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05Aug 2019 by Post

The Despair of Atheism

An implication is an idea that follows logically from a set of facts which are plainly stated. The concept of an implication is clearly seen in math. Take the Pythagorean Theorem, which says that for a right triangle the sum of the two shorter sides squared equals the longest side (the hypotenuse) squared—A2 + B2 = C2. So, if one short side is 3 and the other is 4, then we can know exactly what the longest side is, even though it is not stated or written down—it is 5. An implication is not less of a fact than what is stated or “seen.” It is just as factual, only not stated. Another clear example of an implication is seen in the famous syllogism: All men are mortal. Socrates is…

08Jul 2019 by Post

Was the Ark Large Enough for All of the Animals?

Apologetics

If there are around 11,000,000 species on the planet today,1 and there were at least two representatives of every species on the Ark (and in some cases seven or 142), how could the Ark be large enough to house its passengers for an entire year—some of which were dinosaurs? Here are four relevant points that clear up this seeming impossibility. (1) It is true that dinosaurs would have been on the Ark. Since the commencement of the Flood in the geologic column and fossil record is clear—the “Great Unconformity” and the Cambrian Explosion, respectively—and the dinosaurs are found well above those worldwide geologic features, the dinosaurs were alive when the Flood began. As land-living creatures, therefore, they would have been represented on the Ark. Further, archaeological evidence verifies the existence…

08Jul 2019 by Post

Were the Giza Pyramids Built Before the Flood?

Apologetics

Q: If the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza were built around 4,600 years ago1 and the Flood was about 4,400 years ago, does that mean the pyramids were built prior to and survived the Flood? A: First, keep in mind that, although roughly 2,400 B.C. is generally accepted as the date of the Flood, the chronologies of Genesis 11 allow for an expansion of a few hundred years.2 Also keep in mind that dating techniques that are used to determine the age of ancient materials, such as carbon dating and tree ring analysis, rely on the assumption of uniformitarianism.3 These methods would be invalid if a worldwide catastrophic Flood occurred followed by a Flood-induced Ice Age. If the Flood actually occurred, and nuclear decay rates were accelerated during and after its…

01Jul 2019 by Post

Does the Fossil Record Support Creation and the Flood?

Apologetics

A prominent argument used in favor of Darwinian evolution and against biblical Creation, with its account of the global Deluge of Noah’s day, centers on the nature of the fossil record recorded in the layers of rock beneath and around us. Does the fossil record indeed conflict with biblical Creation? In order for a scientific theory to be validated, it should be able to make predictions about what research would discover if the theory is true. If gradual Darwinian evolution accounts for the origin of all current species from previous, less complex species, starting with an original, simple common ancestor that was a single-celled organism, one would make certain predictions that would be verified upon examining the fossil record. For example, the fossil record should show single-celled organisms at the…

31May 2019 by Post

If I Were an Atheist…

Evidence for God

If I were an atheist, I would live every moment of my life doing whatever I felt like I needed to do to get the most enjoyment out of this “one life.” I would be led solely by my own personal desires. But I wouldn’t tell anyone that this is what I was really doing, because that might appear selfish, and I wouldn’t want people to actually think I was selfish, unless appearing selfish was beneficial to me somehow. I would only tell the truth if it benefited me. And I would lie whenever I felt like I needed to in order to get what Iwanted, as quickly as I could, with as few repercussions as possible. If I did ever get caught with the proverbial “hand in the cookie…

31May 2019 by Post

Behemoth and Leviathan: Figurative or Literal? (Part 2)

Apologetics

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I of this two-part series appeared in the May issue. Part II follows below and continues, without introductory comments, where the first article ended.] Leviathan's Anatomy God next directs Job’s attention to the apex of the animal kingdom. Concerning the fifth day of Creation, Moses informs us: Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures [ha-ta-ni-neem hahg-doh-leem] and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the…

29May 2019 by Post

Worldviews: What are they, and can they change?

Apologetics, Hank Hanegaaff, James N. Anderson, Worldview

One of the great living theological and philosophical writers today is Dr. James N. Anderson. He is the associate professor of theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Dr. Anderson holds two earned PhDs—one in philosophical theology and the other in computer science. His books include Why Should I Believe Christianity? (Scotland: Christian Focus, 2016) and What’s Your Worldview: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), both of which are excellent additions to a Christian apologetics library. He was also a featured guest on an episode of Hank Unplugged. Here is a snippet from Hank Hanegraaff’s discussion with James Anderson on worldviews and whether or not we can get others to change their…

06May 2019 by Post

Does Distant Starlight Prove an Old Universe?

Apologetics

The Bible indicates that the Universe is roughly 6,000 to 10,000 years old.1 The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. A light year is the distance light travels in one year—5.88 trillion miles. If we can see light from stars that are over 13 billion light years away, doesn’t that imply that those stars have to be at least that old in order for their light to have time to reach the Earth? Does distant starlight disprove the Bible?As with any technique that is used by old-Universe advocates, the use of distant starlight to prove an old Universe relies on a uniformitarian-based assumption. Uniformitarianism is the belief that processes and rates that are occurring today (in geology, for instance) have always occurred in the same manner and intensity…

03May 2019 by Post

Behemoth and Leviathan: Figurative or Literal? (Part 1)

Apologetics

[Editor's Note: This article is the first installment in a two-part series. Part II will appear in the June issue of R&R.] The book of Job is certainly a fascinating book in the canon of Scripture. Though most of the book is written in standard Hebrew metrical verse, it clearly relates actual, historical events in the life of the patriarch Job.1 After a lengthy exchange with his three “friends,” and then the shadowy figure Elihu regarding the reason(s) for Job’s suffering, God finally breaks the silence and speaks directly to Job. Why? Why did God address Job directly in chapters 38-41? In the midst of his extreme suffering, Job needed an attitude adjustment. He said some things that cast God in a questionable light. So, he needed to have his…

20Apr 2019 by Post

Satan’s Youth Group Design

Apologetics, apologetics book, Apologetics Speaker, Atheism, Christian Apologetics, Christian Youth Leadership, What Would Satan Do, Youth Apologetics

If Satan were devising a plan to destroy the Christian Church Excerpted from the book: TESTED: A New Strategy for Keeping Kids in the Faith What Would Satan Do? If Satan were devising a plan to destroy the Christian Church, he would eliminate any awareness of the necessity of preparing our youth to withstand the false teachings of the culture he has been cultivating. He would have the Church avoid answering the hard questions for our kids. He would segregate Christianity to a place where Christians speak their own language, unintelligible to the secular world. He would convince them that it is hopeless to look at scientific and historic evidence for support of their faith. He would direct them towards teaching methods that fail to prepare their children to understand their…