Evidence for God from Science Newsletter January, 2003

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

Contents

News

I met with a second and third set of Mormon missionaries the week before Christmas and early January. It was remarkable how different these missionaries were compared to the ones they had just replaced the previous month. Whereas the first set brought only King James Bibles and were eager to be challenged, the second set brought the Book of Mormon. Although they also brought Bibles, they were very much unfamiliar with them, and used a "cheat sheet" to attempt to address questions I brought up. Sizing up the situation, the obviously agitated one gave his "testimony" (a Mormon "testimony" is not a personal testimony of what God has done for the individual, but a memorized statement claiming to know the book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God) within 20 minutes of beginning the discussion. He then announced that they "had to get going." Of course, they had no other appointment after 7:30 p.m., but wanted to get away. Carole (my wife) engaged the second missionary with questions, so we managed to keep them for nearly another hour. During the course of questioning, both missionaries encouraged us to read the book of Mormon and pray about whether it is true (this is a standard line offered when the facts obviously contradict the Mormon "scriptures"). The third set consisted of a trio of Mormon missionaries (they usually come in pairs) who came by unannounced and weren't even in their own territory. I figured it was a divine appointment, so I met with them on the spur of the moment. We had a good discussion, and, as a result, I have more material for the site (see below), and, hopefully, they have been planted with the seeds of the true gospel.

Site Review: MormonChallenge.com

I have found a really great website/ministry that examines some of the claims of the Book of Mormon, specifically Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA evidence. This evidence convincingly refutes the basic story of the Book of Mormon - that Hebrews crossed the Atlantic Ocean and were part of the Native American tribes Jesus visited after His resurrection. More information and links are included below:

In spring of 2002, God laid on our hearts (Living Hope Christian Fellowship) to begin a massive outreach ministry to Mormons. God gave us Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA as a tool to reveal the falsehood of the Book of Mormon, the foundation of Mormonism. We went around the USA interviewing leading Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA scientists, asking them about their research as pertained to the ancestry of Native Americans. The evidence that stands against the Book of Mormon is very extensive, but we believe God is presenting to Mormons, yet again, a fresh new approach to objectively looking at the book they have put all their trust in. Our hope is to get the Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA Evidence and the Book of Mormon documentary video on every door in our community and into every community in Utah...and maybe even to every place Mormonism has been believed.

Our main desire is to see Mormons coming to the True Jesus, repenting of their sin and meeting the God who died for them. Our Hope is the Holy Spirit's convicting and confronting Power to open the eyes of Mormons everywhere. The documentary will be complete as of February 2003. We have a free website www.MormonChallenge.com which features much of the scientific information we have found, and a ministry site at http://www.lhvm.org/. If you would like to support us in any way, we gladly welcome the help. Please go to our websites and email us.

Living Hope Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational church. We believe in the infallibility, authority, and finality of the Bible. We love and worship Jesus, who is our God, our Creator, our Redeemer. We desire in all things to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are physically situated in the community of Brigham City, Utah where God has used us repeatedly in spite of our short-comings.

Abortion

Planned Parenthood, not being content with the wholesale slaughter of an entire generation of babies (over 35 million in the United States alone since 1973), has decided to take on Christianity directly by insulting its Savior and the message He sends. Planned Parenthood is selling "Choice on Earth" "Christmas" cards through Yahoo! "Choice on Earth" is an obvious parody of the message of Christianity, which offers "Peace on Earth" through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. This new article compares the reality of "choice" versus peace on earth. Included in the page is a link to an animated parody of their card (warning - graphic content on the link).

     The Reality of "Choice on Earth" - Planned Parenthood's Insult to Christianity
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/choice.html

Aberrant Theology

As a result of meeting with several missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) this and last month I have written a response to their most common claim, "If you read and pray about the Book of Mormon, the Holy Ghost will reveal to you that it is true." Does the Bible call us to pray to understand the truth? In support of their advice, Mormons usually cite James 1:5 - "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God..." The new page gives the biblical answer to the question of how the Bible says to determine truth. Find out how to respond when your local Mormon missionary asks you to pray about the Book of Mormon:

     Read the Book of Mormon and Pray to Determine if it is True - Is this Good Biblical Advice?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/cults/praytruth.html (PDF Icon Acrobat file)

Over the years, I have received several e-mails and talked to many Jehovah's Witnesses (and even "Christians") who claim that Jesus never said He was God. I started working on this paper in mid-December, and it took nearly a full month to complete. It wasn't for the lack of information that it took so long, but because there was so much information. The final paper is ten pages - at least half of which are actual sayings of Jesus from the Gospels and book of Revelation. Jesus was constantly proclaiming His deity to those who would listen - "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

     Jesus Christ Never Said He Was God?
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/cults/jesus.html (PDF Icon Acrobat file)

Christian Life Issues

January is famous for a time that people make (and break) New Year's resolutions. The problem with New Year's resolutions is not what we resolve to do - but how we resolve the change ourselves for the better. Most people (especially non-Christians) attempt to better themselves through willpower. The problem is that there is no power in the human will because of our sin-nature. This paper examines some of the scientific evidence that shows that we are, indeed, born sinners - refuting the ideas that we are a blank slate, or born virtuous, only to be corrupted by society. So is the situation so hopeless that we should not make New Year's resolutions? Read on...

     New Year's Resolutions- Why You Can't Keep Them
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/doctrine/newyears.html

Updated Hubble Pictures of the Universe

The Hubble Space Telescope has been busy, and with it's newly-renovated optics, is producing more spectacular pictures than ever. The new pictures (along with the great old ones) are available in three formats:

     Tour the Universe Slideshow (JavaScript version)
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/love/tourjs.html

     Tour the Universe (Thumbnail version)
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/love/tour.html

Webmaster Resources

Evidence for God has undergone several significant changes to enhance your experience with the site. If you are a webmaster and have your own website, you might want to take note of the free resources that are available for your site.

For the last several months I have been trying to find a good, free newsletter script to help with subscription to the newsletter. I had tried nearly a dozen and was almost ready to give up and look into a commercial program, when I came across a link to Mojo Mail on an astronomy website. Not only is it free, but it has more features than even I could figure out how to use. However, it is very easy to install and setup for basic use. A short tutorial is available for those of you who have never installed scripts before:

     Mojo Mail - An Excellent Free Mailing List-Newsletter Script
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/general/mojomail.html

I had been using Atomz free website search service to help visitors find information on the site. It works quite well, and is highly configurable, with only a small ad appearing on your search results page. However, the service will index only the first 500 pages on your site, unless you pay for their commercial service. Evidence for God went over 500 pages a while back, so I started to exclude certain less visited pages from the search in order to get all the important pages indexed. However, I finally had run to the limit, so I started looking for a free site search script. After several tries, I found KSearch. It is fairly easy to install and does fast and well-targeted searches. A tutorial is available to help you set up this program on your site. Don't advertise for somebody else - keep your visitors on your site!

     KSearch - An Excellent Free Website Indexer and Search Engine Script
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/general/ksearch.html

At the e-mail suggestion of a visitor to the site, I began searching for a script that sent your website pages by e-mail. Most people don't realize that they can send any page by e-mail from Internet Explorer, so it is good to provide an easy way for people to send specific pages with a link back to your site. MTV Webdesign's MailPage allows the user to select how they want to send a page (full HTML, text only, or link only). All other free page mailing scripts sent only links of pages. A tutorial is available along with a customized script:

     MTVWebdesign MailPage- An Excellent Free Send Page by Email Script
     http://www.GodAndScience.org/general/mailpage.html

Looking for a good web host with excellent support? Evidence for God (evidence.info) is now hosted by WebPorter. Besides competitive pricing, support is provided by a dedicated Christian, who really knows his stuff.

    http://www.WebPorter.com

Newsletter Info

This and previous newsletters are 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. "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:11)

In Christ,
Rich Deem

Evidence for God from Science respects your privacy and online time and plans to send updates no more frequently than about once every two months. Subscription information is available online (http://www.GodAndScience.org/newsletter.html).

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Evidence for God from Science
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http://www.godandscience.org/newsletters/2003-01.html
Last Modified January 16, 2003

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