Sorry I haven't posted anything in over a month. I've been working, writing sermons, preaching, and trying to come up with a plan for the near future for us. Blogging has been pushed to the side.
Yesterday and this evening, I have had the pleasure of listening to some lectures I downloaded. I have listened to 2 out of 3 so far. The lecturer is Dr. John Mark Reynolds of Biola University in southern California. He is a Philosophy professor, and the lectures are right up my alley, since they deal with epistemology.
The first lecture (We Beheld His Glory: How A Christian Worldview Produced Science) sets the stage, arguing that science is only possible because of the incarnation. If God can work in the world, and if God became part of his creation, science can be done. Without God, science cannot be done. Therefore scientists today who deny God, still work under the framework that Christian faith built. I have to listen to it again to really summarize it well. As it is, I may not have done it justice.
The second lecture (Full of Grace and Truth: An Epistemology of Belief in a Skeptical Age) deals with our commitment to a view of the world. Dr. Reynolds argues that a pessimistic view of the world has become the norm, but as Christians we should go against the flow. He makes the point that in apologetics, it is not enough to poke holes into an opponent's argument, but we must have something to put in its place that works as well, and that is beautiful. We should build up, not just tear down. If we believe that God is all powerful and all good, then we should have a hopeful, optimistic outlook on life, even in the midst of suffering, because we trust that all is for our good.
I haven't listened to the third lecture yet (The Glory of Jesus Christ: The Way Forward in the Dialogue Between Religion and Science), but I am looking forward to it.
Dr. Reynolds is an entertaining speaker. I was listening to this lecture in the living room, and Sherri was laughing at times as well...before she tuned me out to do her stuff.
Don't let the lecture titles put you off, these are good talks, worth a listen if you have a spare hour here and there. They can be found at the Between Two Worlds blog (a good blog for finding these kinds of things), at this post here: Reynolds on Faith and Science.
While downloading that one, also download Jeff Temple's lecture at the Theological College on Calvin's view of preaching and preachers. Good stuff. It can be found here: Calvin and Pastors.