So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 

★★★★★

This is a well-written, concise, interesting overview of the argument against Christian fundamentalism … particularly Creationism.

How did the universe come into being? We don’t know. But new discoveries in quantum theory, as well as research done by Stephen Hawking and his colleagues, have demonstrated that matter can and does arise quite spontaneously from the vacuum fluctuation energy of “empty” space.

Intelligent Design? Mills states that “ID’s greatest triumph … has been in convincing the general public that there is a controversy raging among scientists over Intelligent Design. There is no scientific controversy whatever.”

So how did life begin? Well, we know God isn’t necessary. There is no need for spontaneous creation of complex cells; the first cells contained no nucleus at all, consisting mainly of an exterior membrane. Biological membranes form easily and spontaneously from a mixture of water and simple lipids. From there, the evidence for evolution is overwhelming, and Mills carefully refutes argument after argument posed by creationists.

Life after death? Forget having science on your side, here. For example, if the law of the conservation of mass/energy necessitates consciousness after death (because mass/energy can be neither destroyed nor created) then the same law requires consciousness before conception.

There just isn’t any real debate among scientists in these matters. A study in 1998 revealed that, of the membership of the National Academy of Sciences, only 7 percent believed in a personal God, and even fewer in Creation Science or Intelligent Design. The point I took away from the book is this: Religious beliefs must remain beliefs; no more or less. The Bible’s creationist claims are not and cannot be supported by science.

★★★★

I have been on the lookout for a good introductory book for adults to the stories in the Bible, and someone told me this children’s book would actually be a good one. They were right, I read through every story and enjoyed it! It’s a one-year collection of short Bible stories; you get 211 from the Old Testament, and 154 from the New (mostly Acts and the Gospels).

Do be aware that its target audience really is young children. You won’t find any of the Bible’s “adult themes” herein. Rahab isn’t a harlot; she’s just a nice lady. Mary isn’t a virgin. I guess that would be a little too complicated to explain.

365 days wasn’t quite enough for Partner to get through the Bible, probably because of an overemphasis on the teachings of Jesus, so you won’t find a full coverage of the Bible. For example, if there was anything at all about Ezekiel, one of the Bible’s more important prophets, I missed it. I was a little surprised at this, since Ezekiel’s dreams and publicity stunts would make for memorable children’s lessons.

You will, however, find a great deal of attention given to the kings of Israel and Judah, to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, to the deportation into captivity, to the release from captivity and rebuilding of the Holy Land. Excellent; I’m in favor of this emphasis. Few Christians grow up knowing anything at all about Judaism’s past, its defeats, sufferings, and desperate hopes for redemption. This is, after all, the atmosphere which birthed Christianity, for Christ means “Messiah,” the long-awaited redeemer.

Great book, cute pictures, and even I could understand the simple writing.

And again, I will put my trust in him.

//As we kick off another new year, let me wish you all good tidings! In whatever form you worship, or wherever you find awe in this wonderful creation, may your happiness and purpose continue!

2011 was the first full year of cyber publishing for The Dubious Disciple. There remains just two of us operating the site, and we’ve had a blast. 2011 was a busy year, with blog posts hitting the web on 363 out of 365 days. I’ve made a number of new friends and had a number of great discussions on various forums where The DD feeds. I want to thank all of the authors and publishers who have shared review copies of their work.

We will be slowing down a little in 2012, but not by much! We plan to continue posting about five days a week, though we’re undecided about which days. Any advice is welcome!

Shalom.

Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.

But how far, exactly, did these faithful men see into the future? When would the glory of God be revealed?

The book of 1 Peter is still waiting. Verse 2:11 reads, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

But the author of Ephesians (probably not Paul) has a different opinion. Ephesians contains an undercurrent of “realized eschatology;” that is, the doctrine that the new age has already begun. Verse 2:19 reads, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God. For this writer, the age has arrived.

★★★

Roger tells the story of Moses, leaning heavily on the Biblical version, and does so pretty straight-forwardly. Moses grows up in an Egyptian palace, learns about his Hebrew roots, kills an Egyptian taskmaster, flees into the desert for forty years, sees a burning bush, returns to Egypt at God’s command to lead the Israelites out of bondage. All by the book.

Everyone knows the story of the plagues of Egypt. Frogs and locusts and bloody rivers and stuff. They’re as destructive in Roger’s version as they are in the Bible. In fact, as the plagues roll on and Pharaoh won’t buckle, Moses begins to feel sorry for Egypt. He tries to convert Pharaoh away from Egyptian gods to the God of Abraham, hoping to stave off further suffering. Failing this, Moses trudges through Egyptian lands warning people of the next plague, a murderous hailstorm, and begging them to stay indoors.

Eventually, Moses leads Israel out into the desert, where the people turn cranky, and God loses patience. The story’s theme of God-ordained suffering continues. When Israel at Baal Peor begins to worship the wrong god, the God of Abraham tells them to kill all their wayward brethren. Moses watches his brethen slaughter twenty four thousand of their own.

As they reach the promised land, God instructs Israel to murder everything that moves. “You shall not leave alive anything that breathes.” Moses weeps for Canaan’s inhabitants, and makes up some unconvincing excuses for God’s behavior. There was no alternative to God’s ruthlessness, he decides. Israel must kill the males because if they don’t, the enemy armies will be an ever-present threat. If Israel hadn’t proven themselves untrustworthy, God would probably not require this. They must kill the females because the women deserve it. These women enticed Israel’s men with their feminine wiles. They must kill all the cows because … well, I guess Moses doesn’t have an excuse for this one.

All this is relayed in a matter-of-fact tone. God speaks directly to Moses, so we are given no reason to believe all this pain isn’t sanctioned by the Big Guy, Himself. Near the end of the story, as Moses is about the die, Joshua, his successor, asks him a question: “Moses, how can we convince others that God is not a cruel tyrant, but a wise, forgiving, and indeed a feeling God?” Moses in essence tells Joshua he’ll have to figure that one out on his own. Okay, this is fine so far, but suddenly the book threw me for a loop. As it settled to a close, Roger felt compelled to include an evangelical pitch. God desires all to come to him. “Are you choosing not to believe, to be left behind in Egypt?” Uh, Roger, did you read your own book? Is God a jealous, genocidal murderer or is he not? Can you at least give some hint that all this inhumanity wasn’t really God’s doing, before asking us to follow him?