RTB Atlanta

One of the premises of Reasons to Believe is that science and faith are and always have been allies and not enemies. Another basic position is that the Bible and nature are both taken to be God’s gifts and therefore reliable in guiding our understanding. It is the hope of RTB that nature can be used persuasively to point to the Creator of nature.

For the August RTB meeting we will survey and discuss the prominent approaches that are being taken at present to use science to encourage faith. We hope to fairly compare the presumptions and framework of the major initiatives that seek to use nature to point to faith in the Creator. That would include a brief analysis of the Reasons to Believe approach along with the approaches of Discovery Institute, BioLogos, Historical Adam Society, and two main young-Earth organizations Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International. It is not the intent of the session to be a bashing session for any of the approaches of Christian brothers and sisters, but it seems appropriate to do a straightforward examination of the positions of each. We will start with a brief statement of the framework and presumptions of each, so come prepared to share your experience and viewpoint. The hope is to better prepare each of us to help strengthen fellow believers and to reach out with the marvel of creation to skeptics.

The tentative lineup for our future meetings are below. Please check back periodically since events are subject to change. ATL RTB chapter email announcements will also reflect any changes. As always, we are always open to suggestions for meeting topics and speakers. Please email us your suggestions and preferences for future meetings at: atlanta@reasons.org

Thursday, June 24th - 7:00 PM

"The Net"

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta

Directions to Johnson Ferry Baptist

This month’s RTB meeting will take a first look Stephen Meyer's Signature in the Cell, beginning with excerpts from a presentation that Meyer himself gave at the Heritage Foundation last year.

Rod Nave and Bruce Phillips will provide insight into some of the main ideas of the book, including how DNA stores information through the genetic code and uses that information to produce the proteins that make living cells possible. They will discuss the assertion that information in the absence of intelligence is unknown in nature and review Meyer’s argument that the "inference to the best explanation" for the origin of life to the conclusion that intelligence was involved in creation.

Since the controversy surrounding Meyer’s book is currently quite intense, we will look at some of the criticisms that have been leveled at Meyer’s work. As always, we will reserve time for discussion as a part of this session.

Creation from a Chemist’s View

by Dr. Howard Deutsch

A review of…

“Origins of life. Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off”

Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross

Dr. Howard Deutsch

In “Origins of Life”, biochemist Fazale Rana and astronomer Hugh Ross reveal a model that shows how perspectives on first life's beginnings can be tested -- as a creation event -- with astounding results. Rana and Ross explode the myth that scientific evidence supports naturalistic theories and show how research corroborates a transcendent Creator who formed and nurtured the initial life forms and more.

This talk will primarily be a review of the book “Origins of life. Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off” by Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross. The backgrounds of the authors and reviewer will be discussed in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and biases. What is important about this book? It gives the scientist and nonscientist (religious or not) and the religious or nonreligious person (scientist or not) a good lesson on the various perspectives on this issue. For everyone, it is a quick summary of the general state of thinking about how life started. The focus will be on the conclusions of many of the chapters where the two models are compared. In addition to talking about the book, Dr. Deutsch will bring his perspective to the problem under the general theme “Creation from a Chemist’s View”.

Biography:

Dr Deutsch received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Georgia Tech and after some years in industry with Union Camp Corp spent thirty years as a research organic chemist at Georgia Tech. As Principal Research Scientist, he worked in the area of medicinal organic chemistry and drug development. He contributed to the development of antiglaucoma, anticancer, and anti-AIDS drugs as well as drugs targeted toward therapy for drug abuse. With some 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and three US patents, he has had an extended career in chemical research. A 2004 project with Dr. Nick Hud at Georgia Tech on “origin of life chemistry” is one of the influences that got him to thinking about the chemical processes in life and what it would take to initiate them.

Review and Critical Analysis of

"More than a Theory”

More Than a Theory

Mark Tabladillo, Ph.D.

In “More Than a Theory”, Hugh Ross, founder and president of Reasons To Believe, offers readers a comprehensive, testable creation model to consider as an alternative to naturalistic evolution. The book provides Christians with scientific information to defend their convictions that the God of the Bible is the Creator.

Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. will present the major points of Dr. Hugh Ross' recent book. The presentation will highlight major principles in assessing the strengths, independently, of scientific and theological arguments. This presentation will also include interactive audience participation to analyze and discuss some known critiques to Ross' work. Audience members will have the opportunity to win a free copy of A Rulebook for Arguments. Reasons to Believe is a national organization with local chapters, and its officers are committed to the idea that science need not contradict orthodox Christianity.

Click here to view the presentation: Review and Critical Analysis of "More than a Theory”

Biography:

Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. has completed the Officer Training Course for Reasons to Believe. He has been a believer since 1985, and is a member of North Point Ministries based in Alpharetta, GA. He has provided spiritual leadership through his church, and has encouraged and led some to the Christian faith. He has led small study groups, led the 722 Singles Ministry Team, and facilitated the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class at Buckhead Church. Mark earned a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. As an Information Technology consultant, he has worked with scientists from around the world through the Centers for Disease Control. He is a part-time faculty member with the University of Phoenix (School of Advanced Studies) where he actively mentors doctoral students. Mark is a member of Sigma Xi and the Association for Computing Machinery.

"... always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ..." 1 Peter 3:15

The words of 1 Peter 3:15 encourage us to be able to communicate clearly about our faith. The Greek word widely used for such communication is apologia, meaning a speaking in defense, so we are being encouraged toward Christian apologetics.

This month’s RTB meeting will provide an overview of some of the fine resources for using what we find in nature to encourage faith. The setting will involve a panel of four persons who are actively involved in apologetics training and who will highlight some of the resources and courses. Our hope is that we can encourage you to read some of the books and material, and perhaps you might consider one of the available online courses. They can be taken for equipping you personally or with the goal of becoming a certified volunteer apologist for RTB.

Panel Members:

Tom Ellis is involved in the Officer Training Course for Reasons to Believe and will report on the nature of that course.

Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. has completed the Officer Training Course and is pursuing other resources for apologetics will give highlights of the book More Than a Theory by Hugh Ross.

Butch Johnston is involved in the Officer Training Course and will report on the book A Matter of Days and also share some thoughts about how to use this material in sharing our Christian faith.

Bruce Phillips has completed the academic requirements of the Baptist North American Mission Board's Apologetics Certification Program and will offer comments on course content and the program's emphasis on effective public communication.

Rod Nave will react with the panel and conduct a time of discussion on these apologetics education opportunities.

Geological Considerations Bearing on the Harmony of Science and Biblical Creation

Ray Williams

Burgess Shale

This month’s RTB Meeting will focus on a discussion of last month’s joint meeting with Areopagus, which featured a DVD presentation entitled “Darwin’s Dilemma: The Burgess Shale and the Cambrian Explosion”.

The discussion will be preceded by a 35 minute PowerPoint presentation of Geological Considerations concerning the antiquity of the Earth including segments on (1) geology as a science, (2) plate tectonics, (3) coal deposits, (4) lake deposits, and (5) the Burgess Shale.

The last segment highlights the formation and location of the Burgess Shale and will be the lead-in to a discussion of the “Cambrian Explosion” and its impact on the controversial subjects of the Origin of Life and the Diversity of Life. Questions to be considered are the causes of life’s origin, whether by natural phenomena such as RNA abiogenesis or theistic special creation; change mechanisms such as Darwinian natural selection, theistic fiat commands or theistic evolution resulting in the diversity of life; and how does Intelligent Design help us in our understanding of the origin and diversity of life?

We look forward to again welcoming Ray Williams as the presenter for this months Atlanta RTB meeting. Ray is an honored friend of RTB who has shared with us before on his study of the interpretation of the days of Genesis and as a member of our panel on “Growing Edges in the Science-Faith Dialog”. He has developed an eight-lesson program on The Harmony of Science and Biblical Creation and last summer presented a formal paper on interpretation of the Genesis days at a meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation.

We also enjoy conversations with Ray about his experiences in World War II aboard the U SS Cowpens, dubbed “The Mighty Moo”.

Darwin’s Dilemma: The Burgess Shale and the Cambrian Explosion

with commentary and Q&A by

Dr. Charles Thaxton

Senior fellow with the Discovery Institute,

author of "The Mystery of Life's Origins"

and "The Soul of Science,"

and one of the "founding fathers" of Intelligent Design

The new documentary film by The Discovery Institute that

exposes fatal weaknesses in Darwinian evolutionary theory and

offers compelling evidence for Intelligent Design

(The Fellowship Hall is on the main level accessible through the Main Entrance.)

The Burgess Shale reveals an extraordinary explosion of life with many animal body-plans appearing in a very short segment of geologic history. Called the Cambrian Explosion, it is one of the most extraordinary events in natural history. With thousands of fossils, it is an evidence of development of life that must be considered, whatever your world view. Darwin’s Dilemma discusses the extreme difficulties posed by the Cambrian Explosion for the evolutionary picture of gradual accumulation of the effects of mutations – it is anything but gradual! Besides segments from the excellent video, we have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Charles Thaxton.

Dr. Thaxton is a chemist whose excellent work in the area of the origin of life dates back to 1984 when he, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen published the book “The Mystery of Life’s Origin”. Dr. Thaxton also collaborated with Nancy Pearcey on the book “The Soul of Science”. Dr. Thaxton and his wife Carole currently operate the Konos Connection, a Christian educational organization in Fayetteville, GA.

This is an opportunity to hear an outstanding Christian apologist whose extensive science background fits him well to communicate faith to a secular scientific society.

If you are interested in joining the Atlanta Chapter of Reasons to Believe, please click here.. Our present membership includes individuals with expertise in a variety of science and apologetic backgrounds. We could use your help in this important ministry.




REASONS TO BELIEVE Atlanta Chapter