Love Truth Blog

Last month I had the opportunity to check out Paramount Pictures’ Noah directed by Darren Aronofsky, who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Ari Handel. I thought it was quite the fantasy epic without a dull moment. There was, as anyone could predict, a hefty amount of artistic licensing going on, but the two storytellers crafted something that keeps the attention. Aronofsky and Handel pit the biblical characters Noah (Russell Crowe) against Tubal Cain (Ray Winstone). Noah is a sort of radical environmentalist, who tries to care for the earth. He only uses from the earth what is necessary for survival. He eats only vegetables. He believes animals are innocent but humans are sinful, and the creation would be better off without mankind. He even chides his own son for picking a flower to admire its beauty, indicating they need to be left in the ground to grow. Tubal Cain, on the other hand, is an extreme humanist. He thinks animals exist only to benefit humans. He eats animals raw....

It’s been a while, but I finally got a chance to catch the Bill Nye the “Science Guy” and Ken Ham debate on the question: “Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?” So, I have to say, it was one of the most tedious to watch. The debaters never really addressed the question on the table, they talked passed each other, and all they mainly offered their respective camp’s talking points. Ham gave a well articulated presentation of young earth creation science, and none could have done better. However, that was not the question on the table (i.e. “Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?”). It is never about how many scientists believe in the model of young earth creationists; rather, the essence of the question is whether or not the evidence of origins in the universe points to intelligent causes. Nye mentioned the CSI television show; well, that forensic science they do is a search to see whether or not the evidence points t...

Sometime ago I came across the following statement by liberal New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman: “The creation account in Genesis 1 is very different from the account in Genesis 2. Not only is the wording and writing style different, as is very obvious when you read the text in Hebrew, and not only do the chapters use different names for God, but the very content of the chapters differs in numerous respects” [1] This is not the first time I heard the assertion, but Ehrman has the knack of taking this idea from the scholarly ivory tower and repacking it for popular readership. Still the question remains: Are the first two chapters in Genesis two different creation accounts? I’d say that Genesis begins with looking at the creation from two different angles and chapters 1 and 2 are far from contradictory. It is true that in Genesis chapter 1, the word “God” is used to translate the Hebrew word elohim and in chapter 2 the same word elohim is used is coupled with YaHWeh , which is tran...

There is nothing better than getting outside and enjoying the sunshine, blue skies, and cool breezes. Inasmuch as nature can be wonderful, she is also capricious. Devastation by earthquakes, lightning, hurricanes, floods, hail, tornados, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are just some of the more fearful and ominous displays of nature people witness. New technology allows many of us to find out where these things happen virtually in real time. The sting of these natural evils is bitter, but is this the way things were supposed to be? In Romans 8, the apostle Paul writes: “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together unti...

Something I have been wrestling with concerns the message of Genesis 1-11 in relationship to the origin of the universe. The whole issue of the Bible, and science. One of the challenges is attempting to understand the text in light of its Ancient Near East context and determining what the biblical writer sought to communicate. What did Moses want to tell the Israelites wandering in the wilderness some thirty-three-hundred years ago? Complicating matters are contemporary questions related to geology, astrophysics, astronomy, and other sciences addressing the question on the age and origin of the universe. In what way does the biblical text relate to these sciences? Moses does not appear to be directly answering questions on astrophysics, biology, genetics, or subjects in science. The prophet sought to teach people how to enter into a relationship with Yahweh, the one who spoke the universe into existence. Science addresses one set of questions whereas the Bible a different set...

Psalm 19 declares the reality of God can be seen in two ways. One way is through nature. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (v. 1) the psalmist sings. All of nature bears the fingerprints of God. The irreducible complexity of life from microscopic DNA to the macroscopic level of earth being finely tuned and suited for biological life having the right kind of sun to orbit, moon for regulating its seasons, and existing in the “Goldilocks’ Zone” of a spiral galaxy bear witness to Intelligent Designer. One can call this the book of nature and through science we read this book. There is also God’s special revelation found in the Scripture. The Lord has spoken through Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, and through Jesus Christ and the apostles in the New Testament. People can observe God’s natural revelation and know that He exists; however, it is only through God’s special revelation that people can enter into a personal relationshi...

Anxiety over never the lack of food and clothing is a challenge people face in every epoch of time. The first century audience of Jesus certainly had their daily struggles. The possibility of having to put up one’s cloak as collateral for a pledge in hopes the lender was faithful to Yahweh’s covenant (Exod. 22:25-27), praying to the Father for enough pennies to have “daily bread” (Matt. 6:11; Luke 11:3), even fears about being robbed by bandits or extorted by corrupt Roman and Jewish powers were cause for worries. Yet, Christ’s message challenges listeners to move beyond those earthly worries to something else—God’s kingdom. As a way of helping people forget worrying about food and clothing, and start seeking God’s kingdom, Christ poses the question: “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v. 25). Here the Lord reasons if something is true for the lesser, how much more for the greater. Food and clothing are merely the things that support life, but the life for...

One amazing thing about God is that His existence extended beyond the big bang and the formation of all time and matter. God is not only everywhere present at the moment, He is also eternal with neither beginning nor end. There was never a time He did not exist, neither will there ever be a time He shall cease to exist. The psalmist declares, “Before the mountains were born, or Your gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 9:2, NASB). Christ is “before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Col. 1:17). As finite people we are bound in time. We live in the present, remember the past, and look forward to the future. We arrive either on time, early, or late. We even try to define our lives in relation to time—what we have done, where we are at, and what we hope to accomplish. Yet, God transcends all these things. He is not bound to live moment by moment. The everlasting God is the source of our understanding of the universe...

Intelligent design (ID) is the theory that many things in nature bear clear signature of design. However, there is an ongoing debate on whether or not ID can be counted as “real” science, and the opposition comes mainly from those who want to make Darwinian naturalism the only game in town. Part of ID deals with the evidence from science that supports design. Another part of the debated concerns the philosophy of science, which addresses questions like whether or not Darwinian evolution is the only theory on the origins of life, and whether or not a theory on design constitutes legitimate “science.” ID also brings up debates in the academy on whether or not it can be part of science curriculum, and whether or not scientists and science majors can question the Darwinian dogma without risking censure and/or tenure. To help Christians unravel these complex issues, William Dembski and Jonathan Witt have put together a great book entitled Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understan...

Discuss the origins of the universe and one is bound to get into some debate on subjects like the nature of science and religion, Darwinian naturalism, evolution, intelligent design, creation science, creation ex nihilo , or the age of the earth. Much of the discussion centers on how the material universe came about. Naturally, the origins question must consider the creation account in Genesis 1, and the possible implications, if any, the biblical chapter has in the nature of science and religion debate. Many Christian interpreters understand the days of creation to be descriptive of the processes out of which the material universe came into existence; for some the universe came about in creative acts done over a period of six 24-hour days, whereas others stretch the creative acts over six indefinite but finite periods of time extending millions of years called day-ages. An important angle the Bible student must take into account is the role the Ancient Near East (ANE) worldview played...

According to lore, P.T. Barnum often displayed the Fiji Mermaid as a sideshow attraction, which was really the torso of a Monkey stitched together with the tail of a fish. Yet, this curiosity attracted great crowds and many traveling entertainers have since duplicated the stunt. This is certainly a fitting illustration for describing Dawkins’ recent lecture hosted by the Center for Ethics and Religion at Queens University in Charlotte. The event certainly unveiled the grandeur of Darwin’s Rottweiler’s oratory skills; however, just as those who believed the Fiji Mermaid exhibit to be the carcass of an actual living creature reminds us that there may be some truth to the adage “there’s a sucker born every minute,” one is to be discerning with what Dawkins’ hocks as facts for evolution. The evening’s lecture was divided into two parts: the first was Dawkins’ reading selections from his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (Note the title hearkens to a tagli...