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The assumption is that man created God but based on various arguments which I have previously stated as related to the cosmological and teleological evidence it is much more plausible or probable that God is the Creator and Originator of Life as the first primary cause or mover to every known or unknown effect.
Atheist /Agnostic/ Non-Theist
However this premise of contingency would normally seem to logically apply to God as well yet this criteria for the law of cause and effect is dependent only upon what we known of universal laws but if God exists as creating this reality as beyond this realm then it does not necessitate that an omnipotent God is bound by the same criteria or restrictions of time and space as impotently dependent upon His own system.
Thus God “Is” as being greater and is not necessarily reduced to a lesser effect preceded by yet another cause and this is demonstrated as the universe has been shown to be finite based on Big Bang cosmology and the second law of thermodynamics as the expenditure of usable energy is being depleted as failing to support a previously held scientific and pantheist position of the universe as eternal thus there had to of been a first efficient cause of some sorts. To coincide with this concept is the impossibility of actual infinities which do not really exist apart from mathematical symbolism and can never be reached or attained due to the accumulative effects as you would never arrive at a infinite anything as it would only be surpassed by adding yet something else to the equation. Therefore there must have been a first cause that acted to create the first effect as initiating the formation and development of the universe and God best describes this activity apart from some magical or mystical non-personal life force to create such purpose and order. Science in trying to resolve this tension has tried to come up with other cosmological models even alien forces to now explain the embarrassment of this view of finitude by postulating reactionary and unfounded speculative theorems as a commitment of placing faith in their idealism at all logical costs in opposition to believing in an eternal God who created time rather than being time created.
So for the idea of the universe being all there is as suggested by Carl Sagan is not a statement of absolute truth but rather is a hopeful conjecture. To worship the cosmos as god is no different than the ancient pagan idolatry that worshipped the materialism of man made objects of wood and stone as giving credence to these imaginative inanimate objects or philosophies as having real sustenance and value in giving these lifeless forms or objects life.
This isn’t about unbiased empirical observations but it becomes a matter of choice as committed towards a preference to a wishful worldview whose point of reference is a loyalty or devotion to the impersonal random “action item” of chance with a determined hostility towards any aspect of a personal intelligent designer. Its should seem obvious to intellectual beings to intuitively and innately discern that just like a Rembrandt or even modern art for that matter; the canvas and paint just didn’t haphazardly come together to create a Masterpiece which is more like a conspiracy theory that is more consistent with magic, myth, folklore, and superstition rather than the scientific method.
However if a person is compelled or forced to apply this impossibility upon the universe without giving God a second chance or thought then this becomes just a presumption towards being emotionally driven with a pecularized bias of hostility towards a theistic worldview. Essentially this non- theistic or anti-theistic view is to make a god out of the universe and use the prophet of Darwinism to support the faith of this atheistic religion where materialism and naturalism rule as Lord and the measure of all things in a fanaticism towards worshiping this deity of scientism. However in the final weigh in it will be man that will be scaled and found lacking in this regards as God is the Supreme Judge of the soul.
In closing would you rather know that a “something” rather than a “someone” created the universe and if you have tendency to be anti-social towards a personal all sufficient being then perhaps your motivation may reveal your real position apart from truth. If you find that the idea of God is loathsome as an obstacle to your happiness then perhaps you are driven by fear rather than the validity of unbiased research.
Lastly to think that theism is an invention as some kind of virtual reality within cyberspace as opposed to a literal space realism as the ultimatum is a position that on some levels is no more scientific than science fiction.

Psalm 90:2

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
  or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
  from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

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Yes, there are hypocrites in the Church just like there were religious pharisaical hypocrites during the time of Jesus whom He rightfully condemned. Yet just because a person claims to be a Christian as going through the motions of Christendom, such as with the sacramental acts of baptism and the eucharist, does not make them a Christian believer as indicating a genuine and life changing conversion. Jesus said there would be false believers in the Church such as with the parable of the Tares among the Wheat, Mt 13:24-30. Thus this characterization can be a result of mistaken identity and should not be a stereotypical ploy or statement to categorize all Christianity.
Also being a Christian doesn’t imply absolute perfection and sinlessness, such as with the deity of Christ, and those who would make such claims are deceived or liars, 1 John 1:8.
In conclusion this whole schema is an overestimation of the skeptic to see themselves in the mirror through rose colored glasses as observing their own genuineness when ironically they are blinded by their own duplicity, Mt. 7:4-5.
The crux to this whole situation is that it becomes a lame excuse to excuse themselves from accepting and receiving the person and work of Christ especially as Jesus is the one who is to be worshipped not mankind.

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This may be a common objection but it is usually just a statement to escape the implications of the biblical data and not a true or sincere inquiry. However according to my knowledge the science of archaeology has not disproven the scriptures but rather it has only enhanced and enlightened others to its credibility even among its skeptics.

What is important at the onset of this whole matter is that the biblical writers established the truthfulness of their subject matter as understanding that a fabrication or lie to such a sacred script would be unthinkable in respect to its consequences, Rev. 22:18; Deut. 4:2. Not only that but it would be countercultural to lie, as truthfulness is a central or core ethic of belief, and thus it would be inconsistent as renouncing the dissenters of truth as false teachers and prophets, 2 Peter 2:1-3; Matthew 7:15-20.

In addition to this the language of the bible was never fashioned to represent semitic folklore as a fairytale, even though there contains within its pages extraordinary events, as often times these sort of superstitious ideas were known and understood by these co-authors who challenged their contemporary age as seeing their false claims as fictional which would likewise mean that they were also cognizant of the same possibility as theoretically applying this skepticism to their own peculiar cultural religious worldview, 1 Kings 18, 1 Corinthians 10:19-20, Acts 17:16-34. You may say I get it, they were sincere but still sincerely wrong and my challenge to you is based on what evidence?

Anyway the bible surveys a vast period of time written by numerous authors with different or diverse backgrounds yet maintains a continuity indicative of carefully handling its original and subsequent inscriptions. This can be confirmed through the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls which like a time machine takes the bible back about 1,300 years prior to the otherwise oldest Masoretic texts of about 900 AD. The preserved Qumran manuscripts shows that all the canonical books of the OT are legitimate, with the exception of Esther which has not yet been found, and correctly handles the text as only containing minor scribal errors or variations which are non consequential towards its legitimacy and thus confirms the meticulous nature of copyists in their methodology to preserve the text as to accurately duplicate, as much as is humanely possible, as maintaining a direct correlation to the original or autograph in minimizing error and corruption of which the Jewish Historian Josephus refers to. Also the oldest known artifact that confirms a portion of he biblical text  is a silver amulet dating to around the 7th century BC as containing the Aaronic benediction found in Numbers 6:24-26. Anyway this  is so unlike the overstated mythological claims about the Quran and the Book of Mormon as being a perfect dictation like a carbon copy from God.

Another thing to consider especially in relationship to the New Testament is that most of these texts were available to their contemporaneous audience, unlike some ancient literature which is far removed in time from its original setting as opening the door for further evolutionary development and embellishment long after the fact. Thus the New Testament letters could have been easily disproven or dismissed as a fabrication much like how some of the heretical or pseudopigraphical literature was such as with the Gnostic gospels/teachings. If you are interested I  have actually written more about the reliability of the bible  at

Is The Bible Reliable

Another controversial matter to consider concerning the bibles content is that its primary intent was not to be a scientific journal or a textbook with the concern of just revealing historical facts or information to its readers even though its captures or contains historical references but rather it is concerned with communicating relevancy to its audience as a covenant people. Therefore archaeology and history are not at the forefront of its message, nonetheless these events though secondary to the intent of the text, still contain factual and accurate information such as the ancient Hittites which were once thought to be a fictitious people group until they were later discovered in Turkey.

Furthermore the language of the bible does not always present itself with a straight forward verbiage as it uses the different genre to more importantly communicate a central truth rather than a modern message of enlightenment knowledge and yet even if the language is antiquated, it does not contradict, even if it is based on the perspective knowledge of its time and to communicate otherwise would have been confusing or foreign to its audience much like a rocket scientist trying to explain physics to the general public, what’s the point. This might also be compared to how future generations may look back on this time in history as trying to relate to our ideas and concepts which are limited to the understanding of our contemporary age.

Finally this whole language schema is not to be confused with the post modern thinking of relativism as basing truth on subjectivity in meaning different things for different people. What I am suggesting is not false or misleading information but rather presenting a more relevant message apart from displaying all the facts in disclosing or describing how everything works. Thus the inspiration of the scriptures is self-limited to just making a statement or giving a simplistic explanation as merely background information rather than a “dummy” manual on the mechanics of “How To”.

To further corroborate the authenticity of the text the bible unlike other ancient religious literature is demythologized in comparison to these texts as containing less sensationalization. Even though some of these cultures contain similar stories that have been obviously fabricated, with their creation myths and flood narratives, it may also be tempting to indiscriminately group them all together with the bible. Yet it could be that the solution to this situation is that there is a kernel of truth to these obviously fabricated stories that took a real occurrence and through the process of time adapted these mysterious events through the eyes of their cultural filter or setting through the process of storytelling and oral tradition. You may also think that this should  be the criticism for the bible as well and yet when the bible describes these things it does so in more naturalistic way more so than the Babylonian and Sumerian accounts as it is more consistent with the older Ebla tablets.

Also one of downfalls  to archaeology, which can work for or against my case, is that it is not always conclusive as its finding are up for grabs with its presumptuous interpretation among fallible archaeologists to reconstruct the past and thus it is not an exact science as they are unable to completely reproduce or simulate their findings which are sometimes fragmentary at best which unlike a controlled lab environment has a limited view as trying to dissect ancient culture like specimens given its limitations which can not always be proven nor retested to tell the whole story as if the stones could speak to the ears of our modern cultural perspective.

Anyway before getting into the biblical data I must first address the fraudulent  artifacts which have been unearthed in the antiquity shops as mistakenly associating this fakery with authentic findings as trying to offset the biblical claims by which some of these items have been legitimately identified as actually coming out of the ground versus the back alley of Old Jerusalem. Some treat these hoaxes as a conspiracy for Christians to deceptively invent these artifacts to authenticate their belief systems and yet we gladly reject them as rightfully recognizing the counterfeit  as the work of others for fame and money who as parasites prey on other people’s sentiments.  Though we are excited to hear of new findings we are likewise quick to denounce them if the facts do not line up to reality.

So to begin our survey of archaeological evidences I will be using extra biblical material from Israel and the surrounding geography of the bible including Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, etc. as confirming the scriptural data.

Old Testament:

• The extraordinary story of the Tower of Babel depicts humanity with a unified language and is confirmed by Sumerian literature of which even modern linguists find beneficial when categorizing languages. This event is captured on a  stele  as describing Genesis 11 in depicting Ur-Nammu, King of Ur, as building a ziggurat and then according to clay tablets offended the gods by which it was destroyed in scattering the people and making their language strange or as the bible refers to as being confused. In retrospect, a skeptic could easily see a natural explanation for this disaster such as an earthquake leveling the structure but to describe what appears to be a sudden change in the language is more difficult to account for or explain.

• An excavation at Gezer was clarified by using the bible to help decipher what happened when a thick layer of ash containing pieces of Hebrew, Egyptian and Philistine artifacts were found which at first confused researchers until the biblical text revealed that Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured it; setting it ablaze, killing and removing the Canaanite inhabitants and then giving it as a wedding present to his daughter who became Solomon’s wife.

• There is also the records that were found in the  famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon giving reference to the biblical characters of Jehoiachin and his five sons who were given a monthly ration and place to live in which they were treated well, 2 Kings 25:27-30.

• The Taylor Prism or Sennacherib’s Cylinder from Nineveh contains the account of the Jerusalem siege against King Hezekiah in referring to shutting him up in a cage like a bird as well as mentioning the capturing of other towns and villages in Judah, 2 Kings 18.

• The Cyrus Cylinder from Persia tells of letting captured or exiled people return to their homelands to worship their gods, Ezra 1.

• The black obelisk of Shalmaneser that was discovered in Nineveh records Jehu son of Omri making tribute, 2 Kings 10. 

• The Moabite Stone mentions the Moabite king, Mesha and the god of the Moabites as chemosh who rebelled  against Israel’s rule and even mentions the name of Israel’s God as Yahveh found in 2 Kings chapters 1 and 3. 

• The black basalt stele of Tell Dan had Aramaic references to the kingdom of Judah and the House of David. The inscription goes on to celebrate the defeat of the kings of Judah and Israel as confirming the two separate kingdoms. In other inscriptions found at the foot of Mount Hermon it also mentions Jehoram the son of Ahab ruling over Israel and Ahaziah as the ruler over the House of David which is remarkable considering that the House of David was once thought to be non-existent,  2 Chronicles 22:6. 

• Ebla tablets discovered in Syria as mentioned the five cities of the plains which are Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar listing them in the same exact order as found in the Bible and yet at one time these places had thought to of  been legendary, Genesis 14:8. 

• Critics had believed that Moses could not have written the Torah as the skill of script had not been developed at His time of 1400BC however the Ebla tablets predate Moses by a thousand years as having similar laws, customs, and events as found in the same region where Moses lived and also  mentioned the term Canaan. In addition to this the detailed laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy were again thought to be fictional as being too complicated for that time until it was  discovered that the ancient Hittite and Egyptian literature was consistent with the Jewish Pentateuch and the ceremonies of that culture and time period. 

• Another credible resource are the Mari tablets which refers to the name Habiru or Hebrews. 

• The Nuzi Tablets confirmed the ancient practice of laws and marriage contracts in giving the maid  to the husband to bear children such as in the case of the Patriarchs. 

• The discovery of Hezekiah’s tunnel which was made prior to the Assyrian invasion as bringing water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam in, 2 Kings 20:20; Nehemiah 2:14. 

New Testament:

• Archaeology of the New Testament provides a continuity of historical accuracy as found in the Old Testament text in verifying such things as titles, names, events, landmarks with a precise  time frame which  were once thought to be erroneous and fictitious.

• Some have gone as far as to doubt that Jesus was even a legitimate individual and yet evidence from 39 extra biblical sources attesting to over a 100 facts are consistent with the life and teachings of Jesus including such questionable accounts concerning the crucifixion and being a wonder-worker as well as being worshipped as God.  I have already written somewhat about these subjects in  my other posts. 

          Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and Islam

            Jesus and Miracles

            The Divinity of Jesus

            The divinity of the Messiah

• Thallus the Samaritan historian, who was unsympathetic towards Christianity, relates the strange occurrence of both darkness and earthquake happening at the time of Jesus crucifixion which for these events to take place simultaneously as mere coincidence would take astronomical odds, Mark 15:33. 

• The discovery of the Pontius Pilate Stone found in Caesarea Maritama bears  an inscription in Latin as being the prefect of Judaea. This coincides with Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus who mentions Pontius Pilate putting Christ to death, Matthew 27.  

• The Mara-Serapion letter also mentions the  execution of Jesus.  

• Another discovery was that of the ossuary box of Caiaphas who was the High Priest residing over the trial of Jesus, Matthew 26:57-68. 

• The Sergius Paulus inscription contains the account of Paul’s first convert in Cyprus, Acts 13:7.

• The discovery of the Pool’s of Siloam and Bethesda thought to have been made up were located as even  confirming Bethesda’s five porticoes as described in the bible, John 5:1-15; 9:7. 

• An inscription has confirmed that Lysanius was the tetrarch of Abilene when John the Baptist started his ministry, Luke 3:1. 

• Jesus has been mentioned in the writings of Josephus, Tacitus the Roman historian, Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, and Greek satirist Lucian which were all first and early second century accounts. 

• Other biblical persons are also mentioned by Josephus such as  James the brother of Jesus, Herod the Great, and John the Baptist 

• These multiple sources also confirm the New Testament information and the doctrines of the early church as an accurate depiction of that time period as they existed as a communal culture of high ethical standards with the message of eternal life as rejecting idolatry and worshipping together on a fixed day as well as undergoing persecution.

• Doctor Luke, as one of the biblical authors, takes a very careful and methodical approach as  interviewing the eye witnesses of Jesus ministry as well as first hand experience which he gained as a travelling companion with Paul on his missionary journeys in recording the history of the early church which contains such accurate details that it makes the Gospel of Luke and Acts  historically reliable accounts. Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2. Moreover he gives precise information related to historical figures and their titles such as Gallio proconsul of Achaea who was confirmed by the Delphi letter from Emperor Claudius, Acts 18:12-17. Luke designates Erastus as the treasurer of Corinth, Romans 16:23  which has also been confirmed by an inscription on a pavement that was laid in 50 AD, Luke mentions Publius of Malta as the chief man of the island which was verified by inscriptions, Acts 28:7. In summary Luke  goes on to accurately name numerous  countries,  cities, and islands. 

• It has been confirmed by inscriptions that in  Lystra they worshiped the gods of Zeus and Hermes, Acts 14:12. 

• Paul in Athens comments about the unknown god which is also described in the 2nd and 3rd century writings of Pausanias and Diogenes Laertes, Acts 17:23.  

• The mention of Ephesus and its relationship to sorcery with its occultic practices and magical texts  were well known throughout the Greco-Roman world, Acts 19:19 as well as accurately identifying its goddess  Artemis or Diana through finding a number of idols, Acts 19:24,25 along with unearthing  the temple of Artemis of which Luke mentions in, Acts 19:27 as well as a large theater, Acts 19:31 which contained gold and silver images with inscriptions to Artemis.  

• Luke also accurately records the famine during the reign of Emperor Claudius and is referenced by the Roman historian Suetonius, Acts 11:27,28  

• He shows that he has accurate nautical knowledge based on his missionary journeys with Paul such as in Acts 27. 

• Seutonius a court official and annalist under Hadrian recorded the expulsion of Jews from Rome which Luke also refers to in Acts 18:1-2 

I think it goes without saying, as being understood from the evidence, that the material covered in the bible is accurately represented and it would take special pleading to say that a conspiracy of corruption has occurred as weaving deception into the fabric of the text as mingling truth with error to give it the allure or appearance of legitimacy to deliberately mislead souls. In summary this does not answer all the questions and perhaps at best is only a stepping stone to faith rather than a leap per se.

There seems to be a legitimacy to the bible as communicating a credible faith by an intelligent ethical people who at times were honest enough to tell it as it was even to the point of embarrassing themselves. Furthermore even though these people lacked modernity they still had a sophistication as a highly informed people as knowing the difference between superstitions and falsehoods as they challenged the god myths of other nations and people’s even though at times they too got caught up in these false religions.

Regardless the biblical writers presented a worldview with an accurate account of history and so I have no good reason to doubt their God concept which I believe was not only reasonable then but is credible today. Even if metaphysics can’t be studied or isolated as a system as being beyond the scope of archaeology or science it likewise can’t be disproved either and perhaps as the skeptics have had to recant their former position on the historical reliability of the bible perhaps their skepticism could once again be wrong as an ongoing trend in relation to the mystical aspects  of the bible.

All humans including modern ones have certain limitations as lacking omniscience so until adequately refuted there will always remain not only a possibility but a likelihood and probability by which the corroborating and accumulative evidence points to irrespective of being able to present an exhaustive case of evidence which is not even needed in a courtroom of law to silence a reasonable doubt let alone before the judgment seat of heaven. What is given is sufficient as connecting the bible  to a modern society and the majority vote is still in as most reject a non theist or atheist religion of naturalism.

After all it stands to reason that if God does exist that all things become possible regardless whether it is common place or not. Granted it is beyond the intent of archaeology to prove or disprove the metaphysical aspect of God or the Bible yet it still amazes me how that an atheistic philosophy tries to manipulate and pervade the media accordingly to debunk the scriptures in order to dethrone the biblical God.

Another thing that I had not intended to use in this post but has become glaringly obvious, is the legitimacy of Jewish presence with the existence of the nation of Israel as having a long history with the ancient land and to overlook this implication would be like rejecting the evidence of the Holocaust as a real event.

Anyway in closing the analysis of the data I presented is comprehensively sufficient  even though it doesn’t fully disclose all matters of discussion and though you may object as saying  that it is not enough information to make a connection with Theism, at what point for the skeptic is it ever enough as they always demand more proof. Moreover if you aren’t motivated to at least be willing and ready to accept or trust in the simple message of the gospel then why should the elaborate plan of the cosmos be laid out like a blueprint when essentially it would make no difference at all in the end result.

So the grand design and purpose of the  bible’s witness is to lead people to the bigger question of life as rightly relating to God and others rather than the artifacts buried under the rubble of our past. Furthermore we are responsible for the light that we have which is adequate as bridging the gap with faith thus ignorance here isn’t about  lack of information but rather it becomes a matter of choice, not an excuse or privilege to defend themselves in rejecting God the Creator.

You may play the game to wait and see but at that time it will be too late as the scripture says that a man is appointed to die once then to face the judgment, Hebrews 9:27, as there is no second chance as a default state of ignorance but only accountability for the decisions and choices we have made in this life.

Thus the greatest corollary to this whole matter is not to satisfy your desire to receive the missing pieces of the puzzle towards a historical enlightenment but rather  it is to ultimately lead you towards a relationship with the God of the Bible as transcending the practical knowledge beyond its historical content and context.

Lastly are you approaching the bible with an openness and readiness to embrace as to prove it true or are you motivated to prove it wrong rather than right so that you can be relieved from its consequences? Actually for once I would like to see an honest skeptic who is skeptical enough about their own skepticism and maybe then they will finally see the light as understanding that the real issue isn’t the literature of the bible as it is the God of the bible as intercepting humanity with “His Story”.

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The first law of thermodynamics in part supports a philosophical view not an unalterable scientific law by its proposition that “energy cannot be created or destroyed”. This view has been overstated as taking the current observable data in which total energy is seemingly constant and presumably correlating it with a perpetual outlook of moving backwards or forwards in time towards eternity. However this naturalistic position can’t be proved yet it is preached in a dogmatic fashion as being gospel in “a matter of fact” style when in essence it becomes a statement of wishful or hopeful belief.

By taking this hard line position the scientific community has converted from the discipline and field of empiricism to metaphysics as confessing “what can or can not be”  instead of their formal scientific training of “what is or is not” as moving beyond the epistemological scope or value of science which in this case can’t be ultimately determined by the finitude of creaturely beings. Therefore science alone is not capable of omnisciently assigning eternality to the universe regarding its origins or for that matter its continuance or demise.

Which brings me to my next point with the second law of thermodynamics in which the universe appears to be approaching an equilibrium as succumbing to entropy as winding down with a decrease in the extent of useable energy. This phenomena speaks more definitely of a starting point rather than an eternal machine and therefore if there is an effectual beginning there must be a cause and thus a Causal Agent. This concept of causality fits well with the biblical model of God’s creation as the Supreme Being who is the external source of energy as establishing all matter and reality at a specific point in time and space and who is now directing the cosmos towards a final expenditure resulting in the finality of a new created order.

In conclusion to this matter I think it is more problematic to have a commitment towards a non theistic belief with its unaided eternally existent materialism versus the idea of an Originator of whom is greater than all the combined contingencies or  subsequent effects which speaks of such Intelligence as omnipotently ordering laws as being more explicable towards a Designer’s design as forming all of these observable complexities.

Is Life an Accident?

Thus finally the ability to disprove God as a Creator becomes a mute point of doctrine based in the religion of pseudo science which has not thrown God out of His universe but rather continues to leave an open door of invitation as welcoming Him as a more probable cause to its origins.

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalms 102:25-27

²⁵  Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶  They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

²⁷ but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Revelation 21:1-5

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®)
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved.
ESV Text Edition: 2007

The idea that we are a happy occurrence or an accident of chance is something which science has failed to prove  and as our knowledge of the cosmos increases and honest evaluation of this insight has led us to become more informed with an innate awareness that we are not alone in an absurd universe as there is a transcendent reality beyond mere coincidence. This reality becomes apparent due to the vast amount of evidence which shows irreducible complexity of life with such beauty and preciseness that it becomes obvious that a designer and orderer with a purpose and plan has established what we observe and beyond.

Listed below are some of the things that make up this overwhelming sense of phenomena with such awe inspiring data as establishing a sound teleological argument of intentionality and conditioning:

• If the expansion rate of the universe was faster than 1 part in 10⁵⁵  then galaxies would not have formed and if it were one millionth slower then the earth’s temperature would have been 10000 °C. 

• If the axial tilt of the earth was off then the earth’s surface temperature would not be able to support life. 

• If the distance from the earth to the sun was any different then a stable water cycle would not of been possible. 

• If the span separating the stars were slightly different then it would vary the orbits and lead to severe temperature fluctuations on earth. 

• If the earths crust was any thicker then too much oxygen would be transferred to its surface and any less would result in too much volcanic and tectonic activity. 

• If the gravitational pull of the moon was varied it would create havoc on the tides and severe atmospheric conditions.

• If the gravitational force varied by 1 part in 10⁴⁰ the sun would become non-existant and the moon would plunge into the earth or be diverted off into space. 

• If there was a slight increase in the force of gravity then the sun would combust too quickly and erratically to promote life. 

• If the earth’s gravity had been any greater it would cause ammonia and methane gas to be trapped; any less the earth’s atmosphere would lose too much water. 

• If the length of a day varied it would create too many temperature extremes and high wind velocities making life too difficult to survive. 

• If oxygen levels deviated just 5% either way then too much oxygen would have led to the uncontrollable outbreak of fires and not enough would asphyxiate humanity. 

• If the centrifugal force of the planetary movements did not balance the gravitational forces then nothing could be sustained in orbit around the sun. 

• If there were small deviations to the speed of light it would change the constants and inhibit the prospect of life on the earth. 

• If jupiter was not in its current position then the earth would be pelted with space junk 

Thats a a lot of “ifs”  for it to become a matter of luck as it would be infinitesimally impossible to say that all these events and activities were just inadvertent occurrences apart from the intervention of an omnipotent and omniscient being as playing the sovereign and providential role to this whole shebang. Science would rather go to such extremes to excuse this phenomena by funding such mystical research as SETI to find an explanation as giving credit to extraterrestrial beings from distant civilizations as a paranormal fantasy in defiance to a theistic worldview or come up with some philosophical multiverse theory which is just unfoundedly out there.

Scientists give such credence to such things as naturalism as if it is a being or entity like an impersonal god who is able to save them from theism. Its evolutionary companion, mother nature waves her magical wand to orchestrate and control life which is a fairytale of sorts that is more consistent with folklore, myth, imagination, and superstition rather than science.

Stephen Hawking avoids such god talk but goes as far to say that it “seems”  and “appears” that life has been designed but stops short to say that he doesn’t really know why the universe exists. Einstein went a step further by calling it an intelligence which speaks of personality apart from the inanimate force of big bang cosmology and natural selection. Even religions which have somewhat an atheistic philosophy abstractly refer to some sort of life force. So whether it is a secular or a religious perspective there seems to be a bias to accommodate self interest while marginalizing the apparent.

This is because a non theist or agnostic has a natural hostility towards the personal God of the bible and likes to refer to Him with such negativity as assigning calamity and chaos as being “an act of God” or by using His name as a curse word and yet either way its seems ironic to make a reference to something which to them is unimaginable and fictitious.

Romans 8:7-8

⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

One objection to the God of the bible is that He has not received human permission “to be” as He has failed to meet some peoples expectations who command more evidence for His existence before offering their commitment which in essence is really a way of shaking their fist at God in defiance with a semblance of presenting Him a sincere peace offering as a superficial red herring which is just fishy in making stinky excuses to avoid Him by determinatively remaining justifiably ignorant.  Yet if God is God then what right does mankind have to set the rules for engagement and disclosure and if God has already given sufficient evidence through a general or basic revelation than what obligates Him to give a special or specific revelation of His character when others are unwilling to properly utilize or synthesize the intuitive knowledge that has already been communicated and shared with them? Moreover what justification does a temporal contingent effect have upon setting the law towards the eternal causation of a Creator as the supreme authority who as the Potter molds the clay? Regardless, the skeptic will always remain skeptical and the critic will be determinately critical no matter what, as unbelievers they serve the god of cynicism?

This is like the religious Jews of Jesus time who said to Jesus to give them a sign and though He gave them many wonders they still failed to believe. His religious critics had a God concept but they determined to go to whatever extremes it took to avoid a commitment to Jesus as their Messiah.

And just like in the “Parable of the Rich Man” who wanted someone to return to warn his brothers about the impending dangers of Hell; it still wouldn’t be sufficient to sway others from evil and prophetically this happened to the nation of Israel in respect to the resurrection of Jesus.

Also to demand that God reveal everything is just too great for the human mind to fully understand or comprehend anyway and what information He has given is sufficient to at least begin the process or journey to faith.

We may have a desire to place God under the light of the operating table to inspect and dissect Him through human instrumentation but God eludes this form of observation and is not even fully possible as Einstein comments in contrasting us with the Supreme Intelligence as stating that our reflection is utterly insignificant. Furthermore God is spirit and is not confined to a corporeal body as the universe cannot harness or contain Him even though He acts within it. We as humans are limited in our knowledge as we are evidently not God and still there is enough observable evidence to understand the grandiose design of the material universe as being under the care of a Divine Architect. Thus God cannot simply be dismissed by not meeting our demands for more information and if we have only just discovered the tip of the iceberg then it becomes ludicrous to demand that the God of the iceberg fully unveil Himself in the same way as a materialistic thing which becomes an improper methodology towards this kind of assessment as limited creatures who are only able to recognize the symptoms of this reality through studying His creative works.

Anyway the purpose or goal to there being a clear path of communication through these codes or languages was meant as a way of discovery apart from some obscure form or cryptic message of gnosis as leading not only to a basic concept about God’s being but as a means in leading into a communing relationship or fellowship as joining ourselves to Him through an act of our self conscious will as moral agents who are able to reciprocate His higher order of intelligence towards loving Him and others as stewards of His created order, not as gods who want to usurp His glory. This knowledge is more than about making a passing glance as a mental recognition in postulating the possibility of God but serves as a witness to stimulate worship towards our Creator instead of some trivial mental exercise to entertain the frontal lobe of our brain.

Pslams 19:1-4

¹  The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

² Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

³ There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

Perhaps in some cases there are people who are comfortable in believing that there is a God somewhere out there like the impersonal watchmaker of deism as winding up the universe as to run itself unattended and unconcerned. Yet this position lacks credibility as well because it is inconsistent that an impersonal God would make us personal and social creatures that are relational as capable of having or experiencing the traits of love in all of its definitive parts and expressions. This is just unbelievable that God could be aloof while we are so well connected and this does nothing to adequately explain why God would even want to waste His time or energy in creating, like an act of boredom, as having nothing else better to do and then standby idly as an impassive bystander as others destroy His handiwork.

Some may think that God is responsible for all the calamity of life just like a kid who likes playing cowboys and indians as correlating play time with real time. Yet for God to be both equally loving and capricious is confusing and chaotic unlike the life permitting order which he have observed in the universe and this post is beyond dealing with the problem of evil but I would like to simply say in passing that the real problem is not God but us and our conscious bears witness to this reality and responsibility.

Romans 2:14-16

¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Also it is not our privilege to probe God as our subject and it is His right alone and prerogative to discern the motives of our hearts by disclosing our thoughts and even if we think that we are being sincere in our efforts to ascertain truth He will lay us bare as having the knowledge to discriminately expose mankind as possessing the omniscience to see the nakedness of a soul through ever human coverup as reserving this right as the eternal judge who is supremely just. And to take confidence in ones thinking apart from God is foolish and will prove to be like a faulty crutch which will eventually break under the pressure of leaning on a deceitful heart as falling into the pit. Psalms 139, Jer. 17:9.

Hebrew 4:12-13

¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Essentially if you were able to get an honest answer from the atheist or agnostics the real problem is not an intellectual objection as lacking information but a moral dilemma as such arrogance is precipitated by fear and self idolatry as mankind being the lord to freely rule and reign over their own heart and life without restraint and consequence. Yet Pascal said this position is untenable to gamble with ones eternity like this  as betting on yourself especially as the odds are stacked against you. Is is worth rejecting God in pursuing autonomy? Jesus said what would a man give in exchange for his soul?  Even if you gained the whole world would it ever be enough? Perhaps you can already think of someone who has had it all but was never happy or fulfilled. Life apart from God  will attempt to promise you everything as demanding your whole life but will never fully give back what you had expected in return.

In closing the concept of the anthropic principle, which was coined by physics not theology, may not answer every aspect in defining God but as you take the first step to coming to know Him with honesty and earnestness of heart then more can be obtained in your pursuit of Him. Perhaps to start your endeavor I would at least encourage you to begin with the person of Jesus and by referencing the scholarly works of previous atheists who have gone down a similar path of skepticism but ended up on the narrow path of life through well known publications such as Lee Strobel’s “case for” series and Josh McDowell books. If you want something even more in depth and challenging then perhaps someone like William Lane Craig would be more your style nonetheless I want you to know that there are  people from all walks of life that continue to embrace Christianity as a reasonable form of belief including scientists. Here are some helpful links to help you in your studies.

www.leestrobel.com

www.josh.org

www.reasonablefaith.org

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_thinkers_in_science

In speaking about scientists perhaps you have been given the gift of a scientific and analytical mind as the person who has been given the task  to gain, collect and interpret the information or data which gives you even more responsibility for someone who has this first hand experience concerning the intricacies as seeing the fine tweaking and deliberateness as having less excuses with this in-depth knowledge and not only that but if the conclusion of the research is misused as persuasively preaching a presumptuous message in converting unsuspected souls from the pulpit of the lab then this becomes a matter of not only unprofessionalism but of heresy as a scientific apostate.

Perhaps you may think that you have approached your field without bias as in a vacuum of neutrality but if you factor out God then this is fallacious position as to pre-determinately filter the criteria based on yours and others expectations for a more explicable model or outcome as a preconditioned result to fit the interpretive expectations as determined within the confines and boundaries of scientific acceptance. To make special accommodations for certain cosmological models as multiverse and cyclic theories readily assumes that there must be a naturalistic explanation as that is the only game in town and yet this kind of make believe of proposing  ridiculous and unfounded stories as limiting oneself to these hypothetical views is no different than offering the sacrilegious sacraments of superstition on the altar of pseudo science as idolizing an unseen and imaginary god of naturalism.

The commitment to neutrality would better be defined as truly seeking after answers and truths no matter where it would take them even if it is beyond the acceptance of the scientific community or outside the pages of its journals. The pursuit may be novel and make you feel uncomfortable or even embarrassed but allowing human emotions of fear to interfere with your results is untrustworthy or unreliable. To introspectively flush out your level of sincerity just ask yourself  if God were to really exist would you be willing and ready to know Him or would there be a concern or reason to avoid Him as to reluctantly give Him the throne of your life. Perhaps this may help show what your motivation is in your non compliance to the God idea. 

Also its funny but sad how that there are some people who are educated enough to effectively argue both sides of a debate even though there is undoubtedly one truthful conclusion. Such as the Apostle Paul who went from being a Pharisaic Jew that was opposed to Jesus but upon his conversion became an effectual defender with almost the same knowledge that he had prior to his conversion and yet I am wondering if perhaps a scientist is able to do the same in some instances and the only thing holding them back is just a matter of preference and taste not a firm conviction for truth.

In the final analysis there is no really good reason to say that God is an absolute impossibility as not only is He plausible or probable but is inexcusably blatantly obvious even if He can’t be fully known or understood and to put more faith in the gods of chance, randomness, and luck takes more of a blind leap than its competitor of theism.

Perhaps your faith has been strictly confined to a materialistic worldview as the ultimate reality and the pursuit of God is beyond your immediate training or field of expertise but the higher purpose to discovery is finding not the effects but the root cause of origin as being the most significant discovery of all as defining the ultimate purpose which extrapolates to our deepest and most  personal questions of existence as to who am i and why am i here. Therefore to fit everything within the box of materialism is just ad hoc and leads nowhere significantly except down the dead end road of Nietzsche’s nihilism.

Also to dismiss yourself from a connection to a higher reality as the work and concern of theologians as being outside your professional expertise does not dismiss you from the greater message as being able to make important and direct inferences which can be effectively integrated rather than seeing it as the craft of mystics. This again would be missing the whole point as it was primarily intended as a means to a higher level of  discovery beyond the mere effects or symptoms to the cause of all things. Science is important but by itself it can only give little answers serving as the messenger of a much bigger question rather than the end result or the reality itself.

Personally I think it is dishonest to overlook the teleological evidence of God’s ontology based on the findings within cosmology and astrophysics as overlooking the overarching principle towards a firm commitment to naturalism or naturalistic philosophy. To stop in a quest just short of transitioning to a more profound theological application is like scratching the surface of something with a knowledge that is only skin deep.

In conclusion as an individual observes all of these things as fitting within a tight range of constants it should elicit an overwhelming response much like the first astronauts who had a front row seat as looking back towards the earth that was shrouded in the darkness to see such a wondrous and beautiful blue marble of life in stark contrast to everything else as a spectacular show of God’s glory on display for them to see. Likewise science too has been given the privilege and responsibility to catch a closer view or glimpse to see such intelligent information as DNA which has led some scientists in various fields and disciplines to recognize the light as crossing over into theism and I hope that you too would be one of them.

Finally if you would just look or observe one amazing component of the created order such as the human eye which which has such irreducible  complexities as over 40 different components which must work together to properly function and could not have survived otherwise to evolve simplistically, a person is left to ponder how is it that it knows how to make itself work and cooperate with the brain?

As a famous Rabbi once said that he who has eyes to see but does not perceive is blind to the reality of God. Yet for those whom Jesus would heal they will see truth as it was meant to be understood apart from the nearsightedness of mans fallen and sinful condition which only looks the other way in rebellion against God. Lastly I hope that you would find God, not that He is far off, as He is present in plain sight for those who are willing to apprehend Him through His wondrous creation.

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.12, pgs.8180-8192, Ted Peters

Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics, copyright 2006 by Doug Powell, “Reprinted and used by permission.”

Recently my wife and I celebrated our four year anniversary and we decided to take a road trip just south of where we live in the area of Glen Rose and Granbury Texas.

The unique thing about Glen Rose are the dinosaur tracks that were discovered in the Paluxy river bed back in the 80’s due to drought conditions and today some of these tracks  can still be observed. What really sparked my interest about this location was that there was a human foot print that was superimposed within a dinosaur track in an area that was adjacent to the Dinosaur Valley State Park on some private property. What is particularly fascinating about this specific print, which was removed and is on display at the Creation Evidence Museum, was that the human print was made prior to that of the dinosaur print. This doesn’t take a paleontologist to figure out that the dinosaur track distorted the human foot print not vise versa. Furthermore when I first looked at the print its as if I could of simply slipped off my shoe and have stepped directly into the print without any discernible difference.

At this point you are probably wondering if this print is legitimate and  therefore it was authenticated in order to prove that it was not a carving. Also the reason why I included a photograph of the banner instead of the display was because it is easier to see the prints this way. Anyway if you are interested in reading more about this subject then here is a link to the full article.

www.icr.org/article/paluxy-river-mystery

Many times we hear the same old storyline that is preached to us from the textbooks and science programs that macroevolution is a fact and that there was about 60 million years between the dinosaurs and the human race. I think it is reasonable to see from the evidence that evolution is still just evolutionary “theory” and sometimes we forget that. We may see evolution as scientific but in reality it carries with it a commitment to a  naturalistic “philosophy” whose “religion” is based on a god of materialism. Moreover this school of thought is steeped in presuppositions contrary to the claims of science which is supposed to be unbiased in its inductive research and deductive findings. Actually within academia there are even some schools today which are allowing for other theories since evolution has failed to meet conclusively with its preconceived notions of reality. I have written other blogs about some of the controversial evolutionary ideals which you are able to view at

Atheist /Agnostic/ Non-Theist

Perhaps this evidence doesn’t necessarily affirm everything about the creation or intelligent design model but minimally it shows that perhaps it is plausible to consider or accept other world views apart from evolutionary theory.

Anyway while we were in the area we also saw the tomb of Jesse James who was a famous outlaw of the Wild West who supposedly was killed back in the 1880’s in St. Joseph Missouri. Today due to our modern technology of photographic evidence it is likely that his death was faked and now some believe that the real Jesse James died of natural causes at 104 years of age in Granbury. This also reminds me of the story concerning the UFO or alien space craft which supposedly crashed back in the late 19th century in which the remains of these supposed alien beings are buried in the Aurora cemetery just a few kilometers from where I live near Rhome.

So whether or not aliens are the real deal or Jesse James is buried at Gran”bury”  is something that conspiracy theorists may continue to dispute and debate.

Nevertheless this shows that we can’t even prove some of these events which took place no more than about 100 years ago let alone what is projected to be millions and billions of years. Which oddly enough leads to my next point which supersedes dinosaurs, early humans, Jesse James and flying space ships to consider another matter which along with the creation theory is considered mythical by skeptics and that is the resurrection of Jesus. Granted to begin with this whole concept is an anomaly in that normally dead people do not rise. Furthermore I am not merely suggesting a resuscitation or a recovery as there have already been some cases of this kind of phenomena but what I am proposing from the biblical evidence is something radically different in what would be classified as supernatural.

As you can already see from the paleontologists and scientific communities that man has made some great discoveries yet there remains a finite ability to peer into the unknown as we are limited beings. We are always on the edge of new discoveries and there are so many  things left to find that before someone can say dogmatically that the resurrection can not happen they need to bring forth the burden of absolute truth regarding this event. If we can’t even tell who is in a modern gravesite or completely compile all of the fossil evidence which may affirm that man coexisted with dinosaurs then why not at least give the benefit of the doubt in allowing for some consideration regarding the argument in favor of the resurrection of Christ.

Thus pondering whether we coexisted with dinosaurs or considering if Jesse James faked his death along with musing over the idea of being visited/ invaded by aliens may be entertaining in stirring human curiosity but if Christ is who He and others claimed Him to be as testified through the numerous postmortem resurrection appearances then this matter shifts from contemplating less meaningful matters of temporal concerns to that of supreme importance regarding the eternal realm. We may spend our time researching  such interesting subjects but nothing can compare to the reality that has an eternal impact in contrast to these superficial matters. In other words if this event is true then it is one of the most important matters that a person can discover.

I have written a blog about the resurrection and even though it is not exhaustive in scope it may be something in which you might want to research and hopefully discover for yourself.

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2011/04/14/the-resurrection-of-jesus/

Merely concluding that Jesus was a historical person who was a religious leader and prophet is just the first step in discovering the importance of His person and work as Lord and Savior.

Additionally Jesus is responsible for the largest religious movement to date which in and of itself is something worthy to consider if for anything just to settle the matter of His identity.

Who knows maybe you might discover, just like a person who is amazed by viewing some of Ripley’s famous findings, that there are things which are beyond our experience or expectation but nonetheless are just as real and exciting.

My friend as we venture into taking the road trips of life it should cause us to look past the road side scenery of glancing at life as it passes us by; to challenging us to get out and explore something beyond our immediate window or world view in asking ourselves sincerely the bigger and more relative questions to life such as who am I and why am I here. These are normal cognitive questions that at one time maybe we asked ourselves but have we plagiarized our answers in looking over the shoulder of someone else whether it be a peer, parent, religion, science or even society at large? Have we just filled in the blanks with the same answer just because we find comfort in trusting in what other people see as the solution to the problem?

In closing I had to drive myself to the destinations at Granbury or Glen Rose and my encouragement to you is to at least be willing to personally navigate these issues not from the rear view mirror of skepticism but as you look forward in anticipating a new horizon just over the next hill.

How to know God

Atheist and Agnostic Resources

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism

Image obtained by permission from the  Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose Texas.