Detectives examine evidence and seek an explanation that can account for that evidence. However, to do this job well, they must be fair-minded. It would, for example, be very foolish to prejudge the case and insist that every clue must be the result of an accident or some law-like principle. Detectives know very well that the evidence often points in the direction of a person who took steps to achieve a goal.
As you read How We Got Here, you will be the detective. You will examine the evidence and the possible explanations for it. Does the evidence indicate that life and its subsequent history are the result of a blind material process? Or does it indicate that this planet is habitable and filled with creatures only because a designer created the conditions for life to thrive and placed in DNA the information required for life? ______________________________________________________ The author graduated from Valparaiso University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He then attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, where he graduated in 1983 with a Master of Divinity. After serving a parish in rural Nebraska, he returned to the seminary and earned a Masters in Sacred Theology in 1996. Having a life-long interest in math and science, he has been reading about the question of origins since high school. |
What Kind of Lord Is He: A Lutheran Response to the Lordship-Salvation Debate is a revision of the author’s master’s thesis. It has been extensively revised to be readable by the Church at large.
Here is the issue under debate: Does the door to Christ’s kingdom remain shut until those who wish to enter heed the call to surrender to Christ’s authority? Or is turning over control of one’s life to Christ something that Christians do after they believe His promise to forgive their sins and give them eternal life? Some of the key issues the book examines are: Is not this the core message of Scripture–that God showers upon us all the treasures of heaven because Christ has won them for us? If someone's confidence rests on something other than this core–especially that the Savior has done all that was necessary to secure for us these eternal treasures–isn’t he resting on sinking sand? When the law points an accusing finger at us, isn’t Christ’s work for us and His commitment to us our only refuge? When we have confidence in God’s mercy, it will surely bear fruit. But don’t these changes follow, rather than precede, God’s decision to rule in our favor and pardon us for Jesus’ sake? ______________________________________________________ James Eckert has been a pastor in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for 40 years and has served congregations in rural Nebraska and southeastern Pennsylvania. He received a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1983. Wanting to better understand the differences between Lutherans and other Protestants, he returned to the seminary and earned a Master of Sacred Theology in 1996. |