The Rest of the Story
Recently, I was interviewed by CNN reporter Lisa Sylvester for a brief news story regarding Congressmen Paul Broun’s comments about origins. CNN aired only a tiny snippet of my comments. So it seems appropriate to give a more detailed summary here.
Honor – a Balanced and Biblical View
Recently, the best athletes in the world competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics. These people have spent years in training, working hard to make their body an efficient machine capable of feats far superior to the rest of us. Certainly, they deserve our respect and admiration. Biblically, we are supposed to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7).
Arbitrariness and Inconsistency – the Opposites of Rationality
We live in a world where many people simply do not reason rationally. They are not able to make a good, cogent argument for their position. This is sometimes seen in political or religious arguments. Such debates often have more heat than light. People have very strong opinions, and voice them with fervor. But often their arguments are simply not rational! The conclusions do not follow from the premises. Why is this? And what can we do about it?
Evolutionism – an “Endangered Species”
Among the belief systems of the world, evolutionism can be classified as an endangered species. Though it has many followers, it is not a “healthy” belief that can survive on its own. Other belief systems survive because they are supported or confirmed by scientific evidence and rational thinking. Not so with evolution. It survives only because it enjoys special protection under the law, which is afforded only to endangered species that cannot compete without such help.
The “Authorists” have Chimed In!
A few weeks ago I posted an innocuous little satirical article for my blog, which made the modest proposal that articles have no authors. The article committed just about every logical fallacy that evolutionists use in defending their beliefs. It was a fun little article, and many of you posted comments that you enjoyed reading it. Thanks!
On the Origin of Articles
You might think that someone wrote this article. But of course, you would be mistaken. Articles are not written by people. They are the result of chance. Every intelligent person knows it. There might be some people who want you to think that articles are written by people. But this view is totally unscientific. After all, we cannot see the person who allegedly wrote the article. We cannot detect him or her in any way. The claim that this article has an author cannot be empirically verified, and therefore it must be rejected. All we have is the article itself, and we must find a scientific explanation for its origin.
Research at ICR
Hi Folks,
I’m taking a break from the “God’s Law” series (which I do intend to continue in the near future) to get settled in at my new position here at the Institute for Creation Research. ICR is the leading biblical creation research organization, and I have recently been granted the role of director of research. I’m really excited about what is happening here, and you can expect to see some new resources coming from ICR very shortly.
God’s Law: Case Laws
Some of God’s laws are given as general principles such as, “You shall not steal. You shall not murder.” And then we can apply these general principles in specific situations. We know that it is wrong to steal a particular thing from a specific person because in general it is wrong to steal. However, some of God’s laws are just the opposite. They give a specific example, from which we are supposed to derive the general principle. These are called “case laws.” Let’s look at some examples.
God’s Law: Established in Christ
Jesus did many things in His earthly ministry. But one thing He did not do was set aside the moral law of God. The Pharisees and scribes had set aside God’s law (in favor of their own traditions), thereby “emptying” the law of any value (Matthew 15:3–6). And Jesus rebuked them for it (Matthew 15:7–9). It is ironic that some Christians think that Jesus came to abolish (abrogate, set aside, or do away with) the law, when Jesus specifically said that He did not come to abolish the law. This statement is given in reference to God’s law, in the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-8:29), where Christ described the standards for appropriate behavior and attitude of the heart (i.e. morality). In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
God’s Law: and Human Tradition
What is the alternative to God’s law? When people reject God’s standard for behavior, what do they put in its place? Since human beings first fell into sin, it has been our tendency to want to replace God’s law with our own opinions: whether they stem from cultural tradition, majority opinion, or subjective feelings. But God alone as our Creator and Judge has the right to make the rules which govern our behavior, and He will hold us accountable to His standard and none other. It is arrogant, sinful, and foolish to disregard God’s law in favor of our own opinions of morality (Proverbs 12:15).