In March of this year, China’s health ministry released abortion data. Approximately 13 million abortions are performed in China every year. That’s 25 abortions every minute! They estimate that since 1971, ~325 million abortions have been performed. That’s the population of the United States. Tragic!
Apologetics
Archived Posts from this Category
May 28, 2013
25 abortions every minute in China
Posted by Jason Dulle under Abortion, Apologetics, Bioethics, Statistics[2] Comments
May 28, 2013
What I’ve Been Reading: In the Beginning We Misunderstood
Posted by Jason Dulle under Book Reviews, Hermeneutics, Science, Theology[27] Comments
Most books dealing with the proper interpretation of Genesis 1 attempt to do one of two things: show how Genesis 1 cannot be reconciled with modern science, or show how Genesis 1 can be reconciled with modern science. Some try to show that Genesis presents us with a young universe, while others try to show that Genesis presents us with an old universe. Either way, it is presumed that Genesis 1 intends to present us with a scientific description of how God created (order, duration, etc.).
In their new book, In the Beginning…We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context, coauthors Johnny Miller and John Soden argue that this presumption is false, and concordism is a misguided hermeneutical approach to Genesis 1. Discussions over the meaning of Genesis should not be driven by scientific questions, but by literary questions. Our interpretation of Genesis should not be determined by our views about science, but by the text itself. Why even think that God meant to provide a scientific description of creation? The most important question to ask is what Moses meant when he wrote the creation account, how his readers would have understood it, and what practical impact it would have for them given their unique historical situation. How did it prepare them for the theology and religious practices they were familiar with in Egypt, as well as those they would encounter in Canaan?
May 17, 2013
Cloning obfuscation in the media
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Bioethics, Cloning[4] Comments
Now that cloning is back in the media again, the media is once again demonstrating their ignorance of the science, or blatant attempt to pull the wool over the public’s eyes about what is really being done in the lab. They either:
- Leave out the fact that what is produced is a human embryo (going straight from enucleated egg with the nucleus of an adult cell, directly to stem cells)
- Or they admit that an embryo is created, but claim it’s not a human being
- Or they deny that the embryo is a human clone (redefining human clone to refer to a cloned human who is allowed to be born.
They are leaving out important details, and redefining scientific words to fit their purposes. It’s all rhetoric and propaganda, and obfuscates the science and biology behind it.
For the last time: somatic cell nuclear transfer does not produce embryonic stem cells. It creates a human clone, and that human produces stem cells. To extract the stem cells, the human clone must be killed!
Wesley J. Smith has some nice posts demonstrating how the mainstream media continues to get it wrong:
- Let the Cloning Obfuscation Begin
- Cloning Obfuscation 2
- Human Cloning Obfuscation 3
- Human Cloning Obfuscation 4
May 16, 2013
Three more states have approved same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[9] Comments
Lou Dematteis/Reuters
Rhode Island
On May 2, Rhode Island became the 10th state to permit same-sex marriage. The House approved the bill by 56-15 (the RI Senate approved the bill on April 24 by a 26-12 vote), and the governor signed it the same day. Same-sex marriages will be legal starting August 1, 2013.
Rhode Island had just approved civil unions two years ago, and now the new law will replace these civil unions with marriage. The Fox News article noted that “few couples” sought civil unions. I wonder why they think many more will seek marriage. What people fail to understand is that most gays do not want marriage. What they want is social acceptance of their orientation and behavior, and permitting same-sex couples to partake of the institution of marriage is one of the best ways to accomplish this.
Delaware
May 16, 2013
Humans have been cloned for the first time
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Bioethics, Cloning[29] Comments
Shoukhrat Mitalipov, of Oregon Health & Science University
Researchers at The Oregon Health & Science University have just announced in Cell that they successfully cloned 21 humans, and then killed them to extract their stem cells at the blastocyst stage (although they didn’t describe it as “killing”). This is the first time stem cells have ever been derived from a human clone.
Welcome to the brave new world of cloning.
HT: Wesley J. Smith
May 16, 2013
Vermont legalized assisted suicide
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Bioethics, Euthanasia[8] Comments
On Monday, the Vermont House approved a bill to legalize assisted suicide in the state by a vote of 75-65 (the VT Senate passed it previously by a vote of 17-13). The governor supported the bill and will surely sign it, making VT the 4th state in the nation to legalize assisted suicide.
There’s nothing like sending a message to the most vulnerable people among us that we think their lives are of such little value that they can be disposed of at will. Our moral decline continues….
HT: Wesley J. Smith
May 15, 2013
Preparing our children to deal with doubt
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Epistemology, Thinking[10] Comments
Michael Patton has a nice article detailing 12 ways we can prepare children for times of doubt in their Christian life.
May 13, 2013
What philosophers believe about God, morality, et al
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Atheism, Determinism, Epistemology, Mind, Naturalism, Philosophy, Relativism, Science, Theism[14] Comments
Philosohpers David Bourget and David Chalmers recently surveyed 931 philosophy faculty members to determine their views on 30 different issues. Here were some of the more interesting results:
God: atheism 72.8%; theism 14.6%; other 12.6%.
Metaphilosophy: naturalism 49.8%; non-naturalism 25.9%; other 24.3%.
Mind: physicalism 56.5%; non-physicalism 27.1%; other 16.4%.
Free will: compatibilism 59.1%; libertarianism 13.7%; no free will 12.2%; other 14.9%.
Meta-ethics: moral realism 56.4%; moral anti-realism 27.7%; other 15.9%.
Normative ethics: deontology 25.9%; consequentialism 23.6%; virtue ethics 18.2%; other 32.3%.
Science: scientific realism 75.1%; scientific anti-realism 11.6%; other 13.3%
Time: B-theory 26.3%; A-theory 15.5%; other 58.2%.
Truth: correspondence 50.8%; deflationary 24.8%; epistemic 6.9%; other 17.5%.
Notice that although 72.8% of respondents are atheists, 56.4% are moral realists. This goes to show the strength of our moral intuitions. While atheists do not have a sufficient ontological grounding for objective moral values, they still believe in them nonetheless.
I was surprised that only 13.7% believe in libertarian free will. I would expect it to be much higher. Perhaps this correlates with the high rates of physicalism.
HT: Scot McKnight
May 10, 2013
Adult stem cells used to build new windpipe…and other medical successes
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Bioethics, Stem Cell Research[9] Comments
I haven’t been reporting on stem cell research lately, but there has continued to be a flurry of advances in the field. None of them, however, involve embryonic stem cell research. All of them involve adult stem cells, cord blood stem cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells (adult cells reprogrammed back to an embryonic state).
The latest advance was announced earlier this month. Scientists extracted stem cells from a two year old girl’s bone marrow and created a new windpipe with it in less than a week. Growing one organ from the cells of another body part is truly astonishing work!
Here are some other recent medical advances in non-embryonic stem cell research that I have not reported on:
May 9, 2013
New dating methods result in a 2000 year old date for the Shroud of Turin
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Resurrection, Shroud of Turin[40] Comments
The Shroud of Turin – the purported burial cloth of Jesus which contains the faint image of a crucified man – was the subject of intense scientific examination in the mid 1980s. Based on a carbon-14 dating of the fibers, scientists dated the shroud to A.D. 1260-1390. For most, this was all the proof they needed to conclude that the shroud was a medieval forgery.
Other evidence, however, suggests that it is genuine. One theory put forward to explain the medieval date determined by C-14 dating is that the fibers used for the test were either contaminated (from either the lab, or from the fire in 1532 that nearly destroyed the Shroud), or were not part of the original Shroud (the Shroud was patched by weaving new threads into the old threads).
Recently, a group of scientists in Italy conducted tests on the fibers using three different dating methods and concluded that the Shroud dates to 33 BC, ±250 years. These dating methods utilized infra-red light, Raman spectroscopy (“the measurement of radiation intensity through wavelengths”), and a mechanical process utilizing electricity.
I cannot speak to the accuracy of these dating methods, but given the fact that three different dating methods all arrived at dates more than a Millennium earlier than the C-14 dates is quite interesting. It gives evidential backing to those who questioned the accuracy of the C-14 tests. At the very least, the authenticity of the Shroud can no longer be dismissed out-of-hand based solely on the C-14 tests. The new data fits perfectly with a first century dating of the Shroud. It will be interesting to see how other scholars respond to this new data.
April 23, 2013
Contingency argument for God’s existence
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Cosmological Argument, Theism, Theistic Arguments[7] Comments
While in discussion with A. C. Grayling on the March 25 edition of the Unbelievable radio program, Peter S. Williams provided a nice, concise presentation of the cosmological argument from contingency:
Once you’ve made the distinction between things that have causes and…things that don’t have causes, if something exists it either is the kind of thing that requires something outside of itself to exist, or it’s not. If it’s not possible for there to be an infinite regress of things that do require causes outside of themselves, and it is true that something exists which does require a cause outside itself [the universe, and everything in it]…,there can’t be an infinite regress of such causes, and therefore you have to have a termination of that regress. [God is the best explanation for the termination of that regress.]
For those of you for whom this to be a bit too concise, let me flesh it out a bit.
April 23, 2013
France legalizes same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[5] Comments
April 21, 2013
Florist sued for not selling flowers for same-sex wedding
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[38] Comments
Image courtesy of Bob Brawdy/Tri-City Herald/AP
A florist in the state of Washington is being sued by both the ACLU and the state Attorney General because the owner would not sell flowers to a gay couple for their wedding. This violates the state’s anti-discrimination law, which prohibits a public business from discriminating against someone based on their sexual orientation.
The same would go for wedding photographers and videographers. Anybody in the wedding business who cannot, in good conscience, lend their services to same-sex couples due to their personal beliefs about homosexuality or same-sex marriage, will have to make a choice to either violate their conscience, or choose a different profession. Ah, but remember the tired old question supporters of same-sex marriage always raise: How will granting same-sex couples the right to marry affect you?! Here is just one more instance of how it affects others, and I’m sure it will not be the last.
UPDATE: As of February 16, 2017, Barronelle Stutzman lost her appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court by a 9-0 decision.
April 17, 2013
Legalize polygamy!
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Polygamy, Same-sex Marriage[7] Comments
Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters
Just this past Monday, Jillian Keenan wrote an article in Slate titled “Legalize Polygamy!” She writes:
While the Supreme Court and the rest of us are all focused on the human right of marriage equality, let’s not forget that the fight doesn’t end with same-sex marriage. We need to legalize polygamy, too. … Divorce, remarriage, surrogate parents, extended relatives, and other diverse family arrangements mean families already come in all sizes—why not recognize that legally? … As women, we really can make our own choices. We just might choose things people don’t like. If a woman wants to marry a man, that’s great. If she wants to marry another woman, that’s great too. If she wants to marry a hipster, well—I suppose that’s the price of freedom. And if she wants to marry a man with three other wives, that’s her damn choice.
…
All marriages deserve access to the support and resources they need to build happy, healthy lives, regardless of how many partners are involved. Arguments about whether a woman’s consensual sexual and romantic choices are “healthy” should have no bearing on the legal process. And while polygamy remains illegal, women who choose this lifestyle don’t have access to the protections and benefits that legal marriage provides.
(more…)
April 12, 2013
France has approved same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[4] Comments
Today, the French Senate has officially approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. While their version is slightly different than the National Assembly’s that was passed in February – and will require reconciliation before being signed by the president – the deed is essentially done. Same-sex marriage is expected to be legal by summer.
April 12, 2013
What I’ve Been Reading: Cold-Case Christianity
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Book Reviews[2] Comments
J. Warner Wallace is a retired cold-case homicide detective. For the first 35 years of his life he was a staunch atheist. Using his detective skills, however, he began to examine the NT gospels. To his surprise, he found them to be trustworthy accounts based on eyewitness testimony to the life of Jesus Christ.
Wallace recently published his first book, Cold Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels, detailing the evidence that convinced him the Gospels were reliable accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Each chapter begins with an evidential principle derived from his experience as a detective, which is then applied to the Gospels.
Here is chapter-by-chapter overview:
Chapter 1 – Question your presuppositions about God. All of us have bias. Examine your bias to see if it is valid and true. Keep an open mind.
Chapter 2 – Abductive reasoning. What is the best explanation of the evidence? Distinguish between possible and probable/reasonable (applies this to the alternative, naturalistic explanations of Jesus’ resurrection).
April 10, 2013
New Zealand is poised to approve same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[20] Comments
New Zealand lawmakers have proposed a bill in support of same-sex marriage. In the second of three votes needed to pass the measure, it passed 77-44. The final vote is scheduled to take place in mid-April.
Does this mean Bilbo Baggins might marry Gandalf in The Hobbit part 2?
UPDATE: The bill passed 77-44 on April 17. New Zealand has become the 13th nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
April 10, 2013
Uruguay has approved same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage1 Comment
Uruguay, a small South American country of 3.3 million people, has essentially approved same-sex marriage. On December 11, 2012 the Uruguayan House of Representatives passed a bill approving same-sex marriage by a whopping 81-6 margin. On April 2, 2013 the Uruguayan Senate approved a similar bill 23-8. The bill has to go back to the House for reconciliation, and then on to the president, who has already promised to sign it into law. It’s no longer a question of whether same-sex marriage will become legal in Uruguay, but how soon. Once the bill is signed, Uruguay will become the 12th country to legalize same-sex marriage (if France doesn’t beat them to it).
This was a very fast development, considering the fact that the country just approved civil unions for same-sex couples in 2009.
The only other South American country in which same-sex marriage is legal is Argentina.
March 18, 2013
New endorsements for same-sex marriage
Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Same-sex Marriage[7] Comments
John Wesley is rolling over in his grave right about now.
Rob Bell endorses same-sex marriage. Why not, after all, given his universalism?
As for Hillary, this announcement is about as surprising as microwave popcorn.
The trend of Christian groups and political leaders supporting same-sex marriage will continue to grow.
Thinking to Believe 