Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

Lent 2019

The One Thing Needful (Lent 2019)

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Here, then, is the clue to our erratic life patterns, our inconstancy, our unfaithfulness, our stupid inability to distinguish between fashion and faith: we don't rise up early and listen to God. We don't daily find a time apart from the crowd, a time of silence and solitude, for preparing for the day's journey. "A very original man," says Garry Wills, "must shape his life, make a schedule that allows him to reflect, and study, and create." Jeremiah had a defined priority: persistently rising early, he listened to … [Read more...] about The One Thing Needful (Lent 2019)

Science Corner: Subtraction by Addition

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Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park was in the science news last week, which caught my eye because I had recently read Sean B. Carroll's The Serengeti Rules. (Scientist/authors are rare, and yet biologist Sean B. Carroll must distinguish himself from physicist Sean Carroll.) Gorongosa features in the book as one of several locations where large-scale ecological experiments have been conducted under resource management initiatives. The general question is how to achieve a thriving ecosystem with a complete food web in … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Subtraction by Addition

Living Mid-Story (Lent 2019)

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"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5 Before Jeremiah knew God, God knew Jeremiah. . . . We are known before we know. This realization has a practical result: no longer do we run here and there, panicked and anxious, searching for the answers to life. Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out. Rather, we come to God, who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives. The fundamental mistake is to begin … [Read more...] about Living Mid-Story (Lent 2019)

Science Corner: Lent 2019

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As my church background does not have a strong Lenten tradition, I decided to take a look at what Pope Francis has written about Lent in his annual messages for this season. Since he is a scientist and a theologian, I thought he would be a good point of reference. While the sermons are not primarily focused on science, a few themes related to science did emerge within a broader discussion of love, charity and compassion and other facets of the Gospel. … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Lent 2019