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  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