This week’s video is a discussion with atheist writer Jim Wall about the Bible as a moral guide. The Answers for Ambassadors podcast considers how Dawkins’ theory of “the Moral Zeitgeist” helps explain political progressivism, and the links of the week range over smartphones, pastoral prayer, immigration, abortion, and more.
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“The Christian faith is not true because it works; it works because it is true.”
~ Os Guinness
Latest Video
For this week’s video, I invited atheist writer Jim Wall to join me for a discussion of morality and the Bible. We talked about whether there is reason to believe the Bible is the word of God beginning at 3:30 in the video, then switched gears at about 21:34 to consider whether the Bible is a bad moral example, focusing on the massacre of the Midianites recorded in Numbers 31. The discussion of the Bible’s credibility was pretty basic and no one who follows my work will find anything new there, but I thought the second part of the discussion raised some important issues and is worth your time.
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Answers for Ambassadors Podcast
This week’s episode takes a break from The God Delusion, using Dawkins’ theory of “the Moral Zeitgeist” as a jumping-off point to consider the philosophical roots of progressivism and how it contrasts with a Christian understanding of human nature and social progress.
Answers for Ambassadors is available via SoundCloud or by searching in iTunes and most other podcast players. You can also direct your podcast player to the podcast RSS feed.
Best Reads of the Week
A thought-provoking explanation from Trevin Wax of why his twelve-year-old son isn’t allowed to have a smartphone. “Many Christian parents are rightly concerned about the content that their kids may access on the phone. But it’s not just the content that shapes us. It’s the entire device and how it operates, and the assumptions about our world that are smuggled in with it.”
A plea for pastoral prayer from Jesse Johnson.
La La Land makes Martin Cothran wonder, “Where does modern Hollywood get the idea that a sad ending to a happy story is more profound than a happy ending to a happy story?”
“To Be A Diaper Changer.” Nick Batzig reminds us of the eternal value of faithfulness in small things.
Live Action just released a second Planned Parenthood investigative video debunking another claim from defenders of the organization. Yes, PP offers ultrasounds… but only for abortions, as women seeking an ultrasound to check on their baby were brusquely informed. Meanwhile, Erick Erickson notes the ugly similarity between defenses of abortion and antebellum justifications of slavery. “Modern America has just graduated from the trading of bodies to the trading of body parts.”
A couple good pieces on Trump’s executive order on immigration: John Stonestreet offers some solid, biblical thinking about the fraught issue, while Alastair Roberts writes a longer and very thoughtful consideration of some of the issues raised by the order.
One church’s experience sponsoring and resettling a Syrian refugee family. “In terms of encouragement, I can simply say that this is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I am confident God has worked everything together to bring this family here to this place at this time.”
On Tuesday, President Trump announced his nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. I was surprised and very pleased by the decision. Ed Whelan calls Gorsuch an “eminently worthy successor” to Justice Scalia, while Neal Katyal, former solicitor general for the Obama Administration, also has high praise for the judge despite their ideological differences.
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Photo of the Week
Another photo from Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near where Leah and I live. I captured these daisies during a visit last summer.
(Check out other photos at my Etsy shop.)