The NIV (or New Internation Version) is the most popular english translation of the Bible, as a result I imagine it is one of the (if not 'the') most sold books in the world - ever! (I think about 300 million copies have been printed).

The other night (09/09/2009) I had quite a special experience that drew me closer to God.

Here you will find 10 sayings of Jesus that I have collected together. Finding quotable passages from Jesus was not that easy, as most of what is recorded of what he said (in the gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are either metaphorical stories, or Jesus responding to particular questions that had been put to him. Neither work very well when taken out of context.

I came across this interesting article the other day on the CNN website: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God, in which Francis Collins - the director of the Human Genome Project - shares his personal experience on the matter. (He also has a book out: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief).

So we have possibly the world's leading scientist of the day sharing his personal opinion and experience that it is possible to pursue scientific endeavor and believe in God while maintaining intellectual integrity.

I think that's pretty hard to dismiss, however it seems (from some of the comments) that some of the naysayers will say nay no matter what.

A short article posted on BeThinking.org: Is Seeing Believing?, relates to my earlier comments on knowledge in some ways.

The "science is knowing" and "seeing is believing" statements demonstrate the same basic attitude that is overly restrictive, and which misrepresents the real nature of human knowledge and belief.

It seems not many people understand how they gain knowledge, or perhaps they are just not honest with themselves. I say this in the context of people suggesting that science is the only way to gain knowledge.

Just had a listen to a good lecture by Wade Bradshaw from L'Abri. L'Abri in french means 'the shelter', it is a kind of retreat where people go to ponder the meaning of life and deal openly and honestly with their doubts and questions about faith.

I found the lecture 'Is There Hope for Cynical Christians?' available for download. So as someone who can easily be cynical about most things, it got my attention. I had met Wade when visiting English L'Abri a few years ago, and he had made an impression on me with (among other things) a recital of Italo Calvino over lunch followed by a thought provoking discussion.