This is one of the most interesting discoveries of the millennium: An un-fossilized T. rex bone. Soft, stretchy tissue, blood vessels and even blood cells discovered in the semi-fossilized remains of a long-dead T. rex in Montana. (Top picture shows apparent red blood cells in vessel and soft tissue, bottom shows soft tissue)
Watch 15-minute 60 Minutes Interview with Paleontologists Dr. Jack Horner and Dr. Mary Schweitzer from 2010
This and many other similar findings beg a question that evolutionists are trying to avoid: how old are these remains? Instead, Horner and Schweitzer have sought to answer the question: how could soft tissue and blood cells be preserved for over 70 million years without having completely decayed 2000 times over like forensic science predicts? Dr. Schweitzer says that this find shows how much we don't know about decay rates in organic material. However, there is plenty of observable, solid evidence (as Ian Juby points out, people are jailed and executed based upon this science) that these proteins could not survive tens of thousands of years, let alone 70 million (Start Genesis Week video at 6:35 mark). This is why scientists never thought to look for soft tissue! Even in a completely dry environment, the survival of proteins beyond 40,000 years has been thought to be impossible. Until now.
Instead of accepting this as evidence of the dinosaurs in question being killed recently (say a little over 4000 years ago as the Bible indicates) scientists like Schweitzer are scrambling to explain how the preservation of organic material could survive 70 million years. Why can't they consider this as evidence the of dinosaurs living more recently? The theory of evolution dictates that they HAD to have lived 60-80 million years ago. Evolution requires deep time to explain the arrival of complex life from nothing. Please don't try to tell me, "Well, Carbon 14 dating proves they are millions of years old!" This is one of the most uninformed arguments I have heard. Because C14 has a half-life of 5,730±40 years, if the dinosaurs were any older than 100,000 years we would find no measurable C14 in them. But when C14 IS measured in dinosaur remains, we DO find C14 in them. (1) Evolutionary scientists will always claim that the fossils must have been contaminated and reject the evidence that the fossils actually are young. Not only do evolutionists tend to throw out evidence contrary to their theory, they also don't look for it. Dinosaurs are never C14 dated because evolutionary scientists believe any C14 found would be a result of contamination. In case you didn't watch the interview, they had to cut it in half because it was too heavy for the helicopter to lift it off the cliff-side in one piece. It took a logistical necessity to justify cutting open the T. rex bone that yielded the soft tissue, not scientific inquiry. "The problem is, for 300 years, we thought, 'Well, the organics are all
gone, so why should we look for something that's not going to be
there?' and nobody looks." Dr. Schweitzer said in an interview with Live Science. Evolution is not good science, but a roadblock to good science!
Personally, I almost admire how Jack and Mary managed to keep the 60 Minutes interview from ever approaching idea that the bones might not actually be 70 million years old. They marvel at the idea of the material lasting so long and are quick to assure their watching peers that they are all about deep-time and evolution. Yes, evolutionist believe that the birds you see today actually ARE dinosaurs that never went extinct. No, you don't have to believe their fairy tale. The Bible says things are created and reproduce according to their kind; this is what we see now and can observe in the fossil record. It is observable and repeatable, unlike evolution.
Of
course, since the 60 Minutes interview took place over 3 years ago, Jack's
dino-chicken should be available for pubic viewing in 2 years! Don't
tell your kids though, because I am afraid they would only be
disappointed. My hypothesis, based upon God's Word, is that he will only
have a chicken (perhaps with a slightly malformed hind-end) when all is
said and done.
You may
say "Big deal, they found soft tissue in ONE dinosaur bone!" No, many,
many like findings have been discovered (2). This is remarkable since it
is considered sacrilege in the community to cut open fully in-tact bones considering organic material was thought to be long-gone. Interestingly, you don't even need to cut into them to be able to observe how fresh these remains are:
Excerpt from Discover Magazine article by Barry Yeoman (read full article):
Once, when she (Dr. Schweitzer) was
working with a T. rex skeleton harvested from Hell Creek (Montana), she noticed
that the fossil exuded a distinctly organic odor. "It smelled just like
one of the cadavers we had in the lab who had been treated with
chemotherapy before he died," she says. Given the conventional wisdom
that such fossils were made up entirely of minerals, Schweitzer was
anxious when mentioning this to Horner. "But he said, 'Oh, yeah, all
Hell Creek bones smell,'" she says. To most old-line paleontologists,
the smell of death didn't even register. To Schweitzer, it meant that
traces of life might still cling to those bones.
She had already seen signs of exceptional preservation in the early
1990s, while she was studying the technical aspects of adhering fossil
slices to microscope slides. One day a collaborator brought a T. rex
slide to a conference and showed it to a pathologist, who examined it
under a microscope. "The guy looked at it and said, 'Do you realize
you've got red blood cells in that bone?' " Schweitzer remembers. "My
colleague brought it back and showed me, and I just got goose bumps,
because everyone knows these things don't last for 65 million years."
Remember, this is not about the age of the dinosaurs, it is about "exceptional preservation"; everyone knows these things don't last 65 million years! Of course Dr. Schweitzer had a hard time publishing her findings since this evidence is toxic to the evolutionary theory. However, now that these discoveries have been made and published, even more similar discoveries are bound to happen. Now, this doesn't mean we will use good, unbiased reason and science to interpret the findings, but for those of us free from the evolutionary mind-set, we can just smile (or weep) as the others twist, squirm, and invent new fairy tales to try and make the evidence fit into their worldview. Fresh dinosaur bones fit quite nicely with the Genesis creation and flood account. Massive dinosaur fossil beds like the Morison Formation that cover most of the Rocky Mountain states bear witness to a massive watery burial of dinosaurs. The evidence is rock-solid, except for the parts that still have not fossilized. ;-)
2 Peter Chapter 3 says that in the last days scoffers will come deliberately forgetting that: (NIV) 5...long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
The next verse is a clear warning to those who purposely forget the global flood, a judgement by God upon his creation when it had turned against him:
7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Some of us are more stubborn than others, but God is patient with us and wants all to turn to him:
8 But
do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like
a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
What will happen to you when you die? And upon what authority do you base your decision? Is it just a hunch or a feeling that you will make the cut and get into heaven? Perhaps you don't believe there is a such person as God or a such thing as heaven. If God's word is true, you have no excuse; the "invisible" attributes of the Lord are clearly seen through his creation. The stakes couldn't be higher for you. YOU have to make the decision whether to take things into your own hands before a righteous, all-powerful and Holy God, or you can tell Him you are insufficient without the saving power of Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. The Bible makes it clear what God's plan for salvation is; we need to admit our sin and accept that HE is God of us and this universe. A good judge won't dismiss a criminal guilty of a crime because the defendant was a good person most of the time. Why would a just God do so with us when we have broken the supreme law, God's law? Rather, because of his great love for us He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay our penalty (which is death) so that we may be forgiven of our crimes and be united with our Creator as designed from the beginning. You have a lot to lose or gain personally, won't you open your eyes and heart to ask God to reveal Himself to you? I promise you will never regret it.
(1)
Check out my iPhones and Radiodating post or my Why I don't Believe in Evolution post to see why Radiodating is also skewed toward always giving long ages.
(2)
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur.html#ixzz2n4ixMVfY
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/3075717/1952 full
Schweitzer interview with Live Science: http://www.livescience.com/41537-t-rex-soft-tissue.html
Soft tissue in Triceratops horn: Armitage & Anderson, Acta Histochemica, Feb 13, 2013, DOI 10 1016/j acthis 20013.03.001
The scientific community, society and even many churches have accepted that the earth is billions of years old and evolution by natural selection and chance have brought about the world that we know today. Where is the evidence for this conclusion? What does the Bible actually say? Let's start a respectful conversation.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Update
I will continue on with my new series as I find the time, doing the research required to write a decent article about those topics takes a lot of time. Time that I don't find very frequently. So, when I have the time, I will be writing those posts about why we can trust the Bible as true. But if and when I get snippets of time I will be posting interesting (at least I think they are) articles and videos as I stumble across them.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
Monday, December 2, 2013
NY Times Article--Scientific Community
The anti-creation crowd loves to throw out that science is an objective method that follows the trail of data, wherever it leads, to arrive at the facts. This is true in textbooks only; whenever people, money, egos, and prestige get involved, all bets are off. Read this article I stumbled across in the New York Times discussing how science is subject to bias, fraud and misconduct just as any other man-made institution is.
Article
It really would be nice if all data was considered, all presuppositions were left out, all agendas were checked and science just provided grounded conclusions that did not try to reach beyond its limits. However, what we see is a lot of motivation for scientists to appease political agenda (get more grant money) and maintain their school or organization prestige (don't ever suggest intelligent design!). Peer review is a great idea, but can easily become peer pressure if deliberate care is not taken to avoid this.
Are you putting more stock in the fallible ideas and postulation (postulation is a huge chunk origins science) of man or in the written word of God, the creator of the universe? When examined in a historical, scientific and philosophical light, the Bible checks out and provides a very reliable account of the history of our planet.
And no, the Bible is not peer reviewed. God has no peer!
Article
It really would be nice if all data was considered, all presuppositions were left out, all agendas were checked and science just provided grounded conclusions that did not try to reach beyond its limits. However, what we see is a lot of motivation for scientists to appease political agenda (get more grant money) and maintain their school or organization prestige (don't ever suggest intelligent design!). Peer review is a great idea, but can easily become peer pressure if deliberate care is not taken to avoid this.
Are you putting more stock in the fallible ideas and postulation (postulation is a huge chunk origins science) of man or in the written word of God, the creator of the universe? When examined in a historical, scientific and philosophical light, the Bible checks out and provides a very reliable account of the history of our planet.
And no, the Bible is not peer reviewed. God has no peer!
Monday, November 18, 2013
New Blog Series, Part I: God's Word is Truth
God’s word is under attack today like no other time in
history. The number of churches that handle the sword (cover term for Bible, for all my military friends)
correctly is dwindling. Preachers use it to push their own agenda, rather than
letting it push their agenda. I constantly hear non-believers decry the bible
as brutal, evil, homophobic, a bunch of fairy tales, and false. And rather than
investigating the truth of the Bible for themselves, even Christians try to
explain away the “unpopular” or convicting passages by all kinds of very
creative and illogical means. I hear people say that there are many different
ways to interpret the Bible, so why should anyone insist that a certain
doctrine or teaching must be interpreted a certain way? Now, granted there are
certain matters of personal discretion that the Bible affords, such as
drinking. We shouldn’t ostracize other believers for drinking or not drinking
but just encourage them to hold to their own personal convictions from the Lord
(Romans 14). Some matters of doctrine can be divisive (not the Bible’s fault
but our own) if Christians aren’t careful to treat one another with love and
keep things in reasonable perspective. However, the Word is very clear on all of
the major teachings and should be used as a unifying source, rather than one of
division. If the Bible is not taken seriously in America, supposed by many to
be a Christian nation, and isn’t even held closely to by Christians, how do you
suppose it is viewed in other parts of the world or by non-believers?
Christians must realize that without God’s Word this world is hopeless. There
would be no instruction from our creator in how we should live, govern, treat
one another, and there would be no hope for anything beyond this cruel death-stricken
world. Maybe if we treated the Bible how it should be treated--by doing what it says—others would recognize it as
the beacon of hope that it is.
49 “But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
(NIV)
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Luke
6:49
(NIV)49 “But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
I readily admit that there are very difficult passages of
scripture to interpret, but I have never come across a passage or verse that I
could not find a reasonable, well researched explanation for. I see people
throw out Old Testament verses from Leviticus or Numbers that at first glance
can be very confusing or even disturbing to our 21st Century
American worldview. I want to touch on the 3 main categories of Bible
challenges that I see thrown at us today. As I am granted time, I hope to cover
the following topics in individual blog posts:
Old Testament Laws
Contradictions
Miracles and Scientific/Historical Inaccuracies
I want to be fair and not pick the low hanging fruit, so if
you have had difficulty with a challenging passage, topic or teaching, feel
free to suggest a topic in the comment box below or on Facebook if we are
friends. Same goes for my atheist/skeptic friends out there! I don’t have all
the answers, but I know I can find them.
I also hope to write a post on the evidence I hold to in
knowing that the Bible is true, God’s word, and the only source of truth and
hope for this world.
I pray that He will strengthen our trust in Him, and that we
would show others the reason for the hope we have in Him. Above all, I pray we
would hear His word and obey it, placing our hope firmly on Him as our Rock and
solid foundation.
And remember:
Hebrews
4:12(NIV)
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
iPhones and Radiodating
I really enjoy my iPhone. I had an old flip phone up until last January when I upgraded to this. It has really been an awesome tool for researching and growing in The Lord. When I'm driving my 30 min commute I can tune in to my favorite YouTube channels and or listen to sermons, etc. Great way to always learn new things without taking time from family or work. I highly recommend upgrading if you have not yet. We signed up with virgin and bought our phones up front cash. The long term savings is amazing. Plus now we are hip. Nothing can substitute hipness. With that said, check out this video from Ian Juby's YouTube channel. He did a really good job explaining how we date lava flows with radio-metric dating. He has touched on this subject in the past but this was a very clear explanation. He also talks about the very strong geological evidence for a young earth in line with the biblical flood model. Very very compelling! My evolutionist brother wants to study to become a geologist and I am thrilled because he is brilliant and was once convinced of the global flood. I know thy unless he blinds himself he will see the evidence for himself and reconsider his position (again)!
Genesis Week
Genesis Week
Why no new Posts?
For all of my regular blog readers, I apologize for my updating in so long! I am in the military and I just received orders to move to a new base. This is exciting but also very time consuming and I have had no free time to put together any decent thoughts. Once things settle down I hope to get some new content out. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Why I don't Believe in Evolution:
As you probably know by now, I don’t
believe in evolution. Now, I’ve heard some people say, “I don’t just believe in
evolution, I know it as a fact. It is just science.” So let me be clear: I
don’t believe in the molecules-to-man evolution myth. So why don’t I believe
it? Do I think the science community has created a massive, insidious conspiracy against truth and God?
No. I believe the vast majority of modern scientists are very competent,
objective and unbiased in how they approach their work. In fact, the overwhelming
majority of science work done has nothing or little to do with the origins
controversy. For example, developing a new rocket, curing cancer, even studying
and observing fossils can be done without any opinion on how human life arose. When
people like Bill Nye (the Science Guy) claim that the creationist core of America is holding us
back in the scientific realm, I laugh (not really though). He says we need our
children to grow up believing in evolution (he calls it science) so we can grow
engineers and scientists to keep our edge in science and innovation.
Perhaps the Science Guy
never heard the global broadcast from the Moon in which the Apollo 11
astronauts read the Genesis creation account after they accomplished what no
other human being had ever done. Or maybe he never learned about Galeleo,
Kepler, Newton, or Faraday: their scientific contributions and creationist
beliefs. Their belief in a creator did not stop them from revolutionizing
science forever. I suggest instead that what is holding us back in science is
our lack of quality education for our young people—math and science (true
sciences like biology, chemistry, physics, etc) are both areas that take effort
and drive to excel in. Our young people (thankfully there are still plenty of
exceptions out there) in general seem more content to free-load than to
contribute, more content to pass than to excel, and more apt to cut corners
than to go the extra mile. There is reason for concern in regards to our nation’s
scientific and innovative health, but how one interprets the billions of dead
things found buried all over our globe has nothing to do with one’s ability to
conduct good science and to innovate.
I believe the Bible gives the best
explanation as to how the universe came into being. So how do I think today’s scientific
community with all their great minds has come to the wrong conclusion? Science
has handicapped itself in the search for truth by tying one hand behind its own
back. The scientific community has leant itself to searching out naturalistic
causes for what we see today. This makes complete sense! But this also means
that even the thought or consideration of a designer or God being responsible
for anything we see is completely dismissed as non-science and discarded. If
faced with a conundrum, science will always either come up with a very improbable
but perhaps plausible explanation or even say “we don’t know” rather than “maybe
God did it”. Science has given itself a very narrow field of view when it comes
to origins, only accepting naturalistic causes and forsaking anything that is
outside this realm. What is wrong with that? Well, I don’t really have a
problem with that, except that they claim to have come the correct answer and
refuse to consider anything other than their answer. Science tries to find
plausible natural causes, not the truth. A lot of the time a plausible natural
cause IS the truth. However, when science can’t explain the first life (life coming
from non-life defies the law of biogenesis ) or how matter was created out of nothing (defying the law of conservation of matter), science will never provide the truth.
However, as it stands today, if you believe anything other than the religiously
scientific community’s conclusion on the matter, you are dumb and probably also
believe that the world is flat (that is what they seem to say more often than
not, haha). I suggest that the science community’s answer for the origin of
life and the universe should come with the caveat “considering only
naturalistic causes we believe … may have happened”. I believe “Science” needs to be put
back in its place, seeing as it has in a way taken the place of God in
our society. Evolution is not just a theory today, it is also a worldview in
which there is no moral absolute and no God to live for, just yourself and
humanity. In contrast, past leading scientists used science to know God the
creator better. Johann Kepler viewed science as “thinking God’s thoughts after
Him”.
So why has molecules-to-man evolution
over billions of years become so widely accepted in the scientific community? I
tell you it is not for evidence that this is the theory of popular choice, but
for it being the most palatable (remember, science has to explain everything
without God). How else might someone explain the human brain or eye coming
together without a designer? The ONLY way to make a natural cause even somewhat
believable is if you break the development up into tiny, palatable bites to be
eaten over a very long period of time.
But there must be evidence for
evolution, right?
If evolution were true, the fossil
record should be chalked full of intermediate species and missing links. Actually,
if evolution were true, we should see a continuum of species from least to most
complex, with such small, subtle differences between “species” that one couldn’t
even categorize them except by time of existence. Rather, what we have seen is
evolutionists and paleontologists failing to find any suitable “missing links”
and instead either faking finds, or using very incomplete fossils to inspire an
artist’s rendition of what the creature could have looked like, etc. The severe
problem of not finding intermediate fossils in the record has not caused the
evolutionists to lose faith! Instead they suppose that the changes from one
kind to another were so rapid that the fossil record had no time to capture the
intermediates. The proof of this concept is that there is no proof! Instead of
deducting that since there is no evidence for evolution, it didn’t happen, they
come up with a new theory that doesn’t need the evidence. Because remember, evolution
is a known fact and if you don’t believe it, you are an idiot and probably don’t
believe in gravity either (I will admit, that is a dangerous unbelief). And
if you work for a school or scientific organization with any dignity, you can
expect to be fired, shunned and never hired into another similar organization
again (watch Expelled if you don’t
believe me).
Evolution is cute and all, some
random mutation that so-happens to give the creature an advantage over the
others, thus preserving and transmitting this new improvement to future
generations. But how practical is this? In order for humans to be what we are
today, rather than still being simple pond scum, natural selection needs to be
a stronger force than mutation is a negative force. Birth defects (bad mutations)
in the heart, brain, respiratory system, immune system, reproductive system,
etc, must be less substantial than mutations that create a better heart, brain,
respiratory system, immune system, reproductive system, etc. So since evolution
is fact and all, why do people get genetic screenings for their kids? Is it to
check out and see all the cool new gizmos and gadgets their kids will bring to
the human race? No! Reality check: if given the choice between having a kid
with 1000 mutations (a genetic copy error) or 0 mutations, parents would always
choose 0. People don’t really believe in evolution. Evolutionary scientists
tell people evolution happened and people are too trusting (or lazy) to think
for themselves with any sort of rational thought. Dr. John Sanford, a geneticist,
professor at Cornell University, and creationist explains human evolution as
down, not up (Start this short video at the 1:30 mark). These genetic copy errors, or mutations are polluting
our race at a great rate and this is bringing about more genetic problems for each
new generation. Makes sense, right? If you keep copying information over and
over, random copying errors add up to detract from the original message, not
improve it.
So then, what is the evidence for
the earth being billions of years old? Doesn’t radiometric dating prove that
the rocks on planet Earth are millions and billions of years old? Radiometric
dating is extremely limited when it comes to dating new rocks. Instances of
rocks with known recent ages (recently formed in observed volcanic eruptions)
have been assigned ages in the hundreds of millions of years using radiometric
dating methods. Radiometric dating will NEVER show a rock to be 6,000 years
old. Watch the following 10 min video for more details and how radiometric
dating works.
I am sure I will write more about this topic as well as Carbon-14 dating in the
future.
I am not suggesting that evolution
is a giant conspiracy created to destroy religion. Although sometimes it does
seem that way, I believe that the vast majority of evolutionists are operating
out of pure intentions and are just trying to be successful in their fields.
Today’s science community should learn from past history and not be so quick to
dismiss anyone who dissents from the majority opinion as being wrong or deceitful.
Science has been wrong in the past, why should we think that it won’t happen
again? What about you? Have you objectively looked at the “data” available to
you from all sides and made an informed decision? Have you, like science,
disregarded any possibility of God being the answer? Or perhaps you have been
raised as a Christian and have tried to avoid anything to do with dinosaurs,
evolution or the origins debate for fear that it would weaken your faith. If
the Bible is true, we should only be reassured when we investigate God’s
creation, past and present. I have researched many different topics and issues
in the origins debate and I must testify that I am continually blown away at
how accurate and complete the Bible is when it comes to our planet’s history. The
only explanation for this is that the Bible truly is God’s word, given to us
that we might know our creator personally and live our lives in grateful
appreciation for what He has done for us.
I plan to write plenty more on this
issue, highlighting certain issues or topics as I come across them. If you have
any questions or recommendations for future topics, let me know! In the near
future I plan to write about why we can trust the Bible as accurate (discussing
supposed contradictions and other commonly leveled accusations), and also why Christians should not accept
molecules-to-man evolution.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Profile Update
Why do I have this blog? Do I believe that by appealing to sound argument, scientific evidence, reason and natural human instinct I can convince people to believe in Jesus? No, that will never be enough to convince us stubborn men of our creator's plan for us. That's how stubborn we are. The evidence isn't too weak; we are too blind. I've never seen someone change their mind while having a debate. My goal in this blog is always to help Christians be ready to give a reason for what they believe and confidence in what the Bible teaches. And as for my non-believing friends, I hope that I can weave in what truly can set you free. I can't arm wrestle you into the kingdom with clever methods and logic. However, I can tell you about Jesus and pray that he helps open your eyes through what others or I say. Thanks for reading!!
1 Cor 1:
(ESV)
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Human and Chimp DNA Matches
"The human and chimp genomes are 98.4% identical, and this proves we come from a common ancestor."
"The thing that separates humans from apes is that apes have massive jaw bones and we have massive skulls. Once the mutation occurred to stop the massive jaw bone from being so massive, that extra energy was available for growing a massive skull and thus a massive brain."
These are things that I have heard, and perhaps you have too. But what what is the truth?
Every evolutionary scientist that wants to be taken seriously, make his mark, or help shed light onto the story of our origins must try to link humans to our supposed ancient ancestors. Instead of sifting for truth, the peer review system of science can often find itself creating more peer pressure than anything else. When there is direct, observable evidence being taken into account good science can be done. But when trying to piece together puzzle pieces from before our time (read evolution cannot be observed directly), the picture you come up with had better fit into the picture your peers are creating. If the pieces don't fit, you had better jam and trim them in ways so they DO fit.
Check out Ian Juby's 10 min video about how similar chimp and human DNA actually is when you look at the ENTIRE genome.
Thanks for reading and feel free to share this on Facebook, your blog or whatever you chose. Let's promote the Truth and let the Truth set people free.
"The thing that separates humans from apes is that apes have massive jaw bones and we have massive skulls. Once the mutation occurred to stop the massive jaw bone from being so massive, that extra energy was available for growing a massive skull and thus a massive brain."
These are things that I have heard, and perhaps you have too. But what what is the truth?
Every evolutionary scientist that wants to be taken seriously, make his mark, or help shed light onto the story of our origins must try to link humans to our supposed ancient ancestors. Instead of sifting for truth, the peer review system of science can often find itself creating more peer pressure than anything else. When there is direct, observable evidence being taken into account good science can be done. But when trying to piece together puzzle pieces from before our time (read evolution cannot be observed directly), the picture you come up with had better fit into the picture your peers are creating. If the pieces don't fit, you had better jam and trim them in ways so they DO fit.
Check out Ian Juby's 10 min video about how similar chimp and human DNA actually is when you look at the ENTIRE genome.
Thanks for reading and feel free to share this on Facebook, your blog or whatever you chose. Let's promote the Truth and let the Truth set people free.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Our Young Solar System
Some people view the solar system and space as evidence for a random explosion that hurled materials and energy into existence, eventually coming together in an orderly system that spawned life. David saw it differently when he wrote Psalm 19:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world....
But what does the scientific evidence suggest? Check out this episode of Genesis Week and find out some of the scientific predictions creationists have made that have been confirmed through observation:
http://youtu.be/tFzJapa2REs
Monday, October 21, 2013
Bird Respiratory Systems
In an interesting episode of Genesis Week, Ian Juby lays out strong evidence that any reptile evolving into a bird or bird evolving into a mammal is impossible. He focuses mainly on the respiratory system, but the problems don't stop there for the idea of dino-to-bird evolution. Not only is there zero fossil evidence to support this (read my blog post Dinosaurs of a Feather), but serious problems exist for this thought. Although to the naked eye there is similarity in structure between the T-rex like dinos and birds, the similarities end there. Cold blooded (likely) vs warm blooded; solid, dense bones vs hollow, light bones; completely different hip structures; scales (essentially folds of skin) vs feathers (COMPLETELY different from a scale!)--why do they say birds came from dinosaurs? Well they had to pick something!!
I don't have enough faith to believe in molecules-to-man evolution.
Watch the Video
Subscribe to Ian's YouTube channel while you are at it!
I don't have enough faith to believe in molecules-to-man evolution.
Watch the Video
Subscribe to Ian's YouTube channel while you are at it!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
"180" Movie
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
This is an excellent documentary! It exposes the tragic numbing our culture has experienced in the abortion/human rights issue. People are so content to just entertain themselves away, ignore important issues and be apathetic to other people's needs.
Also, the first 10 min or so are shocking to me and very revealing regarding our nation's lack of education. These people really didn't know who Hitler was? Wow...
An observation I made watching this is how quickly and easily people changed their stances on the abortion issue once they actually thought about it. Instead of being propped up by popular culture and the mantra of "a woman's right to choose", they are faced with making a moral judgement for themselves. I like the conclusions they came to ;-). We are not just highly evolved animals, we are human beings, made in God's image with an innate ability to differentiate right from wrong!
Nazi Germany killed 6 million Jews. America has killed nearly 60 million babies.
Germany has rejected that path. America marches on without batting an eye.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Top Ten Apologetics Resources
Sometimes answering skeptics claims of what the Bible teaches can be daunting. You may feel pitted against every supposedly intelligent person and even science itself at times. Some very difficult questions are leveled at believers by people who want to shake or even end our faith. Jesus used incredible intelligence and sound logic when questioned by his opponents. He told us to love the Lord with all our heart soul and mind. The apostle Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 3:
15 But in
your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do
this with gentleness and respect (NIV)
There is no excuse for us Christians to not be ready to
explain the reason for our faith in God. We do not have "blind faith"
as many people suppose. Let us not let people down when we have a chance to
declare the truth of God's word (with gentleness and respect)!
Below
I have listed my top 10 favorite resources for defending my faith. The ones I
have listed are from Christian organizations. I am all for the intelligent
design movement (Expelled, by Ben Stein, for example) but without the
truth of the Bible and faith in Christ, it too is futile.
10. Seattle Creation Conference Videos-- Go to YouTube.com and search "creation conference 2013" or any year back to 2010. From there you can scroll through the many different lecture subject that have been posted from each conference. This is a good way to find an expert on a certain subject that you want to learn more about.
-Russell Humphreys-- I believe Dr. Humphreys may actually have the correct theory for how the universe was created. Distant Starlight and Time is an excellent DVD that lays out his ideas in as simple of a way as possible. He will stretch your mind. (You will get the pun when you watch his video or read up on his theory.) Using his creation model, he has successfully predicted numerous recent findings by NASA. YouTube has plenty of lectures from him.
-John Sanford-- Dr. Sanford is a geneticist, inventor and professor at Cornell University. He is also a young earth creationist. Check out his lectures on YouTube where he shows that if anything we are de-volving, going down, not up in complexity. Also check out his book Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome. Lectures on YouTube are available as well.
-
8. Institute for Creation Research -- ICR is a creation based scientific organization endeavors to make scientific predictions based off the creation model outlined in Genesis and then test and evaluate them. The RATE Team is an excellent example of this. They also have an excellent archive of good journalism regarding the creation vs evolution debate.
- 7. Comfort Zone-- The host of the YouTube show The Comfort Zone, Ray Comfort, is an apologetics guru and street evangelist from New Zealand. He does a great job of exposing the blind faith that most people have in evolution by appealing to logic and questioning their answers in a very disarming way. He also releases excellent documentary-like movies where he asks tough questions of people (with gentleness and respect) in order to show them the gospel.
6. Answers in Genesis-- A 3-volume set of books that answer hundreds of common questions about what the Bible teaches about creation and the global flood. What about the Ice Age? Was the Flood global? What stand should a Christian take in the abortion debate? Common questions are answered from a biblical world view by experts in their respective scientific fields. Also check out Answers.com
5. Lee Strobel-- His Case for Faith/Christ/Creator series is logical, biblical and easy to understand. You can either get the book version or DVD version of each. A great resource!
4. Creation Apologetics and Research Ministry-- CARM is a massive resource for explaining why Christians believe what they believe (as opposed to Mormonism or Islam for example). If you are having difficulty with a certain difficult passage in the Bible, go to their website to get the proper interpretation.
3. Genesis Week -- a weekly TV program also broadcast on YouTube under the screen name of Wazooloo. The producer and host, Ian Juby shines a biblical light on recent scientific discoveries and exposes evolutionary presupposition regarding the origins controversy. He throws in some good Canadian humor, makes complicated subjects understandable and points to the creator, Jesus Christ, in every episode. Also check out his Complete Creation series--19 hours of lecture, laying out the overwhelming geologic and scientific evidence for the truth of the Genesis account.
2. Alwaysbeready.com-- Charlie Campbell is an excellent speaker and appeals to logic and reason as well as archaeological and extra-biblical evidence to support the validity of the scriptures.
1. The Bible -- Diligent reading and studying of the scriptures is by far the greatest way to come to appreciate the truth of the Bible and what it actually teaches. In so many ways the Bible speaks for itself and to its validity. For example, it gives the only logical and reasonable explanation for why there is good and evil in the world.
Did I miss a good resource? Comment below!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Evolution is Science!
What is the evidence for evolution? Evolution is a fact, right? It's just science!
I think everyone needs to watch this video! The prophecy below has never been more accurate than at this time, right now.
I think everyone needs to watch this video! The prophecy below has never been more accurate than at this time, right now.
2 Peter 3:3-7
New International Version (NIV)
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Click here to watch the free video produced by Way of the Master and Ray Comfort. Science doesn't have things as figured out as the text books lead us to believe. Who Would Want to Love the God of the Bible?
I’ve often heard the God of the Bible described as a jealous, merciless and wrathful God. But have you ever considered that the Bible teaches that the creator of the universe is humble?
God has been accused of being selfish, uncaring, jealous and downright angry. I believe these accusations flow from people who wish to justify their rejection of Him; they cite passages from the Old Testament out of context, ignore others, and try to prosecute God according to what is culturally acceptable by our modern US society.
What does the Bible really say about God? I cannot possibly include everything in one post, but let’s talk about a couple broad aspects to God’s character. What is often considered jealousy in today’s society is the insecure and controlling feelings that arise when someone else is getting what you believe you deserve. When God says he is a jealous God what does that mean? Doesn’t it just feel right when credit goes where credit is due? Shouldn’t the one who created the universe and everyone in it be righteously indignant when his creation purposely rejects the one who loves and provides all things in favor of undeserving, hopeless objects? This arouses God’s righteous jealousy for our hearts.
God’s wrath? We were never meant to endure God’s wrath. He created us to have fellowship with Him, but gave us the choice to do so (back in the Garden and even now). We chose to follow after our own ways and reject His supremacy and desire for us. Our lot is now in with Satan, the one we chose to join and the one for whom God’s wrath is reserved for. But there is hope; God wants to redeem us back to Him. But God wants a certain person, one who has a humble heart and acknowledges their insufficiency without Him.
Haven’t you noticed that people tend to admire famous, wealthy or highly skilled (ie pro athletes, rock stars) people that have a humble tone, don’t boast or expect special treatment, and/or choose to help other people with the surplus they have been given. People like this are admired far more than the ones that don’t think the law applies to them, brag about their ability, or treat others as lesser than them. True humility and selflessness are ideals that are valued universally in human hearts.
John 1 tells us that Jesus being in every way God, created the entire universe. Most people “don’t have a problem with Jesus”.They say he was a good teacher, a good person, even a hippie. But do people really consider that Jesus told us (even insisted) that he is God? Jesus being God is an unveiling of an often ignored aspect of who God truly is! Jesus entered into His world in humility. Literally born in a barn, Jesus was born into a family that was likely condemned for Him being born outside of wedlock. He and his family were refugees to Egypt for years. During Jesus’s ministry he didn’t even have a place to call home, but instead went from place to place to seek and save the lost. He endured the same temptation that he expects us to endure. He took on the same broken and mortal body that we wear. He went hungry; he felt pain, physical and emotional. He, the humble King, came to serve us.
Jesus broke social norms by associating with the “sinners”,the down and out, the prostitutes. He broke cultural and racial rules by reaching out across ethnic bounds to those in need. He openly opposed the religious leaders of his day that were prideful, hypocritical, and unloving toward those in need. Read the gospels (again, even) and just see who God in Jesus is!
What Should We Do?
Salvation comes by grace (a free gift) through faith in Jesus to those who acknowledge their sin and insufficiency without Jesus. Faith that He died, was buried and rose again, defeating death once and for all for those who follow Him. How do we follow Him? By seeing what he did and emulating it! Read this awesome (somewhat frightening) passage about Jesus’return:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply,‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer,‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Now, we can never earn our way to heaven. Salvation comes as a gift to the repentant heart that clings to Jesus as their only hope for being transformed. But once we are forgiven and saved, true heart change takes place. Consider this passage:
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Our humble, merciful God expects us to follow His example and be humble and merciful servants for others. Shouldn’t that be a believer’s natural response? If that isn’t our response then we are nothing more than hypocrites! What is more attractive in a person than true love, humility and selflessness? What is a bigger turnoff to others than judgmental hypocrisy? The humble and merciful aspects of God’s character should be apparent in a true Christian’s life, testifying to who God is and what He has done for us.
God has been accused of being selfish, uncaring, jealous and downright angry. I believe these accusations flow from people who wish to justify their rejection of Him; they cite passages from the Old Testament out of context, ignore others, and try to prosecute God according to what is culturally acceptable by our modern US society.
What does the Bible really say about God? I cannot possibly include everything in one post, but let’s talk about a couple broad aspects to God’s character. What is often considered jealousy in today’s society is the insecure and controlling feelings that arise when someone else is getting what you believe you deserve. When God says he is a jealous God what does that mean? Doesn’t it just feel right when credit goes where credit is due? Shouldn’t the one who created the universe and everyone in it be righteously indignant when his creation purposely rejects the one who loves and provides all things in favor of undeserving, hopeless objects? This arouses God’s righteous jealousy for our hearts.
God’s wrath? We were never meant to endure God’s wrath. He created us to have fellowship with Him, but gave us the choice to do so (back in the Garden and even now). We chose to follow after our own ways and reject His supremacy and desire for us. Our lot is now in with Satan, the one we chose to join and the one for whom God’s wrath is reserved for. But there is hope; God wants to redeem us back to Him. But God wants a certain person, one who has a humble heart and acknowledges their insufficiency without Him.
Haven’t you noticed that people tend to admire famous, wealthy or highly skilled (ie pro athletes, rock stars) people that have a humble tone, don’t boast or expect special treatment, and/or choose to help other people with the surplus they have been given. People like this are admired far more than the ones that don’t think the law applies to them, brag about their ability, or treat others as lesser than them. True humility and selflessness are ideals that are valued universally in human hearts.
John 1 tells us that Jesus being in every way God, created the entire universe. Most people “don’t have a problem with Jesus”.They say he was a good teacher, a good person, even a hippie. But do people really consider that Jesus told us (even insisted) that he is God? Jesus being God is an unveiling of an often ignored aspect of who God truly is! Jesus entered into His world in humility. Literally born in a barn, Jesus was born into a family that was likely condemned for Him being born outside of wedlock. He and his family were refugees to Egypt for years. During Jesus’s ministry he didn’t even have a place to call home, but instead went from place to place to seek and save the lost. He endured the same temptation that he expects us to endure. He took on the same broken and mortal body that we wear. He went hungry; he felt pain, physical and emotional. He, the humble King, came to serve us.
Mark 10:45
New International Version (NIV)
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus broke social norms by associating with the “sinners”,the down and out, the prostitutes. He broke cultural and racial rules by reaching out across ethnic bounds to those in need. He openly opposed the religious leaders of his day that were prideful, hypocritical, and unloving toward those in need. Read the gospels (again, even) and just see who God in Jesus is!
What Should We Do?
Salvation comes by grace (a free gift) through faith in Jesus to those who acknowledge their sin and insufficiency without Jesus. Faith that He died, was buried and rose again, defeating death once and for all for those who follow Him. How do we follow Him? By seeing what he did and emulating it! Read this awesome (somewhat frightening) passage about Jesus’return:
Matthew 25
(NIV)34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply,‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer,‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Now, we can never earn our way to heaven. Salvation comes as a gift to the repentant heart that clings to Jesus as their only hope for being transformed. But once we are forgiven and saved, true heart change takes place. Consider this passage:
Matthew 18:
(NIV)21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Our humble, merciful God expects us to follow His example and be humble and merciful servants for others. Shouldn’t that be a believer’s natural response? If that isn’t our response then we are nothing more than hypocrites! What is more attractive in a person than true love, humility and selflessness? What is a bigger turnoff to others than judgmental hypocrisy? The humble and merciful aspects of God’s character should be apparent in a true Christian’s life, testifying to who God is and what He has done for us.