Science vs Faith: ‘There Is No Heaven,’ Says Stephen Hawking

16 05 2011

Good evening everyone! I hope everyone is doing well this evening! I was reading the news online today and I came across this article. Now I know I haven’t been doing a lot of original writing lately, but I really want to know what you all think about this.

Science vs Faith.. I really dislike when scientists try and take away, or even change our (Christians) faith. Scientists for years have tried to prove that there Heaven doesn’t exist, that Jesus didn’t rise from the grave etc.. Faith is Faith.. We believe in it. For some Christians, I can understand wanting to have proof, but where is your faith when you do that? For me, I believe in the Bible, and what IT says. I don’t need proof. Science can try and proof this or that, but you will Never take my faith away.

Below is the article I am mentioning that I found  on MSNBC.

Hawking: ‘There is no heaven’

Rodger Bosch / AFP – Getty Images file

By John Roach

Stephen Hawking, the famous British physicist, called the notion of heaven a “fairy story” in an interview with The Guardian newspaper published today.

The physicist, 69, who was diagnosed with A.L.S. at age 21, made the heaven comment in response to a question about his fears of death.

“I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first,” he told the newspaper.

“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven of afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people who are afraid of the dark.”

The comments are seen as going beyond those in his 2010 book, “The Grand Design,” which stirred up passions with the observation that science can explain the universe’s origin without invoking God.

Hawking has far outlived most people who have A.L.S., also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, producing important cosmological research and writing books. His “A Brief History of Time,” published in 1988, has sold more than 9 million copies.

The Guardian interview is the latest the scientist has given to news media in recent weeks. It is published the day before he is scheduled to address the question “Why are we here?” at the Google Zeitgeist meeting in London.

In the talk, according to The Guardian, he will argue that the tiny fluctuations in the very early universe became the seeds from which galaxies, stars, and ultimately human life emerged.

“Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in,” he said.

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Let me know what you think..

Until next time readers, God Bless!

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Last Supper on a Wednesday?

19 04 2011

Good evening readers. I came across this article from Fox News yesterday, and thought I should share it. Easter is coming up this weekend, so I thought it was something to think about.

I really am not into science when it comes to Christianity, so I will be sticking to my beliefs and what the Bible says. Read the article and let me know what you think.

Scientist Claims Last Supper Was a Day Earlier

Published April 19, 2011| FoxNews.com

Christians have long celebrated The Last Supper of Jesus Christ on Maundy, the Thursday before Easter, but new research released Monday claims that evidence shows it took place on the Wednesday before the Crucifixion.

Prof. Colin Humphreys, a scientist at the University of Cambridge in England, believes the mistaken date is due to a calendar mix-up — and says his findings strengthen the case for finally introducing a fixed date for Easter, AFP reports.

In his attempt to pinpoint the exact timing of Jesus’ final meal, Humphreys used a combination of biblical, historical and astronomical research

The Bible’s different versions of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples have left researchers puzzled for centuries.

While Matthew, Mark and Luke all say the Last Supper coincided with the start of the Jewish festival of Passover, John claims it took place before Passover, AFP reports.

In his new book, “The Mystery Of The Last Supper,” Humphrey’s concludes that Jesus, along with Matthew, Mark and Luke, may have been using a different calendar than John was.

“Whatever you think about the Bible, the fact is that Jewish people would never mistake the Passover meal for another meal, so for the Gospels to contradict themselves in this regard is really hard to understand,” Humphreys said.

Humphreys’ theory is that Jesus went by an old-fashioned Jewish calendar rather than the official lunar calendar that was in widespread use at the time of his death and is still in use today, AFP reports.

This would put the Passover meal — and the Last Supper — on the Wednesday, explaining how so many events took place between the meal and the Crucifixion.

It would follow that Jesus’ arrest, interrogation and separate trials did not all take place in the space of one night, but occurred over a longer period.

According to Humphreys, the set date for Easter Day should be April 5.

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So what do you think?

Until next time, God Bless!

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Questions…

10 04 2011

Good afternoon everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. It has been a little while since I last wrote. I want to apologize about that.

Life has been really crazy for me these last couple of weeks. I went to the ER with asthma issues. Along with that, my  remaining grandparent passed away April 4th.

A lot has been going through my head lately, mostly related to my grandpa’s passing.

A little back story of my grandpa. He and my grandma were married I believe, 51 years, before she passed away in 1998. What an amazing marriage they had. He was a very outspoken person, but also kept to himself. There are things I really wished I would have talked to him about before is Alzheimer’s got so bad, you couldn’t carry on a conversation with him. I knew my grandpa grew up Catholic, but he was non practicing when I knew him. He made wise decisions about money, which with those decisions, he got to enjoy life after retirement. He was 87 when he passed. He lived a long and wholesome life.

I guess the questions I would ask him, would be the following if we could sit down and chat.

How did you keep your marriage alive and happy all those years?

What are your beliefs about God and Christianity?

I am sure there would be more, but those are the main ones…

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Today at church, Pastor Rodney mentioned  questions we have for God, and how those questions really can’t be answered until we meet our maker. Mostly they are questions that begin with the word… Why? I guess the only answer we can have to questions we have for God, should be answered by trusting Him. I know that is hard, and even I am dealing with that right now.

Why is life prolonged at the time of death, when the inevitable is going to happen?

Why do not so great things happen at the worst timing?

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If you are the praying type, please pray for my family during these emotional times.

Until next time readers, God Bless..


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A Realistic Guide To Love (Part 8.. In It To Win It)

20 02 2011

Good afternoon everyone! I hope your time of worship with the Lord this morning was awesome!

Today we finish the blog series that we have been going through. It has been taken from an article in the January/February issue of Relevant Magazine. Click here to start with Part 1.

So enjoy the finale of A Realistic Guide to Love.

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In It To Win It

As the years tick by, some couples settle into an amazing bliss. Those six people are fortunate. The rest of us will run into epic personal struggles, both within our marriages and beyond. We don’t learn in school how to deal with miscarriages, debt, depression or unfaithfulness.

These serious needs underscore the importance for deep community, solid mentors, excellent communication skills and habits, grace, patience, forgiveness, conflict resolution and big faith. One piece of advice that has proven invaluable was to remind ourselves that we’re on the same team. If we’re talking about something, even if it’s where one person really hurt the other, we’re trying to work it out and move forward together.

We’re also learning to be gentle on each other. We all react differently to stress–some become militant commanders, some look cool while choking on internal tension, some lose sleep, some sleep more, some cry, some can’t handle seeing tears. Learn how you each react to stress, and be prepared for your spouses’s reaction, as well as to tame your more damaging reactions.

From the first days of our marriage, we had a saying: “The honeymoon never ends.” It leads to adventures and laughter, memories and romance, optimism and joy. It is the long-term effect of the “date your mate” principle. You might not have two weeks in the Cayman Islands, but a picnic of bread, cheese and chocolate next to spring blossoms is pretty fine too.

Build traditions to encourage and facilitate what really matters–assign an evening for a tea/coffee/hot cocoa date at home. Make space, time and a routine for prayer together. Read a book that can motivate your love, for God and each other.

Keep finding mentors a stage or two ahead of you. Don’t just talk about your life–talk about theirs. Hear their struggles and how they work through them, from talking to their kids about puberty, to parenting angry teenagers to caring for a spouse with a terminal illness.

Love feeds on the times you stop and thank God for the precious person you have the privilege of sharing life with. So thank God. At the same time, don’t let your focus only and always be on each other. There’s a world of need out there, and some of the finest marriages around are in the tick of it, serving side by side.

And perhaps some day you’ll be that married couple with the smile-wrinkled faces whose lives after umpteen dozen years together still shine with such love that the word “awww” just slips out of your mouth when he reaches for her hand.

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I hope you enjoyed this series and learned a bunch. I know I did.

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** I AM STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS***

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A Realistic Guide To Love (Part 7.. The Big D)

17 02 2011

Good evening readers! Today was another beautiful day here in Oklahoma City. I got some much-needed rest and I am ready to write!

This evening I am going to touch on a subject that I have lived through, and really don’t like to talk about. Divorce. My mom has been married once, and my dad now has been married once as well. I come from what they call a blended family. My dad I call dad adopted me when I was 8. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We are almost done with this blog series, which is from an article in the January/February 2011 issue of Relevant Magazine. To start with Part 1, click here.

Enjoy Part 7!

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The Big D

“I hate divorce,” says God in Malachi 2:16. Who wouldn’t Divorce is a messy, miserable experience. And yet it happens. A lot.

When you see persistent problems creeping into your relationship, get help early. Lose any stigma you have about asking a pastor, a mentor couple or a professional counselor for help. There are many happy couples today because they found a good counselor (or several). Divorce is not a possibility any couple should try to face on their own. Divorce can arise from the most painful experiences you can imagine: affairs, addictions, pornography, infertility, mental illness, changes in faith. You may lose the job you always wanted, you may hit a quarter-life crisis, you may feel every ounce of attraction you felt for your spouse has rusted away. Imagine these now, talk about them, pray about them and plan against them. It won’t stop everything, but it will help. Be ready to forgive each other; make it easy to confess to each other.

When life takes terribly hard turns, our tendency is to blame someone. You’ll likely blame someone nearby : either your spouse or God. If you blame your spouse, you load him or her with unreasonable expectations, shame, nagging, hate and a load of unproductive guilt that serves only to drive you apart. So here’s some radical advice: blame God. He can take it. Cry on God’s shoulder, tell Him what hurts and let Him have it–literally. He’s big enough. That phrase “God hates divorce” does not mean “God hates you.” God loves you, no matter what.

If you live past your 20s and step outside your house, you will meet people going through divorce. Divorce can feel like having a limb torn off, like wanting to commit murder, like losing a best friend or like failing. It can also feel like you put on a goblin mask and none of your friends-especially the church ones–will talk to you. A friend facing divorce needs your listening ears more than your advice-blabbing mouth. Be available to listen and learn to listen well. Try stating the obvious rather than ignoring it: “You must be going through a really tough time. Let me know if there’s any way I can help you out.”

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Only two more sections left.. Stay tuned!

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** I AM STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS***

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A Realistic Guide To Love (Part 5.. You Got Something To Say To Me?)

15 02 2011

Good evening everyone! I hope everyone’s Valentine’s Day was a success. Even though I know it is over, I want to continue the blog series I am sharing.

To start on Part 1, click here.

Just like the last posts, I am taking this information from the January/February issue of Relevant Magazine. It just had some really good stuff that I couldn’t help to share. So, enjoy Part 5!

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You Got Something To Say To Me? (How To Fight Well)

1. Remember You Are On The Same Team

In the middle of a fight, it’s easy to forget that not only do you love this person, you also ultimately want the same things. Remind yourself that you’re in this thing together, and try to figure out how you can help each other get what you both need and want.

2. You Can Stop– Really!

You don’t have to fight and fight until you come to a resolution(or one of you gives up). Take a timeout–especially if one or both of you are internal processors. Write down your thoughts, pray for one another separately and then come back together to talk it out.

3. Avoid Reliving the Same Fights Again and Again

If you’re not satisfied with where the fight ends, you’re going to have it again in a few days. If you hit an impasse, don’t just give up. Set a time to talk later, then come to a conclusion you can point back to. If you can’t agree, bring in a mentor or counselor to help.

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Now I know readers, that sometimes it isn’t that easy. Maybe it could be. The next time you get into a fight with a loved one, think of those three little ideas, and maybe the outcome will be different from what you think.

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** I AM STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS***

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A Realistic Guide To Love (Part 4..Slumps & Ruts)

13 02 2011

Good afternoon readers! What a beautiful day it is here in Oklahoma City. The weather is awesome today! I hope that those of you celebrating Valentine’s tomorrow are prepared and ready to go.. I know I am!

Anyway, today we are going to continue the series about love. To start at the beginning click here.

Today we are going to touch on the subject of the slumps and ruts of marriage. Life isn’t perfect. Humans aren’t perfect. So why do we expect them to be?

As I have been doing, this blog series is coming from the January/February 2011 issue of Relevant Magazine. Enjoy!

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Slumps & Ruts

This is where the “marriage is work” stuff really ramps up–everybody has rough patches in their marriage. You get tired. You see their mistakes. There are low-grade, grinding annoyances for both of you.

“Date your mate.” These words have come to us from a bunch of you, wise, well-married folks. Another pithy saying explains why it’s so important: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” It’s easy to start to forget one another, to lose sight of what brought you together. That’s a problem, as it’s often what keeps you together. You must be disciplined in having fun. Make sure it happens, and make sure it’s really fun.

Money causes tons of marital strife. Commit to viewing money as the Bible does. That means no greed, no coveting, no hoarding, no waste and no selfishness. But rather give, save, steward, enjoy, share and use money. When you take the Bible seriously on money, it sets some pretty significant parameters for how you can think about and relate to resources. Talk openly about your spending choices, consider your money yours together (not owned by the one whose name is on the paycheck), and when there is a discord about finances, err on the side of loving your spouse (after explaining your perspective) rather than squeezing the life out of your principles.

Talk about your life, even when it seems boring. Verbally processing lets your spouse know he or she is valuable enough to be in on the decisions and emotions you face during the day.

And listen to your spouse talking about his or her life, even when it seems boring. They’ve trusted you with the emotional energy of telling you about  what happened today, so listen. Learn to ask good questions . Learn to repeat back what they’ve said in ways that say you heard between the lines and you care.

Talk about temptations, and don’t put yourself in temptation’s way. Have  close same-sex friends who you can talk to about temptations and challenges. Watch your attitudes and subtle cues in any relationships with the opposite sex, and give particular attention to ones your spouse doesn’t share.

In the same way you aim to stay faithful to one another, stay connected to church and to a community that supports your faith and your commitment to one another. Find a couple who has walked the walk a few more years or stages than you. Soak in wisdom and perspective by osmosis, then ask questions of those who share your worldview and priorities and are happily married. There’s no shame in finding a small group not just to be a perfect Christian, but because you’re really needy.

Pay attention to what makes your spouse feel loved, and  do it, even if it seems trite or unromantic. Ask what he or she likes– don’t assume you’ve got this all figured out. Those roses you’ve been pouring your savings into might mean far less to her than a foot rub, an evening snuggle in front of a movie or taking her turn washing dishes. And he might really desire more or different sex, or he might be happier if you played tennis together, read to each other, cooked more nice meals or kept a cleaner car.

Two Paths Diverged In A Wood…

Laying our dreams down for another is contrary to most messages we hear today. But if you can’t make sacrifices for your loved one–if you can’t say, “My spouse is more important to me that my dream” — your love will get slammed as you face the tough questions of life.

Questions like who will pay the bills if you both want to go back to school? What if babies come when you have fulfilling jobs but also want someone to stay home?  How will you balance a job offer in Seattle with family in Kentucky? What if you dreamed of moving to Europe, but the years are ticking onward in any direction but there?

Make your dreams and plans together early. Be honest now, so you’re not surprised  later by warring wishes. Talk about how many kinds you want, how far you want to live from home and how important your career is. Then expect these to change. As they do, keep talking to see how things fit, and say how you feel about it. Be honest with your desires, but also willing to give.

When two paths diverge in a wood, you need to take just one. Together.

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Well I hope all of you gained something from that. Have a great day tomorrow!

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** I AM STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS***

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A Realistic Guide To Love (Part 3.. Newlyweds)

11 02 2011

Hello again readers! Well we are at part 3 of this series! Isn’t this good stuff? If you wanna start on Part 1, click here.

As I stated in the previous posts, I am taking this article from the January/February issue of Relevant Magazine. This was such a good article, I had to split it up into sections. So… Enjoy Newlyweds no matter what stage you are in.

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Marriage is a funny little ceremony with a lot of special archaic words and rituals and costumes, but at the end of it, your life is different. Dramatically. You have committed to live with someone, love them and serve them for the rest of your living days. This changes your responsibilities and roles not just with this person, but toward the world and God.

So do the deed, have the party, dance a little dance and then what? The honeymoon. Make your honeymoon a significant time to reflect on who you are together. An eight-day honeymoon may not be sufficient time, and maybe a super-luxurious hotel isn’t the best location. You can mentally rope off the first three months of your life, wherever you live, as time to adjust. It can be weird and hard to try to adjust when surrounded by all the same people expecting you to be just the same, especially if you’re on the young side. But don’t escape altogether from community–you will want people you can be honest with and encouraged by. We had the chance to spend our first married months at an intentional Christian community, so we still had healthy community around us, and worked with refugees for three months– a perfect way to start a life of giving.

The sermon at our wedding was all about how love is work, how it takes a lot of sweat equity to build a good, strong marriage. It seemed a bit odd, counter to all the expectations of syrupy sweet gushing that often comes through before the vows. But nothing is more appropriate and more needed at such a time. There was a lot of crying during our first year of marriage. There’s so much to assimilate mentally, so much to adjust to socially, so much to experience physically, that it can be very trying as you get going.

Expect to lose some friends and gain others, but work to not drift from your single friends. They don’t know what you’re going through unless you explain it; they haven’t lived it yet. Don’t blame them for what they haven’t experienced. You haven’t experienced being single at their point in life either. Listen to each other. Keep doing much of the same stuff together, and figure out what looks different between you now that there’s an elephant in the room. (But don’t call your new spouse an elephant.)

Sex. This paragraph will be read at a significantly higher rate than all the others because we all want to know more about sex. It is all of us, naked, vulnerable, excited, scared, longing, worried and more. It is beautiful but hidden and private but shared. Perhaps the grandest theme in our culture today, it is both more complicated and more simple than we’re often led to believe. You might blow each other’s minds all the time, right from the  start. Or it may start off very badly (which is much more likely). But that’s part of the beauty of sex–the co-discovery, the knitting together, the already-and-not-yet of “one flesh.” So enjoy the  goofy ride that it is, whatever route you take together.

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Again, these are some amazing words aren’t they?

Tomorrow we will talk about struggle. Stay tuned!

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** I AM STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS***

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Should Churches Be More Like Starbucks?

18 01 2011

Good evening readers! I have been reading things on the internet for the last half hour or so, and came across this article I really had to share with you.

Some of you may have heard recently that Starbucks is coming out with a new size of cup called the Trenta. This cup is around 32oz and will start rolling out on Feb. 1st in select markets.

After I read about this, I posed the question to myself.. Is Starbucks a Christian company? I really wasn’t able to find anything, but I did find the following article that I would like to share.

Enjoy!

Should churches be more like Starbucks?

Oct 21, 2010 by Adam J. Copeland

My local Starbucks—and probably yours too—has a large sign on each door that proclaims, “Take comfort in rituals.” When I’m being cynical, I read it as a multinational company preying on our cultural longing for meaning by suggesting we can buy happiness with a $4 cup of coffee.

But when you know at least six local Starbucks employees, it’s harder to be cynical once you’re through the door, especially when they greet you by name, ask how your day is going and even give you free drinks from time to time just because. . .well, just because. As Beau Weston observes, these Starbucks employees are at least acquaintances if not on the way to being friends.

So maybe we in the church could move on from our cynical first reactions and take Starbucks’s advice and run with it.

Starbucks seeks to be a welcoming place where community can thrive. A Friday business meeting or sermon-writing time can be especially enjoyable at a coffee shop. Book groups meet at our local coffee shop, as does a knitting group, bicycle club and countless university study groups.

There are plenty of rituals in our congregations too, but many of them fail to welcome as well as some coffee shops. Do our churches judge visitors before they walk in the door? Do our congregations offer rituals that feed and connect to the present day or ones that merely echo past significance?

Are we seeking to make new rituals in our sacred places of worship, welcoming folks by name, hosting groups, sharing free meals? Or are we selling God short?

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What are you thoughts? What would happen if our church would get more connected with the people who attend there?

Until next time readers, God Bless!

*** STILL LOOKING FOR GUEST WRITERS!! ***

*** Original blog post found here ***

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You Don’t Know Me..

11 01 2011

Good evening everyone! I hope all of you are doing well tonight. I thought I would come on here and write a little bit.

So.. Have you ever had someone judge you without them really knowing who you are? I know I have. I think it happens to the majority of us everyday with out us even knowing about it.

On the other hand, thoughts about the way someone looks, their lifestyle, their driving, etc.. go through our minds on a constant basis. I am not speaking for everyone here, but really some people don’t even realize they do it. I am not innocent on this, even I do it.

Jesus calls us not to though. We aren’t supposed to judge someone at all. It isn’t our place to do so. We may recognize what they are doing/not doing as a sin, but that is all we can do. Judging is a #1 no-no with God.

Matthew 7:1 (American Standard)

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

The question I leave for you this evening is this..

Do you judge others? If so, why? How do you plan to change that?

Until next time readers, God Bless!

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