My favorite source for evidence related to science these days is the Discovery Institute. Not only do they employ the rock star of science and religion, Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, but they have a bunch more excellent speakers. They publish a lot of books, and many of those are made into audio book versions. One of the guys I like the most is Brian Miller, who contributes to their books and does videos.

He did a recent video talking about the Big Bang cosmology, and its relevance to the question of God’s existence. It’s important for people who prefer the young-Earth interpretation of Genesis to realize that the Big Bang is not compatible with naturalism. It’s actually lethal to naturalism, because it requires a SUPER-natural cause to bring the natural world into being. I have friends who prefer the young Earth interpretation of Genesis who argue with the co-workers and family members from the Big Bang, just to get them started on their spiritual journey.

Anyway, here is the video:

And here are the questions that he answers:

• What is the big bang theory?
• Why did scientists initially dispute the big bang?
• What did scientists believe before the big bang?
• What models have been proposed to maintain the idea of an eternal universe?
• Why did scientists come to accept the big bang?
• Who is Georges Lemaitre?
• How did the scientific community receive Lemaitre’s idea?
• How did Edwin Hubble contribute to the big bang theory?
• What is the most compelling evidence for the big bang?
• What does the big bang imply about belief in God?
• Are there current critics of the big bang model?
• Why is an eternal universe so important to atheists?
• Why is the big bang theory still being challenged?
• Did the universe have a beginning?
• What are the arguments against a beginning to the universe?
• What is a singularity?
• Does the universe need a creator?
• What about the idea of a multiverse?
• Lawrence Krauss thinks the universe possibly came from “nothing.” How would you respond?
• What does Lawrence Krauss mean by nothing?

If this is something that you have not looked into, this video is a pretty good primer. He only mentions the expanding universe and the cosmic microwave background radiation as evidences. But there are other good ones, such as the light element abundance predictions (75% hydrogen, 24% helium) and the second law of thermodynamics (entropy) that he could have mentioned.

There are definitely open problems with the Big Bang cosmology, but the main thing that Christians should know is that this evidence is used in formal academic debates by people like William Lane Craig, Stephen C. Meyer, etc. to annihilate atheism. Personally, I would be thrilled if the scientific evidence tilted towards a young Earth. And it very well could, and there are good people working on that problem. But I do think that all Christians should at least be aware that the current “best” cosmological model is lethal to atheism.

Regular readers will know that I am a West Indian black, and so I try to follow what’s happening in Latin America and South America. Everyone knows that Venezuela elected socialists and they are in a death spiral, but Argentina wasn’t far behind. Argentina’s been electing leftist after leftist, and their economy kept going down. Then they did the unexpected. They elected an economist.

First, let’s find out about him, and the recent election:

Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician and economist who has served as President of Argentina since December 2023. Milei has taught university courses in macroeconomics, economic growth, microeconomics, and mathematics for economists. He is an author on economics and politics, and also hosted radio programs on the subject.

Milei is known for his flamboyant personality, distinctive personal style, and strong media presence. He has been described politically as a right-wing populist and right-wing libertarian, and supports laissez-faire economics, aligning specifically with minarchist and anarcho-capitalist principles. Milei has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s fiscal and structural policies.

I have my disagreements with libertarians. Usually, they are terrible on foreign policy and social issues – although Milei is pretty moderate on both of those. But if there’s one thing that libertarians know well, it’s economics.

When Milei took over, Argentina was ranked #27 out of 32 countries in the Americas region on the Index of Economic Freedom. They’re just above socialist disaster zones like Venezula, Cuba and Haiti. As soon as Milei got into office, he took a wrecking ball to the big government socialism of the previous leftist regimes. And now the results are starting to roll in.

This is from far-left Barron’s:

The Argentine government in January saw its first monthly budget surplus in nearly 12 years, as new President Javier Milei continues to push for strong spending cuts, the Economy Ministry announced.

January was the first full month in office for Milei, a far-right libertarian who took office in December, and it ended with a positive balance for public-sector finances of $589 million at the official exchange rate, the government said late Friday.

Now, if you are a Thomas Sowell fan like I am, then you will be able to recognize some of these economic polices that Milei has adopted:

• sharp cuts in government spending
• reduction of public debt
• switch economy to a stable currency (U.S. dollar)
• remove price controls (price controls means government sets the prices, e.g. – setting and raising the minimum wage)
• raising interest rates (a way to curb inflation)
• shutting down useless government departments
• privatize public companies (e.g. – USPS, AMTRAK)
• cutting subsidies to economic sectors
• eliminate rent control (a form of price control)
• open-sky policy (deregulate commercial air industry)
• ending import restrictions
• de-regulate satellite services
• lower the fiscal deficit

Conservatives love these economic policies. You can see economic policies like these in states where free market capitalists dominate, like Tennessee and Florida. Leftists hate these economic policies. You don’t see these policies in states where leftists dominate, like New York and California. These are the policies that communists hate.

I suggest that we keep watching countries in Latin America and South America that adopt free market principles, and then share those articles with other Americans, so they can learn what works and what doesn’t work. We can’t keep talking about follow your heart and don’t judge forever. We are running out of “other people’s money” to pay for this feelings-based nonsense. Already the next generation of Americans will be inheriting much more debt than you or I were born with. We have to vote smarter – vote for leaders who have a proven record of doing the things that Milei is doing.

What would you think if I told you that the same member of the Biden administration who was responsible for raiding the homes of peaceful pro-lifers and persecuting police officers for protecting the public from criminals is now suing the state of Tennessee? Why is she suing the state of Tennessee? Because Tennessee has a law that is tough on prostitutes who have HIV.

Her name is Kristen Clarke.

Let’s start with pre-dawn raiding the home of a pro-life activist.

Daily Signal reports:

Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy grilled the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice on Tuesday over the DOJ’s targeting of pro-life activists like Catholic father Mark Houck.

Kristen Clarke, who oversees investigations into violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, came before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government on Tuesday for a hearing on the “Oversight of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”

[…]Roy drew attention to the fact that Clarke’s division charged at least 26 individuals with FACE Act violations in 2022 and more in 2023.

“Even under your watch, it’s at least 35 to 1 or 2,” Roy emphasized. “That is not even-handed. It’s far from even handed. And importantly, Mark Houck, who was targeted, had a raid of his home, prosecuted under this, was acquitted by a jury! Have you apologized to him on behalf of the Department of Justice for that grave violation of his civil rights? Having his family have to watch him being raided at his home? And then he’s acquitted by a federal jury? Have you apologized to him?”

She refused to apologize to Mark Houck. Roy replied to her non-apology:

“So the answer to that is no,” Roy said.

Houck was arrested at his home by heavily armed police, in front of his wife and 7 children, who were traumatized. Houck is now suing the Biden DOJ for “malicious and retaliatory prosecution.”

In a different Daily Signal article, Virginia Allen notes that Clarke has a reputation for far-left activism:

Well, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for investigations into crimes against pro-life pregnancy centers, and the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ is run by a woman named Kristen Clarke. Kristen Clarke is pro-defund the police. She is for supporting Antifa, BLM, and she is on her own Twitter account vehemently opposed to pro-life pregnancy centers. So, you’ve got a major conflict of interest within the DOJ, and you’ve got [Attorney General] Merrick Garland running cover for her, insisting that the DOJ is being perfectly evenhanded.

Virginia says “Kristen Clarke is pro-defund the police”. To assess that, let’s take a look at this article from Daily Wire:

The U.S. Department of Justice is opening a civil rights investigation into the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department to determine whether there is a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitution or federal civil rights law, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.

Time will tell whether this is a serious investigation, or something more like what happened with Mark Houck. One thing for sure – Memphis has a reputation as an extremely high-crime, high-violence area.

According to this article by WREG News Channel 3:

Homicide rates dropped dramatically across the country in 2023, but Memphis is bucking the national trend with a triple-digit increase in killings.

Memphis Police records show 393 homicides in Memphis as of Dec. 28 this year, and 337 of them were considered murders. At least two more people have been killed in the past 24 hours.

The city is poised to end the year with about 400 homicides. That is roughly 100 more than last year and 50 more than 2021.

Do you think that Kristen Clarke’s actions will produce good results for law-abiding Memphis taxpayers?

OK, now let’s look at Kristen Clarke’s actions against the conservative state of Tennessee.

This is from April 2023, in Christian Post:

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee for passing a law that bans chemical castration and body mutilating surgeries from being performed on youth who are confused about their sexual identity.

[…]Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement that she believed no one “should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status.”

And here is the very latest from February 2024, in Daily Wire:

The Biden administration’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law for people with HIV.

[…]“People living with HIV should not be subjected to a different system of justice based on outdated science and misguided assumptions,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s civil rights division said in a statement.

If you think that I am being rough on Kristen Clarke, then take a look at these interesting articles from Daily Signal:

• Kristen Clarke Is Unfit to Be in Government
• DOJ’s Kristen Clarke: A Pro-Abortion Activist Enforcing the Law Against Pro-Lifers
• This Fits the Definition of ‘Domestic Terror,’ Pregnancy Care Center CEO Says After 2nd Attack
• DOJ Hiding Data on FACE Prosecutions, Congressman Says

I really recommend that you check those articles out.

Also, pray for Kristen Clarke. I noticed that she comes from a West Indian black background like me. (Except I have multiple STEM degrees, and immigrated here by merit through employer sponsor). Pray that God would lead her and give her more wisdom to treat Christians and conservatives fairly. It’s too bad that we can’t have more Bible-believing Christians in high places, but we can always pray that God would change the hearts and minds of those who are there now.