3/12/18

America's Greatest Threat by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=4122

America's Greatest Threat

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Q:

What do you consider to be America’s greatest threat?

A:

A loss of reverence for God and His Word. Since history repeats itself, we should not be surprised to read in the Bible of societal circumstances that bear a remarkable resemblance to our own cultural condition. Like America, Israel was steeped in moral corruption. Social evils pervaded society. The people had become pagan in their daily conduct and in their worship. They were enhancing their standing and their financial status at the expense of others. Judgment was inevitable. Though but a lowly sheepherder from the little village of Tekoa, the prophet Amos, who lived and labored in the 8^th century B.C., traveled to the seat of government of the Northern Kingdom and issued a stern call to repent. He met with stiff resistance and was warned to go back home and never preach in Bethel again (7:12-13). He was even accused of conspiracy to overthrow the government (7:10). Yet, his message was right on target, and needs to be heard in America today. Specifically, Amos declared that the nation was suffering the effects of severe famine: “Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (8:11). The vast majority of America’s ills have been brought on by its neglect of the spiritual truths found in the Bible—the Word of God.

When Disaster Strikes by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=378

When Disaster Strikes

Acts 12:1-2

(Based on a sermon by Dr. Roger W. Thomas)

In the very first part of Acts 12 we read about something very terrible that happens; something that’s easy to over look. I t says, “It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.”

Now just imagine being James’ mom and dad, or his brother John? We are first introduced to the Apostles James and John in Matt 4:21. They were in business together with their dad Zebedee when Jesus called them to follow Him. Peter, James, and John seemingly became Jesus’ closest friends in those last few years. Can you just imagine the hard questions James’ mom had, like “Why God, he was a good boy.” And even after Peter was saved by the angel, I can imagine them wondering why their son could not have been saved as well.

Tragedy happens all around us and I think it’s normal to wonder why. I am sure there are many who are wondering why the tragedy in Japan becasue of that horrible earthquake.

No one can see such events, even from afar, without asking the big question. “Where was God? How can a good God allow such things to happen?” We are not the first to ask those questions. We will not be the last.

George Barna, the public-opinion pollster, conducted a national survey in which he polled adults asking them. “If you could ask God one question, what would you ask?” The number one response was, “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?” It seems like we want to blame someone. Someone has to be at fault. Why not blame someone who could intervene with miracles?

Disasters like we have seen this week in Japan force us to confront this hard question. How can God be so good, and great, and at the same time let something like this happen? Why do such things happen?

I don’t presume to have all the answers that such events raise. I don’t claim to understand it all myself; but there is an answer. I believe this is how the Bible explains what has happened:

Bad things happen because we live in a broken world. The early pages of Genesis teach us that in the beginning God created the world, and what He created was good. But..
• He did not intend for anyone to die.

• He did not choose or intend on earthquakes to strike or kill people with huge tsunamis’ that that’s not who God is. That was not His original plan.
• He did not intend Herod to kill James or for His children to take up arms against each other to kill their fellow man in war.
• When God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden He wanted them to be His children
• There was no death, there was no disease, there was no killing
• Like a loving parent God instructed Adam and Eve on how they were to live their lives

God Created a perfect world but it didn’t stay that way. He didn’t create evil, but He did give us some freedom. And with that freedom, came the potential for us to act contrary to God’s will. Adam and Eve chose to rebel against the Creator. Hence all of Adam’s descents are broken people living in a broken world, and so bad things are bound to happen. That isn’t God’s fault it’s our’s.

In a broken world of broken people who constantly choose to ignore their Creator’s wishes, the real question is not “why does a holy God allow disasters?” but here today we ask “Why are some of us spared and not other?” Or why Peter and not James? Why some people in Japan and not others? Why are some cured of cancer but others aren’t?

I’m not sure why. You may only get the answer to that question when you stand before Him in Heaven. But I personally believe God occasionally intercedes and saves some because He still has an unfinished plan and purpose for those people.

Do these other people lose their lives because they are more sinful than others? I don’t think so. Jesus was once asked about a couple of disasters. His response is worth noting.

Someone in the crowd asked Jesus what He thought of a recent event. The ruthless Roman Governor Pontius Pilate had executed some Galilean rebels and mixed their blood with the sacrifices they were preparing to make. Listen to Jesus’ reply. Luke 13: 1-5 “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Jesus then called attention to a construction accident that recently happened in Jerusalem: “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

So did these disasters happen because those people were more evil than their friends and neighbors? Jesus basically said, “No.” Not once but twice. Stuff just happens. But He told them to learn from it. He basically tells them that everyone needs to repent because everyone is a sinner.

Neither James, nor the victims in Japan, no more deserved their suffering than we do. Suffering does not always happen in direct proportion to sin. Jesus said, “[the Father] causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45).

We have to remember that the Father loves us all. Innocent people sometimes suffer because of where they put themselves. If you live on a fault line, you have to expect to experience earthquakes. If you live on the coast, you have to expect an occasional big wave, even the potential of a tsunami. Just like if you live here in the north you have to expect subzero weather and lots of snow. And Accidents sometimes just happen.

Generically, suffering can and will happen because we sin. If I lie and cheat on my wife and she leaves me because of my sin, it’s not God’s fault, it’s mine. But we should not forget Satan’s influence either. The Bible is clear. Satan is real. He is not make believe. He is not a fantasy or a symbolic idea. The Bible says “he prowls the world like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8-9). And he will try to tempt us to do things may seem appealing at first but my later lead to dire consequences later.

Satan works behinds the scenes in every level of society. Much of the world’s suffering flows directly from his successes. We need to remember Job’s suffering wasn’t God doing, it was Satan’s.

But we should never forget, even when bad things happen, God is still in control. Nothing that happens escapes God watchful eye or tender concern. Jesus taught us that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10:30-31).

That’s also the message of Romans 8. Listen to the verses 28 and 35-38. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. …Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:28, 35-38).

We may not know why disasters and hard times happen to us, but this we do know, God is good—all the time. He is in control even in the worst of times. And verses like these teach us if someday we find our self in a horrible situation. God is not turning His back on us; rather, He always loves us. He will even somehow bring good out of bad situations. If disaster strikes us, He still loves. He still cares. He is always at work seeking to bring good to us.

I don’t want to minimize the suffering and heartache of the millions in Japan. It is unimaginable. That is something we should pray no human being should have to face. But God is still good. He is doing good things in the wake of that disaster. What possible good can come out of such events?

Hard times strengthen us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “The God of all comfort..will comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” The experience of a disaster like this should soften our hearts, strengthen our resolve, and make us more compassionate people. We read about countless numbers wanting to help, giving money and so much more. Sometimes a disaster can bring out the best in so many.

Some lesson we can learn:

1. Disasters should remind us how fragile life is and how vulnerable we all are. Don’t put yourself in a potentially dangerous environments without expecting potential hazards .

2. Disasters pull the rug out from under proud, self-sufficient people. Such events have a way of revealing the really important stuff in life. Suddenly money, ambition, and success don’t matter nearly as much as life, faith, and family. It’s a good when people realize the value of these things. Hopefully we can learn it before a disaster strikes.

3. Great disasters can give rise to great love and generosity. Such events as we have witnessed this week in Japan offer opportunities to give, love, and care. Many are doing just that. That is a good thing!

4. Whether you realize it or not people are dying all around us. About 6100 people died this past hour, and another 6100 will die in the next hour, and every hour after that. Worldwide about 146,357 people die each day; that’s about 102 per minute. People die and the sad reality is when our love one dies it hurts to see them go.

None of us knows what tomorrow holds. But some of us will face hardships in the future. We think we could never live through what those people in Japan are living through. But we can. We can because we have the promise of a loving and faithful God who works good even out of bad times.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We have to believe this! He has proved it over and over again. And if someone like James, or your husband, or even if many loose their life like those in Japan, we have to trust God and believe in his providence and wisdom even though it may hurt our heart when it happens.

I believe God knows that kind of pain. I believe that He experience that kind of pain when He saw his Son beat and abused and then nailed to that cross for each and everyone of us. Just like when He was born, when the heavens broke out with angelic hymns and praise when Jesus was born, when He was beat to a bloody mess and then put on that cross I can’t help but believe all heaven wailed and mourned.

God knows our pain. He could have sent 10,000 angels to prevent or stop it, but He didn’t. He had a plan which had to run its course no matter how painful.

What is God doing in the midst of disaster? He is doing what He always does. He is loving us, caring for us, and preparing us for eternity. Ultimately that is His goal. It was His goal when Jesus drew His last breath on that cross.

The reality is our bodies will die, but that doesn’t mean we are dead and gone. We continue to live in a form that we just can’t see or fully understand right now. It’s leaving one reality and stepping into another. Just like Jesus did, we to will rise to a newness of life.

And I hope that’s a promise you can live with, not only for yourself, but also when you think disaster strikes you household! Now what awaits you there will depend on if you accept Jesus or not.

My challenge for you is to acccept God’s wonderful gift, His Son. Jesus died so that you and I can live. It was the ultimate sacrifice. But each of us have to accept this gift. It is not forced on us. It was His life for our, so that our sin will not keep us out of heaven. That’s the gift; Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. Turn from committing those sins to Him, accept and confess His as the new Lord of your life, and then allow Him to personally remove your sin in the water of Baptism (Colossians 2:9-13)

Train Up a Child from the Cradle to the Grave by Alfred Shannon Jr.

https://biblicalproof.wordpress.com/2011/02/

Train Up a Child from the Cradle to the Grave

The season of our eternal life began from accountability, and ends in death. Train up a child of God from the cradle to the grave, and watch them grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Read always, Study hard, Learn continuously, and Grow in Word of God from sun up till sun down, and receive the Crown of Life.

2 Cor 5:10; Prov 22:6; Deut 6:7; Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 3:15; 2 Pet 3:18; 2 Tim 2:2-5; Jam 1:12

DANCING WITHOUT MUSIC by Jim McGuiggan

https://jimmcguiggan.wordpress.com/2016/09/

DANCING WITHOUT MUSIC

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were gathered around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them’.” (Luke 15:1-2)
The famous Swiss psychologist, Paul Tournier, confounded those who came from all over the world to learn from him the secret of his phenomenal practice. He insisted he had no special secret and he also insisted that no school of thought had a corner on success. He claimed that it made little or no difference whether the practitioner was a Freudian or followed Maslow, Fromm or the Rogerian non-directional school. He swore that caring for people is what made the difference. The psychological theory was useful up to a point but in the end, Tournier persisted, if the hurting one thought they were being heard and that the person involved with them felt them worthwhile the world was on its way to being changed. It all sounded so commonsensical that the seekers waited for something more specialized and esoteric from him but it never came. To be loved, to be thought worthwhile, and truly enjoyed is better than all the drugs and the clinical assessments. To believe that someone truly likes to have you around is medicine for every part of us.
So many of us have experienced that. There were things about us that we so detested that we would have spiraled down into emotional oblivion if it hadn’t been for certain individuals who loved us. They saw us for what we were and loved us as we were and came to rescue us from painful isolation and self-hatred. They gave us the strength to go on.
But it was no easy job for them. However cranky or rude or even abusive we’ve been or are we still insist that we have our rights. We might not use the word but we certainly act on it. Everyone owes us and we expect them to come up to it or we’ll give them a piece of our mind, even if it’s only inside our own head.
If we saw it all happen in a movie on the screen we would think we would recognize immediately that our behavior was abominable. We would wonder at the patience of those who have stood by us bearing the pain of the abuse and ingratitude day after day after day.
And if we’re mistreated, or even think we are, how well we remember the details. We’re able to recall the very tone in which the words were spoken (so we think), where we were sitting when it happened and what was said just after that. Instant and complete recall! We who can’t remember where we left our keys five minutes ago can recall a six-months-ago complex scene in all its details.
Luke 14:1 tells us this remarkable thing. “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee…” In light of how the religious leaders treated him you might think Jesus would have said, “Thank you but no thanks” when the invitation for dinner came. But no, he graciously accepted even though he knew (as the text goes on to tell us, that he would be “carefully watched”). But we mustn’t assume this was “easy” for him to do. That is, Jesus was no machine, programmed by God to run without feelings. Like the rest of us, the temptation to dismiss people was real but he decisively set it aside and did what he thought would please his Father and what was good to/for others. It’s appears that he never treated anyone in such a way that they got the impression that if they were obliterated from off the face of the earth it wouldn’t cost him a moment’s thought.
And maybe it’s this that devastates us most: When someone treats us as though our presence or absence doesn’t matter, as though our life or death makes no difference at all to them. And God help us, even if we know we’ve behaved in such a way as to “deserve” isolation we’re thunderstruck if that’s what we get. We keep mistreating people, though we know if someone treated us this way we’d surely walk off, and yet when we’re sidelined we’re devastated. Even when we know we deserve no better we wish for better treatment.
Israel complained in Isaiah 64 that God had hidden himself from them. He hadn’t done remarkable things for them, and that he was nowhere in sight when they looked for him. In chapter 65 God finds that astonishing and says, “All day long I’ve held out my hands to a disobedient and argumentative people. I’m even found by people who weren’t looking for me.” The fault didn’t lie in God and maybe, most of the time, I’d suppose, the fault doesn’t lie in others.
But in fairness, we sort of expect prolonged patience in God. He’s up to it. It may not be right but it’s the case that we expect him to continue to work with us even though we’re consistently a mess. In some ways that makes good sense because if God were the kind of God who would gladly leave us sinking in the muck we would think we’ve got the wrong God. What makes no sense is for us to keep mistreating other struggling people and expecting them to be God!
But if the story is ever fully told maybe we’ll be amazed at how patient and loving even ordinary people have been. These are stories of such grace.
The two lead characters in the movie Awakenings are Leonard Lowe (played by DeNiro) and Doctor Sayers (played by Robin Williams). Lowe as a boy becomes a victim of post-encephalitic syndrome and is cut off from life for about forty years (though he’s always aware he’s cut off). The doctor discovers a drug that brings Leonard out of the dead-zone and they find life again. The now adult Lowe is astonished at the potential of life and he loves it even more now, having found it again, than he would have if he had never lost it. While exulting in life, within the walls of the hospital Lowe meets a beautiful girl whose father is ill, and the couple are drawn to each other.
Sinister side effects of the drug begin to show. At first twitches and then jerking movements and as it progresses facial distortion and bodily behavior reminiscent of Huntingdon’s chorea. He realizes he’s sinking and his panic and desperation are only matched by his disgust when he looks at himself. What makes matters worse is her gentleness, poise and beauty; it only underscores his own worsening condition and though he’s now head over heels in love with her he can no longer bear to be in her presence so he plans to sever the tie. Their final meeting in the cafeteria is awkward and during it he insists that he’s grotesque though she fervently denies it. Her grace only makes it more difficult for him and he says a poignant goodbye (made even more poignant because he shakes her hand in a formal way) as he tells her he doesn’t want to see her any more. The truth is, he doesn’t want her to see him anymore. Love for her and his self-disgust mingle in that mysterious way they often do in life and it’s precisely that mix that drives him against his will to walk away.
He moves from the table jerking violently, face contorted and with chaos in his soul. She follows him, turns him round, takes his hand and slowly but gently and deliberately puts it on her waist and holds the other in her own and begins to dance with him. There’s no music, and they’re oblivious to the people sitting around, there’s just the two of them, he reluctantly and pathetically shuffling and she molding her steps to his. And that’s when the magic wove its spell. Her nearness and grace gradually brought order into his chaotic inner world and what drugs couldn’t do she did; the jerking and contortion took their leave and he found peace there in the arms of someone who loved him. Watching the movie was for me an education as well as a profound experience.
I can’t say I’ve personally seen or experienced a transformation as immediate and dramatic as that but I believe in such things. I believe that to be loved or to love someone changes the world, it actually becomes a different place. If Hollywood can imagine scenes like this why can’t we? And if we can imagine it God said he can do it. Wouldn’t it be a life-transforming experience to move up to a poor, jerking, contorted soul and begin the dance? Who knows what might happen? I wonder if I’m up to that? I wonder if I want to be up to it? It would probably be very costly.
Hmmm.
And if you, poor hurting, desperate soul, can be brave and trusting and allow Him to lead you maybe even without the lovely music of life that others gratefully experience you’ll find self-disgust and despair slip slowly away. Of this I’m sure, if the transformation isn’t sudden or soon it is sure, it will happen for all who in Jesus Christ long for it.
[Write me if you wish, please.]

God’s Eternal Power And Deity Are Understood Through The Things That Are Made by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/thingsmade.html

God’s Eternal Power And Deity
Are Understood Through The Things That Are Made

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20).

Charles Robert Darwin -- born in Shrewsbury, England on February 12, 1809 -- stated his purpose in writing ‘Origin of Species’ thus: “I had two distinct objects in view, firstly, to show that species had not been separately created, and secondly, that natural selection had been the chief agent of change” (Descent of Man, first edition, page 152).

Genesis explains the origin of life-forms in this way: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound 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” (Genesis 1:20, 21). “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind” (Genesis 1:24, 25).

A species is a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed. Thus, the various species reproduce after their kind, as indicated in Genesis. This fact does not easily fit the evolution model.

Charles Darwin’s purpose was to contradict the Biblical account of the origin of separate life-forms through creation.

Darwin’s skills as a scholar and writer enhanced his influence. His ideas also catered to the atheists’ desire for some new explanation for their discredited belief in the spontaneous generation of life.

In primary school I learned about those naïve alchemists in the middle ages who believed in the spontaneous generation of life because worms appeared, seemingly from nowhere, in rotten meat. But we were not told that for the most part, only atheists made this mistake.

People who accepted the Bible knew that life comes from life. Scientific methods were also used to prove it. In 1668 the Italian physician, Francesco Redi had shown that maggots did not develop in jars covered with fine gauze to prevent flies from landing on the meat. He also showed that when dead flies were put in the gauze-covered jars, no maggots appeared, but that when live flies were put in the jars, maggots did appear. Other experiments in the 18th and 19th centuries showed that the apparent ‘spontaneous generation’ of the atheists was caused by unseen life-forms.

Scientific proofs fell on deaf ears among many atheists, however. Without a Creator they had to believe in spontaneous generation. Contrary evidence was rejected. They continued to maintain that spontaneous generation did occur at the microscopic level.

Finally, however, Louis Pasteur’s proofs were so thorough and persuasive that even atheists had to admit that scientifically, life comes from life, omne vivum e vivo.

Yet spontaneous generation is essential for the atheistic model. Darwin’s theory pushed the supposed spontaneous generation back in time into the realm of speculation beyond the reach of scientific investigation. Atheists had a new pseudo-scientific basis for their faith in spontaneous generation.

Another factual objection to evolution is that only distinct life-forms are found in the fossil remains and on earth today, without a chain of intermediate stages of evolution. Darwin admitted this: “Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory. The explanation lies, as I believe, in the extreme imperfection of the geological record” (Origins, Ch. 10, pg 280, first edition). Thus, the theory of evolution is based on missing data.

The existing data are precisely what would be expected if distinct life-forms were created in the beginning, with fossils preserved in rock layers resulting from various catastrophes such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and meteoric impacts.

Not Darwin, but Louis Pasteur is the ‘father of biology’, since scientific biology is based on biogenesis, the principle that life comes from life. Pasteur’s work saved countless lives through great advances in immunology and the preservation of food.

Darwin’s influence resulted in millions of deaths since his speculative work “On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life” formed the theoretical foundation for dialectical materialism (communism) and Nazism.

Marx and Engels both corresponded with Darwin. Marx wrote to Ferdinand Lassalle on January 16, 1861: “Darwin’s book is very important and serves me as a natural historical foundation of our outlook.” (Fetched from http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1861/letters/61_01_16-abs.htm on Feb. 23, 2009).

Their outlook included the idea that the proletariat is a superior class that must destroy the property-owning classes. Stalin (an assumed name meaning ‘man of steel’) ‘purged’ his country of more than 20 million people.

Nazism viewed the ‘Aryan race’ as a ‘master race’ with a right and obligation to rid the world of inferior races. In his ‘Final Solution’ Hitler killed five million Jews and many people of other ethnic groups based on Darwin’s claim that evolutionary progress occurs mainly through the elimination of the weak in the struggle for survival.

How many people did Mao Tse-tung kill? Because access to documents is still restricted, estimates vary widely, but he probably killed more than Stalin and Hitler combined, somewhere between 30 and 50 million.

Pol Pot, a disciple of Mao, was responsible for the death of two million Cambodians.

Darwin would not have condoned these applications of his theory. The theory itself, however, is ideally suited to such applications since it reduces man to an animal, rejects the moral authority of God, and claims that progress comes through the mass extermination of ‘inferior’ life-forms.

A more appropriate title for the scientific content of Darwin’s book would have been “On the adaptability of species,” since that is what is demonstrated by the facts and experiments he discusses. He shows that species have an amazing ability to adapt by means of natural selection, and that this results in great diversity.

Yet, a dove remains a dove and a dog remains a dog. Darwin only speculates that such adaptations could lead to the development of new life-forms with entirely different characteristics.

The fatal flaw of Darwin’s speculation is that natural selection only works for something that functions. Natural selection might result in the adaptation of a functional eye to changed circumstances, but natural selection cannot operate during the supposed millions of years when an eye was ‘evolving’ before it became functional! The Biblical explanation is: “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12).

The fossil record indicates that thousands of species have become extinct, which is exactly what would be expected from the creation of many distinct life-forms in the beginning.

Because of his bias, Darwin ignored something very obvious, namely, the difference between raw materials and ‘things that are made’.

Can you recognize something that has been made?

Paul says, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20).

Can you recognize something that is man-made? I will show you an object. Please raise your hand if it is man-made: a stone, a toy airplane.

We can recognize something man-made because it is a ‘product’, an ‘artifact’, something that has been devised and produced by someone through the processing of raw materials.

If I showed you a live dog, or an eagle, or an elephant and asked you if it had been man-made, you would not raise your hand. Why? Because men are not capable of making such complicated things!

Yet a dog, an eagle and an elephant have the identifying marks of things that have been made. They are not raw materials. They are extremely complex ‘highly-specialized functional systems,’ which according to all scientific observation can only result from intelligent design and an amazing production capability.

Modern airplanes are crude contraptions compared to birds.

Canada geese fly from 50 to 90 km/hr and as far as 1000 km in one day. They can fly during the day or at night. They fly in a V pattern because aerodynamically that takes less energy. The strongest geese fly lead and change off periodically as one gets tired. The honking coordinates the movement of the formation. They find environmentally-friendly fuel along the way and replace themselves before they wear out.

No man can make something like that! Only Someone with awe-inspiring intelligence and creative power could make an eagle, or a dog or a mammoth or a dinosaur. These things show evidence of being God-made. “The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

And what about life? Among the remarkable things man can make, is there anything that is alive? No, man can only make lifeless things.

And what about man himself and the spirit of man? What does the Bible say? “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

Materially, man is composed of compounds found in the biosphere on earth, raw materials. The complexity of the physical and genetic structure of the human body is beyond our comprehension. Yet, even after God formed this marvelous construction, it was just a cadaver until He made man a living being.

But man is more than just a living being. God had already made chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans before He made Eve, yet for some reason, Adam did not find them sufficient as a life companion!

In 2003, researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan claimed that 99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in humans and chimpanzees. Researcher, Morris Goodman, suggested that chimps should be reclassified as human (genus homo).

More recent studies indicate that the similarity is less than 95%. But what Goodman failed to mention is that it is not the similarities in DNA that are significant, but the differences! Recent sequencing of the bovine genome indicates that cows share about 80 per cent of their genes with humans. And it is claimed that we share about 60% of our DNA with a banana! There are many similarities in DNA because life-forms have many functions in common.

Maybe we should ask Dr. Goodman if he would be willing for his daughter to marry a chimpanzee or if he has ever taken a chimpanzee out for dinner at an expensive restaurant! ¹

Again, what does the Bible say? “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26, 27).

The LORD “stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1). Of death we read: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

The tremendous difference between man and all other life-forms is evident. No explanation for the amazing intellect and creativity of man is more reasonable than what is said in Genesis, namely, that man was made in the image of his Creator. God asked Job, “Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?” (Job 38:36).

It is easy to see the difference between raw materials and things that have been made, and the things that are made, declare the glory of God. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:20-22).

Roy Davison
¹ Although many assume that various unearthed remains of genus homo are of different species, this cannot be proven since all surviving representatives form one species even though individuals have extremely divergent physical characteristics.

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)

And then, there is the rest of that verse by Gary Rose

Drawing near to God is not just a warm, fuzzy feeling of well-being. Jesus Christ is a King and will not just be satisfied with someone just wanting to be near to him. There are conditions that the KING sets; one of them is repentance. This involves a change of mind, a change of heart and a change of direction.

Some people actually say things like: "Just accept Jesus into your heart and you will be saved". This is ridiculous! Jesus is a KING, HE accepts us on the basis of all our actions and attitudes.