“This past week I viewed a film on YouTube that a cohort shared called ‘The Star of Bethlehem’. There are moments in our lives as Christians where we make a discovery or find new information that leaves us in complete awe of the magnitude and glory of God. This film was one of those moments as I watched the end with tears streaming down my face. The premise of the movie showed Frederick ‘Rick’ Lawson on his pursuit of discovering what the star of Bethlehem during Jesus’ birth actually looked like and if there was scientific evidence to show its existence. Thankfully, through scientific advances there is software that can recreate the night sky of any time in history because apparently the movement of the stars and planets are not random. I have almost no astronomical knowledge, but I learned that the stars and planets move in very predictable and precise patterns, which allows for us to look back in history and see exactly where they were in the night sky! I won’t give away all of the details, but I highly encourage you to go check out the 1-hour film and see exactly what was happening in the sky on the night that Jesus was conceived, born, and at his crucifixion.

What left me in tears is the fact that our powerful creator had to set these things in motion to happen at these exact times at day 4 of creation when time began, and he put the planets in motion. Back in January, I began classes to get my Masters of Arts in Theological Studies at Âé¶čAV. Let me begin by saying that I had almost no theological knowledge and my first few classes I was busy writing down lists of large, foreign words that my cohorts were using which I had no clue what they meant. I felt very out of my element and wondered what in the world a stay-at-home mom with a background in banking and real estate was doing here. While I had done several Bible studies since becoming a Christian, I had never picked up a theology book and felt I had a lot of catching up to do. Thankfully a saying I’ve heard around church was proven true, that if God calls you to something, He will equip you for it. My first class was called Biblical Theology and while I learned many things in this class, one of my biggest takeaways was really understanding the overall metanarrative of the Bible. (Confession: I had no clue what metanarrative meant and now I can use it in a sentence!) Basically, what that means is that the overarching story of the Bible is pointing towards Jesus Christ, the Messiah. We see foreshadowing and even appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament and each of these stories are pointing us to the good news of what is coming. The film reminded me of this. Not only scripture, but in fact creation itself is pointing us towards our savior. God set the stars in motion at the beginning of time, before he had even created humans and had predetermined that even the stars and planets would declare Jesus’ arrival and his glory! Knowing this takes my breathe away- he is truly sovereign over all.

I love that there is scientific evidence to back the events of the Bible. In church growing up, I was not taught this. When I was younger, I was skeptical of the Bible, not really knowing if it was true or if it could be trusted. It seemed to me you were asked to believe this old book without any actual evidence or proof that it was real. One of the coolest discoveries I have made in school is that there is actual historical data to support the Bible’s claims. In one of my Systematic Theology classes we read Gary R. Habermas’ book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. As the title may give away, this book focuses on the historical evidence that prove Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected. Habermas uses a minimal facts approach and really digs into all of the claims the Bible makes, that Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers, he was buried, there was an empty tomb, and the resurrected (and healed) Jesus was seen by the disciples, Paul, and more than 500 witnesses. The book goes into all of the theories to disprove these events such as hallucinations, hiding the body, Jesus really didn’t die etc. and runs through the evidence to prove why these theories are not valid. One of my favorite points attacks the theory that if it was a group conspiracy to lie and say that Jesus’ tomb was empty, they would have never said that women were the ones to discover it. At the time of the first century, women were at the bottom of the totem pole and were not considered credible witnesses and weren’t allowed to give testimony. If you were going to make up a believable story, you would never have let women discover the empty tomb. As a woman, I am a big fan that the Lord is seen throughout scripture restoring honor and dignity to women.

Reading this data gave me an unshakable confidence in my faith. My faith is not based solely on a personal experience I have had with the Lord but now it is strengthened by historical and scientific data. Maybe you are in a place of not knowing if the Bible or Christianity is real. Maybe you’re walking through a season of doubt or actually didn’t feel you had permission to ask questions and search. I want to tell you to search the evidence yourself. There are some wonderful resources out there from people who have spent years combing through the data and compiling sources. Don’t stay in the place of doubt and questioning but begin to look for yourself. Because I believe that if Christianity is true, it won’t fall apart if we look behind the curtain. Our faith is reasonable and looking at the evidence will only strengthen, not harm your faith.”

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What’s Wrong with the World?

If you’re like me, some days you just need a break from the news. I often feel my blood pressure rising as I scan the headlines. Just this morning a perusal of several popular news sites including CNN, BBC, Fox, and others revealed dozens of articles on issues like terrorism, racism, Trumpism, violence, bigotry, starvation, gay rights, sexism, illegal aliens, suicides, cyber-attacks, and floods. My, what a light, pick-me-up read first thing in the morning!

No matter what side you take on these issues we can all agree on one thing: something is wrong with the world. Even if we leave the TV off and avoid news websites—narrowing our focus from the global stage down to our own personal space—we’re still faced with a world where things aren’t right; dysfunctional family members, disobedient children, dishonest coworkers, money issues, health issues, the list goes on.

This is more than a personal preference issue. The “wrongness” of the world appears to be a universal, objective truth. While we may disagree about which things are wrong and what should be done to make them right, every human being has a sense of the way the world ought to be and recognizes that the world isn’t right.

And if we narrow our focus further from the personal space around us to the world inside us, the problem only gets worse. Because, while we each have beliefs and convictions about the way one ought to think or behave, we don’t always live up to even our own moral standards. How many of us who believe that lying is wrong have uttered an untruth at some point? How many of us have taken something that does not belong to us—money, property, credit for a job well done—despite our personal convictions that stealing is wrong?

In the early 1900s, the Times of London sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question, “What’s wrong with the world today?”.  One young author responded simply:

“Dear Sir,

I am.

Yours, G.K. Chesterton.”

Chesterton was on to something. And it leads us to two big questions. Why do we human beings have an inherent set of standards to which we believe the world should conform? And why are we not able to live up to our own standards? It’s understandable that no one can live up to God’s perfect standard. But we can’t even seem to live up to the standards we set for ourselves!

I believe some insight can be found in a common topic of discussion with my atheist friends; does morality—our concept of “right and wrong”—come from God or nature?  I argue the former and atheists argue the latter, often claiming that empathy, as a social construct is the source of human morality. They argue that things like stealing and killing are wrong because they work against mankind’s evolutionary success.

For the sake of argument, suppose we grant their claim that morality is grounded in the survival of the human species. A thing is “wrong” if it reduces our chances of survival, and “right” if it increases them. Even if this were true, we’re still left with the bigger question; why are human beings unable to maintain this moral standard? Why are humans endowed with an innate desire for a certain standard of “rightness” which they are then unable to meet? Surely this incongruence does not serve our evolutionary success. This is where atheism comes up short, unable to offer any rational explanation for this phenomenon. 

Ultimate reality includes both material objects (e.g. matter, light, chemicals) and immaterial objects (e.g. information, minds, abstract numbers). Because the materialistic worldview of atheism is necessarily constrained to the physical universe, their list of acceptable answers is necessarily constrained to physical explanations. But if we’re looking for answers to the two big questions posed above, we’ll need to look to something above and outside of the physical universe to get us there. This is where I find Jesus unparalleled in His explanation of the deepest truths about reality and the human heart.

If, like me, you’ve ever wondered things like, “Why is there so much wrong with the world?” or “Why is there so much wrong with me?” you won’t find the answer in science textbooks. That’s not a slam on science, by the way. Science is an incredible source of knowledge about the physical universe. If we want to know what the gravitational constant of the universe is, the Bible won’t help. However, if we want to know why there is gravity in the first place we’ll find an explanation that begins with the very first verse of Scripture (Gen 1:1). And more to the point, if we want to know what’s wrong with the world—why all human beings have an inherent set of moral standards that they are unable to maintain—God’s word has much to teach us, starting with Romans 7:14-25.

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R. L. Solberg is a writer, teacher, and Christian Apologist. His first book, Torahism: Are Christians Required to Keep the Law of Moses?, will be released this fall. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies at Âé¶čAV (Nashville, TN).  Check out his blog at: .

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Life After the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership

Amy Shore, 2018 graduate of Âé¶čAV’s Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, now has her graduate studies a year in the rear-view mirror.

Life after years in the student’s chair often takes on a unique flavor for each graduate who launches into the world. We wanted to catch up with this dedicated learner and long-time Franklin community leader to find out what this new season has looked like for her, and what thoughts have surfaced after a year of reflecting on the MAOL program.

Shore provides through her testimony the compelling wisdom to grasp the learning experience for all its worth – the people, the safe space to contemplate, and the opportunity to begin again.

Could you give us a 1,000 ft overview of your background?

“I grew up in a classical Christian liberal arts school starting in the 8th grade.  My mom and grandma were both teachers, and I pretty much swore that I never would be. Because of the grace and love that was modeled to me by my teachers in those formative years, I found myself asking early on in high school, ‘Who will take their places when these teachers are gone?’ I ended up spending 10 years teaching and being in administration at the classical Christian school here in Franklin that had been instrumental in starting my school back in North Carolina.”      

What compelled you to pursue a Master’s Degree?     

 “Two things: My love of education, and the fact that I missed learning. I knew I was no longer doing a good job growing as a teacher, and I felt like pursuing a Master’s was a way to both ‘refill the well’ and re-jumpstart my love of and pursuit of learning and growth.”        

 Do you have a favorite memory during your time in the MAOL program?          

“It’s a collection of memories really. The time I spent outside of class discussing ideas and asking questions of my professors were among my favorite moments. Whether it was on the park bench just outside of WC with Dr. Roberts, at a coffee shop with Dr. Smith or B.J. Howard, or at a bagel shop with Dick Wells, each and every professor took the time to not only answer my questions and share ideas, but to encourage and walk with me in this journey.”         .

Do you have any regrets as a student from your time in graduate school?

“Probably my biggest regret is not interacting with my classmates more outside the classroom. We all thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, and the international trip brought us all the closer. But that was towards the end of our journey together. I wish I’d taken the initiative earlier on to meet up for coffee or catch up over dinner.”

What is something you gained from your time in MAOL that has significantly impacted you?

“Probably the reminder that shared ideas and shared experiences mean the world when coupled with a shared worldview. Having the common denominator of gospel vision shared among classmates makes the dialogue and endeavors of the classroom all the more meaningful and impactful and also serves as a much needed reminder that I am not alone in this journey of faith and calling”

What are you doing now?

“I am currently 5 months in to a complete and total career change. I am working for a corporate university serving as the coordinator for their leadership training program. The funny thing is, I was not necessarily looking for a career change! But when this opportunity opened up—thanks largely in part to my newly conferred master’s credentials from WC— I realized I would have a unique chance to see from the inside out how a company does leadership development and succession planning well and with intentionality. Those are the things I have a passion for and interest in, and the things I hope to be able to bring back to the table of the classical Christian schools I used to be a part of to help them in their endeavor of training and raising up the next generation.”

What are your proudest accomplishments?         

“I’d have to say that probably the most fun and exciting accomplishment is the opportunity to share my WC Capstone research with the very people I was able to survey. This June I did a workshop presentation to a group of headmasters and board members at the national conference for the Association of Classical Christian Schools on succession planning within their association, and had the chance to dialogue with them on next steps for how to better plan for future leadership transitions.”   

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