Just Say "NO" to Net Censorship!

Instagram recently crushed scores of popular meme accounts that collectively have tens of millions of followers.

https://www.complex.com/life/2019/07/instagram-bans-dozens-of-accounts-in-meme-page-purge

Will the next victims of net censorship be those who hold to a young earth?

http://youngearthscienceblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/net-censorship-and-end-of-young-earth.html

President Trump recently held a Social Media Summit regarding the oppression against alternative views by Google, Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presidential-social-media-summit/

I propose a Social Media Summit for those who hold to Biblical Creation and a youthful world.   

#YoungEarth #SixDays #Darwin #StopTheBias #FreeSpeech #Gen1_11

Ez. 14:14

TotalYouth.us

M+F = 1 = MRG = SOS

Vision Scriptures

One Sunday, while visiting Destiny Church in Fort Worth where James Womack is pastor, we were given a card with a number of Bible verses on it tagged "Vision Scriptures."  We visit Destiny several times each year.  Here are the helpful passages:

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

    but blessed is he who keeps the law. Pr. 29:18 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to his purpose. Rom. 8:28

What is impossible with man is possible with God. Lk. 18:27

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:11

O Lord, you are my God;

    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,

for you have done wonderful things,

    plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Is. 25:1

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,

    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

    and their vindication from me, declares the Lord. Is. 54:17

Commit your work to the Lord,

    and your plans will be established. Pr. 16:3

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths. Pr. 3:5,6

Be strong and courageous.  Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you. Dt. 31:6

I know that you can do all things,

    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2

Is anything too hard for the Lord?  At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son. Gen. 18:14

Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. Jer. 32:17

But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?

    What he desires, that he does. Job 23:13

For the Lord of hosts has purposed,

    and who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

    and who will turn it back? Is. 14:27

Declaring the end from the beginning

    and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, "My counsel shall stand,

    and I will accomplish all my purpose." Is. 46:10

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Eph. 1:11

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph. 3:20,21

Notice how these passages emphasize creation and God's sovereignty and providence.  But that brings up the question "Who is the Intelligent Designer?"

Our helpful ebook gives a complete compilation of all Scriptures on God as Creator and God as Sustainer.  This answers the question that Ben Stein has brought to the attention of today's culture conflict with his film "Expelled." Who is the Intelligent Designer?  Is it an alien as Clinton Richard Dawkins proposed?

What are the implications of Creation.  Can we find any good news along this cosmic odyssey? Is it true that, "Intelligent Design is Creationism?"  Why trust the Bible?  What about theistic evolution?  Get the book today and find out.

The Dark Side of Mindfulness

Eastern meditation usually focuses on your breathing, a certain word or something similar.  This practice is quite different from Christian meditation:

I will meditate on your precepts

    and fix my eyes on your ways. ...

Even though princes sit plotting against me,

    your servant will meditate on your statutes. ...

Make me understand the way of your precepts,

    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

(Ps. 119:15,23,27)

Mindfulness has even reached into many public schools, often in very subtle ways and going under unusual names to camouflage the connection to Eastern mysticism.  Here is an excellent and well documented paper by a lawyer on the dangers of on stealth Buddhism.  Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), said that this technique will  

... take the heart of something as meaningful, as sacred if you will, as Buddha-dharma and bring it into the world in a way that doesn’t dilute, profane or distort it, but at the same time is not locked into a culturally and tradition-bound framework that would make it absolutely impenetrable to the vast majority of people.

Christopher Dingwall-Jones, writing for the Church Times, has noted some lesser known aspects of mindfulness:

As far back as 1992, David Shapiro, a professor in psychiatry and human behaviour at the University of California, Irvine, observed in a study of the effects of meditation that, out of 27 subjects, 63 per cent had experienced negative effects, such as anxiety, depression, sobbing, and mild dissociation.

Some mindfulness practitioners have become detached from themselves or had dark psychotic hallucinations.  Others feel a sense of terror or may turn suicidal.  When mindfulness was taught to inmates, it did not have the positive effects hoped for.  The title of the paper with the research on this is quite explicit: "Is There a Dark Side to Mindfulness? Relation of Mindfulness to Criminogenic Cognitions."  Criminals usually have these characteristics: "... feeling more deserving and entitled than other people, a failure to accept responsibility, a negative attitude toward authority, a tendency to focus only on short-term outcomes, and being fairly insensitive to the impact of criminal behavior."  Mindfulness training did not cure these ills.

Let's follow the example of the first Psalm:

Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.

Stating the Church (Catechesis Any1?)

Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.

This is one of the questions posed by Ligonier on the "State of Theology" survey by self-identified Evangelicals in 2018.  As for what is an evangelical I'd recommend Martin Lloyd-Jones' book:

Happily, a full 94% agree with this statement ...

There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Incredibly 73% say that Jesus is a created being‼  Has the term "evangelical" lost its meaning?

Here are the results for this statement:

Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

What is the solution?  Catechisms and confessions.  Luther's catechism is helpful (menu @ top right).  Also, the Heidelberg confession.  Spurgeon's catechism is quite good.  What do you think is the cure for Low Theology Evangelicals?

Who Owns the Future? (Real Time vs. Fake News)

Remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, "My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose." (Is. 46:9,10)

What is Young Earth Science (YES)?  How old is the world?  Are radiometric dating methods reliable?  Is Darwinism substantiated by scientific evidence and valid arguments?  How does the Renaissance of Catastrophism (the view that most rocks were formed rapidly) relate to the age of the Earth?  Has plate tectonics (Continental Drift) occurred more rapidly in the past?  These and other queries are answered in this exciting new fully documented work, YES - Young Earth Science.  This widely illustrated book features support from history, philosophy, geology, biology and physics.  Discover this creative and multidisciplinary approach which provides affirmation that this planet is thousands of years old and not billions.  Omniculturalism (looking for the good, true and beautiful from all cultures in all times) favors Catastrophism which supports the young earth stance.  This valuable anti-bullying tool provides the scientific grounds for YES.  Many who harshly ridicule young earth theory need to read this book and learn the genuine empirical warrant for YES.  YES - Young Earth Science contains over 450 footnotes and more than 130 charts, graphs and illustrations.  Although some parts are more technical, this book is for all readers with a general science background.

My book relates to a number of key issues in the public square such as climate change, homeschooling, government funding of science, bullying, depression, mental health, fake news, truth journalism, ethics, net censorship, school choice, suicide prevention and free speech.

Buy your copy today and please get an extra to give away.

Apologetics and Jesus

J Warner Wallace (Cold-Case Christianity) has written Forensic Faith which has been endorsed by Gary Habermas among others.  Habermas is known for his great work defending the resurrection of Jesus.  Wallace makes the case for evidential apologetics.  Habermas considers the old earth/young earth debate a peripheral issue.  However, God's sovereignty implies a youthful world.  Habermas & Wallace should read our book YES - Young Earth Science.

Love God with your mind!  We read in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  We should be willing to think hard on the difficult objections to those who doubt the Bible.  Here is a longer article we have written on the defense of the faith (Apologetics 101).  How do see evidence in Scripture?  Recall the encounter between Jesus & Thomas:

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn. 20:27-29)

Thomas was clearly confronted with evidence.  Consider when the Assyrians about to attack Jerusalem.  Isaiah prophesied against the king of Assyria.  Listen to Hezekiah’s prayer:

It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands.  They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.  Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God. (2 Kings 19:17-19)

God's actions in history prove the reality of the true deity.  Likewise, regarding the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea:

Pharaoh will think, "The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert."  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.  But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. (Ex. 14:3,4)

Do you have an Apologetics Study Bible?  It has many valuable notes and articles.  It's weak on Creation In Six Days (CISD), a Global Flood and a young earth, but quite helpful in many other areas.

Our assurance of salvation is a kind of apologetic:

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  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. (1 Jn. 5:12,13)

Social Justice and the Gospel

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness.  We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love. ...We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. ...As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation - either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force.  I decided to follow the latter course.
  -- Martin LutherKing (d. 1968)

In the light of today's confusion in religious and political matters along with the typhoon of gender blender malapropisms, a number of Christian leaders have put together a fourteen point statement on "Social Justice and the Gospel." Endorsers include John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham, James White, Darrell Harrison, Anthony Mathenia, Vesta Sproul, Douglas Wilson and myself.  Here is the affirmation and denial on Race and Ethnicity (point XII):

WE AFFIRM God made all people from one man. Though people often can be distinguished by different ethnicities and nationalities, they are ontological equals before God in both creation and redemption.  “Race” is not a biblical category, but rather a social construct that often has been used to classify groups of people in terms of inferiority and superiority. All that is good, honest, just, and beautiful in various ethnic backgrounds and experiences can be celebrated as the fruit of God’s grace. All sinful actions and their results (including evils perpetrated between and upon ethnic groups by others) are to be confessed as sinful, repented of, and repudiated.
WE DENY that Christians should segregate themselves into racial groups or regard racial identity above, or even equal to, their identity in Christ.  We deny that any divisions between people groups (from an unstated attitude of superiority to an overt spirit of resentment) have any legitimate place in the fellowship of the redeemed.  We reject any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression.  While we are to weep with those who weep, we deny that a person’s feelings of offense or oppression necessarily prove that someone else is guilty of sinful behaviors, oppression, or prejudice.(Gen. 1:26–28; Acts 17:24-26; 1 Cor. 13:4-7; 2 Cor. 12:16-18)

You can read and sign the statement here.  Also, be sure to download and share the pdf of the entire document.  What do you think?  Let us know:

  ned_oa_1657@yahoo.com