APODICTIC:
Evident Beyond Contradictions
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
The word apodictic comes from the Greek word apodiktikos and means ‘evident beyond contradictions’. Many years ago while studying the dictionary, I came across this word. I had never seen or heard of the word apodictic before and it gripped my spirit.
Immediately, I knew that this word could only be properly used for God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Only God Incarnate (Jesus Christ) who walked among men and His wonderful salvation belong in that category!
The Power of God is apodictic! Any honest person with an average mentality knows that there is no power like God’s power. When a person looks realistically at God’s creation, unless he is an imbecile, knows that only God could create all living things, our earth, space and the cosmos!
The Bible says: “The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is done that doeth good.” (Ps.14:1). A fool, insane person or imbecile can say that there is no God, because he doesn’t know any better. He is an imbecile!
King David stated: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth Who has set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou art mindful of him?” (Ps.8: 1, 3)
The Wisdom of God is apodictic! How can anyone fail to realize that the creation of the human body is a work of extra-ordinary genius and absolute wisdom that is above anything we could muster! The Bible states: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well." (Psalm 139:14).
WHAT A PERVERTED BELIEF SYSTEM!
Is anyone foolish enough to believe that mankind has evolved from virtually nothing to become brilliant, innovative and creative human beings who consist of spirit, soul and body?
The reason some evolutionists that masquerade as scientists go to great lengths in falsifying documents and report phony finds in their desperate defense of the ‘ape-doctrine’ is because they do not want to accept the truth that Almighty God exists and that they are answerable to Him.
By their own testimony - when pressed for a truthful answer as to why they have falsified statements or reported bogus finds - they state that the alternative would be to acknowledge that there is a Creator and since they are atheists that would conflict with their twisted views. In other words: Ideology trumps truth. What a perverted belief system!
During Malcolm Muggeridge’s 1978 Pascal lectures at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, the celebrated British journalist, professor, author and former atheist was asked his opinion about Evolution. Here is his reply:
“I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which is applied will be one of the great jokes in the history books in the future. Posterity will marvel that so flimsy and dubious hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has. I think I spoke to you about this age as one of the most credulous in history, and I would include evolution as an example. I am very happy to say that I live in a place called Piltdown. I like to drive there because it gives me a special glow. You probably know that a skull was discovered there and no less that 500 doctoral theses were written on the subject and then it was discovered that the skull was a practical joke by a worthy dentist in Hastings who’d hurriedly put a few bones together, not even from the same animal, and buried them and stirred up this whole business. So, I’m not a great man for bones.”
Then there is the deliberate misquotes or quoting out of context that is standard procedure for evolutionary proponents like Richard Dawkins. Deem explains:
“Dawkins goes on to quote several founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, who made statement against the religion of their time. John Adams is quoted as saying, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." However here is the complete quote in an April 19, 1817, letter to Thomas Jefferson:
"Twenty times in the course of my late reading have I been on the point of breaking out, ‘This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion at all!!!’ But in this exclamation I would have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company, I mean hell."5
In quoting John Adams out-of-context, Dawkins has made it seem that Adams said exactly opposite of what he really intended. No wonder he left out the part where Adams said the world would be "hell" "without religion."
Charles Darwin visited Tierra del Puego in 1833 and found a people whom he thought were incapable of being civilized. He wrote: “The Fuegians are in a more miserable state of barbarianism than I ever expected to have seen any human being”.
Thirty six years later Darwin
He wrote: “I should have predicted that not all the missionaries in the world could have done what has been done. It is wonderful and it shames me, as I have always prophesied a failure. It is a grand success.”
In a letter to the London Missionary Society, together with a gift the equivalent of U.S. $125, Darwin
Albert Einstein wrote: “The common understanding of my atheistic view of life bears upon a complete misunderstanding. I believe the complete opposite regarding a personal God, and I can say with a good conscience that I have never for a single minute praised an atheistic lifestyle.
“Even as quite a young student, I rejected the 1880’s scientific attitude and I also find Darwin’s as well as Haekal’s and Huxley’s teaching helplessly outdated. For most of the representatives of true science it can be stated, they agree that science is no enemy of Christianity.
“But naturally there are still some doctrinaire scientists who stand and stamp on the same magical point from about 1880. For my own part, I am convinced that without Christianity mankind would now find itself in a barbaric state. Christianity has been the driving force to humanity’s forward march.”
In our own experience, I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel to the headhunters of Northern Luzon in the Philippines.
We were given a pledge of safe conduct before entering the village of Eli
After my message the Chief of the tribe with spear in hand, leaped to his feet with hands lifted in surrender to Jesus Christ! Reportedly, there have been no more incidents of tribal head decapitations there since!
To show how non-factual, little learned and fanatical in their beliefs some of them really are we go to Richard Dawkin’s flowery foreward for John Maynard Smith`s book, ‘The Theory of Evolution’. He writes: “Natural selection is the only workable explanation for the beautiful compelling illusion of design that pervades every living body and every organ.”
Richard Dawkins calls design a `compelling illusion`. Any reputable scientist or otherwise intelligent or even street smart person would know that our world is filled with harmonious, elaborate and beautiful designs which operate perfectly in their creation and operation.
The new born baby with all its functions in operation, the bumble bee flying wonderfully even though it is too heavy to do so according to science, the return of the salmon fighting rapids to spawn in the place of their birth, the slow moving porcupine with its arsenal of awesome and razor sharp quills, the laws of gravity, aerodynamics, rotation of the earth, space and the expanding cosmos are NOT ILLUSIONS!
The hairs on our heads numbered, God sees the fall of a sparrow and the Bible declares that His creation is so impressive that those who refuse to believe in Almighty God are without excuse: “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.
“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Because, that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became as fools.” (Rom. 1: 19-22)
It would appear to me that men like Richard Dawkins and others of his mindset, have had their foolish heart darkened! How sad!
Note: This is part 1 of 'Apodictic: Evident Beyond Contradictions'. More to follow soon! - M.S.
