Welcome to the monthly Midwest Apologetics newsletter. Each issue is designed to keep you informed on the latest news concerning the ministry and provide timely articles to help strengthen your faith. Be sure to check out our website for articles, book reviews, and answers to some of the tough questions concerning the Christian faith.

Bible Difficulties – Part Four

In our three previous newsletters we have been looking at Bible difficulties. In those editions, we defined what a Bible difficulty is and gave four reasons as to why God may have allowed them to be in His Word. We have also examined several reasons why the critics mistakenly charge the Bible with error. In this article, we want to show you the first four of eight principles on how to successfully deal with Bible difficulties.

First, you need to have complete confidence in the author of Scripture. The Bible claims to the Word of God and since God cannot lie, then the Bible cannot be mistaken. So if you are presented with a difficulty that you cannot answer, do not give up hope. It may be that you just are not familiar with the answer or that one has not been found yet. Also, just because an answer has not been found does not mean that the Bible is wrong.

Second, you need to realize that you will not understand everything in the Bible. In Isaiah 55: 8 – 9, God says that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. There are going to be some ideas in Scripture that we cannot fully comprehend. The Trinity is such an example. We can understand certain facts about the Trinity but we cannot fully comprehend the idea that God is three persons in one Being.

Third, remember that there are a lot of people who would love to destroy your confidence in the Bible. Countless websites have been developed for the sole purpose of attacking the Christian faith. Numerous college professors seem to feel that it is part of their job description to belittle Christianity as much as possible. Television channels, such as the History Channel, repeatedly run programs about the Bible but most of their “experts” are liberal theologians who reject the fundamentals of the faith.

If someone confronts you with a Bible difficulty, try to figure out their motive for doing so. If they are sincerely seeking an answer, then be sure to do your best to provide an accurate one. If they are simply in attack mode, then you are usually wasting time because they are not interested in finding an answer. They merely want to attack your faith. Keep in mind that God’s Word has withstood the attacks of the critics for centuries and it will continue to do so as long as the Lord tarries.

Fourth, remember that something that is hard to accept is not necessarily untrue. Literally, millions of professing Christians deny the existence of eternal punishment, yet Jesus repeatedly affirmed that some people will suffer for all eternity (Matthew 25: 41 / Mark 9: 43). Of course the doctrine of hell is unpleasant to think about and some Christians may have trouble reconciling this concept with the idea of a loving God but it does not nullify the fact that the Bible does teach that the unredeemed will suffer for eternity.

In next month’s issue, we will conclude our series on Bible difficulties by revealing the final four principles on how to deal with them.

Creation Museum Opens

The Creation Museum opened to the public on May 28, 2007 despite the protests of some in the evolutionary community who view the museum as a threat to their worldview. The museum received worldwide media attention in the days leading up to and following the Grand Opening. Some reports were very balanced and fair while others were obnoxiously biased. Either way, the creation message received a great deal of free publicity.

We had the privilege to visit the museum the day after it opened and were extremely impressed. Not only is the quality first class, but the message is so important. Perhaps the best part of the museum is near the end of the tour. After being exposed to the events of the Creation, Corruption (the Fall), Catastrophe (the Flood), and Confusion (Tower of Babel), visitors are ushered in to a theater to learn about the final three “C’s” of world history: Christ, Cross, and Consummation. The movie serves as a vivid reminder of what this museum is ultimately all about: the Creator became a man to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven and spend eternity with Him.

We are hoping to make a couple of more trips to the museum this summer. It’s a long drive (9 hours) and the high gas prices have made it less affordable. Nevertheless, several people have contacted us about traveling to the museum. Depending on how many people travel with us, it would probably cost anywhere between $75 - $100 for gas, van rental, hotel, and museum admission. If you are interested in doing this, please contact us and let us know what dates would work well for you. It would probably be best to leave on a Friday morning or noontime and return late at night on Saturday. This would give us about five hours to tour the museum and watch the planetarium presentation.

Miscellaneous

As always, if you have any questions, comment, concerns, corrections, ideas, prayer requests, etc., please email us and let us know. Also, thank you for your prayers. Please continue to keep us in your prayers throughout this month.

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