Why Atheism Is A Religion

What is religion?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary;

1 a : the state of a religious, eg. a nun in her 20th year of religion

b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness

4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith — re·li·gion·less adjective (emphasis mine)

Please observe definition #4. Even though religion is commonly known to only be associated with belief in God or some higher power, by definition, it does not have to be. Any cause! Any principle! Any system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith is RELIGION. Now check this out....

Richard Dawkins - Scholar, Best Selling Author of "The God Delusion", Renowned Atheist Thinker

Here's an interesting excerpt from an interview with leading atheist Richard Dawkins;

In Dawkins' view, there is a battle taking place in Britain between the forces of reason, and religious fundamentalism and it is far from won. He is one of its most famous and prolific combatants - but the question might be whether he is among its most effective. The God Delusion's stated aim was to "convert" readers to atheism - but he admits that as a proselytising tool it has broadly failed. "Yes," he smiles. "I think that was a bit unrealistic. A worthwhile aim, but unrealistic."

In fact, Dawkins has been described as "the biggest recruiter for creationism in this country". Critics accuse him of an imaginative failure when it comes to human nature's susceptibility to the comfort of irrational thought. They say his intellectual intolerance alienates people, and have questioned his wisdom in attacking a target such as the comedian Peter Kay, for admitting to finding faith comforting. "How can you take seriously," Dawkins notoriously scorned, "someone who likes to believe something because he finds it 'comforting'?" (emphasis mine)

Source - 'People say I'm strident'; An Interview with Richard Dawkins by Decca Aitkenhead, The Guardian, Saturday 25 October 2008  

Richard Dawkins is an atheist. He is also religious. His admittedly failed attempt to "convert" readers to atheism with the book "The God Delusion" was a perfect example. Our religion believes in God. His religion does not. Atheism is not anti-religion. It's anti-religions that believe in God. As long as the object of a religion is not any form of God it offers no challenge to atheism. Hence, Dawkins is a religious leader with a faithful following of believing "non-believers".


His war against "religion" is really not a war against "religion" because that doesn't make any logical sense. If it was, then he would be at war with himself. In fact, maybe he is. Maybe that's the answer. He's as much conflicted as the people he desires to enlighten. Since he cannot prove God's non-existence, his disbelief of God's existence and adamant opposition to the belief of others is a religious position. I'm religious and I have no problem with that. At least I'm not denying it.


Atheism is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as;

a : a disbelief in the existence of deity
b : the doctrine that there is no deity


We believe in God! Atheists don't! We have our doctrines! They have theirs! The war between Christianity and Atheism is not a war between religion and reason. It's another religious war like the one against Islam but in the end there will be only one winner.

Here's another quote from the interview with Richard Dawkins;

Does he ever, I ask, envy people who believe in God?

"No." He shakes his head firmly. Even though faith is said to be so famously comforting?

"You see," he says, "I'm so eager to say well maybe it is comforting but so what? I suspect that for every person who is comforted by it, there will be somebody else who is in mortal fear of it." Does he not envy those who manage not to find God mortally fearful?

"If I envied them that, then I'd have to envy people who are on some drug, which just makes them feel good. So to the extent that religion's comforting, it's probably not ..."

Dawkins likes to joke that old people go to church because they're "cramming for the final". He never worries that one day in old age he may wake and find himself feeling drawn towards faith, though. If he did, he would put it down to senile dementia. He seems much more worried about spurious reports of a fictitious deathbed conversion being put about by his enemies after he dies. He is probably not joking at all when he says "I want to make damn sure there's a tape recorder running for my last words." (emphasis mine)

Source - 'People say I'm strident'; An Interview with Richard Dawkins by Decca Aitkenhead, The Guardian, Saturday 25 October 2008

Wanna be sure a tape recorder's running as you lay in your deathbed? Oh, that won't be a problem. :-)

Matthew 12:36-37(NLT) - And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

The Death of an Atheist

Christopher Hitchens - British/American Intellectual, Writer, Renowned Atheist (13 April 1949-15 December 2011)

Last year, I was fascinated by a heated public debate between Christopher Hitchens and Tony Blair entitled, "Is Religion A Force For Good In The World?" As the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Blair was already a global household name but it was really that debate which made me take notice of Hitchens. Blair argued for the affirmative while Hitchens vigorously opposed.

Both men exhibited unusual intelligence and presented compelling arguments which kept me riveted to the television screen. However, Blair was no modern-day Apostle Paul with a comprehensive understanding of Apologetics so Hitchens seemed to have the upper hand. Nonetheless, I actually learned a few things that I plan to use to my advantage in future debates of my own.

Here's what Paul Harris of The Guardian, UK had to say in the article; "Christopher Hitchens 1-0 Tony Blair"

Both men were unabashedly stalwart in their positions. Hitchens, one of the leading "new atheists" and author of the hit book God Is Not Great, slammed religion as nothing more than supernatural gobbledegook that caused untold misery throughout human history. "Once you assume a creator and a plan it make us subjects in a cruel experiment," Hitchens said before causing widespread laughter by comparing God to "a kind of divine North Korea".


Blair, perhaps not surprisingly, was a little less forthright. On the backfoot for much of the debate he kept returning to his theme that many religious people all over the world were engaged in great and good works. They did that because of their faith, he argued, and to slam all religious people as ignorant or evil was plain wrong. "The proposition that religion is unadulterated poison is unsustainable," he said. Blair called religion at its best "a benign progressive framework by which to live our lives".

Christopher Hitchens died last week after battling with cancer. For him the debate is now over and that's no laughing matter. 

Here's a short excerpt from his orbituary at BBC News;

Religion, or rather his complete rejection of it, would remain a target throughout his life. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2010, he told one interviewer: "No evidence or argument has yet been presented which would change my mind. But I like surprises."

SURPRISE!

Hebrews 9:27(KJV) - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

When people die, there is no more need for compelling arguments or reliable evidence. The truth is laid bare before their eyes. There will be no more need for discussion. It's a harsh reality that some are yet to grasp.

Here's a simple argument. What if The Bible's wrong and there's nothing after death? At least we who believed, enjoyed full lives on earth benefiting from a fictitious relationship with a God who seemingly was actively involved in our daily lives. However, what if The Bible's right? Life on earth regardless of what it is like will be the best time ever for everyone who rejects Christ. Why? Nothing's worst than the eternity they will spend in hell. There's only one way to prove who's right. DIE!

1 John 2:1(KJV) - My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Finally, Scientists Have "Found" The God Particle!

It's official. Scientists are one step closer to discovering God.... um... The God Particle.

Here's what Makiko Kitamur of Bloomberg News had to say yesterday, Tuesday, December 13th in "Scientists Get Closer to Locating ‘God Particle’ in Collider Experiments." Pay close attention to the phrase in bold print.

Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research have narrowed the range where the hypothetical “God particle” created at the beginning of the universe may be found, closing in on evidence of its existence.

The particle, also known as Higgs boson, most likely has a mass in the region between 116 and 130 gigaelectronvolts of energy being studied by one research team and between 115 and 127 gigaelectronvolts under observation by another team, according to data presented today by the Geneva-based research institute. Independent measurements point to a range of 124 to 126 gigaelectronvolts, researchers said.

The Higgs boson, named after U.K. physicist Peter Higgs, in theory allows other particles to have mass. Finding the Higgs boson could be a gateway to discovering new physics, such as superparticles or dark matter, part of the universe’s building material that went missing at the beginning of time. While the scientists found “tantalizing hints” of the particle, it’s too early to say whether it exists, the scientists said. (emphasis mine)

OK, maybe they didn't actually find The God Particle but I guess now they have a better idea of where to look. :-)

From Faith Science - Where Faith and The Scientific Method Collide;

Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva along the Franco-Swiss border with the Large Hadron Collider and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FERMILAB) near Chicago, Illinois, with the Tevatron Collider have been actively involved in some important research. In an effort to identify the source of mass, they are currently seeking ways to definitively isolate the Higgs Boson, or God Particle. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the Higgs Boson is “a hypothetical elementary particle that has zero spin and large mass that is required by some gauge theories to account for the masses of other elementary

particles.”

Therefore, they are attempting to prove what has been accepted theoretically for a long time. Apparently, elementary particles essentially have no measurable mass without the Higgs Boson. Thus, the absence or presence of measurable mass does not define the existence of a particle. Based on this theory, all particles actually exist apart from mass that can be quantified. If you can understand this simple fact, it will revolutionize the way you think about everything in life. We have always known that visibility does not define existence because many essential elements in life are invisible, like the air we breathe.

Yet, it was understood that even invisible elements have some level of infinitesimal mass. Now scientific researchers are out to prove that particles in existence can be both invisible and massless. When God created the earth, could it be that he combined the Higgs Boson with invisible, mass-less particles that were already in existence? Why not? If that’s what gives a particle its mass, isn’t every particle in existence essentially mass-less apart from the Higgs Boson? So when we consider items with mass to be more real than items without mass, we make as much scientific sense as a person who concludes that something doesn’t exist because it can’t be seen.

The Danger of "Thinking" Christians

Proverbs 25:2(MSG) - God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things.

God knows all things and by His design, we don't. However, the goal of scientists is to discover truth. Well, at least it should be. Sometimes, it's the real truth but many times it's the desired truth. When we're presented with evidence, we don't always believe what we see but we do see what we believe. Therefore, what really matters in science is not just the presentation of evidence but the interpretation of the presented evidence. Anyway, people of faith can learn a thing or two from scientists.

Facing religious arguments against his scientific pursuits, 15th century Italian physicist Galileo Galilei said “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

Job 35:9-11(MSG) - "When times get bad, people cry out for help. They cry for relief from being kicked around, But never give God a thought when things go well, when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts, When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom, using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

Join me as we enter God's science classroom.

Ex nihilo nihil fit–Latin, “Out of nothing, comes nothing” a phrase originated by the Scholastics in claiming that the universe needs God as its cause because something cannot be created out of nothing.

Source: A Dictionary of Common Philosophical Terms, Gregory Pence, published by Mc Graw-Hill

Something from nothing. Life from non-life. Non-directed order from total chaos. Universal moral law but no law-giver. Simple, logical ideas that strengthen the secular position don't seem so logical after all, don't they? If we really want to push the issue there is a lot of low hanging fruit out there for us to pick on.

That's why "thinking" Christians are so dangerous. The same way critics use logic to pick apart the Christian position, "thinking" Christians can return the favor. Why not?

Will the world end in 2012?

Matthew 24:30(KJV) - And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

I remember when the rumor surrounding 2012 began to spread like wildfire across the globe. It was a hit in Hollywood with even a movie of the same name. "Scientists" supported the idea. It was the talk of the town. Even popular Christian televangelists jumped on the bandwagon. However, I did not even consider it until people started contacting our ministry with questions a few years ago. 

Then in 2009, NASA took the time to analyze the issue and posted the results on their official Government website, NASA.GOV in the article, 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

Here's a short excerpt;

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice. 

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012. -

Source - 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

One of the main pieces of evidence put forth to support the claim of a 2012 Apocalypse was the end of the Mayan Calendar. Apparently, the calendar ends on December 21, 2012 so it was assumed that we would end with the calendar. Few publicly questioned the evidence nor the interpretation until Wednesday when Sven Gronemeyer of La Trobe University in Australia put it to rest.

Here's what ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON of Associated Press had to say in the article, "Expert: Mexico glyphs don't predict apocalypse."

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The end is not near.
At least that's according to a German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and not a possible end of the world as others have read it.
The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer of La Trobe University in Australia was presented for the first time Wednesday at the archaeological site of Palenque in southern Mexico.
His comments came less than a week after Mexico's archaeology institute acknowledged there was a second reference to the 2012 date in Mayan inscriptions, touching of another round of talk about whether it predicts the end of the world.
Gronemeyer has been studying the stone tablet found years ago at the archeological site of Tortuguero in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
He said the inscription describes the return of mysterious Mayan god Bolon Yokte at the end of a 13th period of 400 years, known as Baktuns, on the equivalent of Dec. 21, 2012. Mayans considered 13 a sacred number. There's nothing apocalyptic in the date, he said.
The text was carved about 1,300 years ago. The stone has cracked, which has made the end of the passage almost illegible.

Source -  "Expert: Mexico glyphs don't predict apocalypse." by Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press

Matthew 24:35-37(KJV) - Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

So... will the world end in 2012? The Mayans didn't know then. NASA doesn't know now. Neither do we! However, that doesn't mean your world can't end. What do you plan to do about that?

Hebrews 9:27(KJV) - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Need a New Heart? Grow One!

Ezekiel 36:26(KJV) - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Recently, I laid my eyes on a fascinating bit of information. On Monday, November 14, 2011, Caleb Hellerman of CNN published the article, "Studies: Stem cells reverse heart damage."

Here's a quote;

At Cedars-Sinai, 17 patients, including Milles, were given stem cells approximately six weeks after suffering a moderate to major heart attack. All had lost enough tissue to put them "at big risk" of future heart failure, according to Dr. Eduardo Marban, the director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, who developed the stem cell procedure used there.

The results were striking. Not only did scar tissue retreat -- shrinking 40% in Ken Milles, and between 30% and 47% in other test subjects -- but the patients actually generated new heart tissue. On average, the stem cell recipients grew the equivalent of 600 million new heart cells, according to Marban, who used MRI imaging to measure changes. By way of perspective, a major heart attack might kill off a billion cells.

"This is unprecedented, the first time anyone has grown living heart muscle," says Marban. "No one else has demonstrated that. It's very gratifying, especially when the conventional teaching has been that the damage is irreversible."

Perhaps even more important, no treated patient in either study suffered a significant health setback.

Source - "Studies: Stem cells reverse heart damage" by Caleb Hellerman - CNN.COM

Developing human organs from stem cells is so serious. On July 8th, I told you about the "man-made urethra" that was successfully implanted. Two days earlier I shared even more mind-blowing information in "Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?" Today, I'm letting you in on the use of stem cells to grow new heart cells. Why is all of this research so game-changing? 

Here's a quote from each of those two previous articles;

Two days ago, Yahoo News published the article; "Who wants to live forever? Scientist sees aging cured" written by Health and Science Correspondent Kate Kelland. Here's a quote from the very interesting article;

LONDON (Reuters) – If Aubrey de Grey's predictions are right, the first person who will live to see their 150th birthday has already been born. And the first person to live for 1,000 years could be less than 20 years younger.

A biomedical gerontologist and chief scientist of a foundation dedicated to longevity research, de Grey reckons that within his own lifetime doctors could have all the tools they need to "cure" aging -- banishing diseases that come with it and extending life indefinitely.

"I'd say we have a 50/50 chance of bringing aging under what I'd call a decisive level of medical control within the next 25 years or so," de Grey said in an interview before delivering a lecture at Britain's Royal Institution academy of science.

Source: Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?

Matthew 24:36-39(NLT) - “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

After reading Wednesday's article "Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?" one of my colleagues made a startling suggestion. Jesus said that at His return it will be like the Days of Noah. He highlighted specific characteristics of those days but left out one important detail that now is being broached among scientists. In Noah's day, people lived much longer than they do now. In fact, it was in Noah's day that God made the following statement.

Genesis 6:3(KJV) - And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

When you compare the lifespans of people before Noah's flood and after you will realize a significant drop. They decreased from hundreds of years to less than one hundred and twenty.

In Wednesday's article, I made the following quote; "If Aubrey de Grey's predictions are right, the first person who will live to see their 150th birthday has already been born. And the first person to live for 1,000 years could be less than 20 years younger."

If developments in stem cell research, bio-engineering and synthetic biology continue in the direction they are going, we may see a return to the Days of Noah. If that's the case, you know what's supposed to take place when that happens. 

Source: Man-Made Human Organ Successfully Transplanted  

Welcome to the new era of medical advancement! Welcome to The Days of Noah!

Connecting Neuroscience And Faith

1 Corinthians 2:11(NLT) - No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.

Last weekend I stumbled upon an interesting article on the CNN.Com Belief Blog called "My Take: Keep government out of mind-reading business" written by Dr.Paul Root Wolpe, the Director of Emory University’s Center for Ethics. Since his focus is on ethics, it's not the most scientific article but it did get my attention. So in search of more scientific evidence I decided to do some research of my own. I wanted to know what was really going on in the "Mind Reading Business"? Eventually, I found a goldmine of information collected by The Society for Neuroscience - Advancing The Understanding of the Brain and Nervous System.

Prepare to have your mind blown wide open!

Here are some fascinating excerpts from two articles I found;

Patients previously believed to be in a vegetative state have responded to basic questions through the use of a portable bedside brain scanner, raising hopes that in future, they might be able to communicate with family and friends.

 Among 16 patients at Addenbrooke's hospital, in Cambridge, and at University hospital, in Liege, Belgium, three people who previously were thought to be without consciousness were able to respond to some one asking them to imagine clenching their right hand or toes.

 The portable brain scanner showed identical brain activity to the patterns created when healthy people imagine making those movements.

Source: "Brain scanner brings new hope for patients in vegetative state" by Sarah Boseley, health editor - The Guardian, Wednesday 9 November 2011

The contents of a person’s dream have been revealed by brain scan for the first time, scientists report in the Nov. 8 Current Biology. By monitoring the brain of a man who has unusual control over his dreaming, the accomplishment brings researchers closer to understanding how the brain spins its nightly yarns.

“It’s really exciting that people have done this,” says sleep researcher Edward Pace-Schott at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “And it also brings back lucid dreaming as a very powerful scientific tool.”

Source: "First brain image of a dream created" by Laura Sanders, Science News - Friday, November 4th, 2011

Check out this week's video from "Face To Face With Faith Science" to see what The Bible has to say about this; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAjykGtRX28

The Genesis Code - Drawing The Line Between Faith And Science

When times get bad, people cry out for help. They cry for relief from being kicked around, But never give God a thought when things go well, when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts, When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom, using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

Job 35:9–11 msg

I remember when I first made the decision to write my fourth book, Faith Science. I knew it would take a big effort but I thought it was worth it. For some strange reason I projected myself upon others. I assumed that there was widespread interest in bridging the gap between Faith and Science. I thought that most people had this burning desire to see the connection between Biblical truth and scientific evidence. Maybe I did get a little ahead of myself? Maybe I made some huge assumptions? However, I do know one thing for sure; I am not alone.

There's a movie that's just been released called "The Genesis Code" which tackles the question of Origins head on. I commend their efforts for joining this noble cause. When it becomes available in your city, go check it out and let me know what you think.

Here's the story;

Kerry Wells (Kelsey Sanders), a college journalist and committed Christian with an effervescent personality, has been assigned to do a story on Blake Truman (Logan Bartholomew) the college’s newest and very popular hockey superstar. As a relationship between them begins to develop Kerry finds that Blake, who hides behind a tough and independent façade, is actually struggling through a difficult personal crisis and that he bears the cross of a secret he has kept hidden for years. Blake rebuffs Kerry’s suggestion that prayer might help ease his burden; he is convinced that modern science completely disproves the Bible, especially the opening verses of Genesis. Kerry — who is herself suddenly confronted with a challenge to her faith on another front — sets out to prove that science and Genesis are not in conflict and her quest leads to a startling revelation. Could it be that what science teaches us about creation and the Story as told in Genesis are both true and in perfect accord!

Source: TheGenesisCodeMovie.Com

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use”
(Galileo Galilei: 1564–1642 Italian physicist).

Did God create the heavens and the earth at the beginning of time or was there a Big Bang? My answer is; "Why not both?" See "The Big Bang in The Bible" and you'll understand why.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 kjv

Here's what this verse says when observed closely;

"In the beginning..." - Time
"..God created the heavens..." - Space
"...and the earth" - Matter 

1. Time is a finite entity that has a starting point and an ending.
2. Space is a created entity that only came into existence when time began.
3. Physical matter is not eternal but was created at the beginning of time.

From Faith Science;

The common misperception that there is always conflict between science and faith can be abused by those with anti-Christian or anti-science agendas. In reality science has always been the domain of many committed Christians such as the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who dedicated one of his papers with a prayer, saying, I have here completed the work of my calling, with as much intellectual strength as you have granted me. This same attitude is shared by many Christians who work in science today. CiS exists to support such Christians and their aims.

—Christians in Science (CiS), Why Christians in Science

With so much available public information and abundant resources connecting faith and science, those who choose to reject the connection really are on their own. The conflict between science and Christianity has been contrived in the minds of those who want a conflict to exist. It has never been about logic or reason, like most atheists or secular “Christians” propose. It’s about the selfish human desire to oppose God and create one’s own destiny which, in actuality, defies logic.

The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being.

—Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), Principia (1687)

The Science and Spirit of Music

Today's video blog was inspired by a project called "The Music Instinct - Science and Song." While there, I found some of the most fascinating scientific evidence concerning the effect of music on the human body. Here's a quote from the article, "How Music Can Reach The Silenced Brain" by Concetta Tomaino;

Music predates recorded history, but its roots may lie in early human communication and rituals for healing. In traditional African cultures and rain forest cultures in other parts of the world, for example, music is connected with many of life’s vital patterns and occasions. In Western culture, however, as music became increasingly accepted as an art form, its therapeutic properties were mostly forgotten—rediscovered only when music therapy became an organized field in the early 1950s.

Since then, a torrent of peer-reviewed clinical and scientific studies have focused on music’s therapeutic value in areas from reducing pain, to improving memory and cognition, to helping motor function. But even though we know how effective music therapy can be, the investigation of its effects on recovery of function in people with neurologic impairment is new and exceedingly challenging.
Source: "How Music Can Reach The Silenced Brain" by Concetta Tomaino 

What's even greater is that I was able to make connections between the scientific research and a case study from The Bible. Check out the video to see for yourself.

How A Scientific Study of Human Languages Supports The Bible

I came across a very interesting article called "The Original Human Language Like Yoda Sounded" by Natalie Wolchover at Fox News. Here is an important quote;

Sentences like Yoda you form?

Many linguists believe all human languages derived from a single tongue spoken in East Africa around 50,000 years ago. They've found clues scattered throughout the vocabularies and grammars of the world as to how that original "proto-human language" might have sounded. New research suggests that it sounded somewhat like the speech of Yoda, the tiny green Jedi from "Star Wars."

There are various word orders used in the languages of the world. Some, like English, use subject-verb-object (SVO) ordering, as in the sentence "I like you." Others, such as Latin, use subject-object-verb (SOV) ordering, as in "I you like." In rare cases, OSV, OVS, VOS and VSO are used. In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Merritt Ruhlen and Murray Gell-Mann, co-directors of the Santa Fe Institute Program on the Evolution of Human Languages, argue that the original language used SOV ordering ("I you like").

"This language would have been spoken by a small East African population who seemingly invented fully modern language and then spread around the world, replacing everyone else," Ruhlen told Life's Little Mysteries.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/14/original-human-language-like-yoda-sounded/#ixzz1bFq32328

In this scientific study published by the National Academy of Sciences, Santa Fe Institute Program on the Evolution of Human Languages researchers were able to trace the origin of "modern" human language to a small East African population. From this point all modern languages spread across the world and "evolved".

Why is this minor detail such a big deal for students of faith and science? It points directly to what was written in The Bible!

Let me share with you the following scripture;

Genesis 11:1-9(NLT) -

The Tower of Babel

1 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.

I did some research of my own and found this map of the Middle East provided by World Atlas.

The Bible traces the origin of modern human language to the land of Shinar which is described as follows at Encyclopedia.com;

A plain in Babylonia (modern S. Iraq), where the tower of Babel was supposed to have been built (Gen. 11: 2). Some of the Israelite exiles were to be rescued from there (Isa. 11: 11). In Zechariah's seventh vision the wickedness and guilt of Judah is sealed in a basket and carried to Shinar to be deposited in a temple of its own (Zech. 5: 11).

Take a look at the map of the Middle East. Pay close attention to the proximity of the East African nation of Egypt and Southern Iraq (Babylonia). Both The Bible and scientific research trace the origin of human language to the same general region. In addition, they both agree that all modern language spread throughout the world from that location. If The Bible is a fictional collection of religious documents with no historical or scientific basis what's the probability that The Book of Genesis written several thousand years before this study could get this one right?

At Faith Science one aspect of our mission is to expose scientific mysteries hidden within scriptures. The scientific mystery of the origin of human language is revealed in The Book of Genesis and it's supported by scientific research.

This one's huge! 

Face To Face With Faith Science - Is The Big Bang In The Bible?

The Science Of Miracles

From Faith Science

And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.” And his disciples heard it. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

Mark 11:12–14, 20 kjv

Jesus caused a reaction to take place in the fig tree, which resulted in a physical product without introducing any external physical reactants. The reactants in this reaction were the spoken words of Jesus and the chemical composition of the fig tree. Somehow, these two combined, and the product of the reaction caused the fig tree to die from its roots. As I stated earlier, since spiritual matter is stable, this reaction also needed activation energy for it to take place. It doesn’t take much thought to realize a pattern here. God used words to cause the reaction of creation, and Jesus used words to cause the chemical reaction that killed the fig tree. Now, if you haven’t figured it out already, I’ll tell you what was used as the activation energy.

And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, “Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.” And Jesus answering saith unto them, “Have faith in God.”

Mark 11:21–22 kjv

Peter asked Jesus the same question that I’m asking you now: How did he do that? How did he cause a chemical reaction that resulted in a physical product without introducing any physical reactant? Jesus provided a simple answer: “Have faith in God.” Faith is the activation energy that causes a reaction between the reactants of words and matter to result in a product.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, “Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;” and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Mark 11:23 kjv

The task at hand was the removal of a physical mountain. A reaction causes change in matter, so if the location of the mountain needed to change, a reaction was necessary for it to happen. Jesus broke down the steps of the reaction in Mark 11:23. He first said to speak to the mountain. These words, when combined with the chemical composition of the mountain, form the reactants. He then said to believe that what they said would come to pass, which provided the activation energy. Then he said that the product would be the removal of the mountain. Indeed, like any scientific principle, as long as the steps were precisely followed, the same process could be repeated at will.

I will now take this even further. Paul said in Hebrews 11:3 that God created the physical earth with words, and then he also said that God used spiritual matter to create the physical earth. So there must be some relationship between words based in faith and the spiritual matter used as reactants in what I will now formally name spiritual reactions. In a spiritual reaction, the Word of God and spiritual matter were used to create physical products. Hence, I can safely conclude that God’s Word isn’t combined with spiritual matter to cause spiritual reactions, but God’s Word is spiritual matter.

When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, “Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

John 6:61–63 kjv

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

1 John 5:5–7 kjv

Jesus stated that the words he spoke were spiritual matter. So the Word of God in any form is spiritual matter. Thus, any spiritual reaction we need can take place using a process I will now coin as the spiritual method. This method is defined as “the use of faith in the Word of God as the activation energy necessary to cause matter to change form.”

Therefore, faith and the Word of God should always be considered inseparable if this method is to be effective. Paul said in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God,” which proves that there is no biblical faith outside of the Word of God. Many people have some kind of faith, but whatever they have apart from God’s Word doesn’t work with the spiritual method.

To conclude the scientific foundation of faith, I’ll return to the basis of a reaction. Do you know that certain reactions only occur when the minimum level of activation energy is provided? In addition, when approached on a molecular level, the more energy provided, the more molecules in the reactants participate in the reaction, which affects the rate of the reaction.

Thus, the rate of a reaction can be related to its activation energy. If faith is the activation energy necessary in a spiritual reaction, the amount of faith provided can determine how long it takes for matter to change form, if any change occurs at all. Carefully read the following passage and think about what I just said.

And another of his disciples said unto him, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said unto him, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, “Lord, save us: we perish.” And he saith unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”

Jesus said to the disciples when they appeared helpless in the storm, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” They did not have enough faith to cause a spiritual reaction between their words and the rough weather. That was the only thing Jesus mentioned as the difference between their ineffectiveness at stopping the storm and his ability to do it with ease. He asked them why they were fearful and then identified their problem as a lack of faith.

As I said earlier, the amount of faith necessary for a particular reaction must be provided before it ever occurs. In a spiritual reaction, matter in any form, including invisible or mass-less matter, changes form when combined with the spiritual matter of God’s Word using the activation energy of biblical faith. If you have enough faith, you can change anything.

How The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics Supports The Bible!

It's official! Three Americans will share the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics. Here's an excerpt of the Associated Press article, "3 win Nobel for showing universe is speeding up" by Malcolm and Carl Ritter released Tuesday, October 4th;

NEW YORK (AP) -- Three U.S.-born scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for discovering that the universe is expanding at an accelerating pace, a stunning revelation that suggests the cosmos could be headed for a colder, bleaker future, nearly devoid of light.

In 1998, Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess presented findings that overturned the conventional idea that the expansion was slowing 13.7 billion years after the big bang.

Their discovery raised a question: What is pushing the universe apart? Scientists have labeled it "dark energy," but nobody knows what it is.

It's "an enigma, perhaps the greatest in physics today," the Nobel committee said.

On the official website, NobelPrize.Org, the following announcement has been placed;

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 was divided, one half awarded to Saul Perlmutter, the other half jointly to Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae".

Why is this such big news for people of Faith and Science?

Job 9:8(AMP) - Who alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the waves and high places of the sea;

Isaiah 40:22(AMP) - It is God Who sits above the circle (the horizon) of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like [gauze] curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

According to The Bible, the universe is being continually stretched like a curtain and spread out like a tent. Without any advanced scientific research, Job and the prophet Isaiah said the universe is expanding. Hence, they appeared to already know an important element of The Big Bang.

In sum, current research which proves that the expansion is accelerating only further supports the fact that it's expanding in the first place. How could this scientific fact be in The Bible thousands of years before it was ever theorized and then proven by scientists? Where did these authors of The Bible get such wisdom? Maybe they had inside information. ;-)

2 Timothy 3:16(KJV) - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Face To Face With Faith Science - Straight Answers

The Origin of Life - A Scientific or Philosophical Debate?

I'm currently reading the book, "Origins of Life" by Dr Fazale Rana and Dr Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe. Early in the book Dr Rana traces the various theories that have been considered throughout history concerning the origin of life. It fascinates me that some of the most prominent scientific minds have presented some of the most unscientific explanations. With the near impossibility of defending the theoretical position of life coming from non-life some have made up very interesting arguments. One of my favorites is Directed Panspermia which credits alien life for seeding the earth. Very interesting...

So that makes me think a little.... When we argue about the origin of life aren't we stepping outside of the realm of science and entering the realm of philosophy? It's impossible to observe and impossible to test life's origin so it cannot be evaluated using The Scientific Method. Hence, this debate really does come down to the simple question; "What do you believe?" Once we establish what we believe we may then use any observable evidence to strengthen or weaken our belief. Now let's use some brain power.

Excerpt From Faith Science;

Here are three crucial quotes from the Chicago Tribune article “Fermilab Test Throws off More Matter than Antimatter and this Matters” on May 29, 2010. I cited it earlier as the number-three headline that followed the D-Zero Collaboration announcement. It highlights comments made by Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist at FERMILAB.

“It’s like looking back to the instant where everything began,” said Joseph Lykken.

The question of existence is something that humans have wondered about ever since there were humans to wonder: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” as the seventeenthcentury philosopher Gottfried Leibniz put it.

This discovery someday could have practical spinoffs, but it could have immediate implications, among them is the clamorous intersection of politics and religion. Lykken hypothesized that proponents of “intelligent design” could seize upon the new findings to further support their argument that the laws of nature are so fine-tuned, they must be the handiwork of a creator.

—Fermilab Test Throws off More Matter than Antimatter and this Matters—Particle collision thought to replicate Big Bang forces, may help explain how things exist by Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, May 29, 2010

So what did they expect to happen? Is it by chance that ultra highspeed collisions support the notion of super symmetry resulting in consistently more matter than antimatter? Could this process have simply replicated itself to result in the highly detailed physical realm in existence today?

It’s actually much more challenging to believe that there is no Creator than to believe that there is. With each new discovery, scientists find answers that result in more questions. This perpetual process of experimental analysis will continue until the truth is accepted.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

Romans 1:18–23 nlt

One of the worst decisions a Christian can ever make is to get into an argument with atheists or agnostics about the Theory of Origins. Even if they are presented with the conclusions of respectable scientists, they will not listen. They know the truth in their hearts and cannot deny the impossibility of chance in proven scientific processes like CP violation. It’s not supposed to happen that way; that is, unless it was really supposed to happen that way. Why is it so hard to believe there’s more to our existence than random scientific reactions? The truth is not always hard to believe, but most times it’s hard to accept.

In the Chicago Tribune article cited earlier in this chapter, Ron Grossman said:

One of physic’s foundation stones is the concept of a symmetrical universe. Everything has its mirror opposite, like humans’ left and right hands. As schoolchildren learn, Newton said every action has an equal and opposite reaction. “A good example is the Big Bang,” Lykken said, putting his colleague’s discovery into context. “The universe began as a perfectly symmetrical object, a ball of energy.” The problem lies in what happened next. That energy condensed into matter but also its opposite, antimatter. The two being mutually destructive, they should have canceled each other out. Instead, Lykken noted, matter joined together in ever larger concentrations—nuclei, atoms, stars, galaxies.

Fermilab test throws off more matter than antimatter and this matters—Particle collision thought to replicate Big Bang forces, may help explain how things exist by Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, May 29, 2010

An atheist could probably continue the quote with, “ … water, trees, humans, dogs, etc.” Once again, let’s take a look at Romans 1:23: “Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.” Those who argue on the side of chance claim to be wise. Why does anything exist? Their wise answer is “the Big Bang.” Why are humans developed beyond the rest of the animal kingdom? Their wise answer is “evolution.” What will happen when they die? Their wise answer is “nothing.” The more we discover about our existence, the more we need to discover. The search for truth cannot end if those who are searching don’t intend to accept it.

When times get bad, people cry out for help. They cry for relief from being kicked around, But never give God a thought when things go well, when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts, When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom, using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

Job 35:9–11 msg

God is our science teacher, and the universe is his classroom. This probably explains why several scientists and writers for scientific publications are quick to mention God after major scientific breakthroughs. Why don’t they say that the experimental results prove that there is no God and there was no creation? Isn’t that supposed to be the goal of many of these educated theorists?

They come up with complicated explanations for life’s intricate details while God uses birds and beasts to teach wisdom. Then they see experimental data that points them to God and they struggle to accept it. The good news is that God knows how to trigger a response out of even the most stubborn hearts.

Can Scientific Evidence Prove The Bible is The Word of God?

I received the following question from Alicia;

What are the scientific truths/proofs that the Bible is the Word of God?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the scientific method as, “principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.”

Scientific proof is testable. For me to present scientific truths/ proofs that The Bible is the Word of God I have to confirm using scientific evidence (not scriptures) the existence and true identity of God Himself. I then have to confirm using scientific evidence (not scriptures) the true source of The Bible in it's original form.

I may believe as a Christian that The Bible is The Word of God but which Bible are we referring to? Definitely, not the one we have in our hands right now. Why? I have about 20 versions of The Bible at my house alone and they each say different things. That's not just because they're different translations from the same original source.

They actually were translated from different manuscripts which said different things. In fact, some of my Bibles have notes which list several sources of information which they selectively chose to use for the same scripture. As a Christian, it doesn't really bother me because The Bible is just a tool which helps me to develop a relationship with God. As long as I can understand God's intention in what's being said, I am fine. However, as a scientist I cannot ignore the specific details.

I then have to confirm using scientific evidence (not scriptures) that God gave us The Bible. Not only that, I'll have to use scientific evidence to prove how God did it and why it could not have come from another source. That's a tall task that cannot be done at this time.

However, I do have some exciting news. I present to you some ambitious research out of Jerusalem by The Hebrew University Bible Project. At the rate they're going, they expect to have a definitive version of the Old Testament in about 200 years.

An article by AP writer Matti Friedman called "Scholars seek to correct 'mistakes' in Bible" published on August 12, 2011 says the following;

A dull-looking chart projected on the wall of a university office in Jerusalem displayed a revelation that would startle many readers of the Old Testament: The sacred text that people revered in the past was not the same one we study today.

An ancient version of one book has an extra phrase. Another appears to have been revised to retroactively insert a prophecy after the events happened.

Scholars in this out-of-the-way corner of the Hebrew University campus have been quietly at work for 53 years on one of the most ambitious projects attempted in biblical studies — publishing the authoritative edition of the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, and tracking every single evolution of the text over centuries and millennia.

And it has evolved, despite deeply held beliefs to the contrary.

For many Jews and Christians, religion dictates that the words of the Bible in the original Hebrew are divine, unaltered and unalterable.

For Orthodox Jews, the accuracy is considered so inviolable that if a synagogue's Torah scroll is found to have a minute error in a single letter, the entire scroll is unusable.

But the ongoing work of the academic detectives of the Bible Project, as their undertaking is known, shows that this text at the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam was somewhat fluid for long periods of its history, and that its transmission through the ages was messier and more human than most of us imagine.

The Hebrew University Bible Project team at work.

If you visit my website and read many of the articles there, they provide proof that the source of information in The Bible is supernatural in nature. Why can I say that?

The scientific research that would have been necessary to provide some of the information that's presented in The Bible was only recently completed. For them to know what to write would have been impossible on a natural level.

For example, the meticulously ordered universe mentioned in Genesis 1:1 could not have come into place from random processes. In other words, the source of highly complex order cannot be chaos. According to The Big Bang Theory, as stated in my article "The Big Bang in The Bible" there was a singular point from which all time and space came into existence. It was something called the primeval atom.

Scientific evidence results in theoretical conclusions that can point as far back as the primeval atom. However, it can go back no further. Why? Scientific evidence can only operate in time and space which did not exist before The Beginning. We cannot test anything that's outside of this realm using tools that are of this realm. The Bible agrees that there was a beginning in Genesis 1:1, however, it goes a step further to say that God caused The Beginning. There is no way to prove that statement with science.

Science proves that there was a beginning but cannot identify The Beginner.

Genesis 21:33
Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.

According to The Bible, God is eternal and transcends time and space. Therefore, He transcends the boundaries of scientific evidence.

As a Christian, I believe that the supernatural source of the information in The Bible is God. I cannot use science to prove that because scientific research cannot identify God. It can only observe His handiwork within time and space.

 

Romans 1:18-23 (NLT) - But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.^{[i] 19} They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

 We don't prove The Bible! The Bible proves us!