One of the most hotly contested and most prognosticated subjects of our time is about the nature of God. Even among varying Christian religions the view of God and His nature changes quite a bit. Some religions rely on legalistic interpretation of God and His promise of justice and of dealing with those who transgress His laws. Others lean more toward the view of God as merciful and gracious, loving of all no matter what circumstance. In the end, both are correct. God is a God of justice and He is also a God of peace and forgiveness. Part of being an apologist for Christianity is being able to correctly articulate what God is, and more importantly, what God is not. We will take a very brief look at the nature of God in this paper. It is partially based on Chapter 4 titled The Nature of God in Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli.

God is the source of all existence. He is alone in that He is the sole creator of all things. All things work to the Glory of God. God is the source of His own existence. You and I in our finite bodies need to be created to come into this world. We need a mother and a father to come together as one and create us. God is not temporally limited in that manner. He draws on himself for His own existence. If God was dependent on something or someone else for his existence he would not be the Almighty God. He would be the product of something else, and that something else would be greater than Him, and therefore more worthy of our adoration, praise and worship. It would also beg the question “If there is a being that created God, who created the being that created God?” It is an endless loop of guessing and not ever knowing.

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Hello, Everyone. We are new to ESI and look forward to joining in the tapestry of conversation being woven on this site.

Over a year ago, Brian invited us to contribute to ESI when we were enjoying some seriously yummy Thai food with Sondra in Charlottesville. (Thanks for your patience, Brian!) About a month ago, we all found ourselves eating at the same table again (this time enjoying South African food), and the time seemed right for us to finally join in the fun here at ESI.

You can learn more about us in our bio, but to make a long story short, we are very much into the interaction between Culture and the Faith. We both come from a Presbyterian background but are now attending an Anglican church where we enjoy the historically orthodox theology, the sung liturgy, and the deep sense of sacramentality.

One of our deepest passions is the unity of the Church across all of her members from Rome to the little, funky, Southern-gothic church down in the holler where they handle snakes and have fried chicken on the grounds every Sunday. As such, we pray that the Lord will use us as sinews in the Body of Christ to help bind His people together in His love.

Peace,

John and Petra Harvey

One cannot go visit a zoo or aquarium anymore without being inundated by certain political messages. A particular message that was repeated to my husband and I throughout our recent visit to San Diego (which included both the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park) was, "Poaching is bad."

Variations on this theme were repeated to us constantly. We were often informed that such-and-such an animal was endangered and that there were "less than 1000" left in "The Wild."

Annihilating a Species is Bad
Though I believe that humans have the right to kill animals and eat them and use other parts of them to make tools or clothing, I also believe it is inappropriate to annihilate a species.

We Americans tend to romanticize tribal cultures as some sort of simpler, "back-to-nature" sort of existence. But all cultures are not created equal. It is my conviction that a culture is "good" to the extent that it reflects God's vision for society. Each culture will have details where they vary (musical styles, dress, overall personality, etc.), but God has given instructions to which each culture is obligated to conform.

When one studies Genesis, especially the first four chapters, one sees that God did not begin history with what we typically think of as a tribal culture. The description was more one of gardening/farming than anything else. It was not until after the Deluge (during which God chose a family to preserve not only humanity but animal life as well) that man was specifically given meat to eat. At that time, God put the fear of man into the animals (Genesis 9:2-5). I presume that putting fear into the animals was a way of making sure that man did not obliterate them. It is, after all, quite simple to butcher a domesticated animal.

As early as Genesis 4 is the idea of a man having a flock mentioned. When one puts together the idea of tending a flock of sheep with the gardening and cultivation of the land mentioned in the prior three chapters of the book, the picture is one of sustainable food sources.

Man is not called to be a locust upon the earth, consuming whatever is before him and leaving a path of destruction behind. And yet, this is precisely the lifestyle of some tribal cultures (including some past Native American cultures). The tribes hunt until there are no more animals to eat. They migrate and "gather" food much in the way an elephant does (an elephant herd, we learned, can destroy an entire forest in a short amount of time)--until there is nothing left.

The Problem of Africa
It is hard to isolate the various problems of Africa, because many of them stem from a refusal to bow the knee to the Creator. The area of poaching is just such a problem. The poachers see potential value in the animals--their skins, their tusks, their meat (for food known as Bushmeat). But they do not follow the Creator's guide. They often do not cultivate the ground and tend a herd. They kill and kill until the animal population drops into what many call the "endangered" level.

So then the governments, often pressured by Americans, steps in to "save the animals." And we were astounded by the "most effective" way this has been done. We were told this by a tour guide, and I am assuming this is true. Some African governments hire poachers, arm them, and pay them to kill other poachers. That's right. Africa has chosen not to elevate man back to his position of steward of the land and life, but rather turn him on himself. And now there is a situation where a dead poacher is more valuable than a dead animal.

Problem solved, in the opinion of Africa. And the San Diego Zoological Society seems to also accept this solution. After all, they exist not to put creation back together again, but to preserve animals in the name of preserving animals. So, San Diego breeds endangered animals, ships them back to Africa, repopulates the land with fresh meat, and gets comfortable with the idea that the animals won't be killed, but the hunters will be.

And it is believed all is right with the world, when it is in fact turned upon its very head!

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." Matthew 12:36

As a father of a very busy soon to be 5 year old, the thought of not having a television around is enough to make me want to scream and holler until they lock me up in the looney bin. I think it is time though. Here is a few random observations on my own behavior after watching television:

1) After watching an episode of The George Lopez Show recently I found myself at Safeway talking to the store clerk. The clerk was Latino, and my speech pattern towards him was so demeaning...and just like the way George Lopez talks on his show. To me it is ignorant and uneducated sounding. Unfortunately, it is also funny and it sucks millions of Americans to the television every night.

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