Monthly Archives: October 2008

God Is the Issue: Book, PDF, and Message

Do you want to be an agent of real change in our culture? Then check out God Is the Issue. It’s available in print or for free as a PDF download. I gave a talk on this recently at the Chapel at Kingsmill. Click one of the options below to hear it. [display_podcast] (Re-dated post, …

October 29, 2008 – 9:00 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Comments Off

“Tony Hillerman, Novelist, Dies at 83″

Sadness. My favorite mystery writer has passed away. In the world of mystery fiction, Mr. Hillerman was that rare figure: a best-selling author who was adored by fans, admired by fellow authors and respected by critics. Though the themes of his books were not overtly political, he wrote with an avowed purpose: to instill in …

October 28, 2008 – 10:24 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Arts and Culture | Comments Off

Agent Intellect: “The Tale of a Comet”

Another myth busted. What this shows, I think, is that there are no true skeptics. People are only skeptical of things that they want to be skeptical about. [Link: Agent Intellect: The Tale of a Comet]

October 26, 2008 – 9:20 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, The Faith | Comments (1)

“War over the brain”

Amanda Gefter wrote in New Scientist on October, 22, Could the next battleground in the ID movement’s war on science be the brain? [Link: Creationists declare war over the brain - brain - 22 October 2008 - New Scientist] Some key excerpts: The article is riddled with words like “worry,” “attack,” “war,” “threat.” Gefter tried …

October 25, 2008 – 5:32 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , | Comments (5)

Spirituality protects against depression better than church attendance??

I saw this headline in my newsreader, and of course I was intrigued. Spirituality protects against depression better than church attendance Questions were clicking in my mind immediately, even as I clicked the link. How did they define spirituality for purposes of their research (the operational definition)? What religious groups were included, and did they …

October 23, 2008 – 7:19 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Tagged | Comments (1)

Same-Sex “Marriage” Weaponry?

This LA Times headline is unbelievable: Wielding religion as a weapon against gay marriage. The first completely irresponsible assumption the writer, Steve Lopez, makes is that opposition to gay “marriage” came first, and religion is just being used as cannon to shoot at it. He discounts the fact that many Christians, myself included, Believe what …

October 22, 2008 – 7:19 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Life and Choices | Tagged | Comments (4)

A God Who Gets to Watch What Happens

In a current Scientific American article, the prominent Catholic evolutionary scientist Francisco Ayala complains, Despite outreach efforts by scientists and constitutional rulings against them, creationists and intelligent design advocates “are not getting weaker… If anything, they’re more visible.” But Ayala thinks that scientists who attack religion and ridicule the faithful—most notably, Richard Dawkins of the …

October 21, 2008 – 10:09 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged | Comments Off

The Culture Wars

From Richard John Neuhaus: We are two nations: one concentrated on rights and laws, the other on rights and wrongs; one radically individualistic and dedicated to the actualized self, the other communal and invoking the common good; one viewing law as the instrument of the will to power and license, the other affirming an objective …

October 17, 2008 – 11:11 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Postmodernism/ Relativism, The Faith | Tagged , | Comments Off

“Vials From Miller-Urey Experiment Offer New Hints on Origin of Life – NYTimes.com”

Although scientists no longer think that the early atmosphere resembled the gases Dr. Miller used, the gases released by volcanic eruptions do have similar properties. . . . But, Dr. Bada said, the amount of amino acids that could have rained from the skies is still unclear, and the tidal pools would have been a …

October 16, 2008 – 9:30 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Comments (2)

A Particular Peril of Public Ministry

I just heard about yet another pastor who stepped down because he was having an affair. This was at a church a friend of mine attends, about 100 miles west of here. I have statistics on areas of ministry where the annual divorce rate is less than 1%, and where extra-marital dalliances are even rarer. …

October 16, 2008 – 4:49 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Tagged | Comments Off