11/10/15

From Mark Copeland... "THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD" The Sins Against The Holy Spirit


                        "THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD"

                    The Sins Against The Holy Spirit

INTRODUCTION

1. We have seen where the Holy Spirit is certainly active in God's
   scheme of redemption...
   a. Revealing and confirming the Word of Truth - He 2:3-4
   b. Convicting hearts of sin through the Word - Jn 16:7
   c. Regenerating those who respond to the gospel - Jn 3:5
   d. Indwelling those who obey the gospel - Ac 2:38; 1Co 6:19
   e. Leading those who walk in the Spirit - Ga 5:16-18,25
   f. Producing the fruit of the Spirit in those so led - Ga 5:22-23
   g. Strengthening those seeking to please God - Ep 3:16
   h. Serving as a seal, marking Christians as God's own - Ep 1:13
   i. Serving as an earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance - Ep 1:14

2. Because of the Spirit's activity, it is possible for us to sin
   against the Spirit...
   a. We can resist the Spirit - Ac 7:51
   b. We can quench the Spirit - 1Th 5:19
   c. We can grieve the Spirit - Ep 4:30
   d. We can insult the Spirit - He 10:29
   e. We can blaspheme the Spirit - Mt 12:31-32

[Lest we be guilty of sinning against the Spirit, let's examine how such
sins are possible...]

I. RESISTING THE SPIRIT

   A. THE WARNING...
      1. Stephen condemned his listeners for resisting the Spirit 
         - Ac 7:51
      2. How did they do this?  By persecuting (i.e., resisting) the
         prophets - Ac 7:52
         a. Who foretold the coming of Christ
         b. In whom the Spirit of Christ was working - cf. 1Pe 1:10-11
      -- Resisting the Spirit-led prophets resulted in their resisting
         the Spirit!

   B. THE APPLICATION...
      1. The same Spirit led the apostles of Christ to preach the
         gospel- cf. 1Pe 1:12; Ro 15:19
      2. We can resist the apostles today
         a. By refusing to obey their word - cf. 1Co 14:37
         b. By refusing to abide in their doctrine - cf. Ac 2:42
      -- Are we guilty of resisting the Spirit, by resisting the words
         of the apostles?

[Certainly those who refuse to obey the gospel are guilty of resisting
the Spirit, but even those who are Christians can be guilty.  Christians
can also be guilty of...]

II. QUENCHING THE SPIRIT

   A. THE WARNING...
      1. Written to the church at Thessalonica - 1Th 5:19
      2. How could they become guilty of this?
         a. To quench means to extinguish, suppress, stifle
         b. To whatever extent the Spirit was at work, they were not to
            suppress it
      3. Two examples...
         a. The Thessalonians were not to despise prophecies 
            - cf. 1 Th5:20 ("Do not despise the words of the prophets" NRSV)
         b. Timothy was encouraged not to neglect his gift - 1Ti 4:14;
            2Ti 1:6
      -- Suppressing (or neglecting) the Spirit's work is quenching 
         the Spirit!

   B. THE APPLICATION...
      1. The Spirit is at work in our lives today
         a. Teaching and guiding us through His revealed word 
            - cf. Ep 6:17
         b. Strengthening us through His indwelling - cf. Ep 3:16,20
         c. Producing the fruit of the Spirit as we are so led 
            - cf. Ga 5:22-23
      2. But we neglect or stifle the Spirit's effort...
         a. When we fail to read and heed the Word of God
         b. When we fail to pray, asking for strength
         c. When we fail to produce the fruit of the Spirit
      -- Are we guilty of quenching the Spirit, through our own neglect?

[Another sin against the Spirit that Paul warned Christians about is...]

III. GRIEVING THE SPIRIT

   A. THE WARNING...
      1. Written to the Ephesians - Ep 4:30
      2. What does it mean to grieve?
         a. To make sorrowful, to affect with sadness
         b. To offend
      3. How could they grieve the Spirit?
         a. By corrupt speech - cf. Ep 4:29
         b. By bitterness, anger, evil speaking - cf. Ep 4:31
      -- When Christians sin, they grieve the Spirit who indwells them!

   B. THE APPLICATION...
      1. The Spirit desires to produce good fruit in Christians...
         a. The fruit of graceful words that lift up others 
            - cf. Ep 4:29
         b. The fruit of graceful conduct that bless those around us 
            - cf. Ep 4:28,32
      2. But we make the Spirit sorrowful every time...
         a. Unwholesome words proceed from our mouths
         b. We engage in conduct unbecoming those who have been sealed
            (marked) for the day of redemption!
      -- Are we guilty of grieving by our speech or conduct the Spirit
         who indwells us?

[As bad as it is for Christians to quench the Spirit (through neglect)
or grieve the Spirit (through disobedience), it can get worse!  We can
even be guilty of...]

IV. INSULTING THE SPIRIT

   A. THE WARNING...
      1. Written to the Hebrews - He 10:29
      2. What does it mean to insult the Spirit of grace?
         a. KJV, ASV, "despite the Spirit of grace"
         b. NRSV, "outraged the Spirit of grace"
      3. The context pertains to willful sin - cf. He 10:26-31
         a. Persistent sin with full knowledge and no desire to repent
         b. Conduct that tramples Christ underfoot, and regards His
            blood a common thing
         c. For which remains a fearful and fiery judgment
      -- Christians can become so hardened by sin that they insult the
         Spirit through outrageous conduct!

   B. THE APPLICATION...
      1. We need to be aware of the danger of apostasy - He 3:12-14
         a. We can become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin
         b. We can thereby depart from the living God
         c. We must hold the beginning of our confidence (faith)
            steadfast till the end - cf. Re 2:10
      2. We become guilty of insulting the Spirit...
         a. When we sin willfully, with full knowledge of our sin
         b. When we have no desire to repent - cf. He 6:4-8
      -- Sinning through ignorance or weakness grieves the Spirit, but
         sinning willfully insults the Spirit!

[Finally, we note that Jesus warned about...]

V. BLASPHEMING THE SPIRIT

   A. THE WARNING...
      1. Jesus told the Pharisees of the unforgivable sin - Mt 12:31-32
         a. He had just healed a demon-possessed man - Mt 12:22-23
         b. The Pharisees attributed His power to Beelzebub (Satan) 
            - Mt 12:24
         c. He illustrates the absurdity of their charge - Mt 12:25-28
         d. He explains the implication and necessity of casting out
            demons by the Spirit of God
            1) The kingdom (rule or reign, power) of God has come 
               - Mt 12:28
            2) For such to be complete, the strong man (Satan) must be
               bound - Mt 12:29
            3) This Jesus ultimately accomplished through His death and
               resurrection - cf. Jn 12:31-33; Ro 14:9; Col 2:15; He 2:
               14-15; Re 1:18
      2. What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
         a. It is attributing Jesus' power to an unclean spirit 
            - cf. Mk 3:28-30
         b. It is ascribing the work of the Holy Spirit 
            to Satan (B.W.Johnson)
      3. Why is this sin unforgivable?  When one concludes that Jesus'
         power was of the devil...
         a. He has rejected the evidence which produces faith in Jesus
         b. He has rejected the efforts by God to save those in sin
      -- When one is willing to believe that Jesus was in league with
         the devil, saving faith is not possible!
         
   B. THE APPLICATION...
      1. We must be careful not to reject the testimony of the Spirit
         a. He is the means by which God bore witness to Jesus 
            - cf. Ac 10:38
         b. Otherwise we can neglect that "great salvation" 
            - cf. He 2:3-4
      2. If we reject the testimony of the Holy Spirit...
         a. We reject heaven's last effort to save man (Ferrell Jenkins,
            The Finger Of God, p.45)
         b. We reject the evidence which convicts of sin (ibid.)
      -- The consequences of rejecting the Spirit's testimony are
         serious, depriving one of the forgiveness found only in Christ!

CONCLUSION

1. Sins against the Holy Spirit can lead progressively into apostasy...
   a. Resisting the Spirit can lead to quenching the Spirit
   b. Quenching the Spirit can lead to grieving the Spirit
   c. Grieving the Spirit can lead to insulting the Spirit
   d. Insulting the Spirit can lead to blaspheming the Spirit
   e. Blaspheming the Spirit leads to a condition where forgiveness is
      not possible

2. Note the sad condition of those in full-blown apostasy - cf. He 6:4-6
   a. This passage describes those who at one time:
      1) Were enlightened
      2) Tasted the heavenly gift
      3) Become partakers of the Holy Spirit
      4) Tasted the good word of God
      5) Tasted the powers of the age to come
   b. Yet they had fallen to the point:
      1) Where it was impossible to renew them to repentance
      2) Where they were crucifying again the Son of God, putting Him to
         open shame

How to prevent such a sad end?  Make sure that we are not guilty of "The
Sins Against The Holy Spirit"!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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The Death of Biblical Minimalism by Dewayne Bryant, M.A.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=1661

The Death of Biblical Minimalism

by Dewayne Bryant, M.A.

It is a good time to be a Christian. Information is more readily available and accessible than ever before. Whether it appears in books, in articles in print and on Web sites, or in podcasts and other media formats, Christian apologists are producing vast amounts of material in defense of the Christian Faith. In the field of archaeology alone, new discoveries are unearthed every year, adding to our body of knowledge about the biblical world. Because of new information, old theories are being continually revised and refined. In some cases, this information is completely overturning critical theories.
The May/June 2011 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is an exciting one. On the cover, some of the topics of the issue are listed, at the top of which are the words, “The End of Biblical Minimalism.” Minimalists are those who believe that only the barest minimum of the Bible is true, and then only if it can be incontrovertibly corroborated by extrabiblical evidence. This perspective is one that is eminently skeptical of the Bible. This is not how ancient documents are generally treated, which naturally raises suspicion that the Bible is being treated with a double standard for no other reason than that it is the Word of God. Speaking a little more generously than usual, minimalist Philip Davies claims that the Bible is indispensible for the historian, even though its “stories may be false, true, or a mixture of fact and fiction” (Davies, 2008, p. 5). For those who see the biblical text as a purely manmade production, the Bible is a mixture of a few facts and mostly fiction. As senior Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein puts it,
The historical saga contained in the Bible—from Abraham’s encounter with God and his journey to Canaan, to Moses’ deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage, to the rise and fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah—was not a miraculous revelation, but a brilliant product of the human imagination (Finkelstein and Silberman, 2001, p. 1).
The article, “The Birth and Death of Biblical Minimalism” written by archaeologist Yosef Garfinkle, traces the biblical minimalist position from its inception 30 years ago to the present time, where discoveries have undermined it to the point of it becoming untenable. He focuses on one of the hot-button issues in archaeology: the existence of the United Monarchy.
For biblical minimalists, the United Monarchy is very nearly a fiction. They believe that if David and Solomon existed, they were nothing more than petty chieftains. Hoffmeier summarizes the minimalist position this way: “[I]f David and Solomon did exist, they were simply pastorialist chieftains from the hills of Judea, and the military exploits of David and the glories of Solomon were gross exaggerations from later times” (Hoffmeier, 2008, p. 87). In other words, there were no grand palaces and no royal inscriptions. In short—no kingdom.
Garfinkle focuses on one particular archaeological site called Khirbet Qeiyafa, where he serves as co-director of the dig. In ancient times, it was a heavily fortified town on the Israelite/Philistine border in Judah. This one site, as small and out-of-the-way as it is, has done a great deal to dismantle biblical minimalism. Garfinkle states: “The argument that Judah was an agrarian society until the end of tenth century B.C.E. and that David and Solomon could not have ruled over a centralized, institutionalized kingdom before then has now been blown to smithereens by our excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa” (Garfinkle, 2011, p. 50). Discoveries at the site clearly demonstrate that a large bureaucracy was needed to construct the town. The site had massive walls, far beyond the ability of a couple of petty chieftains to construct. Also found at the site was the earliest example of Hebrew (although it is written in a different kind of script). This kind of writing could only be produced by a scribe who had been trained for government service. Since the site was in a remote location, it must have been important enough to justify sending a scribe from Jerusalem. That could only be done if there was a government of sufficient size with the resources and ability to train professional scribes. As Finkelstein himself states: “The power of the chief was limited…. The economic and military capacity of a chiefdom was severely limited” (Finkelstein and Silberman, 2006, p. 99). Khirbet Qeiyafa could not have been built, fortified, or administrated by a chieftain. It required a king.
As one of the chief proponents of the idea that the United Monarchy is largely fiction, Israel Finkelstein has developed what is called the “Low Chronology.” This approach states that whatever evidence that exists that might point to a tenth century B.C. kingdom under David and Solomon has been misinterpreted. Instead, the credit for building activity thought to have taken place during the time of the United Monarchy should go to the ninth century king Ahab instead. Though architecture can be difficult to date accurately at times, Finkelstein has yet to win many converts. With the information being unearthed at Khirbet Qeiyafa, he may even find himself losing what support he already has.
Finkelstein is commonly labeled a minimalist, although he denies that label. He does share many things in common with biblical minimalists, such as a skeptical attitude toward the Bible and a clear bias in interpreting the archaeological evidence. This goes against standard procedure among scholarship. Generally, ancient texts are given the benefit of the doubt unless sufficient reason exists to doubt their veracity. Since the Bible has a long track record of accuracy, to dismiss it out of hand shows a clear bias against it. Second, evidence should drive interpretation and lead to conclusions—not start with conclusions and interpret all the evidence to support those conclusions. Finkelstein’s skepticism points to a preconceived conclusion that seeks evidence to justify itself, which, naturally, can only be done poorly. 
Radiocarbon dating provides a solid link between the ancient evidence and the biblical text. Garfinkle states: “Independent dating suggests that the kingdom of Judah rose in approximately 1000 B.C.E., as indicated by the radiometric results from Qeiyafa. The northern kingdom of Israel, on the other hand, developed around 900 B.C.E., as indicated by the radiometric dates obtained from that region. The Biblical tradition and the radiometric dating actually support each other” (Garfinkle, 2011, p. 52). [EDITOR’S NOTE: For a discussion of the weaknesses of radiocarbon and radiometric dating techniques, see DeYoung, 2005.] The radiometric dating of wood fragments and olive pits at the site indicates that the site was built in the late eleventh century and destroyed in the early tenth century. Since this is precisely the time of the reign of king David, it would appear that David ruled a well-organized kingdom.
This small site has yielded a wealth of evidence that clearly demonstrates the shortcomings of biblical minimalism, although it remains on life support thanks to the hyper-skepticism of a few noted archaeologists. Even William Dever—who is no friend to the traditional interpretation of Scripture—has fiercely opposed the minimalists, whom he calls “revisionists.” He says, “the ‘revisionists’…declare that ‘the Hebrew Bible is not about history at all,’ i.e., it is mere propaganda. For them, if some of the Bible stories are unhistorical, they all are—a rather simplistic notion” (Dever, 2001, p. 97). It is the typical case of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”: the Bible is a religious book, therefore it cannot be historically accurate. Ongoing excavations argue otherwise.
There are many other discoveries besides those at Khirbet Qeiyafa that argue for the presence of a centralized government in ancient Israel at the time David ruled. The Izbet Sartah Inscription is an example of writing dating to the time of the judges (Hess, 2002, p. 86). The inscription seems to be a practice exercise used to learn the alphabet. This is particularly noteworthy, since Izbet Sartah was a small village in the hill country in the eleventh century B.C. Even in this small village, at least one scribe was practicing his alphabet. The same goes for tenth century inscriptions, such as the Tell Zayit Inscription and the Gezer Calendar, which also appear to be practice exercises used in training scribes. These examples of writing would never have appeared without considerable governmental organization.
In his book On the Reliability of the Old Testament, Kenneth Kitchen surveys the history of minimalism over the past two centuries. He notes that “our present-day minimalists are not a sudden, new phenomenon without precedent. It all began a long time ago, and the present efflorescence is merely a development of some 150/200 years that has in a way come to a head, but simply more scathing of others and more extreme in its views than were its precursors” (Kitchen, 2003, p. 449, italics in orig.). Emerging at a time when the study of the ancient Near East was in its infancy, it could only be expected that time would prove the minimalist’s assumptions false. As mountains of evidence have come to light, minimalism is looking more and more like a thing of the past. Biblical scholarship has a long track record of confounding the critics, and it isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Though much of the minimalists’ work is respected by other scholars, they are supremely guilty of allowing their biases to dictate their interpretation of the evidence. They make selective use of the facts and ignore or reinterpret evidence that disagrees with their position. Some of them grew up in fundamentalist homes, giving the impression that their interpretations are more the result of rejecting the faith of their early years rather than sound scholarship. This approach can be maintained only so long before the body of evidence will get to the point of being beyond their ability to manipulate. The archaeologist’s spade will continue to unearth more evidence season by season, year after year. It is only a matter of time before the minimalist position will become a relic enshrined in the museum of discarded ideas.

REFERENCES

Davies, Philip R. (2008), Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History—Ancient and Modern (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press).
Dever, William G. (2001), What Did The Biblical Writers Know & When Did They Know It? (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
DeYoung, Don (2005), Thousands...Not Billions (Green Forest, AR: Master Books).
Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman (2001), The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York, NY: Touchstone).
Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman (2006), David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible’s Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition (New York, NY: Free Press).
Garfinkle, Yosef (2011), “The Birth and Death of Biblical Minimalism,” Biblical Archaeology Review, 37[3]:46-53,78, May/June.
Hess, Richard S. (2002), “Literacy in Iron Age Israel” in V. Long, D. Baker, and G. Wenham, Windows into Old Testament History: Evidence, Argument, and the Crisis of “Biblical Israel” (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), pp. 82-102.
Hoffmeier, James K (2008), The Archaeology of the Bible (Oxford: Lion Hudson).
Kitchen, Kenneth A. (2003), On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).


On the Death of Christopher Hitchens by Kyle Butt, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1617

On the Death of Christopher Hitchens

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

Christopher Hitchens, outspoken atheist and journalist, died of complications with esophageal cancer on Thursday, December 15, 2011. In some instances, death is not necessarily an event to be mourned. Psalm 116:15 explains: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” The apostle Paul insisted that it was better for him to die and be with Christ than to continue his earthly life (Philippians 1:23). In other cases, however, death is profoundly sad. Such is the case with the passing of Christopher Hitchens. A veil of immense sadness drapes itself over his death due to the fact that he was an evil man who chose to fight against his Creator. These words afford no pleasure to the Christian, and while I express my deepest sympathy to the family at their immense loss, the world needs to be reminded that Hitchens was not a hero in any shape, form, or fashion. He was a wicked man who wasted his God-given life to fight against truth, and he should be remembered as such.
Writing this article about a month after his death, I have been afforded the opportunity to see what others have written about his life. Most have praised his superior intellect, quick wit, and willingness to enter into any number of political, governmental, or religious frays. His fellow atheist, Richard Dawkins, suggested that he might have been “the finest orator of our time” and a “valiant fighter against all tyrants including God” (“Christopher Hitchens…,” 2011). Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, who debated Hitchens on religion, said: “He was an extraordinary, compelling and colourful human being whom it was a privilege to know” (2011). Such comments by Blair, Dawkins, and so many others attempt to throw a favorable light on Hitchens’ life. But that light turns a sickening color when it shines on Hitchens’ real impact on society and the devastating harm that he did.
Hitchens dedicated a massive amount of his time and energy to spreading the lie that there is no God, and that the God depicted in the Bible is a cruel tyrant. He ranted and raved about God’s alleged moral inconsistency, and he accused the God of the Bible of having a “sick mind” (Hitchens, 2007, p. 219). Hitchens advocated the murder of unborn children in the form of abortion as a check on population growth (2007, p. 222). Furthermore, he made a complete mockery of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (2007, pp. 208-210). He promoted sexual promiscuity and tacitly approved of other deviant sexual practices such as homosexuality and adultery (2007, pp. 40, 54). His writings against Christianity were filled with contradictions, inaccuracies, and misrepresentations of the truth. Christopher Hitchens ranked among the highest eschelons of enemies of truth.
In our sentimental, 21st-century, pluralistic society we are pressured to tone down such speech and find something good and laudable to commend in the life of Hitchens. We should not yield to such pressure, but we should heed the words of Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:20-22). Hitchens was an evil man who lived a life in defiance of his Creator, and who used his divinely bestowed wit to bite the heavenly hand that sustained his existence. Neither God, nor any faithful Christian, has any delight or pleasure in the passing of such a man (Ezekiel 18:23). It was God’s desire that Hitchens repent of his rebellion and turn to the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). But Hitchens would not do so. Is it not amazing that for all Hitchens did to destroy belief in God, our loving, heavenly Father would have still accepted Hitchens as His child if Hitchens would have repented and turned to Him (Acts 2:36-47)? But Hitchens would have none of it. As one writer said: “[H]e maintained his devout atheism after being diagnosed with cancer” (2011). How sad. How very profoundly, utterly, tragically sad. What a waste.

REFERENCES

“Christopher Hitchens Dies at 62 After Suffering Cancer” (2011), BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418.
Hitchens, Christopher (2007), god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (New York: Twelve).

Dinosaur Fossils and a Flood by Kyle Butt, M.A.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2672

Dinosaur Fossils and a Flood

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

In a recent LiveScience article, Robin Lloyd detailed a new fossil discovery in the well-known Hell Creek Formation in Montana. The discovery of three juvenile Triceratops dinosaurs, fossilized together in the same bone bed, was a surprise to the scientific community. Until the find, scientists believed that Triceratops was a loner that did not group together with its own kind. In fact, Triceratopsfossils have been found in large fossil beds with other dinosaurs, but not with other Triceratops fossils (Lloyd, 2009). The recent find of three juvenile Triceratops together has led to speculation that the young dinosaurs may have traveled in packs or gangs, but may have become more solitary as they matured.
While speculation about the dinosaurs’ past behavior is interesting, there is something more significant in the recent article. In the first sentence, Lloyd wrote: “Three juvenile Triceratops, a species thought to be solitary, died together in a flood...” (2009, emp. added). As with most other fossil finds, we are informed that the cause of death and fossilization for these specimens was a flood. Lloyd further noted: “It looks like at least three juveniles died there at same [sic] time as a result of flooding, common in this location laced at the time with flood plains and river channels” (2009).
The fact that most dinosaur fossils are explained by a flood fits perfectly with the biblical account of Noah’s Flood and its destructive force. And while the scientific community is quick to label the floods that caused dinosaur fossilization as “local,” “regional,” “common in this location,” or “area flash flooding,” the reality cannot be denied that the global Flood described in the book of Genesis remains the best explanation for the massive fossil graveyards that pepper the globe (see Butt and Lyons, 2008).

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle and Eric Lyons (2008), “What Happened to the Dinosaurs?,” [On-line], URL:http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3647.
Lloyd, Robin (2009), “Gang of Juvenile Dinosaurs Discovered,” LiveScience, [On-line], URL:http://www.livescience.com/animals/090324-social-triceratops.html.

Kentucky Schools Go P.C. by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1817

Kentucky Schools Go P.C.

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

There appears to be no end to the capricious desire of the social engineers of “political correctness” to sanitize our society by expunging every indication of America’s Christian heritage. Western civilization’s reckoning of time is based on the Gregorian calendar that reflects a Christian worldview by dating the whole of human history in terms of the birth of Christ. “B.C.” (“before Christ”) refers to the years that preceded the birth of Christ. “A.D.” (anno Domini—Latin for “year of our Lord”) refers to the years that have transpired since the birth of Christ. In recent years, academicians and atheists have solved the “problem” by embracing the designations “C.E.” and “B.C.E.,” i.e., “Common Era” and “Before the Common Era.”
Now school textbooks in the state of Kentucky are expected to incorporate the secular dating abbreviations of B.C.E. and C.E. as recommended by the Kentucky State Board of Education. The move is simply another step in a long series of steps across the country that champions a systematic cleansing of America’s Christian roots. Promoters of the politically correct agenda maintain that their actions are simply the natural result of their “sensitivity for tolerance and diversity.” However, the truth is they are hostile toward the moral principles of Christianity. Their actions are actually weakening the foundations of our civilization, and expunging the very features that made us a strong and prosperous nation. Indeed, the P.C. stance flies directly in the face of American history and the will of the Founders. (NOTE: For a discussion of the abbreviations B.C. and A.D. and their relation to America’s origins, see Miller, 2004).

REFERENCES

“Kentucky Goes P.C. on B.C.A.D.” (2006), World Net Daily, April 18, [On-line], URL: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49786.
Miller, Dave (2004), “A.D. and B.C. are no Longer P.C.,” [On-line], URL:http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2664.

Of Water or of Land? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.



http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=293&b=Genesis

Of Water or of Land?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Those who reject the inspiration of the Bible have searched it tirelessly for hundreds of years in attempts to find a legitimate contradiction or discrepancy. Time and again their efforts have done nothing to strengthen their case, but have done much to strengthen the Bible’s credibility. In what appears to be skeptics “grasping for straws,” one of their latest allegations has been to assert that a contradiction exists between Genesis 1:20-22 and 2:19. These infidels claim that 1:20-22 teaches that birds were formed out of the water, whereas 2:19 teaches that they were formed out of the ground. What, if anything, can be said about their allegations?
The simple fact of the matter is that those who claim such a contradiction exists have misquoted the text and misunderstood its wording. We readily admit that Genesis 2:19 teaches that “out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air.” However, contrary to skeptics’ accusations, Genesis 1:20-22 does not contradict this statement. Rather, it reads: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound (swarm, ASV) with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind… And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’ ” (NKJV). Where does this passage say that birds were formed from the water? It does not. It simply teaches that God caused some living creatures to appear in the water, and He caused birds to fly above the Earth. This passage does not teach that the waters were the cause of the fish, but theelement of the fish, just as the air is the element of the birds (Barnes, 1997).
Bible scholars and apologists consider this “alleged Bible contradiction” such a lame attempt to disprove the Bible as the Word of God that relatively few have even bothered responding to it. Surely, they recognize that at some point in time common sense will allow everyone to see the shallowness of the critics’ accusations. The only reason this brief article was written is so that those who are contemplating the Bible’s inerrancy will not blindly swallow the critics’ allegations without first carefully reading what the passage says and what it does not say.
REFERENCE
Barnes, Albert (1997), Barnes’ Notes (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

From Gary... Top Secret




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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXNaYoguNU

The Top Secret Drum Corps is perhaps the best in the world. The level of their precision is amazing!! I enjoyed this video so much that I watched it several times and I hope you will find it entertaining as well.  After a bit of reflection on their performance, the question came to me: Why name the group "Top Secret"? And if it has to do with a secret- What is it?  I am curious about this, so if anyone out there knows, please, please be kind enough to tell me!!!!  After this, my thoughts naturally turned to God... and I thought: If God has a secret- what is it?  Then, with a little more thought and some searching, I copied and pasted the following...

Deuteronomy, Chapter 29 (WEB)
29  The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. 

Romans, Chapter 14 (WEB)
 23 ...... Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages, but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Ephesians, Chapter 3 (WEB)
 1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,  2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you;  3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,  4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;  5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;  6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,  7 of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.  8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,  9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;  10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,  11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord;  12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.

1 Timothy, Chapter 3 (WEB)
16 Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:
God was revealed in the flesh,
justified in the spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
and received up in glory.

1 Corinthians, Chapter 15 (WEB)
 1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

Acts, Chapter 2 (WEB)
 14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.  15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.  16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 
  17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
  18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
  19 I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
  20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
  21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

  22  “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in your midst, even as you yourselves know,  23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;  24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.  25 For David says concerning him, 
‘I saw the Lord always before my face,
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
  26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
  27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
  28 You made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

  29  “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,  31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.  33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.  34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
  35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

  36  “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 

  37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

  38  Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

The mystery of God is in fact the story of the Bible- How God chose to deal with the disobedience of man (from the beginnings found in Genesis to this very day) and provide a way for man to be a creature of godliness (1 Timothy 3, Acts 2). The "mystery" has been fully revealed in Jesus (Romans 14, Ephesians 3 and 1 Corinthians 15 listed above) and is for everyone to both understand and follow. Please, take some time and both read and contemplate these Scriptures; it will be the best possible thing you could possibly do today. I will be doing these things myself and I fully expect that God will bless me for the effort. Any thoughts you might have on these things would be appreciated. Feel free to share anything you wish...