Pre-Wedding Post

I wanted to a brain dump before the wedding tomorrow =P.

Everything is God's,

including the wedding. As I look back to the money, time, and effort spent into this wedding, what makes it really worth it is that it is a platform for getting the gospel out there. Although I am excited to say "I do" to my wife tomorrow, I am more concerned about faithfully making the gospel known when given the opportunity. Everything else feels in vain if we do not get the gospel out.

When Michelle and I focused on God, decisions became easier. Either the answer was obvious, or the answer didn't matter.

Of course, this also meant extra long discussions on seemingly small discussions, such as when to do the civil wedding, and trying to communicate why we want to be thrifty on certain things. Make it clear that it's about God when disagreeing.

Invite as many people as you can.

Most people won't go near a church, but they will for a wedding. Make the most of this platform.

Delegation

Delegate all the non-gospel essentials. If I were to go back in time and redo this, I would delegate a lot more.

Speeches

Do these as early as possible. If it's last minute, you might not remember to put everything you want to say.

Table Plans

It's a NP-hard problem, so don't do it at the last minute (like we did >.>).

Stress Management

It will be stressful. Let God use it to sanctify you. Wedding planning will reveal where you default too when you want to rest. Are you looking for rest in God, or in other things? I saw myself a lot clearer and where I go to "rest".

That's it for now. Lord willing, I'll be married tomorrow =].

Adam Versus Claims From Genetics - A Critique

By: Vern s. Poythress

Article location: http://www.frame-poythress.org/adam-versus-claims-from-genetics/
with the following note:

[Originally published in the Westminster Theological Journal 75 (2013): 65-82. Used with permission.]

Key question: Does evolution disprove Adam was a historical individual?

Ninety-Nine Percent Common DNA

• DNA 96-99% identical with humans

• However, they:

• Ignore repetitive portions

• Alternative splicing might mean they are not really repetitive, and only appear to be

• Compare only sequences that can be aligned naturally with one another

• This makes sense; local alignments vs. global alignments

• Consider only base-pair substitutions, not “indels” (see below)

• This is interesting... this is probably because the best scores came from bp substitutions. I would expect a combination of bp substitutions and indels would give an even better score

Or less

• 28% of human DNA was excluded due to alignment problems

• Citation:

• Ingo Ebersberger et al., “Genomewide Comparison of DNA sequences between humans and Chimpanzees,” American Journal of Human Genetics 70, no. 6 (June 1, 2002): 1490-97 [1492-93], http://www.cell.com/AJhG/abstract/s0002-9297%2807%2960701-0 (accessed September 19, 2012). 

• Do these sequences matter? What do these sequences code for?

• 7% of all chimpanzee sequences did not align with any human sequences

• Do these sequences matter? What do these sequences code for?

• 23% of human genome do not share an immediate ancestor with the chimpanzee

• Citation:

• Ingo Ebersberger et al., “mapping human Genetic Ancestry,” Molecular Biology and evolution 24, no. 10 (2007): 2266, http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/10/2266.full.pdf (accessed September 19, 2012); referenced by Casey Luskin, “study Reports a Whopping ‘23% of our Genome’ Contradicts standard human-Ape Evolutionary Phylogeny,” evolution News, June 3, 2011, http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/06/study_reports_a_whopping_23_of047041.html (accessed September 19, 2012).

• Includes genes and exons

The Challenge of Interpreting Data

• The author is eluding that Darwinism is a belief.

No Purpose?

• The author is stating that the scientific framework can only describe the process, not the purpose.

• I agree.

Gradualism

• This section is stating gradualism is possible regardless of what religious views you have

• Atheism and Darwinism are both religions because they make a claim about God

• I know atheists who will disagree.

• I would say it is a belief, but I'm not sure if I would define it as a religion

Interpreting the Evidence

• Darwinist are selecting the evidence that supports their claim, but are assuming the evidence that is not addressed will be understood later

• Interesting enough, this follows a similar pattern as the 'God did it' model

• Both atheism and Christianity are worldviews. Atheists make a stand that there isn't sufficient proof that God exists. I make a stand that there isn't sufficient proof Christian doctrines are wrong.

• The explanation for structural similarities between humans and animals is explainable in the Christianity worldview

Miracles and Solidarity

• “Does man have to be different to be proof that God made him directly?” The answer is no.

• Agreed

Do Percentages Matter?

• "The question of genetic similarity remains of interest to scientists, but it is entirely secondary to the question of human significance."

Junk DNA

• Interesting tidbit, but not sure how it fits into this article

The Function of the Framework

• "Scientists trust in current scientific theories, and in many cases the trust is warranted. But such trust is a form of faith, and it is unwise to denounce those who find themselves unable to muster the same faith.

• This is how we life everyday. We often cite people and papers and claim that is okay because they have been peer-edited and accepted. Most people don't actually read the methods and/or show that they are reproducible. They merely trust other people's claims.

• We place our hope on empirical evidence because the scientific framework is objective, while experiential "evidence" is not. However, the scientific framework is limited. It's inability to explain purpose is one short-coming it has.

• Science makes an assumption that the present always conforms to the past. For example, we expect objects to fall at roughly 9.81 m/s/s based on past experiments. However, this is no definite proof that the present or future will always perform the same as the past. If we do not make this assumption, the scientific framework becomes useless.

• This can also be said about God - how do you know He never changes (i.e. immutable)? If God does change, Christianity wouldn't hold. However, if God exists, but does not keep His word, we're in trouble regardless if we believe in Him or not.

Does Nonfunctionality Matter?

• "The fact that we cannot figure out purposes does not mean that God does not have any."

The Minimum Population Bottleneck

• "Statistical analysis allegedly shows that there never was a single original human pair, but a larger population; figures of 5,000 or 10,000 are sometimes encountered as minimal figures for any population “bottleneck” in human ancestry."

• This part didn't interest me too much - it was a claim I've never heard, and the author discredits it anyways.

How long ago did Adam and Eve live?

• There is a gap between Genesis 5 and Genesis 10

• There is also a gap in Matthew 1

• "Moreover, the genealogy in matt 1:2-16 places the name of Uzziah immediately after Joram (v. 8). When it does so, it omits the names of the intervening generations, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, which 2 Chr 22–25 mentions. Matthew 1:8 thus has a “gap."
• Yayyy to support for old-earth? =P

Three Sides to the Analysis

• Author (paraphrased): This paper only addresses the scientific view, and not the theological view
• "In the midst of rapidly expanding research, popular claims made in the name of science easily fall victim to one of three failings:
• they overreach or exaggerate the implications of evidence,
• they misread the significance of technical research,
• or they argue in a circle by assuming the principle of purely gradualistic evolution at the beginning of their analysis."

Commitments

• "Scientists must believe (1) that the world displays regularities,

• (2) that human beings have minds so attuned to these regularities that they have a chance of discerning them,

• (3) that examination of the world and experimentation concerning its regularities are ethically legitimate, and

• (4) that scientists ought to and for the most part do remain honest in their examination of the world and their reports of their conclusions"

Understanding the Creation of Human Beings

• "What's the bible about?" (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R-MsejlbWYghAp_KXFy0R-y5UIuhB_N-ZTGQeFhvaEc/edit)

Summary

I would recommend this paper for reading. I have not looked deeply into the citations to ensure the author is using the right context when citing journal articles, so I would not consider this a robust critique of this article. However, since I am biased, I am inclined to agree without diving into the citations.

Maybe another time.

Pressure

The term is ending, and there are still three open slots to Westcourt.

The other day, I was doing a lot of complaining and whining about how I can't find any sublets. It was embarrassing when I realized I was not instead trusting God in all these things, but the beauty of God's atoning work is that I know I can ask God for forgiveness and that He has taken all my shame away.

So while I have to pay over 1k just to cover the empty rooms, I am blessed to be able to pay for that all on my own. This is good training for even harder things to come.

You can't take my joy, cause the world didn't give it to me

Can I Stay Here Forever?

I was chatting with my roommate RL the night before he moved away.

Questions:

• Will you miss UW/CCF/P2C (or any other university, or wherever you may be right now) when you leave?
• How much?
• Why?
• Where are you going after?

As another set of students graduate, there's going to be a lot of nostalgia and tears. As much as university/CCF/P2C was a good thing, make sure it hasn't become a God thing. Don't worship good things, but rather be excited for where God is taking you next. 

If you haven't prinked (pray + think) about post-university/CCF/P2C yet, start now. These things are gateways, not the final destination. There are only two places you can expect that can become your final destination.

Can I stay here forever, here with You?

Ignore,

I wanted to cry – not because I had been insulted – but because of the message she had just sent her son.  In that split moment, she communicated that you’re supposed to ignore the poor and needy; they’re less than human.  And if you do interact with them, that’s wrong, wrong enough to deserve punishment.

or give money?

One of the major take-aways from this experience was learning more about the blessing of granting someone who is often displaced by society their dignity. No matter whether or not a person gave me money, no one asked my story.  No one knew or cared to know how or why I came to be there.  No one took the time to truly see me.  It came to the point where I just wanted someone to look me in the eyes.  Being ignored felt so dehumanizing.

Wrong question.

~Quotes from LESS THAN HUMAN

I knew you were trouble

You know in those dramas, where a girl trips, and a guy conveniently was there for her to fall right into his arms? And how afterwards, the girl is all embarrassed and runs away (Can't escape!) afterwards. And how in your heart, you go "awwwwww" cause it was cute? It's so easy for me (as a guy) to go through these motions or to mimic these scenarios without much emotional weight behind it.

I was looking at the top 10 articles in 2012 for Boundless, and came across this one: What's a Guy to Do?. As I was reading and posting the article on a facebook group, the guilt of all the things I've done comes rushing back, and the accusation of being a hypocrite begins to ring repeatedly. No matter. I may be a hypocrite, but it doesn't mean I can't proclaim truth.

I used to loved teasing girls, and I still love it too much to this day. Not that it is necessarily wrong (although it seems to be a fine line), but it was all about the attention, cause frankly, it's nice to have a girl's attention. I still tease once in a while as part of a conversation (read: joke around), but even then, it seems like a really fine line to walk on. TL;DR: teasing = fine line.

It is by God's grace that I've gotten out of the habit of teasing girls for attention. But I could never take back the thousands of lines of gchat history, nor unhurt the girls who's heart I've mishandled. It was a learning experience that frankly costed others a lot more pain than it did to me.

I know it's lame to apologize through a blog (not to mention that it might not be read), but I don't think digging up the past is a better alternative. If you are one of those girls, I'm sorry, and can issue a more formal apology/discussion if you would like.

On a happier note, I got my act together the last time I started "playing around" with a girl. Hi honey =P.

(you must restart to apply) updates

I know I say this a lot, but time flies. Oh wait, I'm not AW.

No updates really. Time goes by fast, but life goes by slowly. This working thing really makes life a lot less eventful.

• I'm moving in two months or so. I guess that's exciting.
• It was fun interviewing co-ops (especially if you know one of them and tried hard not to laugh haha).
• I miss my girlfriend =[.
• I like (Harvest) small group surprisingly =D. I'm so used to being alone in my walk that liking small group threw me off.
• Work is busy as usual. We need more testers. If you're interested, let me know ;).
• My room is pretty clean.
• God is good!
• I need more time with Him. Need more direction in life. Everything pursuit seems meaningless otherwise.
• Col. 3:1-17
• I'm almost halfway in paying off my student loans =D.
• I spend too much money.
• PMS sucks.

That is all.

< /braindump>