Dr Paul Allen

Power, basically, is neutral. It simply means the ability to do things. Power is needed if you are going to do anything good, as well as if it is used for evil. Power is the capacity to accomplish goals, or to influence the outcome of events and processes. That is why, when you find that you are unable do either of these things (accomplish your goals or influence events), you feel literally “power-less.” Power, then, is effective action, making a difference, influencing events, changing the way things are or will be. It is not surprising, then, that the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is commonly linked with power, for the biblical God is nothing if not effective in action and in bringing about change! Indeed, when the Israelites spoke of the Spirit of Yahweh, it was often simply a way of saying that God himself was exercising his power on the earth, either directly or, more commonly, through human agents. The Spirit of God is God’s power at work—either in direct action or in ...

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ Expelled ” is a documentary where comedian/actor/presidential speech-writer Ben Stein makes the case that scientists are suppressing evidence that shows that life has an intelligent designer. While the movie is a few years old, the point it makes still stands: evolution is a theory with more problems than answers, chief of which is that it is too unclear to be helpful. Nevertheless, the scientific community is so defensive of evolution that any evidence to the contrary is simply not allowed to be heard. Instead, those that dare do research that support intelligent design ( ID ) are expelled from the academic community. The circular argument made by the scientific community and exposed by the movie is simple. ID is not science because no research backing it appears in peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, no scientist can do research pointing to ID or publish any articles defending it because it is not science. The circl...

The logo for the BioLogos Foundation (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Christians are accustomed to treating evolution as an account of the world’s origins that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and something that a person could only believe in the absence of God or in the absence of faith. But this is not quite fair. There are now many Christians—Christians who treasure the Bible and who affirm the truths of the historic Christian faith—who do believe that the evidence for evolution is too compelling to ignore. It is telling that, as far as I can see, the vast majority of Christian scientists (not to be confused with Christian Scientists ) hold to evolution. In the face of modern science, those of us who still cling to a literal six day creation may seem to be increasingly stubborn and outdated. Certainly the world perceives us this way. So, too, today, do many in the church. There is very real pressure to conform. The stakes are high. As Christians we believe that God is honored w...

What are life's most pressing questions? According to Peter Weyland, head of the Weyland Corporation which is funding an inter-stellar space voyage, they include: "Where do we come from? What is the soul? What happens when we die?" Seeking answers to these questions represents the initial reason behind a trillion-dollar space expedition in the film Prometheus . Millions of theater-goers are encountering these questions for a few dollars at their local movies theater. All three questions represent the kind of thought-provoking inquiry that should occupy us in our most introspective moments and amidst our deep conversations with like-minded friends. The answers Prometheus offers represent a cautionary tale , but it does not follow that those who see it must come to similar conclusions. Prometheus, in its quest for God , is looking in the wrong place, searching with the wrong tools, and seeking the right end with a wrong attitude. Fortunately, we need not look to cave pa...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "He who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." ( Hebrews 3:3-4 ) Perhaps the single greatest category of evidence for supernatural creation is in the nature of the creation itself, which everywhere shows such intricate design that it could not have come about by random chance. Consider the earth: Its size, mass, distance from the sun and moon, rotational wobble, chemical makeup, etc., are critical within very narrow limits. Any significant deviation in any of these, or other characteristics, would make life impossible. But inorganic molecules, planets, and galaxies are simpler by several orders of magnitude than even the tiniest living organism . The marvelous genetic code which regulates life, growth, and reproduction, is so unthinkably complex, so ...

Cover via Amazon Recently I was interviewed by Jonathan Morrow for his excellent new book  Thinking Christianly   ( Zondervan , 2011). He asked me about Darwinism as well as reaching the next generation. Here is my brief excerpt. Enjoy! Jonathan Morrow:  It is commonplace to hear about the “overwhelming evidence” for evolution. Have you found this to be the case? Can you talk a little about the role that Darwinism plays in our culture? Sean McDowell:  There’s a well-known joke for lawyers that says when the facts are on your side, argue the facts. However, when you don’t have the facts, use emotion and state your case with absolute certainty. This is precisely what is going on with claims about the “overwhelming evidence” for evolution. We live in an information age, and materialist theories such as Darwinism are slowly going the way of the Dodo. Intelligent design (ID) is on the move. Many Darwinists know this, which is why they focus their primary attacks on ID be...

Image via Wikipedia I recently received a copy of  John F. Haught 's new book  Making Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life . Haught is a Senior Fellow in Science and Religion at Woodstock Theological Center , Georgetown University and Professor of Theology Emeritus. He testified at the Dover trial on Intelligent Design back in 2005. His book opens some interesting topics for discussion and is certainly worth a few posts.  The first chapters of the book deal with Darwin, Design, and Diversity ... with Dawkins and Dennett as counterpoint (we can throw in some Coyne for variety).  There is an assumption - in Darwin at some level, but more pronounced in our science and faith discussions today - that either there are scientific explanations for design and diversity or there are theological explanations for design and diversity.  The scientific explanations rule out the need for theological explanations. Theological explanations in the presen...