The Trial Begins!
In The Atheist Debater’s Handbook, B.C. Johnson challenged, “If God exists, there will be evidence of this; signs will emerge which point to such a conclusion.”1 This text will provide many “signs” that God exists and demonstrate that His unmistakable fingerprints are present everywhere. As judge and jury, the decision concerning God’s reality and personal relevance is entirely in your hands. As an open-minded juror who recognizes that even the worst modern criminals receive a hearing, I trust that you will fairly allow God a trial before condemning Him.
After listening carefully to the multi-faceted evidence, your verdict must include answers to a few essential questions, including, ‘What or Who is the originator of life?’; ‘What is the purpose of life?’; ‘Does God actually exist?’; ‘Is the Bible a reliable divine document or just a fairy tale?’; ‘Are there good reasons to believe that one theistic faith is superior over all others?’; ‘Is there strong evidence that Jesus really supernaturally rose from the tomb?’ Finally, ‘if a Creator exists, Jesus is the risen Savior and the Bible was divinely authored, then can God enhance human lives and offer eternal life in a place that far exceeds our best dreams?’
I once asked myself these same questions, but more than fifteen years and several thousand research hours within hundreds of scholarly books written by both Christians and those opposed to Christianity have convinced me that today, perhaps more than ever, the answers to these questions are obvious. Becoming a Christian surely does not require intellectual suicide, for the evidence is on our side. Embracing Christianity does not necessitate a blind leap of faith into the dark, for it is founded firmly on verifiable historical facts. The truth of Christianity can be checked out, and it has passed the test. It is a well-founded faith based on facts, not feelings. As Clarence McCartney said, “Any kind of evidence that a reasonable mind could ask for, Christianity has to present.”2
The modern ‘theory of evolution’ will be reasonably decimated in Part I of this expanded second edition, while Part II will provide abundant positive evidence for God’s existence as we embark on a fairly detailed journey from massive universal to miniscule sub-subatomic realms. We will search for God’s creative signature while scaling high mountain peaks, submarining to the lowest ocean depths, strolling through a vibrant forest community and examining the complex architecture of our bodies.
We will discover astounding evidence for the unparalleled divinity of God’s biblical word to man through Part III and will begin to explore proof for the supernatural resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ in Part IV. The appendices offer a personal message from the supreme Creator as well as a response to atheism and man-made religions.
I have found many good reasons to believe in the biblical God and greatly desire for you to sincerely consider what I now know to be true. Following a careful evaluation of the evidence, I hope that you can confidently answer several important questions which will ultimately lead to your personal meeting with the compassionate Creator who wishes to forever transform your life. I now challenge you to open your mind and join me on an information-packed journey as our ‘trial of God’ begins! ____________________________________
CHAPTER 1
Big God or Big Bang? ____________________________________
Since no one can reasonably deny the existence of this material world, we must consequently determine the reason for our presence. Humanity has historically and generally believed this world was created by a divine Designer, but some have more recently theorized that evolution or perhaps a yet unknown process is the reason for life. Logically, only one of these contradictory claims can best answer the most fundamental questions of life. Is it possible to confidently identify the correct belief?
While some contemporary individuals have declared that modern scientific truth overwhelmingly disproves the “archaic” fantasy of Bible-toting creationists, this assertion is unsupported. As Henry Morris, a former evolutionary scientist who became director of the Institute for Creation Research, explained, “Many believe in evolution for the simple reason that they think science has proven it to be a ‘fact’ and, therefore, it must be accepted… In recent years, a great many people, having finally been persuaded to make a real examination of the problem of evolution, have become convinced of its fallacy, and are now convinced anti-evolutionists.”1 Paul Ackerman exposed the actual state of affairs, saying, “The challenge that creation scientists have raised against Darwinian evolution has been carried forward with increasing success in every quarter. (The battle has been) carried into bastions of the educational and scientific establishment where Darwinism in its modern form has had dominance for many decades. These debates have been a triumph for the cause of creationism and an embarrassment for evolutionists.”2
As Robert F. Smith, a member of the Western Missouri Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said in 1980, “For the past five years, I have closely followed creationist literature and have attended lectures and debates on related issues… Based solely on the scientific arguments pro and con, I have been forced to conclude that scientific creationism
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