What happened when Dr Ross visited Australia

 

Andrew Corbett, Pastor of Legana Christian Church in Launceston, Tasmania, has been a long term friend of Reasons to Believe. He has been instrumental in helping to bring Reasons to Believe speakers out to Australia. Andrew has posted on his blog an account of Dr Hugh Ross recent visit.

 

It's a great account of his visit to Tasmania. Andrew received a lot of criticism for bringing Dr Ross out to speak. Interestingly, Andrew notes that when he queried those who were challenging him about Dr Ross, "in every instance (and I did not have time to challenge every opponent) when I asked if these opponents if they had actually read a Hugh Ross book or attended one his talks, the answer was: no. This was extremely disturbing."

 

Indeed it is disturbing. The danger of not reading the Bible in consideration of its original context, and of not understanding a few basics about the original language it was written in (Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament, and Ancient Greek for the New Testament) is that incorrect interpretations of the text can occur. Gerald Schroeder warned of this danger, when in Genesis and the Big Bang, he wrote:

 

In recent times an unusual orientation has arisen among many who are eager to evaluate the relevance of the Bible to daily life. There is a misconception that an understanding of the text comes to one as a natural heritage, as if we are bequeathed it genetically along with the instinct to breathe or the ability to reason. The most simplistic meanings are assumed to be adequate and the study of commentaries thereon is considered superfluous.

(Genesis and the Big Bang, p.19)

 

Dr Ross has spent years studying the Biblical text in its context, and he is instrumental in helping Christians to have confidence that science and Christian faith are deep friends and not enemies.

 

You can read what happened when Dr Ross visited the Legana Christian Church in Launceston, Tasmania, in Andrew Corbett's blog post here.

 

God bless, 

Paulette 

May you have a blessed, happy and safe Easter

Everyone at the Sydney Chapter for Reasons to Believe would like to wish and pray that you have a blessed, safe and happy Easter.



Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904–1989). Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus), 1954. Oil on canvas

One of the most attested to facts of Christ's life that comes from outside of the New Testament is the fact of Christ's crucifixion. Josephus and Tacitus, both contemporary historians living around the time of the 1st Century, point to Christ being crucified during the reign of Tiberius whilst Pontius Pilot was governor of Judea.

Jesus death and resurrection are celebrated by Christians at this time, because these events are rooted in time and space as part of history. They are real events that occurred 2,000 years ago in Judea. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means that humanity has hope. A deep and abiding hope. But as Paul say's in 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20 (NIV).

¹² But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

If you doubt that we can trust after 2,000 years the Jesus indeed has been risen from the dead, click here for a whole stack of free resources that will help you in your search towards the truth on this most important of historical events.

Have a blessed and happy Easter. God bless.

Next Chapter Meeting will be Friday, 23rd May

The Sydney Chapter will be meeting on Friday night, 23rd May.

Location: North Epping, Sydney NSW
Time: 7:30pm for an 8:00pm start

Want to find out more, contact us via email at Sydney.Australia@reasons.org

The Genesis Flood and the Noah movie

What most people have heard or read about Noah and the ark from childhood storybooks onward strikes them as utterly preposterous. Not only does the story seem to contradict multiple disciplines of science, but it also seems to contradict the Christian doctrine of an all-knowing, all-loving God. With that in mind, RTB has dedicated a page of resources to help foster positive, respectful dialogue with truth seekers.

The Biblical account of Noah's Flood can be found in Chapters 6 to 9 in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Head on over to BibleGateway and read what the Bible has to say for yourself.

If you a curious about the scientific evidences for the Genesis Flood, head on over to the Reasons to Believe Flood page. There you will find a wealth of free resources to help you. Still curious? Then check out Navigating Genesis which has several chapters dedicated to evidences for the Genesis Flood.

Dr Hugh Ross heads to Australia

Save the Date. Hugh Ross is visiting Australia this Easter!

Wednesday, April 16 through Sunday, April, 27! Dr. Hugh Ross is headed to Australia and will be speaking in multiple locations, including the greater areas of Launceston, Perth, and Brisbane! Sadly, Dr Ross will not be visiting Sydney. However, if you are able to get to one of the venues, this will be well worth attending. In my opinion, Australia is starved for a lack of good apologetics, especially in the arena of science & faith. These events are not to be missed if you can get there.

Launceston: April 16–20

Key Event: How Does Science Prove the Existence of God?
Date: Friday, April 18
Location: Launceston Easter Community Festival—Albert Hall
45 Tamar St.
Launceston TAS 7250
Map/Directions

Perth: April 22–23

Key Event: An Astronomer’s Quest – Dr. Hugh Ross’s Personal Story
Date: Sunday, April 23
Location: Uniting Church in the City—Wesley Church
97 William St.
Perth WA 6000
Map/Directions

Brisbane: April 26–27

Key Event: Sunday Service
Date: Sunday, April 27
Location: Catalyst Church
142 Pine Mountain Rd.
Brassall QLD 4305
Map/Directions

Visit our events page for details on the various events at each location.

For more information, email rtbevents@reasons.org or call (855) REASONS.

 

 

Navigating Genesis: Hugh Ross

A Scientist’s Journey through Genesis 1–11 
 
“Everyone knows the Bible teaches scientific nonsense”—that’s the commonly held misconception. When pushed for examples, skeptics point to the early part of Genesis, with stories of creation, the flood, and 900-year life spans as “proof.”

Examining recent scientific discoveries, astronomer and pastor Dr. Hugh Ross explores the opening chapters in Genesis and shows how they hold some of the strongest scientific evidence for the Bible’s supernatural accuracy. Navigating Genesis expands upon Ross’ earlier book The Genesis Question (1998), integrating the message of both the Bible and science—without compromise—giving skeptics and believers common ground for dialogue.

I've just received my copy of Navigating Genesis in the mail and I am very keen to read it. It was only released a few weeks ago. I read The Genesis Question by Dr Ross about five years ago and it was very well written and researched. Navigating Genesis now updates The Genesis Question with even more up to date research. I recommended The Genesis Question to many of my friends over the years. Navigating Genesis, I have no doubt, will also become highly recommended.

The animals float two by two, hurrah...

That's the title of a new research paper released on the 3rd April by students at the University of Leicester.

From the university's own press release:

This month, the classic biblical tale of Noah’s Ark will receive a Hollywood makeover with the release of the movie Noah - and Physics students at the University of Leicester have found that the ark would have indeed been able to float with all of the animals on board.

A group of fourth year master’s students from the Department of Physics and Astronomy have calculated that Noah’s ark, built to accommodate at least two of every animal species, would have floated using the dimensions ordained in the Bible.

In the book of Genesis, chapter 6:13-22, Noah is commanded to build an ark to survive a flood. Noah is provided exact dimensions for the boat which should be: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high and should hold Noah, his family, and at least two of every species of animal for the duration of the flood.

Using these dimensions, Archimedes’ principle and suitable approximations, University of Leicester Physics students Oliver Youle, Katie Raymer, Benjamin Jordan and Thomas Morris tested the instructions and were surprised with their results.

The students found that the ark could carry up to 35,000 individual animals. Well within the number of animals estimated by Dr Hugh Ross (see Let Us Reason: Noah's Floating Zoo).

The full paper, ‘The animals float two by two, hurrah!’ can be found at: http://physics.le.ac.uk/journals/index.php/pst/article/view/676/475

The paper is very short, at only two pages, and easy to read.

The RTB website has a wealth of information on the Genesis Flood account. If you want to delve deeper into this topic, got to the Reasons to Believe website and type in 'Noah', or 'the Flood' into the search engine.

Chapter meeting this Friday, 11th April at 8pm

The Sydney Chapter will be meeting this Friday night, 11th April.

Location: Epping, Sydney NSW
Time: 7:30pm for an 8:00pm start

Want to find out more, contact us via email at Sydney.Australia@reasons.org

The Sydney Chapter for RTB

From its inception nearly five years ago, the Sydney Chapter has been meeting on a roughly bi-monthly basis, though sometimes we extend out the schedule to three months between meetings.  We always meet on a Friday night at a members’ home. Members have found that Friday evenings provide the best way to minimise disruption to busy family life.

As chapter members hale from a half-dozen different churches scattered across the city, this means that members can attend their own church's home Bible-study groups, midweek services, outreach and support events without suffering from meeting burn out. It also provides the presenters with the much needed time in our busy schedules to research and prepare interesting topics to present to the group.

The members feel that by meeting in a home setting, hospitality and the informal homely environment offers the best way for people to feel unintimidated in asking questions and engendering good discussion, whilst getting to know each other and visitors much better.

 

The arena of the science/faith apologetics is a difficult one for the average person to grasp, and feeling free to ask questions and to discuss counter points is the best way we have found to enact the principles espoused in 1 Peter 3:15-16.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…

If you would like to get in contact with the Sydney Chapter, you can reach us at the following email address: Sydney.Australia@reasons.org

Our page on the Reasons to Believe web site can be found here (http://www.reasons.org/participate/chapters-and-networks/sydney).

Who are Reasons to Believe?

The mission of Reasons to Believe is to spread the Christian Gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature.

The website for Reasons to Believe can be found at (www.reasons.org).

Find out more at (http://www.reasons.org/about/our-mission)