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Book Discussion Day 7: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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Chapter 6 – New Life Forms:  From the Goo to You via the Zoo?

The Most Difficult problem for Darwinists.  Where did the first life come from?

 

Darwinists don’t have an explanation for first life.  Yet they still force the very bad – completely unsupported – science of macroevolution on innocent children in American public schools.

Comedian Steve Martin used to say, “I know how you can be a millionaire and never pay taxes!  First get a million dollars, okay, now…”27

The joke of Darwinism is worse than that because, 1) they can’t explain how first life occurred, and 2) they can’t even explain where the non-living chemicals came from that first life consists of.

Darwinist Theory of Macroevolution

 

The belief that all life on earth came from one common original one cell organism, naturally, with no intelligent direction, no God, all by accident.

The only scientific evidence that has ever been found, shows that microevolution takes place.  That is when a life form changes BUT still remains the exact same type of life form. There is no scientific evidence of any lifeforms ever evolving into a different type of life form.

The Darwinists use the evidence of microevolution to claim that it proves macroevolution.  That’s their proof!  Remember that the next time anyone asks you if you believe in evolution.  Which one?  The one that there’s evidence for or the one Darwinism teaches that has never been observed?

Five reasons why natural selection cannot support Darwinists’ unproven macroevolution.28

  1. Genetic Limits
  2. Cyclical Change
  3. Irreducible Complexity
  4. Nonviability of Transitional Forms
  5. The Fossil Record

Genetic Limits

Artificial selection, man made efforts to change species, has never been successful because each species of life is limited by its genetic makeup.  And once again, Darwinists tell you that natural, unintelligent random selection can do what artificial, intelligent man made intervention can’t.

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Cyclical Change

The evidence of change within a species shows that they change back and forth over time in response to environmental influences, not in one specific direction without returning to a previous form.  Natural Selection may be able to explain the survival of a species, but not the arrival of a species.

Irreducible Complexity

In his book Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael Behe, professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University, provides the evidence of irreducible complexity that disproves Darwinism.29  Here is his conclusion.

The idea of Darwinian molecular evolution is not based on science.  There is no publication in the scientific literature – in journals or books – that describes how molecular evolution of any real, complex, biochemical system either did occur or even might have occurred.  There are assertions that such evolution occurred, but absolutely none are supported by pertinent experiments or calculations.  Since there is no authority on which to base claims of knowledge, it can truly be said that the assertion of Darwinian molecular evolution is merely bluster.30

Here is what Behe wrote about the contribution of this scientific study.

The result of these cumulative efforts to investigate the cell – to investigate life at the molecular level – is a loud, clear, piercing cry of ‘design!’  The result is so unambiguous and so significant that it must be ranked as one of the greatest achievements in the history of science.  The discovery rivals those of Newton and Einstein.31

Nonviability of Transitional Forms

Darwinism claims that macroevolution takes place slowly, minute changes over long periods of time.  So the problem for the Darwinists is twofold: first they have no viable mechanism for getting from reptiles to birds, and second, even if a viable mechanism were discovered, the transitional forms would be unlikely to survive anyway.32

sloth

Molecular Isolation

At  a molecular level there is no trace of the evolutionary transition from fish >amphibian>reptile>mammal.  So amphibia, always traditionally considered intermediate between fish and other terrestrial vertebrates, are in molecular terms as far from fish as any group of reptiles or mammals!  To those well acquainted with the traditional picture of vertebrate evolution the result is truly astonishing.33

The Fossil Record

Darwin thought that further fossil discoveries would reveal that his theory was true.  Time has proven him wrong.34  Even though the fossil record has not shown the ancestral relationships Darwin hoped for, it doesn’t matter because it is irrelevant since the irreducible complexity problem revealed by microbiology trumps it.

Anatomy is, quite simply irrelevant to the question of whether evolution could take place on the molecular level.  So is the fossil record.35

 

35-researcherss

Even though Darwinists have no support for their theories, they object to Intelligent Design.

Four Darwinist Objections to Intelligent Design36

  1. It is not science
  2. It commits the God-of-the-Gaps fallacy
  3. It is religiously motivated
  4. It is false because the so-called design isn’t perfect

Why are there still Darwinists when their theory has been proven false?

 

Motivations for supporting Darwinist beliefs37

  1. Darwinists would lose their claim as the highest authorities on truth. (Power)
  2. By admitting God, Darwinists would be admitting that they don’t have absolute authority when it comes to explaining causes. (Miracles)
  3. By admitting God, Darwinists would risk losing financial security and professional admiration. (Power/Money)
  4. By admitting God, Darwinists would be admitting that they don’t have the authority to define right and wrong for themselves.

Summary

 

The authors propose teaching the scientific evidence that supports Intelligent Design in American public schools.  They argue why not give children all the scientific evidence, pro and con, and let them make up their own minds.  They say that Darwinists fight to prevent this from happening.  The reason why, they say, is because in this area Darwinists lack faith.

They lack the faith to believe that their theory will still be believed after our children see all the evidence.38

 

Discussion Point

 

For me the discussion must be about what appears to be the source of the conflict.  This is a moral battle.  Truth is at the center of this battle.  I argue that it’s a form sophisticated deception.  Advanced lying.  In every adversarial confrontation there are winners and losers.  Do you think there is a more important issue in the debate than that?  If so what might it be?

27Geisler & Turek page 139 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

28Geisler & Turek pages 142-155 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

29Geisler & Turek page 145 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

30 Michael Behe page 183 Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design. William Dembski

31Michael Behe pages 232-233 Darwin’s Black Box.

32Geisler & Turek page 148 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

33Michael Denton page 285 Evolution: A Theory in Crisis.

34Geisler & Turek page 152 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

35Michael Behe page 22 Darwin’s Black Box.

36Geisler & Turek pages 156-161 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

37Geisler & Turek pages 162-163 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

38Geisler & Turek page 167 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

 

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Book Discussion Day 6: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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Chapter 5 – The First Life: Natural Law or Divine Awe?

bacteria-106583_1920

The Proof that Darwinism is nothing more than a secular religion masquerading as science

Atheists and Darwinists including Naturalists do not have a valid explanation for the presence of life on earth.  Any life on earth.  Scientific discovery, specifically the nature of DNA, proves that the simplest life form on earth is made of detailed instructions that would fill over 1,000 sets of encyclopedias.22  Their theory is that original life spontaneously came into existence from nonliving chemicals.  There is no scientific evidence for this theory.  None.  In fact all the scientific evidence points to an intelligence that created and designed the instructions that tell DNA to cause life to occur.  There is no forensic evidence to support the theory either.  That’s the same type of evidence which the police use to investigate crime.  Forensic investigation is based on the Principle of Uniformity.23  The chapter has a useful analogy to describe that principle.  If natural activity causes something today, then that’s what happened in the past.  If intelligent activity caused something in the past, then that’s what is happening today.  For example, the faces of presidents on Mount Rushmore could not be made by natural wind erosion today.  Therefore in the past when Mount Rushmore came to look the way it does, it was caused by an intelligent action.  Similarly, the Grand Canyon was created by water erosion many years ago, just like water erosion creates canyons in the present day.

When confronted with the complexity of DNA and the impossibility of life being created by itself, the atheists and Darwinists admit that they are committed to their theory regardless of the evidence. Moreover, they will not question it since to do so would require them to consider a divine cause.

This is compounded by the fact that all experimental efforts to re-create life by scientists have failed.  So intelligent scientists have been unable to do what Darwinists and atheists claim unintelligent chemicals can do by themselves.  And if some scientist is ever able to do it, it would only prove that it could be done by intelligent action!

Here’s a tip.  If life could have spontaneously created itself from nonliving things as atheists claim, then according to the principle of uniformity it should have been able to happen more than once since the earth began.  But there is no evidence of it ever happening even once!  Not today, not last week, not last year, not ever.

 

Science is a Slave to Philosophy

Science is built on philosophy.  Bad philosophy results in bad science and good science requires good philosophy.  Here are three reasons.24

  1. Science cannot be done without philosophy
  2. Philosophical assumptions can dramatically impact science
  3. Science doesn’t really say anything-scientists do.

ucla-dna-home-test

There are five reasons why the materialism of the Darwinist naturalists’ worldview is false.25

  1. Materialism cannot explain how complex life exists from mindless nature creating it. The authors point out that its like saying the words on this page were not created by the mindless ink, but by the mind of the writer who held the pen.
  2. Human thoughts and theories are not comprised of only materials. Thoughts, convictions and emotions are not completely materially based.  Therefore materialism is false.
  3. If we were nothing more than materials, then we’d be able to take all the materials of life – which are the same materials found in dirt – and make a living being.
  4. If materialism is true, then everyone in all of human history who has ever had any kind of spiritual experience has been completely mistaken.
  5. If materialism is true, then reason itself is impossible.

Let’s simplify this

If you could identify one paragraph that represents this lengthy and complex chapter, it would be this one on page 133

How do you find the right box top of the puzzle of life?  Arriving at the right box top is not a matter of preference (you like atheism, I like theism).  No, it’s a matter of objective fact.  By using the self-evident first principles of logic and the correct principles of scientific investigation, we discovered in chapters 3 and 4 that this is a theistic universe.  If this is a theistic universe, then materialism is false.  If materialism is false, then the Darwinism promoters may not be interpreting the evidence correctly.

Chapter Summary

Here is a summary of some of the chapter’s main points.

Life isn’t made up of merely chemicals, it includes specified complexity which only comes from a mind.  There are no known natural laws that create specified complexity.  Science is a search for causes based on philosophy, and there are only two types of causes, intelligent and natural.  Yet the Darwinists use a philosophy that rules out intelligent causes before they even look at the evidence. Spontaneous generation of life, which Darwinism requires to get the theory started, has never been observed.  It is believed by faith.  With such strong evidence against the Darwinian belief in naturalism/materialism, that belief has nothing but their faith in it to support it.26

Discussion point

In many public schools children are taught materialism, the idea that life occurred by chance from natural phenomenon.  What are the consequences of teaching a theory that is not supported by any scientific evidence?

Remember the discussion on why we believe what we believe?  This gets back to those four sources of belief.  Sociological (parents, friends, society and culture), psychological, religious, and philosophical.  Why do people believe that the science of evolution disagrees with intelligent design and creation?  Is it because of sociological influence, what they’ve been told?  Since there isn’t any philosophical or scientific proof to support materialism and a natural cause for either the creation of the universe or life on earth, why do some people believe these ideas?

22Geisler & Turek page 118 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

23Geisler & Turek page 118 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

24Geisler & Turek pages 127-128 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

25Geisler & Turek pages 126-127 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

26Geisler & Turek pages 134-135 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

 

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Book Discussion Day 5: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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            Chapter 4: Divine Design

 

Chapter 4 introduces us to the Teleological Argument which was alluded to in Chapter 3 when the authors described the precision with which the universe was created.

The Teleological Argument17

  1. Every design has a designer
  2. The universe has a highly complex design
  3. Therefore, the universe has a designer

There is so much evidence of the complex design of the universe it is hard to quantify.  The Anthropic Principle can help the average person get an idea of how complex our universe is.

The Anthropic Principle

In so many words, this principle identifies many aspects of the created universe that allow life to exist on earth.  These aspects are very narrow as a rule, and the odds of all of them coming together to enable life on earth are far beyond chance.  In other words, it is not statistically possible that they happened by chance.

The chapter describes five anthropic constants in detail.  Each constant represents something in the universe that is required for life on earth to exist.  There is another list of 10 constants.  Over 100 of these anthropic constants have been identified.  Every one of them must exist for us to have life on earth.  They are also dependent on one another.  If one of the constants was altered in the slightest, others would not be in the state they are, and we would not be here.  It is not possible for all these constants, existing in the precise form that they do, to have been created accidentally.

Five Anthropic Constants18

  1. Oxygen Level
  2. Atmospheric Transparency
  3. Moon-Earth Gravitational Interaction
  4. Carbon Dioxide Level
  5. Gravity

The chapter examines how atheists respond to this evidence.  It is very telling.  It amounts to essentially ignoring the evidence and attempting to explain it away with unscientific guessing.  For example, one atheist argument is the Multiple Universe Theory.  It’s main goal is to explain the unexplainable, how the universe could be made by chance when there is no chance it was made by chance.  Four problems of the Multiple Universe Theory are provided in the chapter.19

The Questionable Response of Atheists

Questions About the Multiple Universe Theory

  1. There is no evidence for it.
  2. It has been proven that it is not possible for an infinite number of real things to exist in a finite universe.20 Since the Multiple Universe Theory asserts that there are infinite universes the theory promotes an idea that is not possible.
  3. It is not possible for multiple universes to exist in the precision they would need to have without something or someone to design them that way. In other words, multiple universes would increase the argument for a designer, not defeat it.
  4. The Multiple Universe Theory explains away everything you can imagine.

Here is an example of how the theory works.

In fact, The Multiple Universe Theory is so broad that it can even be used to excuse the atheists who made it up.  Perhaps we just happen to be in the universe where people are irrational enough to suggest that such nonsense is the truth!21

The authors conclude the chapter by explaining that atheists who refuse to accept the scientific evidence showing the universe was designed do so because they are unwilling to accept the idea itself.  They do not want to believe it, so they choose to ignore the evidence.  An explanation for why they make that choice is promised in chapter 6.

jupiter

Discussion point

 

How do you feel when you think about the mountain of evidence that proves the universe was designed to support life on earth?  What reactions do you have?

I think this is the type of knowledge that provokes an emotional response.  Do you think the knowledge shared in the chapter motivates people to try to answer the questions many of us have?  For example, who created us?  Why were we created?  Is there an eternity we should consider?

Do you see how the authors use the Teleological Argument as another basis for their point that it takes more faith to be an atheist than not?  The atheists deny that there is a designer of the universe.  Where to you fall on this question?

17Geisler & Turek page 95 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

18Geisler & Turek pages 98-102 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

19Geisler & Turek page 107 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

20Geisler & Turek pages 90-91 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

21Geisler & Turek page 108 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

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Book Discussion Day 4: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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Chapter 3: In the Beginning There Was a Great SURGE

SURGE

SURGE stands for

The

  • Second Law of Thermodynamics
  • Universe is Expanding
  • Radiation from the Big Bang
  • Great Galaxy Seeds
  • Einstein’s Theory of Relativity13

All of these aspects of the SURGE provide overwhelming evidence that science and scientists have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the universe, everything that exists in the physical reality, had a beginning.

Real tangible evidence.  Scientific evidence.

What the evidence points to is that time, space, matter and energy are all related.  They all began at the same moment, at the beginning of the universe.  Which means time, space, matter and energy did not exist before the universe began.  There was not time, space, matter or energy before the universe began.  None of the material reality existed before the universe started, and it started from a single point and has been expanding ever since that beginning.

The fundamental principle of science is called the Law of Causality.14  The law states that everything that had a beginning had a cause.

Since the universe had a beginning, what caused the universe to exist?

The simplest, best and easiest answer is God

The fact the universe had a beginning points to the existence of something beyond nature, or supernatural as the cause of the universe.  Since there was nothing, no matter before the universe, there was no natural thing before the universe.  Therefore anything existing before the universe or before time itself would exist beyond time, space and matter, and, by definition, be supernatural, transcending time and space.

Now for the heady part.

If there is no God, why is there something rather than nothing?15

Nobody has come up with a good answer.  Not a single atheist.  All attempts by atheists have been found poorly lacking in any scientific or logical validity, often both.

In summary, the chapter makes the case that the scientific evidence leaves us with only two possibilities16

  • No-one created something out of nothing
  • Someone created something out of nothing

If you can’t believe that nothing caused something, then you don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.

Here is the Cosmological argument that defeats atheism:

  1. Everything that had a beginning had a cause.16
  2. The universe had a beginning.
  3. Therefore the universe had a cause.
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Discussion point

Here is the most scientific proof that I think there can be for the existence of God.  How persuasive do you find this to be?

Why do people choose to doubt the existence of God after considering this evidence?  What is their position based on?  What are the reasons for them believing that there is no God?  Are they sociological?  Are they psychological?  Are they religious?  Are they philosophical?  If they are philosophical what is the strength of their evidence?  How do they answer the question if there is no God, why is there something rather than nothing?

There was one overriding facet of the scientific evidence proving the beginning of the universe.  It was the precision with which the universe was created.  There is such specific precision to the universe that it points to a supernatural creator.

On page 93 of the chapter the authors list 4 things about the First Cause that made the universe based on scientific evidence.

  1. Self-existent, timeless, nonspatial and immaterial
  2. Unimaginably powerful, to create the entire universe out of nothing
  3. Supremely intelligent, to design an incredibly precise universe
  4. Personal, in order to choose to convert nothingness into the time-space material universe

Since science identified these characteristics of the entity that existed before the universe, how would you compare it to our ideas about God?

13Geisler & Turek pages 76-84 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

14Geisler & Turek page 75 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

15Geisler & Turek page 94 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

16Geisler & Turek page 75 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

 

 

 

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Book Discussion Day 3: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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Chapter 2: Why Should Anyone Believe Anything At All?

Why do people believe what they believe?  Well, there are actually four reasons.

Four Reasons for our beliefs10

  1. Sociological
  2. Psychological
  3. Religious
  4. Philosophical

By using philosophical reasons for believing something we give ourselves the best chance to believe that something is true beyond any reasonable doubt.  Which is the best we can hope for when we lack perfect induction.

Philosophy should matter to us and logic should be used by us because without it we run the risk of being ignorant about things that could cause harm in our lives.  It could also cause us eternal harm if there is such a thing as eternity.

The Problem of Harmful Beliefs

The chapter has informative, and for me disturbing examples of how these tools can protect us from ignorance.  They were used to disprove two of the most harmful beliefs in recent history.11

  1. The Skepticism promoted by David Hume which led to the principle of empirical verifiability.
  2. The agnosticism of Immanuel Kant which argues that you can’t ever know reality because everything you experience is filtered first by your senses and interpreted by your mind.

The theories were soundly disproved because of the self-defeating statements that their ideas were based on.  Chapter 1 introduced us to the idea of the self-defeating statement and how to use it to identify faulty reasoning.  Nevertheless, many people have allowed themselves to be influenced by these harmful ideas.

The main message of Hume and Kant were that it is neither possible for there to be a God nor for us to prove there is a God.  So while showing that they were wrong in their assertions was useful, it still does not prove God exists.

The Logic of Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Here the chapter gives us a basic primer on inductive and deductive reasoning.  Induction can only be arrived at by observation.  We often do not have perfect induction because we do not have the ability to observe every instance of something we want to prove.  So typically the result is that we arrive at the proof of something being true beyond a reasonable doubt, which is somewhere short of absolute proof.

The book clearly shows us how we can use this type of reasoning to prove the existence of many things that cannot be observed by instead observing their effects.  That includes God.

Why Truth Matters

The chapter ends on a discussion of why the truth matters.  Three reasons are stated.12

  1. People show that they believe truth in morality matters when someone treats them immorally.
  2. Success in life often depends on the moral choices a person makes
  3. All laws legislate morality

The third reason is a convincing enough fact.  Every law says what behavior is right or legal, and therefore the opposite behavior is wrong and illegal.  So whose morality should be used to make laws?

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Discussion point

 

For me this is a most important discussion, the idea that truth is an absolute we should try to know.  Have you considered what your ideas about truth are?  Have you considered what you base your morality on?  How do you tell the difference between right and wrong?  Remember this was one of the fundamental questions in the introduction, the question on morality.  How should we live?  What are the rules?  Who gets to make them?  What are they based on?  For example if you think murder is wrong and should be punished as a crime, why?  What is your convincing argument?  What about lying?  Is it wrong?  Was it wrong to treat people as slaves when it was legal?  Based on what?  Is it wrong to deny people access to the United States because they might be Muslim?  Is it legal?  So if it is legal is it right?  Based on what?

lies

I believe the book will get to one of the main reasons atheism requires too much faith.  One reason for me is that if there is no God, why should we behave “morally” if we can get away with lying, cheating, stealing, and using force against others for our benefit?  Why would you choose to behave by certain rules when by breaking them you can get what you want?  The argument of the atheist creates a world where the only test of how you should treat others, in particular, “good” or “bad”, is if you can get away with it.  One way to get away with it is to change the rule so that it isn’t illegal to do it.

Finally, there are some points that remind me of passages in the Bible.  For example, the ideas of Hume and Kant remind me of  1 Peter 2:25, 2 Peter 3:3, and 1 John 2:26.  The discussion about truth reminds me of John 8:32

10Geisler & Turek page 51 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

11Geisler & Turek pages 58-59 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.      

12Geisler & Turek pages 66-67 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

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Book Discussion Day 2: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

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Chapter 1 – The truth about reality is knowable.

The authors introduce a contradiction.  Why do so many people demand the truth in everything but morality and religion? They respond to this problem with four questions about truth.6

  1. What is truth?
  2. Can truth be known?
  3. Can truths about God be known?
  4. So what? Who cares about truth?

The tool Geisler and Turek use to identify false statements and philosophies in today’s culture is the recognition of the self-defeating statement.  That would be anything that fails to meet its own standard.

Example:  There’s no such thing as truth. (For this to be true it would have to be false, wouldn’t it?)

Popular self-defeating statements:

All truth is relative.

There are no absolutes.

It’s true for you but not for me.

There are two messages in Chapter 1

The first one is that ideas have consequences.  Good ideas have good consequences and bad ideas have bad consequences.  The second message is that false ideas about truth lead to false ideas about life.

The conclusion of the chapter is that truth exists.  To deny truth is to make a self-defeating truth claim that there is no truth.

Is this a self-defeating statement?

Truth cannot be known.

This chapter has a powerfully revealing story about a conversation between two evangelists and an agnostic, a person who isn’t sure whether God exists.  When asked, he said that he couldn’t know anything for sure.  The response to him was, “How do you know for sure that you can’t know anything for sure?”7

Identifying the self-defeating statement for him helped him accept that while he might not know anything for sure it was possible that he could know something for sure.

Here is where the book points out that when a person has this viewpoint they could be open to hearing evidence of the truth about God

The point about truth is summed up by the statement, if you say “truth can’t be known” you can’t claim that what you say is true.  You can’t have it both ways.8

Evidence can only convince the willing

see no eveil
Design Toscano

The idea that all religions are true is completely disproven here.

Some of the fundamental contradicting beliefs of the major religions are pointed out.

I found the most compelling part of the chapter to be the discussion of truth vs. tolerance on pages 46-48.  I hope you read it.

In summary, we learn from the chapter that truth is not dependent on feelings or perceptions because something is true whether we like it or not.  Since the major religions do not agree on major issues about God then all religions cannot be true.  And finally, we cannot adopt a type of ‘tolerance’ that requires us to accept that all religions are true.

Discussion point

What did you think about tolerance?  Have you talked to others about the idea that tolerance means we are required to accept what everyone else believes as true?

One question that I think this chapter leads to is this.  Is any religion true?

I found it helpful to have a practical definition of truth to aid the discussion. Calling truth “that which corresponds to its object” or “that which describes an actual state of affairs” is a useful place to base this discussion on.9  It really helps in the area I’ve found where I have seen people confused or misguided by the idea that truth is relative.  I appreciate that the book begins by covering the idea completely so that we can eliminate any doubt about the concept of absolute truth.  Has anyone tried to convince you that truth is relative?  What happened?

6Geisler & Turek page 36 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

7Geisler & Turek page 43 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

8Geisler & Turek page 44 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

9Geisler & Turek page 37 I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.

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Ministry

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My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.

1 Corinthians 3:6  He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit.  For the letter kills, but the spirit produces life.
Observation
We have been made ministers of a new coveneant of the spirit.
Application in my life
The letter of the law convicts sin and the wages or the sentence is a death sentence, hence the letter kills.  The spirit produces life through the ministry of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  We are freed from the consequences of our sin and able to live under the direction of the spirit which aligns us with the mind of Christ.  As ministers, it is our role to serve, to aide, to teach, to pray over, to correct, to disciple, and to love.  We are ambassadors of the Christian way of life, and we invite as many as we can to choose it and follow it and spread it and practice it with us.
My prayer
Lord, thank you for the new covenant, and for showing me how to minister it.  Let your will be done in this area in my life and the lives of those whom I share my life with, Amen
Bible Study, faith, God, Uncategorized

Helping Others

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My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
Genesis 41:12-13
“A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.  When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about.  I was restored to my office and the baker was hanged.”
Observation
The cupbearer tells Pharaoh about Joseph, what Joseph had done, and he vouched for Joseph before the most powerful person in the land.
Application in my life
Joseph’s is a story of a man rising from the lowest depths to the highest heights.  It does not take place unless the cupbearer bears witness to Pharaoh about what this man Joseph can do.  That does not happen unless Joseph responds to the needs of the cupbearer.  At that time, I wonder what Joseph was thinking.  Here I am in this awful situation and these men want something.  Why should I bother?  Who are they?  I don’t know, but whatever he thought Joseph did respond to them.  And by helping them it paved the way for him to have an oppertunity later to go before Pharaoh.  When he went to see Pharaoh he helped him.  Joseph was ready to be used by God in this important role because he had done what was needed earlier, helped those in need.
So for me I want to understand that at anytime and with any person I might be helping what I do is important and valuable to them, if to no one else.  We never know who will be a witness for us in the future.  But someday they might be a witness before the most powerful; before Jesus, and testify about what we did for them.
My prayer
Lord, Joseph’s story reveals much to us if we let it.  With the things You have blessed me let me be responsible, and wiling to help those who I can, and do it with joy and love, Amen
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Habitat for Humanity
Bible Study, faith, God, Uncategorized

Contentment

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My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
1 Timothy 6:6  But godliness with contentment is a great gain.
Observation
Godliness is a character trait that is spoken of as profitable.  Godliness is combined with contentment and given high esteem as benefitting those who attain it.
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Application in my life 
Temptation is a challenge every person faces, both believer and non-believer.  The consequences for giving into temptation are dire.  Godliness is a goal only for the believer.  Godliness combined  with contentment rewards those who posses both.  How can this be acheived?  Understanding what it means to be content, which is something to grow in, becoming more knowledgeable about it, and experienced with it. One faith message is that prayer and communication with God about the things we face will bring us contentment.  Asking for God to supply our needs and the desires of our hearts when we pray is one part. So, perhaps when I see something desirable, whether a car or clothes or computer, I can ask myself am I content without having this new thing?  Can I be content whether I have it or not?  My answer should be yes.  If not, I need to ask God to help me see what the cause of my unhappiness is and address it with God’s ability to heal me spiritually, or emotionally through counseling or ministry.  Like a support group.  If I can be content without it then there are other questions. Is this going to cause me temptation that I might be able to resist?  WIll I unwisely incur debt to get it?  These questions can help me recognize what it is to be contented so that I can practice and grow better at living a contented lifestyle.
My prayer 
Lord there is great gain associated with godliness and contentment.  I thank you for this lesson and the oppertuntiy to attain these things and live a life blessed by You.  Let me embrace the contentment that You would have me to experience. Amen
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Bible Study, faith, God, Uncategorized

Heart

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My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
Acts 7:58-60 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.  And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this he fell asleep.
Observation
One of the people Steven asked God to forgive when he was put to death was Saul.  His dying words were do not hold this sin against them.
Application in my life
Perhaps this, Stephen’s selfless loving forgiveness, is the source of Saul’s opportunity. A door opened, through which Saul could enter and choose to convert from being a persecutor of Christians to stand up and be counted as a leader of the Christian movement.
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God approached Saul and offered him forgiveness and a chance to change from within, change his heart mind and soul.  So I think of this as an example. Why? Because Saul was a mortal enemy, and he was won over – not by combat or conflict – but by the power of God’s love and the power of God’s presence.  So for us we can know that our enemies today can be won over by the power of God’s presence, love, and forgiveness.  So as Steven prayed for his enemies, we should also pray for our enemies that they allow the truth to be heard and are thereby transformed by a change of heart.
My  prayer
Lord, a more powerful human example than Stephen, I cannot imagine.  Let that be one example for me as I pray with the belief that such prayer will lead to the conversion of the strongest opponents of Christian faith, Amen