Farewell from Take Two

Nearly five years ago, the two of us embarked on a journey to take what we’ve learned from the RTB scholars and apply it to our everyday lives—the ones filled with movies and comic conventions, superheroes and literary classics. By connecting science and philosophy with pop culture, we hoped to share with you, our dear readers, how “sci-phi” can connect people to a deeper understanding of God’s creation, character, and artistry.

In these last four-ish years, the ministry of RTB has grown leaps and bounds in producing new resources in a variety of formats.

 

Gentle Disagreement in the Creation-Evolution Debate

In the war of the worldviews, it’s easy to dehumanize the enemy. Opposing sides remain unwilling to compromise, convinced their position is the right one. This tactic all too often finds its way into conversations about creation and evolution.

Christians are not immune to defending our ground so uncompromisingly that we refuse to listen to the opposition, even if the opponent is on the same side of the fence. The battle over human origins comes to mind as scientists and Christians with varying perspectives on creation seek to defend the truth as they see it. Meanwhile the infighting between the faithful continues.

But there are peacemakers among us.

 

Bright Lights, Sparkling Trees, Joyful Music, Delicious Treats

In case you missed it, WestJet’s Christmas Miracle video spread holiday cheer across the Interwebz over the last few weeks. The video shows Santa asking WestJet passengers what they’d like for Christmas, and they asked for everything from socks and underwear to a big screen TV. While the unsuspecting travelers were in flight from Toronto to Calgary, WestJet elves scurried to fill the requests.

As passengers waited at baggage claim, beautifully wrapped packages glided down the carousel.

 

RTB Is on the Move

When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film released last year, I wrote an article about how Bilbo’s willingness to leave his cozy hobbit hole might cause us to consider stepping out of our comfort zone. Who would’ve known that exactly one year later, RTB would be in the midst of our own move?

Last week RTB took up the daunting task of relocating over thirty staff and over twenty-five years of accumulated gear to our new facility in Covina, California (just a few miles from our previous location). Moving a large group during the holidays is enough to make anyone stressed. But instead, this has been one of the most exciting (and grace-filled) times in the ministry’s history, certainly in my thirteen years here.

 

Celebrating God’s Goodness

This week Maureen and Sandra offer a double serving of blogging goodness in celebration of Thanksgiving. We hope you enjoy these reasons for having a gratitude-filled holiday!

 

Why C. S. Lewis’ Integration of Reason and Imagination Matters

Today marks the 50th anniversary of C. S. Lewis’ death. In the half a century since his passing, Lewis’ keen ability to join what is assumed incompatible (reason and imagination) remains largely unmatched.

Michael Ward, in his Christianity Today article on Lewis, elaborates on the power of Lewis’ approach:

In Christ, poetry and philosophy have met together. Meaning and truth have kissed. C. S. Lewis understood, like few in the past century, just how deeply faith is both imaginative and rational.

As Ward explains, since the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries we’ve been told of the supposed dichotomy between reason and imagination.

 

Who Were the Nephilim?

Thor: The Dark World, the latest addition to the Marvel cinematic universe, hits theatres today. If you’re looking for a tale of other worldly warriors, look no further than the Bible.

Genesis 6 offers a cast of characters known as the Nephilim. Little is said about who or what they were. Speculations abound.

 

IT’S ALIVE! ALIVE!…But Should Scientists Play God?

If ever there were an RTB book to read around Halloween, it would be Creating Life in the Lab. Author and biochemist Fazale Rana focuses on scientists’ attempts to create a novel life-form—to find the elixir of life. The connection to Frankenstein is obvious, and Rana refers to Mary Shelley’s classic book throughout his own. In light of scientists’ fascinating quest to create synthetic life, Rana poses a provocative question: Should humans play God?

 

Hope for the Forever Empty

Perhaps you’ve seen the clip, or perhaps you’ve heard conversations ‘round the Internet’s water cooler (Facebook). But here’s the scoop in case you haven’t: A few weeks ago comedian Louis C.K. offered a brilliant, albeit colorful, rant on how smartphones are impacting our culture.

“You need to build the ability to just be yourself and not be doing something. That’s what the phones are taking away. The ability to just sit there.”

 

Are Earthquakes God’s Fault?

It was a typical post-church brunch at the local IHOP. The din of countless conversations and forks clanking against plates filled the restaurant. Then, without warning, the floor beneath us began to quiver. Forks and pancake-stuffed jaws dropped as we waited for the trembling to increase or cease. Breaking the silence, an anxious eater proclaimed the shaking’s cause:

E A R T H Q U A K E !!!