Book Review: Prepare to Thrive: A Survival Guide for Christian Students – Part 1

Prepare to Thrive: A Survival Guide for Christian Students (Answers in Genesis, 2021) is a must-read book for any Christian student bound for a secular university. Engler discusses what students will likely encounter in the culture and classes of college and how to keep the faith despite the opposition. She explains in detail how students can grow strong spiritual, intellectual, and interpersonal foundations against anti-Christian propaganda, faulty assumptions, logical fallacies, and self-defeating secular philosophies promoted on campus. She explains how to develop critical thinking skills for analyzing false claims about Christianity, the Bible, and evolution. She shows how students can separate fact from interpretation.

book titled Prepare to Thrive

Jesus the Creator

Once again it is the time of year that we remember and celebrate the first coming to Earth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, came to save sinners and give us eternal life (John 3:16). Sinners are people who have a sin nature, naturally rebel against God, and break his commandments. Everyone who descended from Adam and Eve, which includes all of us, has a sin nature (1 Cor 15:20–22). The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Jesus came to live the sinless life we could not live (Heb 4:15), pay the just penalty for our sins by dying in our place (Heb 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 Pet 3:18), and then, being raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:1–11), give eternal life to those who would trust Him (John 10:10, Rom 5:17).

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Debate on Abiogenesis: Dr. James Tour versus Dave Farina: Part 1 – The Formation of Peptides

Abiogenesis, the idea that life sprang from unguided chemistry, continues to be a central topic in the creation/evolution debate. On May 19, 2023, Dr. James Tour, a Messianic Jew, organic chemistry professor at Rice University, and well-known associate of intelligent design advocates, debated Mr. Dave Farina, aka “Professor Dave,” on the question of the origin of life (Fig. 1). 1

Peptides of lysine

Creation and Information

With the advent of the Information Age, scientists have learned how to measure information quantitatively in units called bits. In principle, the quantitative information content of any object or event, be it artificial or natural in origin, can be determined. Objects that contain information in the form of languages or codes (such as DNA) are most amenable to information measurement. Recently, intelligent design theorist William Dembski has proposed a method for detecting a type of information called complex specified information or CSI. 1

William Dembski, color

Creation Ministries International’s Recent Superconference at Myrtle Beach

I recently attended the Creation Ministries International (CMI) five-day Creation 2022 Superconference at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. TASC board members Drs. Jeff Gift and David Greear were also in attendance. The conference was held from May 30 to June 3 at the beautiful Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, located right on the ocean. There were 597 in attendance from all over the country, 22 lectures, 10 CMI presenters, a massive bookstore, a children’s program, optional opportunities to attend a guided tour through a nearby aquarium with marine biologist Dr. Robert Carter or to match wits with chess master Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, and free time to enjoy the beach.

July Creation conference lecture hall