Why I Believe . . .

As I drove through the rain this morning, a passage from the New Testament kept running through my mind, "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1 Pet 3:15 ESV)." I decided to give my readers an introduction to "Why I Believe."

1. The order of creation shores up my faith. The universe, our solar system, this earth, and our bodies are too organized and efficient to be an unintelligent accident.

2. The text of the Bible has stood the test of time and the onslaught of attacks through the centuries. Doubters, skeptics, and opponents of the Bible as the word of God are not new. They may never go away, but in my studies and research, the Bible holds up as more accurate and better preserved than any ancient text.

3. As an historical writing, the history and science recorded in the Bibles pages stands out as true. If then the history and science are true, the rest of the text is true -- including the passages about Jesus.

4. Jesus is an historical figure, and as such, the Bible claims him not to be madman, nor simply a prophet, but the Messiah of the Jews, the Christ that mankind needs. Through the sacrifice of Jesus as Christ, our loving God offers forgiveness of our sin that sentences us to hell.

5. The example of the historical figure Saul or Tarsus (a.k.a Paul) solidifies my belief. Here we have a man who was the biggest opponent of Christ and the Way of Christ than any of his peers. He was zealous to stop this movement. His conversion as recorded in Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts 26 show his complete turn around to become one the most prominent heralds of the Good News of Jesus as the Christ.

These are just a sample of why I believe. Why do you believe?

Scott

Field Trip!

Yesterday, we took a field trip with about 70 sixth graders from Oakman Elementary to Desoto Caverns in Childersburg, Alabama. The two hour drive there and the two hour return made for a long day before Wednesday Bible Study, but the excursion was worth the effort.

Desoto Caverns is a well maintained, privately owned park that features a large cavern. The guide informed us that you could fit a football field on the floor of the largest room and a twelve story building would barely reach the top. The caverns have been home to Native Americans, a Confederate Gun Powder manufacturing location, a hide-out for many, a moonshine still and honky-tonk during prohibition, and home to bats and other creatures.

As a privately owned cavern, they do something you will not see everywhere. Their light show has a theme worthy of applause. As lights flash against the walls and other formations in the cavern, and as a fountain sprays water in time with music, a voice-over reads the account of creation from Genesis 1. You would expect a lesson on geological time-tables and the alleged millions of years it took for this cavern to form, but instead you hear God created the world.

Thank you Desoto Caverns for not being afraid to stand up for God.

If you are ever near Childersburg, Alabama -- drop in and support them. Tell them thanks and see more of God's wonderful creation.

Happy Earth Day to You!

What a beautiful day we are having in my part of Alabama. Cool this morning with highs reaching 75 f.

April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day celebration in modern history and 29 years later we are still here. With Earth Day in mind, last night I helped (really watched) my wife bake a single layer 18 inch round cake and decorate it to look like the Western Hemisphere for her 1st grade class' Earth Day activities. I think I will show up at school today somewhere around recess!!!!

I am not an extremist in the area of environmentalism, I do not carry an EPA membership card. However, for the last 20 years I spend time encouraging young people to take care of the earth. I do not do this out of fear of global warming, I am old enough to remember being taught in elementary school that the earth was heading to a new ice-age. My understanding is that the earth has cycles of warmer and cooler periods that last for decades, centuries, or even millennium. That being said, I still think we are to do our part of keep the earth.

I believe Christians may need to step it up a bit and not be wasteful but good stewards of the earth God gave us. Take note of these instructions from God to man, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Gen 1:28) "Subdue and have dominion" do not have to have negative connotations, they could very well mean to "cultivate and take care of." If that is the case, and I think it is, God commanded us to care for our temporary home planet.

So today, Earth Day, remember the blessing God has given you with a home created for you, then remember that He left you in control to make sure she is there for future generations if He chooses for time to remain.

Scott

It's Pi Day!

Well actually tomorrow is Pi Day, but the 6th Grade at OES is celebrating today since tomorrow is Saturday and there will be no school. Pi, you may well know, is a letter in the Greek alphabet that is similar to our "p". Pi is also the mathematical symbol for 3.14159265 (commonly rounded to 3.14). Saturday is the 14th day of the 3rd month 0r 3/14 (3.14), consequently many math teachers focus on this day to teach the geometry of circles.

My wife (Amy) baked pies last night for our son's 6th grade math classes, so they could have a round pie on "Pi Day." Isn't he a great looking young man and she a beautiful lady?

Math Review: What does "pi" have to do with circles? Many credit Archimedes with forming the first accepted formula for calculating "pi". For simplicity we will remind your of the formulas to calculate the circumference and area of a circle using "pi".

Circumference: C= "pi" x d (where "d" is the diameter)
Area: A= "pi" x (r x r) ("r" is the radius)

"Pi" is a constant number that works in the calculations of any size circle. If you take a 9 inch pizza the circumference of that pizza is 3.14 x 9 = 28.26 inches. The area of that 9 inch pizza is 254.34 sq in.

Circles are wonderful, circles are complete. This constancy of "pi" makes me want to ask, "Could all this be planned?" Is nature the result of an unintelligent accident or could there be a creator behind the intelligent design?

I know that atheistic evolutionist will take me to task. I am not trying to debate creation vs. evolution in this post. My work here is too simplistic and too focused to win any debate on its own. I do hope however to demonstrate to people of faith one more reason to continue to believe in God as creator. "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Col 1:16-17 - ESV)

Happy "Pi Day!"

Scott