"The Scientific Approach to Politics"

 -science is an important part of earth today

-is supposedly objective, factual, based on evidence, is dispassionately established

-think of those who deny accepted scientific truths: flat earthers, creationist believers, holocaust deniers, and deniers of climate change.

This is an excerpt of the notes I took in my Intro to Politics class today. My Intro to Politics professor lumps Christians in with the people that deny the Holocaust happened, people that think the earth is flat, and people that deny global warming... and this is not the first joke he's made at the expense of Christians.

I find this highly offensive. For one thing, even Charles Darwin admitted his theory of evolution may have been wrong (hence the THEORY of evolution, scientists). While there may be Christians that believe in the Bible blindly (it's called faith...), the evidence that aligns with the Bible is insurmountable. My professor brought up how the world is created, and excuse me for “being naive” and “following blindly”, but the fact people actually believe that our earth was created by an explosion (that wasn't engineered by a Creator, i'm not ruling that out) absolutely astounds me. How can you walk outside and see things like trees, rocks, water, and mountains and think that it came to be through a “bang”? The creativity in even just a snowflake seems obvious to me that there HAS to be a Creator.

This is even without bringing up humans. I've heard theories about how we came to be out of a sort of “primordial soup”. Excuse me professor? There have been studies done, and science has found it is impossible to create life out of “primordial soup”. You can't create life out of nothing. It's not possible. Even just look at the eye. When you're being knit together in your mother's womb, the eye forming is one of the biggest miracles. The number of cells that need to match up to their one correct partner in order to create sight is huge. The number of neuronal synapses in a person's brain is more than the number of stars in the universe. I don't understand how someone can believe that this was created by a bang.

In my opinion, and i'm not a scholar by any case, it takes way more faith to be an atheist than it does to be a Christian. You have to ignore significant evidence for a Creator. I don't believe he's right, and i'm going to do my best to show him... not even just through speaking up, but through my actions: being respectful and loving at the same time.

Thank you, professor.

Challenge accepted.

 

 

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2014/04/02/ming-wang-inspired-gods-dead-film-character/7206647/

thoughts | john 9:1-7 | eyeballs or eyelids?

"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
⁶ Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!" (john 9:1-7)

When I read this passage, I always think about how the blind man felt. He had lived his life not being able to see a thing, and all the sudden one day he could again. How would that feel? He didn't even see the man that had healed his eyesight until a few days later.
If I was the blind man, so many emotions would have been rushing through my head that day.
First, desperation- begging for food, desperate to eat.
then comes shame. the disciples automatically rush to blame someone, anyone for the man's blindness. they first go to the man himself, then to his parents. the blind man becomes a lesson for the disciples in who to lay the blame on in the situation. Jesus is quick to change the disciples' point of view- instead of laying the blame on the man or his parents, Jesus tells the disciples that the man is blind so that the power of God can be seen in him.
What does this mean? Does this mean that the reason I felt so sick for so long was so that the power of God can be seen through me? Is this why people with cancer die, so that the power of God can be seen? what if they're not Christian? how does this even work?
I have to say, i'm really not sure. I don't know why bad things happen. but what I do know, and maybe this sounds extremely naïve, is that I trust God enough for this to be true. I trust that God knows why things happen the way they do. As Marilyn Monroe said, "... and sometimes, good things fall apart so that better things come together." now, Marilyn wasn't a Christian, and that wasn't a religious quote, but she makes a lot of sense. Why do bad things happen to good people and good situations? so better things, better situations can happen. I don't have all the answers, but I do trust God.
after Jesus tells the disciples why the man is blind, he heals him. He makes mud with his spit and some dirt, and spreads the mud over the blind man's eyes. 3 observations about this:
1) Jesus must have had a lot of spit to make that much mud. seriously. think about it.
2) it was a good thing that man was blind. if he was deaf, and Jesus spit in the mud and started putting it in and on his ears, he probably would have freaked out, like who is this man and why is he putting his spit all over my ears?!
3) i wonder if the man's eyes were open. like was Jesus' spit-mud all over his open eye balls? how nasty is that?
whatever the case, the blind man was then sent (if you go back up to the scripture at the top of the post you'll realize my pun ;) ) to the pool of siloam to wash his face. if he had mud on his eyeballs, this probably would have been the best part of his day. seriously. some man's spit on your eyeballs... getting to wash it out would be sweet. but washing off the mud and realizing you can see? WAY better.
I want to have faith in Jesus that bad things happen to me to reveal God's power. God, you are good. all the time.
-c

#unilife #studentproblems | Where does God fit into my schooling?

my life recently has been centered on one thing- school. I graduated last June and took one year off, during which I did a DTS with YWAM that took me first to Australia and then to Cambodia. What a crazy year it was, full of falling in love with God every day!
now, i'm a student at a local university (and by local I mean in the same city... my university of choice is at the OTHER END OF THE FREAKING CITY so it takes me awhile to get there), going to school fulltime to pursue a bachelor of arts, majoring in international development studies. now, i'm only now starting my first full week of classes, but so far I think i'm going to like the IDS program. it's a bit crazy thinking about how my next four years are essentially locked in, however not even coming close to saying they are completely locked in... the "consequences" of life with Christ :) it's a little bit terrifying to think about, but so exciting at the same time! what kind of adventures will I have here?
Where does God fit into all this? I don't go to a Christian university, so I won't be in Bible classes, or have a student body full of fellow believers to walk alongside... I believe God will fit exactly where He's supposed to- right with me. He'll be with me all the time, walking beside me and in front of me; whatever I need. He's going to equip me to live for Him, all the time, so I can always be a light to everyone I meet. God is so good!
Romans 8:37- "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ's love."
-C

That first post | new beginnings

The first post on a blog is always the hardest. I'm sure I have many blogs that I've started, only having one post each :'D oh well, hopefully this time will be different.
My goal for this blog is to encourage, to chronicle my life walking as a conqueror with Christ. It's a crazy life following God, but a good one.
On my discipleship training school this year, the thing I struggled with the most was walking as a conqueror, or a "victor" as my incredible 1-on-1 put it. I was sitting in a puddle of feeling sorry for myself and of not being excited as I should to follow God. Over outreach in Southeast Asia, i learned how to step into that. How to step into conquering life through God's love every single day. I took that into a summer at camp, and through that fell in love with God and camp ministry all over again.
And now, I'm at university, taking a degree program that is going to enable me to go to the nations. It's a crazy life, but a good one.