I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading the book and found I couldn’t put it down! This happens with very few books I read. The drama, mystery, and biblical teaching were woven together masterfully. I was thrilled to meet Julie when she traveled with her husband and daughter to the U.S. from Australia and spent some time at AiG.

Since then, Julie has written two more books entitled The Shadowed Mind and Pieces of Light (all three are available as ebooks, too). I was very thankful that Julie gave me the opportunity to be a reviewer for these books as well. Like most scientists, I can’t write creatively but I was glad to use my expertise to assist Julie. I’m living vicariously through her!

Julie has begun writing a prequel to these books entitled The Darkest Night. In this book she explores major events in the life of the main character Dinah Harris leading up to Deadly Disclosures. She is posting the book section by section on her blog. If you haven’t read her other books then this is a great introduction. If you have read her other books, then like me you can’t wait to delve into more details about Dinah’s past.

If you know someone who might be hesitant to read a nonfiction book like The New Answers Book, then I highly recommend Julie Cave’s books. They are a great way to introduce people to the importance of biblical authority and the history in Genesis in a powerful yet different way.

I’m off to Austin, Texas, today to speak at Concordia University and several Lutheran churches in Austin. I will hopefully be reporting on my ministry there in my Tuesday blog next week. Be praying.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that we don’t give our children the attention and care they need and desire. I can’t count the number of times I’ve said, “I can’t play right now honey, I’m too busy.” I see the disappointed look on her face as she turns and walks away, but I somehow justify my response by thinking that clean clothes do need to be put away and meals do need to be fixed and so on. But then what will Elizabeth’s memories of me be when she grows up? That the clothes were always put away and meals were always on time?

While keeping house is something I want her to learn from me, it isn’t nearly as valuable as her remembering this: “Mom showed me what it means to love your children. That you always make time with them a high priority even if it means the laundry stays in the basket for a day or two and dinner is served an hour late.” And I do try really hard to play school, house, explorer and whatever else my little one can dream up. Since she’s an only child, I’m a mother and a playmate!

I want Elizabeth to see the gospel lived out in my parenting. God loved us so much that He sacrificed His own Son for us (John 3:16). I want to show sacrificial love for her whether it means sacrificing my time, energy, money, or even my life if necessary.

I hope as you read the words to this song that it will impact you as it did me and it will make you think carefully about your answer to these three simple words: “Mommy [or Daddy] can you…?”

Cinderella

By: Steven Curtis Chapman

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I’m sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It’s been a long day
And there’s still work to do
She’s pulling at me
Saying “Dad, I need you
There’s a ball at the castle
And I’ve been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone…

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, “Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”

Repeat Chorus

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, “Dad, the wedding’s still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”

Repeat Chorus

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

Morality is NOT a product of religion or faith. I can prove it. Can you name me something moral and kind that a believer such as yourself can do and a non-believer like me can’t do? Think about it. It can be saving a life, donating blood or help an old lady cross the street. There isn’t anything good and kind that a Christian can do but an Atheist can’t do.

There is no question that atheists can do moral things and believe in right or wrong, but that is not the issue. The real issue is: do they have a foundation or basis for moral decision-making apart from God? This atheist seems to think so. He wrote,

Morality can and does exist without a biblical God because I have morality (and every human being, regardless of their beliefs) and I don’t believe in God or the bible but I know right from wrong. If someone thinks that donating blood or helping an old lady cross the street is evil, then logically they do not have the same morality that you or I or any normal human does.

Again, this atheist misses the point. The problem for atheists is that they do not have an ultimate standard for determining right and wrong. In an atheistic worldview how could it be determined that it is wrong for someone to think it is evil to donate blood or help an old lady across the street? This atheist infers that a person is not “normal” if they think those things are evil, but then what defines “normal” and why should “normal” be the ultimate goal?

Dr. Jason Lisle and I wrote an article on this topic entitled “Morality and the Irrationality of an Evolutionary Worldview.” I thought I would share several excerpts from the article to further clarify the problem of morality for atheists.

Apart from biblical creation, morality has no justification. Christian philosopher Dr. Greg Bahnsen (1948–95) states, “What does the unbeliever [person who rejects the biblical God] mean by ‘good,’ or by what standard does the unbeliever determine what counts as ‘good’ (so that ‘evil’ is accordingly defined or identified)? What are the presuppositions in terms of which the unbeliever makes any moral judgments whatsoever?” Although unbelievers may classify actions as good or evil, they do not have an ultimate foundation for defining what is good and evil.

In fact, many evolutionists are quite clear that evolution does not provide a basis for morality. William Provine, evolutionist and biology professor at Cornell University, states in referring to the implications of Darwinism, “No ultimate foundations for ethics exist, no ultimate meaning in life exists, and free will is merely a human myth.” Thus, if evolution is true, then there can be no universal moral code that all people should adhere to.

If human beings are merely the inevitable result of the laws of physics and chemistry acting over time, then how can people have any genuine choice in what they do? If the decisions people make are simply the deterministic outworking of electrochemical reactions in a brain—which is itself allegedly the mindless outworking of billions of random chance copying errors in our DNA—then how would it make sense to hold people responsible for their “decisions”?

After all, we do not attempt to punish the planet Venus for spinning backwards. And we do not get angry at baking soda for reacting with vinegar. This is just what necessarily happens in the universe given the laws of nature. So why would an evolutionist be angry at anything one human being does to another (such as creationists supposedly “lying” to children), if we are all nothing more than complex chemical reactions? If we are simply evolved animals, why should we hold to a code of conduct in this “dog-eat-dog” world? After all, what one animal does to another is morally irrelevant.

When evolutionists attempt to be moral, they are “borrowing” from the Christian worldview.

The Christian worldview accounts not only for morality but also for why evolutionists behave the way they do. Even those who have no basis for morality within their own professed worldview nonetheless hold to a moral code; this is because in their heart of hearts they really do know the God of creation, despite their profession to the contrary. Scripture tells us that everyone knows the biblical God, but that they suppress the truth about God (Romans 1:18-21).

I encourage you to read the article in its entirety. I have found the argument from morality to be extremely successful and easy to use when challenging atheists and helping them see the inconsistencies and arbitrariness of their worldview. One conversation I had with an atheist when arguing this point ended with him saying something like, “I don’t have good answers to your questions.” Exactly! I pray that God was able to use our conversation to help him seek the truth found in God’s Word.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

I agree wholeheartedly that Christians are to love others and that this is an important hallmark of our walk with Christ. However, what does it mean to love others? In many evangelical circles today the meaning of love seems closer to the world’s definition instead of God’s. Many unbelievers promote the idea that to love others means being tolerant and accepting of everybody’s ideas, actions, and thoughts including gay marriage, the right to abortion, and many others.

Many Christians have also adopted this mindset and get upset and angry, as this series of Facebook posts showed, when one Christian (like MacArthur) criticizes another professing Christian (like Osteen). One person even went as far to quote Philippians 1:18, which states, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” to defend Osteen and infer that God can still use him to bring people to the truth. This verse speaks only to the motive of the person presenting the truth not the presenting of false doctrine or a false gospel. If an atheist gets up in front of an audience and reads the Bible then God can use that because even though the motive is wrong, the truth is still being heard. When a person does not preach biblical truth or the true gospel, like Joel Osteen, Philippians 1:18 does not apply.

Several verses earlier, in Philippians 1:9, Paul states, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (emphasis mine). An aspect of our love for Christ is to be discernment, knowing right from wrong whether it concerns what unbelievers or believers teach. We can only be discerning if we know and study God’s Word.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, emphasis mine)

So what is love? “God is love” (1 John 4:8). But God’s love is not all candy and roses. Hebrews 12:6 states, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” If we truly want to reflect God’s image when it comes to love, then we need to be discerning and help those professing Christ to know the truth of His Word.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

Dr. Menton gave an updated version of his fascinating presentation on the development of the baby in the womb. Dr. Mitchell’s presentations covered a wide range of topics including suicide, euthanasia, stem cells, cloning, when does life begin, and the issue of death and suffering. I gave an expanded version of my presentation on eugenics and Planned Parenthood. We also had the opportunity to be on several AFR shows including Focal Point with Bryan Fischer, AFA Journal and AFA Today. They kept us plenty busy but it was a lot of fun!

During my interview on Focal Point, Bryan Fischer asked, “So it seems like you could draw a straight line between Charles Darwin, Margaret Sanger, the eugenics movement, and Adolph Hitler. You have an unbroken line from the theory of evolution to Hitler’s Germany. Is that an over-exaggeration?” To which I replied, “No.  It’s not.” An atheist took me to task for this reply on his blog and stated,

Evolution doesn’t care. Evolution happens, has happened, and will happen, regardless of who embraces it, or who mirrors its mechanisms for whatever nefarious purpose.

It doesn’t matter if Mother Theresa, Pope Benedict, or Adolf Hitler embraced the theory of evolution. It doesn’t change anything.

On the contrary, it changes everything! As I show in my presentation, evolution provided the foundation for eugenics. Francis Galton, the father of eugenics, was a cousin to Charles Darwin, and I document several letters exchanged between them that supports their “feeding” off each other’s ideas to further develop both eugenics and evolution. If molecules-to-man evolution weren’t the prevailing idea of origins then eugenics would have no foundation, countless people would not have been sterilized, and countless children and Jewish people would not have been murdered—to name just a few positive outcomes.

The sanctity of life series will be available for viewing on the Homeschool Channel and on DVD sometime in the spring. Both AFA and AiG hope this series will impact the hearts and minds of many Christians in this election year to make wise, biblical choices when they vote. Check out my Facebook page for some pictures taken during production, including one of Dr. Mitchell getting his makeup on!

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

The Indiana Senate Education Committee voted 8-2 in favor of a bill stating the following:

The governing body of a school corporation may require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science, within the school corporation.

The Indiana Senate voted 28-22 in favor of an amended bill stating the following:

The governing body of a school corporation may offer instruction on various theories of the origin of life. The curriculum for the course must include theories from multiple religions, which may include, but is not limited to, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Scientology.

The question many have been asking me is what do I think about this bill since I’m a creation scientist? Honestly, I have mixed feelings. While I am in favor of teachers being allowed to teach creation, the wording of the original bill made it sound as if teachers would be required to teach creation if the school district adopted the bill. I am definitely not in favor of mandating teachers who do not believe in creation to teach it. This would likely result in more harm than good, since it might be taught incorrectly and in a derisive manner.

The amended bill does not contain the word “require” but rather states “may offer,” which in my opinion is more appropriate. However, to be more “religion friendly” it states that if a school district decides to teach “various theories of the origin of life” then it “must include” those of  many world religions. What do the religions mentioned in the bill as examples teach about the origin of life?

• Christianity, Judaism, and Islam teach a wide range of ideas concerning origins from the liberal view of theistic evolution to the conservative view of a literal creation as recorded in Genesis.
• Hinduism has multiple stories concerning origins.  One story says that a primal man named Purusa was sacrificed and different parts of his body became different parts of the universe including humans.
• Buddhism teaches that creation occurs repeatedly throughout time in cycles (it does not disallow evolution) and that the material world is an illusion.
• Scientology teaches Thetans (aliens) created the universe trillions of years ago. Xenu, ruler of the Galactic Confederacy (also an alien), brought billions of frozen people to earth 75 million years ago.

Can you imagine the confusion that would ensue and the time it would take to teach all of these “theories” of origins? In addition, the truth of creation from God’s Word would be obscured and possibly viewed as just another creation “story” like the others. While I applaud the efforts of well-meaning Indiana legislators, I am concerned that the bill as it is currently worded will not accomplish the goal of allowing the teaching of creation in schools as a viable alternative to evolution as seemed to be the bill’s original intent.

As the parent of a school age child, I have no expectation that the public schools will teach anything but evolution. They are part of a secular system that starts with man’s word as the ultimate authority and not God’s Word. As parents, my husband and I have the responsibility to teach our child the truth about origins from the Word of God. The church also has this responsibility. Parents and churches need to take this responsibility very seriously. As many studies have shown, two-thirds of our young people or more are leaving the church. Our research, published in the book Already Gone, showed that these young people did not believe in the truthfulness of God’s Word, and for many it was related to a disbelief in Genesis.

A homeschool mom once said to me, “Every parent homeschools.” And she’s right. No matter who you to choose to partner with for your child’s education, God has given parents the ultimate responsibility of instructing their children in the truth of God’s Word (Deuteronomy 6:4–9). I encourage you to check out our great resources that can help you achieve this goal.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

This presentation is very personal for me as I share our story that led to adoption, our journey to China, and our current journey as an interethnic family formed by adoption. In some ways Chris and I had a crash course in Practical Theology 101!  What we believed about the issue of “race” from God’s Word became extremely vital as God led us to choose international adoption. We came to know the importance of the history in Genesis to the understanding that we are all one race (descendants of Adam and Eve) but multiple people groups (a result of the Tower of Babel event). So by adopting a child from China, we wouldn’t be raising a child of another race—just another people group—and that the child was even distantly related to us! What a sense of freedom and relief we felt once we understood God’s Word.

We also began to realize how important biblical authority is to the issue of adoption itself. From an evolutionary standpoint, adopting a child that is not closely biologically related to you doesn’t make sense because you waste resources on raising a child that will not further your own genetic makeup. Many evolutionists classify humans adopting children as satisfying an urge or an animal instinct that hasn’t yet been weeded out by natural selection. But when we begin with God’s Word we have a foundation for adoption because we are following the greatest example of adoption ever—God’s adoption of us when we receive Christ as our Savior!

Elizabeth is a tremendous gift given to us by God and we are privileged to raise her on the foundation of the tremendous gift God has given us—His Word. I’ll be giving this presentation several times at the Creation Museum this month—February 3, 14, and 21 at 12:00 and on Saturday, February 18 at 3:00.

I will also be giving this presentation at two upcoming Answers in Genesis conferences—the Answers for Women Conference in April at the Creation Museum and as part of the women’s track at our Proclaiming the Faith Conference in Branson, Missouri. Hope to see you there!

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

First of all the “theory of evolution” doesn’t say anything (this is the fallacy of reification). However, scientists do say things about evolution, and what they think about the unobservable past is greatly influenced by their “religious belief.” Especially when it comes to historical science (evolution and creation), the beliefs or presuppositions of the scientist play a major role in interpreting evidence in the present and the conclusions drawn about the past. Scientists such as myself begin with the inerrant Word of God and His eyewitness account from the beginning of time given in Genesis. Other scientists start with human opinion, imaginations, and ideas that are subjective and fallible.

Gleiser states, “The evidence for evolution is overwhelming.” He discusses the fossil record and radiometric dating and then talks about “in-your-face evolution” giving the example of antibiotic resistant bacteria. He writes that, “. . . there are creationist scientists who claim that mutation is not the true mechanism of resistance.” As I read it I thought, “That’s unbelievable, who could that be?” only to discover he thinks it’s me!

He quotes from an article I wrote for Answers magazine entitled, “Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria: An Example of Evolution in Action?” He argues that I think horizontal gene transfer (bacteria swapping DNA) is the only way that bacteria become antibiotic resistant. I honestly have to question if he read the article, because I wrote the following in that article:

Bacteria can gain resistance through two primary ways:

1. By mutation, and

2. By using a built in design feature to swap DNA (called horizontal gene transfer)—bacteria share resistance genes.

I clearly don’t argue that swapping DNA is the only way. In fact, I only wrote one paragraph about bacteria swapping DNA following a much lengthier discussion on the role of mutation. Mutation is what results in changes to genes that can then be swapped to gain antibiotic resistance. I have written numerous articles (and focused much of my research) on mutations resulting in change in bacteria, here are just a few:

• Observation of Evolution in Bacteria
• A Poke in the Eye?
• The Role of Genomic Islands, Mutation, and Displacement in the Origin of Bacterial Pathogenicity
• A Creationist Perspective of Beneficial Mutations in Bacteria

Gleiser closes the blog with this:

Even though I’m not a believer, I wonder why those who are need to equate God with the hard work of designing people, bacteria, dinosaurs, or some 900,000 known species of insects. . . . Surely there are better ways to find God or other paths toward spiritual meaning in life?

For an omnipotent and omniscient God, creating was not “hard work.” He simply spoke and all things came into existence (Genesis 1). He didn’t create all the different species that we have today but rather created them according to their kind (for many organisms this is at the “family” level) and designed them with the ability to change and adapt in a post-Fall, post-Flood world leading to our modern species.

And God loved us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us (John 3:16–17) so that our relationship with Him could be restored. There are not “better ways” or “other paths.” Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” May we pray that Dr. Gleiser and other scientists like him will come to the knowledge of the truth before it is too late.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

Banner on creation near one of the entrances to the church. I really appreciate how precise the wording is!

The church had an amazing coffee shop. This is a yummy frozen coffee drink I had (at least it was decaf!)

Beautiful Sandia Mountains as seen from the church parking lot.

I took a tram up to the crest of the mountains. It is the longest tram in the U.S.

View from the tram. According to our guide you can see 130 miles in any direction from the crest of the mountains.

The mountains are mainly composed of granite with feldspar. This gives them a pink/red appearance when the sun hits them in the evening. The word sandia means watermelon in Spanish. The name was supposedly given because of the reddish color of the mountains.

View from the crest. There were 49 inches of snow on the ground the day we visited down from 87 inches around Christmas. My daughter is wishing we lived here!

Of course our guide informed us of the “millions and billions of years” for the age of the mountains. This was an exhibit in the visitor center at the top. Yes there was an ancient sea there—about 4,500 years ago as a result of Noah’s Flood!

People hungry for resources to get equipped!

It was a great event but I’m glad to be back home. I’m busy preparing for an upcoming video series on the sanctity of life which will tape in early February. More on that later, but be praying!

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!

One lady shared with me her attempt to get another church involved in a pro-life rally and the leader of this church responded that the Lord had not laid the pro-life issue on their heart. She was shocked and appalled, and so was I! There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of thinking. God commands us not to murder (Exodus 20:13), and in Proverbs 31:8–9 we read,

Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

If it’s in God’s Word then it had better be on our heart!

A gentleman, David Zahn, who heard me speak that morning went home that afternoon and wrote a poem about the atrocities of eugenics and abortion. I thought it was so creative and truthful that I asked if I could share it on my blog. Come back on Thursday and read more about my trip (pictures included!)

Eugenics

A single mother of four
Will live in poverty.
Let us even the score,
Before she has more
And help society.
The solution, oh, is it simple,
As simple as could be.
It helps the poor mom, and you and me,
If we shuttle off those worthless kids
Into Eternity
Recidivism is horrible, and it’s worse than it was before.
Jails and prisons around the world have a revolving door.
Father like son, and mother like daughter,
Those criminal types are raising each other.
Prisons are expensive, it hurts the economy,
Tell the truth,
It will help our youth,
If we let these prisoners be bound
Six feet below ground
In our new society!
The deformed, the fools, and weak
Hurt the families, it’s a sin.
How much kinder it is to speak
Of doing such problems in
Of course, standards must be met,
Let’s get everyone set.
They must meet the standard or off they go
To their eternal home, six feet below.
Setting such a standard strains our individuality
So, never fear, decisions are done nationally.
Everyone that’s a problem, every dissident,
Will be sent off silently by our government.
Then mankind will enjoy the fruits of evolution,
To every social problem, murder’s the solution
We’ll run the country, and then the world
With our kind democracy
Oh, what joy we’ll have when man has placed himself
Where God was meant to be.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!