Dear Friends,
This week three men prayed with me according to the pattern of Luke 18:13 & Romans 10:9.
The first is a man from New Zealand. He wrote:
Hi Dr Tour, I’m actively retired, a widower and I’m mailing from __________in New Zealand. Over the last year, since the death of my wife, I’ve been delving into the origin of life, the bible and the debate between evolutionists and creationists. It started when I was stunned to read of the complexity of a single cell and concluded that this was not a natural phenomenon born from pure chance! Having a secular approach towards religion, I distrusted all brands. However it occurred to me that if Christ’s resurrection was genuine then Christianity and the New Testament is worth closer consideration. As offered in your podcasts I would be very grateful if your team could forward to me the source of some compelling evidence of Jesus’s resurrection? Thanking you for your time and patience. Warmest wishes, _______________
He is a pleasant man in his 70s who had been married for 53 years. Open and receptive and he was ready to believe the evidence as it was present. He is now set up to meet with Chuck Lloyd for Bible study, and committed to daily scripture reading.
The second was an Iranian man, a PhD chemist, living in Canada. He wrote:
Dear Dr. Tour, I came across your YouTube channel very recently. There was a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdR-ZmdFOcg) which at the end you mentioned to email you if anyone wants to know why you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would like to know about this and would like to request a short talk on Zoom if it fits your schedule. Here is a brief description of me: 1. I was born and raised in Iran. Although Iran is ruled by Islamists, I (and very many others like me) have never accepted or practiced Islam because I personally cannot convince myself to do so. 2. I graduated from the University of ___________, Canada in ______ with a PhD degree in physical chemistry specializing in ____________. As much as I love my major, I am not quite knowledgeable in the field. I’m currently living in ___________, Canada. 3. The quest for the reality of our existence and the future of it after we depart from this world, matter to me fundamentally and wholeheartedly. 4. I have been going to church for a while and recently started Bible study to know more about Jesus. 5. I believe there is something very special about him and that motivates me to learn more. I hope the above facts help you to have an idea where I come from and why I would like to hear about your reason that you believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I would expect you to have a busy schedule due to many projects happening in your lab and life commitments. So, if you are not able to allocate a time to meet on Zoom, that is totally understandable and I will follow your audio files and YouTube videos. I look forward to receiving your response. Best regards, ___________________
The ground had already been plowed and the soil prepared to receive the seed of truth. He readily received the gospel message and the resurrection. He is in daily reading and Chuck Lloyd has identified the proper mentor for Bible study.
John 4:37-38
“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
The third man is in his 30s, living in the US, and he is a fellow YouTuber with ~400,000 subscribers. He speaks on science topics. He wrote,
Hi Dr Tour, I’m currently struggling with the conception of the resurrection since having children and trying to return to faith after losing it 20 yrs ago in my teens. I’ll keep my story brief as I’m sure you’re incredibly busy. After my youngest daughter was in the ICU for a few days last summer (she’s fine now), an experience of a dramatic calm due to a genuine prayer to God to give me strength for my daughter’s sake (and I hadn’t prayed with genuine belief for 20 years before that) honestly shook my skepticism and made me eager to find an anchor in belief.
In the five or six years prior to this, Jordan Peterson’s Genesis lectures and book Maps of Meaning has been especially influential in undermining both the utility and the truth of an atheist worldview for me, but I came to really affirm the reality of God from my experience of needing God’s companionship during the stress of my daughter’s hospital stay. Despite this though, believing in the reality of the resurrection still eludes me. I just don’t understand how that could be possible. Dr. Peterson helped me recognize I needed to at least read the Bible and also educate myself more generally on history and science before I can truly deny God exists, but your recent Harvard talk struck me for two reasons. The first half about abiogenesis was mostly new to me, and was extremely compelling. But the second half, especially where you quoted Will Durant’s emphasis on the historical credibility of the gospels relative to academic standards for all historic events, even if they were written decades after the fact, was really what made me want to reach out to you. I discovered Will Durant through his Story of Philosophy about the same time I became an atheist in my late teens and have always enjoyed his writings, so I’ve listened to Caesar and Christ on audiobook before, but last night the exact section on early Christianity you quoted from just happened to be recommended to me on youtube (and while that audiobook section was saved, it was on a playlist with about 300 other videos and was nowhere near the top) and by some strange coincidence I hear you quote it in your Harvard lecture this morning. It could definitely be a coincidence, but I’m open to alternatives. Thank you for your time if you happen to read this and for your lectures. Even if we’re unable to talk, your videos have been really thought-provoking and encouraging. _____
We met. Interestingly, many men have been opened through listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson. But Dr. Peterson is often unable to lead them over the finish line of faith, maybe because Dr. Peterson is himself unsaved—though I am unsure. This YouTuber received the message of truth and is doing his daily reading, and in weekly study with a mentor.
This kind YouTuber and I compared YouTube notes. He was shocked to learn that my YouTube channel was just a side gig for me. He thrusts himself full-time into making content and videos and cannot imagine it being a part-time effort. Hardy Fairbanks and I set up Jesus and Science Foundation (JSF) as a 501(c)3 and never monetized the channel. All we receive comes from the graciousness of folks like you who believe in the importance of the gospel message as we are sharing it. We use the hook of science to draw in the lost. So much kindness through donations is poured out that I am able to contract out all of the production work—I do not know how to edit videos myself anyway.
My contract producer is Eric Herron, a believer, of Philosopher Films. For those of you who do not know, it takes 4-8 hours of production work for every hour of produced video (that is our experience and the same estimate given via ChatGPT). 50% of our YouTube watchers are from outside the US. Since January 2025, I have been able to hire an executive director, Brandon Thomas, who can now help me with the filming so I do not spend hours recording, only to learn that I had not properly set the sound levels—that has happened to me several times. Brandon also does the donor contact and he has relieved me of mountains of other tasks. I still have Hardy Fairbanks and David Blazek, both CPAs, and board members, investing all their time free of charge to oversee the books, working with the external auditors to ensure that we have the highest levels of financial accountability—we are just being approved for oversight by ECFA (https://www.ecfa.org/) and hopefully that will be in place soon. Hardy and David helped me set up JSF and they donate all their time for free, as is all my time. For us, this is a labor of love for Jesus and to see the lost get saved. We are grateful to our donors—thank you. If interested, see https://jesusandscience.org/donate/ or you can make a check to “JSF” and mail it to 6218 Auden St, Houston, TX 77005-2816. Hardy will immediately send you a tax receipt, and he will send you a yearly total receipt and an accounting of how JSF has allocated its funds for the past year. You will see what a streamlined operation we keep, for the glory of Jesus. For your information, our content is also on TikTok, X (Twittter), Rumble, Instagram, Facebook (Meta), and GLU TV, with more planned. I also have many radio spots daily or weekly on over 200 radio stations in North America. Your donations go a long way. I personally review, critique, and correct all content before it is posted or broadcast.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
God bless,
Jim Tour
