*Not really. A few weeks ago I did go to hear Francis Collins speak at Stanford with Paul and Kindel. They filmed it and apparently you can see me in the audience during the Q&A time at the end. Here's a link to the video.
So who is Francis Collins? He led the successful government attempt to decode the human genome and is an outspoken Christian. He travels around and gives talks about how being a Christian is not at odds with studying science and how in fact science has given us some big "pointers" to God's existence.
The talk was excellent and so was the Q&A time, although I wasn't a huge fan of some of his theological perspectives as revealed in his answers to questions. A highlight was when he played a video of his visit to the Colbert Report. Some things that I learned:
- The constants that show up in equations that govern physics are very finely tuned to allow for complexity to arise in the universe.
- Intelligent design is on weaker intellectual footing than I realized. He has an appealing alternative viewpoint called "Theistic Evolution".
Some questions the talk and Q&A opened or re-opened for me:
- If Adam and Eve are representative of humans then why does Paul go on in Romans about us all being fallen sinners because we come from Adam?
- When we communicate with God in prayer is that a miracle?
- Free-will vs God's sovereignty
Okay that's enough of that for a Saturday morning... now off to LA to visit Matt and Kristie!
Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Quiz; Golf
Heard about this cool quiz on the Washington Post's website from someone in my Ron Paul 2008 MeetUp group. I took it for the Republicans; Ron Paul won for me quite decisively although I disagreed with him on a few topics and thought that other candidates had some good things to say. Fred Thompson came in second for me and Huckabee was third.
Also, Sarah and I went to the driving range today on a gorgeous December day. Since I'm trying to tell Sarah that golf has many deep connections to the Christian life, it got me thinking. A few key ones:
1) You're success is judged by how well you do against an unattainable goal of perfection, not simply by doing better than others. God doesn't judge us based on if we're better than most people, but rather against the law. No one lives up to the law as described in the 10 commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, which leads us to why we need Jesus and his perfection to be counted to us. Golfers, even those who win tournaments and/or break scoring records, are very aware of their mistakes and how they could have saved a few strokes out there. Golf sets the bar so high that you inevitably leave being very aware that you are imperfect.
2) Thinking about what not to do is futile. Thinking "don't hit it in the water" actually makes me more likely to hit it in the water, just like thinking "don't be prideful" doesn't work at all. You've got to set your mind not on your performance but on hope-giving truth (in life: joy and peace in Christ's sacrifice on your behalf, in golf: trusting your swing and preparation). In golf you're essentially trusting in yourself, and in the Christian life you trust not in yourself but in Christ's work so the analogy breaks down eventually, but you get the idea.
3) Growing as a golfer leads to a greater awareness of your own imperfections. Today at the range I'd hit a shot and Sarah would be like "Wow that was amazing!" In response I'd say "Not really - see how I opened up and it went like 20 yards left of my target?" The more you improve in golf, the more aware you are of the mistakes you are making. There are some interesting similarities with the Christian life here as well. As we grow as Christians we become more aware of our deep-seated idolatries and self-reliance, and yet that same awareness leads us to take ever-increasing comfort in God's grace and commitment to redeem the great mess that we are. We are being sanctified, but it isn't like we're thinking "wow I'm doing awesome out here!" as we may be. Oftentimes, it is only when we take a look back at our lives that we realize how God is changing us.
Other sports certainly have similarities with the Christian life, as Sarah has been great to remind me. The similarities described here are not exact, and there are surely other connections between golf and the Christian life. In any event, these ones are pretty cool. Thank God for golf!
On another random note, here's a picture that Sarah took while a group of us followed a recommendation to visit to a classy winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains named "The Ridge".
Also, Sarah and I went to the driving range today on a gorgeous December day. Since I'm trying to tell Sarah that golf has many deep connections to the Christian life, it got me thinking. A few key ones:
1) You're success is judged by how well you do against an unattainable goal of perfection, not simply by doing better than others. God doesn't judge us based on if we're better than most people, but rather against the law. No one lives up to the law as described in the 10 commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, which leads us to why we need Jesus and his perfection to be counted to us. Golfers, even those who win tournaments and/or break scoring records, are very aware of their mistakes and how they could have saved a few strokes out there. Golf sets the bar so high that you inevitably leave being very aware that you are imperfect.
2) Thinking about what not to do is futile. Thinking "don't hit it in the water" actually makes me more likely to hit it in the water, just like thinking "don't be prideful" doesn't work at all. You've got to set your mind not on your performance but on hope-giving truth (in life: joy and peace in Christ's sacrifice on your behalf, in golf: trusting your swing and preparation). In golf you're essentially trusting in yourself, and in the Christian life you trust not in yourself but in Christ's work so the analogy breaks down eventually, but you get the idea.
3) Growing as a golfer leads to a greater awareness of your own imperfections. Today at the range I'd hit a shot and Sarah would be like "Wow that was amazing!" In response I'd say "Not really - see how I opened up and it went like 20 yards left of my target?" The more you improve in golf, the more aware you are of the mistakes you are making. There are some interesting similarities with the Christian life here as well. As we grow as Christians we become more aware of our deep-seated idolatries and self-reliance, and yet that same awareness leads us to take ever-increasing comfort in God's grace and commitment to redeem the great mess that we are. We are being sanctified, but it isn't like we're thinking "wow I'm doing awesome out here!" as we may be. Oftentimes, it is only when we take a look back at our lives that we realize how God is changing us.
Other sports certainly have similarities with the Christian life, as Sarah has been great to remind me. The similarities described here are not exact, and there are surely other connections between golf and the Christian life. In any event, these ones are pretty cool. Thank God for golf!
On another random note, here's a picture that Sarah took while a group of us followed a recommendation to visit to a classy winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains named "The Ridge".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)