True Truth for NOW!

All we see is color, right? How do we know that our sorrows, fears, joys and passions are nothing but a dream (as in "Row Row Row Your Boat") or someone else's memory? The King of the Jews, the Messiah said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me... If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (Jn. 14:6, 7:17). We can know - to say otherwise or leave it to the philosophers or new-agers is a copout. 

Why do we yearn for Utopia? Where does our hunt for ET and UFO’s come from? Are we annihilated when our heart stops? Is there a land called Heaven? As C. S. Lewis, of Shadowlands fame, points out, "Surely a man's hunger does prove that he comes of a race which repairs its body by eating and inhabits a world where eatable substances exist. In the same way, though I do not believe (I wish I did) that my desire for Paradise proves that I shall enjoy it, I think it a pretty good indication that such a thing exists and that some men will. A man may love a woman and not win her; but it would be very odd if the phenomenon called 'falling in love' occurred in a sexless world."

If life is void, hopeless, and pointless what keeps us from offing ourselves? Consider Leo Tolstoy's wisdom: "I can now see that if I did not kill myself it was because of some vague awareness that my ideas were mistaken. No matter how convincing and irrefutable I felt my train of thoughts to be, as well as that of the wise ideas that had led us all to the conclusion that life is meaningless I still had some obscure doubts..." Maybe, just maybe, there is a reason for the season.

Did I create Time? Am I the Author of History? Am I a little or big "god?" Is a stone my savior? Think about what Augustine said: "And what is this? I asked the earth, and it answered me, 'I am not He'; and whatsoever are in it confessed the same... I asked the heavens, sun, moon, stars, 'Nor (say they) are we the God whom you seek.' ... And I turned myself unto myself, and said to myself, 'Who are you?' And I answered, 'A man.' ... I asked the whole frame of the world about my God; and it answered me, 'I am not He, but He made me.'" 

The reliability of scripture can be seen in the book of Isaiah. A complete copy of Isaiah from the Dead Sea Scrolls is dated to about 100 B.C. The second oldest complete manuscripts of Isaiah are from around 900 A.D. The differences between them are few and minor. If you look at an NIV version of Isaiah you can see these for yourself in the footnotes. This is hard evidence that God has protected the transmission of his word for a thousand years!

Evolution is not true truth. Every supposed "ape-man" has fallen and been debunked when investigated with closer scrutiny. This is precisely the case with Donald Johanson's "Lucy." Other primate fossils found in the same area as "Lucy" in Ethiopia have long and curved hands and feet - a characteristic of tree climbers. The pelvis of "Lucy" is more similar to chimps than humans. The angle at the knee between the upper and lower leg is high for "Lucy." But this is also true of orangutans and spider monkeys. 

Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit you can have forgiveness of your sins, friendship with God and be empowered to do the righteous thing. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord... He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness...For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (Rom. 6:23, 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18). Read the gospel of John and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and change your life through his blood shed on the cross!

Any Questions?   Write to us at the email in our profile. References: C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (Eerdmans) p. 6  Leo Tolstoy, A Confession (Penguin) p. 47  The Confessions of St. Augustine (Collier) pp. 156&7 Duane Gish, Evolution: The Challenge of the Fossil Record (Creation-Life) pp. 158-62  

SciAm Jan 2009 (PC podcast)

The January 2009 issue of Scientific American (SciAm) was dedicated to evolution.
Bacteria-to-Brainiac evolution and atheism are highly correlated (see prior post).
You can hear our response to this issue of SciAm in our latest Perfectly Clear podcast here.

Scientific American - Jan 2009

The January 2009 issue of Scientific American (SciAm) was dedicated to evolution (page references are from this issue). One article rightly attacks the errors of evolutionary psychology (p. 74). Supposed “talking with the dead” is also debunked (p. 36). Eugenie Scott and Glenn Branch, both from the National Center for Science Education, write an attack piece on creationism (pp. 92-99).

Throughout this issue, good and evil, morality and ethics are mentioned. Yet, without a Moral Lawgiver and an ultimate Judgment Day (not the NOVA episode) morality makes no sense. Even Immanuel Kant (d. 1804) held that we must accept the existence of God for morality to have meaning. [1]

Atoms-to- Adam evolution and atheism are strongly linked. Darwin doubted the reality of God, “This very old argument from the existence of suffering against the existence of an intelligent first cause seems to me a strong one…” (Autobiography p. 90). Darwin no longer doubts the reality of God (see prior post).

How is it that most of the world accepts God’s existence if evolution is so obvious? Consider these statistics of global adherents:
Christians 33.3%
Muslims 21.0%
Jews 0.2%
Total who believe in a Creator 54.5%
Atheists 2.3% [2]
Darwin was not fazed by these facts, “This argument would be a valid one if all men of all races had the same inward conviction of the existence of one God…” (Autobiography p. 91). How many people believe that the Apollo landings on the moon were a fraud? Or consider prisoners who rationalize their crimes. Truth is not determined by universal assent.

A number of articles in this issue focus on natural selection. Edward Blyth, a creationist, published a paper on natural selection in 1835 long before Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Natural selection is a conservative process. What is needed for Bacteria-to-Brainiac evolution to take place is new information in the genetic code and Darwinists cannot explain this. New info is needed to make eyes, wings and other complex organs.

John Rennie, the editor in chief of SciAm, mentioned Stephen Jay Gould’s Wonderful Life on the Burgess Shale which contains the remains of many strange and unique creatures (p. 6). However, this issue has little of the provocative thought that Gould shares. Gould states that, “The history of life is… not the conventional tale of steadily increasing excellence, complexity, and diversity.” [3] Gould points out that the organisms represented in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia belong in 15 to 20 phyla (basic body plans) most of which are now extinct. Some estimates of life in the modern world reach up to 32 phyla. [4] Most of these phyla exist in the Cambrian and yet there is little in the Pre-Cambrian showing intermediate transitional forms from single-celled organisms. This Cambrian Explosion is a major problem for evolution. Both Gould and Darwin admitted that this is a major difficulty. [5] [6]

In an ad on page 11, Paul Davies is mentioned. Davies wrote Cosmic Jackpot that describes the fine-tuning of the universe. If certain physical constants were just slightly different, life itself would be impossible. Davies appeared in the pro-Intelligent Design film Privileged Planet, even though he is not an ID advocate. SciAm overlooks the evidence that the cosmos was made for life and scientific investigation.

SciAm should take Darwin’s advice and allow a creationist response. Darwin states in his intro to The Origin of Species that, “A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question…” [7]

Here are some great sites from the “other side”:
Creation Moments
Creation Research Society (creationresearch dot org)
Institute for Creation Research (icr dot org)
Answers in Genesis (answersingenesis dot org)
Creation Ministries International (creation dot com)

SciAm may be contacted by email or snail mail:
editors@SciAm.com
Letters to the Editor
Scientific American
415 Madison Ave
NYC NY 10017


Notes:
1) Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler (Baker, Grand Rapids, 1999), p. 498.
2) Time Almanac 2008 (Encyclopædia Britannica , Chicago, 2008), pp. 600, 601.
3) Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould (W.W. Norton, New York, 1989), p. 25.
4) Ibid., p. 99.
5) Ibid., pp. 56, 57.
6) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (Mentor, New York, 1958 ed.), pp. 308-312, ch. 10.
7) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (Mentor, New York, 1958 ed.), p. 28.

In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind. With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. (Job 12:10, 13)

Adam’s Blog [stardate 256,527.128] - Hell Never Dies

When will Cain receive his punishment? It must be after this life. That is, there must be a bad place after death. The other day Mal-Lor tripped and cracked his skull. As he lay there dying, he cried “Oh the darkness, the fire, save me father Adam!” I have heard of similar experiences.

I am a soul man and a soul lasts forever [cf. Deut. 6:5]. We have all sinned against our Creator who is Almighty and infinite. This treason deserves an infinite punishment [cf. Ps. 51:4]. So, the bad place after death must last forever. If one of my children steals one apple and another steals ten apples, the penalty must fit the crime. Thus, the afterlife’s domain of darkness must have degrees of punishment [Gen. 4:11-16, Mt. 11:22, Rev. 20:12-14]. Annihilation has no degrees of punishment.

A hull is a cover and a cover separates. The bad place after death is disconnection from our glorious Creator that never ends. This destiny is E-ternal, so I think I will call it “hell.” Hell never dies. Hell is separation from all the blessings of creation and is the ultimate quarantine. God separated Eve and I from Paradise and Cain went out from the presence of the Lord [Gen. 4:16]. In hell there is no playtime – joy has been subtracted. Hell is a loveless place without exits.

Last week my pet ceratosaurus, “Punky,” wandered near Lava Hill. She was being chased by a T-Rex and fell off the cliff and into the boiling lava. The roars and the screams were so frightening that I had nightmares for three days straight! Could this be anything like the torments of hell? When Eve (aka “Eva”) makes beautiful clothes she takes the scraps of material and puts them in the fire. Are there not many of my children who have scrapped their lives by rejecting the Almighty? Will most of my children reach this final doom? As a rough estimate, 66.6% may reach this dreaded destination [cf. Mt. 13:18-23, Lk. 13:23-28, Mt. 7:13,14].

The Creator has promised that the coming seed of Eve will crush the serpent’s head and provide salvation [Gen. 3:15, cf. John 3:16, Gen. 3:21].

******
Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? (Ez. 18:23).

Is Evolution Weak during Evolution Week?

The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin is Feb. 12th, 2009, so the week of Feb. 8-14 may be dubbed “Darwin Week” (I’m sure St. Valentine is rolling in his grave).

Recently the Texas State Board of Education has tentatively voted (the final decision is expected in March) to reject the requirement for public school teachers to present the weaknesses of evolution.

Many media outlets have made a great error by making a primary connection between doubting Darwin and Intelligent Design (or Creationism). Many evolutionists and atheists are also willing to admit that Darwinism has numerous weaknesses (missing links anyone?).

Pierre Grasse (d. 1985), considered the “most distinguished of French zoologists” by Theodosius Dobzhansky (a leading evolutionist), wrote the following in 1977 [1]:

Today, our duty is to destroy the myth of evolution, considered as a simple, understood, and explained phenomenon which keeps rapidly unfolding before us. Biologists must be encouraged to think about the weaknesses of the interpretations and extrapolations that theoreticians put forward or lay down as established truths. The deceit is sometimes unconscious, but not always, since some people, owing to their sectarianism, purposely overlook reality and refuse to acknowledge the inadequacies and the falsity of their beliefs (emphasis added).

Grasse was Chair of Evolution at Sorbonne University for thirty years and was ex-president of the French Academy of Sciences. Grasse’s book Evolution of Living Organisms is available from Amazon and was published by Academic Press (not an ID or creationist company).

One of the clearest weaknesses of evolution is the origin of life itself. The unexpected accident of life arising by chance has been compared to the creation of a jumbo jet due to a tornado plowing through a junk yard. Hubert Yockey, writing in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, said, “…contrary to the established and current wisdom, a scenario describing the genesis of life on earth by chance and natural causes which can be accepted on the basis of fact and not faith has not yet been written.” [2]

Well-known geologist Derek Ager (former president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science) concluded that “…nearly all the evolutionary stories I learned as a student … have now been debunked.” [3]

David Kitts was my History of Science professor at the University of Oklahoma and admitted that the gaps in the fossil record are real. Kitts had been a professor of Geology and had debated Duane Gish and Henry Morris (creationists). Kitts admitted that Aristotle’s biological essentialism (fixity of basic types of life) was a legitimate scientific stance. Hear my interview with Dr. Kitts at the top of this blog.

Consider the gap between dinos and birds. John Wilford, in an article in the New York Times, made the following striking confession: “Ornithologists… have long disputed the dinosaur-bird link, contending that dinosaurs and birds probably shared an ancestor among pre-dinosaur reptiles.” [4]

Physicist H.S. Lipson (fellow of the Royal Society), writing in Physics Bulletin, admits that, “I have always been slightly suspicious of the theory of evolution because of its [lack of] ability to account for any property of living beings (the long neck of the giraffe, for example). I have therefore tried to see whether biological discoveries over the last thirty years or so fit in with Darwin’s Theory. I do not think that they do … To my mind, the theory does not stand up at all.” [5]

Even atheists deny evolution and hold to stability of essential types of life. G. H. Harper is an example of this view and he was published in the UK’s School Science Review.

God tells us to speak to the earth, “But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you; let the birds tell you what’s going on. Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics. Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories. Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree that GOD is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand — Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature?” (Job 12:7-10, The Message). This is a mandate for scientific investigation.

Notes:
1) Pierre Grasse, Evolution of Living Organisms (Academic Press, 1977), p. 8.
2) Hubert Yockey, “A Calculation of the Probability of Spontaneous Biogenesis by Information Theory,” Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 67 (1977): p. 396.
3) Derek Ager, “The Nature of the Fossil Record,” Proceedings of the British Geological Association, vol. 87, no.2 (1976): p. 133.
4) Nicholas Wade (ed.), The Science Times Book of Fossils and Evolution (The Lyons Press, 1998), pp. 66, 67.
5) H.S. Lipson, “A Physicist Looks at Evolution,” Physics Bulletin, vol.31 (1980): p. 138.

Notes 2, 3 and 5 were taken from Creative Defense by Nicholas Comninellis M.D. (Master Books, 2001), pp. 68, 217, 220.

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.