Dr Paul Allen

I am the light of the world (John 8:12). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John 2:1–11 What people often forget is that if Jesus created the world (see Genesis 1:1 ; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15–17), not only are miracles possible, but miracles are actual, because the biggest miracle has already happened—making something out of nothing.  What’s harder: for Jesus to take water and turn it into wine or for Jesus to take a handful of nothing and make water? It’s a lot harder to make water out of nothing than to make wine out of water. The evidence of modern cosmology points toward a supernatural Creator .  And if you’ve got a God who can make something out of nothing, then the other miracles of the Bible would be like child’s play for him. / Adapted from interview with Dr. Norman Geisler Related articles The Cross. Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God's Existence Who is in control..... A Pinch of Salt in the Recipe for P...

English: Fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah Русский: Бегство Лота из Содома (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Deuteronomy 29:22-24  If we can trust the Bible when it tells us about straightforward earthly things that can be verified, then we are more likely to trust it in areas where we can't directly verify it in an empirical way. There have been thousands-not hundreds-of archaeological finds in the Middle East that support the picture presented in the Biblical record. There was a discovery not long ago confirming King David . The patriarchs-the narratives about Abraham , Isaac and Jacob -were once considered legendary, but as more becomes known, these stories are increasingly corroborated. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was thought to be mythological until evidence was uncovered that all five of the cities mentioned in Genesis were, in fact, situated just as the Old Testament said. As far as their destruction goes, archaeologist Clifford Wilson says there is "permanent evi...

Samuel anoints David, Dura Europos, Syria, Date: 3rd c. AD (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) High resolution scan of engraving by Gustave Doré illustrating Canto XXXIV of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. Caption: Lucifer, King of Hell (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) David and Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 2 Samuel 24:1 states that David took a census of Israel due (at least in part) to the anger of God : “Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’” 1 Chronicles 21:1, on the other hand, while recounting the same moment in history, sees David’s action as being influenced by a different source: “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” The difference between these two verses is stark and leaves us with an unavoidable question: Who really incited David? Was it “the LORD” (2 Samuel), or was it “Satan” (1 Chronicles)? Is this an example of the Bible contradicting itself?...