Could This be the New Northworst Seminary Chapel?

After reading up about Northworst's plans for a new chapel, I've found pictures from one of the contractors in negotiations to build this new chapel. Perhaps it's a bit showy for Northworst. I doubt President Whipple will go for it. What do you think?The proposed chapel would include new state-of-the-art, comfy chairs and an increased seating capacity beyond the seminary's current facilities.


The proposed chapel also includes easy set up and take-down, making it not only high-class, but also highly portable. Do you think this contractor will get the bid for the new chapel?

Having an Examined Faith

In recent weeks I've heard about something called the Blasphemy Challenge. A lot of people are talking about it now, and so I recently decided to look into it and see what they have been talking about. I'll not go into great detail here, but suffice it to say that there is a group of atheists who call themselves the Rational Response Squad. They have sponsored something that they call "the Blasphemy Challenge." They cite Mark 3:29 which mentions "the unpardonable sin" which is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and then encourage people to make a video in which they may say or do anything blasphemous so long as they include in it a verbal rejection of the power or existence of the Holy Spirit. As I looked at the site and some of the videos I was saddened and sobered by what I was seeing.

As I looked over the website I also came across an interview that they had with Dr. Ergun Caner, the President of Liberty Theological Seminary, the seminary at my alma mater. Since I've gotten to spend a little bit of time around Dr. Caner, I have great respect for him and enjoy listening to what he has to say.

I had a listen to about three hours of unedited debate between him and the rational responders. During that debate they covered a wide range of topics from the trustworthiness of scripture, to original sin and the problem of evil, to name a few. However, what I found to be the most valuable nuggets that came from this were insights into today's growing young atheistic movement. These people are young, smart, well educated, and can make a persuasive argument. At the end of the interview Dr. Caner got to ask some questions about what they believed about Christians and why. I do encourage you to have a listen and hear what they had to say.

It is of concern today that there are groups like this who are gaining influence with young people today. However, what is of greater concern to me is the reluctance of the church culture to engage those who challenge what we believe. Dr. Caner invited the Rational Response Squad to speak to students at Liberty University. For some this is unthinkable, but the unoffical motto of the seminary at Liberty is "an unexamined faith is not worth having." The fact is that we simply cannot get away with expecting the people in our pews to be Christians, "just because," or simply with a vague "because the Bible says so."

We must never be afraid of questions because we know that we have the truth. It is alright to ask "why?" or look to look critically at our faith. God promises that when we seek him, we will find him if we seek him with our whole heart.

Check out the related information from Dr. Caner and Liberty here.

Testing America's IQ

I've been too long without a post, so this seems like one I can have fun with. I'm not one that generally believes that Americans are stupid, but let's be honest--there are a lot of people who are either uninformed, lazy, or just plain ignorant living among us.

Tonight Fox debuts it's first full episode of a new series entitled, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Jeff Foxworthy hosts the show, which challenges contestants to answer questions from fifth grade textbooks. Here's what the network says about the show:

Unlike the typical game show that measures intelligence, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? tests adults’ lack of knowledge – as revealed by how much they’ve forgotten since elementary school. Grownups will again find themselves in a classroom setting, revisiting their youth, as they tackle subjects they’ve already been taught, ranging from art to geography and math to social studies. For example, test questions, which are taken from actual textbooks from 1st grade through 5th grade....

I'm curious to see this in action. I think that Jeff Foxworthy himself will make this a fun show, although we'll have to wait and see how it fares in the long run. Will this be worth tuning in? I'm not sure, but I think I'll tune in tonight to give it a look.