Edward Fudge Ministries

gracEmails on faith and science

A gracEmail subscriber bemoans the fact that many scientists today are hostile to biblical faith, and that many Christians concede too much to science.

theistic evolution (three gracEmails)

A gracEmail subscriber asks: "Can someone who believes in God and accepts the Bible as his word also believe in evolution as the process by which God brought into being the diversity of animal life on earth, including human beings?"

astronomer affirms faith

An astronomer whose specialty involves a belt of planetoids orbiting somewhere beyond Neptune says that his scientific work is reasonable only because he believes in God. Guy Consolmagno earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from MIT and a doctorate from the University of Arizona, then taught at Harvard before returning to MIT for three years of postdoctoral studies in astronomy.

the 'days' of creation

A gracEmail reader is outraged because science professors at a particular Christian college have suggested that the "days" of creation in Genesis 1 might not mean literal 24-hour days. He demands that the college "do something" about the science professors, who also believe that God created the universe and that his Spirit inspires the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

age of the earth

A gracEmail subscriber in the Northeast asks if we can discern the age of the earth from the Bible. He has heard someone teach that we can, and that Scripture puts approximately 6,000 candles on our planet's birthday cake.

gospel of Judas

As every savvy marketer knows, sensationalism sells books and attracts a television audience. The National Geographic Channel can therefore expect a host of viewers for its special program "The Gospel of Judas" set to show tonight (Sunday, April 9, 2006). "One of the most significant biblical finds of the last century," hypes the producer's website, "-- a lost gospel that could challenge what is believed about the story of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus."

update on Gospel of Judas

Since writing the previous gracEmail on the "Gospel of Judas," I have viewed the two-hour television special aired on Sunday night, April 9, 2006 on the National Geographic Channel and have read the actual translation of this document. Having now seen the program and having read the "Gospel of Judas" itself, both of which confirmed the previous gracEmail, I add the following observations in this quick update.

Jesus' brother's coffin?

If the experts in archaeology, geology, linguistics and epigraphy (study of inscriptions) are correct, a stone box ("ossuary") which once held the bones of James the half-brother of our Lord has surfaced to become one of the earliest physical finds which mention the historical Jesus. Dr. Andre’ Lemaire of the Sorbonne in Paris, perhaps the world’s leading scholar in ancient inscriptions, was shown the box by an Israeli antiquities dealer while working at Hebrew University from April to September 2002. Inscribed on the box in Aramaic letters were the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" (Ya’akov bar Yosef akhui diYeshua).

tomb of Jesus?

With fanfare befitting its subject, The Discovery Channel presented its 2007 pre-Easter special titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." The program was directed by James Cameron ("Titanic") and Simcha Jacobovici, the latter being also co-author with Charles Pellegrino of the new book The Jesus Family Tomb. This media sensation stems from the 1980 discovery during routine construction work in Jerusalem of a first-century family burial plot. Inside the tomb were bone-boxes (called "ossuaries") on which were inscribed the names "Mary," "Mariamne," "Matthew," "Jesus son of Joseph," "Joseph" and "Judah son of Jesus."

preacher urges science-faith chat

In the Spring of 1949, Charles Prince was studying as a chemistry major at what later became Rice University, taking double-minors classes in biology and physics. He continued his schooling at Abilene Christian University and Harvard Divinity School. For several decades, he was plagued by internal struggles over what appeared to be irreconcilable truths of science and faith. Over the years, he came to see the fight, not as between science and faith at all, but rather between "some scientists" and "some preachers." Now he has written a book for intelligent lay-persons in both fields, hoping the solutions he found for his own struggles can help them with theirs as well.

little sherd vs. giant theory? (two gracEmails)

On July 8, 2008, 17-year-old volunteer Oded Yair was digging with an archaeological team in the 3,000-year-old ruins of an ancient Jewish village called Khirbet Qeiyafa, just off Israel's Route 38 overlooking the Eila Valley (the biblical Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath). About ten o'clock that morning, Yair unearthed a six-inch near-square of broken pottery ("sherd" or "shard") and automatically dropped it into a plastic bag holding other finds from the same room. That afternoon, when the team washed their artifacts, they discovered that the sherd was an ostracon, a piece of pottery containing writing. This ostracon contained five lines of ink text, now known to be a moral exhortation written in what is believed to be very ancient Hebrew.

reconciling the Bible and science (a book review)

God has no controversy with evolution and evolution poses no threat to faith in God. That is the message (though not a direct quote) of Reconciling the Bible and Science: A Primer on the Two Books of God, by Lynn Mitchell and Kirk Blackard.... The fight is not between creation and science, these authors insist. The fight is either between creation and scientism ... or it is between science and creationism.