Friday, April 24, 2009

some good news for crisis-wracked ukraine?

i found this article the other day to be very interesting. it is probably the first article on the economic crisis in ukraine that i've read that is optimistic. though the assessments on the political part may not be entirely accurate, it is interesting to get an overview of the situation here. here are some highlights.
Together with the international financial institutions, the Central Bank has examined all of Ukraine's banks and quantified their bad debt. Compared to the West, Ukraine's share of toxic debt is small.

Seventeen Western banks have committed themselves to recapitalizing their subsidiaries in Ukraine with $2 billion this year. In addition, it is estimated that two-thirds of the country's refinancing needs this year will be met.

Thanks to early and resolute anti-crisis actions, international reserves remain reassuring at $25 billion, or eight months of imports. Industrial production increased in both February and March over the preceding month, suggesting that Ukraine might already have turned the corner (although GDP will probably still decrease by 8 percent to 10 percent this year). Even the bond and stock markets have soared in the last month.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

charles darwin vs. good friday

recently i've run across a number of Christian authors and teachers who, in discussing the intersection of faith and science, seem at least open to if not supportive of the idea that God somehow used evolution to create the universe and the various species. this concept, theistic evolution, is far from new. in fact, it's been around since the Origin of Species. many of my favorite authors actually hold this view. their argument typically centers around how Genesis 1 (or 1-11 depending on who you ask) is not literal but allegorical, symbolic, poetic, etc. don't worry, i'm not about to attempt to prove how scientifically, mathematically and biologically absurd darwin's evolution theory really is in this blog post (there are plenty of good books to do that). but what recently made me, let's say, concerned is the apparent disconnect in these brilliant Christian writers' minds between evolution and the gospel.

here in ukraine the church holidays are celebrated by the old julian calendar, which means that this friday will be good friday. as i've been reflecting on this beautiful tragedy the last few days, i found myself looking at the ramifications of theistic evolution for the gospel. one of the first and classic points of the opponents of theistic evolution is that if God used evolution for creating the world and the species before the fall of man, that makes Him the author of death (since the gears of the evolutionary machine grind the weak to bits and only the "fittest" survive). but what struck me was a much more specific problem.

on good friday all Christians celebrate the death of Jesus Christ, the Godman, who hung on the Cross in our stead, for our sins. we believe that His death there was a substitutionary atonement for our sin before God. but this begs the question: what in the world does the death of Christ have to do with my sin? this is where the necessary Biblical tie comes in. Scripture says that "sin entered the world though one man, and death through sin, so that death passed to all mankind." the connection between sin and death is direct and undeniable according to the Bible. it is because of this connection that Christ's death in our place was tantamount to bearing the penalty of our sin. likewise, it is also upon this connection that the significance of the resurrection of Jesus becomes clear: His triumph over death was a triumph not merely over biological decomposition, but over the power and effect of sin. these points are orthodox, Christian doctrine and nothing new.

but what is striking then is that the same men who accept these truths could turn around and say that God used evolution to create the different species. what this implies is a total disconnect between man's sin and the presence of death in the world. this raises the question: if death has nothing to do with sin, then why did Christ have to die? if darwin was right about the appearance of life, then what is it about this friday that is good?

now, i realize that these Christian authors promulgating theistic evolution are certainly NOT claiming that the death of Christ did nothing to cleanse our sin. on the contrary, i believe they are great men of God who deeply love Jesus. like i said, many of my favorite authors fall into this group. however, i think they probably got caught up in the snowstorm of scientific pseudo-evidence for evolution while not really thinking through the theological implications that such a theory puts to the meaning of the Cross. i'm thankful as we approach good friday that, though sin did enter the world through one man and death through that sin, that,
"as sin reigned in death, even so now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ." -Rom. 5:21
what do you think, are theistic evolution and the gospel compatible? if so, why?