Life: From Growing Up Christian, to New Age, to $40,000 Business Monthly Revenue, to Jesus by Anchored North

About

Steven shares how he grew up in the church, attending a Christian school, doubting, pursuing new age beliefs including aliens, spirituality, universalism, and repenting to trust in Christ with his life and living through the ramifications.

Anchored North Description:

In high school, Steven Bancarz became obsessively curious about New Age spirituality. It wasn’t long before he was immersed in practicing meditation, lucid dreaming, and astral projection. His consciousness was awakening unlike ever before. To help others find enlightenment, he built a website called Spirit Science and Metaphysics. The platform was a huge success, and it earned him an average of $40,000 per month in ad revenue. Suddenly, he had the most profound spiritual encounter imaginable. In this beautiful and terrifying moment, he finally gained true knowledge about people, God, human emotions, and himself.

Education: God is Fact or Fiction? by John Lennox at UNC 2012

Education: Resources for Science of Genetics, Human Chromosome 2 “Fusion Site," and Evolution vs. Creation

About

Along the way, we will update this post with helpful resources from linked articles to literature (books, curriculum). We are grateful for truth and people in professions and skills that are capable to delve into specific and scientific realities, research, and results. Often there are opposing, simple, or purely confusing stances on science. It can feel overwhelming or needlessly straining, but truth will set you free, regardless of how “small” or “large” truthful facts.

Resources

1. https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/a-tale-of-two-chromosomes/

2. https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/alleged-human-chromosome-2-fusion-site-encodes-an-active-dna-binding-domain-inside-a-complex-and-hig/

3. https://www.icr.org/article/update-chromosome-2-fusion

4. https://genesisapologetics.com/faqs/human-and-chimp-dna-is-it-really-98-similar/

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qZCiXEcP8 (video on Genetics, Evolution, and Creation: Most Asked Questions - Dr. Georgia Purdom)

Education: Has Science Buried God? by John Lennox [VIDEO]

About

Eric Metaxas interviews (mainly at minute 6 on the video) John Lennox at the Colson Center in Washingon D.C. in summary form regarding the topic question, “Has Science Buried God?” The interview might just be best for a helpful introduction to Lennox and to discover more of what he has authored and argued, especially in debates with high profile atheist (20th-21st century version) professors and scientists. Dr. Lennox provides a lot of helpful statements and introductory level direction in how to think and find more answers. Many of the statements are also challenging modern day assumptions, decades old under-toe current, and now seemingly tsunami wave of people’s ‘anti-belief’ in God. Below the video are quotes/statements written out from the interview for reference also.

Metaxas allow 3 questions from the audience at the end, which starts about 1 hour 5 minutes that addresses: 1) Mathematical proofs; 2) Abortion; and 3) What would Lennox say before God in heaven upon death?

From Socrates in the City youtube video (1 hour 19 minutes) description:

“Host Eric Metaxas and Oxford professor John Lennox explore the question, "Has science buried God?" -- discussing the fine-tuned universe, evolution, logic, history, and more! "It's like we're an old Vaudeville team" says Metaxas, who eggs the legendary Lennox into retelling his equally legendary roast chicken anecdote. The interview was hosted by the Colson Center and took place in Washington D.C., in May 2019.“

Video

Dr. Lennox provides statements like:

1. “There are a myth in our culture: 1) Science is the only way to truth. 2) The position is logically incoherent … That statement (science is the only way to truth) cannot be true since it does not come from science.”

2. “Science can bury atheism.“

3. “It was the belief in God that drove science.”

4. “They got the wrong concept of God.”

5. “The more he understood of how it worked, the more he admired the genius of the God [of the Bible] who did it that way.”

6. “There’s a mind behind what’s up there … not mindless, unguided processes.“

7. “Our faith increases [in God when learning the world and science].“

8. “Kids can understand but professors cannot. The scientific explanation tells you how it works. The personal explanation works also … the two explanations do not compete but compliments.”

9. “[The why question] is an important question.”

10. “Something came from something, not nothing.”

11. “Science can bury atheism.“

12. “We have been miseducated by atheists that there’s science there and there’s faith here.”

13. “Atheism followed to its logical conclusion destroys rationality.”

14. “The Bible is putting the finger on what is really profound.“

15. “The universe is word based … not that the universe came from nothing and created itself.”

16. “And God said … The idea of God speaking is such a powerful one. The Bible has been talking about it for a millennia.”

17. “Nobody can get rid of the idea of creation. So reject God and end up with a self-creating universal and that’s a contradiction in terms … leads to nonsense.“

18. “It is a mistake to think that only Christians are a people of faith.”

19. “Every school in our country is a faith school.”

20. “They don’t realize that their atheism is a belief system [don’t you believe in your atheistic beliefs].

21. “We are people who believe in Christ, and provide why we believe what we believe.“

22. “[Put Christianity and truth in the public space] We need a lot of courage to do that, otherwise we all will be silenced.“

23. “Evolution only addresses when there is life and not how life came about.”

24. “Our culture is faced of a raw choice between God and nothing.”

Topics (mentioned or addressed):

1. Literature

2. Theology

3. Languages

4. Classics

5. God

6. Word

7. Universe

8. Life

9. Creation

10. History

11. Science

12. Evolution

13. Atheism (20th/21st century version)

14. Galileo

15. Kepler

16. Christopher Hitchens

17. Richard Dawkins

18. Stephen Hawking

19. Carl Sagan

20. Peter Singer

21. Reductionism

22. Ontological Reductionists

23. DNA

24. Fine-tuning

25. Chance, necessity, and laws of nature

26. Abiogenesis

27. Philosophy

28. Physics

29. Mathematics

30. The Bible

31. Biblical Revelation

32. John’s Gospel

33. Living Word, Jesus

34. Isaac Newton

35. C.S. Lewis

36. Logic

37. Rationale

38. Gravity

39. Energy

40. Education

41. Schools

42. What to say at death and before the Lord Jesus Christ?

Education: Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with Berlinski, Meyer, and Gelernter Youtube Video by Hoover Institution

About

The below video by the Hoover Institution features a light-hearted but specificly detailed discussion about Darwin’s theory of evolution compared to recent scientific evidences about “functioning proteins.” Here’s the beginning of the Youtube video description:

“Based on new evidence and knowledge that functioning proteins are extremely rare, should Darwin’s theory of evolution be dismissed, dissected, developed or replaced with a theory of intelligent design? Has Darwinism really failed? Peter Robinson discusses it with David Berlinski, David Gelernter, and Stephen Meyer, who have raised doubts about Darwin’s theory in their two books and essay, respectively The Deniable Darwin, Darwin’s Doubt, and “Giving Up Darwin” (published in the Claremont Review of Books).“

Though the discussion does not end up agreeing and affirming that God is the one and only Creator to the world, the discussion does recognize the natural evidences of what God did create, regardless of people’s belief in Him or not. People may and can recognize truths and still end of not believing in Him. Christianity recognizes the connection between nature (creation) and the nature Creator.

We affirm God’s created order of instant, powerful creation through his spoken words narrated in Genesis 1 and 2 within 7 literal days and referenced throughout the remainder of the Bible as such. The math, physics, science, biology, history, geography, archaeology, philosophy, theology, biblicality, etc. add up or reveal God as existent and Creator.

Video

Is Genesis History? Historical and Scientific Documentary Contrasting Evolution and Creation

Is Genesis History? provides a timely and tremendous overview of the historical and scientific methods and evidence that clearly guides through the differences of an evolutionary vs. creationist view point. The director and featured scientists characteristically provide a kind and inquisitive approach in talking about the differences between evolution and creation. The documentary is filled with simple illustrations to in depth scientific discussion allowing for varying ages and interested people to follow. From beginning students and to tenured teachers that take these topics seriously would find this 1 hr 45 minute video helpful and a great discussionary tool.

The documentary provides a wide range of topics that one might find easily transferrable to real life conversations for classrooms or among friends like the following:

1. life, reality, existence
2. creation vs. evolution
3. God, man, sin
4. history's role and importance
5. scientific methods and paradigms of interpretation
6. biblical genre of poetry vs. narrative (historical)
7. age of the universe and world
8. dating methods
9. rock layers (e.g. Grand Canyon)
10. archaeology (e.g. dinosaur bones)
11. dinosaurs and ice age
12. universal flood (including Noah's ark)
13. animals and ocean life
14. cells and DNA
15. human migration and languages
16. geography and geology
17. light (stars, planets, sun) and distance

Learn more about Is Genesis History? through their website: IsGenesisHistory.com, which provides ways to rent or buy (e.g. Netflix, Youtube, Amazon, etc.). You can purchase the DVD documentary from Amazon, which contains 4 bonus video interviews averaging 15 minutes each (ice age and atmosphere; bible and church history; additional resources; and purpose of light). We've added Is Genesis History? to the Telos Center Library as well for further reviews.