Spectrum of Weather Events
Published 10-13-2017 Our focus in recent weeks has been the destructive impact of hurricanes in the southeast quadrant of the United States. Hurricanes form when sufficiently warm oceans join with steering prevailing winds and other meteorological factors to produce just-right conditions for cyclone formation. Billions of Earth residents never experience hurricanes, including populations in South…
Read MoreCoping with Problems and Tragedy
Published 10-9-2017 Humans propose diverse rationale for believing or not believing in the the existence and actions of an omnipotent Creator. One of the most common reasons is personal belief that God, loving, powerful, and all-knowing, would not or should not permit evil to exist in this created sphere. This includes natural evil such as…
Read MoreWhen a Loved One Commits Suicide
One of the greatest pains a person can face is the loss of a loved one to suicide. I know. When I was only two years old, my grandmother ended her own life. I was too young to understand at the time. For years to follow, however, I faced many times when I wished my…
Read MoreIs Earth Really a Place to Thrive?
Published 9-29-2017 Our recent posts on the Atlantic hurricanes of 2017 have triggered serious reflection on the meaning of thriving. Does the recent spate of destructive hurricanes and earthquakes strengthen or weaken our description of Earth as “a place to thrive?” We acknowledge that thriving is a value-laden word. We are ill-advised to use the…
Read MoreUniversal Perfection
Published 9-22-2017 “In a perfect world there would be no hurricanes.” Does this pithy aphorism involve a universal truth? Depending on how we define perfection and, in particular, what a perfect world would be, we acknowledge there may be truth to this aphorism. Some skeptics who reject the existence or work of a Creator of…
Read MoreHurricane Genesis
Published 9-17-2017 Genesis: the origin or mode of formation. In the context of hurricanes, two of which devastated the Caribbean region and the US mainland in late summer 2017, we wonder about the sequence of events which results in a fully mature hurricane. The energy of a hurricane exceeds by 200 times the electrical generating…
Read MorePondering Hurricanes
Published 9-12-2017 The onset of two deadly hurricanes in late August and early September 2017 broke a twelve year stretch of relative calm with respect to the most destructive Category 3 or stronger hurricanes. We acknowledge that many Christian and secular commentators are searching for answers to the difficult problem of horrific destruction. The apparent…
Read MoreGalveston or Houston?
Published 9-6-2017 In three weeks we have transitioned from the summit of natural wonder, a total solar eclipse visible over a 70-mile swath of the US from coast to coast, to the depths of tragedy in coastal Texas. Hurricane Harvey is projected to be the most costly national disaster on record. Experts estimate the Houston…
Read MoreHow Long Were the Days of Genesis 1-2?
Introduction There are two major views with regard to the time involved in Creation: the old-earth view and the young-earth view. The latter believes the universe is no more than approximately 15,000 years old, while the former holds that it is probably about 13.7 billion years old. Young-earthers take the “days” of Creation to be…
Read MoreEclipse “Everest” Experience
Published 8-23-2017 What is the “Everest” event to which we refer? My wife and I experienced the “Great American (total solar) Eclipse of August 21, 2017 at Marion, Illinois. The town was a few miles from Carbondale which has achieved notoriety as the Great American Eclipse capitol. The low 90s summer day dawned essentially cloud…
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