Archaeologist: Nehemiah's Wall Found

According to this AP story, Israeli archaeologists working on another project have uncovered evidence of the Jerusalem wall built under the leadership of Nehemiah, as described in the Bible.

Artifacts including pottery shards and arrowheads found under the tower suggested that both the tower and the nearby wall are from the 5th century B.C., the time of Nehemiah . . . The findings suggest that the structure was actually part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt, Mazar said. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the walls, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.

"We were amazed," she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist. "This was a great surprise. It was something we didn't plan," Mazar said.

No, we don't rely on archeological claims and discoveries to make our faith in Scripture legit. But it doesn't hurt when these digs uncover more evidence in the reliability of the Bible as a historical record. As mentioned here before, it happens regularly.

The discovery of Nehemiah's wall is particularly satisfying. Nehemiah lived in difficult times, but accomplished amazing things for God through great faith, humility, bold leadership, and fighting for what he believed in. Israel's enemies did not want that wall rebuilt; it would make Jerusalem too strong in the region. To get the job done, Nehemiah's builders had to multi-task as warriors.

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. (Nehemiah 4:16-18)

We serve the same God. We can exercise the same boldness, same faith, and same leadership to fight to build something worthwhile in our generation. What are you building? What evidence will you leave behind that you trusted God in difficult times?

No Longer Orphans

Over at Touchstone Magazine's site, Russell D. Moore's long article on adoption -- both of his two oldest sons and of believers in Jesus by our Father God -- hit me in a powerful way. The parallels he draws between the two are personal and moving. Here's a taste:

When Maria and I first walked into the orphanage, where we were led to the boys the Russian courts had picked out for us to adopt, we almost vomited, in reaction to the stench and the squalor of the place. The boys were in cribs in the dark, lying in their own waste.

Leaving them at the end of each day was painful, but leaving them the final day, before going home to wait for the paperwork to go through, was the hardest thing either of us had ever done. Walking out of the room to prepare for the plane ride home, Maria and I could hear Maxim calling out for us, and falling down in his crib, convulsing in tears. Maria shook with tears, and I turned around to walk back into their room, just for a minute.

I placed my hand on both of their heads and said, knowing they couldn’t understand a word of my English, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” I don’t think I consciously intended to cite Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 14:18; it just seemed like the only thing worth saying at the time.

(HT: Between Two Worlds . . . again)

Atheist Sunday School

The headline for this ChristianPost story seems to be overstating things a little, but an atheist Sunday School is an interesting idea. Would they just teach the same Bible curriculum and then end each class by saying, "And, remember, none of that is true." What do you put on the flannel graph?

Favorite quote:

Bri Kneisley sent her 10-year-old son, Damian[!], to [atheist-in-training] Camp Quest Ohio this past summer after a neighbor had shown him the Bible. "Damian was quite certain this guy was right and was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," said Kneisley, who realized her son needed to learn about secularism, according to Time magazine.

She's got a point. You never know what your atheist kids will be exposed to at their friend's houses. I remember this one time over at Bobby Davis's house. We were playing in the garage and found his dad's stash of old Christianity Today magazines. Mr. Davis called himself an atheist, but it turned out he was believing in all kinds of stuff behind closed doors. I was never the same. You just don't get those clear, thoughtful arguments for faith in Jesus out of your head after seeing them for the first time at such an impressionable age.

It's interesting to me that atheist parents are looking for a faith-free, rational avenue to teach their kids ethics.

"Son, natural selection clearly teaches us not to hit other children to get what we want. I mean, it doesn't exactly teach us that. But beating up the smaller and weaker is no way to survive, er, exist. What I'm trying to say is that letting someone else have what you really want is sometimes good because, well, um, what did you learn in atheist Sunday School again?"

The problem with atheist Sunday School, of course, is that the best Sunday Schools don't really teach you how to be good. They teach you that you need rescuing from your terminal badness by a good God who really loves you. Ethics training can never compete with discovering the transformative power of God's grace through faith in Jesus.

Piper on Gratitude

On the Desiring God site, Pastor John Piper has responded to statements from atheist Christopher Hitchens (author of God is Not Great) and Bishop John Shelby Spong complaining that Christianity requires so much gratitude to God. He provides quotes from both attacking a "permanent" "posture of gratitude" to God as resulting in "weakness, childishness, and dependency."

I'm glad Piper is engaging these two on the issue, especially since I think Christians sometimes secretly feel the same way about being prodded to "give thanks" all the time.

You say this “constant gratitude” produces “childishness.” Not really. Children do not naturally say thank you. They come into the world believing that the world owes them everything they want. You have to drill “thank you” into the selfish heart of a child. Feeling grateful and saying it often is a mark of remarkable maturity. We have a name for people who don’t feel thankful for what they receive. We call them ingrates. And everyone knows they are acting like selfish children. They are childish. No, Bishop Spong, God wants us to grow up into mature, thoughtful, wise, humble, thankful people. The opposite is childish.

The whole thing is worth reading for the content and as an excellent example of engaging those who attack God's glory with truth, graciousness, and wisdom.

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

Give Thanks!

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

--William Arthur Ward

"It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation."

--Roberto Benigni

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

GoodSearch

If you appreciate this web site a little, here's a little something you can do to help keep it going. (No checkbook required.)

Have you heard of GoodSearch? They'll give us a little money every time you use their search site. Here's their official deal.

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it’s powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

Nice, huh? If you want to help us out (a little), here's what you do:

1) Go to GoodSearch.com and type WisdomWorks in the "Who Do You GoodSearch For?" box.

2) Search for something. Every time you do, we get about a penny. (It adds up.)

3) Bonus: If you happen to shop online and buy something through the GoodSearch engine called GoodShop, we get 1-3% of that purchase as a donation from the participating seller. Sellers include Barnes and Noble, eBay, Apple, Target, Wal-Mart. All the biggies.

I know what you're thinking -- and not just because I have "abilities" like that mind-reading guy on Heroes. You're thinking, I wouldn't mind helping out, but there's no way I'm going to a whole other page to search for stuff when I've got a search box right in my browser. Well, that's what I was thinking when PW's Jonathan told me about this thing.

Problem solved: You can add GoodSearch as one of the engines in your browser search box. You'll find links on their page to add GoodSearch to Explorer, Firefox (Mac or Windows), Safari (Mac). Then you could just use GoodSearch/Yahoo to search all the time if you wanted to help us out. A little.

Thanks!

Robot Cockroaches

If you caught our previous post, you know I'm sensitive to the fact the evil genius scientists are right now building the prototypes for the robots that will one day conquer us all. So you can imagine my reaction to this horrifying news story.

Tiny robots programmed to act like roaches were able to blend into cockroach society, according to researchers studying the collective behavior of insects.

Some sci-fi screenwriter with too much time on his hands is right now constructing a terrifying plot sure to bloom into a frightening reality. It's only a matter of time. First, these mad "scientists" train the robots to blend with roach society undetected. Next come the mouse robots, then the metal monkeys, then the humanoids indistinguishable to us from the other police officers, Starbucks employees, and circus clowns. Then, of course, it will be too late.

Think I'm crazy? Did you know these robot roaches are already capable of influencing the choices of their roach "brothers" and -- more alarmingly -- countermanding their own robot programming(!)? Read carefully.

To see if the robots had really become part of society and could influence group decisions, Halloy and colleagues programmed them to prefer shelters with more light. The result, the lighter shelter was preferred by the mixed group 61 percent of the time, while the cockroaches alone picked it just 27 percent of the time. On the other hand, in 39 percent of cases the robots, despite being programmed to prefer a lighter shelter, joined the cockroaches under the darker one.

The clock it ticking, my friends. The clock is ticking.

Robot News

Obviously, I've consumed way too much science fiction. My first thought when reading about this incredible achievement in robot design was that it was either going to lead to a robot uprising or an endearing story of a robot seeking it's own humanity. Think about it:

A bizarre wonder of German engineering, this incredible industrial robot has been trained to dance, paint portraits and (yes) write the complete Martin Luther bible in beautiful calligraphy. This RobotLab project started off simple, with an immense articulating industrial robot put in a crowded public entryway. Its designers have since programmed it to do everything from empathizing with humans by responding to their brainwaves to painting collages from life.

I mean, come on. A robot that endlessly copies the Bible and can empathize with human brainwaves. It's only a matter of time before that thing becomes logically indignant over the reality of human evil -- and assigns itself the mission of wiping out the problem (us!). Or, just as likely, this empathetic robotic painter of the human form will one day yearn to possess the soul its technically perfect brush tries so desperately to capture on canvas.

Who says we learn nothing from the movies? Clearly, though, we have not heeded their warnings. We'd better invent time travel before it's too late.

"Allies, Too" Campaign

This campaign by the youth side of the Christian group Exodus, International, sounds like a good thing to me.

"Ally Week" is an annual emphasis created by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to promote safety from bullying, harassment, and name-calling against gays in schools. Exodus Youth has formed their own week-long event to support that idea. After all, true Christians are also opposed to bullying, name-calling, and other hurtful activities against homosexuals. Aren't we?

That's the genius idea behind last week's "Allies, Too." Seeing an opportunity to say right out loud that we don't want to hurt or be mean to homosexuals or their supporters, the group and its teen members declared their hope to "engage in honest reasoning and debate, not a culture war."

Their point isn't to say they're just fine with homosexuality. Far from it:

“Allies, Too” participants commit to the belief that "sexuality was purposefully created for marriage between a man and a woman" and that "a homosexual, bisexual or transgender identity and/or behavior are outside of the intentional design of human relationships and sexuality, and therefore aren’t what’s best for us, regardless of whether we are drawn to them," according to the campaign's core principles.

The point is to point out to critics that Christians do NOT hate gays.

"It's about time you stop believing the lie that people with different beliefs about sexuality hate those who embrace homosexuality," states the campaign description by Exodus. "We don't. We don't want to hurt others, and our goal isn't for anyone to be unhappy."

Far too many of us remain silent on this issue because we're afraid of being thought hateful. But it's not hateful to state your moral beliefs in a loving, respectful, kind-hearted, Christ-like way. And we shouldn't accept the label "homophobic" because of that fear.

Johnny on the Spot

After commenting to my wife this morning that I was "johnny on the spot" when someone needed me, she wondered where that odd phrase came from. I continued my on-the-spotness by instantly consulting the fabulous Internets to provide my loved one with the gift of knowledge.

Not only is Johnny On the Spot "New Jersey's Finest Portable Restroom Service!" it's also a phrase that first made it into print around 1896. According to Michael Quinion at WorldWideWords.org the specific origin of the word is unclear, but a columnist in the New York Sun described the then new, hip phrase this way in April of that year. I must say, it made me chuckle. It helps to read it aloud in a British accent. Why don't we talk this way any more?

“A ‘Johnny on the spot’ is a man or youth who may be relied upon to be at a certain stated place when wanted and on whose assured appearance confident expectation may be based. It is not sufficient that an alert and trustworthy individual, to be thought deserving of the name ‘Johnny on the spot,’ should restrict his beneficent activity to the matter of being at a certain place when needed. He must, in addition, render such service and attend to such business when there as the occasion may require, and such a ‘Johnny’ must be on the spot not merely to attend to the business of others, but also to look after his own. Hence an individual who is prompt and farseeing, alive to his own interests and keenly sensible of means for promoting his own advantage is a ‘Johnny on the spot.’ ”

More Golden Compass

The controversy over the "real meanings" behind Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy of books is becoming a minor media stir. He's making the rounds promoting the upcoming film The Golden Compass and trying to play down quotes in the media suggesting that the books are an attack on Christianity or designed to recruit young minds into the exciting world of atheism.

Since I haven't read the books, I found this 2005 breakdown of the series by Mark Greene at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity really helpful. Even better is his encouragement to Christians to be available to correct the record about God's character for those persuaded by Pullman's ideas. The whole thing is worth a read if you're following this, but I especially like his summation.

Indeed, Pullman's propaganda may well be most dangerous to children and adults who have never known the love of the living God and do see the church as an out-of-date, life-denying, power-hungry and ultimately self-seeking institution. It may simply confirm their prejudices. As such, Pullman may succeed in turning many a child away from the true God he calls 'the enemy.' Nevertheless, Pullman has laid down his gauntlet in public, and the very success of his books and the explicitness of his attack may well provide Christians of all ages with many an opportunity to present the truth.

Certainly, we must oppose his ideas, and he expects no less. Nevertheless, he has left himself extremely vulnerable - his books almost entirely ignore Jesus. Perhaps he could find no way to twist such loving self-sacrifice into ammunition for the case against God. After all, a God who will deliberately sacrifice himself out of love is a long, long way from the malevolent and impotent cripple of Pullman's imagination. Indeed, we might pray that he soon discovers that the door into heaven will not be cut by an extraordinary and unique knife but has been already been flung wide open by the submission of the Son to some very ordinary nails.

The Linked Word Project

Cool site for Bible geeks: The Linked Word Project from Bob Jones University. Type in the passage you want, and it appears in good old KJV. Click on any word in the passage and get an instant breakdown of the word's origin in the Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament).

You'll see the word, its origin, its part of speech, its usage in the KJV, and a definition. Fun to play with and helpful if you're starting to dig into some Bible study for yourself.

At the right: The breakdown of the word fear from Proverbs 1:7.


(HT: Evangelical Outpost)

Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century

Some of you guys are getting to that place in a young man's life when he begins to consider his facial hair options. Before experimenting indiscriminately with the canvas that is your face, might I suggest a little research. Do some scrolling through the Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century both for inspiration and prevention.