Species to species evolution is not one species "giving birth" to another. It is the theory that human beings evolved from primates (that they are our common ancestor). There is no empirical evidence for any species evolving from another species--either in the fossil record and in the existing creation. Every animal brings forth after its own kind. All a believer in evolution has is a belief that what he has been told is true.
The Scriptures were written by men, but they were "inspired by God" (see 2 Timothy 3:16). Do you write a letter or does your pen? You do the writing, and the pen is the instrument you use. In the Bible, God used man to pen His letter to humanity.
The Bible is not "horribly inconsistent." It’s not even slightly inconsistent. The problem is that it is not "rightly divided" by many of its readers. One great key to understanding Scripture is the correct place of "Law" and "grace." Failure to do that will leave any reader in confusion.
God has never done anything that is "immoral." All of His judgments are righteous and true altogether. He has proclaimed the death sentence upon the whole of humanity, and if He carried out swift justice today and treated each of us according to our sins, we would be in Hell in a second.
But He is rich in mercy and is waiting for sinners to repent (this is referred to as "the Day of Grace"). So it would be wise to draw back your holier-than-thou finger, and not stand in judgment over Almighty God.
It is impossible for any atheist to exist--because to say that there is no God, you need "absolute" knowledge. No one has that but God. That’s why Richard Dawkins uses the word "probably" when he says that there is no God. He doesn’t know if God doesn't exist, so he (like every other professing atheist) is actually "agnostic." It is because of this that I often use the word "professing" before the word atheist, but it becomes tiresome to do so every time.
It is easy to provide evidence that the God of the Bible "is the actual Creator (as opposed to other religions)." Ask Him yourself. He promises to reveal Himself to all that come on His terms (see John 14:21). No religion claims that. To them, the Creator is unknowable.
So there's the gauntlet. But most won’t take up the challenge because they "love the darkness and hate the light. Neither will they come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed" (See also John 8:31, 21).
Finally, the Bible does not condemn people for genetic defects. Those who believe that it does, would probably think that the Scriptures are horribly inconsistent--because they don’t "rightly divide" them.
The Old Testament (Law) carries hundreds of "typologies" of the New Testament (grace). You can see an example in John chapter 3:14-15: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." The opening of the Red Sea, the life of Joseph, the conquering of Jericho, etc., are all hidden types of New Testament truth.
Your reference is presumably to those with physical deformities not being allowed to minister in the Temple of God (under the Law). This is a type of the perfection that is required for those who enter the Kingdom of God (under grace).
Without the perfect righteousness of the Savior, none of us could enter Heaven.
BTW. The cartoon drawn by Richard Gunther does not say that I am big and that the questioner is small (that would be ridiculous), but that rebuttals of this sort that are "thrown" at the Christian always fall back upon the head of the questioner.
Friday, March 5, 2010
