Around the Horn

Leading off with two articles on the origin of the universe. In the first, a brief report is given of a speech by Stephen Hawking about the big bang without God. Hawking asks,

“What was God doing before the divine creation? Was he preparing hell for people who asked such questions?”

The answer is no. Hell is a part of creation, and therefore is not something God was doing before divine creation. And hell is not for people who asked such questions. It is for people who have sinned against God.

In the second (part 1 and part 2), Michael Buratovich at BioLogos writes two articles on why biological evolution is good science. Having read this, I am not sure what to say. Is this really all it takes to convince people? Is this kind of stuff (in either article) considered strong?

At third, Shai Linne responds to an response. Shai Linne has a song about false teachers in which he names some, including Paula White. White’s son responds to Shai Linne in defense of his mother. Shai Linne’s response is well done. It is gracious and strong. It is to the point and worth emulating. If you are going to accuse someone of false doctrine and false teaching, come with clear facts. Shai Linne does that.

Last today is a good article on singing in church. It is entitled “Why Men Have Stopped Singing” but it probably applies to all. New songs (whether new because they are lost to time or newly written) should be incorporated into corporate worship. But we should sing them enough to get familiar with them. Remember, just because you (the leader or planner) are very familiar and feel like you are oversinging it, the congregation probably won’t remember it for the first several times.