These are the appendices from Dave's book, Common Sense Apologetics. There is a lot of information here and serves as a great reference library for anyone who wants to learn more about defending their faith as a Christian. There are several quotes from scientists early on that are of great interest and following that are websites, books, and audio-visual material. God bless you in your study.
APPENDIX A: Disclaimer
As a quick note, the people involved in the following recommended resources, may or may not reflect the totality of what I believe as a Christian. In fact, some of the material may not go anywhere near the Bible. All of these books, audio-visual materials, and websites are all things I have personally read, listened to, and viewed. Nevertheless, while I do know that some of the scientists in the recommendations are Christians, I’m not entirely sure what they believe across the board. Then there are others you may encounter through the course of the materials that while being harsh critics of Darwinism, are not necessarily Christians. The Intelligent Design movement has its share of Biblebelieving Christians, but in all of the material from them that I have read, they usually avoid any discussion of the Bible. They have decided to keep things strictly on a level of hard science and I respect that though I may disagree with them on a few broader issues. Finally, you have the Creationists, who are strong proponents of a young earth, a literal six day Creation, a Global Flood, and Biblical inerrancy. This is the group that I would most identify with. The Creationists have been marginalized within the scientific community because they basically wear their faith on their sleeve, and are unafraid to weave the Biblical narrative within their scientific papers.
Still, the scientists in the Creationist camp have a lot of great credentials from a scientific and education perspective. If the Creationists start with the Bible and work from there, why should they be looked down on anymore than the atheist who starts with his religious platform of atheism. Remember that atheism is a faith based endeavor from the outset. It has to be for the simple reason that you cannot disprove the existence of God. One would have to have infinite knowledge to make a claim that there is no being with infinite knowledge. So without a doubt, atheistic scientists begin with a personal belief (faith, religion, whatever…) that there isn’t a God, and they let that belief inform their decisions, and use that belief system to be the prism with which they view evidence. I want to reiterate what I said earlier in the book and that is, while I’m being critical of the false dichotomy of faith and science, and that atheists have presuppositions and biases, there are still many scientists (as reflected in their quotes) who have been honest in the criticism of their own stated view of the origin and progression of life. But I again have to ask why, for example, these quotes, and a lot of other information is never put on display in the public school or on the Discovery Channel, Learning Channel etc…How did it get to the point, that the non-believing scientists assume the high road and somehow deflect the reality that they are in the same boat as the Creationists? Both groups start off with religious premises and work from there. So what happened? Well, I believe it is partially the fault of the Church in that we have not always been at the work of “earnestly contending for the faith” (Jude 1:3). And also, that we have not always loved the Lord with all of our “minds” (Matthew 22:37). We have allowed ourselves to be taken out of the debate (on a great many things) because we neglected the “mind” part of Matthew 22:37. For a great treatment of this subject, try to get a copy of Dr. J.P. Moreland’s book: “Love God With all Your Mind”. After this pattern continued for so long, Christians became the ones who were viewed as being “religious” and having “blind faith”. It became falsely axiomatic that the scientific community was a towering pillar of truth, and beyond reproach. Then what happened was that some churches were cowed into compromising on the Word of God. How sad and unnecessary. This is why we need to change the game because this supposed, beyond reproach, towering pillar, is built on shifting sand. It’s about time that churches stop running for cover, and start engaging in this battle, especially when we don’t have to fight from a position of weakness and blind faith. We can lovingly fight from a position of strength, facts, and common sense.
The great news for Christians is that, if the evidence is truly followed, it aggressively and most inexorably leads to the truth of purposeful Design in life and in the Cosmos. And this same evidence also leads to the reality of having to acknowledge (although many won’t) the complete inability to explain how natural processes could account for the origin and design of the Universe and life itself. Because of all this, I had great pleasure in being able to write this book and present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a unified manner. When viewed as a whole, (see Chapter 13) and with all evidence, facts, experience, and reason at hand, we are inevitably led to the wonderful truth that the Bible is from a God who has existed from all of eternity.
APPENDIX B: More Evidence to Explore:
One area I didn’t get into a whole lot was the evidence for the existence of God based on the existence of consciousness and the entity of the mind being a non-physical reality and not reducible to the brain. You’ll see these books come up in the recommendations but; “Beyond Death” by Gary Habermas and J.P Moreland; along with another work by Moreland called: “Scaling the Secular City”, are wonderful resources (among many) that discuss the existence of God because of the existence of the mind. There is also some great, detailed evidence, for the Resurrection of Christ, and life after death. These books also go into some other arguments for the existence of God; such as the Ontological Argument. “Baker’s Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics” is a great resource guide. It is a very large book and covers just about everything, including several more lines of evidence that argue for the existence of God.
APPENDIX C: Tools We Must Have:
Before I actually get into the recommending of particular books, I want to give you some great tools you can utilize to Change the Game, and defend your faith. None of this material is any more important than another. But we have discussed the Creation-Evolution debate quite a bit and these first three tools are more geared toward that study.
1. The website; dissentfromdarwin.org, displays an absolutely critical document that has been signed by hundreds of scientists from every field who state that they are skeptical of the claims of Darwinian evolution to account for the complexity of living things. For more background on this, refer back to page 25. I would have a copy of this list on hand to present to someone when the opportunity arises. This is an impressive and important document that we should be comfortable in recommending and discussing with people.
2. Quote Libraries: Please see page 26 for more information on this subject. Before I list some of the particular quotes, which will only be a handful in comparison to what is available, have a look at some of the websites which feature quotes from many scientists (mostly evolutionists) who are very critical of Darwin’s Theory. If nothing else, these quotes will show that from a scientific perspective, Darwinism is really lacking the scientific rigor it needs to support the claims made by its strongest adherents. Again, the value of being able to shows these quotes to someone may be a real eye opener because these quotes are not going to be discussed in the media, school, or popular culture.
3. Stephen E. Jones Quote Library. Go to your search engine and type in Stephen E. Jones. The site is great but the actual web address is difficult to work with. As Mr. Jones has requested that quotes not be lifted from his site to be put into a publication, I will honor that request and simply recommend his website. A. nobelists.net---50 Nobel Laureates who believe in God B. errantskeptics.org C. arn.org D. nwcreation.net
There are many others which you can probably link to through these other sites. There may be some redundancy but there are still quite a few new quotes you will find.
THE ACTUAL QUOTES: It should be noted that many of these quotes are from non-Christians. Also notice that these quotes are well documented and footnoted.
“At the present stage of geological research, we have to admit that there is nothing in the geological records that runs contrary to the view of conservative creationists, that God created each species separately, presumably from the dust of the earth." Dr. Edmund J. Ambrose,
Emeritus Prof of Cell Biology, University of London. The Nature and Origin of the Biological World. 1982, John Wiley & Sons, p. 164
"Ultimately, the Darwinian theory of evolution is no more nor less than the great cosmogenic myth of the twentieth century." Michael Denton, 'Evolution, A Theory in Crisis' page 358
"The salient fact is this: if by evolution we mean macroevolution (as we henceforth shall), then it can be said with the utmost rigor that the doctrine is totally bereft of scientific sanction. Now, to be sure, given the multitude of extravagant claims about evolution promulgated by evolutionists with an air of scientific infallibility, this may indeed sound strange. And yet the fact remains that there exists to this day not a shred of bona fide scientific evidence in support of the thesis that macroevolutionary transformations have ever occurred." Wolfgang Smith, Ph.D Mathematics , MS Physics Teilardism and the New Religion. Tan Books and Publishers, Inc.
“Neo-Darwinism has failed as an evolutionary theory that can explain the origin of species, understood as organisms of distinctive form and behaviour. In other words, it is not an adequate theory of evolution. What it does provide is a partial theory of adaptation, or microevolution (small- scale adaptive changes in organisms)." Brian Goodwin, Professor of Biology, Open University, UK, "Neo-Darwinism has failed as an evolutionary theory," The Times Higher Education Supplement, May 19, 1995
"The idea of feathered dinosaurs and the theropod origin of birds is being actively promulgated by a cadre of zealous scientists acting in concert with certain editors at Nature and National Geographic who themselves have become outspoken and highly biased proselytizers of the faith. Truth and careful scientific weighing of evidence have been among the first casualties in their program, which is now fast becoming one of the grander scientific hoaxes of our age — the paleontological equivalent of cold fusion." Dr. Storrs Olson, Curator of Birds at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC
"The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, 'So that's how God did it.' My goal is to understand a little corner of God's plan." Henry "Fritz" Schaefer, Director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia and Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry. J.L. Sheler and J.M. Schrof, "The Creation", U.S. News & World Report (December 23, 1991):56-64.
"My atheism was greatly shaken. A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question." Sir Fredrick Hoyle, 'The Universe: Past and Present Reflections' 1982. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics: 20:16. (After calculating the likelihood that carbon would have the precise resonance required for life by chance.)
"I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing." Alan Sandage, (Winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy) J. N. Willford, March 12, 1991. 'Sizing up the Cosmos: An Astronomers Quest'. New York Times, p. B9
"But how do you get from nothing to such an elaborate something if Evolution must proceed through a long sequence of intermediate stages, each favoured by natural selection? You can't fly with 2% of a wing ... How, in other words, can natural selection explain these incipient stages of structures that can only be used (as we now observe them) in much more elaborated forms? ... one point stands high above the rest: the dilemma of incipient stages. Mivart identified this problem as primary and it remains so today." Stephen Jay Gould, Prof of Geology and Palaeontology, Harvard University
"I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science." Wernher von Braun, Pioneer rocket engineer. 'Ancient Tales and Space-Age Myths of Creationist Evangelism.' T. McIver, 1986. The Skeptical Inquirer 10:258-276.
"The 'modern evolutionary synthesis' convinced most biologists that natural selection was the only directive influence on adaptive evolution. Today, however, dissatisfaction with the synthesis is widespread, and creationists and antidarwinians are multiplying. The central problem with the synthesis is its failure to show (or to provide distinct signs) that natural selection of random mutations could account for observed levels of adaptation." (Leigh, Egbert G., Jr. [Biologist, Smithsonian Institution, USA], "The modern synthesis, Ronald Fisher and creationism," Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 14, No. 12, pp.495-498, December 1999 These evolutionary happenings are unique, unrepeatable, and irreversible. It is as impossible to turn a land vertebrate into a fish as it is to effect the reverse transformation. The applicability of the experimental method to the study of such unique historical processes is severely restricted before all else by the time intervals involved, which far exceed the lifetime of any human experimenter. And yet, it is just such impossibility that is demanded by anti-evolutionists when they ask for "proofs" of evolution which they would magnanimously accept as satisfactory.' Theodosius Dobzhansky (late Emeritus Professor of Zoology and Biology, Rockefeller University), 'On methods of evolutionary biology and anthropology, Part 1, biology'. American Scientist, vol. 45(5), December 1957, p.388. ‘
Evolutionism is a fairy tale for grown-ups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless.’ Prof. Louis Bounoure (Former President of the Biological Society of Strasbourg and Director of the Strasbourg Zoological Museum, later Director of Research at the French National Centre of Scientific Research), as quoted in The Advocate, Thursday, 8 March 1984, p. 17. ‘Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever. In explaining evolution, we do not have one iota of fact.’ Dr T. N. Tahmisian (Atomic Energy Commission, USA) in ‘The Fresno Bee’, August 20, 1959. As quoted by N. J. Mitchell, Evolution and the Emperor’s New Clothes, Roydon publications, UK, 1983, title page.
‘Well, we are now about 120 years after Darwin and the knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded. We now have a quarter of a million fossil species but the situation hasn’t changed much. The record of evolution is still surprisingly jerky and, ironically, we have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin’s time. By this I mean that some of the classic cases of darwinian change in the fossil record, such as the evolution of the horse in North America, have had to be discarded or modified as a result of more detailed information - what appeared to be a nice simple progression when relatively few data were available now appears to be much more complex and much less gradualistic. So Darwin’s problem has not been alleviated in the last 120 years and we still have a record which does show change but one that can hardly be looked upon as the most reasonable consequence of natural selection. Also the major extinctions such as those of the dinosaurs and trilobites are still very puzzling.’ Dr David M. Raup (Curator of Geology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago), ‘Conflicts between Darwin and paleontology’. Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin, vol. 50(1), January 1979, p. 25.
‘Despite the bright promise that paleontology provides a means of "seeing" evolution, it has presented some nasty difficulties for evolutionists the most notorious of which is the presence of "gaps" in the fossil record. Evolution requires intermediate forms between species and paleontology does not provide them. The gaps must therefore be a contingent feature of the record.’ David B. Kitts, Ph.D. (zoology), (School of Geology and Geophysics, Department of the History of Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA) ‘Paleontology and evolutionary theory’. Evolution, vol. 28, September 1974, p. 467.
‘The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils. Stephen Jay Gould (Professor of Geology and Paleontology, Harvard University), ‘Evolution’s erratic pace’. Natural History, vol. LXXXVI(5), May 1977, p. 14. '
One must conclude that, contrary to the established and current wisdom, a scenario describing the genesis of life on earth by chance and natural causes which can be accepted on the basis of fact and not faith, has not yet been written.' Hubert P. Yockey (Army Pulse Radiation Facility, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA), 'A calculation of the probability of spontaneous biogenesis by information theory'. Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 67, 1977, p. 396.
“One of the reasons I started taking this anti-evolutionary view, was ... it struck me that I had been working on this stuff for twenty years and there was not one thing I knew about it. That's quite a shock to learn that one can be so misled so long. ...so for the last few weeks I've tried putting a simple question to various people and groups of people. Question is: Can you tell me anything you know about evolution, any one thing that is true? I tried that question on the geology staff at the Field Museum of Natural History and the only answer I got was silence. I tried it on the members of the Evolutionary Morphology Seminar in the University of Chicago, a very prestigious body of evolutionists, and all I got there was silence for a long time and eventually one person said, 'I do know one thing -- it ought not to be taught in high school'." Dr. Colin Patterson, Senior Paleontologist, British Museum of Natural History, London Keynote address at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, 5 November, 1981
It is a considerable strain on one's credulity to assume that finely balanced systems such as certain sense organs (the eye of vertebrates, or the bird's feather) could be improved by random mutations. This is even more true of some ecological chain relationships. However, objectors to random mutations have so far been unable to advance any alternative explanation that was supported by substantial evidence. {Harvard biologist Ernst Mayr, SYSTEMATICS & THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, 1942, p.296} Just as in a book misprints are more likely to produce nonsense than better sense, so mutations will almost always be deleterious, almost always, in fact, they will kill the organism or the cell, often at so early a stage in its existence that we do not even realize it ever came into being at all. {John C. Kendrew, the Cambridge scientist who is a Nobel laureate for his discovery of the structure of the protein myoglobin, THE THREAD OF LIFE, 1966, pp.106-107}
“Darwin's prediction of rampant, albeit gradual, change affecting all lineages through time is refuted. The record is there, and the record speaks for tremendous anatomical conservatism. Change in the manner Darwin expected is just not found in the fossil record.” Eldredge, N. and Tattersall, I. (1982) The Myths of Human Evolution Columbia University Press, p. 48
"Considering the way the prebiotic soup is referred to in so many discussions of the origin of life as an already established reality, it comes as something of a shock to realize that there is absolutely no positive evidence for its existence." Denton, Michael (1985) [Molecular Biologist] Evolution: A Theory in Crisis Bethesda, Maryland: Adler and Adler Publishers, p.261
" 'Survival of the fittest' and 'natural selection.' No matter what phraseology one generates, the basic fact remains the same: any physical change of any size, shape or form is strictly the result of purposeful alignment of billions of nucleotides (in the DNA). Nature or species do not have the capacity for rearranging them, nor adding to them. Consequently no leap (saltation) can occur from one species to another. The only way we know for a DNA to be altered is through a meaningful intervention from an outside source of intelligence: one who knows what it is doing, such as our genetic engineers are now performing in their laboratories." Cohen, I.L. (1984) [ Darwin Was Wrong: A Study in Probabilities New York: NW Research Publications, Inc., p. 209
Obviously, there are hundreds and hundreds of these quotes from the past and present, and these are but a small sampling. Also, Darwinists have been unable to do anything to overturn the claims and criticisms levied against it, at all these points throughout history. The quotes I’ve listed here have among them, a few statements from believers in God sprinkled in. However, most of the quotes are from committed evolutionists. I must admit that as I looked back through these various quote sites to get the information, the Stephen E. Jones site is the most comprehensive, plentiful, and up to date of them all.
Audio-Visual:
When dealing with the idea of Purposeful Design, there are an extraordinary number of great resources. From an audio-visual standpoint, I can’t think of many things much better than a DVD called “Unlocking the Mystery of Life” from Illustra Media. This is very straightforward stuff and it would be interesting to see how a skeptic would attempt to rebuff it. How would a skeptic be able to explain the arrival of the amazing process (and the process itself) that takes place in the cell, without acknowledging the implementation purposeful intelligence?
Resources for Recommendation / Bibliography
The books, websites, and videos I’m about to recommend will cover a lot of ground and provide evidence for the existence of God, the proof that the Bible is God’s Word, the historical reality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the scientific evidence proving Design and disproving Darwinism, the Biblical worldview as the best hope temporally and eternally, and a whole lot more. I will try to give some general guidance on what subject the resources are geared toward and if they are very technical. If the book covers all these areas, I will indicate that as well.
These resources can be obtained through many sources; Christian book stores, various websites (including direct websites of the authors), your Church library etc… I will list some of those websites in just a bit. These are several of the materials I’ve studied to guide my study and writing of this book. A few of the items I noted throughout the book (not included in this section) that I recommend can be found in the End Notes. However, the few items not included will fall under the website recommendation section.
BOOKS:
1. Dr. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”, Wheaton, IL. Crossway Books (a division of Good News) (2004)—All Areas / Apologetics
2. Dr. Norman Geisler and Paul Hoffman, “Why I am a Christian”, Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books Baker Book House) (2001). ---All Areas / Apologetics
3. Dr. Norman Geisler, “Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics”. Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books (Baker Book House) (1999). Reference (All Areas)
4. Josh McDowell, “More Than a Carpenter”, Wheaton, IL. Tyndale House Publishers. (1977) ---Christ’s Resurrection--New Testament Evidence
5. Josh McDowell and Bill Wilson, “A Ready Defense”, Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson Publishers
6. Lee Strobel, “The Case for Christ”, Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. (1998)- Christ’s Resurrection-- New Testament Evidence
7. Lee Strobel, “The Case for Faith”, Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan (2000). All Areas / Apologetics--- Several Contributors
8. Lee Strobel, “The Case for a Creator”, -- Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. (2004)--Existence of God--- Several Contributors
9. Dr. Geoffrey Simmons, “What Darwin Didn’t Know”, Eugene, OR. Harvest House Publishers. (2004) —Purposeful Design vs. Darwinism
10. Dr. Geoffrey Simmons, “Billions of Missing Links”, Eugene, OR. Harvest House Publishers (2007) ---Purposeful Design vs. Darwinism
11. Dr. D. James Kennedy, “Why I Believe”, Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1980, 1999)-- All Areas / General Apologetics
12. Dr. D. James Kennedy, and Jerry Newcomb, “What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?” Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1994)—Worldview
13. Dr. D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcomb, “What if the Bible Had Never Been Written?” - Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1994) Worldview
14. Dr. R.C. Sproul, “Not a Chance”, Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books (Baker Book House Co) 1994.-- Existence of God (goes deep into First Principals)
15. Dr. John Lennox, “God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? Grand Rapids, MI. Kregel Publications. (2007) ----The Fallacy of Science Pointing to Atheism #16. Dr. Ravi Zacharias, “Atheism: A Shattered Visage” Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. (1990). -----Worldview
17. Dr. Ravi Zacharias, “Can Man Live Without God”, Grand Rapids, MI. Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996)--Worldview
18. Dr. Dembski & Dr. Wells, “The Design of Life”, Dallas, TX, The Foundation for Thought and Ethics, (2008).--Intelligent Design (Reads as a Textbook)
19. Dr. Jonathan Wells, “Icons of Evolution”, Washington DC, Regnery Publishing (a division of Eagle). (2000)-----Intelligent Design
20. Dr. William Dembski, “The Design Inference” Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. (1998)------Intelligent Design-(Technical)
21. Dr. William Dembski, “The Design Revolution”, Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press. (2004) -----See Above
22. Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey, “How Now Shall We Live”, -- Wheaton, IL. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999.--Worldview
23. Dr. J.P. Moreland, “Scaling the Secular City” Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books (a division of Baker Book House). (1987)----Apologetics-All Areas-Somewhat Technical
24. Dr. J.P. Moreland & Dr. Gary Habermas, “Beyond Death”, Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books (division of Good News). (1998) --Evidence of Life After Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
25. Dr. Michael Behe, “Darwin’s Black Box”, New York, Touchstone-Simon & Schuster. (1996). Intelligent Design-Technical
26. David. A. Noebel “Understanding the Times”, Manitou Springs, CO, Summit Ministries. (1991)— Worldview—Reference--Apologetics
27. C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”, New York, NY, Touchstone (Macmillan). (1943, 1945, 1952). ----------Classic
28. Dr. Duane Gish, “Amazing Story of Creation”, Dallas, TX, Institute of Creation Research. (1990)— Creation---Good for 4th Grade-Adult
29. Dennis Petersen, “Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation”, El Dorado, CA, Creation Resource Foundation. (1986)---Creation--Good for adults & kids
30. Dr. A.E Wilder Smith, “He Who Thinks Has to Believe”, Minneapolis, MN, Bethany House Publishers. (1981)----------Creation
31. Dr. John Walvoord “Every Prophecy of the Bible”, Colorado Springs, CO, Chariot Victor Publishing. (1990, 1999)-----Reference—Demonstrates Bible as God’s Word.
32. Phillip Johnson, “Reason in the Balance”, Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press. (1995)----------Intelligent Design
Three Recent Additions:
Evidence For God: William Dembski & Mike Licona
Signature in the Cell: Stephen Meyer (Technical but Great)
Darwin's Doubt: Stephen Meyer (Technical but Great)
33. Phillip Johnson----------“Darwin on Trial”, See Above. (1991, 1993) Intelligent Design
34. Phillip Johnson,“Defeating Darwinism”, See Above. (1997) Intelligent Design
35. Paul Copan, “How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong?”, Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books. (2005)- Responding to Objections to the Christian Faith.
36. Benjamin Wiker & Jonathan Witt, “A Meaningful World”, Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press; (2006)-Design: Science & Art Reveal Purpose and Meaning.
37. Francis Beckwith & Gregory Koukl, “Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air” Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. (1998). Worldview/Logic-Study of the incoherence of Relativism.
38. Dr. Charles Thaxton & Nancy Pearcey, “Soul of Science”, Wheaton, IL; Crossway Books (a division of Good News Publishers) (1994) -Christian Faith & Natural Philosophy
39. Dr. J.P Moreland, “Love Your God With All Your Mind”, Colorado Springs, CO, NavPress. (1997). Worldview
40. Thomas Woodward, “Darwin Strikes Back”, Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. (2006) Intelligent Design
41. Dr. Michael Denton, “Evolution: A Theory in Crisis”, Bethesda, MD. Adler & Adler. (1985). The Wonder of the Cell and the Increasing Doubts About Darwinism
AUDIO-VISUAL:
Audio:
In the Beginning was Information-----Dr.Chuck Missler & Dr. Stephen Meyer----Evidence of Design Through the Study of the Information Content of DNA. Available from www.khouse.org; the Website of Dr. Chuck Missler. Koinonia Inc., 2000. Coeur d’ Alene, ID
Creator Series----Dr. Chuck Missler & Dr. Mark Eastman---Existence of God and Proof of the Bible. See Above.
Battle for Our Minds----Dr. R.C. Sproul---Study of the Christian Worldview. Available from www.ligonier.org; the Website of Dr. R.C. Sproul. Ligonier Ministries, Orlando, FL. 1996
When Worlds Collide----Dr. R.C. Sproul—Uniqueness of the Christian Worldview. See Above.
Defending Your Faith---Dr. R.C. Sproul---Apologetics; Existence of God, The Bible. See Above.
Uniqueness of Christ---Dr. Ravi Zacharias—Christ Unique in History and World Religions. Available from www.rzim.org; the Website of Dr. Ravi Zacharias. Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
VIDEO:
Unlocking the Mystery of Life—Illustra Media: La Habra, CA----- Features Several Scientists. The Science of the Cell, Molecular Machines, and the Wonder of DNA. .
Case for a Creator—Ilustra Media / Camel Entertainment: La Habra, CA. 2006---- Hosted by Dr. Lee Strobel but featuring several scientists from various backgrounds. Explores the Evidence for the Existence of God.
From a Frog to a Prince—Keziah Productions, 1997 Features several Scientists. Discusses the inability of Mutation and Natural Selection (Darwinism) to change one Species into Another.
Icons of Evolution---Based on the book by Dr. Jonathan Wells. Cold Water Media, LLC. Palmer Lake, CO. Features several Scientists. This presentation deals with long held beliefs of Evolutionists which have been completely disproven; yet, are still taught as fact in many venues.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed---Documentary starring Ben Stein. Premise Media and Vivendi Entertainment: Universal City, CA. 2008----Features Prominent Scientists on both sides of the argument. Shows the unscientific resistance, persecution, and discrimination put forth by atheistic scientists against other scientists who dare to challenge Darwinism. The movie brilliantly illustrates how there are many scientists who guard and protect Darwinism with only a feigned exhibition of good science; and that at its core, the protection displayed is more religious and philosophical.
The Privileged Planet—Documentary-Narrated by John Rhys-Davies. Illustra Media; LaHabra, CA. 2004— Features prominent Scientists discussing the overwhelming evidence for Design in the Universe and how we are uniquely “situated” to observe the evidence.
As we move into a list of recommended websites, I again want to remind you that while these are great resources, I don’t necessarily adhere to all that is put forth in these sites, or any of the material above for that matter. Remember, this book is an attempt to demonstrate the proof of God’s existence, the proof that the Bible is His Word, and that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. My desire is to get the very best presentation of evidence into your hands which under girds these points. That said, I will not knowingly recommend any resource that makes a stated goal of denying essential Christian doctrine, even if they were to contain good points to make about the existence of God, for example. Again, we are going after general principles and overarching truths. There are, of course, areas of theology and interpretation that we may disagree with each other on. For example; R.C. Sproul is someone who I have learned a lot from and I highly recommend much of his work. However, I disagree with Dr. Sproul when it comes to areas like the Rapture of the Church, the Millennial reign of Christ on the earth, the Antichrist, etc…If I was writing a book to show forth the Biblical case for the Rapture, I probably wouldn’t recommend any material from Dr. Sproul to support my case, because he and I differ about what these sections of Scripture are actually saying.
Another example would be the age of the earth. Some of the scientists in the Intelligent Design movement have no issues with the idea of an old earth but their writings usually include no Biblical references anyway. In some cases, they may just assume an old earth for the sake of argument. The evolutionist desperately needs billions of years if he has any hope of showing that Darwinian evolution could take place. However, we can grant the Darwinists all the time they want and it still won’t help them. Based on some scientific observations, some common sense observations, and certainly the teaching of the Bible, I believe in a young earth, and a literal six day Creation. Still, I will usually grant the premise of the billions of years if I’m discussing the idea of Design in the universe and in life. The reason is because Darwinists take the rather unscientific view that if you simply allow enough time, life could get started and then progress onward and upward. This view, however, is quite absurd on the face of it, not to mention the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support it. Not only does the evidence does not support Darwinism, but the evidence actually negates the idea of a Darwinian, macro-evolutionary view of life. This doesn’t even take into account the statistically impossible emergence of proteins, DNA, molecular machines, and the first cell.
Then coming in from the other side is the science of purposeful design and that what we see in living systems is so intricate, complex, integrated, functional, and information laden, that we are intellectually forced to admit that these organisms and their sub-systems are best explained as having come into being as the product of a designing intelligence; and God is the only Being who could ultimately be that designing intelligence. Bringing this back to where we started; time is the hero of the plot for many Darwinists. If Darwinism is absurd even allowing billons of years, how much more absurd is it if the earth is actually much younger?
So, again, there are certain theological points, and areas of Biblical study that I may disagree with people on, but why should I withhold recommending something from R.C. Sproul, for example, because we have a disagreement about some particulars? This is not to say that these issues (like the Rapture) are unimportant…they are very important and worthy of discussion. However, if I ceased to recommend materials because of every disagreement I had with the authors, the list would be too short and it would kill the learning. I’m simply trying to cull the best resources to support the points I’m trying to make in this book, and I will do it within reason. Now, let me move to the final round of recommendations and that will be various websites.
WEBSITES:
www.ariel.org : The website of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum—Systematic Theology with a great focus on Israel. Wonderful materials for personal and Home Bible Studies. Prophecy as proof of the Bible is another wonderful aspect of this site.
www.arn.org: Access Research Network. Intelligent Design. Many articles and products to choose from.
www.khouse.org: The website of Dr. Chuck Missler. Bible Prophecy, Strategic Trends, Apologetics, and Creation.
www. johnlennox.org : The website of Dr. John Lennox. Science and Ethics. Atheism as a failed Worldview
www.answersingenesis.org: Creation website featuring evidence for Creation, a Global Flood and a young earth.
www.icr.org: Creation Website featuring evidence for Creation, a Global Flood, and a young earth.
www.evolutionnews.org: Intelligent Design Website featuring up to date news in the world of Darwinism.
www.creationsafaris.com: Creation-Evolution headlines. This reads like an Internet Newspaper. There are many stories and articles linked together, showing the actual, in depth report from the Darwinists and direct response and commentary from Design advocates.
www.reasonablefaith.org: The Website of Dr. William Lane Craig. Features some very technical and indepth articles about the existence of God. There is also great material about the evidence for Resurrection of Christ.
www.uncommondescent.com: The Website of Dr. William Dembski. Intelligent Design.
www. carm.org : Covers all areas of Christian Apologetics.
www.josh.org: The Website of Josh McDowell. Covers all areas of Christian Apologetics.
