Christian apologetics--the systematic defense of the faith--has become popular in recent days. We are commanded to know what we believe and why we believe it, and to be able to defend it scripturally, historically, and scientifically against all detractors (1 Peter 3:15).

Mount Moran, the nonconformist of Wyoming's Teton Range, is distinguished by having a blunt top, a prominent black vertical stripe on its upper part, and a tiny visible cap of marine sandstone on the summit. Its face is made of the same solid granitic stock as comprises the core of the other mountains of the Teton Range, but it differs in other respects.

On his widely popular Cosmos science program in 1980, Carl Sagan described our paltry existence in pathetic terms: "We live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star, lost in a galaxy, tucked away in some forgotten corner of universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." Several developments since then have altered this perception dramatically.

Secularists like to consider earth as just one of many millions of planets, occupying an obscure place in an insignificant galaxy in a sea of nothingness. Conversely, the Bible teaches that earth is very special to the Creator, performing a crucial role in the universe today, and prepared for an unending role in the cosmic saga.