GOD, THE SCIENCE, THE EVIDENCE

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As debates over science, meaning, and morality grow ever more polarized, a ground-breaking, accurate, and easy-to-read new book in English invites readers to reconsider one of humanity’s most profound questions: could science itself now point us back to God?

The international bestseller God, the Science, the Evidence, an accessible yet rigorous investigation, has sold more than 400,000 copies across Europe. Now, this landmark work comes to the English-speaking world in an updated and expanded version.

The publication of God, the Science, the Evidence marks a major milestone in the renewed global interest in the scientific evidence for the existence of God. Representing years of research and reflection, it presents complex ideas in a clear and engaging style, one that has already made it a cultural phenomenon throughout Europe.

At its core, the book tackles one fundamental question: Is there a Creator God? And it approaches that question through a single lens—rationality—by examining twelve independent fields of knowledge.

Get the book and use it to brings others to the truth of our Creator God who loves us. When people come to realise that evolution is a failed theory and they were created in the image of their Creator God, a God who loves them it will change their lives forever.

WHY THERE REALLY IS A GOD

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The book, Why There Really Is A God – And What You Need To Know About Him, is a well-written and thoughtfully organized exploration of the arguments for and against the existence of God. It has a balanced approach, with common counterarguments, scientific challenges, and philosophical objections also fairly represented and discussed. Its accessible style makes it a valuable resource for anyone interested in this fundamental question. For those already familiar with apologetics, the book may serve as a useful synthesis of various arguments presented in a coherent and accessible manner.

For skeptics, the book offers a direct engagement with the questions and objections they might raise, providing the author’s reasoned responses. It is a book that encourages critical thinking, inviting readers to engage with the evidence and draw their own conclusions. Whether you are a creationist, an atheist, or somewhere in between, this book can offer you a thorough review of one of the most important debates in human history without appearing one-sided.

Why There Really is a God is a valuable resource for a variety of readers. It serves as a useful reference for creationists seeking to strengthen their own position, providing a well-organized and comprehensive overview of foundational evidence. It is also an excellent introduction for those who are undecided or unsure about their beliefs, offering balanced and fair-minded reasoning. Even confirmed atheists will find the book thought-provoking, as it presents the arguments for God’s existence in a clear and compelling manner.

The text aligns with its stated aim of engaging “someone who is openminded enough to engage with the best arguments for (and against) God, and fair-minded enough to change their view if the evidence points in that direction” (p. 6). Wilson successfully creates a space for genuine inquiry, encouraging readers to think critically about the evidence and come to their own conclusions.

SIGNPOSTS TO GOD

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Prominent atheist Richard Dawkins was once asked what he would say to God if he encountered Him after he died. Dawkins quoted what Bertrand Russell is reputed to have said when asked the same question: “Sir, why did you take such pains to hide yourself?”

I think I can understand why some might echo that sentiment. After all, God is invisible; we can’t perceive Him directly with our physical senses. Yet the signs of His existence—indeed, of His goodness and greatness—are everywhere. The Apostle Paul was right when telling a first-century pagan audience that God has always given evidence of His existence through the good things He has done, such as “rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17). God has put up signposts everywhere to help us find our way to Him. Here are just a few of them.

The humblest believer in God as Creator must exercise far less credulity, and has far less explaining to do, than the most ardent evolutionist materialist.

Of course, fallen humanity has devised many increasingly sophisticated speculations of how nature could have made itself. Ministries like Creation Ministries International (http://www.creation.com) provide people with specific answers to such challenges. Even so, it pays to step back and contemplate the ‘big picture’ of what is claimed, and its affront to common sense.

Evidence of design

Flicking through a magazine one day as a child, I came across a photograph of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, with the unmistakable likenesses of four American presidents carved into the rocks. Knowing nothing of how these came to be there, I remember thinking, “How strange! These can’t have happened by accident.”

Precisely! No one could seriously suggest that these shapes resulted from wind, or rain, or glacial erosion. These carved faces are clearly the result of creative design and effort.

Though not professing a commitment to anything like the God of the Bible, Paul Davies, former professor of theoretical physics at The University of Adelaide, writes in his book The Mind of God:

Through my scientific work, I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact … I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate, an accident of history, an incidental blip in the great cosmic drama.2

The humblest believer in God as Creator must exercise far less credulity, and has far less explaining to do, than the most ardent evolutionist materialist.

Another signpost is human nature. We have been made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Thus, we have spiritual capacities that cannot be explained apart from God. Language, reason, ambition, creativity, humour, wonder, worship—all these have no counterpart in the natural world. These qualities mark us out as different from the rest of God’s handiwork. This is another way of saying that our Creator has endowed us with the capacity to relate to Him at a personal level.

Within human nature, conscience is another sign pointing to God. Proverbs 20:27 says of the human spirit that it is “the lamp of the Lord, searching all [man’s] innermost parts.”. Our conscience is responsible for our intuitive knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil. The Apostle Paul states that even those who don’t have God’s law in written form still have a conscience that commends them when they instinctively do what it commands and accuses them when they don’t (Romans 2:14–15).

Even without a ‘book of rules,’ we know it’s wrong to lie, steal, covet, and murder. Conscience ‘puts a pebble in our shoe’ whenever we violate it. The standard it sets and the guilt it inflicts point us to God—the Source of all good and the Judge of all evil.

Eternity in our hearts

Our longing for eternity is another pointer to God. Somehow, we know and feel that this life is not all that there is. Archaeologists have discovered how carefully and elaborately the ancient Egyptians prepared for the afterlife, and they had no Bible to tell them about a life to come. Where does this longing for eternity come from? Everything on Earth is subject to change and decay:

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end (Psalm 102:25–27).

These ‘immortality longings’ we all feel at various moments are pointers to the God who created us in His own image.

Hunger of the soul

Another signpost to God is our longing for meaning and purpose. We always knew when our cat Simba was hungry and wanted to be fed. (Any cat owner knows that dogs have masters, but cats have staff!) He would eat his prescription dry food and go away content; his next meal seemed to be the limit of his horizon. But we can’t live at that bare, subsistence level—at least, not for long. We crave meaning and purpose in our lives; we long to enjoy significant and satisfying relationships.

This sense of longing is often called ‘the homesickness of the soul’—and rightly so, for that’s precisely what it is. The true object of our longing is God. The words of the psalmist reflect this truth:

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1–2)

Illuminating the way

Of all the signposts pointing to God, the Bible is by far the clearest. When a British monarch is crowned, he or she is given a copy of the Bible, and told, “This Book is the most valuable thing that this world affords. This is the royal law; these are the lively oracles of God.” When we read the Bible with a humble and teachable attitude, we find it to be a source of supernatural wisdom and power. The psalmist prayed: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Paul reminded his young associate Timothy that Scripture provides the wisdom and instruction that leads to “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Scripture’s major theme is Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. As the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), Jesus is the clearest and most compelling witness to the existence and greatness of God the Father. Jesus Himself said: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He is the perfect transcript of what God is like.

But the supreme demonstration of God’s love and care is the sending of His Son into the world to suffer death on the cross, to save us from our sins, and to reclaim us for Himself. The Cross is more than enough to convince us that God loves and cares for lost people (Romans 5:8). Jesus Himself said that He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

There are signposts everywhere to help us find our way to God, but the most vital one is Jesus. He said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The article Signposts to God is by Peter Howe on http://www.creation.com

DESTROYING REALITY

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The Creator of this Cosmos is the only one who can define reality: Why the Cosmos exists: How it operates: Who we are: Why we are here: How we are to live: What is wrong with the world and How we can get right with our Creator,

This world has largely rejected our Creator and therefore His commandments. Without God, there is no reality or purpose. Once we reject God, we make up our own rules and that is what is happening in our world.

GOD IS CLEARLY SEEN
Everyone knows there is a God. The evidence is all around us. In fact, the Creator designed the universe so that His many invisible attributes would be “clearly seen” in the things He made so that we are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20

God reveals Himself in two ways. One is through the special revelation of the Bible. Through the Bible, God spells out the path to salvation. God also communicates through the “general” revelation of creation. While it does not replace the saving truths that mankind must learn in the Bible, creation clearly teaches all men and women that God exists and that certain things are true about Him.

We know these things presently and continually. The moment God created the world (cosmos in Greek), His world began proclaiming things about the Creator, and it has continued ever since.

Psalms 19:1-4 is an important Old Testament parallel. God’s creation, surpassing all limits of language, culture, gender, and age, preaches about God constantly and effectively. The world does not need science to acquire knowledge of the Creator. According to the Bible, people already know the Creator and are desperately seeking any excuse to dispute His existence. Our universities and schools have accepted and teach the Big Bang (creation out of nothing) and evolution (by random chance) as the mechanism for creating a Cosmos of incredible beauty with complex laws by which it operates, and intelligent design as evidenced by DNA (complex multi-level information that controls the machinery in all living cells).

As 2 Peter 3:5 says, “They deliberately ignore” the evidence that everyone plainly sees.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day-to-day pours out speech, and night-to-night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Psalms 19:1-4

God has given us ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to understand. He could have left us in the dark because of our willful effort to cage His truth and because of our impiety and injustice. Yet God wants all to take His free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

God graciously transforms lives that are dark with the disease of sin, and dead to God’s ways. This powerful God, who once transformed the empty vastness of space with just a word, is so great in His mercy that, in spite of our willful ignorance, He sees us in our darkness and cries out, “Let the light of the glorious gospel shine in their hearts!”

“In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

SHARING THE TRUTH WITH A SKEPTIC

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It can be discouraging to share the truth with a skeptic only to have them ignore it. It doesn’t seem to matter how much—or how good—our evidence is. Some people just do not want to believe as they do not want to give up control of their lives. They want to be the God of their world just as Satan did. So, do they need more evidence?

No, decidedly not. You see, it’s not a matter of the evidence. It’s a spirit/heart problem. The people of Jesus’ day saw him heal people—and even raise the dead! And yet many refused to believe. When Jesus’ body disappeared from the tomb, instead of believing, the religious leaders made up a story to explain away the evidence.

Yes, it’s a spirit/heart problem!

Did you know that our spirit was originally designed to be the lamp of the Lord? It was always meant to contain the Holy Spirit so that man could commune with God as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

When Adam and Eve rebelled against God the Holy Spirit departed their spirit. It was no longer the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil to function and the oil (Holy Spirit) was no longer available to them.

When we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour then our Heavenly Father sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit so that it can function again as the lamp of the Lord. He produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts of the Spirit for ministry (1 Corinthians 12).

So what’s the answer for sharing with the skeptic? Pray, keep sharing truth, and trust God to send the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin of rebellion against God.

From a biblical perspective, all true wisdom and understanding is found in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30) as God, Creator, and Savior (John 1:1–4).

“The true light (Jesus), which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (by the Holy Spirit).” John 1:9-13

You can choose to place your trust in the changing opinions of man or believe the unchanging, infallible words of God. God’s understanding is eternal (Isaiah 40:28) and fixed (Hebrews 13:8), which is why we must let Scripture be our final authority in all matters of life. Only then does life and science make sense!

It amazes me how the atheist does not consider the invalidity of his own position. The atheist calls for real science and knowledge, but he denies the God who makes it possible to even do scientific research because He promised to maintain the universe in a uniform way (Genesis 8:22). In a world with no God where everything came about from nothing by chance, how could we observe and repeat experiments consistently from day to day?

How does knowledge, which is immaterial, exist in an atheistic, strictly material world? Love, knowledge, self-awareness, and other abstract or immaterial concepts do not make sense in an atheistic worldview where only the material exists. Besides, if God does not exist and there are no absolutes and no ultimate answers for the meaning of life, then why do science at all?

Scripture addresses man’s biggest problem, which is that he is a sinner who has rebelled against God and needs a Saviour. Check out the Bible to see that it is indeed an operation manual for our lives, starting with the need for every person to repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death on the Cross for our sins, and His Resurrection from the dead. This is the first step to real understanding and true knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10).

From the first two chapters in Genesis and throughout the rest of Scripture, only the Bible lays down an accurate framework for correctly understanding the origin, structure, and laws that govern the universe. The Answers in Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org) and Creation Ministries (http://www.creation.com) websites contain literally hundreds of articles demonstrating operational science is consistent with the Bible.

EVIDENCE FOR A CREATOR: INCREDIBLE DESIGN AND BEAUTY

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The new James Webb Space Telescope can ‘see’ much farther than ever, probing distant realms of the universe never observed before.

Some of its earliest images were of galaxies with highly red-shifted light, thus interpreted as very remote and among the first ones formed after the supposed Big Bang (BB).

As reported last issue, fully mature spiral galaxies were found, not ones in their early stages—much bigger than thought possible. In BB theory, gravity should not have had the time to assemble them, so headlines carried statements like “massive galaxies that shouldn’t exist”. Now a new study suggests the galaxies could be up to ten times more massive than first estimated, making the BB’s problem that much worse.

Despite this, secular astronomers are unlikely to abandon the BB, the favoured way of explaining how the universe supposedly made itself with no Creator. Rather, rescue attempts will involve ‘auxiliary hypotheses’ to try to explain the observations.

The ideas of dark matter, dark energy, and inflation were similarly postulated to overcome conflicts between theory and observation. No one has ever seen or sampled dark matter, for example, but without it, BB theory doesn’t work. So, expect various refinements and modifications to salvage the theory in due course.

Niels Bohr Institute, James Webb’s ‘too massive’ galaxies may be even more massive, phys.org, 17 May 2023.

There is increasing evidence of the remarkable stability of our solar system. CMI has reported on this previously (Creation Vol 44, Issue 3, page 8, 2022).

Medium-sized planets are common in other systems, but there are no medium-sized planets in our solar system; instead, we have gas giants and ice giants on one hand, and small rocky planets like our Earth on the other. Using the Nice model, scientists previously found that the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn regulate the orbits of the smaller planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars), and have prevented them from becoming unstable and falling closer to the Sun. A further study has recently suggested that our solar system has built-in constraints on the degree of movement of inner planet orbits, preventing them from becoming increasingly chaotic and colliding. Moreover, the latest mathematical modelling (Mogavero, F., Hoang, N.H., and Laskar, J., Timescales of chaos in the inner solar system: Lyapunov spectrum and quasi-integrals of motion, Phys. Rev. X, 13:021018, 2023), suggests that certain symmetries in the orbits of the planets restrict the chaotic forces at work. Yet such stability is not evident in other planetary systems in the Milky Way.

The remarkable stability and order of our solar system point to the wonderful design by an intelligent and benevolent God. The chaotic factors would also limit the age of the solar system, pointing to a maximum age less than naturalism allows. As the creation account in Genesis records, the sun, moon, and planets have been intelligently placed in their positions for divine purposes, “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14).

adapted from REMARKABLE EVIDENCE OF A DESIGNED, YOUNG, AND STABLE SOLAR SYSTEM by Andrew Sibley Creation Magazine, volume 45, Issue 4, 2023

THE FOOL SAYS IN HIS HEART, “THERE IS NO GOD”

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“When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”—G.K. Chesterton

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Psalm 14:1

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:21-23

“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.“ Proverbs 19:3

As much as atheists pretend otherwise—talking as if ‘reason’ and ‘science’ are exclusively atheistic values— it is actually the rejection of God that requires ‘leaving your brain at the door.’ And the effects of both godly and godless thinking on the world make this abundantly clear to any honest observer.

We must remember that just ten generations from Adam this is what God said about the wickedness of man and He destroyed all but eight people when He poured out His wrath upon the earth with the flood of Noah’s day.

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5

The Bible is a true, authentic, historically accurate, reliable, and trustworthy revelation from God. It states that the way to true fulfilment, lasting peace, and joy in life is found in the person, Jesus Christ. N.B. what Jesus said to the apostle Thomas.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7

You too, can have a relationship with the co-creator of all that exists.

Many Bible scholars tell us that up to one-third of the Bible is predictive prophecy and all of the prophecies up to date have been accurate so we can expect the many prophecies of Jesus’ second coming will also be accurate.

Jesus tells us that God will pour out His wrath again upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements (Revelation 8 & 16). It is at the trumpet blast when the seventh seal is opened that the rapture of the Saints happens and the Trumpet judgements begin.

Will you be foolish and deny God’s existence and face the coming wrath of God, or will you repent and turn from selfishness and reckless living without God? If you do repent, you need to acknowledge and thank Jesus for His sacrifice on the cross that has paid your debt of sin and guilt in full.

If I can be of help you can contact me on ron@bakb.com.au

ANSWERING THE SKEPTICS: NO EVIDENCE FOR GOD

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The ‘no evidence for God‘ claim is an interesting one. It often works to frame the discussion in such a way that only creationists have a burden of proof. It allows the unbeliever the comfortable position of the skeptic: they get to poke holes in our case without ever having to make a case for anything themselves. Plus, skeptics regularly demand airtight arguments practically anyone would have to accept before they would believe in God (Agnosticism). As such, we almost certainly won’t convince them. But then that supposedly means that our faith in God isn’t reasonable. The game is rigged from the start. Heads, the skeptic wins; tails, we lose.

How should we respond?

CMI suggests you flip the script. Instead of you presenting a case for God, make them present what they think a case for God should look like. The simplest way to do this is to ask them: ‘What sort of evidence would you expect God to give?’

Many skeptics will say things like, ‘Well, none of the arguments I’ve seen convince me.’ Or they may just continue to demand that you convince them. Don’t let them off the hook. Hold their feet to the fire. Say something like: ‘Well, if I don’t know what would convince you, why should I bother trying? How do I know that anything I might say wouldn’t just fall on deaf ears?’

You want them to give you something concrete. But, failing that, your goal is to make them feel the irresponsible dogmatism of their skepticism. If skeptics hate anything, it’s looking like a gullible dogmatist. If they continue to avoid the question then walk away. The Holy Spirit may prompt you to pray for them but otherwise do not waste more time.

But if they do give you something concrete, then play the skeptic. What you want to do is to show them that even the case they expect would convince them has the same sort of holes they think exist in the case we make for God exists.

EXAMPLES:

Many skeptics will say things like: ‘Well! if I saw an amputee healed in response to prayer, that would convince me.’ Response: ‘Really? How do you know God would’ve done it?’ ‘The prayer’, they’ll respond. Your response: ‘That could just be a coincidence. Besides, it’s just a one-off event. What if it never gets repeated? That doesn’t sound scientific. Plus, how do you know something other than God didn’t step in to heal the amputee? Maybe aliens did it! At least we know aliens can exist, since we exist. But God? You’re just linking events that have no demonstrable link and labelling it with ‘God did it’ to cover for your lack of a scientific explanation.’ This sort of response is a real stinger because it’s exactly how most skeptics respond to cosmological and design arguments for God.

Some of them might say, ‘Well, if God appeared to me right here and said, “Here I am, believe in me!” then I would.’ Response: ‘So, you’d bow the knee at a vision that may very well just be a dream? How would you know for sure you didn’t hallucinate?’

Some might say, ‘If the stars read “God exists. Worship him”, I would believe.’ Response: ‘That would only be useful to people who knew the language the message was written in. Nevertheless, how do you know the stars don’t say that in a language you’ve never encountered? At any rate, why not other beings that want to deceive us? It’s not something we could say that only God could do, so why should we trust a message in the sky with practically no context? Besides, why should you expect God to arrange the stars just to sate your curiosity about his existence? Is that really reasonable to expect of God? Are we the centre of his universe?’

With such responses, you’re not trying to show that God doesn’t exist. Rather, you’re trying to show that we can always come up with reasons to doubt that will sound plausible to someone, no matter what evidence is put forward. And if they say, ‘Well, that’s what would convince me.’ Respond with: ‘So what? You can’t guarantee that it would convince every rational person. You didn’t say, “There’s no evidence for God that convinces me”; you said, “There’s no evidence for God”, period. If all you’re aiming to do is convince yourself, how can anyone else be sure that you’re really looking for the truth? And this isn’t just about trusting you. This is also about whether you’re even competent to look for the truth about God.’

At this point, they might start saying things like, ‘Well, all I can do is look at the evidence and do my best to figure out the truth. You have to do that for yourself, too.’ At which point you can respond with: ‘Exactly! That’s all I’m trying to do, too. But I genuinely think that things like the following are best explained by the existence of God (click on the links for a detailed explanation of each).

‘I see those things and more as evidence for God. I’m not saying that other explanations can’t be offered, or even that smart and sane people can’t disagree with me. Maybe you don’t find these to be conclusive proofs, but it’s a gross overstatement to say that they don’t qualify as evidence. Furthermore, when I look at them as honestly and critically as I can, I still think God is the best explanation for them. But when you say, ‘there’s no evidence for God’, you seem to imply I’m less than rational and/or honest when I say that. Is that fair?’

After all, that’s the real effect of this ‘no evidence for God’ claim. If they hold it consistently, they have to admit that you’re essentially irrational just for being a theist. But hopefully, by this point, they feel the unjustified dogmatism of their view, and walked it back a bit to admit that theists aren’t necessarily failing to reason properly when they believe in God. If you manage to do that, then you’ve won a huge victory. And that might be a good place to end the discussion for the time being. People often need time to process these sorts of things, so bombarding them with everything in our arsenal all at once is just unhelpful. For a start, they are probably not ready to hear most of it with an open mind. Rather, we try to deal with the person where they are at and try to nudge them a little bit in the right direction.

This information was assembled by Shaun Doyle of Creation Ministries International (CMI) in answer to the many queries CMI receives on how to answer skeptics’ arguments. http://www.creation.com

BEING OBEDIENT TO GOD

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For Christians sometimes obedience comes before understanding.

To enable us, Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit to be our counsellor, teacher and comforter.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

In my own life, many times, I am confronted by the Holy spirit prompting me to do something I would not ordinarily do and when I am obedient and do it, I discover that God had orchestrated all aspects of the the event, circumstances, people and location and it invariably did one or more of the following things: helped others, proved God’s existence and brought glory to Him and His Word.

Even before Jesus made it possible for believers to be born again and receive the Holy Spirit, God was working with people like Abraham who by faith was prepared to be obedient . Think about it, Abraham could have had no understanding of why he was called to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. This is trusting God to the uttermost.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” Hebrews 11:17-19

What did God promise Abraham because of his obedience:

“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” Genesis 22:16-18

Long after Abraham had died the children of Abraham knew that:

“Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” Joshua 21:45

Jesus now calls us to do the following things, which in the natural you would not do, but by the power of the Holy Spirit you can do.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Luke 6:27-31

Are you being obedient to the Holy Spirit’s leading each day of your life? Are you living eternal now?

available on Amazon as an ebook and trade paperback edition

NINTH OF AV IS PROOF GOD IS IN CONTROL

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Yesterday the 9th of Av began, Tisha B’Av, a sad day in Jewish history, but surely evidence for the fact that God is in control of history on His planet and that He judges nations.

  1. On the ninth of Av day 1445 BC, ten of the twelve spies sent by Moses to search the Promised Land came back with a negative report resulting in the Jews wandering 40 years in the wilderness.
  2. On the 9th of Av 586 BC the first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.
  3. On the ninth of Av 70 AD the Second Temples was destroyed by the Romans.
  4. On the ninth of Av 1290 AD the Jews were expelled from England.
  5. On the Ninth of Av 1492 AD was the date designated for all Jews to leave Spain.
  6. On the ninth of Av 1941 AD, SS Commander Himmler formally received approval for the “Final Solution.“

If only the Jews, and our leaders for that matter, would read and obey the following Scripture:

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain (in the year 1492) by Emilio Sala Francés

Whilst the date these events occurred (ninth of Av) demonstrates God is in control of history. It also demonstrates the spiritual warfare that is raging on this planet as Satan strives to destroy God’s nation.