Does God Exist? Hitchens vs. Craig

This week, at Biola, a public debate was held between Christopher Hitchens and William Lane Craig. A great summary of the debate is posted here.

In light of Pastor Jim's previous post, it is well worth looking into whether God exists or not.

By this report, it appears that while Craig won the argument, Hitchens won the debate. That is, on merits, the day went to Craig. But for public perception and receptivity, the day went to Hitchens.

This confirms some of what has been posted about our own Presbyterian church's discussions of Amendment B. While conservatives are winning the votes, it appears that the other side is carrying the day, and changing peoples' minds. While the "truth" may be on our side, the compelling arguments appear to be on the other side. And they are gaining traction in the culture, and in the church. Something to ponder.

One further note. The civility and warmth of the Biola crowd was something for more open-minded and tolerant people to take to heart. When conservatives speak at college campuses today, they are met with protests, and rude behavior. When an atheist comes to speak at a Christian college campus, they are welcomed warmly, and treated with dignity and respect. Who is more tolerant? Who embraces that virtue more fully? "By their fruits you will know them."

One last note, I found one of the comments on the blog post quite interesting.

Atheism's greatest strength is its first impression.

In light of the sustained arguments of Dr. Craig, those first impressions must either harden or be transformed, and answer to the higher logic.

Well done, Biola, for sponsoring this debate. Well done, Mr. Hitchens to stepping into the lion's den. Well done, Dr. Craig, for powerfully defending the faith.

[SDG- JS]

Pouring down rain

Pouring down rain three weeks ago on Sunday morning was not the beginning but it changed our direction significantly. Lynda heard a gurgling noise and looked over to see Megan our second of four children writhing in a convulsion, her eyes rolled back into her head, stuff coming out of her mouth. It was the second one that night and an answer to prayer.

Starting in early February Megan complained about forgetting things, this normal ‘A ‘student started worrying about what she could not remember and then began to get panicked and withdrawn. She spent first a day and then 3 and then eventually 6 days withdrawn and not talking to anyone, quite unusual for this very talkative energetic girl.

On the advice of the help nurse for our insurance we took Megan to the emergency Room and Huntington Memorial they ran a battery of tests and one Neurologist Doctor thought they saw a seizure on the EEG. We were referred to a doctor who specialized in Pediatric Neurology; she examined Megan and said she was fine, and referred us to a counselor. Ten days later as Megan slept on the APC youth retreat she had the first seizure someone saw as she slept at 3:30 in the morning. Dustin, Ben, Jenny and Anna handled the situation in an amazing way Megan was taken to the Emergency room at Santa Ana. Lynda picked her up there and brought her home still operating on the diagnosis of the Pediatric Neurologist who said Megan’s condition was behavioral.

Lynda called me from the car as this second seizure was happening after taking her from the emergency room, she was in a panic, 911 had put her on hold and she did not know what to do, I wanted to crawl through the phone line and help her out, but I was no where near the 605 and the 5. I called Pastor Heather at 5:30 a.m. and asked her to preach that Sunday, I found a place for the boys to go and met Lynda at Arcadia Methodist [Emergency room number 3]. A neurologist there prescribed heavy sedation and anti-seizure medications for Megan and they sent us home around 1:00 p.m.

By 2:00 Andrew was throwing up as I tried to get him to the restroom. It was a full day. On Monday I fired the first Neurologist. God arranged for our friends to make some strategic calls and we saw another Neurologist [Dr Lin] on Wednesday. He ordered more tests and said he would follow through and he did. By Friday Megan was almost completely catatonic and had trouble walking, our new Doctor sent us to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles [Emergency room number 4] where we did even more tests. Dr Lin called with a test result that he faxed over, that led us to an excellent rheumatologist Dr. Reiff who almost instantly diagnosed Megan’s condition. Sub sequent test proved this diagnosis to be correct. Megan has Lupus an auto immune disease that attacks organs in the body. It is basically the immune system in overdrive, it can attack anything in Megan’s case it decided her brain was an infection.

It is day 12 at children’s hospital now, the treatments are severe to get Lupus SLE in check [more specifically Megan has CNS Lupus of the brain] and there have been many difficult days where she could not swallow or open her mouth. Most profoundly difficult is that this attack on Megan’s brain left her open to hallucinations and psychosis. The sounds and perceptions are so disturbing that Megan like others with this condition retreats into her self and can be catatonic and non-responsive. Along the way so many of you have prayed for us, we cannot express to you all how grateful we are for your prayers. Megan has finished her first major round of steroids and Chemo therapy last week. Megan will receive Chemo therapy treatments through the end of the year to suppress her immune system and keep it from attacking her brain. Baring God’s intervention Megan will have this disease throughout her life time. It will require some changes in her life including staying out of direct sun except for very brief periods.

We continue to appreciate your prayers, as of this writing Megan will be coming home tomorrow after a huge improvement yesterday and today. There will be a period of recuperation in various areas of her Megan’s life. There are also things which we will keep private, but your prayers are always welcome and God has graciously guided you to pray just as God would have you pray to see His perfect will unfolded before you. There were some who came and prayed for hours in the lobby of the hospital for Megan one evening and so many of you have done so in your homes and wherever you were. We cannot thank you enough and are so humbled by your loving concern through prayer, it is the best ‘Do’ you could possibly do, please don’t stop.

There is a Father in heaven who loves his sin afflicted children and wants nothing more than to see us healed and whole. Happy Easter. May God resurrect your hopes with His resurrected son this Easter.

By the way the forecast for Megan’s pick up day from the hospital is rain.

Jim C.

The Decline of Religion in America

Every Easter and Christmas, Time and Newsweek and their ilk publish articles trying to inform the public of trends in religious circles. Mostly, their articles tend to "rile the righteous," and perhaps that is their intent.

Newsweek's new article in the arsenal is here. Written by religion editor Jon Meacham, it is entitled, "The End of Christian America." The header is:

The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become.

It is no surprise to many religious people, whether church or synagogue or mosque, that there are less and less people who are overtly religious. Church is sometimes treated as we would a rest stop on a highway, stop for a quick bite, a bathroom break, refuel the vehicle, and we are off to our chosen destination. Stop by church for a quick word from the Almighty, a little friendly patter among like minded folks, a cup of really bad coffee, and we are off!

Normally, I am not too upset by these articles, slanted as they are in a quite secular direction. But the comments in this article by Al Moehler, a devout Southern Baptist, are worth considering.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

[SDG-JS]