Not Many Fossils...

The Nature of the Fossil Record

“95% of the fossils (by number) consist of shallow marine organisms (e.g., corals, shellfish).

“Of the remaining 5%, 95% are all the algae and plant/tree fossils (including the coal) and all the other invertebrate fossils (e.g., insects).

“5% of the 5% (or 0.25% of the entire fossil record) are the vertebrate fossils (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals).

“Only 1% of this 0.25% (or 0.0025% of the entire fossil record) are vertebrate fossils that consist of more than a single bone! (E.g., there are only about 2,100 dinosaur skeletons in all the world’s museums.)”

– Kurt Wise, “The Nature of the Fossil Record,” ICR lecture.

Aroma therapy can reduce driver fatigue

Story Link: "Aroma therapy can reduce driver fatigue"

Undergraduates at a West Virginia university have found that smelling peppermint and cinnamon helps drivers stay alert and calm.

The students found that peppermint on its own reduced anxiety and fatigue, while peppermint and cinnamon in combination reduced frustration and temporal demand and increased alertness.

'Periodic administration of these odors over long-term driving may prove beneficial in maintaining alertness and decreasing highway accidents and fatalities,' Raudenbush said."

When Will the Emergent Church... Emerge?

Frank Viola writes:

In the mid-20th century, Swiss watchmakers had the corner on the world market share of watches. But that changed when one of their own countrymen came out with a revolutionary new idea: The quartz watch. He presented this idea to the Swiss manufacturers and they laughed at him. They con­cluded it could never work, so they refused to patent the idea. Seiko, on the other hand, took one look at the quartz watch and the rest is history.

The power of a paradigm had so influenced the Swiss watch manufacturers that they could not understand the new concept of the quartz watch. Because the quartz watch had no gears, no mainspring, and no bearings, they rejected it. Their present paradigm did not allow for the new innovation. The net effect was that they lost the leading edge on watch making and they were forced to lay off thousands of workers. It was all because the quartz watch did not fit into their world view. It did not fit within their paradigm. They did not appreciate the new way because they were blinded by the old way.

It is my strong conviction that a similar paradigm shift concerning the structure and practice of the church as well as church planting is absolutely crucial if the Body of Christ will reflect the dream in God’s heart and have any significant cultural impact. Or to put it another way, a serious rethinking of the modern pastoral role, the way that churches are planted, the centrality of Jesus Christ, the taproot of Christ’s earthly conduct, the narrative of the first-century story, and the eternal purpose of God are all necessary if the emerging church has any hope of fully emerging.

Because the emerging church phenomenon is still in its infancy, its shortcomings and weaknesses can be addressed now. As Christians who have grown tired of the modern church, we have a brand new opportunity to change the course of church history. I realize that this may appear to be an outrageous statement. Nonetheless, it is true. We have been given a small window to see a complete overhaul of our Christian faith and to be faithful in honoring the heart of Jesus and the vision of the earliest apostles in our own time.

Click for the discussion

The Pastor: Where Did He Come From?

This is an incredible history of where the "pastor" came from. Author Frank Viola takes us from the New Testament church up to the present day. A must read!Click here.

Worshiping Outside the Traditional Church Walls

The "revolution" continues:

CBN News -- Focus- Worshiping Outside the Traditional Church Walls

"James Ryle, who helped start Promise Keepers commented, '[The House Church Revolution] merits more than a disdaining blow-off by the religious elite.'

Ryle started Promise Keepers with Coach Bill McCartney, at the time a member of Ryle's Boulder, Colorado congregation. Ryle says that his booming church was too much about him.

'I fed portions of my ego off the growing mass of people who were scrambling to get a good seat to hear James Ryle preach,' Ryle admitted.

But Ryle walked away from all that, and believes it is crucial that much of the Revolution is happening outside the traditional church because 'we've created a monster that we have to feed,” Ryle explained. “And the monster is the institution of the church, which has taken the place of the mission.'

He now lives in Franklin, Tennessee, getting much of his fellowship from a group of mostly businessmen who meet weekly in the side room of a Franklin restaurant. They call themselves 'The Holy Smokes.'

Ryle said they '...share scripture with one another and have profound experiences in the presence of the Lord, in sharing truth with one another. I mean life-defining experiences.' "