THE PRISM AND THE RAINBOW
A Christian Explains Why Evolution Is Not a Threat
By Joel W. Martin
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2010
ISBN 13: 978-0-8018-9478-7
Here’s a great little book, helpful, that is easy to read. I read it in 2 hours.
The bulk of Martin’s arguments are against creationism and intelligent design as valid hypothesis deserving of being taught in school. While the author made every attempt to be gracious and to qualify his arguments, out of necessity he did sometimes paint with a rather broad brush. However, Martin is also sharply critical of many noted scientists who have insisted there is no God. Some may even perceive that he is harsher on them than he is on creationists.
Martin outlines exactly what science is, with definitions for Fact, Hypothesis, Law, Rule, & Theory. In particular, Martin (who is both a Presbyterian Elder and Biologist) explores the meaning of both fact and theory: A fact is an object or event ‘”having real, demonstrable existence” while theory is “the entire body of inter-locking and well-supported explanatory statements about a given subject.” By these explanations, Martin explains, an apple that falls from a tree is a fact, while gravity itself is a theory.
Hypothesis, “a suggested explanation for something” with the further restriction that it must be testable, is differentiated form theory, which is the body of knowledge about a subject and “does not imply doubt,” as commonly supposed.
Martin admits that ambiguity that is attached to many of these terms- for instance, the word theory is applied to many underlying mechanisms that are still under study.
Therefore Martin argues that evolution is not just another theory, and that creationism and intelligent design lack sufficient supporting evidence to be theories, nor do they qualify as hypothesis because they are not testable.
Yet Martin is a man of faith. Martin argues that science is meant to answer questions that begin with how, when, where and what but cannot answer questions that begin with why. Other authors- notably Karen Armstrong- have made the same argument, but Martin’s wording is easier to grasp AND more believable, because he shares his faith when doing so: “The light of science and the light of faith are meant to be illuminating, not blinding. And like other sources of light, the two will compliment, and not negate, one another. No finding of science will ever lessen your capacity or your need for worship.” (p. 100)
The book includes a fine appendix, many chapter notes, a good glossary and a fine list for further reading. It is a great introduction to the subject.
George R. Pasley
November 11, 2010
Ketchikan, AK
Showing posts with label social issues; faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social issues; faith. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
PAUL AMONG THE PEOPLE
PAUL AMONG THE PEOPLE: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined In His Own Time
By Sarah Ruden
Pantheon, 2010
ISBN 978-0-375-42501-1
194 pages
A Review by George R. Pasley
My local librarian recommended this book to me after I wrote a poem about “thorns in the flesh,” a reference to one of the Apostle Paul’s personal experiences. I am glad she made the recommendation. It was on the shelves at our local library, but I intend to purchase my own copy forthwith.
Ruden is a scholar and a Christian (Quaker) but not a biblical scholar, even though at the time of the books publication she was a research fellow at Yale Divinity. Rather, she is a scholar of Greek Literature, and brings her knowledge of language (Latin and Greek, both classical and Koinonia) and culture to the interpretation of Paul’s New Testament epistles.
Specifically, her aim is to interpret them as they would have been heard by the Greco-Roman culture but her interpretation is powerful in our time.
Though her work is scholarly it is also personal and as such each chapter, and the corpus, is a powerful sermon.
The first chapter serves as a bit of introduction, with six chapters following that deal with pleasure, homosexuality, women (and marriage), Christians and government, slavery and love. Actually, the first chapter is a bit more than introduction- it sets the case that Ruden has figured out that the socially-conscious church is not an invention of modern times, but is present with Paul’s letters to Christians.
Ruden brings formidable translation skills to her work, and they are most evident in the chapter on pleasure, where she works through Paul’s lists of works of the flesh and fruits of the spirit. Especially helpful is her summary of Paul’s use of Sarx (Greek for flesh). “Paul’s point is not that the body or nature is bad and the mind or spirit good. It is about two ways of using the body, the one for a life that is worth living forever, and the other for a life that is as good as death in the short time before it vanishes.” (p. 41)
Homosexuality being a subject of strong division within the church today, Ruden deals with it rather thoroughly. Yes, it was a sin in Paul’s Jewish faith (though Paul set aside other Jewish things), but that is not what Ruden notices with what Paul says about homosexuality. First, she notes the pervasiveness of homosexuality in the Greco-Roman culture as an abusive practice. Her examples from Greek literature are quite numerous, and bawdy. But she makes her point: abusive sex was rampant, but the stigma was on the passive partner- victim- and not the aggressive partner, which was almost everybody (or so it seems). Linguistically she points out that Paul’s condemnation is to both partners, a novel thought in those days, and then she makes a final translation revelation: the word most often translated as “wickedness” would have been understood among the Greeks as “Injustice,” which paired with”ungodliness” in itself was a rather novel concept since there was no “thoroughly just god in their traditional pantheon” (p. 69) Ruden concludes:
“Paul’s Roman audience knew what justice was, if only through missing it. They would have been surprised to hear that justice applied to homosexuality, of all things. But many of them- slaves, freedmen, the poor, the young- would have understood in the next instant. Christ, the only Son of God, gave his body to save mankind. What greater contrast could there be to the tradition of using a weaker body for selfish pleasure or a power trip? Among Christians, there would have been no quibbling about what to do: no one would have imagined homosexuality’s being different than it was, it would have to go. And tolerance for it did disappear from the church.” (p. 71)
In effect, Paul’s ban on homosexual practice was an act of justice, not holiness.
I had to wonder about the accuracy of Ruden’s depiction of the rampant nature of sexual abuse in those times, until I watched a documentary on sex trafficking in our time. Considering that it is as rampant as it is, even in a so-called Christian nation, it is no longer hard for me to imagine widespread abuse in ancient times.
In the same effective manner Ruden deals with various issues regarding women (having their heads covered was an act of justice that lifted up the poor, non-ladies< to the same status as the most respected women)
Particularly moving is Ruden’s treatment of the book of Philemon (which has some sharp criticism for Crossan!). Paul was most definitely not asking Philemon to set Onesimus free. But what he was saying that Philemon would do, if he kept in mind what God has done for us, was even more radical: Forgive him, and treat him as a brother. In our time that seems quaint and easy, but it was most definitely counter-cultural, radical, and revolutionary in Philemon’s day. On pages 165 and 166 Ruden has a list of 14 things that Paul is doing and that Philemon ought to do that are completely at cross-currents with the culture.
One might be amused to find the love chapter included in a book that helps us to re-imagine Paul, but indeed the last chapter, on Paul and Love, is also very helpful. For one, Ruden emphasizes that agape was relatively unused outside of Christianity, that people in the Roman world only gave things to get things. But there is more.
Ruden emphasizes the verb nature of love, with a very helpful literal translation and little chart that shows how Paul new verbs out of three adjectives: kind, boastful and arrogant. Love is not a feeling, it’s a verb, and we need to DO things.
Which of course is hard, nay, impossible? But in a way that becomes quite personal, Ruden shows how Paul’s reference to himself as a child (Unheard of in ancient literature) helped her to realize that Love is something that is outside of us, doing for us, leading us, helping us to love as love does.
George R. Pasley
August 9, 2010
Ketchikan AK
By Sarah Ruden
Pantheon, 2010
ISBN 978-0-375-42501-1
194 pages
A Review by George R. Pasley
My local librarian recommended this book to me after I wrote a poem about “thorns in the flesh,” a reference to one of the Apostle Paul’s personal experiences. I am glad she made the recommendation. It was on the shelves at our local library, but I intend to purchase my own copy forthwith.
Ruden is a scholar and a Christian (Quaker) but not a biblical scholar, even though at the time of the books publication she was a research fellow at Yale Divinity. Rather, she is a scholar of Greek Literature, and brings her knowledge of language (Latin and Greek, both classical and Koinonia) and culture to the interpretation of Paul’s New Testament epistles.
Specifically, her aim is to interpret them as they would have been heard by the Greco-Roman culture but her interpretation is powerful in our time.
Though her work is scholarly it is also personal and as such each chapter, and the corpus, is a powerful sermon.
The first chapter serves as a bit of introduction, with six chapters following that deal with pleasure, homosexuality, women (and marriage), Christians and government, slavery and love. Actually, the first chapter is a bit more than introduction- it sets the case that Ruden has figured out that the socially-conscious church is not an invention of modern times, but is present with Paul’s letters to Christians.
Ruden brings formidable translation skills to her work, and they are most evident in the chapter on pleasure, where she works through Paul’s lists of works of the flesh and fruits of the spirit. Especially helpful is her summary of Paul’s use of Sarx (Greek for flesh). “Paul’s point is not that the body or nature is bad and the mind or spirit good. It is about two ways of using the body, the one for a life that is worth living forever, and the other for a life that is as good as death in the short time before it vanishes.” (p. 41)
Homosexuality being a subject of strong division within the church today, Ruden deals with it rather thoroughly. Yes, it was a sin in Paul’s Jewish faith (though Paul set aside other Jewish things), but that is not what Ruden notices with what Paul says about homosexuality. First, she notes the pervasiveness of homosexuality in the Greco-Roman culture as an abusive practice. Her examples from Greek literature are quite numerous, and bawdy. But she makes her point: abusive sex was rampant, but the stigma was on the passive partner- victim- and not the aggressive partner, which was almost everybody (or so it seems). Linguistically she points out that Paul’s condemnation is to both partners, a novel thought in those days, and then she makes a final translation revelation: the word most often translated as “wickedness” would have been understood among the Greeks as “Injustice,” which paired with”ungodliness” in itself was a rather novel concept since there was no “thoroughly just god in their traditional pantheon” (p. 69) Ruden concludes:
“Paul’s Roman audience knew what justice was, if only through missing it. They would have been surprised to hear that justice applied to homosexuality, of all things. But many of them- slaves, freedmen, the poor, the young- would have understood in the next instant. Christ, the only Son of God, gave his body to save mankind. What greater contrast could there be to the tradition of using a weaker body for selfish pleasure or a power trip? Among Christians, there would have been no quibbling about what to do: no one would have imagined homosexuality’s being different than it was, it would have to go. And tolerance for it did disappear from the church.” (p. 71)
In effect, Paul’s ban on homosexual practice was an act of justice, not holiness.
I had to wonder about the accuracy of Ruden’s depiction of the rampant nature of sexual abuse in those times, until I watched a documentary on sex trafficking in our time. Considering that it is as rampant as it is, even in a so-called Christian nation, it is no longer hard for me to imagine widespread abuse in ancient times.
In the same effective manner Ruden deals with various issues regarding women (having their heads covered was an act of justice that lifted up the poor, non-ladies< to the same status as the most respected women)
Particularly moving is Ruden’s treatment of the book of Philemon (which has some sharp criticism for Crossan!). Paul was most definitely not asking Philemon to set Onesimus free. But what he was saying that Philemon would do, if he kept in mind what God has done for us, was even more radical: Forgive him, and treat him as a brother. In our time that seems quaint and easy, but it was most definitely counter-cultural, radical, and revolutionary in Philemon’s day. On pages 165 and 166 Ruden has a list of 14 things that Paul is doing and that Philemon ought to do that are completely at cross-currents with the culture.
One might be amused to find the love chapter included in a book that helps us to re-imagine Paul, but indeed the last chapter, on Paul and Love, is also very helpful. For one, Ruden emphasizes that agape was relatively unused outside of Christianity, that people in the Roman world only gave things to get things. But there is more.
Ruden emphasizes the verb nature of love, with a very helpful literal translation and little chart that shows how Paul new verbs out of three adjectives: kind, boastful and arrogant. Love is not a feeling, it’s a verb, and we need to DO things.
Which of course is hard, nay, impossible? But in a way that becomes quite personal, Ruden shows how Paul’s reference to himself as a child (Unheard of in ancient literature) helped her to realize that Love is something that is outside of us, doing for us, leading us, helping us to love as love does.
George R. Pasley
August 9, 2010
Ketchikan AK
Sunday, December 7, 2008
UNDER THE OVERPASS, A JOURNEY OF FAITH ON THE STREETS OF AMERICA
By Mike Yankowski
Multnomah Books
Review by George Pasley
Here is an amazing but simple true story that will both inspire and challenge Christians non-Christians alike. It is the story of two college-aged Christians (Mike and Sam) who decide to live on the streets, five months among the homeless in five American cities.
Their purpose was multi-faceted. To begin, the author was wrestling with the issue of how most Christians live in some form of hypocrisy, saying the right words of faith and love but not doing all they can for those in need. Living among the homeless became a way of entering into their suffering, identifying with their needs, and evaluating the response of the church. But along the way they came to understand much more about faith then most Americans, and they had to wrestle with many of their own stereotypes and beliefs.
“I sat there in church trying to remember a time when I’d actually needed to rely fully on Christ rather than on my own abilities” (p. 15)
They traveled together to protect their safety, still they found themselves in danger more than once. They kept their story a secret, yet at least one person figured it out. After all, what were two young, smart, sober people doing on the streets? Still, they found themselves being ignored, scorned, and verbally abused day-by-day. They came to love the people they met, regardless of their addictions.
Theirs is a journey few would dare, but there is much that we can learn from the risks they took. Here are just a few lessons:
The demographics of homeless differed from city to city. Black, older veterans in Washington DC made way to young whites in Portland.
The geographies of the cities made huge differences, and not merely because of differences in climate. In some cities it was easy to get around, but in other cities long distances between good places to sleep and sources of food made life difficult.
Real human contact between the homeless and those who serve them makes a huge impact on individual lives.
The author has a web site, undertheoverpass.com , where more information is available. I plan to lead a book discussion group on this book at my church, and would recommend it to pastors and teachers in churches, to persons outside the church working with the poor and homeless, and to persons studying social issues in any context. It is well written, simple to use, clear and insightful.
By Mike Yankowski
Multnomah Books
Review by George Pasley
Here is an amazing but simple true story that will both inspire and challenge Christians non-Christians alike. It is the story of two college-aged Christians (Mike and Sam) who decide to live on the streets, five months among the homeless in five American cities.
Their purpose was multi-faceted. To begin, the author was wrestling with the issue of how most Christians live in some form of hypocrisy, saying the right words of faith and love but not doing all they can for those in need. Living among the homeless became a way of entering into their suffering, identifying with their needs, and evaluating the response of the church. But along the way they came to understand much more about faith then most Americans, and they had to wrestle with many of their own stereotypes and beliefs.
“I sat there in church trying to remember a time when I’d actually needed to rely fully on Christ rather than on my own abilities” (p. 15)
They traveled together to protect their safety, still they found themselves in danger more than once. They kept their story a secret, yet at least one person figured it out. After all, what were two young, smart, sober people doing on the streets? Still, they found themselves being ignored, scorned, and verbally abused day-by-day. They came to love the people they met, regardless of their addictions.
Theirs is a journey few would dare, but there is much that we can learn from the risks they took. Here are just a few lessons:
The demographics of homeless differed from city to city. Black, older veterans in Washington DC made way to young whites in Portland.
The geographies of the cities made huge differences, and not merely because of differences in climate. In some cities it was easy to get around, but in other cities long distances between good places to sleep and sources of food made life difficult.
Real human contact between the homeless and those who serve them makes a huge impact on individual lives.
The author has a web site, undertheoverpass.com , where more information is available. I plan to lead a book discussion group on this book at my church, and would recommend it to pastors and teachers in churches, to persons outside the church working with the poor and homeless, and to persons studying social issues in any context. It is well written, simple to use, clear and insightful.
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