Pesky Details: Essays for "Left Brain" Christians
Bob Knight Barsch
PESKY DETAILS
Essays for "Left-Brain" Christians
Bob Knight Barsch
Copyright © 2014 by Bob K. Barsch
All rights reserved
First edition
Barsch, Bob Knight, 1941 -
Pesky Details: Essays for "Left-Brain" Christians
Dedication
I wish to honor my long-deceased parents. Their faith, love, sense of honor and humor, self-sacrifice, and courage remain unforgettable. I also acknowledge my wife, Mary Margaret, for those same enduring qualities that continue to inspire me with joy and acceptance.
Table of Contents
Detailed Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
A Biblical View of Nature
The Nature of Belief
The Selfishness of Virtue?
It's a Miracle!
The Gay Lifestyle - a Christian View
Mutable Rates of Radioactive Decay
Darwin - Truth in Detail
Chapter I - Variation under Domestication
Chapter II - Variation under Nature
Chapter III - Struggle for Existence
Chapter IV - Natural Selection; or the Survival of the Fittest
Chapter V - Laws of Variation
Chapter VI - Difficulties of the Theory
Chapter VII - Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection
Chapter VIII - Instinct
Chapter IX - Hybridism
Chapter X - On the Imperfection of the Geological Record
Chapter XI - On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings
Chapter XII - Geographical Distribution
Chapter XIII - Geographical Distribution - Continued: Fresh-Water Productions
Chapter XIV - Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings: Morphology; Embryology; Rudimentary Organs
What are the Odds: Memo to an Eleven-Year Old Boy
Addendum - The Appearance of Necessity
About the Author
Detailed Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
A Biblical View of Nature
Mixing Culture and Christianity
Gargoyles
A Non-biblical Prohibition
A Substitute Goddess?
Pandora's Bible
Pagan-Christian Mix
The Church Incorporates Patriotism
Evolution of Religious Traditions to Divine Mandates
A Note on Compromise
Criteria for Christian Faith
A View of Nature from the Right
Non-biblical Origins for Arrogant Attitudes toward Nature
The Beginning of God?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
John Locke (1632-1704)
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
Emergence of the Middle Class
Thank the Western European Philosophers for Writing What We Wanted to Hear
Genocide of Native Americans Justified
Covenant Values from the Bible
"And God Saw that it Was Good"
Man's Mandate
Wildlife's Mandate
The Fall of Mankind
Retention of Biodiversity after the Fall
God Loves Nature
Respect for God's Creation
Nature's Witness
The Glory of God
More Praise
Values of Wildlife to People
Wild People are Good People
Educational and Esthetic Values of Nature
A Biblical View of Fishing and Hunting
I'm Going Fishing
Predators and Wildlife "Pests"
Use of Predators to Punish Mankind
God Cares for Predators
Predators as Symbols of Power
God Abhors a Vacuum
Predator Control
Metaphoric Predators
Natural Resource Management
Definition of "Land"
Ownership of Land and Water Resources
Ownership of Wildlife
Carrying Capacity
Protecting Carrying Capacity
God Prohibited "Clean Farming"
Heavenly Earth
Earthly Heaven
The Nature of Belief
Comparison of Faith and Assumption
Faith
Materialist Assumptions at the Crossroads
The Selfishness of Virtue?
Logical Problems of Philosophical Materialism
The Role of Information
Methodological Materialism
Philosophical Materialism Investigates "Virtue"
Direct Reciprocity
Indirect Reciprocity
Spacial Selection
Group Selection
Kin Selection
Tragedy of the Commons
Not of this World - the Judeo-Christian View
Direct and Indirect Reciprocity
Spacial and Group Selection
Kin Selection
Tragedy of the Commons
The Fine Line
It's a Miracle!
Does Free Will Exist?
Free Will Is a Miracle
Fingerprint of God
Miracles Prove God
The Gay Lifestyle - a Christian View
Dangers of the Gay Lifestyle
Percentages of MSM Infected with HIV
Number of Partners among MSM
Association of HIV/AIDS Infections with Other Diseases
Syphilis
Gonorrhea
Viral hepatitis
Cancer
Tuberculosis
Changes in HIV/AIDS Infection Rates
Percentages of MSM among Adult Male Populations
Nature or Nurture?
Brain Response to Pheromones in Homosexual Men
Cerebral Asymmetry and Functional Connectivity Different in Homo- and Heterosexuals
Ratio between the Length of the Forefinger and the Fourth Finger
Twin Studies
Effects of Prenatal Hormones
Gender Non-conformity - the Process
Hermaphroditism
Natural Selection within the Species
Rural vs. Urban Environments
Gay Men Display Maleness in their Sexuality - a Hypothesis
Gay Sexual Roles Show Preferences for Feminine Behaviors - a Hypothesis
Gay Men Who Produce Children?
Homosexual Sex in Prison
Social Orientation
The Biblical Perspective
Conclusions on the Biblical Perspective
Why the Bible Condemns Homosexuality
Judge?
Alternatives for the Christian Homosexual
Mutable Rates of Radioactive Decay
Use of the Decay Rates of Radioactive Elements to Date Rocks and other Materials
Uniformitarianism
Speed of Light
Inconsistent Radioactive Decay Rates
Inconsistencies Relative to Earth's Position with the Sun and Solar Activity
Inconsistencies Tied to the Plasma/Ionized State of Radioactive Elements
Inconsistencies Related to Ultrasonic Cavitation
Inconsistencies with Carbon-14 Dating
Darwin - Truth in Detail
Darwin's Purpose
"Species" and "Kind" Defined
Tautological Nature of "Laws of Nature"
Protein
