Young Earth Creationism and the problem of distant starlight

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One of the most stubborn problems for Young Earth Creationists (YEC’s) is that of distant starlight.

The light from our nearest neighbouring galaxy – the Andromeda Galaxy – has been traveling about 2.5 million years before it reaches the eye of an observer here on Earth.  And yet, according to YEC’s the entire cosmos is only a few thousand years old!

Various theories have been advanced in order to deal with this:

1. It has been suggested that light, when traveling vast distances, is able to take a ‘short cut’. …

We shall be surprised

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When Christ returns in glory, and ushers in the new Heavens and the new Earth, none of us will be able to say: “That’s exactly as I predicted!”

Richard Bewes writes:

‘In our fallenness, we can all to easily get it wrong, despite the clear signposts!

Few were ready for the birth at Bethlehem.

The disciples were demoralised at the death of Jesus – despite his predictions.

The resurrection, when it happened, was a bombshell among them.…

Everybody’s marriage affects everyone else’s

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‘You conservative Christians are welcome to your own views about marriage.  The fact that we support gay civil marriage doesn’t affect what you do at all.’

Derek Rishmawy comments on this view, expressed in the following way by David French:

‘For those who believe gay marriage is morally wrong for Biblical or other religious reasons, this decision changes nothing. Churches can still speak out against sexual immorality and can still choose not to perform gay weddings.

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Cross Vision 9 – Self-Punishing Sin

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A precis of chapter 10

A teenager likes loud music.  Supposing he steals records, and is severely punished by his father; that would be judicial punishment.  But supposing his penchant for loud music causes hearing loss; that would be organic punishment.

Divine punishment for sin is usually construed, in Scripture, as organic.  The destructive consequences of sin are built into the sin itself.

Except where it depicts God as violent, the Bible always describes punishment of sin in terms of divine abandonment. …

Lessons from John Newton on the slave trade

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It is well known that John Newton (author of ‘Amazing Grace’) was a converted slaved trader.  What is perhaps less well known is that his rejection of slavery post-dated his conversion to Christ by some decades.  It was only in later life that he renounced slavery and the slave trade, writing up his thoughts in the tract Thoughts on the African Slave Trade.

David Robertson draws a number of lessons from Newton’s experience.  What follows is mainly in Robertson’s (and Newton’s) own words.…

2 Jn 1:1 – ‘An elect lady and her children’

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1:1 From the elder, to an elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth), 1:2 because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever.

Does this refer to a person and her offspring, or to a church and its constituent members?  Although certainty is not possible, the latter option is to be preferred.

Some early writers were undecided. …

The Garden of Eden as a Temple

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Eden is not just a garden for humans, but the garden of God, Is 51:3; Ezek 28:13.  As Wenham explains,

‘The garden of Eden is not viewed by the author of Genesis simply as a piece of Mesopotamian farmland, but as an archetypal sanctuary, that is a place where God dwells and where man should worship him. Many of the features of the garden may also be found in later sanctuaries particularly the tabernacle or Jerusalem temple.

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Jer 22:30/Mt 1:12 – The curse of Jeconiah

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What about the curse of Jeconiah (Jer 22:24-30)?

22:30 The LORD says,
“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless.
Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.
For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David
or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

According to 1 Chron 3:17 Jeconiah had seven sons (1 Chron 3:17).

So what does it mean that none of them would occupy the throne of David? …

A theology of creation

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In this interview, D.A Carson points out that whereas for many Christians, when thinking about the doctrine of creation, focus on the age of the cosmos, the theory of evolution, and so on, the Bible itself emphasises other things – especially the implications of creation.

Carson focuses especially on the first two chapters of Genesis.

The following is a precis.

1) God comes first. God is not dependent on us, although Scripture will show that there was a perfection of Trinitarian love in the past. …

After Adam

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I here summarise, without comment or critique, the following article:

Harlow, Daniel C.  ‘After Adam: Reading Genesis in an Age of Evolutionary Science’.  Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 62, Number 3, September 2010.

If we accept the modern scientific consensus on the age of the universe (13.8 billion years) and of the earth (4-5 billion years), and of the existence of a multitude of species prior to the appearance of homo sapiens, then a literal, factual reading of Genesis 1-3 becomes problematic.…