Thursday, April 29, 2010

A Christian Response to the latest Noah's Ark find...

A stir is beginning to develop regarding a claim made by a team of Chinese and Turkey evangelists that they have found Noah's Ark.

"It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it," Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and a member of Noah Ark's Ministries International(NAMI) team of 15.

For those interested, you can read the entire story here. I also recommend visiting NAMI's website for detailed look at the claims.

Now, why do I draw attention to this claim? Some may pre-suppose that I have already concluded that the Ark itself has been found and that we must proclaim it to the world. However, my intent in this post is quite different. It is my conviction that we, as followers of Christ, must be careful with such claims and practice discernment.

Since becoming a follower of Christ there have been numerous archaeological finds that I have read about that have encouraged me in my faith. However, there have also been those claims that have proven to be false, but yet still seem to survive, especially on the Internet, as actual.

Christianity, of course, is not alone in such false claims, especially when one recalls such claims from the scientific community as Piltdown Man or, even more recently, the "missing link" Ida. We must be careful to weigh the evidence for such lofty claims before endorsing them as fact.

So, how should the follower of Christ respond to the recent claims that Noah's Ark has been found?

I suggest the following-

  • There is nothing wrong with allowing yourself to be excited about the recent claims. I myself find the story fascinating; however, we must be careful to shift through the facts and no allow our enthusiasm to distort our conclusions.

  • If it turns out not to be Noah's Ark, don't be discouraged. Our faith should not rise or fall on one archaeological find or mistake. Further, do not be so quick to overlook the numerous archaeological finds that have served to sustain the existence of key biblical figures and places.
  • Don't be surprised that even if it is the Ark, skeptics will still say, "Well, that doesn't really prove anything!" Remember, it was Jesus who taught, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31, NIV; Emphasis mine). Sometimes, no matter what evidence is presented, the skeptic will reject it.
As the story continues to unfold, remember: "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;" (1 Thess. 5:21).

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Video: Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More?


New Testament Scholar Craig A. Evans is just one of the numerous scholars featured in this 8 part video that chronicles their search to unearth the evidence for the Jesus Christ of history.

Was Jesus really the Son of God and the Messiah the Bible claims, or was He merely human like the rest of us? For the last 10 years, a group of scholars have been studying this very issue. Watch as they put forth their evidence, and then decide for yourself who Jesus really was.

The 8 parts (26 minutes each) are available to watch online and are as follows:

1. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? Overview, Pt 1

2. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? Peter's Confession, Pt 2

3. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Pt 3

4. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? The Temple Controversy, Pt 4

5. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? The Last Supper, Pt 5

6. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? The Jewish Examination of Jesus, Pt 6

7. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? The Crucifixion, Pt 7

8. Jesus: Man, Messiah, or More? The Resurrection of Jesus, Pt 8

The 8 part-DVD is available for purchase here.

Enjoy!

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Modern Biology and Darwinism



Let me start off by saying that as a follow of Jesus Christ, Darwinism and the evidence for it, does not scare me in the least. Even if evolution were proven to be true, it would not logically follow that the Christian God does not exist.

That being said, a common phrase repeated by advocates of Darwinian evolution is Dobzhansky's claim that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."

With that in mind, does the following information seem, um... thought-provoking to anyone other than myself?

Pioneers of Modern Biology who either preceded Darwin or rejected his theory

Andreas Vesalius
(Anatomy), 1514-1564

William Harvey
(Physiology), 1578-1657

Francesco Redi
(Microbiology), 1626-1697

John Ray
(Botany), 1627-1705

Anton van Leeuwenhoek
(Microbiology), 1632-1723

Robert Hooke
(Microbiology), 1635-1703

Carolus Linnaeus
(Systematics), 1707-1778

Lazzaro Spallanzani
(Reproductive Biology), 1729-1799

Caspar Friedrich Wolff
(Embryology), 1734-1794

Georges Cuvier
(Paleontology), 1769-1832

Karl Ernst von Baer
(Embryology), 1792-1876

Richard Owen
(Comparative Biology), 1804-1892

Louis Agassiz
(Zoology), 1807-1873

Gregor Mendel
(Genetics), 1822-1884

With this information in mind, does that mean that the men who pioneered most of the fundamental disciplines in modern biology could not "make sense" of it?

Just something to think about...

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad


Resource:

1. Jonathan Wells, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, p. 77.

To read an excerpt from the book, click here.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Essay: The Cumulative Case for Christianity by Chad Gross


For those interested, here is my essay, featured today on Apologetics315, entitled The Cumulative Case for Christianity.

Thus far, the essays have been excellent and I am grateful to be included in the project.

Please visit Apologetics315 and check out all the essays.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Essay Series: Is Christianity True? from Apologetics315


Apologetics315 has been hosting an essay series entitled Is Christianity True? This is "a series of 23 essays contributed by various apologetics bloggers from across the web. This series responds to the question: Why is Christianity True?"

The schedule of bloggers is as follows:

April 1: Chris Reese - Foreword
Brian Auten - Introduction

April 2: Tawa Anderson - Does God Exist?

April 5: Jim Wallace - The Best Explanation

April 6: Wes Widner - Coherent, Consistent & Livable

April 7: Richard Gerhardt

April 8: Bob Perry

April 9: Peter Grice

April 12: Chad Gross

April 13: Shelby Cade

April 14: Luke Nix

April 15: Aaron Brake

April 16: Amy Hall

April 19: James Patrick Holding

April 20: Stephen J. Bedard

April 21: Anthony Horvath

April 22: Mariano Grinbank

April 23: Marcus McElhaney

April 26: Vocab Malone / Paul D. Adams

April 27: Glenn Hendrickson; Brian Colón

April 28: Kyle Deming

April 29: Matthew Flannagan

April 30: Brian Auten

The essays in the series thus far have been excellent. I encourage our readers to follow this series and join the interactions!

Thanks to Brian at Apologetics315 for the opportunity!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Article: Never Read a Bible Verse by Greg Koukl



In this brief article, apologist Greg Koukl explains why you should NEVER READ A BIBLE VERSE! Koukl highlights the importance of reading Bible verses in their context and even addresses some often quoted sayings that many of you have probably heard fellow believers misuse such as:


  • "If I be Lifted Up"

  • Having a "Peace" about

You can checkout the article here.


To further familiarize yourself with Koukl's work, see Stand to Reason's website here.

Lots of great articles and audio here.


Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Happy Resurrection Day!

I wanted to wish everyone a happy Resurrection Day! For those who are looking for some resources dealing with the historicity of the resurrection, please see this post we did a few months back entitled Resurrection Research Links. This post features articles, audio, debates, and videos of top scholars such as William Lane Craig, Mike Licona, Gary Habermas, and more!

Check it out here.

He is Risen!

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad