Disqus - Latest Comments for chrisjj

Re: Why Cosmic Radiation Could Foil Plans for Farming on Mars

Chris — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 04:12:08 -0000

Neither alpha nor beta particles are an issue as they penetrate poorly and would not make it into an ordinary greenhouse, let alone a lunar or Martian structure. Nor is it correct that an accelerator would be required to produce them - uranium minerals emit alpha, and an electron beam is a beta stream, as used in old-fashioned CRT TV sets and computer monitors. A major issue with growing plants on the Moon will be day length, two weeks of night and two weeks of day just won't do, so growing plants on the Moon will require artificial lighting in a darkened shelter that would attenuate gamma radiation in any case. On Mars the day length is fine, but temperatures and atmosphere are not, again requiring a building that will significantly reduce incoming gamma radiation. See https://tinyurl.com/y5j58v4z for details.

Re: God is already working. So what now? Las Vegas gives a clue.

Chris — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 18:26:01 -0000

Seeing what he is already doing in people's lives - yes, this is key. I have to keep reminding myself to think this way, otherwise it ends up being about me. My default view is that I'm at the centre. But Jesus is at the centre in everything. I recognise snippets of 5Q here, Alan. And for anyone who hasn't read 5Q yet, click 'Resources' (top-right of this page) and scroll down. It's a great read and might just open your eyes in some pretty unexpected ways.

Re: ‘Darkest Hour’ Fact Check: Did Winston Churchill Really Sneak Off to the London Underground?

Chris — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:07:48 -0000

Great film, it made me quite emotional in places. And the tube scene was indeed exactly the kind of thing Churchill might have done. Just loved it.

Re: An Emergent Creation? (RJS)

Chris — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 17:53:19 -0000

I've pondered this often, but not systematically. I'll make two points here.

1 - It's exciting to me to recognise how a big bang might lead inevitably to increases in complexity due to emergent mechanisms - energy producing quarks and leptons - quarks combining to make protons and neutrons - star formation and nucleosynthesis - chemistry - evolution and life - mind and brain - societies, culture, science, technology. Such a lot from so little doesn't prove that there's a responsible mind behind the universe, but it is very suggestive.

2 - The five-fold service gifts (apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral, and teaching) working together and equipping us to grow and attain the fullness of the stature of Christ might be seen as emergent behaviour.

Re: How about a “Bombadil Option”?

Chris — Mon, 16 May 2016 11:36:46 -0000

Marvellous, I so enjoyed reading this. Alan Hirsch writes about 'The Forgotten Ways', and he's right in all he has to say about them. But there is one forgotten way rooted deeper than the others. It is the way of Jesus, and putting him first in all things, the One who saw the first raindrop, the one in whom and through whom everything came to be. From the Father, through the Son, the indwelling Spirit in you and me. How awesome is He?

And if we are to resound truly with his presence, and reflect his grace and glory in this world, we need to be 'rooted and grounded in love', like Tom Bombadil. Begin at the beginning and remain rooted in the One who IS the beginning!

Re: How a world famous geneticist went from staunch atheist to Christian apologist

Chris — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 11:18:21 -0000

The theory of evolution is very solid, John; it's one of the most secure of all scientific theories. In fact, the word theory (when used in science) means well-established and making predictions that have so far always proved to be correct.

Re: How a world famous geneticist went from staunch atheist to Christian apologist

Chris — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:02:36 -0000

You claim there is no such thing, but you can't prove your claim.

Re: How a world famous geneticist went from staunch atheist to Christian apologist

Chris — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:01:24 -0000

rofl!

Re: How a world famous geneticist went from staunch atheist to Christian apologist

Chris — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:00:14 -0000

Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. Take it or leave it Piotr, it's a free world. I'm a biologist so I understand that science is based on attempting to disprove hypotheses. But I don't apply the scientific method to faith.

Re: How a world famous geneticist went from staunch atheist to Christian apologist

Chris — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 10:09:56 -0000

Definitely a man after my own heart. There has never been any reason for conflict between physical truth and spiritual truth. Truth is truth.

Re: Are You Covered?

Chris — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:06:30 -0000

I'm with Julia Pferdehirt on this. There's a human tendency always at work within us to create some kind of authority structure. Sometimes it's a form of hierarchy, sometimes it's about this one covering that one, or it may appear in other guises.

Surely it should be clear from Jesus' teaching that we are to be one 'as I and the Father are one'. And from Paul we learn that all are responsible for acting and sharing according to the gifts we have received. We are all different, we are all necessary, we should all be willing to take the lead and we should all be willing to follow the lead of others. We do need input from one another, that much is clear, but I believe it's healthy for there to be variety in this and also unpredictability. In my experience I've had good input from different people at different times, usually on a one-off basis, but I have never been under any covering other than that of Jesus.

Jesus is all the covering any of us needs; he is both necessary and sufficient. Let's not imagine we need more than he directly provides. And if covering of one by another isn't explicit in the New Testament, why would we think that there was some advantage in it? I'm not opposed to anyone feeling they need some sort of covering, or to others providing it. But I will say, 'Please be very careful'. Covering is not for me and I do sense a warning bell.

Re: An awesome example of living in community

Chris — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 05:35:12 -0000

Felicity, that is awesome indeed - and very, very encouraging. You and Tony will have been encouraged for sure, but by sharing the experience you have also encouraged me and undoubtedly many, many others all over the world.

What is really delightful about this is that it shows what can happen when we stop focussing our energies on church programmes and organisations and begin to focus instead on living the life that is inherent in the nature of church. We are the body of Christ. Hello... Do we organise our own bodies and set up programmes for breathing, using the loo, or drinking coffee? Of course not, we just live our lives and all the other things get done with very little conscious thought or planning. And surely, if my body works like that, so should the body of Christ.

And it seems to me that's exactly what you saw in Birmingham. Hooray!

Re: Thousands of Muslims in Northern Iraq Converting to Christianity After Witnessing ISIS Horror, Ministry Reveals: 'They're Just Sick of Islam'

Chris — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 15:29:52 -0000

Jesus said to love the Almighty, love one another, love your neighbour and love your enemies. When we do these things we are sharing the truth about Jesus and about the kingdom of heaven. The nature of the kingdom is not to control, kill, burn and destroy. It is to love whatever the cost and to love without limit. When we do this, people will believe.

Re: A successful pattern for multiplying disciples

Chris — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 04:43:07 -0000

I don't think it's troubling, Roy. But glad I could help.

Re: A successful pattern for multiplying disciples

Chris — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:09:46 -0000

Roy, I think I know who this might be. Take a look at this post, and if you want to hear him for yourself I highly recommend his six videos.

Re: Journeys of heart and mind: Loving more fully and widely (Repost)

Chris — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 04:51:42 -0000

Living like Jesus is a real challenge, isn't it? And every time we take a step forward we begin to see the opportunity and need for yet another step. What a journey! (2 Cor 3:18)

Re: Physicists read scrolls scorched by ancient volcano

Chris — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:42:23 -0000

It's taken years of patient effort to get this far. Kudos to the entire team.

Re: Journeys of heart and mind: The opposite of envy (Repost)

Chris — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:27:33 -0000

Thanks for commenting, Cindy.

You make an interesting point about humour; it can defuse envy, no doubt about that. Humour is a powerful thing - and three cheers for it in that role. But I'd add a note of caution. Humour can also be used like a weapon, to ridicule and to undermine. Humour has, so to speak, a dark side. We should never use it that way, but the potential is there.

Unlike humour, joy has no motives. Humour comes from the human mind, wit is a construction. Joy just is - or is not. The presence of joy is always a good thing, and its absence always bad. People possess humour, but joy possesses people.

Or so it seems to me.

Meanwhile, the best thing for that green T-shirt of envy would be if the moths ate holes in it! But perhaps they don't like the flavour.

Re: Understanding Evolution: In 24 Hours!

Chris — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 07:14:43 -0000

As a one-time professional biologist, that description of what happened makes perfect sense. For me, one of the most astonishing features of the entire sequence is that biogenesis (the origin of life) is such an early event.

As a believer in and follower of Jesus I have always felt that life is practically inevitable given the necessary conditions and plenty of time. And for me the real awesomeness of the Creator is that he built a universe in which life is not only possible, but dare I say, certain. In doing so he shows his true nature and glory. That inevitability is built into the fundamental nature of the forces and particles present in the early universe, themselves crystallising from the hot, dense energy following the big bang. No human mind could invent something so elegant.

There really is no future in the argument that science somehow has it wrong. Yes, there are all sorts of errors in our thinking, but as we learn more and more we are able to rule out most of the alternatives. We will never 'know everything', and we will always be able to add to the long list of ideas that are clearly incorrect.

However, like it or not, evolution is standing up very well indeed to every attempt to disprove it. It is one of science's most secure theories. (I'm using the word 'theory' in its scientific sense of an explanation that makes testable predictions that have been thoroughly examined and not shown to be incorrect.)

Re: Journeys of heart and mind: Every chapter is necessary

Chris — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 17:36:02 -0000

You are so welcome, Jeremy. It's been a privilege and a great joy to be involved.

Re: Journeys of heart and mind: Simple Church is now available

Chris — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:53:35 -0000

Thanks for your comments, guys. Much appreciated.

Re: The key skill we need to multiply disciples

Chris — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 17:36:37 -0000

Eric, I hope you don't mind if I leave a few thoughts here for you.

You may be right, that Father will not use this way of communicating with you. But I have a hunch you may not be allowing yourself enough time and space.

The first step, freeing yourself from distractions, is quite hard for some people. But it's no good going on to step two until you have allowed your mind to move away from busy, busy to settled. It may help to jot down some of these intrusive thoughts so you know you won't forget them later. Nothing is more distracting that the thought that I must remember to buy carrots or post that letter. And if simple things like that can get in the way, then bigger things are even harder to deal with.

I'd suggest just devoting five minutes each day to practicing this first step until your mind is still, and then moving to step two. Try thinking of yourself walking with him in his garden, sitting with him looking out to sea, or kneeling at his feet. Whatever works for you. But don't even consider steps three and four until one and two are regularly achievable for you.

And if this really is not the right way for you, then the Spirit will find a different way that does work for you. I'm confident of it!

But meanwhile, give yourself the space and time to keep practicing the first step of Virkler, and if you achieve that add the second one. Only then move on to step three.

I hope this helps,

Chris

Re: The key skill we need to multiply disciples

Chris — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 17:20:13 -0000

Great thoughts, Felicity, as always.

It's very helpful to have this just at this particular time, and I'm going to email the link to all my friends in Donna's Small Group, part of Open Door Church. Although I'm not officially part of Open Door, I am deeply connected within the Small Group. Every single person there is a close friend.

We tried Virkler together two months ago so your post will be a reminder with plenty of examples of how Father uses what we hear to guide us in unexpected ways. And this I especially like, 'God wants to communicate with us'. Amen!

Re: Authority in the Local Church

Chris — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 06:02:48 -0000

Ephesians 4 makes it very clear that Christ 'fills the entire universe' and gave the gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd (or pastor) and teacher to equip and build up the church in unity and knowledge leading to maturity.

But the western church today is so very far from mature, not least in how leadership is understood and practiced. Perhaps we need to listen more to the voices of Neil Cole, Alan Hirsch and others who are explaining how the Ephesians 4 gifts work. I think there is tremendous potential here.

And it's not a matter of putting people in charge, it's all about keeping Jesus at the centre and allowing him to lead us. We need to move away from positional authority and closer to spiritual authority. But Messytheology is right, we face dangers and need to bear these in mind.

Re: Both men and women

Chris — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 21:02:34 -0000

I'm with Kenneth, both is best.

In fact I'd go a lot further than that. The truth is that excluding women from full effectiveness in every aspect of church life is a sure way of producing an unbalanced and lop-sided structure that doesn't work well and is also a mis-representation of Jesus' plan for his bride.

Church without the full participation of women in every way? No thanks!