Month: October 2014

Our Information-Rich Universe Points to Intelligent Design

Double Helix

by Jonathan Wells

Bioinformation SymposiumI commend Jim Stephens for undertaking his “101 Proofs for God” project, and he’s right to target evolutionary theory and mention intelligent design (ID).

As Cornell biologist William Provine said in 1998, “Evolution is the greatest engine of atheism” (quoted in Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, p. 23). Schools teach our children that materialistic Science is the best judge of truth, and Science says that evolution is a fact. By implication, God is certainly unnecessary and probably nonexistent. This attitude dominates academia from kindergarten to the doctoral level.

Of course, evolution can mean many things, some of which are uncontroversial — such as minor changes within existing species. In the 1930s, evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky called such minor changes “microevolution;” he used “macroevolution” to refer to the origin of new species, organs and body plans. According to Charles Darwin’s theory, all living things are descendants of one or a few common ancestors that have been modified by unguided processes such as variations and natural selection. Thus — theoretically — over millions of years microevolution has produced macroevolution (including the origin of human beings) without the need for design or purpose.

But Darwin did not know the mechanism of heredity or the origin of novel variations, so his theory was incomplete. After 1900, Mendelian genetics seemed to remedy the first deficiency, and after 1953, DNA mutations seemed to remedy the second. The resulting Modern Synthesis combined Darwin’s theory with the idea that organismal development is controlled by a genetic program written in DNA sequences, and that DNA mutations can change genetic programs to generate raw materials for evolution. According to molecular biologist Jacques Monod, “with that, and the understanding of the random physical basis of mutation that molecular biology has also provided, the mechanism of Darwinism is at last securely founded. And man has to understand that he is a mere accident” (quoted in Judson, Eighth Day of Creation, p. 217).

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The Glue-Like Nature of Evil: How Can an Innocent Girl Torture Hitler in Hell Without Being There Herself?

quick-sand-1_edited-1

By Larry Moffitt

Larry_Moffitt_edited-1This topic is central to human happiness. A couple of “givens” obvious to you, but which I have to insist upon when speaking to my glitterati ca­fé society friends, is that when people die they don’t just go poof. They still exist in some form. Their conscious spirit lives on some­where else. Some take their earthly baggage, and the worry lines on their faces with them, while others are able to put the past behind and start over.

The image of people sitting around on clouds, playing harps, is as clichéd as cops in donut shops, and I don’t expect to see that there. I think people have assignments and real work to do in the spirit world. They roll up their ectoplasmic sleeves and start taking names.

One of the most interesting dead people I know is Adolf Hitler, the pos­t­er child for evil, a man so wicked that today it’s against the law in Ger­many and Austria to have Hitler as a family name. They re­tired his jer­sey, so to speak.

I had read an article written by a man, Dr. Lee, who had died and was ap­par­ent­ly communicating via an earthly medium with some re­cog­niz­ed ability. He had been a scholar in his earthly life and had a general rep­u­ta­tion of being truthful and trustworthy. In his messages from be­yond, he said he had been assigned to visit all kinds of peo­ple and talk with them about their lives, what they did right and wrong, etc., and then report back to us, the so-called “living.”

I acknowledge that some people (but surely not you, gentle reader) don’t believe in the existence of a spirit world, and therefore don’t buy in­to the notion that spiritual communication is anything but bogus. Oth­ers believe everything.

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Blogging about 101 Proofs for God

Eye Nebula

By Jim Stephens

Jim Stephens_edited-1Three years ago I was sitting in bed praying. I had been thinking a lot about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I was 62 and thinking 30 more years was about all there was left at the most.

The thought occurred to me to pray something like this: “Heavenly Father, I know your situation is pretty tough up there because things are so messed up down here. I’ve only got about 20 good years left that I might be able to help You. What can I personally do for you with the time I’ve got left?”

The answer came in a pretty clear understanding: “My children don’t know me. Even the ones who believe in me don’t really know Me. They have no defense against the attacks of the atheists, scientists, and evolutionists who claim science and truth are on their side. It is an all-out war for the minds and hearts of my children.”

I could feel there was vast loneliness, sadness and frustration in God’s heart with this situation.

“Proofs for God” were needed. Most believers, when confronted by atheists, had very shallow proofs for God and typically could only think of a few.

I felt like God wanted me to help with this situation. So I decided to write “101 Proofs For God for the Common Man.”

Each proof would be short so anyone could read it in two or three minutes. I would cover all kinds of topics from logical proofs to serious scientific explanations and the latest research. I would avoid heavy theological and philosophical proofs. I’d write proofs that even middle-schoolers could understand. I would do the research on the latest discoveries and summarize it for their easy understanding.

I chose to post each proof as I wrote it on Blogspot. Later, I created a website that contains the full list of them. My goal is to finish #75 by the end of the year and get to #101 by the end of 2015. Then I want to turn it into a book.

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Lessons from Reverend Moon’s New Culture Strategy

ICUS XV Washington 1986

By Glenn Strait

“Do you think you can create a new culture of peace by sitting down?”

— Sun Myung Moon

Glenn_Strait_edited-1From 1972-92, Reverend Moon invested huge resources in creating new culture. During this same period, he also invested vast resources in defeating international communism, while he simultaneously conducted major evangelical outreach efforts and established a global footprint of his movement.

The foundation for each of these components was a system of thought — Unification Thought, Victory Over Communism, and Divine Principle, respectively. My focus is Rev. Moon’s strategy for creating new culture.

In strategizing with God about how to usher in God’s ideal, peaceful and happy world, he determined his grand strategy would include a component focused on creating new culture undergirded by a new and comprehensive ideological framework built on the foundation of Divine Principle itself. Working directly with Dr. Sang Hun Lee, Rev. Moon elaborated upon Divine Principle to create Unification Thought to serve as that ideological framework.

My windows onto Rev. Moon’s new culture strategy were, from 1972-85, working on the core secretariat of the annual International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS), and, from 1985-2004, as editor for natural sciences of The World & I monthly magazine.

Rev. Moon’s strategy had originally intended The World & I to be the vehicle for spreading new culture, as the magazine published articles written by academics and other prominent people inspired by Unification Thought. These authors were to have gained that inspiration in Unification Thought through their participation in ICUS and other conferences spun from it. One of my objectives on the editorial staff of the magazine was to assure that this pool of prepared authors became writers for the magazine.

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