thanks to everyone who were able to check it out. Hope you enjoy the video of Dr. Blomberg's talk on the Resurrection of Jesus. In this talk he explains all the possible options of what really happened on that first Easter morning. Would love to hear any feedback you may have from this video...<div><br /></div><div><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23025017?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-32898092540132927462011-04-26T15:55:00.002-06:002011-04-26T16:05:11.777-06:00Professor Craig Blomberg this Wednesday at the Question GroupWe are excited to have Dr. Craig Blomberg as our special guest speaker <i>this</i> Wednesday @ 7:30. He will be presenting on the history and meaning of Jesus' resurrection. Craig is one of the world's leading experts on the historical Jesus having published numerous books/articles on the topic and was also one of the lead translators for the NIV. This should be a great forum and definitely will be worth your time if you check it out. Hope to see you at Dazbog Coffee (12th and Clayton in Congress Park) this Wednesday @ 7:30pm!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-90627213653135714632011-04-25T10:48:00.009-06:002011-04-25T23:10:52.431-06:00The Fate of Humanity by Dr. J. I. Packer<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dave mentioned in his sermon 4/1</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">7</span> </span></span><a href="feed://www.fellowshipdenver.org/images/podcasts/Fellowship_Denver_Sermon_Podcast2.xml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"When Jesus Meets Religion"</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dr J.I. Packer's book "Knowing God". This books introduces the basic beliefs of the Christia</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n Faith.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This Question Group series has been concerned with themes of God's Justice, Judgment and the Afterlife.The following lecture provided by Dr. Packer may be a useful primer to the discussion that will take place this Wednesday with </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Dr. Craig Blomberg. Dr. Blomberg will be presenting on the </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">importance, necessity, and meaning of the Historical resurrection of Jesus. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; "><h3 class="entry-header" style="margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; line-height: normal; text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://004f597.netsolhost.com/fftf/F4F030911.mp3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Fate of Humanity by Dr. J. I. Packer</span></span></a></span></h3><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Lecture begins at 3 min 50 sec</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Right Click on link above and select "Download Linked File" or "Save Target As" or "Save Link"</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Find out more information about Dr. J. I. Packer</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> | </span></span></span><a href="http://www.jipackeronline.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">www.jipackeronline.com</span></span></a></div></span></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18374577209434387536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-36359485277769651122011-04-16T16:32:00.012-06:002011-04-16T18:00:57.031-06:00May 21st, 2011 Judgment Day?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvaqZpp0hrlLifIxQc9h6NYcWwxKO6hkIkZ5PukwIdmXvcmwVqkvyrSO_ljTbQ_knsWl1CGlB8epdWjzOafPJ1YW7UVAQv70gbFIkXpv6c2IW4xJUkHWzb1fvgBZUsvur-MlIxTvRckz8/s1600/familyradio-may21-billboard.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvaqZpp0hrlLifIxQc9h6NYcWwxKO6hkIkZ5PukwIdmXvcmwVqkvyrSO_ljTbQ_knsWl1CGlB8epdWjzOafPJ1YW7UVAQv70gbFIkXpv6c2IW4xJUkHWzb1fvgBZUsvur-MlIxTvRckz8/s320/familyradio-may21-billboard.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596323882793439986" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This last session a few people at The Question Group inquired to particular billboards recently spotted around town. The sign reads, "Judgment Day is coming May 21, 2011." It includes a Bible verse along with radio broadcast and contact information. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The man responsible for these displays and prediction is Harold Camping, president of Family Radio (Family Stations Inc.). If you are interested in learning more about his view of "Judgment Day", the Bible and other matters. Please visit the following link provided by Reformed Baptist Pastor, Theologian and Apologist Dr. James White.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3983"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dr. James R. White - Alpha & Omega Ministries | Harold Camping - Family Radio Resource List</span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3983"></a>Dr. James R. White operates and acts as Director of Alpha & Omega Ministries an apologetic ministry organization based out of Phoenix, AZ. Dr. White has authored or contributed to more than 20 books and has engaged in more than 100 formal, moderated debates. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dr. White is capable and qualified to handle the issues raised by Mr. Camping.</span></span></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18374577209434387536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-83236087974651762382011-04-13T13:19:00.004-06:002011-04-13T13:25:36.852-06:00Question Group Tonight! "Jesus' Vision of the Afterlife"Tonight at 7:30 we will ask questions about how Jesus envisioned the afterlife. We will see that he was mostly concerned not with life-after-death, but <i>life after</i> life-after-death. Come tonight to learn more (and ask questions) about Jesus' teaching on the after life and the relationship between our lives today and the "Kingdom of God" he came to establish....Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-64954781283491104962011-04-08T12:22:00.007-06:002011-04-08T12:36:44.866-06:00What is the biblical vision of judgement: Week One RecapThanks to everyone who made the first night of our new question group series a great experience. We had a terrific crowd and, as always, some great questions where asked. In the video below, the question was asked of our guest speaker, Hunter Beaumont, about the relationship between our actions and God's response to those actions. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22082968" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0"></iframe>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-42293291169905308352011-04-06T08:54:00.002-06:002011-04-06T08:55:30.439-06:00Question Group Tonight! "What is the biblical vision of Judgement?"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(255, 238, 221); line-height: 20px; ">April 6 - "What is the Biblical Vision of Judgement?" This session will be led by special guest presenter - Hunter Beaumont. Hunter is pastor at Fellowship Denver, holds a Master's degree in Historical Theology and is very well versed on the issues at stake with this topic and how the church has dealt with it over the past 2000 years. Hope to see you guys tonight! </span>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-70913068739418362742011-03-23T10:38:00.006-06:002011-03-23T13:39:18.831-06:00What role does 'hell' play in the biblical vision of the afterlife?<div>There are lots of questions right now about what role, if any, hell/judgement plays in the big picture of Scripture. A famous pastor/writer Rob Bell has a new book out that proposes a controversial view of this topic which has been all over the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-qgmJ7nzA">news</a>. Bell will be in Denver promoting his book in early April so we decided to have a Question Group forum to help clarify some of the issues at stake so that people can sort out for themselves what they believe about the afterlife. </div><div><br /></div><div>April 6 - "What is the Biblical Vision of Judgement?" This session will be led by special guest presenter - Hunter Beaumont. Hunter is pastor at Fellowship Denver, holds a Master's degree in Historical Theology and is very well versed on the issues at stake with this topic and how the church has dealt with it over the past 2000 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>April 13th - "Heaven on Earth? Unpacking Kingdom of God according to the Historical Jesus" This session will be led by, well, me. Back in the day, I was a research fellow at Cambridge U. in historical Jesus studies and hopefully can bring some insight on how Jesus viewed the afterlife in what he called "the Kingdom of God". </div><div><br /></div><div>April 20th - "Understanding the historical background to Jesus' Resurrection" This session will be led by me again and I will place Jesus' resurrection in its historical context showing a number of unusual historical circumstances surrounding this surprising event. </div><div><br /></div><div>April 27th - "Life<i> after</i> life-after-death: The Meaning of Jesus' Resurrection" This session will be led by special guest presenter - Professor Craig Blomberg. Prof Blomberg is Research Prof of New Testament at Denver Seminary and is one of the world's leading experts on the historical Jesus. We are very excited and honored to have him come and help us understand better the meaning of resurrection. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Question Group will be held at Dazbog Coffee located on 12th and Clayton and will start at 7:30PM every Wednesday in April. Hope to see you there! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-64550486400601378422011-03-09T23:03:00.003-07:002011-03-10T21:40:16.871-07:00A Few More Questions<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Hi Everyone,</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Dave and I have noticed that sometime last fall, the excellent questions we were receiving simply stopped coming in for no apparent reason. As you know from the title, this blog is driven by your questions. We find our enjoyment in discovering together what interests you may have in God, Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus, and whether we can share in those interests through meaningful discussion.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Since the questions aren't coming in, I thought we might throw a few your way. We would like to ask you, the reader, to comment on our blog. How can we improve it and make it a useful space for inquiry and discussion? What can we do (or stop doing) to keep your interest alive in the discussion? And finally, what questions would you like to see discussed on the blog?</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">You can also find our emails listed in the sidebar, if you have questions or comments about the blog that you do not wish to see published here.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Thanks for reading.</p>Clinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424133987128240511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-11624917448915664152011-02-12T20:57:00.003-07:002011-02-12T21:00:50.608-07:00Irrational Christians<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Here’s an interesting question I came across a few weeks ago:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Do Christians have to adopt an irrational position in order to believe in Jesus? Isn’t it irrational to believe that God exists, that Jesus was God, that he was risen from the dead, etc.?</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">What do you think? In order to believe the claims of Christianity, does one have to set aside reason?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Any thoughts?</span></p>Clinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424133987128240511noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-29486886666565602912011-01-26T22:57:00.003-07:002011-01-26T23:09:35.129-07:00Prayer, Part II<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hi everyone.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In the previous post, Dave opened up a discussion on prayer in the Christian church and addressed the overall topic of what it looks like to be a Christian.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dave also mentioned our revamp of the blog. We sat down together and looked over all the posts on the blog so far, grouping those questions which received the most comments under categories to explore in greater detail. Thus, as Dave wrote last week, we hope to "go a bit deeper into the central issues that people grapple with as they engage with the Christian gospel." </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We wanted to kick off a new round of inquiry on the Question Group blog with a topic familiar to just about everyone. In addition to the questions about prayer and its importance in the Christian church, I want to ask a few more related to our individual experiences with the topic. Please feel free to address any of these with a comment; or if you have a new question you would like the group to discuss, you are welcome to pose it to the group via comment as well: </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Whether you are a Christian or not, chances are you have had some experience with prayer. And yet, a fundamental assumption of prayer is that we can somehow and in some way communicate with God. How is this possible? How do we know our prayers are being heard? Does this question ever bother you (as it often does me) when you pray?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A more traditional question involving prayer is why pray at all? If God is all-knowing, then God already knows what we will pray for even before we pray. What, then, is the purpose of prayer? Is it only done to change </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">our</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> perspective, give us practice in faith/patience, etc.? On the other hand, is it possible to change God's mind at all with our prayers?</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What is your personal experience with prayer? What problems and issues arise in your mind when you think about these experiences?</span></span></p>Clinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424133987128240511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-17309304019032043922011-01-19T14:10:00.007-07:002011-01-19T14:46:35.709-07:00What is a Christian? Part One: What Christians doHey Gang. Hope you all have had a good beginning of year and are settled into a good rhythm. Clint and I have been working on revamping the blog so that it is a more helpful tool for folks who have questions about Christianity. In order to achieve this, our goal this year is that our discussions be more focused which will allow us to go a bit deeper into the central issues that people grabble with as they engage with the Christian gospel. <div><br /></div><div>So, with that said, the first central issue we are going to concentrate on for the next several weeks is "What is a Christian?" There are a lot of ways to answer that but right now we will start with one of the basic things that Christians do: pray. Very early in his ministry Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and expected that prayer would a fundamental part of being his follower. We see that prayer was a critical part of the early church experience and that the writers of many of the New Testament books integrated personal prayers into their letters to churches. So the question is, why do you suppose this was such an important part of following Jesus? For someone who has questions about Christianity, what does it mean that prayer played(s) such a critical role in following Jesus? </div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-28586755306684130952010-10-27T10:36:00.003-06:002010-10-27T11:34:57.198-06:00Question Group TonightJust a reminder that our new Question Group series begins at 7:30 tonight at Dazbog Coffee located on 12th and Clayton in Congress Park. Tonight we will deal with the question, "can I find real meaning and purpose in the claims of Jesus?" Recently a lot of thinkers (e.g. famous atheist Sam Harris in his new book <i>The Moral Landscape </i>highlighted on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart') have been seeking after happiness and meaning to no avail. Tonight, and for the following two Wednesdays, we will pose these of questions of meaning and purpose to the Historical Jesus and see what we discover. Hope you come check it out...<div><br /></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-85836408758074692432010-10-11T11:09:00.002-06:002010-10-11T11:23:17.938-06:00How do I know if I have really turned my life over to God?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hey Gang. A Starbucks friend - who is also a fan of the blog - gave me this question a couple of week ago when I was making my 5AMish coffee run with Bex (my baby boy). </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">How do I know if I have really turned my life over to God? What are the indicators that I have achieved this or not? </span></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Great question. It can be difficult to know if we have done enough to connect to God. In fact as we read thru Scripture we are not given too much confidence that <i>we</i> can really connect with God. Paul states straightforwardly in Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” </span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So, what is it gang? How do you know that you have turned your life over to God? </span></span></p></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-58393448900233247062010-09-16T11:49:00.003-06:002010-09-16T11:52:38.154-06:00Is predestination just?Here is an interesting question which deals with the relationship between predestination v. human responsibility. Anyone out there want to take a stab at this?<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><i>It seems to me that some people are born with certain personalities (ex. an addictive personality) that almost seems like they didn't even have a chance before they were addicted to something. Are some people predestined to a life with more obvious sins to be examples for others to learn from? If so, is this just, in the sense that some never recover from these habits?</i></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-19760815545049852632010-09-09T09:48:00.002-06:002010-09-09T09:57:39.301-06:00If life is going OK, why do I need God?Good morning all. Here is another excellent question emailed to me for the blog. It deals with the need for God. I have a handful of friends who have had a good life and to date have never really felt the need to know God. I also know some folks who have had very difficult times in life and likewise see no need for God because he allowed them to suffer so much. Can any of you out there identify with this? <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><div><i>Why would a person that has lived a virtually struggle free life see a need or desire for a relationship with God? For example, I think the struggles I faced growing up and the poor decisions I made make me appreciate God's grace probably moreso than someone that has lived a virtually struggle free life and just tends to be a "good person".. Where do they find the need for God? Does it take struggles, tragedy, etc. for a person to appreciate the love and grace of God?</i></div><div><br /></div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><div><br /></div></span></div></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-63058192609189563912010-08-30T06:36:00.002-06:002010-08-30T06:41:17.449-06:00What is the point of church?Good Monday morning all! Here is a question emailed to me recently about the relevance of going to church. I know a lot of folks who share the sentiment in this question and I would love to get a good dialogue going this week about the pros and cons of going to church....<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><i>It appears to me that the majority of Christian church congregations go to church on Sunday and call themselves Christians. I guess I am confused by this. What is the point of going to church? If it is to learn then I am curious as to what we are supposed to be doing with the material we are learning? Would we go to college for the rest of our lives and never put the gained knowledge to use?</i></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-14026457059132647002010-08-26T09:49:00.002-06:002010-08-26T09:52:26.497-06:00How important is it that the events described in the OT happened historically?This question has birthed out of the previous post and we are using the story of Jonah as an example. Again, if there is an Old Testament expert out there who would like to drop some knowledge bombs that would be great!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-90417605456616762692010-08-23T10:28:00.007-06:002010-08-23T13:39:03.391-06:00What are the differences between brainwashing and engaging the truth?Well, I just dropped off my oldest kid, Will, at school for his first day of kindergarten and then came home to find this question waiting for me in my inbox. Interesting question that has lots of implications about reality, raising kids and how we come to know the truth. Some feel deceived that what was presented to them as truth when they were young (by parents, authorities figures, etc..) turned out to be flimsy or, in some cases, flat out untrue. While I don't believe the example in the question below fits that category, his point is worth discussing nevertheless...<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Being a single man without children, I find such topics as child rearing very hard to access. However, considering my own experience as a child being reared, I do have opinions. Here's my question</span></span></span></i></span></h3><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What's the difference between brainwashing and presenting very young kids with a debatable story as though it were an unquestionable fact? For instance, we could use the scenario of teaching little kids in Sunday school the story that a man named Jonah lived in the belly of a whale for 3 days and 3 nights only to be vomited up alive and well. </span></span></i></span></span></h3><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></span></span></div></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-84249168044816619472010-08-19T21:14:00.001-06:002010-08-19T21:15:52.324-06:00Is God a "He"? Interview with Dr. Craig Blomberg about gender language in the NIV<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; color: rgb(100, 95, 94); white-space: pre-wrap; "><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14283885" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/14283885">Blomberg video: part three</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3759713">Dave Morlan</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p></span>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-81644792532410390472010-08-16T09:56:00.003-06:002010-08-16T10:01:28.787-06:00Is Yoga Ok for Christians?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Happy Monday morning everyone. Here is an interesting question emailed to me recently to get our brains going this week. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">I believe that it is very important to take care of our bodies and treat them with respect. I also believe that one cannot deny the mental, physical, and overall health benefits of the practice of yoga. You get to quiet the mind and let all the wordly distractions go, it has helped me with balance, immunity, digestion, circulation, physical benefits, much slower to anger, stress, and worrying. However; from the little research I have done on yoga it seems that it started just as something they would do to loosen up their bodies to prepare for meditation. The more recent research I have found is that yoga is almost like treating yourself as a God or deity. This scares me....there are poses in yoga where they say you are bowing to yourself. I don't know what the "third eye" is about and do not participate in that. I also do not participate in the bowing at the end and saying "Namaste". They say that Namaste means "the light in me honors and respects the light in you". It seems like a very nice phrase or a good "mantra", but I don't know enough about the underlying meaning and treating ourselves as deities. I guess my question is whether yoga is ok to do if you believe that God is the one and only God. Is it a tricky tactic of the devil to lure people away from God, unknowingly?</span></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">What do you guys think? </span></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-10831385886133398512010-08-10T16:19:00.003-06:002010-10-07T11:23:21.137-06:00How can Christianity be right and other religions be "wrong"?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">I had these questions emailed to me from a couple of different people: </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><i>How can Christianity be right and other religions be "wrong?"</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and, a bit more detailed...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i>Religion, for the most part, seems to be geographical. For instance, I sometime wonder if I had been born/grown up in a different country if I would have completely different beliefs. How do we know Christianity is the "right" religion? If God created every single person different, is it realistic to believe that everyone would follow the same religion? It seems that many religions have many of the same core values and I will go as far as to say that I think some other religions do some things more similar to the way that Christ lived than Christians do. How am I to say that my religion is correct over theirs? And along the same lines, is seems like disputes about religion have caused much fighting and grief. Should we be focusing more on a personal relationship with God than choosing the right religion? </i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anyone out there what to take a stab at these? </span></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043482040054369456.post-40947195758439287552010-08-04T16:02:00.002-06:002010-08-04T16:05:55.588-06:00Question about "Biblical" Scholarship vs. Secular ScholarshipHad this question emailed to me yesterday based on the Blomberg video in our previous post. Would love to get any thoughts any of you might have on this:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; "><i>In a recent discussion with professors who tout their own literacy in the writings of antiquity, I was surprised to learn that they believed the KJV remains the only translation. Period. They also referenced Milton as creating part of the creation myths. Not sources on equal historical footing, by any means. Forgive the piling up of my adjectives, but I was disappointed by the poor, imbalanced nature of this type of fallacious scholarship. Why do you believe "the guard" of secular academia are so unwilling to award credit to life's work done by linguists in Biblical studies? Even for secular purposes, it seems like an academic feast. Even if you believe the Bible is literature, and not inspired, one must admit the linguistic work accomplished here, even when improving upon a translation we already possess, benefits the entire world. Boo to censorship.</i></span></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15245736389185847742noreply@blogger.com6