Book review—Wounded Spirits

A short review of the book "Wounded Spirits" by Douglas J. Carragher Th. D. It is subtitled "A Biblical approach to dealing with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)."



The author is a Sergeant Major, U.S. Army (Ret), who now is the general director of Armed Forces Baptist Missions, mission's speaker, teacher, Biblical counselor, and Christian military advocate.

The book has 8 chapters. Each chapter deals with a particular topic dealing with the person suffering from PTSD and a solution. The topics deal with suicide, fear, guilt which includes survivor's guilt, anger, nightmares, conflicts, and apathy. The template he follows is to introduce a topic, define it, perhaps have an example, and then offer a solution. The solutions are based on Scripture. At the end of each chapter are a few questions which makes this suitable for personal study or group study.

The chapter on anger is probably the best. Carragher lists 6 biblical explanations for anger and 3 things one must do to deal with anger. Anger is an overwhelming societal problem and would be helpful if everyone read/studied it.

In some ways the chapters are a little too short. I believe it would be helpful, to me anyway, to have a few examples and testimonies. There are a few but more would illustrate the suffering these people have to put up with. He deals with the main start of any solution—the Gospel of Jesus in every chapter; perhaps these were given in a sermon or topical sermon series. The solutions are good. They are based on the Scriptures, which is the operator's manual for issues we face in life.

The short questions at the end of each chapter will lead to further discussion and solutions.

This book is a wonderful start to understand and provide counsel for a serious and increasingly common disorder.

As I mentioned before it would have be helpful to include case studies and more examples to help understand each topic. The ones that the author gives are brief. The case studies would be helpful to see the help Scriptural counsel gives.

Overall I recommend this book for anyone who suffers from PTSD, has a family member suffering from this, does counseling, or wishes to further their understanding of this suffering condition.

 

 

 

What is Hyper-Calvinism?

I have contended for a long time that a Calvinist is the 5-point type, you know, TULIP. Anyone else claiming to be a Calvinist either does not understand the terms correctly or just feels like it is the acceptable thing to do. As in, "There is no way you're calling me an Arminian."



Dr. Roger Ols0n has just written an article on this very topic. It is an enlightening read.

Here, today, in this blog post, I wish to demonstrate why classical "T.U.L.I.P." Calvinism logically leads to hyper-Calvinism. In other words, my thesis is that, contrary to what most Calvinists claim, hyper-Calvinism is logically consistent Calvinism.

The key to this argument is unconditional particular election to salvation, not…

People are just fooling themselves to think they are Calvinists when they are really not.

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, EMTV). Please read and interpret this in its plain, normal sense.

Resurrection—True or False?

Resurrection--True or False


 

Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead or was it a vision?


 

Bart Ehrman, the famous apostate, atheist, deconverted Christian, holds that it was only a vision, so also others (for example Francis Maloney, "The Resurrection of the Messiah: A Narrative Commentary on the Resurrection Accounts in the Four Gospels" as reported by Kermit Zarley in his blog).


 

Kermit Zarley brings reasonable logic for believing this view is false (see the reference link above).


 

How many post-resurrection appearances in the NT gospels are we talking about? In my book, I state that there either nine of ten. None of them are described as a "vision." Rather, I think the authors clearly present their narratives with the purpose of causing their readers to think that these were historical events that actually happened, thus certainly not visions that people only think in their minds. But in saying this, I need to address Luke 24.13-43.

Luke's says that on the first Sunday afternoon following Jesus' crucifixion death, two of Jesus' disciples were walking from Jerusalem seven miles to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24.13). Luke says, "While they...

This is well worth reading.


 

So how many people saw Jesus alive after His resurrection? It was at least 520 people. It is never enough for some folks, but these passages of Scripture were written in the first century and seem most reasonable.


 

What about where Jesus tells Mary to not touch Him, but later He invites the apostles to touch Him? Is this a contradiction? Many have written about this, but here is my opinion which is partly based on M. R. DeHann's argument.


 

1. Jesus rose from the dead.
   


2. Mary Magdalene sees Him.
   


3. Jesus wants her to be the first witness. It is not written as to why, but it seems reasonable to me that since women in those days were not considered to be reliable witnesses, Jesus wants to show the world and especially the Apostles that women are very reliable witnesses. Jesus scolds the Apostles even for their unbelief of NOT believing the women.
   


4. Jesus ascends to heaven to present His blood in the heavenly Temple.
   


5. After completely His priestly ministry there, returns to earth when He visits/appears to the people. First He appears to other women, then Peter, the two on the Emmaus Road, then the 11.
   

 

The Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus

1. Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18
   


2. Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James (Matthew 28:9-10, compare with Mark 16:1)
   


3. Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5)
   


4. Cleopas and the other disciple on the Emmaus Road (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-35)
   


5. Ten Apostles with Thomas absent (Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-25)
   


6. Eleven Apostles, including Thomas (John 20:24-29)
   


7. Seven Apostles at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25)
   


8. Eleven Apostles at some mountain in Galilee where Jesus told them to meet Him. (Matthew 28:16-20)
   


9. Over 500 brethren who were together at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6)
   


10. James, His half-brother (1 Corinthians 15:7)
    


11. With the Apostles for a meal. (Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:3-8)
    


12. His ascension. (Acts 1:9-11, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51)
    


13. Paul (Acts 9:1-6, Acts 18:9-10, Acts 23:11, 1 Corinthians 15:8)

The Crucifixion

Lesson 4 The Crucifixion


 




 

A1 Objectives

B1 Describe what happened to Jesus on the Cross.

B2 Explain what was accomplished on the Cross.

A2 Scriptures

B1 John 19:17-37 The Crucifixion

B2 Romans 5:6-9 Christ took our place

B3 2 Corinthians 5:21 Jesus became sin

B4 Isaiah 53:1-12 Prophecy of the Suffering Messiah

A3 Notes

B1 See the graphics/handout section below

A4 Questions

B1 When did Jesus's suffering start?

B2 Why the cross? Why not hanging, stoning, or some other method? ("And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." (John 3:14, EMTV)

B3 Why did He have to carry His cross? (It's part of His suffering).

B4 Why outside the city?

C1 "Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the next day; for it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem." (Luke 13:33, EMTV)

C2 Compare: "And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified." (Revelation 11:8, EMTV)

B5 Did Jesus want to be in Jerusalem? ("Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." (Luke 9:51, EMTV)

B6 Didn't the rulers know this was Messiah? ("For those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor the voices of the Prophets which are read according to each Sabbath, condemning him, they fulfilled the Scriptures. And finding no cause for death, they asked Pilate that He be executed." (Acts 13:27-28, EMTV)

B7 Jesus was nailed to the cross approximately the 3rd hour (9AM) and willingly gave up His spirit at the 9th hour (3PM/1500). Why did Jesus suffer on the cross for 6 hours instead of 4, 10, or some other time?

B8 Why did Jesus give up His spirit? Didn't He just die? What is the purpose of His shouting in a loud voice? What does it mean, "It is finished?"

B9 Why did darkness cover the land for 3 hours?

C1 Utley: "Theologically, it was a symbol of God's turning away from His Son as He bore the sins of the world. This personal spiritual separation, as well as the burden of all the sins of all mankind, was what Jesus feared most."

C2 Matthew Henry:

"The indignities done to our Lord Jesus, made the heavens astonished, and horribly afraid, and even put them into disorder and confusion; such wickedness as this the sun never saw before, and therefore withdrew, and would not see this. This surprising, amazing, darkness was designed to stop the mouths of those blasphemers, who were reviling Christ as he hung on the cross; and it should seem that, for the present, it struck such a terror upon them, that though their hearts were not changed, yet they were silent, and stood doubting what this should mean, till after three hours the darkness scattered, and then (as appears by v. 47), like Pharaoh when the plague was over, they hardened their hearts. But that which was principally intended in this darkness, was, (1.) Christ's present conflict with the powers of darkness. Now the prince of this world, and his forces, the rulers of the darkness of this world, were to be cast out, to be spoiled and vanquished; and to make his victory the more illustrious, he fights them on their own ground; gives them all the advantage they could have against him by this darkness, lets them take the wind and sun, and yet baffles them, and so becomes more than a conqueror."

C3 Gill:

"This darkness that was over the earth at the time of Christ's sufferings, was, no doubt, an addition to them; the sun, as it were, hiding its face, and refusing to afford its comforting light and heat to him; and yet might be in detestation of the heinousness of the sin the Jews were committing, and as expressive of the divine anger and resentment; for God's purposes and decrees, and the end he had in view, did not excuse, nor extenuate their wickedness; as it shows also their wretched stupidity, not to be awakened and convinced by the amazing darkness, with other things attending it, which made no impression on them; though it did on the Roman centurion, who concluded Christ must be the Son of God. It was an emblem of the judicial blindness and darkness of the Jewish nation; and signified, that now was the hour and power of darkness, or the time for the prince of darkness, with his principalities and powers, to exert himself; and was a representation of that darkness that was now on the soul of Christ, expressed in the following verse; as well as of the eclipse of him, the sun of righteousness, of the glory of his person, both by his incarnation, and by his sufferings."

C4 College Press: "...the darkness is suggestive of the "outer darkness" and utter separation from the presence of the Lord to be suffered by those who do not let Jesus' suffering be the price of their redemption..."

B10 Romans 5:6-9

C1 Who did Jesus die for?

C2 Who is the ungodly?

C3 Was Jesus ungodly?

C4 Why does the Scriptures say "without strength/weak?" (We cannot save ourselves or come to Jesus without prevenient grace).

C5 How are we saved from wrath? (Through the blood of Christ).

B11 2 Corinthians 5:21

C1 Did Jesus sin? (No).

C2 Why did He have to be sinless?

C1 To be the lamb of God without blemish.

C2 If He had sinned, then He would be dying for His own sins, not the sins of others.

C3 How are we righteous? (Jesus died and paid the penalty for our sins).

B12 Isaiah 53:1-12 (Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

C1 Characteristics of Messiah

D1 Is this a suffering Messiah or glorified Messiah? (Suffering Messiah)

D2 Why is He a man of sorrows?

D3 Why did the Lord lay on Him the iniquity of us all?

C2 Effects of Messiah

D1 How are we healed?

D2 Healed from what? (Sin. "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed". (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV)

C3 Sufferings of Messiah

D1 What prison did Jesus stay in? (The court of the High Priest then Pilate's).

D2 Wounded and bruised. What does this mean? When did He receive these? (At the floggings and beatings).

D3 When was He oppressed? (His freedom was taken away).

C4 Blessings on the Messiah

D1 What blessings did He receive? (Descendants (the adopted children of God), Eternity, to see the Lord's pleasure, satisfaction, joy of seeing people justified, great things, spoil (to rule the world), etc.

D2 Why does He get these?

C5 Why does Scripture say "bore the sin of many" instead of "bore the sin of all"? (Because He, himself, is sinless and did not have to bear His own).

A4 Graphics/Handouts

B1 Timeline (Courtesy of http://www.examiner.com/list/timeline-of-jesus-death-on-the-cross-what-happened-before-during-and-after)

C1 Before Jesus' Crucifixion

D1 Maundy Thursday Night

E1 The Last Supper takes place in the upper room.

E2 Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane.

E3 Jesus is betrayed and arrested.

E4 The religious leaders condemn Jesus.

D2 Friday Morning, 6 a.m.

E1 Jesus stands trial before Pilate.

E2 Jesus is sent to Herod.

D3 7 a.m.

E1 Jesus is returned to Pilate.

E2 Jesus is sentenced to death.

D4 8 a.m.

E1 Jesus is led away to Calvary.

E2 The Crucifixion

D5 9 a.m. - "The Third Hour"

The soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing.

D6 10 a.m.

Jesus is insulted and mocked.

D7 11 a.m.

E1 Jesus talks to two thieves on cross.

E2 Jesus speaks to His mother and John.

D8 Noon - "The Sixth Hour"

Darkness covers the land. At Jesus' birth it became light during the night. At His death darkness comes during the death.

D9 1 p.m.

E1 Jesus cries out to the Father.

E2 Jesus says, "I thirst."

D10 2 p.m.

Jesus says, "It is finished."

D11 3 p.m. - "The Ninth Hour"

E1 Jesus dies on the cross.

E2 Events Following Jesus' Death

F1 The earthquake happened.

F2 The centurion says, "Surely, he was the Son of God!"

F3 The soldiers break the thieves' legs; Jesus' had already died.

F4 The soldier pierced Jesus' side.

D12 Jesus is laid in the tomb.

D13 Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.

B2 Graphic http://www.bibleresearch.org/observancebook5/jesusfinalweek.html

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

 

A1 Scriptures

B1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always concerning you all, making mention of you in our prayers, constantly remembering your work of faith, labor of love, and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brothers, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, just as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, in that you received the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became patterns to all those who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord has resounded, not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of entrance we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath. (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, EMTV)

B2 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy— To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be yours. We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm. Our friends, we know that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own. For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good. You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. So you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say. All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God and to wait for his Son to come from heaven—his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death and who rescues us from God's anger that is coming. (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, GNB92)

A2 Outline

B1 Greetings (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

B2 Their Christianity (1 Thessalonians 1:2-10)

C1 Faith in practice 2-3

C2 Faith seen clearly 4

C3 Faith preached by Apostles 5

C4 Faith reproduced 6

C5 Faith as an example to others 7

C6 Faith spread further 8

C7 Faith changed them 9

C8 Faith in His Son 10

A3 Notes

B1 1 Thessalonians 1:1

C1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy

D1 All together who know the Thessalonians and participate in this letter.

D2 Paul is the main writer. (1 Thessalonians 3:1 and 1 Thessalonians 3:5-6)

D3 None of these are ashamed of the Gospel or of Jesus Christ. They suffered verbal abuse, physical abuse, and financial abuse because they were Christians.

C2 Church

D1 The word means a called-out assembly.

D2 It is a congregation of people who have believed the Gospel and have trusted in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins.

C3 In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

D1 The authority for Christians

D2 The ruler of the universe and beyond

D3 The savior

D4 The one to whom these Christians are dedicated

C4 Grace and peace

D1 A prayer for God to give them grace (receiving what we do not deserve) and peace (a rest from the guilt of sin and a joy with God)

D2 A fact of the same

B2 1 Thessalonians 1:2

C1 Thanks for all--a common attitude that all Christians should have. It is not just for those we like of friends with or only for those who we agree with.

D1 Should be a genuine prayer--"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter! (Matthew 23:13, GNB92)

D2 At all times, that is, do not become discourage, continue to pray--Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. (Romans 12:12, GNB92)

D3 Prayer teaches us patience, perseverance, and an attitude that we need God's help

E1 As you help us by means of your prayers for us. So it will be that the many prayers for us will be answered, and God will bless us; and many will raise their voices to him in thanksgiving for us. (2 Corinthians 1:11, GNB92)

E2 Through every prayer and petition, praying in every season in the Spirit, being watchful to this same thing with all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18, EMTV)

D4 We cannot do everything ourselves. We need help--Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, along with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Philippians 4:6, EMTV)

D5 To have an active mind, not passive, when praying--Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving; (Colossians 4:2, EMTV)

D6 For all people, even leaders who may or may not be agreeable with us--Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all people, on behalf of kings and all those who are in authority, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2, EMTV)

D7 All foods are clean in God's sight through prayer--for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:5, EMTV)

D8 Jesus himself prayed--who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up both prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His reverence, (Hebrews 5:7, EMTV)

D9 Need to confess our own sins and be found doing His will, especially how we treat our spouse

E1 Husbands, likewise, live together according to knowledge as with a weaker vessel, with the wife, showing her honor as also a fellow heir of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7, EMTV)

E2 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those doing evil." (1 Peter 3:12, EMTV)

B3 1 Thessalonians 1:3

C1 Three things all Christians should be doing.

D1 Work of faith--faith that God is right in what He says and does. Our life should reflect that we do believe which is best done by following His rules.

D2 Labor of love--a love to all.

D3 Perseverance of hope--a hope that doesn't fade. This hope in in Jesus Christ, the deliverer.

C2 In the presence of God the Father for He watches us.

B4 1 Thessalonians 1:4

C1 Knowing

D1 The word is "to see" thus something evident. These Christians lives showed evidence of their true heart change by God.

D2 It is also used in the sense of "seeing" with the eye, understand, know, etc.

D3 This is seen, know, evident to not only the Apostle but also to each other and themselves.

C2 Election

D1 Done through the love of God.

D2 The word means choice.

D3 What was chosen.

E1 The church, that is, the saints. The church is the body of Christ. When we believe (salvation process is initiated by God, not us), then we enter "the church" which is the body of Christ. This is not an organization; it is a living body. "And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him filling all things in all." (Ephesians 1:22-23, EMTV)

E2 Corporate election. See here.

D4 There is no passage that indicates that God chose a small number to be guaranteed to be "saved" and a very large number who cannot/will not be saved.

E1 1 Timothy 2:4 "who desires all people to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth."

E2 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

B5 1 Thessalonians 1:5

C1 The Gospel

C2 5 ways the Thessalonians understood the Gospel

D1 Word--that is it was preached by the Apostle and the others.

D2 Power--with authority, in truth. This truth was not only intellectual but demonstrated by the lives of the preachers.

D3 Holy Spirit--not only the works of the Holy Spirit but in their case a demonstration of the Holy Spirit in changed lives, families, etc.

D4 Assurance--that is with conviction. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives to open their eyes and hearts to our true condition, God's judgment, and the way of salvation.

D5 Life Style--these preachers lived what they preached.

B6 1 Thessalonians 1:6

C1 Imitators--that is, they believed the message, the doctrines, and the life style and starting living that way. They left their old "religion," their beliefs, and their old way of living. All this applies to us, too. We are imitators of the Lord Jesus.

C2 Received the word in much tribulation

D1 Not only personal struggle to humble themselves, but also from those who rejected the Gospel.

D2 Acts 17:5-10 EMTV "And the Jews who did not believe became envious, and took some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, they threw the city into disorder, and came upon the house of Jason, and sought to bring them to the people. (6) But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers to the rulers of the city, crying out, "The men who have upset the whole world, these have come here, too; (7) whom Jason has received; and these all practice contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king--Jesus." (8) And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. (9) And having taken the security bond from Jason and the rest, they released them. (10) Then the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away during the night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews."

C3 Joy in the Holy Spirit--that is the joy that God gives in the midst of trials and afflictions. (Acts 5:41, Romans 5:3-5, and Hebrews 10:34, etc.)

B7 1 Thessalonians 1:7

C1 Their trials and joys that they faced encouraged other saints in Macedonia and Achaia.

C2 Our lives and how we handle trials in life are watched by those who are not Christians.

B8 1 Thessalonians 1:8 This is the result of their life and message of witness for Jesus Christ. This did not only affect them but many others. Such is the Christian life. This should be for all of us.

B9 1 Thessalonians 1:9

C1 From idols. These people were not Jews but Gentiles.

C2 They now serve the living and true God and to wait for His son from heaven.

B10 1 Thessalonians 1:10

C1 The Son from heaven is identified by

D1 Being raised from the dead.

D2 Jesus

D3 Who delivers us from the coming wrath

C2 We wait for the Son to return from heaven.

D1 "Now after He said these things, while they were beholding Him, He was lifted up, and a cloud withdrew Him from their sight. And while they looked intently into heaven, while He was going, behold, two men stood alongside them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you watched Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11, EMTV)

D2 "I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14, HCSB)

D3 "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (Mark 13:26, EMTV)

D4 "Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, EMTV)

D5 and to give you who are being afflicted rest along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall pay a penalty—eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, whenever He comes, in that Day, to be glorified among His saints and to be marveled among all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, EMTV)

D6 "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen! (Revelation 1:7, EMTV)

C3 The coming wrath is judgment time. All will be judged. Those in the Lamb's Book of Life will be in eternal life and those not there will be in eternal death. This eternity of all people is conscious and never ending. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; and he who does not believe the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36, EMTV)

Some problems for evolution

Evolution teaches that everything that exists comes from blind, unguided chance.



 

The worm, C. elegans, has had its DNA totally mapped. Its development from a single egg to each functioning cell has also be documented. This article, To Build a Worm: Where Undirected Evolution Runs into Severe Difficulties, shows us one such problem that cannot be solved by pure, unguided chance.

Thus, if we want to explain the origin of the adult form of C. elegans, we need first to explain the origin of the developmental pathway that constructs the worm. And this is where undirected evolution runs into severe difficulties.

The origin of the earliest stages of the pathway (shown in Figure 1 in previous post), where the major cell lineages start (which will eventually divide and give rise to the various structures and tissues of the adult worm), cannot be explained by natural selection -- because there is no selective advantage to those stages existing until the adult worm has been constructed.

But those later stages, especially reproductive capability (a necessary condition of natural selection), cannot themselves exist…

Faith and Science

An article on evolution news refers to an interview of Dr. Francis Collins. After this article appeared, Jerry Coyne, an evangelistic atheist responded.



I have much respect for Dr. Collins and his scientific achievements, but I don't respect his view of Christianity. This article, however, points out some of the faulty thinking of the atheist, or at least Coyne.

National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins, who is a devout Christian, did an interview recently with National Geographic about his faith and his science. Predictably, Jerry Coyne, an atheist biologist from the University of Chicago, took exception to some of Collins's answers about the compatibility of faith in God and science.

Collins:

[Question asked of Collins] Are science and religion compatible?

I am privileged to be somebody who tries to understand nature using the tools of science. But it is also clear that there are some really important questions that science cannot really answer, such as: Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are we here? In those domains I have found that faith provides a better path to answers. I find it oddly anachronistic that in today's culture there seems to be a widespread presumption that scientific and spiritual views are incompatible.

Coyne:

Here he's espousing the NOMA (non-overlapping magisteria) reconciliation rather than the "god-of-the-gaps" reconciliation (but see below), but note that what he's saying is that science and religion are not compatible but complementary. I hate having to address this issue yet again, but I have no choice.

First, science can answer, at least in principle, those hard questions; it's just that Collins and his fellow believers don't like the answers. Why are we here? Because of the Big Bang, the laws of physics, and evolution.

Coyne misunderstands the…

Truly an interesting article to read not only for the points brought out in the article but also some insight in the overzealous, misinformed thinking of an atheist.