Evidence for God in Morality Archives

January 15, 2021January 14, 2021

Hate Groups and Anti-Hate Groups

In recent years, several hate groups have grown up in the United States. Most of us know the Ku Klux Klan history, but today there are neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups gaining publicity. There are “anti-hate” groups to oppose the hate groups. That may sound like a good thing, but some anti-hate groups paint anyone who stands for anything as part of a hate group. Sometimes hate groups and anti-hate groups are hard to distinguish.

A good example is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). This organization claims to track and expose 940 active hate groups operating in the United States. They define a hate group as having “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people typically for their immutable characteristics.” What they mean is that any group opposing same-sex marriage, radical Islam, or abortion they classify as a hate group. Their list of hate groups includes Christian organizations. Comparing a Church that opposes abortion to the Ku Klux Klan is absurd, but that is the case with the SPLC.

We face a crisis of free speech in America today. Anyone who presents negative facts about someone else’s beliefs or practices is likely to be threatened with lawsuits or arrest. In our periodical and on our websites, we have pointed out statements in the Koran that promote violence and abuse of women. We have called attention to the problems of abortion and how it fosters infanticide. We have given data showing that there are destructive and hurtful consequences to things the LGBTQ movement promotes.

Because we have printed those things, we receive threats of lawsuits and violence. In the past, we have had some violence and vandalism directed towards our ministry. We urge anyone who donates to hate groups and anti-hate groups to be sure you know what causes you are helping. For the anti-hate groups, find out who they are labeling haters. Both the hate groups and anti-hate groups oppose some of the teachings of Jesus Christ. In the words of Joshua to the Israelites, “Choose you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Practice love and follow the teachings of Christ, even if it leads to persecution.

January 10, 2021January 7, 2021

Ignore the Evidence or Accept the Evidence

One thing that impacts an apologetic program like ours is the attitude that evidence doesn’t count. We have seen that with COVID-19 during the past year. Some people are selective in whether they will accept the evidence or if they will ignore the evidence.

Nearly everybody in this country has, for many years, trusted the medical establishment. When we break a bone or have cancer, we go to a doctor or hospital. Most of us go to the medical establishment for problems such as arthritis, gastrointestinal issues, tetanus shots, and any number of pain issues. When the coronavirus pandemic began, many people chose to ignore the evidence presented by the medical establishment. As people started to die from the virus and hospitals were overrun, some people believed the whole pandemic was a hoax. Now that there are vaccines, people choose not to trust them.

This attitude of choosing to ignore the evidence if it inconveniences us has caused many people to reject God. I remember vividly when a young man came up to me after a lectureship at Purdue University. He said, “I can’t argue with anything you presented in your lecture, and I know the evidence for the existence of God is huge, but I’m not about to quit sleeping with my girlfriend.” That attitude has produced a society that promotes “survival of the fittest” and refuses to consider any possibility they should follow the Christian lifestyle.

The sad thing is the result of all this. I have friends who have lost a child, a parent, or a close friend and who stand there weeping as they say, “Why did this have to happen?” It didn’t have to happen!! How many of us are going to say as we stand in judgment before God and say, “Why do I have to spend eternity separated from God and everything good?” It doesn’t have to happen!! In Matthew 25:41-46, Jesus paints a picture of that very situation, and He simply reminds those who are lost that they refused to accept the evidence for God in the things they saw around them during their life.

December 31, 2020December 30, 2020

Resolutions and Priorities for 2021

If you are reading this or having it read to you, it appears that you have survived the year 2020. As we come to a New Year, we all need to make some resolutions and priorities for 2021. The Bible makes some statements about life and priorities that we need to think about at the start of this new year. Here are some suggestions:

#1) BE CAREFUL WITH WHOM YOU SPEND YOUR TIME. Psalms 84:10 says it well: “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.” How much time do we spend with people who have nothing to offer us but profanity, dirty jokes and stories, and an obsession with pleasure? We are sometimes forced to endure these folks at work, but it is our choice elsewhere. Make this part of your resolutions and priorities for 2021.

#2) SPEND SOME TIME WORKING ON CONTENTMENT. The Apostle Paul has much to say about contentment in 1 Timothy 6:6-12. Remember that in Philippians 4:11-13, Paul tells us how he LEARNED to be content in life no matter the situation. Being content is something you learn to do, and not learning to be content can result in sorrows of all kinds.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6 to remember that we brought nothing into this world, and we will take nothing out. He says WANTING to be rich is a snare, and he follows that by saying, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” He doesn’t say that money is evil or that being rich is wrong. There are people in the Bible who were rich and who used their riches in a way that brought them contentment. (See Luke 8:1-3, 23:50-54, John 19:38, and Acts 16:14, 15.) Longing to be rich and the love of money can destroy us. It is no mystery why the suicide rate of famous rich people is so high.

What will make you content? How much do you aim your energy at being rich? Resolve to be satisfied with what you have and work at it through your faith.

#3) PRIORITIZE YOUR LIST OF RESOLUTIONS. Not everything you need to get done in 2021 is of equal importance. The Bible makes it clear that putting God first in your life should be your first priority. If you don’t believe in God or have huge doubts, resolve to change that through our video series (available free on doesgodexist.tv). Please send any questions to me at jncdge@aol.com. After God, put your family next on your list.

I have found it helpful to have two resolution lists – one physical and one spiritual. On the physical list, I place things like jobs I need to do around the house and health and recreational goals. On the spiritual list are things like improving quiet time with God and His Word both in amount and in quality. Doing the things that Jesus lists in Matthew 25:34-40 should be on your spiritual resolution list. Spending more time with those who are a part of God’s kingdom and finding positive entertainment also should be high on the list.

Your resolutions and priorities for 2021 can make it a year in which you find contentment. Follow God’s advice, and you will see that it works.

December 28, 2020December 27, 2020

Behavior Has Consequences

There are many long-term consequences for the things we do in life. In the Old Testament, we see a constant principle at work, that when humans engaged in things contrary to God’s will, there were ultimate harmful consequences. Moses said it concisely in Numbers 32:23: “… you have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.” Our behavior has consequences.

Many times, the Old Testament tells about long-lasting consequences because someone sinned. David’s family suffered for years because of His sin with Bathsheba. Unfortunately, innocent people can be afflicted because of the sins of someone who lived long before them. The COVID pandemic has taken place mainly because people failed to follow good health practices and the medical establishment’s advice. I have personally seen that play out in the life of my son, Timothy.

Tim lived in a group home with two other men who, like him, were afflicted with past medical problems. The organization running the home took care of the men, providing meals, laundry, bathing, and medical care. Tim suffered blindness, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, schizophrenia, and mental disability, but all of those conditions had been static for years.

In early November, one of the caregivers tested positive for the virus, and two weeks later, Tim became ill and tested positive. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was hospitalized. After a week of treatment, including being on a respirator, Tim was released from the hospital and sent back to his apartment. The COVID virus had weakened him to the point where he could not take care of himself. He had to be fed, and he couldn’t dress himself or go to the bathroom on his own. His speech had deteriorated to the point where it was almost impossible to understand him.

After two weeks of attempts to help him resume some of the normal self-care, it became clear that he was progressively weakening and had to go back to the hospital. This time he didn’t have the COVID virus, but it had catalyzed the muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy, and he was in serious trouble. At this writing, Tim is in a nursing home where he spent Christmas, unable to sit up or eat any food that is not pureed. Tim is an innocent victim of the mistakes others have made and evidence that behavior has consequences.

It’s a mistake to believe that if I don’t see immediate negative consequences of my actions, they must be okay. That applies in all areas—not just COVID-19. We see it in decisions involving child-raising, marriage, sexual relationships, money management, and social relationships. James says it well when he reminds us that our lives are but a vapor lasting only for a very short time. (See James 4:13-17.) We need to be consistent in conduct, conforming to the lifestyle to which God calls us. Because behavior has consequences, failure to do so results in problems for ourselves and others.

December 27, 2020December 26, 2020

Help to Keep Us Humble

Occasionally our readers send us poems and articles. Larry Fischer sent me this one, which I feel can help to keep us humble. No matter how good we are at what we do, anything we do as humans is pretty insignificant compared to God. Being humble is an attribute that every Christian should have. Perhaps this poem can help:

Sometime when you’re feeling important
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room.
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you want when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.

First Peter 5:5-6 says it well: “All of you should be subject to each other and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.”

When we feel pride welling up, we should ask the Lord for help to keep us humble.

December 5, 2020December 1, 2020

Safe Haven Baby Box

In the Dark Ages, nuns of the Roman Catholic Church would put a “baby box” near the door of the convent where they lived. They did this because people were leaving babies on the doorstep, frequently in unsanitary conditions. The baby boxes contained swaddling clothes and were kept clean. In America today, an organization called Safe Haven Baby Boxes has revived the baby box idea with some 21st-century technology.

The Safe Haven Baby Box is installed in an exterior wall of a fire station or hospital. It has an exterior door that automatically locks upon the placement of a newborn inside. There is an interior door that allows a worker to reach the baby from the inside. When someone places a baby in the box, it triggers an alarm, so workers know to pick up the baby. The boxes are temperature controlled to prevent risk to the baby, although the average wait time to pick up the infant is three minutes.

The baby box idea has had strong support from Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame. It’s an obvious response to the abortion problem in America. It allows a woman who has a baby a “red tape free” way of making sure the child has a legal adoption while keeping the birth mother anonymous. Since the program began in April of 2016, there have been 52 baby boxes installed in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Eight babies have been surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and three were surrendered to firefighters at baby box locations. Also, Safe Haven has referred over 500 women to crisis pregnancy centers.

There are situations where a pregnant woman does not want to kill her child but wants just to be free of the situation. This is especially true of rape, but it can be a solution in other cases. New safe haven laws exist in various states, so counselors need to know what is available to help women who find themselves in a difficult situation.

Here is their contact information:

Safe Haven Baby Boxes
PO Box 185
Woodburn IN 46797
(888)742-2133
shbb@SafeHavenBabyBoxes.com
https://shbb.org/

December 2, 2020November 30, 2020

Escape the Human Noise

I have always been fascinated that sometimes Jesus wanted to be by Himself, away from the crowds and even His disciples. He was God in the flesh, but He needed to escape the human noise. There are times in my life when I just want silence. There is an island on Saganaga Lake in Ontario where my family built a cabin. I have always loved going there because all you can hear is the wind and the waves.

The December 2020 issue of Scientific American carried an interesting article about human noise. Amazingly, human noise produces seismic vibrations that can be measured by instruments as deep as 400 meters below Earth’s surface. Scientific studies of seismic vibrations in 172 locations worldwide showed that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the volume of human noise fell by 50% in some places. In rural areas, the noise level depression was even lower. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the human noise level fell on Sundays, but it has declined and stayed depressed since the pandemic began. When you add up the noise of trains, buses, planes, and cars, the noise level is very high. It is not enough to cause earthquakes, but it does have other effects.

The big question for science to answer is, What effect noise has on not just humans, but on the world as a whole? Are animals affected by the noise levels we create? How does noise affect a child’s ability to concentrate? Do noise levels affect the concentration and productivity of workers in a factory? Are some forms of mental illness affected or even caused by our exposure to noise?

Noise has a role in the Old Testament. In Joshua 6, we see that noise played a role in the fall of the walls of Jericho. Many passages talk about various noises in a variety of situations. Some passages emphasize the need for quiet. Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God …” After the noise of wind, earthquake, and fire, God spoke to Elijah in a soft whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). In the New Testament, Paul commends the Christians who study “to be quiet, and to do your own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11).”

All of us need to escape the human noise of this world and have a quiet time to focus on God and quietly glorify Him.

November 30, 2020November 29, 2020

Women’s Emotional and Psychological Struggles Over Abortion

One thing that gets lost in the abortion debate is women’s emotional and psychological struggles over abortion. Time magazine published a moving essay by atheist Stephanie Land, titled “My Lost Pregnancy Had a Name.”

Land writes about dealing with the burial of what she calls “a third miscarriage in six months.” It is a very personal and dramatic discussion of how an atheist deals with the mental gymnastics of ending a pregnancy, be it an abortion or a natural medical miscarriage.

Land said she believes in “the right to chose.” She had chosen to end a pregnancy before. This time the choice was made for her at five weeks, but she did not realize it until she had an ultrasound at eight weeks. She took two rounds of medication for her “body to finally let go of it” at 12 weeks. She says, “It was a blastocyst, not a baby named Ellis.”

For people on both sides of the abortion issue, there is a tendency to ignore the facts connected with ending a pregnancy. Attaching a scientific name to a conceived child, be it “embryo,” “zygote,” “fetus.” or “blastocyst” does not change the fact that it is an entity of its own. It is genetically set with human characteristics at conception, not at some later date. The mother’s body recognizes the conceived child is not a part of her body, resulting in morning sickness. Not ending a pregnancy has obvious lifetime implications, but ending one can also.

The point that shines out in Land’s essay is the continuing emotional struggle with choosing whether to end a pregnancy. All sides of this issue need to develop more empathy and understanding for women’s emotional and psychological struggles over abortion.

Women personally dealing with the issue are not helped by political battles, court decisions, or picketing. Land’s essay vividly shows the personal struggle, even for an atheist, and it is worth reading. If you don’t have access to the November 2-9, 2020, Time magazine issue, you can read the essay online HERE.

November 29, 2020November 28, 2020

Supreme Court Will Hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s Case

This year, one issue not getting media attention is whether college officials can censor public speeches that promote religious issues on campus. In many cases, students promoting Christian values or Christianity as a life choice have been punished or expelled for doing so. Most of the cases have been settled out of court, but the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s case.

Uzuegbunam is a young man who was talking about his faith in Christ at Gwinnett College in Georgia. College officials stopped him and disciplined him for his words. The college maintains that the constitution does not protect speech sharing religious beliefs, and Chike Uzuegbunam filed a lawsuit against the school.

This denial of free speech is becoming increasingly common across the United States and many countries in Europe. The position of many colleges is, “If I don’t like what you are saying, I have the right to shut you down.” At Georgetown University, a club called Love Saxa, which promotes Christian views of sexual conduct, was eventually driven off the campus. In Finland, a lady who opposed Church participation in a Gay Pride event is being threatened with two years in prison for promoting what the government sees as “ethnic agitation.”

Uzuegbunam’s case will bring before the Supreme Court the question of whether universities can ignore the First Amendment and shut down religious speech on campus. This subject has enormous implications for the whole country. Does the government or universities have the power to stop religious proclamations in public?

In her 1903 book The Friends of Voltaire, Evelyn Beatrice Hall described Voltaire’s attitude toward a book he disliked in this way: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” That has become a mantra of freedom of speech, but that viewpoint is being challenged today. For Christians trying to follow the example and command to preach the gospel, this discussion is critical.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s case, and you can learn more about it HERE.