The Magic of Reality: Richard Dawkins' book for children

It's Christmas break (for one week,) and so I have been brushing up on my Intelligent Design emails, etc, etc. I guess Richard Dawkins just came out with a new book for children. The review I was reading came from this website. I thought it was interesting.
Inwardly, you see, I am a teacher and so the force of "teacher" compels me to share what I have found.
My roommate is still in Singapore, and so I share it here and now with this blog (and whoever may stumble upon it,) because "Digging to China" is my only outlet!

Questions I ponder:
How many people will buy this book?
How will this book influence its readers?
Will school teachers use this book for their students?
How many more children's books will Dawkins publish?
How does Dawkins know what the truth of reality is? (Does he say that truth can be found? Does he say that HE has found the truth? -- Christopher Hitchens did not make such claims.)

It follows the pattern of all thoughts of influence that have gone before it: start with the children.

How ready are our children to discern and disseminate Truth?

We are all always ready to take in and be influenced by information.
That is the problem.
That's why children are always the targets and ones to be so greatly influenced.
(And why are the mothers leaving them without a guide?)

An excerpt from the book can be heard at Amazon.com's "audible.com" tool.

It seems that perhaps, the greatest tool to enable us to see will be and is death.

Tree of Life movie Trailer

Tree of Life Movie Trailer from YouTube. I found the review from Intelligent Design people interesting, as well as the review on some movie theater website. I also find it interesting to see who the actors are in this film. Why? What was the director's intent? Are ID people reading too much into the movie?

Intelligent Design Podcasts

Just found these podcasts and thought they may be helpful and/or interesting to browse. (They seem to be rather short and easy to handle.)

Christmas Story: Frail and Lowly?

I know there have been times when I have been telling my friends and/or my students about the virgin birth, God becoming flesh, and I have asked myself, “What in the heck are you saying?!”

It sounds so ludicrous.

For some, this is the first time they have heard of these things. They are scientifically minded. These statements are not reasonable.

And yet, His coming is the beginning of the mystery of salvation being revealed to the world.

As I speak about Christmas, I have been asking myself, "Do our thoughts and traditions during this season move us to stand in awe of Him?"

"Sweet, little Jesus boy, we made you be born in a manger. Look how we treated you." –Hmmm…. Theologically accurate? Awe-inspiring?

(Makes Him sound so weak He can’t even choose where He was going to be born.)

How do we respond to Him?

First, look to the responses of the various peoples in the biblical “Christmas Story.”

--Mary and Joseph: Obedience, surprise, and pondering.

--Shepherds (Angels): For there is born to YOU in the city of David, a Savior who IS Christ the LORD. (Not “will be” – born as is.)

Angels’ reaction: glorify their God on earth because He has gone for crazy reasons they long to understand.

Shepherds’ reaction: “Let us go now.” They left with haste. Left behind the whole of their livelihood. Made widely known what they had seen.

--Wise men’s reaction: Matthew 2:2, “’Where is He who has been born, King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to WORSHIP Him.” They fell before Him and worshiped Him and offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

--Anna/Simeon’s reaction: Glorified God and attributed to Jesus the salvation coming to be given.

--Herod: Greatly troubled. Killed all the babies in Jerusalem 2 and under.

All reactions (seemed to be) serious and immediate; they had to make an immediate decision about how they would accept this news of the supposed Messiah’s arrival.

How do others react when we share this story? How do our hearts move within us when we hear this story?

Do these traditions evoke a sense of awe and wonder, or cuteness and frailty?

What is your response to Jesus? How is your heart of awe and worship?

The other night at English corner we ended up chatting about Christmas, the Bible, and God’s glory. I was suddenly overwhelmed with pressure from the realization that they have (yes, because they are spiritually blinded,) no idea about the awe, glory, and sacrifice of the birthday of Jesus.

It’s not just that Jesus became a baby, but the Baby is GOD. The Creator has put on His creation. The Creator has allowed Himself to have a “cord that is cut.”

He is God made manifest to us. The point is not so much that God is a baby, but that this baby is God, the long-awaited Messiah who will save us from our sins and bring righteous judgment to the world.

(If that were the main focus of Christmas carols, would they become harder for non-believers to sing? Ehhh...Probably not. "Silent Night," DOES say, "fall on your knees." It's all the work of the Holy Spirit.)

And yet, let us press on to remember and speak of the One who alone is worthy to open the seals, the Lamb who was slain, the One who sits on the throne and receives glory and honor and praise all morning and all night.

The One whose eyes are a flame of fire, head crowned with many crowns, who wears a robe dipped in blood, whose name is The Word of God, who leads the armies of Heaven, whose mouth holds a sharp sword that with it He should strike the nations and rule them with a rod of iron.

If we are going to share who our God is, let's not distract them from the glorious Truth.

(The Gospel writers follow a pattern of no distraction.)

Questions Abounding Part 1 (Pursue What?)

I don’t need to want more.

I don’t need to want more faithfulness.

I don’t need to want better faithfulness.

Are these statements blasphemous, or am I beginning to understand contentment?

Why should you ever be satisfied with your current relationship with the Lord?

There’s always more.

Is Matthew 5-7 such a big deal?

Should I just live in my cocoon and faithfully minister to those around me, solely?

Should I ever step out of where I am now and pursue other ideas and possibilities?

Should I wait for opportunities to come to me as waiting upon the Lord and His timing and His will?

When we chase after dreams, plans, or pursuits is that because in order to start something you need to initiate the process – as the universal Law, or is it because I have been influenced by my culture and the idea of pursuing the American dream?

Questions Abounding Part 2 (I Can't)

I can’t change the world.

I can’t heal all the sorrows of each individual.

I cannot help the North Koreans.

I cannot adopt all the abandoned children of the world.

I cannot disciple and love every person who wants to grow and be loved.

So, what do I do?

If I am not living close to the literally abandoned, hungry, hurting people, does that mean I must only minister to those many hurting and alone people in my circle?

The rich minister to the hurting rich, and the poor minister to the hurting poor, huh?

Is it biblical to chase dreams and to explore new possibilities?

What about Matthew 5-7?

Is it so important to make it a priority in one’s life?

Why? Why not? How?

Questions Abounding Part 3 (Ms)

“WHILE we are going…” Who translated Matthew 28:20 originally? Why did he translate it as, “GO therefore.” Should it truly be, “While you are going, therefore (because all authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth,) and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”?

Why have the translators who have followed kept it “as is”?

Is typical acceptance more important than correct translation?

Why do some people think a better translation is, “while you are going”?

If it is “while you are going,” that doesn’t change the fact that He follows that statement with, “make disciples of all the nations.” And that phrase doesn’t change Acts 1:8.

(“You will be my witness to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the world.” Although, the “you will be” seems to imply, “I [God] will make it happen,” rather than they [disciples] need to pursue these opportunities. He’s not saying they need to move themselves out.)

What about that one passage about “remaining as you are,” if a slave, then stay a slave; if a freeman, then stay a freeman?

So, are Ms all wrong?

Was Hudson Taylor a big sinner?

How did I get to China?

Should I ever go to Africa?

Why not? Why? (The call of God. Is that His call, or my emotions appealing to my soul’s sorrow for their hurting lostness?)

What about families?

What about the children of Ms whose lives have been wrecked and ruined because of the life “on the field”?

(Loss of identity, physical abuse, skepticism, bitterness, anger, loneliness, etc. These are not problems only experienced by MKs. But, these types of kids seem to be impacted by them profoundly.)

What about the MKs whose lives have flourished because of “life on the field”?

(Those seem to be a rare commodity, in my present observation – though my sampling size is still small.)

I welcome feedback.