Heather A. Goodman's blog

In this final week on this series of Christian Debates: Evolution and Intelligent Design, I'd like to add a couple of considerations to keep in mind as we discuss this issue.

Today we continue our series on how we, as Christians, can discuss and debate possibly devisive issues. We're looking specifically at the issue of Christian evolution v. creationism (or Intelligent Design). I've asked my friend, Marcus Goodyear, to guest post today on the view of Christian evolution.

After watching 2001 as a boy, I worried I’d committed some sort of felony. I asked my dad about the gorilla-men. “My Sunday school teacher told us God made the world in six days.”

“That’s true, son,” my dad said. “It’s just a movie.”

This large group of people whom we call Christians are defined by things like justification by faith, the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds, and our hope of resurrection. Within that, we have many distinctives and many beliefs.

As we come to our final week on this series of biblical decision-making, we'll look at wise counsel. God has provided the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called our Counselor, and the body of believers.

In this wisdom series, we have explored the idea that while God has revealed his will for all of humanity, he has not revealed his plan for individuals. As we make decisions in our lives, we do so within God's will for all humans but with God-given freedom.

Luke writes several "open door" stories in Acts--specifically open prison doors.

In the first story (Acts 5:18ff), the Jewish leaders imprisoned a group of apostles. An angel comes and swings open the doors, and the apostles leave.

In the second one (Acts 12:5ff), King Herod had arrested Peter, and the night before Herod would put Peter on trial, an angel leads Peter out of prison (after which, Peter has another door slammed in his face--the reaction of a surprised fellow believer).

It's not enough to be in God's will. We want to be in the center of God's will for us.

No wonder we're stressed. We have to find the one or discover our calling for work, locale, how many kids we should have, what we should name our dog.

I exaggerate. A little.

So how do we know God's will? Let's start with the basics. Not surprisingly, he revealed his will for us in Scripture.

A group of escapees comes to an intersection in the labyrinth.

"I think we should go right," one woman says.

Left. You need to go left. The voice is insistent in your head. "We need to go left," you tell the group.

"But you can't even see. How do you know?" someone asks.

"I just know."

Left you all go and in moments arrive in safety.

Easter morning: My eyes pop open to the strains of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. My sister and I know to expect Bev Gallucci's version of "He's Alive" next, and that means one thing.

It's one of the few mornings a year sleep holds no temptation for us. As Bev's soprano voice reaches notes in the stratosphere, my dad bursts into the room. He sings at the top of his lungs with a goofy grin. "He's alive!"

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.
My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.
You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted in you and you rescued them.
To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.
But I am a worm, not a man;
people insult me and despise me.