The BBC article below asks if physics can prove that God exists. In this BBC article (reproduced below), notice in the paragraph above the photo under the subheading “The Multiverse,” the statement that “our universe seems fine-tuned for life to exist”. We naturally ask, “How could fine-tuning occur without a designer?” Could a fine-tuned machine exist without a designer? Obviously not. This secular article gives some evidence that physics proves God exists!read more
Did an Eclipse Cause Three Hour Darkness at Jesus’ Execution?
There was a mysterious three hour darkness during the time when Jesus was being executed. What caused this three hour darkness?
“It was now about noon and darkness came over the land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun”—Luke 23:44,45 NAB
The way the New American Bible (NAB) renders it,as above, one would think that the cause of the three hour midday total darkness was “an eclipse of the sun.” If the possibility of the supernatural is excluded, an eclipse would naturally be the only possibility. Could this have been an actual eclipse? Let’s examine the gospels very carefully regarding this d event:read more
IS THERE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO PROVE GOD’S EXISTENCE?
Is there enough evidence to prove God’s existence? Atheists say, “No!”
“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”—Romans 1:20 NIV
BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY REQUIRES LESS FAITH TO BELIEVE IN THAN ATHEISM
While Christians are often derided for their seemingly “blind faith” in the Creator/God’s existence, the facts give powerful evidence the Biblical Creator/God is real. read more
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”—Genesis 1:1
In our article about the expansion of the universe, we showed how some basic scientific facts about the universe point to the existence of God. This article examines even more scientific concepts about the universe and we will see how they relate to the Creator.
Existence of Elements Essential for Life
When two helium nuclei collide, they fuse together and produce the fleeting, unstable beryllium. An additional collision with a single helium nucleus, and carbon is created. Without these very unlikely “lucky accidents” constantly occurring carbon would not exist, and neither would we.
“For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. ‘I am the LORD,’ he says, ‘and there is no other.'” (Isaiah 45:18 NLT)
The Fine-tuned Universe
A proton is 1,836 times heavier than an electron. If this difference was any greater or lesser, it would not be possible for life to exist in the universe.
“The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron. … The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.” – Stephen Hawking
In 1961, physicist Robert H. Dicke said that certain forces in physics, such as gravity and electromagnetism, must be perfectly fine-tuned for life to exist anywhere in the Universe. Fred Hoyle also argued for a fine-tuned Universe in his 1984 book “Intelligent Universe.” He compares “the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a star system full of blind men solving Rubik’s Cube simultaneously.”
“In you is the source of life, by your light we see the light.” (Psalm 36:9 NJB) The Bible refers to Almighty God as “the source of life.”
Fine-tuning of the Force Strengths to Permit Life
The constants governing the four fundamental forces of physics are finely-tuned to support life.
Strong nuclear force is important for the existence of stable atoms beyond hydrogen. If the strong force were 50% weaker, no elements used by life would exist because protons couldn’t be held together in the nucleus.
Electromagnetic force is responsible for chemistry and plays a critical role in stellar fusion which powers life. The electromagnetic force needs to be much weaker than the strong nuclear force for atoms to be stable – so that the radius of the electron orbit is much larger than the radius of the nucleus.
Weak nuclear force controls proton-proton fusion, a reaction 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 times slower than the nuclear reaction based on the strong nuclear force. Without this, essentially all the matter in the universe would have been burned to helium before the first galaxies were formed. Because the weak nuclear force is so much weaker than the strong nuclear force, a star can burn its hydrogen gently for billions of years instead of blowing up like a bomb.
Gravitational force: the strength of gravity is about 40 orders of magnitude weaker than the strong nuclear force. Based on this expectation that gravity can vary up to strong nuclear force strength, the level of fine-tuning required for life is pretty remarkable:
If gravity is weaker by 1 in 10 raised to the 36th power, stars are unstable to degeneracy pressure (for small stars) or unstable to radiative pressure just expelling huge chunks of the star (for larger stars).
If gravity is stronger by 1 in 10 raised to the 40th power, the universe is dominated by black holes not stars.
If gravity is weaker by 1 in 10 raised to the 30th power, the largest planet that would avoid crushing effects of gravity on any large-brained creatures would have a radius of about 50 meters – which is not a good candidate for an ecosystem and the development/sustenance of intelligent life.
The Bible tells us of a global flood, due to a tremendous amount of extra water being dumped onto the earth, to the point of covering all of earth’s highest mountains (Genesis chapters 6-8). This additional water caused sea levels to sharply rise globally, and means that sea levels were lower prior to this global flood.
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In [those] days before the flood, the were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So it will be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man”—Matthew 24:37-39 NAB
Archaeologists have discovered a 7,000-year-old burial site in the Gulf of Mexico after a tip from a recreational diver who found human remains at the site in 2016. More details can be read in this article.
The ancient burial site discovered off the southwest Florida coast lends credence to what we know from the Bible about the flood in Genesis 6-8. The article states that “sea levels were much lower during that time”, and then goes on to say that “sea levels rose”. How does this harmonize with the Biblical account of the global flood?
“All the springs of the great deep burst through, and the sluices of heaven opened. And heavy rain fell on earth for forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:11 NJB). A gigantic amount of water was somehow released upon the earth within a relatively short time. Psalm 104:6,7 possibly explains where the water came from: “You covered it (the earth) with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke they fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight” (NIV). They were released at the start of the flood.
This global deluge resulted in
“the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth, rising twenty-two feet above the highest peaks” (Genesis 7:19,20 NLT)read more
Science & Bible Agree: Expanding Universe Had Early Beginning
In the last 100 years, science has discovered that the universe is expanding. However, the men who wrote the Bible spoke of this concept when it was written about 2,500–3,500 years ago. But many people believe the Bible and science contradict one another, primarily because of the unscriptural assertions of “Young-Earth Creationism” (the earth and the universe were created in six 24-hour days about 6,000). Is this really so? Let’s examine some basic scientific concepts about the universe, and see how they compare to what the Bible says.
First Law of Thermodynamics – E = MC2
The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be transformed from one form to another, but can be neither created nor destroyed. Matter and energy are interchangeable (E=mc2).
Now, keeping these things in mind, let’s consider a few verses from the Bible:
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26 NIV)
“Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11 CSB)
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.” (Hebrews 11:3 CSB)
This is exactly what God did when he transferred some of his energy into the matter making up the universe. It is also proves that Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Both science and the Bible now agree that the universe had a beginning.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy for an isolated system can never decrease over time. “Entropy” is a measure of unusable energy within a closed or isolated system (the universe for example). As usable energy decreases and unusable energy increases, “entropy” increases. Entropy is also a gauge of randomness or chaos within a closed system. As usable energy is irretrievably lost, disorganization, randomness and chaos increase. This means that anything left to itself, including the universe, will become less organized or disorganized over time.
Fact 1: The universe began in a highly ordered state.
Fact 2: The universe remains highly ordered/organized.
Thus, we can infer that God both created, and maintains, the universe.
The universe would have become somewhat less organized over time, had God not created it from the beginning and maintained it through its estimated 12 to 15 billion year existence. In contradiction to “Young Earth Creationism”, which asserts that the universe is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old, the Bible is in complete agreement with science that the universe is billions of years old. The following scriptures give Biblical testimony to the fact that God not only created the universe in the beginning, but he also continues to maintain it in a highly ordered state.
“Through him [Jesus] God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” (Colossians 1:16-17 NLT)
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.” (Psalm 19:1-4 NLT)
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (Romans 1:20 NLT)
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust…. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? … He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in…. ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One…. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:12-15, 17-18, 22, 25, 28 NIV)
Almighty God, the Creator, who has existed “from eternity” (Psalm 90:2 NAB), and exists outside, and independent of, the universe. He transformed some of his “great power,” or energy (Isaiah 40:26 NIV), into matter, when he suddenly brought the universe into existence, in what has been called by science the “Big Bang”.
“Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge? … The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power.” (Job 37:16, 23 NIV) Only someone “who has perfect knowledge” could create the universe and all that is in it.
“Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” (Job 38:33 NLT). “Laws” do not just happen. They are made by lawmakers. “The LORD [Yahweh] is our lawmaker” (Isaiah 33:22 NIV).
The Universe had a Beginning
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 CSB) The Big Bang is the description of how the universe began. Science agrees with the Bible that the universe had a beginning.
The Universe is Expanding
Early in the twentieth century, astronomer Edwin Hubble found that galaxies are moving away from each other. This discovery led him to believe that the universe is expanding. Hubble’s discovery was upsetting to many scientists of his time, because if the universe is expanding, then – at some time in the distant past – the universe had a beginning. And if the universe had a beginning, it would confirm what the Bible had said all along. Albert Einstein said the whole idea “irritated” him, although later in life he accepted the idea that the universe had a beginning. Arthur Eddington, a British mathematician and astronomer, said that he hoped a “loophole” could be found to avoid the implication that the universe had a Creator.
But the writers of the Bible knew that God had “stretched out the heavens” long before the expanding universe theory was proposed by Hubble and other scientists in the last 100 years, and has been confirmed by scientific evidence. The prophets of the Bible had already revealed this in the Scriptures:
“He alone stretches out the heavens.” (Job 9:8 NIV)
“He stretches out the heavens like a tent.” (Psalm 104:2 NIV)
“He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.” (Isaiah 40:22 NIV)
“The Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out.” (Isaiah 42:5 NIV)
“I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens.” (Isaiah 44:24 NIV)
“It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.” (Isaiah 45:12 NIV)
“My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.” (Isaiah 48:13 NIV)
“You forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?” (Isaiah 51:13 NIV)
“But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” (Jeremiah 10:12 NIV)
“He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.” (Jeremiah 51:15 NIV)
“The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person.” (Zechariah 12:1 NIV)
As we can see, the Bible has said all along what science has just recently [in the last 100 years] discovered, that is, that the universe is “stretched out”, or expanding. Astronomers, in the last 25 years, have discovered that the universe is expanding at exactly the critical rate, the perfect balance between expansion and contraction, so that the universe will go expanding forever. This is what we would expect from someone whose
Why do many people not believe in God or his word the Bible? Why are so many people lacking faith? A person with genuine Bible-based faith is referred to as “one who sees Him who is invisible.” (Heb 11:27 CSB) read more
“How countless are your works, Yahweh, all of them made so wisely! The earth is full of your creatures”—-Psalm 104:24 NJB
“Fossil sheds light on ‘Jurassic Park’ dinosaurs” is the title of an article published on May 2, 2017 by BBC News. The article shows how flimsy and precarious the entire theory of macroevolution (Darwinism) is. From a re-examination of one fossil, scientists have come up with a new species of dinosaur!
Then they admit “these animals were evolving much earlier than the fossil record previously has indicated.” That should be worded “much earlier than our theory indicated.” Actually, they say it’s “five million years” older.
The Bible, for thousands of years, has indicated that “God made the wild animals according to their kinds… and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.” (Genesis 1:25 NIV) While evolutionists are forced by their own scientific discoveries to continually revise their theory, the Bible record has been accurate since it was written thousands of years ago, with no need of revision. This is not surprising, since it was authored by “God, alone wise.” (Romans 16:27 NKJV)
The article can be read below. Here it is:
Fossil sheds light on ‘Jurassic Park’ dinosaurs
The fossil of a dinosaur that has been languishing in a museum for decades has been re-examined – and it turns out to be that of a new species.
Brachiosaurus, depicted in Jurassic Park, now has an early relative, providing clues to the evolution of some of the biggest creatures on Earth.
Scientists say the plant-eating dinosaur was longer than a double-decker bus and weighed 15,000kg.
Its remains were found in the 1930s in the Jura region of France.
Since then it has been somewhat over-looked, spending most of that time in storage crates in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Lead researcher Dr Philip Mannion of Imperial College London said the dinosaur would have eaten all kinds of vegetation, such as ferns and conifers, and lived at a time when Europe was a series of islands.
”We don’t know what this creature died from, but millions of years later it is providing important evidence to help us understand in more detail the evolution of brachiosaurid sauropods and a much bigger group of dinosaurs that they belonged to, called titanosauriforms,” he said.
Asteroid strike
Titanosauriforms were some of the largest creatures ever to have lived on land and were very diverse, surviving right up until the asteroid strike that wiped out most life on Earth.
The new species, given the scientific name, Vouivria damparisensis, lived in the Late Jurassic, some 160 million years ago.
“It’s the earliest member of a group that includes Brachiosaurus – one of the most famous dinosaurs we know – one of the prominent animals in Jurassic Park,” Dr Mannion told BBC News
“And it gives us a much clearer idea of what’s going on in the early evolution of this really important radiation of dinosaurs.”
Sauropods
The dinosaur is a sauropod – a sub-group of titanosauriforms, which include well-known groups such as Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and Brontosaurus.
They had very long necks, long tails, and small heads with thick, pillar-like legs.
The fossil predates the previously oldest-known member of this group by about five million years.
“It starts to give us an idea that these animals were evolving much earlier than the fossil record previously has indicated,” Dr Mannion added.
“This pushes back a lot of origin times for a range of sauropod dinosaurs based on our understanding of how these different species related to one another.”
The re-classification of Vouivria as an early member of the titanosauriforms will help in mapping their spread across the Earth, from Jurassic times to the extinction of all dinosaurs.
It is thought that they were present across Europe, the US and Africa, but became extinct in Europe towards the end of their reign.
The fossil was discovered in the village of Damparis in the Jura region of eastern France in 1934.
It was documented scientifically in the 1940s, but has not been studied in detail since then.
Its scientific name, Vouivria damparisensis, relates to ‘La vouivre’, a local folklore legend about a winged serpent.
Dr Mannion examined the bones of the creature along with scientists at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and the CNRS/Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
A new BBC News article says that evidence from a variety of sources suggests that our early ancestors were much more sophisticated than we could have imagined.
Here we go again. More and more discoveries are proving evolutionary theories wrong. Early humans were much more complex than they imagined. That is just what the Bible said about the first humans all along. For example, the very earliest humans mentioned in Genesis: