| Dear Friends of Reasonable Faith,
January’s highlight was my annual two week stint teaching at Talbot School of Theology in Southern California. This year was significant because the entire two weeks were professionally video recorded for future use in online classes. My course was “Philosophy of Religion,” the last of the core courses in the M.A. program in philosophy at Talbot to be video recorded for online use. We covered such vital topics as religious epistemology, God’s existence and attributes, creation, the Trinity, the incarnation, and atonement. If you want to get in on what was said, all these same subjects and more are covered in my Defenders class, series 2 and 3!
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| We met in a studio off campus from nine to noon each day. We recorded in 15-20 minute segments without interruption for questions. To keep my throat strong I consumed a lot of hot tea along the way. In order to cover all the material, we started early or ended late the last two days. It was overall a marathon recording session. At the end of the two weeks we had recorded 91 segments and successfully completed all the material. Now what remains is to edit the footage and insert presentation slides at various points showing arguments, illustrations, long quotations, and the like. I’m looking forward to seeing how the final product looks!
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While out at Talbot I also participated in some additional activities. One Saturday I was invited to participate in an invitation-only conference on the historical Adam at the offices of Reasons to Believe (RTB) in Covina, nestled in the beautiful foothills. The morning session featured a presentation by Joshua Swamidass of his genealogical Adam hypothesis, followed by a panel discussion that included Andrew Loke of Hong Kong and Ken Keathley, both Skyped in for the occasion. In the afternoon session a quite different hypothesis was presented by Fuz Rana of RTB, followed by a panel discussion in which I participated, along with Nathan Lents, a secular scientist interested in the dialogue between science and theology. I challenged Fuz, on the basis of archaeological evidence for the early appearance of modern human behaviors, to place Adam and Eve even earlier in history than RTB contemplates (about 150,00 years ago). The discussion was charitable and stimulating and illustrates the current fluidity in contemporary Christian thinking concerning the historical Adam.
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Later that evening, I spoke at an apologetics conference at Grace Evangelical Free Church, where last year at this time I had such a memorable interview with Erik Thoennes in the evening service. This year I spoke in defense of penal substitution (the doctrine that Christ bore the punishment for our sins). I answered the most oft-repeated objections to the coherence, the justice, and the satisfactoriness of penal substitution and then took questions from the audience. The next evening I participated in a panel discussion with other conference speakers on Christianity and culture. We had a very provocative and forthright exchange on whether evangelicals’ cozying up to President Trump will result in a backlash against Christianity in coming years. This was a much needed discussion, and I think we agreed that we evangelicals need to be balanced in our assessment of the President, supporting his bold efforts on behalf of pro-life causes, religious liberty, and religious persecution, while not excusing his personal character flaws.
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I mentioned above the amazing archaeological evidence that strongly suggests that modern human behavior appeared very early in history, and I shared in last month’s Report some of that evidence. Let me focus here on the remarkable wooden spears discovered in the 1990s at Schöningen, Germany. The coal mine from which the spears were excavated has six sequences of multiple layers of sedimentary deposits. The spears were found in the fourth layer of the second sequence, dated to the third interglacial period between 300,000-400,000 years ago! These spears aren't anything like the sticks that chimpanzees sharpen with their teeth and use to stick things. These are over 6 or 7 foot sculpted spears designed for throwing. The circumference of the first third of the spear is greater, so that it tapers off toward the butt. As a result, most of the weight is forward, to assist in throwing like a javelin. Reproductions of them have been made, and they turn out to be on a par with Olympic javelins! Can you imagine?
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Schöningen spear. The warping is due to the pressure of tons of sediment.
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| I’m persuaded that the Schöningen spears, along with remains of Homo heidelbergensis at Boxgrove, England, are enormously significant in demonstrating incredibly early “modern” behavior. Hartmut Thieme, the excavator at Schöningen, says, “Found in association with stone tools and the butchered remains of more than ten horses, the spears strongly suggest that systematic hunting, involving foresight, planning and the use of appropriate technology, was part of the behavioral repertoire of pre-modern hominids.” The mention of foresight and planning is especially significant, since these are commonly thought to be indicative of a truly human consciousness which is freed from the immediate here and now and can imagine possibilities. Big game hunting is a risky business which would have required co-operation and perhaps even language ability, which is uniquely human. Possible big game hunting has also been suggested at sites such as Boxgrove (ca. 500,000 years ago) and Clacton (ca. 300,000 years ago), England, where a fragment of such a wooden spear was found. The remains at Boxgrove from several rhinoceros and horse skeletons bear butchery marks from stone tools, and microscopic analysis of the wear on retouched stone flake scrapers from sites such as Clacton indicate that a number of these tools were used for hide-scraping. Hides could have been used for blankets, simple clothing, cords for stitching or tying things together, or carrying items. Thieme has written a book in German about the Schöningen spears, and since I read German, I’m eager to get a copy of it.
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I’m currently working with the Zangmeister on our next animated video “God and the Applicability of Mathematics,” a powerful argument for God’s existence. The Zangmeister has written a very strong script for this animation, and I’m excited to see the visuals he comes up with. He also informs me that our first animated video translated into Chinese is now ready for release, a very exciting development! If you have not yet viewed our newest animated video released earlier this week, "The Problem of Those Who Have Never Heard of Christ," I encourage you to do so and hope you find it helpful.
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This coming month I’ll be recording Reasonable Faith podcasts with Kevin Harris and speaking at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We also have our semi-annual Reasonable Faith Board of Directors meeting this month with lots to talk about as we chart the future course of this ministry.
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For Christ and His Kingdom,
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Dr. Craig,
Recently I walked into my 10-year-old daughter's bedroom to pray with her and tuck her in for bed. I didn't realize that she had stepped out of the room for a minute. As I walked over to her bed something caught my eye; it was a copy of your book, Learning Logic, and a spiral notebook with a page full of notes! My heart lept! I didn't even know my daughter was aware I owned this book (she must have found it in my bookshelf), much less that she decided on her own to select it, study it, and take notes! I thank God for her hungry young mind and heart and for the resources you have provided for all age ranges and intellects. Thank you Dr. Craig.
In Christ,
Gabriel
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