25May 2020 by Post

Does The Cambrian Explosion Disprove Darwinism?

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, Christianity, Darwin, Evidence, Evolution, God, JesusIsNotAFakeNews, naturalism, Origin, Philosophy of Science, Ryan Leasure, The Cambrian Explosion, The Origin of Species
By Ryan Leasure In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin argued that “all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form.”1 Darwin suggested that this primordial life form gradually developed into new life forms, which subsequently developed more life forms, eventually producing all the complex life forms we see today. In short, Darwin asserted that all life descended from a common ancestor. And starting from that original ancestor, he believed nature selected the fittest species which would survive, reproduce, and last for generations. At the same time, nature would sift out the weaker species. Darwin famously pictured the history of life as a tree. The first life form was the trunk, and all subsequent life forms are the branches. He was certain that the…
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22May 2020 by Post

Zombie History — Using Galileo to Whack Intelligent Design

Alison Abbott, Andrew Dickson White, Catholic Church, Christianity, climate change, creationism, Discovery Institute, Faith & Science, Galileo Affair, Galileo and the Science Deniers, Galileo Galilei, Heresy, historicity, Inquisition, Intelligent Design, John William Draper, Jonathan Wells, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Mario Livio, Michael Keas, Nature (journal), Nicolaus Copernicus, public schools, religion, science denialism, science deniers, Tychonian model, Unbelievable?, Urban VIII, Warfare Thesis, Zombie Science
A useful myth is hard to put down. The Galileo myth gives a premiere illustration. Ever since John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White fostered the “warfare thesis” of “science vs religion” in the late 19th century, appealing to the Galileo affair as the example par excellence, historians have had little luck convincing the scientific establishment that their version of the Galileo story is flawed. Fortunately, we have the new book by Michael Keas to help set the story straight: Unbelievable: 7 Myths About the History and Future of Science and Religion. Keas traces the development of the warfare thesis through the 19th century. Despite being largely discredited by historians, the warfare thesis lives on into our time. For instance, Mario Livio has a new book out, Galileo and the…
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20May 2020 by Post

No, Dan Barker. Covid-19 Doesn’t Disprove God

Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Erik Manning, evil, God, If God, IsJesusAlive, Theology and Christian Apologetics, why Evil?
By Erik Manning Not one to let a good crisis go to waste, former minister and atheist activist Dan Barker tells us that the coronavirus proves that the Christian God doesn’t exist. Why? Because God promises to answer prayer. People have prayed for COVID-19 to stop. The virus continues to spread and people continue to die. Therefore Christianity must be false. Here’s Barker in his own words: The Christian god makes a crystal-clear pledge: “I will answer your prayers.” Jesus stated boldly: “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”(Matthew 21:22) There is no ambiguity here. “All things” means “all things.” He even clarified: “Even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.” Jesus, who said “I and…
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18May 2020 by Post

8 Things Christian Parents Should Consider Before Sending Kids Back to Public or Private School This Fall

Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christianity, ChristianMomThoughts, homeschooling, Kids, Natasha Crain, Parents, theology
By Natasha Crain  This is going to be a very long post, so I’ll cut to the chase: My husband and I decided back in January that we were going to begin homeschooling our twins for middle school this fall…weeks before we had any idea that the coronavirus existed and that it would lead to everyone schooling at home this spring! I guess we were unintentionally ahead of the “curve” on this. (Get it? Curve? Coronavirus? Hello?) This decision was the product of a long period of consideration, during which I did a ton of research, thinking, and learning about educational choices. I came to the conclusion that far more Christian parents should consider homeschooling if they would be able to do it. Note that I said consider. This is not a black and white subject, and…
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16May 2020 by Post

There’s More Than One Way To “Trust The Science”

Apologetics, Bob Perry, Christianity, faith, Philosophy of Science, science, scientists, Theology and Christian Apologetics, True Horizon
I have made the case before that scientism is a dangerous belief system. And the COVID-19 Pandemic has done nothing but prove the point. In their response to the virus, many in power exhort us to “trust the science.” Listen to the doctors. Their wisdom should guide the trajectory of our collective futures. But accepting that view greatly depends on your understanding of what science is … and whose science you’re trusting. The truth is that science never provides answers to anything. Scientists do. And that means we not only have to know what branch of science they’re representing, we also have to trust the scientists’ judgment. Our leaders can make decisions using science as a tool. But we accept those decisions on other grounds. That’s because science is not the arbiter of anything.…
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13May 2020 by Post

The Redefinition of Love—Resulting From the Loss of Truth

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, FreeThinking Ministries, God, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Love, morality, objective morality, Politics, Redefinition of Love, Rich Hoyer, Right and Wrong, society
By Rich Hoyer Most people agree that we should love one another. But what does it mean to love others? Love can’t mean what our culture says it means.  It can’t be untethered from a transcendent moral standard (i.e., God’s word and natural Law) and left to be defined subjectively by our feelings, to be molded and fashioned into whatever shape current societal trends bend it. The average person in the US today is a Popular Secularist[1] and has accepted the Popular Secularist definition of love. When most people speak of love today, to speak of “loving others” means something like, “I want you to have whatever you want; to exist in whatever state you think will make you happy.” Love is now defined in terms of the core Popular Secularist…
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11May 2020 by Post

Three Actions You Can Take to Address Emotional Doubt

Apologetics, christian, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Doubts, Jeremy Linn, Reasons, Theology and Christian Apologetics, TwinCitiesApologetics
By Jeremy Linn A few weeks ago, my ministry had a Livestream discussion on the topic of doubt. I thought it would be a great idea to pull in the principles that came from the discussion into a short, sharable source. To explain the principles we covered, I’m going to bring in my own struggle with doubt, and trace through the principles to see how they can help my own struggle with doubt. My doubt is the following: When I get close to death, I’m not sure if I will really be confident that God is real and that heaven exists. The first thing to filter this doubt through is the question – Does this doubt have a primarily intellectual nature or an emotional nature? Identifying the nature of the…
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09May 2020 by Post

When Is “Good” Good Enough?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, God's Holiness, Goodness, Gospel, men, Sin, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, To be good
By Al Serrato Your son walks in test paper in hand. You glance over and wince, seeing the big “60” in red ink at the top. “Don’t worry,” he says, “I did good on this test.” You ignore the faulty grammar. One problem at a time, you think, mulling over in your mind just how long you will ground him. “No, really,” he persists, “you should have seen the other scores. Mine was really good!” “Good,” you think out loud, “how can you call a sixty good?” “Check it out,” he calls out over his shoulder as he walks away, “you’ll see.” He’s seems confident, and he may have a point, so you call the teacher. After all, without knowing more about the class and the test, how can you…
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06May 2020 by Post

Secularism, COVID-19, & the “Non-Essential” Church

Christianity, Church, COVID-19, Culture, FreeThinking Ministries, Laws, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Politicis, Rich Hoyer, Secularism, society, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Many have asked the question, “Why are churches considered ‘non-essential’ during the Coronavirus shutdown and places like restaurants considered ‘essential’? Why are churches closed while grocery stores and restaurants remain open (at least for carry-out orders)?” The insinuation is NOT that food isn’t necessary, but the focus of the inquiry is on why churches are not considered ‘essential.’ After all, if social distancing is practiced in the church building and if surfaces are sanitized, how is being around people in a church building any different than being around a few hundred people in the Walmart or Meijer or the grocery store (especially since most church gatherings in the US number 100 people or less)? Part of the answer lies in worldview analysis. Everyone, whether a person realizes it or not,…
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04May 2020 by Post

The Separation Doctrine Between Church And State

Christianity, Church, Culture, Jason Jimenez, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Politics, society, Stand Strong Ministries, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Jason Jiménez In 1830, upon arriving to North America from France, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “The religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things.  In France, I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions.  But in America, I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country.”[1] The Constitution of North Carolina (1776) proclaims: “…all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.”[2] It is astonishing to think that despite all the evidence indicating our nation was…
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