Why I Believe …

1. Why IBelieve… That Faith in God Is Most Reasonable

2. Everyone Believes Something • Brilliant scientists… • Believe the Bible • Disbelieve the Bible • Some are naturalists—believing only in natural causes known by scientific processes. • But they cannot answer all questions. • Therefore, they bridge some facts and knowledge with mere belief.

3. Everyone Believes Something • Brilliant scientists… • Believe the Bible • Disbelieve the Bible • Theirs is not a faith in God, but faith in human wisdom and the scientific process. • They are content to believe what they believe. • They are critical of those who do not accept many of the basic premises of their belief system.

4. Great Thinkers Often push away from God. Are often pushed toward God.

5. Great Thinkers Often push away from God. Are often pushed toward God. • “…A tidal wave of new books… threatens to shatter that confidence-titles like Darwin Retried (1971); Macbeth; The Neck of the Giraffe; Where Darwin Went Wrong (1982); Hitching; The Great Evolution Mystery (1983), Taylor; The Bone Peddlers; Selling Evolution (1984), Fix; Darwin Was Wrong-A Study in Probabilities (1984), Cohen; Darwinism: The Refutation of a Myth (1987), Lovtrup; and Adam and Evolution (1984), Pitman. Not one of these books was written from a Christian-apologetic point of view: they are concerned only with scientific truth - as was Sir Ernst Chain when he called evolution 'a fairy tale.'"

6. Great Thinkers Often push away from God. Are often pushed toward God. Dr. Arthur E. Wilder-Smith: "The Evolutionary model says that it is not necessary to assume the existence of anything, besides matter and energy, to produce life. That proposition is unscientific. We know perfectly well that if you leave matter to itself, it does not organize itself - in spite of all the efforts in recent years to prove that it does."

7. Smart Professors and Classroom Intimidation • Cannot overcome: • The obvious order of creation • “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” {Romans 1:20}

8. Smart Professors and Classroom Intimidation • Cannot overcome: • The evidence of Jesus. • “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” {John 20:30,31}

9. Smart Professors and Classroom Intimidation • Cannot overcome: • The Bible’s internal and externalevidence. • “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” {2 Timothy 3:16,17}

10. Smart Professors and Classroom Intimidation • Cannot overcome: • Well-grounded conviction. • “That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” {Hebrews 6:18}

11. Smart Professors and Classroom Intimidation • Cannot overcome: • Other smart, educated, scientists who can counter-argue with the best skeptical professors. • “Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.’” {Romans 3:4}

12. BasicQuestions • ORIGIN: Where did we come from? • IDENTITY: Who are we? • MEANING: Why are we here? • MORALITY: How should we live? • DESTINY: Where are we going? Science and human wisdom alone cannot answer these questions!

13. ORIGIN: Where Did We Come From? • Two theories: • Created by higher being (intelligence). • Accidents that occurred when eternal particles bumped together at the right place and the right time. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” {Genesis 2:7}

14. IDENTITY: Who Are We? Two theories: • Exalted, special creatures made in the image of their Creator. • Evolved, smarter animals, mysteriously formed by a series of particle accidents. “…Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” {Genesis 1:26,27}

15. MEANING: Why Are We Here? Two theories: • To fulfill the Creator’s plan and will for an eternal relationship. • No purpose; accidents cannot have real purpose! “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.” {Ecclesiastes 12:13}

16. MORALITY: How Should We Live? Two theories: • In harmony with high standards of holiness as revealed by the Holy Creator. • How should animals live? Survival is the main principle. “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” {Titus 2:12}

17. DESTINY: Where Are We Going? Two theories: • Back to face God and be judged and sentenced according to the choices we made. • No destiny; just cessation and death. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”{2 Corinthians 5:10}

18. Three Major Religious-World Views TheismGod Made All Pantheism God Is All Atheism No God at All Judaism Christianity Islam Zen Buddhism Hinduism New Age Religious Humanism Creator Nature Accident

19. Probability Factors • Maximum possible number of life support bodies in the universe; thus, less than one chance in 10,282 million-trillion (followed by 21 trillion)! • Exists that even one life-support body could occur anywhere in the universe without invoking divine miracles. • Silver dollars across Texas?

20. Two Revelations From God Nature: Shows the Wisdom and Power of the Godhead The Written Revelation = The Bible • Unusual wisdom of the plan • Prophecy: types/shadows imbedded • History and accuracy • Scientific foreknowledge • Evidence of Jesus, miracles, death, and resurrection

21. What Do Atheists Have? • Explanations that boil down to accidents. • Endless efforts to create doubt in the Bible. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist!

22. BasicQuestions Atheist Answers • Origin: Where did we come from? • Identity: Who are we? • Meaning: Why are we here? • Morality: How should we live? • Destiny: Where are we going? Accident Accidents Accident Whatever Nowhere Science and Human Wisdom Alone Cannot Answer These Questions