Seeking Proof Finding Grace

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On this week’s episode we look at the question of, “what is the god of the gaps problem?”, and how that problems cuts both ways in our journey.  God, the one with the capital “G”, loves you!

“What justifies the elimination of chance is not just the occurrence of a highly improbable event, but the occurrence of a very improbable event that also conforms to an independently given or discernible pattern.”  Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe, Behe, Dembski & Meyer, 1999, pg 77  

“What is it about these two patterns that indicates the activity of an intelligence, whereas other patterns…do not?  The key concept is that of “independence”.  I define a specification as a match between an event and an independently given pattern.  Events that are both highly complex and specified (that is, that match an independently given pattern) indicate design.” Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe, Behe, Dembski & Meyer, 1999, pg 29  

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.  But I can find out no such case.”  Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859, pg 176

“It has been said that I speak of natural selection as an active power or Deity; but who objects to an author speaking of the attraction of gravity as ruling the movements of the planets?”  Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859, pg 77

“In living bodies, variation will cause the slight alterations, generation will multiply them almost infinitely, and natural selection will pick out with unerring skill each improvement.”  Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859, pg 176

“Natural selection not only explains the whole of life, it also raises our consciousness to the power of science to explain how organized complexity can emerge from simple beginnings without any deliberate guidance.”  Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2008, pg 141

Dr. William Lane Craig vs Dr. Peter Atkins (April 3, 1998 - HQ) – 50 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEoznzPSguI&t=40s

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This Sunday we celebrate God's great love for us and the resurrection of His only begotten Son.  God loves you, and I am inviting you to church!

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On this week’s podcast we begin the journey to determine if we were created, or if we are the product of matter, time and luck.  We also introduce everyone to the Creator God (big G) and the god of science (little g).  The truth will be found in the journey.  Don’t ever forget how much God loves you!

“It has been said that I speak of natural selection as an active power or Deity; but who objects to an author speaking of the attraction of gravity as ruling the movements of the planets?” (Darwin, The Origin of the Species, 1859, p. 77)

“Naturalism, in contrast, is not agnostic.  Rather, it is the claim that there is nothing that explains the ultimate laws of nature…Theism’s rival is naturalism, not science, and theism offers and explanation where naturalism offers none.  If naturalism turns out to be more likely than theism, it will be because theism unwisely tried to explain the unexplainable, not because naturalism offered a better, or indeed any, explanation of the ultimate laws of nature.  And certainly not because of any scientific theory.”  Lewis and Barnes, A Fortunate Universe, 2016 page 335-336

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This week we wrap up our foundation series in our journey to find God as we look at the prayer to enter into relationship with God and what the details are around that prayer.  God loves you!

Romans 3, "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

 
Romans 6, "23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord…”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Romans 10, "9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

John 14, "6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

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On this week’s episode we address the question of why there has to be a component of faith in our journey.  Why can’t God just show up?  The answer is compelling.  As God shows His love for us, He has come up with the best formula you can imagine!

 
If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad.  And free will is what has made evil possible.  Why, then, did God give them free will?  Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.” (Lewis, 1952, p. 48)

Exodus 19, “[17] And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. [18] Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. [19] And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. [20] Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up…”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Exodus 20:18-19 NKJV [18] Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. [19] Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Judges 2:8,10-12, “[8] Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. [10] When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel. [11] Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; [12] and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Phil 2, “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

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This week we wrap up our look at proof of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead looking at the last 2 of our 5 historical facts of the events that occurred around the event in question (the resurrection).  When we look at all 5 events together, we have to ask ourselves, “What is the most likely explanation of the cause of these events?” As we prepare to examine whether we were created or if we evolved, this will be an excellent exercise is letting the evidence lead us to the best conclusion. Don’t forget how much God loves you! 

What are the events in question? 

 1. Jesus was a real person who was crucified and killed by the Romans. 

2. Jesus' tomb was found empty by His female followers 3 days after His burial. 

3. Jesus' disciples went from cowards, hiding from the religious leadership to being ready to take on the whole Roman empire. What changed? They claimed to have seen the physically risen, completed healed Jesus 3 days after His death. 

4. Saul, the persecutor of the Church, conversion to Paul the greatest missionary in history.

5. Jesus’ skeptic step brother James’ conversion to James the Just, leader in the early Church after Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial. 

1st Cor, 15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

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On this week’s episode we begin looking at proof of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  When you examine the 5 historical facts of the events that occurred around the event in question (the resurrection), we have to ask ourselves, “What is the most likely explanation of the cause of these events?”  As we prepare to examine whether we were created or if we evolved, this will be an excellent exercise is letting the evidence lead us to the best conclusion.  Don’t forget how much God loves you! 

Events we cover this week:
 1.  Jesus was a real person who was crucified and killed by the Romans.
 2. Jesus' tomb was found empty by His female followers 3 days after His burial.
 3. Jesus' disciples went from cowards, hiding from the religious leadership to being ready to take on the whole Roman empire.  What changed?  They claimed to have seen the physically risen, completed healed Jesus 3 days after His death.  

-        Next week we tackle the last 2

“This subversive belief in Jesus’ Lordship, over against that of Caesar, was held in the teeth of the fact that Caesar had demonstrated his superior power in an obvious way, by having Jesus crucified.  But the truly extraordinary thing is that this belief was held by a tiny group who, for the first two or three generations at least, could hardly have mounted a riot in a village, let alone a revolution in an empire.  And yet they persisted against all the odds, attracting the unwelcome notice of authorities because of the power of the message and the worldview and lifestyle it generated and sustained.  And whenever we go back to the key texts for evidence of why they persisted in such an improbable and dangerous belief they answer: it is because Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead.  And this provokes us to ask once more: why did they make this claim?” The Resurrection of the Son of God; N.T. Wright, 2003, page 570

Thomas A Miller's book, Did Jesus Really Raise from the Dead: A Surgeon-Scientist Examines the Evidence, 2013 – This book is an excellent read from a medical perspective of what happened to Jesus in His final hours.

Matthew 28, “11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Acts 1 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

John 21, “24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thoma

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On this week's podcast we begin looking at the question of whether we were created or if we evolved by addressing the religion of David Hume and the event of the Resurrection.  How do you analyze an event that is unlikely to have occurred, but has happened none the less?  The Resurrection is the turning point in history where God's love for us opened up the door into eternity.


“When the early Christians spoke of Jesus being raised from the dead, the natural meaning of that statement, throughout the ancient world, was the claim that something had happened to Jesus which had happened to nobody else.  A great many things supposedly happened to the dead, but resurrection did not.  The pagan world assumed it was impossible; the Jewish world believed it would happen eventually, but knew perfectly well that it had not done so yet.” The Resurrection of the Son of God, N.T. Wright, 2003, page 83

1st Cor, 15 "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed." (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Acts 1 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

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This week we finish looking at God’s reconciliation of us back to Himself with the atoning death of Jesus Christ and address head on some of the concerns expressed by Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins about the atonement. Until you understand what happened at the cross, you cannot truly understand how much God loves you!

Here is a link to the Hitchen’s – D’Souza debate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_WGb8X3L8,  quote at the 34 minute mark

Hitchen’s issues:

1.    God threw the sins of all of mankind on someone else, Jesus.

2.    After God threw the sins of mankind on Jesus, He had Jesus tortured to death, somehow against Jesus’ will, to pay for them (that is the implication after all).

3.    God cannot relieve you and I of the responsibility for the debt that the sins we have committed have generated.

4.    God is attempting to deny that we have committed the sins that generated the sin debt in question.

5.    God is attempting to say that we are not guilty of the sin we have committed.

6.    God cannot take all of this from us, the promise to do so is immoral.

7.    This is an evil and bloodthirsty act committed against a victim’s will.

Psalm 103, “2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3Who forgives all your iniquities…6 The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed…10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

Hebrews 10, “14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

“I have described atonement, the central doctrine of Christianity, as vicious, sado-masochistic and repellent.  We should also dismiss it as barking mad, but for its ubiquitous familiarity which has dulled our objectivity.  If God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them, without having himself tortured and executed in payment…” (Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2008, p. 287)

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This week we take a look at what the Atonement accomplishes beyond the payment of the sin-debt of all of mankind.  Until you understand what happened at the cross, you cannot truly understand how much God loves you!

Phil 2, “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)

"You want me
Somehow You want me
The King of Heaven wants me
So this world has lost its grip on me"
(Control, Tenth Avenue North, 2016)

John 4, “5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”  6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)  

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’  That is one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either the man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.” (Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 52)

Isaiah 55: “8For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982)