Debating Darwin

Well worth reading:

In the 19th century, Christians responded to the challenges of Darwinian evolution in many and diverse ways—from hostility to reconciliation. Read about the reactions of theologians, scientists, pastors, authors, bishops, and politicians—and learn how Darwinism eventually became a symbol of warfare between science and Christianity in this issue of Christian History magazine.

Cartoon 'Darwinian Evolution' suggesting that Richard Wagner was from Jewish forbears (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/debating-darwin/

Issue 107: Debating Darwin | Christian History Magazine     What’s Inside? Did you know?  Read Now the Editors Much more than monkey business. Editor’s note  Read Now Jennifer Woodruff Tait History turns out to be more complicated than we expect. Origin of Conflict  Read Now John Hedley Brooke Darwin’s “staggering” theory would have far-reaching implications Divine designs  Read Now Edwin Woodruff Tait Conservative Christians moved from cautious consideration of Darwin to outright rejection. The church and the soul  Read Now David Mislin Catholics were all over the map in their reactions to Darwin. Theology, reconstructed  Read Now Jon H. Roberts Liberal Protestants hoped to accommodate evolution and Christianity. The great war  Read Now George Marsden How Darwinism led to a battle between science and faith. Survival of the [social] fittest  Read Now Matt Forster Some of the controversy over Darwin came from how his ideas were applied to economics and race Debating Darwin  Read Now The Editors What did they say? Wrestling with doubt  Read Now Ronald L. Numbers How oftten did the encounter with Darwinism cause a spiritual crisis? Chance or the dance?  Read Now Frederick Gregory Many Christians in European countries found Darwin's ideas challenging. “What is Darwinism?”  Read Now Elesha Coffman and the editors A sampling of opinions from various theologians and scientists Darwin on trial?  Read Now David Goetz and the editors The Scopes Trial revealed developing divisions over evolution. Darwin on tour  Read Now David Livingstone and the editors. How you responded to Darwin in many cases depended on where you lived, as David Livingstone explained in an interview with Christian History. What the Bible demands  Read Now John Walton, Jeff Schloss, and the editors CH sat down with Biblical scholar John Walton and scientist Jeff Schloss to talk about science, faith, the Bible, and Darwin. Recommended resources  Read Now the authors and Editors Here are a few books, websites, and past CH issues recommended by CHI staff and this issue’s authors to help you navigate how Christians responded to Darwin between the publication of his books and the Scopes Trial.

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• Darwin's Reasoning...Inductive or Deductive?
• Changing My Mind on Darwin
• Thinking Christian reviews "Darwin's Doubt", a new book by Stephen C. Meyer
• Charles Robert Darwin
• Charles Darwin Quiz

God’s Time is Best

God’s time is best,

The Great All-wise Sees all that in my pathway lies,

 And though each day His children tries, His time is best.

God’s way is best, what ever it be
It may not seem the best to me, But time will prove and I shall see His way is best.

- from the Australian Sunday School Hymn Book

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Katholieke Kerk in België mag nieuwe dopelingen begroeten

185 CATECHUMENEN WORDEN IN PAASNACHT GEDOOPT

BRUSSEL (KerkNet) - De komende maanden worden in de verschillende bisdommen van ons land 185 jongvolwassenen voorbereid op hun doopsel en 51 op hun vormsel. Het doopsel van catechumenen vindt meestal plaats in de Paaswake, op de vooravond van Pasen.

In het aartsbisdom Mechelen-Brussel worden 89 volwassenen gedoopt: 71 in het vicariaat Brussel (64 Franstaligen en 7 in de Nederlandstalige pastoraal), 15 in het vicariaat Waals-Brabant en 3 in het vicariaat Vlaams-Brabant. In het bisdom Antwerpen ontvangen 6 (jong)volwassenen het sacrament van het doopsel en ontvangen 51 jongvolwassenen het sacrament van het vormsel. In het bisdom Doornik worden 37 catechumenen gedoopt, in het bisdom Luik 23 en in het bisdom Namen 17. In het bisdom Hasselt worden 7 volwassenen gedoopt, in het bisdom Gent 4 en in het bisdom Brugge 2.

In Frankrijk worden met Pasen 3.631 volwassenen gedoopt. De catechumenen hebben twee jaar voorbereiding achter de rug. Zij werden van nabij gevolgd door 11.000 begeleiders. Het aantal catechumenen in Frankrijk stijgt sinds tien jaar. In vergelijking met 2004 is er een toename met 43 procent. Bijna de helft van de Franse catechumenen is opgegroeid in een niet godsdienstig milieu.

(Kerknet)

Theo Borgermans

How do we know the coming of Jesus is very near?

There is one simple answer. Look what is happening in the North part of the globe, Russia and Crimea and look at Israel! Scattered through the nations for centuries, they have never died out, as they cannot, if God is to keep His word.

Dormition Church, situated on the modern "Mount Zion" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In our own generation, they have started to go back to their land. In 1967 they took back Jerusalem, or Zion, their ancient capital. And now their enemies are gathering against them. The scene is set for the Deliverer to come to his throne, for God to set His king upon His holy hill of Zion. The signs are all there to strengthen our faith. The God who keeps His covenants to a thousand generations is unbaring His arm again. 

But let us remember that it was told we would come to a time where  elope would stand up against each other, first in the land of Euphrates and Tigris (war of Iran and Iraq), several natural disasters would become more intence and regular (earthquakes, sunamis) brothers and sisters would get up against each other and religion would fight other religions. Does that not sound familiar with all the Hindus, Muslims, Christians a.o. fighting against each other?
 
Let us finish with a lovely passage, which sums up this great Hope of Israel that we have been thinking about so long. We said it can give us comfort, direction, and courage to face all the storms of life. This is just how the Apostle puts it in the Letter to the Hebrews:

"When God made a promise to Abraham . . . he swore by himself, saying, 'Surely I will bless you and multiply you'"

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Swallowing up Crimea, who is next

Vladimir Putin has delivered a swift and uncompromising blow to the imposition of US and EU sanctions by signing a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, paving the way for him to acknowledge a request from the breakaway region to join the Russian Federation. Ignoring Western threats of a new Cold War and a “far-reaching” economic blockade, the Russian president will on Tuesday address both houses of the Russian parliament on the crisis, and is expected to welcome Crimea into the fold. The formal process of absorbing the peninsula could be completed within weeks. The Kremlin announced that Mr Putin had signed a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, after it voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia. The US and the European Union responded by issuing targeted sanctions against several key players in the escalating crisis.

Events have moved amazingly quickly. Just a few weeks ago Crimea was part of Ukraine. In less than two weeks Russia has moved in and annexed the region and brought it under the Russian Federation. Mr Putin has seen his personal approval ratings soar to a three-year high after his decision to send troops to Crimea. Crimea was invaded by Russia in the 1870s and then handed to Ukraine in 1954. It remained with Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But Putin has said that the greatest geopolitical catastrophe was the collapse of the USSR. He has now begun the process of rebuilding that empire. The Russian juggernaut is on the move. Almost all commentators say that we are returning to a new Cold War. In Ezekiel 38 we read of Gog being “turned back”. This literally means “to be returned”. Putin himself (Gog) was returned to power and is now turning the whole of Russia back to Cold War days….

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen                                                                                                              “I will turn thee back” literally means “I will return you” or “I will restore you”.

Two almost simultaneous signatures Friday on opposite sides of Europe deepened the divide between East and West, as Russia formally annexed Crimea and the European Union pulled Ukraine closer into its orbit. In this "new post-Cold War order," as the Ukrainian prime minister called it, besieged Ukrainian troops on the Crimean Peninsula faced a critical choice: leave, join the Russian military or demobilize. Ukraine was working on evacuating its outnumbered troops in Crimea, but some said they were still awaiting orders. With fears running high of clashes between the two sides or a grab by Moscow for more of Ukraine, the chief of the U.N. came to the capital city Kiev and urged calm all around. All eyes were on President Vladimir Putin, as they have been ever since pro-Western protests drove out Ukraine's president a month ago, angering Russia and plunging Europe into its worst crisis in a generation.

The division of Russia and Europe is made clear in the Bible. It begins with the 2 legs of Daniel’s image representing East and West. It is further detailed in Daniel 7 and 8. Daniel 7 tracks the West and the power of Rome. Daniel 8 tracks the East and the latter day power of Russia. Daniel 11 from verse 40 shows the conflict between East and West through the latter day powers of king of the north and king of the south. There are two distinct wars at the end. Ezekiel 38 is a war led by Russia (East). This war is about power and spoil.  Then there is a religious war (Revelation 17) led by Europe / Rome.

the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold— The stone = Christ returning. The metals of the image  = different world empires.  The fact the stone grinds all worldly kingdoms to powder does NOT mean all the metals are united as one at the end. They remain divided. (Daniel 2:45)

- Andy Walton in Weekly World Watch

 

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Please do find also:

1. Mother of Ukraine or Crimea
2. Ukrainians should be free to shape the future of their country
3. Battling Borshct in Ukraine
4. When Crimean people made their choice
5. Weekly World Watch 16th - 22nd Mar 2014‏
    

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1. Chess in a Minefield: The Global Implications of the Ukraine Conflict
2. West is Impudent – This is like the Fall of Rome 
3. Crimea: A Microcosm of East-West Conflict 
4. The Social-Psychological Roots of the Ethnic Problems in Crimea
5. Christianizing Crimea: Shaping Sacred Space in the Russian Empire and Beyond
6. Why Crimea, Soviet ‘Gift’ to Ukraine, Remains Strongly Russian
7. Crimea Votes for Greater Freedom from Ukraine Self-Determination in Black Sea…
8. Ukraine as it happened: Putin says ‘threat of ultranationalists’ forced him to intervene

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  When asked the same question in 2009 only 55% of respondents in Russia voiced their support.
  The survey also showed that 89% of polled Russians have always considered Crimea as the Russian territory.
  The poll was conducted on March 15-16 among 1,600 respondents across Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
  
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  Russia has taken over most of Ukraine's military bases in Crimea.
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  Russian defence officials said earlier that the tricolour of Russia had been hoisted at 189 Ukrainian military units and facilities in Crimea.
  
• Crimea votes overwhelmingly to join Russia (uairagency.wordpress.com)
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• Crimea's 'self-defence' militia eyes national guard role (trust.org)
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• Crimea goes to Russia, Putin laughs at Western sanctions | Ukraine | Metro Journalist (ametrojournalist.wordpress.com)
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• Majority of Germans recognize accession of Crimea - poll (rt.com)
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  Meanwhile, 55 percent of those questioned said that they agree to a certain extent that Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine, notably the Crimean peninsula, as a zone of Russian influence.
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  In contrast, another 34 percent answered that the US and the EU’s introduction of sanctions was “excessive.”
  
• 2 more Ukrainian cities want to join Russia like Crimea (uprootedpalestinians.wordpress.com)
  
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  Thousands of people have poured to the streets in at least two major Eastern Ukrainian cities, calling for a referendum like the one held in the Crimean region to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
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  They also rallied to remember those killed in clashes between far-right demonstrators and pro-Russian protesters on March 15.
  In Donetsk, the protesters took to the streets to show their support for Russia, calling for a referendum similar to the one held in Crimea last week.
  They also demanded the resignation of the industrial city’s governor, who has been appointed by what they call the illegitimate pro-West leaders in Kiev.
  Furthermore, the pro-Russia demonstrators urged authorities to immediately release their leader, Pavel Gubarev, who has been detained by Ukrainian security forces.
• Ukraine forces given orders to withdraw from Crimea (itv.com)
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