Feed aggregator

U. Portland theology majors no longer have to take ‘Biblical Texts’

University of Portland theology majors will no longer have to take a class on “Biblical Texts,” according to the department chair who has previously said opponents of homosexual behavior are like the soldiers who nailed Christ to the cross. The departmental change will allow students more “autonomy” so they can take courses like “Queer Theologies.”

The Catholic university, run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross, also announced it will change the name of the department to “theology and religious studies.” The department changes drew criticism from a Catholic leader who spoke to The College Fix.

“This course examines how Biblical texts and interpretations shape faiths, theologies, spiritualities, ethics, practices, identities, cultures, and social and political dynamics,” a university description states. “It gives students tools to interpret and engage these ancient Jewish and Christian texts from the Mediterranean world in contemporary global contexts.”

Students must still take Theology 105, which does include a Biblical texts component, but now can “pick from a variety of upper-division courses to fulfill their second theology requirement,” according to The Beacon, the student newspaper.

These course options include “Queer Theologies,” “God Our Mother,” and a class on “the intersectionality of gender discrimination with other forms of discrimination.”

https://www.thecollegefix.com/u-portland-theology-majors-no-longer-have-to-study-bible-can-take-queer-class-instead/

Simon Greenleaf, co-founder of Harvard’s graduate school of law, in his day the foremost expert on legal evidence, was an agnostic for years. After examining the evidence for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Greenleaf became a fervent Christian. In a book that is still in print, he challenged fellow members of the legal profession that if they would face the facts he presented (which most of them had never considered), they would be forced by the evidence to become Christians as well. Lord Caldecote, Lord Chief Justice of England, became a believer on the basis of “strict evidence.” So did Lord Lyndhurst, one of England’s greatest legal minds, and Thomas Arnold, Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford. Many more men and women of similar qualifications could be named.

The “curse of faith”? These critics are under the false impression that “faith” is a leap into the dark. On the contrary, biblical faith is based upon evidence. Many of the greatest historians and legal experts, not for sentimental reasons but on the basis of established scientific evidence, have turned from atheism to believe in everything the Bible declares, including the resurrection of Christ. They have come to this faith not by some mystical or emotional experience but based solidly upon overwhelming evidence that they say will stand up in any court of law.

Croc Fossils Hint at Extreme Longevity

ICR research continues to discover evidence that at least some fossil creatures experienced extremely long lifespans like those recorded for the early Genesis patriarchs. A recent ICR Creation Science Update article discussed small extinct fossil mammals that lived much longer and took longer to mature than similar-size living mammals.1

This makes sense. Assuming that this early longevity was not miraculous, any mechanism or mechanisms that enabled extreme human longevity would likely also have affected the animal kingdom. In two technical papers, I presented direct and indirect evidence for extreme longevity in giant fossil oysters and sharks.2,3 And a new paper describes how giant fossil crocodilians also show indirect evidence of great longevity. 4,5 By counting growth bands in bony skin plates called osteoderms, paleontologists have concluded that the giant crocodile-like animals Deinosuchus and Sarcosuchus imperator took at least 50 to 60 years to attain their full adult body sizes.

Genesis strongly hints that pre-Flood humans took longer to sexually mature since the youngest two ages at which Genesis 5 patriarchs are listed as having sons are 65 and 70.6 It is difficult to imagine pre-Flood humans undergoing puberty around 13, like today’s humans, and choosing to wait 50 years or more to get married!

If pre-Flood humans experienced delayed sexual maturity, they may have also experienced delayed skeletal maturation. Biologists have long noted that biological timescales, such as ages at sexual or skeletal maturity, lifespans, etc., tend to vary as adult body mass raised to the 1/4 power.7 So, one would expect delayed skeletal maturity to accompany delayed sexual maturity. Moreover, longevity studies of living animals have shown that delayed maturation and larger adult body sizes are often linked to greater longevity. Hence, the delayed skeletal maturation of these giant fossil crocodilians is indirect evidence of greater past longevity.

These two giant fossil crocodilians may or may not be ancestors of today’s crocodiles and alligators since they had some unique anatomical features not found in today’s crocodilians. However, the giant fossil crocodilians Gryposuchus croizati and Euthecodon brumpti both had long, narrow snouts that are very similar to the snouts of living gharials. Evolutionary scientists attribute this similarity to “convergent evolution,” in which the same body features coincidentally evolve in unrelated creatures.

But what if G. croizati and E. brumpti are simply giant pre-Flood gharials? Given that they had body sizes comparable to those of Deinosuchus and Sarcosuchus imperator, they very likely also had comparable lifespans and ages at maturity. Likewise, Purussaurus brasiliensis had a body shape very similar to that of living caimans. Was it simply a giant, long-lived, pre-Flood caiman? I am very encouraged by this research, and I hope you are, too. As former ICR President Dr. John Morris used to say, “It’s a great time to be a Bible-believing Christian!”

References

1. Hebert, J. Methuselah-Like Longevity in Pre-Flood Mammals. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org October 7, 2024, accessed December 17, 2024.
2. Hebert, J. 2024. Crassostrea Oyster Fossils Show Evidence of Extreme Longevity. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 60 (3): 171–190.
3. Hebert, J. 2024. Giantism and Delayed Maturation in Fossil Sharks: Evidence for Extreme Longevity? Creation Research Society Quarterly. 60 (4): 267–283.
4. Hebert, J. 2025. Fossil Crocodilians Grew Larger and Longer, and Lived Longer than Extant Crocodilians. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 61 (3): 172–188.
5. The Creation Research Society has graciously made the fossil oyster, shark, and crocodilian papers “open access” so that they may be freely read at creationresearch.org/crsq-by-decade.
6. The third-youngest age at which a Genesis 5 patriarch is listed as having a son is 90. So it seems likely that the three sons whose fathers were 65 and 70 at their births were born early in their fathers’ reproductive lives. Hence, even if these three sons were not firstborn, early humans were apparently still taking a long time to mature sexually.
7. Calder III, W. A. 1984. Size, Function, and Life History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 139–161.

https://www.icr.org/article/croc-fossils-hint-at-extreme-longevity/

The New Atheists are angrily rallying all nonbelievers to close ranks in a battle to the death against “this debilitating curse: the curse of faith.” The New Atheists’ antagonism and determination know no bounds. They condemn not just belief in God but respect for belief in God.

The Jesus Seminar was founded by the late Robert Funk in 1985, along with other theologically liberal luminaries, including John Dominic Crossan and the late Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong. They spent much of their time attempting to undermine the reliability of the Bible and were the darlings of the media, especially around the celebration of birth or death and resurrection of Jesus. In 1998 we took a look at the process they used to come to their conclusions in "The Hysterical Search for the Historical Jesus." The group still exists, but the drawing power of that fad wore off about a quarter of a century ago. The fad that replaced them was The New Atheists. It turns out many of them have decided Western culture needs Christianity if it is to survive.  In "The Short Shelf Life of ‘Inevitable’ Movements," John Stonestreet and Shane Morris talk about a recent online debate ono "The Majority Report" between host, Sam Seder and "an excellent debater" (unnamed): 

His was a fate like what has befallen the “New Atheists” of the 2000s. After a meteoric rise, with figures like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens claiming to be on the right side of enlightened history, a new graph by sociologist Christian Smith shows that New Atheism was essentially a 15-year “flash in the pan,” with their media mentions spiking almost entirely between the years 2005 and 2020. In the end, all their books, conferences, and media appearances never made that many new New Atheists, with their numbers nationwide never breaking the low single-digits, percentage-wise. Today, the only real traces of their meteoric movement can be found in old YouTube videos and used book bins.

While it’s too early for a postmortem, the transgender movement seems to be following a similar pattern. Five years ago, gender activists were effectively holding universities, corporations, and governments hostage. CEOs, elected officials, and celebrities alike trembled at the threats from online mobs. Then came J.K. Rowling, the Cass Report, the closing of the U.K.’s main gender clinic, the backlash against male athletes in women’s locker rooms and sports, the wave of high-profile “detransitioners,” and a new administration working to roll back the policy gains of trans activists. Now that sanity also seems to be returning to corporate America, even Target, the future of this supposedly inevitable movement is, to say the least, in doubt.

I am not sure what this tells us, other than that culture is fickle and changes to embrace whoever seems to have a better story at any given time, especially if the tale excludes the God of Scripture, who created all things, provided for them, and offers salvation to those who believe. Is it possible they simply cannot abide a God that is greater than themselves?

https://mailchi.mp/ab30e9504631/who-is-azealia-banks-and-why-should-we-care?e=169825fd77

My wife and I have often found these concerns on the minds of many of the people we have talked with and shared our desire to go overseas. These people have told us a number of times something like, “Hey if you’re so interested in church planting and evangelism, why don’t you just stay here and do those things? Our city could use you!”

I’ve responded to these statements with a bit of my testimony. I used to be an atheist and although I didn’t believe in God, I knew there was something wrong with the world. So, I often studied philosophy to learn how to live a good life. About 6 years ago, I read a book that presented the Bible as a source of truth and wisdom. I hadn’t heard the Bible referred to like this before. So, I found a Bible online and, as I started reading, I had questions. I took my questions to Google and, over time, I discovered [resources] in my language to eventually lead me to the gospel, to a Bible study, and to membership in a local church.

However, the access I had to Christian resources is not universal. Specifically, about three thousand languages have yet to have any part of the Bible translated for them. Let alone any website, radio program, or other Christian information accessible in their language. There are no believers close by and there are no churches. Even if someone heard that the Creator God of the Universe has spoken and His words are recorded, there is no way for a person in these areas and within these languages to access the gospel on their own. “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans:10:14-15 [14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
See All...)

For me – knowing this truth and how God chose to save me – I cannot simply stand by while millions are dying without the opportunity to hear and perhaps claim as their own the saving gospel message that was so abundantly accessible to me.

Of course, there are needs in the States; there always will be. But there are also millions of believers equipped with the largest amount of Christian resources ever known to man including over 900 Bible translations (counting revisions) in English. These men and women can evangelize, disciple, and plant churches in their communities.

Our Savior is worthy to be praised by every tongue and tribe. Until that work is complete, we should have an outward, cross-cultural drive relentlessly pressing towards those who have yet to hear – those who have no Bible, no knowledge of Jesus – so that one day they will join in worshipping the only true God, now and forever.

—Current Student/Alumni, Radius International [Name withheld because of possible ministry in a “sensitive region.”]

We have already pointed out the fact that many of history’s foremost scientists—indeed, most of the founders of modern science—believed in God. Yet since Darwin and Freud, atheists have aggressively and dishonestly claimed to speak for the entire scientific establishment.

A case pitting religious freedom against employment discrimination between Liberty University and a former transgender employee may proceed, a federal judge ruled recently.

U.S. District Judge Norman Moon denied the evangelical Protestant university’s request to dismiss the case last week, saying it presents a “novel question of law” that has not yet been answered, Higher Ed Dive reports.

In his opinion, Moon decided “that religious institutions cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, even if motivated by religion.”

“This case — and the law it implicates — points to the delicate balance between two competing and laudable objectives: eradicating discrimination in employment, on the one hand, and affording religious institutions the freedom to cultivate a workforce that conforms to its doctrinal principles, on the other,” the judge wrote.

Moon wrote that “no source of law … answers the question before us,” but “a decision to the contrary would portend far-reaching and detrimental consequences for our system of civil law and the separation between church and state.”

The judge decided that Title VII allows employers to “discriminate on the basis of religion” but not on the basis of sex.

A former male employee who now claims he is a woman is suing the university for firing him in 2023. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is representing Jonathan Zinski, who now goes by the first name “Ellenor.”

Zinski alleges the Virginia university fired him from an information technology job after he changed his name and began taking transgender drugs, according to the lawsuit.

The case accuses Liberty of employment discrimination. However, the university asserts it was exercising its religious freedom.

Its doctrinal statement describes the “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender” as a “sinful act prohibited by God,” and all employees are required to sign it.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/judge-rules-transgender-case-against-liberty-u-may-continue/

Obviously, energy can do none of this. It does not qualify to be the creator of the universe, much less of human beings. Yet this is the “great god” that atheists such as Christopher Hitchens worship. They say that our thinking, willing, loving, personal, all-knowing, all-powerful God, without beginning or end, is incredible—and theirs is scientific. And Hitchens dares to title a book God Is Not Great! That certainly is true of his “god,” but here we are, alive on planet Earth, and we need to know who we are, how we got here, and why. Atheistic, materialistic “science” cannot tell us.