Being a journalist by trade, I am a right-brained person. That’s why I never did well in mathematics in school, except for Geometry where the spatial relationships seemed to make intuitive sense to me. Maybe if I had studied more …
Screenshot from “God and Mathematics.”
Anyway, you may not know this but mathematics is the foundational blueprint for reality. This is no recently discovered fact. As Galileo put it, “the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics.” Remember that the next time you bite into a delicious ear of Silver Queen corn on the cob and wonder what the formula is for such deliciousness.
In the following video from Philosopher William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith outfit, a succinct case is made for the proposition that the direct relationship between mathematics and the universe is powerful evidence that the blueprint didn’t just happen:
American Christians who are unable when and how they regather in their church assemblies are only now getting a tiny taste of the persecution that is a daily reality in China.
Dr. Linda Burkle, writing on Bruce Cooper’s Reasoned Cases for Christs, offers these insights into the increasing oppression being focused by Beijing on Christians and followers of other religions.
Dr. Burkle retired from The Salvation Army in early 2019 where she oversaw an array of social services in a multi-state region. Along with the State Attorney General, Burkle Co-Chaired the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force. Dr. Burkle holds a doctoral degree in international relations. Her dissertation focused on religious persecution; specifically regarding Iran, Iraq, Sudan, China and Burma (Myanmar).
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2019 was a year marked by heightened surveillance and persecution of Christians in China. According to China Aid, Christians living in President XI Jinping’s current regime have experienced more arrests, imprisonments, and church closures than at any other time since Mao’s Cultural Revolution.[1] There were at least 5,576 attacks reported on churches last year, an increase of 171 from the previous year. David Curry, President and CEO of Open Doors USA, stated “The Chinese government is nearly single-handedly responsible for the steep increase in churches and Christian buildings…
Look back at Earth from the furthest distance you can imagine in our solar system and it does indeed look like a pale blue dot in the vast blackness of the universe.
So why on this one pale blue dot among the billions and billions of galaxies and stars and planets is there human life? Former Los Angeles Police cold-case expert J. Warner Wallace explains:
As followers of Jesus working on Capitol Hill, how are we to view the tumultuous events that have unfolded before us across the country?
This is an important question because we are seeking to integrate our faith into our daily practice. It helps shape our views about public policy but also our personal conduct. Now is the time for us to engage in the hard conversations because we are called to influence and usher in God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Bret Bernhardt, former chief of staff for senators Don Nickles and Jim DeMint.
With this in mind we need to understand the nature of the battle. By the battle I mean the way in which we perceive and respond to the world around us. The recent events we have been witnessing — the virus, racial unrest, and threats of anarchy — are part of this battle.
These events are not a one-off phenomenon but have at their core the fallen nature of mankind. For example, the virus and the steps to mitigate it have precipitated actions and reactions that have been at work within our minds and spirit for quite some time. Continue reading “The Nature Of The Battle: Knowing The Enemy”
It’s among the most basic questions of all and how we each answer it shapes our thinking on everything else, often in ways we don’t realize. And it involves the most basic law of logic, non-contradiction, as well as the law of cause and effect.
In the following video, Kyle Butt of the Apologetics Press analyzes the claim of materialists that the universe (the effect) had no non-material cause. Pay close attention to the explanation offered by Stephen Hawking, who surely was one of the smartest men who ever lived:
Making the big jump from the Illinois House Republican Caucus to Capitol Hill is Aaron DeGroot, who is the new Communications Director for Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill). Aaron is a cum laude graduate in economics from George Mason University in 2015.
Maura Weaver is the new Scheduler for Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), following a three-month stint with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s presidential effort. Maura is a Hill veteran, having previously worked for Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). Maura earned an MPP from Temple University in 2019 and a BA in international and global studies from Arcadia University in 2017. Continue reading “STAFF NEWS: Look Who’s ‘Movin’ On Up’ This Week”
You can hardly listen to the news or watch a cable series without being told multiple times in multiple ways that gender is a “social construct,” not a biological reality.
Screenshot from Youtube.
But then when you dig a little deeper, you will also be told that a significant number of men and women are “born into the wrong body.” So, if gender is only a social construct, what does it mean to say any individual was born into the “wrong” body?
Joseph Backholm of the Colson Center’s “What Would You Say” video series has some challenging thoughts on these matters. How these terms are defined and applied, for example, in legislation, is important and folks who work on the Hill in staff positions need all the clarity of logic and thought they can get in seeking understanding:
With congressional staff beginning to return to Hill offices in some numbers and many more still working from home, the question of whether senators and representatives need larger personal staffs is likely to get more attention in coming months.
Thanks to COVID-19, many staffers accustomed to doing jobs on the legislative or media side have had to learn more about the difficulties and challenges of effective constituent case work. And having most staff working from home has created a host of new challenges, as well as new ways of getting important things done.
Would hiring larger personal staffs well-serve the public? Would your boss be able to serve his or her constituents more effectively if more staff members were available?
Cast your vote below. Leave a comment. And don’t worry, it’s all anonymous, so share your thoughts and don’t be bashful!
Contrary to what is being claimed in some quarters, Critical Theory — the driving worldview behind the pervasive claim America is through and through a racist society ruled by “White Privilege” — is not consistent with the biblical understanding of reality.
Screenshot from Youtube.
The Bible does define racism as sin and tells us “there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither free or nor slave, there is no male or female, you are all one in Christ.” That’s about as complete an affirmation as I can imagine of the equality of the human race, without regard to skin color, nationality or any other factor.
But that’s about where the common ground ends. Don’t just take my word for it. Joseph Backholm of the Colson Center’s“What Would You Say” video series explains the three foundational differences between Critical Theory and the Bible. If you work on the Hill, this is a perspective you should hear, whether or not you agree with it:
It’s Wretched’s Todd Friel, here on HillFaith for the first time. We all get anxiety. If you work a high-pressure Hill job, anxiety can be a regular companion. But there is one way to deal with it that beats all the others:
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ who works on a congressional staff, either for an individual senator or representative, or a committee, or one of the congressional agencies like CBO or GAO, you likely face “the world” in ways that are unique to politics and government. And it can sometimes be overwhelming. Been there. Done that, too.
Bruce Cooper, the guy behind the excellent “Reasoned Cases for Christ” blog, does not work on the Hill but he knows a thing or three about dealing with the world’s fiery darts of busyness, confusion, overwork, ego and materialism. Lots of useful advice from one believer to another here.
Ephesians 6:16NASB “in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Flaming arrows, fiery darts, all being extinguished. Do you sometimes feel like you are a dartboard and those darts or flaming arrows just never seem to stop coming?
God’s Word tells us that, that which we see in not always as it appears. Ephesians 6:12NASB tells us that “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Do I have a broad understanding of what this means? Yes I do. If I was to paraphrase what I understand from this Scripture, it tells me that the interactions that I see here on earth between humans is not solely sourced…
A sharp crop of rookies comes to Capitol Hill this week, starting with Lucy
Lucy Gardner (Screenshot from Facebook).
Gardner who is taking on her first challenge in a congressional job, as a Staff Assistant on the Senate Appropriations Committee for the Chairman, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Lucy’s BA is in communicative disorders from the University of Alabama in 2019. She also studied at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Joe Vaughanhas signed on as Director, Diversity and Inclusion for the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee for Diversity and Inclusion. Joe’s BS degree in global business and public policy was awarded by the University of Maryland.
Katie Nichols makes the big jump from Capitol Hill intern to Staff Assistant
Katie Nichols (Screenshot from Facebook).
for Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.).George Washington University awarded Katie a Masters in Professional Studies in 2019 and she earned a BA in political science from Loyola Marymount University in 2017. She served Hill internships for Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.).
There is a new Executive Assistant/Scheduler working in the Hill office for Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) and his name Micaiah Thomas. Micaiah’s BS in political science and government was awarded in 2020. Micaiah is also taking on his job on Capitol Hill.
Another Hillsdale College grad joins a congressional staff as William Turtonbecomes Legislative Assistant to Rep. Mark Green (R-TN). William received an MA in politics last year from the illustrious Michigan school that accepts no government funding. His bachelor in political science and government came in 2017 from Clemson University.
LOOKING FOR A HILL JOB?
Check out this five-part HillFaith series by Bret Bernhardt, former chief of staff for Senators Don Nickle (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). Bernhardt has a wealth of experience, insider insight, how-tos and obscure terms (know what a “golden reference” is on the Hill?), plus lots of helpful links.
Read the following two graphs. If you, like me, are not a Ph.D. in computer science or quantum physics, odds are you won’t fully understand the implications for the God question:
“We now know that three quantum fields undergird physical reality — the electron, the up quark and the down quark. These ‘particles’ are in fact tiny clouds of pure energy. And somehow, they encode digital information for establishing what is known as a particle’s quantum state.
“We do not understand and cannot visualize what this ghostly energy is. But we do know that it cannot be created or destroyed by any natural power. We also know that we can use mathematics to model how these tiny clouds of digital information behave as they flow through time and combine to undergird larger and larger patterns of energy and information.”
Trust me, if, like me, you are curious about how we all got here and why we live in the kind of material universe we inhabit, you gotta read “Bits and Bytes at the Bottom,” by Kenneth Pederson and Jonathan Witt. It appears in the latest issue of Evolution News & Science Today.
Whether you are an atheist, an agnostic or a believing Christian, we ought all be tremendously inspired and encouraged by the incredible progress being made possible by all those bytes!
Had a birthday a few days ago. How old am I now? Let’s just say, as President Reagan often did, that it was the 41st anniversary of my … okay, moving right along. It doesn’t really matter how old I became, what is really important here is that the occasion means I completed another of my allotted years, however many that may ultimately be.
But we all know what happens when we reach that final day and breath our last. We die. What then? Is that all there is to it? What happens after we die? If you are a secularist/humanist, there are, in the final analysis, what appear to be two possible answers but which are actually variations on a *theme:
Not sure how I missed this story in December when The Federalist first published it, but it is an amazing and true account of a woman who has given of herself to her own six children and 20 foster kids.
“Over the decades she was a foster mother, Kennedy cared for many children who had suffered trauma at home. Her faith and her belief in the beauty and potential of each child helped her care for and walk with them along their journeys. Many still keep in touch.”
Meet Thelma Kennedy, 78, of the tiny village of Vredenburgh as reported by Christine Weerts for The Federalist. Question for congressional staff: How do we encourage more Thelma Kennedys?
