Pastor Became Atheist. Why?

by Brian Thomas, M.S. *

Teresa McBain ministered in the Methodist church for twenty years. Today, she pastors at Lake Jackson United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Florida, but also ministers as the public relations director of the American Atheists.¹ She says that she used to believe in the God of the Bible, but she recently changed her mind: "I know it's a lie. I know it's false."² Why has she rejected God?

She explained her reasons to the Christian Post, saying, "One [reason] was the contradictory nature of the Bible; the lack of scientific or historical foundation or accuracy, which took me a very, very long time to come to terms with."³

It makes sense to reject the God of the Bible if the Bible contained errors and lacked scientific or historical foundation. But it doesn't. Analyzing and teaching the amazing ways that true science confirms Scripture is what motivates the ministry of ICR—evidence for the veracity of science and Scripture abounds.

While McBain may represent those who are unfamiliar with or reject the truth of Scripture, scientific and historical confirmations of the Bible exist in abundance. A summary of ICR News reports during the month of June 2012, a small sampling of evidence, provides just a snapshot of recent examples:

Gene control regions are protected from tampering, which means that assuming that evolution tampers with them is a faulty conclusion.⁴
Evolutionists turned a blind eye to original dinosaur red blood cells when they claimed that Otzi the Iceman's red blood cells were the oldest preserved. Red blood cells in dinosaur fossils fit with the biblical young world.⁵
A clay seal with the oldest inscription of the word "Bethlehem" confirms that it had been a village before Micah prophesied that the Lord would be born there.⁶
Squid ink, made of original, unmineralized biochemical melanin, cannot possibly be as old as its 160-million-year age assignment, confirming the Bible's historical time line as well as its account of the great Flood.⁷
The precisely arranged body parts of rorqual whales were all required to coexist simultaneously for them to eat and survive, confounding whale evolution and confirming Genesis 1:21.⁸
Whoever arranged the molecular machines that perform plant photosynthesis understood quantum mechanics far better than any physicist.⁹
A 1984 Bible-based model for the origin of planets predicted that Mercury's crust would contain remanent magnetism from its recent creation. This was confirmed by MESSENGER's most recent survey in 2012.¹⁰
The newly published bonobo genome has a hallmark of special creation—its gene sequences do not match any evolutionary tree, but comprise a well-integrated mosaic of gene systems.¹¹

The idea that the Bible has contradictions and lacks scientific or historical confirmation is popular, but it is wrong.

In a dramatic moment at the 2012 Annual Convention of American Atheists in Bethesda, Maryland, MacBain apologized to her new atheist friends for having been one of those "crazy fundamentalists."¹² Believing in the fundamentals of the Bible would be crazy if the Bible were not internally, scientifically, and historically reliable.¹³ But because its verifications are so overwhelming, refusing to believe it is crazy.

References

Former Pastor Teresa MacBain New Public Relations Director. American Atheists. Posted on atheists.org July 3, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Hagerty, B. From Minister To Atheist: A Story Of Losing Faith. National Public Radio. Posted on npr.org April 30, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Zaimov, S. Ex-Pastor Turned American Atheist Director Tells How She Lost Faith. Christian Post. Posted on christianpost.com July 11, 2012.
Tomkins, J. Gene Control Regions Are Protected—Negating Evolution. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 11, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Are Iceman Blood Cells Really the Oldest? ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 13, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Artifact Confirms Ancient Bethlehem. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 18, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Fresh Fossil Squid Ink 160 Million Years Old? ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 20, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Organ Discovery Shows Why Whales Didn't Evolve. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 22, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Photosynthesis Uses Quantum Physics. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 25, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Thomas, B. Mercury's Magnetic Crust Fulfills Creation Prediction. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 29, accessed July 23, 2012.
Tomkins, J. Anti-Evolutionary Secrets of the Bonobo Genome. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 29, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
Teresa MacBain - coming out - American Atheists Conf. March 26, 2012. You Tube. Posted on youtube.com March 29, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
For hundreds of articles that confirm the Bible in every major discipline, see Evidence for Creation. Institute for Creation Research. Posted on icr.org.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Source http://www.icr.org/article/6935/

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In The Magic Man in the Sky, Carl Gallups has given us an exciting insight into the many unanswered questions of evolution theory and, based on biblical truths – both prophecies and promises, the possibilities of other worlds and realities denied by evolutionists. With his open and frank approach, supported by extensive research and information from learned professionals in their respective fields, Carl cha

llenges believers and unbelievers to take a serious look at the subjects discussed in this book. Ultimately, Carl invites every reader to seriously consider the gravity and consequences of accepting or rejecting the truth presented. In this hour of all-but-universal darkness, a bright ray of hope and confidence shines forth from the truths of this book. In a time when lives are marked by a growing hunger for spiritual realities, Carl Gallups reveals the truth that real science and Holy Scripture are inseparably linked to verify that behind all creation there is an intelligent designer who created all that exists.