When you hear the word “Evolution” it is usually meant as a stand-in for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, specifically the idea that all life on earth arose from natural processes beginning with “some warm little pond with all sort of ammonia and phosphoric salts,—light, heat, electricity present, that a protein compound was chemically formed”. As we discuss in the episode, Darwin was by no means the first to propose such an idea, as his grandfather had written something very similar many years before. But what was needed for evolution to flourish was not the idea, but a community in the world, ready and willing to embrace it.

In this episode, we want to discuss some of the Biblical and logical problems inherent with evolution as a theory. We discuss the problem of “Death before Adam”, of man desiring to worship the creature rather than the creator, and how order does not arise from disorder. We also talk about how the pursuit of the theory of evolution has caused harm in many other areas of science as our insistence that specific falsehoods regarding order vs chaos must be true has caused us to pour untold time and resources into technological dead ends.

The theory of evolution is just that, a theory. It takes a lot of ideas, some of which are true, and makes claims that are contrary to science and reason. Support for evolution requires for teachers and scientists to tell lies about randomness, about order and chaos, about the nature of humans and most importantly, what the universe declares about the nature of God Himself. The church must continue to stand against its lies, and then to go beyond that, to tear down the stronghold that has been created with the truth of God’s word. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Below are two videos that are mentioned in the episode along with some notes and commentary by Charles.

Dr. Drew Berry giving a Ted Talk on how he has used technology to help visualize the complexity of DNA and other cellular/molecular objects to better understand their complexity. While the entire video is worth watching, if you want to jump to the key part, it begins at 2:45. I also want to call out a few points. The visualizations he shows in this video are divided into two sections. In the first, he looks at DNA and the process of it being copied, He then shows the scope and “size” of a single strand of DNA. In the last section, he focuses on the kinetochore of a cell and he mentions that scientists have been studying this part of the cell for over a hundred years of intense study, saying, “and we’re just beginning to understand what it’s about”. As you look at the DNA and the close ups of the kinetochore and the process of cell division, keep these in mind as you watch the next video by Dr. Tour. Many of the components that Dr. Tour discusses are pieces of this single cell. Not how strongly Dr. Berry is emphasizing the complexity of what he is showing you. My impression was of someone who is almost overwhelmed by how little mankind knows about this tiny part of a single cell that we have spent such a long time studying. https://youtu.be/WFCvkkDSfIU?si=XxkbJoUvJ8F0KzNI

James Tour, on Inorganic Chemistry and Origin of Life. In this video, Dr. Tour discusses how little we know about the origins of life. How complex it is from a chemical perspective to just create the most simple components of life and how we have not even begun to unravel how it might be done in a laboratory setting with tools and technology much less in Darwin’s “warm little pond”.
https://youtu.be/r4sP1E1Jd_Y?si=oJEKTMYhMB7FHIUi

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

When you think of the Christian life, do you immediately think of warfare? It’s all throughout scripture. So much of the Old Testament was about battles and soldiers, and armies waging war. And in the New Testament, we’re told that while the warfare continues, it’s a spiritual battle that we are to be fighting. But so often, we want to pretend that the spiritual battle shouldn’t disturb our comfort. We are tempted to prize unity over truth, to desire to compromise so no one gets offended instead of understanding that the way is narrow to eternal life. But even more than that, very often, churches and the Christians that fill them, have very little love for their neighbor, because they would rather have pleasantries than salvation. The other metaphor that gets used a great deal in scripture is of sheep and shepherds. And sheep are not something you think of as mighty. They get hurt easily. They got lost. They have to be looked after. But we’ve taken our favorite parts of these two very different metaphors and instead of being warriors who fight for the righteousness of God, and humble shepherds and sheep who care for those who are hurting and wounded, we stand around polishing our armor while the battle is being lost, and laughing and playing in the sun while wolves are ravaging the flock.
In this episode, we want to issue a wake-up call. If we could, we would reach through the screen and grab you by the shoulders and shake you, as we shouted, “Stop playing church! There are men and women in your midst who are suffering!”. This is for pastors and laymen, for men and women, for the old and the young. For everyone who claims the name of Christ, WAKE UP! As the Apostle Paul commands in Romans 13: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light,” and similarly in Ephesians, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

This wasn’t an easy episode to record in some ways. Each of us on the panel can look back at grave mistakes we’ve made in the past. At times when we should have spoken but didn’t, when we should have pushed on an issue but instead just gave slight healing. Repentance from a lack of care almost always requires action on our part. These are not light things. The church in America is in dire straits and those who love God must turn from our apathy. Please join us as we discuss these important topics.

In this episode, we look at some of the texts that are used to build dispensational eschatology, and see whether they are being used correctly.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/05/is-the-rapture-biblical-ep-167-audio/

Thumbnail image by Stock Catalog on Flickr (quotecatalog.com) under CC BY 2.0

Timecodes
00:00:00 The Rapture in Scripture
00:05:54 What is Literal?
00:15:02 Revelation 20
00:20:46 Revelation 12
00:35:28 Matthew 27
00:39:37 Ezekiel 40-48
00:52:27 Romans 11
01:12:16 How Important is it?

In this episode, we look at some of the texts that are used to build dispensational eschatology, and see whether they are being used correctly.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Antisemitism has been around for thousands of years. Starting with their conflicts with Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the restrictions against holding public office in the Byzantine empire, the Catholic church’s view for hundreds of years that the Jewish people carried blood guilt and deserved punishment for killing Jesus Christ, the violent pogroms in Russia in the late 19th and 20th century, culminating in a worldwide attitude of Jewish hatred and indifference that led to the Holocaust and the Nazi’s systematic murder of millions of Jews. But even after the 1940’s racism against the Jewish people has been acceptable in America, with Nixon blaming the Jews for his problems (with even Billy Graham saying they had a stranglehold on America that had to be broken). And now, we are seeing a rise in worldwide antisemitism again regarding Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas with many Western nations condemning Israel and in America, college students actively protesting against Israel in support of Hamas and Palestine.

With all of this as a backdrop: in this episode, we want to understand both how antisemitism is racism that Christians should not accept or participate in and, at the same time, to understand how God, who works all things according to the counsel of his will has ordained the hatred of the Jews that exists in the world. We walk through the prophecy spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy where he explains that God will judge Israel for their unbelief and pretense of holiness, causing them to become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the nations of the earth.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/04/antisemitism-has-god-ordained-the-jewish-peoples-persecution-ep-166-audio/

Timecodes
00:00 God’s Providence vs Commands
06:40 A Watchword and Byword
19:35 Conversion to Christianity
31:32 Lessons for the Church
36:18 Killers of Christ?
40:42 Greed Against Jews
44:48 Anti-Jew Conspiracy Theories
46:56 Dietary Laws
53:43 Nazism
58:03 Concluding Thoughts

Antisemitism has been around for thousands of years. Starting with their conflicts with Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the restrictions against holding public office in the Byzantine empire, the Catholic church’s view for hundreds of years that the Jewish people carried blood guilt and deserved punishment for killing Jesus Christ, the violent pogroms in Russia in the late 19th and 20th century, culminating in a worldwide attitude of Jewish hatred and indifference that led to the Holocaust and the Nazi’s systematic murder of millions of Jews. But even after the 1940’s racism against the Jewish people has been acceptable in America, with Nixon blaming the Jews for his problems (with even Billy Graham saying they had a stranglehold on America that had to be broken). And now, we are seeing a rise in worldwide antisemitism again regarding Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas with many Western nations condemning Israel and in America, college students actively protesting against Israel in support of Hamas and Palestine.

With all of this as a backdrop: in this episode, we want to understand both how antisemitism is racism that Christians should not accept or participate in and, at the same time, to understand how God, who works all things according to the counsel of his will has ordained the hatred of the Jews that exists in the world. We walk through the prophecy spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy where he explains that God will judge Israel for their unbelief and pretense of holiness, causing them to become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the nations of the earth.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Many people are only familiar with the idea of betrothal from the Bible (or certain kinds of romance novels). Today, in Western cultures, serious relationships begin with dating, followed by engagement, and then eventually, maybe marriage. But from a Christian perspective, betrothal is an extremely important aspect of marriage, to the point where it is central to the gospel itself.

In this episode, we want to try to explain why betrothal was built into ancient marriage practices, what it accomplished, and how it is demonstrated in Christ’s marriage to his church. We also want to discuss the different parts of betrothal that differentiate it from engagement, such as the covenant, the bride price, the commitment to the upcoming marriage, and the transfer of authority between the time of betrothal and the wedding ceremony itself. When these are misunderstood, we begin to think of the nature and purpose of marriage differently than it truly is.

We should not be deceived: marriage has been under attack for a very long time and the church needs to labor to bring it back in line with the word of God. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic..

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/04/betrothal-vs-engagement-why-it-matters-ep-165-audio/

Thumbnail image by wp paarz on Flickr under CC BY-SA 3.0

Timecodes
00:00:00 Christ and the Church
00:24:09 The Bride Price
00:36:39 Old Testament Law
00:43:24 Practical Impacts
01:06:51 What Should You Do?

Many people are only familiar with the idea of betrothal from the Bible (or certain kinds of romance novels). Today, in Western cultures, serious relationships begin with dating, followed by engagement, and then eventually, maybe marriage. But from a Christian perspective, betrothal is an extremely important aspect of marriage, to the point where it is central to the gospel itself.

In this episode, we want to try to explain why betrothal was built into ancient marriage practices, what it accomplished, and how it is demonstrated in Christ’s marriage to his church. We also want to discuss the different parts of betrothal that differentiate it from engagement, such as the covenant, the bride price, the commitment to the upcoming marriage, and the transfer of authority between the time of betrothal and the wedding ceremony itself. When these are misunderstood, we begin to think of the nature and purpose of marriage differently than it truly is.

We should not be deceived: marriage has been under attack for a very long time and the church needs to labor to bring it back in line with the word of God. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic..

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

What should we do when someone who calls themselves a Christian commits a crime against us? Take theft for example. Let’s say a brother comes to you and tells you that he had $1000 stolen from him by a deacon in the church or by the teenage son of the pastor, or just by another church member. Is it wrong for him to report it to the police? What about for domestic abuse? Child abuse? Sexual abuse? The sad truth is, these things happen. And whether it’s someone that you personally thought was a Christian or not, many people struggle with how to handle this situation according to scripture.

In this episode, we want to deal with the reality of how to handle the overlapping authority between the church, the home, and the civil government and, in particular, how that works out when someone has broken the civil law but professes to be a Christian. This is an important issue, because while most Protestant churches correctly condemn the Catholic church for their handling of the child abuse scandal among priests, many Baptists, Presbyterians, and Protestants still fail to report cases of physical or sexual abuse to the God-appointed civil magistrates. This does not mean that the church should do nothing, but that the church should not usurp the authority that God has given to our civil leaders. A person can be excommunicated by the church and sentenced to death by the state for murder. The church of Jesus Christ needs to care about justice, and we need to stop believing that civil justice is not a part of God’s justice. Part of the reason why Christ was born as a man under the law, who lived a perfect life, and then was unjustly put to the death as a sacrifice for sins is because God cares about what happens in the physical realm just as much as the spiritual. Or to say it a different way, Christ’s punishment and death on the cross happened physically and also had spiritual ramifications. When the church forgets that God is Lord over all things, that he appoints rulers, commands justice, and causes mercy to come to pass, we start to preach and live a gospel that denies the truth of God’s word. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/04/should-a-christian-press-charges-ep-164-audio/

Thumbnail image by wp paarz on Flickr under CC BY-SA 3.0

Timecodes
00:00:00 Jurisdictions
00:07:09 Forgiveness
00:15:36 Pressing Charges
00:19:13 Overlapping Authorities
00:26:20 True Repentance
00:33:33 Grace in Punishment
00:36:01 Exceptions
00:42:20 Domestic Abuse
00:48:44 Protecting God’s Name
00:52:50 Fleshly Punishments
01:01:26 Exposing Darkness
01:17:27 Civil Lawsuits

What should we do when someone who calls themselves a Christian commits a crime against us? Take theft for example. Let’s say a brother comes to you and tells you that he had $1000 stolen from him by a deacon in the church or by the teenage son of the pastor, or just by another church member. Is it wrong for him to report it to the police? What about for domestic abuse? Child abuse? Sexual abuse? The sad truth is, these things happen. And whether it’s someone that you personally thought was a Christian or not, many people struggle with how to handle this situation according to scripture.

In this episode, we want to deal with the reality of how to handle the overlapping authority between the church, the home, and the civil government and, in particular, how that works out when someone has broken the civil law but professes to be a Christian. This is an important issue, because while most Protestant churches correctly condemn the Catholic church for their handling of the child abuse scandal among priests, many Baptists, Presbyterians, and Protestants still fail to report cases of physical or sexual abuse to the God-appointed civil magistrates. This does not mean that the church should do nothing, but that the church should not usurp the authority that God has given to our civil leaders. A person can be excommunicated by the church and sentenced to death by the state for murder. The church of Jesus Christ needs to care about justice, and we need to stop believing that civil justice is not a part of God’s justice. Part of the reason why Christ was born as a man under the law, who lived a perfect life, and then was unjustly put to the death as a sacrifice for sins is because God cares about what happens in the physical realm just as much as the spiritual. Or to say it a different way, Christ’s punishment and death on the cross happened physically and also had spiritual ramifications. When the church forgets that God is Lord over all things, that he appoints rulers, commands justice, and causes mercy to come to pass, we start to preach and live a gospel that denies the truth of God’s word. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson