Monthly Archives: February 2025

Why Isn’t Belief Universal?

Some people may ask, If the existence of God is so manifest, why do so many people not believe in Him? If the glory of God is declared by the very heavens, why isn’t belief in God equally universal? If no one is going to be able to claim ignorance at the judgment, then how are they able to claim ignorance now? At first, these may seem like legitimate questions. But let’s consider a couple of points in response.

First, the Bible teaches that God created man with free will. God gave a command, but said there are consequences to disobeying those commands. That implies that man has the ability to disobey God’s commands. Indeed, there has to be the ability for man to reject God, or man is nothing more than a robot. A robot will do whatever you command it to do, but a robot doesn’t love or care or empathize, a robot just does as it is programmed. Not even artificial intelligence can supply the emotional basis needed.

I asked ChatGPT: Is ChatGPT or any other ai sentient?


ChatGPT said: “No, neither ChatGPT nor any other AI is sentient. AI, including me, operates based on algorithms, data, and statistical models. While I can generate human-like responses, understand context, and even mimic emotions, I don’t have consciousness, self-awareness, feelings, or independent thought. Sentience requires subjective experience and self-awareness, which AI does not have. AI can process and analyze information efficiently, but it doesn’t ‘understand’ or ‘feel’ in the way humans do.”

Then I asked, “Maybe ChatGPT just isn’t as advanced as other ai?” It responded this way:

“Even the most advanced AI today, including cutting-edge models beyond ChatGPT, are not sentient. AI can simulate intelligence and conversation very convincingly, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a complex system of pattern recognition, probability, and computation.

No AI—whether from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, or any other research lab—has true self-awareness, emotions, or independent thought. AI can analyze and predict based on data, but it doesn’t experience anything.

That being said, AI is advancing rapidly, and discussions about artificial general intelligence (AGI) and consciousness in machines are ongoing. But as of now, no AI is anywhere close to actual sentience.”

I would argue that regardless of the time given, or the computational power available, or imaginative algorithms employed, no ai could ever reach sentience or free will because its not a matter of quantity but of quality. No amount of inanimate matter will ever achieve animate status just by adding more inanimate matter. No amount of non-sentient computing power could ever reach sentience just by adding more non-sentient computing power. Its not a matter of quantity but quality.

So man has free will, something neither a computer nor algorithm can ever have. One of the reasons men can reject the evidence for God, is because man was created with the ability to chose based on his own, volitional interests.

In the second place, just because a thing is obvious, doesn’t mean everyone wants it to be true or that everyone will fall in line with the truth. People often have ulterior motives for their actions, sometimes motives that they don’t even fully understand. On the other hand, sometimes people are fully aware of their reasons for denying the obvious.

A person who is given bad news might not want to accept it. A person who is given good news might not accept it, at first. The Psalmist said, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). These verses depict man consciously trying to break away from the bonds that tie him to God, only it’s a vain and futile attempt. The Psalm was fulfilled violently and particularly in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ by the Jews and Gentiles (Acts 4:23-30). There is no clearer example of men rejecting God than in the rejection of Messiah.

The truth is, it comes down to a person’s heart. If a person is not honest with themselves, they will allow themselves to believe anything they want. The Lord’s parable of the sower teaches us that truth itself is not enough. If truth is seen as a seed, truth requires good soil before it can bring forth fruit. The good soil for truth is an honest and good heart. Many people do not have an honest and good heart and, for various reasons, the truth produces no fruit in them. The evidence of God’s existence, though obvious to all, requires an honest and good heart to admit it is true.

The following is a short list of quotes from men who did not believe in God and admitted that they didn’t want to believe and acknowledged that their rejection of God was influenced by personal, moral, or existential concerns rather than purely intellectual reasoning.

“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; and consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics. He is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do. For myself, as no doubt for most of my friends, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. The supporters of this system claimed that it embodied the meaning – the Christian meaning, they insisted – of the world. There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and justifying ourselves in our erotic revolt: we would deny that the world had any meaning whatever.”

–Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means

“We desired liberation; and we had a suspicion that the things to which we wanted to be liberated had no meaning. Still, we wanted to be free to do as we pleased.” – Aldous Huxley (another relevant passage from Ends and Means)

Again, he links his disbelief to a desire for personal freedom.

“The sense of spiritual relief which comes from rejecting the idea of God as a superhuman being is enormous.” – Julian Huxley (Aldous Huxley’s brother, biologist and humanist)

Like his brother, Julian Huxley saw disbelief as a form of liberation from religious and moral constraints.

“We deny God; in denying God we deny accountability: only by doing that do we redeem the world.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche saw belief in God as tied to moral accountability, and rejecting God meant rejecting imposed moral structures.

“I want atheism to be true… It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and naturally hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.” – Thomas Nagel (philosopher and atheist)

Nagel openly admitted that his atheism was not just about reason but also about personal preference.

And so many people reject God simply because they don’t want there to be a God. They don’t want to be burdened by any moral constraints. They don’t want to be responsible to God. They don’t want there to be a moral accountability that reaches into eternity.

There are many other reasons people reject the idea of God but it is clear that just because the evidence for the existence of God is available, it does not mean that all men will acknowledge it. But whether or not we accept it, it is still true and all men will eventually acknowledge it (Phil. 2:11; Rev. 2012-15). That is why the fool has said in his heart there is no God (Psalm 19:1).

Eric L. Padgett

God. Where To Begin?

God.

Where do you begin a discussion about God? Where does it end? No matter what the topic or where you start, you will never be able to exhaust it as it relates to God because He is infinite in all of His attributes. Pick any attribute of God and you can only exhaust your own limited knowledge of the subject, never the extent of God’s nature. So no matter what is said or written, it is never, really enough. But there is no subject with such depth, with such weight, no subject that more piques the interests the inquisitive, human mind, than the subject of the infinite, omniscient, omnipotent Most, High God that inhabits eternity! That is why I want to talk about God.

The first thing I would point out is that there is no man, woman or child, no nation, country or tribe, no culture, creed or community, no tongue, dialect or speech that cannot know that God exists. The Psalmist plainly said:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

Observe that this text doesn’t say that the Bible says that the heavens declare God’s glory (though that is true, as well), it says that the heavens tell us this. When an honest, thoughtful and unbiased mind looks at the heavens, it is compelled to consider that this wondrous universe is the product of design and causation. I urge you to go check out one of the many videos on Youtube regarding the immensity of the universe and ask yourself if it is reasonable to believe that this “just happened.” The fact of the universe compels us to believe in a Creator. One could look inwardly and know the same thing, as well (cf. Psalm139:14). No matter the scale, the arguments from Causation, Design and Morality cannot be successfully denied or refuted. There are logical, formal arguments for these three important ideas, but we’ll leave these to another time.

Next, the inspired Psalmist says:

“Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:2-4).

Every day the heavens declare the glory of God in an unuttered speech that can be understood by every sound, human mind and night after night the knowledge of the glory of God is shown the world over under every starry sky. Every human speech and language understands this powerful declaration and every tribe and community hears and understand this unspoken tongue. These words declaring God’s glory have gone out through all the earth unto the ends of the world. No one can stop their ears to the message and no one can so close his eyes as to not see the glory of God. The sun and the moon and the stars all sing forth the praises of the Almighty (Psalm 148:3,4). Even ancient Pythagoras spoke of the “music of the spheres” and Maltbie D. Babcock captured the idea in his Hymn, This Is My Father’s World.

“This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas—
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.”

Again, the Psalmist said:

“In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof “ (Psalm 19:5,6).

The whole universe over, the glory of God is shown. No place escapes this universal declaration of His existence, power and praise.

Now, the apostle Paul added that, that “which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them” (Rom. 1:19). The “them” are those who receive the “wrath of God” because they do not obey Him. He says that they are without excuse (v. 20) because God hath shown certain things to them. What things has God shown them and us? “Even His eternal power and Godhead”(Rom. 1:20). Thus, Paul says that we may know these five things from the declaration of the heavens: 1) that there is a God, 2) that God is a Person, 3) that God is eternal, 4) that God is powerful, and 5) that there are certain attributes that make up His character, His Godhead (Godhood).

We can add to this list two other important attributes, namely that 1) Nature is an intentional witness to a Creator and 2) that that Creator is good. Paul said to the Lystrans,“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Again, Paul did not say that this was learned from written revelation, though that is also true. Rather, Paul said the rain and fruitful seasons and food and gladness themselves were a witness to the fact that there is a God and He is good. It was intentionally designed to be a witness to Himself.

This in no way should suggest to us that the witness of Nature is all we need to know about God. It only reveals the vaguest of outlines of His Majesty. But it is enough to cause us to seek Him further because He is not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27). It is enough to remove every excuse from every individual attempting to justify their rejection of His existence and sovereignty. No man will be able to raise his fist at God at judgment and justifiably say, “But I didn’t know…” The revelation of God in nature should drive our inquiring minds to come to know this Creator more intimately so that we can understand who we are and what we may become.

This is as good a place as any to stop for the moment in our inquiry into the Divine. But it will be only a momentary pause.

Eric L. Padgett

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds, Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur, And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art, how great Thou art.”

They Neither Marry Nor Are Given In Marriage

Do angels procreate? That is the question before us. It’s a question with which I wouldn’t normally bother, but there are certain doctrines advocated by men that rely upon this belief. There are some questions to which the Bible doesn’t give us all the answers. The secret things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29). But we can deduce certain conclusions from the facts we are given. That’s what this short article is about.

The Jewish leaders had come into conflict with the Lord on many occasions. The Sadducees denied the Old Testament doctrine of the resurrection (Job 14:7-15; 19:25-27; Dan.12:2,3). They concocted a scenario which they thought would place Jesus in a doctrinal bind which would support their position. I suspect they had used this on other occasions in their discussions with the Pharisees, though I couldn’t prove it. They argued that if a woman had a husband and he died without offspring, then her husband’s brother would come and marry her to raise up a son, all according to the Mosaic Law (Deut. 25:5-10), but he died before producing offspring, and that this happened seven times. Therefore, they asked whose wife would she be in the resurrection, since all seven had married her. They thought that they could show the absurdity of the resurrection by showing a case where it would be hard for the doctrine of the resurrection to deal fairly with it. They must have thought themselves very clever.

Jesus’ answer totally took them off their game. He said unto them, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:29,30). The statement under consideration here is that “the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage.” What does it mean that the angels “neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matt. 22:30)? Some people would say you can’t extrapolate from this anything, especially that angels did not procreate. In fact, some argue that angels, albeit fallen angels, have mated with humans in the past. According to the theory, these were the “sons of God”of Genesis six, who, in mating with humans, “the daughters of men,” produced a race of giants, or Nephilim. There is a whole mythology that has developed around this idea that has no basis in scripture.

The statement that angels do not marry was in response to the scenario the Sadducees had given. Levirate marriage, to which the Sadducees were referring, was a real, legitimate practice (Deut. 25:5-10). The purpose of levirate marriage was to produce an offspring for a deceased brother, that “his name be not put out of Israel” (Deut. 25:6). It is noteworthy that in Luke’s account of this incident he records that Jesus also said,”neither can they die anymore” (Luke 20:36). What does death have to do with this scenario? Why would He introduce this now? Well, it was death that necessitated the remarrying in the first place, because each husband died before he could produce an offspring. The reason for each successive marriage was to produce offspring.

Indeed, the purpose of marriage from the beginning was for man to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:27,28; 2:18-25). This does not deny other, personal reasons for marriage (I Cor. 7:1-5). But God created the angels (Psalm 148:1-5) and their numbers are innumerable (Heb. 12:22; cf. Rev. 5:11). There is no need for angels to be able to reproduce because they do not die and their numbers are not diminished. Marriage is something we chose to do. Death and birth are things that happens to those that are subject to them. The natural portion of marriage is to procreate, to fulfill Gods command to replenish the earth. Jesus brings in birth and death in His response.

Furthermore, angels also are not the subjects of salvation (I Pet. 1:9-12; cf. Exodus 25:20; cf. Numbers 7:89; 1 Kings 8:7,8; Hebrews 9:5), so there is no need for more angels to be produced. Every human being that is produced, however, is another opportunity for a soul’s salvation. Hence, the command to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28).

So when Jesus stated that angels do not marry nor are they given in marriage, He wasn’t merely observing that angels do not engage in some social, marital convention, He was speaking to the very nature of angels themselves. They do not produce more offspring. It is not in their created nature. And in heaven, those that attain the resurrection will be equal to the angels in this respect (Luke 20:36).

Additionally, there is a principle in the Bible that things reproduce after their own kind (Gen. 1:9-14; 20-25). Angels are created beings in the spiritual realm (Heb. 1:14). They dwell in the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 5:1,5), where no flesh and blood can enter (I Cor 15:50). Human beings are flesh and blood and bone (Gen. 2:23). The different nature creates a divide between them that cannot be breached (Psalm 8:5; Heb. 2:5-10,14-18).

Finally, the assumption is made that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 is a reference to angels. However, while the expression “sons of God” can refer to angels (Job 1:6,7), it is most often a reference to God’s people (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 14:1; John 1:12; I John 3: 3,4). The sons of God in Genesis six were the righteous descendants of Seth, while the daughters of men were the ungodly line of Cain.

While there may be many questions we cannot answer, the best we can tell from the scriptures and reason, is that angels do not procreate.

Eric L. Padgett

The Adventure of the Bible

It has been said many times that the Bible is library of books, not merely a single volume. This is true. But it is also more than a library of books. It is a library of adventure, of drama, of tragedy and mystery, of love and war, of heroism and villainy, of literature and laws, it is a library of miracles and science and philosophy and more. And all of these elements, stretched out over a period of fifteen hundred years across three continents were written by over forty individuals in three languages. All of these elements are intricately woven together in the most marvelous fashion to tell the Greatest Story Ever Told.

In the Bible we have some of the greatest adventure stories ever told. Here we have the story of Abraham, who traveled from his home in Ur of the Chaldees, to his God appointed home in Canaan. Also, the story of righteous Noah, who was chosen by God to save the world from total destruction and his year long odyssey in the ark. Then there is the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage to the land of promise and Joshua’s equally exciting conquering of the promised land. We could tell of Jonah’s reluctance to preach to Nineveh and his unusual adventure in the belly of the great fish. Daniel in the lion’s den and the Hebrew children. The story of Ruth is as compelling as any in the Bible and in the New Testament, we have the apostle Paul’s evangelistic tours and his trials in preaching the gospel.

For unparalleled drama we have the jealous treachery of Cain against his innocent, unsuspecting brother Abel. The challenges that face Moses as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness and the deliverance of the Ten commandments, keep your attention from start to finish. The timeless story of courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is the story of David and Goliath and David’s relationship with king Saul is drama at its best, and historically true at the same time. In the New Testament, the birth of Christ is one of the most well known, most compelling historical narratives in the world and Jesus’ parables are powerful stories illustrating moral and spiritual truths.

As for treachery, the Bible records it. Joab, in pretense of greeting Amasa, a rival general, while embracing him, smote him under the fifth rib, causing his guts to spill out on the ground. The Bible is, at times, very graphic in its reporting of history. Another vile act of treachery was Joseph’s brothers, at first intent on killing him, then settling on selling him into slavery. In another instance, Ehud, a champion of Israel, visits the obese king of Moab, Eglon, under the pretense of bringing him a gift, and stabs him and escapes through the porch. And in the New Testament, we can’t forget those who plotted to kill the apostle Paul. But even more than this, the notorious treachery of Judas, who betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver.

Tragedy is abundant in the biblical narrative. Think for instance of the House of Saul. Saul literally stood head and shoulder above all others in Israel. He was a reluctant leader but showed great promise. Yet, he always managed to do the wrong thing and in the end he was rejected because he had rejected the word of the Lord. Then, of course, you can’t overlook the tragedy and triumph of Job. He lost everything in his life that meant anything to him except his faith in God and God rewarded him with more than he ever had.

The Bible is full of mystery also. Maybe not the kind the world generally thinks of, but it contains some of the greatest mysteries the world has ever known. There is the mystery of life: God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. There are the Theophanies of the Old Testament. We think we know it all. But God says: “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me” (Job 40:7). There is the mystery of the incarnation where God came down clothed in humanity (I Tim. 3:16). And then the resurrection of Christ and our own future resurrection. There are many things we can know, but the secret things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29).

There are accounts of love. The love of Abraham for Sarah, Isaac for Rebecca, Jacob for Rachael, Ruth for Boaz, David for Bathsheba, and the tragic love of Samson for Delilah. The Song of Solomon is a wonderful poem of love and it portrays the Lord’s love for His bride, the church. On the other side, there are stories of warfare. The great Battle of Jericho, the Battle f Ai, the conquest of Hazor, of the Southern Confederacy against the Northern Alliance in the Vale of Siddim, Gideon and the Midianites, the constant wars between Israel and the Canaanites, the Battle of Gibeah, the Civil War of Israel, and the battle against Assyria and Babylon.

There are accounts of heroism. Noah, who walked with God and built an ark to save his family and animals from the flood. Abraham, who had a covenant with God and was willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. Jacob, who became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Mordecai, who saved his people from a plot to destroy them. Joseph, who forgave his brothers and saved his family from famine. There is also David and Moses and Caleb and Joshua. There were female heroes in the Bible like Deborah and Dorcas and Esther and Mary.

There are villains in the Bible aplenty. Few can match the villainy of Ahab and Jezebel. There is Nimrod, the self-proclaimed “mighty hunter before the Lord.” There is wicked Haman who tried to enact genocide of the descendants of Abraham. Absalom who turned against his own father, king David, and conspired to take over the kingdom. Athaliah, the Herods and Judas surely finds a place in the Hall of Villainy. But, of course, there is that old serpent, the devil who tops out the list.

There is great literature in the Bible. There is history, poetry, law, letters and prophecy. The Bible contains matchless poetry like the 23rd Psalm, Job and the Song of Solomon. Paul’s discourse on love is beyond compare. The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount cannot be matched. The Ten Commandments are the greatest set of laws the world has known but Jesus’ Golden Rule sums up the most powerful principle of human relationships possible. There are miracles, philosophy and science in the Bible and much, much more.

All of these stories, all of these elements, are interwoven into the most beautiful composition ever conceived. It reveals little by little, piece by piece the grandest scheme of the greatest Story Ever Told. It is the story of redemption and salvation and forgiveness. It is a story of grace and mercy. But it is a story of obedience and submission. It is the only story of hope and victory. That is the adventure of the Bible.

Eric L. Padgett