Collimation

One of my rediscovered interests has been astrophotography.   I have been enjoying the process of learning the intricacies of digital photography and telescope operation all at once.  It has been a lifelong love of the skies that I have been encouraged to return to my childhood hobby.  There is something more awe inspiring about seeing those familiar celestial objects in real life rather than relying on someone else's work.  For me, it's parallels my Bible study in quality time with the Lord.  I think He likes those of faith who want to look at His handiwork up close, with eyes that see them for what they really are.  Not just glowing balls of gas or pock marked dead planets and moons, but works of wonder reflecting the majesty and glory of it's Maker.  But with untrained spiritual eyes we see things rather fuzzy and out of focus.  The beauty is blurred by crooked thinking and ideas born of this world that cause the light to be deflected from it's intended destination, hence the full impact of that information, that picture is lost.  Thats why the astronomer needs to collimate his instrument of exploration, the telescope, and why the theologian needs to align his heart and life with the source of all light, God.  Look at these two images closely and you will see distortion caused by poor collimation.  Imagine how much better they will be with a little collimation.  Next week.

Update 7-5-10 Post collimation with laser device.

Flight to Heaven

Captain Dale Black, retired commercial airline pilot and survivor of a tragic airplane crash when he was 19 years old, goes public after forty years with his new book Flight To Heaven.  If you have listened to or read other accounts of near death experiences and were left with doubts about the credibility of those stories, this one will be different.  I would recommend purchasing the audible version here and listen to Captain Black read his story to you himself.

I felt this account was most helpful in reassuring the Christian that there truly is a better place after this life and it won't be totally unfamiliar apparently.  Along with his experience, you will hear the salvation message clearly explained so if you have friends or relatives that you want to present to the Lord, this would be an ideal resource for you.

The Atheists Among Us

While perusing Hulu.com for anything worth watching while waiting for my last stint of night shift for the week, I ran across a book review recorded in San Francisco last March that piqued my interest with the title: In the Land of Believers: An Outsider's Extraordinary Journey Into the Heart of the Evangelical Church.  My first reaction was disgust at the revelation this author had the temerity to sneak into Jerry Falwells church and pose as a believing Christian for two years merely to make a name for herself among her atheist peers and write a book about "those" people.  Made my skin crawl.  But, I continued to watch Gina Welch as she discussed her book with the interested left in the "Bay" and I began to soften my attitude.  Gina seemed somewhat contrite about the experience and expressed a desire to be a bridge builder between the Evangelical Church and the Atheist Left of the Intelligentsia.   Whether that is at all possible remains to be seen but like any good ole 'Falwellite' would say' "everything has a purpose".  Gina may be unwittingly a key part of a plan she doesn't believe in.  Yes, God does have a wonderful sense of humor.  Gina is teaching Creative Writing at George Washington University.

Signature in the Cell

With the recent news from the J. Craig Venter Institute, regarding the announcement of the success of the manufacture of synthetic life and the myriad of problems coaxing a host cell to "boot up" a synthetic DNA molecule, science is reaffirming the complexity of life and the incredible design of even the simplest of cell.  In Stephen C. Meyer's latest work, Signature of the Cell, a case for design rather than random mutation and natural selection (Darwinism) is meticulously laid out.  DNA, the source of the incredibly precise information contained within every cell in every living thing and directing the manufacture of every function of life, bears all the appearance of an intelligent designer.  A prediction of further complexity and design to be found by the researchers in genomics is now expected using the scientific model of Intelligent Design or otherwise known as ID.  Rather than considering the information contained within DNA as accidental as in Darwinism and therefore couching new findings in that paradigm,  ID presumes design and attempts to understand the mechanisms in that light.  It promises to open new vistas in biological sciences Darwinism fails to envision.

Recent links:
Discovery Institute: Dogmatic Signs