Against Nothingness

Alister E. McGrath.  Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith . Baker Books, 2012. 208 pgs.  What does it mean to help others find faith? What is evangelism? Apologetics? And how do we take part in these activities effectively? Throughout history there have been many great defenders of the faith but now, in the face of modern challenges, McGrath argues for a more flexible and deeper approach. Hence this book. Mere Apologeitcs, as an introductory level text, seeks to answer some of the basic questions of apologeitcs, such as those listed above, while getting down to the level of methodology in terms of how we defend our faith. Other topics include: the theological basis for apologetics, pointers to faith, and gateways of apologetics.  As an introduction to apologetics Mere Apologetics is one of the best I have read. McGrath does indeed lay out a flexible approach to defending the faith while fitting a stunning amount of useful inform...

Sitting All Day is Bad   - good to know Paying Customers for Good Reviews   - Unsurprising, but sad nonetheless.  What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?   - makes a lot of sense.  "World Wide Webs"   - Will it really come to this?  "Consent of the Networked"   - more things you should know, and think about, as you use the internet.  Ted Video: Hedonistic Sustainability   - This almost makes me want to move to Denmark. At the very least, we need thinking like this in Vancouver.  Nature, Nurture, and Liberal Values   - Dense but well worth reading; article on the impact of evolutionary psychology and neuroscience on morality and cultural norms. Has Science vs. Religion become Science vs. Liberal values?  "Between the Lines"   - Bet you never knew parking was so interesting, or complicated. 

I don't know what the world would look like with approximately 10-20% more men than women but, according to Nicholas Eberstadt , some of us may find out. With such charming phrases as that in the title of this post, Eberstadt points to alarming trends in birth ratios in some of the most populated countries in the world. The bottom line is that strong gender discrimination, enacted through 'sex selective feticide' (aborting female babies), is beginning to shift world population trends and what will result from this long term and unplanned social experiment is almost completely unknown. There seems to be a recurring theme here. On "2012.01.30 Worth Visiting"  I posted a link to a disturbing article about abortion in America. On "2012.01.22 Worth Visiting" I mentioned a documentary about the three most dangerous words in the world: "It's a girl." Eberstadt's article adds statistical weight to this trend, and he notes that abnormal bir...

"I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late!" Top 3 Posts of January: 1. Heaven and Hell  - noting to say.  2. We're Sinking - My thoughts on Josh McDowell's truth campaign.  3.  Revisionist Tendencies: Chesterton, Calvinism, and Piper  - Piper's blog upset me, so I posted my thoughts.  1/12th into 2012 already and may good times be had by all.  Back at the start of January, I decided I would do three things.  I said I would stop taking so many bad books to review and instead read some of the doctors of the church. I said I would put up more of the material I put together for church. And I said I would randomly put up link posts.  1.5 down, 1.5 to go. I have indeed stopped accepting bad books to review. Since making that commitment, I have only accepted one book review offer (forthcoming). However, I have had quite a few other books pile up in the last year besides the doctors o...