Circular Reasoning

 

Circular Reasoning: Vicious and Virtuous

B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, October 9, 2023

I received a question that I’ve heard many times because there are quite a few people who don’t realize the intricacies of circular reasoning. I hope this helps clarify, God bless.

Here was the original correspondence:  

 

Sent: Thursday, October 5, 2023 12:06 PM
Subject: Confound the Critics by B. Hodge 

Good day Mr. Hodge-- 

I have recently completed reading and studying from your book. First--I must thank you and your co-authors for your time and efforts in this writing. Second--I find this book to be VERY helpful and resourceful. 

I for one strongly agree with the Creation concept as God presents in the book of Genesis.

I was baptized 4 years ago and have learn a lot since. It does baffle me to now see what I so badly missed for so very long. (I am 67 years young today:):):) 

In all of the reading of your book I only have one question--Or maybe one ask--Rebuttal to a comment I have heard from a couple of Evolutionist Theory friends-- 

"Circular Reasoning-- Or Circular logic

They are claiming that we are using the Bible to prove our Biblical point of creation theory. 

As I see this somewhat accurate I am left without a concrete response to offer them. Can you educate me on how to respond to this? 

Again--Thank you and your entire team for your many hours of service to God and his word.

Y'all are amazing--Keep up the GREAT work of the Lord. 

With great respect, 

God Bless, 

JB 

 

Response: 

Thank you for reaching out. This is a common claim by atheists back at presuppositional apologists regarding the existence of God and the truthfulness of His revealed Word. However, the atheist has failed to realize there are two forms of circular reasoning. The first is an arbitrary form (often called vicious circular reasoning). The second is non-arbitrary (called absolute circular reasoning or virtuous circular reasoning). The arbitrary form is fallacious. 

In logic, circular reasoning is unique because it is valid. It only becomes fallacious if it is not sound, which is due to the arbitrariness. For instance, if someone asks me where I live and I say, “With my wife”. They respond, “Okay then, where does your wife live?” and I say, “With me”. Again, they respond, “Well where do the two of you live?” I respond, “With our kids”.  “Well, where do your kids live?” “They live with us”. 

This is circular; but notice an interesting fact here—everything that I said was true. But it was arbitrary (not sound) because we never really got anywhere. This would be an example of a vicious circular argument. 

However, consider my dream the other night. I could tell someone all about it. But if they respond, prove it logically; I have no choice but to appeal to myself about my dream as the authority. I must start with myself to tell anyone about the dream; thus, I am appealing to myself, which is circular. The difference is that I am the only one in a position to know my dream (outside of God of course).[1] So, although this was circular, it is non-arbitrary and virtuous. 

It works the same way with God. If God is God, He can only reveal Himself by final and absolute authority—a virtuous circle. This is because God is the absolute authority on all matters—including the existence of Himself as well as the existence of logic, knowledge, truth, love, revelation, and so on.  For more on the two types of circular reasoning please see: 

https://answersingenesis.org/apologetics/circular-reasoning/

https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/apologetics/bahnsen-on-circular-reasoning/ 

Even so, I can’t help but deal with the elephant in the room though. The evolutionary mindset (which comes out of naturalism and materialism) has no basis for the existence of logic, if their worldview is true. In fact, truth can’t exist in a materialistic and naturalistic worldview either since truth, logic, and knowledge are not material. So, for the evolutionary atheist to acknowledge logic, they must give up their professed worldview to do so. Hence, they are borrowing from a biblical worldview when they admit logic exists. 

I pray this helps, God bless, 

B. Hodge

---

[1] Consider Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar’s dream where God knew them and how to interpret them (Genesis 40-41 and Daniel 2 and 4).

Date Setters Vs Date Teasers

 

Date Setters Vs. Date Teasers—Equally Guilty?

B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, July 27, 2023

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3 NKJV)

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11 NKJV)

When I was speaking at a church, the pastoral staff and few others took me out to lunch. We chatted about all sort of things. One thing that came up was the issue of Jesus’ return. I really wasn’t interested in the discussion because I knew their eschatological position was different from my own. So was it worth a debate over lunch? Probably not.

There is a time to sit and listen and a time to speak. This time I wanted to sit and listen to what they had to say so I could better understand their position.

Meanwhile, a teen in the church was sitting with us—diagonally across from me. I asked her what she liked to do. She said she liked basketball and was going to focus on that. I asked how she was doing in school; she said she really wasn’t worried about school or getting good grades because she said it was pointless.  She continued to say that since Jesus is coming back “probably later this year or early next year”, that there was no reason for her to exert herself in her studies. So she was just going to play some basketball until Jesus comes.

When she said this, I was shocked, but what came next shocked me even more. Nearly the entire table of 12 people or so started giving her an “amen” and joined in the chorus with things like, “Jesus is coming back any minute now”, “I really doubt we will make it to next year—the time is ripe”, and “that’s right girl, Jesus will be coming back shortly”.   

There was so much affirmation for her and each other’s testimonies that I was really taken back. This brings me to Date Setters and Date Teasers.

Date Setters

 

The sad thing about many Christians—especially in more recent times (1800 to the present) is that far too many people have tried to guess a precise date for the return of Christ. These are called Date Setters and so far every date in history that has been selected by a Date Setter has been wrong. This means they made false predictions.

But some people just keep trying! Usually when a failed predictor’s date comes and goes—if they are still alive—they make an excuse and then adjust their date to something else in the future (e.g., William Miller, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Harold Camping).[1] 

Some of these Date Setters try to work out some sort of calculation with some wild interpretations from Scripture or odd theological positions to arrive at their date (e.g., Clarence Larkin predicted AD 2000 in his book Dispensational Truth in 1918).[2] Others say that the Holy Spirit spoke to them like the prophets or apostles of old.

When their date failed to come to pass, it should have been obvious that the Holy Spirit was not their source! Was it demonic, did they simply deceive themselves, or was it something else? That too is a great question.

Date Setters are abundant and they can be found giving false dates for millennia now (see the lists in Reference 3 for example.[3] )

Date Teasers

 

When someone toys around with the timing of Jesus’ return without putting a specific date on it, they are called Date Teasers. Due to the bad name Date Setters get because of their consistently failed claims, Date Teasers try to be a bit more coy.

Instead of putting a precise date, they sometimes use vague terms or indefinite time referents like Christ’s return “is imminent”, “very soon to take place” or “in my day”. But when you look at what they are claiming, they still have a prediction that is bound in a specific range. 

So although Date Teasers are unwilling to make commitments on specific dates, they are still giving a date range. Essentially, they too have made a prediction about the timing of the return of Christ. For some reason, Date Teasers seem to think this is a much better position—but is it?

The reality is that date teasing is no better than the date setting. They have both made a definite prediction about the return of Christ where one names a specific date and the other a date range. The main difference is that you usually won’t have your name listed on these long lists of failed predictors and get called out by name as a false prophet.

Conclusion

 

Yes, I was shocked at the response from that young teen and those at the table with her. And just so you know, this was about 10 years ago. So these predictions didn’t come to fruition.

The truth of the matter is that both Date Setters and Date Teasers are equally guilty. They have both given false predictions and they both have consequences. And sadly, this young lady was on a trajectory to ruin her school opportunity because of date teasing into which she also bought. I prayed for her of course.

For those who disbelieve in Christ’s return altogether—they have also made their wager too and when Christ does return, their false predictions will be made complete. In those instances, they will have eternal consequences for their rebellion against God if they do not repent. But Date Setters and Teasers need a wakeup call as well. 

When will Jesus return? The answer is simply that Jesus will come back when Jesus comes back. We should be doing the Lord’s business until He comes.

---

[1] Tim Chaffey, Are You Ready for the End of the World?, Answers in Genesis, December 20, 2012, https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/are-you-ready-for-the-end-of-the-world/; Editors, Changed Dates: Failed Predictions, Facts About Jehovah’s Witnesses, January, 2019, https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php.

[2] Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, Rev. Clarence Larkin Est. Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, 1918, p. 16.

[3] With caveats, see for instance: https://www.bible.ca/pre-date-setters.htm and (although I’m not a fan of Wikipedia) see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events.

TrinityQuestion

 

Trinity—Three People make one God? 

B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, October 13, 2022

Question: Regarding the Trinity, is that the belief where 3 people make one? So is God made only to be three people?  

Answer:

There is one God, the Creator of all things including time, the universe—including space and the physical—as well as the heavenly and the spiritual. This one God is 3 persons, not 3 people. This echoes the same teaching from the time of the apostles forward as defended in early Christian creeds. Excerpts from the Athanasian Creed help clarify: 

For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another. But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit. Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit. The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite…. 

Thus the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God: And yet there are not three gods, but one God. Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord: And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord…. 

The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten; the Son was neither made nor created, but was alone begotten of the Father; the Spirit was neither made nor created, but is proceeding from the Father and the Son. Thus there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three spirits. And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons. 

Here is an article and chart that maybe helpful to understand this derivation biblically: 

God is Triune 

Though no analogy is perfect, many church fathers used an equilateral triangle to help explain the conceptual nature of God. Where the triangle is God and each point on the triangle is likened to the three persons of the one true God, distinct, yet identical; and yet the lines making up each point are also the lines proceeding from each triangular point to make up the lines for the other two triangular points. 

There is no contradiction in this by the way. Some mistakenly see three persons and one God and misconstrue this to claim that it is three Gods = one God but this is not the case but a straw man fallacy.  At any rate, I hope this helps. 

B. Hodge

Timeline

 

Timeline Of History, In Brief

B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, August 8, 2022

This timeline is abased on the work of Archbishop James Ussher as well as other historical sources. 

4004 B.C. Creation 

• Day 1 Heavens, Earth, Water, Light 

• Day 2 Expanse/Firmament 

• Day 3 Dry Land and Plants 

• Day 4 Sun, Moon and Stars 

• Day 5 Flying (Winged) and Sea Creatures 

• Day 6 Land Animals and Man 

• Day 7 God rests and sanctifies that day [as a model for us (Exodus 20:11)] 

4004 Adam and Eve in the Garden 

~Day 10  The Fall with the Serpent and Adam and Eve eating (Per Ussher) 

~Day 10 Death and suffering enter the creation, clothing the need for a Savior, the first sacrifice (Per Ussher) 

Cain kills Abel because he mimicked the first sacrifice (fat portions) and Cain only brought first fruits. Cain banished to the land of wandering (Nod) and takes his wife (his sister) 

3874 Seth is born and other sons and daughters 

     Musical instruments invented (Genesis 4:21) 

     Bronze and iron working begins (Genesis 4:22) 

3017  Enoch is taken to heaven without death. 

2948 Noah was born

     Over 2000 years of history: Lineage from Adam to Noah: Adam-Seth-Enosh-Cainan-Mahalalel-Jared-Enoch-Methuselah-Lamech-Noah FLOOD – Shem to Jacob (Israel) 

2448 Japheth is born – Noah’s first son when he is 500 years old which is 100 years before the Flood 

2446 Shem is born to Noah 

Ham is born

2349  Flood Animals on – Noah and his family 8 in all get on the Ark 

 

2348 End of the Flood, Animals came off and begin filling the earth 

Noah’s family living in tents 

2242 Tower of Babel incident where languages were confused because people refused to heed God’s command to fill the earth  

2234 Nimrod founds the first post-Babel, Babylonian Empire (Per Ussher) 

2188 Mizraim founds of Egypt 

2089 Javan founds of Greece 

• Germany, Scytha, China, India, and other civilizations began forming as well – people migrating around the world  

Ice Age had been triggered by the Flood and peaking about 500 years after the Flood then going back down 

1998 Noah dies

1996 Abraham is born to Terah 

1922 Call of Abraham 

The first recorded war [Genesis 14:1-2 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).] Abraham was forced to get involved to save Lot who was captured. Abraham won the war (Genesis 14:14-17). Although Nimrod’s exploits pre-dated this but not specifically denoted 

1896 Isaac is born to Abraham 

1846 Shem, Noah son dies 

1836 Jacob (renamed Israel) was born to Isaac and his twin Esau (Edom) 

12 sons of Jacob (Israel) 

1. Reuben (Leah)

2. Simeon (Leah)

3. Levi (Leah)

4. Judah (Leah)

5. Issachar (Leah)

6. Zebulun (Leah)

7. Joseph (Rachel)

8. Benjamin (Rachel)

9. Dan (Rachel’s Maidservant Bilhah)

10. Naphtali (Rachel’s Maidservant Bilhah)

11. Gad (Leah’s Maidservant Zilpah)

12. Asher (Leah’s Maidservant Zilpah) 

1707 Joseph in Egypt sold as a slave and then rises to power and Jacob and Joseph’s brothers come to seek help from Egypt, where the Israelites were in Egypt for 7 years of famine 

1635 Joseph dies book of Genesis comes to an end 

Between 1635 and 1571 Ussher places Job; Bodie Hodge leaves this open but also leaves open the time of the Judges based on internal clues in the book of Job itself (see Bodie Hodge Tower of Babel, Master Books, Green Forest AK appendix pp. 253-263.)

1571 Moses Born 

1491 The 10 Plagues of Egypt with Moses and Aaron leading the cause of God to free the enslaved Israelites – the first Passover 

1491 Parting of the Red Sea and The 10 Commandments at Mt Sinai 

40 years of wandering in the desert 

1452 Israelites, led by Joshua, enter the Promised Land 

Inheritance in the Promised Land as follows:

1. Reuben (Leah)

2. Simeon (Leah)

3. Levi (Leah) Spiritual Inheritance

4. Judah (Leah)

5. Issachar (Leah)

6. Zebulun (Leah)

7. Joseph (Rachel) Split into two inheritances

8. Benjamin (Rachel)

9. Dan (Rachel’s Maidservant Bilhah)

10. Naphtali (Rachel’s Maidservant Bilhah)

11. Gad (Leah’s Maidservant Zilpah)

12. Asher (Leah’s Maidservant Zilpah) 

Because of the Levites receiving a spiritual inheritance as priests one of Joseph’s sons received an inheritance in place of Levi while the other son retained the place of Joseph: 

13. Ephraim (son of Joseph)

14. Manasseh (son of Joseph) 

1451 Jericho falls 

~1413 (death of Joshua) to ~1100, the Judges were: 

1	The Lord God is the Ultimate Judge
2	Moses (Note: Moses and Joshua were really the first judges)
3	Joshua [as Moses successor] (Note: Moses and Joshua were really the first judges)
4	Othniel
5	Ehud
6	Shamgar
7	Deborah
8	Barak
9	Gideon
10	Abimelech
11	Tola
12	Jair
13	Jephthah
14	Ibzan
15	Elon
16	Abdon
17	Samson
18	Eli
19	Samuel
20	Joel and Abijah, These sons of Samuel did evil and so the Israelites rejected them and subsequently God as their king and asked for a human king and God granted them Saul

 1095 Saul becomes King 

David kills goliath 

1048 David becomes King, many psalms were written 

1015 Solomon becomes King and builds the Temple of God 

975 Israel is divided into two nations, North and South: Israel and Judah 

Kings of Israel 

1	Jeroboam I
2	Nadab
3	Baasha
4	Elah
5	Zimri
6	Omri
7	Ahab
8	Ahaziah
9	Jehoram (Variant: Joram)
10	Jehu
11	Jehoahaz (Variant: Joahaz)
12	Jehoash (Variant: Joash)
13	Jeroboam Il
14	Zechariah
15	Shallum
16	Menahem
17	Pekahiah
18	Pekah
19	Hoshea (Variant: Hosea), Sargon II’s Assyrian Empire conquers them

 Kings of Judah 

1	Rehoboam,
2	Abijah (Variants: Abia and Abijam)
3	Asa
4	Jehoshaphat
5	Jehoram (Variant: Joram)
6	Ahaziah
7	Athaliah
8	Joash (Variant: Jehoash)
9	Amaziah
10	Uzziah (or Azariah)
11	Jotham
12	Ahaz
13	Hezekiah
14	Manasseh
15	Amon
16	Josiah (Variant: Josias)
17	Jehoahaz (Variant: Joahaz)
18	Jehoiakim
19	Jehoiachin (Variants: Jeconiah and Jechoniah)
20	Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire conquers them

 ~889 Elijah and the fiery chariot and dealing with the false prophets of Baal 

808 Jonah was swallowed by a great fish because he refused to go to Nineveh 

776 The first Olympics were held 

~759  – ~698 Isaiah, prophecies about a virgin birth 

748 Rome is founded by Romulus 

721 Captivity for the Northern Kingdom Israel to Assyria 

~629 – ~588 Jeremiah, thrown into a well 

607 Captivity for the Southern Kingdom to Babylon 

~607 – ~534 Daniel and also Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace 

538 God writes on the wall and Belshazzar, king of Babylon dies, ending the Babylonian Empire.  Darius, the Mede takes over and appoints Daniel to second in command. Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den as well. 

510 Esther saves the Israelites 

467– ~442 Nehemiah and Ezra – Permission to resettle and rebuild the Jewish religion and State, Nehemiah is permitted to rebuilt the wall at Jerusalem 

447 The Parthenon is built in Greece 

397 Last Prophet until Christ: Malachi 

400 years of silence from God, e.g., no prophets, thus no Scripture

Solon taught Socrates who taught Plato who taught Aristotle who taught Alexander the Great 

356 Alexander the Great is born 

348 Plato died 

341 Epicurus is born and founds the first major evolutionary philosophy. Paul later argues against this when debating with the Epicureans (Acts 17:18)  

331 Greece through Alexander the Great conquers most of the known world, Greek is a common language – the New Testament is written in Greek as a result  

323 Alexander the Great died in Babylon

263 Rome and Carthage begin fighting, the First Punic War 

218 the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage 

166-161 the Israelites fight against the Greeks, who had conquered them and finally make a truce with Rome against Greece 

149-146 Third Punic War, Carthage was demolished 

146 Roman Empire conquers the whole of Greece 

88 Anna, the prophetess’s husband died and she remained at the Temple in prayer and fasting waiting for 84 years until she saw Christ presented at the Temple 

55 Julius Caesar invades England – Latin begins to become a dominant language in Europe 

48 Julius Caesar keeps the power given to him from the Senate of Roman as becomes the first unofficial emperor of Rome (hence the name Caesar, Tsar, Kaisar, and so on given as a title for many kings to follow from Rome to Russia) 

44  Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March (March 15), Augustus Caesar takes power over Rome 

40 Herod the Great is set up as king under Caesar over the Israelites 

19 Herod begins expanding the Temple in Jerusalem 

5 B.C. John the Baptist is born 

4 B.C. Mary is visited by Gabriel, Jesus is born; Magi visit, Mary Joseph and Jesus flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath against little boys in and around Bethlehem 

4-3 B.C. Herod the Great gets sick and dies and his son Herod Antipas takes over and rules Galilee throughout the duration of Jesus’ earthly life, under the Roman authorities of course until 39 A.D. 

----------BC (Before Christ) to AD (Anno Domini, meaning: in the day of our Lord in Latin) --- 

9 A.D. Jesus as a young boy in the Temple 

~26 A.D. John baptizes Jesus 

~27 Satan tempts Jesus 3 times and Jesus countered with the Word of God 3 times 

~30 Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding reception at Cana 

Jesus begins his ministry; heals and raises people from the dead 

33 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead 

33 Last Supper 

33 Betrayed in Jerusalem by Judas 

33 Crucifixion of Christ 

33 Resurrection of Christ 

33 Apostles begin preaching Christ 

Apostles 

1.  Simon Peter

2. Andrew (Peter’s brother)

3. James the son of Zebedee

4. John son of Zebedee and brother of James

5. Philip

6. Bartholomew

7. Thomas

8. Matthew the tax collector

9. James the son of Alphaeus

10. Lebbaeus Thaddaeus

11. Simon the Canaanite

12. Judas Iscariot, who forfeited his right as an Apostle

13.  Matthias (Acts 1:20-26) Replaced Judas

 

14.  Paul (2 Corinthians 11:5, 2 Corinthians 12:11, etc.)

15.  Barnabas (Acts 14:14)

16.  James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19)

17.  Jesus is THE Apostle (Hebrews 3:1) 

33 The martyrdom of Stephen 

35 Call of Paul on the Damascus Road 

• Paul’s missionary journeys begin—Paul’s very first missionary journey often goes neglected to Arabia (Galatians 1:17 and much of the book of Galatians outlines the distinctions between the descendants of Sarah and Hagar). Many Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham with Hagar. Then Paul goes to Jerusalem and then to Syria and Cilicia (Galatians 1:18-21) 

60 St. Andrew was crucified on and X shaped cross, hence the Saltire cross of Andrew 

66-70 Jewish revolt against Rome 

67 Peter and Paul executed, Paul beheaded and Peter crucified upside down, hence the Petrine cross) 

• New Testament is completed in the First Century, to cap the authoritative 66 Books of the Bible (i.e., the canon). They were written or affirmed by the authority of the Apostles as imposed on the church 

70 Destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem 

Church fathers Clement (who learned from Paul), Ignatius and Polycarp (who learned from John) and other continue to preach and spread the good news of Jesus Christ 

~108 Ignatius, disciple of John, was killed by beasts in Rome at the Coliseum. He was Bishop of Antioch 

155 Polycarp died. He was also a disciple of John and was a bishop of Smyrna and was stabbed and burnt at the stake 

155 Justin Martyr famous church leader 

70-300 Roman oppression against Christians, but Christianity continues to spread 

306 Constantine become the first Christian Emperor and moves the capital from Rome to Constantinople (Byzantium); Harsh Christian persecution ends in the Roman Empire 

325 Council of Nicaea and affirms the biblical view of the trinity, the Nicene Creed came out of this council 

350 Angles (from South Denmark), Jutes (from Jutland or northern Denmark) and Saxons (from Germany just below Denmark) together known as Anglo-Saxons began their conquest into Britain but are fought back by the Romans at first 

354 Augustine – famous church leader and Bishop (minister/pastor) of Hippo was born 

395 The Roman Empire splits into two East and West. The Eastern Empire remains as the Byzantine Empire until 1453. The Western Empire or the remnant of the Romans Empire falls in 476 to Germanic peoples (Visigoths)

Next few hundred years, German peoples continued to settle in the Western portions of Europe 

404 Jerome translates the Bible into Latin 

410 Romans leave British Isles 

~450-550 Anglo-Saxons settle much of Britain 

451 Oriental Church Split

570 Muhammad is born and founds Islam and later begins to conquer larges stretches of the Middle East and bring them under Islam by force, destroys Bibles

613-614 Damascus, Antioch, and Jerusalem conquered by Islamic forces 

711 Moorish Islamic forces invade Spain and Portugal and conquer them 

732 Charles Martel defeats Islamic forces as they try to invade the whole of Europe 

793 Vikings begin their raid throughout Europe (for the next few centuries) 

843 (846 and 849) Islamic forces invade Italy but fail to take to Rome 

874 Iceland first Settled by Ingolfur Arnarson

902 Muslims conquer Sicily 

916 Greek and German forces stop the spread of Islamic forces in Italy 

920 Islamic Forces cross the Pyrenees mountains to invade France 

939 For the next couple hundred years Islamic forces and Christian forces go back and forth in various places throughout southern Europe from France and Span to Italy and Sicily and the Middle East 

~1021 Viking settle in North America

1054 For centuries, there has been a growing split in the churches in the East and West over the filoque clause. In 1054, they officially part ways Orthodox in the East and Roman in the West…with many others in between!  

1066 William the Conqueror (of Normandy (Northern France) defeats England. The English language begins mixing from a German-based language to a French (and therefore a Latin-based language) 

1071 Islamic Forces begin conquering the Byzantine Empire 

1097 The First Crusade was to remove Islamic forces from Europe and free the Holy Land. Fighting between Islam and Christianity for the Holy Land and other areas at their borders goes back and forth until 1396 

1206 Genghis Khan conquers a huge portion of Asia and Europe for the Mongolian Empire the empire lasts until 1370, but peaked in size around 1279 

1255 Thomas Aquinas famous Christian philosopher 

1337 – 1453 The Hundred Years War over the French throne between competing houses from England and France, who both claimed the royal title. The French house of Valois finally wins 

1348 – 1351 Bubonic (Black) plague wipes out 1/3 of Europe’s population 

1382 John Wycliffe translates the Bible from Latin into English 

1440 Johannes Gutenburg invents the printing press, the Bible is the first book printed en mass 

1451 Christopher Columbus is born 

1457 Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese sailor was born and later in life was the first European to map a course sailing south around Africa 

1492 The last of Islamic forces are removed from Spain; Columbus rediscovers America and popularizes the “new world” to Europeans 

Age of Discovery begins with Spain, Portugal, England, Netherlands, France and others colonizing and mapping out the coastlines of various parts of the world 

1509 John Calvin, a French theologian was born. He is best-known for his commentaries on the Bible and the development of a system of theology known as Calvinism.  Though, he was instrumental in the reformation 

1516 Erasmus publishes The New Testament in Greek from various incomplete copies he put together 

1517 Martin Luther triggers the Reformation a multitude of protestant denominations ultimately result

1519-1522 Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan tried to sail around the world, he died on the trip but his 22 of his men completed the journey – so Magellan gets the credit 

1525 William Tyndale translates the New Testament into English and is burnt at the stake for it 

1526 Francisco Pizarro  and Diego de Almagro make the first contact with the Incas 

1528 Incan Civil war begins between two brothers (Atahualpa and Huascar) for control 

By 1533 Pizarro and precious few Spanish were able to conquer the Incan Empire but there was still aftermath fighting until 1572 

1558 Queen Elizabeth I is born, she ascends to the throne of England and Ireland in 1558 

1560 Geneva Bible Published 

1560 Jacobus Arminius was a professor of theology and his views of theology were at odds with at least three point of Calvinism. This spawns the Articles of Remonstrance, which outline the views of Arminians. Calvinists then responded with a written response detailing the 5 Points of Calvinism or TULIP. To this day, denominations are split over these two systems 

1564 William Shakespeare is born and died in 1616 

1564 Creationist Galileo Galilei was born. He later argued that the earth revolved around the sun, dispelling the Greek myth that the sun went around the earth. Sadly, he had to argue against some in the Catholic Church who bought into the Greek idea 

1571 Henry Ainsworth became a scholar well-versed in Hebrew and commented on a number of books of the Bible, particularly the books of Moses.  His commentary on Genesis is still a valued resource to modern readers 

1571 Johannes Kepler, a creationist, is born. He goes on to formulates the laws of planetary motion 

1581 Archbishop James Ussher was born and later published the book The Annals of the World, which gives the history of the world from creation to 70 A.D., in immense detail and calculation (many of his dates are in this timeline). His life’s work was published the same year he died, 1656 

1588 The Spanish Armada (22 warships and 108 converted merchant vessels) came against England and was decisively defeated, only 50 vessels made it back to Spain 

1611 King James Version Published 

1607 The first permanent English colony established in the Jamestown, Virginia 

1627 Creationist Robert Boyle was born in Ireland and was a well-known scientist in chemistry, physics and theology. He is most-known for Boyle’s Law 

1628 Bedford, England resident, John Bunyan, was born and was famous for writing the second most sold book in history: The Pilgrim’s Progress (second to the Bible that is) 

1642 Galileo, a Christian, argued that the earth moved around the sun  

1643 Creationist Isaac Newton is born, arguably the greatest scientist who ever lived. His mark can be heavily felt in many fields of science from gravitation to laws of motion to mathematics such as calculus. He affirmed Archbishop James Ussher’s chronology of earth history 

1644 Though a Christian, René Descartes, a philosopher, declares that man determines truth, apart from God when he said: “I think therefore, I am.” It opposes God’s statement “I AM that I AM.” 

1646 The Westminster Confession of Faith was drawn up by reformers 

1656 Archbishop Ussher’s book the Annals of the World have a detail account of historical dates to arrive at 4004 BC as the creation of the World 

1662 Presbyterian minister Matthew Henry was born and is well known for his commentary on the Bible Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (from 1708–1710)   

1664 Rene Descartes states in his book Principles of Philosophy “I think therefore I am” which subtly excludes God as being the “I AM” (Exodus 3:14) 

1697 John Gill was born. He was a leading Baptist theologian and scholar of Greek and Hebrew and produced a long standing  and well-respected commentary of the Bible (Exposition of the Old and New Testaments from 1746-1763) still used today 

1703 John Wesley was born Founders of the Methodist movement and known for his open air-preaching 

1714 Anglican minister George Whitfield was born and was later famous for preaching that spurred on the Great Awakening to Christianity 

1727 Arguably the greatest scientist who ever lived, creationist Isaac Newton, died. He co-developed calculus, described gravity, laws of motion, invented a reflecting telescope, and many other things 

1728 Captain James Cook, and English sailor in the Royal Navy, was the first to map Newfoundland and the first to sail around New Zealand. He also was the first European contact with Australia’s east coast and explored the Great Barrier Reef and he even sailed to the Hawaiian Islands 

1730-1760 The Great Awakening Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield that swept across the American colonies to become very Christian 

1732 George Washington was born 

1769 Napoleon Bonaparte was born. He was a military and political leader of France that led the Empire of France into a number of wars, conquering most of Europe, finally being pushed back by Russia and removed from power and banished to the island of Elba but later returning to power, he was again defeated at Waterloo. And again he was banished, but to the island of Saint Helena where he later died 

1776 United States of America become independent 

1779 Comte de Buffon estimates the age of the earth at 78 thousand years 

1788 Australia is colonized by the British 

1789 George Washington is elected as the first president of the United States under the Constitution 

1789 French Revolution which marked the end of the monarchy and Napoleon took power 

1791 Creationist Michael Faraday is born and is best-known for his work on electromagnetism – though his influence is science is great all-round 

1795 Geological evolution introduced by James Hutton in his book The Theory of the Earth where he argues that only natural process that we observe today can be used to evaluate earth’s past (in other words, leave the Bible out of it) 

1796 Pierre-Simon Laplace declares the universe to be ancient with countless ages, he too was leaving the Bible out of it 

1796-1809 Erasmus Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck write books resurrecting biological evolution (first proposed by Epicurus), but they do it by “acquired characteristics” 

1804 Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish theologian who was trying to deal with longs ages from a naturalistic worldview, popularized “gap theory” where he put vast ages between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 to mix a secular worldview with the Bible 

1819 Queen Victoria is born; she ascends to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837-1901 

1822 Mexico gained their independence 

1822 Creationist Louis Pasteur is born in France. He was a leader in microbiology and “pasteurization” still reflects his name. He opposed evolution which Charles Darwin later popularized 

1830-1833 Charles Lyell (Lawyer turned geologist) rejects the global Flood in favor of the rock layers being evidence of slow gradual change over millions of years (in his book Principles of geology). The idea of millions of years then spread throughout the Western World 

1836 Texas gains it independence from Mexico, Battle of the Alamo 

1842, After the Opium wars between China and Britain, Hong Kong became part of British territory – the Japanese took control of the city during WWII from 1941-1945 

1845 Texas joined the United States as the 28^th state 

1854 Christian Hugh Miller, also trying to deal with naturalistic long ages, proposes day-age views where the days in Genesis 1 are stretched out to be millions of years 

1859 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection for the Preservation of Favoured Races is released by Charles Darwin, building on Lyell’s and Hutton’s long ages, now introduces a mechanism for biological evolution of animals 

1860 Republican Abraham Lincoln wins the presidency of the United States

1861-1865 US Civil War; slavery finally abolished in the United States with the 13^th Amendment 

1866 Gregor Mendel, a creationist, develops the field of genetics during his research on pea plants 

1870-1880 Many Universities that were once Christian such as Harvard, Yale, and so on switched to secular universities due to influence of naturalism, especially millions of years, throughout the 1870s 

1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War (or Franco-German War) 

1871 Charles Darwin published the Descent of Man where he argues for human evolution specifically 

1877 Thomas Edison invents the phonograph to record messages on a foil cylinder and could play it back. This became essential for communications 

1879 Thomas Edison developed a practical incandescent light bulb 

1879 Albert Einstein was born in Germany and was later known for a number of concepts in physics but is best known for general and special relativity as well as the famous equation E=mc² 

1882 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born. Trying to keep the US neutral, he finally led the US into WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He died just prior to the end of the War. He was longest reigning President being elected to 4 (four-year) terms. After this, a law was passed that a president could only serve 2 terms 

1892 Charles Spurgeon, British Baptist preacher, known as the “Prince of Preachers” died. His published sermons still reach thousands today 

1894 – 1895 The First Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan over Korea 

1895 Cornelius Van Til born, a brilliant Christian philosopher

1901 Australia becomes an independent Commonwealth 

1902 Air conditioning invented (greatest invention ever!) by Willis Carrier

1903 The Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) are the first to fly a powered airplane 

1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war between Russian and Japan over Manchuria and Korea 

1914 Expansion of Pan-Germanism born out of Darwinism finally ignited World War I with the "shot heard around the world", it was primarily the Central Powers (Germany, Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and Bulgaria) against the Allied Powers (United Kingdom, France, and Russia). Russia bowed out during their civil war in 1818 and made peace with Germany. The US entered the War on the side of the Allies in 1917 and host of other nations also sided with the Allies such as Italy and Japan 

1918 Russian revolution with Communism taking over under Lenin 

1918 Billy Graham born

1919 Treaty of Versailles – the end of WWI 

1919-1921 The British Empire (United Kingdom) reached its peak size with over 1/4 of the world's area

1925 John T. Scopes trial takes place in Dayton, Tennessee over the teaching of human evolution in state schools and publicly mocks Christianity and begins a trend to remove God, the Bible, and Christianity from public life in America, even though the Christians won the case. Christianity was replaced by secular humanism, the reigning state religion even up to today 

1937 The Great Depression; Stock market crashed and people were struggling to get any food and money  

1937 Japan’s aggression in China basically began WWII in the East, often dubbed the Second Sino-Japanese War 

1939 World War II due to Hitler’s and the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany and his aggressions to conquer Europe; Holocaust begins then ends in 1945 

1939 The first manufactured jet, Heinkel He 178, took flight by Erich Warsitz in Germany 

1941 Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese forces to pull the US into WWII 

1945 Allied forces which were largely dominated by the UK, US, and Russia defeated Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan; Germany is split into Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany 

1945 The first Atomic Bomb was detonated at Hiroshima, Japan and helped trigger the end of WWII 

1947 President Harry Truman declared the US was a Christian Nation 

1948 Israel becomes a nation; Greg Bahnsen, pastor and philosopher was born and later earned the title "the man most feared by atheists" after the Great Debate with Gordon Stein

1948 The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls 

1949 Communist revolution in China ends with Communism and the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) 

1950 The Korean War begins and lasts until 1953 with an armistice between the communist North Korea and democratic South Korea. The North being helped by China and the Soviet Union and the South being helped by the United Nations the nation remains split into two up until today 

1951 Ken Ham was born in Australia

1959-1975 The Vietnamese conflict, an unofficial war that has roots back to WWII with the Vietnamese, Japanese, French, Chinese, Soviets, and the US over French control, communist control, or democratic control. It is arguably one of the most unusual and complex conflicts post-WWII 

1961 First man in space Yuri Gagarin 

1962 Prayer was removed from state schools in the US 

1962 First American in space John Glenn 

1962 Henry Morris and John Whitcomb publish The Genesis Flood to get Christians back to the authority of the Bible by challenging to now popular idea of million of years 

1963 The Bible was removed from state schools in the US 

1963 President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas 

1968 Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr., civil right leader, was assassinated 

1969 First moon landing by Apollo astronauts with Neil Armstrong and Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. 

1974 Bodie Hodge was born

1977 The Apple II was the first successful personal computer readily available to the public. It was produced by Apple Computer, (now Apple, Inc.) 

1977 Elvis Presley, American musician and actor died 

1978 The first solar powered calculator, the Chicago Statement of Inerrancy was drawn up and signed by a number of evangelicals and its sister statement on Hermeneutics (interpretation) was also written but sadly, it did not take a stand on Genesis, particularly a global Flood, and many refused to sign it because it allows compromise between the Bible and the religion of Secular Humanism 

1980 Mt St. Helens erupts in Washington State, it did again in 1982 

1982 Canada gains full independence from the United Kingdom 

1983 Microsoft Windows was first released 

1986 Australia became fully separated from the United Kingdom gaining full independence 

1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after take-off killing all 7 on board 

1987 Creation was removed from state schools in the US 

1989-1991 The Iron Curtain of communism comes down – the Soviet Union dissolves into multiple countries, Russia being at the forefront 

1990 Germany is reunited 

1990 Hubble Telescope was launched into space 

1992 European Union forms 

1997 Hong Kong returns to China from Britain 

1998 The International Space Station begin construction 

1999 Columbine High School is the site of one of the first major school schoolings 

2000 Teachers are forced to teach evolution and not question it or they can be fired, Rodney LeVake was fired for questioning evolution in the classroom, the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal 

2001 “9-11” or the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York 

2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas on reentry, killing all 7 aboard 

2003 The Human genome was successfully mapped 

2004 Tsunami levels coasts and kills around 230,000 people. It was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean 

2005 The Ten Commandments are to be removed from public buildings in the US 

2005 Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3, devastates the Gulf Coast 

2007 Creation Museum opens 

2010 President Barrack Obama declares the US is no longer a Christian Nation 

2016 The Ark Encounter Opens

2022+ Jesus Christ still reigns over heaven and earth with all authority!