Biblical Creation and Evangelism

Edited 5 December 2021  To be a Bible-believing Christian (as opposed to a "cultural" or in name only) is not easy. It may seem tempting to put our beliefs out to pasture and embrace the laziness of atheism. We can sit back and say, "I lack belief", and demand proof for everything a Christian says, only to reject anything that does not meet our subjective criteria. Very lazy. Very selfish. But for a Christian, it means denying our very nature — and denying what we know is true. Unknown source image derivative via FotoSketcher and PhotoFunia A Christian is born from above (1 Peter 1:3, John 3:3) and a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). To act in such a way means denying our very nature and rejecting what we know is true. Atheistic philosophies and excuse-making are ongoing. Just watch when a Christian wants to share evidence and have a discussion: atheists keep dodging and changing the subject, as well as attacking God and people. It's also a safe  religion as well as

As regular readers have noticed, the Christian worldview makes sense of what is seen in the world. Logic, science, mathematics, and other necessary but intangible things are impossible without God. It is often easy to dismantle spurious arguments from professing atheists, but Christians are called to a higher standard . Deluge (II) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, 1904 A professing Christian decided to slap leather with Dr. Jason Lisle regarding the lengths of the days before the Genesis Flood and why days are longer now. It did not go well. The challenger acted like an atheist in several ways by using logical fallacies, uninformed conjectures, exceeding what was written in the Bible — and lying. Dr. Lisle corrected him with Scripture, reason, and mathematics. This guy, like atheists, seemed to resent being kept on topic. We here examine some assertions made by Troy, a young earth creationist who has made some very unorthodox claims about conditions before the Genesis flood.  He

Occasionally, apologists encounter discussions that all of reality is imaginary, as envisioned in several science fiction stories. (In one,our reality was the result of another being's dream, and it was waking up. They had to lull it back to sleep.) Sometimes the s elf-refuting Boltzmann Brains thought experiment is used. Another concept is drawn from The Matrix . How do we experience reality? Credit: FreeDigitalImages / Stuart Miles Presuppositional apologists will often ask unbelievers how they know what is real, and how they can account for their epistemology ( the study of knowledge ). How can we know that what we perceive through our senses is real or are we in a Matrix-like reality? Atheists appeal to their senses, but even without those imposed Matrix-illusion scenarios, this is not reliable as a universal principle. For example, someone with a mental illness or other altered state of consciousness may "see" and "experience" things that do not act

To the naturalist, there is no room for God or miracles. The position of the Bible-believing Christian is quite different. If you study on it, everything is a miracle because our Creator us continually keeping the universe together; it would disintegrate. There are miracles above and beyond this, however. Credit: Pixabay /  A. Schüler Deists essentially believe that something started the whole shootin' match and then left us to our lonesome. (I reckon there's very little difference between them and theistic evolutionists because of their low regard for the authority of Scripture.) Naturalism is an attempt to replace God. Laws of nature were designed by God, and natural selection shows that living things were engineered for their environments, adapt, or do not survive. Then we have something else to consider: supernatural selection. What does it mean for something to be supernatural ?  We might think of the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus turning water into wine, the resur

While the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has prompted many people to learn many things about it, we have also seen how certain American government officials who have contempt for God have not only made restrictions on human rights in the US , but also around the world . Churches in the US are being forced to decide between God and Government. Made at PhotoFunia People may be surprised to know that God has ordained government to enforce laws and protect the people. If you study on it a mite, you'll realize that the "you can't legislate morality" canard is foolish, because most laws are based upon morality. When governments act according to their purposes, the church and the state get along fine. When the state rejects God wrongly exceeds and claims power, we have problems. Prayer in schools is outlawed, Christians are told to shut up and stay out of government (apparently government is only for secularists now), teaching that evolutionism is a religion and its sci

Cowboys riding the long trail usually clam up, but once in a while, someone commences philosophizing. When the subject is met with little more than grunts from the others, silence ensues again. If you study on it, it seems that everybody has a philosophy of some sort. There are many philosophers throughout history, and many are relegated to history books. Le Philosophe by Henri Martin When people talk about philosophers, images of smug intellectuals taking solitary walks and pondering, or discussing their versions of the meaning of life while smoking pipes. I have stated that I find philosophy useless because I have no use for the ideas of Kierkegaard, Rousseau, Kant, and so on. However, I learned a few things about philosophy since then, especially the practice and purpose. Some folks shy away from philosophy as ungodly, referring to Colossians 2:8. Context, people! Chasing after worldly  philosophies can be very harmful, but the Bible is actually loaded with philosophy. Regu

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen When I began doing creation apologetics many centuries ago, I foolishly tried to divorce the Bible from scientific and logical evidence. My approach was only discussing theology when necessary, keeping scientific evidence for creation separate, arguing on neutral ground. Essentially, I was compartmentalizing . Floral compartments image credit: Unsplash / Michael Aleo One big problem with the idea of neutral ground is that it is contrary to Scripture . If you ride up to the top of the hill and get the bigger picture, you'll also see that discussions of origins are metaphysical in nature. Really, they involve theology.  Have you ever noticed that folks who want both sides presented in an unbiased view so people can "make up their own minds" seldom (if ever) accurately represent biblical creation science? They are biased toward materialism, therefore favoring atheistic interpretations of evidence. via GIPHY You want equal time, pilgrim?

Addendum added 2-17-2019 For Question Evolution Day , we are going to examine something that atheists and other anti-creationists loathe, and something of which many professing Christians are unaware. Some people claim that evolution is science, but this shows the paucity of their understanding of the nature of science. Simply put, evolution is not only opposed to actual science, but science is impossible in an atheistic worldview. via GIPHY To be consistent, evolution is random, but its proponents want to perform science. If evolution were true, science would be impossible because the laws of logic, consistency of nature, and other things could not be consistent. Someone may object that they rely on their senses, but that is circular reasoning because they cannot know their senses are actually working; it could all be an illusion, false memories and all. Scientific predictions could not be made. The Bible is true, God is the Creator, and he upholds all things. An athei

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Wisdom itself beings with God (Prov. 1:7), and the Bible is to be the foundation for the Christian's thinking in all areas (Psalm 119:105, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, Rom. 11:33). As we have seen in several articles here and on other biblical creation sites, Genesis is the source of all major Christian doctrines . Some professing Christians as well as atheists, old earth proponents, and other anti-creationists reject the authority of the Bible and attack not only the truth of God's Word, but also the people who take their stand on it. Credit: Pixabay / Jeff Jacobs The Wisdom of the World The Christian's faith is established in God, not in the ever-changing whims of man-made science philosophies. For example, some have joyously stated that proof of the Big Bang validates the Bible, only to have the evidence pulled out from under them. If someone's faith is based entirely on secular interpretations of science, they have little to support their belief

It is a fair question to ask if there is evidence for Jesus, especially his Resurrection, from non-biblical sources. Is there corroborating evidence from various historical accounts? Maybe some forensic evidence? However, such questions can often an attempt to demand evidence but the inquirer is not interested in biblical information. US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo (Usage does not imply endorsement of site contents by the US Department of Defense) Some folks don't seem to ponder on some things, and forget that almost instantaneous satellite news didn't exist back then. We're talking about an event that happened over 2,000 years ago. Another is that Jerusalem was a jerkwater town in the Roman empire. Other information may have existed, but it's turned to dust by now. More than those details, however, is that the Bible is historically reliable. We get names, dates, details, eyewitness accounts, and more. People don't seem to have felt a need

Neutral is useful for machines and a color palette, but for people, not so much. You can be neutral about a variety of topics, but that kind of neutrality is often hitched up in the team with apathy and ignorance, among others. Will Manchester United win the next FA Cup ? I neither know nor care, so I'm neutral. Do you have an opinion on my picture of the Catskill Mountains near the Ashokan Reservoir, or are you neutral? I am neutral about your opinion. When emotions are involved, it becomes more difficult to remain neutral. From there, we have matters of involving spirituality, origins, and so forth. Whether atheists and evolutionists believe it or not, they have faith-based positions just like Christians have. When discussing God, the Bible, creation, evolution, and other things, unbelievers often say that they want to "leave God out of it" and to discuss on "neutral ground". Sorry, pilgrim, you cannot be neutral. As the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen said abo

In " Logic and the Bible ", we saw that the three main laws of logic are impossible without God. That does not mean a requirement to believe in God's existence, or to be a believer in Jesus Christ is necessary for logic to work. However, it works because God exists, whether someone believes or not. Now we can saddle up for another part of our journey. Credit: Freeimages / Drew Pendleton It seems like we should be able to file this under "Completed", but some folks will not be satisfied with what Dr. Lisle said before. Just as we see Darwin's disciples use rescuing devices even after deep time and evolution are shown to be insufficient, people try to get around the necessity of God for logic to exist. We cannot assume laws of logic exist because of our experiences, because we may have faulty memories, be deluded, and the irrational assumption that logic will be the same in the future. There is also the claim that logic is a convention ; that is, the

Some people are intimidated by discussions about logic, there is no need for that. We use it all the time. Obviously, most of us do not get formal with it, we just reason our way through problems, play games, and so forth. Although logic discussions can use notations similar to those of algebra, the letters are shorthand and make sense. Credit: Freeimages / Aleksandra P. There are some things about logic that may seem surprising. Laws of logic are intangible, like numbers. If you write "5" or "law of identity" on a board, then erase it, the number or law does not cease to exist. Logic is actually a reflection of the mind of God, and we use it because we are created in his image. Without God, then logic, numbers, and science would be impossible! Dr. Jason Lisle explains the three main laws of logic and their biblical basis in this article. Laws of logic are the rules of correct reasoning.  They reflect the way God thinks and the way we must think if we are t

"Excuse me, Cowboy Bob, can you spare a moment?" "Sure." "I am concerned with your conduct a few moments ago. It was not consistent with some biblical principles." "Thanks for bringing that to my attention. My sanctification in that area is rather lacking. Please pray for me." Credit: Pixabay / StockSnap People have their own specialized words and terms in various places, and sometimes they seem to be speaking a somewhat different language. A mechanic can tell you what needed to be repaired on your vehicle, the sergeant gives instructions to the troops, my wife tells me what went on in her workplace, the cowboys on the ranch discuss work that is being done, Christians can write and talk to each other, and so on. Some use "regular" words that have entirely different meanings in various contexts, some words are unique for the people involved. Most of us, even as individuals, have lingo that needs to be explained to other folks

Sometimes it seems that people are intimidated by the word logic. Perhaps they have images of professors making diagrams that resemble algebraic equations and discussing the laws of logic, and that us reg'lar folk cannot relate. While the academic image is real and fine for those who want to study the fine points of logic, you and I use logic on a daily basis. Credit: Pixabay / PIRO4D The auto mechanic who discovers why your vehicle stalls out at a certain point, the baker following a recipe, computer programmers, playing chess and similar games, doing a jigsaw puzzle — these all require the use of logic. When attempting to solve problems or learn the truth, we attempt to gain as much information as we need and then use our reasoning skills to reach answers. We usually do this without thinking about thinking. Logic is actually a part of the mind of God. We are made in his image, and he has given us some knowledge as well as senses and skills to acquire more knowledge so w

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Edited 10-30-2016, mostly to change images Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. ( 1 Cor. 1:20-23 ,HCSB) For the longest time, my approach to apologetics (ἀπολογία) was based almost entirely in evidentialism. The basis for this was something like, "Here we are, two reasonable people on neutral ground discussing the existence for God, the reliability of the Bible, evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead (and so forth). Then, you'll see that Christianity is entirely reasonable, repent, surrender to the risen Savior so your life will