A new door by Gary Rose

Change is a hard thing. As you grow older, it becomes MUCH harder. Still, it IS POSSIBLE and with reference to sin, NECESSARY. But, what if you find yourself in a situation where it is just easier to continue doing the same things that you have always done than to please God.

Jesus was confronted with people in a "comfortable" position and here is how HE dealt with the situation...

Matthew, Chapter 21 (World English Bible)

 ²³ When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?” 

  ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.   ²⁵  The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” 

They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”  ²⁷ They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.” 

He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.   ²⁸  But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’   ²⁹  He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. (Emp. added, vss. 28,29 GDR)  ³⁰  He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.   ³¹  Which of the two did the will of his father?” 

They said to him, “The first.” 
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.   ³²  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn’t even repent afterward, that you might believe him.

Jesus' response to the chief priests and the elders (vs. 31b-32) seems harsh, but remember- these were the religious leaders of the Jewish people, they should have followed John's call to repentance and CHANGED. They did not believe him because they did not WANT to change; they were happy with their lot in life. They knew what to do, but would not DO IT (vs. 31a). The tax collectors and prostitutes listened and did something about their lives (repented). 

Heaven will be for those who will respond in a GODLY way when faced with the knowledge of sin in their lives. Old sinful ways of living won't open a new door leading to heaven.

Sometimes, you can even learn from a simple mouse...

Bible Reading March 16 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  March 16 (World English Bible)

Mar. 16

Exodus 26, 27

Exo 26:1 "Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman you shall make them.

Exo 26:2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains shall have one measure.

Exo 26:3 Five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and the other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.

Exo 26:4 You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling; and likewise you shall make in the edge of the curtain that is outmost in the second coupling.

Exo 26:5 You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that is in the second coupling. The loops shall be opposite one to another.

Exo 26:6 You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to another with the clasps: and the tabernacle shall be a unit.

Exo 26:7 "You shall make curtains of goats' hair for a covering over the tabernacle. You shall make them eleven curtains.

Exo 26:8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits: the eleven curtains shall have one measure.

Exo 26:9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shall double over the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tent.

Exo 26:10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which is outmost in the second coupling.

Exo 26:11 You shall make fifty clasps of brass, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.

Exo 26:12 The overhanging part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.

Exo 26:13 The cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, of that which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

Exo 26:14 You shall make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.

Exo 26:15 "You shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.

Exo 26:16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and one and a half cubits the breadth of each board.

Exo 26:17 There shall be two tenons in each board, joined to one another: thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

Exo 26:18 You shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward.

Exo 26:19 You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

Exo 26:20 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards,

Exo 26:21 and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

Exo 26:22 For the far part of the tabernacle westward you shall make six boards.

Exo 26:23 You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the far part.

Exo 26:24 They shall be double beneath, and in like manner they shall be entire to its top to one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

Exo 26:25 There shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

Exo 26:26 "You shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

Exo 26:27 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far part westward.

Exo 26:28 The middle bar in the midst of the boards shall pass through from end to end.

Exo 26:29 You shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

Exo 26:30 You shall set up the tabernacle according to the way that it was shown to you on the mountain.

Exo 26:31 "You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman shall it be made.

Exo 26:32 You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, on four sockets of silver.

Exo 26:33 You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil: and the veil shall separate the holy place from the most holy for you.

Exo 26:34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.

Exo 26:35 You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and you shall put the table on the north side.

Exo 26:36 "You shall make a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer.

Exo 26:37 You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold: their hooks shall be of gold: and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them.

Exo 27:1 "You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and its height shall be three cubits.

Exo 27:2 You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall overlay it with brass.

Exo 27:3 You shall make its pots to take away its ashes, its shovels, its basins, its flesh hooks, and its fire pans: all its vessels you shall make of brass.

Exo 27:4 You shall make a grating for it of network of brass: and on the net you shall make four bronze rings in its four corners.

Exo 27:5 You shall put it under the ledge around the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.

Exo 27:6 You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.

Exo 27:7 Its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar, when carrying it.

Exo 27:8 You shall make it with hollow planks. They shall make it as it has been shown you on the mountain.

Exo 27:9 "You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:

Exo 27:10 and its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

Exo 27:11 Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

Exo 27:12 For the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

Exo 27:13 The breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

Exo 27:14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exo 27:15 For the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exo 27:16 For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.

Exo 27:17 All the pillars of the court around shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.

Exo 27:18 The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

Exo 27:19 All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

Exo 27:20 "You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

Exo 27:21 In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh: it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Mar. 15, 16

Mark 10

Mar 10:1 He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.

Mar 10:2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

Mar 10:3 He answered, "What did Moses command you?"

Mar 10:4 They said, "Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her."

Mar 10:5 But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment.

Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.

Mar 10:7 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife,

Mar 10:8 and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Mar 10:9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

Mar 10:10 In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter.

Mar 10:11 He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.

Mar 10:12 If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery."

Mar 10:13 They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them.

Mar 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, "Allow the little children to come to me! Don't forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Mar 10:15 Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."

Mar 10:16 He took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Mar 10:17 As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

Mar 10:18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one-God.

Mar 10:19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not give false testimony,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.' "

Mar 10:20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth."

Mar 10:21 Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross."

Mar 10:22 But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.

Mar 10:23 Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!"

Mar 10:24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, "Children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!

Mar 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

Mar 10:26 They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, "Then who can be saved?"

Mar 10:27 Jesus, looking at them, said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God."

Mar 10:28 Peter began to tell him, "Behold, we have left all, and have followed you."

Mar 10:29 Jesus said, "Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News,

Mar 10:30 but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life.

Mar 10:31 But many who are first will be last; and the last first."

Mar 10:32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him.

Mar 10:33 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.

Mar 10:34 They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."

Mar 10:35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask."

Mar 10:36 He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Mar 10:37 They said to him, "Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory."

Mar 10:38 But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

Mar 10:39 They said to him, "We are able." Jesus said to them, "You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with;

Mar 10:40 but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared."

Mar 10:41 When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards James and John.

Mar 10:42 Jesus summoned them, and said to them, "You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

Mar 10:43 But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant.

Mar 10:44 Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all.

Mar 10:45 For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mar 10:46 They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

Mar 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!"

Mar 10:48 Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out much more, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"

Mar 10:49 Jesus stood still, and said, "Call him." They called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!"

Mar 10:50 He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Mar 10:51 Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "Rhabboni, that I may see again."

Mar 10:52 Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has made you well." Immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

The Good Old Days by J. C. Bailey

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Bailey/John/Carlos/1903/Articles/goodold.html

The Good Old Days

Apparently men have talked about the good old days for a long time, for Solomon had this to say: "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this" (Eccl. 7:10).

So in Solomon's time it was not wise to say that the old days were the good days. What about now?

I am going to suggest that what was true in Solomon's time is true in our time. That some things were better in the old days we shall have to admit but the general picture is not better. I remember the day that war was declared in 1914 with the terrible war that continued for more than four years. We could hardly call that the good old days. I remember the grinding years of the depression when my wife made our own mattresses. She made shoes for her boys. With seven children we lived in a house that was so cold that my wife stayed up nearly all night to keep the fires burning. Even then it froze in the house. I was in Ontario in a meeting and all five boys had small pox. The depression began to lift when World War II began. We could hardly call those the good old days.

You say that people were more moral then than now. Ever since I was born there has been murder, suicide, rape and self-abuse among people. These things may have increased and the attitude of the general public towards them has grown worse, but I worked among the men of the world for several years, and any one that would talk about the good old days does not know or has a poor memory. Men beat their wives when they were drunk. Children were starved by drinking fathers in what was called the good old days. I remember my father served on a jury when a man and his two sons were tried for abusing 12 and 14 year-old girls that had been adopted. Our attitude toward foreigners was certainly not as good as it is today.

You say spiritually things were better. Were they? That some things were better we would have to admit but what about the general picture? There were some who argued that a nigger did not have a soul. There were some who argued that we did not need to preach to the heathen. Some white churches would not even let their baptistry be used to baptize black people. That was in the good old days. Black people could not attend school with white people and we could go on and on. Many believed in the superiority of the white race. In the light of our actions in those days of yesteryear we can hardly say those were the good old days.

A brother recently died in India. He was a little younger than I am. Yet, he was the first person to go to school in his village. He went on to be a school teacher, and was the first person to embrace Christianity in that village. There are now some 80 churches of Christ in the area. What a change from the good old days.

There have been efforts before the present one, to evangelize India but in the good old days two of the preachers left the truth and joined a denomination. In the good old days we were told that we did not need to send missionaries to India. We could leave it to the native preachers when there was work only among one tribe and that represented less than one tenth of one per cent of the population of India. In the good old days, we did not have any work in Nigeria and now there are tens of thousands of members of the church. I am told there are churches that have as many as 1000 members.

In the good old days there was work only in a few of the countries of Central and South America. Back in the good old days there were works in Brazil but they joined a denomination. In the various countries of the world there are thousands of native preachers who were not there in the good old days.

The Spanish Literature Ministry puts out more material to Latin America than was put out in all the world except the U.S.A. in the good old days.

It is true that it may be harder to win souls for Christ in Canada or the United States than it was 50 years ago, but in a great part of the world it is much easier.

More people will obey the gospel now than ever in the history of the world. These are the good days. Jesus could have said of now, "Lift up your eyes unto fields that are white unto harvest." It was not yesterday, it is not tomorrow, it is now. These are the good days. How good? Our faith will answer that question.

J. C. Bailey, 1986, Bengough, Saskatchewan


Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Adam and Eve, Good and Evil by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=2728&b=Genesis

Adam and Eve, Good and Evil

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Q.

Did Adam and Eve know of good and evil prior to sinning? It was only after Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that the Bible says they came “to know good and evil” (Genesis 3:5,22). How could God punish them for an evil action if they did not know what evil was?

A.

Consider a hypothetical situation: What if two godly parents living in the most wicked city in the world chose never to let their children out of their house. They gave them everything they needed for survival inside the house. They filled their home with only good things. Their children never saw evil on television, heard of it on the radio, nor read of it in books. The children could play in any room in the house and open any door, except they had been forbidden to open the front door that leads to “Sodom and Gomorrah.” Do these children know what they can do and cannot do? Yes. Have they seen, witnessed, or experienced the evil outside their house (and compared that evil to the good within their own house)? No. Everything in their house was good. They had the freedom to do any number of things within their own house. They were forbidden to do one thing: open the front door. Did they know they were not supposed to open the front door? Yes. But did they know of the evil on the other side? No. They had never seen it, heard it, thought it, or experienced it.
The term “know” (Hebrew yada, Greek ginosko) or one of its derivatives (i.e., knew, known, etc.) is used in Scripture in a variety of ways. Several times it refers to a man and woman having sexual intercourse (Genesis 4:1,17,25; Judges 11:39; 19:25). Jesus used the term to refer to His regard for His sheep (i.e., people—John 10:27). In contrast to the way of the wicked that will perish, the psalmist wrote that God “knows” (i.e., approves, takes delight in, etc.) the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6). Paul used the term “know” in Ephesians 3:19 in the sense of knowing “experimentally what intellectually is beyond our powers of knowing”—the love of Christ (Jamieson, 1997). The fact is, like so many other words in Scripture (and in modern times) the word “know” has a variety of meanings.
When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). They had the freedom to eat of “of every tree of the garden” (2:16), but were forbidden to eat of the fruit of one of them (2:17). They knew of God’s good creation and they knew that if they ate of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (the one forbidden tree), God said they would die (3:2-3). However, it was not until after they ate of the forbidden tree that they actually “knew” (experienced) evil. Thus, in one sense Adam and Eve did know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil (they knew what they should and should not do; they understood moral distinctions), but they did not know of good and evil experientially until after their disobedience.

REFERENCE

Jamieson, Robert, et al. (1997), Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Bible Commentary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

Quran Okay—but not Bible by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1728

Quran Okay—but not Bible

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

You are aware of the systematic cleansing of America’s public schools and government buildings by the elimination of references to God and the Bible. This conspiratorial departure from the nation’s origins has been illustrated once again—but in a rather unexpected place: the detention center for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The politically correct crowd saw to it that every Muslim had access to a Quran. Oh, yes, inmates who want a Quran are carefully accommodated. But when a Pakistani Muslim inmate (detained for alleged ties to Osama bin Laden) requested a copy of the Bible—no can do.
Though the Quran is preeminent to the Muslim, Islam nevertheless acknowledges the Bible as Scripture from God. So, when he requested that his lawyer ship him a copy of the Bible, prison officials promptly confiscated the package. U.S. government lawyers said the detainee had not shown that the practice of his religion had been “substantially burdened” by being deprived of a Bible.
Unbelievable! Our own people no longer see the Bible as necessary, or its unavailability as adverse and creating a hardship. Since the Bible is the inspired Word of God, an honest Muslim would have the opportunity to see the stark difference between the Bible and the Quran. He might repent of his terrorist bent and pursue “the peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7). But we can’t have that!
We live in a time warp far removed from America’s origins. The Founders clearly believed that the initial existence and future survival of the Republic was heavily, if not exclusively, dependent on the successful diffusion of the Bible throughout society. While abundant evidence for this assertion exists, consider just one example. A year after declaring independence from England, the Colonies began to feel the effects of the British embargo. Consequently, the Continental Congress directed a committee to investigate ways by which Bibles could be secured. The committee made its report on September 11, 1777, stating “that the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance so great...your Committee recommends that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States of the Union.” Congress promptly ordered the importation (Journals of..., 1907, 8:734-745). Four years later, as the shortage continued, importation became sufficiently impractical that Congress was again petitioned for approval, this time to print Bibles in America rather than purchase them abroad. The request was approved and upon completion of the printing, on September 12, 1782, the full Congress not only approved the edition, but their endorsement was given in the front of the Bible: “Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled...recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States” (Journals of..., 1914, 23:574). Who today would believe that the original Congress of the United States considered the Bible so important to national existence that they would expend effort—even in wartime—to make certain that Bibles were available to the American population? The present widespread loss of respect for and interest in the Bible, if continued, will spell our national doom.
By the way, government lawyers representing prison officials at Guantanamo Bay also argued that letting the Islamic detainee have a Bible would “set off a chain reaction among the other 170 detainees” and “incite them” (Serrano, 2005). Oh, but don’t you see? That’s precisely what needs to be done.

 

REFERENCES

Journals of the Continental Congress (1904-1937), (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office).
Serrano, Richard A. (2005), “Guantanamo Bay Prisoner Sues U.S. to Get a Bible,” Los Angeles Times, November 22, [On-line], URL: http://www.algeria-watch.org/pdf/pdf_en/press_21_27_11_05.pdf.

False Charges Against Creationists by Wayne Jackson, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1097

False Charges Against Creationists

by	Wayne Jackson, M.A.

Q.

I’ve seen a lot of charges made against creationists, especially by those who are antagonistic to God, the Bible, and creationism. How should we respond to these kinds of charges?
A.
When one encounters an ideological position with which he disagrees, there are several possible reactions. He could honestly reflect upon the new idea, carefully research it, and give it a fair consideration. That certainly would be the noble thing to do. Then again, if the concept makes him uncomfortable, he might simply ignore it, hoping it will “go away.” On the other hand he may, as a consequence of intense philosophical bias, immediately reject it with a vengeance. In such a case, it is possible that one may so despise a teaching that he will caricature it. That is, he will present it in an absurd light so that, hopefully, he can deter others from even giving it consideration. Unfortunately, this latter approach has been demonstrated repeatedly in the creation/evolution controversy. Evolutionists, and religionists who have been influenced significantly by them, are constantly misrepresenting biblical creationism in an effort to bolster their own faltering cause. In this article, I propose to highlight some of these spurious attempts to discredit the biblical teaching relative to the doctrine of creation.

1. Creationists believe that the world was created in 4004 B.C.

John Lightfoot (1602-1675), the prominent Hebraist of Cambridge University, once suggested that the creation events of Genesis 1 transpired the week of October 18-24, 4004 B.C., with Adam being made on October 23rd at 9:00 in the morning (Ramm, 1954, p. 174). For this speculation, of course, there is absolutely no support. Nevertheless, this incident is repeatedly resurrected by evolutionists (both atheistic and theistic) and associated with modern creationism. There is simply no validity to this tactic.
What creationists do contend is this. First, the Bible clearly indicates that both the Earth and the human family came into existence during the same week. The Earth, in its rudimentary form, was created on the first day of the creation week (Genesis 1:1), and man and woman were fashioned on the sixth day of the same week (Genesis 1:26ff.). Second, that initial week was a literal week of seven normal days. This is demonstrated by a consideration of Exodus 20:11 where it is apparent contextually that the “days” of the creation week were of the same type as the sabbath “day,” which every Hebrew was required to observe weekly. Third, there are chronological data in the Scriptures which indicate that the human family, back to Adam (the first man, 1 Corinthians 15:45), has been in existence only several thousand years—certainly not millions of years as evolutionists claim. While there may be some minor elasticity in the genealogical records (cf. Genesis 11:12; Luke 3:35-36), attempts to accommodate the biblical genealogies to evolutionary anthropology result in gross textual distortion. As J. Barton Payne noted, this concept “leaves the Bible’s detailed lists of figures as generally pointless” (1975, 1:831).

2. The creationist concept of a relatively young Earth is the result of a millennialist theology.

This allegation generally is employed to intimidate those who reject the notion of premillennialism (as well they should), but who are inclined to accept the Genesis record at face value, thus accepting the fact that all living kinds were made within the same creation week. An example of this ploy is seen in the following allegation. In referring to “scientific creationism,” one compromising writer alleged that “the theological basis of most” of this type of teaching is the result of “the close association with millennial tradition” (Clayton, 1993, p. 20; see Sears, 1983, p. 415, for the same charge). Of course, not a word of proof was offered for this baseless charge, because there is none.
There is absolutely no intrinsic connection between the affirmation that the entire creation was accomplished in six literal days—a truth clearly set forth in the Scriptures—and the theological speculation (with no semblance of scriptural support) that Christ will return to the Earth and reign for 1,000 years on David’s throne in Jerusalem. Elsewhere we have dealt with this matter more specifically (see Jackson, 1985). We are gratified that agnostic writer Ronald Numbers, in his book, The Creationists, has noted correctly that the writings issuing from the offices of Apologetics Press have not been associated with any type of premillennial assumptions (1992, p. 315).

3. Creationists believe that God specifically made each individual species of plant and animal life.

While some writers of the past argued for the fixity of species, modern creationist scholars do not. Those who have given ample study to the biblical text, and who have confidence in its reliability, simply affirm, in the language of Scripture, that God made all biological organisms “after their kind” (Genesis 1:11ff.). The term “kind” (Hebrew, min) is employed 31 times in the Old Testament (ten times in the initial chapter of the Bible). It is a generic word that certainly allows for considerable biological modification. As professor W.H. Rusch has observed, “There is absolutely no justification for equating this Genesis ‘kind’ with the species of the biologist” (1959, p. 14).
In Leviticus 11:16, Moses refers to “the owl...after his kind,” and yet there are more than 250 known species of owls. The original dog family probably included the potential for producing the more than 200 different breeds of domestic dogs, the Australian dingoes, coyotes, wolves, possibly jackals and foxes, and maybe even hyenas, though these animals are now classified as different species. Walter Kaiser has commented: “God created the basic forms of life called min which can be classified according to modern biologists and zoologists as sometimes species, sometimes genus, sometimes family or order. This gives no support to the classical evolutionist view which requires developments across kingdom, phyla, and classes” (1980, 1:503-504).
What the creationist insists is this: the Bible does not allow for the notion that all biological life forms have descended from a common ancestor (or even a few initial forms). Invertebrates have not produced vertebrates; fish do not evolve into reptiles; reptiles do not become birds; birds are not transformed into mammals, etc. The creationist believes that both Scripture and science support horizontal variation within basic kinds—not vertical evolution. There is a vast difference between the two.

4. Creationists are anti-science.

There is no truth to this charge. The fact of the matter is, creationists recognize that science deals with present phenomena; this discipline is, by the very nature of its methodology, incapable of determining events/ processes that transpired thousands of years ago. Paul Weiss expressed it like this: “All science begins with observation, the first step of the scientific method. At once this delimits the scientific domain; something that cannot be observed cannot be investigated by science” (1965, p. 40).
It is a scientific fact that water freezes at 32°F. It is not a scientific fact that biological life was “spontaneously generated” a few billion years ago. That is evolutionary speculation. Self-confessed agnostic Robert Jastrow has addressed this very point:

Perhaps the appearance of life on the earth is a miracle. Scientists are reluctant to accept that view, but their choices are limited; either life was created on the earth by the will of a being outside the grasp of scientific understanding, or it evolved on our planet spontaneously, through chemical reactions occurring in nonliving matter lying on the surface of the planet.

The first theory places the question of the origin of life beyond the reach of scientific inquiry. It is a statement of faith in the power of a Supreme Being not subject to the laws of science.

The second theory is also an act of faith. The act of faith consists in assuming that the scientific view of the origin of life is correct, without having concrete evidence to support that belief (1977, p. 52).

Creationists do not reject genuine (proven) facts of science. What they do dispute are unsupported theories that have been designed to explain those facts. For instance, it is a fact that there are certain similarities between the bone structures of animals and men. However, it is an unsubstantiated speculation to suggest that this indicates that humans evolved from animals. Creationists are not opposed to true science.
Additionally, it is worthy of mention that many of the greatest minds in the history of science have been firmly committed to the idea of supernatural creation. Men like Newton, Pasteur, Kepler, Lister, Boyle, Pascal, and others—household names in science—were not atheists; they believed that science and the concept of creation were quite compatible. It is the worst form of misrepresentation to suggest that those who believe in creation are anti-science (see Jackson, 1993).

5. Creationists take the Bible literally.

When the charge is made that “creationists take the Bible literally” the aim is to leave a negative impression. It is implied subtly that a “literal” perception of the biblical text reflects an antiquated, uneducated viewpoint. The truth is, such an allegation hints of the inclination to interpret the Genesis record in a symbolic (mythological) way. The real motive behind such an ambition is to accommodate the Mosaic record to Darwin’s evolutionary ideology. Two observations need to be made regarding this criticism.
First, there are no negative connotations per se associated with literalism. When the Declaration of Independence affirms that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” it is a valid assumption that the term “men” denotes real human beings, and that the authors of this document believed that there is a literal “Creator.” It is quite reasonable to view this reference in a literal way. In fact, a basic rule of literature interpretation is this: a statement ought to be viewed as literal unless there are compelling reasons for rejecting a literal concept and assigning figurative meaning to the language. There is no reason to view the creation narrative as a figurative treatise. There is a solid body of evidence which indicates that a literal God literally created the entire literal Universe in six literal days. Again we insist—there is nothing, except anti-supernatural bias, that searches for symbolism in Genesis 1.
Second, even literal and historical events can be depicted with figurative terminology without any sacrifice of genuine historicity. When the Old Testament affirms that the Ten Commandments were written with the “finger of God,” even though we acknowledge that Jehovah is not physical, and thus anthropomorphism was employed to describe Him, we still must conclude that God Himself actually gave the Decalogue in a miraculous fashion. When Jesus foretold that He had a dreaded “cup” to drink, we recognize the symbolism, yet we are aware that the Savior was literally going to be subjected to the bitter pangs of Calvary. Thus, the charge of “literalism” against creationists is meaningless.

6. Creationists attempt to make the Bible a textbook on science.

Again, the accusation is completely false, and, in reality, is a thinly veiled suggestion that the Scriptures are not trustworthy in scientific matters. There is an invalid form of reasoning known as false obversion. Such a fallacy obtains when one attempts to draw a negative conclusion from a positive statement (or vice versa). For example, a salesman in New England had difficulty selling white eggs, because people were used to buying brown eggs. So, he inserted in his store window a sign which read, “Our eggs are guaranteed not to turn brown.” Of course, white eggs can be kept under refrigeration for six months without turning brown. But he wanted people to draw the inference that the brown eggs people were purchasing were once white eggs that had turned brown. He committed the fallacy of false obversion. Similarly, when critics charge: “The Bible is not a textbook on science,” they are generally suggesting that it is factually flawed in areas of science. They have then committed the same fallacy (see Dillow, 1981, p. 1).
While it certainly is true that the Scriptures never were intended to be a “textbook” on biology, geology, chemistry, mathematics, etc., it is not the case that they contain blunders in these disciplines. For example, in its use of figurative language characteristic of apocalyptic literature, the book of Revelation suggests that 12,000 people were “sealed” unto God from twelve different tribes of Israel. The reader has every right to expect that the total number of this symbolic company would be 144,000—which is exactly the figure given by the inspired writer (7:4). The Bible is not a textbook on physics, but when it contends that the creation process is “finished” (Genesis 2:1), and thus by implication that nothing is being created currently, we are gratified to note that this is precisely what the First Law of Thermodynamics suggests. And when the Scriptures affirm that the Universe is “growing old” (Hebrews 1:11), we can expect that to be a statement of fact, as indeed the Second Law of Thermodynamics confirms. Just because creationists contend that the Scriptures are accurate, even when touching on incidental matters of science, does not mean that we are attempting to make the Bible into a science textbook. That is a false charge.

7. Creationists believe that dinosaurs never existed.

A charge occasionally made against creationists, in an attempt to make them look ridiculous, is the assertion that these simple folk believe that dinosaurs never existed in the past. It is alleged that creationists contend that God merely placed dinosaur bones in the Earth’s strata to make it appear that these huge creatures once roamed this planet. Can this accusation be documented from a solitary publication distributed by scholars of the creationist movement? It cannot.
While it may be true that a rare, uninformed religious person, who does not know how to deal with the dinosaur problem, will idly advance this uneducated opinion, it certainly is not representative of those who are well-informed in Bible/science matters. The truth is, creationists have published a considerable body of excellent material dealing with dinosaurs. Actually, we teach a more balanced and correct view of the dinosaur phenomenon than do the evolutionists.
True creationists—and I am referring to those who have not yielded to the compromises of theistic evolution—not only argue that dinosaurs lived upon the ancient Earth, but also contend that these marvelous examples of God’s wisdom and power were contemporary with ancient humanity, and that very likely there are allusions to dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles in the Bible. The book of Job (40:15ff.) may very well contain reference to these creatures (see Jackson, 1983, pp. 85-88; Bromling, 1993; Thompson, 1993).
In conclusion we confidently affirm that the creationist case is quite strong, and is not weakened by the misrepresentations of those who have no confidence in the Scriptures.

REFERENCES

Bromling, Brad T. (1993), “Dinosaurs in the Bible?,” Reason & Revelation, 13:60, August.
Clayton, John N. (1993), “Book Reviews,” Does God Exist?, 20[2]:19-20, March/April.
Dillow, Joseph C. (1981), The Waters Above (Chicago, IL: Moody).
Jackson, Wayne (1983), The Book of Job (Abilene, TX: Quality Publishing).
Jackson, Wayne (1985), “Premillennialism and Biblical Creationism,” Reason & Revelation, 5:17-20, May.
Jackson, Wayne (1993), “Are Faith and Science Compatible?,” Christian Courier, 29:25-27, November.
Jastrow, Robert (1977), Until the Sun Dies (New York: Warner Books).
Kaiser, Walter C. (1980), “Kind,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R.L. Harris, G.L. Archer, B.K. Waltke (Chicago, IL: Moody Press), 1:503-504.
Numbers, Ronald (1992), The Creationists (New York: Knopf).
Payne, J. Barton (1975), “Chronology of the Old Testament” Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Merrill C. Tenney (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), 1:829-845.
Ramm, Bernard (1954), The Christian View of Science and Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Rusch, Wilbert H. (1959), “Darwinism, Science and the Bible,” Darwin, Evolution, and Creation, ed. Paul A. Zimmerman (St. Louis, MO: Concordia).
Sears, Jack Wood (1983), “How The Worlds Were Framed,” Studies in Hebrews, ed. Dub McClish (Denton, TX: Valid Publications).
Thompson, Bert (1993), “The Dinosaur Controversy,” Reason & Revelation, 13:57-59,61, August.
Weiss, Paul (1965), Elements of Biology (New York: McGraw-Hill).