Evidence for God in Morality Archives - Page 2 of 78

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025

The Example of Jimmy Carter

Regardless of your political or religious views, you must admire former president Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100. Several days of Carter’s funeral services concluded in Plains, Georgia, on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Debates about Carter’s presidency will continue for a very long time, but nobody will question the quality of the man. He promised that as president, he would never lie to the American people, and he kept that promise. We can all learn from the example of Jimmy Carter.

Carter ran for president in 1976 and was in office for only one term. What is amazing about him is what he did after leaving office. His work with Habitat for Humanity involved him in building 4,400 houses. He was a peace broker, using his diplomacy to cool global conflicts. The Carter Foundation attacked the Guinea worm, a horrib l e scourge in Africa and Asia. As a result, the Guinea worm problem has been eliminated in virtually all places. Carter received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his actions.

Through all of this, Carter continued to live in Plains, Georgia, and teach a Sunday school Bible class at the church he attended. For a former president to demonstrate integrity, be a humanitarian worker, and spend energy and time doing things to help others is a stark contrast to the typical politician. If we can all learn from the example of Jimmy Carter, perhaps a change will eventually come to our country.

January 17, 2025January 12, 2025

Reasons for Divorce

The Saturday Evening Post reprinted a survey of the reasons for divorce compiled in 1950 based on 425 divorce case files. The author, David G. Wittles, ignored what he called the “symptoms” and listed these nine as the actual causes of divorce:

1) Emotional immaturity
2) Our modern industrial civilization, which has wiped out many of the material reasons for family life.
3) The idea that romantic love is the main reason and sufficient basis for marriage.
4) Parental disapproval and mother-in-law trouble.
5) Differences in background.
6) Finances and lack of housing.
7) Jobs for women.
8) Ambition.
9) Infidelity.

We can speculate whether those are the same reasons for divorce today, but the bottom line is that when we throw out God’s plan, divorce is likely. A current survey would be very interesting.

Biblical marriage came about because (1) It is not good for men (or women) to be alone and (2) Men need a helper to fill in for what they cannot do by themselves – also true for women. (See Genesis 2:18). In 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Paul explains the physical side of marriage, and all studies have shown that the best sex is with one faithful partner. Those who look for modern solutions to their sexual needs are 100% sure not to find them. The effect that marriage has on raising children is another essential part of this discussion. Blended families can work, but a stable nuclear family is the long-term best way to raise a child.

Ephesians 6:1-4 and Colossians 3:21 spell out what God intended for fathers to be. This has nothing to do with conception but how children are loved and cared for by the male image in their childhood. God’s plan has worked for centuries, and the basic needs of men, women, and children have not changed.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: “The Real Reason for Divorce” in the January/February 2025 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, page 76

January 7, 2025January 6, 2025

Dry January and Alcohol

Over a decade ago, people in the United Kingdom began a tradition called Dry January, in which participants pledged to give up alcohol for a month. According to National Geographic, more than 20% of Americans now participate. A part of this is due to educated people understanding what alcohol does to the human body.

When a person consumes alcohol, the liver breaks it down to acetaldehyde, which is highly toxic and a known carcinogen. In addition to damaging the liver, alcohol can cause serious damage to the heart, pancreas, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. Alcohol use is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, dysbiosis (which is damage to the lining of the intestines), and certain types of cancer. It even weakens the immune system and impairs the brain.

Liver disease caused by alcohol is fat accumulation, leading to inflammation, scarring, and ultimately to cirrhosis – which is irreversible. Until the cirrhosis stage, the liver has an enormous regenerative capacity and could benefit from a Dry January. According to Carrie Mintz of Washington University in St. Louis, “…you can have noticeable health effects when you stop drinking alcohol for a month.”

It is essential to understand that this situation has worsened in modern times because modern distillation increases the alcohol content. In the days of Jesus, water was universally contaminated. Paul advised Timothy, “Do not continue to drink water only, but make use of a little wine for your digestion and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23). In John 2, we read of Jesus turning the water into wine during a wedding feast, a very long affair when people needed to drink water treated with quality wine. The wedding feast was a feast and celebration, not a drunken brawl.

Steven Tate, a physician at Stanford University, describes alcohol use in America for many people as a “slip into an addiction.” There is no question that alcohol is the most destructive recreational drug in human history. Getting people to abstain for a month during Dry January may be an answer to reversing the trend as long as some other drug like marijuana doesn’t take its place.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: National Geographic magazine January 2025, pages 107-109 or online HERE

December 31, 2024December 30, 2024

There Is No Time Machine

As we end another year, we look back and think about things we should have done differently. Hindsight is always better than foresight. There is probably no person alive who doesn’t wish they could change something from their past. Perhaps we made a bad investment or missed a good investment of either time or money. We may have spoken words to someone that we wish we could take back. Perhaps we failed to do something to encourage a person facing difficult times. We may have missed a golden opportunity to share Jesus Christ with someone. Whatever past regrets we have, we can’t do it over. There is no time machine.

Even if we could go back in time, we still might not get it right. Also, changing things in the past could have dramatic and potentially disastrous effects on the future. Seriously, we should be glad that there is no time machine. That also means we can’t see the future. What will the next year bring? Whether good or bad, we are probably better off not knowing. God is the only one outside of time who can see the future because it’s all present to Him. Being unlimited by time, God knows our past and sees our future.

Since there is no time machine and time for us moves in only one direction, we can choose to change the future. We can determine how to do things differently in the new year. Sure, we will continue to make mistakes, but that’s part of being human. The great thing is that the One who knows our past can forgive our mistakes because He entered time and did what we could not do. He took our sins on Himself so that we can look to the future with a clean slate.

Don’t beat yourself up over your past. In Christ, starting today, you have a new beginning. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12). There is no time machine, and we don’t need one.

December 24, 2024December 23, 2024

The Christmas Season Again

We are once again at the Christmas season, which reminds us of the birth of Christ. This season also reminds us of the value of friends and family. More than at any time in recent memory, there is excitement about what to expect in the new year as polls show that the majority of Americans have a positive view of the future. At the same time, political differences are creating division between friends and family members.

The links below will lead you to previous Christmas posts where we dealt with misconceptions about Christmas, the connection between Christmas and creation, and the importance of Christmas as a time to renew relationships with family and friends. We pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas season, renewing your love for Christ and for others.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS AND CREATION
THE VALUE OF CHRISTMAS

December 18, 2024December 17, 2024

Food Shortages and Hunger

A recent document from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows the following data about food shortages and hunger on our planet:

1) Up to 757 million people faced hunger in 2023 – 152 million more than in 2019.

2) In 2023, 864 million people were food insecure, meaning they ran out of food at times during the year.

3) In Africa, 20.4% of the people are facing hunger.

4) 2.8 Billion people on our planet could not afford a healthy diet in 2022.

Human greed, selfishness, and ignorance cause food shortages and hunger. What should we do about it? In Matthew 25:35 and 42, Jesus invites those who gave the hungry something to eat and drink into His kingdom, while those who failed to do so are excluded. Jesus fed thousands of needy people. (See Matthew 14:13-21.)

Those of us blessed with adequate food and clean drinking water must reach out to those in need. We support 13 Christian organizations supplying food and water to needy people. Skeptics and atheists are not motivated to do this. If your belief system is “survival of the fittest,” you can write off the percentage of humanity in need and consider them “less fit.”

We can give you contact information if you want to get involved in Christian projects to provide food and water. Just email me at jncdge@aol.com. You can be part of the solution to the food problem.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

December 17, 2024December 16, 2024

The Value of Women

If you listen to media hype or read books written by skeptics, you might conclude that the Bible is a product of a bunch of men who wanted to keep women under their thumb. This desperate attempt to denigrate the Bible shows incredible ignorance of the value of women in the Old Testament and the teaching of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

The Old Testament portrays women as equal to men in every way. The creation account in Genesis 1:26-27 uses the plural term – “In the image of God created He THEM” – both men and women. The term “help meet” in Genesis 2:18 means one who would fill what is lacking in man. Modern translations use the term “helper.” The Bible describes men and women as having unique qualities of equal value. That is common sense, for how could a man produce offspring without a woman, and how could a woman become pregnant without a man?

The Old Testament does not portray women as merely glorified incubators. It called for men and women guilty of evil to be treated equally. (See Deuteronomy 17:2-7 and Numbers 5:5-7.) Proverbs 31:10-31 praises a woman who cared for her family and ran her own business. The laws of the Old Testament demanded that men were legally bound to care for their wives. Prostitution was forbidden, and kidnapping and rape were punishable by death. Women who were prisoners of war could be married or set free but never abused or sold. (See Deuteronomy 21:10-14, 22:25-29, 23:17.)

Jesus Christ treated women with respect and care, and the New Testament Church taught that women are equal in every way. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” It is true that politicians and selfish males have attempted to use the Bible to control others, but the Bible promotes equality and the value of women.

December 11, 2024December 10, 2024

The Divisive Media and America

Much of the conflict and violence we see today has been caused by the media’s tendency to promote its own agenda. When you turn to the divisive media for news, you don’t get a positive image of America; instead, you get a presentation of the particular view of the channel and its representatives. This is more than just promoting a political party. It is also a view that rejects faith in God, biblical teaching, and Christian values.

We received an anonymous written piece that expresses the divisive media issue. It is titled “I once was a normal person” and describes the situation in this way:

“I used to think I was pretty much just a regular person. I was born white into a two-parent household, which now, whether I like it or not, makes me privileged, a racist, and responsible for slavery. I went to school for 19 years and have always held a job. But now I find out that I am not here because I earned it but because I was ‘advantaged.’ I think, and I reason, and I doubt most of what the ‘mainstream’ media tells me, which makes me a right-wing conspiracy nut. I am heterosexual and believe it is the best foundation for raising children and having defined roles in family life, and that makes me homophobic. I follow the biblical teaching about money and morality, and I plan, budget, and support myself, and that makes me a fascist.”

Will America survive as a nation where we can worship God according to the teachings of the Bible, or will we collapse into another civilization with no moral standards and no personal rights, with democracy only a thing of the past? Ancient civilizations collapsed when the people accepted state-run control of right and wrong, and no fixed standard guided the state. Will we learn from history or repeat it?

The message of the divisive media today will only accelerate the demise of this once-great nation. Only if we “normal persons” refuse to listen to the bias of the media will the course of our country be different from nations of the past.

December 9, 2024December 8, 2024

Title IX and Gender Problems

Legal cases have increased as more and more schools have forced children to accept members of the opposite sex in their restrooms and locker rooms, and no sport can exclude anyone based on gender. This is the result of politicians changing definitions in federal laws. Title IX is a federal law enacted in 1972 stating that schools could not discriminate based on sex. That was to give women the right to educational opportunities and sports participation previously open only to boys. I was teaching in a public high school then. To conform to that law, our school had to add a girls’ swimming, track, golf, and tennis team, all of which had previously been for boys only.

In the last few years, the government changed the wording of Title IX so schools could not discriminate “on the basis of gender identity.” That means boys who identify as girls cannot be prohibited from girl’s teams in any sport, locker rooms, or restrooms where boys would not be allowed. Also, no school activity could exist where only boys can participate. This is not an effort to accommodate trans girls and boys. We now have cases where boys who do not claim to be girls are visiting girls’ restrooms and locker rooms, and girls are entering programs for boys.

This ministry deals with evidence and facts. Churches need to pay attention to the fact that they will be unable to have male or female restrooms in their facilities. Because of redefining Title IX, all restrooms must be open to all genders. Personal privacy will no longer be allowed, and the biological differences between males and females will no longer be recognized. The fact is that males are generally taller, stronger, and faster than females. Denying biological differences does not change the fact that in the sport of shot put, a high school girl will not be able to throw the shot as far as a high school boy can.

Genesis 2:18 tells us that God created a “help meet” for Adam. The Hebrew word for help in this passage is “ezer,” and is used repeatedly in the Bible. (See Deuteronomy 33:7, Psalms 33:20 and 121:2 for examples.) It refers to someone who fills in what a man cannot do. Eve was not inferior to Adam. She was biologically different and filled Adam’s needs or lacks. Making a law that denies a difference between genders is contrary to common sense and violates biblical teaching.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Faith and Justice (a publication of the Alliance Defending Freedom)
for November 2024, pages 5-7, and The Federalist.

December 4, 2024December 3, 2024

The Recreational Use of Cannabis

Cannabis use in the United States has skyrocketed as many states have legalized it as a recreational drug. It is essential to understand that cannabis can be used for medical purposes to treat pain, nausea, insomnia, and various other disorders associated with chemotreatments. The issue is the recreational use of cannabis.

Forty-eight million Americans use cannabis regularly, making it a 33-billion-dollar industry. Cannabis products go far beyond the 1995 joints of weed with 4% THC content. We now have vape pens, oils, drinks, gummies, and lollipops with THC concentrations as high as 70%.

Amazingly, people are doing this without attention to the harm caused by the recreational use of cannabis. Alcohol has been around for a very long time, and we are just now finding its damaging effects on humans. A recent study reported in Animal Models and Experimental Medicine shows that alcohol causes women to experience disrupted menstruation and ovulation, including fertility issues, and affects men’s sexual function and sperm production. If we are only now learning the harmful effects of alcohol, imagine what we will learn about cannabis when it can be thoroughly studied.

Research is already showing a high correlation between psychotic disorders and cannabis use. A recent Danish study has shown that as many as 30% of schizophrenia cases could be attributed to the use of cannabis. Canadian research has shown that teens using cannabis are eleven times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder than non-users, and more than 4.5 million teens use cannabis daily.

Why do people use recreational cannabis? Could it be because our culture has rejected God as a source of well-being and people are seeking solutions to their emotional needs? The substitute for following biblical instructions has been the use of various recreational drugs, and cannabis is the latest drug of choice.

People choose to ignore the scientific evidence for the destructive nature of drugs as a substitute for faith. Biblical passages like 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 make the consequences clear: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit has His home in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will bring them to ruin. For the temple of God is sacred, and that is what you are.” God does not prevent the consequences if we choose to abuse our bodies. We have seen that with previous recreational drugs, and it is already apparent with the recreational use of cannabis.