The Riddle of Genesis 1

February 24th, 2008

A constant premise of Geocreationism for me has been that Moses wrote Genesis 1 in a literal fashion, and that we should interpret it likewise.  In the last six months, I modified that slightly when I learned of the scientific perspectives of mankind at the time, and had my eyes opened to Moses’ consistency with that perspective in his writing.  Did that negate my premise?  Not entirely.  Moses still meant Genesis 1 literally.  He just did not realize the actual scientific details of what he wrote.  Instead, he took the truth, and described it in the clearest terms that he could… which were the scientific terms and imagery of his time.  Determining what really happened from what Moses has a been like solving a riddle, but once you back out of his …

Refraining from Communion (Devotional Notes)

February 10th, 2008

I was reading Leviticus 10 this morning, and two passages caught my attention (emphasis added):
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

- - -

16 Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned …

Death did not Enter the World Through Sin

February 7th, 2008

Contrary to what the Bible says…

Isn’t that exactly what many Christians think I am saying with that title?  That I do not believe the Bible?  You can bet it is.  As an Old Earth Creationist who believes that life has been on earth for billions of years, that dinosaurs were killed 65 million years ago, and that mankind was fearfully and wonderfully made, in part through their descent from animals, I have to accept that many of my Christian brothers and sisters believe that I have rejected the Bible and its clear teachings on sin and death.
AiG’s main thrust is NOT ‘young Earth’ as such; our emphasis is on Biblical authority. Believing in a relatively ‘young Earth’ (i.e., only a few thousands …

Christian, Don’t Follow Jesus’ Example (Devotonal Notes)

January 31st, 2008

Did I catch your attention?  I am half kidding and half serious. 

As a Christian, I occasionally find myself answering questions about the Mosaic law as it relates to our faith in Christ Jesus.  ”Why do Christians pick and choose which laws to follow?”  That’s a common one, which I addressed in detail many years before there were blogs, on my Israel Tour Bible Studies website (toward the bottom).  These days, many discussions involve practical application of the Law for Christians as it relates to our redeemed status, and this is what Exodus 22 to 24 addressed for me yesterday.

One reason the Law is even an even issue for me is that I am meeting more and more Christians who look to Jesus for …

Did God harden Dawkins’ heart?

January 24th, 2008

In Where God’s Love Isn’t, I quoted parts of Jeremiah 7, where the Children of Israel were adopting other gods, while living otherwise normal lives.  Here is part of the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me …

Devotional: Being Christ’s emissary; what do the signs of Moses teach us?

January 23rd, 2008

I know that on occasion, I am sent into a situation as an emissary of Christ.  Surely it happens more than I realize, but there are times when it is crystal clear, and I need to be confident that I will speak as Christ wants me to speak.  This morning, I was reading through Exodus 4, and I was struck by the symbology of what God told Moses when he hesitated to act as God’s emissary to the slaves in Egypt.  Exodus 4:1-4 reads:
4:1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A …

Does “Full Humanity” Predate Homo Sapiens? (Part 3 - Language)

January 19th, 2008

After taking a hiatus, I am back to the task of reviewing Glenn Morton’s evidence for humanity extending back 5.5 million years, which is when Morton believes Adam and Noah lived.  In Does “Full Humanity” Predate Homo Sapiens? (Part 1 - Altars), I concluded that it was reasonable to consider Altars as evidence of humanity.  Even Hugh Ross uses that as a criterion for dating the beginning of humanity, though he only goes back 24,000 years.  Then, in Does “Full Humanity” Predate Homo Sapiens? (Part 2 - Neanderthals), I reviewed …

Devotional Notes: Genesis 41 & Matthew 13

January 18th, 2008

Yesterday, my read-through-bible-in-a-year plan happened to consist of Genesis 41 and Matthew 13.  I say “happened to” because I saw a very interesting connection between them.

Genesis 41 talks about the Pharaoh’s dreams, where 7 seven skinny cows ate 7 seven fat cows, and then 7 whithered ears of corn ate 7 good ears.  Matthew 13 had Jesus’ parable of the sower, weeds, and mustard, accompanied with an explanation of why he talks in parables.  Let me show you the connections that I made.  It was pretty cool.  You can read along in the scriptures here if you like.

In Matthew 13:1-9, Jesus tells of different kinds of seeds.  Seeds along the path get eaten by the birds.  Seeds along …

Devotional Notes: The Last Shall be First

January 16th, 2008

Genesis 38:1-30 tells the story of one of Isral’s (Jacob’s) sons, Judah.  Israel’s daughter-in-law, Tamar, was widowed when God took the life of her husband, Israel’s first son Er.  Er was evil.  Israel sent his second son Onan to her to produce offspring for Er, but Onan was evil as well and God killed him, too.  Judah’s last son, Shelah, was too young to produce children, but he promised him to Tamar when he got older.  In the meantime, Tamar whent back home to her father to wait.  When Shilah got older, Judah failed to keep his promise, so Tamar tricked Judah by posing as a prostitute and conceiving twins by him.  When it came time for the twins to be …

“Evidence for Creation” (Review) - Chapter 5 “Evidence from Man” (Conclusion)

January 15th, 2008

God’s Wrath on Mankind

Racism

DeRosa documents the racist undertones in some of the early Evolutionary literature.  Though certainly not Darwin’s intention, the idea of Natural Selection fed an assessment of the races based on where each falls in the spectrum between advanced society and primitive ape.  Such conclusions are offensive and unbiblical, and have a modern root in society’s acceptance of Evolutionary theory.
The late Stephen Jay Gould, a prolific evangelist for evolution, acknowledged evolution’s racist impact, stating,

“Biological arguments for racism may have been common before 1859, but they increased by orders of magnitude following the acceptance of evolutionary theory.”
Additional application of these “insights” has led to philosophies embracing racial purity and supporting abortion.

Nazism

Darwinian evolution undoubtedly influenced Hitler’s ability to rationalize the …