Evidence for God from Science Newsletter November, 2001

Greetings in the name of the Lord! This is the latest edition of the update for the Evidence for God from Science website. Here is the news and recent additions to the site.

Contents (scroll down for descriptions)

News

I received a good tip from Eric English, my friend from truthsaves.org about a free Bible software package called e-Sword. e-Sword is a fast and effective way to study the Bible. e-Sword is feature rich and user friendly with more capabilities than you would expect in a free software package. The fact that e-Sword is free is just one of the blessings and does not speak of the quality of the software.

e-Sword free electronic BibleAll available Bibles, commentaries and dictionaries are readily viewed without having to "tile windows". Create your own "parallel Bible" with up to any four translations. Studying the Word of God and comparing passages have never been easier! Integrated editor for creating your own commentaries or study notes, complete with Spell Checking and a Thesaurus! Strong's definitions and Scripture references in the Commentary and Dictionary views are displayed as ToolTips!

If you don't want to wait to download the many megabytes of files, you can order the CD-ROM by making a $15 donation to the ministry. I encourage you to support this ministry so that more resources can be added in the future.

This year, the annual "Why I am personally grateful to God" essay contest winner will receive a free e-Sword CD-ROM. Your essay should include reasons why you are grateful to God and how He has helped you in your life. Entries will be selected on the basis of how they give glory to God. Entry deadline is December 4, 2001.

Link Expired

Answers for Atheists

There are a number of questions that I seem to get over and over in my interactions with atheists. Rather than keep answering these questions over and over, I have compiled them onto a new page entitled, False Teachings in the Bible? Some of the topics included on the page are:

The Earth is flat
The Earth is covered by a dome
Heaven consists of water
The Earth was created from water
Hell is under the Earth
John would not die before Christ returned
Stars cannot fall on the Earth

What is common to most of these "problems" is a lack of understanding of what the Bible says in the context of the passage in which the "false teaching" occurs. More topics will be added to this page in the future.

     False Teachings in the Bible?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/apologetics/false.html

People will often say that they cannot accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior until they are 100% convinced or certain that He is who He said He is or that the Bible is true. This level of proof is not possible in this universe and is unreasonable. Even in science, the standard level of proof is 95%. Atheists do not hold to the 100% standard of certainty in any other area of their lives. Therefore, requiring that one is 100% certain of the reliability of the Bible is just an excuse for unbelief.

     100% Convinced vs. 100% Committed
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/apologetics/convinced.html

Evolution/Design

I recently received an e-mail from a biologist who cited evidence of vestigial organs as an argument against the existence of God and in favor of evolution by descent. However, I was surprised that he cited the human appendix as a useless organ. Being involved in gastroenterological immunology, I immediately recognized that this was another of those "useless" organs that are actually quite important, especially during development. For more information on the human appendix, see the page on "bad" design:

     Examples of Bad Design Gone Bad
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/evolution/designgonebad.html

I also received an e-mail from a Christian who was concerned that scientists had found in the human brain a biological basis for belief in God. What the research has actually shown is that Tibetan Buddhist, during meditation (the goal of which is to completely divorce oneself from external sensory stimulation) experience a sense of "oneness with the universe", which is accompanied by a reduction of activity in one portion of the brain. However, the area of the brain is not unique to humans. In addition, if humans were unique from an anatomical or functional standpoint, one would expect to find an area of the brain that was active during "religious" experiences. The problem with the study is that Christianity is not based upon these kind of experiences. If anything, the study shows that Buddhism and eastern religions have a biological basis and, therefore, are false religions, and not based upon a transcendent Reality, but a biological reality. At some point, I will provide a full review and critique of the research. For now, the information can be found at

     Man, Created in the Image of God- How Man is Unique Among All Other Creatures on Earth
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/evolution/imageofgod.html

A new study has shown that members of bacteria-like prokaryotes, the Archea, have probably saved the Earth from overheating, due to their ability to remove methane from ocean sediments. The authors of the study stated their belief that without these bacteria, the Earth would have ended up like Venus - a scorched greenhouse planet.

     The Designing Times
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/evolution/design.html

Doctrine and Theology

Many Christians have claimed that one cannot be saved without being baptized and cite the verse from John 3:5 (Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.") as evidence. Although baptism is an ordinance of the Christian Church and a command given to those who convert non-believers, Jesus never commanded baptism in order to be saved. This paper examines this verse in context to figure out what "born of water" actually refers to.

     Did Jesus Command Baptism in Order to be Saved?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/baptism.html

Christian Life Issues

Harry Potter books (and movie) are quite popular now, and even more Harry Potter will be found in all kinds of marketing schemes to profit from this popularity. I object to the book series because of the worldview represented, and the participation of the "good guys" in occult practices specifically prohibited in the Bible. Both the Old and New Testament make prohibitions against the practices engaged in by believers. For more information, see the link below:

     Harry Potter- Is It Something That Christian Children Should Read?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/harrypotter.html

There are a number of Christians who have argued that God is not honored through rock music, even if the music is written by Christians and proclaims God's glory through the lyrics. A new page examines some of the issues involved in Christian worship and what the Bible has to say about them.

     Should Christians Worship to Rock Music?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/rockmusic.html

Many Christians have claimed that one cannot be saved without being baptized and cite the verse from John 3:5 (Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.") as evidence. Although baptism is an ordinance of the Christian Church and a command given to those who convert non-believers, Jesus never commanded baptism in order to be saved. This paper examines this verse in context to figure out what "born of water" actually refers to.

     Did Jesus Command Baptism in Order to be Saved?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/baptism.html

Free Online Greeting Cards

A new feature has been added to the site - online greeting cards. Now you can send your favorite skeptic (or friend or loved one) a beautiful Hubble image with a note. It is an easy way to introduce your friends to some of the information on this site.

     Out of This World E-Cards
     http://www.godandscience.org/cards.html

This and previous newsletters are now available online. Go to the URL below to read the current and past e-mail newsletters:

     http://www.GodAndScience.org/newsletter.html

Those are the most recent updates and changes since the last e-mail update. If you would like to see anything in particular at Evidence for God from Science, let me know. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

In Christ,
Rich Deem

GodAndScience.org respects your privacy and online time and plans to send updates no more frequently than once every two months. If you wish to be removed from this list, click the link at the bottom of this page.

Evidence for God from Science
Website: http://www.GodAndScience.org/

http://www.godandscience.org/newsletters/2001-11.html
Last Modified November 29, 2001

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