"The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked." - Psalm 11:5
Welcome to another edition of the Science Pastor. My name is Steve and I am the Science pastor.
Let's talk about propaganda today. How do you win the argument... convince people you are right... when you can't win based on facts?
The way to accomplish this is first to silence the opposition. When you are the only voice in the discussion, then it is a lot easier to convince people you have the truth. We see this frequently in politics and government.
If your desire is to be a socialist dictator, what do you need to do? Take over, control, or shut down the media, the schools, publishing... any way that an opposing message can get out needs to be silenced. As the Bible says, evil hides in darkness, that's from John 3:20, and the truth is light.
So cut people off from information. Don't let them know the full story. Keep people in darkness.
And claim that it is for the good of the country, or even for your own good, but the reality is that the reason the opposition has to be shut down, has to be muzzled, has to be silenced... is that those in power would loose their power if the whole story were told.
What you'll hear those in power claim is that they have knowledge you don't have. They can make the decisions that are the best decisions for you. They'll save you from those who want to take advantage of you and feed you lies.
When the reality it is they the ones who are taking advantage of you, stealing from you, oppressing you, holding you down, and bleeding you dry.
But politics and government is not the only realm where this is taking place. Where are the biggest and most important battles being fought? Listen to this:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” That's Ephesians 6:12.
There is titanic battle going on in the spiritual realm, and we are involved...everyone one of us. There is no doubt God... who created everything by speaking it into existence, including creating the adversary, the father of lies, the devil Satan.
Yes, Satan is a created being, who was created good by God, he was created originally good by God, and then chose to rebel against God.
There is no doubt about who the victor, in this titanic war will be. In fact, God could bring the battle to an end right now... instantly. With total victory. So why doesn't He? The reason is because He loves you. My plan for this video was to talk about evolution vs. creation... BUT, we've got ourselves into the big question of, why is there evil in the world?
If God is all good. If God is perfect. If God hates sin, and that is a true statement, God hates sin... that's proverbs chapter 6 starting in verse 16... and God hates those who do evil... that's in both in Psalm 5 and Psalm 11... and God is all powerful... then why doesn't God do away with evil?
The answer is He will... but you don't want Him to... at least not yet.
God describes what will happen when He does away with evil. You can read about it in Revelation, for example. Those who have not repented and trusted Jesus as having paid their penalty for sin in full will all be cast into the lake of fire for eternity.
When God ends evil, He also ends all opportunities for people to turn to Jesus Christ as your Savior. No more second chances... the time for judgment and sentencing has come.
The end of evil means an end to this world as we know it... and the beginning of a new creation. And those who are still living in their sin... that's defined as evil... will not be a part of the new creation. You want God to get rid of evil? He will... that day is coming...
You say you are not evil? Do you understand God's definition of evil? God's definition is anything that is not a perfect reflection of God's character is evil... we need to perfectly reflect the character of God. And anything less than perfection is evil.
We are created in the image of God. That's Genesis 1 verse 26. We are like ambassadors. An ambassador represents another person or entity, such as a government. We, being created in the image of God, represent God.
When we misrepresent who God is... we are made in the image of God and when we misrepresent who God is... that is sin. That is evil. So now we get to the question... have you, have YOU done a good job of representing God? God is perfectly good...so are you a perfectly good person?
There is a simple test you can take. For example, how many lies have you told? God never lies. Ever. Have you?
Have you ever taken something that does not belong to you? That's called stealing. God never steals.
To help us understand this, let's look at an example. If you take a paper clip from your employer... it's no big deal... right? And let's say... although this is impossible... this is the only thing wrong you do throughout your entire life. You steal a paper clip.
That condemns you to the eternal lake of fire... called the second death, we call it eternal hell... because of that theft you will be in hell forever. Why?
Stealing a paper clip from your employer is no big deal. They probably don't even care. But, you have represented the good, and perfect, and Holy, eternal, creator God of the universe as a thief. That is serious.
As James 2:10 says, if you've broken one of God's laws... and by the way, the Ten Commandments for example they are not arbitrary laws. They describe the character of God. They describe who God is. So when you break one of God's laws, you are misrepresenting His character.
And James 2:10 says that if you break just one of His laws... it is the same as breaking all of them.
I've only mentioned two of the Ten Commandments, lying and stealing. Have you ever murdered anyone? Or maybe I should start by asking, do you know Jesus' definition of murder.
In Matthew 5... that's the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that if you've been angry at someone, or called them a fool, you have murdered them in your heart. And God looks at your heart.
When we compare ourselves using God's standard... when we compare ourselves with God's character, there is no doubt we fall far far short. We have broken God's laws... and that means we deserve the just punishment... In Revelation 21:8 God says... “All liars have their place in the lake of fire, which is the second death.” And there is nothing you can do. God is a judge who cannot be bought. He cannot be deceived by a slick lawyer.
Our only option is to find someone who will take our punishment on himself in our place. That someone is Jesus Christ. He died the second death in your place. If you repent... if you turn away from misrepresenting God, and trust that Jesus Christ paid your penalty for breaking God's law in full, you are saved from God's punishment. Jesus will take your punishment in your place.
That's why God not yet ending evil is a good thing. He is waiting for people to repent, and turn to Him to save them from God's punishment for sin. When God destroys evil... that ends all second chances... God ends His waiting, and those people who have continued to reject God will receive what they have earned... eternity in hell... and evil will be gone forever.
So God is being patient... waiting... giving everyone a second chance, and then another second chance, and another second chance. But those second chances could end at any second... and then it will be too late.
That's why there is still evil in the world. That's why the battle continues... and one of the major strategies of the father of lies is to have only one side of the story told... and just as we see human governments do... prevent the other side of the story from coming out.
So, getting back to talking about evolution... that's what we were originally talking about.
Professor Richard Lewontin, he's a geneticist and one of the world’s leading evolutionary biologists stated it very clearly... “we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”
But, we really should read this quote in its context. Taking short little quotes out of their context can distort what the person was saying...
Here is what Dr. Lewontin said:
“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism.”
“It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”
So that is fundamental... suppress the opposition's ability to get their information out. And that is what is happening. Watch the video, “Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed.”
How do you suppress the opposition to evolution? It is the same as what governments do: you ban them from any and all of the means of communication you control. And that is being done. Secondly you demonize them, make them appear to be untrustworthy, irrational, and uneducated.
Christians have been referred to as “fools” since the beginning. That's why, in 1 Corinthians 4:10 Paul says, “We are fools for Christ’s sake...” Today those who believe in Biblical creation are called ignorant and creatards. These are called ad-hominim attacks.
The point of all this is, first, if you have a strong position based on facts, you don't need to suppress or demonize your opposition. You don't need ad-hominim. Your facts will speak for themselves. Bringing light to the debate... meaning the truth... is very strong. The problem with evolution is that it does not have the facts on its side... and it rarely tells the whole story... and that means the debate goes on.
Evolution can not withstand facing all the facts... evolution cannot withstand rational, logical, factual dissent and criticism.
Oh, they'll say, Christians are impossible. They have no factual basis for their beliefs. It's just a religion, not science. It is blind faith, and we cannot let faith overrule rational, and factual science. In other words they represent Christians as being irrational, and willingly following unscientific, beliefs that are not grounded in facts or reality.
So we're back to name calling again. And as we've talked about in previous episodes, it was in large part due to Christianity that knowledge and science exploded in Europe. A foundation of Christianity is a foundation of truth... truth in everything... that includes science.
And we're not asking secular scientists to embrace Christianity, as wonderful as that would be for them... we are asking them to look at all the facts... all the data... all of the science... And follow the evidence... the factual evidence wherever it leads.... Just because real data... hard... factual data... points to the existence of God... that does not mean that data should be rejected.
What it means is that maybe you should get rid of the biases that are distorting your view of what the evidence is showing.
A good researcher looks at all the data. They formulate a hypothesis and then look for experimental evidence that supports that hypothesis. But they also examine the literature to learn about past work that might refute their hypothesis. They read what dissenters have written. And they pursue avenues and do experiments that actually may prove their hypothesis wrong.
That's how you get to the truth. You look at all aspects of the question... and you study all available knowledge... you don't eliminate an option just because you don't like that conclusions that option produces.
That's what science is supposed to be about. You look at all angles of your hypothesis, study it thoroughly, look at the evidence... ALL of the evidence... then you publish your results, and THEN you defend your results....
And that means defend against all comers... you can't just dismiss evidence that your hypothesis is not valid just because you don't like the facts. You can't do that.
So this has been our summer rant I suppose. I'd like to see those who say they are seeking knowledge, to actually seek ALL of the available knowledge... That's the point of today's Science Pastor. Don't just look at part of what's out there. Look at all the knowledge that's available so you can make a true evaluation.
My name is Steve... I'm the science pastor. If you disagree with me, have questions, or would like to make a comment, please send me an email at: question@sciencepastor.com.
I'd love to hear from you. That's our program for today. I'm looking forward to your joining us again on the next Science Pastor video podcast.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EPymcWp-g
The gospel is not social justice nor serving others. The gospel is love in action... Jesus Christ giving Himself so that you can be saved from the wrath of God.
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8