Possible Discovery of Nehemiah's Wall

Worldnet Daily reports that, "Dr. Eilat Mazar, one of Israel's top archaeologists, ended her presentation Wednesday to the 13th Annual Conference of the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies on "New Studies on Jerusalem," with a surprise announcement. She had discovered remnants of the fifth century B.C. wall built by Nehemiah, the account recorded in the Old Testament book of the same name." Click here to read the full story.

Reading Heresy Helps Our Faith? Hunh?

I taught at a church here in southern California recently. Afterwards, a few people were perusing the DVDs and books at our resource table. A lady told me, "I just bought a book at Costco to read on an upcoming vacation I'm taking. It's about Mary Magdalene and some of the gospels that the author said were lost. I read the back cover of the book when I got home and it said things about her that don't line up with the Bible. Do you think I should read that book or take one of these books that you have here at the table?" Well you probably know what I was about to say but before I could answer, another lady standing there at the table said, "Oh I would just read the book you got at Costco!"

Did I just hear what I think I heard? Before I could interject, she continued. "Reading books with a contrary point of view will only help strengthen your faith."

"Strengthen your faith?" I was thinking, "Did she ask you the question or me?" She continued, "It will help you know better what you believe!" I was stunned. I think the others listening in were as well. But she wasn't done, "That's why I read The Da Vinci Code!" she said, "It strengthened my faith. I don't see why Christians were so upset with that book." (Click here if you want to see why we we had a problem with The Da Vinci Code.)

Now that she was done, I immediately said that I disagreed and that our time as Christians was better spent reading factual, Biblically sound books that would strengthen and encourage our faith. The woman who asked the question agreed, and then picked up a copy of a book by Ron Rhodes (Answering the Objections of Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics). Good choice. The other lady walked off.

The Bible warns us that "There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words" (2 Peter 2:1-3). False teachings are destructive. They lead to the spiritual ruin of countless people. Elsewhere in the Bible, false teachings are likened to "gangrene" (2 Tim. 2:17) and the Bible warns that they lead to the "ruin of the hearers" and "upset the faith of some" (2 Tim. 2:14-18).

Be careful with what you read my friends. Many a Christian has had their faith shipwrecked after deciding to pick up a book by an enemy of the cross of Christ. I pray that the Lord gives you discernment and wisdom as to what you spend your time reading.

The Word of God Sets a Jehovah's Witness Free!

I taught a study on the Jehovah's Witnesses a few nights ago at a church in Escondido, California. A lady came up to me afterwards (I'll call her Elizabeth) and said that she had been a Jehovah's Witness for twenty three years and that her parents had been full time "Pioneer" missionaries in Africa for twenty two years. Elizabeth explained that when they moved back to the United States they were treated like celebrities within Jehovah's Witness circles for their long faithful service in a foreign country.

Elizabeth said that one day back in the States she was flipping around on the radio looking for a station when she accidentally stumbled upon a Christian radio station. She said that the man who was reading from the Bible sounded so in love with the Word of God that it provoked her to jealousy! Here was a man, she thought, who wasn't even saved (you must be a Jehovah's Witness in order to be saved according to Watchtower theology) sounding more in love with the Word of God than she ever had been. She said she determined that she would not be outdone by this man. So she decided, for the first time ever, to read through an entire book of the Bible.

Elizabeth mentioned something that I have known to be true and that is that Jehovah's Witnesses don't do much Bible reading. The Watchtower gives them so much homework to do every week in their Watchtower and Awake magazines, it leaves little time to just sit down and enjoy reading the Bible on their own.

So, this woman decided to read through the Book of Revelation. Well, the simple reading of that book brought up some shocking realizations and questions for her. She said that Jesus appeared to be the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last (Rev. 22:12-13, 20 and 1:17), the very same titles ascribed to Almighty God the Father (Rev. 1:8). "But how could this be?" she thought. "Jesus is not God!" In a bit of a panic, she decided to write down her questions and meet with her mom. She insisted that her mom meet with her to answer her questions. When she got together with her mom, her mom broke down in tears and admitted that she had mentally left the Watchtower organization a few years earlier, over the same kind of discoveries. Her mom said that she did not want to rock the family boat by announcing that she no longer believed what the Watchtower organization had taught them.

Elizabeth's elderly mom was standing there next to her nodding her head and wiping away some tears as Elizabeth was telling me all of this. I almost had to wipe a few tears away myself!

They are now Bible loving, Bible-believing, born again Christians attending a Bible-teaching fellowship. What a joy and what a testimony to the power of the Word of God. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Jn. 8:32). Indeed it does!

Do you have a friend or coworker ensnared in the Jehovah Witness cult? You might share this story with him and encourage him (even challenge him!) to try reading the Bible on his own for a couple of months apart from the Watchtower literature and see what God might show him.

For a list of twenty reasons why Christians believe that Jesus is equal in nature with God the Father, click here.

Zeitgeist: The Movie; The Latest Attack on Jesus

Zeitgeist (a German phrase that means "the spirit of the age") is the name of an online video (first released in June 2007) that is making quite an impact on its viewers. In this video, Peter Joseph, the writer and director, seeks to persuade his viewers that the authors of the New Testament borrowed the idea of Jesus' virgin birth, December 25th birth date, twelve disciples, miracles, crucifixion, and resurrection from astrological sources and ancient pagan mystery religions that were around long before the time of Christ. The video even goes so far as to claim that Jesus never existed. If you'd like help in responding to these claims, click here. As you will see, there is an abundance of evidence that Peter Joseph has greatly erred in his claims.

A Refutation of Hank Hanegraaff's book, The Apocalypse Code, by Dr. Norman Geisler

One of Christianity's leading defenders of the faith, Dr. Norman Geisler, has released a review of Hank Hanegraaff's problem-filled book, The Apocalypse Code. Click here to go to ABR's prophecy page and you'll see the link there in our list of articles. Geisler concludes his review with this sentence, "It is sad that a man who has fought so hard for so long against cults and aberrant teachings has himself succumbed to a method of interpreting the Bible that is not significantly different from those used by the cults which he so vigorously opposes."

How to Inoculate Your Entire Neighborhood Against the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons with this Simple Strategy

I have been talking with a Jehovah's Witness lady named Christie and a variety of people she brings along with her, now twice a week for the past few weeks. They don't know who I am. I am purposely keeping "a low profile" so that I can continue to dialog with them and ask them questions that I'm praying God will use to open their eyes.

Well, as I was dwelling tonight on the spiritual battle I am in for these individuals, I was reminded that it is a lot easier to inoculate someone and steer them away from the Watchtower Society (before they join) than lead someone out once they have joined. With that in mind, I want to point you to a great FREE resource on our website called THE WARNING TRACT. It is by Matt Slick, of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. This double sided free, downloadable tract, very succinctly lays out some of the false doctrines that the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons teach (e.g., that Jesus came back invisibly in 1914 [JW's] or that Jesus is Satan's brother [Mormons]). You can click on the link ("The Warning Tract"), open it up and print out as many copies as you want (The tract is laid out three per page). Print out a stack and walk through your neighborhood this week and leave them on your neighbor's front porches. These tracts not only point out the dangerous false teachings of these groups but they also lay out the correct Biblical teaching and a short gospel presentation. Inoculate your neighborhood! They're free. They work. Here is the link. Use them. The late Walter Martin asked for 100,000 of these shortly before he died, that is how convinced he was regarding their effectiveness.

Possible Discovery of King Herod's Tomb

Archaeologists are hailing the possible discovery in Israel this week, of Herod's tomb. Click here to see the story on CNN.com (includes on-site video footage). Click here to read the story on the BBC. For those of you familiar with the New Testament, you know that Herod was the governor of Judea at the time that Jesus was born. He was the one who helped the Jews rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that stood in the days of Jesus (which according to John 2:20, took 46 years to build) and he was the man who sought to have Jesus killed when He was born, who "slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem" (See Matt 2:2,13,16).

Model of Noah's Ark in the Netherlands

A large scale replica of Noah's ark has been built in the Netherlands and CNN.com featured the story without any criticisms or jabs of the actual Biblical account of the Flood in Genesis 6-8. Click here to read the story.

A Victory for Unborn Children in the Supreme Court Today

The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on partial birth abortion, handing abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench. The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. Click here to read Foxnews.com story on this.

Jesus Under Fire: A Defense of His Existence, Deity, Resurrection and Claims

Skeptics, and people of other religions have raised some challenging and valid questions concerning Jesus. Questions like...

--Did Jesus really live?
--How do we know?
--Is there credible evidence for Jesus’ existence outside the pages of the New Testament?
--If Jesus was God, why did He not just plainly say, “I am God”?
--Did Jesus rise from dead? If so, what evidence is there?
--Couldn't the disciples have just stolen Jesus body?
--How can Jesus claim to be the only way to God?

I addressed all of these questions and more at a recent men's retreat in Lake Arrowhead, California. If you might be helped by listening to this study, CDs are now available in the Always Be Ready online store ($5.95 ea).

A Response to THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne

Have you heard of the book, THE SECRET? If not, you will. THE SECRET, by Rhonda Byrne, remains the number one selling book on the New York Times Best Seller list. Oprah Winfrey and Larry King have dedicated entire programs to it and millions of Americans are reading the book. Unfortunately there are numerous false teachings in the book and it is leading multitudes into a dangerous New Age worldview. I recently read the book and have written a response to it. If it may be of help to you in your witnessing efforts to a family member or friend who has read the book, you can click here to read it. In the study I outline ten problems with the book. They are:

1. The Secret teaches that the universe is God.

2. The Secret makes people out to be God.

3. The Secret denies the existence of any objective (real) moral absolutes.

4. The Secret denies a coming Day of Judgment.

5. The Secret encourages a self-centered, self-governed life.

6. The Secret removes any need to be thankful to God.

7. The Secret distorts the facts about Jesus.

8. The Secret distorts Jesus’ teaching regarding prayer.

9. The Secret replaces the Bible with itself as the true source of guidance and wisdom.

10. The Secret gives out advice that could endanger a person’s health.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

The Bible is being taught in public school classrooms

Click here to read Charles Colson's commentary about a recent TIME magazine article that discusses how popular Bible literacy classes have become on secular high school campuses and why almost no one is complaining about them. Interesting and exciting development.

New DVD and CD Resource Refuting the "Lost Tomb of Jesus"

THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS, a two hour documentary that aired nation wide on the Discovery Channel, makes the startling claim that Jesus did not rise from the grave as the Bible says (e.g., Matthew 28:6) but that He died and was buried in a cave with His family, including His wife and child. The documentary, which claims to have DNA and statistical evidence in its favor, goes on to assert that the place where Jesus was buried has been discovered near Jerusalem.

Could this be true? In a new hour-long presentation, I respond to the claims in the documentary and lay out compelling evidence that the Biblical account of the resurrection is actually true. The DVD and audio CD are now available in ABR's online store.

CNN: "Scholar: Jesus Tomb Documentary Got It Wrong"

A plethora of scholarly articles have been written debunking the discovery of the so-called "Lost Tomb of Jesus." Thankfully some of this research is making its way into the mainstream media. CNN.com posted an article this morning, "Scholar: Jesus Tomb Documentary Got It Wrong." Click here to read.

If you are in the southern California area today, I will be teaching on this topic at 7:00 PM at Calvary Chapel in Vista, 885 E. Vista Way, Vista, CA 92084. Click here to view a map.

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus": Has Jesus' Family Tomb Been Discovered?

Every year Satan seems to launch an attack on the resurrection in the months leading up to Easter. Last year it was the so-called Gospel of Judas. The year before that it was The Da Vinci Code. Before that it was the Jesus Seminar's findings, and so on. The latest attack is of course "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" and James Cameron's preposterous claim that Jesus' family tomb has been discovered in Jerusalem.

For help on this issue, I offer a rebuttal to the documentary's claims here. Charles Colson points out some of the many problems with the documentary here. You might also click here to see additional resources and articles available on the historicity of the resurrection.

List of Scientists Challenging Darwin Grows

A hundred more of the world's top scientists have signed a statement declaring that they are skeptical of the claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Click here to read the story.

New DVD on the Roman Catholic Church Just Released

We're excited to announce the release of a brand new, updated edition of our Roman Catholicism DVD. Some of the questions that this DVD answers are:  

• Where, when, and how did the Roman Catholic Church come to be? 
• What do Catholics and Protestants agree upon? 
• What do we disagree upon? Why do we disagree? 
• Do Catholic teachings line up with the Bible? 
• Why are there different books (the Apocrypha) in the Catholic Bible? 
• Are those books inspired and trustworthy? 

Click here for the DVD ($11.95) or CD ($5.95).

The Human Body: A Marvelous Testimony to an Intelligent Designer

I have a friend who graduated from med school a few years back. One night, while he was still in school, I was over at his house looking through one of his textbooks. The book was about 800 pages long and filled with hundreds of photographs of the inside of the human body. I was amazed. I mentioned to him that I would find it difficult to believe that any of the students, after seeing the inside of body up close like that, could remain atheists. He said, "Charlie, there are NO atheists in med school." Now, I'm sure that there are some atheistic med school students out there somewhere. But his point was well-taken. 

The complexity of the human body causes many of them to abandon any previously held atheistic views.

The body is indeed a marvelous testimony to an intelligent designer. It has:

• an amazingly complex nervous system
• cardiovascular system
• reproductive capability
• skeletal system
• muscle system
• digestive system
• ability to heal itself and fight off diseases

I find it difficult to believe that the human body could have come into existence by some mindless process apart from an incredibly intelligent designer, even given millions of years.

The late agnostic astronomer Carl Sagan conceded that the brain alone is a "machine more wonderful than any devised by humans" and that it holds "enough information to fill some twenty million volumes" (Carl Sagan, Cosmos, p. 278). Did this marvelous piece of machinery "more wonderful than any devised by humans" come into being by undirected, blind natural processes? I dont have enough faith to believe that. You could leave the barren side of a mountain exposed to wind, rain, the forces of nature, chance and millions of years of time and you would never get a Mt. Rushmore, let alone a living, breathing human being. Why? It takes intelligence. You need intelligent intervention. It would take great intelligence to create a robot that operates like a human, and it would take even greater intelligence to create a real human being.

No one alive today would believe that the faces of Mt. Rushmore came about by millions of year of erosion, wind, rain and undirected random acts. And yet atheists believe that real-life human beings with 206 bones, 640 muscles and hearts that beat over 100,000 times a day, are the product of a mindless, random series of accidents. This is foolish.

The Psalmist was right when he said, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"

The above content is excerpted from our DVD, "Evidence for the Existence of God" available in ABR's online store (DVD: $11.95 or CD $5.95).

Christians Hail Ethical Source for Stem Cells

World Net Daily reports today: Christian leaders from around the world are hailing the announcement of a source for stem cells – and their related medical research lines – without obtaining them from aborted babies or from lab-created-and-destroyed human embryos.

The announcement in Nature Biotechnology said seven years of research by scientists from Wake Forest School of Medicine and Harvard University concluded that stem cell lines derived from amniotic fluid actually have a greater potential for good than stem cells from human embryos. Click here to read the rest of the story.

The Real Reason Most Skeptics Don't Consider the Claims of Christ

It would be wise when witnessing to skeptics of Christianity to remember that it is not usually intellectual objections alone that keep a person from seriously considering the claims of Christ. Many times, a major reason for their resistance is that they are enjoying a sinful lifestyle that they know will have to change if they are to become Jesus' disciples. Jesus said, "The light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19-20). Lee Strobel, a former atheist, confesses, "I had a lot of motivation to find faults with Christianity when I was an atheist. I knew that my hard-drinking, immoral, and self-obsessed lifestyle would have to change if I ever became a follower of Jesus, and I wasn't sure I wanted to let go of that. After all, it was all I knew. Consequently, instead of trying to find the truth, I found myself attempting to fend off the truth with fabricated doubts and contrived objections." Knowing that this is commonly the case, I like to ask atheists and skeptics a gentle but pointed question, something like this, "Could it be that the real reason you reject believing in God (or believing the Bible, etc), is that there is something you enjoy doing that you know you'll have to give up if you were to believe?" Surprisingly, sometimes they confess that that is indeed part of the problem. Having that out in the open allows the Christian ambassador to fine-tune his approach and not waste time debating issues that are really just a smokescreen.

Christianity is Not the Only Exclusive Religion

In John 14:6, Jesus claimed to be the only way to a right relationship with God ("I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me"). Peter affirms the same thing in Acts 4:12 ("And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved"). The Bible's clear teaching regarding the exclusivity of the Christian faith is a common target for critics and skeptics of Christianity. It is not uncommon to hear them criticize Christians for saying a person must put their faith in Jesus in order to have their sins forgiven ("What about all the other religions? How can you Christians say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?"). Of course much could be said in response to this whole question, but in this short entry today I thought I'd share with you a quick thought by Ron Rhodes, author of the book Answering the Objections of Atheists, Agnostics & Skeptics. He points out something that I think a lot of people overlook. He writes: "In the interest of fairness, it is important to recognize that Christianity is not the only religion that claims exclusivity. Muslims claim Allah is the only true God, that Muhammad is His ultimate prophet, and that the Koran is God's ultimate revelation to humankind. Hinduism is unbending in its commitment to the Vedas as scriptures, and reincarnation and the law of karma as the means of salvation. Atheism , for that matter, is exclusivist in its view that all religions that believe in God are wrong, and that atheism alone is the correct view. To chastise Christianity as being the only exclusivistic group is therefore unfair...While saying Jesus is the "only way" may seem narrow-minded, there are many "narrow options" in life that are not necessarily bad. For example, sometimes there is only one operation that can save your life. Sometimes there is only one road out of a forest. There is only one correct formula for Pepsi. When I take a flight to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, I desire the pilot to land only at that airport...All of these things are narrow, but that doesn't make them bad. So it is with the wonderful gift of salvation in Jesus Christ." For more help on this topic visit our online store and see our DVD or CD entitled, “All Roads Do Not Lead to God.”

Does The Universe Need a Cause?

Many atheists believe that the universe is uncaused and does not need a creator to explain its existence. They give their wholehearted approval to the words of Carl Sagan who said, "The cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all there ever will be." Despite the mounting evidence that the universe actually began to exist at a particular point in time, many atheists cling to the idea of an eternal universe because an eternal universe does not need a cause, or we might say a beginner, or creator. In their fantastic book, When Skeptics Ask, Dr. Norman Geisler and R. M. Brooks tell a little parable to demonstrate how absurd it is to believe that the universe does not have a cause:

Two men were walking through the forest and happened across a glass sphere lying on the carpet of green moss. There were hardly any sounds other than the pair's own footsteps and certainly no signs of other people. But both of them saw that the very obvious inference from the evidence of the spere was that someone had put it there. Now, one of these men was a skeptical scientist, trained in the modern view of origins, and the other a layman. The layman said, "What if the sphere were larger, maybe ten fee around--would you still say that someone put it there?" Naturally, the scientist agreed that a larger spere would not affect his judgment. "Well, what if the spere were huge--a mile in diameter?" probed the layman. His friend responded that not only wold someone have put it there, but there should also be an investigation to find out what caused that someone to do it. The layman then ventured one more question: "What if the spere were as big as the whole universe? Would it still need a cause?" "Of course not," snapped the skeptic. "The universe is just there."

Is it credible to believe that the universe is just there and does not need a cause? If little spheres need causes and bigger spheres need causes, doesn't the biggest sphere need a cause too? You might remember this story next time you talk to an atheist.

For more help on evidence for the existence of God, you might consider visiting our online store. We have the book mentioned above, When Skeptics Ask as well as some exciting new DVDs, including Lee Strobel's new DVD, The Case for a Creator.

Expansion of Always Be Ready's Online Store

We're blessed to announce the expansion of Always Be Ready's online store. If you are you looking for theologically sound resources (DVDs, books or audio CDs) that will strengthen your faith or that you can give to unbelievers, we think you'll be excited about our growing list of resources. Some of the new resources we have added include:

(1) The Case for a Creator DVD. In this 60 minute long DVD, Lee Strobel (a former atheist and author of the best selling book THE CASE FOR CHRIST) examines the theories that once convinced him there was no God. In The Case for a Creator DVD you will learn about amazing discoveries in cosmology, cellular biology, DNA, astronomy, physics and more, that point to the existence of a Creator. The Case for a Creator DVD is full of spectacular computer animation produced by Illustra Media, the same studio team that released The Privileged Planet, and Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

(2) Unlocking the Mystery of Life DVD. Is life on Earth the product of purely undirected processes like time, chance and natural selection? Or, can the origin and diversity of living organisms be traced to an intelligent cause? The Unlocking the Mystery of Life DVD explores these timeless questions and presents compelling evidence to support an idea that could revolutionize scientific thought - the theory of intelligent design. 67 Minutes.

(3) 101 Answers to the Most Asked Questions about the End Times by Mark Hitchcock. For many believers, the subject of the End Times stirs confusion, apprehension, and dread. No longer! This user-friendly manual answers 101 of the most frequently asked questions about everything from the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, the Antichrist, and Tribulation to the Second Coming and the Millennium. Prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock offers a biblically authoritative resource for understanding God's plan for the end times and eternity. This book is endorsed by Dwight Pentecost (Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary), and Dr. Timothy LaHaye. Paperback, 286 pages.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am reading a book right now about the history of the early Pilgrims and their arrival here to what is now the United States. After more than two months at sea, sometimes facing 50' or higher waves, the Pilgrims landed on the shores of Cape Cod. Upon arrival, they got off the Mayflower, got on their knees on the sand and thanked the God of heaven for their safe journey and then read the 100th Psalm. You may consider reading it yourself today, realizing that the same God who safely guided those Pilgrims to a new home is also faithfully guiding you, His children, to a new home as well, heaven. We have countless reasons to give Him thanks today. Near the top of my list is all of you who are an encouragement and help to me and this ministry. Thank you for your prayers.

The Case for a Creator: FREE Event at BIOLA on Dec. 7

The Christian Apologetics Program at BIOLA university is hosting a FREE event on Thursday evening, December 7 from 7:30 - 9:30pm. At this event, you'l witness the launch of a much anticipated new evangelistic/apologetic DVD based on Lee Strobel's best selling book. You'll also hear from scholars who are helping to win the debate over Darwinism in our time (William Lane Craig, Jonathan Wells, Michael Behe, Lee Strobel, etc.). Free copies of this DVD ("The Case for a Creator") will be handed out to all attendees (one per family). Call 888.332.4652 or click here for more details.

Nearly Half of Americans Uncertain God Exists

According to a new survey, nearly half of Americans are not sure God exists. The survey conducted by Harris Poll found that 42 percent of US adults are not "absolutely certain" there is a God compared to 34 percent who felt that way when asked the same question three years ago. Click here to read the whole story. If you want to be better prepared to share with people why it is reasonable to believe that God exists, we have a lot of good resources here.

More Help Witnessing to Mormons: The Lost Book of Abraham DVD

If you are dialoguing with Mormons and could use a boost in your witnessing efforts with them, make sure to check out this award-winning new documentary film that investigates the story behind a volume of Mormon scripture called The Book of Abraham. The story is that Mormon founder Joseph Smith translated it from an ancient Egyptian papyrus scroll he purchased from an antiquities dealer in 1835. The Lost Book of Abraham DVD visits prominent Egyptologists and other scholars – both Mormon and non-Mormon – to learn the truth behind this fascinating episode in Mormon history. I can't more highly recommend this resource. It is very well done.

Can a Scientist Believe in God?

Can a scientist believe in God? A Nobel-nominated chemistry professor says yes. Check out this great article.

50 Questions to Ask Mormons

Asking Mormons loving, yet challenging questions is a great way to help them see that they have been deceived. There is a great list of questions to ask Mormons available by clicking here.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Intelligent Design

If you would like to know more about the growing Intelligent Design movement, there is a short and helpful list of answers to the most common questions people have about it at the Access Research Network's site. Click here to read. I am also finding William Dembski's book The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions About Intelligent Design (2004), very, very good. He tackles the toughest questions from Intelligent Design's most zealous skeptics. Dr. Norman Geisler calls this book, "the most brilliant defense of the intelligent design movement in print."

Why Darwinism is Doomed

Jonathan Wells, Ph.D, the author of Icons of Evolution, says, "According to Darwinists, there is such overwhelming evidence for their view that it should be considered a fact. Yet to the Darwinists' dismay, at least three-quarters of the American people – citizens of the most scientifically advanced country in history – reject it....The truth is Darwinism is not a scientific theory, but a materialistic creation myth masquerading as science. It is first and foremost a weapon against religion – especially traditional Christianity. Evidence is brought in afterwards, as window dressing. This is becoming increasingly obvious to the American people, who are not the ignorant backwoods religious dogmatists that Darwinists make them out to be. Darwinists insult the intelligence of American taxpayers and at the same time depend on them for support. This is an inherently unstable situation, and it cannot last. If I were a Darwinist, I would be afraid. Very afraid." Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Should Christians Allow Cultists Into Their Homes?

Should Christians allow cultists into their homes? Whenever I teach on Mormonism or the Jehovah's Witnesses, someone always comes up to my table afterwards and says, "What about 2 John, verse 10? It seems to say that we shouldn't let cultists into our homes." I am in wholehearted agreement with Ron Rhodes when he says, "I do not believe this verse prohibits Christians from allowing cultists into their homes in order to witness to them. Rather it is a prohibition against giving cultists a platform from which to teach false doctrine. The backdrop to this is that in the early days of Christianity, there was no centralized church building where believers could congregate. Rather, there were many small house-churches scattered throughout the city. As we examine the New Testament, the early Christians are seen "breaking bread from house to house" (Acts 2:46; cf. 5:42) and gathering to pray in the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12). Churches often met in houses (see Col. 4:15; Rom. 6:15; 1 Cor. 16:19; Phil. 2). The use of specific church buildings did not appear before the end of the second century. So, apparently, John is here warning against (1) allowing a false teacher into the church, and (2) giving this false teacher a platform from which to teach. Seen in this way, this prohibition guards the purity of the church. To extend hospitality to a false teacher would imply that the church accepted or approved of their teaching. If the church were to extend hospitality to a false teacher, he would be encouraged in his position and take this action as an acceptance of his doctrine. This should never be." Click here to read the rest of Ron Rhodes answer, and if you have the chance, you might visit his bookstore. His books are all great.

Has King David's Pool Been Uncovered?

There's a buzz of excitement among archaeologists in Israel. In recent days, archeological digs in Jerusalem revealed a tunnel that, according to a number of estimates, leads to a pool used by King David. Click here for the rest of this developing story.

Seventh Day Adventism

Seventh Day Adventists believe that Jesus is Michael the Archangel and that Christians must worship on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath). What else do Seventh Day Adventists believe? When did this group originate? If you're interested in learing more about this group from a Biblical perspective, click here.

A New Look to the ABR Website

A huge thanks to Rob Nash, Bill Wright, Chris Wee and all of the others who worked so hard on converting our old website to the new one that just launched today. This new website not only looks better, but it is going to allow me to edit typos, update facts, post new material, etc. on my own. With the old website, I wasn't able to do any of that by myself. So, praise the Lord for these servants of the Lord who have freely offered so much of their time, and talents back to the Lord to help all of you who use this website. I am so blessed by their friendship, example, and willingness to help.

Suicide Bombers Follow Quran, Concludes Pentagon Briefing

WorldNet Daily.com reports today that the Pentagon is finally figuring out that Islam is not the peaceful religion that some have purported it to be. Searching for answers, as to why Muslims are willing to commit suicide and murder innocent people, they have discovered it is because that is what the Qur'an actually advocates! WND writes, "They've found that most Muslim suicide bombers are in fact students of the Quran who are motivated by its violent commands." Click here for story. If knowing the truth about Islam interests you, you might find our DVD on Islam helpful.

New Evidence for Cataclysmic Flood

Sounds like additional evidence for a massive cataclysmic flood, talked about in Genesis 7-8, has just come in. Scientists have discovered that Britian formed when a massive "Biblical-style" flood tore her away from the rest of Europe. Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London, said, "This could have been one of the most powerful flood events ever known on earth." Click here to read.

Does God want you to be rich? TIME Magazine

The cover story of this week's TIME magazine is on the heretical "Word of Faith"/"Health and Wealth" movement. Click here to read a summary of the article on CNN's website. What's astonishing are the statistics: "Of the four biggest megachurches in the country, three -- Joel Osteen's Lakewood in Houston; T.D. Jakes' Potter's House in south Dallas; and Creflo Dollar's World Changers in Atlanta -- are Prosperity or Prosperity Lite pulpits."

A Brief Overview of the Gospel of Judas

If you'd like to learn of some of the problems with the so-called Gospel of Judas (made famous a couple of months ago in the news), check out this overview at Probe Ministries website by clicking here.

Help Equip God's People to Defend the Faith: Schedule A Speaking Engagement

If your church, youth group, men's fellowship, home fellowship, etc. would be interested in having me teach on some issue related to the defense of the Christian faith, please contact Always Be Ready at info@AlwaysBeReady.com. For no charge, I would love to come help equip your fellowship to defend the faith (Jude v. 3). Some of the topics you might consider are listed below:

- Islam
- The Jehovah's Witnesses
- Mormonism
- Evidence for the Existence of God
- Amazing Evidence for the Trustworthiness of the Bible

Apologetics Conference In Washington D.C.

The "LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND" apologetics conference, featuring William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Greg Koukl and other well-known defenders of Christianity is coming to Washington D.C. this November 16-18. Click here to see the schedule and learn more.

More Than One Third of Americans Skeptical of Darwin

It's a statistic that would have Charles Darwin turning in his grave. According to a new study, more than one third of Americans don't believe in evolution. Click here to read more.

Pope to Dissect Evolution With Former Students

The Pope is planning a gathering of the minds, if you will, to discuss the theory of evolution and the rising popularity of the intelligent design movement. Hopefully all will come away from the gathering more firmly convinced that the emperical evidence supports Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Click here to read story.

Don't Believe Everything You Read or See With Your Eyes

1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to examine all things carefully and hold fast to that which is actually true. Click here to watch a three minute documentary displaying some of the fraudulent doctored up photographs coming out of the Israeli - Hezbollah conflict. Shame on these photographers who would seek to overplay the damage done by the IDF.

New Apologetics Resource Available in Spanish

For the first time, we have just released a spanish version of my study "Amazing Evidence for the Trustworthiness of the Bible." The audio CD (recorded and translated at Calvary Chapel San Diego just a few weeks ago) is available in our shopping cart for just $5.95. Click here if you are interested. This would be a great resource to give to your Spanish speaking friends; there is so little out there as far as Spanish apologetics is concerned.

A New Chapter in Ministry

For the past nine years I have served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel in Vista, California. With my pastor's approval, words of encouragement and blessing, I am now launching out on my own into a full time itinerant teaching ministry. Of course, I won't be on my own. Jesus said, "I am with you always, even until the end (Matt. 28:18-20)." I look forward to having more time now to devote to developing new studies, researching, writing, teaching, and blogging! May the Lord bless all of you who enjoy this blog and the AlwaysBeReady.com website. I covet your prayers.

Dead Sea Scrolls Coming To San Diego

Someone at Calvary Chapel San Diego yesterday was kind enough to inform me that the Dead Sea Scrolls (ancient hand-written manuscript copies of the Old Testament that help verify that the Old Testament has been accurately preserved down through the centuries) are coming to San Diego in 2007. Click here for more information!

Problems with the So-Called Gospel of Judas

I have been traveling around extensively teaching on The Da Vinci Code for the past two months, and one question, more than any other, continues to arise in Q & A's after the study. This is the question: "What do you think about the Gospel of Judas? Is there any chance that it is true?"

The answer is no.

1. It contradicts authentic, divinely inspired revelation.
2. It was written in the second century, by a Gnostic,* long after the time of Judas. Even National Geographic acknowledges this on their website, even clearly stating that the only surviving manuscript copy we have dates to the third or fourth century.

Is there even a small chance this was written by Judas, one of the twelve disciples? No.

*Gnosticism was a philosophy that developed over several centuries before Christ. Some of its core teachings are:

1. All matter is evil, and the non-material, spirit-realm is good.
2. There is an unknowable God, who gave rise to many lesser spirit beings called Aeons.
3. One evil, lower spirit being is the creator who made the universe.
4. Gnosticism does not deal with 'sin', only ignorance.
5. To achieve salvation, one needs to get in touch with secret knowledge.

Has Noah's Ark Been Found?

Bob Cornuke of the BASE Institute has brought back some very interesting photographs of what is possibly Noah's Ark mentioned in Genesis, chapter 6 and 7. Click here to see the photographs and read more about this developing story.

Sale on "The Da Vinci Code Examined" DVDs!!

An hour long DVD refutation of the so-called facts in The Da Vinci Code is on sale for only $1.00 in our online store while supplies last.

Archaeological Excavation Aims to Unearth the City of Jesus' First Miracle: Cana

The Washington Times reports today on the ongoing effort to excavate the ancient Biblical city of Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle. Click here to read the story.

Dead Sea Scroll and Caiaphas' Burial Box Coming to North America

Click here to read Foxnews.com report.

The So-Called Gospel of Judas Discovered

Foxnews.com reports today on the recent discovery of a document in Egypt being called "The Gospel of Judas." Unsuprisingly, this Gnostic writing from the second or third century, contains a differing account of the details surrounding the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, than that which is contained in the four authentic gospels written in the first century by eye-witnesses to the events. Click here to read the full story.

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)