Good morning friends,
Quote of the week:
Nothing evolves unless it already exists. – Dan Tawfik
Now, here are your weekly links:
- Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message – Christian Research Institute: https://www.equip.org/articles/responding-to-the-mormon-missionary-message/
- La Luz del Mundo – Wikipedia – “Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth, The Light of the World”)-or simply La Luz del Mundo (LLDM)-is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination in the Restorationist tradition, with international headquarters in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. La Luz del Mundo practices a form of Restorationist theology centered on three leaders: Aarón-born Eusebio-JoaquÃn González (1896–1964), Samuel JoaquÃn Flores (1937–2014), and Naasón JoaquÃn GarcÃa (born 1969), who are regarded by the church as modern-day apostles of Jesus Christ. La Luz del Mundo describes itself as the restoration of primitive Christianity. It does not use crosses or religious images in its worship services. Female members follow a dress code that includes long skirts and use head coverings during services.: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Luz_del_Mundo
- Students Love Answers More Than the Church Loves Answers | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/students-love-answers-more-than-the-church-loves-answers/
- Clearing the Fog: “Christianity Doesn’t Need Evidence Because Faith is Blind.” – Living Waters: https://livingwaters.com/clearing-the-fog/
- Evolution: not a Theory | Biblical Science Institute: https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/origins/evolution-not-a-theory/
- Unraveling 7 Generations of Mormon Faith | Sean McDowell – What lessons can Christians learn from a former Mormon? Can we take lessons from Corey Miller in responding to Mormonism? After 7 generations of being a Mormon Corey Miller converted to Christianity in 1988. He has since served on pastoral staff at four churches and has taught nearly 100 college courses in philosophy, theology, rhetoric, and comparative religions at various places. His story is fascinating! : https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/unraveling-7-generations-of-mormon-faith
- Does Distant Starlight Prove the Universe Is Old? | Answers in Genesis – Critics of biblical creation sometimes use distant starlight as an argument against a young universe. But when we examine this argument carefully, we will see that it does not work.: https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/starlight/does-distant-starlight-prove-the-universe-is-old/
- The Use and Abuse of the Bible in the Immigration Debate – Secularists and liberals, both political and religious, are typically loath to consult the Bible when it comes to matters of public policy. So it is somewhat surprising that in the current debate about the status of illegal immigrants, the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible is regularly cited in defense of the illegal. Debra Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister – a denomination not known for taking Scripture seriously – offered a recent critique of the Arizona illegal immigration law in the Washington Post online (May 25, 2010), saying “It’s as if the 70 percent of Arizonans who support the law have forgotten the Biblical injunction to ‘love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.’” This verse and others like it are frequently quoted in the name of “justice” for the illegal immigrant. A left-wing Christian advocacy group Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which is affiliated with Sojourners, had this passage on its website: “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the stranger. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you.” (Leviticus 19:33): https://cis.org/Report/Use-and-Abuse-Bible-Immigration-Debate
- What About the Similarity Between Human and Chimp DNA? | Answers in Genesis – DNA similarity could easily be explained as a result of a common Creator.: https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/what-about-the-similarity-between-human-and-chimp-dna/
- Reality Check: Has Science Explained the Origin of Life?| Kirk Durston – Reasoned Cases For Christ: https://bcooper.wordpress.com/2018/11/25/reality-check-has-science-explained-the-origin-of-life-kirk-durston-2/
- The BBC must remember its Christian roots and stop mocking evangelicals | Opinion | Premier Christianity: https://www.premierchristianity.com/home/the-bbc-must-remember-its-christian-roots-and-stop-mocking-evangelicals/887.article
- Refutation of Atheist Paul Carlson’s 51 Bible “Contradictions” | Dave Armstrong – I am responding to many portions of the article, “New Testament Contradictions” by Paul Carlson (The Secular Web, 1995). His words will be in blue. The numbers in red are my own (for numbering the alleged “contradictions” that I reply to). As with all lists of alleged biblical contradictions, there will be disagreement in at least some specific cases as to whether a given “contradiction” is a genuine contradiction. It is therefore up to the reader to decide for him/herself whether to accept that a listed “contradiction” is, in fact, a genuine contradiction. I agree that sometimes reasonable folks can disagree about the presence of a contradiction in some complex cases. But reasonable folks ought also never bring up an alleged “contradiction” that is clearly not a contradiction by any stretch of the imagination, according to the well-established rules of logic. Many such faux– / pseudo-“contradictions” are present in any atheist “laundry list” of proposed biblical contradictions that I have ever seen, including this present one. Shame on those who promulgate them. It’s weak, shoddy thinking, period.: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2021/04/refutation-of-atheist-paul-carlsons-51-bible-contradictions.html
- Logical Fallacies or Fallacies in Argumentation | carm,org – There are different kinds of logical fallacies that people make in presenting their positions. Below is a list of some of the major fallacies. It is a good idea to be familiar with them so you can point them out in a discussion thereby focusing on the issues where they belong while exposing error. It is true that during a debate on an issue if you simply point out to your “opponent” a logical fallacy that he/she has just made, it generally gives you the upper hand. But then, merely having the upper hand is not the goal: truth is. Nevertheless, logical fallacies hide the truth; so pointing them out is very useful.: https://carm.org/defending-the-faith/logical-fallacies-or-fallacies-in-argumentation/
- How to Talk About Jesus Without Being Awkward: An Interview with Sam Chan – Bible Gateway Blog: https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2020/10/how-to-talk-about-jesus-without-being-awkward-an-interview-with-sam-chan/
- Darwin, Africa, and Genocide: The Horror of Scientific Racism – YouTube – In the early 1900s, Social Darwinism helped fuel the first genocide of the twentieth century when Germany tried to eradicate the Herero people in southern Africa. Learn about this horrific chapter in modern history and the abuse of Darwin’s theory to justify colonialism and extermination.This short video is excerpted from the award-winning documentary, “The Biology of the Second Reich.” It starts by exploring the rise of Darwinism in Germany and then shows how this ideology impacted German colonialism in southwest Africa, leading to genocide.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQPrvPM38Ws
- Defending Your Faith 101 – Now what? – Truth, Faith and Reason – In our culture today we see statistics that bear out the need for Christians to know what they believe and why they believe it, and then share it while training up the next generation.: https://truthfaithandreason.com/defending-your-faith-101-now-what/
- “It’s In the Bible, So Believe It!” Won’t Help Youth At All | Tom Gilson – I’m on my way to Little Rock for an interview with FamilyLife about my book Critical Conversations: A Christian Parents’ Guide to Discussing Homosexuality With Teens, I decided to re-read the book on the way, and I came across a passage in it that applies to any question, any issue with our children. I want to share it with you, because it’s absolutely vital. I’d just told the story of a friend whose faith was shipwrecked for years by her church’s unwillingness to respect her questions. What follows here is quoted from pages 73 and 74: https://www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2018/03/its-in-the-bible-so-believe-it/
It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:17
Blessings to you all