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The Top 12 Reasons to Believe of 2015

Quite a bit happened in 2015—Einstein’s theory was “disproved,” blood moons filled the sky, and op-eds showing a scientific case for God were printed in secular newspapers. All of these events influenced the RTB science scholars—Hugh Ross, Fazale Rana, and Jeff Zweerink—and led to some of Today’s New Reason to Believe’smost-viewed articles of the year.

Readers also had a hand in deciding topics, as four of the top 12 articles were inspired by questions posed to the scholars.

As 2015 comes to a close, we are looking back at the most popular Today’s New Reason to Believe articles of the year. And we look forward to seeing what reasons for calling science and the Bible allies pop up in 2016.

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1. “Have Quantum Physicists Disproved the Big Bang?” by Hugh Ross

Hugh was bombarded with questions from concerned Christians after a paper was published claiming that two quantum physicists had “corrected” Einstein’s theory of general relativity and, thus, disproved the big bang. Hugh responds to their questions with four reasons why we shouldn’t doubt the big bang.

2. “Blood Moons: An End-Times Sign?” (part 1 and part 2) by Hugh Ross

Two blood moons took place in 2015 (and also two in 2014)—and with them, a lot of talk about the end times. This might have been the reason Hugh’s two-part series on blood moons made the top 12. In part 1, Hugh addresses the scientific and historical misinterpretations of lunar eclipses. In part 2, he examines the biblical misinterpretations, looking at numerous verses to get a well-rounded perspective on what blood moons really mean according to Scripture.

 

3. “Darwin’s Problem: The Origin of Language” by Fazale Rana

Is language the product of God’s handiwork or is it a result of evolution? Fuz answers this question by differentiating between the capabilities of “communicating” and “processing symbolism.”

 

4. “Q&A: Does the Fourth Commandment Support the Calendar-Day View of Creation?” by Hugh Ross

God commanded his people to labor for six days and rest on the seventh—something young-earth proponents point to as evidence for a 24-hour definition of the creation days. But is it? Hugh attempts to interpret the fourth commandment in light of both biblical and scientific evidence.

 

5. “New Discovery Hands Human Evolution a Challenge” by Fazale Rana

Which came first—the human hand or the ape hand? Many supporters of evolutionary theory would say of course the ape hand came first; but with recent discoveries proving otherwise, Fuz highlights yet another prediction that evolutionary theory has gotten wrong.

 

6. “Is a Global Flood Scientifically Possible?” by Jeff Zweerink and Kirby Hansen

Debates continue to rage over whether the Genesis flood was universal, global, local, or whether it even happened. Jeff and Kirby examine both biblical and scientific evidence to argue the case for a universal-but-not-global flood, further explaining that Earth doesn’t even hold enough water to cover the globe.

 

7. “Has the Big Bang Gone Bust?” by Jeff Zweerink

What does it mean that the universe had a beginning? And what implications would there be for Christians if it didn’t? Jeff puts the big bang theory under the microscope, explaining what the big bang is and why we can be confident in it.

 

8. “Does Science Make the Case for God, Or Not? (Part 1 of 2)” by Jeff Zweerink

A much-talked-about article by Eric Metaxas ran in the Wall Street Journal in 2014, affirming the positive relationship between science and God. Not long after, Lawrence Krauss countered Metaxas in the New Yorker. On Today’s New Reason to Believe Jeff reflects on the two articles, noting the strengths and weaknesses in both.

 

9. “Evidence Indicates the Moon Is Made out of Cheese” by Jeff Zweerink

This humorous headline drew in a lot of curious readers—probably wondering if Jeff had, as he put it, “gone off the deep end.” Luckily for us, he hadn’t. Instead, Jeff explains what “silver bullet” arguments are and why we need to watch out for them.

 

10. “Why Argue about Evolution?” by Fazale Rana

A question posed on Facebook spurred Fuz to write one the most popular articles of the year. His defense of the need to critique evolutionary theory was well thought-out and articulate.

 

11. “One-of-a-Kind: Three Discoveries Affirm Human Uniqueness” by Fazale Rana

Though evolutionary theory undermines the concept of God creating humanity in his image, several recent scientific discoveries support the biblical view. Fuz highlights these discoveries to show why it’s rational to believe that humans are unique among all creatures.

 

12. “Can Science Identify the Intelligent Designer?” by Fazale Rana

Taking a position not common among Christian Intelligent Design proponents, Fuz explains how science does help identify the Creator. He goes on to list six traits of the biblical God that science has uncovered.

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Whether someone shared a Today’s New Reason to Believe article with you via Facebook or you happen to be a faithful subscriber, thanks for joining us on our journey to discover more reasons to believe in God.

RTB Scholars

RTB’s mission is to spread the Christian Gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature.