Church Survey – Answers

1. How can we really know that God exists?

1. The Marvel of Creation

• Skeptics suggest that the existence of God cannot be proven. We can’t prove gravity exists, yet we all believe it exists because we can logically observe its effect. So it is with God. We know instinctively that things like matter, energy, magnetic fields, and gravity couldn’t originate from nothing. There had to be a cause and that cause points us towards God. Christopher Columbus didn’t create the new world, he simply found it as it already existed. Like Columbus, we are all explorers in a universe we did not create. Our role is limited to acting upon what already exists.

• Life – Scientists have no idea how life could be created from non-living components by natural processes. Mathematicians tell us the chances of life forming from non-living components is zero. Living organisms have the ability to self replicate, while precisely regulating the growth of every aspect of their complex being. Yet all living things are made up of non-living parts. There simply is no explanation for life without God. 

2. Evidence of God’s Design – We know God exists by the footprint of design left for all to observe by the one who created our universe. This design is observed in nature’s intricate balance of ecological factors, universal laws, irreducible complex organisms and the existence of DNA/RNA’s complex blueprint for life. Our universe is filled with color and we are equipped to see it. Our universe is filled with sound and we are equipped to hear it. We are all witnesses to the metamorphosis of the butterfly, the birth of a new born baby, and the marvels of the human body. We are indeed without excuse to know our God exists.

   Romans 1:18-22 (NLT) – Paul writes, But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.

2. Why does God not answer my prayers?

 

This question is a difficult question not knowing the circumstances surrounding each prayer. Even so, it is one of those questions requiring divine wisdom which none of us fully possess. However, let’s explore the question.

1. The circumstances that surround each prayer are important to God, as is the prayer itself. Prayer is a very personal means of communicating with our God and we are encouraged to pray often. When we pray God looks into the depths of our heart and sees everything. If we pray for somebody else, God sees the heart of those we pray for as well. God knows the sincerity of our prayers and the purity of our hearts. God answers every prayer, but at times it is not the answer we would choose. His wisdom far exceeds anything we can imagine. How can we question God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom?
2. Each of us have a human longing for happy endings, but the reality is that we live in an imperfect world. This imperfection breeds disappointment. In the midst of our earthly disappointment nothing has changed about God’s love for us or those for whom we pray. 
3. Some of us live in a country that has a built in safety net should they lose their job. If they do lose their job you might just hear them pray that they find another job to replace the one they lost. If after 3 months they still don’t have a job, they may think God was not answering their prayer. God may be looking for them to be on their knees humbly giving thanks for their living in a country that provides an employment safety net. He may be expecting them to be praying for those people who don’t have jobs and are not living with any form of safety net, or enough money to feed their family. Recently, I saw a young man wearing a T-shirt with the words “You Deserve More”. I wondered if that was what his life stood for? I expect God would prefer the words “Be Thankful For What You Have”. 

Everybody we know is dying. Yes, not one will escape death. God gives us Hope that if we truly trust and believe in Him, then whenever death occurs, we will be reborn anew for eternity. Thus our focus should be on eternity, not confined to this world. If we see ourselves as the eternal beings we are, it changes our perspective on life. As eternal beings we are ‘bulletproof’. Life on earth, death and eternal grace could be compared to the caterpillar toiling (life on earth) to build its chrysalis (death), then being transformed into a beautiful butterfly (eternity). I use this example thanks to God who created it.

3. Why does God allow pain, suffering and evil to exist?

1. God didn’t choose the world we live in today – We live in a fallen world, not the one that God originally chose for us. God created us with the free will to choose Him or to reject Him; otherwise, we simply would have been puppets. The ability to reason and make choices is one of the things that makes us uniquely human. Unfortunately, mankind chose to reject God, and God brought a flood upon the earth. The evidence for a world wide flood is extensive. God saved Noah and his family to repopulate the earth. After the flood, God promised never to bring another world wide flood and sealed His promise by creating the rainbow. However, it did not take long for man to choose to sin against God once again. To counterbalance our living in a fallen world, God sent His Son Jesus Christ as an atonement for the sins of mankind and to provide us a pathway to eternal salvation through belief in Him.

2. Freedom to choose – Our decisions affect others, just as other people’s decisions often affect us. All decisions have consequences and we live in a world of consequences. Having the freedom to choose, we must tolerate both good and evil existing in our world. It’s the price of freedom.

3. Pain and suffering often have purpose in life – Pain signals that something is wrong in our bodies and often leads to corrective measures being taken. Suffering can be the result of many things both physical and emotional. I don’t want to down-play that; however, it is more difficult to appreciate the good things in life if we have never experienced life’s challenges.

4. God is ever present – There are times when we simply can’t find all the answers. Yet even in our darkest hour God is present. Christians who believe the bible to be the inspired Word of God, can take comfort in the fact that God does Exists, He sent His Son to us as a ransom for our sins, and continues to provide guidance through the Holy Spirit. For believers, this world is not all there is. In time, like the butterfly, we will be transformed and our spirit will be born anew in our eternal home in heaven. That is God’s promise to each one of us.

John 3:16 (KJV) – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

4. How can we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?

1. The Bible is a Book like None Other – It was written by over 40 diverse authors from differing backgrounds, on 3 different continents, over a period of about 1500 years, in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic). The Bible is the single most widely distributed book in the world. It has been printed in over 2200 languages. It contains every conceivable literary style, including historical narrative, poetry, song, personal correspondence, allegory, parable, satire, biography, and others. Significantly, the Bible is a book of recorded history. Jewish translators were meticulous in their biblical translation. The discovery of 972 Dead Sea Scrolls between 1947-56 confirms once more the accuracy of the Bible over time, as do numerous other ancient texts. The Bible’s historical record of archaeology has been challenged many times, and each time the biblical account has proven accurate. No book in history has withstood such a ferocious assault as the Bible. In fact, many of those who set out to destroy the credibility of the Bible have become Christians in the process. 
2. Bible Prophecies foretell the Future – The Bible contains prophecies, which one after another, have or are being fulfilled. The Old Testament predicted many events in history, that were fulfilled in the New Testament. The Bible is filled with brilliant revelations in the fields of astronomy, medicine, biology, anatomy, physics, geology, etc., not discovered by scientists until centuries later. For example, before telescopes existed, only a few thousand stars would have appeared as white dots in the night sky. Yet, Jeremiah states in Jeremiah chapter 33:22 – As the host of heaven (stars) can not be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured…. At that time it would have seemed ridiculous to compare the stars in the sky to the sands of the oceans, yet today we now know there are billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars in them. Without God’s divine inspiration, how would Jeremiah know to compare the stars to grains of sand? In 1Corinthians 15:41 (KJV) Paul tells us –There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. Without God’s divine inspiration, how would Paul know what today’s stars light spectra confirms, that indeed each star is individually unique. Ref. – Scientific Facts in the Bible written by Ray Comfort.

3. The Bible reveals – i) God exists, ii) What He is like, and iii) What His will is for our lives. The book of Genesis provides a clear explanation of how the earth, universe, and life came into being. This explanation is supported by observable evidence in micro-science, cellular biology, astronomy, DNA research, the fossil record, and other scientific endeavors. These are just a few examples in an ocean of evidence that affirm that the bible indeed draws its authority from the inspired Word of God.In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul writes that, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

5. Why should I believe in the miracles described in the Bible?

1. Biblical Miracles – In today’s world many find it difficult to believe the miracles described in the Bible. Some people view these events as fairy tales. How is it possible for a snake to communicate with a human? How did Jonah survive in the belly of a big fish for several days? How could Moses part the sea? How could Jesus be born of a virgin? Jesus changed water into wine, brought Lazarus back from the dead, fed thousands from a few loaves of bread and a few fish….. When Jesus preformed miracles it was with purpose. It affirmed who He really was, and demonstrated God’s limitless powers in a way that people could plainly see. Yet, if Jesus is who He claimed to be, the Son of God, then nothing is beyond the realm of possibility. After all, in the beginning God created everything out of nothing, complete with billions of galaxies containing billions of unique stars, physical laws, dynamics like sound, color, and lets not forget, us.

2. Observing Miracles Today – Miracles are not limited to the bible, we can observe them every day. Consider the miracle of the butterfly, that through a process called metamorphosis changes from a caterpillar into a distinctly different creature, a beautiful butterfly. This process does not take millions or even hundreds of thousands of years, but simply days. A simple seed dies, then is reborn to reproduce plants which replicate precisely the source of their original creation. From conception, human life requires nothing but nourishment to develop into a new born baby. Our body is the sum total of interdependent, irreducibly complex organs and systems that don’t exist on their own. The body has the ability to heal itself. Life itself is a miracle, having been created from non-living parts which take on life only as a sustaining gift from God. Observations throughout the natural world demonstrate over and over again the miracles of God. (DVDs – Creatures That Defy Evolution – 1, 2, 3 part series) Yet many prefer to give the credit to a non-existent Mother Nature, instead of honoring their God.

3. The Miracle of Biblical Prophesy – It is a miracle that Jesus fulfilled the prophesies of the Torah/Old Testament beyond all mathematical probability. It is a miracle that the Bible explains the natural world beyond anything known to science at that time.

6. How can we know for sure Jesus in the Son of God?

1. Jesus Christ’s life is a historical fact; not just based on the Bible, but based on numerous historical writings andaccounts.
2. Prophecy – It is widely accepted that Jesus was a wise teacher, and many would like the story to end there, but it doesn’t. Ancient prophecy from the Torah/Old Testament like Isaiah 53:3-6 points clearly to Jesus as the Messiah. In Psalm 22, David tells us, 300 years before crucifixion is known, that the Messiah will have his hands and feet pierced for our iniquities. Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies written centuries earlier, that the mathematical probability of His doing this without being the Messiah is estimated to be zero.
3. Jesus’ own Words – Jesus claims to be the Son of God when he tells Philip, John 14:9 (KJV) …..he that hath seen me hath seen the Father….. He claimed to be the Messiah and Son of God even when Caiaphas, the high priest, threatened him with death. There is nothing in recorded history that leads us to believe Jesus was not who He claimed to be.
4. Miracles – Jesus performed over 40 miracles in his life time, sometimes under the watchful eye of thousands of witnesses.
5. Crucifixion – You & I were not there at Jesus’ crucifixion. Those followers who were there at His crucifixion and resurrection, chose to suffer violent deaths rather than deny Jesus as Saviour. Thousands of early Christians died at the hands of the Romans in the coliseums, rather than deny their Saviour. Their certainty is a testimony to the truth.
6. Resurrection – By far the most convincing evidence that Jesus was who He said He was is that He was crucified and rose from the dead 3 days later. Roman soldiers guarding the tomb would never have let Jesus’ body be removed for fear of the penalty of death. Jesus was seen by hundreds of people after his resurrection. Fearing for their own lives after Jesus’ arrest, some followers of Jesus denied knowing Him. But all were convinced after physically seeing Him after the resurrection. All but one of His followers died violent deaths for their belief that He indeed had risen. These were people who were present when Jesus was crucified. Nobody would do this to further something they knew was not true. Out of the resurrection, despite enormous persecution of Christians, came the world’s largest religion. 
7. Discovery of Jesus’ missing body – About 2000 years ago, when women were given little respect and were not considered credible witnesses, the Bible states that two women discovered Jesus’ body missing. If somebody were trying to manipulate the account of Jesus’ resurrection, they would not choose women for this important discovery.
8. Who was Jesus? – Jesus suffered a most violent death. He was not a man protecting His material wealth or oppressing people for some ulterior motive. He shared His knowledge with all those who would listen regardless of the consequences to His own personal being. He lived what He preached with perfection. He performed miracles as evidence of the greatness of God, not for His own benefit. He taught life’s lessons in simplistic ways so they could be easily understood. His teachings are timeless. He washed the feet of his disciples to demonstrate servitude and humbleness. From recorded history in the Bible, Jesus died because He would not deny who He was, and what His mission was on this earth.
9. Personal experience – Millions of Christians can attest to the validity of the relationship they have with our Creator. Christian believers have a personal Triune God. They don’t pray to a stone statue or leave food at the base of a Buddha. Christians don’t pray to somebody who died and stayed dead. Christians pray to the only being who claimed to be the Son of God, who healed the sick, protected the weak, performed many miracles in plain sight; who died and rose again according to witnesses who were actually present at His crucifixion and after His resurrection.

              Conclusion – Jesus is who He claimed to be.

7. Why should I believe in Christianity over any other religion?

1. Christianity is unique among the religions of the world – The 3 top religions are Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Some religions worship somebody who is dead and stayed dead. There are many good people in Japan that lay food at the base of little stone statues of Buddha lining the streets of the Ginza in Tokyo. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. He taught with amazing wisdom, healed people with disease, performed miraculous things in front of thousands of witnesses, and predicted his crucifixion and resurrection. After this was fulfilled, he was seen by hundreds of witnesses.
2. Jesus’ Crucifixion – Many of Jesus’ followers were devastated by his crucifixion. After the resurrection, these same people gave their lives for Jesus to the point of violent persecution and death. Nobody would do that for a lie.
3. Prophesies – The Old Testament foretold of the coming Messiah in prophetic and detailed descriptions. Jesus fulfilled these prophesies beyond all mathematical probability. 
4. Nothing to lose, everything to gain – If it turns out that all religions are a fraud, then we will all suffer the same fate. However, in life’s test of free will, many choose the God of the Bible. They have seen God’s power in the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, and accept there are things we will never fully understand in this life. If what Christians believe is true, then through God’s grace, they will receive eternal life in heaven. Better to have the ‘hope’ of Christian convictions, than the certainty of separation from God that comes with disbelief.

8. Why is belief in the book of Genesis essential to my Christian faith?

1. Explanation of Origins – The book of Genesis provides a clear explanation of how the universe, earth and life came into being. This explanation is supported by observable evidence in micro-science, cellular biology, DNA, Hubble telescope observations, the fossil record, and other scientific data. Genesis is foundational to the Christian faith. The theory of evolution attempts to remove God from the equation by trying to convince us that what we observe could have just happened naturally through an undirected process. Evolutionists have no answer as to where matter and energy originated from or how life formed from non-living elements without God. Genesis has the answers.
2. Support from New Testament authors – The Book of Genesis is referenced over and over again and affirmed in the writings of almost every author of the New Testament. Jesus himself confirmed the fundamental teachings of the book of Genesis.
3. Seeking the Truth – If Genesis is not true, then the Bible cannot claim to be the inerrant Word of God. If we can’t believe the accuracy of Genesis, then one could certainly question why we should believe other books of the Bible. Seek the truth and you will find that Genesis is true. Genesis is the foundation upon which the Christian faith is built.

9. How did all the animals fit on the Ark?

Based on the ark’s dimensions, the ark was large enough to hold all the animals needed to repopulate the earth. This is particularly true considering our knowledge of genetics today. Modern genetics teaches that we only have to have a limited number of each ‘kind’ of animal in order to have the base DNA to repopulate the earth. This is because permanent changes occur due to a loss of information in the genome, not a gain. In fact, there is no known mechanism for adding new genetic information to the genome. Further, dogs do not breed with cats, nor do horses breed with cows, nor do deer breed with bears. Animals breed within their kinds or groups, just as the Bible describes. Adaptation to a particular environment can occur, but it has never been observed to lead to new kinds of animals.

Genesis 1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds…...

10. How do you know that Noah’s flood was not just a local flood?

A catastrophic global flood is the most logical conclusion to the geology we observe around us.

1. Recorded History – There is evidence for a global flood in the stories handed down through the generations in every part of the world. There are cave drawings depicting a great flood all over the world.
2. Sedimentation – There are sedimentation layers covering more than 70% of the earth’s surface. Rock sedimentation appears in the southwestern regions of the United States, that only originate from formations found in the eastern United States.
3. Catastrophic Evidence all over the World – There is evidence of a global flood in sea fossils at the top of the Grand Canyon, in limestone deposits, and by large deposits of oil, large tracts of coal formations scattered all over the earth. These deposits, and the fossils we observe all have the characteristics of rapid burial of plant vegetation and animals.
4. Tunnels – We find vast tunnels in every part of the world that were the product of fast flows of underground water. 
5. Source of Water – Genesis describes the earth’s surface as being relatively flat in topographical terms. There are scientific theories which suggest there is more water in the mantel of the earth than in all the oceans, lakes and rivers of the world combined. Ref. – National Geographic website: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0307_0307_waterworld.html The Bible describes the springs of the deep opening up in Genesis 8:2, and again refers to the deep springs in Job 38:16. In recent years researchers have found springs on the ocean floor, miles under the ocean’s surface. Creationists maintain that deep valleys and high mountains were the result of the shifting of the earth’s crust during and after the catastrophic flood event. If that is correct, it would not require as much water to cover the earth as one might otherwise expect. 

11. What are the assumptions behind the Theory of Evolution?

           Here are a few assumptions of a flawed Evolution Theory

• No God or Super natural being can be considered, even if the observable evidence points in that direction. Evidence for God must be discarded.
• Out of nothing a big bang (singularity) created all matter. (No explanation for original matter)
• Life was created from non-life by natural processes. (Not repeatable)

• Life on earth originated in the primordial oceans. (Not repeatable)

• All life forms ascended from lower forms of life. (Not repeatable)

• Billions of years, not by evidence, but without it evolution ‘theory’ can not exist. (No amount of time justifies evolution theory.)
• Life’s diversity advances over time, by random beneficial mutation, and adaptation. (Creature kinds do not breed with each other – what now?)

Note: Many Christians simply don’t have a good understanding of the apologetic evidence supporting the biblical Creation. Believing evolution to be a proven theory (which it is not) they try to mix evolution theory with the God of the Bible. Evolutionists are happy to accommodate this misunderstanding. As a Christian you can believe in evolution and in God and be saved by Grace. However, evolution theory is not compatible with the biblical creation account.

12. What proof is there we didn’t evolve from apes or other primates?

Believing a frog turns into a prince instantly, that’s a fairy tale; believing a frog turns into a prince in 300 million years, that’s evolution.

1. Hoax after HoaxPiltdown Man – Skull belonged to a 600 year old woman, jaw to a 500 year old orangutan ape from the East Indies.

   Nebraska Man – This was a total fraud contrived from a extinct pig’s tooth.

   Java Man – Subsequently proven to be 100% human.

   Heidelberg Man – Consisted of a man’s jawbone, a chin, and a few teeth.

   Neanderthal Man – Human scull from the Neanderthal valley in Germany. Scientists have concluded that all the primitive features of Neanderthal people were due to pathological conditions or diseases.

   Ramapithecus – The whole imaginary skeleton of Ramapithecus was based solely on a few fossilized teeth that were later closely examined, and found to be that of a modern orangutan.

   Lucy – Found in Northern Ethiopia in 1974, Lucy was claimed to be an early ancestor of humans by the famous evolutionary paleontologist Richard Leakey. Lucy was catalogued as Australopithecus afarensis. Further investigation at the dig site, revealed fossilized bones of extremely ape-like creatures with chimpanzee-sized forearms. It was determined that Lucy was probably not a hominid after all.

   Homo erectus – “Peking Man” – Labelled an early ancestor due to a slightly smaller skull than modern humans. However, it was subsequently discovered that Homo erectus’s brain was equal to the average size of most European men today. All of the fossils relating to Peking Man have disappeared.

   Cro-Magnon Man – Evolutionists proposed this fossil was that of a primitive ape-man because it was found near a series of cave drawings. It is actually indistinguishable from modern man.

   Archaeoraptor – A Chinese farmer glued together the head and body of a primitive bird and the tail and hind limbs of a dromaeosaur dinosaur, and in 1999 completely fooled the world-wide scientific community into thinking that they had found the “missing link” between carnivorous dinosaurs and modern birds. [National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 196, No. 5, November, 1999]. Named Archaeoraptor, “this fossil find constitutes the most recent evolution fraud… that we know of. Storrs L. Olson of the Smithsonian Institution said, “National Geographic has reached an all-time low for engaging in sensationalistic, unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.”

   Why is there so much misinformation? Perhaps it is because the theory of evolution demands there be missing link ape-men. This encourages scientists to interpret the fossil evidence to support that presumption. After all, the alternative is God.

    

2. Common Features – As outlined in the booklet Ape-men Separating Fact from Fiction, man does have common features with Apes, but considering we all share the same planet, that should not be a surprise. It is the differences that sets them apart. From an evolutionary view, about 40 million individual evolutionary events separate the chimp from the human. Given a different perspective, the difference between humans and chimpanzees includes about 35 million DNA bases that are different. Further humans have 689 genes that chimps lack and chimps have 86 genes that humans lack. This means 6% of the gene complement is different between humans and chimpanzees, irrespective of the individual DNA base pairs.
3. A better question would be, did we evolve period? First, before we even get to the Apes to Man ideology, evolution theory bogs down in the fundamental question of how life could form from non-living elements. There is no observable scientific evidence to suggest this is even possible. Second, why is there such complexity in even the simplest form of living things? Third, there is no mechanism for mutations to add “new” information to the existing genetic code. Fourth, if evolution theory is true, then where are the trillions of transitional fossils? They simply don’t exist. Fifth, most species reproduce by the union of male and female as described in the Bible. The probability that both male and female of every species developed through evolution at exactly the same time and place in order to reproduce is virtually zero.Cave men were just people who lived in caves….some still do to this day.

13. Hasn’t evolution been proven the only credible explanation for origins?

1. The answer is NO! Science has not proven that evolution is the only plausible explanation for origins. Origins deal in the realm of historical science, not observable science. Although important, historical science is speculative, based on many assumptions which can’t be checked out. Evolution is still a theory, and given the current evidence, not a particularly good one.
2. “God” Vs “no God” – Most evolutionary scientists begin with an assumption that God does not exist and that everything can be explained by natural processes. Only conclusions which support their theory are acknowledged. Should the data logically point to God, then it must be considered flawed and discarded. This is not real science, it is pseudo-science masquerading as real science.
3. Unanswerable Problems with Evolution Theory – a) If not by God, how did original matter and energy come into being? b) How was life created from non-living components when there is no observable process known to do so? c) How can one explain the birth of a baby or the metamorphosis of the butterfly in any other light than God?
4. Working backwards – Scientists have attempted to remove parts from the simplest living creatures from the top down to determine at what minimum point life can be sustained. They don’t get very far before life becomes non-viable. To think then that the process works from the bottom up is simply not practical. Even if you put all the components together from the bottom up, you don’t get life, you just get a version of Campbell’s Soup. See the following website –Http://www.ctvn.org/programs-origins.asp

14. Why do many Christians believe the universe is less than 10,000 years old, when teachers/professors/scientists claim it is 4.5 billion of years old?

1.  The Bible is a Credible Source in determining the Age of the Earth – The Bible’s description of the creation is consistent with the observable evidence. a) Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. That is the only logical explanation for creating something where before there was nothing. b) Genesis 1:25 – And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind….. This is exactly what we observe on earth. Living things are grouped in kinds, and they don’t breed outside their kinds. Cattle do not breed with horses, dogs do not breed with cats, deer do not breed with bear, and so on. c) Genesis 1:27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. We observe that almost all living creatures reproduce by the union of male and female. Further, the chances of both male and female of every kind and species first evolving at exactly the same point in time, and in the same location, in order to initially reproduce is zero. 
2. The Bible’s Chronological History – The Bible records the specific generations beginning with Adam in Genesis, and from Abraham to King David to Jesus in Mathew 1:1-17. References to these chronologies are found throughout the Bible, for instance, in Luke 3:23-38.

 

3. The First Adam – “DNA Mysteries – The Search for Adam” is a television documentary produced by National Geographic. In this documentary, Spencer Wells, a scientist at National Geographic, uses the Y chromosome, passed from father to son virtually unchanged, to look for the ancestor of all men. Wells finds that one particular mutation originating in Africa is evident in all men living today. That mutation can be traced back to what they call, “Scientific Adam”. Of course this supports the biblical account of creation according to Genesis. Neither National Geographic, nor Spencer Wells, could leave the research at the observable and testable level supporting biblical creation. Both were too committed to the theory of evolution. Therefore, the last half of their documentary makes a poor attempt to merging evolution theory with their testable findings. They speculate as to how early man could have evolved into “Scientific Adam”. Typical of evolutionists, they hire a forensic artist to sketch what man might have looked like in his transition from ape to man. In the process, they refer to Lucy, but their information is out of date. Since Lucy’s discovery in 1974 by paleontologist Richard Leakey, further investigation at the dig site revealed that Lucy was probably not a hominid after all. Once again the observable evidence takes 2^nd place to promoting the theory of evolution. The important thing to remember is that the observable evidence supports biblical creation account.
4. Many credible evidences point to a biblical Age, not millions/billions of Years – This type of evidence is rarely cited today, as it doesn’t back the long ages needed to prop up evolutionary ideology. A partial list of evidence is shown below: (Ref. AIG)

• Lava flow with trees in them. Trees dated at 44,000 years, while lava around it was dated at 45 million years old.

• Helium – migrates very easily into the atmosphere from rocks during the decay process. Over 68% of the Helium is still in the granite rocks. This suggests the earth is young, perhaps about 6000 years old, not billions of years.
• Nuclear decay rates don’t support an old earth (radioisotope dating).
• Not enough sodium in the oceans for it to be old.
• Rapid disintegration of comets don’t support an old solar system.
• Not enough sediments in the oceans for the earth to be old.
• Decay of the earth’s magnetic field is too rapid for the earth to be old.
• Carbon 14 ratio in the atmosphere is consistent with a biblical age.
• Radiohalos for polonium in granites suggest a young earth.
• Population statistics support biblical age.
• Recession of the moon suggests a young earth.
• Evolutionists assume coal, formed from plant and animal material, takes 100’s of thousands to millions of years to form. Every sample of coal taken to date shows C-14 in it. Thus coal must be less than 30,000 years old and most probably of biblical age.
• Fossilized woods that evolutionists estimate to be over 200 million years old still contain C-14.

4. Carbon 14 or Radiocarbon Dating

C-14 or radiocarbon dating is only used to date fossils of organic plants and animals. The dating method assumes the amount of C-14 in the atmosphere is constant over time, that is 1 atom of C-14 for every one trillion atoms of C-12. C-14 is an unstable carbon isotope that begins to decay upon the death of an organism. The decay rate is measured in half-lives. The half life of

C-14 is 5,730 years. That means it takes 5,730 years for 1/2 the C-14 to decay and change into N-14 (nitrogen). It takes an additional 5,730 years for 1/2 of the remainder to decay, and so on. C-12 is a stable carbon isotope not subject to decay. Living organisms are assumed to have one atom of C-14 for every 1 trillion atoms of C-12 the same as the C-14/C12 ratio in the atmosphere (not correct). By measuring the amount of C-12 in a fossil, scientists estimate the amount of C-14 in the original organism. By comparing that to the amount of C-14 remaining in the fossil, they estimate the age of the fossil. The less C-14 in a fossil the older it is assumed to be. If C-14 isn’t found, they assume the organism was dead for at least 40-50,000 years. This assumption is not correct as you will see in the section One Mistake, Big Consequences.

               Factors that might affect the amount of carbon in the atmosphere:

• Variations in the cosmic ray penetration of the earth’s atmosphere.
• Strength of the earth’s magnetic field. For example, our magnetic field is decaying.
• Amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
• Genesis Flood – buried much carbon from living organisms to form coal and oil. The buried carbon today is about 100 times the total carbon currently in the biosphere.
• The degree of accuracy required in measuring 1 atom in 1 trillion should not go unnoticed. A ratio of just 2 or 3 atoms in a trillion would put things in a totally different perspective.

One mistake, “Big” consequences – Dr. Willard Libby, the founder of Carbon 14 dating, noticed that the atmosphere was almost 25% out of equilibrium. Believing in billions of years as an evolutionist, he ignored the evidence, and chalked it up to a calculation error. In the 1960’s other scientists repeated Libby’s experiment & determined his original findings were not in error. To reach equilibrium from a starting point of zero it should take only 30,000 years. Further, scientists now suggest that C-14 is being produced at a 25% higher rate than it’s consumed in the atmosphere. If that is the case, the primary assumption of C-14 being constant in the atmosphere is not valid and exaggerates the age for plants and animals. Since we probably didn’t start from zero and are 25% off the mark, life on earth appears to be very recent. We have known this for 40 years, yet still teach old misinformation in the classroom. Why? Could it be that evolutionists want to believe in billions of years so much, that the evidence doesn’t matter?

 

6. Radioisotope Dating

   Radioisotope dating is used to date igneous and metamorphic rocks (basalt from lava flows), but cannot be used to date organic material, limestone, sandstone or shale, which are far more plentiful than basalt.

How radioactive decay works

A parent element like uranium gradually decays into lead, the daughter element. Similarly, potassium over time decays into argon. When a rock is found with lead or argon in it, scientists assume that all the original lead or argon from the molten flow seeped out during the molten phase, leaving only uranium or potassium. Thus scientists assume the starting amount of lead or argon in the rocks they test is zero. With the half-life known, a calculation is made to date the igneous and metamorphic rocks (basalt from lava flows) based on the amount of daughter element remaining in the sample. In order to achieve an accurate date, all the assumptions must be correct.

Assumptions

• The starting amount of daughter element is assumed to be zero.

• All the daughter element present in the tested rock is assumed to be from radioactive decay.
• Samples are assumed to have been in a closed environment with no other forces acting upon it.
• The decay rate is assumed to have always been constant. 

  Results of dating rocks of known ages – Results in dating rocks of known ages are dismal. Even the same rock tested twice will give significantly different results. If we can’t trust the dates on rocks that we know the ages of, how can we trust the figures when we don’t know the ages of the rocks?

   

Here is a list of test results against known dates of rocks provided by AIG:

• Hualalai basalt, Hawaii – Potassium-argon date 1.4-22 million, Reality: AD 1801
• Mt. Etna basalt, Sicily – Potassium-argon date 140,000-350,000, Reality 1972
• Mt. St. Helens – Potassium-argon date 2.8 million years, Reality 1980.

• Sunset Crater, Northern Arizona – Potassium-argon date 200,000+, Reality AD 1065

• Mt. Ngaurhoe, New Zealand lava flow – Potassium-argon date 275,000, Reality 1949, 1954, 1975

• Grand Canyon – Precambrian layer at bottom of canyon dated by Rb-Sr isochron age of 1070 million years old, then took rocks from top layer (youngest rocks) same method produced age of 1340 million years old. 300 million years older than the oldest rocks.

              RATE Group (Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth) – At the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), leading scientists study all forms of dating methods. The RATE Group supports a young earth, not one that is millions or billions of years old.

             Our Biology classrooms are filled with textbooks like Visualizing Life, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1998, p. 177. which states – Using radioactive dating, scientists have determined that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old, ancient enough for all species              to have been formed by evolution.

7. Mount St. Helens – May 8^th 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington from a 5.1 earthquake. The eruption blew out the side of the mountain. Large areas were covered by ash. Ensuing eruptions formed fine layers in just hours. Within days green forests were turned to badlands. Spirit Lake, at the base of the mountain, was covered in trees and other debris. On June 10^th mud flows from a breach in the lake cut 100 ft deep zigzag canyons in the terrain below, complete with perpendicular side canyons in soft sand and mud. These canyons are similar to the Grand Canyon, but 1/40^th the size. Mud flows over the next 10 years cut hundreds of feet deep into solid rock in mere days of cutting time. The movement of the log mat that had formed on the surface of Spirit Lake, stripped the bark away and formed up to 3 ft. of bark peat at the bottom of the lake. There is already evidence of coal forming in the layers of peat. Floating trees became waterlogged and sunk vertically to the bottom of the lake where they were buried within a decade. This resembles the trees in Yellowstone’s Fossil Forest which were also buried in ash. Observing the recent processes of Mt. Saint Helens provides a great deal of insight into the non-evolutionary explanations for the natural environment we observe today.
8. Grand Canyon – Either the Grand Canyon was formed by a lot of water over a short period of time (aftermath of the flood) or by a little water over a long period of time (evolution). Here is evidence for the Grand Canyon being formed as a result of the aftermath of a world wide flood.

• Mount St. Helens – In 1980 water from Spirit Lake, below Mount St. Helens, broke through the sediment layer around it and almost instantly created a canyon comparable to the Grand Canyon except 1/40^th the size. The topography of the Grand Canyon area shows 3 massive lake basins at the head of the Grand Canyon known as Hopi, Canyonlands, and Vernal Lakes. Given the recent Mount St. Helens experience, it is not difficult to envision a scenario where these lakes may too have broken through their boundaries carving out the Grand Canyon in its path and leaving the delta we see today at the base of the Colorado river.

• Fossils – If life evolved over millions of years we would expect to find fossils from the earliest evolutionary period at the bottom of the canyon. Yet fossils from this earliest evolutionary period can be found in the top layers of the Grand Canyon. This is more consistent with what we might expect from a worldwide flood.

• Evolutionary Dating – The Precambrian layer at the bottom of the canyon, dated by Rb-Sr isochron, produced an age of 1070 million years old. Then when rocks from top layer (youngest rocks) were dated by the same method, they produced an age of 1340 million years old. 300 million years older than the oldest rocks. Ref. AIG.

• Sedimentary layers – Various layers of sediment exposed by the canyon walls characterize a catastrophic flood. The layers are of different sediments laid down one on top of the other. This identifies with sediments carried by ocean currents from different locations and then being laid down one on top of the other. We observe that where the Rio Negro river flows into the Amazon river, the two flows don’t mix. As the Amazon flows into the Atlantic ocean, the sediments don’t mix with the salt water either, often for months. Instead, they float with the ocean currents. Looking at the layers in the Grand Canyon, you can often see definitively curved unbroken patterns. This points to layers being pliable, which is not consistent with layers laid down over long periods of time. It is consistent with flood geology.

• Rivers – Water alone does not typically cut downward through solid rock. If it did, there would be sizable canyons everywhere there are longstanding rivers. That is not what we observe.

8. Fossil evidence – According to creationists fossils came into existence rapidly, consistent with the biblical account of creation and the rapid burial of plants & animals due to the worldwide flood. Evolutionists structured evolutionary periods to reflect their own belief system of millions/billions of years. One of those periods was the Precambrian period where evolutionists agree that fossils appeared abruptly. However, if life required millions of years to develop then the world should be awash with legitimate transitional fossils, but this is not the case. The total lack of credible transitional evidence has resulted in evolutionists manufacturing their own evidence and spreading it by way of books (including textbooks), magazines, television media documentaries, and museums. They do this with the financial backing of some of America’s most recognized corporations. It doesn’t change the fact that real proven transitional fossils are virtually non-existent.

9. God’s Evidence – God’s evidence is everywhere.

• Caterpillar to Butterfly – The caterpillar retreats into its chrysalis and all its body parts dissolve except its beating heart. Within days a delicately beautiful butterfly emerges.

• Our Human Body – From conception nothing is added but nutrition, yet a multitude of miracles are taking place. During growth the body develops highly complex interdependent organs, which can’t exist on their own, yet each has a specific purpose. We develop irreducibly complex systems for blood clotting, for carrying the blood throughout the body, others that allow us to see, hear and so much more. None of these systems have a purpose until they are fully developed and that simply doesn’t fit the evolutionary model of small random changes over long periods of time.

15. How could so many scientists be wrong about evolution?

1. Two Forms of Science – Creationists and evolutionists both agree with Observational science that is testable in the present and allows us to draw conclusions. Historical science considers the past, but can’t be similarly checked out. Although important, Historical Science is speculative. Evolutionists begin with a theory that excludes God, and only acknowledges conclusions that support their theory. If the data logically supports God, the data must be discarded. This is not real science, it is pseudo-science masquerading as real science.
2. Education – Most scientists are the product of an education system that teaches Darwin’s theory of evolution exclusively. Our education system doesn’t allow a supernatural God to be considered as an explanation for origins, even if the evidence points in that direction. In fact, the public school system intentionally suppresses information supporting creationism. As a result, most scientists have their thinking locked inside the evolutionary box. 
3. The Church – Many churches have compromised with the theory of evolution, believing in error, that it is scientifically solid. Rather than explore the evidence supporting creation based on biblical teaching, they have reinterpreted what the Bible says to accommodate evolution theory. In the process, they seriously underestimate the damage done by this compromise. Their actions reinforce the position of teaching evolution theory only in public schools. 
4. Fathers of Modern Science – Most of our founding fathers of science were guided by the Bible and had little difficulty believing in the Bible and being scientists. Examples – Kepler (astronomy), Galileo (astronomy), Sir Issac Newton (gravity, light & color, calculus, reflective telescope) Maury (oceanography), Samuel Morse (telegraph), Leonardo Da Vinci (physics), Francis Bacon (scientific method), Faraday (electromagnetic induction), Blaise Pascal (hydrodynamics, differential calculus, theory of probability). These early pioneers of science were not weak minded as evolutionists often describe those who believe in both science and the Bible. Although most scientists today are evolutionists, a growing number dissent from evolution theory – A SCIENTIFIC DISSENT FROM DARWINISM – http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?command=download&id=660 . 
5. Right and Wrong – Getting to a right decision is not a matter of democracy. The best financial minds in America claimed not to have seen the affects that unprecedented low interest rates and stimulating the money supply, would have in creating the mortgage bubble. Before that we had the tech bubble, and so on. The road of history is littered with the masses taking the wrong path. Evolution theory is one of those wrong paths that has unfortunately permeated almost every aspect of our culture. 
6. Evolutionary Scientists – We must be careful not to put evolutionary scientists on a pedestal. Evolutionary scientists can’t answer some of the most basic questions on origins, like how matter and energy came into being. Nor can they tell you how life could begin from non-living matter without a supernatural God. Most scientists are for the most part well educated and knowledgeable in the field of observable and testable science. Many lead our world in research and discovery. However, when it comes to “origins” the education system is skewed to promote the theory of evolution and to ignore the evidence supporting the theory of creation. It appears that most scientists are simply unfamiliar with the fundamental assumptions behind evolution theory. Similarly, few are familiar with the evidence supporting creation by God.

16. Public schools teach that evolution, not God, explains our origins. Is it true?

1. Public Education System – For more than a 1/2 century, the public education system has been teaching evolution theory as the only explanation for “origins”. The public education system influences all aspects of society and culture. Graduates of the public education system fill positions in our media, museums, education, civil service, political posts, and churches, just to name a few. The public education system’s view of origins has had a big influence on our culture, and most importantly the Christian church. According to AIG, surveys show that in the typical Christian church about 2/3rds of the members under age 65 believe evolution played a significant role in origins. 1/3^rd of members over age 65 believe the same. The influence doesn’t stop there. Today about 75% of Christian young people attending our schools and universities abandon their Christian beliefs by the time they graduate. 64% do so before reaching college. It is no wonder church attendance is shrinking in Europe, North America and other advanced areas of the world. 
2. Education Vs. Indoctrination – When you present all the information for discussion on a particular subject, that’s education. When you present only information that support one view, and restrict opposing information, that’s indoctrination. When it comes to the historical science of “origins”, public schools indoctrinate rather than educate. The assumptions behind evolution theory are rarely discussed. By teaching only one side of the origins issue (evolution), students acquire little understanding of the evidence supporting special creation. Rather than being a forum for discussion and exploration of ideas, the classroom becomes a closed evolutionary box. Expressing ideas outside the evolutionary box, leads to being made to feel intellectually inferior or being censored by using the Science Vs. Religion assertion. Most Christians are not prepared by their church for this direct confrontation and feel intimidated. Indoctrination of any kind goes squarely against the freedom we treasure so dearly.
3. Science Vs. Religion

• Two Forms of Science – Remember what we said about science in point 14. Creationists and evolutionists both agree with Observational science that is testable in the present and allows us to draw conclusions. Historical science considers the past, but can’t be similarly checked out. Although important, Historical Science is speculative.

• Outright deception – Evolutionists want people to believe that the Evolution Vs. Creation issue equates to Science Vs Religion. Most evolutionists know this is outright deception; however, it has helped to keep special creation out of the schools.
• Creation belongs in the classroom – We often hear evolutionists say, let’s keep religion out of the classroom. If we really believe this last statement then we must remove the theory of evolution from the classroom. You see it takes great faith to believe in the theory of evolution. Evolution theory makes great claims based on little evidence and many assumptions. First, evolutionists assume there is no God when they interpret the evidence, just natural processes. Creationists assume that God exists as they interpret the evidence. Second, evolutionists assume the earth must be billions of years old. Without that assumption they have no theory. They justify this assumption by using dating methods which produces seriously wide margins of error when dating rocks of known ages. If we can’t trust them when we know the ages of the rocks, why should we trust them when the ages are unknown? In the process they ignore a lot of evidence suggesting the earth is closer to biblical age.Third, they assume that man ascended from lower forms of life without genuine observable fossil evidence. In fact, much of the evidence they have claimed over the years has been shown to be manipulated or simply hoaxes. Fourth, they believe in the big bang theory, yet can’t explain where matter and energy came from to allow their big bang to take place. Fifth, they suggest life began in the primordial oceans and evolved in small steps over long periods of time, through mutation, and natural selection. This is not supported by testable science. When that didn’t seem to work they suggested life on earth was seeded by inter-planetary debris or by parallel universes. Anything but God! Evolution is a belief system masquerading as factual science. Sadly, evolutionists would rather give credit to an inanimate, non-existent Mother Nature rather than acknowledge the work of their Creator God.

 

3. The Christian Church – Sadly, the biggest reason the public education system teaches evolution exclusively is because the Christian churches allows it to. The Christian churches are a divided entity. Many churches believe that evolution theory applying to our origins has been proven true (it has not) and have chosen to compromise with evolution. By doing so they have reinterpreted Genesis and other historical books of the Bible, suggesting that these books are not that important….just believe in Jesus. What they have missed is that if people can’t believe in the foundational books of the Bible, they soon question why they should believe any of the Bible. Other churches remain silent on the creation/evolution issue because they have little knowledge of the comprehensive and credible evidence supporting biblical creation. Pastors and church leaders are very busy people and honing their skills on creation evidence is seemingly not on their list of priorities. In one survey conducted in Naples, Florida by the Creation Data Institute, CDI found that less than 10% of the churches had any significant materials on evidence for creation in their libraries. Further, they had no organized programs for teaching apologetics, which explain the reasons why Christians believe what they do. Most Christian book stores have only scant information on biblical creation. It is not that the information doesn’t exist. Organizations like Answers in Genesis (AIG), Institute for Creation Research (ICR), Creation Ministries International (CMI) and the Creation data Institute (CDI) exist to provide this information. Regrettably, most churches don’t see the need to support these organizations financially. Sunday schools are still teaching Bible stories as stories, rather than using biblical apologetics to explain why these stories still make sense in a secular world. Our churches are simply not preparing members to defend their faith starting with Genesis. If they were, we wouldn’t be losing 3 out of 4 Christians students in the public school system to evolution theory. Also, our churches would not be in decline throughout the advanced world, and we would be well on our way to bringing God into the discussion on origins in our schools. By not defending the Bible through teaching apologetics, churches have lost much of their relevancy in today’s world. Either Christian churches and its members are going to openly defend the Genesis creation or become totally irrelevant to all but a few.
4. The MediaWe live in a world in which our museums, our institutions of higher learning, and all forms of media openly promote evolution theory as fact. These organizations have no problem discrediting Christians and their beliefs. Our Christian churches remain silent. The television and movie industries pay little attention to the moral values taught by the church. To them the church has become irrelevant by their silence. Evolutionists are the ones producing the television documentaries about origins and are supported by some of the largest American corporations. The younger generation is bombarded with millions of years and are taught evolution theory exclusively in both public and many private schools. Television and movies reinforces secular values in the areas of abortion, gay marriage, and sexual relations. And, the circle of deception continues.

Adolf Hitler said, The greater the lie, the greater the chance that it will be believed.

 

Dr. T. N. Tahmisian of the Atomic Energy Commission was quoted in the The Fresno Bee, August 20, 1959, as saying, Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever. In explaining evolution, we do not have one iota of fact. Since 1959 there has been little added to the evolution argument.