I still have a couple more posts up my sleeve for my series on Evolution versus Creation, but I just had to take a few moments to share with you about a Rebelution Conference I attended this Saturday.

You see, the Rebelution (started by Alex and Brett Harris) is a teen movement that encourages teens to rebel against the low expectations of today’s society and live their lives in such a way that glorifies God. For the past several years, they have been holding Conferences all over the U.S. and they use these opportunities not only to present their views on what God intended the teen years to be, but they also share the Gospel with those in attendance. Obviously, this part of the Conference is the most crucial, and many of the volunteers have been praying for a good response for quite some time. And do you want to know what we learned? God still answers prayer!

Instead of doing as most people do after presenting the Gospel, they did not ask those who had accepted Christ to simply raise their hand while everybody had their heads bowed and their eyes closed. Rather, they explained that if you could not publicly stand for Christ in an environment where other people would be excited for you and applaud, then you could not possibly stand for him when you went back to school, work, or even to a non-Christian family. Instead, they were asked to stand up  and shout, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” (No, I’m not kidding)

At first, there was a chilling silence. Nobody moved. In a room filled with nearly 2,000 people, you could have heard a pin drop. Then all of a sudden, somebody stood up and yelled, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” Then there was another, and another, and another. Before you knew what was happening, dozens and dozens of people were saying through tears, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” It was honestly the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, and I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who teared up. All told, about 200 people (out of the 1,905 in attendance) stood and made a public profession of faith that day. Some were teens, some were parents, and some were even volunteers – but either way, it was amazing.

Do you have an unsaved loved one in your life? If so, let me advise you not to neglect praying for them. It really works.

Let me begin by clarifying that I am by no means a scientist, nor an expert on fossils, DNA, or any of the other things I have been covering in this series. However, even from the little insight that I do have into these aspects of Creation, it is clear to me that random chance could not possibly produce them. I say this because, though I do have a few good points to make about DNA in relation to Evolution, keep in mind that a learned geneticist would probably have much more to say on the subject.

First of all, it is important to know that DNA is found in every living thing - even the simplest of single-celled organisms! To  put it as bluntly as possible, DNA tells our body how to operate. For instance, you could take all of the components that make up a human being and throw them in a pot, but you would not have a human; you would have a mess. DNA fixes that problem by storing information about our hair color, personality (and just about anything else you can think of), and then causes our body to function accordingly. In other words, DNA contains an immeasurable amount of complex information that is essential to our survival. Now picture this:

While walking through the field, you suddenly come across a CD. After looking it over for any sign of what it might contain, you head home and stick it in your computer. To your surprise, it is filled with information on how to build a bicycle. It tells you the exact measurements for the tires, the type of chain to use, and every other piece of information needed to build a state-of-the-art bike. But instead of realizing that the information on this disc was obviously stored there by an intelligent designer, you conclude that this disc, as well as the information it contains, is merely the result of random chance. When people question you about how this could possibly happen, you explain that natural deposits in the earth’s crust collected, forming the disc, and that magnetic fields somehow caused this information to be stored in its memory. Still, people are uncertain of your theory, so you further expound that, over a period of millions of years, it is in fact very possible. 

Thought this would be ridiculously absurd, DNA itself is more complex than any compact disc, and the information it contains is far more detailed than how to build a bicycle. Yet thousands of scientists consider it the product of Evolution. They give no credit to a Designer, despite the fact that DNA cannot form spontaneously  out of chemical elements. Yes, that’s right. Despite the common sense argument against evolution, Scientists must ignore their own laws in order to make their theory work. Doesn’t sound like Science to me!

A study of Creationism versus Evolutionism is not nearly complete without first giving careful consideration to the fossil record. If you are not familiar with fossils, consider them nature’s history book. They tell us what kind of animals existed in years past, and sometimes even such data as what they ate, and how they died. Naturally then, if Evolution is so widely accepted by Scientists, you would assume that fossils give at least some indication that evolution occurred, right? They don’t.    
                  

Consider the bat, for example. Many modern Scientists believe that this creature evolved from mice. They believe this despite the fact that no intermediary stages of this transition have been found in the fossil record! Hundreds of fossils have been found of mice, and hundreds have been found of bats – yet zero have been found of a mouse in the process of transitioning into a bat. Now if this were the only occurrence of a gap in the fossil record, I would probably be willing to let it slide. But the fact is, this is true for every suggested evolutionary process Science has suggested. You’ve heard of “the missing link”? Well this phrase is actually very misleading, for there would have to be hundreds of thousands of these links – and they are still looking for the first one! Most of what are termed “missing links” such as Lucy and Nebraska Man have been found to be hoaxes. Actually, Nebraska Man turned out to be nothing more than a pig’s tooth!
To quote Dr. Stephen Jay Gould, an evolutionist himself, ‘The absence of fossil evidence for intermediary stages has been a persistent and nagging problem for evolution.” You can tell me that Evolution is possible until your blue in the face,  but I don’t want theories; I want facts. Whether or not an animal could evolve is not the issue. I want proof that they did, and that proof just does not exist.

As a final thought, I’m going to close with this quote from Darwin himself,

“I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything; and to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion out of them!”

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”                                                                                                                                                               -Genesis 1:1

The beginning of time has been the topic of heated discussion for centuries. Questions like “Where did we come from?” “What are here for?” and “Where are we going?” are not only popular concerns, but they are also completely valid. Who wouldn’t want to know whether they are the magnificent creation of a loving God Who cares for them deeply, or if they are in fact the product of a process called evolution that depends on nothing more than random chance. If the former, then they are created in the image of God Himself and are thus of great value; if the latter, then they are nothing more than a collection of molecules and atoms that find their origin in an abyssal pool billions of years ago (i.e. worthless). With such a stark contrast between our two options, you can see why this is such a controversial issue.

As Christians, it is our duty to know our beliefs and be able to defend them (I Peter 3:15). Sadly, many believers today have no facts whereby to defend their Creationist views. Yes, our faith might be enough for us and an individual, but those who have been raised to believe in Darwin’s theory will scoff at those who reject Science over faith. That is why I am going to devote the next few posts to equipping you to defend your Creationist views (assuming of course that you are a Christian). You’ll find that my posts will use pure Science as their backbone. I will reference Scripture only as necessary so you will be more likely to persuade even the most devout atheist against evolution. Once you have accomplished this, he or she will be more open to discussions about God and the Bible, and consequentially to salvation.

I’m going to touch on the obvious topics associated with evolution (such as the fossil record), as well as the not-so-obvious ( DNA, for example). As the type of person that could talk for hours about Creation Vs. Evolution, I’ll do my best to contain myself and keep this series to a moderate length. Be checking back very soon for the first post of what I hope to be a very exciting series.

Some may call  me a “holy roller” - this I can’t deny.

To live is Christ, to die is gain; with Him I’m crucified.

To go one day without Him, Oh what agony would bring!

But with Him daily by my side, my heart has learned to sing.

Sorrow often comes my way, of it I’ve tasted my fair share,

But come what may, no man can take what’s  waiting for me there.

On that side  of Jordan, no tears will fill my eyes

For former things will pass away, and Christ will be the light.

In that city beyond the clouds, there is no sorrow or despair:

Only peace and joy and love - how I hope to see you there!

Yesterday evening, I went over to my Aunt’s to do some yard work she had asked me to do, and one of my tasks was to clear out a flowerbed that had grown up into the likes of a small jungle. I knew this was probably the only time I would ever be given permission to weed-eat a flowerbed, and thus  I powered up my weed-eater and began demolishing everything in sight (note: it’s not as fun as it may sound). After a few minutes of this, the job was coming to a close. “Only a few more minutes, then I can head back to the house.” I told myself.

This pleasant outlook came to a screeching halt when I apparently disturbed a wasp’s nest of some kind (or that of some other stinging bug). All of  a sudden, my lip felt like it was on fire. I immediately dropped the trimmer (while it was still on), and began moving toward the front yard – all the while being stung again, and again. By the time I finally got away from whatever was chasing me, I was about halfway to my cousin’s pool – where I intended to go as a last resort. Thankfully, it turned out to be just one determined little wasp, rather than an entire swarm (though there was a very angry swarm of them flying all over the place in the very same spot where I was first stung).

My point behind all this? Stay away from sin. Just like a swarm of angry wasps, sin is hard to get away from once you’ve found yourself surrounded by it. In fact, the only way to be freed from it is to plunge headfirst into the blood of Jesus. No, unlike wasps, you can’t outrun it. You can’t hope that it will decide to just leave you alone. You’ve got to, without reserve, surrender your life to the One Who defeated sin.

You might think that sin will be fun, and for a while it might be; but sooner or later, you’ll get stung. And take my word for it, it hurts to get stung.

This has to be one of my all-time favorite songs. The other night there was a meteor shower and I just sat outside singing the second verse over and over, “I see your power in the moonlit night, where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright. We are amazed in the light of the stars, they’re all proclaiming Who You are: You’re beautiful.” 

I may not be as good as Phil Wickham, the one who sings the song, but I thought I’d make this post a little bit more personal and include a video of myself singing rather than just posting some video I found on the web. I hope you’ll enjoy it!