Parents

Let it be known: my parents are great. They love me like crazy. What a blessing! I'll elaborate in the future.

Darwin's Black Box

This book was the book that started it all- that is, the Intelligent Design movement. For those of you who don't know, let me explain the premise of the book (and, really, the movement). Scientists post-Darwin thought that the cell would be extremely simple. Until the 1950's that was the assumption that fit nicely in the Darwinian explanation of life. However, once microscopes were powerful enough to see the cell, they quickly saw that they were dead wrong. They found a world of complexity, a world of machinery that perform the necessary procedures to keep us alive. The idea for Behe is that there are some organelles and processes in the cell that could not have evolved.

Think about it. In order for complexity to arise out of Darwinism, there needs to be one adaptive advantage added on to another added on to another one at a time. That means that each successive step on the road to what we have to day would have to be advantageous, otherwise there would have been no reason for nature to "select" that particular trait.

Now think about if you found a machine. Behe famously uses the example of a mousetrap. Could something like this have evolved- one piece at a time? If you think about it, the answer is no. The mousetrap's single parts offer no advantage unless they are all there at once and arranged in such a fashion that the machine will operate. If all the parts of the trap aren't present, there's no advantage- it will not get selected. The entire trap must be there at one time! When this describes something it is said by Behe to be "irreducibly complex".

When we look into the world of biochemistry we see that the machines that do the work of life are far more complicated and require far more precisely-tuned parts than a simple mousetrap. What's more is that there are processes, like blood-clotting, that are extremely complex. These are processes that would be of no use, in fact they would be often fatal, if just one part of its elaborate cascading sequence didn't work. A Darwinian explanation depends on slow, piece-by-piece explanation of origin, with each successive piece being selected on the basis that organisms who had this trait would be more likely to survive. Half of a blood-clotting system, however, is worse than no blood clotting system at all! (I must spare details)

The book is split into thirds. The first section details his basic idea and some general troubles with Darwinism. The second third explains in scientific, gory detail 4 examples of irreducibly complex systems- those machines or processes that, if you don't have the whole thing, you don't have anything (that is anything helpful for survival. The last third addresses where to go from here. This is the last stage of his argument.

What do scientists do if a Darwinian solution seems highly improbable or even impossible? (The examples he uses are currently complete roadblocks for evolutionary scientists). The only situation in our experience that we see systems with irreducible complexity... are when they are designed. Behe simply asks, "Why can't we say that these systems are no exception? Our best explanation is that these systems were designed by an intelligent agent. It appears that an intellect made some things with an end-product in mind. Behe insists that we can't know anything about the designer from this argument and he spends a great deal of time discussing the implications in science and philosophy that inevitably come up with an argument like this. He also notes the easy-to-see difference between this argument from science and any form of creationism or appeal to special revelation.

Though most in the media and internet world completely (and I mean completely) misconstrue his argument, it is a very good one that is based in the bare facts of biochemistry. The idea of intelligent design is important for theists and scientists alike and it constitutes a movement that will continue despite violent opposition from the both scientific and skeptical sources, as well as the media. Why is that? It's simply because men like Behe are looking at facts. It's hard to argue with that. Honestly, if someone could construct a plausible, Darwinian explanation for the 4 items mentioned in the book, this thing would be just as the majority says- a done deal- not worth mentioning. In the absence of such explanations, however, I am compelled to wonder about the future of Darwinism...

2 Quick Reviews!

Pride and Prejudice

In the words of Donald Miller (it's actually his friend), "What is in this book is the heart of a woman." He's right. Some quick thoughts:

-I have learned much about girldom through reading this book.
-Jane Austen: super-intelligent and witty
-Penetrating analysis of the culture at the time she wrote. I'm baffled how well Austen saw her surroundings from enough of a bird's-eye/objective view to critique it and poke fun at it.
-The two main characters, Elizabeth and Darcy, are very likeable. It's a different sort of love story.

Bruchko

I basically read this in a day. IT'S GREAT. Man, was this a crazy book. Read it for suspense, adventure, drama, humor, conviction and inspiration. It's a book about Bruce Olson, a kid who grows up in a nominal Lutheran church in Minneapolis and upon becoming a Christian takes off for South America against the wishes of everyone (including the missions agency) to be a missionary. The Lord leads him to a tribe that kills outsiders on sight.

The story is nothing fancy- it simply documents the facts as they happened. There would be far too much to reflect on anything, really. It's up to the reader to read between the lines. To sum it up, God just shows up in wild, dramatic, obvious ways to help Bruce (who is called Bruchko by the Motilone Tribe). Really, the things that happen make the book feel like a fiction. It's wild. It's the story of how God changed an entire jungle in South America through a young man from Minnesota who simply obeyed. READ THIS BOOK.

Encouragement

Sitting in Milwaukee. Had an interview yesterday that could have gone better. Feeling far from the Lord. A Psalm 42 kind of day. Half-hearted prayer that God would just show up. Want Him, want to hear from Him more than anything else in the world. Two guys, Scott and Cole, see me reading the Bible, walk up and start a conversation. They explain that they are seniors in a small Bible school north of Green Bay. They explain that they're thinking about missions after seminary. I tell them a bit about myself. I'm too 'in the moment'/proud to tell them I'm having a rough day. No matter. They say they just wanted to encourage me. "Stay the course," they say.

Exhale.

Father, I can't believe how you love me like you do. Thank you for showing me.

Haiti

This is from Mark Driscoll's trip down to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake. Makes me want to give. I just wish I wasn't so far in the red.

Horses, Judah, and my Job Search

The context of this passage in Isaiah is, very quickly, that Judah is looking for strength and security from the Egyptian army rather than consulting God and ultimately looking to him to provide not only a plan but the only real security they can afford in this world. What follows is Isaiah trying to get them to see what they are doing.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord! And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but a will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together. (Is 31:1-3)

Listen to what the God of the universe thinks of this:
“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!(30:1-2)

Notice how trusting in man/flesh is looked on. God not only does not approve it, but it is sin- it is raw disobedience and rebellion (30:1). They are essentially living as though God doesn't exist, as though he didn't love them and long to provide for them. They operate as captains of their own ship, masters of their own fate.

Meanwhile, the Lord sees all and is sovereign (has control over) all. First of all what a slap in the face to God- to have all these promises and to say with your actions, "No, I don't believe it- I don't trust that at all". Second of all, how foolish is it to ignore the invisible but sure security and turn to fallible man.

I've been preaching this to myself while searching for a job. Here's my version of Is 31:
Woe to those who put their sole hope in a high-paying job and who rely on money, who trust in themselves because of their earning power and in their connections because they give them power, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord! The man thinks he has it all figured out, but going his own way will end in disaster; The Lord does not call back his words, but will set himself against any job or way of making money that is sinful. Employers are man, and not God, and money is flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the bad employer will stumble, and the employee will fall, and they will all perish together. (Altered version of Is 31:1-3)

A man of the night

Late night books and midnight walks are all that are needed to keep this soul quiet and content.