My New Book!

ICS Plant Baramin Garden

One of the true joys of science education is when the topics discussed become real life application.  This year in my biology classes we began a plant garden.  The purpose of this garden is to provide students with a personal connection to the plant kinds that God created.  Instead of looking at pictures of various types of plants, students will actually see them close up (and even plant and maintain them).  This year we began a succulent garden (with many types of cacti, etc.). This is a small beginning to a very ambitious plan to have the entire area become a botanical garden for viewing and scientific identification.  One day in the future I hope that there will be representative plants from all major Biblical Kinds and also from all continents of the world.  As of now, we have mimicked the desert (or arid) biome with our mini-desert landscape.  See the pictures below.  We already have well over 50 species represented.

Baraminology is the study of the ancestry of life on Earth (biosystematics), which draws from the presupposition that God created many kinds of organisms as described in the Biblical book of Genesis. In short, it is an effort to find scientific means to determine which forms of life are related, and which are not. Creationist biosystematics enables us to more clearly view and understand relationships that might not be visible from a naturalistic perspective. Most importantly, it provides another way for us to know the Creator. 

In 1941, Frank Marsh coined the word “baramin.” It was derived by combining two Hebrew words – ברא, bara (“created”), and מין, mīn (“kind”), referring to the use of the word “kind” in Genesis 1 . Although the concept of a created kind became common in creationist literature, a “kind” had not been clearly defined. We now understand the kind to be a group of organisms who share a genetic relationship through common descent from an organism originally created by God during the Creation Week.

*Last two paragraphs from…http://creationwiki.org/Baraminology

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A Little Something I’ve been Working On……

Convicted and Encouraged!

It has been over two months since my last blog post.  This is of course not because of my lack of activity but rather because I have become ever more convinced that my words really don’t amount to much in the end, if they are not inspired and directed by God and His Spirit. This is why I have been reluctant to write.  I want to be sure that what I write about is from Him and not just from the overflow of my own thoughts.  Today was one of those days where I felt God’s conviction and His encouragement and so I feel impelled to write. Maybe you’ve had days like this also.

To back track a bit, Susan and I have been trying to help Josiah understand how important it is to be generous to others.  This all came about due to some incidents where Josiah was only on the receiving end, but never on the giving end.  Since Christmas is around the corner it seemed even more important to teach Josiah the importance and joy of giving to others.  Of course, we have lathered Josiah with Biblical passages that speak of the joys of giving. Well, today God taught me that I am not doing so good with this generosity thing either.  As we were waiting for a traffic light to change a lady walked by our car begging for money and I ignored her as she looked at us with clasped hands in hopes that we would give her a little cash.  Because this happens often in Bangkok, it is easy to become immune to this type of petition, however today was a little different.  As I watched her walk away from the side of our car with obvious disappointment I immediately felt God tug at my heart and challenge me with the same “generosity” appeal that I had been challenging Josiah with.  I felt really convicted about how I could be so forceful about Josiah being generous while I turned a blind eye to such need, even as it stared directly at me. As I peered in the rearview mirror to see where the beggar was at that moment, I noticed that someone else was generous and gave her some money.  At that moment the light changed and I had lost my opportunity to bless someone with the abundance that God has ever so generously given us.  I felt lower than ever.

Later this afternoon, because of Susan’s generosity, I was able to sneak away to the coffee shop and read (two of my favorite things; coffee and books).  As I was drinking my coffee a young man sat next to me and began speaking to me in English (probably because of my white skin).  He was very pleasant to speak with.  We quickly got past incidentals (name, where we live, occupation, etc.) and discovered that we were both believers in Christ.  He told me his story which encouraged me greatly.  My new friend explained how he came from a very closed country with little Christian witness.  After being in Bangkok a while he met some Christians (turned out to be some of our close friends) and soon gave his life to Jesus.  This of course was not taken well by his family and friends back home. His family is very influential in his home country and many of his family disowned him and his friends immediately stopped all contact with him.  Although this is a common reaction in this part of the world, my friend was not discouraged by their reactions, in fact, he simply beamed with his excitement of following Jesus and now being a member of the family of God. To him, loss of his family and friends back home was of little importance compared to the riches he found in Christ.  I was in awe.  Never will I experience such rejection by my friends and family and yet in his rejections, he found strength.  This immediately brought me to the cross where Jesus died, but was first rejected and despised by His own family and friends, nevertheless He gave His life as a ransom for all people.  God certainly lifted my spirits with this chance (not so) meeting. 

To God be the Glory.

Creation Seminar Part 3

Talk on human evolution

 I once again had an opportunity to share about how science confirms the Bible and how evolution fails pitifully to explain why life exists on this planet. I gave three different lectures, they were:

 1. Science and presuppositions

2. Biblical Kinds and God’s created order

3. The failure of human evolution

There were members of over 5 different churches present and many expressed thanks for the information presented.  I had many come and ask me questions after the event.  This was very encouraging as they are thinking through the issues. Here is one comment I received..

“I was really glad I went. It was so eye-opening that Science really does support Creation and does not support Evolution at all. Of course, as most Christians I simply believed that the Bible was true and did not bother to prove it to anyone or disprove evolution bc it is intimidating and it seems like it is supported by so many “intellectuals.” But the fact is we do not have to do this. We can and should refute the assumptions so many have about evolution. I once heard it said that it takes more faith to believe evolution than it takes to believe creation. And I think that rings true.”

 This is still the beginning of creation ministries in Thailand.  A pastor at a church several hours from Bangkok asked if we could video tape the seminars for a wider distribution throughout Thailand.  We will probably soon begin this endeavour.  I will also be presenting for Thai pastors in November.  Please pray for this event.  God is opening doors (perhaps in Thai Schools and throughout the country) for this type of ministry and it is exciting to see what He is doing. 

 

Creation Seminars Part 2

Last Sunday I spoke at Bangjak Baptist for two hours about issues related to Creation and evolution.  It was a very beneficial time.  The pastor of the church translated everything that I said in Thai.  The pastor’s wife translated everything into sign language.  One of the church members was also translating my English into Farsi for an attendee and this attendee was translating the Farsi into Korean for his wife.  So at any one time there were five separate languages (English, Thai, Sign, Farsi, and Korean) being used to transmit the Creation talks. I received many wonderful expressions of gratitude for speaking on this topic and many attendees were very excited that there will be another entire day of seminars in September (I will be speaking on 6 topics at the same church).  One dream of mine is to facilitate the translation of Creation materials into Thai.  God has already began to answer this prayer as my PowerPoints are being translated. The pastor of Bangjak also videotaped the seminars so they could be utilized by pastors in the north of Thailand.  God is amazing and has continued to open doors for this type of ministry. I am grateful to Him for his love and grace.

I am including a few of the translated slides that I used in the seminars.

Please continue to pray for the translation and development of these seminars and specifically that God would use them to bring glory to Himself and win souls for His Kingdom.  To God be the Glory.

Creation Seminars

This coming Sunday (Aug. 23rd) I will be presenting two separate talks on Creation/evolution issues.  Please pray for this event.  Many people will be attending who have never heard that Jesus is actually the Creator and that they can place their trust directly in Him, the One who holds their very being together.  

I will also be leading two separate entire day seminars in September.  One seminar will target church members in the Bangkok area, however I pray that many who do not know Jesus personally will be in attendance.  The second seminar will be for Thai pastors to learn about creation and evolution and how ‘true science’ supports creation.  Pastors will be coming from all parts of Thailand to attend this event. 

Even later, we might we entering Thai schools within the creation message.  This will be a unique opportunity to present God’s Truth in Thai public institutions.

please pray for each of these events and specifically that….

….hearts and minds would turn to Jesus

….my words would be God’s words and not my own wisdom

….Thai pastors would hear and understand the importance of upholding the Authority of Scripture.

…..many would place their trust in the Creator of the universe and Savior of our very souls.

 

I will give an update soon!

Logic and Christianity

I am reproducing an exchange between an AiG (Answers in Genesis) scientist and an individual writing for feedback. I have tried to make similar points here on my blog, but this exchange provides a great overview of this relationship; between logic and Christianity, and specifically why logic is dependent upon Christian doctrine.

I am reproducing this exchange in its entirety. The original can be found by clicking here.

RE: Dr Jason Lisle Imagine No Creator Feedback
Logic is a way of thinking that involves the ability to reason. There are no laws of logic that need to apply “everywere and be invariant”. Can you please reveal the laws of logic. Also how did you come up with the idea science “borrowed” logic from Christianity because Christianity is a faith based philosophy. There is no logic to the bible it is the word of God. If you try and introduce logical thinking it makes no sense…the creation, the flood, the holy trinity, the whole Christian system of serving God to get salvation in an afterlife. None of this stands up in the face of reason and evidence. It has taken a long time for logical thinking to win over superstition. But now it has and enormous progress has been made of course a pandora’s box of problems goes with that but at least its real and not fictional!
Good luck Dr Lisle
—A., Australia

Logic is a way of thinking that involves the ability to reason.
Logic is not just “a way of thinking”; rather, logic describes the correct way of thinking. Laws of logic are God’s standard for reasoning. But why would there be a universal standard for reasoning in a random-chance universe? Any standard of human invention would necessarily be subjective and arbitrary.

There are no laws of logic that need to apply “everywere and be invariant”.
If there are no laws of logic, then why are you trying to use laws of logic in your email? You see, you had to use laws of logic to write your email, and you assumed that they apply just as well in the United States as they do in Australia, and that they haven’t changed with time. In other words, you have assumed that laws of logic apply everywhere and are invariant in order to argue that this is not the case. Your argument is self-refuting.

Can you please reveal the laws of logic.
The law of non-contradiction is one such law of logic, which states that you can’t have A and not-A at the same time and in the same relationship, where A is any proposition. I would suggest you get a textbook on logic if you want to learn about the laws of logic. I recommend Copi & Cohen, Introduction to Logic.

Also how did you come up with the idea science “borrowed” logic from Christianity because Christianity is a faith based philosophy.
Only the Christian faith can account for laws of logic. The law of non-contradiction, for example, stems from God’s internal consistency. God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13), and all truth (all knowledge) is in Christ (Colossians 2:3); thus, truth will not go against itself. But apart from God as revealed in the Bible, no one can account for the existence and properties of the laws of logic. Therefore, other competing philosophies must implicitly assume the truth of the Christian worldview in order to have laws of logic by which their adherents attempt to argue. Since they cannot account for logic on their own terms, competing worldviews must borrow logic from Christianity.

There is no logic to the bible it is the word of God.
On the contrary, apart from the biblical worldview, there would be no basis for logic at all. Logic is entirely contingent upon the biblical God.

If you try and introduce logical thinking it makes no sense…the creation, the flood, the holy trinity,
All of these are perfectly rational. There is no violation of any of the laws of logic.

the whole Christian system of serving God to get salvation in an afterlife.
No, salvation is not earned in the “Christian system.” It is God’s gift to us, given entirely by His grace, and received through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8). We serve God out of gratitude and love.

None of this stands up in the face of reason and evidence.
Unfortunately, you didn’t provide a single example of this reason and evidence (and, with respect, I don’t think you can). If you can come up with an actual argument against the Bible, and not just an arbitrary opinion, I’d love to hear it.

It has taken a long time for logical thinking to win over superstition.
I wish that were so. But, unfortunately, logical thinking has not entirely triumphed over superstition; after all, superstitions like evolution and the big bang are still widely accepted in our culture. These are indeed superstitions by definition; they are a “blindly accepted belief or notion.” The Christian worldview is rational because it alone provides the foundation for logic, science, and other things we need to make sense of the universe. So, I have a good reason for my faith; it makes reasoning possible. I hope that eventually logical thinking will “win over superstition,” which is why we promote the Christian worldview here at Answers in Genesis.

But now it has and enormous progress has been made of course a pandora’s box of problems goes with that but at least its real and not fictional!
Apart from the Christian worldview, we could never distinguish what is real from what is fiction. The presuppositions that our senses and memory are basically reliable, that there are laws of logic, that there is uniformity in nature, and that people have dignity and freedom are all necessary for rationality and science. Yet these all are contingent upon the biblical God.

Good luck Dr Lisle
Hopefully, you are now beginning to see the necessity of the Christian worldview, and the intellectual bankruptcy of competing systems of thought.

Dr. Jason Lisle

Khao Yai Rainforest with the Freshmen

I recently was a chaperone for an amazing trip to one of Thailand’s remaining rainforest. We took 70 freshmen from ICS to Khao Yai national forest. While we were there we hiked through a portion of the forest and ended our hike at an amazing waterfall. We saw some of God’s amazing creatures (both animal and plant). After we returned to our camp I led the students in a Bible study with the related topic, “Knowing the God of nature.” I have included some pictures below. This was a great time to bond with the freshmen (I will be teaching many of these students next year in Biology class) and to explore God’s creation.

Six days of Creation and God’s Marine Kinds Mural

One of the joys of teaching at a Christian school is the ability to express our Christian faith (as teachers and as students) in a variety of ways. Earlier this school year my supervisor made a comment about the lack of color on the school walls (looks a bit too institutional), and so immediately I thought of having my biology classes paint a mural on the wall. I gave each class two criteria for the mural; it must contain both a biological theme and a Biblical theme. With these instructions each class voted on a concept and a student artist from each class produced a sketch of their design (see below).

Original artwork for the ocean theme mural

Six days of Creation theme

 I submitted both themes to my supervisor expecting him to select one to be painted on the wall.   My supervisor was so pleased with the sketches and student ideas that instead of selecting one design only, he wanted both on the wall.  This made me extremely happy as I knew both classes (and both artists) were invested in their ideas.

We quickly made plans to sketch and paint the mural (in the end it took over 3 weeks to finish).  Here are pictures of the finished murals.

Finished Marine theme

Biological Theme:  Marine Organisms

Biblical Theme (reference): God’s created marine kinds

 ”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was  formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

 

“God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” Genesis 1:22

Finished six days of Creation theme

 Biological Theme: God’s plants and animals

Biblical Theme: The six days of Creation (of all life forms) as recorded in the book Genesis.

“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:29-30

I am so proud of my two biology classes and their diligence in completing these murals.  Let these murals be a testimony to God’s greatness and majesty for many years.  I pray that all who walk past these murals at ICS will not only be amazed at the art work of the creative designers (the students), but will also contemplate the Creative Designer of all life (the God of the Bible) and will submit their lives and hearts to Him.

 To God be the Glory!