I'd be happy to answer your questions about the process of hatching chicks. They're not silly questions; I get asked them all the time.

Yes, I can store up eggs at a cool room temperature for up to a couple of weeks before I put them in the incubator. The embryo inside waits in suspended animation and only starts growing when the egg is incubated by the mother hen, or artificial means, to about 100 degrees. I just keep collecting the eggs from my seven hens and store them in the garage until I have a couple of dozen to put in the incubator.

No, you can't hatch eggs purchased in the store. They're produced in egg factories where there are only hens and no roosters. Even in the chicken world you need a daddy!

I agree with you that some people find it difficult to believe the Bible because of the miracles in it. It might surprise you to know that I can identify with them. When I hear someone talking about a miracle happening today, my first reaction is skepticism. I start thinking of a natural explanation.

But do I believe miracles happen? Yes, because I believe there are plenty of documented cases where there's no other explanation but that God has worked outside natural law.

Laws of nature are descriptions of the way things have been observed to happen. Who made the laws of nature? We believe there's either a divine lawmaker or there isn't. It gets back to the basic question we discussed early on as to whether God exists or not. If God exists and made the laws of nature, He also has the authority and power to work outside these laws, if He chooses to do so. A natural law, then, is the way things usually happen but not necessarily the way things have to happen. God, if He is God, is all powerful and can do what He wants. Laws of nature don't cause things to happen -- God does.

If someone says they can't believe the Bible or in Jesus because of what they perceive to be fanciful stories of miracles, what we're dealing with is the more basic issue of whether miracles can happen at all. If a person comes to the Bible with the presupposition that miracles can't happen, that person is going to assume that any account of a miracle must be false. Somebody like that would never believe a miracle even if it happened in plain view. There might not be any natural explanation for what happened, but that person would stubbornly believe there's a natural cause still undetected that produced the effect. That's why miracles can't ultimately persuade.

What if I were walking through a woods and suddenly angels appeared in the sky and God spoke in a big, booming voice to me? I suspect one of my first reactions would be to look for a giant projection and sound system hidden in the woods and being operated by a prankster. In other words, I'd respond with a degree of skepticism. But if upon exploration of the woods I determined that there was no prankster, would I be open to the fact that God really had appeared to me in a miraculous way? I could still insist on believing there's a well-hidden prankster in the woods or, failing at that, convince myself that I was hallucinating. If I don't want to believe it's God appearing to me, what could God do to convince me? I've always found it interesting that Jesus never did a miracle in order to convince a person determined not to believe; it was a sign and



confirmation to those who were open to belief.

I'm just asking that you keep an open mind when it comes to miracles. If we come to the Bible with the presupposition that miracles can't happen, we're forced to the conclusion that the Bible is false because it contains miracles. The conclusion would be that the Bible is no more an authoritative book than any other piece of great literature.

But the belief of millions through the ages, including this resident of Bedford Township, is that the miracles in the Bible do ring true. If God is the great lawmaker then He certainly can work above and beyond His laws in a miraculous way anytime He wants to.

The evening is warm with virtually no breeze -- a clear invitation to take a bicycle ride. Diann and I both enjoy this form of exercising. Some people use a stationary bicycle to keep in shape, but I'd rather see scenery go by as I work off the calories. The road beckons!

A fellow seeker after truth,
Dave