Beards of Ministry

Stephen Hawking M-akes A Case For Big Bang Cosmology With Out God

Recently Stephen Hawking gave a presentation on Big Bang cosmology at the California Institute of Technology where he announced-among other things-that our universe didn't need any divine help to burst into being.

I'd start out by saying I do respect Hawking as a Scientist and a person.  Having said that i'm always leery about scientists who venture outside their specialized fields of expertise to draw conclusions that are outside of their sphere of understanding.  Hawking is intelligent and that is not in question here.  What I am questioning is the validity of using an empirical out look on the world and attempting to answer questions about God.  Discussion's about the validity of God's existence are more conceptual in nature and not empirical which makes empirical arguments an exercise in "putting the cosmological cart before the horse."

Tell me your thoughts.

Church for Atheists: Does This Not Reinforce The Idea That Man Is A Creature That Worships?

Mike Aus is the founder of Houston Oasis, a congregation of non-believers who come together on Sunday morning to draw strength   “Just because you don’t believe in God does not mean you do not need to get together in community and draw strength from that,” said Mike Aus, a former Lutheran pastor.  While they don't believe in God they do subscribe to a creed:

At Houston Oasis we think:

* People are more important than beliefs.

* Only human hands can solve human problems.

* Reality is known through reason, not revelation.

* Meaning comes from making a difference.

* Labels are unimportant.  

* Everyone should be accepted wherever they are as long as they are accepting in turn.

You can check out their website at http://houstonoasis.org/

Baptist Theologians Not Wanted In Baptist Colleges For Being Baptist?

Collin Garbarino has an interesting peace in First Things about an interesting phenomenon of Baptist professors being dropped from their institutions for being Baptist.  Its an interesting read and I found the comments below even more interesting.  Let me know what you think.  Click here.