My bloviations on stone walls prompted an email response from a professional who works in the dry stone medium, James Asbury. He pointed me to a project at the Pennsylvania College of Technology that he’d completed, from which I’ve grabbed the photo below. Check out the rest: no mortar, just stones, artfully arranged. I’m always impressed with the work and explanations of experts in a field.
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JI am responding to a post on smijer.com. I was unable to respond on the previous site because the blog has moved here and I was unable to finish reading the post without responding. I recently read Lee Strobles Case for Faith and was searching for information on Traducianism and found your blog. Needless to say, I was interested in your rebuttal and began reading it.
First, the essential elements of inference to the best explanation apply in many disciplines and Scientific Creationism - debunking abiological creation of life is one of them. It is intellectually dishonest to say that it is chemically probable given 5 billion years that life would spring to existence. It is too complex and there is not enough time. This is proven over and over and over and over, see: Of Pandas and People, by Dean H. Kenyon who literally “wrote the book” on prebiotic evolution in the 1960s. And of course Michael Behe’s remarkable Darwin’s Black Box. If you haven’t read these then please don’t sit here and talk about lacking proof. If you have you’ll understand the facts may not speak for themselves, but we must speak for them.
I would point out to you that your accusation of ipse dixit arguments are misplaced. This was an interview format - Lee is not representing the entirety of Moreland’s work, instead he’s recording the conversational Q and A format to get to the simple version of more complex subjects. If you truly had a genuine interest in the backing for his statement you could read the book entirely, and then the books authored by Moreland referenced at the end of the chapter.
In terms of Hell as a torture chamber - I believe that you may have a valid point. I think that Morelands Moralizing may have clouded his vision on this. I feel the same human dispropensity to accept Hell as ongoing searing of flesh - yet it seems that we humans do have some contradictory views on the value of life, violence, torture, cruel and unusual punishment and death. In as much as I may not like the idea of hell the moral objection still rests on temporal human understanding. To which I will attempt to add this prospective: Moreland acknowledges that separation from God must be torturous in terms of relational exile, however God consistently merges the physical with the spiritual and I believe the separation however horrible is coupled with physical pain. In order to fell this even those in Hell will receive some form of a new body. I would rely only on the idea that Hell is a judgment of God’s moral justice and not our human version of it. Therefore I must conclude that the rejection of the Holy Spirit is such an egregious offence to righteousness that it warrants not only quarantine but ongoing and eternal pain. As Moreland points out it is in our intrinsic value that we are preserved for eternity and simply grounding us and “sending us to our room” is an insufficient punishment.
I could go on, but I won’t at this time. Let me know what you think…
BuckI don’t know which would be more frightening. Trying to build that arch or walking under it.
And I have always wondered if God is omnipresent, how is it possible to be separated from Him or Her or It?
RSAI really like the arch. It turns out that the entire structure is only about seven or eight feet tall, so it’s a bit deceptive; I first described it to my wife in comparison to a grist mill that sits a block from our house, which is built from enormous stones. Still, it’s impressive in its structure.
john shaw-rimmingtonif you go to our submissions page http://www.jboyweb.com/drystonewall/articles.php and read the ‘inspiration leads to achievement award’ article you’ll get the whole story
wall the best!
john shaw-rimmington
president of the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada
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wow! that’s georgeous. I would be frightened to try an arch at all, much less one that skews laterally. I love that.