Raymond Lutz is an active contributor to the technical and scientific community,
and he has published hundreds of papers, technical documents, user manuals, and
public standards. Knowledgeable in science, engineering, and marketing, Mr. Lutz
holds several patents, has been part of numerous start-up enterprises, and is
involved in the latest developments in biotechnology and physics. His interest
in the science versus religion controversy extends back many years. A keen marketer
and public speaker, Mr. Lutz has organized many industry conferences and development
groups. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electronics Engineering.
My Story:
In the mid-1990s, I was involved in the office equipment industry, more specifically, the
printer, scanner, fax, and copier industry, and I was the leader of an organization called
MFPA, the Multifunction Products Association. I was in Atlanta
in a large hotel with a ballroom on a lower level. I had flown in the night before from
San Diego, my usual practice so I could recover from jet-lag before the meeting the next day.
That evening, I took a walk around the city near the hotel
and upon my return, found myself just outside the ballroom. I noticed a symposium of
some kind was nearly completed for the day.
Over the years of attending standards meetings in hotels across the country, I've found it quite interesting
to look into exactly what groups hold meetings at the hotels. I've run across an amazing array of
distinctive organizations with unbelievable specialties.
Just outside the ballroom where they held their meeting, they had a number of panels with life-sized graphics.
Each one discussed a religion or practice of some kind and compared it with Christianity.
It was Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
I looked into the room and could not help but immediately notice their
charismatic leader, Ravi Zacharias, an exceptionally tall
and striking gentleman of dark Indian complexion but with jet white hair.
He moved through the crowd, smiling and interacting with his followers.
Then, I began to understand the power of his testimony. He was obviously a man
from India, but what was striking was that he was not a Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist.
Instead, he was a Christian. The life-sized panels outside the hotel ballroom
made the case clear--Christainity was true and the other religions false. One panel was
particularly troubling to me. They said that the practice of meditation was
a hazard--Satan would enter your mind during your quiet period of relaxation.
As a meditator of many years, I do not regard meditation as a religion at all but
simply a practice that allows the mind to relieve itself of stress and worry. Their display
did not come close to my experience with the technique, and I felt they were preying on
the ignorance of the technique among the public.
Let me reassure you that I have no axe to grind with the RZIM group as they indeed inspired my
quest of many years. After I left the foyer of the ballroom, I went up to my room and took out
Gideon's Bible and started reading. "They are so sure of themselves," I thought. "They say
the other religions are inconsistent and impossible. I wonder how inconsistent the Bible actually is?"
As a typical American, I had grown up with Christian roots. I had attended Sunday School and
studied the Bible. But it was indeed quite a time since I had read that ancient volume.
"If I start reading from the beginning, how long will it take before I come to an
impossible inconsistency?"
Indeed, it does not take very long. You learn that eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
would cause immediate death... God said clearly that on that day, you would surely die. Then, when Eve
interacted with the Serpent, she said that if you even touch it, you would die immediately.
Of course we know the story. Eve eats the fruit and so does Adam. But they don't die on that day. In fact, they live
for another 930 years, described clearly in subsequent chapters. Being a logical person and knowing the
systems of the world follow strict and consistent laws, there are only three options. First,
the word "die" doesn't really mean die. Second, day might not mean day. And finally, God could be just pulling our leg.
I discovered later that this question was not new in the hallowed halls of theology. In fact, this very question
had been discussed for literally thousands of years. I discussed it with a dear friend of mine who
was in seminary at the time, and he produced a thick stack of documents describing the issue and the
various schools of thought about it. In the end, theologians decided to say that die does not mean die--not a physical death.
Instead, it means a "spiritual death." Adam and all his offspring were doomed to eternal damnation for this
one act.
Later, I started to reflect on the various stories in Genesis and their connection to the pattern of DNA and
life, as exposed by the rigors of science. In 1997, I wrote a ten-page summary of the possible connection. Then, I
researched the question for the next several years, realizing the tremendous implications of my discovery.
At first, I wrote a nonfiction treatment of the pattern match but realized it would be much more fun and
accessible if it were a novel. In 2003, I started to work diligently on the project and am now quite happy
with the result, as I know you will be. This is not just another contrived story. I believe it is
a very important contribution to our culture and will be the source of much discussion and reflection.
I encourage you to set aside your strong beliefs and open your mind to other possibilities...
-- Raymond Clark Lutz
