1/15/15

From Ed Healy... Knowledge That Gives Understanding!




Knowledge That Gives Understanding!

As I reach out into the community about me, I have opportunity to bring the good news message to different people. One reaction I have received from time to time is that of someone having never read the Bible; some people don't even own a Bible. Their concept of Christianity or its principles is based only upon what someone has said or taught them from childhood.

There is good news in the Gospel. It is not just the words in the Bible, but it is what those words are saying and what they represent. The Gospel is the Living Word of God as declared in the person of Jesus Christ. He is our example for living a life with hope. The Gospel is living the word of God in our lives as instructed by the Holy Spirit through the apostles. When I respond to the Gospel I am making Christ the master of my life. As Paul said so many times in his letters, he viewed himself as being a bond-servant to Jesus Christ.

God's words are very important, but just having knowledge of the Bible will not change a life to be Christ-like. I must understand the life of and in those words, then live it in my own life.

The Bible is God speaking to me that I might come to know Him, the only True and Living God. Yes, God's Word has life in it because it deals with the good news of true life in Christ Jesus.

God's words are very important for me to know, to understand and most of all to live. In God's word is revealed the meaning and purpose of life. It is very important that I know and understand what God reveals to me and how He wants me to live according to His word.

We should not just pass on the ideas of Christianity to others. We should encourage personal study, understanding, and most of all personal living of God's word in our lives.

2 Tim 2:14-16 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. (NIV)
 

Does the Bible Teach Geocentricity? by Bert Thompson, Ph.D. Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1151

Does the Bible Teach Geocentricity?

by  Bert Thompson, Ph.D.
Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

Q.

Does the Bible teach that the Sun revolves around the Earth, in contradiction to modern scientific knowledge on this matter?
A.
The medieval Catholic Church maintained that the Bible taught geocentricity (i.e., that the Sun and planets revolve around the Earth) as opposed to what we now know as the Copernican idea of heliocentricity (i.e., that the planets all revolve around the Sun). This situation began when Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria restated the ancient Ptolemaic geocentric theory in the second century after Christ, and was able to predict the motion of the celestial bodies with far greater accuracy than the existing theory of heliocentricity. Somewhere along the line, scientific dogma became enshrined in theological dogma, and passages in the Bible were found to consecrate Ptolemy’s theory. According to the theologians, man was the focus of God’s creative act, and therefore the Earth must be the center of God’s creation. After all, if we were dwelling on one average planet, rotating around one average star, in one average galaxy in an infinite Universe, how could we be the sole focus of God’s attention, and why should His only Son be sent just to this middling planet, as the Bible suggests?
Needless to say, this revolution of thought provided great fuel for the atheists, skeptics and agnostics. According to Paul Steidl:
The truths of God’s word and the work of Jesus Christ in no way depend on our position.... If anything, our lack of a unique position in the natural universe is only an illustration of the natural man’s lack of a unique position before God (1979, p. 6).
In other words, the presence of our material selves in the material Universe is not as important to God as our immortal souls. On the other hand, it is difficult to doubt that God has placed our planet in just the right place, and set it in motion in just the right way, to benefit the survival of humanity.
Copernicus submitted his ideas in the early sixteenth century, stating that geocentricity was incorrect after all. Some of Copernicus’ ideas could not be defended scientifically, but science generally had little to do with the attacks on this theory. Calvin, for instance, criticized Copernicus by appealing to passages in Joshua and Psalms that supposedly show the fixity of the Earth relative to the Sun. Galileo came along a hundred years later and firmed up the Copernican theories with better mathematics and with more accurate and numerous measurements. Unlike Copernicus, Galileo was persistent, arrogant, and prepared to stand up to the wrath of the Inquisition. Galileo’s assertion that the Bible should be interpreted in light of man’s knowledge of the natural world, and that Scripture should not have authority in scientific controversies, did little to endear him to church leaders. Thus, rather than being the case of “science versus the Bible,” it was “dogmatic scientist versus religious dogmatism.” This, of course, is not all the story; the remainder would be covered in a good history book.
One of the passages used to defend the biblical basis of geocentricity was Joshua 10:12-14, and later references to the same event, in which Joshua prayed, “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon” (v. 12), that he might defeat the numerous armies assembled against his people. God immediately answered Joshua’s prayer, and in the following verse he wrote: “And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed.” Keil and Delitzsch have suggested that either the day appeared long to the warriors of Israel because of the greatness of the task they performed (i.e., defeating the enemy), or that God miraculously caused the day to be lengthened so the Lord’s army could perform its task. The former is consistent with similar language in other parts of the Old Testament, and the latter explanation is totally consistent with God’s infinite power over the Universe (1982, 2:106-112). In any case, as Joshua goes on to say in verse 14, “there was no day like that before it or after it.” Thus, whether miraculous or not, to say that these verses teach that the Earth continues to stand still, and that the Earth is the center of the Universe, is both a gross misinterpretation and a misapplication of the verse. This passage does not teach geocentricity, despite Calvin’s claims to the contrary.
In addition to Joshua 10, Calvin used Psalm 93:1 in defense of geocentricity. The verse simply suggests that the Earth is stable, and cannot be moved, but is it trying to say that the Earth is totally motionless in every sense? As the passage is primarily concerned with God’s majesty and power, it is more likely that the psalmist is saying, “Who but God could move the Earth?” Besides, the Earth is set in an unchanging orbit around the Sun, all the while rotating at a steady speed on a fixed axis.
Psalm 19:6 is a passage that often is cited as another example of Scripture teaching pre-Copernican astronomy. In this verse, the Sun is said to move, rather than the Earth, and therefore is said by some to imply that the Sun revolves around the Earth. There are many other verses in the Bible that talk about the Sun “going down” or “rising up.” This hardly should be surprising, however, since events in the Bible often are written in accommodative or “phenomenal” language—i.e., the language used to express phenomena as man sees them. Even today we teach our children that “the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west,” and astronomers and navigators use the Earth as a fixed point for purposes of simple observation, expressing distances and directions in relation to it. The weatherman on the evening news often will state that the Sun is going to “rise” at a certain time the following morning and “set” at a certain time the following evening. Why does no one accuse him of scientific error? Because we all are perfectly aware of, and understand, the Copernican view of the solar system, and because we likewise understand that our weatherman is using “phenomenal” language.
In addition, scientific foreknowledge could be claimed from Psalm 19:6 if a more literal interpretation was applied in the following way. Astronomers now know that the Sun moves in a gigantic orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy; traveling at 600,000 miles an hour it would take the Sun 230 million years to make just one orbit! It also is believed that our galaxy is moving with respect to other galaxies in the Universe. The Sun’s going forth is indeed from one end of the heavens to the other. In any case, there is no way to substantiate the claims that the Bible teaches geocentricity, or that it promotes any other anti-scientific concept.

REFERENCES

Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch (1982 reprint), Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Steidl, Paul (1979), The Earth, the Stars, and the Bible (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed).

From Mark Copeland... Beware Of Pretentious Scribes (Mark 12:38-40)

                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                Beware Of Pretentious Scribes (12:38-40)

INTRODUCTION

1. Teaching in the temple on Tuesday of the Last Week, Jesus has
   countered the doctrines of various religious and political leaders...
   a. The Pharisees and Herodians
   b. The Sadducees and scribes

2. Toward the end, He then addressed the practices of some of them...
   a. Especially the scribes - Mk 12:38-40
   b. But also the Pharisees - cf. Mt 23:1-39

[Mark’s gospel limits Jesus’ censure to pretentious (self-important and
affected, made to look or sound important) scribes, which we shall also
do in this lesson.  Let’s begin with what is said about the...]

I. PRETENTIOUS SCRIBES IN JESUS’ DAY

   A. DESIRED TO WEAR THEIR LONG ROBES...
      1. Their "flowing robes" were full-length prayer shawls with
         tassels attached to the four corners, in contrast to the
         colorful common Jewish dress. - J.R. Edwards (PNTC)
      2. Made of wool or linen, these blanket-like mantles, known as
         tallits, distinguished rabbis and scholars as men of wealth and
         eminence. - ibid.
      -- They relished the distinction of their robes and the attention
         it gave them

   B. LOVED GREETINGS IN THE MARKETPLACES...
      1. "the formal salutations in the market-places, and to have the
         people address them as ‘rabbi.’ " - Hendriksen (NTC); cf. Mt 23:6
      2. What the men who are here rebuked were always longing for was
         not a mere token of friendliness but rather a demonstration of
         respect, a public recognition of their prominence. - ibid.
      -- They wanted to be addressed by titles that distinguished and
         elevated them

   C. BEST SEATS IN THE SYNAGOGUES...
      1. Refers to the benches along the walls of the synagogues, and
         especially to the dais at the front of the synagogue, which
         faced the congregation seated on the floor in the middle of the
         synagogue. - Edwards (PNTC)
      2. These "first seats," as they were called in Greek, were
         reserved for teachers and persons of rank, and afforded the
         best position from which to address the congregation. - ibid.
      -- They loved the honor and attention such seats gave them

   D. BEST PLACES AT FEASTS...
      1. Seating at banquets was either according to age or according to
         importance. - C.A. Evans (WBC)
      2. Jesus had warned against seeking out the best places at a feast
         - Lk 14:7-11
      -- They wanted privileges they felt due their position and stature

   E. DEVOUR WIDOWS’ HOUSES...
      1. By embezzling funds set up for the care of widows - Evans (WBC)
      2. By freeloading on the hospitality of widows - ibid.
      3. By mismanaging estates or wills of widows entrusted to them
         - ibid.
      -- They took advantage of widows who trusted them

   F. FOR SHOW OFFER LONG PRAYERS...
      1. The scribes were capable of lengthy, eloquent prayers - Evans
         (WBC)
      2. But this they did in pretense, consistent with their
         ostentation in dress and pursuit of honors and recognition
         - ibid.
      -- They paraded their religious knowledge and supposed piety

[Human nature being what it is, it should not surprise us that there can
also be...]

II. PRETENTIOUS ‘SCRIBES’ IN OUR DAY

   A. MINISTERS ARE OFTEN ELEVATED...
      1. Distinctive clerical garb, without NT authority
      2. Religious titles (Reverend, Father, Pastor, Preacher) - contra
         Mt 23:8-10
         a. Apostle, prophet, pastor, elder, evangelist, teacher are
            descriptive terms in the NT
         b. They are never used as religious titles in the NT
      3. Reserved seating in worship
      4. Preferred treatment at social gatherings
      5. Unaccountable control of financial resources
      6. Always being asked to lead public prayers
      -- Even well-intentioned respect can easily lead to
         pretentiousness

   B. MINISTERS OFTEN ELEVATE THEMSELVES...
      1. Preferring to wear distinctive clothing to stand out, gain
         respect
      2. Expecting others to address them by religious titles
      3. Demanding special seating in worship
      4. Assuming preferred treatment in social settings
      5. Embezzling church funds, taking advantage of widows
      6. Praying long, showy prayers by rote
      -- Ministers of Christ are called to be humble servants - Mt 23:11-12

CONCLUSION

1. The words of Jesus should serve as a warning...
   a. Not just to those who might be led astray by the pretentiousness
      of religious leaders
   b. But by religious leaders themselves, lest they no longer serve as
      true ministers of Christ

2. It is not just religious leaders who can have problems with
   pretentiousness...
   a. The average Christian can easily be ostentatious in their conduct
      and clothing
   b. Thus we should give careful thought to these words of Jesus:

   And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles
   himself will be exalted. - Mt 23:12

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary... Like "Mommy" or like "Daddy"?


What do you get, when you mix a Timer Wolf and a Malamute?  Answer- the bottom picture.  Of course, the top two pictures are not this dog's real parents, but I just wanted to represent the generic breeds.  Who does the "baby" take after? To me- Its the malamute; otherwise, I doubt if the animal would be on the sofa (or even in the house at all).  People are like this too.  Sometimes children are as different as night is from day. And the consequences are equally as obvious...

Genesis, Chapter 25
19  This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac.  20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife.  21 Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  22 The children struggled together within her. She said, “If it be so, why do I live?” She went to inquire of Yahweh.  23 Yahweh said to her, 
“Two nations are in your womb.
Two peoples will be separated from your body.
The one people will be stronger than the other people.
The elder will serve the younger.”

  24  When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.  25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau.  26 After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 

  27  The boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.  28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he ate his venison. Rebekah loved Jacob.

And this wasn't the extent of their differences; for Jacob followed after God and Esau did not. The result- Israel came from the former and Edom from the latter. This was still not the end of these things, for...

Malachi, Chapter 1
 1 An oracle: Yahweh’s word to Israel by Malachi. 

  2  “I have loved you,” says Yahweh. 

Yet you say, “How have you loved us?” 

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” says Yahweh, “Yet I loved Jacob;  3 but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.”  4 Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places”; thus says Yahweh of Armies, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom Yahweh shows wrath forever.”

Why did God hate Esau? Because of what he did. Question 1: What kind of life do you lead?  Question 2: Does what I do make God pleased or displeased with me?  Only you know the answers to them, but for your sake, I hope they are positive!!!

By the way- At 225 pounds, "baby" is one VERY BIG DOG!!!