How did he get your email? You sent your email to a debate group called creation_evolution_debate@yahoogroups.com. This is a free Internet debate group consisting of about 250 people from around the world who send emails that end up in the email boxes of all 250 members of the group. The emails promote either the creation or evolution position.

The debate is very lively but only about twenty members of the group send emails. The other 230 or so members simply lurk in the background and read the messages and learn about the creationist and evolutionist positions. Occasionally a "lurker" will post a message. No one is required to post any messages. To join the group simply send a blank email to creation_evolution_debate-subscribe@egroups.com. I suggest you subscribe to the group using a screen name dedicated to this one group. I say this because you will receive a lot of emails from the group. You can go to Yahoo.com and set up a free screen name or you can use an extra screen name given by your MSN or AOL Internet service provider.

I recommend that you lurk for a while and just read the posts from other members to get a feel for the debate. Don't be intimidated by the unfamiliar terminology and some rather complex scientific defenses of creation and evolution in a few of the emails. I suspect that most of the group's members don't have technical sophistication or scientific backgrounds. Most emails are easily grasped by the layperson. Also, don't be put off by the sometimes rather cruel or condescending attacks sent by some of the evolutionists.

As you prepare to write your first email in defense of creation you can easily get an abundance of information by going to http://www.answersingenesis.org/ or http://www.icr.org/ which are creationist websites. Both of these websites have search boxes where you can simply type in your question and immediately be given a screen with lists of articles written by Ph. D. scientists that contain scientific information that will answer your question.

Let's say you read an email that deals with genetic mutations. Let's say it's an evolutionist who claims that genetic mutations can add new information to the DNA to cause new organs to form on animals. Just go to answersingenesis.org and type "genetic mutations" in the search box. Immediately a screen comes up listing titles and excerpts from articles proving that mutations virtually never add new information to the DNA but rather cause degradation, deletion and scrambling of genetic information in the DNA. Mutations are no mechanism to put feathers on a lizard.

You simply click on each article and either read the article on line or click to a printer friendly version of the article and print it out. This gives you ammunition in the form of sound scientific statements from Ph. D. scientists who argue in support of creation. The articles are also interesting reading! You can get an education in a hurry and you don't have to rely on vague memories of your high school biology class.

When you do get ready to post an email to the group I suggest you confine your attack to the two most vulnerable weak points of evolution. Those two weak points are spontaneous generation (random collisions of atoms allegedly forming the first cell in the primordial ooze) and genetic mutations (accumulated mutations allegedly cause new organs to emerge.)

To post an email to the group simply reply to any email sent from the group. For instance, you can reply to an evolutionist email on any aspect of evolution and shift the discussion to the impossibility of spontaneous generation forming the first cell. My experience has shown that evolutionists hate to discuss spontaneous generation. They don't even like the term "spontaneous generation" but prefer the term "abiogenesis." Our goal is to get them to drop the "abio" and stick with Genesis. LOL!

Don't get your feelings hurt when the replies (or retorts) come back from the evolutionists and you see your fine, tightly argued email cut in pieces and insults, condescending remarks and enough pseudoscience to confuse the beginners pasted in. When cornered on the absurdity of spontaneous generation (also called chemical evolution) they often try to change the subject or try to obscure the point with convoluted jargon. One of the screen names of an evolutionist who posts on the group is "thehatefulnerd." You get the idea.

 Consider this: if even one fifth of the group of 250 members actually opens your email and reads your case for creation, that's 50 people. Fifty souls from around the world read your fine case for creation and are brought closer to belief in God. Some who read it are already creationists and their faith is encouraged. The evolutionists who read it are chastened and challenged and learn to respect the creationist position. I pray for outright conversions.  

One of your readers could be a college professor in China wrestling with the issue of evolution and wondering if he should teach it to his students. Another could be a businessman in Nigeria, yet another a high school teacher in Poland. They read English because English is the unofficial international language of the educated. How many times do you get to witness to 50 truth seekers at once? You can do it every day without leaving your home!

Right now most of the posts to the group are by evolutionists. Let's get some more creationists on board. We must not let hateful nerds and blasphemers dominate the discussion any longer! Let's turn the tide and reach the ends of the earth from our desks!

If you prefer to debate philosophy or biblical archaeology or alleged UFO abductions or any other subject to reach the lost there are other debate groups geared to these subjects. Just go to Yahoo.com and click on "groups" and browse until you find the debate group you feel that the Lord would have you join. You can also go to MSN.com and browse through groups there.   

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) 2009 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

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. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)