Bio for Jeff

Name: Jeff (that's me next to Captain Kirk)

How Many Years a Christian: Since Age 14

Educational Background: B.S. - Aerospace Engineering; M.S. - Space Sciences

Church Affiliation: Frisco Bible Church

Current Occupation(s): Software Engineer; Adjunct Faculty

Favorite author(s): Actually, I don't really have one! I usually just read what interests me regardless of the author.

Hobbies & Interests: Astronomy - really anything related to space; Apologetics;Computers; Piano;

Christian testimony and background:

My walk with Christ is pretty routine. I grew up in a Christian home that did not have a church home. I grew up attending various churches of family members.
Though a believer, I didn't have a personal relationship with Christ. My personal relationship really began through my Grandfather, who was very close to Christ, and my brother-in-law while he was studying to become a minister. Many discussions of the Bible with these two really set off a spark. During that time, my wife and I looked for a church home but were always disappointed.

Once we began to have children, we really recognized the need for finding a church home. We were lead to Frisco Bible through a co-worker of my wife.
They experienced the tragic death of a child, every one's worst nightmare. Seeing how God worked through the church and through other supernatural means really opened our eyes to the need for a personal relationship with our savior. We saw how to fill the "God-shaped hole" that we had in our lives.

My interest in science and the Bible is born out of my two passions - space and theology. Ironically, until about 10 years ago, I never really saw tension between the two. Not because I was able to reconcile the two, but because I just never really thought much about it! That all changed one afternoon when I was looking for a present for my Grandfather in a Barnes and Noble book store. While browsing, I came across a book by Gerald Schroeder called The Science of God. I was hooked!

Today, I still incorporate a lot of what I've learned in my secular Astronomy classes. I slide in discussions the universe's fine tuning and many of the ID topics. I just love it when students first realize that we are truly blessed!

In closing, I find that even though many of my students say they are Christian, VERY few see contradiction between the Bible and science...

Bio for ToddL

Name: Todd

How Many Years a Christian: Since age 4 - 1971

Educational Background: BS – Computer Engineering Texas A&M University.

Church Affiliation: Worship Leader for The Light of Denton - Denton TX.

Day Occupation: Computer Engineer - Cisco Systems IP Phone Division.

Favorite authors:

• James White,
• Steven R. Donaldson,
• JRR Tolkien,
• Hugh Ross,
• R.C. Sproul,
• A.W. Pink

Favorite Podcast(s):

• The Narrow Mind (unchainedradio.com) with Pastor Gene Cook
• The Dividing Line (aomin.org) with Dr. James White
• CARM (carm.org) with Matt Slick
• Radio Worldview (worldviews.org) with Jeff Baldwin and Bill Jack
• Way of the Master (wayofthemaster.com) with Todd Friel, Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort.

Hobbies & Interests: Woodworking, Music, Worship, Movie night with the kids.

Christian testimony and background: I was saved in Sunday School at age 4 at Trinity Church, San Antonio. I grew up in an independent interdenominational Assemblies-of-God-like church. As any early child convert, I did not understand everything pertaining to faith and Godliness, but since that time I've been growing in the Lord ever since.

I felt a definite leading of the Lord to a future music ministry at a summer camp during middle school. Since then I've been leading worship in various capacities at the churches that I've attended culminating with the worship leading position at The Light Church in Denton. I've played piano since 1972 and I have written and produced two instrumental CDs. My music website is ToddLMusic.Com

I attended Oral Roberts University for one year then switched to Texas A&M to finish my undergraduate work. It was at A&M where I met my sweetheart Debbie. We have 4 kids, 3 boys 13,12,9 and a baby girl 1 year old.

Pertaining to the age of the earth question: I have studied this issue through web and book research since 1991. There are times when its been an upfront main issue of study and times where it has taken a back seat to other issues like the Arminian vs. Calvinism debate.

I am thoroughly committed to the inerrancy of the Bible and the fact that God created absolutely everything in a period of six "days" as Genesis indicates. The question at hand is how long were those days - and if you interpret those days as long periods of time - does this do injustice to the infallibility of the Bible and is it allowed by proper Biblical hermeneutics. That is the question that this blog attempts to address.

Bio of jjgoalie

Name: Don

How Many Years a Christian: Since 1982

Educational Background: BS – Aerospace Engineering, MS – Aerospace Engineering; Doctorial Work in Aerospace Engineering

Church Affiliation: Harvest Church Fort Worth, TX.

Current Occupation: Aerospace Engineer

Favorite author(s): Hugh Ross; Arnold Fruitenbaum

Hobbies & Interests: Developing Bible Studies, Playing Ice Hockey (Goalie), Reading, Films

Christian testimony and background: I grew up in a secular home to an American father who was career USAF and a Japanese mother living in Hawaii, Japan, and Texas. I attended The University of Texas at Arlington. It was in my 2nd year that I was introduced to Christ while dating a Christian. She broke up with me, but Christ did not. After graduating with as a BS in Aerospace Engineering (1985), I began work on my Masters with emphasis in Aircraft Handling Qualities and Control Theory and completed my thesis in 1986. Shortly after, I started work at General Dynamics while also teaching at The University of Texas at Arlington as an Adjunct Professor. Later, I took a leave of absence for doctorial work The University of Texas at Austin. There I met my wife. In 1991, I left academia and resumed my work at GD (now Lockheed Martin) as a Flight Control Systems Engineer working on aircraft programs such as: IDF (Taiwan), F-16, T-50 (South Korea), and the F-35.

Soon after joining our church, I was approached by both God and my Bible Study teacher to be a teacher too. I was called to teach an existing class- Harmony of the Gospels. But, there were two problems.

1. I struggled with science and faith issues.
2. How do I teach a Bible study composed of seminary level material having never been to seminary and with no qualifications other than having taken it myself- I’m just a “rocket scientist”. But God answered both of these problems.

First, I confessed my science and faith issues to a godly man, and fellow PhD candidate I met in Austin. He pointed me to a ministry called “Reasons to Believe” that guided me towards the worship of God with all I have: heart, soul, and mind.

The second problem was handled in a way I had never experienced before. One day, God spoke to me, “Don, I am a Jew. Learn My Word as a Jew. Teach it that way”. Shortly after that, I stumbled upon a TV program while looking for the Reasons to Believe TV show called “Zola Levitt Presents”. I poured time, money, energy, and resources into two avenues- RTB and Zola- studying all I could on apologetics and the Jewish Roots of the Christian faith. Meanwhile, I continued preparing my own class materials. In the end, the existing Bible study class was overhauled, and put back together again but with a “yarmulke” (a Jewish skull cap). Later, people with doctorates from seminaries shared with me how they had no idea why God wanted me to teach this class but when they began to hear of the richness of our Jewish Roots, it changed how they saw, taught, and understanding of the Bible too.

Since then God has used me to develop eight Jewish Roots classes (topics ranging from the gospels from a Jewish perspective, the Jewish Church in Acts, fulfilled prophecies of the Bible and end-times) and two other “Jewish Roots” teachers with big hearts for God and Israel. God has opened doors allowing me to also teach on science and faith issues at my church and other churches introducing others to RTB as well as a Jewish Jesus.

Today, we continue to serve. Me, a Japanese-American with a Jewish bent, my South Texas wife, and now our adopted Chinese daughter continue to grow and serve the Lord. We are quite the “piece of work”. In Yeshua -don