Will Myers

Does atheism have a true monopoly on reason? In my conversations with nonbelievers, I’ve found that probing deeper into the atheistic worldview exposes a key weakness in that perspective and provides an opportunity to demonstrate Christianity’s solid footing in reason. **** The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 423/277. When I ask my unbelieving friends “Why are you an atheist?” they generally respond with something like “Because there is no God.” I ask them to dig a little deeper to answer my original question. Generally, a diatribe against religion emerges. Believers are accused of being a bunch of hypocrites who oppress people with their rules while religions are painted in broad strokes as ridiculous superstitions and crutches for weak-minded people. Many claim that belief in God is irrational. From my experience, the atheist asserts that humanity has evolved beyond these irrational impulses and structures, now seeing religion for the garbage it is. Why Atheism? My next question is, “Okay, but why choose atheism?” After all, a lack of faith comes with distinct disadvantages. For example, studies show that people with no faith are more likely than their religious counterparts to suffer from depression and to commit suicide.1 Besides that (or perhaps at the root of that), atheism doesn’t provide any sense of meaning or purpose for life because everything will end with total annihilation. Even if atheists argue that we can assign meaning to our lives, once the Sun burns out and the universe goes to heat death what is left? What will be the purpose of striving to not believe in superstition? What will be the purpose of helping other people? Why not just spend all your time throwing pebbles into the sea instead? In the end, such an activity will mean as much as the greatest acts of philanthropy. Pragmatically, wouldn’t it be better to be deluded and happy for this brief, meaningless time? Nonbelievers often answer that they choose atheism because it’s true. Further, pragmatism is not a good test for truth, which I concede. But is truth really worth possibly sacrificing health, happiness, and meaning? Here some opinions diverge, but most atheists would say that truth is of the utmost importance in dictating their worldview. “Alright,” I reply, “if truth is so important, why is it that only a small sliver of people ever find it?” My familiarity with scientists may bias this response, but I think most atheists would say that people believe in God because humanity has evolved to believe in God. In the past, religion served a useful function in promoting survival by bringing order to communities and existential motivation to mankind. Thus, over 90 percent of the world population today suffers from the effects of this grand evolutionary delusion. Only the free-thinkers, the “brights,” have figured out how to get beyond the rubbish of mysticism programmed into our genes through the evolutionary process. But if it’s true that the human brain is wired to believe in something that is false, then the brain is demonstrably unreliable for discerning truth. How then can atheists trust that their brain has found the truth? Why are they free from the mental subroutines programmed via evolution? How can they be certain that their brain finds truth, not just in this case, but ever? As recently highlighted by Kenneth Samples, atheism’s very assumptions about the world guarantee that we cannot know truth. We have become prisoners of our brain and the evolutionary processes that built it. Reason has been reduced to a molecular pool game with proteins and chemicals whacking about through neural circuitry, generating pictures, colors, and sensations. While having a molecular pool game governing your decisions may sound fun for a bit, it precludes any master-of-my-own-destiny claims to independence or ownership of achievements, capacities, or ideas. After all, you don’t own your ideas, choices, achievements or fate; that’s just the way the balls bounce. The Christian Alternative Bereft of the certainty of reason and truth that results from a godless worldview, it seems better for the atheist to seek an alternative. In his book C. S. Lewis’ Case for the Christian Faith, Richard Purtill offers the biblical perspective on reason and its origins (emphasis added): One way of getting a preliminary insight into Lewis’ argument [from reason] is to ask whether nature is a product of mind or mind is a product of nature. If God created nature, as Christians believe, then nature is understandable by reason because it is a product of reason.2 Christianity offers that man is made in the image of God and from this we gather that our mind is formed in likeness to God’s mind. Thus, we have a reason for our reason which is Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, Earth, and our mind. Indeed the apostle John describes how “the Word” (logos, which can also be translated as “reason”) was with God in the beginning, how reason formed all of nature, and how the incarnate Word came to Earth. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1–4, 14) The idea of Christ as the Word is further refined in John 14:6 where Jesus describes Himself as “the way and the truth and the life.” Here Jesus, reason incarnate, properly claims primacy over truth and life, highlighting how truth and life flow from reason. Conversely, atheism fails to provide hope, a reason for living, a reason for meaning, or a reason for reason at all. With such a hopeless doctrine for life or truth, I hope atheists will consider reclaiming their reason by exploring the rich doctrines of Christianity that celebrate reason and hope.

Dec 23, 2013 at 8:04 PM

By Will Myers

Just as the ancient Jewish temples were built with the inner room being the place where God dwelt, and only the high priest could enter once a year to commune with God. Needless to say, this was the ultimate sacred place; the holiest place in the nation. This concept emanated from the inner mind and continued to resonate in the minds of the people. There is a sacred, inner place in each of our minds that no one is allowed except God, our Creator. It is our inner spirit that is God’s subconscious and who we truly are.

Within 30 years the lie detector shall be obsolete and replaced by the mind reader. This gives the state the capability to enslave the minds of the people. Whether or not most know what is happening, we are in a battle for our minds in the burgeoning superfreudian state (deception experts), the police state, that can deprive civilians (s) of their civil rights at will. Within 50 years the special interest groups that target private citizens (SIG) of Ephesians 6:12 shall be reaching their full fruition.

There is going to be a One World Government with new ordering. The losers are going to be the common citizens which would constitute the majority of citizens. The state shall have power over us as never before experienced. Returning to the present, SIG snakes of Eph 6:12; “¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” is targeting private citizens increasingly. This is increasingly causing people to become hopelessly angry and seek revenge by acting out a mass shooting and killings as a statement about the SIG snakes destroying their lives from their inside psyche that should not be invaded. Associates innocently believed that they were doing the will of the people, but the targeted person(s) were being denied their democratic rights (right to be let alone) and were experiencing true Anti-Americanism.

Ride the same horse into the ground, my friends? Don’t. They may rebel in detrimental ways. My rebellion is that I make myself a bond slave to the Son of God, and shall do His Will always while enjoying the thought of God burning a lot of asses in the future.

The devil is alive and prosperous as ever. SIG of Eph 6:12 is making a clear path to the inner mind of people. In addition, it is now popular to believe that the devil doesn’t exist (It might be too late for those people). People are serving the devil and don’t know it. What is popular in the world is usually not always right.

Our freedoms are at stake. Our happiness is at stake. The first thing SIG of Eph 6:12 does is to steal your joy alone by creating the happenstances that prevent any happiness in the targeted person’s life.

I am not an anarchist; I am not against cameras posted in public places nor am I opposed to a helicopter being above, but leave my inner mind alone.

The Superfreudian state is a fraud in progress undermining individual civil rights, keeping the commoners down and marginalized.

Thank God! We have the Word of God and the Living Word of God, Jesus Who is the Son of God. A personal relationship with Christ Jesus, the Anointed One. God has a plan for each person that is the opposite of SIG of Eph 6:12.

The voice of God says:

(1)Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. “Let persons alone” unless it is to exalt them or just plain offering your help for something.

(2)Listen not to what persons say about your associate; learn the associate for yourself.

(3)Don’t be part of a conspiracy that is detrimental to the targeted person’s well-being and outlook on life. Only uplift persons.

The right to be left alone is much more freedom than a superior source force-feeding you what you must know, determined by the superior source unless it is the voice of Christ Jesus speaking softly and privately to you. Your privacy is much more important than exposure to a superior source who has a wealth of knowledge and information. Stick with the formal classroom education. Remaining incognito is much more important to your freedom of mind than 15 minutes of fame promoted by the new age; supported by SIG of Ephesians 6:12 who is the devilish one.

As stated by formal president Bush, we are now in the new world order. A national domestic spy agency was established by his administration under the guise of finding terrorists. No info stays in one place; it shall be back channeled to special interest groups (SIG) snakes who target private citizens in order to control their thoughts and movement; an invasion into their inner minds. We are in a battle to keep our mind – a peaceful, satisfying mind. The SIG snakes create and live on the controversy, and cause mass shootings and suicides.

MY OP-ED

by Hugh Ross

February 6, 2000

Updated March 2022

The frame of reference in Genesis 1:1 is the cosmos, all of physical reality. God declares that he brought into existence the entire universe—matter, energy, and all the associated space-time dimensions. Einstein’s theory of general relativity tells us that the cause of the universe acts independently (i.e., from outside) of matter, energy, and the space-time dimensions along which matter and energy are distributed to bring it into existence. Observations now securely establish the reliability of general relativity.

Genesis 1:2 explicitly shifts the frame of reference, the narrator’s vantage point, to the surface of Earth, above the waters but below the clouds. This verse describes the initial conditions of primordial Earth: dark on its surface, covered with water, empty of life, and unfit for life. With the frame of reference and the initial conditions for the six creation days thus established, a straightforward chronology of creation events unfolds:

• Planet Earth is singled out for a sequence of divine interventions. At its beginning, Earth is empty of life and unfit for life, and light cannot penetrate its thick atmosphere.
• As interplanetary debris cleared and early life began to transform Earth’s atmosphere, light from the heavenly bodies could penetrate to the surface.
• As water vapor formed in the troposphere, a stable water cycle formed.
• Continental landmasses arose and ocean basins took shape.
• Plants began to grow on the continental landmasses.
• The atmosphere transitioned from translucent to occasionally transparent so that the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars could be seen from the vantage point of Earth’s surface.
• Swarms of small sea animals filled the oceans.
• Sea mammals and birds were created and became abundant.
• Three specialized kinds of animals came onto the scene: short-legged land mammals, long-legged, easy-to-tame land mammals, and long-legged, difficult-to-tame land mammals—all three appropriate in specific ways to help meet humanity’s needs.
• Human beings appeared.

Multiple factors limit large animals’ capacity for natural-process change and make them especially vulnerable to rapid extinction. The seven most significant factors are these:

• Relatively small populations
• Long generation times (interval between birth and the ability to reproduce)
• Low numbers of offspring per reproduction cycle
• Highly complex morphology and biochemistry
• Relatively large body sizes
• Specialized food supplies
• Complex social structures

These factors limit the capacity of animals to not only survive natural selection and mutations but also to adapt to environmental changes. Biologists observe an even more fundamental problem: deleterious mutations vastly outnumber beneficial mutations by the tens of thousands, at least. In order to survive long enough to benefit from mutations, any species needs an enormous population, a short generation time, and a small body size. Otherwise, mutations (especially in the face of environmental stresses) are prone to drive animal species to extinction.

Crude mathematical models indicate that for a species to advance rather than die out, it must have a population of a quadrillion individuals, a generation time of three months, and a body size of about one centimeter. These models have been confirmed by numerous field observations.

Genesis offers an explanation for the survival of large animals: God intervened to replace extinct species with new ones. In most cases, the new species were different from the previous ones because of step-by-step changes in Earth’s geology, biodeposits, and biology—changes that prepared the planet for the survival and flourishing of humans.

The many “transitional” forms seen in the fossil record suggest that God intervened more than just a few times, here and there, while natural process did the rest. Rather, it appears God was involved and active in the development of new species.

We can reasonably deduce from these and other findings that God created humanity at the precise moment in Earth’s history when the maximum possible resources would be available and accessible to us. These rich resources allow humanity to fulfill God’s purpose for us before the time window for our survivability closes. Thanks to this divine provision, humans need spend only a relatively brief time preparing for life in the vastly superior creation to come.

The unique beauty of this biblical creation model resides in its ability to anticipate advancing scientific discovery. The ability to anticipate, or “predict,” is the hallmark of a reliable theory. By contrast, naturalistic evolution, chaos theory, and some creationist views not only fail to predict the growing body of data but, instead, contradict it.

Here is a small sampling of some of the most significant predictions that flow from RTB’s biblical creation model, predictions thoroughly tested and confirmed as transcendent creation events . . .

• uniqueness of Earth, our solar system, and our galaxy
• the rapidity of life’s origin
• the Cambrian explosion
• fossil record “reversals”
• rapid recovery from mass extinction events
• the rapidity of symbiotic relationships’ emergence
• the relatively recent origin of humanity

One reason we evangelicals have had so little impact on secular society with our creation teachings is that we try to teach Genesis without presenting a testable creation model. We either focus all of our guns on what is wrong with naturalism or we duck the issue by claiming that Genesis presents no specific creation model. Thus, we are perceived by society as either negative or cowardly.

This situation stems from Christians’ failure to apply the scientific method to their interpretation of Genesis. A great irony, here, is that the scientific method comes from the Bible and from biblical theology. The core of this method is an appeal to the interpreter to delay drawing conclusions until both the frame of reference and the initial conditions have been established. If we approach Genesis in this way, we discover that we can, indeed, discern there a scientifically plausible, objectively defensible account of creation.

Creation Model Overview

The frame of reference in Genesis 1:1 is the cosmos. God declares that He brought into existence the entire physical universe—matter, energy, and all the space-time dimensions associated with matter and energy. Einstein’s theory of general relativity tells us that the cause of the universe creates it independently (i.e. from outside) of matter, energy, and the space-time dimensions along which matter and energy are distributed. (Observations now securely establish the reliability of general relativity.)

Genesis 1:2 explicitly shifts the frame of reference, the narrator’s vantage point, to the surface of Earth above the water but below the cloud layer. That verse describes the initial conditions of primordial Earth: its surface was dark, covered with water, empty of life, and unfit for life. With the frame of reference and the initial conditions for the six creation days thus established, a straightforward chronology for the creation days’ events unfolds. That chronology is as follows:

1. Creation, by fiat miracle, of the entire physical universe (space-time dimensions, matter, energy, galaxies, stars, planets, etc.)
2. planet Earth singled out for a sequence of creation miracles. At its beginning, Earth is empty of life and unfit for life; interplanetary debris and Earth’s primordial atmosphere prevent the light of the sun, moon, and stars from reaching the planet’s surface
3. clearing of the interplanetary debris and partial transformation of the earth’s atmosphere so that light from the heavenly bodies now penetrates to the surface of Earth’s ocean
4. formation of water vapor in the troposphere under conditions that establish a stable water cycle
5. formation of continental land masses and ocean basins
6. production of plants on the continental land masses
7. transformation of the atmosphere from translucent to occasionally transparent. Sun, Moon, planets, and stars now can be seen from the vantage point of Earth’s surface
8. production of swarms of small sea animals.
9. creation of sea mammals and birds
10. creation of three specialized kinds of land mammals: a) short-legged land mammals, b) long-legged land mammals that are easy to tame, and c) long-legged land mammals that are difficult to tame—all three specifically designed to cohabit with humans
11. creation of the human species

Many factors work to limit large animals’ capacity for natural-process change. These same factors make large animals especially vulnerable to rapid extinction. The seven most significant factors are these:

1. their relatively small population levels
2. their long generation spans (the time between birth and the ability to give birth)
3. their low numbers of progeny produced per adult
4. their high complexity of morphology and biochemistry
5. their enormous body sizes
6. their specialized food supplies
7. their relatively advanced cultural and social structures

These factors limit the capacity of animals not only to change through natural selection and mutations but also to adapt to environmental changes. A fundamental problem biologists observe is that deleterious mutations vastly outnumber beneficial mutations (by anywhere from 10,000 to 1 up to 10,000,000 to 1). Thus, a species needs an enormous population, a short generation time, and a small body size if it’s to survive long enough to benefit from mutations. Deleterious mutations and environmental stresses drive most animal species to extinction.

Crude mathematical models indicate that a species capable of significant evolutionary advance rather than doomed to eventual extinction, must have a population of one quadrillion individuals, a generation time of three months, and a body size of one centimeter. These conclusions are confirmed by field observations.

Genesis offers this explanation for the survival of large animals: God repeatedly replaced extinct species with new ones. In most cases, the new species were different from the previous ones because God was changing Earth’s geology, biodeposits, and biology, step by step, in preparation for His ultimate creation on Earth—the human race.

The many “transitional” forms seen in the fossil record suggest that God performed more than just a few creative acts here and there, letting natural evolution fill in the rest. Rather, God was involved and active in creation of new species.

What we can deduce from these and other findings is that God created humanity at the precise moment in Earth’s history that would provide for us the maximum possible resources. He has told us to use these rich resources wisely so as to fulfill His purpose before the window of life’s survival time closes. Because of His provision, humans need spend only the briefest possible time in this creation preparing for eternity in the far superior new creation to come.

We can reflect on many more reasons than these few for God’s step-by-step creation. Some are discussed below. Others may be found in my book, The Genesis Question.

Testing the Creation Model

    The unique beauty of this biblical creation model is its ability to predict with accuracy advancing scientific discovery. This ability to predict is the hallmark of any reliable theory. By contrast, Darwinian evolution, chaos theory, and six-consecutive-24-hour-creation-day creationism fail to predict and instead contradict the growing body of data. This summary lists just 20 of the numerous successful predictions made by the Reasons To Believe model.

1. transcendent creation event
2. cosmic fine-tuning
3. fine-tuning of the earth’s, solar system’s, and Milky Way Galaxy’s characteristics
4. rapidity of life’s origin
5. lack of inorganic kerogen
6. extreme biomolecular complexity
7. Cambrian explosion
8. missing horizontal branches in the fossil record
9. placement and frequency of “transitional forms” in the fossil record
10. fossil record reversal
11. frequency and extent of mass extinctions
12. recovery from mass extinctions
13. duration of time windows for different species
14. frequency, extent, and repetition of symbiosis
15. frequency, extent, and repetition of altruism
16. speciation and extinction rates
17. recent origin of humanity
18. huge biodeposits
19. Genesis’ perfect fit with the fossil record
20. molecular clock rates

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Posted on February 17, 2022 by Will Myers

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Besides desiring to kill you, Satan’s next desire is to steal your happiness and joy because they always shout yes, yes, to the Word of God and kick Satan from the scene.

The special interest groups (SIG) snakes that invade the inner sanctuary of the minds of the citizens always steal the happiness and joy of the targeted individual and make happiness and joy contentious on complying with SIG snakes’ desires and folly.

The SIG snakes are inching America toward a hyper-communist government whereas the government owns the virtual minds of the citizens; the main source of power is the intimate knowledge of each citizen and it is used to manipulate formulated and purposeful adversity into the life of the targeted citizen to their demise and SIG snakes’ benefits.

The SIG snakes would like to lead the citizens to believe that they represent the values of the people when in essence they are a government that is for themselves, authoritarian social machinery that constitutes hyper-communism whereas the government virtually owns the minds of the citizens which are mapped on computers and formulated and purposefully used to control the thoughts and movements of a targeted individual.

The exercise of the SIG snake social machinery makes conducive the society to accept and even promote hyper-communism, leading unto an autocratic leader in the likeness of a Trump or Hitler; God forbade.

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  

In America, our democracy is being undermined daily by SIG snakes’ implications in the mass media and direct assault on private citizens.  A prime example is for Trump to have the balls to attempt overturning the election. Eighty years ago, Trump would have not dreamed of doing so. The actions to overthrow indicate that the snakes have made significant success toward instituting hyper-communism, leading unto the one-world government.   

The intimate knowledge from collected information of each citizen can be used to manipulate formulated and purposeful adversity into the life of the targeted citizen to their demise and SIG snakes’ benefits, forcing the individual into compliance to the desires of SIG, a false deceptor among the people. The one-world government shall be constituted once the autocratic leader is installed. The antidote to prevent the invasion into our inner minds is to do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. This would stop the poisoning of our free society.

Matthew 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

MY OP-ED

 

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