Ben Stein is Fox News’ Power Player of the Week. To check this out go to foxnews.com and scroll down to view the video about Ben Stein. While the interview provides some intriguing background information about Stein, my point in calling this to your attention is that his documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is attracting considerable interest (see my earlier post). Though Stein’s “Expelled” ranks 12th among documentary films, the anti-Darwinian nature of this film has brought on the wrath of the scientific community. To read about the scientific community’s outrage over “Expelled” as well as some beneficial reactions to their disdain, read “Darwinist Intolerance Continues Unabated after Expelled.”

Is last week’s “Evangelical Manifesto” a theological disappointment? I must admit that this document’s call for civility among evangelicals is not appealing when I see who did not sign the document and that a theological definition of evangelical is minimized by the actual document (to read the full document, go here). For an analysis of the “Evangelical Manifesto,” check out the following responses: “Come On, You Call This a Manifesto?” by Alan Jacobs, “An Evangelical Response to “An Evangelical Manifesto” by Albert Mohler, and “The Latest Evangelical Manifesto” by Jesse Johnson.

According to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has “lost his bearings” when he stated that Hamas would prefer Obama for president (in case you have forgotten that Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Prime Minister of Hamas, made this very point on WABC radio in mid-April, click here). God-fearing people in the United States need to be careful of Obama’s slick, but unsubstantial, rhetoric. From what I have been able to see of Obama, he could teach “Slick Willy” a trick or two. With assistance from McCain’s presidential advisor Mark Salter, read Scott Johnson’s “Help me, Senator Obama, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

Is it optional how Christians interpret the early chapters of Genesis? “I’m convinced,” argues John MacArthur, “the opening chapters of Genesis are not optional. They establish the vital foundation for everything that we believe as Christians.” Over the past few years, Pulpit Magazine has posted a number of articles by John MacArthur’s on current issues related to creationism. In his last post on Genesis, Dr. MacArthur clearly argues that the early chapters of Genesis, especially Genesis 1, has an impact on how we interpret the rest of Scripture: “In Scripture the Creator Himself has revealed to us everything essential for life and godliness. And it starts with an account of creation. If the biblical creation account is in any degree unreliable, the rest of Scripture stands on a shaky foundation.” To read the full article, go to “One Last Post on Genesis.”

In conjunction with the subject of creationism, another helpful source that I have been able to positively recommend in the biblical creationism classes that I have taught over the last five years or so is John MacArthur’s The Battle for the Beginning. This book gives a clear exposition of the first three chapters of Genesis and how these chapters should challenge believers to reject the naturalism that is so prevalent in our age. This is another source that would be helpful for you edification.

Since last week, Pulpit Magazine has posted a few articles by John MacArthur supporting a literal interpretation of Genesis 1 (for these previous articles, go here and here). Earlier this morning Pulpit Magazine continued this series by posting MacArthur’s short critique of the framework interpretation of Genesis 1. As I have previously noted in an earlier post, the framework interpretation is rapidly growing in popularity among evangelical educators and students. Based on my own studies, I wholeheartedly agree with MacArthur when he states that “the simple, rather obvious, fact is that no one would ever think the time-frame for creation was anything other than a normal week of seven days from reading the Bible and allowing it to interpret itself. The Fourth Commandment makes no sense whatsoever apart from an understanding that the days of God???s creative work parallel a normal human work week.” Since we live in a day of great compromise on biblical authority, especially as it relates to Genesis 1, you need to be informed about the framework interpretation and a great way to start is by reading “Gensis 1: Fact or Framework?.”

On April 29, I posted a blog entry about the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s denial of the Institute for Creation Research Graduate School’s request to grant degrees in Texas. In response to this denial, ICRGS on May 2 issued this press release: “Administration officials at the Graduate School of the Institute for Creation Research (ICRGS), a California-based institution, have released documents pertaining to its application to grant degrees in the state of Texas where it has sought to move its academic offices.” For more information, read ICR’s Press Release 05 02 2008 (to stay current with ICR’s ongoing press releases, click here). If allowed to stand, Texas’ denial of ICGRS’s academic freedom has potential long-term ramifications for other Bible-believing institutions in other areas besides biblical creationism.

A number of months back, WordPress made some significant improvements. And, to keep pace with these ameliorations, I thought it best a few months later to update my website. This switch is helpful and will enhance my capabilities in using my website. Unfortunately, as is true with many significant changes, I am experiencing a few transitional challenges. As far as short-term effect is concerned, this update has considerably slowed down the maintenance and development of my website. In relation to long-term results, this modification has substantial improvements as far as my ability to work with my website. With this alteration, I have not modified the purpose of my website and blog. For now, let me mention two changes that may have an affect on you.

First, one of the changes with this update is that my RSS feed has changed. If you have not recently updated my RSS feed, you are not receiving my feed. If you are still interested in receiving the feed, look at the right-hand side of my blog and you will notice an icon for this feed: . To subscribe to my blog feed, click this icon to set it up. If you are not currently using RSS feeds and would like to learn more about using this tool, read Abraham Piper’s step-by-step instructions for using Google Reader.

Second, we also have some transitional problems with the material on my blog. I am currently working on restoring some of my documents and links associated with them. We are making good progress; however, there are some items that I may have overlooked. If you see something that is no longer on my website or can be improved, please inform me of this by sending me an email. Thanks for your patience and for using my website and blog.