No Intelligence Allowed

Remember Ben Stein – the excruciatingly dull teacher from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?  He’s also a former presidential speech writer (Nixon!! and Ford), an economist, author and an attorney (Yale Law School valedictorian 1970).  He writes regularly for NYTimes and Yahoo! Finance.  I want to recommend his recent controversial movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.  It’s about to come out on DVD and you can advance order it.  By the way, Ben adamantly denies writing the line “I am not a crook” for R.N.

Expelled is a humorous, maybe even sarcastic, documentary examining the exclusion of intelligent design from the mainstream academic world, despite some reasonably intelligent advocates.  The film is extremely polarizing – because the subject is exptemely polarizing.  You will like it if you put your faith in an intelligent Creator who is behind all that exists.  You will hate it if you put all your faith in Darwin.  Amazon rates it at right about 2 1/2 stars – probably the average of lots of 5s and 1s.  Again, I recommend the movie, though I’m sure it’s made a Ben Stein a lot of enemies.

If you want to check it out here’s a website:

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

If you want to go so far as to advance order it, here’s a link to Amazon.com:

Order Expelled on Amazon.com

If you want to read an interview with Ben in the Toronto Star here it is:

Toronto Star Interview June 2008

 And then there’s Ben’s own website:

http://www.benstein.com/

Palmer St. Podcast: Acts 5

Chapter 5 begins with the sobering story of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple that the Lord struck dead for their hypocrisy.  Ever wonder what it would be like if that happened more often?  We’ll then see God working wonders through the apostles.   That is followed by a confrontation between the apostles and the Sanhedrin led by the high priest, in the midst of which the twelve are released from prison by an angel.  The chapter ends with the apostles continuing to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Audio: Acts05.mp3

Notes: Acts05.pdf

The Simplicity That Is in Christ

It’s easy to mix the gospel with other things.  I mean, there is so much in the way of spiritual teaching or human philosophy out there that is good, or potentially good, or seemingly good, or helpful, or that we know has been helpful to others we know.  Who can argue with something that works?

Well, no one has to argue with anything.  We just need to be sure we aren’t mixing it with the gospel.  If we’re building our lives upon that solid Rock of Jesus, then Jesus is everything we need.  All else optional at best, harmful at worst.  The Christian should desire the sincere milk of the Word and every word that comes from the mouth of God.  And that puts every other outlook in perspective.

Throughout Church history Christians have been led astray by Jesus and something – or something very close to Jesus.  Watch out for any other Jesus, any different spirit, any different gospel.  Paul put it like this to one of his churches:

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it! – 2 Corinthians 11:2-4 (NKJV)

Palmer St. Podcast: Acts 3

Today we’ll see the first miracle performed by Peter – the healing of a beggar who never walked and was now over 40 years old.  When a crowd gathers as a result Peter will attribute the miracle not to himself – but to faith in the risen Jesus Christ.  Peter will explain various ways in which Jesus fulfills Jewish messianic prophecy and then call the crowd to repentance.

Audio: Acts03.mp3

Notes: Acts03.pdf