GOD or evolution—designed by GOD
The first verse of the Bible identifies the beginning of human time references and defines how the universe began and who is responsible for that beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1: 1 (NIV) That statement MUST be either true or false.
If it is false, how can any other portion of the Bible be true? How can anyone who claims to be a Christian deny the truth of the statement and still claim to be a Christian? They can NOT! No man can prove the statement true or false scientifically. It all depends on faith whether or not you accept creation by GOD or evolution according to Darwin or any other man-concocted theory.
Designed by GOD
“Genesis 1 and verse 1 says: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The word ‘created’ means ‘to call into being something that never previously existed.’ God simply spoke, and something came into existence. God created the world and everything that’s in it, every plant and every animal. And last He created man in His own image. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 3, ‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’”
Designed By God
Psalm 139: 13-16
“Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way. Oh, I’m excited about our program today because we’re asking the question: Is this world designed by God, or have we come into being by accident? Is there evidence of an intelligent designer or did we evolve from non-living matter? Well, stay with us, the evidence may surprise you!
Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and we’re here to search God’s Word for the Lord’s Way. The Bible always teaches us the truth, and that’s why we go to it again and again. And I’m really excited about our spending this time together. We love to hear that you’re watching or listening, and we want to be a part of your life every week.
A person’s view of the beginning affects his whole outlook on life. We have to deal with questions such as: Who am I? Where did I come from? Does my life have a purpose? Am I of any value? What you or I believe about our origin will determine what we believe about ourselves and our place in life. If we consider ourselves merely as a complex animal which evolved from a one-celled creature, we’ll have a pretty empty view of life. But if we consider ourselves unique individuals made in the image of God with an eternal destiny, then there is great reason and meaning to our existence.
Charles Darwin taught that man evolved over time from other species through a process of natural selection or what’s better known as ‘survival of the fittest.’ A biologist who followed Darwin’s thinking said that, ‘Man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that didn’t have man in mind.’ The Bible, however, teaches in Genesis 1 that God created the world and all the creatures within it. Male and female, they were to reproduce after their own kind. About man, God specifically says in verses 26 and 27 that He made man in His own image and gave man dominion over all the earth. Well now, these two views are very far apart and; you know what, they both cannot both be true. But what we believe about our origin does make a great difference in how we see ourselves.
We offer free printed copies, or a CD or tape of our study and we offer them free to you. Mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us at searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. That number is 1 (800) 321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand will lead the Edmond church in song; and then we’ll read from the Holy Word, Psalm 139, verses 13 to 16.
Today’s reading comes from one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139, a psalm between David and God and the closeness that they share. Verse 13 says, ‘For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.’ God’s thoughts towards us are so very precious. Let’s pray together. Father, we are thankful that You created us out of Your love, and that You gave us life. And, Father, we pray that we may devote our lives to You as our Father, as our creator, and as our God. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Genesis 1 and verse 1 says: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The word ‘created’ means ‘to call into being something that never previously existed.’ God simply spoke, and something came into existence. God created the world and everything that’s in it, every plant and every animal. And last He created man in His own image. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 3, ‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’
Believing God intelligently created the world and everything in it is not a leap, a blind leap of faith. It is built on observing all the order and purpose evident in the world. Proverbs 3 and verse 19 says: ‘The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.’ God purposefully designed the world and all His creatures with wisdom and understanding. The more we study this world and even the human body, the more we realize the order and the purpose God put into everything He made.
Those who reject faith in God suggest a different way to explain the existence of life. Some people claim that life evolved from non-living matter; but if we rule out God, then the origin of life is truly a mystery. It’s a great leap of faith to assume that life could come from non-living matter. (Since it is scientifically impossible, it certainly is! And if something is scientifically impossible, it doesn’t matter how long the universe has existed. Five years, five thousand years, five million years, five billion years, five trillion years; it does not matter. If it is scientifically impossible now, it has always been scientifically impossible! Which can only mean, that there has to be some entity ABOVE science to have CREATED science and CREATED life out of non-life! That entity, of course, is GOD!—my addition) They think that there was a gradual development of complex molecules from the basic elements until they finally become molecules that could reproduce themselves and then they assume that they’re living.
Evolutionists once spoke of the primordial soup that spawned life, but many now question that since they’ve learned about how complex life is. The basic building blocks of life are proteins that make up our DNA. The DNA provides the information or intelligence needed to reproduce the proteins that give us life.
Each protein is quite complex. It doesn’t just happen. Protein molecules are made up of a complicated series of amino acids that are ordered by the various genes in our DNA. Sir Fred Hoyle, one of England’s prominent scientists argued that the chance of higher life-forms emerging accidentally from non-living matter is comparable to a tornado making a Boeing 747 jet out of a junkyard. (It’s even much greater than that since the Boeing 747 jet is not alive. How did non-living matter become living matter? Where did the non-living matter come from? In Sir Hoyle’s example, the tornado at least had a junkyard to begin the “creation” process!—my addition)
Living cells use over 75 special kinds of protein and RNA molecules to make one protein that follows the DNA’s instructions. What we know about airplanes convinces us that their flight is the result of creative design. Well, what scientists know about the way living cells make protein suggests, just as clearly, that life also is the result of creative design. (Demands that life also MUST be the result of creative design!—my addition)
In 2004 prominent British philosopher and proponent of atheism Professor Antony Flew renounced his atheism. Well, why? He said because ‘the argument to intelligent design is enormously stronger than it was when I first met it. It now seems to me,’ he says, ‘that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful arguments to design.’ Well, Flew had to admit that he ‘had to go where the evidence leads.’
Evolutionists once believed that man had vestigial organs; that is body parts that lost all or most of their original function through evolution. There were supposed to be 180 such vestigial organs in humans. Well, this list included such things as the tailbone, the appendix, even parts of the ear and the eye. Well, that list is now itself obsolete. Medical science discovered that these organs played very essential roles and were not ‘useless.’
Now, what these organs teach us is that God had a special purpose behind everything He has made. Psalm 139, verses 13 to 15 says, ‘For You (that is God) formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.’
Evolution, according to Darwin, is in a continual state of motion, with gradual change happening over long periods of time. He believed that the fossil record should be filled with examples of transitional forms from one species into another. Well, these forms go from the less complex to the more complex. But paleontologists did not find these transitional forms. What they found were gaps in the fossil record. There wasn’t any evidence of transformational intermediates between documented fossil species.
Many people forget the number of hoaxes that evolutionists have posed to support their theory. (Sound familiar? Think of the “global warming” fraud perpetrated by so-called scientists!—my addition) They put forth ‘missing links’ between apes and men. And they believed that the fossil records would show how one kind of animal, according to them, evolved into another; but none of the fossils ever showed a transitional link between one creature and another.
Instead of gradual change as evolutionists expected, they found sudden appearances of new species and the overlapping in time of these species. One evolution scientist, S. M. Stanley, admits that, ‘Species that were once thought to have turned into others have been found to overlap in time with these alleged descendants. In fact, the fossil record does not convincingly document,’ he says, ‘a single transition from one species to another.’
The first fossil hoax was the Java man found in 1891. And they said that they found a missing link there, and what was the evidence? Well, they found a skullcap, three teeth, and a femur or thigh-bone. They found the thigh-bone 50 feet from the skull a year later, and it didn’t come from the same individual. Well, the skull came from an ape, while the leg bone came from a human.
Then second, there was the Neanderthal man which was found in France in 1908. Neanderthal man was thought to be ignorant, and ape-like, stooped and knuckle-dragging creature. But the evidence proved that Neanderthal man was just as human as we are, and his stooped appearance was because of his arthritis and rickets. Neanderthals are now recognized as skilled hunters, believers in an after-life, and even skilled surgeons. They found one Neanderthal skeleton whose withered right arm had been amputated above the elbow.
Third, there was the Piltdown man; this was found in 1912 in a village named Piltdown in England. It was no missing link, however; it was merely an early human. The evidence came from a human skull and a jawbone of an orangutan. Well, this deception that they had lasted more than forty years before it was proven to be a hoax.
Fourth, Nebraska man was found in 1992 in western Nebraska near Snake Brook. Now, some scientists said that this was the missing link until they discovered the fossil was only the single tooth of an extinct wild pig.
Fifth, there’s ‘Lucy,’ the popular name given to a famous fossil skeleton found in 1974 in Ethiopia by American anthropologist Donald Johanson. To many, Lucy is regarded as a certain link between ape-like creatures and man and supposedly proves evolution. But ‘Lucy’ was not human at all; she was a chimp-like animal, very different from humans.
Now, rather than look to fossils for imaginary missing links, perhaps we should look to the amazing design that’s right in front of us. This purposeful design all around us argues for an intelligent designer; and that designer is God. He is the only one with the unlimited power and the wisdom to create us. (Amen!—my addition) Revelation 4 and verse 11 says, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’
Microbiologists tell us of the utter complexity of a single, living cell in our bodies. Benjamin Miller and Ruth Goode said that, ‘The cell has been likened to a power plant, a furnace, a chemical laboratory. And in its reproductive functions of that living cell, it’s been described as a factory complete with a manager’s office, files of blueprints and plans, intercommunication systems, assembly line, and foremen and workers.’
‘None of these fanciful analogies,’ they say, ‘does justice to the living cell. All of these man-made systems put together, however ingenious and efficient, could not reproduce the functioning of this single unit of life, too small to be seen with the unaided eye.’ My friend, Wayne Jackson, in his book, The Human Body—Accident or Design, asks, ‘If the living cell is more ingenious than any man-made system, who made it? Are we to conclude that it just happened? That’s wholly illogical.’ (And unscientific!—my addition)
The human body is an engineering miracle. It’s indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.
We have trillions of cells in our bodies, and they are marvelously designed and show their function. For instance, the human red-blood cells are shaped like a saucer and fairly flat, permitting the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. Nerve cells, on the other hand, ‘have long, thin extensions to transmit messages.’ Hebrews 3 and verse 4 says, ‘For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.’ These exceptionally complex cells didn’t just happen! (Couldn’t just happen!—my addition) God designed and built them for their specific functions. And only a wise God could make them!
Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species said, ‘If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, then my theory would absolutely break down.’ And then he added, ‘But I can find no such case.’ However on page 167 of the Origin of Species, Darwin spoke of the eye. And he said, ‘To suppose that the eye … could have been formed by natural selection, seems,’ he says, ‘I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree possible.’ Even then, Darwin doubted himself. He didn’t know in 1859 what we know today about the eye.
You’re watching me because God gave you eyes and you’re listening because God gave you ears. Bioengineer John Lenihan said that, ‘The eye is an exceptionally sensitive optical instrument displaying many striking features of design and performance; even the windscreen washers and wipers (our eyelids) have not been forgotten.’
Just think! Your eye can see moving images by the thousands as they change. Your eye makes adjustments to the amount of light, to the distance, to the angle automatically. Every camera that we own was patterned after the eye. Wayne Jackson argues, ‘If the function of the camera demands that it was made, doesn’t it stand to reason that the more complex human camera, that is the eye, must also have a Maker?’ (It certainly does!—my addition)
Likewise, the ear is a marvel. Using membranes like the eardrum, small bones, muscles that amplify the sound inside your ear, and 25,000 auditory receptors, the brain is able to receive these vibrations and interpret whether they come from thunder, or a voice, or from thousands of other tones that we hear.
One authority says, ‘Amazingly, the inner ear, although no bigger than a hazelnut, contains as many circuits as the telephone system of a good-sized city.’ Can you believe that a city’s telephone system could design itself or just happen by accident? (NO! And yet people want us to believe that an infinitely more complex system—man—just happened! What utter nonsense! Where is their reasoning power?—my addition) Your ear is far more sophisticated than this microphone that I’m wearing. Did this microphone just happen or did somebody make it?
The Bible says in Romans 1 and verse 20, ‘For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.’ (Read the rest of the chapter!—my addition) My friends, let’s be grateful for all that God has done in giving us this marvelously designed world and our lives. Every bone, every muscle, every organ, and every tissue shouts that God made us in His image. Let’s pray. O Father, we are so grateful that through Your wisdom and through Your power You gave us life to enjoy this wonderful world. Help us to love You and serve You always. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Let’s see, the fossil record doesn’t give us any ‘missing links’ or intermediate forms showing the transition from one species to another. And, the body itself shows us an incredible amount of design. Well, these facts make it reasonable to believe that we’ve been created not the products of natural selection. It takes far more faith to believe that non-living matter produced life than it does to believe in God. It takes far more faith to believe that a reptile could gradually become a bird than it does to believe in creation. It takes far more faith to believe an eye or an ear were accidents of nature than to believe God designed them.
This world contains everywhere the marks of an all-powerful and all-wise Designer, and that Designer is the one and only God. He is your God! He made you, gave you life, loves you, hears your prayers, and wants you to live with Him in heaven for an eternity. You can learn all about Him in the Bible. He gave us this precious book to answer our most important questions of life. It’s the only book that will tell you where you came from, why you’re here, and what will happen to you when you die.
Now, to enter into a relationship with the Lord, believe in Him with all your heart, turn away from sin and follow His Word, confess the name of Jesus as the Son of God, and out of love be baptized into Christ. When you’re immersed into Christ, you’re baptized into His death. And that’s the time the Lord will wash away your sins by His blood (Acts 22 and verse 16) and He will add you to His church. And nothing you can do today is more important than getting into a right relationship with the One who created you. We hope you will today, and let us know about it.
We hope today’s study of God’s Word and God’s creation has blessed you. Now, if you want a free printed copy, a CD, or tape of this message, ‘Designed by God,’ mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, call the Search office toll-free at 1 (800) 321-8633. Now, all of our programs appear online at www.searchtv.org. And in this program today we’re also going to provide a printed transcript that has a lot of footnotes; so young people may want to read about them and study a little bit more. We offer this program in printed, audio, or video format. We also offer free study sheets online and Bible Correspondence Courses. Just let us know that you want one, a correspondence course, and we’ll be glad to send it to you.
Please attend worship at one of the churches of Christ in your area. They support us, and they’re the reason we never ask for money on this broadcast. They love guests, and you’ll be glad you worshiped with them. Well, Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing.
Keep searching God’s Word. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord’s Way.”
To deny that GOD CREATED all things is to deny GOD! Fortunately, that denial does NOT CHANGE the TRUTH! Man does NOT decide that which is true and/or that which is false. GOD DOES! Thus, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1: 1 (NIV)
The first verse of the Bible identifies the beginning of human time references and defines how the universe began and who is responsible for that beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1: 1 (NIV) That statement MUST be either true or false.
If it is false, how can any other portion of the Bible be true? How can anyone who claims to be a Christian deny the truth of the statement and still claim to be a Christian? They can NOT! No man can prove the statement true or false scientifically. It all depends on faith whether or not you accept creation by GOD or evolution according to Darwin or any other man-concocted theory.
Designed by GOD
“Genesis 1 and verse 1 says: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The word ‘created’ means ‘to call into being something that never previously existed.’ God simply spoke, and something came into existence. God created the world and everything that’s in it, every plant and every animal. And last He created man in His own image. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 3, ‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’”
Designed By God
Psalm 139: 13-16
“Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way. Oh, I’m excited about our program today because we’re asking the question: Is this world designed by God, or have we come into being by accident? Is there evidence of an intelligent designer or did we evolve from non-living matter? Well, stay with us, the evidence may surprise you!
Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and we’re here to search God’s Word for the Lord’s Way. The Bible always teaches us the truth, and that’s why we go to it again and again. And I’m really excited about our spending this time together. We love to hear that you’re watching or listening, and we want to be a part of your life every week.
A person’s view of the beginning affects his whole outlook on life. We have to deal with questions such as: Who am I? Where did I come from? Does my life have a purpose? Am I of any value? What you or I believe about our origin will determine what we believe about ourselves and our place in life. If we consider ourselves merely as a complex animal which evolved from a one-celled creature, we’ll have a pretty empty view of life. But if we consider ourselves unique individuals made in the image of God with an eternal destiny, then there is great reason and meaning to our existence.
Charles Darwin taught that man evolved over time from other species through a process of natural selection or what’s better known as ‘survival of the fittest.’ A biologist who followed Darwin’s thinking said that, ‘Man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that didn’t have man in mind.’ The Bible, however, teaches in Genesis 1 that God created the world and all the creatures within it. Male and female, they were to reproduce after their own kind. About man, God specifically says in verses 26 and 27 that He made man in His own image and gave man dominion over all the earth. Well now, these two views are very far apart and; you know what, they both cannot both be true. But what we believe about our origin does make a great difference in how we see ourselves.
We offer free printed copies, or a CD or tape of our study and we offer them free to you. Mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us at searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. That number is 1 (800) 321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand will lead the Edmond church in song; and then we’ll read from the Holy Word, Psalm 139, verses 13 to 16.
Today’s reading comes from one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139, a psalm between David and God and the closeness that they share. Verse 13 says, ‘For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.’ God’s thoughts towards us are so very precious. Let’s pray together. Father, we are thankful that You created us out of Your love, and that You gave us life. And, Father, we pray that we may devote our lives to You as our Father, as our creator, and as our God. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Genesis 1 and verse 1 says: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The word ‘created’ means ‘to call into being something that never previously existed.’ God simply spoke, and something came into existence. God created the world and everything that’s in it, every plant and every animal. And last He created man in His own image. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 and verse 3, ‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’
Believing God intelligently created the world and everything in it is not a leap, a blind leap of faith. It is built on observing all the order and purpose evident in the world. Proverbs 3 and verse 19 says: ‘The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.’ God purposefully designed the world and all His creatures with wisdom and understanding. The more we study this world and even the human body, the more we realize the order and the purpose God put into everything He made.
Those who reject faith in God suggest a different way to explain the existence of life. Some people claim that life evolved from non-living matter; but if we rule out God, then the origin of life is truly a mystery. It’s a great leap of faith to assume that life could come from non-living matter. (Since it is scientifically impossible, it certainly is! And if something is scientifically impossible, it doesn’t matter how long the universe has existed. Five years, five thousand years, five million years, five billion years, five trillion years; it does not matter. If it is scientifically impossible now, it has always been scientifically impossible! Which can only mean, that there has to be some entity ABOVE science to have CREATED science and CREATED life out of non-life! That entity, of course, is GOD!—my addition) They think that there was a gradual development of complex molecules from the basic elements until they finally become molecules that could reproduce themselves and then they assume that they’re living.
Evolutionists once spoke of the primordial soup that spawned life, but many now question that since they’ve learned about how complex life is. The basic building blocks of life are proteins that make up our DNA. The DNA provides the information or intelligence needed to reproduce the proteins that give us life.
Each protein is quite complex. It doesn’t just happen. Protein molecules are made up of a complicated series of amino acids that are ordered by the various genes in our DNA. Sir Fred Hoyle, one of England’s prominent scientists argued that the chance of higher life-forms emerging accidentally from non-living matter is comparable to a tornado making a Boeing 747 jet out of a junkyard. (It’s even much greater than that since the Boeing 747 jet is not alive. How did non-living matter become living matter? Where did the non-living matter come from? In Sir Hoyle’s example, the tornado at least had a junkyard to begin the “creation” process!—my addition)
Living cells use over 75 special kinds of protein and RNA molecules to make one protein that follows the DNA’s instructions. What we know about airplanes convinces us that their flight is the result of creative design. Well, what scientists know about the way living cells make protein suggests, just as clearly, that life also is the result of creative design. (Demands that life also MUST be the result of creative design!—my addition)
In 2004 prominent British philosopher and proponent of atheism Professor Antony Flew renounced his atheism. Well, why? He said because ‘the argument to intelligent design is enormously stronger than it was when I first met it. It now seems to me,’ he says, ‘that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful arguments to design.’ Well, Flew had to admit that he ‘had to go where the evidence leads.’
Evolutionists once believed that man had vestigial organs; that is body parts that lost all or most of their original function through evolution. There were supposed to be 180 such vestigial organs in humans. Well, this list included such things as the tailbone, the appendix, even parts of the ear and the eye. Well, that list is now itself obsolete. Medical science discovered that these organs played very essential roles and were not ‘useless.’
Now, what these organs teach us is that God had a special purpose behind everything He has made. Psalm 139, verses 13 to 15 says, ‘For You (that is God) formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.’
Evolution, according to Darwin, is in a continual state of motion, with gradual change happening over long periods of time. He believed that the fossil record should be filled with examples of transitional forms from one species into another. Well, these forms go from the less complex to the more complex. But paleontologists did not find these transitional forms. What they found were gaps in the fossil record. There wasn’t any evidence of transformational intermediates between documented fossil species.
Many people forget the number of hoaxes that evolutionists have posed to support their theory. (Sound familiar? Think of the “global warming” fraud perpetrated by so-called scientists!—my addition) They put forth ‘missing links’ between apes and men. And they believed that the fossil records would show how one kind of animal, according to them, evolved into another; but none of the fossils ever showed a transitional link between one creature and another.
Instead of gradual change as evolutionists expected, they found sudden appearances of new species and the overlapping in time of these species. One evolution scientist, S. M. Stanley, admits that, ‘Species that were once thought to have turned into others have been found to overlap in time with these alleged descendants. In fact, the fossil record does not convincingly document,’ he says, ‘a single transition from one species to another.’
The first fossil hoax was the Java man found in 1891. And they said that they found a missing link there, and what was the evidence? Well, they found a skullcap, three teeth, and a femur or thigh-bone. They found the thigh-bone 50 feet from the skull a year later, and it didn’t come from the same individual. Well, the skull came from an ape, while the leg bone came from a human.
Then second, there was the Neanderthal man which was found in France in 1908. Neanderthal man was thought to be ignorant, and ape-like, stooped and knuckle-dragging creature. But the evidence proved that Neanderthal man was just as human as we are, and his stooped appearance was because of his arthritis and rickets. Neanderthals are now recognized as skilled hunters, believers in an after-life, and even skilled surgeons. They found one Neanderthal skeleton whose withered right arm had been amputated above the elbow.
Third, there was the Piltdown man; this was found in 1912 in a village named Piltdown in England. It was no missing link, however; it was merely an early human. The evidence came from a human skull and a jawbone of an orangutan. Well, this deception that they had lasted more than forty years before it was proven to be a hoax.
Fourth, Nebraska man was found in 1992 in western Nebraska near Snake Brook. Now, some scientists said that this was the missing link until they discovered the fossil was only the single tooth of an extinct wild pig.
Fifth, there’s ‘Lucy,’ the popular name given to a famous fossil skeleton found in 1974 in Ethiopia by American anthropologist Donald Johanson. To many, Lucy is regarded as a certain link between ape-like creatures and man and supposedly proves evolution. But ‘Lucy’ was not human at all; she was a chimp-like animal, very different from humans.
Now, rather than look to fossils for imaginary missing links, perhaps we should look to the amazing design that’s right in front of us. This purposeful design all around us argues for an intelligent designer; and that designer is God. He is the only one with the unlimited power and the wisdom to create us. (Amen!—my addition) Revelation 4 and verse 11 says, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’
Microbiologists tell us of the utter complexity of a single, living cell in our bodies. Benjamin Miller and Ruth Goode said that, ‘The cell has been likened to a power plant, a furnace, a chemical laboratory. And in its reproductive functions of that living cell, it’s been described as a factory complete with a manager’s office, files of blueprints and plans, intercommunication systems, assembly line, and foremen and workers.’
‘None of these fanciful analogies,’ they say, ‘does justice to the living cell. All of these man-made systems put together, however ingenious and efficient, could not reproduce the functioning of this single unit of life, too small to be seen with the unaided eye.’ My friend, Wayne Jackson, in his book, The Human Body—Accident or Design, asks, ‘If the living cell is more ingenious than any man-made system, who made it? Are we to conclude that it just happened? That’s wholly illogical.’ (And unscientific!—my addition)
The human body is an engineering miracle. It’s indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.
We have trillions of cells in our bodies, and they are marvelously designed and show their function. For instance, the human red-blood cells are shaped like a saucer and fairly flat, permitting the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. Nerve cells, on the other hand, ‘have long, thin extensions to transmit messages.’ Hebrews 3 and verse 4 says, ‘For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.’ These exceptionally complex cells didn’t just happen! (Couldn’t just happen!—my addition) God designed and built them for their specific functions. And only a wise God could make them!
Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species said, ‘If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, then my theory would absolutely break down.’ And then he added, ‘But I can find no such case.’ However on page 167 of the Origin of Species, Darwin spoke of the eye. And he said, ‘To suppose that the eye … could have been formed by natural selection, seems,’ he says, ‘I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree possible.’ Even then, Darwin doubted himself. He didn’t know in 1859 what we know today about the eye.
You’re watching me because God gave you eyes and you’re listening because God gave you ears. Bioengineer John Lenihan said that, ‘The eye is an exceptionally sensitive optical instrument displaying many striking features of design and performance; even the windscreen washers and wipers (our eyelids) have not been forgotten.’
Just think! Your eye can see moving images by the thousands as they change. Your eye makes adjustments to the amount of light, to the distance, to the angle automatically. Every camera that we own was patterned after the eye. Wayne Jackson argues, ‘If the function of the camera demands that it was made, doesn’t it stand to reason that the more complex human camera, that is the eye, must also have a Maker?’ (It certainly does!—my addition)
Likewise, the ear is a marvel. Using membranes like the eardrum, small bones, muscles that amplify the sound inside your ear, and 25,000 auditory receptors, the brain is able to receive these vibrations and interpret whether they come from thunder, or a voice, or from thousands of other tones that we hear.
One authority says, ‘Amazingly, the inner ear, although no bigger than a hazelnut, contains as many circuits as the telephone system of a good-sized city.’ Can you believe that a city’s telephone system could design itself or just happen by accident? (NO! And yet people want us to believe that an infinitely more complex system—man—just happened! What utter nonsense! Where is their reasoning power?—my addition) Your ear is far more sophisticated than this microphone that I’m wearing. Did this microphone just happen or did somebody make it?
The Bible says in Romans 1 and verse 20, ‘For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.’ (Read the rest of the chapter!—my addition) My friends, let’s be grateful for all that God has done in giving us this marvelously designed world and our lives. Every bone, every muscle, every organ, and every tissue shouts that God made us in His image. Let’s pray. O Father, we are so grateful that through Your wisdom and through Your power You gave us life to enjoy this wonderful world. Help us to love You and serve You always. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Let’s see, the fossil record doesn’t give us any ‘missing links’ or intermediate forms showing the transition from one species to another. And, the body itself shows us an incredible amount of design. Well, these facts make it reasonable to believe that we’ve been created not the products of natural selection. It takes far more faith to believe that non-living matter produced life than it does to believe in God. It takes far more faith to believe that a reptile could gradually become a bird than it does to believe in creation. It takes far more faith to believe an eye or an ear were accidents of nature than to believe God designed them.
This world contains everywhere the marks of an all-powerful and all-wise Designer, and that Designer is the one and only God. He is your God! He made you, gave you life, loves you, hears your prayers, and wants you to live with Him in heaven for an eternity. You can learn all about Him in the Bible. He gave us this precious book to answer our most important questions of life. It’s the only book that will tell you where you came from, why you’re here, and what will happen to you when you die.
Now, to enter into a relationship with the Lord, believe in Him with all your heart, turn away from sin and follow His Word, confess the name of Jesus as the Son of God, and out of love be baptized into Christ. When you’re immersed into Christ, you’re baptized into His death. And that’s the time the Lord will wash away your sins by His blood (Acts 22 and verse 16) and He will add you to His church. And nothing you can do today is more important than getting into a right relationship with the One who created you. We hope you will today, and let us know about it.
We hope today’s study of God’s Word and God’s creation has blessed you. Now, if you want a free printed copy, a CD, or tape of this message, ‘Designed by God,’ mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, call the Search office toll-free at 1 (800) 321-8633. Now, all of our programs appear online at www.searchtv.org. And in this program today we’re also going to provide a printed transcript that has a lot of footnotes; so young people may want to read about them and study a little bit more. We offer this program in printed, audio, or video format. We also offer free study sheets online and Bible Correspondence Courses. Just let us know that you want one, a correspondence course, and we’ll be glad to send it to you.
Please attend worship at one of the churches of Christ in your area. They support us, and they’re the reason we never ask for money on this broadcast. They love guests, and you’ll be glad you worshiped with them. Well, Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing.
Keep searching God’s Word. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord’s Way.”
To deny that GOD CREATED all things is to deny GOD! Fortunately, that denial does NOT CHANGE the TRUTH! Man does NOT decide that which is true and/or that which is false. GOD DOES! Thus, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1: 1 (NIV)
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 5:52 AM
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