DECEMBER 2011 WHAT DOES THE ORIGIN OF LIFE MATTER TO A CHRISTIAN? Page 20 CURRENTCURRENT ISSUESISSUES FROMFROM AA DISTINCTLYDISTINCTLY CHRISTIANCHRISTIAN VIEWVIEW THE ORIGIN OF LIFE A STUMBLING BLOCK FOR EVOLUTION NOT ENOUGH FAITH WHAT’S IN A CELL? PANSPERMIA $3.95 forever 16 DECEMBER 2011 18 23 FEATURES INTHISISSUE The Creation of Man: From Dust or Disorder? ..............13 Physically Blessed, Either man came from dust of the ground or he came about Spiritually Responsible.......9 from a state of disorder. … Eddy Gilpin Can We Trust the Not Enough Faith in the World For That…...................16 Both the Creation and Evolution Models require faith. Gospel of John? ................12 But which requires more? … Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Panspermia: The Latest Evolutionary Science Fiction ..18 D EPARTMENTS Richard Dawkins believes life may have come from outer space. But does that really answer the question? … Dewayne Bryant from the editors..................................4 mailbag ..............................................6 A Living Soul ......................................................................20 daily walk ............................................7 Are the brain and soul the same thing—simply a product faith and finance ................................8 of evolution … David Campbell, D.Sc. game plan..........................................10 Why Does the Origin of Life Matter to a Christian?......22 families of faith.................................11 Why does the origin debate play a key role in the issue of absolutely..........................................26 trust and intergrity for the entire Bible? … Steve Higginbotham a woman’s perspective...................27 ................................................................. man to man .......................................28 What’s in a Cell? 23 heart of the matter...........................30 A biochemist considers cellular processes in view a little R&R ........................................31 of the origins debate … Joe Deweese, Ph.D. Professing to Be Wise.........................................................24 Advances in true science have dashed hopes that life somehow spontaneously arose. … Mike Houts THINK / DECEMBER 2011 3 from the editors / Brad Harrub, Glenn Colley, David Longley, and David Shannon The ORIGIN of Life She had sat through eighteen years of Bible classes, from cradle roll What is the truth regarding the origin of life? Textbooks not withstanding, through high school. This young lady was in the church building every time the topic of the origin of life is the Achilles heel of the evolutionary theo- the doors were open, minus a few rare occasions when she came down ry. Biology books wax on eloquently about how just the right conditions could with childhood sicknesses. She was a “poster child” for her congregation— have given rise to some primordial soup, which again under the right con- polite, kind, and she seemed to have a pretty good knowledge of the ma- ditions, could have given rise to DNA particles—which under the right con- terial they covered in Bible class. Eighteen years she spent at the feet of ditions could have replicated and given rise to life. Not just one life either, faithful Christians. but two so that the species could procreate! It’s the biggest leap of faith All of that was unraveled in a mere two years. This young lady went in existence—the theory that non-living things gave rise to living materi- off to college and enrolled in many “core” classes her first two years. Her al. And yet, sadly the vast majority of students look at the charts, the pic- second semester found her sitting in a general biology class discussing tures, and the graphs, and they buy it hook, line, and sinker. the origin of life. She had never heard of the material the professor was A much better and more plausible explanation is the one we find in God’s teaching, and the textbook seemed very convincing. (After all, there were Word when we read Genesis 1. We can read how the living God spoke into colorful pictures, charts, and graphs.) Week by week she began to feel the existence life; the birds, fish, and creeping things. And then after His cre- seeds of doubt and skepticism, but she never talked to anyone about it. ation was complete, He created man in His own image and likeness—breath- In hindsight, this was the first crack in her wall. ing into his nostrils the breath of life. All Christians, both young and old, The following semester she was hit by a one-two punch. She enrolled must be grounded firm enough in the Book about beginnings that they are in general psychology and a survey of world religions. She was not aware able to defend the Biblical worldview of the earth and man’s origin. that her psychology class would begin with the evolution of man and man’s But couldn’t the issue of origins be considered a relatively small mat- brain. And this naive young lady never expected a professor to proclaim ter––interesting fodder for conversation over coffee, but nothing to become too upset about? Not when you consider what’s at stake. First, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). If God is real (and He is), All Christians must be grounded to deny His creation is to excite His wrath. Much is at stake. I cannot ex- pect to live eternally in Heaven if I’ve defiantly denied Him on earth. Sec- firm enough in the Book about ond, to claim we came about from non-living matter is to deny morals; for beginnings that they are able to if there is no Creator, then who has the right to determine and enforce any particular system of morality? The individual man becomes his own high- defend the Biblical worldview est authority. While he may choose to conform to the morals of his soci- ety, he isn’t obligated to do so. Just think of that. of the earth and man’s origin. In this issue of Think, we are going to go back to the beginning—the real beginning––and discuss the origin of life. We pray that this issue will that basically all religions were the same—and that they were all man- be a tool that you can use to teach your family and friends, but we also made institutions. By the final semester of her sophomore year, this young hope it will be a resource for those struggling—those who already have lady had stopped attending church and was now hanging out with a dif- some seeds of doubt that are taking root. As always, we hope that you will ferent group of students. They weren’t bad kids or trouble-makers by any think on these things. L means. In fact, they were considered the “intellectuals” on campus. The one major difference was that none of them took seriously the notion of God. Her spiritual foundation was now crumbled into ruins. All of her doubts and skepticism started with just one question: Where did life come from? This account, like so many others, is not uncommon today. Young peo- ple attend Bible classes, but leave unprepared to actually defend their faith. After enrolling in a university, they hear theories and hypotheses about the origin of life and the Big Bang. It all sounds so plausible, so real. BraD harruB gLenn CoLLey DaviD LongLey DaviD Shannon 4 DECEMBER 2011 / THINK Want your estate to do good works? During this time of year when we are giving thanks and swapping gifts, we hope that you will remember the work of Focus Press. We continue to strive to produce the very best material— material that is sound and looks great—material that you are proud to pass along to friends and neighbors. We would humbly ask you to consider a year-end, tax-deductible donation to the work of Focus Press. With your help more lives will be affected for Him. Donations can be mailed to our office or made online at www.focuspress.org. Focus Press, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization. FocusGIFT CARD Press THE GIFT THAT ALWAYS FITS Focus Press gifts cards are available in any amount and they do not expire. To order that special someone a gift card, call our office at 866-313-6474. mailbag RANDY & MARLENE BAKER Volume 6, Issue 12 • December 2011 Thank you so much for all you do with Think magazine. I have issues going back to 2007 and often © Focus Press, Inc. 2011 use them in teaching ladies’ classes. We decided shortly after subscribing to Think ourselves to give published monthly by Focus Press, Inc. subscriptions to our four children. One of the wonderful things is to have one of the children call and say, “Have you gotten your new Think?” I so enjoy our conversations that follow that question. Editor: Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Thank you for providing an instant conversation with our children. I would encourage all parents of Editor: Glenn Colley Editor: David Shannon grown children to give them a subscription to Think. It gives the generation connection you talked Editor: David Longley, D.O. about in the current October 2011 issue. Again, thank you for Think magazine and may God continue Director of Youth and Culture: to bless you all in your efforts to spread the Truth. Joe Wells, M.Min. KURT & LOIS PFAFF Director of Marriage and Parenting: Steve Minor Enclosed is a contribution to help Focus Press in its effort to spread the Gospel message. We will Editorial Assistant: endeavor to send some financial help each month and at the end of the year. Tonja McRady Creative Director: Nick Long J. L. TAYLOR Office Manager: Saundra Thornton Next Sunday, I will begin a Bible class on Homosexuality and related “lifestyles,” as is PC. I recall Production Manager: Michael Thornton that an issue of Think had the subject in bold print on the front page.