Doomsday: December 21, 2012??

We've all seen the caricatures of the robed men standing on the street corners with their signs saying 'doomsday is near.' Well, here's a 3 minute clip from the History Channel that reveals a date from several different cultures and religions that converge upon...December 21, 2012.

Worth the listening to.

The Lost Tribe of the Tasaday's

I was stationed in the Northern Island of the Philippines, (Luzon) in 1972 at Clark AFB. And I remember this stuff quite well; the previous year a discovery was made that fired up the world of anthropology like nothing else ever had. The discovery of a cave-dwelling tribe called the Tasaday tribe. It was such a discovery that National Geographic ran special articles on the tribes people. A cadre of scientists along with the rich and famous traveled to the Philippines just to see these primitives. Journalists and their publishers couldn't get enough of this stuff. Books were written, television specials were run.



Check it out for yourself: Here is the actual article from Time Magazine archives dated Oct. 1971.



The only problem--it was an act.
The scientific world had rushed in and took the bait--hook, line and sinker!
Supposedly a missionary had recognized the tribes people from an article as a group he'd been working with and knew they weren't living in caves, nore were naked...(those nasty christians, always interfering with science!)

As it turned out a minor official by the name of Manuel Elizalde Jr., paid local farmers to live in the caves, take off their clothes, and appear Stone Age. They even rehearsed using stone impliments. Unfortunately Manuel Elizalde Jr. absconded with a large bankroll of money allegedly taken from funds set aside to provide lands for the Tasaday.

Here is one of the best articles I've read about what really happened. You can google it up and read numerous articles about this fraud...but sometimes the truth is hard to swallow, (especially when you have a group that gets funding for perpetuating the lie).
Not to be confused with the facts of the case, some still believe that the Tasaday are a stone age people co-opted by the modern world.
That's nothing though; I met this Polynesian guy--Cheif Sieulu and his partner on this day. they look primitive in native costume, but are multi-lingual, intelligent, well traveled, funny and know how to entertain, plus I think he drives a beamer. The cheif's survival skills are unsurpassed! (If you go to O'ahu Hawaii you've got to go to the Kualoa Macadamia Nut Farm and take the tour!) Darwin's theory was used to classify some men as more evolved than others which is evident by the Origin of Species subtitle, "The Preservation of the Favoured Races." You probably weren't told about the subtitle in school, were you?
































Here is a good podcast on
The Dark Darwinian History of Eugenics

December 2005--Top Korean Scientist Cloned Human

A landmark scientific paper on cloning that propelled a South Korean scientist, Hwang Woo Suk, to international stardom was an "intentional fabrication." This was one of the top guys in stem cell research in the world...


Alas, humans will do what humans will do and as Rob MacGregor's Indiana Jones said, it's about "Fortune and Glory." Speaking of Indiana Jones, have you noticed the so called archaeologists who are wearing the fedora and galavanting the world? Fortune and Glory! It makes no difference if the person is a butcher, baker or candlestick maker or scientist, politician or preacher, we all have that flaw called 'human nature' (to a greater or lesser degree).

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23.

More So-Called Scientific "Truth"

Haeckel's Embryos The Real Deal?

"Evolutionist should stand proud and salute Haeckel a true apostle. From his embryos to Piltdown, from Nebraska Man to Lucy the tradition Ernest Haeckel begun, the creation of evidence continues to this day. "

They're doing it again. Oh my!

Listen to the pod-cast for more details. (click on Haeckel's Embryos or the title bar above)

Amber Alert or Tell Me Have You Seen Him?

Have you seen this guy? In the early weeks of 1990, three news reports appeared which differed as to the disappearance of the fossils of the controversial Peking Man following WW II. In reality this report merely describes different theories related to the disappearance. One theory is that they are buried under a car warehouse in Beijing (Peking). Another theory is that the government has them hidden and a third theory is that two of the teeth were found in Southwest China and were dated at three million years old. That would make the teeth a much older than the Peking Man himself. I've personally been down in China Town in both San Francisco, CA and Honolulu, HI but haven't seen a sign of him so far. I don’t look for him to make an appearance any time soon but keep an eye out for him.

He seems to be as elusive as Bigfoot up around my neck of the woods.

Rocks In My Shoe, or Skullduggery at Piltdown

It happened around the quaint town of Piltdown, England. Working secretly on their patient a long process was taking place. It took a while to find all of the necessary parts. A human skull and the jawbone of an orangutan and later the tooth of a chimp; all to be merged into one being. Some sawing, filing, taps of a hammer...it was almost ready now, but it needed to look old. A little acid, a little paint, the stroke of a brush and finally he was ready: A creature more bizarre than Dr. Frankenstein's monster was born--

Behold--The Piltdown man!

Frenzied darwinian's finally had the elusive evidence they were looking for. The news was also good for the little town of Piltdown had gained worldwide acclaim as Piltdown had been unearthed from a gravel pit there.

Piltdown's (also known as Eoanthropus dawsoni) career grew when he became a cast member at the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925.
From there he became a textbook icon. Students worldwide were fascinated for decades with stories of how their early ancestor, Piltdown man ate, socialized, mated and died. Pictures of him appeared in print, and life size replicas were fashioned complete with hair, lips and eyes and put on display in museums.

Alas, his career abruptly ended barely fifty years later, reluctantly in 1955 Piltdown man was found to be a fraud, a total hoax. Creationists who had long since been relegated to the back of their classes as comprising the so-called 'flat earth society’ didn’t have much of a respite as a host of other imaginative and artistic representations of man were waiting in the wings.



You know, there is a resemblance between Piltdown and this writer, or is there? Naw! Anyway I want to wish you all Aloha from the Island of Oahu! I wonder if Piltdown ever got sunburned...oh well that's for a different blog. Here's a shot I took as Pearl Harbor came into view (back on the 8th of this month) in a crack in the clouds.
This is looking directly at Ford Island. You may be able to click on this picture and see the little white dot at lower center extreme right is the Arizona memorial. Just behind it is the Battleship Missouri, these cap both ends of WW 2.
I wonder if this view is something like the Japanese pilots had?

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I'll be taking the mother of my kids to New Hope, Diamond Head and say hi to my friend and brother in Christ, Pastor Fernando.

Global Warming

“The fourth angel emptied his bowl on the sun, and it began to scorch people like fire. Everyone was scorched by its great heat, and all of them cursed the name of God who had power over these terrible troubles. But no one turned to God and praised him.” – Revelation 16:8, 9 – CEV

I can picture in my mind doomsday scenes from movies like “The Day After Tomorrow” which follows a global warming scenario that results in mega twisters hitting Los Angeles, super Tsunami’s flooding New York and Europe being freeze dried by an instant Ice Age. It once was great sport poking fun at robed prophets standing on street corners waving signs ‘The End Is Near.” Now Hollywood is doing the same thing, but with a much larger budget and backed up by politically driven science. Anyone voicing an other view than the political correct one is immediately and effectively marginalized.

I don’t know about you but I’m just as afraid of politically driven science as I am of religiously driven politics. Politics is all about favoring one view over another and achieving power. Religiously controlled government or politically driven science will eventually deprive people of their rights, their beliefs, their thoughts and freedoms. Global warming is a fact of life. The jury is still out on deciding on its cause or if it is as temporary as the Ice Age hype of the '70s.
It’s always politically expedient to affix blame for a problem to one's opponent especially in a run up to an election and all too often politicians think the answer to the problem is money. One recent example: New Orleans--got a lot of money after Katrina, but I think we all agree it was grossly mis-managed.

What we do know:
1. The decade of the 1990’s was the warmest since record keeping began.
2. Northern Hemisphere Spring thaw begins 9 days earlier than 150 years ago.
3. The Northern Hemisphere Fall freeze begins 10 days later than 150 years ago.
4. Average temperatures in Alaska have increased by 4 degrees Celsius in 50 years.
5. Warming and cooling cycles on Earth happen about every 100,000 years.
6. Since 1978 Arctic sea ice area has shrunk by some 9 percent per decade.
7. 15 degree warming spike occurred in Greenland in one decade during the last Ice Age.
8. The Solar cycle lasts about 11.3 years.
9. Geophysicists are aware of increased solar activity reaching a 1000 year high.

There is much conjecture as to the cause of global warming; the most popular (and politically correct) being that human activity is responsible for it (pushing CO2 into the atmosphere through automobiles and industry).
Scientists monitoring the Martian polar ice cap (solid CO2) have noticed that the its been shrinking for the past decade. It's an indication that the Sun may be the cause for our global warming rather than man.

Other Articles on this topic:
Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says
Sun's Output Increasing in Possible Trend Fueling Global Warming

“…new studies suggest that the increase in solar radiation absorbed at the earth’s surface had almost 10 times as much warming power during that time as the concurrent increases in carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas. Therefore, the warming observed over the past 20 years must have little to do with changes in greenhouse gases.”- World Climate Report

Recent increases in just two areas, (1) volcanism and (2) thousands of out of control coal mine fires, (some have been raging for many decades) add may far exceed the total output of industry and transportation. Undersea volcanism may even be a cause of the El Nino effect. It's debatable. Then there’s a third source for much of the CO2 released into the atmosphere; it comes from the sea and occurs near the equatorial oceans.
So why mention this in a Christian blog? Well, there's been a lot of propaganda out there that Christians aren't concerned with the environment. That misinformation needs to be countered. From the beginning God's instructions to man were to care for the earth. Does it matter how we treat the environment if global warming turns out to be caused by factors beyond our control. Yes it does! I believe the vast majority of Christians are practicing environmentalists.

But aren't natures upheavels a sign that we're in the last days of the world system?
I'm working on a write up for a future blog about that but for now let's just take a peek at a few of the signs of the times according to Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ explained some signs leading to the end-time world events. Words in red are Jesus’ and parentheses are mine.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers, (fulfilled – AD 70) you will know that it will soon be destroyed. If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. (Many Christians survived the destruction of Jerusalem because of these very words) If you are in the city, leave it. And if you are out in the country, don't go back into the city. This time of punishment is what is written about in the Scriptures. It will be an awful time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children! Everywhere in the land people will suffer horribly and be punished. Some of them will be killed by swords. Others will be carried off to foreign countries. Jerusalem will be overrun by foreign nations until their time comes to an end (In 1967 Jerusalem came under the control of Israel).

Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea (tsunamis) and tides (rising sea levels) and they won't know what to do. People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world. Every power in the sky will be shaken. (could be a reference to nuclear war) Then the Son of Man will be seen, coming in a cloud with great power and glory.” - Luke 21:20-27 CEV

Confused Evolutionist

There's a basic problem with Darwinian evolution as it stands today. Its been 'preached' as though it were fact yet with so many of its variations comes the revelation that there really is a vast chasm of disagreement within the scientific community when it comes to origins.
For example; one of those 'nuances' that I refer to are the opinions held by many scientists that life on this planet may have been planted here rather than forming naturally over 4.5 billion years.
The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) vigil for ET may sound strange if you haven't heard of it but one of its purposes is to find out how life may have originated on the earth.

"In a very real sense this search for extraterrestrial intelligence is a search for a cosmic context for mankind, a search for who we are, where we have come from, and what possibilities there are for our future." - Carl Sagan

Just a few miles up the road from me (Hat Creek) is a radio telescope array--listening for the elusive ET. The SETI 'syndrome' began in 1960 when a scientist calculated the possibilities of how many planets may exist in the universe supporting intelligent life.

The origin of life on planet earth remains a mystery because as one scientist said,

"We don't really know how life originated on this planet. There have been a variety of experiments that tell us some possible roads, but we remain in substantial ignorance. That said, I think what we're looking for is some kind of molecule that is simple enough that it can be made by physical processes on the young Earth, yet complicated enough that it can take charge of making more of itself. That, I think, is the moment when we cross that great divide and start moving toward something that most people would recognize as living." - Paleontologist Andrew Knoll, professor of biology at Harvard and author of Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Life.

For more eye opening stuff on SETI see what Michael Crichton said in a lecture at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA. (Aliens Cause Global Warming)



One of the other nuances is the answer to the question: What really killed the dinosaurs?
From the 1980's scientists thought they'd found the answer. They called it the 'impact theory.'

The theory says a "10km-wide meteorite had smashed into the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, causing worldwide forest fires, tsunamis several kilometers high, and an 'impact winter' - in which dust blocked out the sun for months or years. It was thought that the dinosaurs were blasted, roasted and frozen to death, in that order."*

Today that theory is being challenged as new evidence is uncovered. Scientists have uncovered plenty of evidence that there was not one, but a number of extinction level events (ELE), even larger than the impact that created the KT boundary. Each would have interrupted the billions of years many scientists claimed would be required for a traditional evolution model proposed so far.
Dr. Knoll summed up the scientific view of origins when he said, "…we remain in substantial ignorance."


Despite the discord within the ranks of evolutionists, they present a united front when it comes to allowing the viable evidence for the theory Intelligent Design to even be considered.

I guess that free thinking is limited to those who completely close their minds to the possibility of a creator--yet isn't it they who say Christians are closed minded? I will close with what some evolutionists **themselves say about the fossil record:

"Despite the bright promise that paleontology provides a means of 'seeing' evolution, it has presented some nasty difficulties for evolutionists, the most notorious of which is the presence of 'gaps' in the fossil record. Evolution requires intermediate forms between species and paleontology does not provide them ..." - David B. Kitts, PhD (Zoology) Head Curator, Dept of Geology, Stoval Museum Evolution, vol 28, Sep 1974, p 467

"The curious thing is that there is a consistency about the fossilgaps; the fossils are missing in all the important places." Francis Hitching The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong Penguin Books, 1982, p.19

"The absence of fossil evidence for intermediary stages between major transitions in organic design, indeed our inability, even in our imagination, to construct functional intermediates in many cases, has been a persistent and nagging problem for gradualistic accounts of evolution." Stephen Jay Gould, Prof of Geology and Paleontology, Harvard University "Is a new general theory of evolution emerging?" Paleobiology, vol 6, January 1980, p. 127

"...Yet Gould and the American Museum people are hard to contradict when they say there are no transitional fossils ... I will lay it on the line, there is not one such fossil for which one could make a watertight argument." Dr. Colin Patterson, Senior Paleontologist, British Museum of Natural History, London As quoted by: L. D. Sunderland Darwin's Enigma: Fossils and Other Problems 4th edition, Master Books, 1988, p. 89
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**Thanks to Ted Holden for the quotes

Partial Birth Abortion--aborted

This National Geographic photo of a 7 month old fetus is part of an amazing documentary "In The Womb." It shows the different stages of development with amazing 3D and 4D ultrasound images. The documentary reveals the behavior of children in the womb sucking thier thumbs, blinking, yawning and smiling--going through a range of emotions.
Last week's decision by the Supreme Court to put an end to the gruesome practice of 'partial birth abortion' (with some exceptions). This documentary is enlightening and worth seeing.

Converted Abortion Provider Reveals The Truth

Abortion: A way "to start immediately to eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy and poor segment of our country." - Ron Weddington, council for Norma McCorvey, (also known as Jane Roe), in a letter (see page 12 of the report) to President (elect) Clinton to push for the marketing of abortion pill (RU-486). Ron Weddington's wife Sarah, was an attorney for legal abortion rights in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. Click to see the full text of Ron Weddingtons letters to President (elect) Bill Clintion.
Three days after Bill Clinton took office he ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA to coordinate the marketing of RU-486.

Did you really think abortion was all about a woman's right to choose? At least in the mind of Ron Weddington it's actually a eugenics program that in the end determines what life is worthy to live--ala the Nazi eugenics program. Read again Ron Weddington's statement:


What about the things that are told to women who are going to an abortion clinic? Carole Everett, former abortion clinic(s) owner said, “I cannot tell you one thing that happens in an abortion clinic that is not a lie.”

Click on the Title bar to read an interview with Carole Everett...Be aware there are some graphic and startling revelations in this question and answer session.

Abortion factoids:

• Since Roe v Wade (1/22/73) over 50 million abortions have taken place in the US.


• An average of 4,023 abortions are performed every day in the US.


• More unborn babies aborted than twice the current population of Australia.


• More unborn babies aborted every day than all of the Americans killed in the entire Iraqi war.


• An unborn child is aborted on average every 21 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week--all in the name of a woman's right to choose...

Abortion is out of control in the United States of America.

Intelligent Design vs Evolution -- again

Professors at Southern Methodist University (SMU) were out in protest against the visit of Intelligent Design (ID) Scientists from Discovery who were invited to speak. As usual, with people who feel threatened, they began hurling insults at ID theorists. The conference will take place on the SMU campus' McFarlin Auditorium April 13 and 14th. [Ticket information] Isn't it ironic that at a former Christian university an open discussion about ID would be met with such blatant hostility? Evolution is taught as fact and even used in commercials--

What are they so afraid of?

Click on the Geico 'caveman to check out his crib. You can 'click' your way around .

Christ's Resurrection and You

Jesus Christ is the only leader of any religion, not to mention the only man in all of history that has defeated death.
The only sign of His remains is this empty tomb in Jerusalem. Because He died and rose again, He has given the ability to (whosever will) obtain everlasting life. This life is in Him and available to all.
The Bible says it this way:
(1 John 5:11, 12) "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Clear and straightforward, isn't it?

No amount of skepticism (and I'm skeptical by nature) keeps me from knowing Christ and that never ending life He's given me. John said that his very reason for writing is so that you could know. "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

I know. Do you?

Do you have the Son of God? Why not ask Him to come into your life as Savior and Lord right now?

Jesus; do you know Him today? Please, don't turn Him away.

America and her God

See this short slide show. I think it will inspire you.

The Resurrection of Jesus

Are you a doubting Thomas? Don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

James Cameron (director of the film “Titanic”) and Simcha Jacobovici had announced that they have found the bones of Jesus! At their news conference, they promoted their Discovery Channel special “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” that was televised on March 4th. They also promoted the book by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino entitled The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History released by Harper-Collins.

If you want to see the real evidence of the resurrection of the Jesus of the Bible then you ought to see this blog, Confident Christianity.

painting: Caravaggio's Doubting Thomas

Genesis 1:1-2 and the Gap Theory

The Bible is not a science book but as I have claimed earlier in this blog, where it touches on proven science it is accurate and reliable. None of us know all of the mechanisms God used to create the universe and so believers generally view the creation from three standpoints. Each view makes valid points and each will determine how the creation event in the Bible will be interpreted. It should be remembered that all three are theories and should be acknowledged as such and not used to ostracize or disfellowship other believers. All three view the creation story as recorded in the WHOLE Bible as divinely inspired.

There are several theories of Creationism among Christian believers. The Three Most Common Biblical Creation Models are the “Gap” theory; the second is referred to as the “Age-Day” theory. The third theory is the "Literalist" in which the original universe, including earth were created in six literal days about 6011 years ago (4004 BC).

1. “Gap” or “Reconstruction” Theory. This theory suggests the condition in Genesis 1:2 is the result of a cataclysmic judgment involving the fall of the angels; that there was a primeval creation, complete in itself, in which the Angels were created as well as an inhabited pre-Adamite earth. After an unknown interval of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 there was a rebellion by Lucifer who was cast out onto the earth (Isaiah 14:12-14; Luke 10:18) perpetuating a catastrophe creating the conditions of Gen. 1:2. Therefore, the six creative days in the following verses would be the new creation of the earth that had become desolate.

Problem: That death was in the world before Adam sinned.

Solution: Sin (iniquity) was found in Lucifer. (Isaiah 14:16-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19)

At some point (in Genesis 1:2) the Holy Spirit began brooding over the waters covering the earth as God began to create the earth as a home for man and the life we see about us. When Adam disobeyed God and obeyed Lucifer, he forfeited all that God had given him to Lucifer, and that old serpent became ‘god of this world’ (2 Corinthians 4:4) over which he has no right (Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26) and to whom Adam by nature became servant.

2. “Age-Day Theory”

This theory regards the first two verses of Genesis as that of the original creation in its raw state as from nothing, while the remaining part of the chapter is a formation and organization of the matter thus created. Genesis 1:1-2 is merely an introductory statement of fact, with each creative day being an indeterminate period or era of time. This is based on verses like 2 Peter3:8 which equates a thousand years as a day. These “era’s” are the geologic era’s t hat fit into modern scientific theories. How long it was, we do not know but ample space is given to all the requisitions of geology.

Problems:

(1). The Scripture says that each day of the creation week is “an evening and a morning.”

(2). The geologic era’s of science do not correspond to the same order that life appears in the scripture.

(3). Plant life was made before there was sunshine. If the age-day theory is correct then plant life survived an era or at least a thousand years without it.

Solution: none

24 Hour / Six Day Creation Theory (Young Earth Creationism)

This theory says that the entire universe was created by God in 6 equal twenty four hour days about 6,011 years ago according to Ussher's Chronology.

Genesis 1:1-2 is an introductory statement showing the earth at the outset, like a lump of clay that God began to squeeze and form into the earth we live in today. Proponents of this theory often say that it is futile to question creation for God said “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4) and “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Problem: The stars & ‘sons of God’ were witness to the creation of the earth. (Job 38:6, 7) How can this be if the stars weren’t created until the fourth day? See other problems.

I believe in both an old and young earth interpretation. God created it from one that was destroyed. This does not conflict with the Bible at all as some have claimed.

(Definitions are derived primarily from Strong's Concordance)

Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
In the beginning…
In the beginning God -- Here the Hebrew word for God is 'el-o-heem' which is a plural form
of; 1) "gods" in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the "supreme God;" occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:—angels, exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), (very) great, judges, mighty.

"In the beginning God created…" Here "created" comes from a Hebrew word pronounced "baw-raw'"

'Baw-raw'' is a primitive root; (absolutely) to create; (qualified) to cut down (a wood), select, feed (as formative processes):—choose, create (creator), cut down, dispatch, do, make (fat).

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth..." Earth here is the same word as 'earth' which is defined as 'dry land' in verse

Genesis 1:10: "And God called the dry land Earth"

The gap in the creation story is right here, between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 for it says-

Genesis 1:2. “And the earth [**was] without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

The words I've italicized are terms used in the Bible to commonly describe the aftermath of divine Judgement, not the creation. To say that this a state of the creative act is to contradict every specific creative act of the God who creates all things orderly and whom Isaiah says clearly (Isaiah 45:18) "God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else."

The word vain is from the Heb. word pronounced toòhuò or to'-hoo. Same word used in Genesis 1:2:

And the earth was without form ( toòhuò or to'-hoo) which comes from an unused root meaning to lie waste; a desolation (of surface), that is, desert; figuratively a worthless thing; adverbially in vain:—confusion, empty place, without form, nothing, nought, vain, vanity, waste, wilderness and void (boòhuò or bo'-hoo) comes from an unused root meaning to be empty; a vacuity, that is, (superficially) an undistinguishable ruin:—emptiness, void.

and darkness (khoh-shek') was upon the face of the deep.
From the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:—dark (-ness), night, obscurity.

How do Young Earth Creationists (YEC) reconcile the state of the earth in Genesis 1:2 to a God who Creates all things good?

Now if God said He didn't create the earth in vain, (toòhuò or to'-hoo) who are we to say that He did? This is a state that the earth came into.

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**Also translated “became” in the footnote of the Torah.

Biblical Truth or Contradictions

I encountered a man who threw away his beliefs in the Bible citing as an example the difference between Matthew and Mark's Gospels with regard to the healing of the blind beggars of Jericho.

How can the differences between Mark and Matthew’s account of the healing of the blind both be true in every detail?

The story of the healing of the blind beggars is one of the stories that skeptics use to discount the accuracy and inspiration of the Bible itself. Here are the two accounts:

Mark 10:46-52 KJV

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Matthew 20:29-34 KJV

29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
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Both accounts identify the proximity of the city of Jericho as the site where the miracle took place.
Both accounts record the presence of a large crowd accompanying Jesus and his disciples.
Matthew records that there were two blind men while Mark records only one, and names him as Bartimaeus.
Both accounts say the blind had been sitting by the roadside, begging.
Both accounts say that the blind cried aloud for mercy from Jesus, son of David.
Both accounts tell of the crowds attempt to shut the(m) up.
Both accounts say that Jesus responded with an invitation.
Both accounts say that Jesus asked what the desire of him was.
Both accounts record the same answer to Jesus’ question.
Both accounts record the miracle of the healing of the blind. Matthew adds a detail that Jesus touched the blind while Mark omits the small detail. This is not a problem even for the skeptics.
Mark records Jesus’ dismissal of Bartimaeus by saying, “Go thy way…” Matthew omits that detail—again this is not a problem for both accounts declare that the blind who were healed followed Jesus.
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Out of all of the information provided in both gospels, there is only one point of difference, yet some will toss out the plenary inspiration of scripture in total because of this. Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel! But is this the infallible Word of God or not? If so, how does Mark give us the name of one blind man when Matthew tells us of two unnamed blind men?
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My answer:

Matthew was there. As he walked along with Jesus that day he witnessed two blind beggars crying out to Jesus. Matthew's eyewitness is not in question. The crowd tried to silence the blind beggars but the blind cried out all the more. Upon hearing them, Jesus stopped and called for them. (Isn't that just like Jesus!) He asked them what they wanted most and they answered, 'that we might see!' He touched their eyes and their blindness was gone, and they could see! Jesus gave them leave to go their own way but they decided to accompany Jesus with the disciples as did many others. This is even more evident later when the disciples were to pick a replacement for Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:21-23), one who followed along with the disciples throughout Jesus' entire earthly ministry, (from the beginning) and there were at least two men who fit that catagory.

Mark (John Mark) wasn’t a witness on the day that the miracle of the healing of the blind took place.
It is commonly said that Mark’s home was the site of the last supper and a gathering place on the day of Pentecost and a place where prayer meetings were held (Acts 12:12) in the early days of the church. Mark happened to be the nephew of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10) and like a son to Peter (1 Peter 5:15) he traveled with Paul who criticised Marks immaturity early on but later desired and received Marks assistance.

The first appearance of Mark in the Bible is believed to be an autobiographical description of himself at the Garden of Gethsemane:

Mark 14:50-52

50 And they all forsook him, and fled.
51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

The fact that only Mark records this seemingly insignificant incident specifying a particular ‘certain young man’ makes it clear that this curious young man (Mark) was eyewitness if not the participant to whom he referred.
In the days that followed Jesus’ resurrection Mark became familiar with the men who followed Jesus, among whom was Bartimaeus, the blind beggar of Jericho. Listening intently to their stories and testimonies of the miracles of Jesus, Mark wrote them in his gospel account.

Mark’s gospel identifies the story as the healing of blind Bartimaeus, an apparent result of his hearing Bartimaeus’ own testimony from the former blind man's own mouth. Who the second blind man was or when he stopped following Jesus we aren’t told, but they were released by Jesus to go their own way. His name is unknown.

When observed in this likely scenario, there is absolutely no disagreement whatsoever in the stories recounted in the two gospels. The accounts themselves prove the truth of the miracle of the blind beggars of Jericho and the honesty, integrity and credibility of the Bible.

Have The Bones of Jesus Been Found?

There has been a lot of controversy over the latest offering of Simcha Jacobovici's latest claim that the family tomb of Jesus has been uncovered. Posing as an archaeologist after the order of 'Indiana Jones' for the History channel, Mr. Jacobovici has already been discredited for his outlandish claims about the Bible. I have re-printed here at the behest of AFV a letter of rebuttal to the documentary.
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Tales from the Crypt
Do we have the bones of Jesus?
by Kerby Anderson


The last week in February started out with an incredible announcement. James Cameron (director of the film “Titanic”) and Simcha Jacobovici announced that they have found the bones of Jesus! At their news conference, they promoted their Discovery Channel special “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” that will air on March 4th and also promoted the book by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino entitled The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History released by Harper-Collins.

The foundational claim is that they have discovered the family tomb of Jesus Christ. But is this really the tomb of Jesus or his family? There are many good reasons to believe this tomb has no relationship at all to Jesus and his family. Many are asking what to think about these claims. Therefore, I put together a quick two-page summary of some of the criticisms and concerns that surfaced in the first few hours after the announcement. Before we look at those criticisms, let’s first review the history of this tomb.

We have known about this tomb since it was discovered in 1980. Back then,
Israeli construction workers were digging the foundation for a new building in a Jerusalem suburb. Their digging revealed a cave with ten limestone ossuaries. Archeologists removed the limestone caskets for examination.

When they were able to decipher the names on the ten ossuaries, they found: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua. At the time, one of Israel’s most prominent archeologists (Professor Amos Kloner) didn’t associate the crypt with Jesus. He rightly argued that the father of Jesus was a humble carpenter who couldn’t afford a luxury crypt for his family. Moreover, the names on the crypt were common Jewish names.

All of this hasn’t stopped James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici from promoting the tomb as the family tomb of Jesus. They claim to have evidence (through DNA tests, archeological evidence, and Biblical studies) to prove that the ten ossuaries belong to Jesus and his family. They also argue that Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have produced a son named Judah. However, a number of biblical scholars say this is a really just an old story now being recycled in an effort to create a media phenomenon that will sell books and guarantee a large audience for the television special.

First, does it really make sense that this would be the family tomb of Jesus? Remember that Jesus was in Jerusalem as a pilgrim and was not a resident of the city. How would his family be able to buy this tomb? As we already mentioned, Joseph (who probably was not alive and died in Galilee) and his family did not have the funds to buy such an elaborate burial site. Moreover, they were from out of town and would need time to find this tomb location. To accept this theory, one has to believe they stole the body of Jesus and moved it to this tomb in a suburb of Jerusalem all within about a day’s time.

Second, if this is the family tomb of Jesus and his family, why is Jesus referred to as the “son of Joseph?” As far as we can determine from history, the earliest followers of Jesus never called Jesus the “son of Joseph.” The record of history is that it was only outsiders who mistakenly called him that.

Third, if this is the family tomb of Jesus, why do we have the name of Matthew listed with the rest of the family? If this is the Matthew that traveled with Jesus, then he certainly was not a family member. And you would have to wonder why James (who remained in Jerusalem) would allow these inscriptions as well as allow the family to move the body from Jerusalem to this tomb and perpetrate a hoax that Jesus bodily rose from the grave. Also, the fourth-century church historian Eusebius writes that the body of James (the half-brother of Jesus) was buried alone near the temple mount and that his tomb was visited in the early centuries.

Fourth, there is the problem with the common names on the tombs. Researchers have cataloged the most common names at the time. The ten most common were: Simon/Simeon, Joseph, Eleazar, Judah, John/Yohanan, Jesus, Hananiah, Jonathan, Matthew, and Manaen/Menahem. These are some of the names found on the ossuaries and thus suggest that the tomb belonged to someone other than Jesus of Nazareth and his family. In fact, the name Jesus appears in 98 other tombs and on 21 other ossuaries.

Finally there is the question of the DNA testing. Apparently there is evidence that shows that the DNA from the woman (in what they say is the Mary Magdalene ossuary) and the DNA from the so-called Jesus ossuary does not match. So they argue that they were not relatives and thus must have been married.

But does the DNA evidence really prove that? It does not prove she is his wife. In fact, we really don’t even know who in the ossuaries are related to the other. Moreover, we do not have an independent DNA control sample to compare these findings with. At best, the DNA evidence shows that some of these people are related and some are not.

All of this looks like sensationalism from Simcha Jacobovici (who has a reputation as an Indiana-Jones type) and James Cameron (the director of the “Titanic.”). The publicity is certain to sell books and draw a television audience, but it is not good history or archaeology.

From http://emporium.turnpike.net/C/cs/mainpts.htm


So just what is creationism trying to say?
Creationism is not "against" modern science! In fact, the Biblical mandate to "subdue" the earth (Genesis 1:28) requires us to understand it, which is what science is all about. "Creation Science" is simply the practice of science with the assumption and acknowledgement that there is a creator God, versus the now standard operating assumption of naturalism (that nature is "all there is").

No one, including creation scientists, disputes that so-called "micro-evolution" (variation within a type of organism) caused by natural selection occurs and may be responsible for the large number of species found within a type. Almost all touted evidences for evolution are of this category (like Darwin's finches, the "peppered moth", or bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics). However, it is important to note that "micro-evolution" is a misnomer, as it implies that "a little" evolution is taking place. In actuality, NO evolution is taking place, as no increase in complexity (such as the development of a new organ) is being generated, but merely the emphasis of some already present traits over others.

Large scale change of one type of organism into another, so-called "macro-evolution", is beyond the ability of mutation coupled with natural selection to produce. Evolutionists acknowledge this is a "research issue". Even non-creation scientists (such as Denton and Behe) have written books giving the hard scientific facts that document why this is impossible.

The "geologic column", which is cited as physical evidence of evolution occurring in the past, is better explained as the result of a devastating global flood which happened about 5,000 years ago, as described in the Bible. Even evolutionists acknowledge that the fossil record is one of "fully-formed abrupt appearance" and "stasis" (that is, no change over time).

The belief that the atoms of a "Big Bang" eventually produced people ALL BY THEMSELVES (that is, without any intelligent guidance) is contrary to the well-proven Second Law of Thermodynamics, and the fundamentals of Information Theory. The universe is known to be "running down" yet evolution postulates it is "building up". Atoms to people evolution is much more a "religious belief" than a scientific fact.

There is no reason not to believe that God created our universe, earth, plants, animals, and people just as described in the book of Genesis!

[This article shows no copyright and is printed in it's entirety without permission from Creation Science]

photo of Death Valley basin after rains
by R. Hoeppner

What About 'Those' Bible Contradictions?

Does the Bible contradict itself? You know, like the contradiction between Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 concerning the conversion of Saul. There are a number of good websites that deal with this and one that I would recommend is CRTA. Check it out for yourself. Here is a place to go for answers to the well worn atheist's arguments against God, the Bible and Christianity.