May 26, 2015

From Gary... Bible Reading May 26



Bible Reading  

May 26

The World English Bible

May 26
Judges 9, 10

Jdg 9:1 Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Jdg 9:2 Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
Jdg 9:3 His mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.
Jdg 9:4 They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
Jdg 9:5 He went to his father's house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone: but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
Jdg 9:6 All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
Jdg 9:7 When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
Jdg 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us.
Jdg 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
Jdg 9:10 The trees said to the fig tree, Come and reign over us.
Jdg 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
Jdg 9:12 The trees said to the vine, Come and reign over us.
Jdg 9:13 The vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?
Jdg 9:14 Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come and reign over us.
Jdg 9:15 The bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Jdg 9:16 Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands
Jdg 9:17 (for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
Jdg 9:18 and you have risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother);
Jdg 9:19 if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
Jdg 9:20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Jdg 9:21 Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
Jdg 9:22 Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.
Jdg 9:23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
Jdg 9:24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
Jdg 9:25 The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
Jdg 9:26 Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
Jdg 9:27 They went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
Jdg 9:28 Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?
Jdg 9:29 Would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech." He said to Abimelech, Increase your army, and come out.
Jdg 9:30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
Jdg 9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers are come to Shechem; and behold, they constrain the city to take part against you.
Jdg 9:32 Now therefore, go up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field:
Jdg 9:33 and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and rush on the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion.
Jdg 9:34 Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
Jdg 9:35 Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush.
Jdg 9:36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains. Zebul said to him, You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
Jdg 9:37 Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.
Jdg 9:38 Then said Zebul to him, Where is now your mouth, that you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
Jdg 9:39 Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
Jdg 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.
Jdg 9:41 Abimelech lived at Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
Jdg 9:42 It happened on the next day, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
Jdg 9:43 He took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field; and he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; He rose up against them, and struck them.
Jdg 9:44 Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed on all who were in the field, and struck them.
Jdg 9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
Jdg 9:46 When all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of Elberith.
Jdg 9:47 It was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
Jdg 9:48 Abimelech got him up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder: and he said to the people who were with him, What you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.
Jdg 9:49 All the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
Jdg 9:50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
Jdg 9:51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and there fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and got them up to the roof of the tower.
Jdg 9:52 Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
Jdg 9:53 A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
Jdg 9:54 Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, A woman killed him. His young man thrust him through, and he died.
Jdg 9:55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.
Jdg 9:56 Thus God requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in killing his seventy brothers;
Jdg 9:57 and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God requite on their heads: and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Jdg 10:1 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
Jdg 10:2 He judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
Jdg 10:3 After him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
Jdg 10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
Jdg 10:5 Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
Jdg 10:6 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baals, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Yahweh, and didn't serve him.
Jdg 10:7 The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.
Jdg 10:8 They troubled and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years oppressed they all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
Jdg 10:9 The children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
Jdg 10:10 The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, saying, We have sinned against you, even because we have forsaken our God, and have served the Baals.
Jdg 10:11 Yahweh said to the children of Israel, Didn't I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
Jdg 10:12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and you cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand.
Jdg 10:13 Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods: therefore I will save you no more.
Jdg 10:14 Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.
Jdg 10:15 The children of Israel said to Yahweh, We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, we pray you, this day.
Jdg 10:16 They put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
Jdg 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. The children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpah.

Jdg 10:18 The people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

May 26, 27
John 6

Joh 6:1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.
Joh 6:2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.
Joh 6:3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.
Joh 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
Joh 6:5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?"
Joh 6:6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Joh 6:7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little."
Joh 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,
Joh 6:9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?"
Joh 6:10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
Joh 6:11 Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.
Joh 6:12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, "Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost."
Joh 6:13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
Joh 6:14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, "This is truly the prophet who comes into the world."
Joh 6:15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Joh 6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
Joh 6:17 and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
Joh 6:18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.
Joh 6:19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.
Joh 6:20 But he said to them, "It is I. Don't be afraid."
Joh 6:21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
Joh 6:22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn't entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.
Joh 6:23 However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
Joh 6:24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
Joh 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them, "Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27 Don't work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him."
Joh 6:28 They said therefore to him, "What must we do, that we may work the works of God?"
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
Joh 6:30 They said therefore to him, "What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.' "
Joh 6:32 Jesus therefore said to them, "Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn't Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."
Joh 6:34 They said therefore to him, "Lord, always give us this bread."
Joh 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
Joh 6:36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don't believe.
Joh 6:37 All those who the Father gives me will come to me. Him who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
Joh 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
Joh 6:39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Joh 6:41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down out of heaven."
Joh 6:42 They said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, 'I have come down out of heaven?' "
Joh 6:43 Therefore Jesus answered them, "Don't murmur among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, 'They will all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.
Joh 6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
Joh 6:47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
Joh 6:48 I am the bread of life.
Joh 6:49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
Joh 6:50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Joh 6:52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Joh 6:53 Jesus therefore said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don't have life in yourselves.
Joh 6:54 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me.
Joh 6:58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven-not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever."
Joh 6:59 He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?"
Joh 6:61 But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?
Joh 6:62 Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.
Joh 6:64 But there are some of you who don't believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn't believe, and who it was who would betray him.
Joh 6:65 He said, "For this cause have I said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father."
Joh 6:66 At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Joh 6:67 Jesus said therefore to the twelve, "You don't also want to go away, do you?"
Joh 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Joh 6:69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Joh 6:70 Jesus answered them, "Didn't I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"
Joh 6:71 Now he spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the twelve. 
 

From Jim McGuiggan... Matthew 19, What will I get?

Matthew 19, What will I get?

Matthew 19:16-30 is the background for the interpretation of the parable in Matthew 20:1-16. It's all about heart, about motivation and about trusting in God to do the right thing. The young rich man (rich because he was blessed by God) came thinking he loved and served God because God was worthy of it and (perhaps, maybe even probably) he learned that it was God's blessings he truly cared for. Jesus taught him that if he wanted to come closer to God he needed to distance himself from the blessings. The young man discovered something about himself; he was a poor rich man and now even poorer since he walked away.
At that point Jesus began to speak of the seduction of wealth (19:23-26) and this didn't sit well with Peter (19:27) for it sounded like there'd be no reward for faithfulness when in truth the OT spoke of blessing that would come on those faithful to the God of the covenant (compare Deuteronomy 28). Should Peter conclude that God promises come up short? Jesus in 19:28-30 makes it clear that God will do the right thing and that he fulfils his promises. That might have settled Peter's little heart but there was something Peter and his companions needed to know (19:30), many who are first will be last and the last first. The parable makes that point (20:16).
I don't see any reason to think the parable is dealing with Jews in contrast to Gentiles. I see nothing in Matthew's' context to suggest that and I see a lot that speaks of the motivation for service. See Matthew 20:1-16.
  • The Master doesn't say that all that are first shall be last.
  • The parable doesn't say all were paid the same amount. (Ten dollars for ten hours work is not the same wage as ten dollars for one hour's work. The protesters didn't think they were all paid equally.)
  • The parable teaches that the earlier workers didn't go to work until they had haggled out an agreed pay with the owner. They got what they bargained for. (This was usual in labour-markets.)
  • The parable teaches that the late-comers only came late to work because they had not been hired. It wasn't because they didn't want to work or that they were lazy.
  • The parable tells us that they went eagerly to work without haggling, depending on the word of the owner that he would do what is right.

I think we're being taught the difference between a heartfelt desire to please God and a mercenary spirit. That's what I think
 ©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

An Alabama Lawmaker by Dave Miller, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1512

An Alabama Lawmaker

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Alabama State Representative Alvin Holmes recently issued a challenge, offering $5,000 to anyone who can show him the biblical passage stipulating marriage as being solely between a man and a woman (McGrew, 2005). Okay, here they are:
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:27).
Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:22-24).
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:3-6).
Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2).
The word translated in the above Genesis verses as “woman” and “wife” is the common Hebrew word for female (ishah), even as “father and mother” refer to a man and a woman. The Greek terms that are translated “man” (aner) and “wife” (gune) in the above verses from Matthew and Corinthians likewise connote gender as being male and female. This is the case throughout the New Testament. For example, in an extensive discussion of husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul consistently uses the Greek term for “female” to refer to the wife, and the Greek term for “male” to refer to the husband.
The Bible never refers to a marriage as consisting of two men or two women. The Bible never refers to a man’s “wife” as being a male, or a woman’s “husband” being a female. And that’s not a matter of “my interpretation versus your interpretation.”

REFERENCES

McGrew, Jannell (2005), “Holmes Stands Behind Bible-verse Quest,” Montgomery Advertiser, February 11, [On-line], URL: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5ALVINW.htm.

A Stomach That Can’t Digest Evolution by Kyle Butt, M.A.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2044

A Stomach That Can’t Digest Evolution

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

It cost the British government about 1.8 million dollars. British scientists call it the first artificial stomach ever made. Commercial food companies are looking to it for help. Dr. Marin Wickham holds the patent on this amazing contraption. This new machine is about the size of a five gallon bucket. It is designed to mimic human digestion. Its advanced plastics and metals can withstand the corrosive qualities of the acids and enzymes used in digestion. Once food is placed in the receiving funnel, computer software determines how long the food stays in one place. The model attempts to copy real muscle contractions in the stomach that help humans digest their food. The machine is a technological wonder (see “Scientists Build....,” 2006).
One very important point needs to be noted about this artificial stomach: it is complex, expensive, and took hundreds or thousands of hours to design and build. But it still cannot accomplish all the processes of a real human stomach. Yet we are to believe that the human stomach evolved over millions of years by random, chance processes with no intelligent agent responsible for any of its construction.
Notice how descriptions of the artificial stomach demand the presence of intelligence. The model has computer software that regulates when the food moves. Such computer programs can be designed and implemented only by intelligent beings. Wickham also noted that “our knowledge of what actually happens in the gut is still very rudimentary but we hope that this model can help fill in some of the blanks” (“Scientists Build....,” emp. added). This technologically savvy stomach was created in an attempt to learn more about what actually happens in the stomach, since our most advanced research has only rendered a “rudimentary” knowledge of gut activity. Dr. Stephen Bloom, “head of metabolic medicine at Imperial College in London,” was quoted as saying: “The stomach is an extraordinarily complex organ, so you cannot create a model that will undertake all of these functions” (“Scientists Build....,” emp. added).
In summary, then, brilliant men and women designed a modern marvel which cost almost two million dollars that attempts to mimic human digestion. But the real human stomach it attempts to model is so complex that no machine humans can build will ever fill in all the blanks of our rudimentary knowledge of the human stomach. The only logical conclusion is that the human stomach must have been designed by an intelligence far superior to that of the humans who possess only a rudimentary knowledge of the stomach. It is no wonder that the psalmist poetically said that humans have been fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:14).
The designers of the artificial stomach stated: “It’s so realistic that it can even vomit.” It is high time the thinking world followed suit and “vomited out” the illogical notion of evolution.

REFERENCES

“Scientists Build World’s First Artificial Stomach” (2006), [On-line], URL:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15655255/wid/11915773?GT1=8717.

Biological Clocks: Evidence for a Clockmaker by Will Brooks, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1125

Biological Clocks: Evidence for a Clockmaker

by Will Brooks, Ph.D.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was written by A.P. staff scientist Will Brooks, who holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.]
If one were to ask a clockmaker, “Could this device have constructed itself?” the reply would most certainly be “No.” Clocks are complex instruments designed to accurately and repeatedly keep time to the millisecond. The complexity reaches all the way down to the system of gears and shafts which drive the instrument. It would be inconceivable even to consider the idea that such an instrument would evolve naturalistically over time, eventually reaching a point when it is ready to keep accurate time without missing a single second. Yet, this is exactly what evolutionists would have us to believe regarding an even more complex instrument, the cell division cycle—our own biological clock. [NOTE: The following discussion of cell division is based on Alberts, et al., 2002.]
The cell division cycle is a coordinated sequence of events that drives the division and reproduction of all cells from the single-celled amoeba to cells in the human body. The complexity and coordination of this cycle is staggering. The cell cycle is divided into four primary phases: G1, S, G2, and M.
G1, or the Gap 1 phase, is the time in which cells carry out all of the normal processes of the cell. Some cells remain in this phase for very long periods of time. But, when appropriate stimuli are encountered by a cell, a round of cell division is triggered. This point of no return is known as the restriction point. Once a cell passes this point, it must complete the entire cell cycle and return once more to G1. After a cell reproduces, it must prepare for the next phase of the cell cycle: S-phase or DNA synthesis phase. This preparation requires activating countless genes and making many new proteins that are used only during this one phase of the cell cycle. Once every component is ready, S-phase may begin.
During the DNA synthesis phase, the cell must make an exact copy of its nuclear DNA. This duplication is important because both new cells that will result from cell division must contain equal and identical copies of the parental cell DNA. One human cell contains roughly four billion base pairs of DNA. Copying all of this DNA without error is no small task, yet the cell does so incessantly.
Following completion of DNA synthesis, the cell enters the second gap phase, G2. During this period, the cell prepares for physical division, which involves the production of a whole new set of proteins. At the same time, all those proteins used during S-phase are degraded, since they are no longer needed, and their presence would only promote more DNA synthesis. After all the proper proteins are made and degraded, the cell is ready for physical separation, which takes place during mitosis or M-phase.
Mitosis involves the separation of chromosomes, followed by the separation of the cell. Human cells have 46 pairs of chromosomes when they enter mitosis. Each pair must be separated in the appropriate way in order for each daughter cell to have two copies of the 23 human chromosomes. Once again, this is no small feat. Even one mistake leads to abnormal chromosome numbers in the daughter cells and is harmful—often lethal—to the cell. Yet, the cell achieves this separation without error over and over. At the conclusion of mitosis, two cells result, each identical to the other. Both cells are now once more in G1-phase, able to enter another round of cell division. This cycle is repeated time after time, like clockwork.
In a physical clock or watch, a system of gears and shafts are designed to keep the clock moving, keeping precise, accurate time. What are the driving forces, the gears and shafts if you will, of the cell division cycle? Our cells have their own mechanism for keeping things moving. Two families of proteins lie at the heart of cell cycle progression. They are called cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks). These two groups of proteins work in a cooperative manner to promote each action that takes place during the cell cycle. How they work to keep the biological clock ticking is amazing!
Cyclin-dependent kinases function as enzymes, with the ability to link a small phosphate group (-PO4-3) onto a variety of proteins. This linkage serves as an “on” switch for the targeted protein. By phosphorylating (linking a phosphate) to proteins in the cell, Cdks work to turn on and off other proteins that play roles in the cell cycle. But, Cdks themselves need an “on switch,” which comes from the cyclin proteins. Cyclins are able to bind to cyclin-dependent kinases in order to form a stable protein complex between the two. Once bound together, Cdks are free to phosphorylate their repertoire of targets to promote all the activities of the cell cycle.
It might seem, then, that all cyclins and Cdks are active all of the time and throughout the cell cycle, but they are not. This is where the clockwork activity of the cell is truly seen. During each phase of the cell cycle (G1, S, G2, and M), a different set of cyclin and Cdk proteins are active. Therefore, each pair of proteins is able to promote only those activities which should occur during a phase. For example, during the DNA synthesis phase (S-phase), only those proteins that play a role in making new DNA are activated. This action prevents the phases from occurring out of order or at the wrong time. But, how is only one pair of cyclin-Cdk proteins active at a time? The answer comes in the form of another cyclical event.
Unlike the Cdk proteins, which are always present in the cell, cyclin proteins come and go in a cyclical manner—which accounts for the name cyclin. Production of these proteins is coordinated with the cell cycle phases. When a cell receives signals to undergo division, the G1-cyclins are expressed by the cell. They then partner with G1-Cdks, which already are present to promote those G1 activities of the cell. Additionally, G1 cyclin-Cdks initiate expression of the next group of cyclins—the S-phase cyclins. Once expressed, S-phase cyclin-Cdk partners promote activities of S-phase and turn on the G2-cyclins. This cycle continues for each phase of the cell cycle. Figure 2 illustrates this feature by showing the levels of S-phase cyclin throughout the cell cycle.
This amazing process of cyclin expression is also coupled with cyclin destruction. Once a new cyclin is present in the cell, the previous cyclin is destroyed, which effectively ends the previous cell cycle phase. This constant repetition of cyclin protein production and destruction is the driving force behind every event in the cell division cycle.
Together, the cell cycle and the cycle of cyclin protein production/destruction are an amazingly designed system of events. Such complexity is inexplicable on the basis of naturalism. In this case, the clockmaker is the intelligent Designer, God. It would be impossible for a six-foot-tall grandfather clock or even a small watch to construct itself gradually and start ticking. Equally impossible, the cell could never appear, ready to “tick” through the highly coordinated process of cell division. Just as clocks are constructed by an intelligent designer, the cell cycle is clear evidence for intelligent design in the Universe.

REFERENCE

Alberts, Bruce, et al. (2002), Molecular Biology of the Cell (Oxford: Garland Science).

Do Christians Sin? by Kyle Butt, M.A.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=919

Do Christians Sin?

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

A quick reading through the small epistle of 1 John reveals a number of verses that seem to disagree with each other. For instance, in 1 John 1:8,10 the author assures his readers that all people have sinned. In 2:1, John seems to indicate that even Christians will sin and therefore need Jesus Christ to be their advocate. Yet, 3:6 has John on record as saying: “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” In verse 8 of chapter 3, John wrote: “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.” And verse 9 states: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” Steve Wells, in his work, The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, wrote concerning these verses in chapter 3: “Earlier in this letter (1:8,10) John assured us that everyone sins. Yet in these verses he claims that Christians don’t sin” (Wells, 2003).
Are these verses examples of contradictions within the Bible? If they are not, what do they mean? Do Christians sin, or don’t they?
The answers to these questions actually are much simpler than it may, at first, appear. When we compare other translations of 3:6,8,9, we see that the actual Greek wording of the verses makes a major difference in the understanding of the passages. R.C.H. Lenski translated 3:6 as follows: “Everyone remaining in him does not go on sinning; everyone continuing to sin has not seen him, nor has he known him” (1966, pp. 457-458, emp. added). Lenski translated verse 9: “Everyone that has been born from God does not go on doing sinning because his seed remains in him; and he is not able to go on sinning because he has been born of God” (p. 462, emp. added). The New International Version translates 3:6: “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (emp. added).
Lenski explained that 1 John 3:6,9 uses a Greek construction called the present durative, which should be translated “does not go on sinning” (pp. 458,462). John, then, is saying no more in these verses than what Paul was saying in Romans 6:1-2, when he stated: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any long in it?” Numerous other verses teach that Christians will commit sins, even after they have been washed in the blood of Christ (cf. Romans 7:14-25; Philippians 3:12-13). However, John is saying that any person who rebelliously continues to sin, making it his or her usual, habitual way of life, is not following God. In 1 John 3:9, the Greek present infinitive means to habitually sin without compunction. In more practical terms (to offer an example), it is one thing for a Christian to slip up and commit an act of sexual immorality for which he or she is penitent. It is altogether another thing for a person to live as a prostitute and claim to be “having fellowship with the Father” (1 John 1:6).
Therefore, it is easily shown that no discrepancies exist between the verses under discussion in 1 John. Furthermore, it is refreshing to know that when a Christian does sin, “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

REFERENCES

Wells, Steve (2003), Skeptic’s Annotated Bible [On-line], URL: http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/1cor/index.html.
Lenski, R.C.H. (1966), The Interpretation of the I and II Epistles of Peter, the Three Epistles of John, and the Epistle of Jude (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg).