Guy Time

For those of you who are not aware, I have three sons. I am convinced that raising boys is probably easier than raising girls. That does not mean it is easy, just easier than girls. There was a situation which arose with one of my sons that made it clear to me that I needed to be more intentional and strategic with the time I spend with them. I have added a new item to my calendar. Once each week, usually on tuesday evening, I take one of my boys out for some time alone together so we can talk. That's it. There is no big agenda. We just talk. It has been a great time of getting to know my children again. Last night, it was my middle son's turn. It was a beautiful, chilly evening. We went to Starbuck's and drank hot chocolate and talked. He sometimes does not talk much. But if you get him alone and ask questions, he will have a great conversation with you. I want my children to know that they can talk to me about anything. This is one of the ways I am setting the stage for that. If you have children, what clear steps are you taking to know them? How are you preparing them for the future? Be sure to comment.

"Laminin" email and Snopes.com

i am sure many of you have seen the email that is circulating about laminin. i have received it at least three times. (thanks sean, for one of those!) the writer of the email tells of being on the treadmill watching a message from louie giglio and being completely blown away by the description of and picture of laminin proteins.

this morning, i was reading my weekly email from snopes.com. i love snopes.com. this laminin email was the topic of one of their new articles. the article even includes this video:





as a side note: in the video, giglio refers to being near the end of their tour in tyler, texas, when he was told about laminins. i was at that concert. i am not the molecular biologist.


the crux of the story is that laminins are the proteins that hold the different cells of our bodies together. they are like the glue that keeps us from falling apart. this is a reminder of colossians 1:15-17: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (emphasis mine; english standard version)


oh, yeah. i almost forgot. this is a scientific diagram of a laminin protein:

to me, and probably to you, this looks quite a bit like a cross. when i see this i have thoughts that go something like: "wow! before you created adam, you knew that it would be through the cross of jesus that that our very lives would be held together. and you represented it in our very cell structure! you are an amazing god!"

when snopes saw this, they said: (my response in italics)

1. the structure of laminin antedates by many thousands of years traditional christian accounts of the life of jesus. i know. that is one of the wonderful things about this. god knew from before the beginning that the cross of christ would be our hope and salvation.

2. a cross-like shape is a very simple structure that is commonly found in elements created naturally or accidentally. which one is this, natural or accidental? if it is natural, god designed it that way from the beginning. if it is accidental, how is that possible. this is the protein that holds us together. this is an accident? that is another post.

3. it is uncertain whether the form of the original crucifixion device was a stake, a t-shape, or the familiar cross of modern christian iconography. does it matter? god knew we would recognize the cross as a symbol or reminder of who jesus us and what he did for us. god chose to place this representation into our very cells.

4. one could find the shape of laminin to be reminiscent of a variety of common symbols aside from the cross. some viewers say it reminds them more of a caduceus. (the caduceus is the symbol for modern medicine.

this symbol is taken from the old testament story of the children of israel wandering in the wilderness. in numbers 21, god sent serpents to punish the people. when the repented of their sin, god had moses craft a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole. when the people looked on the bronze serpent, they were healed. jesus referenced when he was talking with nicodemus in john 3. jesus was looking ahead to his own death on the cross when he said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (english standard version) the caduceus represents, at its very core, the healing at the cross.

i am glad that snopes.com has put this on their website. i am alright with them trying to discount the symbolism. they have put a video greater than six minutes long describing that our god is the creator and savior of the universe. they have put up a number of illustrations that god is our designer. they have put this before a larger audience than you or i likely ever could.

Life is Precious

last week i took she who must be obeyed to the movies. we went to a matinee showing of expelled: no intelligence allowed. i must say, go see this movie. it does a great job of exposing the biases in the scientific community. ben stein does a masterful job of hosting and narrating the film.

for a long time, christians (and others) have been bemoaning the moral decline in this country. many have pointed specifically to the lack of value that many give human life. i cannot begin to guess the number of people that have tried to blame the devaluation of life on the legalization of abortion. they say that since roe v. wade, people seem to give the human life less worth. i will agree that it has gotten worse since then, but i do not think that is the cause. i think the legalization of abortion, as well as the number of times the procedure is performed, are further symptoms of the problem, not the cause. the last half hour, or so, of the movie confirmed for me something i have believed for many years. at least in our society, the devaluation of human life on a large scale, is rooted in the acceptance of darwinian evolution.

the acceptance of darwinian evolution has been a major component of many atrocities. the most well known of these is the rise of hitler's nazi party in germany. this would include the holocaust, but that was only the largest, most well known element. before he began his attempt to destroy the jewish race, he began with eugenics. this was the movement to prevent the reproduction of the weakest of the species. these included the disabled, whether physically or mentally. hitler believed that evolution needed a helping hand. he was to be natural selection's assistant. this led to the attempted extermination of anyone he deemed inferior. this is the natural consequence of the combination of darwinian evolution and someone with a insatiable thirst for power and control.

this is why it is so critical that we teach our children well. i do mean the facts surrounding the creation and the scriptures, but not only that. we must teach our children and others the proper view of both god and man. we must teach the truth that god is the eternal creator of the universe. he is holy and just. he is all powerful and sovereign. he is beyond compare or even understanding. man is not. man is fallen and is born with a nature that is corrupt. man has no desire to turn to or follow god, outside the call of the holy spirit. man is desperately wicked. this wickedness is redeemed by god's righteousness.

what is your view of god? how about yourself? i don't mean to imply that anyone who believes in evolution will attempt to follow in hitler's footsteps. but the line of logic is not hard to follow. does it make sense to you? what do you think?