Look at the world through Biblical Glasses (3)

This is part 3 of 3 of the introductory chapter of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Which of the following statements represents your feeling on belief and truth?

• I believe something, because it is true.
• Something is true, because I believe it.

While the former is clearly the logical choice, our post-modern culture chooses the latter, thinking the act of believing makes things true for the individual. Rather than remaining properly objective, truth becomes subjective, best represented by hyper-tolerance. The selfish mentality says, “So-and-so can believe or do whatever he/she wants to believe or do, as long as he/she doesn’t bother me!”

Defining tolerance can be a difficult task in our society today; I will offer two definitions: Tolerance is “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.” Tolerance is also “the recognition of the rights of an individual to his own opinions and customs, as in religious worship.” When we respect the rights of others to have and express opinions differing from our own, we are being tolerant.

Certainly tolerance is an integral part of our country, but it can be excessively applied. Notice the mentality mentioned above. It says, “As long as he/she doesn’t bother me!” Should we be tolerant of something that causes pain? There is no doubt of the intense pain and suffering that comes with being criticized for holding viewpoints not matching the common perception of normal. (See the movie Angus.)

Tolerance means we do not harm or kill each other on account of our differences. We do not burn each other’s churches, temples, or mosques because of different religious beliefs. We should not treat people differently based on their opinions. At the same time, tolerance does not mean we should ignore our differences, nor does it mean we must refrain from harsh criticism of our opponents and their opinions. It is no crime to say publicly someone’s belief is wrong or sinful. Tolerance does not require acceptance! Tolerance has gotten out of hand to the point where criticism is considered intolerant. The line from true tolerance (recognition of the right to hold and attempt to spread opinions—even evil ones) to extreme tolerance (acceptance of evil behavior) is too often crossed.

Consider the many things in this world once considered intolerable: Abortion, adultery, fornication (consensual sex between non-married persons), cohabitation (living together before marriage), swearing, and dishonesty, to name just a few. These things have moved from intolerable to acceptable, even the expected norm in many cases. This is where tolerance has gone awry.

Diversity in this country can be taken to mean people are bothered by different things. Remember all laws impose one group’s behavioral conviction on all people. For example, the U.S. Government has made robbery illegal. This law compels everyone to avoid stealing, regardless of an individual’s opinion on the matter. Just because it is illegal does not mean it cannot be done; it simply means it will not be tolerated, and there may be consequences to pay if convicted. People get away with much more heinous acts than theft every day. Certainly most of us would agree it is wrong to steal, but I am sure some people in our country think stealing is acceptable. Our Government offends petty thieves and kleptomaniacs by setting a law to prohibit their activity.

On the flipside, abortion is currently a legal act. By law, a pregnant woman may have her unborn baby sucked out of her womb with a vacuum or cut into tiny, manageable pieces to abort the pregnancy. But many people consider abortion equivalent to, or even worse than, premeditated murder. Our Government likewise offends pro-lifers by setting a law that allows this activity. Where does the Federal Government draw the line at offending someone? Does it stop with murder? What about abortion? Does it stop with gay marriages? What about the recognition of same-sex unions? Does it stop with nudity or bad language on television? Not anymore. Ironically, about the only thing this society cannot tolerate is intolerance.

This country was undeniably founded on theistic principles, objective truth. It is absolutely true our founding fathers had the God of the Bible as their foundation. To quote the United States Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” These rights do not come from society or human tradition, and they certainly do not come from evolution. Instead they come from our Creator, God! It is the Creator God Who has established justice and freedom for America, not because we deserve it, but because of His mercy and grace and for His glory. I would argue our nation has prospered throughout her short history because of her foundation on truth. That foundation has been chiseled away in the past forty years, and the corruption stems from lies—evolution and moral relativism. What we see is a lack of truth. Our society no longer recognizes the absolute foundation on which our nation was built.

As our Government determines which actions are beyond the limits of tolerance—that is to say, illegal—I think everyone would agree it is not always correct. Is the Government looking the other way when it comes to evil in our country? To ignore evil in the name of tolerance is to be an accomplice to the evildoer. The Government has certainly had its share of lies and deception. Lies are undoubtedly tolerated in all areas of our society. Dishonesty breeds skepticism about truth. We lose trust in our leaders, because they lie.

According to the Bible, Satan told the first lie when he tempted Eve to disobey God in the Garden of Eden; he said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Eve became skeptical of God when she believed Satan’s lie, and we do the same thing when we believe evolution and moral relativism. Lies make us become skeptical of people, and we begin to trust only ourselves. Many people only care about themselves. Should the individual set the limits on tolerance? Would that not provide for a chaotic anarchy? No universal laws, no universal truths? No justice, no mercy? It seems this is the direction we are headed. What we are forgetting is a foundation of truth, objective, absolute truth.

Perhaps a more obvious example of tolerance and intolerance lies in mathematics. Two plus two equals four. This equation is undeniably, universally, and absolutely true. Any answer other than four is not tolerated. By tolerating only the truthful answer, are we considered intolerant? No! We are correct not to tolerate an incorrect answer! Certainly you are free to disagree, but you would simply be wrong. This truth applies not only in mathematics, but also wherever absolute truth exists. Truth cannot tolerate error. Truth by definition is intolerant.

You might be skeptical on my views of tolerance. Skepticism is one reason our post-modern worldview is on the rise. Skepticism grows quickly with a diminishing ability to trust. As it continues growing more and more difficult to trust people, it may seem logical to turn to yourself. The Bible says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). There comes a point when we must realize we cannot even trust ourselves. We are not perfect, and deep down inside we all know it! The Bible says: “The requirements of the law are written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). The Bible also says: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). We have a built-in morality code we cannot keep. We are not strong enough to hold ourselves accountable for perfect ethical and moral behavior.

Rather than admit to their shortcomings and turn to God for help, post-modernists have said we can decide for ourselves what behavior is okay, despite the absolute truth laid in our hearts that says otherwise. The post-modern worldview teaches we can cover the truth with lies and suppress it long enough to make it go away. The theory of evolution, which attempts to eliminate God from existence, goes a long way in supporting post-modernism. Like Hitler’s Big Lie Technique, if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough, people believe it; it becomes an accepted part of the culture. The post-modern worldview and the theory of evolution are prime examples.

When we examine Biblical history, we will see it has always been difficult and often foolish to trust in mortal men for anything of true value. The Bible says: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save” (Psalm 146:3). Instead, the Bible says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). “Come near to God and He will come near to you” (James 4:8). We should not insist on learning through personal experience; rather we are to learn the lessons history has already taught. The Bible says: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). Trust is a missing quality within the post-modern worldview.

By reviewing Biblical history, we can learn how trust began to gradually deteriorate when sin entered the world long ago. We will see God alone as completely faithful and worthy of our trust. I am so thankful I have learned what I know about the world and its Creator. I want everyone to know what I know and more! I hope it is clear after continued reading that the truth (faith, trust, belief, knowledge) of life after death (heaven or hell) is real for everyone. I hope it is clear that heaven is accessible by only one name—Jesus Christ. The Bible says: “Salvation is found in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This viewpoint is considered intolerant today, so do not take my word for it. Jesus Himself said: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Hell is merited by all who do not trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. All people need to hear this so they can make an informed decision about the worldview to which they subscribe. They should see Christianity is not a blind faith, but “a faith that fits the facts.” The evidence supports the claims of the Bible!

As we embark on a brief overview of Biblical history, I hope to encourage a deeper examination of the overwhelming evidence showing the truth of the Bible. Based on the evidence, we can know it is true! Again, I am not asking you to take my word on the matter; I am asking you to take God’s Word. I am asking you to take some time to investigate the truth of the Bible for yourself. The evidence is really overwhelming! I want to simply give you a starting point. Read on to have a taste—just a taste—of the evidence for God. The Bible says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8).

Look at the world through Biblical Glasses (2)

This is part 2 of 3 from the introductory chapter of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Before proceeding, answer the following questions to see what presuppositions or preconceived notions you may have:

• Where did you come from?
• What is your worldview?
• Why are you here?
• What will happen when you die?

The four main interests humans have deep down inside are: Origin, morality, purpose, and death. How do we know the answers to these questions? Can we be sure of the answers? Should we care about the answers to these questions? Why or why not? I have searched for and studied the truthful answers to the questions above; the answers say things today’s popular worldview does not support.

The popular worldview of our society today is flawed. We see a gradual, yet explicit decline of morality, an increase in hyper-tolerance, the teaching of lies (such as evolution), and a distinct straying from the truth given to us by God.

The bottom line regarding a legitimate worldview is whether or not objective, absolute truth exists. If absolute truth exists, then it is only logical and wise to seek it out, learn it, and follow it, living according to it. If you think it is absolutely true that there is no absolute truth, then you are contradicting and deceiving yourself.

For example, the atheist claims God does not exist. To prove God does not exist, the atheist would have to be God—omniscient and omnipresent. Since no atheists have all the knowledge in the universe, they cannot be sure God does not exist in the knowledge they do not have. They must therefore logically admit God may exist, because no one can be sure He does not exist. Clearly the atheistic viewpoint is illogical and self-contradictory, just like the viewpoint saying it is absolutely true that absolute truth does not exist. Atheism is ignorant and irrational, and when atheists realize this, they generally become agnostic.

Agnostics say it cannot be known whether or not God exists. Similarly, agnostics may say it cannot be known whether or not absolute truth exists. In other words, agnostics are not sure, and they think no one can ever be sure. They do not have scientific proof, which is based on testing and repeatable observations, of God or truth; but they overlook the legal/historic proof, which is proof beyond a reasonable doubt based on a preponderance of reliable evidence. If you are unsure about absolute truth based on scientific proof, then look at absolute truth based on legal/historic proof by answering this simple question:

Was Ronald Reagan sworn in (with his right hand on the Bible) as President of the United States of America in 1980? Of course, you will answer yes to the question. Is it true for everyone all the time? Of course it is! The argument posed against this fact is based on lack of scientific proof—we cannot know for sure, because we were not present at the ceremony; we did not experience the inauguration with any of the five senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or touching. The response to this argument, based on legal/historic proof, is that all of the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, points to the event as having actually occurred. In other words, it is a fact; it is true. How do we really know something is true? What is truth?

Truth is “the state of being factual and real.” Knowledge is defined as “understanding truth or fact through reasoning and interpreting the examined evidence.” How do we know if absolute truth exists? That is where faith comes in to play. Faith is defined in the Bible as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). The word faith describes “a belief that is held with an especially strong conviction.” Belief conveys “conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon, especially when based on examination of evidence.” A belief is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.” Trust describes “an assured reliance or dependence on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.”

These words—truth, knowledge, faith, belief, and trust—are not only clearly interrelated, but also very powerful. To summarize, knowledge of truth requires faith and trust in the belief that truth is factual based on examined evidence. We can trust, faithfully believe, and therefore have knowledge or know certain things are truthful and factual based on evidence!

All humans are finite beings living by faith, whether we admit it or not. We have faith in the past, living as if events in our lives, such as our births, did actually occur. We have faith in the present, that we do truly exist and have actual thoughts. We have faith in the future, living and making plans as if tomorrow will come despite having no knowledge of tomorrow. As I hope to show, we can trust, faithfully believe, and therefore know, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Jesus Christ is both the Son of the One, True God revealed in the Bible and Savior of the world. Since we (humans) are moved to action by our faith and beliefs, our lives will be forever changed by the evidence for the truth about God found in the Bible.

The evidence is important! What does the evidence show about our world? What observations can be made? How does faith, and its relation to our worldview, affect our thinking? How does science fit in here with its claims about our world? Science is “knowledge covering general truths or laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method.” The scientific method requires examining the evidence through observation and testing. Science is great when it shows, by observing and testing, what things are and how things work, but when science makes assumptions outside the boundaries of the scientific method, it is no longer science—it becomes speculation at best! Science often claims to have the keys to the past in missing links that it does not observe and cannot accurately test. Such is the case with the theory of evolution.
In the same way, people often display contradiction in their faith and worldview. For example, many claim to believe in and worship the God of the Bible and also feel confident Darwin’s evolution is fact. These two views cannot co-exist, as we will see later. Our society keeps us too busy to spend time worrying about faith/worldview contradictions. Moral relativism has developed out of demand for self-serving convenience and lack of time for genuine examination of the evidence.

Ultimately, American society’s most precious possession is time, because none of us will escape death. Death is the great equalizer for all people—rich or poor, black or white, wise or ignorant. Interestingly, the word translated as death in the Bible actually means separation, not extinction, annihilation, non-existence, or unconsciousness. (We will look more at the importance of this later.) Many of us spend our time working toward self-gratifying possessions we cannot take to the grave. We have less and less time, because our culture encourages fame and fortune. It encourages power, wealth, and prestige, which are bonding and seductive. The Bible says: “Do not store up … treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up … treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

I recently read an article in which the story of a missionary martyr who served the Huaorani tribe in Ecuador in the 1950s was told. This missionary was Jim Elliot; in his journal he wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” We are called not to amass material possessions and wealth, which are temporary, but to serve God, Who is eternal. That does not mean we cannot enjoy the incredible blessings God has provided for us, especially here in America, but it does mean we need to realize God is both the giver of all we have and the sustainer of our lives. When we begin to believe, understand, and appreciate that, our lives will change for the better, and we will see the world from the truthful vantage point—with a Biblical worldview.

Evidence for Objective, Absolute Truth (1)

The next several posts will be the actual text from my book, Biblical Glasses. Perhaps it will serve as an open invitation for further discussion on the topics addressed within. Here goes, skipping the preface, and beginning with the introduction chapter: Evidence for a Truthful Worldview.

The word worldview, derived from the German language in 1858, offers its best English definition as “a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint.” There are a variety of worldviews in existence today. People from diverse cultures and backgrounds have different conceptions of the world primarily because of their history in the world. Was it always that way? Was there ever an absolute truth, a single worldview that governed the lives of all people?

Although I am far from an expert historian, a brief review of our world’s history has enhanced my understanding of how culture today compares with the past and why our world is the way it is. Consider the following:

Prior to the benchmark of 500 B.C., secular history suggests most people in the world believed God or gods controlled the world; Biblical history agrees. Around 500 B.C., thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius began pondering both the world’s existence and individual relationships within the world apart from God. Despite these early attempts to reduce God in the worldview of sophisticated people, the next 2000 years saw a consistent theological worldview that God, or gods, created the world and divinely appointed leaders, who in turn taught truth to the people by their lifestyles.

During the enlightenment, an intellectual movement associated with the eighteenth century (1700s), modernism became prevalent as the popular worldview. Modernism taught that truth could be found in one’s own life, through science, technology, traveling the world, and communicating with all sorts of people in many cultures. In some societies, modernism, “a theological tendency to accommodate traditional religious teaching to contemporary thought and especially to devalue supernatural elements,” is still considered a dominant worldview; however, post-modernism, the successor of modernism, is the worldview of choice for many people today.

Whereas modernists generally maintain that a passive divine being exists, post-modernists, also known as humanists, have developed “a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism altogether and stresses an individual’s dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.” Humanists generally believe there is no objective or absolute truth, no divine Being or beings; only subjective or individual truth exists.

This philosophy suggests truth can be found only by consulting inner feelings and making decisions based on internal instincts. A more common description of the post-modern or humanist worldview is referred to as moral relativism, which advocates “knowledge of morality and ethics [as] relative to the limited nature of the mind.” In the post-modern worldview, truth is what you make it, because there is no divine authority to provide universal truth!

Looking back at the world in the past 200 years, and more explicitly at America in the past sixty years, knowledge, technology, travel, and population have been growing at exponential rates just as the Bible foretold (see Daniel 12:4; Revelation 9:15-16, 13:16-18). See the chart below:

We are learning more and more about the universe in which we live; satisfying daily needs is becoming easier and more convenient than ever. Modern medicine is quite possibly the greatest achievement in all of human history. Life expectancy rates are rising due to medical achievements and discoveries! Think about it: If 200 years ago you had the flu, you would have likely died; if you had a bad fever, you would have died; if you needed an appendectomy, you would have died. The list could go on and on!

Despite the modern conveniences of which we can take advantage in the twenty-first century, there are more “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7) than ever before. There is no way to stop a terrorist suicide bomber with all the weaponry available today. One madman could practically bring the entire world to its knees by unleashing the power of a nuclear or chemical weapon. Look at the number of deaths in all the wars and acts of genocide during the twentieth century! Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung combined to kill a tenth of a billion people. It is estimated that abortion has ended the lives of over a billion babies worldwide in only the past thirty years! Abortion worldwide killed fifty million (50,000,000) babies in 1995 alone! Over 100,000 people in this world die from starvation, AIDS, and waterborne diseases each day! As the Bible prophesied, there are increasing numbers of natural disasters like earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, and there are blatant sexual perversions throughout the world (see Mathew 24). (We will study some of these instances in chapter ten.)

The complexity of education, health care, civil rights, and church/state issues has caused more division in our country than ever before. Lack of justice in our court systems allows for professional criminals and victims to get their way while taxpayers often unknowingly support them. Corruption in the government and among large corporations dominates the news as ethical standards continue to deteriorate; we must now guard against unscrupulous financial reports and other formerly reliable corporate practices. There is decreasing morality in America, arguably caused by our own television programs and other forms of immoral entertainment. Worst of all, the family, which as we will see has been the one constant throughout all of time, has fallen apart. The following prayer of an anonymous teenager shows the effects of the family’s downfall:

Now I sit me down in school, where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites, it violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green, that’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise. Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
Praying in a public hall might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate, God’s name is prohibited by the state.
We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, and pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, and the ‘unwed daddy,’ our Senior King.
It’s ‘inappropriate’ to teach right from wrong, we’re taught those ‘judgments’ don’t belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls, study witchcraft, vampires, and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, no Word of God must reach this crowd.
It’s scary here I must confess, when chaos reigns the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; my soul please take!

Notwithstanding the incredible advancements since the end of World War II (i.e. modern medicine, knowledge, technology, travel, etc.), the world is getting worse. Scientific observation has clearly proven the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which essentially says the universe and everything in it are deteriorating. Regardless of what we are told by society today (evolution and moral relativism), the evidence clearly points to the Second Law of Thermodynamics as objective, absolute truth. It is true for all people all the time our world is decaying! It has been doing so ever since the beginning. So I want to start there—in the beginning. Maybe by looking at the beginning, we can have a fresh perspective on the world—a truthful worldview. Where can we learn about the beginning? I believe it starts with the Bible. We need to take a look at the world through “Biblical Glasses.”

A surprising thing... well, not so surprising

My first post, beyond an introduction, was about part of my conversion experience. And the post had a great deal to do with my understanding of the creation / evolution debate. I have only told a few people about my blog, and so I was surprised to receive a comment that Dr. Kent Hovind was a fraud. Now, in my original post, I simply acknowledge that viewing some of Hovind's videos caused me to ask questions about my scientific understanding of the evolutionary theory. And the more research I did, from more reputable sources like AIG and ICR, especially under the study of the late Dr. Henry Morris, I came to have a solid understanding of the issues at hand.

Now the comment was surprising, but no so much really. You see, Scripture says plainly that "scoffers will come and deliberately forget that God formed the heavens and the earth by His word" and that "men refuse to love the truth and so be saved" and that "men suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." So it shouldn't be surprising when that happens, even if it is uninvited. In fact, in a sense, it's nice when it does happen, for two reasons. First, it gives the believer an opportunity to boldly and gently and patiently evangelize the lost, fulfilling the Great Commission. Second, it gives the believer an opportunity to be edified in "always being prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

Together for the Gospel

I've come to admire some of the theological giants of our day, men like J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, and John MacArthur. Whether you agree with their theology or not, you must admit that they have devoted their lives to serving the Lord through Biblical exegesis.

I've just learned that these three men will be visiting Louisville, my home town, for a three-day conference, Together for the Gospel. This conference will also offer four additional preachers, theologians, and cultural commentators that I greatly admire: Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, C.J. Mahaney, and Mark Dever.

The conference is April 26-28. Check it out.

Starting with a BANG... but not a BIG BANG

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to my coming to faith in Christ was accepting the Bible as true. I had always believed, to some extent, that Jesus really existed and that God really created the universe. But, having completed 16 years of education, from 1st-8th grade, high school and college, learning darwinian evolution as fact, I couldn't just naively accept the claims of a literal six-day creation just about 6000 years ago, which in plainly reading the Bible appears to be what it teaches. So if the Bible is not true in the first 11 chapters of its opening book, Genesis, then how in the world could I possibly believe that the rest of it is true?

I was introduced, just after completing some college-level geology courses, to Dr. Kent Hovind, a.k.a. Dr. Dino. Hovind heads a ministry called Creation Science Evanglism. Hovind didn't necessarily use gentleness and respect in his messages, but he offered plenty of evidence refuting my basic understanding of evolutionary origins. In other words, I watched a series of his videos refuting evolution, and I began to ask questions.

When asking questions, a person can either seek and find the answers or just push the questions aside. God blessed me with a desire to seek and find. And I found! Evolution is simply bankrupt of truth. And there is so much evidence that displays this truth that evolutionists themselves must strive to uphold their beliefs by refusing to believe the clear truth. And I was excited to learn this, because it's exactly what the Bible teaches:

Romans 1:18-25

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

2 Peter 2:3-9

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I won't go into the details of this evolution-refuting evidence today, but what great comfort it was for me that Scripture says that exactly what we see happening will happen. I wrote much more about this in my book, Biblical Glasses. The title of the book came from the founder (Ken Ham) of one of my favorite ministries, Answers in Genesis. The goal of AIG is "upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse." AIG has been instrumental in my own understanding of Scripture and science, showing that they are perfectly compatible. Indeed, Scripture told us long ago what science is just now confirming and will continue to confirm. How great is our God!

AIG is building a Creation Museum in Hebron, KY, near the Cincinnati airport, and just 75 minutes from Louisville. What a blessing it will be to have this museum as a learning aid for my children, as my wife and I attempt to raise them in the knowledge of the Lord in this generation of moral relativism and culture of post-modern thought.

There are several additional outstanding creation ministries located around the world, including The Institute for Creation Research. ICR's founder, Dr. Henry Morris, was also instrumental in my understanding of the scientific truth of the Biblical creation account found in Genesis. ICR is both sad and rejoicing today, as Dr. Morris passed away Saturday, February 25, at the age of 87. There is saddness due to the temporary separation that his earthly friends and family are experiencing. And there is rejoicing, because he has served the Lord in humility for such a long time and is now present with Lord in abundant glory.

I'll close today with ICR's statement regarding Dr. Morris' passing:

Henry Morris was considered the 'father of the Modern Creation Movement', authoring well over sixty books on Biblical Creationism, Scientific Creationism and commentaries on the Bible. His most recent work was the New Defenders Study Bible (released last month) which contained several thousand additional annotations.

Dr. Morris was a brilliant scholar and theologian who was used by God in many marvelous ways to launch and encourage the Modern Creation Movement on a global scale. But for those of us who had the privilege of working with Henry Morris, he was a gentle, humble and faithful servant of God who modeled what it means to finish well as he consistently looked unto Jesus and ran with patience the race that was set before him (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Thank you Lord for the ministry of this man, and all the creation ministries. And thank you for working through these creation ministries to bring people to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Introduction

My name is Chip Crush, and this is my first post as a blogger. How would I describe myself? I am first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am by no means a perfect follower, but "it is God who works in [me] to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). Knowing that helps me to strive to live Coram Deo, that is, "Before the face of God." This blog will often contain my thoughts on this relationship between man and God, that I must do it and that God is doing it in me. I am a student of reformed or biblical theology, and many of the things I will mention on this blog will relate to understanding this relationship.

Continuing to describe myself, I am husband to a beautiful, and more importantly, godly wife and father of three children; I have written a book, Biblical Glasses, and I am working on a Bible commentary, A Work in Progress. I work with my dad in a small family-owned-and-operated business, Industrial Carbide Saw & Tool Corp. I am currently renovating a house, which should be done in the next month. I attended and earned a Marketing Degree from Auburn University, where I met my wife. Both of us were swimmers for the many-time National Champions. That's me in a nut-shell, though I'd never fit....

I may post daily, or never again. I'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for viewing this page!