Theoblogian http://www.theoblogian.org/How unemployed theologians spend their time30What Can Be Said About Scrat http://www.theoblogian.org/What-Can-Be-Said-About-Scrat.aspxAs you know, “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” is in the theaters.  What you may not know is that yours truly is an unrepentant fan of the bug-eyed saber-toothed squirrel, Scrat.  And so, I would like to write something of a Theology of Scrat.  It may appear as merely slapstick comedy to you; but for those of us initiated into the deep esoteric Gnostic wisdom of Scrat, there is quite a bit of heady philosophy – well, alright, that’s somewhat overstated.  But be that as it may, I’d like to become a Scratologian and write Scratology (not to be confused with scatology – a messier word that doesn’t seem to be nearly so alarming to my spellchecker!).  In addition, I would like to write Scratographically (not to be confused with what I have elsewhere referred to as scatography – or the writing technique of those ideational scatologians).  And so this is the maiden voyage of the good ship Scratology.  Let’s start Scrat-Light. . . .  ]]>Gerald VreelandSat, 29 Apr 2006 07:35:00 PSTThe Song of the Swan http://www.theoblogian.org/The-Song-of-the-Swan.aspxWith this entry, I will conclude my treatment of The Privileged Planet.  I hope you have had as much fun with it as I have had. 

 

Gonzalez and Richards Synopsis, Conclusion

And What About Panspermia?

 

Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards, The Privileged Planet: How our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2004). 

 

Assumptions and implications are not the same thing.

 

Their conclusion is subtitled: “Reading The Book Of Nature.”  It is not a very long and involved piece and so I have decided to include a brief discussion on Panspermia or the seeding of microbes from elsewhere.  Because it has been so long, though (and because the Blog-Meister asked me to!), let us begin with a brief synopsis of what has gone before.  ]]>
Gerald VreelandMon, 27 Mar 2006 07:00:00 PST
Gonzalez and Richards Chapter Sixteen http://www.theoblogian.org/Gonzalez-and-Richards-Chapter-Sixteen.aspxChapter 16 of the book is entitled: “The Skeptical Rejoinder.”  It deals with 14 major objections and so I’ll get right on with the sub-title: “Yes, But What About. . .?” ]]>Gerald VreelandTue, 03 Jan 2006 12:55:00 PSTGonzalez and Richards Chapter Fifteen http://www.theoblogian.org/Gonzalez-and-Richards-Chapter-Fifteen.aspxGerald VreelandFri, 18 Nov 2005 12:31:00 PSTGonzalez and Richards: Drake Equation http://www.theoblogian.org/Gonzalez-and-Richards-Drake-Equation.aspxGerald VreelandWed, 09 Nov 2005 16:35:00 PSTGonzalez and Richards Chapter Fourteen http://www.theoblogian.org/Gonzalez-and-Richards-Chapter-Fourteen.aspxI’ve always thought the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence was misguided.  There seem to be a couple of scenarios.  We all recall when Voyager was infused with the Rolling Stones’ “Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”  That seems to present a face of Western culture best not replicated anywhere, much less out there.  It could have any of several effects: any superior life-forms might deduce that we are not worth the bother to contact or they might think we are ripe for extinction – or run a sub-space turnpike through our star system (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).]]>Gerald VreelandMon, 24 Oct 2005 07:00:00 PSTGonzalez and Richards Chapter Thirteen http://www.theoblogian.org/Gonzalez-and-Richards-Chapter-Thirteen.aspxI went in to Jiffy-Lube on Saturday (9/17/05) and found this science-fascist periodical – it was a lot of fun to read.  There was a news blurb on the Montana T. Regina – and they discovered that she was pregnant.  The collateral damage was that they had no scientific paradigm within which to put the femur soft-tissue problem.  Fun stuff! 

 

Being out of the loop bothers me at times; but having it around my neck bothers me more. . . .  What I really love is when I find out that some kindred spirit is really an incognito scholar.  Reading the same periodical (see all you can learn when you get your oil changed?), I discovered that there was a debate about theistic evolution and whether or not evolution is incompatible with theism.  The scholar naysayer was none other than Alister McGrath.  ]]>
Gerald VreelandMon, 17 Oct 2005 07:00:00 PST
Introduction to Biblical Grumps Round Three: David http://www.theoblogian.org/Introduction-to-Biblical-Grumps-Round-Three-David.aspx1 Kings 1 & 2

The Third Accession/Succession Narrative[1]

Epilogue: The Consolidation Of An Empire

The Narrator Has Come Not To Praise David, But To Bury Him

 or When Good Kings End Badly

Exiles, House Arrests and Assassinations

 

1 Kings 1

Indecision And Adonijah

“His Father Had Never Crossed Him At Any Time”

 

We often refer to King David as "the Man after God's Own Heart."  Is this really the case?  Is this always and only the case?  We know that God is looking for one; but has He found him?  Can one really be found?

 

In 1 Sam. 13:14, we read: "For now your kingdom shall not endure.  The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."  These are Samuel's words to Saul in the heat of the moment.  There is no Divine precedent as yet in the text of Scripture.  Samuel may be working without a net here – especially in view of the fact that no alternative has been suggested by God.  Samuel has not yet been commissioned to anoint the least of Jesse's sons.  Samuel the seer could be flying blind. 

 

Three chapters and several major events and royal failures later, Samuel is sent to Bethlehem to anoint the next king.  When he sees the oldest of Jesse's sons and says to himself, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him (1 Sam. 16:6).  But verse seven says: ". . . the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  These are God's words to Samuel with respect, of course, to Jesse's oldest son, Eliab.  However, much later when God says, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he" in v. 12, we know that "he" is the king; but we still do not know that this is "The Man After God's Own Heart."  We are left to guess as much – and history will prove us right to question. 


[1] From my forthcoming, The Darker Side of Samuel, Saul and David: Studies in Narrative Artistry; Studies in Flawed Leadership.

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Gerald VreelandMon, 10 Oct 2005 07:00:00 PST
Introduction to Biblical Grumps round Two: Moses http://www.theoblogian.org/Introduction-to-Biblical-Grumps-round-Two-Moses.aspxLast time, we tried to connect the dots in some of the later years of the Patriarch, Jacob.  In that, we saw that things needn’t end as badly as they’ve begun and we maintained that: Even The Grumpiest Of Grumps Can Reform.  Sometimes, however, history shows us that things do not end well. 

 

In, Numbers chapter 20, we have what constitutes the turning point in the life of Moses: Miriam and Aaron die and Moses, himself, is forbidden from entering the promised land.  In addition, the people must now circumnavigate the land of Edom.]]>
Gerald VreelandMon, 03 Oct 2005 07:00:00 PST
Deep (Space) Doo-doo http://www.theoblogian.org/Deep-(Space)-Doo-doo.aspxHi, friends!  I hope you won't forget me while I'm trying to kick-start my regular job.  I have a higher student load this year and that not only takes priority, I'm lovin' it!  But so that you don't forget why I was supposed to be here, you might want to take a look at
New Scientist Space - Massive young galaxy surprises astronomers
the new (ancient) Galaxy that they found buried in the Hubble Deep Field montages.  It is way out there on the edge of our ability to apprehend (they estimate only 800 million years after the Big Bang) and yet it is super-massive (several times the mass of the Milky Way) and it just blows their paradigm to smithereens.  So, we ask, how did galaxies form?  The old fashioned way: massive followed by disintegration; or simple to complex the super gravitational way?  The answer is "up in the air," no?]]>
Gerald VreelandThu, 29 Sep 2005 11:11:00 PST