August 2008 - Vol 4, Issue 3

In this issue...
-- WHO IS OUR 'INTELLIGENT DESIGNER'? (Part 1)
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Fifth Annual Day with WMI to be held in South Bend, Ind.
-- Search Dr. Whitcomb's SermonAudio messages by topic

WHO IS OUR 'INTELLIGENT DESIGNER'? (Part 1)
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

At the end of the 20th century, the academic world was hearing more and more about IDM - the Intelligent Design Movement. It was the proposition that the biological world could not have come into existence by mere undirected time and chance. Upon closer inspection, under the lenses of powerful microscopes hitherto unimaginable, irreducible, specified complexity came to light within the cells of living things.

Thus, Charles Darwin and his followers were in total error when they assumed that living cells were simple blobs of protoplasm that could easily "evolve" from lifeless chemicals floating in the earth's ancient oceans. As one writer expressed it, the actual, incomprehensible, incomparable complexity of the cell was therefore a "black box" to Darwin! The Intelligent Design Movement claims many outstanding scientists and philosophers. They have discovered new ways of detecting signs of intelligence, just like detectives looking for clues or archaeologists searching for undeniably human artifacts. In fact, the federal government has even sponsored an expensive program - SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), with the expectation that they can determine whether someone - rather than merely something - is really out there!

Of course, there have been thousands of scientists - and thinking people in general - who have seen intelligent design in all of the living world. In fact, only a tiny minority of people have ever been consistent atheists! For centuries, it has been recognized that blind, purposeless, meaningless chance could never have produced human minds. If that were the case, then an atheist would have no reason to expect people to believe that what he says is really true! It really requires profound faith to be an evolutionist. No one has explained how the first speck of life could have evolved from lifeless chemicals. Nothing is evolving today. The famous Second Law of Thermodynamics describes a universe that is everywhere and always going downward to cosmic collapse, not upward to higher complexity.

There are trillions of fossils of plants, marine creatures, insects, reptiles and mammals in the earth's crust, but no transitional forms connecting lower forms to higher forms have ever been found. Mutations are harmful, if not deadly. "Natural selection" can only select from living things that are here now; it cannot explain how the hundreds of thousands of living kinds got here in the first place. Complex body parts, such as legs and wings, require massive genetic information; but evolutionism has no concept of where such information came from.

Richard Dawkins, professor of the public understanding of science at the University of Oxford, perhaps the world's most prominent atheistic evolutionist, admits that "living objects... look designed, they look overwhelmingly as if they were designed... Biology is the study of complicated things which give the impression of having been designed for a purpose." To which John Lennox, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, replied: "Such statements provoke the question: Why? After all, if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, why not call it a duck? Why are such scientists not prepared to draw the obvious inference, and say that living things look as if they are designed precisely because they are designed?" (God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? [Oxford, England: Lion Hudson, 2007], p. 77).

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
Dr. Whitcomb has numerous important and strategic opportunities to present the truth of God's Word in these days. Please pray for these endeavors and for the ongoing work and needs of this ministry.

On Monday, Oct. 27, and Tuesday, Oct. 28, Dr. Whitcomb will teach at the Sunshine State Regular Baptist Bible Conference, to be held at the Fellowship Baptist Church of Lakeland, Fla. For more information, call Dr. Rick Piatt at 863-646-3318, or visit www.fellowshipbc-lakeland.org.

From Wednesday, Oct. 29, to Friday, Oct. 31, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Bible Conference of the Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. For more information, call Melody Maines at 515-964-0601 or visit www.faith.edu.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Dr. Whitcomb will speak on apologetics at the Fifth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, to be held at the Fellowship Baptist Church of South Bend, Ind. For more information, call Paul Scharf at 920-623-0257 or visit www.whitcombministries.org.

On Sunday, Nov. 9, and Monday, Nov. 10, Dr. Whitcomb will teach at the Fellowship Baptist Church of South Bend, Ind. For more information, call Pastor Virgil Wesco at 574-234-1127 or visit www.fellowshipbaptistsb.org.

From Friday, Nov. 14, to Sunday, Nov. 16, Dr. Whitcomb will preach on Biblical prophecy at the McCalla Bible Church of McCalla, Ala. For more information, call Jimmy Dean Brown at 205-507-0901 or visit www.mccallabible.com.

On Friday, Nov. 21, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Smith-Cotton Auditorium in Sedalia Mo., hosted by Maplewood Church. For more information, call Pastor Eddie Brown at 660-827-0532 or visit www.maplewood-church.com.

From Friday, Nov. 21, to Sunday, Nov. 23, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Maplewood Church of Sedalia Mo. The weekend will include a pastor's lunch on Nov. 21, for which reservations are required. The cost for the lunch is $6. For more information, call Pastor Eddie Brown at 660-827-0532 or visit www.maplewood-church.com.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, Dr. Whitcomb will address the 17th annual Pre-Trib Study Group Conference in Dallas, Tex. His topic will be "Ezekiel 40-48 and the Millennial Sacrifices." For more information, call Dr. Thomas Ice at 434-592-3773 or visit www.pre-trib.org.

From Friday, March 13, to Sunday, March 15, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Brookside Baptist Church of Brookfield, Wis. For more information, call 262-783-6180 or visit www.brooksidebaptist.org.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

(*Answers in Genesis-sponsored event. For more information on these conferences, visit www.answersingenesis.org/events.)

Fifth Annual Day with WMI to be held in South Bend, Ind.
Whitcomb Ministries is pleased to announce that the Fifth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries will be held at the Fellowship Baptist Church of South Bend, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 8.

This will mark the first time that a Day with Whitcomb Ministries has been held in Dr. Whitcomb's home state. All four previous events were held in Wisconsin, where Dr. Whitcomb is seen on television each week in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

"We are hopeful that many of Dr. Whitcomb's long-time friends can come and make this day a real homecoming," said WMI ministry assistant Paul Scharf. "Additionally, we trust that many from neighboring churches, and many new friends, will also come and join us."

The Fifth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries will be a wonderful event for the entire family, and will provide believers with a great opportunity to prepare their hearts and minds for the Thanksgiving season. It may also offer one last opportunity for a fall getaway before the busy holiday season begins.

Much more information about this special, major Bible conference can be found on our Web pages at www.WhitcombMinistries.org and Whitcomb.SermonAudio.com, where you can register for free on our "Events" page.

(Note: This event was previously scheduled to be held in Menomonee Falls, Wis. The location and other aspects of the conference were changed for a variety of reasons. We trust that this new venue will allow us to reach many who have not previously attended our conferences. If you cannot join us, please be in prayer for this event.)

Search Dr. Whitcomb's SermonAudio messages by topic
Listeners to the more than 400 messages that Whitcomb Ministries has posted at Whitcomb.SermonAudio.com may now search for specific themes by topic under "Series" in the main menu bar on our pages there.

Currently more than a dozen topics are listed, including "Dispensationalism," "Hermeneutics" and "Patriotism," and more will be added in the days to come.

Site visitors may also continue to search more specifically by keyword under "Sermons" in the main menu bar.

We appreciate our many loyal listeners, and trust that these tips will enhance your next visit to our SermonAudio.com pages. May God bless you as you hear His Word.