Part of the challenge of getting Americans to think about God is that they’ve become so used to God that they take Him for granted. But what are the implications if God did not exist?
One of our guests we will be interviewing later this summer is philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig. He has written, “If there is no God, then meaning, value, and purpose are ultimately human illusions. They are just in our heads. If atheism is true, then life is really objectively meaningless, valueless, and without purpose, despite our subjective beliefs to the contrary.”
If God does not exist, then both people and the universe are inevitably doomed to death with no hope of immortality. Our lives lead only to the grave. Life is but a spark in that blackness, a spark that appears, flickers, and dies forever. What is the consequence of this worldview? If each individual passes out of existence when he or she dies, then what ultimate meaning can be given to this life? Does it really matter in the end whether we ever existed at all? Ultimately it makes no difference.
In a world without God, who can say whose values are right or wrong? Think of what that means! It means it’s impossible to condemn war, oppression, or crime as evil. Nor can you praise generosity, self-sacrifice, and love as good. To murder or to love is morally equivalent. In a universe without God, good and evil do not exist—there is only the bare, valueless fact of existence. There is no one to say you are right and I am wrong.
I hope you begin to understand the gravity of the alternatives before us. For if God exists, then there is hope for humanity. If God does not exist, then all we are left with is despair. One writer has aptly put it, “If God is dead, then man is dead, too.”
Atheist Richard Dawkins admits he has four gaps he needs to fill to complete his philosophical framework. They include the gap of how life came from non-life, the gap of morality, the gap of consciousness, and the gap of sexuality. These are pretty big gaps!
So these are the key questions in our world today. This month we are going to tackle, where did life come from? How did we get here? What brought us into existence? Is there solid scientific evidence that points to an all-powerful, all loving Intelligent Designer who gives purpose and meaning to human existence? If so, it’s important to know this.
The Mystery of the Missing Fossils
In most high schools and colleges, the answer that is given to “Where did we come from?” is Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution that is presented as an established fact of science rather than an unproved theory. But few people know that many leading scientists, in their peer review literature, are rejecting Darwin’s theory. One of the most important reasons is the Cambrian Explosion of animals in the fossil record because complex, fully formed animals suddenly appear, with no prior ancestors.
In our new series this month entitled “The Mystery of the Missing Fossils,” I talk with Dr. Stephen Meyer, PhD in the Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University. He is the co-founder of the Intelligent Design movement and serves at the Discovery Institute. He is also the best-selling author of Darwin’s Doubt and Signature in the Cell.
In our first 4 programs, we will show you clips from a beautiful scientific documentary movie about the astonishing evidence that has been found in the Cambrian fossil record. The reason this is so important is that this fossil evidence stands directly against Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
We will also explain why the evidence shows an all-powerful Intelligent Designer is a better scientific explanation than Darwinism for the sudden appearance of fully formed animals in the fossil record. The 4 programs in “The Mystery of the Missing Fossils” are available as a Blu-ray and DVD combo set for a gift of $49.
The Case for Intelligent Design
We also produced a second series with Dr. Meyer I have entitled “The Case for Intelligent Design.” In his book The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin admitted he did not know how the first simple cell came into existence. 150 years later, molecular biologists know that the human cell is not simple, but complex beyond belief. Via animation we will take you into the human cell so you can see the evidence for yourself. Here again, you will see why an all-powerful Intelligent Designer is a better scientific explanation than Darwinism for the origin of the genetic information in the DNA molecule. The 4 programs in this series are also available for a gift of $49.
Then third, we are making available the documentary movie “Darwin’s Dilemma.” Through state-of-the-art computer animation you will be transported back in time to the Cambrian Period and see the geologically sudden appearance of dozens of major complex animal types. You will witness the vast intelligence God used to design the first animals. We are making this beautiful documentary movie available on DVD for $30.
And if you would like all 3 of these new items together, including both of our new series with Dr. Meyer and documentary movie “Darwin’s Dilemma,” they are available in a special package for a gift of $100. Please see the enclosed card for details.
God Is at Work
Last month I shared with you some of the amazing ways God is working to provide for the needs of our ministry. Generous friends of The John Ankerberg Show have given $500,000 in matching gift funds so we can bring the gospel to people around the world in their own languages.
As a result of these gifts, we are sending our first programs to be translated into Hebrew for broadcast across Israel and the Middle East all the way to Russia.
But we have not taken the opportunities available to us to broadcast in Arabic, Finish, Spanish, and French simply because we do not yet have funds to do so.
Maybe you have heard me speak about this on TV. We need to raise $1 million to take these networks. We are halfway there with the $500,000. But I’m asking every one of our friends if you would give a gift this month to help us present the gospel in these new languages. Whatever size gift you give this month will be doubled.
If you give a gift of $25 it will become $50; $50 becomes $100; $100 becomes $200; and $500 becomes $1,000. For those of you who can give larger gifts, $50,000 becomes $100,000. I hope that you will feel God’s leading and will trust us to use your gifts to reach people during this extraordinary time of outreach.
Our Gift to You
In addition to doubling the size of your gift, I would also like to say thank you by providing you a choice of two special DVD collections.
First is our “Ultimate Science Package.” This special collection includes programs on astronomy, the origin of life, DNA, the scientific evidence that supports Genesis 1 and 2, the problems new scientific discoveries are causing contemporary evolutionary thought, and much more. It includes 42 half-hour television programs and 3 study guides (see the enclosed card for details).
Regular pricing for this special collection would normally cost $455. But if you will send a gift of $100 or more this month, your gift will be matched and I will send this entire collection to you.
Second, if you are interested in biblical prophecy and current events, we are making available “The Ultimate Prophecy Package.” This special collection contains 40 television programs featuring 17 prophecy experts and six study guides—nearly 24 hours of prophecy content.
My guests on these television series include Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, retired 3-star General William G. Boykin, Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. Zola Levitt, Dr. Tim LaHaye, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, Dr. Renald Showers, Dr. David Breeze, Dr. John Walvoord, and many others. Our prophecy collection normally costs $466. But if you will give a gift of $100 or more, I will give this as our thank you to you.
If you wish, you may also request both collections together for only $200. Again, your generous gift will be matched.
Reaching the World Together
Finally, please pray that people throughout the world who watch will place their faith in Jesus and believers will be strengthened. Over 6,000 people in Russia have visited our website in the last 30 days. Pray for them. Pray God will supply the other $500,000 we need to reach out to others. Thank you for all that you do.
For the sake of the Gospel,
Dr. John Ankerberg
The post Ankerberg Monthly Letter July 2015 appeared first on Ankerberg Theological Research Institute, John Ankerberg Show.