As former director of research for the World Bank and current Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier has spent a lifetime working to end global poverty. Collier's background also lends credibility for his withering criticism of international development agencies such as the World Bank, whose administrators often prefer to work in “developing” countries which (without the help of the World Bank) are already moving toward prosperity on their own. In fact, Collier observes that global poverty is actually falling quite rapidly for about … [Read more...] about Helping the Poorest of the Poor
Christians and Competition
Boundless, a ministry of Focus on the Family, has just published a short article by yours truly entitled "Christians and Competition." Here is the executive summary I originally submitted for the article: How should college students and young professionals think about competition? It goes on all the time, whether we know it or not. Professors compare students with other students in classes (or for merit-based scholarships). We interview "against" our friends for the most attractive summer or full-time jobs. Does it end on graduation day? Nope. Most employers "rank" employees (at least … [Read more...] about Christians and Competition
Nancy Pearcey’s Announcement
Hats off to Nancy Pearcey (author of the outstanding book Total Truth) on her new position as Scholar for Worldview Studies with the rank of professor at the Center for University Studies at Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU), based in Langhorne, Pa. In this assignment, Dr. Pearcey will "teach, speak, and write on the relevance of the Judeo-Christian worldview as a humane and verifiably true alternative to secular, pagan, and humanistic philosophies set forth in the academy, politics, society, and popular culture of today." Dr. Pearcey holds a Distributed Studies Degree from Iowa State … [Read more...] about Nancy Pearcey’s Announcement
Old Testament Citations in the New Testament
Have you ever been reading along in the New Testament when, seemingly out of nowhere, Paul or Peter will grab an Old Testament passage and use it to argue for a particular theological position or to explain a historical event? For example, Peter, in explaining the immediate aftermath of Pentecost, cites Joel 2:28-32. Or Paul, in describing the hardening of Israelites, cites passages in Exodus (9:16; 33:19) originally descriptive, in Moses' day, of Pharaoh. Scholarly debate on the import and precise meaning of such citations has increased in the last ten to twenty years. Now, Baker Academic … [Read more...] about Old Testament Citations in the New Testament
Hybrid Embryo Production Approved in UK
The embryonic stem cell research debate has shifted into unchartered territory: Britain's fertility regulator has given the green light for the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) cautioned: "This is not a total green light for cytoplasmic hybrid research, but recognition that this area of research can, with caution and careful scrutiny, be permitted. Individual research teams should be able to undertake research projects involving the creation of cytoplasmic hybrid embryos if they can demonstrate, to the satisfaction … [Read more...] about Hybrid Embryo Production Approved in UK