Testing Darwin's Teachers

The LA Times has an article online today about students in Kansas who enjoy asking sophisticated (sometimes), challenging questions of their biology teacher regarding evolution.

Ancient City Found at 'Kana of the Galilee'

The Jerusalem Post reports today the discovery of an ancient city found, which may be connected to Jesus' first miracle. Click here for story.

New Photo Resparks Interest in Looking for Noah's Ark

A new, high-resolution digital image of what has become known as the "Ararat Anomaly" is reigniting interest in the hunt for Noah's Ark. Click here to see the photo and read the news.

Darwin Smacked in New U.S. Poll: 69% of Americans want alternate theories in classroom

Worldnetdaily.com reports today that a new poll shows 69 percent of Americans believe public school teachers should present both the evidence for and against Darwinian evolution. The Zogby International survey indicated only 21 percent think biology teachers should teach only Darwin's theory of evolution and the scientific evidence that supports it. A majority of Americans from every sub-group were at least twice as likely to prefer this approach to science education, the Zogby study showed. Click here to read the rest of the article.

Dr. Henry Morris Home With the Lord

The Institute for Creation Research said, "After a series of minor strokes in recent weeks, Dr. Henry Morris, founder and president of the Institute for Creation Research, was peacefully ushered into the presence of his Creator, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, February 25, around 6:30 p.m. He was 87 years old. Henry Morris was considered the "father of the Modern Creation Movement", authoring well over sixty books on Biblical Creationism, Scientific Creationism and commentaries on the Bible. His most recent work was the New Defenders Study Bible (released last month) which contained several thousand additional annotations. Dr. Morris was a brilliant scholar and theologian who was used by God in many marvelous ways to launch and encourage the Modern Creation Movement on a global scale. But for those of us who had the privilege of working with Henry Morris, he was a gentle, humble and faithful servant of God who modeled what it means to finish well as he consistently looked unto Jesus and ran with patience the race that was set before him (Hebrews 12:1-2). Plans for a memorial service are being arranged for this Thursday (3/2/06) at Shadow Mountain Community Church. Please pray for the Morris family and the entire staff at ICR during this transition."

The Victory of Reason

Charles Colson's writes today, "At the heart of the furor over Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad are the different values and ideals of two civilizations: one shaped by Christianity, the other by Islam. Of course, it's seldom put that way, especially in the elite media. Instead, the values being defended are called "Western," as if a compass point produced the freedoms we today enjoy in the Western world. Fortunately, there's a new book that sets the record straight. The book is called The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success by Rodney Stark, who is not a Christian believer. In fact, Stark set out to refute German sociologist Max Weber's famous thesis that attributed the rise of capitalism to the Reformation. Instead of refuting it, however, he wound up doing just the opposite, writing about how Christianity's emphasis on reason led to the rise of Europe. Click here to read the rest.

500 Doctoral Scientists Skeptical of Darwin

Worldnetdaily.com reports today that more than 500 scientists with doctoral degrees have signed a statement expressing skepticism about Darwin's theory of evolution. Many of these scientists are professors or researchers from prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian Institute, Cambridge University, UCLA, Princeton, Berkeley, etc..

The statement, which includes endorsement by members of the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences, was first published by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute in 2001 to challenge statements about Darwinian evolution made in promoting PBS's "Evolution" series.

The PBS promotion claimed "virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true."

"Darwinists continue to claim that no serious scientists doubt the theory and yet here are 500 scientists who are willing to make public their skepticism about the theory," said John G. West, associate director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture. Click here to read the rest of the story at worldnetdaily.com

Goliath's Name Discovered in Ancient City of Gath

There was recently an interesting discovery made in Israel. Reuters reports, "An Israeli researcher said he has made a Goliath of a find -- the first archaeological evidence suggesting the biblical story of David slaying the Philistine giant actually took place. A shard of pottery unearthed in a decade-old dig in southern Israel carried an inscription in early Semitic style spelling "Alwat and "Wlt", likely Philistine renderings of the name Goliath, said Aren Maeir, who directed the excavation. "This is a groundbreaking find," he said of the rust-coloured ceramic. "Here we have very nice evidence the name Goliath appearing in the Bible in the context of the story of David and Goliath ... is not some later literary creation." Maeir, head of the archaeology department at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, told Reuters that his excavators found the shard, possibly part of a bowl, about two metres (6.5 ft) underground at Tell es-Shafi. The mound where the dig took place is widely believed to be the site of the ancient city of Gath, which the Bible calls Goliath's hometown. Click here to read the rest of the story.

Is Reincarnation Compatible With the Bible?

There are many Biblical problems with believing in reincarnation.

First, Second Corinthians 5:8 says, "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." At death, the Christian goes into the presence of the Lord, not into another body.

Secondly, Luke 16:19-31 tells us that unbelievers, upon death, go to a place of suffering, not into another body.

Thirdly, Hebrews 9:27 assures us "it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that to face judgment." Each human being lives once as a mortal on earth, dies once, and then faces judgment. He does not have a second chance by reincarnating into another body.

Reincarnation is a heretical, unbiblical doctrine.

The Privileged Planet: Our Special Place in the Universe

I came across this short write up today by Charles Colson called, "The Privileged Planet: Our Special Place in the Universe" (Nov., 2004).

Do you ever find yourself saying, “I wish so-and-so were still around?” Well, I wish the astronomer Carl Sagan were still around. He died in 1996, but had he lived, he would have found an extraordinary book, The Privileged Planet, by astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez and philosopher Jay Richards, deeply challenging—maybe even disturbing.

Here’s why: In his frequent appearances on the Tonight Show, and in his public television series Cosmos, Sagan was presented as the visionary sage of science. He spoke cheerfully of being inspired by the vastness of the universe and our growing scientific knowledge of our place in it.

Ironically, however, Sagan’s cheerful demeanor didn’t fit his message of cosmic loneliness. Earth has no “special significance,” he said—it’s merely one tiny planet going around an unremarkable star, in an equally unremarkable galaxy, adrift in a universe filled with billions of such galaxies. “Our planet,” he wrote, “is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity . . . there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”

Sagan’s picture of an insignificant, almost accidental Earth reflects a widely held and rather bleak assumption in modern science. Called the Copernican Principle, or the Principle of Mediocrity, this assumption says that the Earth isn’t special at all.

Now, the Bible places a high value on the virtue of humility, so Christians might be tempted to agree with this picture: Maybe we’re not so significant after all. But there’s all the difference in the world between seeking real humility (indeed a virtue)—and arguing, as Sagan did, for human insignificance by assuming the universe exists for no purpose. Furthermore, the first question anybody should ask (Christian or not) about assumptions like the Principle of Mediocrity is this: Is it true? Or is a materialistic philosophy being promoted in the name of science?

That’s exactly the question that Gonzalez and Richards pursue in The Privileged Planet. And now their book has inspired a stunning new science documentary. What makes the production so wonderfully refreshing is the spirit of scientific freedom and open intellectual inquiry motivating it.

Using state-of-the-art computer animations, awe-inspiring astronomical footage, and interviews with leading scientists, including Robert Jastrow and Paul Davies, the documentary draws a strikingly different picture from the Sagan image of mediocrity. We learn how many things you need to get a planet, like Earth. It takes just the right atmosphere, plate tectonics, a large moon, well-placed planetary neighbors, in the exact right location in a spiral galaxy, and much, much more.

That alone is interesting. But there’s another surprise. Earth also provides the best conditions for scientific discovery. Did you catch that? The very place with intelligent beings is also the best place for scientific discovery. According to the evidence marshaled by Gonzalez and Richards, the universe is, literally, designed for discovery.

Young Carl Sagans need to consider The Privileged Planet. And believers will be encouraged that science is finally discovering what we knew all along—we are a specially blessed people.--Charles Colson, Breakpoint radio broadcast, November 24, 2004.

What About Those Who Have Never Heard of Jesus: Will They Be Condemned to Hell?

This is a common question that unbelievers have. The Bible says that God is loving (Psalm 103:8, 1 John 4:10) and that He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). If a person has never heard of Jesus, the Bible says that God is going to be absolutely fair with them (Psalm 98:9), and that He will judge them based on what they do know through the testimony of creation and their conscience (Romans 1:20, 2:12-15).

If a person responds favorable to the testimony of his conscience or the the testimony of creation and truly seeks to know God, the Bible says that “God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).” God has many ways of getting the truth about salvation through Christ to those who seek Him. He can send them a missionary (Acts 10), allow them to hear a radio broadcast, give them a dream or vision (Daniel 2, 7), send them an angel (Revelation 14:6) or a Bible (Psalm 119:130), direct them to a website, etc. so that they can know the truth.

Interview with Charlie Campbell on CSN

Tune in Sunday, January 29 at 2:30PM (Pacific Time) and 5:30PM (Eastern time) to CSN online to hear a half hour program regarding the new book, ONE MINUTE ANSWERS TO SKEPTICS' TOP FORTY QUESTIONS. For more on the book click here.

Should the Apocrypha be in the Bible?

Evangelicals believe that the Bible is made up of sixty six books. (If you want to read about how the church discovered the Books that God decided were to be included in the Bible, I would encourage you to purchase a copy of Norman Geisler’s book From God to Us, How We Got the Bible). The Catholic Church, in 1546, at an event known as the Council of Trent, added eleven Jewish writings to the Bible known as the “Apocrypha” to Protestants and the “Deuterocanonical books” (lit. “second canon”) to the Catholics.

What is the Apocrypha? The Apocrypha is a collection of fourteen Jewish writings that were written down between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100. Eleven of those fourteen books were accepted by the Catholic Church as God-inspired Scriptures and were placed in the Catholic Bible. If you were to open up a Catholic Bible today you would see books in there with titles like Tobit, Judith, First and Second Maccabees and Baruch. Could these books be God inspired Scripture? Not a chance. There are numerous reasons why the early church and believers down through the centuries have rejected the apocryphal books as authoritative or divinely inspired.

1. Neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever quoted from the Apocrypha as Scripture.
2. The Apocrypha contains numerous historical, geographical and chronological errors.
3. The Jews themselves never accepted the Apocrypha as inspired.
4. The Apocrypha contains no predictive prophecy to help substantiate it’s claims.
5. The Apocrypha never claims to be the inspired Word of God.
6. The Apocrypha was rejected by many of the leading early church fathers.
7. Jerome rejected the Apocrypha and left them out of His Latin translation of the Bible (the Vulgate).
8. The Apocrypha contains numerous non-biblical and heretical doctrines.
9. The Apocrypha was not formally declared to be authoritative and inspired by the Catholic Church until 1546.

For more explanation on each of the nine reasons above see my study on Roman Catholicism here.

Museum in Florida Displaying Pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls and 1611 Version of the King James Bible

If you live in or near St. Petersburg, Florida, this will be of special interest to you. CNN reports today that, "The Bible's evolution from ancient Hebrew to modern languages and from clay tablets to printed books is a rich lesson in the history of civilizations, the origins of the written word and the revolution of printing. The story of how the text of the Bible has been written and disseminated over the centuries is recounted in a new exhibition at the Florida International Museum that boasts artifacts as rare and priceless as they come, among them bits of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a fragment of the Gospel of John dating to about 250 A.D., a 1455 Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of the King James version from 1611." Click here to read the rest of the story.

An Argument for God's Existence From Desire

Here is an interesting, thought provoking argument for God's existence:

1. Every natural, innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire.

2. But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy.

3. Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures, which can satisfy this desire.

4. This something is what people call "God" and "life with God forever."
 

C. S. Lewis, who used this argument often, summarizes it with these words: "Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." (Mere Christianity, Bk. III, chapter 10, "Hope")

The Fanciful, Deceptive Imagination of Dan Brown

In his popular, yet highly inaccurate novel, The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown asserts (through a character named Lee Teabing) that the the deity of Christ was an invention of the church at the Council of Nicea.

Here is an excerpt right from the book, “At this gathering [the Council of Nicea] many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon – the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus….until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet, a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal….Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.” A character by the name of Sophie says, “Hold on. You’re saying Jesus’ divinity was the result of a vote?” Teabing says, “A relatively close vote at that.” (p. 233)

Dan Brown suggests here that the deity of Christ was a late invention by the church, it was proposed at the council of Nicea, and that it barely passed.

For the person who is unfamiliar with the Bible, church history, or what happened at the council of Nicea this might easily be believed. What was the council of Nicea? The council at Nicea in modern day Turkey was a gathering of 318 Bishops (church leaders from all over the Roman Empire) in A.D. 325 to discuss doctrines related to the person of Jesus. This meeting was hardly the place where it first proposed that Jesus was actually God, as Brown suggests. That belief was already firmly in place as the popular teaching of the church (e.g., John 20:28, Titus 2:13).

In the fourth century there was a man by the name of Arius (256 -336) who was causing some disputes throughout the Roman Empire as it related to the person of Jesus. Arius reasoned that since Jesus was “begotten,” (Jn. 3:16) He must have had a beginning. His false teachings regarding Jesus became known as Arianism. Arianism denied the eternality of Jesus. Followers of his teaching, known as Arians, held that the divine nature of Christ was similar to God, but not the same. The Council of Nicea, this gathering together of the Bishops, condemned this teaching in 325 A.D. and reaffirmed what the Bible already taught, that Jesus had the very same nature as God.

Was it a close vote? You tell me. There were 318 bishops that were called to the meeting in Nicea. As for the vote that was finally taken, only five out of 318 dissented; and only two of those five refused to sign the resulting resolutions, which reaffirmed the prevailing view of the church: Jesus was, and is, God.

Hardly a close vote, as Brown suggests in his book!!! Can you imagine a basketball team being beaten 316 to 2 and then the losing team telling people afterwards that, "It was a relatively close game”? This is just one of many inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code. The movie comes out in May, 2006. For a more thorough treatment on these errors, you can purchase an hour long teaching I did on this topics by clicking here (DVD cost: $12.00).

Is There a Contradiction in the Accounts of the Women at Jesus' Tomb?

Someone emailed me yesterday who was troubled by the apparent contradiction in the Gospels regarding the women at Jesus' tomb on the morning of His resurrection.

Mark 16:2 says, "And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen."

John 20:1 says, "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb."

So, "Which was it? Did they go to the tomb 'while it was still dark?' or 'when the sun had risen?'"

The difficulty is solved when we realize that the women, whether they had stayed in Jerusalem or Bethany, had to walk quite some distance to reach the grave. It was dark when they left the place in which they were staying, but when they arrived at the tomb, the sun was beginning to shine. John was referring to their DEPARTURE ("still dark"). Mark was speaking of their ARRIVAL ("sun had risen"). This is one of a couple of plausible solutions. For more help with apparent contradictions in the Bible, check out the "Bible Difficulties" page at AlwaysBeReady.com.

Mormon Mind Control

I talked with a woman named Jennifer today who was baptized last week into the Mormon Church. I got to dialog with her about some of the differences between Biblical Christianity (and it's view of the Scriptures, God, Jesus, Man and the Gospel) and what the Mormon Church teaches. She seemed interested to hear. When I told her that I would love to give her a book on Mormonism (Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons by Ron Rhodes) so she could do a little more investigation, she said that she was told not to read any literature by those critical of the Mormon church. Isn't that a convenient and easy way to keep your members? Sadly, that is common within all of the cults.

I explained to Jennifer that this close-minded, uncritical attitude toward faith is exactly the opposite of what the Bible advocates. I told her that 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to "examine all things" and to hold fast to that which is good. I told her of the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and how the Bible commends them for daily examining the teachings of the apostle Paul and critically holding them up the light of the Scripture. God wants us to question what we hear and what we are taught. The apostle John said, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 Jn. 4:1)." How do you test the spirit of one who is making some spiritual claim? Isaiah tells us how. He says, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word [the Word of God, i.e., the Bible], it is because there is no light [truth] in them (Isaiah 8:20). Hold up everything you hear to the inspired, infallible Word of God, and you'll quickly discern truth from error. Jennifer was excited to hear these Scriptures and then gladly accepted the book and some of my notes on Mormonism. Say a prayer for Jennifer tonight.

Was There Really A Flood as Genesis Says?

Click here to read great answers to skeptics' questions regarding the Flood and Noah's ark talked about in Genesis 7.

Need Help Understanding the Problems With Calvinism?

Click here to listen to an hour long teaching by Dr. Norman Geisler entitled, "WHY I'M NOT A FIVE POINT CALVINIST." You will have to register to use the site by providing your email address and creating a password. Then in the media section, type in GEISLER in the "Search for Sermon" and it will pop up for you to listen to. Norman Geisler was formerly the professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, is the author of more than sixty books, and is today the President of Southern Evangelical Seminary. For a more in-depth treatment of this issue, I'd encourage you to pick up his book Chosen But Free. To see a collection of tape recorded teachings by Norman Geisler including, "FIVE MORE REASONS I'M NOT A FIVE POINT CALVINIST", and "WAS CALVIN A FIVE POINT CALVINIST?" click here.

The Statement That There Are No Absolute Truths Is Self Defeating

A popular saying or belief amongst skeptics of the Christian faith is, "All truth is relative." With this statement many skeptics seek to justify, in their own minds, that there are no absolute truths, including those truth claims put forth in the Bible. Yet, when the skeptic says, "All truth is relative" they are, perhaps unknowingly, making a claim that they believe is absolutely true. If what they are saying ("All truth is relative.") is absolutely true, then not all things are relative and the statement that "All truth is relative" is false.

Another closely related and popular sentiment in our society today is, "There are no absolute truths." Yet, this statement, "There are no absolute truths" is an absolute statement which the skeptic claims is true. If their statement is true, it is an absolute truth and there "There are no absolute truths" is false. Both statements ("All truth is relative" and "There are no absolute truths") are self defeating. If you have the opportunity to talk to someone who thinks this way, point out to them that the logical end of their beliefs is that they cannot believe anything at all, including that there are no absolute truths. Nothing can be true for the relativist, including relativism.

Actor Stephen Baldwin Standing Up Against Pornography

Actor and Christian, Stephen Baldwin is on a crusade against pornography. Click here to read today's article at WorldNetDaily.com. If you struggle with online temptaion, may I suggest that you download a FREE software called X3 at xxx.church.com that will help do away with the temptation? It documents any questionable websites you visit and mails a report once every two weeks to your wife, friend, accountability partner, or whomever you designate. Knowing that someone is going to see where you've been on the internet is a great deterrent against temptation.

Debating the Age of the Earth

There are of course a few different views regarding the age of the universe. I personally don't think it is all that necessary that Christians debate this issue. Discussing the age of the universe (or the earth) can be an interesting theological discussion, but the more important fact to keep in mind and rally around is not WHEN the universe was created but THAT it was created.

Maybe My Kindergarten Teacher Was Right After All

Ron Carlson, a Christian apologist and author, said, "In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairy tale. In the university they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact." Funny how university professors, with a pair of glasses, a beard and a lab jacket can get intelligent people to believe in fairy tales.

Was Jesus' Resurrection an Idea Stolen from Pagan Religions?

More and more lately I am bumping into comments online from skeptics of the Bible who are saying that the authors of the New Testament stole the idea of Jesus' resurrection from ancient pagan sources. This theory is interesting for tickling ears, but goes against the facts. As Dr. Norman Geisler writes, "The first real parallel of a dying and rising god does not appear until A.D. 150, more than a hundred years after the origin of Christianity. So if there was any influence of one on the other, it was the influence of the historical event of the New Testament [resurrection] on mythology, not the reverse. The only known account of a god surviving death that predates Christianity is the Egyptian cult god Osiris. In this myth, Osiris is cut into fourteen pieces, scattered around Egypt, then reassembled and brought back to life by the goddess Isis. However, Osiris does not actually come back to physical life but becomes a member of a shadowy underworld...This is far different than Jesus' resurrection account where he was the gloriously risen Prince of life who was seen by others on earth before his ascension into heaven....even if there are myths about dying and rising gods prior to Christianity, that doesn't mean the New Testaments writers copied from them. The fictional TV show Star Trek preceded the U.S. Space Shuttle program, but that doesn't mean that newspaper reports of space shuttle missions are influenced by Star Trek episodes!" [Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, p. 312]

C. S. Lewis on Hell

C. S. Lewis said, "I believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside." According to Lewis, there are only two kinds of people--those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done." A person's lostness doesn't stem from any unfairness in God but from their own stubborn rejection of Him. As was the case in Stephen's day, some "are always resisting the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51).

Philosophical Evidence That The Universe Cannot be Eternal, and Therefore Uncaused.

Imagine with me for a couple of minutes that you are holding a copy of THE DA VINCI CODE in your hands which you have been reading. Suppose that before you reached the page that lies before you (let's call it page Z), you had to first read the page before it (page Y). And before you read that page you had to read the one before it (page X), and so on, going all the way back to the first page. Since the book has a first page, your coming to the current page (Z) requires that you first read only a finite number of pages. More pages could be added to the front of the book to lengthen the time it would take for you to get to page Z. (Hopefully Dan Brown won't read this and get any ideas for a prequel.)

Let us suppose that you are a better than average reader and that it takes only one minute to read each page; and let us supppose that you read non stop until you get to page Z. Then, if there are only ten pages to complete before page Z, it will take you ten minutes to get to page Z. How long will it take if you must first read twenty pages? 20 minutes. How about fifty pages? 50 minutes. A hundred pages? A 100 minutes. Ten thousand pages? You can do the math. The important thing to realize is that in every case, no matter how long the book is, there is always only a finite amount of time that it will take to read it. But let's suppose we add an infinity of pages to the front of this book. When will you get to page Z if you must first read all of those pages? The answer is: Never. So if you find yourself reading page Z after completing all the pages before it, you know you've read only a finite number of pages.

The same sort of thing holds for the series of events making up the total history of the universe. Take some event in the actual history of the universe, like your birth. That event can occur only if a finite number of events must occur first. If an infinite number of events must occur before your birth, then you would never have been born. So, either we are halluncinating regarding the fact of your birth, or only a finite number of events occurred prior to your birth. If only a finite number of events occurred before your birth, then the universe has not always existed but had a beginning. Since we are not hallucinating, the universe must have had a beginning. This poses a problem for the atheist. How does something that begins to exist come into being apart from a creator?

(Thank you to R. Douglas Geivett for his helpful insights on this topic in TO EVERYONE AN ANSWER, edited by Francis Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J. P. Moreland, chapter 4, 2004, p. 65)

A New NBC Show Starring Jesus?

Did anybody watch the premiere of the new NBC television show last night, THE BOOK OF DANIEL? If you did, what did you think about it? Is there anything about the show that you think Christians could use as a springboard for conversation with unbelievers? If you haven't heard about it, you can read a short WorldNetDaily.com article on it here.

I Don't Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist

It seems absurd to the highest degree to think that nothing can do something, let alone create, but that is exactly what atheism requires nothing to be able to do. Perhaps this is why God says, in Psalm 14:1, that it is the fool who has said in his heart that there is no God.

If we reject the idea that there must be an uncaused cause, or Creator, of the universe, we are left with having to believe that everything that exists came into being from nothing and by nothing. But this is absurd. Even atheists have problems with the absurdity of this. Atheistic philosopher, J. L. Mackie, from Oxford said, "I myself find it hard to accept the notion of self-creation from nothing, even given unrestricted chance." David Hume, one of the most ardent skeptics of Christianity ever, said, "I never asserted so absurd a proposition as that anything might arise without a cause." Things that arise, or begin to exist (i.e. the universe), must have a cause. Everybody intuitively knows this. Faith in an uncaused, eternal, power outside of the universe, that brought the universe into existence is absolutely reasonable. I don't have enough faith to believe that nothing brought the universe into existence. I don't have enough faith to be an atheist.

New Book Now Available Through Amazon

You can support the ministry of Always Be Ready and be equipped to respond to skeptics' top forty questions about Christianity at the same time by purchasing my new book, ONE MINUTE ANSWERS TO SKEPTICS' TOP FORTY QUESTIONS (Paperback, 138 pages). It is now available to purchase through Amazon.com for just $9.95. Click here to go right to it. If you have already purchased the book, perhaps you might post a quick review at the same site.

Philosophical Evidence for God's Existence

Philosophically, it seems very reasonable to me that a Creator of the universe must exist. Here's why.

1. Something exists.
2. Nothing does not produce something.
3. Something must have always existed.
4. The universe has not always existed.
The background radiation echo, the motion of the galaxies and the second law of thermodynamics all point to the fact that the universe began to exist at a finite point in time.
5. Therefore there must be an eternal power beyond the uinverse that caused the universe to come into existence.

If you were a skeptic, or are a skeptic, how might you seek to refute this line of reasoning? I'd be interested to hear. For more on God's existence see my study here.

Put the Burden of Proof Back on the Skeptic

Has a skeptic or unbeliever ever told you something like:

- "Jesus never said He was God."
- "All religions are basically the same."
- "The Bible has undergone corruption and cannot be trusted."
- "The Bible is full of contradictions."
- "Darwinism has disproved God's existence."

Many Christians are left speechless at such words. This need not be the case. Rather than go into defensive mode (i.e. trying to explain the ways that Jesus did claim to be God, or how the manuscript evidence proves the Bible has not undergone corruption), go on the offense. Put the burden of proof back upon the person who is making the assertion. Ask a simple question or two like, "How did you come to that conclusion?" or "Why should I believe that to be the case?" or "What evidence do you have that that is actually true?" Simple questions like these can accomplish three things:
1. They help build relationship. Nobody likes to sit through a one-sided monologue.
2. They help buy you some time to think of how to respond to the issue.
3. They help expose the fact that most skeptics and unbelievers do not really know why they believe what they believe. Once they see that that is the case, they may be more open to hearing what you have to say. For more help answering skeptics genuine questions see my new book, ONE MINUTE ANSWERS TO SKEPTICS' TOP FORTY QUESTIONS. Click here.

Judge Orders Priest to Prove Christ Existed

The TIMES ONLINE reported today that an Italian judge has ordered a priest to stand trial and prove that Jesus ever even existed. This raises a question. If somebody were to ask you to state your reasons why you believe that Jesus existed, what would you say? Think it through, do some research, and share your answer by clicking on the comments link below. Keep your answer to a minute long and we'll post the best answer in about a week.

If you need help with this issue, Gary Habermas has written a great book on this topic, THE HISTORICAL JESUS: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Click here to buy from Christianbook.com.

Two Mormon Missionaries Shot While Witnessing

CHESAPEAKE - A 21-year-old Mormon missionary died Monday night after he and his partner were shot while going door-to-door in the Deep Creek area. Read story here.

Artifacts With Links to Bible Unearthed

The Washington Times reports today that, "Israeli archaeologists, screening tons of rubble scooped out of this ancient city's sacred Temple Mount, have discovered hundreds of artifacts and coins, as well as jewelry, some with biblical links dating back more than three millennia." Click here to read the rest of the story.

A Word For Defenders of the Faith by C. S. Lewis

“To be ignorant and simple now—not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground—would be to throw down our weapons and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.” –C.S. Lewis

What Did Jesus Teach About the Bible?

Jesus affirmed that the Bible was:

1. Without Error (John 17:17)

2. Historically Reliable (Matthew 12:40, 24:37-39)

Jesus affirmed as historically true some of the most disputed passages of the Old Testament, including the story of Jonah in the whale (Matthew 12:40), the destruction of the world by a flood in the days of Noah (Matt.24:37-39) , and others

3. Divinely Authoritative (Matthew 4:4-10)

4. Scientifically Accurate Regarding the Origin of Man (Matthew 19:4-5)

For example, when He taught on marriage He referred to the literal
creation of Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:4-5)

5. Infallible (John 10:35)

6. Indestructible (Matthew 5:18)

If Jesus was a prophet of God, as even the Qur’an teaches, or even if He was a good teacher (as so many are willing to believe today) it would be wise for us to take His Word on the matter.

Anyone Can Say They Are God

Anyone can say they are God, but Jesus did more than claim to be God, He backed up His claims. He proved that He was the Son of God (equal with God, John 5:18) by:

1. Fulfilling hundreds of Old Testament prophecies
2. Performing numerous miracles
3. Living a sinless life
3. Resurrecting from the dead

It's one thing to make grandiose claims, it's another thing to back them up.

The Existence of Evil and Suffering Actually Turns Out to be a Strong Evidence for God's Existence

The very thing that the skeptic says disproves the existence of God (the existence of evil and suffering in the world) is actually a strong evidence that there must be a God. Here is how we might reason this to be the case:

1. Evil exists in the world.

2. Evil is a departure from the way things ought to be.

3. If there is a way things ought to be, there must be a designed plan (or designed standard) for the universe.

In his book, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Peter Kreeft said, "the very fact of our outrage at evil is a clue that we are in touch with a standard of goodness by which we judge this world as defective, as falling drastically short of the mark” (p. 123).

4. There cannot be a designed plan for the universe without a designer of the universe.

5. Evil is mankind’s departure from this designer’s standard and that designer is God.

For more help on the compatibility of evil and suffering with a loving, all-powerful God, click here.

THE DA VINCI CODE: Examined and Refuted

The Da Vinci Code is adversely affecting the way millions of people around the world view the Gospel, the church, Jesus and the Bible. Written by Dan Brown, the book has sold more than 25 million copies since it was first published in 2003. If you are like most Christians, you don't have the time, or the desire, to read the book. Unfortunately, your friends, family members and coworkers do! If you'd like to know a little about the book and some of the problems with Dan Brown's erroneous claims, we have put together a short article here that we believe will be helpful to you. With the movie coming out May 19, 2006, it is important that Christians be prepared to answer the questions that people will have. I would be happy to come and speak to your church on this topic. If you, or your pastor, are interested, you can email Always Be Ready at Info@AlwaysBeReady.com. I do not charge for guest speaking. Contact me soon, my calendar is filling up as we get closer to the movie release date. We also have a DVD on this topic.

Charles Spurgeon on the Book of Mormon

“One of the most modern pretenders to inspiration is the Book of Mormon. I could not blame you should you laugh outright while I read aloud a page from that farrago.” –Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), British preacher.

National Geographic Society Comments on the Book of Mormon

“Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere’s past, and the Society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon.”
–The National Geographic Society, August 12, 1998. View actual document here.

The Amazing Influence of that Babe in the Manger

“This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”
–Philip Schaff (1819-1893), historian; The Person of Christ, 1913, pp. 29-30.

Do You Need Help Sharing the Truth With Someone Involved in Scientology?

John Weldon, a Christian apologist and author, has written a good article on Scientology. He examines the origin of the religion and how their beliefs compare with Biblical teaching. Click here to read.

So Much for Free Speech in North Dakota: Students Forbidden From Debating Intelligent Design

So much for free speech in North Dakota. Science Daily reports that, "Students in North Dakota debating programs have been banned from broaching the topic of intelligent design." Click here to read the Science Daily article. This is actually going to be detrimental to the Darwinist camp. The last thing I would want do, if I did not want my children to take interest in the intelligent design movement, is tell them they cannot talk about it! We pray that this decision will result in more kids investigating the compelling evidence for a Designer.

20 Reasons To Believe That Jesus is God

There are a variety of different beliefs amongst the different religions as to who Jesus was and is. Some say He was an enlightened man. Others say He was an an angel or just a good teacher. Christians affirm that Jesus was, and is, God the Son, coequal in nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But on what grounds do we believe this to be so? The answer is the Bible, the inspired, infallible Word of God. That is our authority on the issue. If you are unsure of what to believe about Jesus--perhaps a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon has confused you on this issue--please click here. I outline, on one easy-to-read page, 20 reasons why Christians believe Jesus is God. Hope this helps you. God bless.

Do You Love the Truth?

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said in his day, "Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it." Of course, the same is true today. How is one to know the truth? The answer is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 8. Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).

New DVD: The Bible vs. Book of Mormon

Living Hope Ministries in Utah has just produced and released an amazing new DVD entitled THE BIBLE vs. THE BOOK OF MORMON. Comparing side by side the claims and evidences of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, this DVD clearly and powerfully demonstrates the truthfulness of the Bible and the fiction of Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon.

Always Be Ready has this DVD on sale right now for just $14.95. Click here to see our DVD section. This is a great DVD to give to your Mormon friend, coworker, or family member. For more on Mormonism, we also have the DNA vs. THE BOOK OF MORMON DVD in stock, also produced by Living Hope Ministries. You can read more about it when you view our DVD selection. God is using both of these resources to lead many Mormons out of darkness and into the light.

Darwinism: "Masquerading As Science"

Dr. Jonathan Wells, who earned two doctorates, one in molecular and cell biology from U.C. Berkeley and another from Yale recently said, "My conclusion is that the case for Darwinian evolution is bankrupt. The evidence for Darwinism is not only grossly inadequate, it's systematically distorted. I'm convinced that sometime in the not-too-distant future--I don't know, maybe twenty or thirty years from now--people will look back in amazement and say, 'How could anyone have believed this?' Darwinism is merely materialistic philosophy masquerading as science, and people are recognizing it for what it is....When you analyze all of the most current affirmative evidence from cosmology, physics, astronomy, biology, and so forth--well, I think you'll discover that the positive case for an intelligent designer becomes absolutely compelling." (Interview with Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator, 2004, p. 65-66)

How NOT to Witness to a Jehovah's Witness

Many Christians aren't sure how to go about witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses on their doorstep. Here is an example of how NOT to do it. The L.A. Times on December 9, 2005 reported:

"A woman who used a butcher knife to beat a Jehovah's Witness who knocked on her door on Christmas Day was sentenced to three months in jail....The Jehovah's Witness had shown up at Infusino's [the woman with the knife] apartment by mistake and was looking for a neighbor who was interested in the religion. She apologized for the error and tried to leave, but Infusino grabbed her by the hair and pulled her into the apartment."

Do you need help with witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses? Click on the JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES link on ABR's homepage www.AlwaysBeReady.com.

Are You a College Student with Liberal Professors? Sean Hannity Wants to Help You

Sean Hannity (a conservative Christian talkshow host for Foxnews) wants to help expose liberal propaganda and intimidation by university professors. Here is an excerpt from World Net Daily who has an article on this today. Sean said, "All you college kids out there, check your state laws, check your campus laws...Get your little tape recorders if legal, and I want you to start recording these left-wingers. Bring it to this program [Sean's radio program] and we'll start airing it every single time on this program....whenever you have the left-wing professors that are abusive to conservatives, that degrade you, that call you names, that use ad-hominem attacks, that are punishing you for your political point of view, that are purposely trying to indoctrinate you with extremist left-wing views – if it is legal, tape them. If it is not legal, take verbatim notes, get witnesses, bring these articles to the school newspapers, bring it to the local media. Expose these people for the abusive professors that they are, and I guarantee you when there's a series of these instances where we expose these people, I guarantee you this indoctrination process is going to stop dead in its tracks....Fear is a great motivator, and the fear that these left-wingers are going to get fired or be held accountable for their mean-spirited comments against people or their indoctrination is going to be the single-biggest motivation we ever see to get them to stop doing what they're doing to college kids around the country." Read the entire article here.

How Americans View Muslims Post 9-11

"Just before the September 11 attacks, a Gallup survey showed that 45 percent of Americans had favorable views toward Muslim-Americans. Today, 59 percent do. Imagine it--Islamic extremists attack America, and we think more of Islam than before the attack!" -Charles Colson, Lies That Go Unchallenged in Popular Culture, p. 356, 2005.

Do You Have Kids? Help Them Know Why They Believe What They Believe

"Studies have shown that when students lack good defenses, their faith erodes. And two-thirds will forsake Christianity by their senior year of college." Read the rest of this article from THE CHRISTIAN POST here.

Reading this article, I was again reminded of the importance of parents training their kids, from a young age, to know why they believe what they believe. Many parents, who simply tell their kids what to believe, are brought to tears when their college-age kids walk away from the Lord. Do you have young kids? Do you have grandkids? Look for opportunities to talk to them about some of the evidences for God's existence, the trustworthiness of the Bible, etc. Do you need help preparing or learning about some of those evidences? See our notes on our main page at www.AlwaysBeReady.com.

Seventy Percent of Americans Believe Jesus is the Son of God

THE WASHINGTON TIMES reports today that, "Traditional religion is still the bedrock of America, with "very large majorities" of the public steadfast in their belief in God and the birth and Resurrection of Jesus Christ -- with belief in astrology, ghosts and other New Age hallmarks lagging behind. Overall, 82 percent of Americans believe in God, according to a recent Harris poll, which also revealed that 73 percent also believe in miracles, 70 percent in life after death, 70 percent in the existence of heaven, and 70 percent that Jesus is the Son of God. In addition, 68 percent believe in angels and 66 percent in the Resurrection of Christ. Six out of 10 believe in the devil and the existence of hell." Click here for the rest of the article.

Famous Atheist Abandons Atheism for Belief in Intelligent Designer

This is no longer news to some of you, but worthy of posting here for those of you who haven't yet heard. Antony Flew, a world-renowned atheist, author and debater, has abandoned his atheism in light of the latest scientific evidence. Read about his change of mind here. He is not yet a Christian, only a theist, but we pray that God will continue to lead him into the truth.

Scientists Who Are Critical of Darwinian Evolution

Did you know that some of the brightest scientists in the world, from some of the most prestigious institutions in the world (including Cambridge University, Stanford, Cornell, MIT, Princeton, Harvard, etc.), are critical of Darwinian evolution? Often times the liberal media seeks to portray Christians as uneducated, uniformed idiots for believing in a Creator. If you have ever been tempted to feel this way, know that when you affirm a belief in a Creator, you are actually standing with a group of very educated scientists who hold Ph.D.s in a plethora of different fields.

To see a list of scientists who are critical of Darwinian evolutionary theory click here (pdf file).

Easy Way to Inoculate Your Neighbors Against Cults

Have Mormon missionaries or Jehovah's Witnesses been through your neighborhood? Here is a great and easy way to warn your neighbors about both groups and at the same time share what the Bible really teaches. Go to this link over at the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry and download a free door hanger warning tract that you can print out. These work great! Help spread the truth.

New Discovery in Megiddo Mentions Jesus

We know from the New Testament accounts and extrabiblical sources (e.g., Flavius Josephus, Suetonius, Cornelius Tacitus, the Jewish Talmud) that Jesus existed. There are more than 30 sources outside of the New Testament, written within 150 years of Jesus' life, that reveal more than 100 facts about His life, teachings, death, and resurrection. In spite of this, we still welcome the additional verification that was recently discovered in Megiddo, Israel. This find not only helps to verify that Jesus lived, but that the early church also thought of Him as God (for more on His deity, click here). Read about the discovery here: https://www.foxnews.com/story/israel-church-a-major-discovery and https://www.foxnews.com/story/israeli-archaeologists-discover-ancient-church.

Is it Reasonable to Believe that God Exists?

What evidence is there that the God exists? Well, for starters, we might point to the very existence of the universe itself. Let’s think about this for a moment. There are only three options for the existence of the universe. One, that it has always been. Two, that it came into being by itself. Three, that it was created. The first option (that the universe is eternal) has been utterly rejected by the scientific community. An overwhelming amount of evidence has ruled out the notion that the universe has always existed. The motion of the galaxies, the background radiation echo, and other evidences all point to the fact that the universe sprung into existence at a particular point in time, something scientists call the Big Bang. Option two, that the universe created itself, is impossible. It would be impossible for the universe to have created itself. Before the universe existed there would not have been anything around to do anything. And we all know that nothing can not do anything. Nothing is nothing. It (if we could even call nothing an it!) can’t see, smell, act, think. Nothing is nothing! So option one and two can be thrown out on scientific and philosophical grounds. Option three, that something or someone outside of the universe created the universe, is the only reasonable option.

When you see a painting on a wall, what proof do you need to establish the fact that a painter exists? Nothing else besides the painting itself. The painting is absolute proof that there was a painter. You don’t need to see the painter to believe that he exists. The painting is all the evidence you need. The painting would not be there if the painter didn’t exist. And so it is with the universe. The existence of the universe itself proves absolutely that there is a creator.

New Apologetics Book Now Available

My new book is done: One Minute Answers to Skeptics' Top Forty Questions. Here's what a few of the endorsers had to say:

"I hope many seekers will give serious consideration to the thoughts so well expressed in this timely and pithy book. Well worth reading."
–CHARLES COLSON

"This is a handy book with helpful answers for busy people."
–Dr. NORMAN GEISLER

"The Christian faith is the most reasonable faith in the world, and Charlie Campbell shows that in a straight forward and down to earth way in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and plan to give it away to as many people as I can."
–BRIAN BRODERSEN

In this book I tackle forty of the most popular questions that skeptics and unbelievers ask Christians. Questions like: How do you know that God exists? Hasn't the Bible undergone corruption as it was translated down through the centuries? What evidence do you have that the Bible is actually true? How can a God of love allow evil and suffering? How can a God of love send people to hell? Why aren't dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible? And more!

Click here to purchase. $9.95

Preterism: A Review of Hank Hanegraaff's THE LAST DISCIPLE by Dr. Norman Geisler

Dr. Norman Geisler, President of Southern Evangelical Seminary and author of more than sixty books, tackles and refutes many of the problems with Hank Hanegraaff's peculiar view of the end times expressed in THE LAST DISCIPLE series. Click here.

Did Jesus Ever Exist?

For a great examination of the extrabiblical, historical evidence for Jesus' existence pick up a copy of THE HISTORICAL JESUS: ANCIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE LIFE OF CHRIST (College Press Publishing Company, 1996), by the first rate Christian scholar Gary Habermas. This is a fantastic reference book jam-packed with quotes and references to Jesus from sources outside the Bible. It utterly demolishes the foolish idea that Jesus never existed.

Dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Someone emailed us today and asked how we know that the Dead Sea Scrolls actually date back to the time before Christ. That is a great question. First off, why is this important to know? The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, in Qumran, Israel (see photo), help verify that the Old Testament we have today has not undergone any significant corruption. The Dead Sea Scrolls represented every book of the Old Testament, except for the Book of Esther, and date as far back as the third century B.C. How do we know that these scrolls are this old? Teams of scholars determined the scrolls age by examining. . .

1. The pottery that housed the manuscripts

2. The weave and pattern of the manuscript cloths

3. The form of the characters

4. The spelling of the words

5. The coins found alongside the manuscripts

6. They also used Carbon-14 Dating

For more on the reliability of the Bible, click here.