No Chance For Chance

I was curious this morning, as I am most mornings, and I was hoping someone, specifically a naturalist, or perhaps a group of evolutionary biologists, could help me understand the pictures above.

How is it that the architecture of the PowerMac computer MUST have a designer responsible for it's creation, and that anyone with a sound mind knows that there is NO way, that it could have been put together by random events...but when some people see images from the human anatomy and think about life as we know it, they actually come to a conclusion that we are nothing more than the products of time and chance?

...there is no chance for chance...

The sooner everyone realizes this, the sooner our world will improve. Belief in evolution and naturalism does not simply stop at the discussion of origins, it bleeds into the outcomes of our decisions. The way we view and understand God shapes every fabric of life...

...it's time to stop believing in science fiction.

...Jesus is Truth. Jesus is reality.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made.
~ John 1.1-3 ~

God, Gekko, and Greed:Discerning Truth From Superstition

Christmas night 2010...1930 hours...as things were settling down we had decided on how to wrap up the day (pun intended)...and as huge movie fans, what better way to do it than by inviting Gordon Gekko into the living room! So I gathered together with the fam, sat by the Christmas tree, sipped on hot organic apple cider, and watched Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps.

One of my favorite things to do as I watch movies or read books is to evaluate the writing and the characterization from a world view perspective. I was pleasantly surprised tonight, because one can not watch more than a few minutes of this movie before they are rushed into worldview content!

The movie starts out with Gekko being released from prison, and as he is walking out to freedom, we hear Shia LaBeouf's character, Jake Moore, narrating about the Cambrian Explosion (mentioned at least twice in the movie) and then whether or not the human race is a product of evolution or design. I will paraphrase his narration, as he says something to the effect of, "There was a single event in history, The Cambrian Explosion, where we all evolved at once...some say we are here by evolution, some say it's by design...no one can explain it, but now we are all here."

Now, I will not go into depth about the Cambrian Explosion and evolution vs design, but suffice it to say, the Cambrian Explosion poses serious problems for those who try to defend Darwinian Macro Evolution, and there is overwhelming evidence for Intelligent Design overthrowing evolution as the origin of life.

So to move on, I want to get into a thought experiment. The movie is plastered with stereotypical Wall Street persona...the cut throat, stab-in-the-back, 'eat your own,' strategies of big business, where personal worth is defined by net worth and egos are measured by the size of one's bank account. Thus, we see an evolutionary theme peppered through out the movie...characteristics of social Darwinism, where Wall Street traders and corporate raiders are on the prowl in a contest of 'survival of the fittest.'

So here is the thought: If Darwinian evolution is true and we do live in a survival of the fittest environment, then why would it matter if people used insider information and spread false rumors in order to make personal gain? Why do we see pain and suffering in the characters of this movie who get wronged? Why did Gekko ever go to prison in the first place in the original movie? If evolution is true, then this is how things should work, and those who get destroyed in the process simply are not fit to survive and the evolution mechanism continues to do its thing...

...but those who are intellectually honest know why. It's because man is made "Imago Dei"...in the Image of God...we are created in God's image and therefore have inherent value independent of our utility or function.

Unlike animals in the wild, we have a moral code, a moral law, and a moral law needs a moral law giver = God of The Bible. Even those who believe in evolution know it. They just simply deny it. They may, in theory, believe in evolution, but in reality, they live in God's world.

We know this is true because as the people of Wall Street are cheating and scheming, those who believe in evolution say that it is wrong and that those guilty should be punished. But on what grounds do those who believe in the origins of life happening via chance, have to call something right or wrong?

Even Gekko's famous quote, "Greed is good," has implications. When it comes to cheating and lying, or whether greed is good or bad, if evolution is true, how do we know how to categorize lying vs honesty or good vs bad. Dishonest actions and evil scheming should simply be strategies for survival and greed should simply be a technique used by the fittest of all...but anyone who actually thinks about life and is aware of truth, knows deep down inside that explanation of life outside of God is mere superstition.

We even see this in the movie, as Jake Moore goes onto say, "It's funny. The more we found ourselves as the slaves of chance... the more superstitious we become."

Superstition sums up evolutionary theory. It's nothing more than a way to rationalize one's denial of a Creator God. And as Moore's character at the beginning of the movie says, "...no one can explain it, but now we are all here," I want to say that it's not a matter of explaining, it's a matter of accepting...

The explanation comes via accurate historical documents contained in The Holy Bible as well as Jesus of Nazareth, The One who was sent on a rescue mission for all of humanity. The Bible teaches it and reality confirms it. All one has to do is observe life and accept the reality of truth.

Greed is not defined by what something costs, but by what it costs you.

If anything costs your faith or your family, the price is too high. ~Max Lucado~

Science Will Win?

Just watched an interview on ABC news where Diane Sawyer interviewed astrophysicist and one of the greatest scientist of all-time, Stephen Hawking...

...in the interview, when Sawyer asked if there was a way to reconcile religion and science, Hawking said, "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."

Just before this statement, Hawking says that human life is an accident...here is his quote:

"They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible." (emphasis added).

...and then to conclude the interview, Sawyer asked what three pieces of advice Hawking gives his children...Hawking says the following:

"One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it," he said. "Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away."

Do you see the contradictions?

> One, how can science win if it can not explain with certainty the origins of the universe based on observation and reason?

> Two, if human life is an accident, why would someone tell their kids that work gives 'meaning' and 'purpose?'...and why would love matter?...if human life is insignificant and accidental, then nothing has purpose and love is just an illusion...

> Third, In his new Discovery series, "Into the Universe," Hawking said intelligent alien life almost certainly exists, even speculating on the shape of creatures that could exist on other planets and moons.

Wait, I thought science wins because it is based off of observation and reason? Has anyone observed an alien...and why is it that it's always intelligent alien life? If aliens exist, who says they are intelligent?

Look, Stephen Hawking is freaking brilliant, and I can understand that he may wonder why he was diagnosed with ALS...he was diagnosed with ALS at 21...he is now 68...once diagnosed, he was told that he would not live more than a few years...

...you know what I think? I don't think Stephen Hawking is an accident and I don't think it is a coincidence that he has defied all odds by living well into his 60's...I believe he has purpose and his contributions to life are significant...

In terms of family Hawking has fathered 3 children and has one grandchild...do you think they would say he is an accident or insignificant? Nope. And I don't believe he would say his children and grandchild are insignificant either...

In terms of work, as physicist Kip Thorn at last week's World Science Festival event honoring Hawking, said, "Stephen has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of the universe, particularly of warp space and warp time in the universe, black holes, the origin of the universe..."

...so could it be that God has used Stephen Hawking to show that despite circumstances, a human life is capable of doing incredible things...Life is not insignificant nor accidental...We know love because God is love...we have purpose because God created us for His Glory...I pray that Stephen will come to see that God loves him and has used him for specific purposes...

Is There Really A God?

Great article by Ken Ham & Jason Lisle, who write for answersingenesis.org...the article is in reference to the often asked question, "Is there really a God?"

They offer great points and counter points that increase our faith and give substantiation to our logical and reasonable claims that God is the creator of all.

...here is the link, followed by a great excerpt (green ink) from the article:

Is There Really God?

"But if the universe were merely a chance accident, then why should logical reasoning be possible? If my brain is merely the product of mutations (guided only by natural selection), then why should I think that it can determine what is true? The secular, evolutionary worldview cannot account for the existence of logical reasoning.

Likewise, only a biblical worldview can really account for the existence of science—the study of the natural world. Science depends on the fact that the universe obeys orderly laws which do not arbitrarily change. But why should that be so? If the universe were merely an accident, why should it obey logical, orderly laws—or any laws at all for that matter? And why should these laws not be constantly changing, since so many other things change? (emphasis added).

The Bible explains this. There are orderly laws because a logical Law-Giver upholds the universe in a logical and consistent way. God does not change; so He sustains the universe in a consistent way. Only a biblical worldview can account for the existence of science and technology." (link added).

• • •

Those are great points, if we are created by accident and random chance events, why is order or logic even possible?...if evolution states that we are created via chance and adaptation, why is it that the very laws of the universe have not changed? It seems like the gravitational acceleration should no longer be 9.8 m/s squared...or why is the speed of sound still 340 m/s? You can not claim that we exist by random chance and disorder and then magically believe that we now exist off of order and structure...that violates not only Scripture and logic, but it violates science and the second law of thermodynamics...disorder can not create order...

Supernatural Explanation

*I find it interesting that when creationists start talking about God's supernatural creation, evolutionists usually counter by saying that everything must be explained by natural science and divine intervention is not science. I find this remark extremely amusing. When we show them that the laws of natural science cannot explain the existence of chirality, evolutionists say that the process happened a long time ago by some unknown method that they cannot explain. Now who's relying on a supernatural explanation? Although they would never call it divine intervention, they certainly are relying on faith and not on scientific facts. Evolution just hopes you don't know chemistry. ~ Charles McCombs, Ph.D ~

Evolution Hopes You Don't Know Chemistry: The Problem with Chirality by Charles McCombs, Ph.D.

Creator, Chance, And Chirality

The Infinite Creator
God is The Infinite Creator. By that I mean that He is the infinite spirit who created the finite being. The word infinite comes from the Latin infinitas or "unboundedness." Finite is defined as having bounds or limits.

Any time you talk with a skeptic or an evolutionary scientist, they resort to the same old question..."Well if God created life, who created God?" To put an end to this irrational and ridiculous question lets look at it like this...All things created, all things finite, and that is to say all things with a purpose, have a creator. God, being The Creator, The infinite spirit, does not need a creator because He is infinite and boundless.

Chance
The difference between infinite and finite leads us to Intelligent Design versus chance. Those who are anti-God say that we exist because of chance...a cosmic accident. What is even worse is when scientist say that the complex human can be created via chance. Scientist who study the laws of the universe and the forces of nature go totally against such knowledge when they believe that chance created us instead of God. Chance, as John MacArthur puts it, is not a force. Chance can not create anything. Chance in essence is nothing. The only thing chance can demonstrate is probability or outcome...for instance, if I flip a quarter there is a 50/50 chance of landing on heads. But it still requires an outside force to create that chance.

Chance Accident
If we are created via chance, that means that humans and all of life are an accident...a random cause floating around with out purpose...do they really believe this insanity, that life has no purpose? Our lives only have purpose if we have been created on purpose, for a purpose, and that comes through the Intelligent Design of God The Father Almighty.

Design Destroys Chance...The Problem With Chirality
Speaking of chance, what would you say the chance would be if I flipped multiple quarters, that every single one of them would land on heads? Not very good. Well the human body is made up of protein & protein is made up of amino acids. Amino Acids come in two forms L and R, known in Organic Chemistry as "Chirality"...(more detail can be read in the awesome article entitled Evolution Hopes You Don't Know Chemistry: The Problem with Chirality)...

...So what would you say the chances are that every single amino acid in the human body is in the L form? Not good? Maybe 50/50 if the mix is L and R?...Well EVERY SINGLE Amino Acid in the human body is in the L form...so much for chance...Every single amino acid in the human body being in the L form screams of Intelligent Design...there is no way that any skeptic or any evolutionary believer can argue this, especially by leaning on their so called "logic" argument...like the author of the aforementioned article says, "Evolution hopes you don't know chemistry."

Understanding
If we want Understanding and how we came into existence, we have to connect to The One who created us, The Carpenter of Creation:

Job 32.8 says, "But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding."

Psalm 111.10 states, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."

The reason people argue about God being the creator is not because their so called theories are correct, it is because they simply do not want God to exist. It's called rationalizing. Humans rationalize because of irrationality. We talk our selves into things. Evolution is an escape, some way to try and avoid the unavoidable.

Evolution Is A Belief, Not a Fact, Not even a Theory
To conclude, here is a nice concise statement from ICR founder Dr. Henry Morris who concluded long ago:

Evolution is, therefore, neither fact, theory, nor hypothesis. It is a belief--and nothing more.⁷

7. Morris, H. 1973. Evolution, Creation, and the Public Schools. Acts & Facts. 2 (3).

The Cross of Christ vs Darwinism's Rubber Ruler

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
~ Hebrews 13.8 ~

An article by The Institute For Creation Research, entitled, Darwin's Rubber Ruler, made me think about our existence and how life began. Followers of Darwin or believers in evolution constantly keep changing their theories, altering their beliefs to "fit" whatever it is that will make their irrational minds sleep better at night.

The main problem I have with these so called "intellectuals" who follow Darwin, evolution, naturalism, or whatever crazy idea it is that they can use to rationalize their irrationality, is that they believe that they are the only ones who 'think' and that it is their thinking that leads to truth, whereas Christians on the other hand do not think because we only rely on faith.

Faith is a key player as followers of Jesus Christ, but God also blessed us with minds to think and He allows our logic to lead us closer to His love. I like how Steve Blakemore, Executive Director of The Institute for Third Millennium Faith puts it:

"Even if the grandeur and scope of our faith transcends the limits of human reason, we still recognize that belief in God is logical. This was certainly the case for the earliest Fathers of the Church, who understood the importance of right reason in the service of our faith. They often speak of our experience of Christ as fides quaestio intellectum — "faith in search of understanding."

See, as Christ Followers, we have a Faith that leads to an understanding. Evolutionist's and skeptics want an understanding that will then lead to faith. The problem is that evolutionist's do have faith, but it's faith in the wrong thing, that thing being chance and random accidents (more on this in the next post).

Evolutionist's and non-believing scientist's want an understanding that is derived from hard facts. They want a measure that proves that something exist. The problem with this is that the very thing they pride themselves on is their major contradiction. They claim precision, validity, reliability, yet when it comes to their beliefs, instead of pulling out a hard standard of measurement, they pull out their flexible rubber ruler that changes based on what they want the outcome to be. Their convictions are their contradictions.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The Cross of Christ does not contradict, and it allows the logical mind that God created us with to lead us to the logical reasoning, and the faith, that He is The Creator of all life.

The Fourth Dimension

In mathematics the fourth dimension, or a four-dimensional space, is an abstract concept, obtained by taking the rules of our three-dimensional space and generalizing them to a space with one more dimension. It has been studied by mathematicians and philosophers for almost two hundred years, both for its own interest and for the insights it offered into mathematics and related fields.*

But for me, 1 Corinthians 2.9-10 gives a better definition of the fourth dimension, a more applicable definition:

But, as it is written,"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God (emphasis added).

You see, there are believers and there are skeptics in almost all areas of life, specifically when it comes to belief in God and belief in Jesus Christ. The problem most skeptics and at times, even immature Christians (myself included) have, is that they are only using "three dimensions," that is, only using the aforementioned "eye," "ear," or "heart." In other words, we try to reason everything out or want some sort of physical proof of seeing, hearing, or feeling. But God takes us to the next level, He gives us the "X" factor...the Fourth Dimension. God gives all believers of Jesus Christ The Gift of The Holy Spirit, and it is when we have The Spirit living with in us, this amazing gift of "the fourth dimension," that we can know "even the depths of God"

...I am all for questioning, all for seeking and research, all for a lifetime of studying, because this is what brings us closer to truth...closer to God...

...and in all reality, the mere fact that we have questions, that we need to seek, actually proves the point that God does exist and that He cares...our inability to know everything from a human perspective proves that we are not God and that we desperately need God...that we desperately need The Holy Spirit teaching us...and the fact that we are finite points to God being infinite...(what is created has a cause, we are created with a cause and need a creator = God...God is infinite and therefore does not need a creator, He is The Creator...but this is for another topic for another day!)

So how do we tap into this fourth dimension and take our life to the next level? It's all about having "The Mind Of Christ." It's what will take us from milk to solid food, (see 1 Cor 3) or as I like to say, from "milk to meat"...can't wait to cover this next topic!

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it (1 Cor 3.1-2)....

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.(1 Cor 3.9)

*Sources
wikipedia.org (The Fourth Dimension)
http://acm.pku.edu.cn/JudgeOnline/problem?id=1022 (Graphic)

God's Masterpiece

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
~ Ephesians 2:10 ~

According to The Oxford American Dictionary, A Masterpiece is a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship ; an artist's or craftsman's best piece of work. We are God's best piece of work. And to know that The Carpenter of Creation has created us in Christ Jesus so that we can do good things, things that He has planned long ago, should give us a Holy Anticipation to live our lives with God-Ordained Passion!

The question is, do we "see" it? Do we see the reality that we are God's Masterpiece? Or are we focusing in on cultures perspective more that God's original design.

God's Plan
God had plans for Mary's life. He planned that she, a virgin, would give birth to The Savior of The World. Her response was, "But how?" Are we saying the same thing for God's plan in our lives? But how?

Holy Anticipation
We must believe that God has already planned for us to do good things, that He has a specific purpose for us to UNLEASH His Glory! We must keep our eyes open and "see" with a Holy Anticipation what God is doing and wants to do through us. Mary kept her eyes open and finally came around to "see" what God was up to:

And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me just as you say. ~ Luke 1.37-38 ~

Living Wide-Eyed In Wonder And Belief
What it comes down to is whether or not we live our lives in "Wide-Eyed Wonder and Belief" or whether we are living "squinty-eyed" in greed and distrust."

From Luke 11.33-36:
"No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room." (Emphasis added)

How are our eyes? Do we "see" what God has planned for us? Are we living in a Holy Anticipation with Wide-Eyed Wonder and Belief? Let's accept the fact that we are God's Masterpiece, and then say, along with Mary:

Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's...ready to serve.
Let it be with me just as you say.

Undeniable vs Unexplainable

Undeniable = adjective
unable to be denied or disputed

Unexplainable = adjective
unable to be explained or accounted for

I was listening to Andy Stanley's series on Defining Moments, and he mentioned how we don't have to understand everything in order to believe in something...I like that, I even go on to say that we don't have to understand everything to believe in The ONE Thing: Jesus Christ.

There are always going to be 'unexplainable's' about creation, salvation, etc...but you have to admit, there are more 'undeniable's' about Creation, Salvation, etc...

If ever in a conversation with a non-believer or anyone who is doubting their faith, I want to make sure I point to the 'undeniable's." These are 'hooks' that they can hang their belief or potential to believe on...

I like how Mark Batterson puts it from his transcript titled, The Evolutionary Elephant, "Sure, it takes faith to believe that the heavens and the earth were the magnum opus of an intelligent Designer but it also takes faith to believe that everything is a result of random chance; in fact, I think it takes more faith... " He goes on to say, "Our sun is 93 million miles away and astronomers estimate that if the earth was just one percent closer or farther away, that we would either burn or freeze because of the change in distance from the sun."

The facts go on and on and on and all point to a God who has designed on purpose. A God who is The Carpenter of Creation...

...can we explain everything? No. Can we deny that there is a God and that He cares about us. Certainly not...there are way too many undeniables.