Evidence for God in Morality Archives

October 26, 2022October 25, 2022

Should We Treat an Aborted Fetus as a Deceased Person?

In 2016, when Mike Pence was governor, the state of Indiana passed a law requiring “the burial or cremation of any fetus.” The question at hand is should we treat an aborted fetus as a deceased person? Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, in 2019, the court ruled that Indiana law had a legitimate interest in disposing of fetal remains.

In 2020, a group of women who had abortions in Indiana, along with abortion providers and an abortion clinic, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. They said that the requirements caused abortion and miscarriage patients “shame, stigma, anguish, and anger” because they “send the unmistakable message that someone who has had an abortion or miscarriage is responsible for the death of a person.”

In September of 2022, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young ruled that the law violated the U.S. Constitution because it infringes upon the religious and free speech rights of people who don’t believe that aborted fetuses have any rights.

Whether we should treat an aborted fetus as a deceased person highlights the real issue in the abortion question. That is, whether or not a baby is a human before birth. Those who argue for abortion do not have scientific support for their position. The unborn child is not “an extension of the mother’s body.” Every medical attempt to define when a baby is a human fails because of the criteria used. Using brain waves, the ability to live outside the womb, the heartbeat, or when the fetus responds to outside stimuli are all arbitrary and change as technology advances.

In today’s world, having an abortion is safer than natural childbirth. The number of women who die in childbirth worldwide is vast, and even in the United States, there is a risk in giving birth. When you look at the arguments for abortion, consider how they can be applied to euthanasia for a person with age or mental issues. Some people want to use similar arguments to eliminate the cost and personal inconvenience of people at the other end of life’s journey. Ethics proponents like Dr. Peter Singer use them to justify euthanizing the mentally ill and the severely physically disabled.

Should we treat an aborted fetus as a deceased person? As our civilization embraces atheism, naturalism, and humanism, will it embrace a 100% materialistic view of human value? The recent ruling in Indiana seems to indicate that is the case.

Reference: Indianapolis Star and USA Today Network for September 30, 2022.

October 22, 2022October 18, 2022

A Negative Attitude Toward Christianity

“Religion” is a bad word in the world today. Many religions are violent, abusive, dishonest, and the source of war, waste, and murder. When I gave my lectures on science and faith in England, Ireland, and Scotland, I found that people were very interested in what I was presenting, but if I used the words “church” or “religion,” they were repulsed. In many countries today, telling someone you are a Christian invites a very negative response. Why do people have a negative attitude toward Christianity, and what can we do about it?

People have seen destructive actions by people who claim to be Christians. If you take a history course, you will learn about the Crusades, religious wars, slavery, racial hatred, and racial abuse, from the Tulsa tragedy to lynchings in the south. In modern times, we have seen people robbed of their money, their property, and their virginity by people who claimed to be Christians. There is no defense for that behavior. It is wrong and flies in the face of what Jesus Christ taught and lived. Furthermore, those actions create a negative attitude toward Christianity.

Surveys in the last ten years have shown that more and more people are rejecting “religion.” Religion is usually defined as human attempts to reach God. According to recent surveys, when asked if they believe the Bible is God’s Word, 20% of Americans say “no.” A substantial percentage of Americans cannot tell you anything about the Bible except what they have heard critics say. They also admit that they doubt God’s existence and reject the Bible’s moral teachings. The answer to this situation is education about Christ and His teachings.

If we are to change the trend away from God and the negative attitude toward Christianity, we must start at the very bottom. We must assume the world around us knows nothing about God, Christ, or the Bible. Unfortunately, that is the situation for many people today, and starting with the basics is necessary. Here are some basic places to begin:

1) How do we know there is a God? What is the evidence?
2) What is God, and how do we know that the spiritual world exists? Naturalism teaches that the material world is all there is.
3) What are the properties of God, and how are they relevant to humans?
4) What is a human, and why are humans special? What uniquely sets us apart?
5) Why do the teachings of Christ make sense, where do we find them, and are they reliable?

We address all of those questions on our websites and in our free materials. However, as long as preachers and religious leaders spend their time, money, and energy attacking each other and promoting emotionalism and entertainment, a negative attitude toward Christianity will continue. We must share our faith in love.

October 20, 2022October 20, 2022

Learn from the Past or Repeat the Cycle

How much of the Old Testament do you know and understand? If you are like me, you know some of the stories of biblical heroes and heroines. In the New Testament, Hebrews 11 discusses many of those individuals – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. Chapter 12 begins by referring to them as” a great cloud of witnesses” and an inspiration to run “the race that is set before us.” The historical record of God and His relationship to His people is a “schoolmaster” so that we can learn from the past and not make the same mistakes.

Someone said that the value of knowing history is to avoid repeating it, and humans have been slow learners. One lesson from Old Testament history that needs our attention is the on-and-off cycle of the human relationship with God that can only be broken by the message of Christ.

That cycle begins with Adam and Eve and is repeated over and over up to the present time. God creates, and His creation is perfect. Humans receive the blessings of God’s creation, and for a time, all is well. But, when humans become too comfortable with God’s simple covenant, they turn away from Him.

That began the cycle. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 predicts that it will be repeated. First, God told Israel, “All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” God then lists all the good things Israel will receive if they follow His commands and take advantage of His promises. Then in the following 54 verses, God tells Israel what will happen if they do not obey God’s provisions expressed in His covenant. The next chapter of Deuteronomy begins with, “These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites ….”

As we follow the history of Israel from the golden calf to corrupt king after corrupt king, we see them turning away from God to embrace sinful and destructive practices, worshiping pagan gods, and even going so far as to sacrifice their children to those gods. Over and over, God responds by removing His protection and allowing foreign nations to overtake and destroy them. Then, finally, they repent and return to God, but they fail to learn from the past and repeat the cycle.

The whole message of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles tells the story of this destructive cycle. Jeremiah and Hosea devoted their lives and message to warning Israel of the dangers of their actions. When Israel returns to God, He restores the covenant until they forsake Him again. Finally, Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed, and still, they repeat the cycle.

But then, a new creation begins. Christ comes on the scene to restore the human relationship with God and establish His Church. Humans can now become new (Romans 6). Jesus shed His blood to make us one body free of all division and human fallacies. As in the past, God promises blessings when we obey His commands. (See John 14:15-17.) But here we are in America today, failing to learn from the past as we repeat the cycle.

We have seen the blessings of God as America has prospered. But humans are rebelling against God and His covenant by embracing destructive practices. How long will God tolerate our nation’s immorality as we restrict worship of God and endorse the killing of babies and the destruction of marriage? The Church is all that stands against the complete rejection of God’s commands and His covenant. We can break the cycle of history by relying on God’s word and following His instructions individually and as a nation. Will we learn from the past or repeat the cycle by following the path of nations that rose and fell in the past?

October 19, 2022October 18, 2022

Role Modeling Your Pronouns

The National Education Association’s October 2022 issue of NEA Today carries an article titled “Pronouns and Why they Matter for LGBTQ+ Students.” As a science teacher, I always found English teachers could do things I never had time for. The article encourages teachers to “try role modeling your pronouns before inviting everyone to introduce theirs.” It gives a pattern to follow: “Hi, my name is Meg, and I use she/her/hers pronouns. Could everyone please go around and share their name and pronouns.”

Reading this article reminded me of education courses I took at Indiana University many years ago. The professors who taught them had never taught in a public high school. They never dealt with gangs, had a gun or a knife pulled on them, or been threatened by a girl who spent her weekends as a neighborhood prostitute. Those of us teachers who had experienced all those things in the classroom just rolled our eyes and read their books so we could pass the course.

The last LGBTQ+ student I had in class changed her name four times in the school year. She would tell me when entering my classroom what name to use when I called on her. When she found out I was a Christian, she came in to talk on numerous occasions. She knew that she was safe in my classroom, that I cared about her, and that I understood some of her struggles. Late in the year, she told me, “You know I don’t care what you call me, you have shown me that you care about me, and that is all I need.”

I spent 41 years in the trenches, and while I never pushed my religion on my students, they knew where I came from. I have often said that if you have to tell someone that you are a Christian, there is a problem. Atheism, naturalism, and secular humanism have taken over the American educational system and destroyed public schools.

I don’t have all the answers, but I know that role modeling your pronouns is not as important as letting the students know you care about them. I understand why parents and educators are fleeing public schools and turning to charter and private schools. As they do, that leaves the public schools in many places as preparatory prison systems collapsing under their own weight.

Reference: “Pronouns and Why they Matter for LGBTQ+ Students” by Brenda Alvarez, NEA Today, October 2022 (pages 46-48).

October 18, 2022October 17, 2022

Surge of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The rejection of God and refusal to follow the Bible as a guide for moral decisions is having an enormous effect on the surge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that syphilis cases rose by 26% in 2021. In addition, the number of congenital syphilis cases, in which the disease passes to the baby in the womb, rose from 300 in 2011 to 2700 in 2021. HIV cases increased by 16% in 2021, while gonorrhea and chlamydia also rose. This continues a trend of recent years.

People don’t seem to understand that these diseases cause a great deal of collateral damage. Syphilis causes brain damage, and babies are especially vulnerable. Statistics strongly support the relationship between cancer and chlamydia. Suggesting that modern antibiotics can treat these diseases does not address the side effects. It also assumes that people who engage in dangerous sexual practices get medical treatment.

One evidence of the Bible’s inspiration as the Word of God is that its teachings provide the best sex while avoiding the diseases that promiscuity causes. Unfortunately, as the number of people engaging in sexual practices outside of marriage and with multiple partners increases, we can expect STDs to reach epidemic proportions, causing increased damage.

Following God’s instructions for responsible living can solve the surge of sexually transmitted diseases. However, that can only happen if people learn the risks involved in aberrant sexual practices and discover the joy they can have in a committed relationship with someone who shares their commitment.

Reference: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

October 12, 2022October 10, 2022

How Did Evil Enter Human Behavior?

Yesterday, we discussed the reality of evil. We saw that Christianity presents the God of the Bible as a God of love, but to have love, we must have a choice. That choice means there will be those who choose to reject God and the “agape” love Jesus presented. The question then becomes, “How did evil enter human behavior?”

The Old Testament has a few references to Satan, and that word in Hebrew means an opposing spirit, accuser, or hater. In the New Testament, the Greek word “diabolus” is used many times and translated as “Devil.” Skeptics usually convey the idea that Satan or the Devil is a physical being, making the concept of a personal promoter of evil look foolish. The biblical concept of Satan is that he is a spiritual being. He is not physical and exists in a dimension beyond the three dimensions we humans know.

The answer to “how did evil enter human behavior” is made clear in Ephesians 6:12. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” You and I would be helpless in this situation if not for the fact that God steps in and limits what those evil spiritual forces can do. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “There is no temptation that has taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you can endure, but with the temptation also will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.”

The question, “How did evil enter human behavior?” takes us back to the question of good and evil and why we exist. Ephesians 3:9-11 makes it clear that through Christ, the intent was “that unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God.” The spiritual war going on is undeniable as we see the existence of spiritual evil all around us. The Church is called to demonstrate the triumph of good over evil.

By denying that we are a part of this war between good and evil, atheists automatically embrace evil. In rejecting this reality, they eliminate their purpose for existing, and they have nothing to replace it. Jesus stated this in John 8:42-47 as He answered the skeptics of His day. Satan is real and alive and well on planet Earth today. This is not a fairy tale or a myth. It is the reality that we can see all around us.

October 11, 2022October 10, 2022

The Question of Good and Evil

When you hear people talk about Satan, do you visualize a little man with horns wearing a red suit and holding a pitchfork? In our modern world, many people dismiss the idea of Satan as a long-discarded relic of ancient myths. The movie industry creatively portrays him as a human in a business suit in “Damn Yankees” or a monster in Halloween horror films. In considering the reality of Satan, we must examine the question of good and evil.

Some atheists maintain that there is no such thing as evil. Perhaps the leading spokesman for atheism in today’s world is Richard Dawkins. He wrote,” The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at the bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good. Nothing but blind, pitiless indifference” (River Out of Eden, page 133). If you believe that the physical world is all there is, then no behavior is right or wrong. Therefore, sin doesn’t exist, and there is no act a human can do that can be logically called evil. Dawkins admits this by continuing with, “DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is, and we dance to its music.”

Those who have worked in prisons or served in the military (and your author has done both) find this position unacceptable. It is naive to say that war, abuse, rape, pedophile behavior, murder, or racism are not evil. Dawkin’s position makes any meaningful standard of morality useless. Nothing can be immoral or evil if evil doesn’t exist. It is difficult for me to believe that an honest, thinking person would attempt to deny that there is such a thing as evil.

The question of good and evil then becomes, “How are good and evil brought into the world?” Evil is not a physical thing like a rock. Evil is a choice of a sentient being. Some people say that God created evil, but that is an ignorant position. James 1:13 tells us God cannot tolerate evil in any form (no temptation). God is love—it’s His very nature. Jesus brought the concept of agape love that sees something infinitely precious as its object. If you don’t comprehend that, you will never understand much of the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5 – 7.

The Old Testament uses the Hebrew word for evil means to spoil, break into pieces, or make worthless. The Greek word for evil in the New Testament means to have a hurtful effect or influence. If God exists and is good and love, it is logical that there would be the absence of good and love. It is not reasonable to deny that hate and evil exist. The question of good and evil that remains is how evil came into the world. If God brings us love and good, how do hate and evil come to us? Tomorrow we will explore that question.

October 8, 2022October 4, 2022

Accepting God’s Gifts

Our nation has turned from being a nation looking to God and seeking to serve others to becoming one concerned with finding personal gratification. We have become a people who will accept any or no moral values as long as they don’t interfere with our individual rights. We approve of any lifestyle or alternative to God’s teaching in our homes and on television. We go to entertainment venues where any kind of conduct is portrayed and accepted. Has this push for acceptance brought peace, unity, and happiness? Has it eradicated racism, violence, mental illness, crime, poverty, and drug and alcohol abuse? No, but accepting God’s gifts can.

The Does God Exist? ministry stands for God’s Word, following what God teaches us, and accepting God’s gifts. We don’t promise pleasure, prosperity, sexual gratification, and all the answers. But, we do promise that you will have fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace with God. We can do that because God Himself has promised it. We want to remind you of the words of Andre Crouch in his song “Through it All.”

Through it all, Through it all.
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus.
I’ve learned to trust in God.
Through it all, Through it all.
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

I’ve been to lots of places.
I’ve seen a lot of faces.
There’s been times I felt so all alone
But in my lonely hours
Yes, those precious lonely hours
Jesus let me know I was His own

I thank God for the mountains.
And I thank Him for the valleys.
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I’d never had a problem
I wouldn’t know that God could solve them.
I’d never know what faith in God could do.

Through it all, Through it all.
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus.
I’ve learned to trust in God.
Through it all, Through it all.
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

We see nations, people, and even ourselves at times looking for a better way to live life. There is no better way than what we read about in God’s Word. We challenge you to depend on God’s Word and find the joy and peace they bring by accepting God’s gifts.

October 7, 2022October 4, 2022

Legalizing Destructive Behavior

The world is in the process of legalizing destructive behavior by allowing the recreational use of drugs that cause incredible suffering to all people. Skeptics say we should allow the use of recreational drugs by pointing to the “failure” of prohibition, which banned the sale of alcoholic drinks in the United States. However, prohibition saw a significant reduction in murder, divorce, drunk driving, and abuse of all kinds. The fact that alcohol promoters used underhanded ways to make alcohol available does not change the fact that prohibition positively affected society in general.

Now we are seeing the legalization of recreational marijuana. California led the way in 2016, and other states are following. We are not talking about the controlled use of cannabis in medical applications or the treatment of mental illness. One of the arguments for legalizing marijuana was that it would put illegal sellers out of business. But, the Los Angeles Times reports that “the exact opposite is happening now.” The newspaper said, “It has spread crime into rural areas and turned local politics across the state into a morass of corruption.”

The paper reported that local politicians are demanding six-figure bribes for growing licenses as the use of marijuana has become more widespread. “Illegal and completely unregulated” growing operations have popped up across California, overwhelming law enforcement. “Heavily armed camps filled with violent armed men, often tied to cartels, now dot the countryside.” In addition, the paper said that the legal trade is threatened because cannabis prices from illegal sources have dropped so low.

Satan is alive and well on planet Earth. The result is always catastrophic when Christians sit back in complacency while states are legalizing destructive behavior that hurts others and goes against God’s instructions for how we should live.

Reference: The Week for September 30, 2022, page 12.

October 6, 2022October 4, 2022

Knowing How to Die

One of the significant challenges of living in the present age is knowing how to die. That may sound crazy, but it really is a problem. Thanks to medical advancements, people who would have died quickly and perhaps even died in their sleep are now kept alive by machines, drugs, and demands for their organs. Unfortunately, in some cases, this has caused enormous pain.

Knowing how to die has also created a whole industry ranging from medical practitioners to organizations that major in helping people die. Compassion and Choices, Zero Population Growth, and various hospice programs are involved in this issue and have publications promoting their services. Switzerland and Holland have made assisted suicide legal, and France is struggling with the problem. Some states in the U.S. have legalized doctor-assisted suicide, and other state legislatures are wrestling with the concept.

There are many challenging issues in this question. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy and you are the temple of God.” Also, in that book, in chapter 6, verses 15-20, Paul condemns prostitution for the same reason.

The human body as a special creation of God is described beautifully in Psalms 139:14. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that we are created in the image of God, referring to our spiritual makeup and not our physical bodies. However, the vehicle God created and in which His Spirit dwells is a wonderful creation we must protect. This principle prohibits suicide when the body can continue functioning if left alone. But if the body is dying and only medical intervention keeps it alive, that is certainly not the same as natural death.

When people know they are about to die, they have many things to do. Taking care of their possessions, repairing relationships, and making provisions for the next stage of existence are all essential. What we neglect to a great degree is the one thing we all fear the most–pain. In this day of medical advancement, we should be able to control pain in the physical body. Restricting the use of drugs to relieve pain in a dying person is cruel and flies in the face of what God has told us.

Proverbs 31:4-7 makes it clear that the “strong drink” of that day was not for Kings because it would pervert their judgment. Instead, it should be “for him that is ready to perish … let him drink and remember his misery no more.” God determines when a person dies, but we can address the pain involved and leave the difficult question of knowing how to die to the Lord.