The Great Dialogue

From USA TODAY One-third of Americans reject human evolution While nearly two-thirds of Americans say humans have evolved over time, a third of U.S. adults disagree, according to new survey results from the Pew Research Center. The Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project report released Monday found that 33% think "humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time." Sixty percent agreed with evolution. Among those who agree with human evolution, about half attribute it to "natural processes such as natural selection." Whereas, 24% of adults say "a supreme being guided the evolution of living things." The survey also found disagreement across political and religious lines. http://usat.ly/1cj234B Get USA TODAY on your mobile device: http://www.usatoday.com/mobile-apps Dr Schmoyer    

And let it always be said he knew how to keep Christmas well! SEE:    http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/18/celebrating-christmas-and-the-holidays-then-and-now/

SEE: https://www.barna.org/barna-update/faith-spirituality/611-christians-more-like-jesus-or-pharisees#.Uqmwl_RDuSo "Finally, the question of authentic faith—is a particularly sore topic for many Millennials—who are often leaving church due in large part to the hypocrisy they experience. Again, no research is a perfect measure, but this study points out a sobering possibility: that the perception so many young people have of Christians contains more than a kernel of truth. Just as the New Testament writer Paul demonstrates in Galatians 2:11-16, the responsibility of the Christian community is to challenge hypocrisy just as boldly as other kinds of sin."

If I Were the Devil  If I were the Prince of Darkness I would want to engulf the whole earth in darkness.  I'd have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree.  So I should set about however necessary, to take over the United States.  I would begin with a campaign of whispers.  With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whispers to you as I whispered to Eve, "Do as you please."  To the young I would whisper "The Bible is a myth." I would convince them that "man created God," instead of the other way around. I would confide that "what is bad is good and what is good is square."  In the ears of the young married I would whisper that work is debasing, that cocktail parties are good for you. I would caution them not to be "extreme" in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct.  And the old I would teach to pray —

...Sadly Disturbing in view of the fact two of our congregation are preparing for missionary service in Senegal: http://www. pewforum .org/2013/06/20/ arab -spring-restrictions-on-religion-findings/

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/vatican-surveys-bishops-on-modern-families-same-sex-couples/story-e6frg6so-1226753912965

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/03/more-white-evangelicals-than-american-jews-say-god-gave-israel-to-the-jewish-people/

Although dated, this is very interesting material. SEE: http://www.pewforum.org/2008/05/01/religion-in-china-on-the-eve-of-the-2008-beijing-olympics/

SEE:   http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

I've just finished reading Reza Aslan's ZEALOT:THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS OF NAZARETH, and I'd encourage others to read and react to it. In short, Aslan paints Jesus as an illiterate peasant whose death proved he was not the messiah. He believes that Paul fought a theological war with Peter, John, and James the brother of Jesus who was the "bishop of bishops" in the early Church and essentially ran the Jerusalem assembly..Of course, Paul preached a gospel of salvation by faith, James of adherence to the law and thus, Aslan supposes, of "works." Paul won in large measure because the Christians remaining in Jerusalem were wiped out with the rest of the population when Rome leveled the city in 70 AD. The crux (ignore the double entendre) of Aslan's argument comes when he asks why the apostles would not only preach the resurrection but stake their lives on it and due for it if the resurrection did not in fact happen. I've asked myself that exact q

See:   http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uks-gay-marriage-law-clears-parliament-19682653#.Ueax6NLkOSo Britain Legalizes Gay Marriage By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD Associated Press LONDON July 17, 2013 (AP) Britain on Wednesday legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval, clearing the way for the first same-sex weddings next summer. Lawmakers cheered as House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said royal assent had been given — one day after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales cleared Parliament. The queen's approval was a formality and is the last step necessary for a bill to become law. The law enables gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales, provided that the religious institution consents. The Church of England, the country's official faith, is barred from performing such ceremonies. It also will allow couples who had previously entered into civil par

Something about Psalm 82 keeps returning and returning to my mind. It's the way it deals with "gods." Here's how it opens: "God takes his stand in the council of heaven; he gives judgment in the midst of the gods." This harks back to a time when the Hebrews could actually contemplate a pantheon of gods. It was just important that God be the head god, so to speak. This is reflected even in the words of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." But even in this Psalm a second view is presented: "Now I say to you, You are gods, and all of you children of the Most High; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like any prince." Who's this talking about? Gods? Or human beings? The Eastern Church talks about Christians becoming gods--"deification"--but they clearly are speaking figuratively to a certain extent. They never forget the distinction between the Creator and the creatures. Is this wha

From the Writer's Almanac on July 10: It's the birthday  of theologian  John Calvin  ( books by this author ), a leader of the Protestant Reformation, born in Noyon, France (1509). His teachings form the basis of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. He studied for the priesthood, but as Martin Luther's ideas spread to France, Calvin became uneasy about his Catholicism. When he was 22, he experienced a "conversion," in which he felt that God had called him to forsake the Catholic Church. He went to Switzerland and wrote  Institutes of the Christian Religion  (1536), and it became a rallying point for Protestants all over Europe.

Hello     Please Note: to post/comment on the Blog you need to be logged in with a gmail account...then you can click on "NEW POST" on the top right page bar and post something, or just click on comments  under an existing post and after that click REPLY, so that your comment box bears your name. Click REPLY BEFORE ENTERING TEXT.  The comment box has a word limit [not sure what it is, but very long comments it will refuse to process]

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22972610 Dr Schmoyer

http://www.pewforum.org/Religion-News/RNS-Report-US-churches-continue-growth-decline-trends.aspx

From the Writer's Almanac for June 19th http://app.info.americanpublicmediagroup.org/e/es?s=1715082578&e=20992&elq=78595e5b7b8b4154b41e17707fb84b13 It's the birthday  of mathematician, physicist, and theologian Blaise Pascal  ( books by this author ), born in Clermont-Ferrand, France (1623). A child prodigy, by the time he was 19 he had already perfected the first mechanical calculator for sale to the public. In the field of physics, he discovered that air has weight, and he conducted experiments to prove that vacuums could exist, which led him to formulate the hydraulic principle that "pressure exerted on a fluid in a closed vessel is transmitted unchanged throughout the fluid." This principle is used today in devices such as syringes, hydraulic presses, automobile brakes, and aircraft controls. In mathematics, he founded the theory of probabilities and developed an early form of integral calculus. He spent much of his life in conflict between science and

David Moyer Posted:      I am a Christian Engineer/Scientist and I have no problem with conflicts between the facts of science (as opposed to some hypotheses of science) and the teachings of scripture. I know literally dozens of other engineers and people with doctorates in technical fields including medicine, veterinary medicine, biology, etc. who also see no conflict. I was once a staunch evolutionist and I could easily teach a high school or community college course on evolution. There are some aspects of evolutionary theory/hypotheses with which I have no quarrel. But nearly the entire field is a matter of hypotheses with very little of it proven by the scientific method, because so little of it is falsifiable. It certainly does not deserve to be classified as a theory- that is a hypothesis that has been tests by real scientific methods so often that almost no one can devise another test that might disprove it. Remember, that scientific hypotheses are not proven, but rather

I must confess, I see no necessary argument between science and Christianity...But here is where one difficulty resides;  in the Bible, in the  2nd book of Peter, chapter 3, it says this: 1  Dear friends,  this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders  to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.  2  I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets  and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.   3  First of all, you must understand that in the last days  scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.   4  They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."   5  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word  the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.   6  By these waters also the world of that time  was deluged and destroyed.   7  By th

Good Morning--Today's Question:   I have been thinking for some time that Monogamy in sexual/familial relationships is a key principle of any moral system...with all the many traditional values and standards being debated these days--where does Monogamy stand? Will it soon be seen by many in the USA as unfairly restrictive? Will there be any moral system that upholds it? What is the future of Monogamy?

Christians are Narrow Minded http://www.persecutionblog.com/2013/05/christians-are-narrow-minded.html

Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers, but only if congregations choose to do so Published May 20, 2013 | Associated Press advertisement LONDON –   Senior members of the Church of Scotland have voted to let some congregations have openly gay ministers, a compromise first step that could lead to the church allowing gay clergy. The church's General Assembly backed a motion affirming a traditional conservative view on homosexuality, but permitted liberal congregations to "opt out" if they wish to ordain gay men or women. The assembly vote would require the approval of next year's General Assembly as well as votes by the church's regional presbyteries to become law. The process is expected to take at least two years. Monday's decision came after a lengthy debate on the issue, which has divided the church of about 400,000 members for years. The General Assembly, held each May, consists of about 700 members and decides church policy.

SEE:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/sarah-palin-tackles-war-christmas-new-book-article-1.1285881

This Week's Challenge - How do you, personally, answer the following 5 Questions?   Is there a God? Who is God? What are God's Attributes? What does God require of Us? What do you want from God?

French Citizenry Protest Same-Sex Marriage http://www.npr.org/2013/01/14/169305336/thousands-in-france-protest-gay-marriage

SEE:   http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/20/religious-intolerance-on-rise-worldwide ...This is alarming...maybe some will now consider that the USA is not truly a tolerant society; if this continues I suspect we will all lose out, no matter what our religious views...