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News:
March 29, 2005
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Religion in the News
The Scandal
of the Evangelical Conscience
Why don't Christians live what they preach? By Ronald J. Sider.
Religious
challenge: Grappling with life's limits, what it means to be human
Beyond a core, religious views about the Schiavo case vary widely (The
Philadelphia Inquirer)
Schiavo
case highlights Catholic-evangelical alliance
Christians have found common cause in the "culture of life" agenda
articulated by Pope John Paul II (The New York Times)
Is Ashley Smith's Hostage Story a Testimonial?
More than a story of faith and hope, this hostage practiced the Sermon on
the Mount.
No
juice at the first Communion
As the Christian History magazine reminds us in its current issue, it wasn't
until the 19th century that an alcohol-free swill could be produced from
the "blood of the vine," to use a Biblical term (Uwe Siemon-Netto,
UPI)
Father
Brown fakes the Shroud
Start with a piece of glass and some white oil paint (N. D. Wilson, Books
& Culture)
Faith in America the lastest news.
Armstrongism
Is Wrong, But Not Murderous
A Christian who left the Worldwide Church of God before it turned orthodox
says the Living Church of God isn't responsible for Terry Ratzmann's rampage.
By Mark A. Kellner
Harold Camping now believes that (Sept. 29th) 2011 will be the end of the world.
MTV's
'Spiritual Windows' mix faith with rock 'n' roll
"There was no Web site call-in, like, 'We want more spiritual content,'
but really just keeping an ear to the ground and trying to be tuned in to
the world," says Kevin Mackall, the ponytailed 37-year-old senior vice
president of on-air promos for MTV (Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times)
Another Reason Why Millions Is the Year's Best Film (So Far)
The family movie, like its hero, will help provide for the poor. Plus: IMAX
theatres acknowledge creationists; Narnia lectures slated; Left Behind
3 on the way; and more. By Jeffrey Overstreet
International
partnership to digitize world's oldest known Bible
The Codex Sinaiticus dates back to the fourth century (24 Hour Museum)
Protestant
philosopher at Notre Dame carves out intellectual room for God and miracles
In a scientific era, is it still possible to believe in God and such events
as the Easter miracle of Jesus' resurrection from the grave? Can a rational
person see God as both all-powerful and benevolent despite horrendous suffering
in disasters like the Asian tsunami? From the perspective of philosopher
Alvin Plantinga the answers are emphatic: yes and yes (Associated Press)
Physicist
is awarded the Templeton Prize in spiritual matters
Dr. Charles Townes, a physicist who shared the Nobel Prize for helping to
invent the laser, added another prize to a lifelong storehouse of honors
(The New York Times)
Science in the News
ASA
The spring ASA Eastern PA sectional meeting is scheduled for April 16th
at Messiah College from 1-4. Dr. Peter Dodson will be speaking on the topic
of "God and the Dinosaurs."
13 things that do not make sense. New Scientist article.
Faking it in Frankfurt
(Stephen Pincock)
Researcher admits
faking data
'Egregiousness' of conduct over almost 15 years leads to first-ever lifetime
ban on US grants (Doug Payne)
Archaeology/Anthropology
First remains
of ancient Egyptian seafaring ships discovered
The artefacts were found in caves by the Red Sea, along with pottery that
could put a name to a mysterious land called Punt which provided the ancient
Egytians with gold, ebony and incense.
Archaeologist Bill
Dever on the historicity of ancient Israel
Revisionist scholars in Europe are ignoring a wealth of archaeological evidence
in seeking to discount and, ultimately, erase belief in the biblical Israel,
noted archaeologist William Dever said at New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary.
Controversial
Dates Of Biblical Edom Reassessed In Results From New Archeological Research
(March 3, 2005)
New archeological research from modern-day Jordan indicates the existence
of the biblical nation of Edom at least as early as the 10th Century B.C.,
the era of kings David and Solomon, and adds to the controversy over the
historical accuracy of the Old Testament.
Jordanian
dig confirms Biblical Edom
The new study contradicts much contemporary scholarship which had argued
that, because there had been no physical evidence, no Edomite state had
existed before the 8th Century B.C. Until the current discovery many scholars
had said the Bible’s numerous references to ancient Israel’s interactions
with Edom could not be valid. See also RICHARD
N. OSTLING: Archaeological work on Edom may prove skeptics wrong and
Controversial Dates
Of Biblical Edom Reassessed In Results From New Archeological Research.
Did Jesus Marry?
Birger A. Pearson - Modern movies and novels always want to marry Jesus
off to Mary Magdalene. But Jesus’ own words suggest he wasn’t
interested in such worldly matters.
Geography
Predicts Human Genetic Diversity (March 17, 2005)
By analyzing the relationship between the geographic location of current
human populations in relation to East Africa and the genetic variability
within these populations, researchers have found new evidence for an African
origin of modern humans.
Astronomy
First Direct
Detection Of Light From Extrasolar Planets: NASA's Spitzer Marks Beginning
of New Age of Planetary Science Cambridge MA (SPX) Mar 23, 2005
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has for the first time captured the light
from two known planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. The findings mark
the beginning of a new age of planetary science, in which "extrasolar"
planets can be directly measured and compared. See also Light
from Extrasolar Planets Detected.
Italian,
US Cosmologists Present Explanation For Accelerating Expansion Of The Universe
Why is the universe expanding at an accelerating rate, spreading its contents
over ever greater dimensions of space? An original solution to this puzzle,
certainly the most fascinating question in modern cosmology.
Astronomers
Map Chaotic Galaxy's Magnetic Field
Considering its tumultuous nature, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) exhibits
a surprisingly ordered magnetic field, astronomers have discovered. The
observations have resulted in the most detailed map yet of another galaxy's
magnetism and provide a starting point for determining the magnetism of
most of the local universe.
Atmosphere
found on Enceladus
Saturn's shiny moon is shown to have a watery shroud.
Stars
can only grow so big
Observations of giant star cluster suggest upper limit
ESO Telescopes
Uncover Super Star Cluster In The Milky Way La Silla, Chile (SPX) Mar
28, 2005
Super star clusters are groups of hundreds of thousands of very young stars
packed into an unbelievably small volume. They represent the most extreme
environments in which stars and planets can form.
In
The Stars: Omega Centauri Blues Washington (UPI) Mar 28, 2005
The late astronomer Carl Sagan was fond of saying "we are starstuff,"
referring to the fact that the atoms in our bodies were once cooked up inside
an ancient giant star that exploded.
X-Rays Signal
Presence Of Elusive Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Ann Arbor MI (SPX)
Mar 28, 2005
Peculiar outbursts of X-rays coming from a black hole have provided evidence
that it has a mass of about 10,000 Suns, which would place it in a possible
new class of black holes.
Born
Again Sols Could Bring Life Again To Dying Stellar Systems Washington
DC (SPX) Mar 29, 2005
Dying stars may warm previously frozen worlds around them to the point where
liquid water temperature exists long enough for life to form, according
to a new analysis of the evolution of habitable zones around stars by an
international team of astronomers.
Warming
Up To A Martian Carcass Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 23, 2005
The detection of methane on Mars has generated a lot of speculation about
what could possibly be producing it. Is it coming out of active volcanoes?
Hourglass
Shaped Craters Filled With Traces Of Glaciers Paris, France (SPX) Mar
20, 2005
This image, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's
Mars Express spacecraft, shows flow features most likely formed by glaciers
or "block" glaciers. See also 'Kissing
craters' on Mars reveal glacial activity.
Black Holes
Could Be 'Perfect,' Low-Viscosity Fluid Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 22, 2005
In three spatial dimensions, it is a close relative of the quark-gluon plasma,
the super-hot state of matter that hasn't existed since the tiniest fraction
of a second after the big bang that started the universe.
Biology
Schiavo Dilemma: Brain Death vs. Physical Life.
Is RNA inheritance
possible?
Researchers find plant clues to a non-DNA pathway for genetic transmission
(Laura M Hrastar)
Rogue weeds
defy rules of genetics
Some plants appear to be inheriting genes that their parents did not possess
- conventional wisdom says that should be impossible.
Key
Enzyme Is Secreted By Heart Mast Cells -- Weill Cornell Discovery Opens
Door To New Cardiovascular Therapies (March 28, 2005)
Weill Medical College of Cornell University researchers have made the startling
discovery that renin -- a kidney-secreted enzyme crucial to blood pressure
regulation -- is also synthesized and secreted by mast cells within the
heart.
Widening Waistlines Predict Diabetes in Men.
Protein
Packages Found To Activate Genes; May Be What Regulates Development And
Disease
It's all in the packaging. How nature wraps and tags genes determines if
and when they become active, according to researchers from Harvard and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). They did the largest, most
detailed study to date of the protein structure that surrounds the human
genome.
Women
get extra dose of X-chromosome genes
Data may help to explain differences between women and men.
DNA
gets a fake fifth base
Artificial sequences could one day answer questions about evolution.
Creation/Evolution
Young-Earth
Creationist Helium Diffusion "Dates": Fallacies Based on Bad Assumptions
and Questionable Data
Young-Earth creationists consider the helium diffusion studies of D. Russell
Humphreys and others to be one of their greatest achievements in arguing
for a 6,000 year old Earth. A geologist shows that these studies are extensively
flawed and include: serious miscalculations in their data, sampling the
wrong rock type, failing to eliminate possible contamination, using equations
that are based on invalid assumptions and relying on questionable data.
"Why so many find the anti-evolution argument so appealing."
Verdict
that Demands Evidence
It is Darwinists, not Christians, who are stonewalling the facts. By Charles
Colson, with Anne Morse
Censorship
in the Science Museums
It is unacceptable for museums to reject legitimate science films because
they offend the beliefs of religious fundamentalists.
A
CALL TO ARMS
The March 23, 2005, issue of USA Today featured Dan Vergano and Greg Toppo's
"'Call to arms' on evolution," which described a letter circulated
by Bruce Alberts, the president of the National Academy of Sciences, to
members of the NAS, calling on them "to confront the increasing challenges
to the teaching of evolution in public schools."
Battle
on teaching evolution sharpens
Propelled by a polished strategy crafted by activists on America's political
right, a battle is intensifying across the nation over how students are
taught about the origins of life. Policymakers in 19 states are weighing
proposals that question the science of evolution. (Washington Post)
Religion
and Natural History Clash Among the Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Banned books: Three of Rabbi Slifkin's books, published from 2001 to 2004,
were singled out in the letter or in related materials: "Mysterious
Creatures," "The Science of Torah" and "The Camel, the
Hare and the Hyrax." Predictably, the banned books have become hits.
Dances
with fruit flies
Scientist Sean Carroll goes beyond genetics to look at how evolution actually
works (US News & World Report)
Key Books on the Creation./Evolution debate.
Earth Science
Preserved
soft tissue of TRex could reveal inner workings of dinosaur bones
A thigh bone from a 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex has given fossil
experts an unexpected treasure: well-preserved soft tissue. The stretchy
material, which may contain the remnants of blood vessels and cells, could
shed light on how dinosaurs' bodies worked. See also Scientists
Find Soft Tissue in T. rex Fossil.
Climate Change
Inevitable In 21st Century Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 18, 2005
Even if all greenhouse gases had been stabilized in the year 2000, we would
still be committed to a warmer Earth and greater sea level rise in the present
century, according to a new study by a team of climate modelers at the National
Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Mystery Minerals
Formed In Dinosaur-Destroying Asteroid Fireball. Chicago IL (SPX) Mar
24, 2005
Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the University
of Chicago have explained how a globe-encircling residue formed in the aftermath
of the asteroid impact that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs.
New Research
Indicates A 'Troubled' Greenhouse Is Brewing Eugene OR (SPX) Mar 24,
2005
Climates like those of the movie "Monsoon Wedding" may extend
more widely into Africa, North America and South America, according to a
University of Oregon geologist's analysis of an ancient greenhouse event.
Physics
Light Arises
From Relativity Violations Bloomington IN (SPX) Mar 22, 2005
Light as we know it may be a direct result of small violations of relativity,
according to new research scheduled for publication online Tuesday (March
22) in the journal Physical Review D.
Classic maths
puzzle cracked at last
The puzzle originated with a self-taught maths genius nearly a century ago
- the solution may lead to advances in physics and internet security.
Psychology
Genes contribute
to religious inclination
Genes play a key role in long-term religious behaviour, a new twins study
suggests, and the effects of a religious upbringing may fade with time.
What
is . . . neurotheology?
Neurotheology is the scientific study of what happens to brain activity
during religious or spiritual experiences. It is a recent development, made
possible because of advances in brain-imaging. The idea is to use the latest
tools available within psychology and neuroscience to detect which parts
of the brain are active during spiritual experiences. (Times, London)
Technology
Nanocatalysts
For Oil, Drugs New York (UPI) March 25, 2005
The catalysts on which more than 20 percent of world industrial production
is based -- including the expensive platinum employed to scrub clean the
exhausts of millions of vehicles and the molecules pharmaceutical giants
use to manufacture drugs -- soon could be replaced in large part by more
effective nanotechnology upgrades, experts told UPI's Nano World.
Membraneless
Fuel Cell Is Tiny, Versatile Champaign IL (SPX) Mar 28, 2005
A fuel cell designed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
can operate without a solid membrane separating fuel and oxidant, and functions
with alkaline chemistry in addition to the more common acidic chemistry.
Zoology
Species
list reaches half-million mark
Researchers claim 'spectacular progress' towards logging all Earth's life.
Reference
revolution
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales offers a whole new species of information
online.