My holiday week reading time has been somewhat … varied.  I began the week by continuing a book titled Benedict Arnold and His Navy, but I quit reading it midway through as I found nothing that I haven’t read before in other books (mostly from my favorite historical fiction author, Kenneth L. Roberts in Rabble in Arms).  Not able to tolerate the idea of not reading, I picked up the most recent Philosophia Christi journal (the journal of the Evangelical Philosophical Society) and began reading an article by Stephen Palmquist titled “Toward a Christian Philosophy of Work: A Theological and Religious Extension of Hannah Arendt’s Conceptual Framework.”  This article piqued my curiosity as I’ve recently mulled over whether our work (a rather vague word, but I’ll hopefully write more on this later) is somehow tied into our being created in the image of God.  While Palmquist says much in his article, what struck me was his linking work and leisure together, and how our culture (or capitalism itself?) has construed a false dichotomy of one’s activity being either work or leisure.

Another book I’ve picked up is Robert J. Sawyer’s Calculating God.  Sawyer is the author of Flash Forward, which is now a television series on ABC that is Lost-esque.  I didn’t see the book Flash Forward at Half Price Books today, but saw another Sawyer book titled Calculating God, a book in which a paleontologist in Toronto is visited by an alien seeking to study fossil records on earth as part of his (it’s?) study of evolution.  Weird enough, I know.  However, what this alien seeks to convince the paleontologist of is the fact of Intelligent Design and the existence of God (of the Christian God?  Not sure yet).

Only 92 pages into the book, the picture I get so far is that the alien is a Theistic Evolutionist that holds our universe  along with all other universes have been created with a purpose, share many characteristics, and have evolved over billions of years.  The alien points to the precise design of the universe to ultimately point to a Designer, Who is God.  Up to this point, I’m beginning to think the alien believes at the very least in God as revealed in the OT (no mention of God as savior).  HOWEVER, a new twist has just been made in that the universe is closed, where science explains the world we live in, can lead one to belief in God, AND is even the reason for God’s existence.  UGH!

Is this really sci-fi and not just some cheesy Christian attempt at relevant fiction?  I hope to write more later, if I finish the book.  One think sticks out to me, however, and that is the vehicle fiction of any type serves to teach and expound the philosophies and theologies (or atheologies) of a particular time, society/culture, or individual. Fiction isn’t just made up stories!

I must confess from the outset that I am writing as a completely biased, emotionally involved LSU football fan who probably can’t see things as they really are, especially after yesterday’s complete heartbreaker.  Nonetheless, I want to share some thoughts for fellow LSU fans to offer feedback on.

If I am not mistaken, it’s widely held that the employees of a company, to whatever extent, takes on the personality of the boss (and this can even be applied to divisions within the company, as the employees in a particular division takes on the personality of its manager, etc.).  I believe what we’re seeing at LSU is the manifestation of this idea.

It’s been well chronicled at College Football News how Les Miles’ game management leaves much to be desired, particularly when clock management comes into play.  During LSU’s magical run in 2007, CFN questioned the decisions of Miles (for instance, the way the end of the Auburn game played out despite the positive outcome for LSU) while other news outlets were lauding Miles for being gutsy, a gambler.  At the time, I ignored the warning signs and just enjoyed the wild ride of 2007.  2008 brought about a disappointing season with a very inconsistent offense and defense.  Yet, I chalked it up to the quarterback saga and a weird, defensive co-coordinator thing going on.

Now with 2009 almost in the books, I’ve come to believe that what we’ve been witnessing is the real Les Miles – a man with great coaching ability, but lacking focus and attention to detail.  I wonder if Les was able to win in his first three years, culminating in the BCS Championship,  because he was primarily using Saban’s guys – guys who know who to be focused and stay focused (say whatever about Saban, but he is able to make his team match his intensity and focus).  Now that Saban’s guys are practically gone, we’re beginning to observe those raised up under Miles.  Like Saban’s teams match his focus and intensity, so we’re seeing that Miles’ teams match is lack of intensity (or seemingly lack of intensity) and his inability to maintain a high level of focus.

As such, sit back LSU fans and expect the wild, heart-wrenching ride of a Miles-led team.  At the pace we’re going, it may be a while before we see another consistent, intense, and focused LSU team.  (I sure hope I’m wrong.  I hope that all of this is just the musings of an upset fan still in at an emotional low after yesterday’s loss.  Yet, part of me tells me that this could not be further from the truth.)

Does a coach’s knack for significant brain cramps in key games count for justification for firing him? Les Miles has cost LSU too many games with his brain cramps. Ugh. Tough loss, and this one isn’t necessarily on the team, but the coach. Ugh.

The Double Slit - electrons acting as waves & particles

I’ve recently become insterested in quantum physics and its possible philosophical implications.  As such, any of you SBTS-ers or fellow seminarians ready anything recently (print or on-line) that helps to explain this branch of physics?  I would also like to know of any attempts to apply the concepts of quantum physics to life over all; i.e., what are its implications?

L always has to read before going to sleep because, in her words, "I can't sleep good."

 My sweet L.  A night never passes without her requesting a book to read before going to sleep.  My wifey caught this moment the other night.

HT: Ang

As stated in an earlier post, I am currently reading K. Scott Oliphant’s book Reasons {for Faith}.  Based on a preliminary scan of the book, I thought Oliphant was going to deal with what the relationship of philosophy is to theology: what the essence of the relationship is, how it is played out, etc.  Unfortunately, as I get deeper into the book, the more I realize that the book is more of Oliphant’s working out of the philosphy of religion – how the Christian can predicate things to God (His goodness, etc.), for instance.  Oliphant deals very little with the actual relationship between theology and philosophy.

As such, what books are out there that deals with the essence of the relationship between theology and philosophy?  Not so much with the application of it, but what the relationship entails, etc.  Hope that is clear.

Here’s an update on recent news/info regarding the Logan Controversy:

Trevin Wax at Christianity Today writes a post titled “A Private Matter” in which he questions Chapman’s claim that the reasons for Logan’s firing is a matter that’s to be kept private.  Trevin contrasts Dr. Chapman’s actions to that of SBC president Johnny Hunt, who listened to the concerns of SBCers over the lack of diversity amongst the members of the GCR Task Force and made adjustments accordingly.

Likewise, Tim Brister at Provocations and Pantings, reacts against the form letter sent out by the EC to those who have contacted EC members in regards to Logan’s firing.  Timmy raises some important questions in light of the rather general, non-descript letter:

Is the Executive Committee providing such a response for legal cover?  What are we to think when even their own members were unaware of what happened to Clark Logan?  Is this another disappointing move in the wrong direction in order to avoid being accountable, transparent, and forthright with Southern Baptists? Is this generic response indicative that the Executive Committee officers are listening to the voice of Southern Baptists and giving appropriate attention to such an important (and public) matter?

Timmy, like Trevin, compares Chapman’s response (or lack thereof) to the Logan Controversy with Hunt’s response to concerns voiced about the GCR Task Force.  I encourage you to read his post (note the form letter included) and read the comments.

If you’ve been keeping up with SBC life lately, many in the SBC-blogosphere and Tweet-osphere (see the tweets on #clarklogan, HT: SBCvoices) have been turning up the pressure on Dr. Morris Chapman, President of the SBC Executive Committee, to be forthcoming regarding the reasons for Clark Logan’s recent “resignation.”  While the clamor against Chapman is at a high pitch, there has been almost complete silence from Dr. Chapman (except for a  release on 7/7/09 where he states that Logan did not do anything legally or morally wrong).

Why this silence from Dr. Chapman?  An article (dated 8/30/07) on his website titled “FIRST PERSON – Courteous, Cautious, and Caring in Speech,” may shed some light.  In this article, Dr. Chapman discusses his decision to have his name and statement pulled from SBCoutpost.com (The situation, apparently, is that when SBCoutpost started up again, Dr. Chapman provided a quote (see article) affirming the usefulness of blogs for SBCers to communicate and calling for bloggers to communicate in a manner worthy of Christians.  When the site did not live up to its promise to watch it rhetoric, Dr. Chapman had his statement retracted).   Dr. Chapman uses the article to  state his reason for his actions, saying:

Throughout the years when problems have arisen among Southern Baptists, I have most often tried to answer questions and resolve issues quietly, but definitively.  In this instance, I at first felt a more public statement would take the matter to a level that the occurrence did not justify, causing even more confusion among the members of our Southern Baptist family.  It has become obvious to me that my reluctance to make a public statement has offended some, and I believe they deserve a more public response (emphasis mine).

Fastforward almost two years later, and Dr. Chapman is in a somewhat similar position, yet more dire and potentially damaging in that his actions have been  called into question by fellow SBCers.  If we take what Dr. Chapman said two years ago, he may indeed be seeking to clear the Logan matter quietly with the intentions of avoiding further confusion, or controversy, or whatever.  Nevertheless, his “reluctance to make a public statement” today is causing confusion amongst the SBC family. Whatever perception one may have had of Dr. Chapman before, I believe that it’s safe to say that his continued silence is hurting Dr. Chapman, and not helping.  As such, I pray that, as he did two years ago, Dr. Chapman breaks his silence and provides a public response to those who have called upon him to answer.  Until then, the clamor will only increase, causing further distraction in a denomination fresh off a future-changing Convention in Louisville.

Again, as I’ve said before, I hope for a quick resolution to this issue so that we may get back at the task set for us at SBC Louisville.  I pray what we see here is not a return to typical SBC bickering; instead, I hope this is just a bump in the road as we ride the winds of change that began blowing just a few weeks ago from the Bluegrass.

***Note: As I write this, I can’t help but think that I am guilty of the very thing I hope against – perpetuating distraction.  So, where is the balance in voicing concern over and calling to accountability of Dr. Chapman, and leaving the issue to work itself out while focusing on other things?  A conundrum I have no answer to at the moment.

In the meantime, visit www.sbcvoices.com and read Matt Svoboda’s “From One Resurgence to Another“; an interesting comparison of the Conservative Resurgence and the GCR.  The comments have some interesting perspectives as well in regards to the GCR, with some being cautiously hopeful of the future of the GCR.***

Baptist bloggers et. al have not let up (rightly so, in my opinion) on the resignation/firing of Clark Logan, now former EC vice president.  In particular, many are calling on Morris Chapman to be forthcoming in his reasons for this move, which has put Chapman in hotter water compared to that stemming from his SBC Louisville EC “report.”  Rather than rehash what many have said, here are the links to the pertinent sites:

***UPDATED 7/9***Baptist 21 – “Questions Surrounding the Executive Committee: Part 1″.  Here’s Part 2.

Florida Baptist Witness (a major player thus far in reporting the goings on of this controversy) – “SBC President weighs in on Logan controversy”

Timmy Brister – “Addressing the Morris Chapman Controversy in the SBC”

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.  For instance, what will this controversy serve do to the sense of challenge and unity forged at SBC Louisville not even a month ago?  I pray that this does not drive us from our task at hand – GCR – and drive us into a Convention bogged down with in-fighting.

May the Lord guide our denomination, may Chapman answer the questions put forth to him, and may we quickly deal with this issue and move on to hammering out even more the GCR.

I’ll be devoting the RSS feed to the right (News in the SBC) to the latest on what’s going on in the SBC.  I’ll hopefully be adding more blogs/websites/etc. to this feed as time goes on.

One of the hot topics in Christianity today is The Shack and it’s different slant (to put it kindly) on what Scripture says of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Trinity.  While I disagree with what the author presents about the Trinity and each Person, I also disagree with any ad hominem attacks against the books author, William P. Young.  As such, I found Dave Burchett’s words regarding this matter quite helpful and timely.  Rather than quoting from the post, I encourage you to read it in full.  Thank you, Dave, for your post.

For further reviews on the book, see: Tim Challies.  HT: Burchett