DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

December 12, 2025December 10, 2025

Christ’s Ability to See the Potential in Everyone

One of Jesus Christ’s unique qualities was His ability to see the potential in everyone. Jesus never dismissed anyone that others might have given up on. A clear example is John, the disciple known for his teachings about love.

When Jesus called men to be His disciples, He nicknamed James and John “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). These young brothers were quick to anger and often expressed it by making threats or speaking loudly. In Luke 9:54, we read that James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on a village that rejected Jesus, but Jesus had the ability to see the potential in everyone in that village.

The Bible is full of examples like John. Peter’s name was changed from Simon, son of John, to Cephas, meaning a small rock, and translated as “Peter” (John 1:42). Jesus saw Peter transformed from a weak, wavering, insensitive fisherman into a strong leader. Matthew was changed from an introverted, disliked tax collector to a man who would leave everything behind to become a disciple eager to introduce Christ to others (Luke 5:27-32).

In our prison ministry, we see potential in everyone, as lives are changed and attitudes altered by the power of Jesus’s teachings. Attitude is our way of thinking, and the repentance that the Bible often mentions involves changing how we think.

Jesus viewed people by their potential because that was His purpose on Earth. In Matthew 9:13, Jesus states, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Unlike other religious figures who only accept people without personal baggage, Christ’s ability to see the potential in everyone made Him different. Because of that ability, He knew that even the worst could become the best.

Those of us, like your author, who have been the worst, understand the transforming power of Jesus Christ. From our own experience, we know that even the worst can change. (You can read about my change in “Why I Left Atheism” on doesgodexist.org.)

December 11, 2025December 10, 2025

If Christianity Became Illegal

Skeptics argue that Christianity is merely a large money-making scam that should be illegal. They particularly complain about religious tax exemptions and the activities churches claim as religious work, such as operating retirement centers and camps. However, these criticisms overlook what would actually happen if Christianity became illegal.

The Giving Institute reports that Americans donated $392 billion to U.S. charities in 2024. Churches support many hospitals, women’s shelters, nursing homes, food pantries, counseling centers, adoption agencies, youth camps, and more. The range of beneficial programs run by churches is extensive. While it’s true that a few individuals have committed exploitative acts in the name of religion, they represent a small minority.

Think about the consequences if Christianity became illegal. Many hospitals and nursing homes would shut down, and the government would have to take over the vital services that churches currently provide. With every change in political leadership, programs initiated by the previous party could be eliminated.

Our culture largely depends on Christian principles. How many atheist charities are you familiar with? How many hospitals have been established and maintained by the skeptics who criticize Christianity? Why would someone with no religious beliefs donate a large portion of their income to help the less fortunate? If your sole moral philosophy is “survival of the fittest,” why would you give money to those whom you consider to be less fit?

If Christianity became illegal, it would not eliminate hypocrisy. While some hypocrites are in churches, the greatest hypocrisy is found in those who want to make Christianity illegal.

Reference: Thrivent Magazine, winter 2025, page 4, and thrivent.com

December 10, 2025December 9, 2025

Pseudoscience, True Science, and Faith

This website is dedicated to promoting science and faith as allies. Many people in religious communities believe that science opposes faith because of their denominational teachings that conflict with scientific evidence. The faith of many young people and members of the academic community has been weakened or broken by the ongoing clash between science and faith. Often, pseudoscience is the root cause of this conflict. Here are five reasons for the tension:

1) Some of the conflict’s promoters are religious leaders with no scientific background or understanding.

2) Many of the individuals claiming to be scientists hold PhDs in fields unrelated to the issues they discuss.

3) Some scientists harbor resentment against religion and refuse to support supporting evidence.

4) Many individuals on both sides are outdated and unaware of new discoveries and insights.

5) The viewpoints of both scientists and religious leaders are not reliable sources of information.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “pseudoscience” as “a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.” Those promoting the conflict between science and faith are promoting pseudoscience. We urge parents, teachers, religious leaders, and young people to verify everything they read, hear, or see to ensure its accuracy.

This ministry strives diligently to avoid presenting anything that could be mistaken for pseudoscience. When we make an error, we issue a retraction. Our sources are academic journals that rely on the scientific method. In 1 Timothy 6:20, the Apostle Paul advised the young preacher Timothy to “turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called science.” That advice remains especially relevant today.

December 5, 2025November 30, 2025

Forgive and Forget

One of the most challenging teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is the instruction in Matthew 6:12: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In verses 14-15, Jesus states, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” How can we forgive and forget when someone has hurt us?

An article in National Geographic titled “Why Learning to Forget Is an Underrated Skill” included this statement: “We start to forget as soon as we begin to remember – and this is a good thing.” Forgetting prevents our minds from being overwhelmed with useless information or emotionally painful memories. It turns out we have surprisingly good control over what we choose not to remember.

God has designed our brains to forgive and forget. Jesus knew that forgetting is essential for good mental health. It’s hard for us to understand how God can forget our sins, but God is the Creator and is perfect. Our imperfections make it difficult for us to do what Jesus calls us to do.

The design of our brains demonstrates God’s incredible creative wisdom. We need to remember useful information. For example, we avoid grabbing something hot because past experience shows it will hurt. We can forget the pain of a broken heart when falling in love again. We can work on forgetting what someone did by choosing not to dwell on the pain. Research shows that letting go of bad experiences is crucial to our well-being.

Forgive and forget go hand in hand. Jesus understood what gives us greater stability in life. How much less stress would we have if we simply followed His teachings?

Reference: “Why Learning to Forget Is An Underrated Skill” in the December 2025 issue of National Geographic, pages 102-103, and nationalgeographic.com

December 4, 2025November 30, 2025

Horns and Antlers – What Are They Good For?

Ronald Johnson asked us a question we’ve heard from animal rights advocates before. Are horns on animals only useful for fighting, showing God to be war-like, angry, and sadistic? The God of the Bible is a loving, caring, merciful, and patient God. When there is violence, killing, and war, the cause is always human power struggles and selfish motives, not the will of God. So, what other purposes do animal horns serve? Here are four non-violent uses for horns and antlers:

1) Horns act as shovels that help animals access food sources they otherwise could not reach. Vegetation is often either too high or too far underground for many animals to reach. Horns allow animals to break off hard-to-reach vegetation or move logs or rocks to reach food sources.

2) Antlers store nutrients that other animals recycle. Many animals, birds, and insects eat discarded antlers to get the extra nutrients they contain.

3) Horns and antlers are used as communication tools with other animals of their kind. Those of us who spend a lot of time in the woods have seen “deer rubs.” This is when a deer uses its antlers to scrape a mark on a tree, signaling its presence, size, and how long ago it was there to other deer.

4) Horns serve as shields against predators like hawks, eagles, falcons, wolves, bears, lions, hyenas, tigers, cheetahs, dogs, and other carnivores. The animal with horns can protect itself and others nearby. I have seen musk oxen defend their young by forming a ring around them with all the horned animals facing outward. A pack of wolves circled the group but never tried to attack.

Animals certainly have other uses for horns and antlers, but the main point is that in most animals, they are rarely used for fighting. God has provided all living things with what they need to live on our planet, and we can see His wisdom and design in the things He has made (Romans 1:20).

December 3, 2025November 30, 2025

Kelp Forests Enrich the Earth

In our era of environmental threats, it’s reassuring to know there are solutions to some of the problems we face. God has created a form of life that purifies water and the atmosphere from pollutants, including human-made toxins and carbon emissions. At the same time, it supplies nutrients for marine life. We find this solution in the ocean’s kelp forests.

Kelp forests are 20 times more effective at absorbing carbon dioxide than similarly sized land-based forests. Kelp is plentiful along the west coast of the United States and grows on the coasts of Maine, Long Island, the United Kingdom, Norway, Tasmania, southern Africa, Argentina, and Japan. Kelp supports over 1000 species of marine plants and animals and provides roughly half of the oxygen we breathe. Kelp can also be used to make alternatives to plastics and chemical fertilizers used in agriculture. It can grow almost anywhere, including on abandoned oil rigs along various coastlines.

The Genesis account does not mention ocean life forms because the Fertile Crescent was far from an ocean coastline. Just as God knew humans would need coal, iron, copper, and other minerals, He provided kelp forests to shape the Earth for human survival. Science helps us understand how dinosaurs, diatoms, and many other animal forms not described in Genesis were God’s tools to prepare Earth for humans. We are in awe of God’s wisdom and creative power.

Reference: Smithsonian Magazine for December 2025, pages 76-86, and smithsonianmag.com.

December 2, 2025November 30, 2025

Healthy and Unhealthy Food

The Bible clearly shows how God provided food for humans. Genesis 2:8-9 explains that God planted a garden in Eden where He placed the first couple, and “the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” Today, we have a choice between healthy and unhealthy food.

In Genesis 9:3, God tells Noah, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” Later, God forbade the eating of animals that carry disease, like vultures, and prohibited drinking blood, but what God created for humans to eat is quite clear and beneficial.

In recent years, humans have created foods that are not healthy. Some seasonings may improve flavor, but they can be unhealthy. This leaves us with a choice between healthy and unhealthy food. The worst offenders include salt, refined sugar, ethyl alcohol, and animal fat. Science shows that these cause vascular problems and excessive weight gain. Increasing evidence links diet to mental health issues, memory problems, heart problems, kidney failure, and sexual dysfunction.

All of this strongly supports the Bible’s inspiration. When you see how accurate biblical instructions about what humans should eat are, it’s hard to see that as a coincidence. The negative effects of an unhealthy diet often appear long after the bad food is eaten. God created good food to meet human needs, but, as with everything else, negative consequences often result when humans modify what God has provided.

December 1, 2025November 30, 2025

Helicopters and Dragonflies

Igor Sikorsky is recognized as the father of the modern helicopter, but what may not be as widely known is how he gathered the information that led to its development. This is the story of helicopters and dragonflies.

Sikorsky dedicated years to observing birds and insects to understand how to achieve stable, controlled flight. Dragonflies stood out because their wings operate independently, each capable of rotating, tilting, and shifting angles to produce quick changes in lift.

As helicopter technology has advanced, engineers continue to draw inspiration from the dragonfly. Its sideways dashes, backward flight, sudden stops, and precise hovering are still studied by engineers. Even the dragonfly’s timing patterns, rotational wing strokes, and quick lift adjustments have been emulated to improve the stability of helicopter rotor systems.

Dragonflies offer a blueprint for aerial agility, and their design is an engineering marvel. The big question is how the dragonfly’s design came about. It seems impossible to explain this complexity as the result of random chance. It appears to be a design from a Master Engineer.

Helicopters and dragonflies serve as another example of biomimicry and provide evidence that all life is a product of intelligence, demonstrating the truth of Romans 1:20 that we can know there is a God through the things He has made. as made.

November 27, 2025November 23, 2025

Giving Thanks This Thanksgiving

One thing that sets Christianity apart is that we find Christians giving thanks for everything. Those who answer “None” when asked about their religion have no one to thank, and our modern American culture is characterized by taking everything for granted.

James 1:17 tells Christians, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” In the Old Testament, we see that Moses worried that when the people entered the promised land and were richly blessed, they might become proud and forget what God had done for them (Deuteronomy 8:11-20). Romans 1:21 tells us, “Although men knew that God exists, they have refused to honor him as God or render Him thanks. Hence, all their thinking has ended in futility, and their misguided minds are plunged into darkness.”

We are truly blessed both physically and spiritually. Outside the U.S., only 7% of the world’s population owns a car. The amount of food wasted in this country could feed all the underdeveloped countries in the world. But most importantly, as Christians, we are spiritually blessed.

Americans often see Thanksgiving as a time to enjoy turkey, hunting, and football. While we can enjoy any or all of these, 1 Timothy 2:1 encourages us with these words: “I am urging that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be offered for all mankind.” Make this Thanksgiving a time for giving thanks for the physical and spiritual blessings God has provided.

November 26, 2025November 23, 2025

The Prodigal Son and Modern Atheists

One of the best-known stories Jesus told was about a farmer with two sons. The story is often called the parable of the prodigal son, but I think it should be better called the parable of the father’s love. I see a similarity between the prodigal son and modern atheists.

In the story, the extravagant or wasteful son (that’s what “prodigal” means) wanted his father to give him his inheritance. Basically, he was saying, “You are as good as dead to me. Give me what’s mine so I can waste it.” That’s exactly what the father did, and the son quickly forgot about the father and showed no respect for what he had received. The pleasures of the world became all he cared about, and the father’s gifts were quickly wasted and destroyed.

The son’s attitude could be summed up as, “Give me what you have, and I will enjoy it.” Isn’t that what atheists say to God? While the son was at home with his father, he could enjoy everything the father provided, but he wanted to enjoy his father’s blessings on his own terms, without being bound by his father’s rules or expectations. The heavenly Father provides abundant blessings for us to enjoy, but many adopt the prodigal attitude. The pursuit of pleasure often becomes the main goal for those who reject God.

As the story unfolds, the prodigal realizes that the father’s loving care wasn’t so bad after all. Wasteful extravagance leads to despair and a dead end. Meanwhile, the father’s love never wavered, and he was watching for his son’s return. When he saw his son coming back, he didn’t wait for him to arrive to scold him for his foolishness. The father ran to meet his son with loving forgiveness.

The father symbolizes God, and as far as I can tell, that’s the only time in the entire Bible when God is described as being in a hurry. God runs to meet the returning son. The atheist who has rejected God’s love and comfort and refused His authority can be immediately welcomed home by the Father’s love.

The similarity between the prodigal son and modern atheists is clear. When the pleasures of the world fade and their so-called friends abandon them, God is still waiting to welcome the wasteful, unworthy, but repentant wanderers back into a loving home.

Reference: Luke 15:11-32