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What is The Watchmaker's message?
We
are hoping that this presentation causes you to acknowledge
that there is one true Creator God and to inquire as
to Who this God is.
Jeremiah
29:13 -- And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye
shall search for me with all your heart.
We believe there are two foundational spiritual questions
that far surpass all others:Is
there a God? Has this God spoken? We believe the answer
to both those questions is a resounding "YES!"
We believe that there is one God, and that this one
God has revealed Himself generally through Creation
and man's conscience (sense of right and wrong), and
has revealed Himself specifically through the Old and
New Testaments of Scripture.
Did Kids 4 Truth make this message
up?
No,
the truth that obvious and observable design necessitates
a designer has been around for thousands of years. William
Paley wrote about the concept in "Natural Theology"
in 1802:
In
crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against
a stone, and were asked how the stone came to be there;
I might possibly answer, that, for anything I knew to
the contrary, it had lain there forever: nor would it
perhaps be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer.
But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and
it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in
that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had
before given, that for anything I knew, the watch might
have always been there. (...) There must have existed,
at some time, and at some place or other, an artificer
or artificers, who formed [the watch] for the purpose
which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended
its construction, and designed its use. (...) Every
indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design,
which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature;
with the difference, on the side of nature, of being
greater or more, and that in a degree which exceeds
all computation.
Since
Paley's time scientists have discovered that all of
life is more amazingly complex and intricate than we
ever could have imagined. The proper term for the argument
we purport with "the Watchmaker" is called
the Teleological Argument for the existence of God.
Who is the "Watchmaker"?
We
believe that the "Watchmaker" is the Triune
God of the Old and New Testaments of Scripture, and
has revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully man and fully
God, and is truly "Lord over all."
Philippians
2:10-11 -- That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth; And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Colossians
1:16 -- For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him:
Is God, the Designer, still active
within His Creation?
Some
might suppose that we are Deists because of the "Watchmaker"
theme. Deists essentially believe that God wound up
the universe like a clock and then went away. Deists
do not believe that God can be known.
We
believe that God is a personal, knowable God that is
active within His Creation at all times. We believe
that if God were to remove His gracious, sustaining
hand from His Creation that all life as we know it would
cease to exist immediately. The creature desperately
needs the Creator!
Acts
17:24-28 -- God that made the world and all things therein,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth
not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped
with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing
he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And
hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell
on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the
times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have
our being.
What do you mean when you say
that "all nature on earth is so perfectly fine?"
We
don't think that all of life is perfect like God is
perfect. God is the only perfectly good Being. We use
the phrase "perfectly fine" as hyperbole to
assert that all living things are wonderful, magnificent,
intricate designs.
Psalms
139:14 -- I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that
my soul knoweth right well.
Spiritually
speaking, the truth is that mankind is not "fine!"
Every person is by default born into sin, held captive
by its power, and destined for eternal destruction.
Thankfully, God provided Jesus Christ as a sacrifice
for our sins and has promised to one day redeem His
Creation and make all things perfect again.
Romans
8:21-23 -- Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. For we know that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together
until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which
have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body.
Where can I find out more about
the intricacies and complexities of all life?
Some
excellent books are Evolution:
A Theory in Crisis and Nature's
Destiny, both by Michael Denton, a molecular
biologist, and Darwin's Black Box by Michael Behe, a
biochemist. Answers magazine is an excellent quarterly
periodical designed for families and always has good
articles on the wonders of nature. It is from Answers
in Genesis International and has a special section just
for kids. Visit www.answersingenesis.org
for more information. Acts and Facts is a free monthly
publication from the Institute for Creation Research
and has very interesting articles. Visit www.icr.org
for more information. Other good sources of Creationist
information are www.creationscience.com
and www.trueorigins.org
.
What is the difference between
the theory of Intelligent Design and Biblical Creationism?
ID
(Intelligent Design)Theory simply tries to show mathematically
what is already intuitively obvious -- that organisms
in nature were designed. The theory does not make an
attempt to identify who the Intelligent Designer is,
although many ID Theorists would identify themselves
as Christians of some type. I believe the movement is
helpful to the Biblical Creationism movement because
it causes people to see the lunacy of the Theory of
Evolution. This is turn shows them the wisdom of believing
in a Creator, which can encourage them to read the Bible
and come to know their Creator. You can learn more about
the ID Movement by visiting www.discovery.org
and www.uncommondescent.com
.
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