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DEFENDING THE
FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES [Archive ]

Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.

Defending the Faith articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.

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MESSIANIC JEWS AND THE LAW OF MOSES
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THE CROSS, SELF-DENIAL AND
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD

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DEFENDING THE
FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES [Archive ]

Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.

Defending the Faith articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.

To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button.


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DEFENDING THE FAITH #50

VESTIGIAL ORGANS DON'T PROVE EVOLUTION


Defenders of evolution have pointed to vestigial organs as evidence to support their theory. A vestige is a body part that has no useful function to an organism. The organism has supposedly evolved new organs or organ systems and the obsolete body part remains as a useless appendage.

Evolutionists of an earlier day listed over 200 structures in the human body that they regarded as vestiges, including the thyroid and pituitary glands! (The Collapse of Evolution by Scott M. Huse p. 107)

Over the years the list has shrunk to almost zero as functions for "vestiges" are discovered by science. Tonsils were once considered vestiges and removal of tonsils was common until medical science observed the detrimental effects of tonsil removal. This, however, was not the only time that doctors outsmarted themselves by relying on evolutionary theory.

Scientists, microbiologists and surgeons have often used evolution to buttress their own ideas about how the body functions or how patients are to be treated. I heard on the radio that surgeons often removed a certain extraneous piece of cartilage from the knee during surgery. They regarded this piece of cartilage as a vestige perhaps from the time our ancestors supposedly walked on all fours. The results of this surgical procedure were disastrous for the patients who over time suffered from knee instability. That cartilage was not a vestige after all!

But what about those few body parts --whether on human or animal-- that really do seem to be vestigial? The existence of apparent vestiges can be said to be evidence that merely supports but does not prove evolution. Vestiges don't prove evolution with any high degree of certainty because vestiges can also be explained from a creationist viewpoint.

A Christian creationist such as myself will explain that vestiges and any other design flaws in organisms are a result of the curse that came upon creation as a result of the fall of man into sin (Gen. 3:17-18; Romans 8:20-22). The curse on creation which consists of suffering, decay, death, genetic degradation and design defects in organisms came upon all creation as the result of sin and rebellion against God. Vestiges are part of the curse. The phenomena of vestiges therefore fit into the Christian worldview.

Isaiah 11:6-9 reveals the changes in organisms that will occur in the future when all creation experiences full redemption after the second coming of Christ. The curse will be lifted.

The evidence against evolution is much more certain in its logical impact. Evolutionists are fond of saying "From pond scum to you by way of the zoo." A century ago that remark may have been persuasive but now science knows that pond scum (algae) is incredibly complex. Just the DNA of single-celled algae is so incredibly complex that it could not possibly have formed by chance. The complexity of algae is measurable and the probability (improbability) of chance formation is calculable.

Morowitz, Crick and others have done probability analyses and found that the probability of chance formation of single-celled organisms is so remote as to be regarded as impossible. Biomolecular complexity alone is enough to conclusively refute evolution.

If that were not enough to refute evolution, the science of genetics has shown that genetic mutation (the supposed mechanism of evolution in the "zoo") virtually never adds information to the DNA but only deletes information or scrambles pre-existing base pairs. Evolution therefore has no mechanism for uphill change in organisms. This is further persuasive evidence that the theory of evolution is untenable.

The fossil record is evidence that also argues that evolution did not occur. The fossil record with its lack of transitional forms renders the theory of evolution probably false. It doesn't render it certainly false because an evolutionist can claim that the transitional fossils haven't been found yet. However, the fossil record remains on balance a strong source of evidence against evolution.

Many people, even prominent scientists, are coming to the conclusion that an intelligent designer created life and this designer is none other than God Himself!

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

  1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
  2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
  3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
  4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
  5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given


Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
Return to the Defending the Faith Archive

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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES

Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.

The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.

All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given.

To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button.


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LAWFUL OR LEGALISTIC

Lawful or Legalistic by Bill Nugent

HOW NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVERS MUST UNDERSTAND OLD TESTAMENT LAWS

Published by Xulon Press, Longwood, Florida USA, this book is available in soft cover at xulonpress.com at a reasonable price. It is similar to our free eBook #1 (Messianic Jews and the Law of Moses) but is written more from a Gentile perspective. Winner of the Best Christian Biblical Book of the year 2008 award given by Christianstoryteller.com.

Grace versus law is an issue of supreme importance to every follower of Jesus the Messiah. Finding the proper balance between grace versus law is a major key to a joyful, victorious lifestyle that glorifies God. The on-line book titled Messianic Jews and the Law of Moses and the new paperback Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws tackle the subject of grace versus law from a whole new perspective.

The author, Bill Nugent, a gifted Bible teacher, approaches grace versus law by giving a proper understanding of how the Old Testament law is a prophetic picture of the New Testament walk by the Spirit. For instance the Sabbath was a day of rest on which the people were commanded to cease from work. Under the New Testament we observe not a literal cessation from work every seventh day but rather we observe the spiritual fullness of resting in Christ whereby we cease striving and simply flow in Christ's strength and joy to work in such liberation that it hardly seems like work.

Other aspects of the Old Testament Law such as tithing and the dietary laws are also discussed from this perspective. Issues such as Jewish believers' Torah observance are discussed. The prophetic issues pertaining to the millennium in which some teachers claim that animal sacrifices will be offered in a rebuilt temple are also discussed at length. Other chapters contain some extremely helpful teaching on laying down the self-life and how to walk in continued guidance by the Holy Spirit.

You will enjoy reading this timely, insightful, practical and thought provoking book. What follows are short descriptions of each chapter:

  1. THE TEACHINGS AND LIFE EXAMPLES OF THE APOSTLES REGARDING THE LAW: The whole concept of covenant and covenant law is defined. The New Testament apostolic teaching on the Abrahamic and Sinaitic covenants is explained as a foundation for the central premise of the book. The fact that we fulfill the Law by walking in the Spirit is shown. Voluntary keeping of the literal Law of Moses is permitted but not biblically required. The apostles’ teachings in the epistles are studied in the context of their godly lifestyles which are recorded in the book of Acts. It is important to understand the lifestyle and cultural context of the apostles' teachings. The emphasis in this chapter is why we must walk in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
  2. THE NEW WINESKIN INSTEAD OF THE OLD" Specific examples of literal Mosaic laws (Sabbath, dietary laws etc.) are given in order to show how these laws find fulfillment in Christ. The emphasis in this chapter is on how to walk in the Spirit to keep the law in substance rather than shadow.
  3. WILL ANIMAL SACRIFICES BE OFFERED IN A MILLENIAL TEMPLE? The eschatological question as to whether or not animal sacrifices will be offered in a stone temple during the millennium is dealt with here. This chapter explains why a reinstitution of the animal sacrifice system is not at all intended by the prophetic passages often cited to make this claim. A correct understanding of the prophetic passages is given.
  4. ARE GENTILES UNDER THE COMMANDS OF NOAH? There are some teachers who put Jewish believers under the literal Law of Moses who also attempt to put Gentiles under a separate legal system based on the Noahide covenant of Genesis nine. This chapter explains that Gentiles are free from this obligation because the commands given to Noah also find their fulfillment in Christ. Each of the commands of Acts 15:29 (alleged to be derived from Noah) are analyzed in depth.
  5. THE LAW OF MESSIAH: We are under grace and not under law yet the New Testament is full of commands. This chapter analyzes the commands Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount and the commands given through the apostles in the epistles and explains how we are to understand and obey them. Specific examples of how the apostles understood and obeyed these commands are given. Examples from modern day life are also given to shed light on how we must walk by the Spirit to obey New Testament commands.

    Click Here to Order

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