November 2, 2016

Fearless by Gary Rose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiyWXQyAJ44
To me, the only word that describes the video is FEARLESS!!! This is either the bravest cat on the planet or the most stupid!!! I am strongly leaning towards the bravest!!!  Most of us who are even remotely acquainted with the Bible will think of this great confrontation...
1 Samuel, Chapter 17 (World English Bible)
    1Sa 17:1, Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
    1Sa 17:2, Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
    1Sa 17:3, The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
    1Sa 17:4, There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
    1Sa 17:5, He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
    1Sa 17:6, He had brass shin armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
    1Sa 17:7, The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield bearer went before him.
    1Sa 17:8, He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
    1Sa 17:9, If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then you will be our servants, and serve us.”
    1Sa 17:10, The Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day! Give me a man, that we may fight together!”
    1Sa 17:11, When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
    1Sa 17:12, Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men.
    1Sa 17:13, The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
    1Sa 17:14, David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.
    1Sa 17:15, Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
    1Sa 17:16, The Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
    1Sa 17:17, Jesse said to David his son, “Now take for your brothers an ephah* of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers;
    1Sa 17:18, and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back news.”
    1Sa 17:19, Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
    1Sa 17:20, David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the army which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
    1Sa 17:21, Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
    1Sa 17:22, David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
    1Sa 17:23, As he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.
    1Sa 17:24, All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were terrified.
    1Sa 17:25, The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is come up? He has surely come up to defy Israel. It shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
    1Sa 17:26, David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
    1Sa 17:27, The people answered him after this manner, saying, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
    1Sa 17:28, Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
    1Sa 17:29, David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
    1Sa 17:30, He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way.
    1Sa 17:31, When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.
    1Sa 17:32, David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
    1Sa 17:33, Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
    1Sa 17:34, David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock,
    1Sa 17:35, I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
    1Sa 17:36, Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
    1Sa 17:37, David said, “Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go; and Yahweh shall be with you.”
    1Sa 17:38, Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
    1Sa 17:39, David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” David took them off.
    1Sa 17:40, He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his wallet. His sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.
    1Sa 17:41, The Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.
    1Sa 17:42, When the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair face.
    1Sa 17:43, The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
    1Sa 17:44, The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
    1Sa 17:45, Then said David to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.   (emp. added, GDR)
    1Sa 17:46, Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
    1Sa 17:47, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear: for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
    1Sa 17:48, It happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
    1Sa 17:49, David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
    1Sa 17:50, So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
    1Sa 17:51, Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
    1Sa 17:52, The men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until you come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.
    1Sa 17:53, The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
    1Sa 17:54, David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
    1Sa 17:55, When Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I can’t tell.”
    1Sa 17:56, The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is!”
    1Sa 17:57, As David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
    1Sa 17:58, Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, you young man?” David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
I imagine a lot of people in the valley of Elah (17:2) asked the question: Is David crazy for going up against Goliath?  What they didn't know until David killed the giant was just how great a faith this youth had (17:45).
I must ask myself the question: How strong is MY FAITH? Good question!!! God just may answer it for me by putting me in a situation where it is tested. David passed, will I?
PS. As a result of seeing the video- Don't go looking for Alligators!!!

Bible Reading November 2 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading November 2 (World English Bible)
Nov. 2
Isaiah 25-28

Isa 25:1 Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.
Isa 25:2 For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It will never be built.
Isa 25:3 Therefore a strong people will glorify you. A city of awesome nations will fear you.
Isa 25:4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.
Isa 25:5 As the heat in a dry place will you bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the dreaded ones will be brought low.
Isa 25:6 In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of choice wines, of fat things full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.
Isa 25:7 He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
Isa 25:8 He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it.
Isa 25:9 It shall be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!"
Isa 25:10 For in this mountain the hand of Yahweh will rest. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.
Isa 25:11 He will spread out his hands in its midst, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands.
Isa 25:12 He has brought the high fortress of your walls down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.

Isa 26:1 In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
Isa 26:2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter: the one which keeps faith.
Isa 26:3 You will keep whoever's mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
Isa 26:4 Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
Isa 26:5 For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust.
Isa 26:6 The foot shall tread it down; Even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy."
Isa 26:7 The way of the just is uprightness. You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
Isa 26:8 Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, have we waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me will I seek you earnestly; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Isa 26:10 Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see Yahweh's majesty.
Isa 26:11 Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don't see; but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed. Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
Isa 26:12 Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us, for you have also worked all our works for us.
Isa 26:13 Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but by you only will we make mention of your name.
Isa 26:14 The dead shall not live. The deceased shall not rise. Therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and caused all memory of them to perish.
Isa 26:15 You have increased the nation, O Yahweh. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
Isa 26:16 Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.
Isa 26:17 Like as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so we have been before you, Yahweh.
Isa 26:18 We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Isa 26:19 Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast forth the dead.
Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter into your chambers, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
Isa 26:21 For, behold, Yahweh comes forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.

Isa 27:1 In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
Isa 27:2 In that day, sing to her, "A pleasant vineyard!
Isa 27:3 I, Yahweh, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day.
Isa 27:4 Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together.
Isa 27:5 Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. Let him make peace with me."
Isa 27:6 In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit.
Isa 27:7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or are they killed like those who killed them were killed?
Isa 27:8 In measure, when you send them away, you contend with them. He has removed them with his rough blast in the day of the east wind.
Isa 27:9 Therefore, by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the incense altars shall rise no more.
Isa 27:10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.
Isa 27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
Isa 27:12 It will happen in that day, that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel.
Isa 27:13 It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Isa 28:1 Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley of those who are overcome with wine!
Isa 28:2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one. Like a storm of hail, a destroying storm, and like a storm of mighty waters overflowing, he will cast them down to the earth with his hand.
Isa 28:3 The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden under foot.
Isa 28:4 The fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley, shall be like the first-ripe fig before the summer; which someone picks and eats as soon as he sees it.
Isa 28:5 In that day, Yahweh of Armies will become a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the residue of his people;
Isa 28:6 and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Isa 28:7 They also reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment.
Isa 28:8 For all tables are completely full of filthy vomit and filthiness.
Isa 28:9 Whom will he teach knowledge? To whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?
Isa 28:10 For it is precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little.
Isa 28:11 But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language;
Isa 28:12 to whom he said, "This is the resting place. Give rest to weary;" and "This is the refreshing;" yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13 Therefore the word of Yahweh will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken.
Isa 28:14 Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, you scoffers, that rule this people in Jerusalem:
Isa 28:15 "Because you have said, 'We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it won't come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves under falsehood.' "
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily.
Isa 28:17 I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.
Isa 28:18 Your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.
Isa 28:19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message."
Isa 28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
Isa 28:21 For Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim. He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his unusual work, and bring to pass his act, his extraordinary act.
Isa 28:22 Now therefore don't be scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, on the whole earth.
Isa 28:23 Give ear, and hear my voice! Listen, and hear my speech!
Isa 28:24 Does he who plows to sow plow continually? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods?
Isa 28:25 When he has leveled its surface, doesn't he plant the dill, and scatter the cumin seed, and put in the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in its place?
Isa 28:26 For his God instructs him in right judgment, and teaches him.
Isa 28:27 For the dill are not threshed with a sharp instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned over the cumin; but the dill is beaten out with a stick, and the cumin with a rod.
Isa 28:28 Bread flour must be ground; so he will not always be threshing it. Although he drives the wheel of his threshing cart over it, his horses don't grind it.
Isa 28:29 This also comes forth from Yahweh of Armies, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.

 

Nov. 2
1 Timothy 2

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:
1Ti 2:2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.
1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
1Ti 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
1Ti 2:6 who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
1Ti 2:7 to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
1Ti 2:8 I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.
1Ti 2:9 In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
1Ti 2:10 but (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works.
1Ti 2:11 Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection.
1Ti 2:12 But I don't permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness.
1Ti 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1Ti 2:14 Adam wasn't deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience;
1Ti 2:15 but she will be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and sanctification with sobriety.

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/En01JC-TemporaryThings.html

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8).

What have you seen that does not change?

From the swirling galaxies to the minutest particles, all is in motion. All physical things change, and pass away. Our bodies grow old and die. Is that the end?

Paul wrote: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).


Things which are seen are temporary.

This biblical statement is verified by scientific observations. The mass-energy space-time universe of which our bodies are a part, is disintegrating. There is a continual increase of entropy. Matter and energy in the universe are degrading toward an ultimate state of inert uniformity.

Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Luke 21:33).

The universe changes continually. Scientists observe these changes, look for patterns and attempt to explain them. Their explanations are often speculative because of the time-space limitations of their observation equipment.

These limitations exist both in the study of the minutest particles and in the study of the great expanses of the universe.

Since 1929 atom smashers have been used to study increasingly smaller particles [see Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton and John Douglas Cockcroft].

On September 10, 2008 the first beam of particles was successfully steered around the 27 kilometer circular tunnel of the world's most powerful particle accelerator at the CERN laboratory at Geneva. The purpose of this cyclotron, an electromagnetic machine that took 20 years to build with a price tag of ten billion dollars, is to accomplish a head-on collision of two beams of sub-atomic particles, hurtling through the tunnel at almost the speed of light.

To accomplish this, the electromagnets must be synchronized to less than a billionth of a second and the entire tunnel must be chilled to minus 271.23°C, which is only 1.82°C above absolute zero. By observing what happens when the beams collide, the scientists hope to increase their knowledge of particle physics.

The presumptuous claim has been made by some that this Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Geneva will allow scientists to replicate conditions that prevailed in the first few seconds after an alleged 'big bang' that supposedly created the universe 13.7 billion years ago.

Such collisions occur naturally, however, in the outer atmosphere, and are miniscule compared to what would happen in an alleged big bang. A collider just makes it possible to set up measuring instruments near these little bangs.

The first collision was to be attempted before the end of 2008, but on September 19, 2008 a malfunction that caused the leakage of a thousand kilos of liquid helium made it necessary to warm up the tunnel for repairs. Plans for the first collision were postponed until the summer of 2009, but the actual first collision (at half speed) was not accomplished until March 30, 2010.

King Solomon (an accomplished biologist - 1 Kings 4:33) wrote: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

People have eternity in their hearts. They want to know more, they can unravel some things, but their knowledge remains extremely limited.

No matter how powerful the colliders become, there will always be a limit to what instruments can measure. As a modest scientist at CERN said: “Hopefully this collider will help us peal off another layer of the unknown.”

Observations of the expanses of the universe are also extremely limited, in this case by distance and the slowness of light. If our sun exploded five minutes ago, we would not yet know it since it takes eight minutes for sunlight to travel to earth. The next closest star is Alpha Centauri, 4.3 light years away. If God destroyed the entire universe except our solar system four years ago, we would not yet notice it.

Earth is in the Milky Way galaxy. It is about 100,000 light years across and has some 100 billion stars. Earth is 30,000 light years from the center. Thus, all observations of our own little galaxy are stale-dated by from 4 to 70,000 years.

The nearest galaxy beyond the Milky Way is Andromeda, which is 2.7 million light years away. Thus, observations of it are 2.7 million years after the fact. What might have happened to Andromeda in the last 2.7 million years? We can never know. Maybe Andromeda no longer exists.

How many galaxies are there? About two million have been observed, but there may be as many as 100,000 million. How big is the observable universe? With our limited telescopes, it is estimated at 156 billion light years across.

“'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

What do scientists really know about the universe? Not much. They do know that it is changing, that it had a beginning, and that it will have an end. When you see a burning candle, you know it cannot burn forever because the available fuel is limited. You also know it has not been burning for ever, because then it would already be burned out.

Peter wrote: “The end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7) and “the heavens will pass away with a great noise” (2 Peter 3:10).

Was this temporary universe created by an eternal God or by a big bang?

On what is the big-bang theory based?

Assuming that the red-shift in the light spectrum of distant stars is caused by the Doppler effect rather than by some unknown influence over such a great distance, the universe appears to be expanding.

Some scientists crank the expansion of the universe back in time until all matter in the universe theoretically would have been at one place (which seems rather preposterous). Since they can go no farther, they postulate that there must have been an explosion at that time, a 'big bang', that started the universe expanding. (I suppose if all the matter in the universe were at one place, something would have to happen! But how did it get there?)

These scientists can believe the preposterous idea that all matter in the universe could be at one place, but they have difficulty with the idea that God could create an already expanding universe, and that the stars, plus their radiation fields in the whole universe, could be created simultaneously. This, however, is not a bit more difficult than having all the material of the universe at one place!

What do the Scriptures say about the beginning of the universe? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:1-8).

The waters under and above the firmament refer to earth's water cycle with liquid water in the seas and water vapor in the clouds.

Notice that light, day and night, and the hydrosphere were created before there were stars. The stars were not created until the forth day. “Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:14-18).

Thus, when the heavenly bodies were created, they were visible on earth (although some of them were millions of light years away) and their coordinates were comparable to what we see now since they were given for signs and seasons.

The book of Job (which tells of events around the time of Abraham in Genesis) mentions the constellations, the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades (Job 9:9) and in Amos 5:8 it is stated: “He made the Pleiades and Orion.” Thus, God created these constellations with their recognizable appearance from earth.

God created the sun, moon and stars “to give light on the earth” (Genesis 1:15). This tremendous, awe-inspiring universe was made to enlighten man.

What do the Scriptures say about the entropy and inevitable death of the universe? “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end” (Psalm 102:26-28).

Peter writes: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10).

We need not be discouraged or dismayed because of the changes and decay around us. This changing universe will pass away, the elements will perish, but there are invisible things that will remain: “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Visible things change, but “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). And He has promised those who follow Him an eternal dwelling place.

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:11-13).

Next we will discuss unseen things that never pass away.

“You, O LORD, shall endure forever” ... “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end” (Psalm 102:12, 25-27).

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

Does the Bible Contradict Itself Regarding the Day of the Crucifixion? by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=5059&b=John

Does the Bible Contradict Itself Regarding the Day of the Crucifixion?

by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before His crucifixion, Jesus sent disciples to prepare the Passover meal, killing the Passover lamb. They note that this task was completed on “the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” the 14th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar, the day before Jesus’ crucifixion (cf. Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7)—identifying for us that the meal was prepared on a Thursday. In accordance with the Law of Moses, Jesus then ate the Passover meal that evening—Thursday night to the modern mind, but the beginning of the Jewish Friday to the Israelite (the Jewish day began at sunset). Jesus’ crucifixion then occurred the next day on Friday (the same day as the initial Passover meal to Jews), before the Jewish Sabbath Day began Friday evening (the Jews’ Saturday). [NOTE: While some believe the crucifixion, and hence the Passover meal, was earlier in the week, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, and Matthew 27:62 indicate that the crucifixion took place on Friday, “the day before the Sabbath,” with Jesus dying as “the Sabbath drew near.” Backing up through the synoptic narratives reveals Jesus being arrested the night before (Thursday night), while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane immediately after His last supper with the disciples. The resurrection took place on Sunday, “three days” later, according to the Jewish idiomatic reckoning of the chronology (Mark 16:9; Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; cf. Lyons, 2004; Lyons, 2006; Bullinger, 1898, pp. 845-847; Robertson, 1922, pp. 289-291).] John, however, seems to indicate that Jesus’ crucifixion actually took place before the Passover even began (John 13:1; 18:28; 19:14). Thomas Nelson’s The Chronological Study Bible says, “The Synoptics [i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke—JM] present the Last Supper as being the Passover meal…. In John’s Gospel, the Last Supper was not the Passover meal” (2008, p. 1217). Jennifer Viegas, writing for Discovery News, said, “The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) indicate that Jesus died before nightfall on the 15th day of Nisan…. John’s gospel differs from the synoptics; apparently indicating that Jesus died before nightfall on the 14th day of Nisan” (2012). Respected biblical scholar J.W. McGarvey highlights the debate over the matter stating that,
[s]ince the second century a great dispute has been carried on as to the apparent discrepancy between John and the synoptists in their statements concerning the passover. The synoptists…clearly represent Jesus as having eaten the passover at the proper time, and as having been arrested on the same night, while John here and elsewhere…seems to represent Jesus as being arrested before the passover (2012, CXVIII, John 13:1-20, italics in orig.).
Is this a legitimate discrepancy that can be levied against the Bible?
First, what did the Law of Moses command concerning the observance of the Passover? In order for Jesus to be sinless (Hebrews 4:15), our spotless and unblemished Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), He had to keep the Law of Moses perfectly. If He violated the Law of Moses regarding the correct observance of the Passover, our hope is vain. The Passover lamb was to be killed at twilight (i.e., sunset) on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar (Ezekiel 45:21). The lamb was then to be eaten that same night with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:6-8; Numbers 28:16-17; Leviticus 23:5-7), leaving none of it until morning—burning any remains (Exodus 12:10). Unleavened bread was then to be eaten every day until the 21st day of the month at evening (Exodus 12:18). No leavened bread was even to be in an Israelite house for that week, or those individuals would be “cut off from the congregation of Israel” (Exodus 12:19).
The language of Matthew, Mark, and Luke leaves little doubt that the Passover lamb was killed by the apostles on Thursday afternoon of the crucifixion week, which was the 14th of Nisan, and that Jesus then immediately ate the Passover meal that evening on the 15th of Nisan in keeping with the Law of Moses (cf. Matthew 26:17-21; Mark 14:12,16-18; Luke 22:7-9). The apparent discrepancy comes when we compare various verses in the book of John.
John 13:1-2 says, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.” A straightforward reading of this passage leaves the impression that the last supper that the disciples ate with Jesus was not the Passover meal, but actually “before the feast of the Passover,” as though the Passover began the next day. This would contradict the synoptic Gospels’ clear claims and imply that either John taught that the last supper was not actually the Passover meal as the other Gospel writers claimed, or that Jesus was observing the Passover early—on a different day than was commanded by God. In truth, the alleged contradiction in this case is easily dispelled by understanding that the phrase “supper being ended” (NKJV) is properly translated:
  • “during supper” (ASV; ESV; RSV; McCord, 1989), or
  • while the “meal was being served” (NIV), “being prepared…or going on” (Jamieson, et al., 2012, John 13:2), or “was preparing” (Clark, 2013, John 13:2), or
  • “while they were at supper” (Barnes, 2012, John 13:2), or
  • “there being a supper made, or he being at supper” (Henry, 2014, John 13:2).
In context, verse one of John 13 is a transitional verse, serving as a summary and wrap-up of the preceding section of John’s narrative (i.e., those events occurring “before the feast of the Passover”) leading up to the next critical section of his book, which covers the next seven chapters (an entire third) of the book, moving the reader through the final events of Jesus’ life. Verse two begins a new discussion concerning the Passover events—a narrative that begins “during” the Passover supper, or while it was “being served” or “prepared.” Greek scholar A.T. Robertson stated that “it is not certain that verse 1 is to be connected with verse 2. The best exegetes agree that a complete idea may be presented therein, either a general statement that Jesus loved his own before the Passover and until the end, or that he came into special consciousness of this love just before the Passover” (1922, p. 282). Respected biblical scholar Hugo McCord’s independent translation captures the portrait being depicted by John. “Before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to the end. [Verse 2:] During supper (since the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him)” (John 13:1-2). Note the natural contrast that John is making between the words “before” and “during” with regards to that important feast.
But what about John 18:28? “Then they [i.e., the Jews] led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early [Friday] morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.” This verse seems to indicate that the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover meal, which again leaves the impression that either the Passover had not yet begun, or that the Jews had failed to eat the meal at the proper time, which seems very unlikely. It is argued that “[i]n John’s sequence, the Last Supper was celebrated on Passover eve, and Jesus was tried the next day while the Jewish authorities themselves were preparing to eat the Passover meal (18:28)” (The Chronological Study Bible, p. 1217). However, a closer look at how the term “Passover” is used in the Bible, and especially by John, sheds light on this passage. Robertson notes that
it is by no means certain that the phrase “eat the Passover” means simply the paschal supper…. [T]he word “Passover” is used in three senses in the New Testament, the paschal supper, the paschal lamb, or the paschal festival. The word is used eight times in John besides this instance, and in every case the Passover festival is meant. So we may fairly infer that the usage of John must determine his own meaning rather than that of the Synoptists (pp. 281-282; cf. Jackson, p. 176).
Recall that the Passover festival lasted seven days, not merely the one night when the lamb was slain and eaten (Exodus 12:6-20). The Passover week had begun the night before with a feast and would continue over the following days with more feasting. The Jews, therefore, did not want to become defiled before the next unleavened meal of the Passover week.
The verse that perhaps causes the most accusations against the biblical account of the crucifixion day regards John 19:14. Before the crucifixion, after scourging Jesus and allowing the Roman soldiers to mock Him, Pilate brought Jesus out to the Jews again. “Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’” Because of this text, some argue that John “suggests that Jesus was crucified on the day before Passover began—‘the Preparation Day of the Passover’” (The Chronological Study Bible, p. 1217, italics in orig.). Again, this would imply that the supper that Jesus ate the night before with His disciples was not actually the Passover meal—i.e., the synoptics are wrong.
However, the phrase “Preparation Day of the Passover” is referring to the Sabbath Preparation Day that occurs during the Passover week—i.e., Friday. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who as stated earlier in unison clearly portray Jesus as being arrested and crucified after the Passover meal, all also state that the “Day of Preparation” was the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. They simply make it clear in context that they apply that description to the Sabbath Preparation Day (e.g., Matthew 27:62). Immediately after Jesus’ death, Luke couples the Preparation Day with the Sabbath, noting, “That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near” (Luke 23:54). Mark defines his use of the term even more clearly, stating, “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath” (15:42). Robertson notes that John also used “Preparation Day” as being coupled with the Sabbath. “John himself so uses the word in two other passages (19:31,42), in both of which haste is exercised on the Preparation, because the Sabbath was at hand” (p. 282).
Biblical scholar Gleason Archer notes that the word translated “Preparation” (paraskeuÄ“) was the actual word for Friday in the first century. “[T]he word paraskeuÄ“ had already by the first century A.D. become a technical term for ‘Friday,’ since every Friday was the day of preparation for Saturday, that is, the Sabbath. In Modern Greek the word for ‘Friday’ is paraskeuÄ“…. [T]hat which might be translated literally as ‘the preparation of the Passover’ must in this context be rendered ‘Friday of Passover Week’” (1982, p. 375).Robertson agreed, explaining that “the term ‘Preparation’ has long been the regular name for Friday in the Greek language, caused by the New Testament usage. It is so in the Modern Greek to-day” (p. 282). Indeed, the NIV rendering of John 19:14 helps to clear the confusion by rendering the sentence, “It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.” John simply does not contradict the synoptic Gospels regarding Jesus’ crucifixion day.
But if Jesus was killed on Friday the 15th of Nisan, and the Passover lambs were killed Thursday the 14th of Nisan, how can He be our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7)? Gleason responded to that question, explaining, “It simply needs to be pointed out that the lambs referred to here [i.e., in 1 Corinthians 5:7—JM] are not those that were slaughtered and eaten in private homes—a rite Jesus had already observed with His disciples the night before…—but the lambs to be offered on the altar of the Lord on behalf of the whole nation of Israel” (p. 376, italics in orig.). Gleason proceeds to illustrate the distinction between the private sacrifices (e.g., Exodus 12:6) and the public sacrifices (Exodus 12:16-17; Leviticus 23:4-8; 2 Chronicles 30:15-19; 35:11-16). He notes, “These were all known as Passover sacrifices, since they were presented during Passover week” (p. 376). Jesus is the Passover lamb for all, and therefore, it makes sense that He would be sacrificed as a public sacrifice.
Thus, as is always the case, a text which appears on the surface to contradict another biblical text, is found to harmonize perfectly with it. Amazingly, when studied further and treated fairly, alleged contradictions which are levied against the Bible are consistently found in the end to actually provide even more evidence that the Bible’s internal consistency is nothing less than supernatural. If God is indeed the Author of the Bible, as it claims (e.g., 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), then that certainly should be the case any time the original rendering of a Scripture can be determined with confidence and translated accurately. John’s description of the crucifixion event provides even more evidence for the amazing accuracy of the Bible. [NOTE: See Butt, 2003 for further information.]

REFERENCES

Archer, Gleason, L. (1982), Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Barnes, Albert (2012), Barnes’ Notes On the New Testament (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Bullinger, E.W. (1898), Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1968 reprint).
Butt, Kyle (2003), “What Kind of Bread did Jesus Use to Institute the Last Supper?” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1196.
The Chronological Study Bible (2008), (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson).
Clarke, Adam (2013), Adam Clarke’s Commentary (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Henry, Matthew (2014), Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Jackson, Wayne (2011), A New Testament Commentary (Stockton, CA: Christian Courier).
Jamieson, Robert, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown (2012), Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Lyons, Eric (2004), “Did Jesus Rise ‘On’ or ‘After’ the Third Day?” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=756.
Lyons, Eric (2006), “Reasoning About the Resurrection of Christ,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=228&article=3689.
McCord, Hugo (1989), McCord’s New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel (Henderson, TN: Freed-Hardeman College).
McGarvey, J.W. (2012), The Four-Fold Gospel: A Harmony of the Gospels (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Robertson, A.T. (1922), A Harmony of the Gospels (New York: Harper & Row).
Viegas, Jennifer (2012), “Day of Jesus’ Crucifixion Believed Determined,” Discovery News, May 24, http://news.discovery.com/history/religion/jesus-crucifixion-120524.htm.

Church Attendance and the Survival of the Republic by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=3688

Church Attendance and the Survival of the Republic

by  Dave Miller, Ph.D.

John Hancock -
Founding Father
The polling data grows more dismal every year. Polls now show that only 39% of Americans say they attend worship at least once a week (“How Religious...,” 2009; cf. Newport, 2010). That means that the majority of Americans no longer attend church of any kind. It is hard to believe that the nation could shift from a time when the vast majority of Americans attended church on Sundays for Christian (not Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist) worship, to a time when most Americans do not attend worship. It is hard even to imagine a time when the “Blue Laws” were in effect—laws that encouraged church attendance by prohibiting commercial activity on Sundays—and were endemic to American culture from the colonial period forward. Yet, here we are, with Americans growing increasingly irreligious, drifting further and further from Christian morality and civility.
The Founders of the American Republic stated explicitly that the promotion of the Christian religion in America is necessary for the preservation of the country and the civil institutions of the government. For example, John Hancock, whose signature is so conspicuous and prominent on the Declaration of Independence, in his inaugural address as governor of Massachusetts, expressed to his fellow citizens:
A due observation of the Lord’s Day is not only important to internal religion, but greatly conducive to the order and benefit of civil society. It speaks to the senses of mankind, and, by a solemn cessation from their common affairs, reminds them of a Deity and their accountableness to the great Lord of all. Whatever may be necessary to the support of such an institution, in consistence with a reasonable personal liberty, deserves the attention of civil government (as quoted in Brown, 1898, p. 269).
Among the many corrosives now eating away at American civilization is the widespread citizen neglect of Sunday Christian worship. This failure to publicly acknowledge the God of the Bible and the priority of the Christian religion is one more indication of the coming demise of the nation. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread...” (Acts 20:7).

REFERENCES

Brown, Abram (1898), John Hancock: His Book (Boston, MA: Lee & Shepard Publishers).

“How Religious Is Your State?” (2009), The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, December 21, http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=504.

Newport, Frank (2010), “Mississippians Go to Church the Most; Vermonters, Least,” Gallup, February 17, http://www.gallup.com/poll/125999/Mississippians-Go-Church-Most-Vermonters-Least.aspx.

Atheism and Liberal, Missouri by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1447

Atheism and Liberal, Missouri

by  Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In the summer of 1880, George H. Walser founded the town of Liberal in southwest Missouri. Named after the Liberal League in Lamar, Missouri (to which the town’s organizer belonged), Walser’s objective was “to found a town without a church, [w]here unbelievers could bring up their children without religious training,” and where Christians were not allowed (Thompson, 1895; Becker, 1895). “His idea was to build up a town that should exclusively be the home of Infidels...a town that should have neither God, Hell, Church, nor Saloon” (Brand, 1895). Some of the early inhabitants of Liberal even encouraged other infidels to move to their town by publishing an advertisement which boasted that Liberal “is the only town of its size in the United States without a priest, preacher, church, saloon, God, Jesus, hell or devil” (Keller, 1885, p. 5). Walser and his “freethinking” associates were openly optimistic about their new town. Excitement was in the air, and atheism was at its core. They believed that their godless town of “sober, trustworthy and industrious” individuals would thrive for years on end. But, as one young resident of that town, Bessie Thompson, wrote about Liberal in 1895, “...like all other unworthy causes, it had its day and passed away.” Bessie did not mean that the actual town of Liberal ceased to exist, but that the idea of having a “good, godless” city is a contradiction in terms. A town built upon “trustworthy” atheistic ideals eventually will reek of the rotten, immoral fruits of infidelity. Such fruits were witnessed and reported firsthand by Clark Braden in 1885.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Saturday, May 2, 1885
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Saturday, May 2, 1885
Braden was an experienced preacher, debater, and author. In his lifetime, he presented more than 3,000 lectures, and held more than 130 regular debates—eighteen of which were with the Mormons (Carpenter, 1909, pp. 324-325). In 1872, Braden even challenged the renowned agnostic Robert Ingersoll to debate, to which Ingersoll reportedly responded, “I am not such a fool as to debate. He would wear me out” (Haynes, 1915, pp. 481-482). Although Braden was despised by some, his skills in writing and public speaking were widely known and acknowledged. In February 1885, Clark Braden introduced himself to the townspeople of Liberal (Keller, 1885, p. 5; Moore, 1963, p. 38), and soon thereafter he wrote about what he had seen.
In an article that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on May 2, 1885, titled “An Infidel Experiment,” Braden reported the following.
The boast about the sobriety of the town is false. But few of the infidels are total abstainers. Liquor can be obtained at three different places in this town of 300 inhabitants. More drunken infidels can be seen in a year in Liberal than drunken Christians among one hundred times as many church members during the same time. Swearing is the common form of speech in Liberal, and nearly every inhabitant, old and young, swears habitually. Girls and boys swear on the streets, playground, and at home. Fully half of the females will swear, and a large number swear habitually.... Lack of reverence for parents and of obedience to them is the rule. There are more grass widows, grass widowers and people living together, who have former companions living, than in any other town of ten times the population.... A good portion of the few books that are read are of the class that decency keeps under lock and key....
These infidels...can spend for dances and shows ten times as much as they spend on their liberalism. These dances are corrupting the youth of the surrounding country with infidelity and immorality. There is no lack of loose women at these dances.
Since Liberal was started there has not been an average of one birth per year of infidel parents. Feticide is universal. The physicians of the place say that a large portion of their practice has been trying to save females from consequences of feticide. In no town is slander more prevalent, or the charges more vile. If one were to accept what the inhabitants say of each other, he would conclude that there is a hell, including all Liberal, and that its inhabitants are the devils (as quoted in Keller, 1885, p. 5).
According to Braden, “[s]uch are the facts concerning this infidel paradise.... Every one who has visited Liberal, and knows the facts, knows that such is the case” (p. 5).
As one can imagine, Braden’s comments did not sit well with some of the townspeople of Liberal. In fact, a few days after Braden’s observations appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was arrested for criminal libel and tried on May 18, 1885. According to Braden, “After the prosecution had presented their evidence, the case was submitted to the jury without any rebutting evidence by the defence (sic), and the jury speedily brought in a verdict of ‘No cause for action’ ” (as quoted in Mouton, n.d., pp. 36-37). Unfortunately for Braden, however, the controversy was not over. On the following day (May 19, 1885), a civil suit was filed by one of the townsmen—S.C. Thayer, a hotel operator in Liberal. The petition for damages of $25,000 alleged that Clark Braden and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article in which they had made false, malicious, and libelous statements against the National Hotel in Liberal, managed by Mr. Thayer. He claimed that Braden’s remarks, published in the St. Louise Post-Dispatch on May 2, 1885, “greatly and irreparably injured and ruined” his business (Thayer v. Braden). However, when the prosecution learned that the defense was thoroughly prepared to prove that Liberal was a den of infamy, and that its hotels were little more than houses of prostitution, the suit was dismissed on September 17, 1886 by the plaintiff at his own cost (Thayer v. Braden). Braden was exonerated in everything he had written. Indeed, the details Braden originally reported about Liberal, Missouri, on May 2, 1885 were found to be completely factual.
It took only a few short years for Liberal’s unattractiveness and inconsistency to be exposed. People cannot exclude God from the equation, and expect to remain a “sober, trustworthy” town. Godlessness equals unruliness, which in turn makes a repugnant, immoral people. The town of Liberal was a failure. Only five years after its establishment, Braden indicated that “[n]ine-tenths of those now in town would leave if they could sell their property. More property has been lost by locating in the town than has been made in it.... Hundreds have been deceived and injured and ruined financially” (Keller, p. 5). Apparently, “doing business with the devil” did not pay the kind of dividends George Walser (the town’s founder) and the early inhabitants of Liberal desired. It appears that even committed atheists found living in Liberal in the early days intolerable. Truly, as has been observed in the past, “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity and be able to endure it, but a whole town of atheists is too horrible to contemplate.” It is one thing to espouse a desire to live in a place where there is no God, but it is an entirely different thing for such a place actually to exist. For it to become a reality is more than the atheist can handle. Adolf Hitler took atheism to its logical conclusion in Nazi Germany, and created a world that even most atheists detested. Although atheists want no part of living according to the standards set out by Jesus and His apostles in the New Testament, the real fruits of evolutionary atheism also are too horrible for them to contemplate.
Although the town of Liberal still exists today (with a population of about 800 people), and although vestiges of its atheistic heritage are readily apparent, it is not the same town it was in 1895. At present, at least seven religious groups associated with Christianity exist within this city that once banned Christianity and all that it represents. Numerous other churches meet in the surrounding areas. According to one of the religious leaders in the town, “a survey of Liberal recently indicated that 50% of the people are actively involved with some church” (Abbott, 2003)—a far cry from where Liberal began.
There is no doubt that the moral, legal, and educational systems of Liberal, Missouri, in the twenty-first century are the fruits of biblical teaching, not atheism. When Christianity and all of the ideals that the New Testament teaches are effectively put into action, people will value human life, honor their parents, respect their neighbors, and live within the moral guidelines given by God in the Bible. A city comprised of faithful Christians would be mostly void of such horrors as sexually transmitted diseases, murder, drunken fathers who beat their wives and children, drunk drivers who turn automobiles into lethal weapons, and heartache caused by such things as divorce, adultery, and covetousness. (Only those who broke God’s commandments intended for man’s benefit would cause undesirable fruit to be reaped.)
On the other hand, when atheism and all of its tenets are taken to their logical conclusion, people will reap some of the same miserable fruit once harvested by the early citizens of Liberal, Missouri (and sadly, some of the same fruit being reaped by many cities in the world today). Men and women will attempt to cover up sexual sins by aborting babies, children will disrespect their parents, students will “run wild” at home and in school because of the lack of discipline, and “sexual freedom” (which leads to sexually transmitted diseases) will be valued, whereas human life will be devalued. Such are the fruits of atheism: a society in which everyone does that which is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6)—a society in which no sensible person wants to live.

REFERENCES

Abbott, Phil (2003), Christian Church, Liberal, Missouri, telephone conversation, April 7.
Barnes, Pamela (2003), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, telephone conversation, March 12.
Becker, Hathe (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.
Brand, Ida (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.
Carpenter, L.L. (1909), “The President’s Address,” in Centennial Convention Report, ed. W.R. Warren, (Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company), pp. 317-332. [On-line], URL: http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/wwarren/ccr/CCR15B.HTM.
Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples of Christ in Illinois 1819-1914 (Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company), [On-line], URL: http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/nhaynes/hdcib/braden01.htm, 1996.
Keller, Samuel (1885), “An Infidel Experiment,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Special Correspondence with Clark Braden, May 2, p. 5.
Moore, J.P. (1963), This Strange Town—Liberal, Missouri (Liberal, MO: The Liberal News).
Mouton, Boyce (no date), George H. Walser and Liberal, Missouri: An Historical Overview.
Thayer, S.C. v. Clark Braden, et. al. Filed on May 19, 1885 in Barton County Missouri. Dismissed September 10, 1886.
Thompson, Bessie (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.