tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40417311732725038982024-02-20T14:22:12.848-07:00ThirstHunger and Thirst for Righteousness:Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.comBlogger963125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-85499478460143968262020-08-10T03:00:00.001-06:002020-08-10T03:00:04.020-06:00Romans 8<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAFNbTGP1wSo6MsRLl6ecdelHaWLlFOnrrN6cWfaG_q9vC_dH5ctovIq1SQptCbmPl-xjTS_Ml_f0AYFZeX8r7N3-SJ62Y7Dbj62gb74BPJGPtLl3YJuSHE0zJneF1l82ZISdfI4EmJA/s1024/Creation+Groans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAFNbTGP1wSo6MsRLl6ecdelHaWLlFOnrrN6cWfaG_q9vC_dH5ctovIq1SQptCbmPl-xjTS_Ml_f0AYFZeX8r7N3-SJ62Y7Dbj62gb74BPJGPtLl3YJuSHE0zJneF1l82ZISdfI4EmJA/s640/Creation+Groans.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">Romans 8:22-25</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><b><sup>22 </sup></b>We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. <b><sup>23 </sup></b>Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. <b><sup>24 </sup></b>For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? <b><sup>25 </sup></b>But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">“Christianity is the only identity which is received and not achieved.” – Tim Keller (interview with Carey Nieuwhof)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i>All creation groans with birth pangs, awaiting the new day. Help us to wait patiently for the new birth of Your church, Jesus. We believe in a better day. We believe that these birth pains will result in a beautiful child. May we not seek to achieve our identity but instead receive our identity from You. What is the identity you have for our church? We wait patiently for you to reveal it to us.<o:p></o:p></i></p>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-32537243946502407912020-08-09T04:17:00.002-06:002020-08-10T11:51:29.015-06:00Meditations<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR4NKuHG8M91N85amJ4MtAJaUECu2Kxd53wxpPiDye14ZDI1GULbPwnbYoao8c1KB_vCNeYp73R-5va1cegmEj3VQFvEq-QehWZDkWztiYiGcb9maVMcT4HqhwLvhJErA-ZmJV4f8GtA/s1200/Chariots.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR4NKuHG8M91N85amJ4MtAJaUECu2Kxd53wxpPiDye14ZDI1GULbPwnbYoao8c1KB_vCNeYp73R-5va1cegmEj3VQFvEq-QehWZDkWztiYiGcb9maVMcT4HqhwLvhJErA-ZmJV4f8GtA/s640/Chariots.jpg" /></a></div><span face="" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">Psalm 20:1-3 In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.<br /><b><sup>2 </sup></b>May he send you help from his sanctuary<br /> and strengthen you from Jerusalem. <br /><b><sup>3 </sup></b>May he remember all your gifts<br /> and look favorably on your burnt offerings. <i>Selah (interlude) (NLT)<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i>Lord, these are very much times of trouble. Hear our cry. Remember the gifts you have given to your people. Remember the gifts you have given to me. They are indeed gifts we have received from your hand and each person, each community, each church has received a share to be used in accomplishing your will.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Psalm 20:4 May he grant your heart’s desires<br /> and make all your plans succeed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i>May our heart’s desires be your heart’s desires. May we always keep our desires and your desires in line together.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Psalm 20:7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,<br /> but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><i>May we never trust in our clever techniques, our systems, and our structures to accomplish your will. We will trust in your power, your name, and your miracles, to give Holy Spirit life to our techniques. We will boast in you.</i><o:p></o:p></p>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-3697509318331527062020-07-07T08:05:00.006-06:002020-07-07T14:37:44.111-06:00Paul the Apostle and Theology<span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P9CZfKc-QQKL5oBeSmZLIrthRAyAAGyh3dsv0ANPOTb6HZVsqBXP8IWyHiAp82EWVXRsZv2kN93721-j7Pr-NB37_8wcvNjfN-LPFP9DTk5GnJBzjQWpPPvOsAn2GeqQY7Fa4pzaGtA/s1430/Paul%2527s+conversion.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="1156" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4P9CZfKc-QQKL5oBeSmZLIrthRAyAAGyh3dsv0ANPOTb6HZVsqBXP8IWyHiAp82EWVXRsZv2kN93721-j7Pr-NB37_8wcvNjfN-LPFP9DTk5GnJBzjQWpPPvOsAn2GeqQY7Fa4pzaGtA/s320/Paul%2527s+conversion.jpeg" /></a></div> </span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The first chapter of Galatians is a good explanation of the ministry of Paul the Apostle. He wants his readers to understand that his knowledge of Jesus comes directly from an encounter with the living Christ and then a continued friendship with Jesus. His teachings are both grounded in the words of Jesus for he has heard them from first-hand witnesses like Peter and James, <i>and</i> they are an interpretation and a theology of those words that have been worked out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has shown that the accounts of the life of the Lord here on earth and the very words of Jesus are sufficient for all who follow him and that they must be understood and interpreted for each new situation and context within which the disciples of Jesus find themselves. The twelve apostles (eleven if we leave out Judas) and the early followers had not yet envisioned what it would mean for the life and words of Jesus to impact the Gentile people. They could interpret the life and words of Jesus for a Jewish context, of law, circumcision, diet, and special worship days, but their minds could not grasp how to help the Gentiles follow their Rabbi. That task was given to Paul by direct revelation and through the advanced theological training of the mind of Paul.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Too often we have pitted the words of Paul against the words of the Gospel writers. We have thought that Paul was too distant from Jesus and did not know enough of the very words of life spoken by him. Paul makes it clear that, like Peter and like James, he has been given his ministry by Jesus and has the words of life implanted deep within his theology. The very theology of the words of life has been imparted to him by Jesus. Paul shows us that it is not enough to simply read the words of Jesus, laid down for us by first-hand witnesses and then do what the first-hand witnesses did. Paul’s ministry was to deeply understand the words of Jesus and then interpret those words for a rapidly changing world while remaining true to the initial hearing and meaning of those words of Jesus. There is a recognition that the words of Jesus must be heard and then understood in a given context. There is a recognition that a poor fisherman on the shore of Galilee must understand the words of Jesus differently than a wealthy maker of purple clothes (such as Lydia from Thyatira) or middle-class tent-makers (such as Aquila and Priscilla) or a rich young ruler.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Certainly, there is a place for the call to be “Red-Letter Christians.” We must always heed the <i>red letters,</i> that is the words specifically ascribed to Jesus in the gospels, but this does not negate the other Holy Spirit inspired words of the Bible, the large part of which are written about the travels, life, work, evangelism, and theology of the Apostle Paul and his companions in the gospel - a gospel which was being worked out as it spread through the known world of the time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In our present context, we too must be Red-Letter Christians who give special heed to the words of Jesus, and then interpret and understand those words for our time. What did it mean for a Jesus-follower in the first century when Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and unto God what belongs to God,” and what does it mean to a 21<sup>st</sup> century citizen of Canada? What principles will be the same and what principles will be different? How do Paul’s words in Romans 13 (which in part tell us to "obey the authorities,") help us to understand how to “render unto Caesar”? May those who have ears to hear, hear the implications of these words for a world rocked by protest, violence, and calls for defunding. Lord have mercy upon us all, this is our prayer for our souls, for the oppressed, and for our broken world.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As a footnote to this blog, may I call upon Christians everywhere to pray for one of the original Red-Letter Christians. Dr. Anthony Campolo is presently in the hospital having suffered a stroke on June 20<sup>th</sup>. His wife, Peggy, is as much by his side as she can be given the limitations due to the current coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Campolo’s son, Bart shared the news of the stroke in an email to those who follow the Campolo Center for Ministry. Please pray for this great preacher and theologian of the faith.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-70184839999260536612020-06-30T14:06:00.006-06:002020-06-30T17:45:54.096-06:00SARS-CoV-2 and Elite Responders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKm_SACY48HOW9AQYD7rqy7jKiEKEUCCOxojV7JDIjV1gjl8XiyPbVmC51V7smgBHHFvRl_t-hRXtDq6912S28UTmTgz6wmZqvNZxp9awYu82GkNqbInzm9qGkWt-YZvB7h8HFOmMGrc/s720/Neutralizing-Antibodies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKm_SACY48HOW9AQYD7rqy7jKiEKEUCCOxojV7JDIjV1gjl8XiyPbVmC51V7smgBHHFvRl_t-hRXtDq6912S28UTmTgz6wmZqvNZxp9awYu82GkNqbInzm9qGkWt-YZvB7h8HFOmMGrc/s320/Neutralizing-Antibodies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I have limited time to blog this week and so I will only write a few words about the latest developments in SARS-CoV-2 research. <a href="https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/06/30/finding-antibodies-that-neutralize-sars-cov-2/" target="_blank">This week's NIH Director’s Blog offers hope for COVID-19 treatments using monoclonal antibodies.</a><span lang=""> </span>A team led by Michel Nussenzweig, Paul Bieniasz, and Charles Rice at The Rockefeller University, New York, and Pamela Bjorkman at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, has identified a subset of antibodies produced by “elite responders” that effectively neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus by binding to “three distinct sites on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the coronavirus spike protein.”<span lang=""><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When the human body is challenged by a novel virus in the system, a cascade of biochemical reactions occurs which leads to the production of many different antibody particles. The responsive immune system must generate a large number of possible antibodies because all will have some effect on the virus that has set the system in motion, but only some will be highly effective at binding up the virus particle so that it does not infect cells. What Nuzzenzweig and collaborators have done is identify which of the many antibodies generated are the most effective. This has the potential to inform scientists working on vaccines regarding which vaccines may be most effective in fighting the virus and the potentially deadly disease it causes. It also means that these elite antibodies could be reproduced in the lab and used as a form of treatment for those who have been infected and have a severe case of COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">There is much more to be said about how this research could also be leveraged to create better serological testing that would indicate who has been and who has not been infected with this novel coronavirus. In future blogs we will explore the ramifications further. For now, let’s pause for a moment and consider the hope this research brings as we pray for further developments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-11113932928894996382020-06-26T09:13:00.003-06:002020-06-27T04:49:55.304-06:00Racism in My Heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNivn7YI_PeA870NC8iKQ6Jbh9rzl_3eqfHC18D0jZeiG6weTu3lT7uFR0Q8czfV-WhH5aWOLz6-2bvkBBde3TR4rC4eNI8PO46E_kSjXmgVoUU-nVeV_YCJ3U9-qtiWgIIHn1WAO8jA/s453/Charles-Reading.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNivn7YI_PeA870NC8iKQ6Jbh9rzl_3eqfHC18D0jZeiG6weTu3lT7uFR0Q8czfV-WhH5aWOLz6-2bvkBBde3TR4rC4eNI8PO46E_kSjXmgVoUU-nVeV_YCJ3U9-qtiWgIIHn1WAO8jA/w146-h200/Charles-Reading.jpg" width="146" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">Dr. Charles Ringma</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Two speakers, whom I highly respect, have recently had things to say about racism. In a <a href="https://www.campolocenter.org/unconscious-discrimination-tonys-video-series-12/" target="_blank">recent video podcast, Dr. Anthony Campolo</a> speaks of unconscious discrimination and reminds us that we do not see the hurtful things we do and say because we are so embedded in our systems. Tony Campolo goes on to tell the story of a time when Mahatma Gandhi walked into a Church of England (Anglican Church) cathedral in South Africa where Gandhi was raised. As Gandhi, who had been educated as a Hindu, sat down to experience Christian worship, a kind but firm usher told him that he was sorry but coloured people were not allowed to worship in that cathedral. Campolo and Gandhi both recognize that the usher was doing the job he had been given to do and that the usher did not understand the harm he was doing. Gandhi says that the usher thought that he was ushering a coloured man out of a cathedral when in fact he was “ushering India out of the British Empire.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Campolo makes the obvious logical argument that the usher was so imbedded in his church culture that he did not understand what he was doing or saying. Dr. Campolo further states that the same is true of us, “We don’t understand the ramifications of what we are doing. Racism is embedded in our minds. We have to ask God to help us to be cleansed of it.” He quotes 1 John 1:8,9 as <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;"><sup> “</sup></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all </span><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">injustice</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><b><font size="1">[1]</font></b></span></span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Charles Ringma, a distinguished theologian and Professor Emeritus of Regent College recently spoke at a Summer School Midday Event and said that “We are all racist at some level. We like our privilege and status. Self-confrontation is necessary because we don’t realize how arrogant we are. We need to consider how Christ came to us in humility, poverty, and an emptying of himself.” - Charles Ringma 2020-06-24<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">May Christ have mercy on our souls and cleanse us of all injustice.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSM5pix4ImWfz8VkCtPisyMoNNyzloKt0ykoQOqqJBwJmxXPHbKQjFcqpX-6a33gnyykb8TSdrlOuUXDtsL6qccnNaf6ydelG8rDQJ7JglTxWYcKVueOnfZ8_ImcgFYLXlkjFfAOPsWMk/s2041/tonys_press_photo_highrez-scaled-e1578332950792.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2041" data-original-width="2041" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSM5pix4ImWfz8VkCtPisyMoNNyzloKt0ykoQOqqJBwJmxXPHbKQjFcqpX-6a33gnyykb8TSdrlOuUXDtsL6qccnNaf6ydelG8rDQJ7JglTxWYcKVueOnfZ8_ImcgFYLXlkjFfAOPsWMk/w200-h200/tonys_press_photo_highrez-scaled-e1578332950792.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">Dr. Anthony (Tony) Campolo</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="applewebdata://8AF31154-B043-4185-87B5-7484998B5907#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="" style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang=""> </span>The King James Bible uses the word <i>unrighteousness</i> but Campolo says that it should be translated as <i>injustice</i>.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-56958336398582005822020-06-22T12:53:00.003-06:002020-06-26T09:14:40.232-06:00Of Ents and Hobbits<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GEHXZTRFRZteRrAnD2iKV9J6pMIGXO5l1AiQikOFFSpJOzaA1RqcFjz0fEbb7XC9WdvDOGxgAtF4zNvqARgQg7vtNnQd8GhiYCEbUgKdfVKI3yj_UaMZD0BZZcQ7aCDhl6iUOi0oySU/s800/Ents+and+Hobbits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GEHXZTRFRZteRrAnD2iKV9J6pMIGXO5l1AiQikOFFSpJOzaA1RqcFjz0fEbb7XC9WdvDOGxgAtF4zNvqARgQg7vtNnQd8GhiYCEbUgKdfVKI3yj_UaMZD0BZZcQ7aCDhl6iUOi0oySU/s320/Ents+and+Hobbits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">This week I am taking a summer course at Regent College. I had looked forward to spending time in Vancouver and sitting in a classroom with other students, but it is now a virtual course. I will interact with the professor and fellow classmates via Zoom like so many other meetings and courses. It is a reasonable facsimile, but still second best for a course, especially as I recall the beauty of the UBC campus in late June.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">One of the textbooks for the course (<i>The Cultivated Life</i>, Susan S. Phillips, InterVarsity Press, 2015) purposely mixes metaphors and refers to spiritual growth as being both rooted like a plant in a garden and a journey in which we continue to progress and get closer to our distant destination. She speaks of needing to stop and put down roots, wait and listen, and to spend time in Sabbath; but she also speaks of needing to progress and take a next step. She uses the image of “a tree that walks” to convey her meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">One of her illustrations looks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa in 1995 in which she says the country and the world paused in order to heal and seek forgiveness. The chair of the commission was Bishop Desmond Tutu and he allowed the process to take its full course.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">“He brought people to a holy stop, lending compassion to the process and marking it with awe. He was the walking tree of Scripture, planted by streams of living water and walking the way of truth. He cooperated with the divine </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">Logos</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> that shelters and gathers as well as speaks…. Any morally or spiritually significant conversation must be preceded and followed by listening.”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><font size="1">[1]</font></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">These words of being rooted, listening, conversing, and walking the way of truth are exceptionally valuable for me at this point in my life. Presently, I have wrapped up one job and have not yet settled into a next role. My usual tendency to “hurry” and “do,” is getting in the way, when I know that what is needed right now is to “slow down” and “be.” I am reminded of one of Tolkein’s tales (told within the <i>Lord of the Rings</i> Trilogy) in which two Hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, enlist the help of the Ents, (the Ents are themselves walking trees). The Ents convene an Entmoot, or meeting of the Ents, and Merry and Pippin are anxious for a response; but the Ents, known for their slow deliberations in which they may take several months to come to a decision, test the patience of the Hobbits who sense that a quick decision is necessary. The interplay between impatient Hobbits and deliberating Ents must be much like my own impatient pleading before God. In a time when I have been given space to rest and Sabbath, without worry of food on the table or roof over my head, I find my anxious mind whining about what the future holds, what my next role will be, and how I will survive. God, the ever patient, deliberate provider, hears my pleas and knows that there is yet time and encourages me to have patience and to use this time to be better rooted knowing that there will be plenty of time for moving on to the next thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Am I alone in this? I think not. This time in our culture has trained us to move with frenetic pace, as we are always on, always working, always responding, always seeking to enhance our image, and always looking for more. The deliberate, intentional, cultivated life is a necessity that is easily crowded out by the “tyranny of the urgent.”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><font size="1">[2]</font></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> As with most of the writing on this blog, this is first a call to myself to live an intentional life, and then secondly to you my reader to consider this need in your own life as well. Today can be a day for listening, waiting, and rooting in the deliberate, cultivated life. Let us commit to it together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[1]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 10pt;">The Cultivated Life</i><font size="2">, Susan S. Phillips, InterVarsity Press, 2015, chapter 4.<o:p></o:p></font></p></div><div id="ftn2"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Garamond, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[2]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><font size="2">Charles E. Hummel phrase.<o:p></o:p></font></p></div></div>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-41324398880248323592020-06-16T07:41:00.007-06:002020-06-16T17:20:57.169-06:00Life is Fragile<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lcKmGBcGVtEgsuu4krBp-FoYRqiweVVTpet40GqUzjdwhpa6o-hpKFK96OsvQ9I1e3V5iJcqwndq_dUs_V3a-kFGY5wnYN9WCiG3U3YEhRE0E5-Yn6Yn6u6bFA0P3qwbSZIf2UnkZvk/s512/eggs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lcKmGBcGVtEgsuu4krBp-FoYRqiweVVTpet40GqUzjdwhpa6o-hpKFK96OsvQ9I1e3V5iJcqwndq_dUs_V3a-kFGY5wnYN9WCiG3U3YEhRE0E5-Yn6Yn6u6bFA0P3qwbSZIf2UnkZvk/s320/eggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>Perhaps now is the time to remind ourselves that life is fragile. We have all experienced a greater measure of our own bodily fragility ever since our world declared a world-wide pandemic. We realized that there are viruses that not only make us sick but can even kill us. And the virus <i>has</i> <i>killed</i> young, old, and in between; healthy, sick, fit, and weak. We have all had to come to grips with mortality, sickness, and possible long-term health effects. We have also realized that civilization is fragile. This first showed up in the economy of the world but soon became obvious in our political systems, the way we interact with each other in our communities, and our divisions along many lines. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (New Living Translation, NLT) makes it clear that each of us has life within us and yet we carry this life around in a fragile vessel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><sup><span>“</span></sup></b><span>We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>The distinction between life and not-life is significant, and yet it is a fine line. At one level, we see life in humans, animals, and plants and debate whether or not a virus contains life. Is a coronavirus truly life or is it just a biological machine that can take over our human biochemistry? We search to see if life exists on any other planet or moon in the universe, while recognizing how fragile all life is on this blue-green fragile planet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>Second Corinthians 5:1-5 (NLT) has some helpful teaching on how to live with the fragility of life here on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 31.5pt 0.0001pt 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.<b><sup> </sup></b>We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>The concepts this passage teaches are not readily brought to mind in our current predicament in the world and so we need to remind ourselves of them once again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span>This fragile body in which we live is not our permanent residence; one day, our life essence will be housed in a new eternal body.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span>It is normal to grow weary of life on this earth and long for the eternal realms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span>We are caught in the mystery of wanting to stay here in this body and this world, while also longing to put on our new eternal bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span>God has prepared us for this longing and wants us to be ready to transition to a new realm.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span>To some, he has already given the guarantee of his Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>As we look at this fragile planet, these fragile systems, and our bodies as fragile entities like clay pots, we are reminded that God has a plan that begins now and continues into eternity. The purpose of this article is to remind us of the life we have beyond these fragile bodies, and yet it also reminds us that as we thirst for righteousness in this world, we need not fear what might happen to our earthly bodies. For Jesus said,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="2"> <font face="inherit">(Matthew 16:25 NLT)</font>. </font></div></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">As we remind one another of a better life beyond this world, and as we prepare ourselves to breathe - with fresh lungs - the air of heaven, we will simultaneously seek to make this world a better place. May God show us his hope for the future and may it begin now on this fragile earth.<o:p></o:p></p>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-20215429494201151052020-06-12T08:10:00.001-06:002020-06-12T08:10:42.079-06:00Of Science and Theology<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7aCYTDGFbnUvYjoA8ULImk17tOwhrEWOG4dGrkhBhW-7gl1MInW49mwsxzZO1c9H0c_PDLeBpcLTOnisQKLNdymKlPY25WhjQtkHGp9UVlsJcxYfVJo_OU8CJM9mfagJJki7II-Vx1U/s3864/iStock-846830146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="3864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7aCYTDGFbnUvYjoA8ULImk17tOwhrEWOG4dGrkhBhW-7gl1MInW49mwsxzZO1c9H0c_PDLeBpcLTOnisQKLNdymKlPY25WhjQtkHGp9UVlsJcxYfVJo_OU8CJM9mfagJJki7II-Vx1U/s320/iStock-846830146.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">J.B. Stump recently published an article in the </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">Journal of the</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">American Scientific Affiliation: Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. The article is entitled “Did God Guide Our Evolution?”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[1]</font></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Since many readers will not have ready access to this journal, allow me to give a summary. As he says, at one point in the paper, it might have been a very short paper if he simply answered ‘yes.’ Of course, the answer is much more nuanced than that because if one says yes, that person would open themselves to the criticism that neo-Darwinism is not the kind of process that could be guided. The person who says no, sounds like a deist who believes that God simply got the ball rolling at the Big Bang and left everything to chance and survival of the fittest.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Stump speaks of those of us who believe in both God and science and speaks of the tension many of us feel regarding the question of God’s guidance of the natural process.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">“There is an often-unresolved tension for many of us who have these twin intuitions:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.75in; margin-right: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->As science-minded people, the more we examine the development of life, the more we are persuaded of the efficacy and integrity of natural mechanisms.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; margin-right: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->As Christians, the more we learn of God and his ways, the more we are persuaded that God loves us and has partnered with us to achieve God’s purposes for the world.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">The first of these intuitions leads us to think that science, while not infallible, has shown itself to be a reliable, truth-discovering enterprise, and that, therefore, the science describing our evolution is at least largely correct. The second leads us to believe that God had (and has) a plan for us as image bearers, and therefore God did all that was necessary to provide for our appearance on Earth.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[2]</font></span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He says that these two intuitions can be formalised into the following two claims:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">“C1. Evolution is the best scientific explanation for the origin of <i>Homo sapiens</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">C2. God intentionally created human beings in God’s image.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[3]</font></span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For the rest of the paper Stump goes on to speak of the various ways in which scholars have created strategies to hold these two claims together in such a way that they can both be true. He summarises three views and the criticisms of those views before giving us his own conclusion on how this can be done. He speaks of the Semantic Strategy, the Nomological Strategy, and the Causal Joint Strategy, before giving us his Epistemological Strategy. I won’t go into all the details, those who wish to can find and read the full article. Let me skip to the final strategy and conclusion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The basic idea of the Epistemological Strategy is that science and theology are different ways of knowing. Both are true and both make truth claims about the world around us. The two truth claims, C1 and C2 tell the same story in different ways and “neither tells the whole story.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[4]</font></span></span> Stump then makes an important point when he says that,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">“It has been the tendency to treat the scientific discourse as the real description of things and to treat whatever does not fit within that discourse (e.g., free will, morality, meaning) as folk psychology and fictions. But that is to succumb to scientism.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Although Stump does not say it specifically, we might also say that treating whatever does not fit the theological discourse as ‘not real’ is to succumb to ‘theologicism.’ We cannot think that the Bible has the answer to every question (e.g., how long it took to make the universe, or does a hare chew a cud?<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[5]</font></span></span>) for God has also communicated to us through his creation and encourages us to use our minds.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Stump distinguishes his Epistemological Strategy from Stephen Jay Gould’s non-overlapping magisteria approach (NOMA) and its inherent flaws. He notes that in the NOMA explanation, science deals with fact and theory while religion deals with feelings and values; in his own epistemological explanation, both science and theology are “making factual truth claims.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[6]</font></span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Stump reminds the reader that we need a both/and approach to understanding our universe (as in previous blogs, I again refer my reader to the Two-book Theory of God’s revelation<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[7]</font></span></span>) and that without both ways of knowing “we are going to get an incomplete answer.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><font size="1">[8]</font></span></span> Furthermore, he points to two examples of how we must get used to both/and thinking when observing our universe. One of these comes from scientific discourse and one from theological discourse. In science, when we describe light, we must keep in mind that it is both a wave and a particle (not easy to conceptualise but we must think in both/and) and in theology, when we describe God, we must keep in mind that he is both three and one (again, not easy to conceptualise). So, both the scientific and theological means of knowing have their place. J.B. Stump has done a great service in helping to explain why both are necessary.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[1]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>“Did God Guide Our Evolution?”, J.B. Stump, <i>Journal of the</i> <i>American Scientific Affiliation: Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith</i>, Vol. 72, No. 1; March 2020. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn2"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[2]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Stump, p. 16.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn3"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[3]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Stump, p. 16.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn4"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><font size="1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[4]</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font>Stump, p. 20.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn5"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[5]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>There is a whole theological conversation around the words of Lev. 11:3-6 and Deut. 14:7 about whether or not it is accurate to describe a hare as chewing a cud. The conversation can get rather pointed and borders on irrational when people expect the whole answer to be found in the Bible.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn6"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[6]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Stump, p. 22.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn7"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[7]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> “</span>Two Books Theology means understanding how Christian theologians from the very beginnings of the Church have understood God’s self-revelation, as well as the relationship between Scripture and Creation.” “The Church Fathers and Two Books Theology” <i>Biologos</i>, Mark H. Mann, 2012.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn8"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="1">[8]</font></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Stump, p. 22.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div>Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-6932822784571460492020-06-07T04:00:00.005-06:002020-06-07T06:12:27.471-06:00Yeast, Patience, and a Shutdown World<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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Patience is not my strong suit. I know that it is hard for many of us and particularly in a time of instant messaging, instant media, instant news, instant meals, instant coffee – well, maybe strike that last one – compared to previous eras, none of us can stand to be patient. Then, I read the words of Jesus: The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the Kingdom of God is like a field of wheat with weeds growing along-side the harvest, the Kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field, the Kingdom of God is like a land-owner who invests in his servants and goes away on a long trip, and the Kingdom of God is like yeast that works its way through bread. Every one of these descriptions emphasises long time periods and a large degree of patience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">I took this video as I waited for my bread dough to rise. The video represents approximately 40 minutes of rising compressed into 20 seconds. </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Yeast is slow. If you want to make bread you must be patient.</span></div>
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But I want speed. I love speed. I ride rollercoasters and go-carts to give myself a sense of speed. I have to work hard to stay within speed limits when I am on a scenic tour of the Rocky Mountains. The two and a half minutes it takes to heat up a cup and a half of water in the microwave seems too long; the two minutes I brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush are the longest two minutes of my day. I want change and I want it now. We have been waiting 12 weeks for our cities, our restaurants, our churches, our playgrounds, our libraries, our recreation centres, our borders, … to open up. We want change and we want it now. We want a vaccine, and we want it yesterday. When it comes to re-opening churches, when it has to do with the life of our church congregations, we especially want quick fixes. Some are already pressuring politicians and health authorities to let people back into church buildings. Is that wise?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Kingdom of God is like yeast … The Kingdom of God is like a field of wheat … The Kingdom of God is like an investment …<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, I remind myself, these illustrations call for time and patience. Can I slow down and let God work in my life? Can I wait for him to provide for my needs or must I run around frantically adding to my portfolio and my bank account while my heart is a wreckage of tension and fury?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do we actually see the irony in our prayers? "Lord, I want patience - give it to me now." Maybe I should take one more look at that video of bread rising.<o:p></o:p></div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-69301442426561938842020-06-06T04:00:00.000-06:002020-06-06T11:23:29.423-06:00Solzhenitsyn on Evil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I consider the state of Canada, America, the Church, the Body Politic, and my own heart, I am reminded of these words by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?<br />
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During the life of any heart this line keeps changing place; sometimes it is squeezed one way by exuberant evil and sometimes it shifts to allow enough space for good to flourish. One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being. At times he is close to being a devil, at times to sainthood. But his name doesn't change, and to that name we ascribe the whole lot, good and evil.<br />
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Socrates taught us: 'Know thyself!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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― Alexander Solzhenitsyn, <i>The Gulag Archipelago</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">These words come from a man who spent approximately eight years in prison, and many more in exile, for speaking out against evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When I consider myself, I see that my own racism is simply another form of “me-ism.” I readily forgive myself for me-ism by saying that I need to look out for myself and my family. But should I? Did not Jesus tell me to “love my neighbor as I love myself”? Loving myself more than all others is no better than loving myself more than some others. Recognizing it is a first step, yet only a first step. The line dividing good and evil indeed runs through my heart, my body, my dreams, my bank accounts, and every aspect of my life. Lord Jesus, forgive me of every form of me-ism and give me the grace and power to root it out of myself.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">DC Talk wrote a song and created a video that expressed their plea to end racism. Check it out with the link below.</span><br />
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<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We're colored people, and they call us the human race</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We've got a history so full of mistakes</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace</span><br />
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<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://youtu.be/iM17qeIIIE4">https://youtu.be/iM17qeIIIE4</a> </span><br />
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-44745127327157255862020-06-05T08:02:00.002-06:002020-06-06T06:17:23.924-06:00Of Romans and Adam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) was a theologian, writer, Anglican Priest, and preacher. His thoughtful commentary on the book of Romans, <i>The Message of Romans</i> (<i>The Bible Speaks Today</i> series; IVP Academic, 1994), has been an important resource for my understanding of the theology of the Apostle Paul. Today, I would like to focus on Stott’s brilliant words regarding Paul’s theological understanding of Adam: the first man of creation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stott peers back through the primordial mist to the time of Adam and seeks to understand the nature Stott observes, in the ancient fossils of the day, and the words of the Bible in Genesis, Romans, and other parts of sacred scripture. He is well-aware that aspects of Genesis 1-3 can only be interpreted symbolically (p. 163) and explains how Paul uses his knowledge of creation and The Fall to build a theological argument for the righteousness bestowed by Jesus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stott then states that he believes “Scripture clearly intends us to accept their [Adam and Eve’s] historicity as the original human pair” (p. 163), and that Adam and Eve were Neolithic farmers in the New Stone Age which ran from 10,000 to 6,000 BC (p. 163). He is aware of, and comfortable with, the human fossil and skeletal records which show that modern <i>homo sapiens </i>can be traced back to 100,000 years ago and <i>homo sapiens</i> (archaic) to about 500,000 years ago. He also knows that the record shows that there are other species of hominids who lived before <i>homo sapiens</i>. <i>Homo erectus</i> dates back to 1.8 million years ago and <i>homo habilis</i> from 2.3 to 1.65 million years ago. Some of these species and sub-species (Neanderthal man is an example of a subspecies which could interbreed with <i>homo sapiens</i>) showed signs of the beginnings of culture such as painting, carving, care for the sick, and burial of the dead (p.164). Even as Stott knows all of this, he also emphasises that this does not contradict with the scriptural understanding of Adam and Eve (p. 163). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then Stott makes this interesting statement: “Adam, then, was a special creation of God, whether God formed him literally ‘from the dust of the ground’ and then ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’, or whether this is the biblical way of saying that he was created out of an already existing hominid. The vital truth we cannot surrender is that, though our bodies are related to the primates, we ourselves in our fundamental identity are related to God” (p. 164). The first half of this interesting statement has to do with how, in Stott’s opinion, God may have gone about forming Adam. Stott is suggesting that God has been creating galaxies, planets, plants, animals, and pre-Adamic hominids, but now God pauses to stoop down in a special creative process to create Adam (and Eve). He envisions a time when many creatures have been walking about on a newly created earth and then God starts fresh with some dust of the ground to create his most precious creation. This is Stott’s first vision of the creation of Adam. But then he says, it might have been that God created Adam “out of an already existing hominid.” John Stott is being gracious toward the varying opinions of “how” Adam came to be (since we cannot see back through time to know precisely what God was doing then we must, to some degree, speculate on the process) but is resolute in the “vital truth we cannot surrender.” That truth, says Stott, is that “though our bodies are related to the primates, we ourselves in our fundamental identity are related to God” (p. 164).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stott goes so far as to invent his own name for Adam’s species and calls him <i>homo divinus</i> (p. 164) before going on to quote Derek Kidner who suggests "that once it became clear that there was ‘no natural bridge from animal to man, God may have now conferred his image on Adam’s collaterals, to bring them into the same realm of being. Adam’s “federal” headship of humanity extended, if that was the case, outwards to his contemporaries as well as onwards to his offspring, and his disobedience disinherited both alike’"(p. 165). “Federal,” in this context refers to God’s act of entering into a covenant (or federation) with humanity through the first human, Adam. Kidner and Stott are saying that God entered into a covenant with humanity and then when the federal head of humanity disobeyed, the disobedience, consequences, and the curse of breaking the covenant, extended to Adam’s contemporaries and his offspring.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Having discussed Adam’s creation, “federal” headship, and disobedience, Stott next speaks of Adam’s death. Stott knows that death existed before Adam’s fall. He can see that there was death in both God’s plant and animal life-cycles. Stott sees plant death in the cycle of blossom, fruit, seed, and death as described in Genesis 1:11. He sees animal death in the fossil record of predators with prey in their stomach (p.165). It is interesting to note Stott’s logic and see that he comprehends that God speaks to him as a theologian through both scripture and nature (the two-book theory of God’s revelation</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When it comes to Adam, Stott wants to suggest that it is possible that when God created <i>homo divinus</i>, he created beings with the potential for eternal life without earthly death. In Genesis 3:19, Stott sees God’s word as pointing to a <i>physical death</i> as part of the curse of The Fall. Many see <i>spiritual death</i> as a curse of The Fall, but Stott holds on to the idea of Adam being made of dust and returning to dust as part of the curse as well. This leads him to propose that perhaps God’s original intention was to make the image-bearers of God immortal, a rather shocking statement for a theologian of his stature. We must consider his theory. Stott states that “Perhaps he would have ‘translated’ them [here he means Adam, Eve, and the rest of unfallen humanity] like Enoch and Elijah, without the necessity of death. Perhaps he would have ‘changed’ them ‘in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye’, like those believers who will be alive when Jesus comes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is an interesting proposal. Was God’s original plan one in which plants and animals lived and died but <i>homo divinus</i> lived on for a set time before being taken into the presence of God? The elves of J.R.R. Tolkien’s <i>Lord of the Rings: Return of the King</i> who live for thousands of years and then sail West to the immortal land of Valinor, readily come to my mind. It is speculative, but who can say that this might not have been God’s original plan? After all, God has made angels as his immortal messengers? It is conceivable that God could have made humans immortal like the elves of Valinor. However, personally, I don’t think we need to create this myth-like possibility to understand the distinctiveness of humanity. Stott has already recognized a good deal of symbolism in Genesis. Could not the words, “Dust you are, and to the dust you will return” be inclusive of both a physical and a spiritual death where the spiritual death is the new consequence of The Fall?<o:p></o:p></div>
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John R.W. Stott passed away in 2011, so I will not have an opportunity to ask him if he would still hold to all of these views. I suspect that he would recognise the speculative nature of some of his ideas and tell us that he was working through various scenarios to seek to understand creation better. A commentary on Romans is not primarily about the methodologies used by the creator, even though they do have a bearing on the discussion. I have not found all of the places Stott may have written about such theories of creation, but I am relatively confident that he never put them down in a succinct book or paper regarding creation. In this context, let us simply honour a great preacher and theologian who spoke and wrote with grace, leaving room for speculation about methods, and giving us definitive statements on God’s purposes. Let us continue to meditate upon and seek to practise the implications of the important fact that “though our bodies are related to the primates, we ourselves in our fundamental identity are related to God.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> “</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two Books Theology means understanding how Christian theologians from the very beginnings of the Church have understood God’s self-revelation, as well as the relationship between Scripture and Creation.” “The Church Fathers and Two Books Theology” </span><i style="font-size: 10pt;">Biologos</i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Mark H. Mann, 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-26761123965862384462020-05-22T04:00:00.000-06:002020-05-22T04:00:01.563-06:00More Good News from the NIH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am now in the habit of regularly reading Dr. Francis Collins’ blog at <a href="https://directorsblog.nih.gov/" style="color: #954f72;">https://directorsblog.nih.gov/</a>. Most of the latest information about potential vaccines, clinical trials, and COVID-19 therapies can be found here before they reach mainstream media. Dr. Collins (author of <i>The Language of God</i>) is a brilliant scientific mind, the director of the National Institute of Health, and a humble follower of Jesus Christ. <a href="https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/05/21/enlisting-monoclonal-antibodies-in-the-fight-against-covid-19/" target="_blank">His latest blog gives us more great news about potential therapies for COVID-19.</a> You can read the blog yourself (as it is not overly technical) and I will also provide a summary here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The good news is there in the first paragraph: we now know that nearly everyone who recovers from COVID-19 produces antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. This is the virus that causes the respiratory disease COVID-19. This suggests that, at least for a period of time – perhaps six months to several years, people exposed to SARS-CoV-2 will be protected from getting COVID-19 again. It is also quite possible that this protection, or immunity, could be transferred to other individuals who have not yet been exposed to the virus. Canadian Blood Services may already be storing tubes of blood for testing to see who has these antibodies in their blood.</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Such blood samples would be valuable in identifying plasma that could be transferred to others to effectively block the replication of the virus in the cells of those exposed to the virus. As Collins' blog also suggests, the antibodies in this plasma may also be an effective therapy for those in an active COVID-19 disease state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The article goes into some technical details about the various forms which these antibodies take and gives credit to those involved in this important work. The researchers come from all over the world including Beijing, Europe, and the United States. It is a good example of a unified research and development process. I really appreciate good news about actual potential therapies rather than speculation on drugs that may or may not work against the virus. I also really appreciate that these scientists put aside political quarrelling for the sake of all humanity. I encourage us all to stay informed, continue to use our intellects, and stay positive in the search for a conclusion to this pandemic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Personal communication from an un-named source at my local blood donor clinic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-16648687647261457302020-05-21T04:00:00.000-06:002020-05-21T13:03:58.807-06:00How Does One Say Welcome Through a Mask?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Most of us are getting used to smiling really hard to enhance the mirth or joy in our eyes. Without this, will anyone out in the public know that we are smiling behind our mask? You know the feeling: you have just stepped into the wrong aisle, from the wrong lane, heading in the wrong direction, down a supermarket throughway and you want to give that sheepish smile that says, “Oops, I will do better next time but right now I just need to reach that jar of bread yeast. Heh, heh, heh, smiley, smiley, smile.” We wish an emoji would pop up over our head to express our emotion. Alas, that only happens in cartoons and virtual reality. But here in the real world, we are not so fortunate.</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><br />
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I thought about this as I read the news today and saw pictures of restaurants and retailers with signs that read, “Welcome Back – We Are Open” with owners standing at their doors smiling over masks. Yes, we know we are welcome, but we would be much more at ease if there was now no need for that black “bandit” mask that we have all been wearing for the last while (or should I wear the camo mask today?). Which brings me to a point about the re-opening of church buildings. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hflTIPbtpxk" target="_blank">Larry Osborne at North Coast Training Centre has some great insights </a>into what will be necessary for the successful re-opening of our worship services. Most leaders, to this point, have focussed on the physical necessities of masks, hand sanitizers, touchless services, no consumables, and the challenge of children’s ministries. Osborne emphasises what it will take to have a quality worship service that meets or exceeds the quality of online services without totally exhausting pastors, tech-teams, and volunteers. In my mind, it created some questions worth considering. What does it mean to have a quality worship service? Is singing through a mask, while socially distanced necessarily a better worship experience than an online worship service? How many people will we be able to invite into our auditoriums? What about families with small children? Who will be comfortable returning to an enclosed space with central heating and many touch-points? Will my welcoming smile be noticed at the door or will I need to wear a t-shirt that says, “I am smiling under this mask”?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I think Larry Osborne is asking the right questions and perhaps foreseeing the appropriate responses. He suggests churches consider returning to large indoor spaces at a time similar to when people start to return to large outdoor sports arenas. The science of infection relies upon the concept of “Exposure to virus” X “Time” = “Infection”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> So, indoor facilities pose greater risk than outdoor (because in the outdoors, wind will disperse viral particles in biological droplets faster and make them more dilute than in indoor spaces - even this may not hold up to some of the most recent research). But, time together in a church service may be shorter and less active than time spent cheering for your favourite sports team with a much larger crowd. These are the considerations which must go into decisions about when to open zoos, sports facilities, gyms, and places of worship. Do we really want to get ourselves into a situation where we book a time when we are allowed to go to a worship service in a building, after donning mask and gloves, and carrying around a bottle of spray disinfectant? It may be suitable to limit attendance and booking times at the Zoo, but what would such limitations say to the general public wishing to attend a church service? Would we create member only services? Visitor only services? Services with singing and services without singing? Services where seniors can attend and non-seniors services? Children-welcome and children-not-welcome services? Larry Osborne has reminded us that there are some big questions yet to ask. Most of them have no credible answer in the present context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Francis Collins (Head of the NIH in the USA) has said that we might possibly have a vaccine by the end of the year. He and Timothy Keller have also commented on the </span><a href="http://hungerandthirst4.blogspot.com/2020/05/collins-and-keller-where-is-god-in.html" style="font-size: 11pt;" target="_blank">disparities that are present in our medical systems that create have and have-not cultures</a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2]</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Any re-openings and access to vital medications and vaccines must take into consideration Jesus’ words about “the least of these.” All will need equal access.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So, “to [open] or not to [open]. That is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to” remain closed or to re-open. That is one of the questions of the Kingdom of God in which we live and to which we look forward. Until we answer this question, keep smiling. The smile lines increasing with age will only serve to emphasise your smiling eyes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Erin Bromage, “The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them,” Dr. Bromage joined the Faculty of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2007 where he teaches courses in Immunology and Infectious disease, including a course this semester on the Ecology of Infectious Disease which focused on the emerging SARS-CoV2 outbreak in China, </span><a href="https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them" style="color: #954f72; font-size: 10pt;">https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them</a><span style="font-size: x-small;">.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2] </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h3VEoL0d8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h3VEoL0d8</a></div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-22278518998936919342020-05-20T06:38:00.000-06:002020-05-20T13:50:38.978-06:00Collins and Keller: Where is God in a Pandemic?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I am happy to have this blog where I can direct our attention to some of the valuable resources available to us at this time. One such resource is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h3VEoL0d8" target="_blank">recent conversation between Dr. Timothy Keller and Dr. Francis Collins moderated by Jim Stump from the BioLogos organization.</a> I can give you a couple of hints regarding the way to watch this video. First, the main content begins at approximately 9:00 minutes into the YouTube recording and secondly, I have listed a few topics within the video. That way, as a question is asked, you will have an opportunity to take greater notice of the wisdom shared by these two phenomenal leaders. Some of the topics covered include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">That is a long list of relevant topics for each of us. I pray that you might find the time to be spiritually refreshed by these two leaders in God’s Kingdom. Jim Stump is great at asking the right questions and drawing out the best from each of his guests. May we be praying for the work of all who serve God in pandemic times. May God refresh his spiritual leaders in the work of the Kingdom of God.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-57175747632125028872020-05-05T07:05:00.000-06:002020-05-05T08:04:43.096-06:00Of Bees and Workers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Canadian and American culture tends toward “doing” on the “doing/being continuum.” When things get tough, the tough get going. When a crisis comes along and we need to pivot, we take it in stride and work a little harder to accomplish the things that must be done, and the objectives we want to accomplish. On the surface there is nothing wrong with this and it has served our culture well over the last many years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, there is another side to this, and we have all become aware of what happens when the Lord “<i>makes</i> us lie down in green pastures.” In those times when we are forced to isolate, forced to stop the busy commute, forced to work and play in the same location, some of us have amped up the frenetic pace. I know many who must rise to the challenge of working a full-time job from home, learn the new platforms that allow this work, learn how to use the tools sent home by teachers to help the children learn and then communicate with the teacher, find new ways to keep in touch with family and friends, say yes or no to another drive-by birthday celebration, figure out how to keep a three-year-old occupied all day so that both parents can work from two make-shift home offices, keep the wi-fi network working at its peak to support two Zoom calls, a Disney movie, and two smart-phones so that the bandwidth doesn't freeze up one of the apps and make us look like an idiot on the Zoom call with the boss. (I mean literally looking like an idiot with our features frozen in some odd expression and our hair sticking out from our slouch cap.) <o:p></o:p></div>
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But back to the Lord “<i>making</i> us lie down in green pastures,” there are days when we must rest. There are days when we cannot be as productive as we want to be. There are days when we fear that we will fall behind the flock of sheep and be left lying in yesterday’s green pastures. There are days when we are anxious that others might see us as not pulling our weight and that we might just miss that promotion or, in fact, be one of the first to be laid-off. There are days when we are forced to lie down in the green pasture of our home while the three-year-old bounces on our chest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://carsonpue.net/2020/04/28/bee-in-the-greenhouse/" target="_blank">In a recent blog, Carson Pue relates a story of a bee in a greenhouse</a> that frenetically bashes against the glass ceiling trying to find a way out. <span style="font-size: 11pt;">The bee is a worker bee. The bee works hard at getting out of the situation in which it finds itself. Despite the open door and vent, the poor little thing just keeps smashing against the glass until it is too exhausted to fly and must crawl along the frame of the vent. It is a revealing picture of our own levels of fatigue. Carson Pue goes on to speak of what we can do in these times of stress and the entire article is very helpful. Yet, I could not help but think that sometimes I just need to</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">be the bee</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. There is a time for simply</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">being</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">rather than</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">doing</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. It was not until the bee reached a point of simply</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">being</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">on the greenhouse frame that the solution to its plight arose. Then it was able to crawl beyond the inner frame, to the third dimension of the greenhouse, and find its way beyond the glass.</span></div>
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Where am I today? Am I being or doing? Am I seeking to be all I can be? Am I seeking to do all I can do? There is a time for both being and doing. Where am I, where are you, in the tension?<o:p></o:p></div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-7498587807831986642020-04-30T08:45:00.000-06:002020-04-30T08:45:15.339-06:00Saturn and Jupiter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">As I wiped the sleep from my eyes a little before sunrise this morning, I gazed out my south-facing window and saw two bright objects in the sky. There was blazing beauty to each of them and together they took my breath away. I thought one was Sirius, until I did my research and realized I was looking at the shining glory of Saturn on the left and Jupiter on the right.</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Such splendour, such sublime majesty in these two planets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I thought about our own planet in crisis with a virus running amok across the globe. I thought about the grandeur and sterility of each of Saturn and Jupiter. As far as we know, there are no viruses, no bacteria, and no life on these planets. There are storms, of epic proportion, there is dust, there are rocks, there are gases, both volatile and inert, there is sunlight and shadow. All of this has been going on in one form or another for decades, centuries, and millennia. There is a timeless purity to what is going on with these two planets. Processes happen and storms come and go</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> and yet these planets are changeless. There is no global warming caused by the impact of one or another species, there are no pandemics, and no wars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">God has protected these planets from the impact of all such catastrophes and given them over to their own changes and movements. These planets are remarkably ordered by the principles of physics, chemistry, and gravity. Yet, if you were to watch them from a close vantage point, they might appear chaotic and out of control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">Today, as I watch them from afar, I am reminded that there are places of pristine purity, protected by the huge gulf between humans and these holy places. We have not yet sullied the stars. Annie Dillard says that we have indeed damaged many of the holy places here on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">“It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. It is hard to desecrate a grove and change your mind. The very holy mountains are keeping mum. We doused the burning bush and cannot rekindle it; we are lighting matches in vain under every green tree.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt;">― Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters, Harper Perennial, 2013. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 11pt;">Yet, Saturn and Jupiter give us hope of places not yet seen that are still holy, pure, and unsullied. Let us cling to the hope of one day seeing the holy places of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Don’t worry, they are still social distancing. They only look like they are close to each other from this angle.</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Some storms have persisted for hundreds of years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-23442566377565197262020-04-14T07:22:00.000-06:002020-04-16T05:47:17.688-06:00Understanding Testing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtUQtyfCxvPPSqpZlVVcxWn-8LcP6B-wE8A26K8hdkik6kspyQafSEY0zmyiwffyZTY2pJLWvDJZoQpDpEdggCYdx10zkQeL10wow4H9reXotZ7d6hUuyPVz30NwNve6Wfll6TtZ2tPE/s1600/Spartan+covid-19-testing-device.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtUQtyfCxvPPSqpZlVVcxWn-8LcP6B-wE8A26K8hdkik6kspyQafSEY0zmyiwffyZTY2pJLWvDJZoQpDpEdggCYdx10zkQeL10wow4H9reXotZ7d6hUuyPVz30NwNve6Wfll6TtZ2tPE/s320/Spartan+covid-19-testing-device.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The world of COVID-19 testing and our understanding of the
virus has caused many of us to read science and health articles laden with new
terminology that may be challenging to understand. One of the areas of knowledge
that is difficult to understand is COVID-19 testing. Let’s take a closer look
at some of the work presently being done. </div>
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When it comes to viruses and the diseases they cause, there
are two basic types of testing. One, testing to see if the person being tested
has virus in their system; and two, testing to see if the person has developed
antibodies against the virus. We will look at each in turn with regard to the COVID-19
disease and the SARS-CoV-2 virus<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span>
which causes the disease.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></div>
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Virus testing in this first case, is done almost exclusively
by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This is the
recommended initial test to see if a person is carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus in
the deep parts of the nasal passages.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span>
This test detects the rna of the actual virus by transcribing its rna into DNA
and amplifying the DNA (making more of the DNA). This is a highly sensitive
test and is capable of detecting as few as one virus particle. The test relies
on the concept that if a virus particle is detected deep in the sinus cavity of
the patient, the patient’s body is likely manufacturing the virus particles in the
cells of their respiratory system<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span>
and shedding them out into the world around them through moisture in their breath.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span>
This article will not assess the tests but rather describe the tests (some of the
readers of this article may already be seeing the pros and cons of this testing
method). Spartan Bioscience in Ottawa has just received approval to sell their rapid
detection kit to the Canadian market.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span>
It is exciting to see this new made-in-Canada solution to testing for SARS-CoV-2.</div>
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In the second type of testing, the clinicians initiating the
test are looking for antibodies against the virus. Normally, when our bodies
are introduced to a new virus in our cells, our immune system goes through a
system of activation and biochemical cascades which result in the production of
antibodies against the novel virus.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span></span></span>
These antibodies are part of a healthy person’s biological response to a virus
and the beginnings of how we fight off this new challenge to the integrity of
our cells. We want our cells to exclusively make proteins for our own use and
we do not want them making more viral rna or viral proteins. Therefore, our
immune system must initiate its own biological warfare against the invading
army of viruses. Antibody testing relies upon this ability of the body to make
antibodies against a foreign particle in our system. If our body has
experienced the new virus and has had sufficient time to mount a response,
there will be antibodies in our blood to indicate that this has happened.
Antibodies such as this may last for a matter of months or many years. Thus,
one can test for specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 while the person is in an
active COVID-19 disease state or even after they have recovered. This type of
testing may be invaluable in determining who has survived the disease and may possibly
be a source of antibodies that could potentially be transferred to another
person to give them immunity to the disease.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span></span></span></div>
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This second type of testing is more of a classical
immunological test. A molecule capable of binding to the antibody, something
that bears a resemblance to the binding portion of the viral particle, is bound
onto a substrate (perhaps a paper inside a testing cassette) and then a blood
sample is placed in contact with the detection molecule. After an appropriate
wash, to cleanse the cassette of any unbound particles, the one performing the
test looks for evidence of bound antibodies. This is most often a colour change
on the substrate (think of how an early pregnancy detection stick works) to indicate
the presence of the antibody against the virus. (Again, there are pros and cons
of such a testing regime, but for now, we will forgo any assessments.) Tests
such as this are in development in Canada as well. The test manufactured by
BTNX is approved for sale in the US and UK but is not yet approved for the
Canadian market.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span></span></span>
This type of testing will be critical to further research and for such important
tasks as testing donor blood at Canadian Blood Services. We can applaud such
active and rapid research into both of these areas of testing.</div>
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Post a comment or send an email if this article has created
further questions. I will do my best to research the questions and provide answers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAJgGIRp1mFb_wbxIZlpAAqChb1j_CmSm568CMP6b_yAzRe3gnrk0QXNhCnec8kpksPa6KcJqekAo9izy6GS0P-nTAwRmoDh45N5B_46JVg76RjlLH77cIJ7csSkqMhmQOPztdjceulQ/s1600/BTNX+testing+device.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="494" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAJgGIRp1mFb_wbxIZlpAAqChb1j_CmSm568CMP6b_yAzRe3gnrk0QXNhCnec8kpksPa6KcJqekAo9izy6GS0P-nTAwRmoDh45N5B_46JVg76RjlLH77cIJ7csSkqMhmQOPztdjceulQ/s320/BTNX+testing+device.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span>
The virus itself is a simple little biological entity, less alive and more
machine-like. It consists of only 30,000 base-pairs of rna and just a few proteins.
Perhaps I will write more on that later.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span>
This virus is also sometimes referred to as “the coronavirus” (but of course it
is simply one of many coronaviruses) or the 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span>
"Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)." Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. 2020-03-21. Retrieved 28 March 2020.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span>
For that is what virus particles do, they get inside a host cell and use the
cell’s machinery to make more virus particles.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span>
Notice I avoided saying, “by speaking moistly.” This is out of respect for our
Prime Minister and the great job he is doing each day keeping the Canadian public
informed. It is so easy to stumble over one’s words in such settings. We all
need to give him a break.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span>
“Everyone wants them: Rapid COVID-19 test kits made in Canada approved for use,”
CBC News, 2020-04-13, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/spartan-covid19-test-kit-new-1.5530669.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span></span></span>
People who are immune-compromised for various reasons may not be fully capable of
mounting such an immune response against the virus.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span></span></span>
I am intentionally using a number of conditional words and clauses here. The
research has not yet shown whether or not it might be possible to transfer
immunity via this method. But, it is a hopeful plan.</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span></span></span>
“Health Canada says rapid blood test for COVID-19 remains under review,” CBC
News, 2020-04-12, https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/health-canada-rapid-blood-tests-under-review-1.5529590</div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-44125840001427903642020-04-08T12:04:00.001-06:002020-04-16T06:04:33.858-06:00Science and Faith in Pandemic Times<br />
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Dr. Francis Collins has been a hero of mine since my days in
the Molecular Diagnostic Lab at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. In
those days he was the lead investigator on the Human Genome Project as everyone
raced to be the first to map the approximately three billion base-pairs of the
human genome. Since July of 2008 Dr. Collins has served as the director of the
National Institutes of Health, a position to which he was appointed by
President Barack Obama and selected again by President Donald Trump. It is a
position he holds to this day. The NIH is the agency of the United States
government that is responsible for biomedical and public health research in the
United States and Dr. Collins’ role is to oversee all projects and funding from
the US government.</div>
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On April 6, 2020, Biologos interviewed Francis Collins
regarding the latest research into the novel corona virus that is causing the
disease known as COVID-19. Christianity Today reporters were sitting in on the
interview and will likely write about this conversation in the days and weeks
to come. Dr. Francis Collins is a gracious and humble follower of Jesus who is
overseeing all of the research into the virus, vaccines, antibodies against the
virus, and many other projects in the US. The interview reveals that many
Christians do indeed integrate faith and science. To quote Mark Noll, "There is hope for the
evangelical mind" (<i>The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind</i>, 1994). Don't miss the end of the interview where Dr. Collins reveals the things for
which he is praying right now. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ3JzHCsPp8" target="_blank">Here is the link to the recorded conversation. </a><br />
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<br />Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-53028890946464181132020-04-04T08:25:00.001-06:002020-04-16T06:05:32.263-06:00Transitions in a Dangerous Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">“But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When you're lovers in a dangerous time.” – Bruce Cockburn, “Lovers In A Dangerous Time.”<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">These words of Bruce Cockburn acknowledge that there is darkness. This present darkness in which we walk can be characterized by fear, deprivation, danger, psychological and spiritual stress, and relational conflict. Cockburn’s words also acknowledge the need to challenge the darkness and create space for the light to splash into and obliterate the darkness. Indeed, these are the times in which we live.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">It has often been noted that no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, few of us will change our lives, our work, or our organizations without the pressure of significant pain (or as Bruce Cockburn might describe it, darkness). The pain may come from a business that is not sustainable, a lifestyle that is destructive, a career that is waning, or a significant health issue that causes us distress, but it takes a large shove to propel us into change mode. Since March 13<sup>th</sup> in Canada, the Church (and many other aspects of life) has experienced discomfort and a big push in a particular direction. Many are reeling from the impact, even as they adjust to new realities.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 2003, a group of friends joined my wife and I in creating a network of house churches in the city of Calgary. The story of how this came to be is a story of difficulties that built to a change point all of its own, but what I want to focus on today is the fact that once we had made the leap and changed the way we organized a church, we soon found that there were further pressure points involved in the transition. It wasn’t enough to shrink a mega-church or even a midi-church into a living room and kitchen, we had to blast away at the build-up of our collective traditions to find the foundations of our newfound structures.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Jeff Christopherson, in a recent two-part article in <i>Christianity Today</i>, address the topic of the new church planter in an article entitled, “The Road Ahead: 10 Characteristics of a Future Church Planter.”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">[1]</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> It is an article aimed at church planters and those who oversee the development of new congregations in Canada and the USA, but beyond that, it can be seen as a call to new kinds of churches, new ways of doing ancient traditions, and new ways of being the body of Christ. I will leave it to the reader to search out and read the article and will only list the ten characteristics before extrapolating further thoughts beyond the strict text of the article. The ten transitions that must be made as enumerated by Christopherson are as follows.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">1.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Entrepreneurial <i>Übermensch</i> </span>to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Apostolic Catalyst</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">2.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Sunday-centric</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Christ’s Body</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">3.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Ecclesiastical Supremacy</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Kingdom Submission</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">4.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Drafting Free-Agents</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Developing Disciple-Makers</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">5.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Replication</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Multiplication</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">6.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">SoloClerics</span></i> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Co-Vocational Teams</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">7.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Christendom</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Secularity</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">8.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Doctrinal Precision</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Spiritual Authority</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">9.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Prominent Church</span> to <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Transformed City</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">10.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">From Underserved Communities to Overlapping Gospel Movements<u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Back to Cockburn, “nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.” A vibrant Canadian church that creates meaning for people’s lives, strengthens them in times of darkness, and shares hope for the future is definitely something worth having. In my opinion, Christopherson has identified an accurate set of transitions for which the church is primed. Who will step up, kick at the darkness, and lead toward change? For those who are attentive, the present pain of the church can be a catalyst for transition and increased health. Who wants to talk about the present pain of the church? Who is ready to look toward these transitions? Who wants to see a healthier church and a healthier Canada on the other side of this present crisis? There are many of us who are available to talk more about these things and coach others toward change. Let’s help each other stay on mission.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 7.5pt;">[1]</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #424242; font-size: 10pt;"> “The Road Ahead: 10 Characteristics of a Future Church Planter,” Jeff Christopherson, <i>Christianity Today</i>, October 29, 2019 and November 4, 2019, <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2019/november/road-ahead-10-characteristics-future-church-planter-part-2.html" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2019/november/road-ahead-10-characteristics-future-church-planter-part-2.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-33492446871835169122020-03-25T10:56:00.000-06:002020-03-25T14:37:09.094-06:00What to do in Isolation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxicrjPo5c8g7IKGlz33Wwj1MLWsU39EOMHMwT2Oyizl24WsEQtW8MuK4_8_DIdB0vsDxnK9LYxs-3oTdPCvYfpdjw_PmUxbfXiFcMvhT0wl0D59gjE9h1oDAsFoOeZySiyBwi2lplXE/s1600/isolation+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxicrjPo5c8g7IKGlz33Wwj1MLWsU39EOMHMwT2Oyizl24WsEQtW8MuK4_8_DIdB0vsDxnK9LYxs-3oTdPCvYfpdjw_PmUxbfXiFcMvhT0wl0D59gjE9h1oDAsFoOeZySiyBwi2lplXE/s320/isolation+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Okay, since March 13, 2020, Canada has changed and most of
us find ourselves with much more time in our homes. How do we survive mentally,
physically, and spiritually in this present state of affairs? I do not claim to
be an expert, but here are some things I have found helpful.</div>
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</span></span></span>Now is a great time to read that book you have
been meaning to read that will make you better at your job. There may also be a
novel or a self-help book that has been sitting on a shelf just waiting for a
time like this.</div>
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</span></span></span>Do those job searches you have been meaning to
do. Is this the time to choose to work at something for which you are
passionate?</div>
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</span></span></span>Take an online course. Is there something that
will make you more employable when you come out of isolation? Many schools have
switched to online delivery. Perhaps now is the time to get on board.</div>
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</span></span></span>Rest. Most of us do not need this reminder but
it is important to say, keep good sleep hygiene. Go to bed at the same time
every night and especially get up at the same time every morning. </div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Not only could you read, but you could write.
Have you dreamed of having time to write a blog, a book, a song, or poetry? Now might be the
time. Writing a blog, book, song, or poetry is not for everyone, but you could take this
time to hand-write letters or cards to friends and family.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Keep to routines. Not just sleep routines but
all routines of the day: take out the garbage, check for mail delivery, walk
the dog, and many more things can be part of your daily routine.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Eat and drink in moderation. Remember, you are
likely not getting your usual amount of exercise.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Schedule times to talk with people in your home.
Perhaps you might do this while playing a game together.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Schedule times to talk with extended family through
phone calls and video calls.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Although we must maintain good
social-distancing, watch for ways to help others. Is there a fragile person in
your neighbourhood that could use something left on the porch? Can you put
something in the window to encourage those who are out for a walk?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>If you have the supplies, build something.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Stay spiritually healthy. Do the things that
keep you connected with God. Listen to sermons online, read your Bible and good
books, pray with others online.</div>
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There are a few ideas. I am sure we could all add more. Let’s
do our best to stay heathy in a complex world.</div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-23889749820701994692020-03-23T15:01:00.000-06:002020-03-24T18:47:32.762-06:00Of Moral Compasses and Society<style>@font-face {
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77JonG0lRRWLdszTt8MWfrApGLOIVuW9D6nKNwRzGBlanwzrTe8ezk3srbo3hQGlSavLm459Q4FS-6vdBJwEzrtjhiCwOYwaSMfcDCr5lo6AwPwuwOeYif-s2I-a7S-5VUIAwQ3aHag0/s1600/Moral+Compass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="926" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77JonG0lRRWLdszTt8MWfrApGLOIVuW9D6nKNwRzGBlanwzrTe8ezk3srbo3hQGlSavLm459Q4FS-6vdBJwEzrtjhiCwOYwaSMfcDCr5lo6AwPwuwOeYif-s2I-a7S-5VUIAwQ3aHag0/s320/Moral+Compass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In the Garden of Eden,
one of the choices which faced the first humans was a choice between what is
good for the community and what is good for the individual. Adam and Eve faced
a moral choice to either obey God’s community standards or obey the voice of
selfishness personified in a snake. We know very little of the thought
processes of Adam and Eve in that prehistoric garden, only the vignettes God
reveals in the words of Genesis 2, 3, and 4, and we do well to learn what God
seeks to teach us through their lives.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Genesis 1 begins with
the Creator as a community of persons creating a marvelously interwoven
interdependent biosphere.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[1]</span></span></span></span>
The emphasis is on the blue planet, third from the sun in our solar system, but
of course the entire universe is God’s creation and humans are asked to care
for it all. The Creator, in his first instructions to humanity, gives them the
task of caring for all that has been created.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[2]</span></span></span>
</span>There are a couple of clues that this is a community task and not the
individual responsibility of one couple. First, we get an indication that the
creation is so large that two would not be able to care for it all. Secondly, Adam
and Eve receive the instructions to be fruitful and multiply so that there may
be more people to join in the care of the garden, the planet, and all of
creation. There is much more that could be said of the plan God has for the
care of his creation, but most of it comes down to the fact that humans are
created in the image of God and are designed to care for what he cares about. Thus,
humans must care for God’s creation, which of course includes other human
beings. The task God gives humans is daunting: take care of a whole planet and
indeed a whole universe, but the Creator makes the planet (and the universe)
remarkably self-sustaining and self-renewing.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Then, going back to
the Garden of Eden, we read of that first choice: to do what is good for the
community of humans and for the creation, or to do what enhances personal
knowledge and personal power. The temptation that is offered is devious and
enticing for any human: trust that what God has said is right for his creation
or take control and do things our own individual way. Listen in to the
insidious temptation: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in
the garden?’ … You will not certainly die, … when you eat from it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Confusing words
for any listener. “Wait, what did God say? What did the snake say?” Ultimately,
a choice is made between following the instructions of the One who knows how
the universe works (following the manual – so to speak) or choosing to do what
enhances the individual. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Ever since that first inflection
point of choice, we have seen humanity come to similar places of decision over
and over again. When tribal families in geographic areas face a new group of
families with similar or different lifestyles, they must decide whether they
will fight against them for the resources of that place or collaborate together
in an expanded community. When the great empires and kingdoms of the world rise
up, the individual must choose between obeying the community/kingdom laws or
choosing what is good for themselves/their small family. When democratic
governments rise to the forefront and recognize the tensions and balances
between the individual, the society, the family, and world cultures, the
individual must again make choices between personal pursuits and the pursuits
of the society at large. In current vernacular, the individual must ask, “Should
I work to ensure there is enough hand-sanitizer to meet the needs of the
community or stockpile the product and sell it for a profit?”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Keith Boag, an opinion
columnist for CBC News, recently wrote an article which describes the tension in
our world today: <b>the right of the individual to pursue happiness and the
obligations of those who live together in society</b>. Boag’s examples are taken
from recent incidents in the United States of America but are written as a
caution to all people and particularly to Canadians. His words are more
political than theological, but I would suggest that the roots of the tensions
go back to the moral choices of the Garden of Eden.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Boag gets to the heart
of the matter when he quotes Christopher Beem, director of the McCourtney
School of Democracy in saying that <b>“… Americans need to challenge the idea that
everyone is just pursuing their own happiness as individuals…. When we live
together in society, we depend on each other. And therefore, we have
obligations to each other."</b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[4]</span></span></span></span> Truly,
this is a very old tension: the good of the individual and the good of the
society. The article gives several examples of the bad behaviours that can occur
when individuals take advantage of the society in which they live and pursue
their own happiness as individuals (read the entire article and be prepared to
be angry). Of course, the article also exposes our own hearts and our own
susceptibility to making the wrong choice in any given circumstance. Both of Boag and
Beem challenge us to reconsider the importance of the society or societies
within which we live. They are suggesting that the happiness of a society as
well as the individual is something to be pursued.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">From the very
beginning, God knew that we would face the choices we are facing today. He
knows how societies, cultures, and planets work best and has given us his
guidance. He knows that we are susceptible to the temptation of individualism,
tribalism, and selfishness and yet he allows us to choose our own paths
forward. <b>Like Adam and Eve, we get to choose where we will find our moral
compass.</b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[1]</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Granted, one must look
closely for hints that the Creator is a community of persons in Genesis and one
needs the larger arc of the entire Bible to understand the nature of a Creator
who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (see for example John 1:1-3 and Colossians
1:15-20) but the seeds of this theology are definitely sown in the beginnings
of our Bible and the beginnings of creation.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[2]</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Genesis 1:28 says, “Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue (<i>or steward</i>)
it. Rule over (<i>or take care of</i>) the fish in the sea and the birds in the
sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are many
examples of how the biosystem works in harmony. A simple example is the earth’s
water cycle as explained in the article entitled “Water Cycle” in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><b>“Coronavirus puts a spotlight on the moral compass of America,”
Keith Boag, CBC News, March 23, 2020, https://bit.ly/3drSMjs</b></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-54281149171192440902020-03-16T12:18:00.000-06:002020-03-16T12:18:37.658-06:00The Singer and You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9O91hmqcLr4Eaghj9KU50niPY1fZ4lZ4PE7-qtz422LDYpaVwzbVqRvziZ9vpLpgnoyjR1I4xyhxZQ2OPs7IZhzjtlsNcTbFzXQfYxzKdnffyMVHxEvPmmZpA4uftbNitMsk_vKre0k/s1600/karaoke-mic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9O91hmqcLr4Eaghj9KU50niPY1fZ4lZ4PE7-qtz422LDYpaVwzbVqRvziZ9vpLpgnoyjR1I4xyhxZQ2OPs7IZhzjtlsNcTbFzXQfYxzKdnffyMVHxEvPmmZpA4uftbNitMsk_vKre0k/s320/karaoke-mic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Key of Zed, the duo of Mike Charko and Keith Shields, has just released a new original single. For fans of </span></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Blue Rodeo</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> and a few other bands, you will recognize the references to a few other songs in the lyrics. See how many you can catch. (At a later date I will release an </span><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">annotated version of the lyrics that will identify the references.) </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The story of this song is that the woman in the </span></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Blue Rodeo</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> song "Try" is now older and more introspective and the lyrics are her answer to the man who said those words to her.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b>The Singer and You</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">(Lyrics and Music by Mike Charko and Keith Shields; copyright SOCAN)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">(<a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/keyofzed?profile_view_source=header_icon_nav" target="_blank">Listen here</a>) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Blue Rodeo on the stereo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">(And) teardrops in my eyes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Reminding me of five days in May<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And how I said I’d try<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Was it just bad timing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Or something I should have done?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">That keeps me looking through the crack in the window<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And wishing for the sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And the singer and you and the devil too<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me what I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me what I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Right is right and wrong is wrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">With every move I made<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Every time you played<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Old songs, rehearsed to a tee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Left no room to breathe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And the spirits of tunes - left unsung<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Like the ghosts in me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And the singer and you and the devil too<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me what I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me what I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Guitar solo:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bridge:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop bop bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">My solo written by you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Was singing the blues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">How could I get the rhythm from you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">There’s nothing left to do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Rising star or wounded heart?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Were you teaching me to fly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Could the bad inside of me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Really be the lie?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And the singer and you and the devil too<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me what I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">They want to tell me the things that I should do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bop shoo bop; bop bop she bop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-26717292462480598262019-12-21T16:04:00.000-07:002019-12-21T20:13:21.626-07:00Marc Martel, The Impersonator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSaYsjfFL8_0meC_N2hfQAILhJucmQcxjsV6CeICcFMFgXlAYm-IixzSnTww-JVdTbp3HaJ9dokZo2iEqpOHkhjdjXaqxAIxys5WHE81NX1knSv006RJnRJIIJrwiLhrXkYwCkoOtehM/s1600/Marc+Martel.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSaYsjfFL8_0meC_N2hfQAILhJucmQcxjsV6CeICcFMFgXlAYm-IixzSnTww-JVdTbp3HaJ9dokZo2iEqpOHkhjdjXaqxAIxys5WHE81NX1knSv006RJnRJIIJrwiLhrXkYwCkoOtehM/s1600/Marc+Martel.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;">Marc Martel is one of those guys for whom I have the greatest of respect. He is talented beyond the level of many in the music industry and has made music with a diverse group of people. This Christmas, I am glad to see him making music with Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. They have put together a Christmas album and are following it up with a limited tour in support of the album.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;">Of course, Martel has made music with many other artists including Jason Gray, Buddy Greene, Plumb, Scott Mulvahill, and Ron Block of Alison Krauss & Union Station. But beyond collaboration and Christmas music, Marc Martel was formerly the front man for CCM band downhere and leads his own Ultimate Queen Celebration, where he impersonates Freddie Mercury with great panache.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;">His first solo album: <i>Impersonator</i> contains the following title song. The entire album is filled with great original songs that speak of life on the road and the challenges of sounding like (and even looking like) another famous singer. Perhaps the most tragic song on the album is this title song. In it, he recognizes the value of impersonation but also laments that his own voice and personality gets lost in the music. And he finds himself saying that, “you would not have me any other way.” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRI9XN4wT9A" target="_blank">Read and listen to the words below</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;">Marc Martel – Impersonator<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />I wonder if my own eyes would recognize<br />Whatever I become when I live your lies<br />I should've made a break, for the fire escape – warning signs I didn't take<br />And all the things you bought – just to break<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />But I am the impersonator<br />You can be the reason for my insanity<br />I am the impersonator<br />I give you everything you want from me<br />Whatever makes you happy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />What's done is done, this is what I become<br />And now you would not have me any other way – so why stay?<br />Let me go on, like nothing's wrong, just to keep you holding on<br />A flash before my eyes as I fade away – and I fade away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />I am the impersonator<br />You can be the reason for my insanity<br />I am the impersonator<br />I give you everything you want from me<br />Whatever makes you happy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />And so I, I put on my show with my life<br />I wear the weight of my disguise, to drown out the silence<br />So you never read the signs<br />I lose myself to have you, and you don't even have a clue<br />I am the shadow, who keeps you in the light<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;"><br />And I am the impersonator<br />You can be the reason for my insanity<br />I am the impersonator<br />I give you anything you want from me, but you know<br />I'll never make you happy<br />Whatever makes you happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "brandon text light" , sans-serif;">Songwriters: John Randall Fields / Lily Kershaw / Marc Martel; © Strawberrius Music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-28575822300068151262019-12-12T13:08:00.000-07:002019-12-12T13:08:06.189-07:00In Another Light
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdbz0_yi_JzRPIiMw8Npem3JKoWjWAIPyyKgM1b-OozYmnt7qz6HqdBaC7iIHVsG9BGq_ybQ0SQlCLhdpiZA1zwWZl91tz0hqHbeGtEGiRDtlreppnA9LSsYF4Slm3iU8ca0BYP7fbIU/s1600/Wayne+Kirkpatrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1121" data-original-width="1200" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdbz0_yi_JzRPIiMw8Npem3JKoWjWAIPyyKgM1b-OozYmnt7qz6HqdBaC7iIHVsG9BGq_ybQ0SQlCLhdpiZA1zwWZl91tz0hqHbeGtEGiRDtlreppnA9LSsYF4Slm3iU8ca0BYP7fbIU/s320/Wayne+Kirkpatrick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the greatest songwriters of the past 50 years is
Wayne Kirkpatrick. <a href="https://bit.ly/2YG89gU" target="_blank">I have sung his praises before.</a> To my knowledge he has only
produced one solo album, entitled, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Maple Room</i>, and from that album comes the song, “In Another Light.”
Although the song is obviously written about a marriage relationship (“Hey,
that’s my ring on your finger”), perhaps it has something to say to all of us
about seeing things in another light. How often do the “shadows of our
yesterday” get in the way of our love for one another? Don’t we sometimes need
a new perspective that “tends to the wounds of the past” but looks beyond the
wounds of the past. In marriages and other relationships there will always be “demons
that rummage through the past of what” we’ve done to each other. In a highly
polarized, easily wounded atmosphere, life might be better if we took a step
back and looked at things in another light. </div>
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On his Facebook page, Kirkpatrick says that he has been “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">married</span> since 1985 to the same
girl I went to high school with and we are still rockin'!” So, despite the
challenges noted in this song, he seems to know how to navigate the ups and
downs of married life. <a href="https://bit.ly/2EcHhvI" target="_blank">Take a listen to the song</a> and see if it rings
true in one or more aspects of your own relational life.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In Another Light</b></div>
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Words and Music by Wayne Kirkpatrick</div>
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Standing like statues </div>
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Stubborn unmoving but breakable</div>
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You say there’s nothing wrong</div>
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But that look is so unmistakable</div>
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Angry and wounded</div>
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Well I’m sure your reasons are justified</div>
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You’re searching for changes </div>
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Oh, but there are quite a few you’ve yet to realize</div>
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And you would see things differently</div>
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If you chose to look at me</div>
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In another light</div>
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Shadows of our yesterday, </div>
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Bow to love and melt away</div>
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In another light</div>
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<br /></div>
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Changing the angle</div>
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Well baby that could be our only chance</div>
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Some new perspective on it</div>
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That tends to the wounds of our circumstance</div>
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Cause I feel like screaming</div>
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Damned if I don’t, damned if I do</div>
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Chasing those demons</div>
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That rummage through the past </div>
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Of what I’ve done to you</div>
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You would see things differently</div>
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If you chose to look at me</div>
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In another light</div>
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Shadows of our yesterday, </div>
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They bow to love and melt away</div>
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In another light</div>
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Hey, that’s my blood on your sabre</div>
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Hey, that’s my voice in your dark</div>
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Hey, that’s my ring on your finger</div>
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Hey, that’s my love in your heart</div>
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That’s my love in your heart.</div>
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You would see things differently</div>
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If you chose to look at me</div>
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In another light</div>
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Shadows of our yesterday, </div>
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Bow to love and melt away</div>
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In another light</div>
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In another light. </div>
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Yeah, in another light. </div>
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In another light. </div>
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And, in another light. </div>
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Maybe a love should be strong enough to look beyond the past.</div>
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Oh, our love should be made to last.</div>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4041731173272503898.post-82519946377087705232019-10-10T10:22:00.000-06:002019-10-10T10:22:34.855-06:00BioLogos
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LhM7s9lBYkUPReKm4L9wPqiI03ZPLsxhkxAt_YHqOlUhjH3UORKYSLb9frbp6UgwYldb_fb1vigDxOWpa7yjHIL0pohsFKTSjlU7b3WYQazEfeydGj_-G4CGSjj_ySVlC75SrF-nvR0/s1600/Creation.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LhM7s9lBYkUPReKm4L9wPqiI03ZPLsxhkxAt_YHqOlUhjH3UORKYSLb9frbp6UgwYldb_fb1vigDxOWpa7yjHIL0pohsFKTSjlU7b3WYQazEfeydGj_-G4CGSjj_ySVlC75SrF-nvR0/s1600/Creation.jpeg" /></a></div>
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For many years I have been a proponent of the <a href="https://biologos.org/" target="_blank">BioLogos organization</a>. They do
a remarkable job of theological and scientific education. I encourage readers
to take a tour of their site and read some of the many articles available. BioLogos
represents an <a href="https://biologos.org/common-questions/what-is-evolutionary-creation/" target="_blank">Evolutionary Creationism perspective</a> on the origins of life. Here, in their own words is an explanation
of what that means.</div>
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At BioLogos, we present the
Evolutionary Creationism (EC) viewpoint on origins. Like all Christians, we
fully affirm that God is the creator of all life—including human beings in his
image. We fully affirm that the Bible is the inspired and authoritative word of
God. We also accept the science of evolution as the best description for how
God brought about the diversity of life on earth.</div>
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But while we accept the scientific
evidence for evolution, BioLogos emphatically rejects Evolutionism, the atheistic
worldview that so often accompanies the acceptance of biological evolution in
public discussion. Evolutionism is a kind of scientism, which holds that all of
reality can in principle be explained by science. In contrast, BioLogos
believes that science is limited to explaining the natural world, and that
supernatural events like miracles are part of reality too.</div>
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BioLogos offers an explanation of our universe that does
justice to a theological understanding of a creator God, while also giving
credence to the science of our day that explains much of how our world works. I
know that this is a difficult area for many Christians to grasp and BioLogos
has done an excellent job of walking people through the many arguments. I
encourage my readers to spend time on their website and consider a viewpoint
that may not be one that you hold today. There are many opinions among
Christians about the nature of the origins of our universe. Let us not be
afraid to consider each other’s perspective on these issues.</div>
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Beyond the BioLogos website, I would also recommend the
following books:</div>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3241YEz" target="_blank">Adam and the Genome, Dennis R. Venema and Scott McKnight, Brazos Press, 2017.</a></div>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2olK9Ck" target="_blank">Evolution and the Fall, James K.A. Smith and William T. Cavanaugh (editors), Eerdmans, 2017.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>
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Keith Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09162686388135537072noreply@blogger.com0