What other people are saying...

I launch today what I hope to be a somewhat regular feature here at Defy The Gray. Not trying to hide the ball or anything with the title, What other people are saying... will feature a thought from someone who is not me.  I may include a visual.  I may not.  Depends on whether I have the time to find something I feel compliments, contradicts or adds to the thought in some way.  Although I won't share my motiviation(s) for posting a particular thought, I can assure you that, at some level, it resonates deeply with me.

And please keep the conversation going by sharing your own thoughts in the comments.  This blog has long been a forum for discussion, albeit it sparse at times, and I want to continue to foster and encourage that.

I want to inspire people to say what they feel and not what they feel like they're supposed to say.
Because they feel like they're supposed to do something, they don't give themselves the opportunity to be genuine. They'll just say the same words, which are great words, but after a while they stop meaning anything. We need new words to say the same thing because after a while the words lose their potency.

John Mark McMillan
Relevant . Jul_Aug 2010

Intelligent Design [Revisited]

The community group that I help co-teach with a friend has been using The Truth Project DVD series as a tool for gaining some deeper insight into a biblical worldview in hopes that such knowledge will assist us in deepening our faith and better living-out the call on our lives. I happened to lead this week's topic titled, Science: What is true?. We ended up having a lively discussion about randomness vs. design, blood clotting, who vs. how, biology, mathematics, sunsets, Dawkins, faith, public school teachings on evolution and a bunch of other stuff that I could not possibly summarize in the context of this post.

Anyway...I was reminded of a blog that I had written nearly 5 years ago and wanted to revisit it today. Originally posted on December 20, 2005:

Earlier today, a Federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled that a local school board acted unconstitutionally in mandating that its 9th grade biology students be read a primer-paragraph prior to teachings on evolution to the effect that evolution is only a theory, there are gaps in the theory and some have suggested alternative theories, such as intelligent design. In so ruling, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said, "We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board’s real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom." In a further blow to the Board's credibility (and faith), Judge Jones added that several members repeatedly lied to cover their motives, even while professing religious beliefs.

Media outlets billed this case as Creation vs. Evolution. They were wrong. The actual issue facing Judge Jones was whether the school board purposefully intended to communicate a religious message by its conduct, and what message that conduct actually conveyed. This ruling is not about the merits of either theory, but rather, the school board's intentions.

So as I'm reading thru the opinion, I come to this line:

"Wherever complex design exists, there must have been a designer; therefore nature must have had an intelligent designer." -Thomas Aquinas (13th Century)

It turns out that the roots of the intelligent design movement can be traced back to this simple syllogism. So here is where my questions begin. If the designer those in the intelligent design movement look to is the God of the Bible, why is it that they fail to trust that same God to reveal Himself to public school students in ways other than through a science class? I mean, if God created the complexities and beauty of nature, why do these people think they have to resort to lies about their intentions and other forms of trickery to get their god into the public school classroom? Do these attempts really advance the cause, or do they simply add more pain to an existing wound? That "wound" being the non-Christian public's view of our faith.

In all honesty, intelligent design is not my fight. It may be someone's, but it's not mine. I don't want converts to my faith b/c it'll make my church larger and wealthier. Nor do I seek converts b/c I have some personal agenda, fueled by my ego, to be the one who saved the most people. I want converts to my faith to freely choose the life-saving results one receives from trusting in the One, True, Living God. I want converts to my faith b/c of the peace I've experienced, which awaits them. My challenge to believers is to stop blindly supporting and following movements that are merely cloaked in Christianity. Think deeper, search the motives of those involved and ask the Lord to reveal himself to you through this process. Get behind eternal movements of import. Movements championed by, through and because of Christ! Movements modeled after Christ's very actions!

Tightrope

Ladies and gentleman...Janelle Monáe

Song of the summer? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

A day in the (new) life

So Angie and I are sitting on the couch last night watching The Blind Side (great story, good film).
All of the sudden she grabs my hand and puts it on her belly.
A few seconds later I felt this delicate, little kick!
The first I've felt from our little baby boy!

A rush of emotions washed over me...
Love for a child I've yet to meet.
A very deep sense of love for my wife who is bearing the host of physical and emotional changes that a pregnancy brings.
A realization, which becomes more of a reality as Angie's belly grows, that I am charged by God to care for, support and raise this little child of His according to the grace He gives.

As my eyes filled to the brink of tears, I pondered those I would shed during my son's life -- tears of sadness, tears of joy and tears of pride, among others.

Abba Father

Instruct me in the way of love

Break me, continue to mold me

So that I may live for You and you alone

Do the same for his mother

And give this baby the power, through your Spirit, 

to run toward You with everything he has

Where are you headed?

prodigal [mar2010], originally uploaded by defythegray

reCreative Ministries
PRODIGAL

Photo by Trey Ratcliff [Stuck in Customs]

["Why do you look for the living among the dead?"]

"He is not here; he has risen!"

Luke 24:5-6 

Photo by Tim Beck

"It is finished."

[With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.]

John 19:30

BEAUTY

BEAUTY [feb2010], originally uploaded by defythegray.
reCreative Ministries
Beauty in God's eyes

Related: stars

hope lies beneath

hope lies beneath [jan2010], originally uploaded by defythegray.

reCreative Ministries
Loss & Hope

new beginnings

untitled [dec09], originally uploaded by defythegray.

This is a piece I created as part of reCreative Ministries' artists' guild. I've also linked up the reCreative site under the [Nu]Art catagory on the sidebar.

reCreative is (and will become) a gallery of pieces from different artists working in many different mediums -- everything from writing to music to visual art. As the Lord leads, I hope to submit as often as I can.

And please accept this post as a personal invitation to join the artists' guild. All the info you need to do so can be found here. Any other questions, drop me an email or comment.