Boundary Pioneers
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 How should Christian faith and science knowledge “interdigitate?” This imagery was used by Andy Crouch in his kickoff address at the recent Vibrant Dance Symposium in Austin, TX. Literally, interdigitation is an interlocking of the fingers of clasped hands. It suggests a figurative image of one entity overlapping and becoming an…
Read MoreVibrant Dance Symposium
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 Opportunities for gracious, Christ honoring dialogue related to the intersection of science and Christian faith extended over three days last week in Austin, Texas. I was privileged to attend. The mission of “The Vibrant Dance of Faith and Science” symposium was to provide pastors, church leaders, scientists, and interested lay people…
Read MoreObserving Is Believing
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 The universe we observe is a physical universe, created transcendently by God from outside our currently observed dimensions of time, space, matter, and energy. God is not confined to the dimensions we observe. He exists beyond them in dimensions we do not experience. But He also exists in our physical dimensions.…
Read MorePolitics of Intelligent Design
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 Political campaigns are both amusing and depressing. Ideally, different viewpoints on political issues and proposed solutions for the challenges of governing should be showcased. Instead, obscure past statements, beliefs, and actions of the candidates are touted as campaign issues; what the candidate would do to solve the problems of government sometimes…
Read MoreAffirming Divine Being
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 As we consider the history of the Jews described in the Pentateuch, we may experience frustration at the unbelief and unfaithfulness of the Chosen People. They witnessed many transcendent events including the miraculous parting of the waters during their departure from Egypt, the lengthy provision of manna, and the divine inscription…
Read MoreInferring Design
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 Modern design arguments hark back to early proponents of design such as William Derham (1657-1735) and William Paley (1743-1805). Derham wrote Physico-theology, subtitled A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God from His Works of Creation. William Paley presented an even more famous exposition of the teleological (design) proposal for…
Read MoreQuestions on Common Ancestry
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 While secular scientists are busy attributing the apparent fine tuning of the universe to chance or the multiverse hypothesis, many bio-scientists are explaining the diversity of earth’s life in terms of common ancestry and naturalistic evolution. But traditional confidence in naturalistic mechanisms to explain cosmic design and earth’s biodiversity has been…
Read MoreDismissing Design
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 People of many different belief persuasions dismiss the concept of intelligent design. The discussion is not just a scientific question, but also a philosophical one. Did a super-intelligent agent act supernaturally within our present dimensions of time, space, matter, and energy? Are we able to detect such actions using scientific methods?…
Read MoreLife Site Preparation
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 In a home building project, we could highlight two time frames. First, the site on which the home is to be built must be prepared in multiple ways, including proper surveys, approvals, payment, assignment of title, and lot clearing, to name a few. Second, previously conceived architectural plans are printed and…
Read MoreCreator of the Code
By: Jim Virkler; ©2010 Several sources of wonder and awe concerning cells have been addressed in recent posts. These include their complexity, organization, design, information content, replicating capacity, and synthesizing ability. So far, we have not specifically dealt with the most fascinating question of all with regard to the cell’s ability to synthesize proteins: How…
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