3/26/21

Mars Rock Update by Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.


 https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=251

 

Mars Rock Update

by  Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

In 1996, a team of scientists stunned the world by announcing possible evidence for fossil life in Martian meteorite ALH84001 (McKay, et al., 1996). In my first report on their findings, I said that the claims were very tenuous (Major, 1996), and I continue to hold that opinion. Over the intervening months, skeptics and supporters in the relevant fields have published articles and given presentations at professional meetings. At this point, the scientific community remains divided.

Alleged proof of fossil life in this meteorite came primarily from chemical remnants of past biological activity. In other words, there seemed to be evidence that living things once lived and died within this piece of rock. Most of the evidence was found in deposits of carbonate minerals. This led researchers to speculate that bacteria-laden, mineral-rich waters had entered cracks and pores before hardening into carbonate. The authors also presented pictures of round, elongated objects under extremely high magnification. In light of the other evidence, these objects were highly suggestive of bacterial cells.

The debate today centers on three main questions. First, at what temperature did the carbonate minerals form? Clearly, if the original fluids were at very high temperatures, then there is no way that they could have supported any kind of life. McKay and colleagues pinned their hopes on oxygen isotope ratios that suggested temperatures at formation of 0° to 80°C (it is thought that bacteria on Earth can survive at less than 150°C). They rejected two other results indicating a temperature of around 700°C. Subsequently, the low temperature range was revised upward to between 40° and 250°C, but there remains no conclusive evidence of carbonate formation at the lower, bacteria-friendly end of this range. To the contrary, further studies on ALH84001 suggest rapid, intense melting at the time of formation (Scott, et al., 1997).

Second, do chemical analyses reveal evidence of past life? This problem is the source of greatest ambiguity because both biological and nonbiological processes can explain certain features of the meteorite’s composition. MacKay’s team offered three main observations, and critics have challenged the significance of each one.

  1. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Organisms can leave behind these oily, organic compounds when they decompose. However, PAHs could have come from inorganic sources or, as many critics believe, from contamination with terrestrial sources. Luann Becker and her colleagues (1997) suggested that the PAHs may have come from melted Antarctic ice. This seems unlikely, but there is no direct evidence of organic origin either.
  2. Magnetite. This iron oxide mineral was thought to be a by-product of bacterial activity. Although some studies have shown a similarity to magnetite grains deposited by bacteria on Earth, other investigators disagree. Most of the criticism is coming from John Bradley and coworkers (1996), who believe that the shape and structure of the grains within this rock suggest an inorganic origin at very high temperatures. Other workers have not confirmed these results.
  3. Iron Sulfides. McKay and his colleagues thought that iron sulfides were remnants of sulfur-eating bacteria. However, there are different varieties of sulfur that come in slightly different atomic weights. Bacteria tend to consume more of the lighter kind, which means they should be concentrated within the iron sulfide minerals, but this is not the case (Shearer, et al., 1996). I am not aware of any convincing counter-response, so far.

Taken together, these observations were supposed to offer compelling evidence of biological activity. However, one (based on PAHs) is ambiguous, one (based on magnetite) is questionable, and another (based on iron sulfide minerals) is contradictory.

Finally, are the rounded or elongated objects really fossil bacteria? To prove this, researchers would have to find organic molecules or unequivocal signs of cellular structures. Currently, such evidence is lacking. When the results were announced last year, critics immediately pointed out that these objects, at less than 0.2 microns in diameter, were several times smaller than the smallest known bacterial cells. If they are genuine remains of living organisms, their size would negate almost everything we know about cell walls, genetics, and the chemistry of life (Harvey, 1997).

All this speculation concerns a single potato-sized piece of rock. By now, scientists may know a lot about the composition of ALH84001 but, as we have seen, the NASA team has not succeeded in backing up its extraordinary claims.

REFERENCES

Becker, L., D.P. Glavin, and J.L. Bada (1997), “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Antarctic Martian Meteorites, Carbonaceous Chondrites, and Polar Ice,” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 61:475-481.

Bradley, J.P., R.P. Harvey, and H.Y. McSween, Jr. (1996), “Magnetite Whiskers and Platelets in ALH84001 Martian Meteorite: Evidence of Vapor Phase Growth,” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60:5149-5155.

Harvey, Ralph P. (1997), “Nannobacteria: What is the Evidence?,” naturalSCIENCE, vol. 1, article 7.

Major, Trevor (1996), “Life on Mars?,” Reason & Revelation, 16:78-79, October.

McKay, David S., et al. (1996), “Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001,” Science, 273:924-930, August 16.

Scott, Edward R.D., Akira Yamaguchi, and Alexander N. Krot (1997), “Petrological Evidence for Shock Melting of Carbonates in the Martian Meteorite ALH84001,” Nature, 387:377-379, May 22.

Shearer, C.K., G.D. Layne, J.J. Papike, and M.N. Spilde (1996), “Sulfur Isotope Systematics in Alteration Assemblages in Martian Meteorite ALH84001,” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60:2921-2926.

 

Madalyn Murray O’Hair by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4627

Madalyn Murray O’Hair

by  Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Madalyn Elizabeth Mays was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 13, 1919. In her late 20s, after already having been married and divorced, she began referring to herself as Madalyn Murray—taking the last name of William Murray, with whom she had an adulterous relationship, and never married. At the age of 46, Madalyn married Richard O’Hair and became forevermore known at Madalyn Murray O’Hair—the poster-child of atheism in America during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

Relatively few people knew anything about Madalyn Murray the first 40 years of her life. She was a single mother of two boys, both born out of wedlock. According to Madalyn’s oldest son, William Murray III, his mother couldn’t keep a job because of her “dysfunctional, argumentative personality.” Such unemployment and instability led her to Marxism, which led her to atheism (“Marxism…,” 2012). After an unsuccessful attempt to defect to the Soviet Union through the Soviet Embassy in Paris in 1960, Madalyn returned home angry, agitated, and seemingly looking for trouble—which she found later that same year.

In the fall of 1960, “Madalyn found her cause” (Woodhead, 2006). Madalyn became irritated that students in her oldest son’s school participated in prayer and Bible reading, and filed a petition demanding they cease. After the Baltimore courts ruled against her, she appealed her case all the way to the Supreme Court, who overwhelmingly ruled in her favor in 1963: school-sponsored Bible reading and prayer were banned in public schools. Americans were devastated; Madalyn was delighted. Her defining moment had arrived, and she positioned herself as “America’s number one atheist”—“the atheist—Madalyn Murray” (Le Beau, 2005).

“God’s Noisy Challenger”

Madalyn’s Supreme Court victory (in which she was actually a secondary litigant) was just the beginning. Two years later, she founded American Atheists, Inc. and served as its director for more than two decades. She filed a lawsuit against the city of Baltimore in hopes of forcing them to begin collecting property taxes from churches. She challenged the use of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, as well “in God we trust” on American currency. Madalyn went so far as to even file a lawsuit against NASA in hopes of banning government employees (i.e., astronauts) from saying prayers in outer space.

From lunar lawsuits to countless crude, contemptible public comments, O’Hair was a constant, noisy challenger to theists (and especially Christians) throughout America. “She relished her battle with traditional religion and she ridiculed believers she called ‘Christers’” (Woodhead, 2006). She claimed that God was “sadistic,” that the Bible was “nauseating,” and that the Lord’s Prayer was “uttered by worms groveling for meager existence in a traumatic, paranoid world” (McGrath, 2004, pp. 245-46). She wrote articles and books. She published anti-God posters and bumper stickers. She hosted numerous radio shows and was the first-ever guest on the Phil Donahue show in 1967. O’Hair offered little in the area of reasoned argumentation, but she rarely missed an opportunity to publicly pour scorn on the prayerful and mock the moral.

Madalyn’s Mean Demeanor and Murder

Christians were not the only ones in Madalyn’s crosshairs. Her oldest son (William) began to alienate himself in the 1970s when he began adopting a more Libertarian (as opposed to Marxist) form of atheism. O’Hair then seemed to lose it when William professed to being a follower of Christ in 1980. She repudiated him “entirely and completely for now and all times.” He was, according to her, “beyond human forgiveness.” Sadly, with William, she had what she called “a postnatal abortion” (Huckabee, 2012).

Although O’Hair was popular with many atheists around the country, those who spent much time with her soon discovered that she was viciously rude and profanely vulgar, even to employees and donors to her work (McGrath, p. 250; Van Biema, 1997). In fact, it was former, disgruntled American Atheist employee, David Waters, who, in 1995, abducted, mutilated, and brutally murdered O’Hair, her youngest son, and her granddaughter. O’Hair died at the age of 76.

Madalyn Who?

Though many in the older generation will forever remember the name Madalyn Murray O’Hair, today’s younger generation knows little about one of America’s most famous (and repulsive) atheists. Some Christians seem so uninformed about the name that they do not hesitate using it for their daughters. I recently taught a Bible class full of teenagers—20 in all. I asked them if they knew who Madalyn Murray O’Hair was. One thought she was a nurse. One believed that she was a character in Gone with the Wind. Only one teen in the entire class knew of the atheist—Madalyn Murray O’Hair.

Today’s Militant Atheists

It wouldn’t surprise me if 50% or more of Americans were unaware of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the atheist. Still, though O’Hair’s infamy has languished, her ungodly effects on this country will be forever felt. The Supreme Court ruling (50 years ago this year) that banned school sponsored Bible reading and prayer has done nothing but expedite the production of a more hedonistic, disrespectful segment of society, who, like Pharaoh, arrogantly question, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice…?” (Exodus 5:2).

Perhaps the most negative effect of O’Hair’s life on America was that she seemed to pave the way for a whole new kind of atheist—militant atheists. Her outspoken vitriol toward God, the Bible, and Christians undoubtedly served to embolden and mobilize more zealous atheists in recent years. From Christopher Hitchens’ New York Times bestseller god is Not Great to Brian Flemming’s film The God Who Wasn’t There; from Dan Barker’s defiant, “go-to-hell” to God comments in debates to science symposiums that arrogantly seek to put atheistic, evolutionary science “in place of God;” O’Hair’s hateful, outspoken criticisms of Christianity for over three decades no doubt served to cultivate an entire crop of militant atheists.

Conclusion

In the face of such defiant unbelief, Christians must be resolved to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). God is serious about His people teaching and defending His Word (Acts 4:20). In our proclamation of the Truth, however, we must not sink to the level of the O’Hairs of the world and disparage those who hate us. Rather, as Jesus taught, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). “Be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition” (2 Timothy 2:24-25). May God help us to live according to the Truth as we seek to defend it.

*Originally published in Gospel Advocate, February 2013, 155[2]:16-17.

REFERENCES

Huckabee (2012), “Undoing an Atheist’s Legacy,” June 11, http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/huckabee/index.html#/v/1684616589001/undoing-an-atheists-leg.

Le Beau, Bryan F. (2005), The Atheist: Madalyn Murray O’Hair (New York: New York University).

“Marxism Led Madalyn Murray O’Hair to Atheism” (2012), World Net Daily, May 10, http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/marxism-led-madalyn-murray-ohair-to-atheism/.

McGrath, Alister (2004), The Twilight of Atheism (New York: Doubleday).

Van Biema, David (1997), “Where’s Madalyn?” Time, 149[6]:56-60, February 10.

Woodhead, Leslie, Director (2006), “Godless in America: Madalyn Murray O’Hair.” Documentary. Reggie Nadelson, Narrator. http://documentarystorm.com/godless-in-america-madalyn-murray-ohair.

Love is not Jealous, so Why is God? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=777

Love is not Jealous, so Why is God?

by  Eric Lyons, M.Min.

The argument goes something like this: (1) 1 John 4:8 indicates that “God is love;” (2) 1 Corinthians 13:4 says that “love is not jealous” (NAS); and yet (3) Exodus 20:5, along with several other passages, reveals that God is “a jealous God.” “How,” the skeptic asks, “can God be jealous when several verses say God is love and 1 Cor. says love is not jealous?” (McKinsey, 1992). Simply put, if love is not jealous, and God is love, then God logically cannot be called jealous. Or conversely, if love is not jealous, and God is jealous, then God cannot be considered loving. Right? How can these verses be anything but contradictory?

The term “jealousy” most often carries a negative connotation in twenty-first-century America. We pity the man who is jealous of his coworker’s success. We frown upon families who react to a neighbor’s newly found fortune by becoming overcome with jealously. And we are perturbed to hear of a jealous husband who distrusts his wife, and questions every possible wrong action that she might make, even going so far as demanding that she never leave the house without him. Add to these feelings about jealousy what various New Testament passages have to say on the subject, and one can understand why some might sincerely question why God is described at times as “jealous.” The apostle Paul admonished the Christians in Rome to “behave properly,” and put off “strife and jealousy” (Romans 13:13, NAS). To the church at Corinth, Paul expressed concern that when he came to their city he might find them involved in such sinful things as gossip, strife, and jealousy (2 Corinthians 12:20). And, as noted above, he explicitly told them that “love is not jealous” (1 Corinthians 13:4). James also wrote about the sinfulness of jealousy, saying that where it exists “there is disorder and every evil thing” (3:16; cf. Acts 7:9). One religious writer described such jealousy as “an infantile resentment springing from unmortified covetousness, which expresses itself in envy, malice, and meanness of action” (Packer, 1973, p. 189). It seems, more often than not, that both the New Testament and the “moral code” of modern society speak of “jealousy” in a negative light.

The truth is, however, sometimes jealously can be spoken of in a good sense. The word “jealous” is translated in the Old Testament from the Hebrew word qin’ah, and in the New Testament from the Greek word zelos. The root idea behind both words is that of “warmth” or “heat” (Forrester, 1996). The Hebrew word for jealousy carries with it the idea of “redness of the face that accompanies strong emotion” (Feinberg, 1942, p. 429)—whether right or wrong. Depending upon the usage of the word, it can be used to represent both a good and an evil passion. Three times in 1 Corinthians, Paul used this word in a good sense to encourage his brethren to “earnestly desire (zeeloúte)” spiritual gifts (12:31; 14:1,39). He obviously was not commanding the Corinthians to sin, but to do something that was good and worthwhile. Later, when writing to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul was even more direct in showing how there was such a thing as “godly jealousy.” He stated:

I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it (2 Corinthians 11:2-4, emp. added).

Paul’s burning desire was for the church at Corinth to abide in the love of God. As a friend of the bridegroom (Christ), Paul used some of the strongest language possible to encourage the “bride” of Christ at Corinth to be pure and faithful.

In a similar way, Jehovah expressed His love for Israel in the Old Testament by proclaiming to be “a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24). He was not envious of the Israelites’ accomplishments or possessions, but was communicating His strong love for them with anthropomorphic language. The Scriptures depict a spiritual marriage between Jehovah and His people. Sadly, during the period of the divided kingdom, both Israel and Judah were guilty of “playing the harlot” (Jeremiah 3:6-10). God called Israel’s idolatrous practice “adultery,” and for this reason He had “put her away and given her a certificate of divorce” (3:8). This is not the “lunatic fury of a rejected or supplanted suitor,” but a “zeal to protect a love-relationship” (Packer, p. 189). Jehovah felt for Israel “as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse, and was jealous for their fidelity, because he willed their invariable happiness” (Clarke, 1996, emp. added). Song of Solomon 8:6 is further proof that love and jealousy are not always opposed to each other. To her beloved, the Shulamite said: “Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord” (NAS). In this passage, love and jealousy actually are paralleled to convey the same basic meaning (see Tanner, 1997, p. 158)—that (aside from one’s love for God) marital love is “the strongest, most unyielding and invincible force in human experience” (NIV Study Bible, 1985, p. 1012). In this sense, being a jealous husband or wife is a good thing. As one commentator noted, married persons “who felt no jealousy at the intrusion of a lover or an adulterer into their home would surely be lacking in moral perception; for the exclusiveness of marriage is the essence of marriage” (Tasker, 1967, p. 106).

Truly, love has a jealous side. There is a sense in which one legitimately can be jealous for what rightfully belongs to him (see Numbers 25). Such is especially true in the marriage relationship. Israel was God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6). He had begun to set them apart as a special nation by blessing their “father” Abraham (Genesis 12:1ff; 17:1-27). He blessed the Israelites with much numerical growth while living in Egypt (Exodus 1:7,12,19; Deuteronomy 26:5; cf. Genesis 15:5; 46:3). He delivered them from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 3-12). And, among other things, He gave them written revelation, which, if obeyed, would bring them spiritually closer to Jehovah, and even would make them physically superior to other nations, in that they would be spared from various diseases (see Exodus 15:26). Like a bird that watches over her eggs and young with jealousy, preventing other birds from entering her nest, God watched over the Israelites with “righteous” jealousy, unwilling to tolerate the presence of false gods among his people (see Exodus 20:3-6; Joshua 24:14-16,19-20). Such “godly jealousy” (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:2) was not what Paul had in mind in 1 Corinthians 13:4.

REFERENCES

Clarke, Adam (1996), Adam Clarke’s Commentary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

Feinberg, Charles Lee (1942), “Exegetical Studies in Zechariah: Part 10,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 99:428-439, October.

Forrester, E.J. (1996), “Jealousy,” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Electronic Database Biblesoft).

McKinsey, C. Dennis (1992), [On-line], URL: http://members.aol.com/chas1222/bepart56.html.

NIV Study Bible (1985), (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Packer, J.I. (1973), Knowing God (London: Hodder and Stoughton).

Tanner, J. Paul (1997), “The Message of the Song of Songs,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 154: 142-161, April.

Tasker, R.V.G. (1967), The Epistle of James (London: Tyndale Press).


"THE GOSPEL OF MARK" The Triumphal Entry (11:1-11) by Mark Copeland

 

  "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

    The Triumphal Entry (11:1-11)
 

INTRODUCTION

1. From chapter eleven forward, the events of Mark’s gospel take place
   in or near Jerusalem...
   a. From His triumphal entry to His resurrection from the dead
   b. Occurring within the time span of eight days

2. The first day is often remembered as "Palm Sunday"...
   a. In which Jesus made a triumphal entry into the city
   b. Accompanied by crowds who laid branches on the road before Him as
      He road into town on the colt of a donkey

[The significance of this event was not understood by His disciples
until later (Jn 12:16).  With the benefit of hindsight and further
revelation, let’s first take a closer look at...]

I. THE NARRATIVE

   A. THE PREPARATION...
      1. Jesus and His disciples draw near to Jerusalem - Mk 11:1
         a. By way of Bethany ("house of dates") and Bethphage ("house of unripe figs")
         b. Two small villages near the Mount of Olives between Jericho and Jerusalem
      2. Jesus arranges for two disciples to get a colt - Mk 11:1-3
         a. A colt on which no one sat
         b. By foreknowledge or previous arrangement, Jesus knows the owner will consent
      3. The disciples get the colt just as Jesus predicted - Mk 11:4-6

   B. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY...
      1. Jesus mounts the colt - Mk 11:7
         a. It is brought to Him, clothes placed on it, and He sits on it
         b. Matthew mentions two animals, likely the mother to calm the colt - Mt 21:2,7
      2. Many spread their cloths on the road, others cut leafy branches
         and place them on the road before Jesus on the colt - Mk 11:8
         a. The significance of the clothes placed before Him might be found in 2Ki 9:12-13
         b. John mentions palm branches - Jn 12:13
      3. Many praise Jesus as He rides the colt - Mk 11:9-10
         a. Crying "Hosanna!" ("Save!" or "please save!") - Ps 118:25
         b. "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" - Ps 118:26
         c. "Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in
            the name of the Lord!"
         d. "Hosanna in the highest!"
      4. Jesus enters Jerusalem - Mk 11:11
         a. He goes straight to the temple, and looks around
         b. But the hour is late and so He does not stay

   C. THE RETURN TO BETHANY...
      1. Jesus returns to Bethany with the twelve - Mk 11:11
      2. Where He likely stays each night during the week (until the Passover)
      3. Likely at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - Jn 12:1-2

[With this brief look at the narrative, let’s offer...]

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS

   A. THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY...
      1. Matthew explains that all this was in fulfillment of prophecy- Mt 21:4-5; Zech 9:9
      2. Some view the short visit to the temple as fulfilling prophecy- cf. Mal 3:1

   B. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM...
      1. The actions and words of the crowd reflect Messianic anticipation - Mk 11:10; Jn 12:12-13
      2. Earlier some had tried to force Jesus to become a king, but He refused - Jn 6:15
      3. Many were looking for the Messiah to be a physical king, but
         Jesus made it clear that His kingdom was not of this world (i.e., a spiritual kingdom)
         a. To the Pharisees - Lk 17:20-21
         b. To Pilate - Jn 18:36
      4. Paul made it clear that the kingdom was spiritual, not physical- Ro 14:17; 1Co 15:50
      5. Jesus’ selection of the colt indicated the spiritual nature of His kingdom
         a. Normally kings would ride on a horse, symbolizing war and power
         b. But the donkey symbolized peace, befitting the nature of His kingdom - cf. Isa 9:6

   C. THE PRAISE OF THE CROWD...
      1. How exciting it must have been on that day!  The anticipation! The joy!
      2. The praise of Christ reached eternal heights after His ascension - Re 5:8-14
      3. Today, we can join in the praise of Christ each Lord’s day!
      4. And we can look forward to praising Jesus when He returns, when
         we will be glorified together with Him! - 2Th 1:10

CONCLUSION

1. What a triumphal entry that will be when Jesus returns...!
   a. Not to offer Himself for sin, as He did with His first coming
   b. But to offer eternal salvation for those who believe! - He 9:27-28

2. But that will be a day of salvation for those who eagerly await Him...
   a. For others, it will be a day of condemnation - 2Th 1:7-9
   b. For others, it will be a day of destruction - ibid.

As we await His "triumphal entry" at the last day, let us faithfully
serve Him today in His spiritual kingdom of righteousness, joy, and peace...!

      "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!
             Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
                              Luke 19:38         
 
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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Women Who Glory In Their Shame by Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

 

https://thepreachersword.com/2016/01/22/women-who-glory-in-their-shame/#more-8353

Women Who Glory In Their Shame

Abortion.Mother.Baby 

“I was 29, I was living in Seattle, I was in graduate school, I was dating someone…It was never a question. I got pregnant and I was like, ‘Well, alright, I guess I’m having an abortion,” relates Amelia Bonow in a matter of fact fashion.

Today is the 43rd anniversary of Roe v Wade and the abortion activists are working harder than ever to push back against the Pro-Life movement and make abortion seem like a simple, normal, rational decision that any woman would make.

Time.com relates the story of Bonow, a leader in an online grassroots campaign, #ShoutYourAbortion. She is encouraging ordinary women to discuss their abortions. Bonow wants women to “fight back” against what she calls a “culture of fear” created by those opposed to abortion.

“I think that we’re seeing an enormous outpouring of women willing to talk about their own abortion stories, because they’ve realized that with the upcoming Supreme Court case, the future of reproductive protections are at stake,” says Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which has supported at least one of the campaigns. “We’re not going to lose our rights because you’re trying to bully and shame us into silence, we’re not going to do that anymore.”

The case Northup is referring to is WholeWomens Heath v Cole. Because of the numerous restrictions that are protecting women and the unborn baby, enacted on the state level in the past 43 years, they are claiming they constitute an “undue burden” and seeking to rule them unconstitutional. The Supreme Court will hear this case March 2.

#ShoutYourAbortion is not alone. Similar groups are promoting that women share their stories and make abortion seem like a normal medical procedure. The abortion industry is also releasing a series of videos performed by 7 actresses about women who’ve had abortions.

The series, Draw the Line Monologues, is produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights. In it, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Brenneman, Mercedes Mason, Mary McCormack, Dascha Polanco, Retta, and Bellamy Young perform the video vignettes which, according to their press release, “inspired by stories submitted by American women about access to abortion care.”

In a further development, 113 prominent female attorneys filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in January, where they state that they “would not have been able to achieve the personal or professional successes they have achieved were it not for their ability to obtain safe and legal abortions.”

One anonymous lawyer wrote: “To the world, I am an attorney who had an abortion, and, to myself, I am an attorney because I had an abortion.”

Among the signers were law professors, public defenders, and even a former justice of the New York state Supreme Court. Elected officials such as Ohio state representative Teresa Fedor, former Nevada state representative Lucy Flores, and former Texas Senator Wendy Davis also filed a similar brief about their personal experiences with abortion.

These are all misguided attempts to justify sinful behavior, soothe the conscience of women who’ve had abortions, and silence Bible believers who stand opposed to this shameful blight on our country’s history. In the past 43 years, according to The National Right to Life organization, there have been over 58 million unborn children who have lost their lives.

These efforts remind me a passage in Jeremiah describing the brazen attitude the people had toward sin 600 years before Christ.

“Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?

No, they were not at all ashamed;

they did not know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among the fallen;

when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,

says the Lord” (Jer 8:12, ESV

Bible believers affirm that life begins at conception. The Bible uses the expression “with child” 26 times to refer to pregnant women. The term fetus is never used.

Luke, the physician, records that Elisabeth, the mother of John the Immerser, conceived a son (1:35). In verse 41 the doctor wrote “the baby leaped in her womb.” The baby! Not the fetus! It is the same Greek word that Luke uses to describe Jesus after he was born (2:12, 16). God views the unborn baby and the newborn baby in the same way. Both are living human beings.

In the midst of his suffering Job cries out, “Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light?” (3:16). The unborn child is called an infant!

Instead of glorifying their sinful behavior and participating in the murder of the unborn, these women should be repenting of their sins, asking God’s forgiveness, and seeking to revive their God-consciousness buried deep within their souls.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

SPECIAL OCCASION SINNERS BY STEVE FINNELL

 

https://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2016/11/

SPECIAL OCCASION SINNERS BY STEVE FINNELL


If you are a Christian and only sin on special occasions will you be exempt from not inheriting the kingdom of God?

Is it Scripturally correct to claim you are not guilty of sin because you only sin on special occasions like birthdays, holidays, and a few randomly selected days?

Can I assert I am not a thief, because I do not steal on a regular bases?

Can men say they are not a drunkards, because they only get drunk on special occasions?

Can men assume they are not fornicators, because they only have sex with people who they are not married to, on rare occasions?

Can men assert that they not homosexuals, because they have sex with the same sex infrequently?

Can men proclaim they are not murderers, because they only murder a few times a year? 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

The apostle Paul did not say, "Such were some of you, however, now you are special occasion sinners that can continue your sins on a somewhat limited schedule."       

The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood

 

https://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/goodevil.html

The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood

"These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16-19).

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).

The whole world is polluted, drenched with innocent blood. How are people with blood on their hands to be punished? How can evil be overcome?

In 2001 on September 11th terrorist suicide bombers flew hijacked passenger planes into buildings in New York City and Washington DC killing more than three-thousand people (2657 at the World Trade Center, 266 on the four planes and 125 at the Pentagon).

The world was rightly horrified by this atrocity.

God hates hands that shed innocent blood, and He shows no partiality.

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).

Much innocent blood is shed that brings no tears, that is never reported in the newspapers.

Every day in US hospitals an average of 3560 innocent children die at the hands of hired killers. During 2000 one million three-hundred thousand children were killed in this way. In each case they were taken by their own mothers to be killed. They call it abortion.

In other words, a terrorist attack equivalent to what was done on September 11th, 2001 would have to be carried out every day, week in week out, year in year out, to kill as many innocent people as are killed routinely in US hospitals by abortion.

From 1973 (when abortion was legalized in the US) until the end of 2001, more than forty million babies were killed in the US. World-wide, about forty million babies are exterminated by abortion each year.

Where are the tears? Where is the outrage? Where is the media coverage?

What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn child? What crime could be more heinous than a mother killing her own child, unless it is a doctor who gets money for killing babies?

"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!" (Isaiah 5:20).

God is keeping track of each precious one. He takes each child that was rejected and killed by its mother into His loving arms. And He will see that justice is done.

How are people with blood on their hands punished?

God will punish them on the day of judgment unless they repent, and He uses governments to punish them now and to punish one another.

He brought destruction on His people Israel because they sacrificed their children to idols. "They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood" (Psalm 106:37,38).

God used Nebachadnezzar, whom He called 'my servant' to punish Israel for her sins (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6; 43:10). But Babylon was so violent and evil herself that she was later punished as well (Jeremiah 25:12; 50:18).

People who shed innocent blood separate themselves from God.

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace" (Isaiah 59:2-8).

People with blood on their hands, and countries that are polluted with the blood of innocents, need not expect help from God. "When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood" (Isaiah 1:15).

We must repent and choose good rather than evil. Only then will we survive the judgments that are coming upon the world. "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil" (Deuteronomy 30:14,15).

All people will stand before the judgment seat of God to give account for what they have done.

"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28,29).

God will punish those who perpetrate atrocities. "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

Governments have been appointed by God as ministers of wrath to punish evil-doers: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil" (Romans 13:1-4).

The governing authorities have been appointed as God's ministers, avengers, to execute wrath on those who practice evil. Christians should submit to their governments up to the point where they are told to do something that is contrary to the revealed will of God. Then what Peter told the Jewish rulers applies: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

How can evil be overcome?

This is the special task of Christians. Evil must be punished, yes. God turns evil against evil to punish evil. But overcoming evil, conquering evil can only be accomplished by good. It can only be accomplished by the blood of Christ that atones for the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Christians are not ministers of God's wrath, as are governments. Christians are ministers of reconciliation: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:18- 20).

We do not interfere with the government as God's minister of wrath to punish evil-doers. But neither do we participate in that task because we have a more exalted commission. We are a special task force, not to punish evil, but to conquer evil. We have been appointed as God's ministers of reconciliation. We are commanded: "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21). "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44,45). "See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all" (1 Thessalonians 5:15). "Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9).

As commissioners of God, we call men to turn away from evil and to do good.

"Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" (Psalm 34:12-16).

"Do they not go astray who devise evil? but mercy and truth belong to those who devise good" (Proverbs 14:22).

"Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore" (Psalm 37:27).

"He who diligently seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil" (Proverbs 11:27).

The whole world is polluted, drenched with innocent blood. God will punish evil on the day of judgment, and He uses governments to punish evil now. Christians are God's special task force to conquer evil, calling men to repentance and overcoming evil with good.

"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For 'He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil''' (1 Peter 3:8-12).

"Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God" (3 John 11).

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

My best friend is? by Gary Rose

 

It is a fact; dogs do not like a “Cone of Shame”. My dog Pal actually hates them and will do everything he can to rid himself of this annoying restriction; in fact, he has managed to get out of it on several occasions.


Most of the time, cats and dogs do not get along, but in some cases they do and these two seem to be friends. How do I know that? Well, a good friend will be there when you need them and comfort you when you are “down”.


Jesus said:


John 15 ( World English Bible )

9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.

11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.

15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.


I know Jesus is my friend because he actually did lay down his life for me. This is historical FACT; Jesus lived, he died and he rose again. His life for my sins- a good deal, for me anyway.


However, there is a catch. We have to do what he told us to do. Love him, love each other and desire the highest good for every human being. More that this, we need follow his teachings, his commitment and his attitude of service to God the Father.


If we do all that he wants us to do, he WILL BE THERE FOR US; now and unto eternity. Try to name any other person who has done so much for those he loves- you can’t. Somehow, the song: “I have found a friend in Jesus, he is everything to me” comes to mind.


1

I’ve found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
  He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Apple-tree of trees, in Him alone I see
  All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay,
  He tells me every care on Him to roll:
He’s the Apple-tree of trees, the Bright and Morning Star,
  He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

2

He all my griefs has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
  In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower;
I’ve all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
  From my heart, and now He keeps me by His power.
Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
  Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal:
He’s the Apple-tree of trees, the Bright and Morning Star,
  He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

3

He’ll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
  While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
  With His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face,
  Where rivers of delight shall ever roll:
He’s the Apple-tree of trees, the Bright and Morning Star,
  He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.


My wish for you this day is to remember your best friend ever (Jesus) as you go about your daily business. Who knows, perhaps you might even find yourself singing this hymn from time to time. You will be blessed if you do.