Phil Johnson, Todd Friel, And Another Elephant In The Room

I have refrained from commenting thus far on the much debated Elephant Room conference. The Elephant room conference is a concept developed by Pastor James MacDonald which, in the words of the conference website:

Getting brothers together who believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone but normally don't interact, is what the Elephant Room is all about.

The idea is to get Christians together who agree on the Gospel but have major methodological differences, and thrash out those differences in a no holds barred public conversation. I think it would be fair to say that MacDonald is trying to give off a combative vibe about the conference when people are invited to "get their ringside seats".

I think the concept has a lot of merit in principle and I have always liked James MacDonald and the content of his preaching. I think people like Mark Driscoll, Francis Chan, and Matt Chandler are the perfect candidates for a brotherly debate on methodology. But I took issue with the first Elephant Room conference earlier this year because, I would contend, there was another elephant in the room. When MacDonald invited wannabe rock star pastor Steven Furtick and wannabe tough guy pastor Perry Noble I was quite shocked. I would think that a lot of other things need to be discussed with these guys before we talk about methodology. What about the Gospel elephant in the room? And what about the way they speak to their sheep? (Though I do find the thought of speaking with Steven Furtick without the interference of one of his bodyguards quite appealing.) When Perry Noble has ACDC's Highway To Hell as part of his worship service I think the problems go way deeper than song selection. This all just seemed so beneath Pastor James MacDonald. Many of us scratched our heads and just chalked it up as one of those strange things akin to JI Packer signing the ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement) or John Piper's association with Rick Warren.

But when MacDonald announced Elephant Room 2 (the sequel) and said that TD Jakes would be one of the guests a cyber volcano erupted. A lot of respected theological heavyweights weighed in with very sharp responses. MacDonald does not seem to have taken the criticism especially well but has softened somewhat more recently. But the way he has dealt with the opposition to his invitation of a well known anti-Trinitarian heretic (and that is just one of the myriad of problems with Jakes prosperity man centered theology - see the video at the bottom of this post) by changing the vision statement from "getting brothers together" to "conversation among all kinds of leaders". I seriously question this kind of solution to a problem of this magnitude.

Todd Friel publicly questioned Phil Johnson on this very subject recently and I am grateful that someone was around to video this fascinating conversation. It is 43 minutes long but well worth the listen because Johnson's insights really get to the core of this issue and discernment in general. This is an interesting discussion that would be exceedingly appropriate for the Elephant Room (without the need to buy "ringside" seats):

A Danish Lutheran Who Has Not Bowed To Baal

Yesterday I received this letter from a Lutheran priest in Denmark. He is a good friend who came to our last Reformation Resurrection conference to hear Voddie Baucham. The Lutheran movement in Denmark is unspeakably heretical and blasphemous and loaded with female priests, atheist priests, homosexual priests, and various combinations of all three. But Thomas is a shiny flash of lightning in that dark Lutheran night. It has been such a joy to meet this priest, a man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ passionately and preaches the Gospel faithfully. Like Luther he understands the Law-Gospel distinctive and preaches both rightly - the law to magnify the wrath due to sinners, and the Gospel as the means by which we can avert God's wrath and be reconciled to Him. He informs us that there is a remnant of faithful Gospel preachers in the Lutheran church "who have not bowed their knee to Baal". These priests are known as "black priests" by the dominant liberal factions. Here is what he wrote:

Hi Cameron. Thank you for your encouragement. Actually I have come to a point where I don't care that much if I am being kicked out of this filthy church. I will only stay here as long as God wants me to . . . meaning until the day I will be kicked out . . .

Yesterday we had at church-board meeting in ______, where I was being secerely critizised in general and in particular for my preaching. They complained that my preaching was too clear and scaring people away from the church (central to my preaching is always the total depravity of man and the substitutionary atonement made by Christ, justification, repentance and faith), too long (I ONLY preach half an hour at sundays but "15 minutes" is what they meant) . . . and so they went on and on and on . . . and the worst thing is that the congregation has actually become fewer in my time as a pastor in _______ (though not in the other congregation I pastor). I said to them that it was not out of stubbornness that I did not want to preach anything else, but because the message I deliver simply is my life - I'm bound to that message and I cannot and will not preach anything else. As I said to them: I do not want to stand on the day of judgment and have people looking at me saying: "Why didn't you tell us - why didn't you warn us while you had the opportunity" . . . Jesus is my LIFE! Cameron, I cannot do anything but preach of Him - he has saved me from an eterity under the wrath of almighty God . . . there is nothing good in me - I am wretched, evil, and sinful, but Jesus saved me! I have to preach that, so that other people may see the wonderful Savior I have come to know - Him who took our guilt and nailed it to a tree . . . I have to admit I got very sad and I really cried in the car on my way home. It is tough being in the Danish state-church and more and more often I wish to leave this disgusting and filthy church - but I have come to see, that Christ has his bride also in the midst of this church - there are VERY few left, but they are there! Denmark is an apostate society and contry, but like Elijah I have come to see, that God still has "7000 men" who have not bowed their knee to Baal . . .

Please pray for this priest and I will forward any letters of encouragement that people send to me.

Evolution's "Best" Evidence For Denying The Obvious!

The notes from my recent evolution debate have upset a scientist (or "science expert") called Kristoffer Haldrup. Kristoffer is adamant that evolutionary theory is a scientific fact even though the missing link is still missing. But Kristoffer insists that transitional forms have been found and pointed to "Whale Evolution" as irrefutable proof. Kristoffer said:

VERY many examples of transitional forms [are] known. Transitional forms that are not only known from a sometimes spotty fossil record, but transitional forms that are completely in line with what we have nowadays learned from genetics about the evolution of existing species such as horses, humans and whales . . . And if I should pick just one transitional form, then Ambulocetus is kind of a nice one - something like a small whale with legs, legs well adapted for swimming. This very nicely illustrates how even transitional forms are superbly well adapted to the niche they occupy, like penguins are today . . . There is a plethora of transitional forms, all species or subspecies in their own right and all well adapted to their particular ecological niche.

So now Kristoffer demands that I check out the scientifically verifiable fact of "whale evolution". Behold the science of Whale evolution:

Whale Evolution vs. The Actual Fossil Evidence from Philip Cunningham on Vimeo.

I guess when you can't find a transitional form you have to invent one! How many more "missing links" are they going to trot out before they give up?

Kristoffer tried to put his best construction on the video by pointing out that:

the video actually does manage to underscore why paleontology/evolution is indeed an emprical science. Darwin put forth a theory - bears were the ancestors of whales - with an implicit prediction that intermediate fossils of such a transition should show up. None did, on the contrary, so the theory had to be discarded and was thrown on the midden heap. Later, based on clues from fossil skulls, a theory was proposed that the whale ancestors were more like a now-extinct class of predators called mesonychids, the hyena-like beasties of the video I guess. Alas, new evidence again showed up, this time from genetics, and the theory had to discarded as it was in conflict with the best available evidence. The genetic data predicted (a key feature of empirical science, in addition to falsifiablity like in the two preceding examples) that there should exist an ancestral species with traits similar to the ancestral species of hippos, and now THIS prediction actually held true. Rhodocetus and Pakicetus were found in the Afghan/Pakistani deserts, confirming the general theory of common ancestry with hippos or, more precisely, the artiodactyls. However, as the video shows, there was still room for refinement as early predictions about the anatomy of Rhodocetus were falsified (no flippers) and the theory was corrected to reflect the new evidence. And so it goes, theories are put forth, and as time passes they are either falsified, corrected or confirmed as they are held against evidence old and new. And through this arduous, slow process new knowledge is gradually formed.

Here's some new knowledge I derive from that "arduous, slow process" - maybe the whole theory is wrong! What Kristoffer just said there is long winded scientific code for "we have never found anything that proves our theory so we have to keep trying to find the evidence or invent some". Why won't they even consider the possibility that their theory is wrong? Perhaps zoologist D. M. S. Watson gave the real reason when he said that:

the theory of evolution itself, a theory universally accepted not because it be can proved by logically coherent evidence to be true but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible (D. M. S. Watson, Adaptation, Nature 124 (August 10, 1929), 233)

What we find on earth today is what the Bible has always taught. Life reproducing after its own kind. Cats giving birth to cats. Dogs giving birth to dogs. Humans giving birth to humans. And phony scientific theories giving birth to new phony scientific theories!

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 (Atheist Astrophysicist - Sir Fred Hoyle).

There are gaps in the fossil graveyard, places where there should be no intermediate forms, but there is nothing whatsoever instead. No paleontologist . . . denies that this is so. It is simply a fact. Darwin's theory and the fossil record are in conflict (David Berlinsky).

Scientists concede that their most cherished theories are based on embarrassingly few fossil fragments and that huge gaps exist in the fossil record (Time Magazine 7 Nov 1977)

The evolutionists seem to know everything about the missing link except the fact that it is missing. (GK Chesterton)

Just Added - The Soul Of Science

Nancy Pearcey's important work tracing the true Theistic origins of science has now been added to the resource directory.

THE SOUL OF SCIENCE
Nancy Pearcey
Category: Creation/Evolution
Click Here To Order
A metanarrative has become ingrained in our culture which states that science is the means by which we threw off our religious superstitions and entered a brave new world of reason and progress. Does this metanarrative itself need to be overthrown? In this work Nancy Pearcey explains how Christian theism has played a vital role in the historical development of science. Moreover, the next scientific revolution may bring science back to a point where it will reconsider the possibility that life was designed.

Lame Attempts At Relevance (Part 10)

The Elephant Room conference has caused a lot of controversy in recent times. Most particularly because of certain people who have been invited. I must point out that I am positive about many of the people who were invited to the first Elephant Room conference as well as part 2 that will take place in January. But a few of the guests have left many of us scratching our heads as to what is going on with this conference organized by Pastor James Macdonald. Based on my own limited experience of his preaching as well as all the reports I have heard, James Macdonald is an excellent expositor with a lengthy track record of faithful Gospel preaching - hence the confusion over what he is doing with his conference. I would say that my major grievance with the Elephant Room conference is that the invitation of certain false teachers has left them with another elephant in the room. I hope to discuss this in more detail next week, but before I do that, I thought it necessary to induct another Elephant Room invitee into the "Lame Attempts At Relevance" hall of shame.

If Perry Noble is the tough guy of seeker sensitivity then Steven Furtick is the rock star. And the jury is out as to whether Jesus could even be the opening act for the Steven Furtick show. Furtick doesn't seem to have much time to focus on biblical content in his sermons, which is understandable when you consider how interesting his own life is and the amount of effort he is putting into new and innovative ways to attract people to his church who are dead in sin. And let's face it, a lot of creativity and innovation is required to get dead people to do anything:



3D is about as culturally relevant as 1950's science fiction. Like the poster reveals, 3D was a cutting edge cinematic experience in the 50's. Maybe those churches that are fixated with 80's music aren't thirty years behind after all - at least they're thirty years in front of Furtick. But judging by the size of his congregation, this schtick still works with a lot of people. And that raises another interesting point, what is the purpose of church? Well, Pastor Steven is not short for a word on this subject either:



It would be of tremendous help to Furtick if he actually looked up what the word church means. The Greek word translated church in the New Testament is ekklesia, a compound word composed of ek, meaning "from." or "out of," and kaleo "to call." Together the two words mean, called from, or out of, denoting a company of people chosen and called. A people chosen and called out of the world. Newsflash Pastor Steven, church is for Christians because that is precisely what it is made up of. By all means welcome unbelievers, but when they come try preaching about Jesus Christ instead of about yourself! I am curious to know if anyone has any audio of Furtick actually preaching the Gospel because it seems to be very difficult to find. However, it has been much easier to find videos of Furtick explaining his views on biblical discernment:



Discerners (and admittedly there are bad ones out there) are not the only people that Steven takes aim at. Furtick's seminary training really shines through when he tells his congregation the theological reason why some people don't like rock music in church - "it's because they're stupid!" It also has to be said that Furtick is not overly fond of his critics. So much so, that Steven decided to channel all of his creative energies into a music video dedicated to his critics:



Can you feel the love tonight? But why finish with the lame story of a wannabe rock star pastor? Here is something that is exceedingly creative, innovative, compelling, and . . . . . explains the Gospel! Pastor Steven Furtick, please stop making videos and watch this one instead. It will teach you how to fill a lot of the "gaps" in your ministry:



Go Back To Part 9
Go Back To Part 1

Outrageous Persecution Of Swedish Homeschoolers

Social workers who had police troopers storm a jetliner on which a family was attempting to emigrate to India, to take custody of a young boy over his homeschooling, now have discussed allowing the foster family where he's been staying to take him to Thailand, the boy's father has told World Net Daily.

WND reported only weeks ago that the social workers responsible for removing Domenic Johannson from his parents had called for a court hearing to consider moving custody permanently away from the family and to the government.

That word had come from officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which along with the Alliance Defense Fund already has elevated the dispute involving Christer and Annie Johannson and their son, Domenic, of Sweden to the European Court of Human Rights.

The American groups working on behalf of the Johannsons have assembled a petition webpage for those interested in expressing their alarm over the situation to the Swedish government.

Domenic, now 10 after his birthday just a few weeks ago, has been in the custody of social services and in foster homes in Sweden since the middle of 2009, when as a 7-year-old he was snatched from a jetliner he and his parents had boarded to move to India, his mother's home country.

Michael Donnelly, director of international relations for HSLDA, told WND when the social services workers sought the court hearing, "The only way I can think of describing the way the Swedish social and judicial systems have treated the Johansson family is barbaric – the harm done to them is beyond comprehension.

"Their most basic of human rights have been violated and no civilized country should permit this kind of treatment," he continued. "If the Swedish judicial system permits the termination of the Johansson's parental rights because of homeschooling, missed vaccinations and a few cavities it will have become the darkest of regimes for families in Western Europe."

In a communication addressed to WND today, Christer Johannson said the controversial case has decimated his family by piling tragedy upon tragedy. He spoke of how his own father and mother, Domenic's grandparents, and an uncle had sought to meet with Domenic

"My mother and father then waited for the day to arrive, but the social services called up, I believe, late the night before meeting, or the same morning and said, 'Domenic does not want to see you now,' and they canceled that meeting," he told WND.

Later, they called again to set up a meeting.

"Domenic especially wanted to see his grandma … finally at the meeting, Domenic ran to my dad and my brother, only to hear that his grandmother and best friend had passed away that morning."

He said Domenic's last memory of his grandmother is when armed police officers came to "recapture" him last Thanksgiving after Christer had taken him home to see family members following a court-supervised visit.

For that visit, Christer spent weeks in jail.

The latest on the custody dispute, he said, is that social workers "wish to move the custody to the other family now, permanently."

He said an attorney is reviewing that demand.

"Thank God, I can't even read them [court documents] anymore," he told WND.

"They want to have a hearing about this in the local court fast as well," he continued, "Domenic told [his uncle] and my father, Rune, at the meeting, 'They will take me to Thailand this winter.'

"The latest thing I heard from the social [workers] was, 'We reject a meeting with you to discuss all the errors that have been made by us in the past. Instead, talk to the courts.'"

The father told WND apparently the discussion is to allow the foster family to take Domenic to Thailand, a trip that would involve required vaccinations to which he and his wife, Annie, have strong objections.

The issue also was raised before the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe at its annual human rights meeting.

WND has reported that several other cases in which children were taken by authorities in Sweden were resolved over recent months when parents had a private detective literally abduct their own children from social services and reunite the families in another country.

That work drew the qualified praise of Ruby Harrold-Claeson, president of the Nordic Committee for Human Rights, which was founded in Copenhagen in 1996. The group aims to "increase the rights and freedoms of private individuals and their families and strengthen respect for basic human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Nordic countries."

Harrold-Claeson has been involved in some of the most notorious child-custody cases, including the Johansson case. In fact, her involvement so alarmed local judicial officials that they ordered the Johansson family to be represented by an attorney of the court's choosing instead of Harrold-Claeson.

WND also reported that the father, Christer Johansson, was jailed for two months for taking Domenic home from court-ordered foster care for a visit last Thanksgiving.

The case developed in mid-2009 when social services and police forcibly took custody of Domenic, then 7, because they worried he was homeschooled. The local courts later denied the parents the legal representation they sought from Harrold-Claeson, demanding instead they be represented by a government-approved attorney. The courts ultimately ruled the state must keep custody of Domenic.

Harrold-Claeson said it was strange that social service agents don't realize that their interventions in families by removing the children and placing them in foster homes among total strangers are more traumatizing than the eventual problems of the parents.

She also said Swedish authorities believe "children are the property of the state to be bought and sold as commodities. Taking children into care and placing them in foster homes is an … industry in which children's and the parents and relatives and their health – both physical and mental – is destroyed beyond repair."

She told WND that the state "has decided to usurp the powers of the parents and replace parental authority over children by delivering them into the hands of the civil servants, who per definition should be servants, not masters."

She called on Americans to condemn such practices and watch their own backs, since she's seen similar practices developing in the U.S.

The case also is being followed by a blog called FriendsofDomenic.

Gustaf Hofstedt, president of the local social services board in Gotland, Sweden, where the family lives, earlier told WND by telephone from Sweden that there is more to the dispute than homeschooling, but he refused to explain.

"I understand the public debate has been that is a case that is only concerning the fact of homeschooling," he told WND. "But that is not the case."

Asked to explain, he said, "I can't answer that question because of secrecy."

Social services workers since then have declined to respond to WND questions submitted via email.

Article courtesy of World Net Daily.

Exposing And Expelling Heretics (Part 15)

Today we pick up from where we left off last week on our expository journey through the Epistle of Jude. Verse 8 of Jude's Epistle gives four characteristics of apostates that infiltrate the church. Last week we looked at the first of these, which is that they are dreamers or the kind of people who appeal to some extra-biblical revelation to elevate themselves in the congregation. They may have a special "anointing" or been given a special "vision" by God. Today we will look at the second characteristic in verse 8 which is that these false teachers "defile the flesh". This is a part of my verse by verse exposition through the Epistle of Jude for our church plant in Denmark - Kristuskirken.

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. (Jude 1-8)

Jude 8 says that apostates "defile the flesh". They are marked by underlying carnality and sensuality. John Macarthur describes this when he says:

Flesh means here the body, physical body. It's not talking about the essence of depravity in Romans 7, you can't defile that , it's already defiled. This is talking about sarx,the actual body. And the word defiled is from a verb miaino, it means to stain, to dye something, like you dye clothing, material. It means to pollute, it means to corrupt. And when you link staining, polluting, corrupting with the word sarx,or flesh, it speaks of sexual sin and immorality. Apostate false teachers are inevitably immoral. It may not be publicly visible, because they cover it up. But the corruption is unrestrained, it has to be because they have abandoned the truth.

Along with sexual immorality, a far more visible characteristic of defiling the flesh is the apostate's materialism and love of worldly wealth. Jude goes on to describe this in verse 11:

Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. (Jude 11)

The prophet Ezekiel was instructed by God to speak out about this behavior:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. (Ezekiel 34:2-3)

Paul also proclaimed a damning indictment upon those who preach material prosperity:

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:3-16)

This is a startling passage and explicit enough to make many of us wonder how so many extortioner preachers get away with their brazen appeals for money and promises of prosperity. The King James Version actually includes the phrase "from such [people] withdraw thyself". Luther's 95 Theses which were the fuse for the reformation were initially provoked by the disgraceful Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences. Luther also did some very good "stand up" on the subject:



But if you thought indulgences died out in the reformation then think again . . .



There is a lot of outrage at the moment over TD Jakes' invitation to the Elephant Room conference because he denies the historic biblical doctrine of the Trinity. But as you can see from the video, the problems with "the Bishop" TD Jakes go way beyond that!

Closing on a positive note, if you are wondering what to look for in a faithful pastor of the flock then listen to Paul's instructions on what characterizes a true shepherd:

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:7-9)

Next week we'll take a look at the third characteristic of an apostate as found in Jude verse 8 - they reject authority!

Go Back To Part 14
Go Back To Part 1

More Of Objection 2 - Evolution Debate (Part 8)

Objection 2 for the recent debate involved the complete absence of any transitional forms in the fossil record. And no Kristoffer, variation within a species does not qualify, nor does reconstructing a caveman from a pigs tooth. For evolution to be true you need to have transitional forms at the macro level ie dinosaurs transitioning to birds and apes transitioning to men. But the problems go further than that and we will today take a look at some "scientific" transitional forms that will occur in the future.

Several years ago Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron insulted the intelligence of the "scientific community" with their own fictitious transitional forms.



Perhaps it was foolish of Ray and Kirk to insult everybody's intelligence when modern science could do a vastly superior job . . . of insulting everybody's intelligence. If you sometimes wonder where your tax money goes, I can tell you about one place. The Future is Wild is a website demonstrating the evolutionary speculations of a group of highly recognized and accredited scientists (including people from places like Harvard and the Natural History Museum). This is how they present themselves:

From the beginning we wanted The Future is Wild to be about more than simply guesswork, so we recruited 16 scientists from top institutions around the world to provide the scientific basis for the project.

They're experts in fields such as geology, climatology and biology, and together they painstakingly projected where evolution and planetary events might take the Earth 5 million, 100 million and 200 million years from now.

So how did they do it?:

Building a vision of the planet aeons from now isn't straightforward, even when you involve some of the world's best scientists. But nature does work to certain rules which we can use to make predictions . . . using this data our biologists can project what plants and creatures might evolve and how they might behave - to create the living, breathing worlds of The Future Is Wild.

Everything you'll see is based on the best available science. No event or animal is outside the realms of possibility. It could all happen - so get ready for the voyage of a million lifetimes!

Note: They say "the best available science" without actually telling us what it is. Yeah, trust me I wear a white coat with a pocket protector - believe everything I say!!! They go on to say:

Every animal and plant in The Future is Wild could really exist. Our science team devised each one as a viable, living organism. Their place in the environment, their life cycle and their place in the food chain are all authentic.

The mathematics of their sizes and shapes and the technology of their movements were all calculated. It’s not surprising that our scientists talk about them as if they really existed!

Yes they were calculated but we're not going to tell you how we did that. Great science guys! But this is not science fiction - no way!

Populating the future world with new creatures wasn't blind guesswork or science fiction. There's a whole series of rules of how life evolves that we can test by looking back at the past. All we had to do was apply the same rules to the future and then add a little imagination!

Oh, add a little "imagination" . . . very scientific. Forget Ray and Kirk's crocoduck. These futuristic transitional forms are a legitimate contribution from the "scientific community". Things like the Mega Squid:


Here is the Megasquid FACT FILE:

Time zone: 200 million years

Type: Land-living cephalopod or squid

Size: 4m tall, weighs 8 tonnes

Ancestor: Deep sea squid

Lives: In the Northern Forest

Eats: Fruit, leaves, small animals including squibbons

Eaten by: Nothing

Behaviour: The megasquid is king of the forest. Since it has no enemies, it can live for up to 50 years. An invertebrate, meaning it has no backbone or skeleton, it has strong muscles in its 8 thick legs. These need to be strong enough to support such a large body. It has a strange walking style. Moving at no more than a human walking pace it shuffles forwards a few legs at a time. As it marches through the forest it makes aloud bellowing to let other creatures know that this is its territory.

Feeding: Because they are not warm-blooded endothermic animals like mammals, they need far less food. They are not fussy eaters, feasting on anything in its path, including leaves, shoots and other animals which it grabs from the trees with its long grasping tentacles.

Breeding: Not known.

Wow! At least they had the humility to admit that they did not know how this big Megasquid would make baby land dwelling Megasquids. So this branch of science does have limits after all! What else did they come up with? I'll leave you with just a couple more: How about a flying fish with a lion's jaw and a 120 ton turtle . . . and it's all "scientific":




Now my intelligence is way more insulted. Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron should have left it to the experts after all!

Go On To Part 9
Go Back To Part 7
Go Back To Part 1

Just Added - Faith, Form, And Time

Kurt Wise's excellent defense of the Young Earth Creationist position has now been added to the resource directory.

FAITH, FORM, AND TIME
Kurt Wise
Category: Creation/Evolution
Click Here To Order
Darwinian theories of the universe, although mostly rejected by evangelical Christians, have still found their way into creation theology. A concept such as evolutionist creation has watered down much of the Bible's teaching in order to reconcile with popular tenants of science. The whole controversy swirls around the age of the universe. Dr. Kurt Wise, an associate professor of science and director of the Center for Origins Research and Education at Bryan College, shows from solid biblical teachings and scientific confirmation why young universe creation is correct. Beginning with God and His Word as the standard, Wise demonstrates how the biblical witness teaches that the age of the universe is not as old as Darwinian theory would contend. He also demonstrates how all issues raised by evolutionists can be answered not only by the Bible, but also by scientific data and research, nailing shut macroevolution's coffin.

RC Sproul On Reformation Day

It was wonderful yesterday to attend church and commemorate the Protestant Reformation. My friend Mikael preached a thrilling sermon on the imputed righteousness of Christ, how wonderful this reality is to be forgiven and declared righteous, and how all gospels that deny this (including Catholicism to this very day) are false.

In honor of Reformation day RC Sproul at Ligonier Ministries has written the following article which I just had to post here. And guess what, if you scroll down to the bottom you can click on a link where you can get a special free download of a children's audio book by RC Sproul in honor of this historic day. Be quick, the free download is available for a limited time!


On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther tacked up 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg. With this act, he hoped to provoke a discussion among the scholars about the abuses of the indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church. He was not trying to create a public furor by any means, but within a fortnight, these theses had spread through the country like wildfire. The last thing Luther had in mind was to start some kind of major controversy, but nevertheless major controversy did begin.

From the discussions at Wittenberg, the disputations began to accelerate and escalate. Copies of the theses reached Rome and critical meetings were scheduled with the young monk. In these debates, Luther was maneuvered into proclaiming publicly that he had questions about the infallibility of church councils and also that he thought that it was possible that the pope could err. In 1520 a papal encyclical was issued which condemned Martin Luther as a heretic. Luther burned the document in a public bonfire and his defiance before the church was now a matter of record.

In response, Martin Luther picked up his pen to challenge the entire penitential system of the Roman Catholic Church, which undermined in principle the free remission of sins that is ours in the gospel. By doing so, he was unswervingly advocating his commitment to sola fide, the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

In 1521, Luther was summoned to the Imperial Diet, an authoritative meeting that involved the princes of the church, called by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to be held in the city of Worms in Germany. Luther was an outlaw. For him to appear at the Diet was to risk his very life; therefore, he was given safe conduct by the Emperor to attend. With a few friends, Luther traveled from Wittenberg to Worms. The eyewitnesses of that episode tell us that when Luther’s little covered wagon appeared around the corner of the bend, there were lookouts posted in the church tower at Worms. All the people were agog waiting for the arrival of this notorious person. When Luther’s caravan was sighted, people were throwing their hats in the air, blowing trumpets, and creating all the fanfare of the arrival of the hero. It was the 16th century answer to a ticker-tape parade.

Things, however, became very solemn in a hurry because the next day he appeared before the Diet. His books were stacked on a table in the room, and he was asked and ordered to recant of his writings. This surprised Luther because he thought he was going to have an opportunity to defend his writings; but the only question really of any importance that was asked of him was this: “Are these your writings?” And when he said yes, they said, “Are you ready to recant of them?”

Hollywood has their version of Luther standing there boldly with his fist in the air saying, “Here I stand!” and so on. But instead he dropped his chin on his chest and muttered something that nobody could understand, so they asked him to speak up. “What did you say?” He said, “May I have 24 hours to think about it.” And so Luther was granted a reprieve of 24 hours to return to his room to contemplate the seriousness of this occasion.

The prayer that Luther wrote in that ensuing 24-hour period was one of the most moving prayers I have ever read in my life. In that prayer, Luther cried out for God in his sense of total loneliness fearing that God had abandoned him, and proclaimed, “O Lord, I am Thine, and the cause is Thine, give me the courage to stand.”

And on the morrow, Luther was called once again back to the court and was told to reply to the question. He said to the Diet, “Unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.” And with that there was an instant uproar.

The Emperor himself later indicated his regret that he even gave Luther a safe conduct, and immediately put a new price on his head. As Luther was leaving the city, his friends staged a kidnapping to protect him and took him away in a fast horse through the forest. They hid him for a year in Wartburg at the castle disguised as a knight. During that year, Luther undertook the task of translating the Bible from the biblical languages into German. And that perhaps was his most important legacy of that time - that he made the Bible available to the common people. And with that the Reformation was born.

—R.C. Sproul (from the series, Heroes of the Christian Faith)

Click Here To Download A Free Audio Book By RC Sproul (for a limited time only).