All posts tagged General Thoughts

Scientific Laws and the Big Bang

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 11, 2013 in Johnsons from the Front with No comments

 

Has Science and the Scientific Method been misused? The following is an excerpt taken from “Truth and Science – Is Real Science At Risk?” an article by Dr. Arv Edgeworth*.  Ponder the questions he poses at the end, and consider – are these viable questions that should be asked, and if they are being asked today or have been asked in the past?

The Origin of Space, Time, Matter, and Energy

The idea that space, time, matter, and energy have always existed has been pretty much rejected by the scientific community, because the Second Law of Thermodynamics  indicates matter and energy are deteriorating.  Matter and energy would have already reached maximum decay by now, so just about everyone no longer considers that idea a viable possibility.  Almost all scientists today believe the universe had a beginning.

Northern Illinois University – Department of Biological Sciences states it this way: “Starting from the beginning, as it is currently thought of:  the Universe came into being about 15 billion years ago, with the sudden appearance of all the matter and energy in the Universe as a single very hot and dense point: the Big Bang.  How this happened, and what came before, is a matter of complete speculation.  Our history began then, and we have no scientific evidence of anything before then.”

But what about the idea that at one time there was a state of absolute “nothingness”?  It is now determined that the universe had a beginning.  At one point there was no space, time, matter, or energy. 

Newton’s Law of Inertia

This law indicates that if something is in a state of rest, it will remain in that state, unless acted upon by an outside agent.  If something is in uniform motion in a straight line, it will remain in that state unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it from without, such as gravity.

At one point there was supposed to be a state of perfect “nothingness,” or perfect “rest.”  According to the Law of Inertia, that should not change unless it is acted upon by an outside force, or agent, when supposedly none existed. 

The Law of Cause and Effect

The Law of Cause and Effect is one of the best documented principles of science and of everyday experience.  “Behind every effect is a cause, greater and more complex than the effect itself.”  The proposal of the Big Bang Theory indicates an effect only.  What is that “cause” that is greater and more complex than the effect itself?

Are these reasonable questions that should be asked?

1. “Scientifically, can you have an explosion without energy?”

2.  “If there was no matter, what exploded?”

3.  “According to the First Law of Thermodynamics , can something come from nothing?”

 

These are good questions Dr. Arv Edgeworth has posed. A question I would add – is the evolutionary cosmology of the Big Bang based on Science or on Faith?

Some suggested further reading on these Laws of Science can be found at:

 

*www.truthandscience.net

 

Lanny Johnson

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

Why all the hype about finding water on Mars?

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 10, 2013 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

 

Why all the hype about finding water on Mars? Below are some quotes from articles about finding evidence of water on Mars.

 

“Mars once had conditions favorable for microbial life, NASA scientists announced”

“It shows veins of sediments that scientist believe were deposited under water and was an environment once hospitable to life.”

“We have found a habitable environment that is so benign, and supportive of life, that probably if this water was around and you had been on the planet, you would have been able to drink it,”

“The question about habitability goes just beyond the simple observation of water on Mars to recreating the environments in greater detail, with an understanding of the chemistry that was going on at that time, to ask if this is the kind of place that micro-organisms could’ve lived,”

“There is life virtually wherever there is liquid water on Earth, and the possibility that there were once oceans on Mars leads many to wonder if life ever evolved on Mars and, if so, whether it might be extant. Answering these questions might help shed light on how common life may or may not be in the rest of the universe.”

 

It seems to me these people are wanting to find water on Mars so they can speculate if life evolved there, since we know it cannot evolve here on earth.  Where there is water, there must be life… right?  Not necessarily.  Through decades of scientific research, scientists have developed the ‘Law of Biogenesis,’ which states that life can only come from pre-existing life.  People used to believe in the myth, or faith statement, of abiogenesis (spontaneous generation), but science has disproven this false idea.

So the only way life could be on Mars is either it was brought there from earth by our Mars rovers or space probes for example, somehow the material from earth made its way there, or God created it there.  I doubt the truth of the latter idea, because as I study Scripture, I do not see any indication of God making life anywhere else in the universe except here on earth.   But with the scientific knowledge provided by the ‘Law of Biogenesis,’ we know it could not have evolved there.

 

Rich Stepanek

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Water on Mars!

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 5, 2013 in Stepaneks from the Front with 1 Comment

 

Lately there have been a number of articles on the web, tv, and in newspapers, stating: Flowing Water on Mars? Strange Red Planet Features Stir Debate; Mars Water Mystery: NASA Rover’s Ancient Streambed Discovery Is the Latest Clue!  The 2,000-pound Mars rover, Curiosity, has been sending back information and images of what looks like sedimentary rock layers that were laid down by water. Also, what looks like evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars, as well as evidence of lakes and oceans.

They are excited about this information, and rightfully so, but it should not be unexpected or surprising.  As we study Genesis chapter one, God makes everything directly or indirectly out of water.  So with this knowledge, we should see evidence that at one time there was probably an abundance of water on Mars.  Today, water on Mars is usually only in the solid or gaseous state, and not in the liquid state, because of the planet’s low atmospheric pressure being about 1/100th of Earth’s.  With this low pressure, liquid water will not last long on the planet’s surface. So there is evidence that at one time there was liquid water on the surface of Mars. But why all the hype? We will touch on this with my next blog.

 

Richard Stepanek

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The Bursting of Nothing

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 3, 2013 in Johnsons from the Front with No comments

 

For 20 some years I believed in the evolutionary cosmology of the Big Bang, but today, after looking at the supposedly “scientific evidence,” I have rejected that cosmology and now believe 100% in the statement, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). And because of my belief today, I have sometimes been mocked and ridiculed – under the guise of “science.”

Secular cosmology today teaches: “The universe burst into something from absolutely nothing – zero, nada. And as it got bigger, it became filled with even more stuff that came from absolutely nowhere.” (DISCOVER, April 2002). In other words, a big explosion created everything from NOTHING!*

The North American Space Agency (NASA) contends: “The Big Bang Theory is the dominant scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to the big bang, the universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter in all directions.”

The key to evolutionary cosmology seems to be that if you leave NOTHING alone long enough it will eventually explode. Consider … can an explosion create space, time, matter, and energy? You can’t have an explosion without energy, and you can’t have an explosion without something (matter) to explode, and the explosion can’t happen in some point of time, if time does not yet exist!

Others have proposed a “vacuum fluctuation” as an explanation for the beginning of the universe, where in a moment of time, in a spot no bigger than a dime; a fluctuation in nothing created all the matter and flung it out into space.

However, this idea also has the same problems – a vacuum is the absence of matter, and a fluctuation requires energy, neither of which was supposedly yet in existence.

The beginning of the universe was not a natural event … nothing exploding is certainly not natural! Nothing can’t do anything by itself without help – the help of a supernatural being or force. That force was God … a Creator who can speak into existence all things out of nothing.

No, my belief in God the Creator is not based on science – but neither was my previous evolutionary beliefs. Both must be taken by faith!

*Ideas for this blog derived from http://www.truthandscience.net by Dr. Arv. Edgeworth.

 

Lanny Johnson

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

“Roly-Poly Theology”

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 2, 2013 in Nuttings from the Front with No comments

 

Like me, I’m sure many of you enjoyed watching pill bugs or “roly-polies” when you were kids. This common little bug rolls up into a tiny, hard ball when threatened. The pictures from Wikipedia Commons will remind you. (My search for how to spell the pill bug’s nickname brought quite a revelation in itself. Various sites had: “roly poly” or “rolly polly,” rolie-polie!) But what do roly-polies have to do with theology? Just what can we learn from these little bugs?

The other night, Mary Jo and I were at a dinner where we met Janis. She shared with us her “Roly-Poly Theology” story. You will understand why I am passing this on to you as you read on.

Janis told us she was sitting next to a swimming pool and noticed a roly-poly crawling around. The little bug walked right over to the edge of the pool and fell in. Oh, no! The poor bug was doomed to drown with absolutely nothing it could do on its own to get out of its predicament. But then, Janis reached into the water and scooped that bug out of the grips of death and lifted it to safety on dry ground, where it quickly unrolled and walked away.

As Janis thought about it, God gave Janis her “Roly-Poly Theology.” This is a picture of exactly what God had done for her (and for all of us). God reached down while we were hopelessly drowning in our sin, and with no means of saving ourselves. He lifted us up out of certain death (through no action on our part) and gave us life.

You can likely add many other aspects to this theology, such as Christ placing our feet on solid ground, etc.  So, have fun with it as you think of various ways to apply Janis’ “Roly-Poly Theology” to your own life. I am certain that I will remember this theology lesson every time I see a roly-poly and would hope that you do, too.

Thankfully lifted up in Jesus’ arms.

 

[Note: Pill bugs are not really insects, but crustaceans and actually have gill-like structures. They can survive for a short time in water, but eventually will die. Likewise, we might be able to “survive” in sin for a time, but will eventually die if we reject the gift of life in Jesus.]

 

Dave Nutting

 

“For the wages of sin [going astray, missing the mark] is death; but the gift of God is eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

 

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

The Bible Says …

by Alpha Omega Institute on March 29, 2013 in Nuttings from the Front with No comments

 

Our 3 year old grandson, Samuel, was instructed by his mother to put on his pajamas. Samuel grabbed what he had worn the night before. However, his mother said that he shouldn’t because he had spilled water on them earlier and they were wet. Samuel responded by saying, “The Bible says they are not wet.”

Ignoring some of the issues, in a way, I like his approach. Samuel is already banking on the authority of the Scripture and applying it to real life situations. I really wish that many young people today would trust in the authority of the Bible instead of taking the words of friends and teachers above God’s Word. This is especially true regarding moral choices and evolution as well.

Of course, my 3 year old grandson’s “standing on the Word” also illustrates that Christians need to read and study the Bible to adequately wield it in a discussion. Some atheists know the Bible (at least select parts of it) better than many Christians. Sometimes un-prepared Christians find themselves in trouble rather than being “salt and light.”

When we speak at the universities, we frequently find atheists who defend their position by telling us what the Bible says. Many times, they do one of 3 things: misquote the Bible, take the passage out of context, or simply pull something out of thin air.

Although we have heard many arguments utilizing the first two items, we had a very vocal atheist student state why he can’t believe the Bible. He said, “It’s because the Bible says the earth rests on the backs of two turtles.” Of, course, we asked him to show us where it says that in the Bible (It doesn’t.)

So just like this atheist’s appealing to the authority of Scripture (falsely), or with Samuel’s attempt, we must be on our toes! The only way to do that is to know what the Bible actually says first.

I also like to try to figure out how the person got what they say. For the atheist, perhaps he was mixing up eastern mystic religions with Biblical thought. One religion does teach the 2-turtle idea. But where could Samuel have gotten the idea that the Bible says his pajamas were not wet? Perhaps it’s just a 3 year old way to not obey and instead do what he wants. Who can fathom the mind of a 3 year old?  Perhaps he heard in Sunday school, or someplace else, the story of Gideon putting out a fleece (Judges 6: 36-40). Yes, one day the fleece was perfectly dry. Since Samuel had ‘fleece” pajamas, in the 3-year old mind, it could all make sense!

Now you know why we tell students, “Context, context, context! Study the full council of God’s Word.”

 

Dave Nutting

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

Sacred Delight

by Alpha Omega Institute on March 27, 2013 in Johnsons from the Front with No comments

 

Last Sunday, a pastor friend shared these song lyrics by a vocal group named Sunday Drive. The lyrics were a great reminder of what Jesus Christ did upon the cross for each and every one of us that believe in Him. Have you come to the Savior in search of His forgiveness?

 

Sacred Delight

 

Did you smile when you made the moon
And gave the sky its color?
Did creation dance in rhythm to
Your song of life, I wonder?
Did the angels know you knew my name
Did you tell them out of all you made
Why you gave me your image?

Is it true I’m your heartbeat?
And you love me more than anything?

What sacred delight
What infinite wonder
That I’m precious in Your sight
You love me like no other, no other
Oh, sacred delight

Did you think of me the day you died
That I would dare intend this?
Did you know one day I’d come to you
And search of your forgiveness?

Is it true I’m your heartbeat?
And you chose to die than to live without me?
What sacred delight
What infinite wonder
That I’m precious in your sight
You love me like no other, no other
Oh, sacred delight

 

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross …” Heb. 12:2a

 

*Sacred Delight lyrics © BUG MUSIC

Songwriters: MATT HUESMAN, WESTLEY WILLETT

 

Lanny Johnson

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

“I Didn’t Like It – I LOVED It!”

by Alpha Omega Institute on March 26, 2013 in Nuttings from the Front with No comments

 

A young girl, about 9 years old, told Mary Jo that she really enjoyed the Creation evening we did with her church group for kids, saying that it was really fun. Mary Jo asked if she enjoyed the teaching session.
The first part of her answer would cause any speaker’s heart to sink. She said, “No, I didn’t like it!”   After a short pause, she added, “I LOVED it!”     Whew!

The same evening, another 4th or 5th grade girl came to Mary Jo with a question after the teaching session. She wanted to know a commonly asked question – “If God made everything, then who made God?” Mary Jo explained that God was eternal—He was always there –He had no beginning and no end –He is from everlasting to everlasting. She said, “Oh, I’ve been wondering about that for a long time.” She then talked about evolution and that even if there was a Big Bang, then “where did that come from?” She was asking the rhetorical question seeing the problem with the naturalistic (no God) perspective.

These kids are smart! But it shows that the evolutionary squeeze is already tightening around the brains and hearts of even elementary school children. I’m glad for the opportunities Mary Jo and I, as well as the rest of our speaking teams at Alpha Omega Institute, have to impact these young geniuses before they are trapped by anti-God philosophy!

 

Dave Nutting

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

Flying Woes

by Alpha Omega Institute on March 20, 2013 in Nuttings from the Front with No comments

 

A funny thing happened to me on my way to Wichita. Actually, no joke.

Mary Jo, Scott and I drove from Grand Junction to Salt Lake City for a homeschool conference. We had planned for me to speak on Friday night, Mary Jo would speak Saturday morning while I flew to Wichita to be picked up for a 3 day seminar in Kansas.

I arrived at the airport in Salt Lake City surprised to see a huge line for United Airlines. After waiting in line for quite a while, I spotted an unused kiosk to print my boarding passes. When they popped out, a notice on the screen alerted me that my Salt Lake to Denver leg was on time, but the next flight from Denver to Wichita was cancelled. That threw me into scramble mode, as the Kansas group had planned this seminar more than 2 years earlier and I was the only speaker. I don’t like missing seminars!

Snow storms in the Denver area had already caused 218 flights out of Denver to be cancelled. I asked the ticket agent how they expected my flight to Denver to be able to land if they can’t take off. “Good question!” he replied. I queried further as to where it would land if it couldn’t land in Denver. “Back to Salt Lake or to Grand Junction.” Hmmmm… back to where I started. A lot of good that would do me!  (By the end of that day over 600 flights out of Denver were cancelled!)

Even though the airline doesn’t have to accommodate reroutes when flights are cancelled due to weather, United was at least able to get me onto a Delta Airline flight from Salt Lake City direct to Kansas City, MO.  No flights were available to Wichita.

After several phone calls, my ride was on track to get me in Kansas City, MO.

Thanks Abe for being flexible and for driving 4 hours each way to do so!

 

Dave Nutting

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

Dawkins Becomes a Creationist??

by Alpha Omega Institute on March 15, 2013 in Nuttings from the Front with 1 Comment

 

I recently read a blog article entitled, “Dawkins becomes a Creationist.”

The title certainly jerked my head into reading position as I had great hopes that the prolific, atheism-promoting writer, Richard Dawkins, saw the true light. However, the blog article was written by Dr. Karen Dawkins who, as an evolutionist, evolved into a creationist during her college years as a result of seeing evidence for creation and the problems with evolution. She later received her Doctorate from veterinary school, practiced small animal medicine, had a small animal emergency practice, and worked as a pathologist in a toxicology research laboratory.

One creature she mentioned as having had an impact on her thinking is the amazing woodpecker. It also opened up many other unanswered issues of evolution.

She is not the only one who had to give up on evolution after contemplating the tremendous design of the woodpecker. Lanny Johnson, who heads up the children’s department with his wife, Marilyn, also had to come to grips with the implications of the design of the woodpecker, after hearing Mary Jo talk about it at one of our seminars many years ago. It was the door opening for him to re-evaluate his 20 years of Atheism.

I would hope that the remarkable design of the woodpecker, that is so obvious, would continue to peck many more holes in evolutionary philosophy and turn many minds and hearts to our Creator God .

 

Dave Nutting

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing.  Thanks for your partnership.

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