BIBLE
Questions
Questions about the Bible and life. May this encourage you and may it allow you to encourage others.
Evolution: What are the Odds - Part One
I always remind our students at Reignite Hope when faced with a decision on what to believe about anything in their life—follow the evidence! So, in this week’s article let’s consider where the evidence leads us regarding evolution and creation. In 1859 Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in his book “On the Origin of Species.” Basically, the theory proposes that through random genetic mutations simple organisms gradually develop into more complex organisms. That over time through a process of natural selection organisms with more favorable traits survive and the weak die off—survival of the fittest. And that we humans didn’t start out as humans but we evolved over time from lower animals. And my purpose here isn’t at all to discredit those who believe in evolution, but to help equip you to decide what to think about it. Because, even though evolution remains a theory, it is generally taught as fact in our schools and accepted as fact by much of our media. But is that warranted or should our schools take another look at the biblical account describing our world, including us, as being the product of an intelligent designer, namely God. Let’s see what you think. So, I want us to consider three really significant areas of science concerning this topic—the human genetic code, the Cambrian Explosion and Irreducible Complexity. In the end, I hope you will feel better equipped to decide where you think you should land after considering where you think the evidence leads. What will you think is the best explanation of the data? So, this week let’s start with the genetic code. Every cell in our body contains DNA. It is called a code because it is the program by which living organisms are put together. Scientist Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project which ran from 1990-2003 and is considered one of the greatest scientific feats in history. They completely mapped the human DNA molecule. Collins states: one strand of DNA contains three billion letters written in a four-letter code. A live reading of that code at three letters per second would take thirty-one years reading day and night. Printing those letters in a normal font on normal 8.5 x 11 paper would result in a stack of paper the height of the Washington Monument. Collins would later write a book about DNA and titled it The Language of God. Bill Gates, co-founder of the software giant Microsoft, once wrote, “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” Now software programs, as we know, are written by intelligent agents known as programmers. A computer program can’t just write itself. Someone has to write it. Software needs a programmer just like books need authors. And we now know that there is more information in one microscopic strand of DNA than in 100 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. So, I think we have to ask ourselves, how did those three billion letters in a strand of DNA get precisely sequenced to result in human life? Or precisely sequenced to produce our brain which is made up of 86 billion neurons forming trillions of connections? Is there any likelihood that a novel could accidently over time come to be; that it simply evolved by chance? I think we’d agree that the best explanation is that there was a mind that created the book. Its source had to be intelligent. Or what if you were wandering around South Dakota and came across Mount Rushmore. Would it seem reasonable that countless years of wind, rain and erosion could somehow create the giant faces of the four presidents carved in stone there? Again, what’s the best explanation? Chance or an intelligent designer? Have we ever seen blind, unguided atoms randomly colliding with each other producing such things? Let alone producing living things? And yet human beings are exponentially far more complex than any book or any software program or any stone sculpture. Now DNA, among many, many other things, contains the information needed to produce proteins which are the building blocks of life. Proteins are made up of amino acids linked together in specified sequence like letters in a sentence. And Cambridge trained philosopher of science and geophysicist Stephen Meyer, the author of Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt describes the odds of a just a simple protein molecule somehow forming by chance. He states: The odds of these things falling into place on their own is once chance in a hundred thousand trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion. That’s a one with 125 zeroes after it. And that would only be one protein molecule—a minimally complex cell would need between three hundred and five hundred protein molecules. And to give us an idea of just how big that number is consider that there are approximately 1x1080 atoms in the known universe. That’s a one with 80 zeros after it. In their book The Anthropic Principle, scientists Barrow and Tipler describe ten things that would need to occur for evolution to be possible and that the odds for any of the ten occurring are so extreme the sun would have burned out before any one of them would have occurred if it depended on mere chance. Let me add just one more. If you have a four-digit bike lock a thief has only have one chance in 10,000 (1 x 104 ) of choosing the right combination. Not very likely to happen. That’s why they cut the cable instead--like they did to mine! But now imagine we have a twelve-digit bike lock. You can actually buy one. Now there is only one chance in a trillion (1 x 1012) of choosing the right combination. A trillion possible combinations, but only one works. And that’s just getting 12 digits in a row right. And if a thief were to try one combination per second, it would take them 31,709 years to try them all. Again, cut the cable! But, one strand of DNA has three billion digits! All lined up just right to create a human. So imagine we have a bike lock with three billion digits? And suppose we had a computer trying 1 trillion combinations per second for that bike lock with a three-billion-digit combination. Well, it would take longer than the age of the universe to crack it—13.8 billion years! In short, a 3-billion-digit lock is unbreakable, even for the most advanced computers imaginable. So, where does all this leave us? If books and software programs require an intelligent designer as did Mount Rushmore, then what about DNA? After all, it’s exponentially more complex than all of those other things put together. Chance or an intelligent designer? That’s for you to decide, but many would conclude that it took nothing short of unimaginable intelligence to produce DNA; to produce you. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16. Please join me next week as we consider some more evidence to help you decide where to land—the Cambrian Explosion.
Can people in heaven see us?
I was asked this question a few days ago and it has come up frequently down through the years. And it’s only natural that heaven is of great interest to us. It is, after all, the eternal home of those who have placed their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And though the Bible gives us a lot of information about what heaven is like, the best thing about heaven is that it’s where God is. Imagine what it will be like to stand in the very presence of God! So, can people who are already there see us, especially our loved ones? Well, unfortunately, the Bible isn’t entirely clear on this, but in Rev. 6:9-11 it says: 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers[a] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. The event described here is yet future to us. It occurs during the seven-years of great tribulation that God will one day bring upon the earth just prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. And it is a time when many Christians will be martyred for their faith. So, it’s possible that these departed believers are seeing and agonizing over events occurring on earth. It’s clear that they can either see or least know that God has not yet stopped the suffering on earth. Now is that an ability that God currently gives those in heaven or will that just be during the Great Tribulation? Hard to say for sure. Another interesting passage is Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. The witnesses being referred to in verse one are some marvelous saints of the past listed in the previous chapter. Faithful servants of God like Abraham, Moses, David, Rahab and Samuel. Sixteen in all! It is sometimes referred to as The Hall of Fame of Faith. So, some think that this “cloud (meaning a large number) of witnesses” are now watching us though it also isn’t conclusive. It might just be that they serve as a witness to us as to what a faithful life looks like. Great examples to follow in other words. But if people in heaven can see us, the difficult question to consider is could those in heaven experience nothing but joy while observing life on earth? Rev. 21:4 says that “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Could we, in heaven, really feel no sorrow or pain as we observe wars, human trafficking, murders and all the rest that goes on down here? Seems hard to imagine. But whether or not they can see us, the greatest thing to think about is that one day, because of your faith, you’ll be able see them!
Another Head Scratcher--Psalm 91:10
“No evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.” Now there are two types of evil—natural and moral. Natural evil is things like cancer, earthquakes and tornadoes. Moral evil is things like violence, lies, greed and other bad things that people do to people. And this promise concerning evil in verse 10 is for those who have made the Lord their refuge (v.9), but is it really true that “no evil will befall you”? After all, we all know that bad things happen to all of us in our life. And the Bible itself is filled with faithful people who loved God and yet suffered at times. Job, Moses, David, Paul, the Disciples and the list goes on. They all suffered and, at times, greatly. In fact, most Bible scholars believe it was either Moses or David who wrote this psalm. As a side note, I like using artificial intelligence (AI) at times, so I asked it what this verse meant and it said this: This phrase emphasizes that those who trust in the Lord will be spared from harm and adversity. This part highlights the protection extended to our lives, including our homes and families, from diseases and other dangers. I’m afraid AI got it wrong this time. Jesus even promised that we would have tribulation in this world—John 16:33. James encourages us to rejoice in trials—James 1:2 So, what does this verse mean then when it says that those who trust in God (v.2) will not experience evil? It might make you wonder if you really trust God enough since evil is befalling you? Am I really saved? If I am, why do bad things keep happening in my life? One thing that helps when you come across a verse that seems to not make sense is to use other scriptures to help interpret the puzzling scripture—The Synthesis Principle. That’s what we will do here. Let’s start in John 17 where just before Jesus goes to the cross, He prays to the Father to protect the disciples. But we know that the disciples suffered greatly throughout their lives after the cross. So, did Jesus’ prayer not get answered? It was answered. The Father did protect all of them in an ultimate sense. He protected their faith--1John 5:4-5. And He gave them the strength and faith to overcome everything that the world threw at them. The ultimate evil is not the temporary troubles that this world brings, but it is ending up separated from God forever. Banished from God’s presence for eternity. That’s the evil that God wants to protect us from. That’s the evil that won’t befall you if your trust is in Him. The Psalmist is not saying that there won’t be any challenges in life. Evil will come our way, but not the ultimate evil of losing God. And we have to remember the we have an enemy-- “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”—1 John 5:19. But the apostle Paul was completely confident that, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” --2 Tim. 4:18. That’s the same faith in God that the Psalmist had. Paul was eventually beheaded in Rome by emperor Nero, but God rescued him in the ultimate sense in that He is now in heaven. That’s the finish line for the believer. Your faith in God controls your destiny, not the things of this world. Not the natural evil or the moral evil of this world. God’s ultimate goal in your life is to conform you into the image of His Son—Rom. 8:29—not to heal every disease and solve every problem. In fact, sometimes He allows the trials in our life to shape us into the person He wants us to become (James 1:2-4). The great Bible commentator of old, Matthew Henry, said this: “Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befall, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the meantime be with him in trouble. The Lord will manage all his worldly concerns, and preserve his life on earth, so long as it shall be good for him. The entire chapter of Psalm 91 reminds us of the love and power of God who faithfully works on behalf of those who love Him. Having faith in Jesus doesn’t make anyone immune to difficulties, but He can give us peace in the difficulties—C.S. Lewis And know that the Lord sees your struggles as well as your tears as if He were keeping them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). So, no matter what you’re going through, remember that this isn’t how the story ends. It ends with you in heaven in the very presence of God forever. He may not keep us from trials, but He will keep us through the trials.
Are Miracles Really Possible?
There is so much to say here, but I’ll try to keep it short! Let’s start with C.S. Lewis’ definition of a miracle---“An interference with nature by a supernatural power.” Now a naturalist is one who believes that everything can or should be able to be explained by the natural laws of science, and is one who believes that all that exists is the physical world—i.e. atoms and molecules. So, a naturalist would not agree with Lewis that supernatural power even exists. Also, sometimes people think that those who believe in God and the supernatural are unscientific and uneducated. But I think it’s helpful to know that approximately 50% of the world’s scientists today are Christian. Not to mention that most of America’s presidents have been Christian. Consider a few more Christians--Isaac Newton (famous scientist and mathematician), Francis Collins (led the Human Genome Project), Louis Pasteur (famous French chemist), Jim Irwin (astronaut), Blaise Pascal (famous physicist and mathematician), Gregor Mendel (father of Genetics) and Richard Smalley (Nobel Prize for chemistry). So, be encouraged that if you believe in God and miracles, you’re in really good company!! Some examples of miracles are coming, but first let’s establish a brief philosophical foundation for miracles. If Gen. 1:1 can be taken at face value, that in the beginning an infinite-personal God did create the universe, then the rest should be no problem. If He has the ability to do this, then a virgin birth, walking on water, feeding the 5,000 with a few fish and a few loaves of bread, and other biblical miracles become not only possible but expected. Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense, p.125 In other words, if God created everything, He can certainly intervene in everything. If He has the power to create the universe and create life, what can’t He do? Author and Christian apologist Mark Mittelberg states that miracles are not irrational or incompatible with science. Some of his key points: If God exists, He can act beyond the natural laws—just as programmer can override software rules. Miracles Have Strong Historical Evidence-- The resurrection of Jesus is the most well-documented miracle, with multiple eyewitness accounts, early records, and the transformation of the disciples. The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask, Mittelberg, p.31 Additionally, Jesus demonstrated over and over again supernatural power which was recorded by eyewitnesses such as Peter, John and Matthew. Mittelberg concludes by arguing that believing in miracles is not anti-scientific but a rational conclusion based on historical testimony, logical reasoning, and God’s existence. Now for some examples: First, the Bible stands alone among all books in the world in demonstrating evidence for being divinely inspired. It is absolutely unique in its ability to speak of the future as accurately as it speaks of the past along with the miracle of its survival. And then there is the complete unity of its message in spite of God speaking through forty prophets over a span of 1500 years from vastly different backgrounds—from kings to peasants--and on three different continents. And mathematical probability rules out any chance of the Bible just getting lucky in perfectly predicting hundreds of future events without a single miss. Therefore, there must be a mind behind the Bible and it can’t be a human mind. Second, the existence of the genetic code is far beyond any reasonable scientific explanation. DNA is absolutely miraculous. It is made up of a string of four molecules (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine and Thymine) arranged in varying order to provide the information needed to create you and I. If we were to consider these molecules as letters—ACGT—that vary in their placement along the string—ATCGGTCAAGC—etc., this microscopic string in every cell of your body is three billion letters long! If you could read that string out loud at a rate of three letters per second and you read twenty-four hours a day, it would take you thirty-one years to read it!! And that sequence has to be in exactly the right order to create human life. To create you! And it would be a miracle for the information in DNA to arise without an intelligence. Every time you come across information, you reasonably conclude it came from someone. Books are written by authors, and paintings are painted by painters. If it contains information, it never arises on its own. Our universal experience is that information comes from intelligent agents. Yet, according to the worldview of materialism, there is no God and, therefore, no intelligence or mind. All the information and design code found in DNA came from no person, God, or intelligence. It arose from an entirely mindless and chance process. This is truly miraculous. Alan Shlemon, Stand to Reason (STR.org) Bill Gates, co-founder of the software giant Microsoft, once wrote, “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” Therefore, to be intellectually honest, you have to ask who wrote DNA? Computer programs don’t write themselves. There is mind behind DNA; a divine mind. Finally, there are many, many more miracles we could talk about such as miraculous healings acknowledged by doctors, the miracle of free-will (brain chemistry cannot produce genuine free-will), the miracle of Israel’s survival against all odds, the miracle of the Bible’s survival against countless attempts to eradicate it, etc. But let me end with this: the greatest miracle of all is what God does in taking unsaved, sinful, self-centered people and doing a supernatural work in their heart to change them from the inside out. You see, no one ever ends up not becoming a Christian due to a lack of evidence. There is more than enough evidence for the seeking heart. And every time a heart surrenders to Jesus it is a miracle. God has done a supernatural work in their heart that only He can do. If you’ve experienced that, you know it didn’t come from you. And if you haven’t yet turned in faith to Jesus, you could be the next miracle!! The battle will be in your heart, not in your mind.
Is There Life on Other Planets?
This one comes up occasionally and I picked it because it’s sort of topical right now. Recently, I’ve seen a couple of articles where scientists are suggesting possible hints of life on other planets, though other scientists expressed doubt. Also, reports of possible UFO sightings seem to be on the rise as well. You may also have heard of the SETI Project (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The project began in 1959 looking for radio signals from space which would possibly indicate intelligent life. It’s just in our nature to be curious about such things. But, for some reason, the idea of life being discovered beyond earth in the future worries some Christians as if that will somehow challenge the story of creation in the Bible. So, let’s begin by saying that the Bible is silent on whether or not God created life elsewhere. And given the vast size of the known universe it would surprise me if God only blessed earth with life, but it certainly could be only us. Second, we need to keep in mind what the main purpose of the Bible is. God didn’t give us the Bible to satisfy our curiosity, though we often wish otherwise. Sometimes the Bible just doesn’t tell us everything we want to know about certain things--When and how did Mary and Joseph die? Where is the Ark of the Covenant? How old is the earth? What happened to the dinosaurs? When is Jesus coming back? And so on. On the other hand, the main purpose of the Bible is to reveal our Creator and to show us how to be in a right relationship with Him. And it teaches us how we ought to live our lives. It is primarily God’s plan to save us and to give us a guide for faith, morality and spiritual growth. Those are the main things the Bible presents and it has been said “The main things are plain things.” Currently we have no compelling evidence that there is extraterrestrial life, but that is not evidence that such life does not exist. I believe it was the scholar William Lane Craig that said, “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” The only way anyone could say with certainty that there isn’t life beyond us is to know everything that there is to know about the universe. And we don’t possess such knowledge. Interestingly though, the same is true for the atheist who says that God does not exist. In order for them to say with certainty that God does not exist they also would have to have complete knowledge of the universe. You might lovingly and gently remind them of that should it ever come up. I hope that this encourages you that whether or not life exists beyond earth, it has no bearing at all on the truth of the Christian faith.