Some Links to Share

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving. It is getting to be that hectic time in the year, but I wanted to put some links on here that I found interesting. I won't provide much commentary, only some lines to give you an insight into my thoughts.

The first grouping appeared within a week or so, but I found them interesting because of what the two implied.


Human Genome is more different than previously thought

Neanderthal matches 99.5% of the human genome

These two don't mean much apart. I don't believe in evolution, and the human genome being more different than we thought really doesn't impact our daily lives. However, the new human genome research shows we can be as much as 12% different from other humans. Compare this with the Neanderthal being "99.5% human" and you could have a case for removing the "Neanderthal" classification. Maybe Geico is right- they never disappeared and live among us even now! All joking aside, the other aspect of the Neanderthal is that they "disappeared" around 30,000 years ago. The thought in my mind was a simple theory- Neanderthals are really humans, only with different physical characteristics, and the reason they "died out suddenly" was a small thing called the Flood. There isn't any evidence to back the theory up, and I don't really expect there to be. But until you look at those articles in that manner, you won't think of these connections. It is possible to see where science might be missing the forest for the bark imprints.

Aetheist Scientist vs Christian Scientist (a man, not the religion)

A good read and fairly interesting. The aetheist ends up slightly affirming that a god is a possibility, but one he doesn't think is valid. I think Christians should spend a little time thinking about these aspects, and science in general, and being aware. Science is an area I think Christians in general do not do well in. Theology is by far more important, but I find the world around us also provides a brilliant tapestry of God's handiwork and adds to our faith. It's one thing to know there are sparrows or lillies; it is different to look at the complexity and beauty of the design. God really does know what He is doing on a whole different level than us. Thank God!

Rocky the "Christian Warrior"?

I never thought about this and I am not a fan of the Rocky movies. However, there is a quote that I think is a good summary of lives as Christians. Stallone said "I feel the same way about Christianity and about what the church is: The church is the gym of the soul." Profound isn't it?

Hubris

It has been blogged and articled to death, but the fall of Ted Haggard should be seen as a warning to us all. He believed that he didn't need to hear of his sins often, and he probably thought he didn't sin all that much. It is a common lie we tell ourselves, especially those of us in regular contact with Baptists (of all flavors) in the "Bible Belt." Many people consider Lutherans to just be depressing, wallowing in our sins. But what better way for a dose of reality than to know that we can't do what we naturally want to do? If you read the necessary sacrifices in the Old Testament, the temple had to have been awash with blood. The ground was most likely reddish with the tint. We rationalize that our sins are "minor" or light. Christ paid the ultimate price for each of them. This is why Christians are to remember their sins, then praise God that He has provided the perfect sacrifice for them. If we aren't reminded of them often, we forget too quickly and merrily fall off that tall cliff. We are most definitely sheep; in need of remembrance and grace.