Blog Archives: January 2018 — December 2018

  P&R Publishing (Presbyterian and Reformed) is in the process of printing a series of books on influential movers and shakers, called the Great Thinkers series. Some of the volumes include Thomas Aquinas, Karl Marx, David Hume, and Karl Barth. I was approached to contribute a volume on a modern scientific thinker, and suggested Richard Dawkins. Dawkins might be considered the founder and chief proponent of what has come to be known as the New Atheist movement. Launched in the early 2000s, the movement was characterized by a ...

Congrats to Ransom Poythress on the publication of his book – Richard Dawkins – in the Series Great Thinkers: Critical Studies of Minds That Shape Us. Writing from a Reformed perspective, authors in this series identify the most influential cultural features of each great thinker and the most apologetically effective ways to address them. “Richard Dawkins, one of the foremost proponents of gene-centered, atheistic approaches to evolutionary science, has leveled intense criticism against those who accept the existence of a supernatural ...

My life is in a state of transition; new job, new living arrangements, new responsibilities. I’m excited and many of the first steps have already been taken. The job has begun and despite some early mistakes (to which I must tell my perfectionistic and prideful side to chill out) and the continually new aspects of my job that I’m introduced to (which I am learning to take in stride…breathe, Amanda) things are going well. During this particular phase in life I’ve been feeling rather upended. The jobs that I’ve held for over half a decade ...

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Sometimes (often) one runs out of ideas and material for the church Newsletter, hence the bit of a lapse since the publication of the April edition of the Newsletter. The obvious thought that has come to mind is to share some photographs and reflections from Marvin’s and my recent trip to Ireland. The following pictures from the north coast of Northern Ireland show White Park Bay –one of the most ...

Walt’s Story - In the Spring of 1970, at the age of 20 years, I became a Christian after a long protracted spiritual struggle. About a year before my conversion to Christ, during the summer of 1969, preceding the beginning of my sophomore year at Rutgers University, I was introduced to the Watch Tower Society by a friend of my brother’s. Joe had been a Jehovah’s Witness for a couple of years and talked with me about God, gave me literature and introduced me to some other of his JW friends. This was all a part of a seven-step methodology which ...

We were both granted the sweet gift of being raised by strong Christian families with a strong Christian heritage. Ransom grew up with his parents and younger brother in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Ransom’s father is a well-known Reformed theologian teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary and so Ransom had a rare upbringing—discussing theology and other weighty Biblical matters from a very young age. When his parents discovered a lack of “coming of age” traditions for Christian men, they instituted the “Bar Yeshua” in their family. Similar ...

OK, after some time to reflect and pray about yesterday's events, it's time to speak up and speak out. Yesterday morning, racism reared its ugly head in our community and confronted our church and my family like a slap in the face. As people walked through our church's small parking lot to go and worship the Lord, it was discovered that someone had written a vile racial slur (which I will not publish here) in the snowbank along the edge of our parking lot. We do not know if this was written by some ignorant person who just randomly picked ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico –Life After Maria With about 40% of electric customers still without power, almost four months after Hurricane Maria, life has been changed in many ways for many people. Some of Joe’s students lost everything. Power returned to our house after 74 days and we can attest to how much physical and mental energy, plus monetary cost, it took to modify our routine and activities. Joe stayed in Puerto Rico for the duration and is still feeling a lack of energy. Many have suffered greatly as they are cleaning out wet and moldy ...

Tom writes: When considering how and what to write in my Christian testimony, I was unsure where to begin. After much thought, I decided to start with some background about my early life. I grew up in Rensselear Falls, New York. A VERY small town just outside of Canton, New York. As a little boy, I remember spending a great deal of time in hospitals. My mother had a heart defect, which continued to get worse as I grew up and she eventually passed away when I was six. My father was suddenly left with a young son to raise on his own. I only ...