Todd's Blog

A recent Bryan grad did an internship in Kruger National Park in South Africa, and the Henning Museum of Natural History will be hosting an exhibition of her photography.  Behold the press release: 'Visions of Africa' to be featured in Henning Museum Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

I was recently contacted by a new organization called the Colossian Forum . Normally, I'm pretty skeptical of new organizations in the religion/science debate, but this one is a bit different. Actually, the Colossian Forum seems to be a lot different. They say that they do not take a particular stand on issues. Their purpose is to encourage us Christians to be more Christian in our disagreements over theology and science. I am eager to see how well that pans out. In the meantime, I wrote an essay for them, which they've published on their website. It started out as a suggestion that I could not resist: What I would like to hear an evolutionary creationist say I had already been thinking about that very topic when it was suggested to me, so it sort of wrote itself. You probably won't be surprised to see what I came up with, but I'm sure it's different from what you would get from most other creationists. Enjoy! Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood ...

You've probably already seen this report, but just in case, check out Andrew Snelling's detailed discussion of the C-14 results from the Ararat wood that is NOT Noah's Ark: Is the Wood Recently Found on Mt. Ararat from the Ark? He not only explains why the results are suspect but also what kind of a C-14 date we could expect from Noah's Ark, if it ever were found. His ideas sound very, very familiar, but with a lot more detail and authority than I could ever muster. Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.

People seem quite interested in signs. They want to KNOW that the Bible is truth. They want it proved to them. I sometimes get emails wanting to know what I think the best "evidence" for creation is. People want some evidence besides the Word of God that creationism is true. Other times, I see creationists wanting to do this or that as a "sign" of the truth of God's Word. Jesus had some very interesting things to say about signs and proofs. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented a...

I have a fondness for coelacanths, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was my adolescent fascination for all things cryptozoological. Maybe it's that mysterious creationist obsession with living fossils. I don't know, but I do like hearing about coelacanths. Coelacanths (pronounced seal-a-canths) are weird fish that were thought to be extinct until a recently-living specimen was discovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Coelacanths are weird because they are lobe-finned fish. Instead of having fins typical of modern fish, the lobe-finned fish have bony structures that support their fins. Lobe-finned fish (not the coelacanth) are believed to represent the type of fish that land animals might have evolved from. Modern coelacanths are deep-sea fish, with a well-known population living off the coast of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean (the one caught off South Africa was evidently a stray). In the late 1990s, a second species was discovered off the coast of ...

I read 2 Timothy 3, which contains the famous passage affirming the inspiration of Scripture. I was fascinated by the context of the statement: But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:14-17, NIV) I memorized that passage (vv. 16-17) as a boy (probably in AWANA ), but this morning my attention was drawn by the passage that comes immediately after. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and...