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reasons to believe and sword&spirit ministries present
practical applications for teaching
science from a biblical perspective
(or patsfbp!)
mark ritter
reasons to believe
swordandspirit.com
overview
purpose
me me me
specific examples
lingo,
attitudes,
ideas
summary
multi-purpose building
it’s for these kids:
Christian kids
so they can have a more
Rock-solid foundation and
not fear science, and…
nonChristian kids
to expose them to the
overwhelming evidence of
the God of the Bible
= win/win situation
me me me
experience
being
disconnected :(
making the
connection! :)
the God connection
God’s books =
66 in Bible +
1 around us
 written revelation
can’t use… sorta
 general revelation
can use… a lot!
if both have same Author,
teaching from either can lead one to Him
specific examples
anything anthropic
goldilocks
big bang
mr flat
copernicus
chem/bio
elementary
anthropic principle
the idea that The
Whole Shebang was
put together for us
100+ evidences
range from atomic
to planet to solar
system to universe
including life!
some examples…
the ultrathin
outer layer of
our planet the crust - is
just the
perfect
thickness…
any thicker, it
doesn’t move, and
we end up with no
continents, just
oceans
any thinner, we
have continuous
destructive
earthquakes and
volcanic activity
our mass is just enough to keep this thin
layer of gases above us
any more mass ( more gravity)
means a heavier, more destructive
atmosphere with more deadly gases
staying here
less mass (less gravity)
and we can’t hold onto oxygen and other
life-support gases
our atmosphere is 20% oxygen
any less?
humans aren’t here
any more?
everything burns a
lot faster, and our
bodies age quicker
the thin invisible ozone layer
keeps us alive by absorbing nasty
radiation from space
less ozone
and we roast in uv light
from the sun
any more
and we don’t get
enough of the sun’s
life-giving energy
through to the
surface
carbon dioxide in our atmosphere acts
like a blanket and keeps us warm
any less,
we freeze,
plants choke
any more,
we fry in a
runaway
greenhouse
effect
lightning strikes once a second on this
planet
more often?
too many fires
less often?
not enough
nitrogen would
get “fixed”
into a form
useful
for life
the Moon has slowed us,
kept us steady,
given us tides,
stabilized our orbit
without it,
life could
not exist
its whole creation story
is a thing of amazing
wonder in itself…
creation of the moon
very early on, a Mars-sized
planet struck “Earth1” at
exactly the right angle and
velocity to shear off our crust,
strip off our heavy atmosphere,
give us a thicker core and more
radioactive material, and
provide us with a life-sustaining
Moon
Venus, closer to the sun, has...
 an
atmosphere so heavy with carbon
dioxide it’s like being under a
kilometer of water
 a surface temp around 900°F
 a cloud cover of sulfuric acid
 no water
 not a shopping mall in sight
Mars, smaller & farther out,
has almost no atmosphere or plate
tectonics, and its water reservoirs are
essentially frozen, so there is no lifegiving water cycle
Jupiter and Saturn are at the
perfect distance to:
leave our sensitive orbit alone, but
 protect us from nasty, earthbound comets
and asteroids

our sun is the perfect
age,
mass,
brightness,
& generation
for life
anything else, we’re not here
the faint sun paradox says that
through an amazingly complex list of
“coincidences,” the sun increased in
luminosity at the same rate the
greenhouse gases were removed from
our atmosphere so Earth could maintain
a life-friendly constant temp
for 4 billion years
our sun is a bachelor, a single star - most
stars have at least one other companion.
of course, having no star
means a bad day, but…
if the sun had a buddy,
our orbit would destabilize
and we would not be here
near
other big and destructive stars
our sun wasn’t born in a cluster,
like these four here in the Orion Nebula,
the Trapezium Cluster
this bright star in the Trapezium is clearing
away planet-making material from its
siblings
no planet-making material,
no planets.
no planets, no TV.
no TV, no life.
as to the stellar explosions called
supernovae
closer to us?
life is exterminated
farther?
not enough local
planet-building debris
more frequent?
life goes away
more infrequent?
no planets
we live on the only street in our galaxy which
allows life, about 2/3 out...
closer to the nucleus,
we get supernovaed,
radiated to death,
and thrown out of
a stable orbit
by other stars
farther,
no planet-building material
we live in the perfect type of galaxy for
life, too, - the spiral.
goldilocks
one can see a
Goldilocks thing going
on here
not too X, not too Y,
juuuuust right
but other areas of
science can open up
opportunities…
copernicus & family
the revolution that
changed the ways of
astronomy can be used
to discuss philosophy &
theology
(e.g. myth that center
of universe = good,
aristotelian influence,
frame of reference,
“the Bible is all
wrong,” etc.)
big bang
the big bang implies
a beginning
a beginning implies
a Beginner
a discussion of the
philosophical
implications follows
mr flat & family
extradimensions can
give them the
Big(ger) Picture and
subtly introduce the
transcendence of
God
[demo Mr Flat]
chemistry connections
water: the perfect
molecule




shape
all states exist on Earth
density of ice
amazing solvent
the perfect nucleuselectron attraction
bond angles
reliable and repeatable
and predictable laws…
life science links
perfect design of
anything in the
body (any body)
perfect,
instantaneous
ecosystems
throughout history
the beauty of the
structure and
function of DNA
critical thinking discussions
purpose of mass
extinctions
end of the
universe!
other intelligent
life?
UFOs?
origin of life?
Cambrian explosion
purpose to lima
beans?
elementary, my dear!
one can emphasize things at the
elementary level as well!
the attributes of dinosaurs
(Design-o-saur)
the water cycle
seasons…
elementary, my dear!
body systems
the lives of plants
astronomy (duh!)
they may not make
the God connection
now but your
excitement and
insight will have a
great positive
effect
free extras!
Thanksgiving Food
for Thought
Mormon implications
no Kolob
 lack of life on planets
 end to universe!

raised hand, open door
best times come when
students ask,
So what do you
think?
presenting them
with opposing
interpretations of the
facts (!) often kicks
this door wide open
suggested lingo
clearly distinguish
interpretations
and facts
use “designed” or
“created” or “changed
through time” instead
of ______
try to avoid calling
evolutionists “hell-bound
scumsuckers”
suggested growth
subscribe to a science journal!
read sci-bi books!
listen to radio programs
listen to your MOM!
suggested growth
share ideas and
insight w/ colleagues
- at school site, or
on internet
some links:



reasons.org
godandscience.org
swordandspirit.com
from these you can be
led to a load of other
sites
suggested attitude
learn to:




lose the fear
passionately love the creation
(there’s so much to love)
look for His hand in nature
allow alternate ideas
(e.g. evolution!), w/o fear,
then discuss them
remember:
trust God
the truth, in love
summary
 celebrate all parts of the creation in
your class through a variety of
methods
 you then passively present Him and
His glory
 the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest