You! MC O-Rigins (Wesley the Creationist)

In 2006 Abingdon Press (Methodist publisher) put out Can You Believe in God and Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed by Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett. They discuss creationism, intelligent design and evolutionary theism. If they follow the example of John Wesley (d. 1791) they will join the ranks of Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN, “opgane”) who believe that creation took place in six regular days and that the Global Flood of Noah’s time was a significant geologic event.

Regarding the Fourth Day of Creation Week, John Wesley comments, “This is the history of the fourth day's work, the creating the sun, moon and stars.” Note that we have the creating of stars and not just their appearance (as progressive creationists claim). Often it is stated that Genesis tells us the “Who” of creation but not the “How.” In contrast, we read in Wesley’s commentary on Genesis, “The work of creation not only proceeded gradually from one thing to another, but advanced gradually from that which was less excellent, to that which was more so.” The six days of Creation Week go from less complex to more complex. Even the most basic atom is complex if we go down to the quark level.

Wesley comments on the sixth day and the how of creation:

The evening and the morning were the sixth day - So that in six days God made the world. We are not to think but that God could have made the world in an instant: but he did it in six days, that he might shew himself a free agent, doing his own work, both in his own way, and in his own time; that his wisdom, power and goodness, might appear to us, and be meditated upon by us, the more distinctly; and that he might set us an example of working six days, and resting the seventh. And now as God reviewed his work, let us review our meditations upon it; let us stir up ourselves, and all that is within us, to worship him that made the, heaven, earth, and sea, and the fountains of waters. All his works in all places of his dominion bless him, and therefore bless thou the Lord, O my soul [emphasis added].

Wesley said that numerous geologic formations were “doubtless formed by the general Deluge.” [1] Wesley held that the original “very good” creation held no death, disease or destruction. [2] Wesley tells us that at the perfect beginning, “there were no agitations within the bowels of the globe, no violent convulsions, no concussions of the earth, no earthquakes…” [3] Thus, the evidence of death and devastation in the fossil record must be post-Fall. Originally, man and beast were vegetarian (Ge 1:29-30). Wesley comments, “there were no birds or beasts of prey; none that destroyed or molested another; but all the creatures breathed, in their several kinds, the benevolence of their great Creator.” [4] There are fish eating fish in the fossil record, so it must be post-Fall. Regarding the Lord’s promise not to send another worldwide flood, Wesley said, “God had drowned the world once, and still it is as provoking as ever; yet he will never drown it any more, for he deals not with us according to our sins.”

The topic of creation was so important to Wesley that he wrote the two volume work Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation (1763). [5] Wesley was a creationist and held that creation occurred about 4000 years before Christ. [6]

If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God? (Jn 3:12, Message)

May your heart also be "strangely warmed."

Notes:
1) Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati (Master Books, 2004), p. 130.
2) ibid.
3) ibid., p. 199.
4) ibid., p. 206.
5) The Great Turning Point by Terry Mortenson (Master Books, 2004), p. 42.
6) ibid.

Adam to Abraham (A2A): The Dating Game

Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN, “opgane”) believe the Genesis record gives us a clear chronology from Adam to Abraham. There is no evidence of gaps. [1] Seth named Enosh (Ge 4:26) so he was his direct descendant and not a distant relative. In Jude 14 we are told that Enoch was the seventh from Adam, so no gaps are possible there. Lamech named Noah (Ge 5:29) so he was his biological father and not his great great grandfather. Arphaxad must be the son of Shem and not his grandson since he was born just two years after the flood. Methuselah’s name means “when he dies it shall be sent” and the year of his death is when the Global Flood started. This shows how accurate and tight the historical chronology from Genesis is - Methuselah could not have died after the Flood!

Adam and Eve lived at the beginning of creation not millions of years later (Mk 10:6). Since the beginning of creation man has been able to see God’s eternal power and divine nature through observing creation (Rom 1:20) – man has existed since the beginning and is not a latecomer in cosmic history. If millions of years really existed before the Flood, scripture could have made that plain. Second Chronicles 14:9 refers to a million man fighting force.

Jacob told Pharaoh that his life so far was short (130 years) compared to his forefathers (Ge 47:9), thus confirming the long ages of the antediluvians (900’s). The Sumerian King List also documents long ages before the Global Flood and a drastic reduction in life spans afterward. The Sumerian King List shows eight kings before the flood and if we don’t include Adam and Noah, this matches the historical chronology from Genesis. The Sumerian system of math was based on 60 instead of the decimal system (base 10). If we convert the life spans of the line of Seth from decimal to base 60 we can see that the Sumerian King List is somewhat close to the actual values from Genesis. For Mahalalel we have 8*3600=28,800 and 9*60=540. The totals for all eight differ by only 5%.














To many, long life spans seem incredible. Just think of the number of dreams Adam had in 930 years. One way to live longer is to avoid disease. A group of dwarfs in southern Ecuador get neither cancer nor diabetes due to their unique genetic makeup.

We can see from this chart by Walt Brown (click to see larger image) that Adam lived at the same time as Methuselah, Methuselah lived at the same time as Shem and Shem lived at the same time as Isaac! So Isaac could have verified Shem’s first hand knowledge of the genealogy, Shem could have done the same with Methuselah and Methuselah could have checked his facts from Adam himself! A chronology you can trust from the man made from dust. Adam and Eve had plenty of practice with number theory when they counted the thousands of stars at night. Bookkeeping the “begats” would be no problem for the first Edenite.

From Adam to the Flood is 1656 years. For hundreds of years people could chat with the perfect couple (initially) who once lived in a utopia named Paradise. Both Genesis and Josephus agree that Abraham was born 290 years after the Flood. [2] Abraham could have compared his genealogy with Shem, who was still alive in his time. Abraham is generally considered to be living around 2000 BC. Therefore, the traditional date of creation of around 4000 BC seems correct. The Mayan calendar places creation at 3114 BC which is not that far from the date of 4004 BC given by Ussher.

Some reply that radiometric dating forces a lengthening of the Genesis chronology. The book and DVD “Thousands not Billions” provide decisive evidence that radioactive dating actually supports the Young Earth Science (YES) position. This book, which summarizes the findings of the RATE project includes both scientific and biblical evidence.

All the men named in these genealogies were sinners: “Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One” (1 Tim. 1:15, Message).

NOTES:
1) Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati (Master Books, 2004), pp. 289-297.
2) ibid., p. 291.

Dear Geico

I love your funny “caveman” ads, but disrespect for our ancestors is looked down upon by many cultures of the world. Your underlying message seems to be, “It not only takes a village, it takes a village idiot named Caveman to sell insurance.” During the Ice Age it made sense to live in caves!

The most famous cavemen were the Neanderthals.  New Man, that is what Neanderthal means, is my brother. The Choctaw, of which I am a member, have a tradition that all people spoke the same language (Choctaw) and that after building a tall mound to reach the sky the languages were confused. This is a variant rendition of the historical account of the Tower of Babel found in Genesis (Adam’s favorite book). That is, all peoples, including Neanders, have a common origin. An update from the journal Archaeology provides evidence that Neanderthals and moderns interbred.  

Some Neanderthals had red hair! Neanders made wood structures covered with hide. They made javelins, a flute, body ornaments and used fire and spices for cooking. They even made a deep underground structure without natural light. 

A fascinating piece, "Neanderthals are Still Human” shows that the hyoid bone, which is important in speech, is the same as the hyoid bone in moderns.  Also their brains were bigger. There were also ritualistic burials with goat bones. Jack Cuozzo had the opportunity to x-ray some of the original Neander skulls in Europe and found that they must have lived to the great old age of around 200 years!

The mitochondrial evidence that some claim puts the Neandertals into a separate group actually falls within the range of modern genetic dispersion.

I would encourage your fine organization to concentrate on advertising customer value and fair pricing rather that putting down our brilliant relatives from a few thousand years ago. Stress the actuarial basis for honest pricing rather than picking on the noble caveman!

Yo Schmookie!*

Here’s hoping that you’re having a swell day, but that you’re not swelling!
Are you bent on self-destruction? Have you seen GoodFellas more than three times? Is your goal to blow up tall buildings? There is a bold contrast between the big bad dude and the Real Messiah: “A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (Jn. 10:10, Message). Knowing your Creator (the Intelligent Designer) brings joy; thieving brings prison.
Would you rather have plastic furniture or plastic explosives? Have you ever stuffed a space monkey in your trunk? Seeking vitality through pain is not the answer; childlike humility is:
"Truly I say to you, Except you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:3,4).
Violence addiction can result in loss of life. Consider this caution from The Ultimate Guidebook, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).
There is more to life than support groups and insomnia. Would you rather join the Fight Club or the Righteous Revolution (Mt. 10:34-42)? Is your best friend’s cousin named Parker Morris? Do you love others? Does anyone care about you? Is your twin twin brother named Tyler?
Make soap, not war. You are made in the image of God and have tremendous worth. You should care for your body (take a bath occasionally) and be a good steward of the talents God has given you (cf. Eph. 5:29, Ex. 31:1-5). Getting beaten up is not fun, but self-torture is completely pointless. The Real Book About The Meaning Of Life states, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 Jn. 4:18). Focusing on the needs of others will overcome your feelings of danger regarding yourself. Scrap Project Mayhem and join Project May-all-the-glory-go-to-Him.
Your father may not have been the best role model, but the true Messiah from Nazareth will not disappoint. If we believe in Jesus we can experience the lavish love of God and reach perfection when he returns (1 Jn. 3:1-3). The Prophet (Acts 3:18-23) suffered real pain inflicted by others. Christ bled and died and took the punishment we deserve for our wrong actions and thoughts. If we trust in him we will have eternal life (Jn. 3:13-18).

DON’T FIGHT CLUB RULES:
1) Talk about Jesus (Lk. 12:8).
2) Talk about Jesus more (Jn. 1:40,41).
3) When someone beats you up and says “Stop!” - talk about Jesus (Acts 5:40-42).
4) 2 or 3 should speak at a time (1 Cor. 14:26-33).
5) One day at a time (Lam. 3:19-23).
6) Wear clothes (Gen. 3:21).
7) Meetings continue as needed (Acts 20:9).
8) Each member (even new ones) must perform their function in the body (Rom. 12:3-8).

God made man perfect (Eccl. 7:29), but we now have a messy world since Adam made a wrong choice and ate from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which lead to the great rebellion (Gen. 3). Job suffered for some special reasons and even the weather was against him (Job 1:18,19). Suffering hits us all because we live the a creation twisted by the Fall and awaiting rescue (Gen. 3:17,18; Rom. 8:18-22). Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer points out that even though we all Fall down, man is still noble:

Another question in the dilemma of man is man’s nobility. Perhaps you do not like the word nobility, but whatever word you choose, there is something great about man. I want to add here that evangelicals have often made a serious mistake by equating the fact that man is lost and under God’s judgment with the idea that man is nothing – zero. This is not what the Bible says. There is something great about man, and we have lost perhaps our greatest opportunity of evangelism in our generation by not insisting that it is the Bible which explains why man is
great. [1]

Is cruelty intrinsic to humanity? Schaeffer gives some vital insight here:

We can explain that man is cruel [because of the Fall], without God being a bad God. There is a hope of a solution for this moral problem which is not intrinsic to the “mannishness” of man. If this cruelty is intrinsic to the “mannishness” of man – if that is what man always has been – then there is no hope of a solution. But if it is an abnormality, there is a hope of a solution. It is in this setting that the substitutionary, propitiatory death of Christ ceases to be an incomprehensible concept. … God did not make man cruel, and He did not make the results of man’s cruelty. These are abnormal, contrary to what God made, and so we can fight the evil without fighting God. [2]


Notes:
1) The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Vol. 1, p. 278.
2) The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Vol. 1, p. 301.

True Stories:
Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Proverbs 19:1
Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are twisted (BBE).

“enough with the Schmookie” (rev.)

*If your name is Shmookie (sub “p” for “k” in the Seinfeld episode) or if the content applies, let the shoe fit.

-- Answer to Puzzle for July 2008 post --

The following months have 31 days:  Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Aug, Oct, Dec

Adam's Blog [stardate 032,172.781]

“Palmettos and Recurrence Dreams”

  Do you enjoy braiding you daughters’ hair?  I was pondering the trunk of a palmetto tree and admired the braided pattern the Intelligent Designer gave this plant.  I could imitate this design to make rope!  I invented a small version of the palmetto trunk and if you put your fingers in each end it’s difficult to escape.  My children love this toy! I named it an HTU for Holistic Tube of Unity.

  I had a strange dream the other strange day.  In the dream I was sleeping, as I woke up I said, “MADAM, IN EDEN I’M ADAM.”  Next, I went to the garden and noticed that three fourths of my tulips were missing.  A funny thing about ¾ is that it’s NEVER ODD OR EVEN.  A while later Dennis and Edna were caught fighting, so I gave my verdict: DENNIS AND EDNA SINNED.  This series of events repeated itself over and over and over.  By the way, aren’t groundhogs cute?

  The Intelligent Designer made the world during the first six days of history.  Unlike my adorable offspring, I never said “goo-goo gah-gah.”  I had no mom or dad to hug or kiss me.   Some call me “Dusty” for that is what the Creator made me from and where my destiny lies [~ Ge 2:7, 3:19].  Since Eve was taken from my rib, some have nicknamed her “Reeba.”  Before the day I ate the bad fruit, my dreams had no animal deaths and none of my children had fatal accidents.  Our sinless, deathless paradise is gone, but our loving Creator has promised a coming Savior [~ Ge 3:15, 1 Jn 3:8, Rev 22:3].  I love to eat radishes and squash.  I am the first Adam.   Deep time? What’s that?  I have been stuck by thorns, but I have never Ben Stein…  

[note: palindromes are in ALL CAPS SPACL LA]

Puzzle FUN!!

Attention planetosis victims!  Here is a super fun, non-math, puzzle.  The two names below have a special meaning.

And now without further time-warps here are the two enigmatic names:

  1) Janmar Mayjul
  2) Augoc T. Dec

Hints:

•   not a character in Sagan's "Contact" (book or movie)
  
•   Not related to Nellie Narrow-Way
  
•   not a hologram or a quark
  
•   EvoEmo is a good guess, but wrong
  

This puzzle may be answered by the following:

•   residents of the Privileged Planet may apply
  
•   Aliens between the ages of 900-1500 are excluded
  
•   Earthlings within the interval [-.75, 1005] may guess
  
•   All relatives and friends of Ben Stein are eligible
•   Answer appears in the Sep 2008 post
  

Seven and the Weekness (can YOU feel it?)

  Carl Sagan quotes the following in “Cosmos,”
The universe seems… to have been determined and ordered in accordance with number, by the forethought and the mind of the creator of all things; for the pattern was fixed, like a preliminary sketch, by the domination of number preexistent in the mind of the world creating God.
Nicomachus of Gerasa
Arithmetic I, 6 (c. 100 A.D.)[1]
According to Sagan's story a message from the "intelligent designer" is hidden in the number pi (3.14159265358...).  Despite the hopeful promise of conversing with highly intelligent aliens, "Cosmos" leaves us with an EvoEmo attitude (see prior post).

  The number seven is often thought to be perfect or mystical. The reciprocal of seven leads to an ellipse. The five visible planets (Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn), which travel in an ellipse, plus the sun and moon are considered to be the ancient foundation for the days of the week. Is there a better explanation? Fred Schaaf observes, “…unlike the day month, season and year – all of which have an astronomical basis – the time period known as the “week” seems, at first, to have no obvious relation to anything in nature.” [2] Schaaf points out that many “…adopt the seven-day week simply in imitation of God's six days of creation and one of rest…” but holds that there is a better reason for the seven day week, “The most likely answer is that there are seven celestial objects that have been known since ancient times to move regularly against the background of the distant unchanging stars: the five bright planets, the Sun, and the Moon.”
  
  Is Schaaf reasoning well founded? Why is each luminary associated with each day of the week? What about Saturday reminds us of Saturn. What is it about Mondays that reminds us of the Lunar orb? Why is Earth-day not included in the week? Would not a five day week make more sense on this assumption, based on the five visible planets?

  There are alternative explanations that are just as plausible. Some cultures, such as the Japanese, use the elements as the basis for the week. Why should this lead to exactly seven days? Consider the possibilities:
Four days: Earth, Air, Wind, Fire
Five days: Earth, Air, Wind, Fire, Metal
Six days: Earth, Air, Wind, Fire, Metal, Wood etc.
There are seven colors in a rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Has anyone suggested this as a basis for the days of the week?

  The well-known historian Flavius Josephus (c. 37-100 A.D.) holds to the “beginning of the world” hypothesis for the origin of the week: “That in just six days the world, and all that is therein, was made. And that the seventh day was a rest, and a release from the labor of such operations…” [3] We will refer to this basis for the week as the “Josephus Principle.” The empirical distribution of cultural heritage favors Josephus’ view. Approximately 53.2% of the earths’ population belongs to cultural traditions that hold to the Josephus Principle - that is the origin of the week is derived from the interval of time that the Intelligent Designer used to make the world. [4]

  There is corroboration of the Josephus Principle from China. The seventh day of the Chinese New Year (first lunar month) is known as the “Birthday of Mankind.” [5] [6] According to Chinese folklore, the first human being was made on the seventh day. It is sometimes called “Everyone’s Birthday.”

  Has the Intelligent Designer provided a hint of the near universal seven day week within our own bodies? According to John Boslough, “A number of body-clock watchers believe we also tick to an array of weekly cycles. These regulate changes in body chemicals, the response pattern of the immune system, and a cyclic rise and fall of heartbeat and blood circulation. These rhythms, some chronobiologists believe, may help explain the designation of the seven-day week as a unit of time – the only calendar unit that does not trace its origins to astronomy.” [7] Why is it that difficult and hectic days often have the name “Monday?” Why is no restaurant named TGIM?

             sun MOON stars sky
             each week has 7 days
             can you SAY why?

NOTES
1) quoted in Contact by Carl Sagan, 1985, Arrow ed. 1986, Arrow Books Limited, London, p. 422.
2) “Why Seven Days” by Fred Schaaf,http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/
1994_Febuary_March/Why_Seven_Days_
3) Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, Ch. 1, par. 1, http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-1.htm
4) Christianity 33%, Islam 20%, Judaism 0.2%, http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904108.html
5) “Chinese New Year” http://www.abcmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/chn_nw_yr.htm
6) “Sou Bao: The Chinese Birthday Bun” http://chaxiubao.typepad.com/chaxiubao/
2005/02/sou_bao_chinese.html
7) “The Enigma of Time” by John Boslough, National Geographic, March 1990, Vol. 177, No. 3, p. 127.

 ---- 
have you hugged an "opgane" today? (Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative)?
 ---- 
GLOAT = Ge3
-> the Fall was man's Greatest Loss Of All Time
 ---- 
BEN STEIN where are you??

EVO EMO

EMO  (e-motivation)
Has evolution eliminated your optimism?
Can materialism kill mother-love?
Does Darwin cheer when the black rabbit dies?
Evo favors the power of “no.”
Emo, Emo! Emo!!! (cf. “Marsha” 3X).
Do you enjoy the wonders of creation or the silence of the coffin?

MEO  (black cats)
Is the shade under the Darwinian “tree of life,” in reality, a space of darkness?
Morbid imperfection is simply the Evolution Project’s last gasp.
Does Cosmic Evolution make you feel small?
Did your LOVE EVOLVE into EVIL?
Does a moth dress goth? Do dark clothes make one a Darkwinist?

OME  (meditation)
Are Evo thoughtwaves brainwashing you right now?
Does depression hit you like $10 gas when Obama says “I believe in evolution” when he was asked about Intelligent Design?
When I heard of the Universal Common Ancestor, I just wanted to cry and consult a brick for advice. Naturalism is not nice.

OEM  (optimally extensive melancholy)
I got so depressed when my Darwiniac English prof gave the assignment of turning a three letter word, e.g. CAT, into 10K lines of verse through Natural Selection and Random Mutation.
Since I bargained with Darwin’s uncle, I now watch extinction documentaries (the end of the Dodos is so emo).
Was every day a rainy day on the primordial earth?
Are you wired for woe? Is your goal doom and gloom in a high-risk world of chance and non-purpose?

MOE  (mo pain, mo doubt)
I just can’t go on!! Darwin is everywhere…
Are you hyper-sensitive about the dark side of Evolution?
Do the gods of Selection and Mutation make you suicidal?
Can the primordial soup truly create manic and frenzied poets?
Will the real cut-up artist please stand up into the blades of glory?
If you do win Ben Stein’s money, will you just use the cash to put more holes in your body?
Can molecules-to-man teaching lead to self-mutilation?

EOM  (eternity of Messiah)
Just 7 Seconds of icr.org will cure most evo emo victims.
I shutter to think that you would allow your gray matter and soul side with the Darwin Myth.
Adopt the Rights of Creation (for the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) and shout a state of alert against the errors of evolution.
Grasp the flipside of Darwin and rapidly scream the truth of Creation in Six Days (CISD).
Project Evo is a land of weak arguments and bad fashion.
Let your Origins Emotions flow free and join the Intelligent Design musical genre.
Drop your elephant’s dream and escape from the circus life of sadness.
Save the world and stop the madness of anti-special creation!
The next time someone comes up to you and says, “You are so evo emo!” just respond with, “No, I’m a joyful Orthodox Protestant who takes Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN, ‘opgane’).”
If you are not a Christian, you must place your faith in Christ and turn from sin:

You have become a sort of sounding–board from which the Word of the Lord has rung out, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but everywhere where the story of your faith in God has become known. We find we don’t have to tell people about it. They tell us the story of our coming to you: how you turned from idols to serve the true living God, and how your whole lives now look forward to the coming of his Son from Heaven––the Son Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and who delivered us from the judgment which hung over our heads (1Thes. 1:8-10, Philips).

God made you on purpose, including your gender. Marriage = Adam + Eve (do the math, it’s so cremo). Your life was no accident (contra Darwin):

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them—any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! (Ps. 139:13-18, TheMessage).

May all your tomorrows be happy ones!

Who Is The Intelligent Designer?

This groundbreaking new book answers the question that Ben Stein has brought to this planet’s attention with his film "Expelled." After reading WHO IS THE INTELLIGENT DESIGNER? you will be able to answer the question, “Is there more to creation in the extra-cosmic message from the Intelligent Designer beyond Genesis chapter one?” The emphasis on creation is displayed throughout the Creator’s authentic revelation. The Intelligent Designer made the world and owns everything. Because of creation we are responsible to God. We have been made in the image of God and have been called to care for the earth. We did not make the world and so we are not completely self-reliant. Read about the origin of the world from Moses, through the Psalms and in the Prophets. Creation is a foundational teaching that shows us who God is and both who and why we are (Col. 1:15-17). The Intelligent Designer did not just make the world and then ignore it. God sustains the world he made and gives food, air and water to his creatures. Who is the Intelligent Designer? provides genuine information confirming God’s providential care of the universe. The value of this must-read creation is its comprehensive scriptural content and thoughtful discourse.
Are you thankful for the Intelligent Designer’s blessings of Creation and Providential Care? God not only made the galaxies, he also takes note when a sparrow falls. Our knowledge of creation comes from an extra-cosmic data source (the Bible). Is this ancient book reliable? Who is the Intelligent Designer? gives compelling reasons for faith and that the worldview of the Bible is the only one that gives meaning to life. There are many scriptures that deal with the implications of creation. Does the Bible give us a hint of physical laws? What about our own creativity? Some try to combine Darwinism with Design. Is that possible? Evolution in any form runs counter to the character of the Intelligent Designer, the Word of God and the solid facts of science. We may have a personal relationship with our Creator and Sustainer through Jesus Christ.
Have you ever wondered what the Bible teaches about creation? Here in one source are all the scriptures verses on creation and providential care arranged by topic. God not only made the cosmos, he also holds it together (Col. 1:17). There are dozens of scriptures showing the importance of the Intelligent Designer as Creator and Sustainer. Have you considered the evidence that supports the Bible as a reliable source of truth? The special message from our Creator, from Genesis to Revelation, tells us that we were specially created and not the result of some transformational process starting with a single-celled organism. This innovative work tackles the controversial statement “Intelligent Design is Creationism.” Let’s get back to the Bible by reading the Bible! The reality of Intelligent Design wins the future!
This work is highly literate and makes for a quote-miners delight, but it could have been improved with an index. A topical index of all the scriptures would have been helpful as well.
Be the first on your block to get this creative and vital tome. No Global Flood checks. Not available in all stores. Quantities virtually unlimited.
**NOTE** >> this is a Kindle edition

FUN WITH NUMBERS

  What do John Nash (A Beautiful Mind), Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and Srinivasa Ramanujan share in common? A deep love for mathematics.
Consider the following equation which places one of our original parents in the numerator:
         EVE = TALKTALK…
         DID
Replace each letter with a digit to make the equation true (see the solution at the end of the post). All you supercrunchers and spreadsheet wizards should have no problem with this. What would have happened if Eve had never spoken one word to the serpent in the KOGAE* tree?
  Another numerical gem is 1657. The Flood occurred 1656 years after Creation Week (a la Masoretic text). So 1657 is the first year in the Post-Flood age. Now 1657 is also a cuban prime (which is prime in Cuba as well as non-totalitarian regimes). A cuban prime derives from the difference of consecutive primes, e.g. 24^3 – 23^3 = 1657. Note, the 24 reminds us that the Intelligent Designer made the world in six 24 hour (approx.) days. Hmmm, 1657 and 24, fascinating! Meditation on the Flood’s judgment on sin incased in the fossil record and the contrast with the perfection of Creation Week is of prime importance.
*Knowledge Of Good And Evil

And the solution is …
…
…
…
...

212/606 = 0.34983498…..
Reference: Math Horizons, Apr 1996, p. 18 (see MAA website)

Adam's Blog [stardate 073,080.139]

     "Adam's Mark of Transparency"

Eve (aka Eva) and I live in Edeberg which is within sight of the guarding angel protecting EDEN (Even Death Enters Now).  One of my curious children got so close to the flaming sword that he was burned severely and had to go to the healer.

Eve and I were about to take a long trek down the Pishon (its deep waters remind me of the intense romance between Eva and I).  But a more urgent task lay before me.

Eve finds bird-watching thrilling and I enjoy climbing trees and telling stories.  Being the Original Storyteller, as well as the only comic standing for some time, I have often been pestered to tell an entertaining ditty or narrate all the events since Day Six.

Eve is an artist and Spintal is her tutor.  As the Intelligent Designer is the artificer of the universe, so Eve creates beautiful images.  Eve’s pictures are a vivid imitation of life.  She collects her pigments from leaves, roots and rocks.  She dobs paint on flat rocks revealing “sermons in stone and good in every thing.”

Before our journey I had to give my speech of apology to humanity.  The following remarks came from the official transcript:
“As moral and intelligent agents, you know the results of the Fall.  Since my high treason against the Creator of All, we must all face “the penalty of Adam,” an old wicked heritage.  The grief over my Great Transgression is not only for you my children, but also for the lower critters.  Before the world became abnormal, there was no slavery, no suicide and no raging lions or dinos.  Pre-Fall, the human mind was pure.  The “what could have beens” have been labeled Adam’s Lost Dream. Eva and I walked and talked with the Creator in the cool of the day [Ge 3.8].  In the Land before Fear and Worry, we were outfoxed by a snake in the Tree of Despair.  Not all snakes are bad though. I used my good friend Boa to clamp two boards together that I had just glued.

My apology is real, but it will not repair the damage on this fertile planet.  Some have become monks to escape this unvirtuous world, but we must all recall that evil resides within.  Don’t sell your soul to the Devil.  Rather, love your Creator with all your heart and look forward to the coming of the Chosen One who will crush the serpents head [Ge 3.15].  We must all remember that GOD IS and reject the Goddess.  God bless you all my children.”

Aristotle, Kitts and Kinds

David B. Kitts has been quoted often in the origins controversy, especially in regard to the many gaps in the fossil record (lack of transitional forms). Kitts was a professor of Geology and later a professor of History of Science at the University of Oklahoma. Kitts was part of a debate with Henry Morris and Duane Gish in 1973. Kitts was a student of noted evolutionist George Gaylord Simpson (1902-1984) (http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/Simpson.html).
In an interview in 1981, Kitts said,
“Aristotle, to a greater extent than almost anyone we know about, relied upon his observations. He observed that individual members of a species do not persist, but kinds do persist. That is a pretty obvious fact about the world. If there is abundant empirical support for the view that species persist, why do evolutionists suppose they do not persist? Evolutionists have a very elaborate abstract theory that compels us to suppose that species do not persist.
Our reason for thinking that species do not persist is not our observation that they do not persist, but it is a theory that requires them not to persist. Whatever the observations that support evolutionary theory are, they are not the observations that one species turns into another.
Evolutionary theory compels us to see the fossil record as evidence of evolution. The paleontological record supports evolutionary theory if you presuppose evolutionary theory. It is consistent with evolutionary theory, but it does not compel us to accept evolutionary theory. The fossil record is consistent with and astronomical number of theories. The fossil record does not prove evolution; nothing proves evolution. Evolution is a scientific hypothesis. Anybody who says evolution is a proven fact is an idiot and deserves to be criticized.” [1]
When Adam named the animals of Eden preserve, these created kinds (or baramins) would reproduce similar organisms. All creatures born from these starting animals form essential types and natural kinds of biological entities. This is a relational property and involves the history of life. To discover these essential types today is a deep matter. One way to get close to the original kinds is to find out which hybrids produce fertile offspring (e.g. zebra and horse  zorse). Yet some species (a smaller division within kinds in most cases) are so much alike they must have come from the same critter made during Creation Week (or coming off Noah’s Ark). So the task of classification must be approached holistically (google “baraminology”).
Another method of taxonomy is to notice the special features of Yahweh’s creation. A woodpecker has a unique tongue that splits in two and curves all the way around its skull (to reach deep into trees). It also has a protective shock-absorbing tissue in its skull to deal with its jackhammer attacks on trees. Find these essential features and you’ve found a woodpecker.
Next, envision a giraffe which has special one-way valves in its blood vessels to keep the blood from rushing to its head when is leans over. There is also a spongy matrix below the brain to take up excess blood. Look for these ostensive properties and you’ve found a giraffe.
We may further admire the humble cactus. According to Jennifer Ackerfield, Cacti are special:
“There are several features which are found on all members of the family Cactaceae. All cacti have a succulent stem, inferior ovary, and unique structures called areoles. Areoles are a unique feature found in a wide number of positions on the cacti and are composed of two perpendicular buds. From the upper bud come the flowers and fruit or new branches, and from the lower bud come the spines.”
http://herbarium.biology.colostate.edu/cacti.htm

Note
1) Personal interview on Oct. 7, 1981 (listen to MP3 above)

Review of Ann Coulter's "Godless"

Ann Coulter's Godless:  The Church of Liberlism is a great read.  Unless you do not like gritty humor, you will pick up some weighty info on the sociology of science and the true truth regarding the origins controversy.  Here is my audio review (see link above).
INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS CREATIONISM (see my post of Dec. 2007 AD)

Mind the GAP Mr. Bean

Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) is known for poking fun at religion. One topic that opponents of Orthodox Protestants who take Genesis as Historical Narrative (OPGHN) like to bring up is man and dinosaurs coexisting. Is there really a long time gap between the first human and the last dino?
The view that there are long ages between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2 is commonly called the Gap Theory.
The creation of all things took six regular days. Consider Ex. 20:8,9,11
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, …
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed
it (NKJV).
All things, visible and invisible, were made in six days, not millions of years. The seven days of our week come from the six days of Creation Week plus the day of rest.
Gen. 3:20 calls Eve the mother of all living - she is the mother of all mankind. There were no Pre-Adamites and there was no other non-Adamic group of humans. We read in Acts 17:26
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…
(NKJV).
All men are related. The small amount of Neanderthal DNA that has been studied fits within the human range. There are also bones that seem to show interbreeding with modern man.
Jack Cuozzo, an orthodontist, shows in his book Buried Alive that the Neanderthals lived for hundreds of years and practiced burial customs similar to those used in Ur (use of red ochre). Neanderthals had bigger brains than modern humans and used a form of super glue! Neanderthals had souls and were made in the image of God.
If God wanted to indicate an “age” or “era” in Gen. 1:1 there is a Hebrew word for it, “olam” (#5769). This word is used to describe “ancient times” in Is. 64:4. Daniels statue of gold, silver etc. in chapter two represents several epochs of hundreds of years. If God wanted to describe undetermined ages he could have used a similar device in Genesis.
There was no death before Adam:
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening
and the morning were the sixth day (Gen. 1:31, NKJV).
Miles of fossils with disease is not “very good.” According to Gen. 3:18 the Curse brought “thorns and thistles” yet these are found in the fossil record. At the end of Creation Week all was “very good” - this includes Day 1 and Day 2. There is no room for the fall of Satan or “Lucifer’s Flood.”
Man was made at the beginning of creation, not millions of years later:
But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the
two shall become one flesh’ [Gen. 2:24] … (Mk. 10:6-8, NKJV).
The length of one week is quite small compared to the six thousand years of cosmic history, so it is no exaggeration to say that Adam and Eve were made at the beginning of creation. Jesus quotes Genesis 2 so he must be talking about Adam and Eve and not some other “male and female.”
Romans 5:9,10 refers to physical death, so Rom. 5:12,14 must also be about physical death:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus
death spread to all men, because all sinned––
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who
had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam,
who is a type of Him who was to come.
Death came into the world because of the sin of Adam, not because of the fall of Satan. Look at 1 Cor. 15:21,22
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Adam’s death was physical and parallels the physical resurrection. There was no death before Adam.
The first two verses of the Bible are glued together:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
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 (Gen.
1:1,2, KJV).
Note the “and” - there is no gap between verses one and two. Many Hebrew grammarians admit as much. Arthur Custance, who supports the Gap Theory, admits that the Septuagint (LXX) does not allow a gap between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2. Thus, the Jewish leaders who translated the LXX held that verse two is a parenthetical remark explaining more details about verse one.
Many in the Gap Theory camp hold to a local Flood. If the rock record is the result of “Lucifer’s Flood” then this leaves no room for the massive evidence of death, destruction and sedimentary deposits that a global Flood during Noah’s time would leave. The eruption of Mount Saint Helens left a one fortieth scale version of the Grand Canyon. There is no reason to introduce a catastrophe in Gen. 1:1 - the Flood of Noah is sufficient to explain geologic history (see The Young Earth by John Morris, be sure to get the new edition).
If the Gap Theory is true, how is it that believers through the centuries have held to the traditional view of Genesis (creation in six days). Did Spurgeon seek the illumination of the Holy Spirit as he studied Moses’ first book? Consider this section from Spurgeon’s catechism:
Q: What is the work of creation?
A: The work of creation is God’s making all things (Ge 1:1) of nothing, by
the Word of his power, (Heb 11:3) in six normal consecutive days, (Ex
20:11) and all very good (Ge 1:31).
The Westminster confession of 1646 also makes a strong statement:
It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of his
eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create or make of nothing the
world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all
very good (4.1).
The concept of the Gap Theory was virtually non-existent before 1800. This view came about as a way to accommodate the millions of years proposed by some scientists. The rise of the modern creationist movement starting with the publication of The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris (1961) has yielded clear evidence that the millions of years do not exist and that the rock record is the result of Noah’s Flood (http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=news&action=view&ID=48).
John Wesley held that the creation of the universe took place around 4000 BC and that the geologic layers were remnants of the Flood. Soft tissue of dinosaurs has been found that look like blood vessels and blood cells - these could not have remained intact for millions of years
(http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5717/1852b).
Frozen unfossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Alaska (The Great Alaskan Dinosaur Adventure by Buddy Davis et al). The bones could not have escaped decay or fossilization for millions of years.
Did the earth become “formless and void” (Gen. 1:2)? Because of the context (following a waw disjunctive) the word “haya” must mean “was” and not “became.” All the major English translations have “was” as well as the LXX. Recall Gen. 3:1
Now the serpent was [hayatah] more cunning than any beast of the
field which the LORD God had made … (NKJV)
Did the serpent “become” more cunning?
The words for “formless and void” in Gen. 1:2 can be rendered “unformed and unfilled” - of itself there is no association of judgment. When I start building an in-ground pool in my backyard it is “unformed and unfilled.” This is a neutral condition, not specifically good or bad. I can use a hammer to drive in a nail or to smash poodles - the hammer in and of itself is not evil.
What about the use of the word “replenish” in Gen. 1:28? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning of “replenish” in 1611 was “fill” not “re-fill”
(http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v18/i2/replenish.asp).
There are many English words with “re-” that do not mean “do it again” research refresh relax release relent return.
Think about these parallel passages:
… Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill [mil’u] the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth.
… Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [mil’u] the earth … (Gen.
1:22,28, KJV).
In one case “mil’u” is translated “fill” and just a few verses later the exact same Hebrew word is translated “replenish” in an analogous context. This is apparently a style decision on the translators’ part.
The Hebrew word “male” (#4390) means “fill.”
The sun, moon and stars were created on day four of Creation Week (Gen. 1:16). They did not merely appear for the word for appear “ra’ah” is in Gen. 1:9 where the dry land “appeared.” This word is not used to describe Day four of creation. Did the earth exist for millions of years without the sun, moon and stars?
The definitive study on the Gap Theory from a traditional creationist perspective is Unformed and Unfilled by Weston Fields.
Noted Bible teacher John MacArthur rejects the Gap Theory (The Battle for the Beginning, pp. 74-77).


Highly recommended creationist resources:

Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati

Creation and Change by Douglas Kelly
(this book helped convince R. C. Sproul of creation in six days)

www.SermonAudio.com
-> type in “Gap Theory” in the search box