Evidence for God in Morality Archives

July 26, 2024July 23, 2024

The Cost of Entertainment

Reader’s Digest carried a Forbes report that the cost of a concert ticket for Adele was $1011, and for a Taylor Swift ticket was $958. Those are gate prices, but the cost of entertainment is clear. The message is that people are willing to spend massive amounts of money to be entertained. An article on the same page states that the number of Americans who say they have no close friends has quadrupled in the past 30 years. What message do those numbers give us? We suggest that these two points are related.

Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” As our culture becomes increasingly obsessed with things and pleasure, the cost of entertainment or finding anything meaningful increases. How long does it last if you spend $1000 to be entertained by a talented performer? How much does it help you when you face severe problems in your life? Do you have someone to go to when you need counsel or help?

Evolution tells us that whatever gives life meaning must be what makes us more fit than those around us. That may be true for plant or animal life, but humans have a need far beyond just survival. Being entertained does not meet a human’s psychological, social, or spiritual needs. Those steeped in atheism and naturalism have no place to go and no one to turn to when they have spent all of their resources on being entertained. Having been raised in an atheist family by atheist parents, I can tell you that when I had a child born with severe disabilities (blind, mentally challenged, with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy), my family was of no help at all. It was close friends who came to help me find answers.

I have faced death several times in my life, and being entertained was not on my list of things to spend money on. I have found joy in using the money God has blessed me with to help others who are less fortunate. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).” As the cost of entertainment increases, you can find real, lasting joy in being a friend to others. In fact, it can last for eternity.

Data from Reader’s Digest July/August 2024, page 83

July 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Positive Change in Prisoners’ Lives

Climate change and high temperatures in many places have affected the plight of the two million incarcerated people. Can you imagine being locked into a room with no air conditioning and temperatures above 100 degrees? The question is not whether the prisoners have made a mistake but what we can do to make a positive change in prisoners’ lives and help them become contributing citizens.

The ministry that sponsors this website has an extensive outreach to incarcerated men and women. We currently have 6,000 people who are taking our free apologetics correspondence courses. We offer free materials to prison chaplains for use in education programs in the prisons they serve. One thing that can help the prison situation is education. A large percentage of prisoners are men under 40 who have very low education and work experience. Violent offenses account for 58% of those in prison, but 16% are incarcerated for property offenses, 13% for drug offenses, and the rest for other reasons.

We have three free correspondence courses dealing with evidence for the existence of God. Most of our students tell us what led to their incarceration. They do not attempt to justify their acts, but virtually all of them express a desire to change. The idea that society is protected by keeping them locked up is not accurate because the average time served for violent offenses is four years. Even those in prison for murder serve an average of 15 years. While in prison, many of them learn more ways to commit crimes and end up in gang participation. Imagine the cost to taxpayers to maintain this system while failing to make a positive change in prisoners’ lives.

We want to add our voice to the growing movement calling for prison reform. The present system produces national pain and leads to more violence. We must provide education, support groups, job placement, medical treatment, and humane conditions to change this blight on our culture. Unfortunately, prisons are restricting what we are allowed to do, making it harder for us to offer help toward positive change in prisoners’ lives. Faith in God and the teachings of Christ can change a person. Christ calls everyone to repentance.

References: The Vera Institute of Justice, the Marshall Project, the Brookings Institute, the U.S. Bureau of Justice, and Kings Crossings Prison Ministries.

July 19, 2024July 16, 2024

Human Failures of People Who Claim Christianity

This ministry is not affiliated with any denomination of Christianity nor with the Catholic Church. Unchristian actions and teachings of people who claim to be Christians have often catalyzed the growth of atheism and “nones” in America. Our ministry is made up of those who refuse to be part of all human creeds and denominations and rely 100% on the teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. We focus on evidence for God’s existence and the Bible as the Word of God, not on the human failures of people who claim Christianity.

On July 5, 2024, the Vatican announced the excommunication of Italian archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano for refusing to recognize the authority of Pope Francis. Vigano was the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2016. He said that the Pope was a servant of Satan for overlooking corruption in the Catholic Church, such as pedophilia. Getting involved in organized religion’s controversies is not within our work’s mission. Still, the history of Catholicism and the cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy shows the human failures of people who claim Christianity but don’t follow the authority of God’s Word.

Atheists, skeptics, and people struggling with their faith need to understand that the human failures of people who claim Christianity have nothing to do with the truth of the Bible. The evidence for God’s existence is vast, and the evidence for the credibility of the Bible is strong. Our videos on doesgodexist.tv demonstrate that evidence. Our free courses on evidence and booklets giving answers to faith challenges are available to anyone disturbed by the hypocrisy and inconsistency of organized religion.

That doesn’t mean we have all the answers. We are just a group of Christians struggling with today’s challenges and trying to serve God. We believe the words of 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the person who belongs to God can be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Please join us in reaching a corrupt and chaotic world with the message of hope.

Reference: The Week magazine for July 19, 2024, page 8, and BBC.com

July 11, 2024July 8, 2024

Genetics Dictate Biological Gender

A significant issue in America today is what to do with young people who have decided to change their gender. Without getting into the theological issues, the scientific fact is that a person’s genetics dictate biological gender. Men and women are biologically different.

One of several demonstrations I used in my physics class was to have a boy and a girl stand with their heels against the wall and lean over to pick up something. Another demonstration is to have a man and woman of equal height kneel with their head in their hands and then put their hands behind their backs. Women can do that easily, while a man will fall on his face. This is due to the anatomical makeup of women compared to men. A woman’s pelvis is typically larger than a man’s pelvis. Thus, women tend to have a lower center of gravity. The position of the center of gravity in women is 55% of the total height, while in men it is 57%. Women’s center of gravity is vertically lower than men’s because their bodies are larger in the pelvis, but their shoulders are narrower.

The point of this is that genetics dictate biological gender. Changing your gender does not change the anatomical makeup given to you at birth. In practical terms, what does that mean for young people today?

1) In athletics, the birth gender will dictate the competence in certain sports. You won’t see trans males playing in the NBA. In swimming and track, there will be striking differences in performance with trans females who have a male body.
2) The long-term effect of hormones used to maintain a gender change is unknown, but most medical experts say it will not last for more than a decade, if that. The probability that a trans person will have a shortened life expectancy is very high.
3) Surgical procedures to accommodate trans changes cannot be reversed.
4) Some will use the whole trans agenda to take advantage of others. Allowing a transgender student to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice is going to lead to abuse by typical non-trans teenage students. Boys who want to go into a girl’s restroom and ogle females can do so by simply declaring they are trans.
5) Private colleges will not be able to have dormitories that are only for one sex. This is a massive problem with conservative Christian colleges who, for religious reasons, wish to remain able to offer boys’ dorms and girls’ dorms free of the opposing gender.

A U.S. appeals court rejected the Biden administration’s effort to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that align with their chosen gender. The Biden administration was trying to protect the rights of LGBTQ students, but the question is whether they were violating the rights of non-LGBTQ students.

Genetics dictate biological gender. We suggest that from a Christian apologetics standpoint, the result will be catastrophic whenever humans try to change God’s plan and design for anything. This is just one more example of that.

Reference: “Biden administration loses bid to revive legal protections for LGBTQ students” by Daniel Wiessner on Reuters news service (June 14, 2024).

July 9, 2024July 8, 2024

Negatives of Marijuana Use

We live in Buchanan, Michigan, which some have called “The Marijuana Capitol of the Midwest.” Others have dubbed the town “Bucannabis.” I have lost count of how many marijuana outlets there are between Buchanan and Niles, Michigan, but there must be at least a dozen. It has been interesting to see the proponents pushing the supposed benefits while ignoring the negatives of marijuana use.

It is true that the number of drug arrests in our area hasn’t changed much since the legalization was instituted. However, we see a high percentage of out-of-state license plates on cars at these establishments, so our local data may not be meaningful. Commercial sales of marijuana have exceeded 48 million users in the United States, while medical issues are the most disturbing aspect of the negatives of marijuana use.

Medical information is now available in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and from studies done at Columbia University. We know that cannabis has a very negative influence on the outcomes of pregnancy. Recent studies have linked marijuana to bad health outcomes involving the lungs, hearts, brains, and gonads of users. Smoking weed increases the risk of clogged arteries and heart failure. It has also been linked to chronic bronchitis, and cannabis plants bring metal pollutants such as lead into the user’s bloodstream.

The biblical teaching that our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16) tells us the importance of caring for our bodies. That includes not engaging in the use of recreational drugs as we learn the harm they can cause to our bodies. As the negatives of marijuana use become apparent, we see the wisdom of God’s instructions.

Reference: Scientific American for March 2024, pages 20-21.

June 14, 2024June 10, 2024

A Time to Honor Fathers

Father’s Day is celebrated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India. In the U.S., Father’s Day began in West Virginia on July 5, 1908, as a one-time commemoration of the death of 360 men which left about 1,000 children fatherless in the worst coal mining accident in U.S. history. Many local communities had their own Father’s Day celebrations, but it did not become a national holiday until 1966. That’s when President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June as a time to honor fathers. President Richard Nixon followed that in 1972.

The role of being a father is of great importance to Christians. The Old Testament concept of “Father” was simply an “ancestor.” In the New Testament, the Greek word for father is “pater” and was a title of honor. Ephesians 6:2 tells children, “You must honor your father and mother, which is an important commandment with a promise.” Verse 4 tells fathers, “Do not rouse your children to resentment but bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction.” The teachings of Jesus changed society from matriarchal, where women raised the children, to a system in which fathers take an essential role in child training.

In Philippians 2:22, Paul writes, “But you know that Timothy has proven himself to be like a son in fellowship with his father and has shared my servitude to proclaim the gospel.” In Colossians 3:21, Paul writes, “Fathers, do not fret and harass your children lest their spirit should be broken.” As a public school science teacher, I saw the struggle that kids without fathers had to overcome. Their mothers did their best, but a fatherless child has no father image to relate to. Boys had no example set before them, and girls did not have a valid male image to relate to as they grew up.

Too many men do not have the courage or strength to be a father. Often, a man who has fathered children runs away and leaves the job of raising the child to the mother. As the father of three children, I know how difficult it is to be a father. Father’s Day is a time to honor fathers and reflect on our relationship with God, who wants to be a father to each of us. God desires us to reflect His love back to Him. Remember that “God so loved the world (us), that He sent His one and only Son into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world” (John 3:16-17).

May 21, 2024May 20, 2024

THC Problem with Children

Discover magazine reported an incident that demonstrates the THC problem with children. A five-year-old Colorado girl ate some gummy bears that contained THC. Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado and many other states, and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol ) is the psychoactive drug from cannabis. Edible THC products include candy and cookies, which are attractive to children. In this case, the parents and doctors could not awaken the girl, and she remained unconscious for 16 hours.

Hospital-reported cases of THC exposure in children under the age of six increased more than 1,000 percent between 2017 and 2021. About a third of the children were treated and released, but 15% required hospital admission, and 8% were sent to intensive care. The THC problem with children is that it is concentrated in candy, cookies, or brownies that appeal to kids. Children overdose on THC, which remains in their body fat for several days, and there is no antidote for THC poisoning and no reversal agent or special treatment.

In the Colorado case, the family had no forms of marijuana or cannabis in their home, and they did not know she had eaten the THC-laced gummy candy. They had been on a camping trip where other campers had given the gummies to the girl. This is a new concern for parents and a problem that will grow. The marijuana industry has no supervision or control, and cities that have opted to allow unrestricted marijuana distribution are going to see increasing problems as kids find products that give them a drug high.

We live in an area of Michigan where marijuana retail shops are very active and numerous. As we drive around our community, we see many license plates from surrounding states where marijuana is still illegal, and often, children are in the cars. Even families with no forms of marijuana must be cautious about allowing their children to visit other homes where THC edibles might be present.

Our society has rejected God’s plan for responsible living. Many of our neighbors and friends cannot give a reason or purpose for their existence. When you see no purpose in life, seeking an escape from problems and finding a way to feel good becomes a priority. The THC problem with children is just beginning to rear its ugly head, and we must make parents aware of the dangers. We must also help people realize that God has created them for a purpose and that life and health are gifts worth protecting.

Reference: Discover magazine for May/June 2024, pages 20-23.

May 15, 2024May 14, 2024

Medicalized Child Abuse?

One of the most inflammatory issues of our day is the question of children who decide they want to change their gender. A team led by Dr. Hilary Cass, a renowned British pediatrician, recently produced a 388-page report based on four years of research into trans care in Britain. The UK’s Sunday Times reported that “Trans activists have bullied politicians and doctors into embracing ‘medicalized child abuse’ and cowed dissenters into silence.” That is a challenge to the same groups in America, but some public school counselors should be added to the group of abusers.

The number of British children referred for transgender drug and surgery treatments rose from 250, mostly boys, in 2012 to 5,000, mostly girls, in 2022. The concerns of medical experts like Dr. Cass are not because they are transphobic but because they are starting to see the consequences of medical sex-change procedures. The treatments for “gender dysphoria” have lifetime effects, including a loss of bone health and fertility, making the subjects lifelong patients for medical treatment.

The Times newspaper points out that the problem is likely more serious than anyone realizes because 6 out of 7 gender treatment centers refused to give data to researchers. Although this report is from Britain, we suspect the situation is worse in the United States. We have been personally involved in a case where a school counselor led a 14-year-old child to have puberty blockers and surgery. The cases we have had contact with involve children who needed psychological help in dealing with relationships.

Attempting to change God’s creation and design of the human reproductive system will cause children a great deal of pain and uncertainty. We suggest that medicalized child abuse is not the way to help disturbed children find their identity and live meaningful lives. We will see an increase in evidence for the destructive nature of medical gender-changing treatments for young people. God’s design works, but in today’s world, many reject God’s plan.

References: cass.independent-review and The Week for May 3, 2024, page 14.

May 13, 2024May 12, 2024

Biblical Wisdom on Anger

“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” That’s the advice Paul gives in Ephesians 4:26, and it’s good advice. Recent research offers new meaning to that biblical wisdom on anger. Paul goes on to write, “…and give no opportunity to the devil.” Jesus said concerning the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Anger is one more method the devil uses to murder us.

A team of researchers set out to “examine the acute effects of provoked anger…on endothelial cell health.” Endothelial cells line the interior of the body’s blood vessels and play an essential role in blood flow and blood pressure. Previous research had shown that in the hour before a heart attack, people were more than twice as likely to have experienced anger or emotional upset compared to the same time the previous day.

In this new research, the team recruited 280 healthy adults and put them through an eight-minute anger recall test. They monitored blood samples, blood pressure, and the capacity of blood vessels to dilate. That dilation ability is essential for heart health. Research links lower dilation to a higher chance of heart attacks.

After eight minutes of thinking and speaking about a recent experience that made them angry, the test subjects had reduced blood vessel dilation capacity for forty minutes. If eight minutes of recalling and describing an anger experience can result in forty minutes of reduced blood-vessel capacity, what might be the effect of ruminating on anger to the end of the day, overnight, or even longer? This research gives new reasons for releasing your anger before sunset.

Biblical wisdom on anger gives more evidence for the accuracy of God’s Word.

References: Microsoft News, and Journal of the American Heart Association