outline lesson 1 - veritology: what is truth?canaan-church.org/page_truth_outlines.pdfour worldview...

THE TRUTH PROJECT LESSON LINES

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Outline

Lesson 1 - Veritology: What is Truth? I. Introduction – A Worldview Tour

A. Comprehensive – The worldview compass directs us to God's design in all areas of life

B. Systematic – Temple structure explains the foundations and framework of course topics

C. Purpose of tour – To gaze upon the face of God

II. Why was Jesus Born? Why did He come into the World?

A. To testify to the Truth – John 18:37

B. Scriptural emphasis on Truth – Sanctification and salvation connection to Truth

C. Man's sinful nature will suppress, distort, reject, and exchange God's truth for lies

III. The Cosmic Battle – Spirit of Truth vs. Spirit of Falsehood – Reality vs. Illusion

A. Scene in heaven between God and Satan - Job 1 & 2 - "Did God really say?"

B. Link between salvation and truth - 2 Thessalonians 2 - "…God chose you to be saved through the

sanctifying work of the spirit and the belief in the truth."

C. Two Fathers – John 8:44 – "You belong to your father, the devil"

D. Connection between sin, lies and deceit – Every sin that besets us can be traced to a belief in a lie –

Our sins take us captive to the lies of the world

E. Dealing with outsiders - 2 Timothy 2 and Colossians 4:5-6 – They have been taken captive and we

must "gently instruct them" and let our "speech be seasoned with salt"

F. Battle of Worldviews – Opposition between God's truth claims and the lies of the world, the flesh, and

the devil

IV. What is Truth? - Truth as it relates to Reality

A. Webster's 1828 definition – "Conformity to fact or reality"

B. Equating an idol to a lie - Isaiah 44 – Lies are powerful and lead us to insane notions

C. What is Insanity? – We all suffer from "Common Insanity" - losing touch with reality

1. Our actions reflect what we believe to be really real: Jesus' example in Matthew 6 asking

"Why do you worry?...will He not care for you, O you of little faith?"

2. Connecting faith with our actions and emotions: God is the object of our faith and our hope –

Our actions are the most reliable indicator of our beliefs

D. God is the ultimate source of Truth – Colossians 2:2-3

V. Conclusion – "Do you really believe, that what you believe is really real?"

Outline

Lesson 2 - Philosophy & Ethics: Says Who? I. Introduction – Have you been taken captive? - 2 Timothy 2:24-26

A. Scriptural warning against hollow and deceptive philosophy – Colossians 2:8

B. Carl Sagan’s Worldview – “The Cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or will be”

C. Assumptive language – A powerful and dangerous form of knowledge

D. Cosmic Cube – Illustrates the naturalistic worldview belief that there is nothing outside the cosmos;

reality is a closed box and all truth must be materially perceived

E. Biblical presuppositions – God is and He has revealed himself to us (general revelation through our

world and specific revelation through His word)

F. God’s Nature - Transcendent and immanent – He is above and works within the box

II. Philosophy – What is it?


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A. Webster 1828 definition vs Current definition – God has been removed from the discipline of

philosophy in today’s culture

B. Philosophical Questions – What is existence? What is the meaning and purpose of life?

C. Universal and Particulars – Aristotle and Plato’s philosophical dilemma – How do we arrive at Truth?

How do we make sense of the unity and diversity of our world?

III. Postmodernism – Can you live it?

A. What is Right? What is wrong? - Ethical implications of postmodernism – There is no basis for ethical

standards or ethical language in a naturalistic worldview

B. Plato’s Question – “Is an act right because God said it, or did God know it was right and told us about

it?” – His laws are an expression of His nature

C. Naturalistic philosophy implications – Darwin’s views in non-assumptive language

D. Statistical Ethics – Our culture determines ethics through normalcy and survey data

IV. Worldview – Formal worldview vs personal worldview

A. Lack of a personal, biblical worldview in America – We fail to see Christianity as a worldview that

governs every area of life

B. Our worldview drives how we think, act, and feel – What we really believe

C. Consequences of a non-biblical worldview: We buy the lies and conform to the world

V. Conclusion and Solution – Renewing of the Mind – Metamorphoo – Romans 12:2

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your

mind.”

© 2006 Focus on the Family. 2

Outline

Lesson 3 – Anthropology: Who is man? I. Introduction – The Problem of Evil and Who is man?

A. Primary Doctrine – Who is Man? Who is God? - The answers to these two questions form the foundation of

everyone's worldview

B. The cosmic battle within – Galatians 5:16-17 – Our sinful nature is in constant conflict with God's Spirit –

Romans 7:15-25, Romans 6:12, Romans 8:5-14

II. Man's Essence

A. States of man

1. Innocent – Genesis 1:27

2. Fallen – Romans 5:12, Genesis 6:5

a. Hell – Revelation 20:15, Hebrew 9:27

3. Redeemed – Revelation 5:9

a. Glorified – 1 Corinthians 15:42

B. Dualistic or Monistic – Both flesh and spirit or purely material?

C. Naturalistic Philosophy Implications – no gods or purposive forces, no foundation for ethics, no free will, no

life after death, no meaning in life

III. Man's moral state and Man's needs

A. Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of Needs – man's ultimate objective is

self-actualization – The Pernicious lie – getting in touch with your inner nature


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B. Basically good or sinful? – Depravity of man – Man's propensity for evil

C. Carl Rodgers - "I do not find that evil is inherent in human nature."

D. Scriptural Truth – Put to death your earthly nature – Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5-10

IV. If evil is not inherent in man, then where does evil come from?

A. Abraham Maslow - "Sick people are made by a sick culture…" © 2006 Focus on the Family Page 1

B. Carl Rodgers – "…experience leads me to believe that it is cultural influences which are the major factor in

our evil behaviors."

C. Social institutions and authority structures are blamed for man's evil actions – provides basis for

understanding the battleground over social institutions today

V. Why should "evil" bother someone with a secular worldview? – the question of evil is more difficult for

them than us © 2006 Focus on the Family Page 2

Outline

Lesson 4 –Theology: Who is God? I. Introduction – Theology – Who is God?

A. Theology: The study of the existence, nature, and attributes of God

B. The Ultimate Source of Truth – Colossians 2:2-3 “Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the

treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

C. Westminster Confession – trying to capture the infinite essence of God’s nature

II. What is Eternal Life?

A. Scriptural emphasis on eternal life – Luke 18:18, John 3:16, John 4:13-14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40,

John 6:27, John 6:54

B. “Now this is eternal life…” John 17:1-3 “…that they may know you…”

C. Spurgeon’s and Paul’s perspective – “I want to know Christ…”

D. God’s perspective – Hosea 6:6, Jeremiah 9:23-24 …that he knows me…”

E. Connection between knowledge of God and knowledge of self

III. Meaning of Names

A. Names of God – El Qanna – A jealous God – Deuteronomy 4:23-24, Zechariah 8:2, Exodus 34:14

B. Jacob, Abram, Moses, Simon, Saul, John, Jesus

C. Your name – Your identity in Christ and as a child of God

IV. The Attack

A. The Battle – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself

against the knowledge of God…”

B. On God – His nature, His character

C. On His Word – Throughout history men have tried to destroy God’s Word

1. Jesus Seminar – democratic voting process on God’s Word

2. Ezekiel 22:26-28 – “…her priests have done violence to my law…”

© 2006 Focus on the Family.


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3. Joram and Jehoram – Unraveling a supposed conflict – Can you trust the Word of God? –

“The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings”

V. Conclusion – God’s word can be trusted

A. 1 Peter 1:24-25 “…the word of the Lord stands forever.”

B. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active…”

© 2006 Focus on the Family.

Outline

Lesson 5 - Science: What is True? I. Introduction

A. Psalm 19:1-4 – “The heavens declare the Glory of God” – General Revelation

B. Romans 1:18-20 – “God has made it plain to them…”

C. Only two possibilities: the cosmos has always existed or the cosmos had a beginning – either one

posses a serious problem for those who deny a Creator

II. Design vs. Randomness

A. Earliest scientists were convinced that the universe bore evidence of design

B. Scrabble Example – Where does the organized information in the genetic code come from?

C. Wald- “Time is the hero of the plot…the impossible becomes possible.”

III. Examining Darwin’s Theory

A. Hypothesis, theory, law – data must confirm investigation of truth claims

B. Darwinian Evolution taught as “Fact” – Does his theory match reality?

C. Paley’s Argument – Anyone who looks at a pocket watch understands that is was designed with

intelligent purpose

D. Ignoring the obvious – Francis Crick: You’ve got to keep in mind that all of this was not designed

IV. Testing Carl Sagan’s Statement – “Evolution is a fact amply demonstrated by the fossil record and

contemporary molecular biology.”

A. Contemporary Molecular Biology – testing Darwin’s statement that his theory would absolutely break

down if it could be demonstrated that a complex organism could not come into existence without

numerous, successive slight modifications



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1. In the 19th century, the cell was viewed as a simple glob of plasma, a black box; today, micro

technology reveals a cell filled with exquisite machinery

2. Irreducible complexity – The cell cannot exist if one component of the machinery is missing

– Examples: mouse trap and the flagellum motor

3. It is in the realm of molecular genetics where we see the most compelling evidence of design

on earth – evolution fails Darwin’s test

B. The fossil record – testing Darwin’s statement that if one can’t find all of the fine, graduated

evolutionary steps in the fossil record, then one can rightly reject the theory

1. If speciation requires many thousands of morphological changes, there should be some fossil

evidence of those changes – Darwin agreed they weren’t there, but only because we hadn’t

dug up enough fossils

2. 120 years after Darwin’s time we have a lot more fossil evidence than he did, but we have

even less support for his evolutionary theories

3. Theory of punctuated equilibrium – offered by evolutionist Gould because of the lack of

evidence in the fossil record; purports immediate speciation to account for the missing links

4. Icons of Evolution – used for years as “proof” of evolution – all are inaccurate and outdated

5. Theory of directed panspermia – purports that the first living cell was sent to earth from

another planet – offered by Crick because evidence was overwhelmingly against

spontaneous generation

6. Evolution again fails Darwin’s own test

V. Conclusion

A. Lovtrup: “I believe that one day the Darwinian myth will be ranked the greatest deceit in the history

of science”

B. This is a worldview battle – a battle that is much deeper than a scientific theory - Evolution destroys

any foundation for a standard of ethics or morality – man has exchanged the truth of God for a lie (evolution)

so that he may be free to follow his inner desires


Lesson 5 / Part 2 Outline - Science: What is True? I. Introduction A. Psalm 19:1-4 – "The heavens declare the Glory of God" – General Revelation B. Romans 1:18-20 – "God has made it plain to them ..." C. Only two possibilities: the cosmos has always existed or the cosmos had a beginning – either one poses a serious problem for those who deny a Creator II. Design vs. Randomness A. Earliest scientists were convinced that the universe bore evidence of design B. Scrabble Example – Where does the organized information in the genetic code come from? C. Wald- "Time is the hero of the plot ...the impossible becomes possible." III. Examining Darwin's Theory A. Hypothesis, theory, law – data must confirm investigation of truth claims B. Darwinian Evolution taught as "Fact" – Does his theory match reality? C. Paley's Argument – Anyone who looks at a pocket watch understands that is was designed with intelligent purpose D. Ignoring the obvious – Francis Crick: You've got to keep in mind that all of this was not designed IV. Testing Carl Sagan's Statement – "Evolution is a fact amply demonstrated by the fossil record and


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contemporary molecular biology." A. Contemporary Molecular Biology – testing Darwin's statement that his theory would absolutely break down if it could be demonstrated that a complex organism could not come into existence without numerous, successive slight modifications 1. In the 19th century, the cell was viewed as a simple glob of plasma, a black box; today, micro technology reveals a cell filled with exquisite machinery 2. Irreducible complexity – The cell cannot exist if one component of the machinery is missing – Examples: mouse trap and the flagellum motor 3. It is in the realm of molecular genetics where we see the most compelling evidence of design on earth – evolution fails Darwin's test B. The fossil record – testing Darwin's statement that if one can't find all of the fine, graduated evolutionary steps in the fossil record, then one can rightly reject the theory 1. If speciation requires many thousands of morphological changes, there should be some fossil evidence of those changes – Darwin agreed they weren't there, but only because we hadn't dug up enough fossils 2. 120 years after Darwin's time we have a lot more fossil evidence than he did, but we have even less support for his evolutionary theories 3. Theory of punctuated equilibrium – offered by evolutionist Gould because of the lack of evidence in the fossil record; purports immediate speciation to account for the missing links 4. Icons of Evolution – used for years as "proof" of evolution – all are inaccurate and outdated 5. Theory of directed panspermia – purports that the first living cell was sent to earth from another planet – offered by Crick because evidence was overwhelmingly against spontaneous generation 6. Evolution again fails Darwin's own test V. Conclusion A. Lovtrup: "I believe that one day the Darwinian myth will be ranked the greatest deceit in the history of science" B. This is a worldview battle – a battle that is much deeper than a scientific theory - Evolution destroys any foundation for a standard of ethics or morality – man has exchanged the truth of God for a lie (evolution) so that he may be free to follow his inner desires

additional material … Lesson Guide for Tour 5 Introduction In this, our fifth worldview tour, we will head northwest, enter the cavern of nature, gaze upon the jewels of creation, and establish yet another important pillar in the Temple of Truth: Science. In the process, we will discover that whereas "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1) so that the Creator's "invisible attributes are plainly seen" (Romans 1:20), mankind has nevertheless chosen to ignore the obvious truth, twisting scientific investigation into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy of human independence and self-determination.

Themes Having completed our brief and cursory discussion of the nature and character of God, we turn now to consider a very different question: what does "the stuff in the box" really tell us when we honestly look at it? Dr. Tackett argues that scientific investigation – "the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment" – is also a valid way of ascertaining truth. For when we open the box, we find that it is filled with voices that speak to us loudly about the majesty and power of the One who has created the physical universe. Everywhere we look – whether up at the grandeur of the stars and galaxies or deep into the tiny and elegantly designed inner workings of a living cell – there is evidence that the cosmos is the handiwork of an intelligent, rational mind. In the contemplation of nature, we come face to face with the truth that God exists and that He has revealed Himself to us, not only through His written Word (special revelation) but also through the works of His hands (general revelation). Our natural reaction to this experience should be like that of a child: wonder, marvel, and praise for the Creator. But because of the effects of the fall and the polarizing influence of the Cosmic Battle, man shows a tendency to deny what is plain to the senses and to "exchange the truth of God for a lie" (Romans 1:25). Driven by this impulse, he transforms straightforward scientific inquiry, which properly concerns itself with particulars, into an all-embracing philosophy, which claims to establish universals on the basis of the "stuff in the box." The result is the propagation of a worldview that "scientifically" excludes the Creator, thus "freeing" mankind from accountability to a higher authority. Central to this philosophy are the assertions of Darwinian evolutionary theory. By keeping the details of creation's story completely inside "the box," evolution effectively rules out the existence of God. Herein lies the heart of the debate over


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"Intelligent Design." Atheist C. Richard Bozarth actually goes so far as to claim that "evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus' earthly life was supposedly made necessary." It is exactly this kind of philosophical assumption that inspires the visceral antagonism of evolutionists toward anyone who dares question the validity of their theory. This is why Darwinists so fervently assert that "evolution is no longer merely a theory, but an established fact." But the truth of the matter, as Dr. Tackett and his guest experts demonstrate in great detail, is that the theory is not supported by the evidence. Many inside the scientific community are beginning to recognize this. But they dare not acknowledge it publicly because of the worldview issues at stake. As Dr. David Berlinski says, "The consequences are serious."

Points to Watch for The essence of Dr. Tackett's message may be summed up as follows: fallen man ignores the plain evidence of objective scientific inquiry and promotes the atheistic philosophy of evolutionary theory primarily because he is determined to do as he pleases without answering to a higher authority. This charge may make some group participants uncomfortable precisely because it hits so close to home. Dr. Tackett also illustrates the point that ideas have consequences by drawing a historical connection between Darwinian Theory and the horrors of Nazi Germany. Some students may feel inclined to debate his assertions in this regard.

The Truth Project Lesson 5 / Part 2 - Science Everywhere we look we see order, complexity, harmony…associated with design, with a designer. Blood clotting – How did it develop if not designed?

Why does blood clot naturally at a cut but not in your circulatory system?

How could man have survived while the evolutionary process took place? Carl Sagan “Evolution is a fact amply demonstrated by the fossil record and by contemporary molecular biology.” Darwin’s criteria for his theory’s acceptance “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” Dr. Stephen Meyer “In the 19th century, biologists thought that cells were made of simple homogeneous globules of plasma. Now with that kind of understanding of life it is easy to imagine how life might have arisen out of a few simple chemical reactions…the origin of life is no big problem. Post 1953 with the discovery of the structure of DNA and also the information bearing properties of DNA we can no longer look at the cell in the same way. And what we are now discovering is that the cell is chalk full of exquisite miniature machines, little turbines, little rotary engines, little walking robots that cart material from one end of the cell to the other. Now in our experience all of those kinds of entities are produced by one cause and only one cause and it is intelligence. And that again challenges materialism because the materialistic worldview of the 19 th

century said there are two fundamental realities: matter and energy. What we are now discovering is that there is a third fundamental reality and that is information and everything we know about information is that it must come from an intelligent cause. The presence of information in living systems suggests an intelligence that pre-exists us that is responsible for all that exquisite nano-technology information.” From “Unlocking the Mysteries of Life” – Dr. Dean Kenyon, co-author of the Theory of Chemical Evolution “This is absolutely mind boggling to perceive at this scale of size, such a finely tuned apparatus, a device that bears the marks of intelligent design and manufacture…And we have the details of an immensely complex molecular realm of genetic information processing and it is exactly this new realm of molecular genetics where we see the most compelling evidence of design on the earth…” His statement is based upon observing the complexity of the cell…the evidence. Francis Crick – “Life itself: Its Origin and Nature” “An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us could now state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions are which would have had to have been satisfied to get it wrong.”


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Man does not always accept what God has made “plain”

An amoeba - information found to provide all DNA structure would equal 1000 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica Francis Crick – Directed Panspermia: Theory that the first living cell must have been transported to earth from some other planet outside our solar system.

Problem: What is the source of this “first cell”?

Why turn to a theory like this? Trying to gain time. George Wald – “The Origin of Life” “Most modern biologists, having reviewed with satisfaction the downfall of the spontaneous generation hypothesis, yet unwilling to accept the alternative belief in special creation, are left with nothing. I think a scientist has no choice but to approach the origin of life through a hypothesis of spontaneous generation.”

Spontaneous Generation Hypothesis – Life sprung from non-life.

Wald is basically saying…if the evidence points outside the box we won’t go there. “One has only to contemplate the magnitude of this task to concede spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. Yet here we are, as a result, I believe in spontaneous generation.”

Why? He does not want to acknowledge a creator

He is stuck on his pre-supposition that there can be no creation.

“Exchanging the truth for a lie” Charles Darwin “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” Darwin “Breaking Down” – Dr. Michael Behe “To Darwin, the cell was a “black box” – its inner workings were utterly mysterious to him. Now, the black box has been opened up and we know how it works. Applying Darwin’s test to the ultra-complex world of molecular machinery and cellular systems that have been discovered over the past 40 years, we can say that Darwin’s theory has “absolutely broken down.” Dr. Behe - Irreducible Complexity: A complex system that could not function if it were any simpler, and therefore could not possibly have been formed by successive additions to a precursor system with the same functionality. An analogy often given in support of irreducible complexity is the mousetrap. Flagellum demonstrating the complex machinery within bacteria cells: So what does the co-option hypothesis predict? That prior to the existence of the flagellum, these 30 gene products (or their duplicates) all existed doing something else. Then, they just happened to all fit together by chance to create a flagellum. And afterwards, the other 30 or so hypothetical functions of these original gene products disappeared… For it is chance that determines whether the 30-or-so gene products just happen to come together to form a functioning flagellum, as selection was pruning these gene products in accord with 30-or-so different functions. Thus, the co-option explanation is really a return to using chance as an explanation for apparent design, and just as it was not convincing in pre-Darwinian days, it is not convincing today. Dr. Chandra Wickramasinge “The speculations of The Origin of Species turned out to be wrong… it is ironic that the scientific facts thrown Darwin out, but leave William Paley, a figure of fun to the scientific world for more than a century, still in the tournament with a chance of being the ultimate winner.”

If Darwin is “out”, why is it taught as fact? Carl Sagan “Evolution is a fact amply demonstrated by the fossil record and by contemporary molecular biology.” And now, the fossil record… Charles Darwin “…The number id intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed on the earth, [must] be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graded organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.”

We have been taught that the fossil record “proves” evolution yet Darwin saw issues with the evidence. Dr. David Berlinski – Speaking on long, gradual evolutionary changes necessary to move from one species to another… “The question to be raised, and it should be raised whenever an evolutionary sequence is mentioned…what are exactly the predicted properties one would expect to find as one passes from a land dwelling creature to a sea dwelling creature? Specifically, how many changes are required to go from a creature such as _______ which seems to have been land dwelling creature to some, to a creature that spends the entire portion of its life in the ocean? Curiously enough, this is not a question that evolutionary biologists ask a whole lot. I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations myself and the most modest estimate I could come up with is that an organism requires roughly 50.0K morphological changes to adapt itself to


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the open ocean. And as soon as we introduce a quantitative estimate, however weak, however flabby, however spontaneous, then a great deal of puzzlement starts to intrude into an otherwise sunny picture. 50,000 changes and we’ve got two members of the sequence? Where are the other 49,999 members of that sequence if Darwinian changes are incremental and are small? We are not talking about changes that are arbitrary. A creature must have these changes if it is going to survive in the open ocean. And any attempt to put a quantitative number should induce a profound sense of perplexity because of the number of changes are so much greater than anything we see in the transitional record. Now, what is the proper explanation for this? Please understand, I don’t have it…but neither do the other guys. Neither do the other guys. And in my opinion, they refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the question…that is a fundamental question in paleontology…how many changes are required? Can those changes be compared to the fossil record? And if they are compared to the fossil record, why do we see such deficiencies in the record as compared to the necessary changes? A very important issue…” If a change from one species to another requires 50,000 changes there ought to be some evidence of that in the fossil record. Charles Darwin - On the origin of the species by means of natural selection The geological record is extremely imperfect and this fact will to a large extent explain why we do not find intermediate varieties, connecting together all the extinct and existing forms of life by the finest graduated steps. He who rejects these views on the nature of the geological record, will rightly reject my whole theory.”

We have not found enough fossils to make the connection, but if we don’t find them the theory should be rejected. Colin Patterson – Of Pandas & People “I will lay it on the line – there is not one such [transitional] fossil for which one could make a watertight argument.”

You can’t say the fossil record supports gradual change from one species to another. David Raup “We are now about 120 years after Darwin and the knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded. We now have a quarter of a million fossil species but the situation hasn’t changed much. The record of evolution is still surprisingly jerky and, ironically, we have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin’s time.”

Since Darwin…more fossils found with less evidence to support the theory. Stephen Jay Gould “The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of the fossils.

Gould – No evidence of slow gradual change expected. Therefore, rather than look to reject evolution, proposes his own theory… Gould’s Response – Punctuated Equilibrium: A theory in evolutionary biology that says the appearance of new species occurs suddenly and without continuous slow variations; species will show little or no evolutionary change throughout history.

The theory is supported by the lack of evidence in the fossil record Darwin’s Finches Studied on the Galapagos Islands – Ecuador Film – “Icons of Evolution” Finches represent “the best and most detailed demonstration to date of the power of Darwin’s process…” Points to the fact that changes in the beak are due to natural selection. Dr. Jonathan Wells - UC-Berkeley “What books fail to mention is that as soon as the rains came back the average beak size returned to normal, there was no net evolution. What we are really seeing is just one species oscillating back and forth with no real evolutionary change so the evidence is exaggerated to make it appear to support Darwin’s theory in a way that it really doesn’t” S. Lovtrup – “Darwinism: The Refutation of a Myth” “I believe that one day the Darwinian myth will be ranked the greatest deceit in the history of science. When this happens many people will pose the question: How did this ever happen?”

We are not just dealing with science and a scientific truth claim…

A philosophic worldview battle

The consequences of rejecting the theory puts them face to face with a creator Carl Sagan “Evolution is a fact amply demonstrated by the fossil record and by contemporary molecular biology.” Richard Dawkins – Challenging Darwin’s Myths “It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).” G. Richard Bozarth – American Atheist


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“Evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of God…and if Jesus was not the redeemer who dies for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.”

What is at stake here? The cosmic battle!

Key Terms Lesson 5 Charles Darwin (1809-1882): British naturalist who proposed the theory of evolution through natural selection in his book The Origin of Species (1859). This book, and Darwin’s theories, has had massive ideological and philosophical effects on our world and humanity. Darwinian Evolution/Darwinism: A specific area of evolutionary biology involving natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin. Directed Panspermia: Theory that suggests that highly-evolved life forms sent microorganisms or biochemical compounds from outer space to earth. Francis Crick developed this hypothesis to explain life on earth. Fossil Record: The fossilized remains of plants and animals that provide the evidential means to understand when those organisms were alive, where they lived, and what they looked like. Francis Crick (1916-2004): Co-discoverer of DNA who rejected the evidence of design. During the 1960s he became concerned with the origins of the genetic code and in the early 1970s proposed the theory of Directed Panspermia. Great Cosmological Question: Where did the cosmos come from? The cosmos either had a beginning or has always existed. Hypothesis: Very early assumption made on the basis of limited evidence used as a starting point for further investigation. Intelligent Design: Scientific theory that nature and complex biological structures were intelligently designed and, as such, are not the result of chance. Proponents of intelligent design argue that there is empirical evidence that is subject to scientific investigation that complex biological systems and the information bearing properties of DNA could not have been created by natural selection. Irreducible Complexity: A complex system that could not function if it were any simpler, and therefore could not possibly have been formed by successive additions to a precursor system with the same functionality. An analogy often given in support of irreducible complexity is the mousetrap. Jonathan Wells: Biologist, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute, and author of Icons of Evolution. A prominent spokesperson for the intelligent design movement, Wells' book proves that many of the most commonly accepted arguments for evolution are invalid. Law: A statement of scientific fact that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon is invariable under given circumstances Michael Behe: American biochemist, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, and author of Darwin's Black Box. Behe is a leading advocate and spokesperson for the intelligent design movement who is most well known for articulating the concept of irreducible complexity. Molecular Biology: The branch of biology that deals with the formation, structure, and function of macromolecules essential to life; in particular t he interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interrelationship of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated Paley's argument for design: Named after William Paley (1743-1805), this is sometimes referred to as the watchmaker analogy: it is plain to see that the parts in a watch are designed and placed in relationship with each other for a purpose and that the watch therefore must have a maker. In the same way, our universe bears evidence of design and purpose and, therefore, must have a maker. Punctuated equilibrium: A theory in evolutionary biology that says the appearance of new species occurs suddenly and without continuous slow variations; species will show little or no evolutionary change throughout history Science: The systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science and philosophy are both attempting to develop truth claims about reality; philosophy in the realm of universals, science in the realm of particulars. Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002): American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist who taught at Harvard University and worked at the American Museum of Natural History. He was an influential and widely read author that developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium (see glossary entry) due to the lack of evidence in the fossil record for gradual Darwinianism. Theory: Idea or belief about something formed by speculation, conjecture, or deduction from certain facts within certain

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Outline

Lesson 6 – History: Whose Story? I. Introduction – Why is History important?

A. Gazing upon the face of God

1. Isaiah 46 – “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God…My purpose will

stand, and I will do all that I please…what I have planned, that will I do.”

2. Galatians 4:4-5 – “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son…”

B. History Quiz – The significance of 911 and 9/11 – What you believe in the present is determined by

your past - History, in this context, becomes extremely critical

II. Historical Revisionism – The danger and power of it!

A. Rigoberta Menchu – Professor: “Whether her book is true or not, I don’t care” – “what is important is

getting students to believe what we want in the present”

B. Revising the Mayflower Compact – God is being left out of contemporary academia

C. Power of Historical Revisionism – “If you rewrite the past, you can make people believe whatever

you want in the present”

1. Lies about History are not new

a. In the garden - “Did God really say?”

b. The resurrection – “His disciples stole the body” – Matthew 28:11-15

2. Veracity of Scripture – Dating and number of historical manuscripts

III. God’s Mandate to Remember

A. Memorial Stones – Joshua 4:1-7



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B. Tassels – Numbers 15:38-39, Deuteronomy 22:12

C. Feasts – Ex. Passover – Exodus 12:24-27, Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:4-12

D. Deuteronomy 8:10-20 – “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God…”

IV. Battle over History

A. Nature of the Battle – Ultimately it is against the nature of God – 2 Corinthians 10:3

B. God’s Sovereign Rule – His providential plan and sovereign control for mankind

1. Acts 4:27-28 – To do whatever your plan had predestined to take place

2. 1 Kings 22:28-34 – Story of Ahab and the “random arrow”

C. Postmodernism & Cultural rejection of metanarratives – “There is no larger story”

V. The Larger Story

A. Del’s Photo Album – Many little stories that weave together the story of life

B. Natural Myopia – Nearsightedness – We lose sight of the larger story of God

C. God’s Photo Album – People who were caught up in the grand story of God

D. Pilgrim’s Providential View of History – “They cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good

foundations…even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great

a work.”

E. A people who are caught up in their own little story will never be willing to lay themselves down as

stepping stones for others


Outline

Lesson 7 – Sociology: the divine Imprint I. Introduction – The God of Order

A. Psalm 19 – “The heavens declare the glory of God…”

B. Job 12 – “But ask the animals, and they will teach you…”

C. Listening to a chicken egg – The exquisite design and intricacy seen in a chicken egg

D. Scriptural emphasis of order – Job 25:2, 1 Corinthians 14:33, James 3:16

II. Social Order – The Divine Imprint

A. “It is not good” – Genesis 2:18 – Why was it “not good” for man to be alone?

B. Triune structure stamped upon Social Order

1. God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit

2. Family – Husband, Wife, Children

3. Church – Christ, Leaders, Flock

4. Our world – Three realms – Physical, Spiritual and Social

C. Relationships, Roles, Authority, Submission and Unity within social spheres

III. Importance of relationships

A. What happened at the fall? – Relationships were severed and damaged – between God & man, man &

man, and man & creation

B. Aloneness - “It is not good for man to be alone” – Aloneness is contrary to God’s nature; in all

eternity, there had never been aloneness before

C. God’s design of social institutions and social laws


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D. Intimate Three – God’s design for unity, intimacy, oneness - Family, Church, God and Man

IV. Family & Church

A. Ephesians 5 – Roles and relationships of members in these spheres – Authority, Submission, Oneness

B. Love and Respect between husband and wife

C. Honor between children and parents, flock and church leaders

V. Conclusion – Pathologies of the Family

A. Divorce – Malachi 2:16 – “I hate divorce…”

B. Lack of respect – 1 Peter 3:7 – “…so that nothing will hinder your prayers…”


Outline

Lesson 7 – Sociology: the divine Imprint I. Introduction – The God of Order

A. Psalm 19 – “The heavens declare the glory of God…”

B. Job 12 – “But ask the animals, and they will teach you…”

C. Listening to a chicken egg – The exquisite design and intricacy seen in a chicken egg

D. Scriptural emphasis of order – Job 25:2, 1 Corinthians 14:33, James 3:16

II. Social Order – The Divine Imprint

A. “It is not good” – Genesis 2:18 – Why was it “not good” for man to be alone?

B. Triune structure stamped upon Social Order

1. God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit

2. Family – Husband, Wife, Children

3. Church – Christ, Leaders, Flock

4. Our world – Three realms – Physical, Spiritual and Social

C. Relationships, Roles, Authority, Submission and Unity within social spheres

III. Importance of relationships

A. What happened at the fall? – Relationships were severed and damaged – between God & man, man &

man, and man & creation

B. Aloneness - “It is not good for man to be alone” – Aloneness is contrary to God’s nature; in all

eternity, there had never been aloneness before

C. God’s design of social institutions and social laws

D. Intimate Three – God’s design for unity, intimacy, oneness - Family, Church, God and Man

IV. Family & Church



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A. Ephesians 5 – Roles and relationships of members in these spheres – Authority, Submission, Oneness

B. Love and Respect between husband and wife

C. Honor between children and parents, flock and church leaders

V. Conclusion – Pathologies of the Family

A. Divorce – Malachi 2:16 – “I hate divorce…”

B. Lack of respect – 1 Peter 3:7 – “…so that nothing will hinder your prayers…”


Outline

Lesson 9 - The State: Whose Law? I. Introduction – What is Politics? Should politics be concerned with ethics & morals?

II. What is stealing? Can the state steal?

A. Story of Naboth’s Vineyard – 1 Kings 21 – King Ahab committed murder and theft

B. Story of Nebuchadnezzar – Daniel 4 – Why is the King eating grass like cattle?

C. Scripture revealing God’s sovereignty over kings

III. Design of the State - God, King (the civil authority), and citizens

A. Why did Israel ask for a King? – 1 Samuel 8 – corruption in civil government

B. Sphere Sovereignty

1. Story of Uzziah - 2 Chronicles 26 – The king entered the temple to burn incense, a

seemingly ”good thing” – God afflicted him with leprosy because he crossed a sphere

boundary

2. Cowboy Movies – Churches did not sit on state soil, but on God’s soil

C. Romans 13:1-6 – Submission and authority established by God

D. Delegation of Authority & Submission – Divine Attributes stamped on social order

1. Delegation – The Father delegated authority to Jesus; God delegated authority to the civil

magistrate

2. Subjection – The Son is subject to the Father; wives are subject to husbands; people are

subject to their rulers

E. State Purpose – To punish evil and condone good – Law is based on ethics

IV. The Rise of the State

A. Death by the state – Because the state holds the power of the sword, it has the capacity to become

tyrannical and commit extreme atrocities

B. State seen as “savior” – Hegel: “the State is the march of God through the world…”

C. State begins to assume roles and responsibilities within the sphere of the family



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D. “Go Before Us” – 1 Samuel 8:19-20 “with a king who will lead us and go out before us and fight our

battles” Also see Exodus 32:1, Isaiah 52:12, and Isaiah 45:2

E. Decline of a culture – Social disorder in America is strikingly similar to that which marked the decline

of Rome

V. Conclusion – “…but they have rejected Me as their king” 1 Samuel 8:7


Outline

Lesson 10 - American Experiment: stepping Stones I. Introduction – God’s design for the state – How close was the American Experiment?

A. Three rules: Won’t deify America; won’t deify Founders; won’t cast stones

B. Basis for the three branches - Isaiah 33 – Lawgiver, Judge, and King

C. Early educational system – Instilling principles of Biblical Christianity

1. Primer and NEA – Biblical doctrine and prayer were essential to education

2. Founding and original mottos of Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia

II. Foundations of Religion and Morality – Basis for Freedom and Liberty

A. Dr. Tackett’s personal journey – America 101

1. Murals in Capital rotunda

2. Revelation 2:5 - Remember, Repent and Return

3. Washington’s Farwell address

B. Foundations of this country - Religion and Morality

1. Consistent theme in virtually all of the Founder’s writings

2. They saw a strong connection between virtue and liberty

C. Purpose of Civil Magistrate - Punish evil and condone good – Romans 13

III. Foundations of Law

A. Blackstone – Valid human laws must be based upon God’s laws

B. Influence of Darwin radically changed law in America – Case study methodology

1. Legal Positivism – The state is the authority for determining right and wrong

IV. The Larger Story



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A. Original charters and constitutions – Acknowledgment of God’s authority and recognition that the

state was subject to and accountable to God

B. Pilgrims intent – “preserving and propagating the truth and liberties of the gospel”

C. Historical revisionism – Founders depicted as Deists and secularists; stripping God and Christianity

from all historical accounts; pursuing a secular basis for law

V. Conclusion – How has this happened?

A. Men have forgotten God

B. Cycle of Nations – Hosea 13:6 – Judgment and destruction upon proud nations

C. Jesus removing the lamp stand – Our hope: Light always overtakes darkness


Outline

Lesson 11 - Labor: Created to Create I. Introduction – The “Labor” Command

II. God’s design for this sphere

A. Culture’s view of work – generally negative and considered a curse

B. Importance of this sphere, though we generally don’t address it

1. It funds everything – all material goods are produced in this sphere

2. Yet it also produces pornography, illegal drugs, abortion, etc.

C. Reflection of God’s nature – God worked and saw that it was good – God stamped us with his divine

image and has given us the privilege of being his creative stewards

III. General Economic Model and Seven Economic Principles

A. All things belong to God

1. Our materialistic drive is a reflection of Satan’s lie that more “stuff” will satisfy us

B. God appointed man to be a creative steward of his goods with ownership rights

1. Definition of steward and economics: management authority of God’s goods

2. Proper, Biblical attitude of employees and employers

C. Theft and coveting of another’s goods is wrong

D. Skills and abilities to work come from God

E. Work is profitable, good, and to be pursued; laziness is not

F. Love God and not your goods

G. Be compassionate and generous with your good to those in need

IV. Responsibility to the poor

1


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A. Scriptural mandate to show compassion to the poor

B. The poor need work and the sphere of labor has the primary responsibility to provide those work

opportunities

V. Arts and Media - Is beauty relative?

A. God’s standard – Psalm 101:3 – “I will set before my eyes no vile thing”

B. Overwhelming power and presence of media – “Whoever controls the media, controls the culture”

C. Soli Deo Gloria – For God’s glory alone – We need to have this same perspective, that God would be

glorified in all we do

2

Outline

Lesson 12 - Community & Involvement: God Cares, Do I? I. Introduction – The Greatest and Second Greatest Commandment

A. Matthew 22:34-40 – “And a second is like it…love your neighbor as yourself.”

B. Luke 10:25-29 – “He wanted to justify himself, so he asked ‘Who is my neighbor?’”

II. Who is my neighbor? – Radical design of this sphere: Christ, a neighbor, the needy

A. Story of the good Neighbor – Jesus didn’t answer the question “Who is my neighbor?” but instead

told us what a good neighbor is

B. Who are the needy? – poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, outcasts, unpopular, neglected, left out,

homely, last – The needy are great in a sphere we neglect

III. Seeking the Heart of God

A. God’s heart for the needy and lowly – He saves the poor and lifts up the lowly – Who is this God?

B. Foundational Presuppositions - God is and He has revealed Himself to us

C. What is it about the nature of God that causes Him to reveal Himself to us?

1. Isaiah 65:1-2 “To a nation that did not call on my name I said, “Here am I, Here I am. All

day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people…”

2. Matthew 23:37 “…I have longed to gather your children together...”

IV. “Tapeinos” – The humble heart of God

A. Matthew 11:28-29 “For I am gentle and humble in heart” - Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and

in John 14:4-9 tells them “Anyone who has seen me, has seen the father.” – Man of steel and velvet

B. Psalm 35:10 - My whole being will exclaim “Who is like you, O God!”

V. Involvement – God’s Involvement and Ours



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A. Seeing others as God sees them and recognizing that they have eternal significance

B. Jonah and Nineveh - Jonah running from the face of God – “Should I not have compassion on

Nineveh, the great city?”

C. Transforming Culture - “How Christianity Changed the World”

1. William Wilberforce –Abolished slavery through a deep sense of calling, band of like-

minded brothers, and sustained public persuasion

2. We are in good company - Hebrews 11- Cloud of Witnesses

D. “What do I do?” – Get your calling from the One who made you, the One who gifted you. Continue to

gaze upon the face of God, pursue Him and continually be transformed into the very image of Christ.

May God’s truth be a fire in your bones.


outline lesson 1 - veritology: what is truth?canaan-church.org/page_truth_outlines.pdfour worldview...

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