Bible Archives

June 4, 2025June 2, 2025

Genetic Difference Between Humans and Chimpanzees

The media has popularized the myth that the genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees is only 1%. Recent research shows that the variance is 15% or more. What we have here is the old graduate student mentality: “Make sure your data conforms to your conclusions.” If you are trying to prove that humans came from apes and that genetics supports that faith, you cannot accept the 15% data. The result is the popular 1% myth.

The Bible is silent on how God made the human body, stating only that He formed it “of the dust of the earth” (Genesis 2:7 and 3:19). These verses use the Hebrew word “yatsar,” meaning to form as a potter would shape a vase from clay. The Bible does not tell us how God formed the first human or how long He took to do it.

One thing is clear: both men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This refers to the human soul, not the physical body. God is a spiritual being, not a physical one. Humans are uniquely endowed with a soul, a spiritual component that distinguishes humanity from all other life on Earth. The human soul enables us to create music and art, to worship, and to develop the capacity for critical thinking. We are not driven by instinct as animals are.

Some physical components of the human body are similar to those of chimpanzees. Stereoscopic vision, an opposable thumb, and body hair are some genetic similarities. The fact that the genetic similarity between humans and chimpanzees is 85% should not be surprising, given that fruit flies share 60% of their genes with humans. God has used the best design in many features of all animal bodies.

What separates humans from animals is our spiritual makeup, not our genes. However, the 1% genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees is a myth.

References: Evolution News, the journal Nature, and wikipedia

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025

Only Humans Can Sing

The claim that animals sing just like humans is based on misinformation. Only humans can produce music, a fact supported by both definition and experience. A dictionary definition of music is: “The art of arranging sounds in time that expresses ideas and emotions to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.” The dictionary also gives the following definition of singing: “The use of the human voice to provide a succession of notes to produce a desired effect.” Only humans can sing.

Music has a proven effect on humans. My son Timothy was born with multiple handicaps. He was blind, severely mentally challenged, and had cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and schizophrenia. What Tim did not have was a problem with his hearing. If we put on a record of one of his favorite artists, he would smile and sit quietly through the entire record.

The Bible records the effect of music on humans. King Saul was mentally disturbed. The one thing that gave him peace was David and his harp (1 Samuel 16:14-16). The Old Testament includes many references to the role of music. In Daniel 3:5-15, we read that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, used music to call people to worship his gold image. In Ecclesiastes 2:8, we read that Solomon had singers serving him. In Nehemiah 12:27-28, we see that singers and players celebrated the dedication of the restored Jerusalem wall. The Psalms are songs, and many of them refer to making music.

Music has played a significant role in Christianity. Ephesians 5:19 tells Christians to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” A psalm is a current expression of needs. A hymn is a song of praise to God. Spiritual songs are songs that instruct or motivate. In recent years, Bill Gaither and others have popularized gospel music.

Can animals do these things? The answer is no. Only humans can sing. Animals make sounds and “songs” for survival purposes. Dogs bark, cats meow, and birds “sing” for survival reasons. Whales in the broad expanse of the ocean contact one another by emitting low frequencies that travel long distances. A cardinal sits outside our window and “sings.” But what is he actually doing? He is saying to all other cardinals, “Stay out of my territory and away from my mate or else.” He is not creating music.

Animal communication is a demonstration of God’s design and wisdom, but only humans can sing as a product of our spiritual nature in God’s image. Humans need to sing and make music. See Colossians 3:16 and Hebrews 2:12. God created us to enjoy the gift of music and use it to honor Him.

May 23, 2025May 23, 2025

Male and Female Bodies are Different

“Failure to protect the female category in sports is one of the most egregious forms of violence against women and girls.” Those are the words of Reem Alsalem, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, who reported that female athletes have lost nearly 900 medals to males competing in the female category. The scientific fact is that the male and female bodies are different by design.

This website deals with evidence and promotes the concept that science and faith are friends, not enemies. Stating that since Genesis 1 says God made Eve from Adam’s rib, men and women are the same is a misunderstanding of the biblical message. We are all one spiritually, not physically. In Galatians 3:28, we read, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Obviously, that is not true physically, but it is true spiritually, so those who quote this passage to say that there should be unity in all sports are not understanding the Bible.

The fact is that male and female bodies are different by design. Males and females have different-sized muscles, pelvises, and skeletal structures. You will never see a female fullback in the NFL or a female center in the NBA. You will never see a male giving birth to a child, even if an embryo was in some way placed in a male.

This issue has become a political manipulation. The tragic end of medical techniques used to control hormones and surgically alter genitalia will become clear. Those who have had transgender medical procedures as children will realize that their life expectancies have been drastically reduced and their relationships terminated by a decision made when they were too young to understand the consequences.

Genesis 2:24 says, “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” In Genesis 2:18, we read, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God created woman to do what man could not do on his own. Trying to change what God created will not work because male and female bodies are different by design. God intended the sexes to work together, fulfilling the roles He gave them.

Data from: “Faith and Justice” newsletter of Alliance Defending Freedom, February 2025, page 3.

May 20, 2025May 19, 2025

Our Pets Don’t Have Souls

Domestic animals make our lives full and sometimes are our best friends. Some people ask whether animals go to heaven, or say they won’t be happy in heaven if their pet isn’t there. Saying that our pets don’t have souls is very emotionally loaded.

I am an animal lover and have had eight dogs and three cats, all of which I loved dearly. I know what wonderful companions animals can be and how much they can enrich our lives. I also know that for some people, animals have been their primary link to sanity. People have called dogs “man’s best friend” because they don’t have the limitations of many humans. Animals trust, obey, remain faithful, are always truthful, always positive, always loving, and are always there. Our human relationships are likely to fail all these tests. Animals frequently serve as the needed equilibrium for people who have been hurt in their human relationships.

Please think carefully about the previous paragraph. It is a severe indictment of the Church. When I hear someone say that their dog is the only friend they have in the world, I know the Church has failed them. God intended for the Church to be the one force in our lives that would never let us down, but that has rarely been the case due to human weakness.

With those things in mind, the fact is that animals are not humans. The Bible makes it clear that humans are uniquely created in the image of God, giving us characteristics that animals don’t have. Our pets don’t have souls and are not the final answer to the isolation some of us feel.

When we are in heaven and no longer bound by time, will we be able to go back and revisit the animals that blessed our lives? I have no idea, but I believe our priorities and relationships will be different then. The Church often fails to support people who are hurt, isolated, lonely, and unfulfilled. I hope we will begin to do a better job of healing them with our love, compassion, and fellowship.

May 14, 2025May 13, 2025

Why We Have Four Gospels

When I was an atheist, it seemed ridiculous to me for there to be four accounts of the same story. Why not have one good account instead of four shoddy ones? The answer to why we have four gospels did not come to me for many years.

The old explanation that four different witnesses reported different things did not hold up well. Having one complete account made more sense to me. I finally came to see why we have four Gospels is because of the readers, not the writers. One of the problems that many Americans have with the Bible is that they assume it was written for Americans. The Bible is not an American book, and it is not about Americans.

We have three synoptic gospel accounts written by different authors, specifically designed for different groups of readers. In spite of that, there is an amazing accord between them. The synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke give a general view, or synopsis, of the events of Christ’s ministry.

The scholars who study the gospels tell us that 606 of the 661 verses of Mark appear in Matthew and that 380 of the verses of Mark are found in Luke. Mark is the oldest and shortest of the synoptic gospels. Matthew is very Jewish and contains much material that would be of interest to the Jewish culture, as well as covering the material in Mark. Luke was a well-educated Greek and a physician. His writing does not contain the Jewish slant of Matthew, and his approach would appeal to the Gentile, or Greek, population.

The Gospel of John is not synoptic but evangelistic. John’s purpose is to convince his readers that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. The very nature of Jesus as the logos in John 1:1 is expanded and carried throughout the gospel. Much of the information in John is not in the other Gospels, because it has a different purpose and intent. It is an apologetic gospel to address the skeptic and the uninformed.

Suggesting that the reason why we have four gospels is to prevent details from being left out is a vast oversimplification. The four gospels together give us a logical, reasonable, and essential understanding of what and who Jesus was and what He came to do. The Bible gives us an accurate record of the gospel.

May 13, 2025May 12, 2025

Questions About Life in Three Categories

Everyone is curious about the things we see in nature. Our posts here and on Facebook often concern animals, plants, and ecosystems. Most people looking at living creatures believe they see design and have questions about life in three categories.

The first category of questions, asked primarily by scientists or the scientifically minded, is, “How does it work?” We want to know how DNA determines the various traits of living things. We are curious about how green plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy to power their cells. How does a bat find its prey in the dark? How can an octopus control eight arms independently? The questions are numerous.

The second category is, “What is the purpose?” Atheist scientist Richard Dawkins stops after the “how” question to say, “Biology is the study of things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” But then he makes it very clear that he believes they are not designed and have no purpose. On the other hand, theologians look for a purpose. Since God created the world, He must have a purpose in mind.

Both scientists and theologians ask questions in the third category. They want to know, “How and when did this originate? How did the universe come into being? How did life come from non-living chemicals? When did the first human life originate, and how?” For believers, the Bible gives us basic answers to those questions. However, since the Bible is not a science textbook, it leaves many questions unanswered. That is where science can find answers.

Looking at questions about life in three categories, the third category is very contentious because scientists and believers disagree. I mean that unbelieving scientists disagree with believers and vice versa. But also, scientists disagree with other scientists, and believers disagree with other believers. The curious thing is that in recent years, scientists have resolved some of their disagreements. Those who once insisted that the universe was eternal have been forced to accept the evidence of a cosmic beginning about 13.8 billion years ago.

Believers, however, continue to argue about young-earth and old-earth theology. All believers need to accept the fact that the Bible does not tell us when the universe began or when Adam and Eve lived. As Christians, we must let the Bible speak where it speaks and allow science to speak where it speaks. Of the questions about life in three categories, the most important for believers to examine falls into the second category. “What is the purpose of life?” That is a question the Bible clearly answers. For example, read Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:22, and Ephesians 3:10-12.

May 9, 2025May 8, 2025

Confidence in Astronomical Observations

Some people have asked how we can know that astronomers’ statements about the evolution and demise of stars are factual. This question is usually asked by those in religious denominations that demand a young Earth, which means a young cosmos. Even though the time factors are much longer than human existence, we can have confidence in astronomical observations.

Although humanity has not been around long enough to observe the complete life of a star, we have seen intermediate steps in star evolution. Astronomers plot the luminosity (brightness) of stars against their surface temperature (or color/spectral type) with graphs called the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram. It’s a powerful tool for classifying stars, studying their evolution, and understanding their properties. An example is the Crab Nebula.

In 1054, astronomers saw a star explode. The debris pattern of the explosion resembles a crab, so astronomers call it the Crab Nebula. Almost a millennium later, measurements show that the nebula is roughly 10 light years in diameter and is expanding at 1,500 kilometers per second. Observations of the Crab Nebula by the Hubble telescope in 2005 and the Webb telescope in 2023 show steps in the life of a star. Observations of other stars provide more information about a star’s lifetime, giving us confidence in astronomical observations.

Even though I didn’t see the launch, if I see a rocket climbing higher in the sky with every passing second, I know it was launched. I can even compute the launch time. When a car comes to a stop, leaving tire tracks, I know the car was going fast when someone applied the brakes. Every day, we understand evidence of a process without seeing it from start to finish. Astronomers come to understand the life history of stars in the same way.

As we have pointed out before, the Bible does not tell us the age of the cosmos or Earth. We can have confidence in astronomical observations. Young-earth theology is not only in opposition to the evidence but is also inconsistent with the biblical account.

References: apod.nasa.gov for May 8, 2025, and Wikipedia.

April 24, 2025April 22, 2025

Martian Surface Is Inhospitable for Life

As we have reported on this website, the Martian surface is inhospitable for life. New discoveries show that no life exists there now, and the chemistry of material reached by drilling into Mars’ surface does not show that life has ever existed on that planet.

The media suggest that life on Earth is not exceptional while the scientific data shows that our planet is the only place in the solar system where life can exist. Skeptics would like to find life beyond Earth because they feel it would show that God did not create and design Earth for the existence of humans. Unfortunately, the media often cherry-picks previous data while ignoring more recent findings.

In a USA Today article, Erik Lagatta reported that the Curiosity rover detected some strange spheres in the past. At that time the media claimed that biological processes could have produced these spheres. Further tests showed they were mineral deposits that had nothing to do with life. They were probably formed by groundwater circulating through rock pores.

NASA is interested in the rocks on Mars because they can tell us much about the planet’s geological history. Taking a fresh look at a previously collected sample, NASA scientists found fragments of fatty acids, the largest organic molecules so far discovered on Mars. However, fatty acids do not necessarily indicate life because they can be generated by chemical reactions related to geological processes.

The Martian surface is inhospitable for life, but as we have pointed out before, whether life exists elsewhere in the cosmos is not an issue for the biblical account of life on Earth. If there is life elsewhere, God created it. However, we will probably never know because the distances to other galaxies are so vast that we can never travel there to find out.

First Peter 3:15 tells us to be ready to “give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that we have.” There is vast evidence for the existence of God, and it is essential to know why we believe what we believe so we can answer our children’s questions.

Reference: Eric Lagatta in USA Today, April 1, 2025

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April 18, 2025April 18, 2025

Christ Has Indeed Been Raised from the Dead

Only one thing can explain the birth and growth of the Christian faith, and it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire New Testament centers on the resurrection. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:14 and 20, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Factors that verify the truth of the resurrection story include the testimony of direct eyewitnesses recorded soon after the events, which include embarrassing details. The direct sources were the eyewitnesses, especially Matthew, Mark, and John. They were recorded soon after the events while other eyewitnesses would have been alive to refute the information, but they didn’t. Paul was also an eyewitness, and he wrote within 20 years of the resurrection and recorded an early Christian creed that believers were reciting perhaps as early as a few months after the resurrection. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-7.)

What about the embarrassing details? They are details that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John included in their gospels that a writer making up the story would surely have left out because they reflect badly on the apostles. They include:

When Jesus was arrested, the disciples deserted in fear.

Matthew 26:31, 56; Mark 14:50-52

Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus.

Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62

The disciples doubted the resurrection reports.

Mark 16:9-14; John 20:24-29

The disciples hid from the Jewish leaders.

John 20:19

Women were the first to testify of the resurrection at a time when the testimony of women was considered less reliable.

Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10

Many other evidences support the truth of the resurrection story, but these embarrassing factors are worth considering. As Paul wrote, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”

April 17, 2025April 17, 2025

Foster Care and Adoption

As the father of three children to whom I am not biologically related, I can appreciate the challenges faced by 369,000 children (2022 data) who find themselves separated from their biological parents. Some have said that the most significant pain a woman has is not the physical pain of giving birth but the psychological pain of raising a child to adulthood. Because of that, 62% of children removed from their homes and placed in foster care are removed because of neglect. Raising a child is difficult, and an overwhelming number of men in our culture are simply too weak to participate in raising a child. That number grows yearly, meaning that single moms raise more and more children.

The other problem involved in the lives of foster kids is that the average length of time a child remains in foster care is two years. Only 7% of foster kids spend five years or more in foster care and only 9% transition from foster care to adulthood. An interesting fact about foster kids is that virtually none of them are raised in homes where atheism dominates the foster parents. If you believe that this life is all you have, why would you give up any of it to raise a child who isn’t yours? I recently raised that point with an atheist couple. They responded that they had a dog, which was all the love they needed.

Jesus Christ had a lot to say about children. In Matthew 18:5, Christ says, “And whosoever gives welcome to one of these little ones receives me, but whosoever corrupts one of these little ones would be better off to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the sea.”

God has given every human being a way to serve and make their life count for good. Some men and women have the gift of giving children love and care. The biggest problem in foster care is that some people use it solely as a source of income, and the child simply moves from one source of neglect to another. One of my children was in foster care for six months, and the foster parents loved him so much that they asked to adopt him. The state officials did not feel it was in the child’s best interest to be in their care. However, when we came to pick up the baby for adoption, they asked if they could continue to have contact with the child.

It takes incredible strength for a woman who has given birth to a baby to turn that child over to someone else to raise. Many women cannot do it even if they know it is best for the child. As it turned out, this child had multiple congenital disabilities. We had a close relationship with the foster parents and built a house next door to them. Our adopted son lived for 50 years, and we were all blessed by the experience. That is what foster care should be. The details of this story are available in a booklet titled “Timothy, My Son and My Teacher.”