Monthly Archives: May 2008

New Age and Its Contradictions

I lived in Southern California for 13 years, where it was a regular occurrence to run into New Age spirituality almost anywhere I went. My wife and I were talking a walk in the hills above Anaheim one day, and were intrigued to hear the sound of a drum and voices, out of sight among …

May 20, 2008 – 10:23 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Age, The Faith | Tagged , , , | Comments (96)

Thread for Discussion on Views of Truth

This thread is open for continuing discussion on the topics leading up to here.

May 18, 2008 – 9:03 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Thinking Christianly | Comments (29)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 4

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review In this, my fourth and final post on Francisco Ayala’s book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, I wish to examine very briefly his views on knowledge as related to science and religion. I am addressing the same primary audience that he does in his book: believers in God. For the sake of …

May 17, 2008 – 10:52 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , , , | Comments (12)

Generosity of Religious Americans

From OneNewsNow.com: A new study shows that people of faith in America have a huge heart in terms of giving to Third World countries — and the study cites a surprising dollar figure. Carol Adelman of the Hudson Institute cites the information in a study done with Notre Dame University. “We didn’t realize it would …

May 16, 2008 – 4:30 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Tagged | Comments (2)

Christian Carnival CCXXIV

Posted at Evangelical Ecologist.

May 14, 2008 – 10:10 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Miscellanea | Comments Off

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 3

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

University of California, Irvine biologist Francisco Ayala writes in his book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion (pages 174-175), Scientific knowledge cannot contradict religious beliefs, because science has nothing definitive to say for or against religious inspiration, religious inspiration, religious realities, or religious values. There are Christian believers, however, who see the theory of evolution …

May 14, 2008 – 10:04 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , | Comments (1)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review In his book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, Francisco Ayala suggests that evolution supplies the answer to a serious theological conundrum. I alluded to this in my first post on this book: Things that Seem Wrong About the World: When I was studying theology in Salamanca Darwin was a much-welcomed friend. The …

May 13, 2008 – 10:43 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , , , | Comments (13)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review Francisco Ayala wants us to understand and appreciate what he considers to be Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion. The author of a recent book by that name, Ayala certainly has a claim to knowledge on the issues: he trained as a seminarian in Spain, and is now an evolutionary biologist at the University …

May 12, 2008 – 7:34 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)

No Intelligence Test for the Family of God

“So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.” I ran across that rather jarring statement the other day on the Internet. It came from the mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), an extraordinarily intelligent man — and a very vocal atheist. Those are the opening …

May 10, 2008 – 7:17 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Tagged | Comments (7)

Myanmar

One wants to say something about a tragedy like the one in Myanmar. But what can be said, other than to express grief, to pray for the survivors, and to try to help, at least from a distance. For those on the scene there have been barriers beyond logistics, however. A U.N. official says the …

May 9, 2008 – 9:36 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Unfiled | Tagged | Comments Off