But here he was, the man the left loves to hate, being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
‘I Was Saved by God’
Let’s face it, a lot of Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers believed the 45th president would be in prison by Jan. 20, 2025, a day Trump in his inaugural address — for so many reasons — declared as “Liberation Day.” Plenty of MAGA conservatives rightly worried, too, that this great drainer of the swamp, the disrupter of the deep state, wouldn’t make it to this moment.
But by the grace of God and a fragment of an inch, Donald Trump stood before his fellow Americans and raised his right hand to once again “solemnly swear to faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States.” Political redemption and the sweet, sweet revenge of success? Sure. The hand of providence? Trump absolutely believes so, and so do many of his supporters.
“I was saved by God to make America Great Again,” he said to a standing ovation from his family and friends. Cameras panned to the president’s wife, First Lady Melania Trump, and their son, Barron, who fervently nodded. His political opponents, who have spent the better part of the past decade trying to destroy him, kept their seats, their eyes filled with a mix of disdain and loss. […]
]]>— Read More: thefederalist.com
Bible sales rose 22% through October compared to the same period last year, according to data released this month by Circana Bookscan. Total U.S. print book sales were only up 1%, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the trend.
“The religion book market has been a bright spot of growth within the total book market since the pandemic,” Brenna Connor, an industry analyst with Circana, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Bibles are leading that growth, but other subjects like Christian Life and Biblical Studies are also up, reflecting increased interest for Christian subjects in the U.S.”
I have never heard of anything like this happening before.
Bible sales have been rising since the first year of the pandemic, and this year they took off like a rocket…
Print Bible sales hit a five-year low of just under 8.9 million in 2020, according to Circana’s data, before beginning to tick upward again. Sales surpassed 13.7 million in the first 10 months of this year, Circana reported.
Interestingly, this is taking place at a time when the percentage of the population that identifies as “Christian” has hit an all-time low…
The share of Americans identifying with a Christian religion hit a low of 68% last year, according to Gallup polling. Half a century ago, 87% of adults in the U.S. identified as Christian, Gallup found. About 28% of American adults are now religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research.
As a society, we just don’t embrace institutional churches the way that we once did.
Last year, I discussed the fact that church attendance in the U.S. is now far lower than it once was…
In 1958, a Gallup survey found that 49 percent of Americans had attended church within the past 7 days. That number started to decline during the ensuing years, and by 1972 only 40 percent of Americans said that they had attended church within the past 7 days. From 1972 all the way until 2012, church attendance within the past 7 days hovered right around that 40 percent figure. Unfortunately, over the past decade it has started to fall once again. Just prior to the pandemic, a Gallup survey found that 34 percent of Americans had been to church within the past 7 days, and now a new survey has discovered that it is down to just 31 percent.
And according to an article that was posted on Faithwire last week, the proportion of U.S. evangelicals that are giving to churches has dropped precipitously…
“The takeaway is that there has been a change over the last three years in terms of the generosity of the evangelical community, both toward church and toward nonprofit organizations or charities,” Mark Dreistadt said. “We’ve seen a drop in giving across the board.”
Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research found the “proportion of evangelicals giving to church fell 13 percentage points from 2021, constituting a 17% decrease in giving,” according to a press release.
While 61% of evangelicals gave to their local church in the 12 months before the study, this was down from the previous timeframe, when 74% of evangelicals had done the same.
Fewer Americans consider themselves to be “Christians” than ever before, church attendance is way down, and giving is way down.
But Bible sales are soaring.
What in the world is going on?
I think that what we are witnessing is a move of God that is happening mostly outside of the institutional churches, and it appears that young people are at the forefront of it.
In 2024, an organization known as UniteUS held a series of revival meetings at college campuses all across the country, and at school after school the response was amazing…
Tonya Prewitt, founder of UniteUS, explained, “We started at Auburn University. We had 5,000 students show up, and over 200 got baptized. We next went to FSU – Florida State, the second biggest party school in the nation. We had 4,500 students come, and I believe about 350 students got baptized at that event.”
The movement then swept through the universities of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, with numbers growing along the way. Tonya calls the mission a simple one: Bring hope to a generation.
College student Haden Smith shared his experience. “Just getting to be with your neighbors and friends as they pray with you for your struggles and being open with those you normally wouldn’t be open with – it was just overall powerful,” he said.
And sometimes revival has erupted without any big organization being involved at all. For example, NPR has reported on the revival that was initiated by football players at Ohio State…
Students and players deemed it a revival. The story made national news, including appreciative stories in religious publications and Fox News. Now, as Ohio State University’s football team prepares for the college football playoffs, players like Henderson have a bigger platform to share their Christian beliefs.
Could all of this be the start of something really big?
Could all of this be the start of the end times revival that I have been writing about?…
The Remnant of the last days is going to do things the way that Christians in the first century did things. Have you ever wondered why so many Christian churches today do not resemble what you see in the Bible? Well, the sad truth is that over the centuries churches got away from doing the things that the Scriptures tell us to do, but now God is restoring all things. Without God we can do nothing, but with God all things are possible.
Right now, we have such an amazing opportunity. During the first century, there were only about 200 million people living on the entire planet. Today, the total global population is somewhere around 8 billion. That means the population of the world is about 40 times larger today than it was back in the first century.
I believe that we are on the verge of the greatest move of God and the greatest harvest of souls in all of human history, and I encourage you to be a part of what is happening.
As wars, natural disasters, pestilences and economic problems shake the globe, people are going to be searching for answers, and Bible prophecy will become one of the hottest topics on the entire planet.
During the years ahead, so many will be consumed with despair as their lives are totally turned upside down by the cataclysmic events that are coming. Instead of giving in to fear like everyone else will be, it will be a great opportunity for the people of God to rise up and take the message of life to a lost and dying world.
For some reason, a lot of people in the institutional church associate revival with prosperous times.
But often it takes a tremendous amount of shaking to turn people back to God.
During the very difficult years that are ahead of us, the shaking will seem unbearable at times.
It will seem like the worst of times, but it will also seem like the best of times because of the tremendous awakening that we will witness.
God is calling for His Remnant of the last days to arise, and no force on Earth will be able to stop that from happening.
Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
]]>— Read More: harbingers.tv
Let’s Explain the “Palestinian Jesus” Syndrome
Who is the “Palestinian Jesus”? This emerging concept has sparked heated debates over the past few decades. For 41 years, as a Jewish follower of Yeshua (Jesus), Olivier Melnick defended His Jewish identity countless times. Historically, attempts to strip Jesus of His Jewish roots stemmed from ignorance or cultural bias. But this “Palestinian Jesus” narrative is something entirely different.
This movement is part of a broader agenda aimed at delegitimizing Israel and rewriting history. It’s a distortion of biblical truth, denying Jesus’ Jewish heritage in favor of a politically motivated identity. Let’s unpack what this idea represents and why it’s dangerous.
The Origins of the “Palestinian Jesus”
The claim that Jesus was Palestinian comes from a theological framework known as Christian Palestinianism. This ideology seeks to erase the Jewish identity of scripture, the Bible, and Jesus Himself. Unlike past cultural misrepresentations, this agenda is rooted in historical revisionism and political propaganda.
During the 2024 Christmas season, the Vatican received a nativity scene featuring Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. It was crafted from olive wood by a Palestinian artist and placed on a manger covered with a Palestinian keffiyeh, a symbol popularized by Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader. Though initially distributed online, images of Pope Francis admiring the scene were quickly removed following public backlash.
Christian Palestinianism is essentially replacement theology amplified. It aims to replace Israel and the Jewish people in scripture with a Palestinian narrative. This approach not only distorts biblical history, but also threatens the theological foundations of the Christian faith.
Why Christian Palestinianism is Dangerous
1. It Distorts God’s Word
Christian Palestinianism denies clear biblical promises. For example, in Genesis 12:1-3, God makes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants, promising them the land of Israel. These promises have not expired, nor have they been transferred to another people. Scripture repeatedly confirms God’s unchanging covenant with Israel and its ultimate fulfillment.
Nevertheless, proponents of Christian Palestinianism cherry-pick or even reject portions of scripture. Naim Ateek, a known advocate, once stated that any biblical text not aligned with God’s universal love must be ignored. Such selective interpretation compromises the integrity of scripture, allowing ideology to override biblical truth.
2. It Rejects the Authority of Scripture
More than historical revisionism, this movement promotes outright rejection of God’s word. By undermining the Bible’s inspiration, Christian Palestinianism sets a dangerous precedent. It allows for an edited theology, redefined to support political narratives.
This mindset mirrors the Islamic concept of abrogation, where newer texts override older ones. The result is a shaky and subjective foundation that departs from the truth of God’s word.
3. It Promotes a One-Sided Narrative
Christian Palestinianism ignores key facts. It emphasizes allegations of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and colonialism against Israel while downplaying Palestinian terrorism, human rights abuses, and violence. For genuine reconciliation to happen, a balanced view is essential. One-sided reconciliation isn’t reconciliation at all.
Recent events, such as Hamas-led attacks on October 7, highlight the complexity of these issues. Christian Palestinianism, however, dismisses such acts under a politically biased framework, deepening division and hostility.
4. It Portrays God as a Covenant Breaker
For Christian Palestinianism to hold, Israel must no longer matter in God’s plan. Advocates often claim that God abandoned His promises to Israel, replacing them with the church or other groups. But this directly contradicts scripture.
God’s covenant with Abraham is described as everlasting, reiterated countless times throughout the Bible. If God could break His promises to Israel, His trustworthiness would be in question. Thankfully, scripture assures us that God neither lies nor changes His mind (1 Samuel 15:29).
5. It Demonizes Israel
Once Israel’s covenantal relationship with God is denied, critics find it easier to vilify the Jewish state. Anti-Israel sentiment often disguises itself as criticism of political policies, but it frequently devolves into antisemitism. Radical anti-Zionism is increasingly normalized in media, politics, and even some evangelical circles.
This demonization flips truth on its head. Victims are portrayed as oppressors, while aggressors are seen as the oppressed. Such narratives further inflame tensions, making peace even harder to achieve.
6. It Paves the Way for Islamization
Bodily rewriting scripture isn’t the end goal. Christian Palestinianism often works in tandem with Islamic narratives, bridging theological gaps to promote an “Islamic replacement theology.” This trend replaces biblical truth with agendas favoring Palestinian nationalism and Islamic ideologies.
Jewish elements are removed from scripture to accommodate this shift. The connection between the Old and New Testament is severed, leaving behind a reimagined theology that bears little resemblance to biblical Christianity.
Why the “Palestinian Jesus” Cannot Exist
Scripture provides overwhelming evidence that Jesus was Jewish. He descended from Jewish patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David, and was raised in a Jewish household. He followed Jewish laws, celebrated Jewish festivals, and was even referred to as “King of the Jews.”
Here are just a few biblical examples affirming Jesus’ Jewish identity:
- Jesus had Jewish lineage: (Genesis 22:18, Matthew 1:1-2)
- He followed the customs of Judaism: (Luke 2:21, John 2:13)
- He was referred to as Rabbi: (John 1:38)
- Pilate called Him “King of the Jews”: (Mark 15:2)
The idea of a “Palestinian Jesus” ignores history, geography, and scripture. It begins with the false claim that Palestinians were a native people of the land now called Israel. But this premise falls apart under historical scrutiny. Jesus was not Palestinian; He was, and always will be, a Jew.
The Universal Gift of Salvation
Despite the distortions of Christian Palestinianism, one truth stands firm: Jesus came for all people. Though He came first for the Jewish people, His salvation extends to every Jew, Arab, and Gentile in the world.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are universal gifts. Those who trust in Him receive forgiveness and eternal life. This includes Palestinians and people from every corner of the globe. But to fully understand Jesus’ mission, we must accept Him for who He is—not through a political or ideological lens, but through biblical truth.
Conclusion
The “Palestinian Jesus” narrative is historically and theologically flawed. It rewrites scripture, distorts God’s promises, and promotes harmful agendas. As followers of Yeshua, we must stand firm in defending His true identity as the Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world.
Jesus isn’t a symbol for political movements or propaganda. He is God’s eternal Son, born as a Jew, and came to reconcile humanity to God. Let’s celebrate His truth and share His message of salvation with all, untainted by revisionism or falsehoods.
Will you embrace the truth of who Jesus is today? Don’t wait—seek Him now. His invitation is open to all, no questions asked and no strings attached.
Article generated with the assistance of AI.
]]>This shows us that God often speaks to His people when they are busy doing their daily tasks. For example, when God called Moses to lead Israel out of Pharaoh’s bondage, he was tending sheep. When God called David to run an errand that would result in the death of the mighty Goliath in the Valley of Elah, he, too, was tending sheep.
When Elijah was looking for a successor to carry on his ministry, he found him plowing a field. And when God called Gideon to deliver Israel from the tyranny of the Midianites, he was threshing wheat. When Jesus called His disciples to change the world, they were mending their nets. They simply were doing what was set before them.
Some of us envision a great ministry for the Lord. We might have said, “One day I would like to be a missionary and cross the ocean for Christ.”
On the other hand, God might say, “Would you mind crossing the street first and talking to your neighbor?” The mission field is all around us. It’s right outside our doors.
God has given us spiritual gifts as Christians. When we come to Christ and ask God to empower us with the Holy Spirit, He gives gifts of the Spirit. Romans 12:6 tells us that in His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
The gifts of God don’t come fully formed. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6). We need to take the gift God has given us and start using it. And the way we become better at what God calls us to do is by doing it a lot.
Each of us must take the gift that we have and develop it through use.
You might say, “I don’t know what I am good at.” Sometimes the best way to discover what you’re good at is to first discover what you’re not good at. Sometimes the process of elimination can be helpful. We can benefit from so-called failures by realizing that we’re not gifted in those areas. We all have abilities that God has given us. And we need to use them.
However, it’s difficult to steer a car when the engine isn’t running. And if we want to serve the Lord, we start by going out and doing something for Him. If we are faithful in the little things, then God will give us greater opportunities.
Greg Laurie is an evangelist, author, and the senior pastor of Harvest Riverside.
]]>This shows us that God often speaks to His people when they are busy doing their daily tasks. For example, when God called Moses to lead Israel out of Pharaoh’s bondage, he was tending sheep. When God called David to run an errand that would result in the death of the mighty Goliath in the Valley of Elah, he, too, was tending sheep.
When Elijah was looking for a successor to carry on his ministry, he found him plowing a field. And when God called Gideon to deliver Israel from the tyranny of the Midianites, he was threshing wheat. When Jesus called His disciples to change the world, they were mending their nets. They simply were doing what was set before them.
Some of us envision a great ministry for the Lord. We might have said, “One day I would like to be a missionary and cross the ocean for Christ.”
On the other hand, God might say, “Would you mind crossing the street first and talking to your neighbor?” The mission field is all around us. It’s right outside our doors.
God has given us spiritual gifts as Christians. When we come to Christ and ask God to empower us with the Holy Spirit, He gives gifts of the Spirit. Romans 12:6 tells us that in His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
The gifts of God don’t come fully formed. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6). We need to take the gift God has given us and start using it. And the way we become better at what God calls us to do is by doing it a lot.
Each of us must take the gift that we have and develop it through use.
You might say, “I don’t know what I am good at.” Sometimes the best way to discover what you’re good at is to first discover what you’re not good at. Sometimes the process of elimination can be helpful. We can benefit from so-called failures by realizing that we’re not gifted in those areas. We all have abilities that God has given us. And we need to use them.
However, it’s difficult to steer a car when the engine isn’t running. And if we want to serve the Lord, we start by going out and doing something for Him. If we are faithful in the little things, then God will give us greater opportunities.
Greg Laurie is an evangelist, author, and the senior pastor of Harvest Riverside.
]]>In fact, Bible sales are up 22% this year through the end of October when compared to last year’s sales during the same time period, making for “a golden age of Bible publishing,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Book sales are up 1%, and Bibles have seen a 22% rise. Culture, youth, and religion expert Alex McFarland explains why Americans are suddenly buying The Good Book in greater numbers.
SOURCE: CBN
]]>
(DCNF)—More Americans are leaning into their Christian faith in what some religious leaders and scholars are calling a “fourth Great Awakening.”
Bible sales in the United States have skyrocketed in 2024, religious colleges are seeing enrollment boosts despite overall declines in higher education attendance and several states are pushing for Bible-based curriculum in public schools. Some Bible scholars believe this may mark a significant cultural shift.
“While it has been apparent to a few of us for some time, millions are now realizing that ‘woke’ ideologies are, in fact, destructive attempts to re-found the nation according to a new civic religion which both parodies and persecutes Christianity,” Chad Pecknold, theologian and professor at The Catholic University of America, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Despite overall book sales increasing by only 1% compared to 2023, Bible sales in the U.S. have reached an impressive 22% increase as of October 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Cardinal Newman Society in October reported that enrollment at Catholic colleges has risen in 2024 despite an overall enrollment decrease at other institutions, with several schools such as Ave Maria University in Florida and Benedictine College in Kansas seeing record growth, increasing attendance by more than 20% over the last 10 years.
“There is a resurgence of Christianity among young people,” Wade Burleson, retired pastor and president of Istoria Ministries, told the DCNF. “I see what is happening [as] more of an Awakening. An Awakening occurs when the irreligious come to faith in Christ.”
Burleson pointed to several instances of young people coming into faith in doves in recent years, with hundreds of students being baptized on campuses across the nation, including several members of the four-time national champion Oklahoma University women’s softball team.
“There have been three Great Awakenings in America, and a few smaller ones,” Burleson continued. “I believe we are in the beginning of a fourth Great Awakening and it is a response to inflation (financial panic), pandemics (Covid), wars (global), and the sudden death of stability in America. There is no anchor in life better than the Anchor of Hope, and when the ship of life is tossed to and fro, faith awakens.”
Pecknold shared this sentiment, arguing that far-left politics have driven Americans towards Christianity.
“Democrats, and the corporations and institutions they controlled, embraced this pseudo-civic religion in their attempt to take total control over the American republic,” Pecknold said. “The American people saw their totalitarian appetites on display in everything from forced vaccinations to extreme racialism to the redefinition of marriage and the denial of sexual difference, all under the ever-evolving banner of ‘the Progress Flag.’”
“This is when the Democrats were defeated so thoroughly on November 5th, it was not only seen as a political victory, but also as a religious victory: it was a repudiation of the ersatz civic religion that Democrats had used to re-found the country.”
Catholic voters played a pivotal role in the 2024 presidential election, making up approximately 25% of the vote and overwhelmingly siding with President-elect Donald Trump, with other Christian voters following suit.
This was a surprising revelation considering tens of millions of Christians were expected to refrain from voting, citing a dislike of both candidates and general uninterest in politics, according to Relevant Magazine. Some religious organizations, however, made efforts to warn voters prior to the election that the Democratic ticket was “patently anti-religious.”
Greg Boyd, theologian and Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota is less convinced of this religious revival.
“My concern is that a lot of it seems to be wrapped up with nationalism,” Boyd told the DCNF. “And it concerns me because whenever the Christian faith has gotten too close to political power, it’s been transformed by the political power, and we have Christians trying to control others and conquer others, the same as we’ve had throughout history. And in my opinion, that doesn’t look anything [like] what we find in the Gospel.”
Boyd pointed to examples of states like Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma approving the implementation of Bible lessons into public school lessons. Texas’ law is meant to help “students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events” in history and Oklahoma’s is similarly meant “as an instructional support into the curriculum.”
“Where did Jesus ever impose himself on others?” the pastor asked.
“I mean, I would love to see a revival in the country,” Boyd said. “The evidence of that would be, I would think, people become more Christ-like, they become more loving. They would be trying to turn the other cheek, trying to reach out across the aisle and build bridges instead of walls. And I don’t see any of that happening with the church as a whole. Seems like it’s kind of gone deeply into political polarization.”
Boyd agreed that many issues in politics have driven people to view current affairs through a religious lens.
Cultural issues such as abortion, gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been hot topics dividing Americans’ opinions, especially religious Americans. The ongoing war in Gaza, as well as the hundreds of protests that spanned the U.S. in response, also impacted Christians’ perspective, with many viewing the apparent prosecution of Jews on college campuses as an infringement on religious freedom as a whole.
Church attendance among Christians remains relatively low in the United States, with only 30% of Protestants and 23% of Catholics attending church every week, according to a March Gallup poll. However, more Americans than ever are consuming religious content, with the Hallow prayer app becoming the first religious app to top Apple’s App Store in 2024 and Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible In A Year podcast consistently topping charts in recent years, according to National Review.
Young men in particular are maintaining their devotion to faith, with more Gen Z men identifying as Christian than women for the first time, according to the New York Times.
“We are currently seeing a kind of clarity about the civilizational conflict that ‘woke’ ideologies provoked,” Pecknold told the DCNF. “In brief, the people are fed up with this fake religion, and even if they aren’t Christian themselves, they’re realizing that Christianity provides a far better ‘unwritten constitution’ for the nation than anti-Christian wokism can supply. There’s a simple realization at work here.”
“Christianity is an ordering principle which elevates and ennobles souls, families, and societies — it’s inherently public, and cannot be ‘privatized,’ relegated to the margins, or separated from questions of education, heritage, public morality, family policy, law, or the aspirations of nations,” Pecknold said. “We still date time by the Incarnation because, deep down, everyone knows that Christianity is objectively true and good for all people — it roots us in reality, it helps us to promote the truly good, and avoid those evils which cause so much suffering — it elevates us by the Light of Christ. Public Christianity is literally what makes civilizational renewal possible. The fact that Americans are remembering this, and having the courage to state it, is a sign of great hope for the nation.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
]]>The new research looked at the Tonto Group, a 500-meter-thick formation, containing the Tapeats sandstone, Bright Angel Shale, and Muav Limestone (as well as two other minor) strata, that is conventionally assigned to the Cambrian layer (this represents the initial stages of the global flood). While evolutionists believe it to be 540 million years old, listen to how they interpret this area based on their studies at Grand Canyon and other places (emphasis added):
- “The Tonto Group holds a treasure trove of sedimentary layers and fossils chronicling the Cambrian Explosion some 540 million years ago, when the first vertebrates and animals with hard shells rapidly proliferated and sea levels rose to envelop continents with emerging marine life.”
- “From the Tonto Group’s 500-meter-thick strata, we’re learning about sea-level rise and the effects of catastrophic tropical storms – probably more powerful than today’s devastating hurricanes – during a period of very hot temperatures when the Earth was ice-free.”
- “Sea levels were so high during this time period, Dehler says, that rocks like the Tonto Group were deposited atop every continent on Earth, as seas bathed the continents in a complex mosaic of shallow marine, coastal, and terrestrial environments.”
Sea levels rose all around the world, bathing the continents and depositing vast rock layers that stretch across continents. That’s all coming from evolutionary scientists—but it almost sounds like they’re describing the initial stages of the global flood as waters began to rise and sea creatures were rapidly buried by these rising floodwaters.
I’ve always said that if the Bible didn’t mention a global flood, most geologists would believe that there was one! The evidence is all around us, and it’s overwhelming.
The article mentions that Grand Canyon is like a crime scene, where detectives must piece together what happened in the past. And that’s true—that’s the nature of historical science. We can’t directly test, observe, or repeat the past, so worldview—what one believes about the past—determines the interpretation of the evidence in the present.
The battle isn’t over the evidence. It’s over two different interpretations of the same evidence because of two different starting points: God’s Word vs. man’s word.