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AN
'EXPELLED' WELCOME as the Movie of that name, was
released in US theatres last week, so we went to see the Chicago
screening. We can understand why Atheist Darwinist Richard
Dawkins has been loudly mouthing his criticism. The movie
is worth seeing even if only for the last 5 mins where Dawkins
expounds about earth life possibly being designed by a race
of very intelligent
beings who must have naturalistically evolved sometime previously.
He may as well have just loaded his foot into his mouth and
pulled the trigger. Starring Ben Stein as HIMSELF, a Jewish
investigator, the critics will undoubtedly regard the historic
clips of the holocaust inserted right from the start as cheap
shots and they certainly seem that way until near the end
when Stein visits Germany investigating Darwin's role in Hitler's
extermination of the Jews. Hearing the Germans confess as
to what motivated the Nazis is profound. However the repeated
'FREEDOM to CHOOSE has made America Great', makes the movie
VERY AMERICAN and means as such it will not communicate as
well outside the States. BUT it is worth seeing as the basic
theme of the majority world view persecuting
the underdog (in this case the US Intelligent Design movement)
is perennial.
THE
NATURE OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN showed as ID advocates
interviewed in the movie Expelled went to great pains to state
they were "not a Christian movement, Jesus Christ had
no part in the Science Classroom and they did not know who
the designer was". Many Christians confuse the Intelligent
Design debate with the Creation versus Evolution debate, but
even though they overlap, they are not the same. The Bible
does tell us we must recognise God as Creator, and the apostle
Paul reminds us in Romans 1:20 that the evidence from the
Creation so clearly reveals both God's power as Creator or
Designer BUT also His divine nature so there is no excuse
for unbelief. (Romans 1:20) The Apostle James rather bluntly
points out, even the demons believe in God and shudder. (James
2:19). Biblical Creation involves recognising the character
and works of the Creator and responding to Him, not just studying
the design in Creation. As the items in this newsletter point
out, the evidence that living creatures are made by a supremely
intelligent designer is overwhelming. However as we study
the living world we find many things that don't work well,
e.g. violence, disease, parasites, competition for scarce
resources. If we only looked at design features for survival
we would have to accept that predators and disease microbes
were designed to harm and kill, but deep down people know
that disease, violence and death are
inherently wrong. Studying the creation alone will not resolve
this dilemma. If you really want to know the original function
and subsequent history of a created object the best way to
find out is to obtain a record from the Creator who has recorded
for us that the world and all that is in it was created as
a perfectly functioning system of fully formed created kinds
of living creatures living together without violence, disease
or death. Human beings were made as unique creations in the
image of God, but the first human beings rebelled against
their Creator and the world has gone from being "very
good" to being cursed by God. Since then the
world has continued to degenerate and every generation of
human beings knows that something is wrong, but only the Creator
has the power and authority to make it right. Therefore, when
we recognise the amazing design seen in living things we should
respond by putting our trust in the awesome Creator, who not
only made all things but has also come to earth in the person
of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for man's rebellion and
will one day create a new earth for all those who trust him
to live in a very good world. We wonder what marvellous creations
there will be there for us to study, enjoy and give praise
to the Creator for making. (Ref.
sensation)
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