Tag Archives: Counting To God

Proof of God

This week’s blog post is the flyer for a conference I am giving outside Orlando in early October. It’s going to be an amazing weekend where I will preview sections of the new book I am writing, called “Proof of God.” Please spread the word.

Thanks for reading.

    PROOF OF GOD

October 2 – 3, 2015 Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center

Stunning new discoveries in biology, cosmology, physics, and planetary formation all point to a transcendent intelligence that created space and time, and designed every species on Earth. Join us for an amazing weekend that will leave you with a rock-solid foundation for faith.

Our speaker is Douglas Ell, a former atheist and MIT graduate, and a prominent attorney in Washington DC, who has spent 30 years reconciling science and God. Doug is the author of Counting To God – A Personal Journey Through Science to Faith. Doug has lectured at MIT, and enlightened audiences at conferences and churches.

WHY: Doug is driven by his passion to fight the false perceptions of our mass culture, and the bullies who deny and try to hide the overwhelming evidence of God. With double MIT majors in math and physics, a graduate degree in theoretical math, and decades of experience sifting through competing arguments and facts, Doug is uniquely poised to untangle the often emotional relationship between science and religion.

WHO: This seminar is for anyone who wants to help those who doubt their faith. It is for anyone curious about the amazing discoveries of modern science. It is for anyone who seeks the truth.

HOW: Using everyday language, and simple multiplication, Doug will interpret the latest scientific results in a way that will astonish you. The only prerequisite is curiosity.

WHERE: October 2 and 3, 2015, at Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center in Oveido, FL, just 30 minutes from Orlando International Airport. Space is limited: register online at canterburyretreat.org or call 407-365-5571.

Seminar Outline

Session One: Proof of God – A straightforward yet astonishing proof that every species on Earth has been designed. This session alone could change your life.

Session Two: The Evidence from Physics – A romp through space and time, from cosmology to the fine-tuning of the universe to the formation of Earth, highlighting the overwhelming new evidence of a created and designed universe and the extraordinarily special qualities of Earth.

Session Three: The Wonder of Life – A fresh look at the origin of life and the creation of new species.

Session Four: Empowerment – How can the proof of God change your life, and how together can we make known the objective basis for faith? This session will seek to empower you to spread the word of God in a way you have never done before.

An Inconvenient Truth

You may remember a 2006 documentary with Al Gore talking about global warming. It was titled “An Inconvenient Truth.” The film described global warming as “an inconvenient truth,” because, although the scientific evidence was overwhelming, many people were in denial.

Could the existence of God be an inconvenient truth for our society? The scientific evidence is overwhelming. My book “counts” through seven areas of science where, in the last few decades, new mainstream scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the existence of God. To name just two, there is no atheist explanation for the origin of life, and Darwin’s theory of unguided evolution has been emphatically disproven. The “emperor” of Darwinian Theory has no mathematical clothes.

So why is our society so hostile to God? I think the answer is complex, and varies from individual to individual. Perhaps part of it is we don’t want to be bothered. We don’t want to take time on the weekends to go to church or synagogue or mosque; we don’t want to part with any of our income, which of course we attribute solely to our own talents and not to God.

Perhaps another part is that we like to think we are in control. We like to think we are the masters of the universe. We don’t want to acknowledge a higher power.

Perhaps a third reason is that advertising dominates our culture. You can talk all you want about the glories of your favorite professional sports team, but know this – that team exists because its sponsors want you to buy their products. Advertising is everywhere, and it bombards us with the message that life is about money and spending it to buy the right products. Advertising and God don’t mix well.

I’m not sure about these reasons. I majored in math and physics, not sociology. So in this week before Christmas I’ll just leave you with a question. Do you think that, for some people, and perhaps even for yourself at certain moments at least, the existence of God is an inconvenient truth?

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

Lafayette, Louisiana

I was invited to Lafayette to talk about my book, and last Sunday I went. Did you know the National Bureau of Economic Research rates Lafayette the “Happiest” city in the United States? (All of the top five and seven of the top 10 were in Louisiana; New York City got the lowest rating). I sensed I was headed to God’s country when I got on the plane. A Roman Catholic priest sat next to me and a young man with a T-shirt quoting a line from the Book of Proverbs sat in front of me.

I was met at the airport by Wayne Taylor, a wonderful man who is Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation. Wayne introduced me to a number of Baptists attending a convention, and allowed me to speak to a youth group that night. Some of them related to me the usual sad stories of being bullied about false science by atheist professors.

The next morning we headed off to Baton Rouge, to meet some more people and a key aide to Governor Jindal. Louisiana has enacted the Science Freedom Act:

(1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, upon
request of a city, parish, or other local public school board, shall allow and
assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster
an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes
critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of
scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the
origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.

(2) Such assistance shall include support and guidance for teachers
regarding effective ways to help students understand, analyze, critique, and
objectively review scientific theories being studied, including those enumerated
in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

You would hope that encouraging teachers and students to examine scientific theories critically would be welcomed. Of course, that has not been the case. The law has been very controversial and the ACLU and other groups are constantly seeking to repeal the law and constantly threatening litigation whenever a teacher dares to reveal recent evidence contradicting Darwin’s theory of unguided evolution. How very sad for all of us that students are denied access to the true facts of science, simply because those facts contradict the atheist worldview. I signed a copy of my book for the Governor. I offered my help, perhaps by appearing at a state hearing, to further the cause of scientific freedom. I hope they take me up on that.

Thanks for reading.

The Churches of Europe

This year I’ve had the great fortune to take three vacations in Europe. I’ve walked or biked through beautiful small towns and the historic centers of great cities. In every town, and every city, I’ve found amazing churches. Of all the sights of Europe, I can’t seem to stop thinking about the churches.

I was inspired and amazed by their splendor. Some took more than a hundred years to build. They seem to be everywhere, in least in the historic parts. In Bruges, Belgium there are three cathedrals, and one has a sculpture by Michelangelo. These churches contain the greatest art of the Middle Ages. Many are jaw-droppingly beautiful, others serene, others just impressive. They are magnificent monuments to the glory of God.

The churches of Europe are burdened with a sad history of religious intolerance and bloodshed. Armies were launched, and monarchies rose and fell, falsely in the name of God. As I noted in my book, it’s a lot easier to get someone to fight for you and die for you if you can convince them that God wants them to do it. This misuse of religion is rampant in history, from the Crusades to the Protestant/Catholic wars to today’s hijacking of Islam by radicals.

The churches of Europe are also, it pains me to say, becoming empty. This is more so in Northern Europe; in Belgium some are now being used primarily as museums or public meeting places. Church attendance in Europe is declining. It is very sad that the countries with the most magnificent churches are turning away from God. The disease of Scientism – the false belief system that our material world is all there is and that there are no truths outside the laws of science – is rampant in Europe, and it is growing dangerously in America.

I suppose there are many reasons for this, perhaps their bloody history of religious battles makes many Europeans want to distance themselves from God. I think the false belief that science is contrary to God is a key reason. People seem to think we are here by accident. To me, the belief that we are here by accident is a superstition, and the idea that science supports it is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the human race.

Thanks for reading. If you’re in Vero Beach Florida next Tuesday, Oct. 21, I invite you to stop by Trinity Church at 6 pm for my talk.