Challenging the Experts (based on Psalm 2)

What I have to say outside the BBC is the result of 40 years of research (google World History 3967 to access this information). This research has led me to two significant conclusions. Firstly the Bible is indeed an accurate revelation from God and secondly as a consequence we as individuals, we as a nation and we as citizens of this world are in grave danger. For these two reasons I want to say the following.

The BBC as our national broadcaster has a duty to impartiality and a responsibility, where appropriate, to challenge those in authority, including the experts. The recent Post Office scandal illustrated how important this role is. Experts and those in authority are not infallible and where common sense and significant evidence exists they should be challenged. With regard to the Bible over the last 200 years the experts in the academic community have increasingly dismissed the idea that the Bible is an accurate revelation from God and as a consequence those in authority have ignored the Bible as a guide to how we should govern our nation - in stark contrast to the official proclamations made at the beginning of the Coronation service. However, over the last 20 years 3 lines of evidence have emerged that seriously challenge this dominant paradigm. Therefore I exhort the BBC to investigate, with due diligence, these emerging lines of evidence, because failure to do so will have far far greater consequences than the ruining of 700 lives that occurred as a result of the Post Office scandal.

The three lines of evidence are as follows:

1. As a result of Professor Craig Keener’s research (Miracles 2011 and Miracles Today 2021) there now exists abundant proof that thousands of well documented miracles have taken place over the last 20 years and that millions of Christians from around the world claim to have experienced or witnessed a miracle. Jesus said if you will not believe me for my words, believe me for my miracles John 10:38. Sadly my research into this subject has uncovered the fact that none of the recent books or papers on the subject of miracles generated by the Philosophy departments around the world ever mention modern miracles and yet modern miracles are the most powerful evidence for the existence of God that one could imagine - furthermore since the vast majority of these miracles take place in the context of Christianity these miracles authenticate the Bible as the word of God or as the coronation order of service puts it the Bible contains ‘the lively oracles of God’.
2. The ENCODE project which was launched in 2003 has substantially increased our understanding of the human genome. We now have to reject the belief we had in the previous century that 97% of our DNA was evolutionary leftovers (Junk DNA). Instead we now know that almost all the human genome is functional. This confirms Michael Behe’s contention (Darwin's Black Box 1995) that biology is full of complexity and in many, if not most cases, it is full of irreducible complexity - something that is impossible to bring about by evolution. Behe’s book helped create the intelligent design movement which has sadly been vilified and ostracised by the scientific community - that said the latest findings of the ENCODE project have prompted over 1200 scientist to sign a website petition called ‘Dissent from Darwin’ in which they express their scepticism about Darwin’s theory of evolution being able to account for the biological complexity we see in the world. In fact the situation for evolution is even worse because random mutations cannot increase useful genetic information, instead it destroys useful genetic information. As Professor John Sanford points out in his book  Genetic Entropy (2005) every time human beings reproduce between 100 and 300 mutations enter the genetic code, and there is no process that can get rid of them - natural selection only weeds out the very worst mistakes. Our genetic code, like everything else in the universe, is decaying; therefore it cannot be millions of years old, it can only be thousands of years old, just as the Bible states - a perfect genetic code created by an intelligent designer in the recent past. What has been the scientific response to Professor John Sanford’s work? Despite being a very senior geneticist none of the senior population geneticists were willing to respond to his requests for their objections to his research. His comment was that of surprise - in all his long and distinguished scientific career he had never experienced such a lack of response. Yet this is not an idle academic issue. If the evidence of genetics overwhelmingly points to a recent creation then we must look much more seriously at the Bible and respect it as our guide for living and for making laws - just as the coronation made clear.
3. Since 2005 almost 100 peer reviewed scientific papers have been published showing that many fossils throughout the geological column contain soft tissue - that is DNA, muscle, blood etc. - none of which should last more than a few thousand years. My friend Professor Steve Taylor from Liverpool University presented this material to a science conference in September 2023 alongside his own research which showed that all the dinosaur bones he had sent for testing had significant amounts of Carbon 14; and carbon 14 only lasts thousands of years. Both the soft tissue and the Carbon 14 in fossils confirm that these fossils are only thousands of years old. This confirms what Professor John Walton, from St Andrews University, points out in his recent book Compact Time (2021) all the rock layers in the geological column that can supply Carbon 14 readings show evidence of Carbon 14 and therefore can only be thousands of years old. Sadly, as with Professor John Sanford, there is no willingness from the scientific community to engage with these findings.

If you find it hard to believe that experts and those in authority would deliberately avoid engaging in evidence they do want to hear, then consider the recent Post Office scandal and ask yourself the question why did none of the experts see the blindingly obvious - 900 post masters could not suddenly become criminals - simple common sense tells us this was a computer problem. Likewise simple common sense when confronted with the design we see in biology screams there is a designer and a very intelligent one at that! If we couple that with the evidence of miracles and of soft tissue and carbon 14 in fossils then we have overwhelming evidence for God’s existence and the Bible as His revealed truth.

My concern is that time is running out - we are living on borrowed time. Everyone can see the world is full of grave dangers; political, economic, environmental, military and societal. Now is the time to turn back to God and ask for His help. As Psalm 2 says:

Now therefore, be wise O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way,

When His wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him

Psalm 2:10-12