Bible Archives - Page 13 of 130 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

March 27, 2024March 26, 2024

Accusing God of Murder

Skeptics in the media constantly attack the Bible and the biblical concept of God. Writers in The New Yorker, The New Republic, and The Atlantic write as if they were authorities on the Bible while accusing God of murder and condemning Him as being immoral. Taking a Bible passage out of context, they fail to examine who wrote it, why it was written, and how the people to whom it was written would have understood it.

Skeptics make statements like “God murders indiscriminately” when referring to Noah’s flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. They overlook the fact that Noah preached to and taught the people of his age, warning them to avoid the coming disaster. The skeptics also ignore the fact that God agreed to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten people in those cities were not involved in the wicked violence and immorality. The people had rejected God, choosing actions that led to death and disease. (See Genesis 18:20-33). The statement by the media accusing God of murder shows a lack of biblical knowledge.

The fact is that God was incredibly patient with the violence and immorality of the nations that rejected Him, not only in ancient times but also today. The people suffered the consequences of their own actions. We see that in 1 Samuel 15:3, where God commands Saul to destroy the Amalekites and “slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” Skeptics have called God’s actions a senseless act of genocide that was barbaric and immoral. They say that God murders indiscriminately, but a closer study shows a different picture.

God gave the hygienic laws of Leviticus 11-18 for a reason. The cultures surrounding ancient Israel engaged in disastrous practices involving drinking raw blood, eating poorly prepared meat, sexual practices with animals and each other that spread STDs, and many infections that shortened life expectancies at a time when there was no medical treatment. Archaeological evidence and genome studies have left no doubt about the conditions of these ancient people.

Following God’s strict hygienic laws, given through Moses, allowed Israel to avoid those problems. How was God to treat the situation when Israel moved into an area where these hygienic problems were running rampant? Even the animals and babies carried the viruses and bacteria that saturated the people of those cultures.

Accusing God of murder shows a lack of understanding the Bible. From the New Testament, we know how much human sin grieved God and left Him with no alternative. The big question is whether we are creating similar problems for ourselves while possibly destroying the planet God created for us.

March 26, 2024March 25, 2024

The Infinite Importance of Christianity

The quote by C.S. Lewis about the infinite importance of Christianity is true on several levels. When we use the term “Christianity,” we are not talking about human religions or denominations, usually named after humans or a particular philosophical or theological belief system. The word “Christian” literally means “Christ-like,” and that means doing and practicing what Jesus did and taught.

One thing that makes Christianity of “infinite importance” is what it offers to the poor and challenged. In Matthew 25:33-40, Jesus spoke about the Christ-like things His followers would do. Those things include feeding the hungry, giving water to those who don’t have it, providing clothing and shelter for those in need, and helping those in prison.

Another reason for the infinite importance of Christianity is the effect it has on morality. Marriage is important, and how kids are raised is vital. No one can argue with how Christ taught His followers to deal with these institutions. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus explains how Christians should treat each other and deal with the world in which they live. The wars and violence in our world today are rooted in people refusing to do what Jesus told us to do.

The most critical reason for the infinite importance of Christianity is that it provides hope for what happens after life in this world is done. For each of us, it is of infinite importance that we obey Christ and become “new creatures,” as described in Romans 6. No human religious goal is of infinite importance, whether it’s reincarnation, a harem of “black-eyed beauties,” or a return to Earth in some other space/time.

When our physical bodies return to the dust from which they came, we long for our souls to return to the God who created us. Christianity uniquely offers that hope, making it of “infinite importance.”

Reference: “10 times C.S. Lewis made the case for Christ” on ChristianityToday.com

March 22, 2024March 20, 2024

Studying Fish Sounds

Science News magazine reported that virtually all fish produce sounds that can be received and interpreted by other fish of their species. While researchers have cataloged over 1,000 fish sounds, the largest group of bony fish contains more than 34,000 species. There is much more work to do in studying fish sounds.

Fish generate sounds differently from humans. They can click bony structures together, contract specific muscles to drum a gas-filled swim bladder, vibrate stretched tendons in fins like a guitar, or even expel gas from their rear ends. Audrey Looby of the University of Florida Nature Coast Biological Station in Cedar Key describes fish as having “probably the greatest diversity of sound-producing mechanisms across the tree of life.”

Fish hear through tiny stones in their heads that move in response to sound vibrations, triggering signals to the brain. They also have special cells running down their bodies that detect motion and sound waves in the water. The uses of sound among fish are still being sorted out. Fish use sound to attract mates and to tell males where the eggs are and when they need to be fertilized. Fish also indicate distress, warning other fish of danger or scare a predator away. Fish use sound to mark territories and to warn other fish who would invade their territory.

There are many practical reasons for studying fish sounds. Knowing how fish use sounds is essential to understanding how they are affected by human sounds in the water. This knowledge also helps us study fish migrations and determine fish populations.

For those who believe God has built into all life the things needed for survival, it should be no surprise that fish use sounds. It may be that Jesus used fish sounds when He summoned fish for Peter to catch in John 21:5-6. Jesus created all things, including fish. (See John 1:1-2 and 14.) There were several instances in the life of Jesus when fish responded to His bidding, even for the payment of taxes (Matthew 17:27).

When studying fish sounds or any aspect of creation, we see God’s wisdom and design. Romans 1:20 tells us we can know God by the things He has made, but each discovery increases our understanding of how awesome God is.

Reference: “What Does the Fish Say?” in the March 9, 2024 issue of Science News, pages 18 -23

March 21, 2024March 20, 2024

Ant Antibiotic Treatment

Researchers at the University of Wurzburg in Germany have discovered that a species of African ants make antibiotics and treat the infections of their wounded comrades. The species studied is Matabele ants (Megaponera analis)in sub-Saharan Africa. Their diet consists of termites. The ants raid termite nests to get their food, but the termite soldiers fight back with their powerful mandibles. Many ants are wounded, and some wounds become infected and require an ant antibiotic treatment.

Healthy ants pick up their wounded comrades and carry them back to the nest to treat their infected wounds. The ants create an antibiotic substance in a gland on the side of their thorax. Researchers found that the wound treatment reduced mortality rate by 90%. Can humans learn from this ant antibiotic treatment?

Proverbs 6:6 says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise.” The writer of Proverbs was primarily concerned with food gathering, but God programmed a set of survival instructions into the ant’s DNA. Researchers say that the primary pathogen in the ant’s wounds is a leading cause of infections in humans, so this study may lead to the development of improved antibiotics.

Humans have much to learn about maintaining our existence on Earth, and every form of life has secrets to teach us. Learning what God has built into life is essential to answer major questions of medical science.

Reference: phys.org

March 20, 2024March 19, 2024

Earthquake Catastrophe Risk

The United States Geological Survey published a map showing the earthquake catastrophe risk in different parts of the country. This data comes from seismic records of 130,000 earthquakes of a magnitude on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale of six or higher, which is severe enough to frighten people, move furniture, and cause other damage, like falling plaster. Most of us know about some geologically unstable regions of the country, but other areas may be surprising.

The highest earthquake catastrophe risk within the next 100 years is essentially the whole western edge of California, the southern part of Alaska from Juneau through the Aleutians, and the eastern islands of Hawaii. Those areas with a 75 to 95% chance of a damaging earthquake include virtually all of California, the Yellowstone National Park area, and the intersection of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The study says that 230 million people live in areas with a 95% chance of a damaging earthquake.

The point of this data is that there will be a massive earthquake sometime in the next 100 years, causing death and structural damage. Many people will blame this coming catastrophe on God. The fact is that earthquakes are a natural product of the uplift of the land. Without those forces, erosion would have brought all land masses to sea level. Despite the data, humans continue to build huge structures in areas where earthquake catastrophe risk is high. This can be added to a long list of situations where humans set themselves up for a catastrophe.

My wife and I were on Hawaii’s “Big Island” when Kilauea erupted in May 2018. In one of the places we visited, lava flow had destroyed many homes. We happened across a man who was working on a new house. I asked him if he was not concerned that another lava flow might destroy this house. He laughed and said, “God wouldn’t do that to me twice.”

We need to understand that God does not cause bad things to happen to us. If you eliminate what humans do to each other and the foolish acts humans engage in (like building a house in the path of a lava flow or on an earthquake faultline), much human pain and suffering would stop. Read James 1:13-17.

Reference: U.S. Geological Survey HERE and HERE

March 19, 2024March 18, 2024

Analysis of the Bennu Asteroid Sample

In 2016, NASA launched a spacecraft to the asteroid Bennu with the goal of collecting a sample and returning it to Earth for analysis. The canister containing the sample material arrived back on Earth last year. Everything worked fine until scientists tried to open the canister. Thirty-two screws held the container closed, and two of them were stuck. Scientists were cautious not to contaminate the asteroid material with Earth molecules, so they had to develop a new tool to remove the stuck screws. On January 10, 2024, they succeeded in opening the canister to analyze the contents. Analysis of the Bennu asteroid sample gave interesting results.

Some people have suggested that creation occurred in various regions of the universe with different materials. Those who promote that idea have maintained that chance, not creative design, formed the cosmos. They predicted that material from outer space would contain different elements arranged differently from what we see on Earth. The Genesis account maintains that creation is a singular act of God, and Proverbs 8:22-30 indicates that He used wisdom in the creation.

The Bennu minerals contain no elements that don’t exist on Earth, and the rocks formed by those elements contain no surprises. They contain serpentinite formed from olivine and pyroxene. Those minerals are familiar to anyone who has taken a petrology course. Analysis of the Bennu asteroid sample shows evidence of being formed by ice made of carbon monoxide and ammonia. That requires extremely cold conditions, which could only exist far from the Sun. Temperatures needed to form carbon monoxide and ammonia ice do not exist on any of the inner planets. So, Bennu was formed in the outer solar system beyond Mars.

We still have much to learn about how the formation of the solar system, and this research may be more critical as humans venture beyond the Moon into outer space. Even the possibility of establishing human colonies on other planets will depend on what materials are available there. Analysis of the Bennu asteroid sample is only the beginning. The more we learn about the solar system, the more we realize the importance of the unique features of Earth. It also reminds us of how essential it is to care for the planet God has given us.

Reference: Science News, March 9, 2024, page 7.

March 18, 2024March 17, 2024

The Origin of Life on Planet Earth

When I was in college in the late 1950s, our biology professor at Indiana University gave us a nicely packaged explanation of the origin of life on planet Earth. In 1952, scientists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey built a test tube environment containing water vapor, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen, the gases Alexander Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane said would be needed for life to begin.

Miller and Urey used an electrical discharge to simulate lightning in the primitive Earth and placed a trap to collect any residue produced. After a time, they found the trap contained some amino acids, the building blocks of life. The media and our textbooks wrongly suggested that science had created life.

An old adage says, “Science education is the process of taking data from the professor’s notes and transferring it to the student’s test paper with as little interference as possible in between.” As a young atheist, I loudly proclaimed that it was impossible for an educated person to believe that God created life.

Nobody thought to question the assertion that the Miller-Urey experiment explained the origin of life on planet Earth. In fact, amino acids are not life, and life contains only specific amino acids. The Miller-Urey apparatus destroyed amino acids faster than it produced them, so the trap was necessary to prevent them from all being destroyed. The apparatus contained no oxygen, but in my geology class, we learned that there was much evidence for oxygen in the Precambrian rocks of the ancient Earth.

The quest to understand the origin of life (OOL) remains a topic of intense debate and exploration. In a recent publication in the esteemed journal Nature, researchers Nick Lane and Joana Xavier candidly acknowledged the persistent challenges in OOL research:

“The origins-of-life field faces the same problems with culture and incentives that afflict all of science—overselling ideas towards publication and funding, too little common ground between competing groups, and perhaps too much pride: too strong an attachment to favored scenarios and too little willingness to be proven wrong.”

Dr. James Tour of Rice University has called this area of research “clueless,” but the media continues to make unsupported claims. Perhaps the most crucial point of this research into the origin of life on planet Earth is that if science ever does discover the OOL, all it will show is that it took intelligence for it to happen in the first place.

We need Christian young people to go into science so they can explain false claims about OOL to those of us who may not have the inclination or the training to understand it solely by ourselves. However, we still need to educate ourselves enough to fulfill the admonition of 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”

References: “To unravel the origin of life, treat findings as pieces of a bigger puzzle” in the journal Nature for February 26, 2024, referenced in Evolutionnews.org February 28, 2024

March 15, 2024March 14, 2024

Seeing God or Seeking God

We have often referred to Romans 1:19-20 which tells us that God can be plainly seen in the things He has made. However, skeptics frequently challenge us by saying, “If God is real, why doesn’t He reveal Himself?” They want to see God “in the flesh.” But God is not flesh and blood. John 4:24 says, “God is spirit…” Seeing God is just not possible.

God’s desire for us is to seek Him. As Paul shared with the pagans in Athens, God created us with a desire to “seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27 NKJV). The journey of seeking God is not only a path to finding Him but also a source of profound joy as we discover Him in the intricate details of His creation.

Suppose God appeared to us in all His glory. The Bible tells us that in our physical state, we could not stand to see His glory. Moses had to be hidden in the cleft of the rock to protect him from seeing God’s glory. We can’t understand how that sight could have been too much for Moses’ feeble eyes to behold. However, Moses could see God’s work, just as we can.

God loves us and wants us to love Him. If we could see God, would we be terrified? Would we obey God’s commands out of fear rather than love? Fear is a powerful motivating factor, but God wants our love. God showed His love in the form of a physical person, Jesus Christ. Jesus was God, but He was also human. He was Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus was not hidden, but many people refused to see who He really was despite His miracles. (See John 19:16.)

Seeing God in His full glory is not something we will experience in this life. However, we can find immense joy in seeing His handiwork. If God were to fully reveal Himself before our eyes, our physical beings would not be able to withstand His glory (Exodus 33:20). If we somehow managed to survive, our service to Him would be driven by fear and terror, not love. We would lose the joy of discovering Him in His works. The experience of physically seeing God, even if possible, might be overwhelming. On the other hand, finding God in the things He has made is a delightful experience, akin to a child’s delight in finding the one they seek in a game of hide-and-seek. May we all discover that kind of joy as we earnestly seek and find God.

March 14, 2024March 13, 2024

Increase in Alcohol Deaths in the U.S.

Alcohol is the most destructive drug that has ever existed on planet Earth, and we see that in the increase in alcohol deaths. The Centers for Disease Control reported that from 2016 to 2021, deaths from alcohol use in the United States increased 29.3% from 137,927 to 178,307. Deaths among males increased 26.8%, and among females, the increase was 34.7%. The CDC makes a point that their data is only for deaths that are 100% attributable to alcohol use.

In ancient times, the term used for a substance (not grapes) used as a drug was “strong drink.” The Bible distinguishes between “wine” and “strong drink.” We find wine mentioned 141 times in the Old Testament and 32 times in the New Testament – always referring to the juice from grapes. The difference between “old wine” and “new wine” was the aging and fermentation of the juice. The juice was mixed with water because the water was not fit to drink without it, so the alcohol content was at a maximum between 10 and 15%. The term “strong drink” is mentioned 23 times in the Old Testament and one time in the New Testament (Luke 1:15). Scholars tell us that this refers to any drink derived from sources other than grapes, and the alcohol content could be as high as 20%.

The wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-11) was better than all other wines available, but it was not “strong drink.” Modern distillation did not happen until 1500 A.D., and that is when alcohol became a “recreational drug.” Death due to alcohol consumption was virtually unknown until several years later, but it is epidemic today.

Should we be concerned about the increase in alcohol deaths? Suppose death from some other product claimed 178,307 lives in a year. What would we do about it? Christians view our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:15) and stand against all things that would damage them. A collateral benefit of that belief is freedom from the damage that alcohol causes.

Reference: CDC.gov

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Richard Hoyt for researching the meaning of new wine, old wine, and strong drink.

March 7, 2024March 5, 2024

The Effects of Plasmas

Most people are familiar with the three states of matter—solid, liquid, and gas. However, they may not know there is a fourth state of matter—plasma. You may be surprised to learn that plasmas are the most abundant form of matter in the cosmos. The effects of plasmas can help us understand many UFO sightings and may be the method God used to accomplish some of His work on Earth.

When matter becomes hot enough or is altered by strong magnetic fields, the electrons may split away from their parent atoms. When that happens, the electrons and the ionized nucleus give off light. Stars are made of plasma produced by the intense heat of their nuclear fires. We see examples of plasmas in our daily lives in fluorescent and neon lights and lightning.

Plasma can move in various ways and become attracted to solid matter. People have observed plasmas following aircraft and around nuclear power plants. NASA astronauts have seen large plasmas moving through space. When they descend into Earth’s atmosphere, they become attracted to almost anything, especially things with great heat or a strong magnetic field. Plasmas can have many shapes, including balls, cigar shapes, and disks. Many UFO sightings are almost sure to be the effects of plasmas.

Could God have used plasmas to produce some of the visual effects the Bible describes? The star of Bethlehem, the bush Moses saw that was not consumed, and the pillar of fire that led ancient Israel are all possible plasmas. How about the extended sunshine in Joshua 10? God can use natural methods for many of the things the Bible describes. Relegating them to superstition or myth is ignoring the reasonable causes we know exist. In the Bible or UFO sightings, observers may see the effects of plasmas and not understand what they are.

Reference: Wikipedia