Piqued

The next episode in my Christian apologetics video series is online.  Episode 7 discusses natural, historical and archaeological corroboration for the following Old Testament events:

• The Genesis Flood
• The Tower of Babel
• The Plagues of Exodus
• The Crossing of the Red Sea
• The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

I hope you find it interesting and faith-strengthening!

The full-resolution video is here:
http://worldview.brianfrantz.com/HGTA/index.php
Or you can watch it on the Blip.tv show page:
http://howgreatthouart.blip.tv/

There’s just one more episode left in the series and it will explore corroborative evidence for the New Testament.  No guarantees on when I’ll get to it, but hopefully in the next few weeks so it’s finished before I start work in March!

So that’s the conclusion I’ve come to in the last few days.  No, I’m not struggling with depression because of it, and it’s certainly not the first time it’s dawned on me that the human race is fallen and sinful.  And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with Obama’s inauguration (as much as I disagree with him on many issues, I’m cautiously optimistic that he’ll be at least a reasonable president).  It really doesn’t have to do with anything in particular, except a realization that if you dabble too much in worldliness, it gets to you after a while.

I haven’t been doing anything that unusual and none of the things that have contributed to this subtly oppressive feeling is that serious by itself.  But put together, without anything particularly redeeming to balance them, they become a stronger force than you’d think.

It started with the books I read on my recent vacation.  None of them are overtly anti-Christian or immoral, but each of them has a decidedly agnostic/atheistic worldview.  Now, I don’t think it’s bad for Christians to get that perspective every now and then.  I’m a firm believer in the strengthening effect that challenges can have on our faith, and for me, the “reasoned” perspective of atheism is the one I find myself most sympathetic with.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no atheist and don’t think I’m in danger of becoming one.  The more I learn about creation and the more I observe in our world, the more convinced I become that God exists and is involved in our world.  And as I’ve researched the history of the Bible, I’ve only found my confidence in its truthfulness strengthened.  What I’m saying is that if there’s one worldview besides my own that I have some respect for, it’s that of wise, well-intentioned individuals who reject all religions on the basis of personal experience and reasoning.

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I recently took a road trip with my family to California and spent the travel time catching up on some reading.  The first book I read was given to me by my grandmother for Christmas, a choice ostensibly inspired by my recent purchase of a motorcycle.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was written in 1974 by Robert M. Pirsig and received widespread acclaim for the novel way in which it presents fresh philosophical ideas.  Here’s my review.

Zen is a rather remarkable book in that it brings together many genres of literature into one fairly lengthy but enjoyable book.  Depending on what part of the book you’re referring you, it could be categorized as a travelogue, psychological drama, presentation of alternatives to traditional forms of higher education, or innovative philosophical theory.

The whole of Zen appears to be a semi-autobiographical account of a motorcycle trip the author takes with his son, Chris, and two friends.  Where they visit is hinted at, but not ultimately important.  The important details are the thoughts the narrator shares during the long stretches of road that separate the group’s various stops and personal interactions.  The heart of the book is contained in these passages, and it is here that the book is interesting, fresh, and at times strange.

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It took a couple of months, but the next episode in my Christian Apologetics series is now online.  Episode 6 covers the Biblical canon and how the modern Bible came to be, and why we can be confident in its accuracy. I hope you find it beneficial.

The full-resolution video is here:
http://worldview.brianfrantz.com/HGTA/index.php
Or you can watch it on the Blip.tv show page:
http://howgreatthouart.blip.tv/

There are 2 more episodes in the series, both dealing with historical and archeological corroboration of the Bible. Although I may get a chance to work on them a bit before the end of the year, it’s more likely that I won’t have time until February of next year (January’s going to be crazy).  Sorry for the wait!  Feel free to post any comments below.

Episode 5/8 in my defense of the Bible series is now online.

This one continues where the last left off, with a verse-by-verse breakdown of Genesis 1 and whether it is compatible with an old-earth understanding of creation.  I also discuss the flood and dinosaurs in light of this perspective.

As with the last episode, the conclusion that the Biblical creation and flood accounts were long and local, respectively, is not the traditional view that has long been held by Jews and Christians.  However, as I argue in this video, I do not believe that means the traditional view is necessarily accurate.  It’s not really wrong – after all, the critical points are unchanged (God created everything, and the flood restarted the human race).  But I think Christians do themselves a disservice (especially if they’re trying to minister to scientifically-minded non-Christians) by stubbornly holding to this tradition without considering whether the Bible is compatible with scientific discoveries.  This is my goal in this video: to explain an interpretation of Genesis that does not ignore the observable facts of science.  And remarkably, this interpretation of Genesis 1 in particular corroborates scientific theories quite well.

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