Have you heard of intersectionality? Unless you’ve been hanging around the rarified halls of academia lately, this may be a new term to you. Intersectionality theory was introduced by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in a 1989 paper with the unwieldy title, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory … [Read more...]
Book Review: Grand Central Question
Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews by Abdu Murray (IVP Books, 2014) is a great read for all Christians who are sharing or want to share the Gospel of Christ with people in their community. Abdu Murray is North American Director with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Grand Central Question is his second book. His first … [Read more...]
Steeled Faith
A Review of Against the Flow: The Inspiration of Daniel in an Age of Relativism, by John Lennox In the early sixth century BC, four Hebrew boys, probably teenagers at the time, were forcibly deported from the tiny state of Judah in Israel to live out their lives in service to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. It would have been easy for Daniel and his three friends to … [Read more...]
“America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists”
Christopher Hitchens claimed religion poisoned everything; Dawkins has compared a religious upbringing to child abuse. Are they right? Sociologist Rodney Stark draws from an impressive range of studies to make the case that the opposite is true. Religion – specifically evangelicalism – helps everything it touches to flourish. Stark, a sociologist of religion, began his … [Read more...]
Book Review: Programming of Life- Part 2
Last month I began a review of "Programming of Life" by Donald E. Johnson (paperback, video, quotes) with summaries of the first five chapters This month I will summarize the final chapters and offer my thoughts and recommendation. Chapter 6: Prescriptive Programming Information in Life Johnson now discusses another type of information that is found in both computer code … [Read more...]
Faith & Doubt: Science and Religion in the Search for Truth
A Review of Faith & Doubt: Science and Religion in the Search for Truth As a microbiology professor who also identifies as a Christian, Dave Wollert is personally aware of the struggles critically-thinking, science-minded individuals have when it comes to engaging with both science and religion. Can a scientist be a legitimate scientist and also believe in God? Can truth … [Read more...]
Nabeel Qureshi, Christian Apologist – and Bridge Between Christians and Muslims?
Introduction I am not usually a big fan of apologetics. As a progressive Christian passionate about interreligious dialogue, far too often I have seen apologists distort other religious traditions, presenting them in an uncharitable light or only discussing their worst manifestations. So when I picked up ex-Muslim and Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi’s Seeking Allah, … [Read more...]
Book Review: Programming of Life- Part 1
Introduction "Programming of Life" by Donald E. Johnson (paperback, video, quotes) came to my attention fairly recently. The prospect of a case for God's existence being made from my area of training (computer science) especially caught my attention. The fact that the author is formally trained in both information science and biochemistry seemed to give him a unique set of … [Read more...]
Book Review: Relativism- Feet Planted in Mid-Air- Parts 3, 4, and 5
Last month I began a review of Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air (soft cover, Kindle, GoodReads) by Frank Beckwith and Greg Koukl. In that portion I summarized the authors' explanation and critique of moral relativism in the first two parts of the book. This month I will dig into the connections the authors see between relativism and education and public policy and … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Nazi Sons
A Review of What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy Philippe Sands, an international human rights lawyer, was doing research for a book on the Nuremberg trials, when he met Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter. Niklas and Horst, both born in the spring of 1939, had known each other as boys. Their fathers were both prominent Nazis all through World War II, and this was the common … [Read more...]