Spontaneous Delight as a Design Element

The Intersection of Art and Life is a Teaching Moment


Here is a better way to encourage more people to use the stairs.

Behavior police take note. Here is a great example of a better way to get people out of their routines; Out-of-the box thinking! The idea was to encourage more people to use the stairs. You could have used the same old approach of trying to correct 'wrong' behavior -- or a fresh approach like these designers chose to.

Fun as a Teaching Tool
A Drab Hallway Becomes a Bright New World

At Staunton Alliance Church, we were confronted by a long institutional hallway that led to our childrens' outdoor playground. Tracy Daniel, our administrator, approached me one day with the idea of painting a mural to "brighten up the hallway." Her idea was that we create a missions theme along the walls. Thinking that a mural painted by an architectural illustrator might be a bit boring, I partnered with Laney Riley, a very talented artist in our congregation.

Our theme soon grew into a depiction of Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21where the restored Earth and Heaven are one. Representatives of every Nation are brought into the presence of the Lord. It is the hope of every believer, according to scripture, but is often depicted as a white-on-white perpetual harp concert. I'd read some books by Randy Alcorn, who writes about Heaven and puts it in its true context: a world of delights more delightful than anything we in this world can imagine... and yet, our imaginings here, and our most delightful experiences are but an indication of the joy that awaits us.

Thanks to what I refer to as 'Laney Magic,' bright colors and faces reflecting 'sanctified mischef' are the norm. This isn't your Mother's nursery mural. The figures are life-sized. We start the sketches by finding real children's pictures. Often they are kids in rags. We turn them into 'princes and princesses' of the New Heaven and the New Earth. We leave a bit of mischef in their faces though so the kids can see themselves in that beautiful world. The Creator who made the otter and the hairy-nosed wombat certainly has a playful streak, and Imago Dei would suggest that our love of fun is divinely authored.


An Irish boy, full of playful pranks, takes shape.


Here's 'Kristina's World.' The American girl, of Irish and Cherokee ancestry, stands in front of a farmhouse built in 1828. Bright colors and life-sized figures draw children into the painting.

Spontaneous Delight as a Design Element

What the Neo-puritans of the Nanny-state are Missing


Here is a better way to encourage more people to use the stairs.

Behavior police take note. Here is a great example of a better way to get people out of their routines; Out-of-the box thinking! The idea was to encourage more people to use the stairs. You could have used the same old approach of trying to correct 'wrong' behavior -- or a fresh approach like these designers chose to.

Fun as a Teaching Tool
A Drab Hallway Becomes a Bright New World

At Staunton Alliance Church, we were confronted by a long institutional hallway that led to our childrens' outdoor playground. Tracy Daniels, our administrator, approached me one day with the idea of painting a mural to "brighten up the hallway." Her idea was that we create a missions theme along the walls. Thinking that a mural paintedby an architectural illustrator might be a bit boring, I partnered with Laney Riley, a very talented artist in our congregation.

Our theme soon grew into a depiction of Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21where the restored Earth and Heaven are one. Representatives of every Nation are brought into the presence of the Lord. It is the hope of every believer, according to scripture, but is often depicted as a white-on-white perpetual harp concert. I'd read some books by Randy Alcorn, who writes about Heaven and puts it in its true context: a world of delights more delightful than anything we in this world can imagine... and yet, our imaginings here, and our most delightful experiences are but an indication of the joy that awaits us.

Thanks to what I refer to as 'Laney Magic,' bright colors and faces reflecting 'sanctified mischef' are the norm. This isn't your Mother's nursery mural. The figures are life-sized. We start the sketches by finding real children's pictures. Often they are kids in rags. We turn them into 'princes and princesses' of the New Heaven and the New Earth. We leave a bit of mischef in their faces though so the kids can see themselves in that beautiful world. The Creator who made the otter and the hairy-nosed wombat certainly has a playful streak, and Imago Dei would suggest that our love of fun is divinely authored.


An Irish boy, full of playful pranks, takes shape.


Here's 'Kristina's World.' The American girl, of Irish and Cherokee ancestry, stands in front of a farmhouse built in 1828. Bright colors and life-sized figures draw children into the painting.

Debating the Existence of G-d

The New Atheists and their Old Argument


Honeysuckle outside the studio.

Suzanne Fields has This [click to read].

Fields writes: "I've spent several long summer afternoons reading the books of the New Atheists, looking for original illumination on behalf of godlessness, but finding instead smug, shallow and arrogant assertions. Atheists by definition believe in nothing, and anyone would find it hard to make something of nothing."

Hebrews 11 addresses the matter of faith:

"1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

So how does one step into faith. Surely it takes faith to assert there is nothing out there as much as it takes faith to declare G-d is. Romans 1:20 asserts:

"20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

There is simply too much evidence of a Master's hand, seen in the beauty and complexity of nature, for me to accept the atheist arguments.

As a child I watched men launch rockets into space. They used the observations of Sir Isaac Newton and others to arrive at principles for how spaceflight would work. Trusting in their calculations based on these laws of physics, they travelled to the Moon. Faith was required on many levels in the journey. First, were the laws of physics consistant in outer space? Could the crew rely on the numbers provided by their computers [flying by the seat of your pants won't work in space] and could the astronauts rely on the machinery to perform as it was designed to do?

In a similar manner, can we observe evidence of the unseen hand of the Creator? Can we trust our collective observations and come up with some conclusion about the Divine? It is of note that some of the Divine's greatest apologists -- men like C.S. Lewis, for example, set out on honest quests to disprove diety. In the end they concluded that the evidence led them to belief rather than unbelief... "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Tribute to the Master Designer

Tribute to the Real Creative One...


Sunset in the Valley.

Lynn Has This [click to read] really great song celebrating the Master Designer. Amen!

A Walk in the Woods

Observations on Divine Design


Trail to Humpback Mountain.

Two men go walking in the woods. They quietly take in the wonder of nature as they press deeper into the forest. Suddenly they come upon a lovely little house nestled into the trees and admire its design. The house is situated to take advantage of the cycles of the seasons, bringing sunlight in in Winter and providing shade in the heat of Summer. Large windows allow the occupants to experience their surroundings while protecting them from the rugged mountain conditions. "Surely," the first man remaks, "this is the work of a master architect." Indeed the work is recognizeable as that of someone well known for certain design features evident in the house. "Who built it?" the man wonders. The stonework looks like the work of fine Spanish masons, but there is little else to indicate who built the house or their methodology.

If the man's companion were to then state that nature had responded to the harsh mountain conditions to create this wonderful dwelling and that this had happened randomly without any oversight from a master designer; he might legitimately be accused of ignoring the body of evidence that suggested otherwise.

Yet, many walk in the woods every day, ignoring a body of design that is even more wonderous and complex than that embodied in a house. Consider the many intertwined organisms that make up the forest world. Consider the elegant efficiency of so many functions in nature and the beauties and symetries to be found. That is just in what we can see.

In his book Signature in the Cell [click to read] Stephen C. Meyer looks at the blueprints involved in those complex creations and gives us even more evidence for the Master Designer.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." -- Romans 1:20

Why is it so important to see evidence of the Divine hand? Hebrews 11:6 puts it this way:

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Years ago, walking in the woods as a young man, I observed the buds of Winter trees growing fat for the blossoms to come in Spring. To me that came as Divine assurance.


A dogwood blossom displays balance in design.

Reinvigorating Suburbs

It's Time for Creating Jefferson's Nation of Villages


Proposed Renewal of the Crozet Shopping Center.

Suburb bashing has always been a fashionable intellectual pastime.That is one reason I like Robert A. M. Stern. He sees the reasons people seek out single family dwellings of a traditional form. I have a friend who lives on the upper West side and his penthouse with a view of the Hudson is very nice but give me my gardens.People put up with the wretched infrastructure overload and strip centers because the village is still appealing. The residential areas become landscaped oasis for their residents. Kids play outside the house in view of the kitchen window. People visit at the back fence.Moreover the suburbs are seen by their dwellers as affirming opportunity and safety. If people had no emotion for their homes they would be fine with Le Courbusier type high rises but that is simply not the case.The problem is really one of infrastructure and public space [or lack therof]. Strip malls and box stores create a sterile wasteland but they may become the village centers of the future.

Time magazine features a piece called 'Repurposing Suburbs' which shows some fine examples of recreating this type of public space. This Crozet project turns a tired strip mall into a village center. One cannot wait for Crozet's redesigner to get his creative hands on some of the new "Town Center" projects which are now just collections of big box stores. Some time ago I drew a concept where the CSX tracks between Staunton and Charlottesville became a light rail line connecting Staunton, Fishersville, Waynesboro, Crozet, Ivy, The University of Virginia Medical Center and Downtown Charlottesville. The result would be a series of village centers and a better utilization of existing infrastructure.

City Journal's writers draw conflicting conclusions. Houston is touted as encouraging its middle class while Gotham offers limited options. Dense urban areas do tend to create energy efficiency. The trick is to see opportunities to improve the communities we have already created.That would certainly involve offering condominiums and a pedestrian friendly center to suburban communities and reclaiming all those wonderful old low density neighborhoods of our cities.

Science's Lesson

What Do We Really Learn from Observing the Cosmos?

"In its purest form, the human spirit of inquiry is a holy thing. According to the renowned 12th century Jewish thinker Maimonides, nothing less than the Biblical commandment to love G-d is fulfilled when a person investigates nature and, struck by its intricacy and beauty, is filled with awe and gratitude to the Divine."


The rings of Saturn.

Photographs of galaxies and microscopic worlds have always fascinated me. There is sublime order in the extreme places of our investigation. Here is an Article About a Supercollider by Rabbi Avi Shafran in Jewish World Review. He calls the project an $8 Billion, Modern Day Tower of Babel."

If you remember the Bible story, the Tower of Babel represents mankind trying to assert their independence from the Divine. It ended in a confusion of tongues. You'd think we would learn. I remember when John Lennon proclaimed the Beatles "Bigger than Jesus" -- right before the group dissolved! A similar attitude seems to have gripped some scientists hoping to find a "G-d Particle" and thus reducing the cosmos to naturally explainable.

When the Cosmic Background Explorer read the background spectrum of the universe, scientists were looking for the bang in the "Big Bang." The clear spectrum they found was not exactly what they expected. It doesn't exactly negate the possibility of a moment of Creation. In fact, those who seek to do so may find G-d very difficult to dethrone.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" -- Romans 1:20

An Inconvenient Observation

The Order of the Universe is Problematic for Some

I saw 'Expelled' this past weekend and it was a pretty powerful documentary. G-d is getting some pretty bad press these days from esteemed writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The Intelligent Design movement, though it is not specifically theistic, is uniformly vilified in the academy. Why is an inquiry into the observable order of the universe so dangerous, especially when open inquiry is such a cherished part of scientific investigation? Perhaps such 'open inquiry' inevitably leads to the 'wrong' conclusions.

Theodore Dalrymple writes in City Journal: "What the New Atheists are Missing." Himself a non-believer, he points to a time when a teacher's hypocrasy led him to question. Dalrymple does not, however, reject the realm of faith as a force in creating and ordering societies. He see's naturalistic explainations and philosophies quite insufficient for dealing with all of human existence. Richard Dawkins' assertions that religious education is tantamount to child abuse, for example seem to Dalrymple no more than the rebellious ranting of a child who's just learned that his parents are not perfect. All of us have experienced some sort of disillusionment in our youth. I remember a time when a nun of the 'Sisters of Mercy' punished me for some infraction I had not [at least in my recollection] committed. I too questioned a lot of things. The Cuban missle crisis fueled more unanswered anxiety as I careened into adolescence.

But something happened in my teenaged years that is etched firmly in my memory. It was a dark and stressful winter day when I decided to walk in the woods near Triadelphia Reservoir. Something spoke to me that afternoon that was more eloquent than the ranting of hormones and the perceived unfairness of life. The buds of the trees were growing fat. here was the hope of spring and new life. Clearly spring would come. The buds gave evidence of an event hoped for. They were indeed the substance of something yet unseen!

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" -- Romans1:20 KJV

Holy writ makes the point that the order and beauty of the creation speaks eloquently of the creator. Thus Intelligent Design, though it merely points out the complex mechanisms of nature, leads one to seek the source of such wisdom. I look to that time in the trees as an affirmation of personal faith in a creator. Though at that point it was pretty detatched and intellectual at best.

"...for he that cometh to G-d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligenly seek him." Hebrews 11:6b KJV

As a young adult I embraced faith in Christ as redeemer and rewarder. The journey of faith had begun with the fat buds years before though.Therefore I must conlude that those who consider the design of the universe dangerous information have good reason if they fear that others may follow the path I have walked. Dawkins would prefer me to credit space aliens with seeding life to this planet and thus push the hard questions of origin to another world.

Darwinism, in its purest form, rejects the idea that this world is some sort of intentional creation. Of course this leads to the rejection of theism and ultimately the rejection of certain absolutes. 'Expelled' takes a good look at 'eugenics' and how it is supported by a darwinian world view. In the first half of the Twentieth Century certain proponents of eugenics sought to speed evolution along by eliminating the reproduction of certain undesirable types of persons. The results were forced sterilization of the mentally ill and the holecaust. Contrast that movement with Dorethea Dix and others who, motivated by Christian faith, improved conditions for the mentally ill.

Alvin Schmidt makes a good case in his book 'Under the Influence' that faith is a builder of society rather than a force to destroy it. Dalrymple the non-believer would concur. Thus the danger of Intelligent Design leading to dangerous conclusions is much inflated. One might even conclude that the free discussion of order and design,wherever it is found, is wholesome. Certainly there is no basis for its exclusion from the academy.

The argument will no doubt be made: "what about the crusades, what about jihad, religion is dangerous?" Yes, it is certainly something that may be missused, but that must be countered with an honest look at how the so-called "good" science of evolution was the foundation of eugenics. Millions of people were killed in this misguided attempt to improve humanity. Ironically, such brilliant men as Albert Einstein met the criteria for elimination. We reduce the world to only naturalistic explainations at our own peril. The argument for open inquiry stands.



"When through the woods,and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down,from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze"
-- "How Great Thou Art" Verse 2

'Expelled' Opens April 18th

Is Legitimate Inquiry Supressed in Our Institutions?

Ben Stein looks at a subject which has long intrigued me, Intelligent Design and how it is often being denied a place at the table when it comes to serious discussions in our major institutions of higher learning and research. Expelled opens April 18th in theatres around the country.


Storms on Jupiter.

As an artist, it is important to learn observation skills when it comes to nature. the Fibbonacci Number Sequence is seen in the spiral of a galaxy, water going down a drain and the hair pattern on a child's head. Complex mechanisms exist in nature, such as the eye, for example. How could they evolve without some oversight as they would not function when not wholly complete.

This past weekend a man who is working on an assistive technology robot at Carnagie-Mellon showed us videos of his 'robot' attempting to grasp a doorknob and open it. Let's just say these researchers were well pleased when the robot hit the doorknob. They have a long way to go before it will open the doorknob. There's more to hand-eye coordination than you would imagine. Do you ever just stop and appreciate the well-tuned software that you've depended on all your life?

More important, do you think of what it might mean to have been so created? Stein's movie gives us a lot to think about.

Expelled Movie Website