ONE by Gary Rose

Regardless of what you believe or don't believe- this statement is true! As a nation, we need to STOP believing the lies of a media bent on division. We need to have a little faith in our fellow man and start believing in The United States of America once again.

The truth is: There are both good and bad people in every ethnicity, every geographical location, age group, sex and time in history. When we put generic labels on people, we put them into a little box in our mind. And if you are a small minded person, then you only get a small concept of who those people really are- STUPIDITY TO THE NTH DEGREE!!!

One way to overcome this human tendency, is to consider Christianity as a world-view. Read the following passage from The Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians to gain some insight....

Galatians, Chapter 3 (World English Bible)

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,”  ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

  ¹⁵ Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it.  ¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring”, which is Christ.  ¹⁷ Now I say this: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect.  ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by promise. 

  ¹⁹ Then why is there the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.  ²⁰ Now a mediator is not between one, but God is one.  ²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could make alive, most certainly righteousness would have been of the law.  ²² But the Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 

  ²³ But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed.  ²⁴ So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  ²⁶ For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.  ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  ²⁹ If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise. 

If you say the word "Abraham" to most people, they will associate that name with the concept of faith. And in fact- He WAS A MAN OF VERY GREAT FAITH, indeed!!! But Abraham had faults, just like we do! 

Those who make the decision to become Christians are NOT PERFECT, but they are trying to be the absolute best they can be. Not by their own ideas, but by what God has said in the Bible. And in that Bible we see a progressive revelation of perfection- first by adhering to a set of laws and then by a mature concept of LOVE combined with doing the right thing, as Jesus exemplifies.

The result- Those who make the decision to become Christians we are one in Jesus; regardless of who we are, what we look like, or where we come from. Jesus guides us, directs us and encourages us through his word. 

And if you think the picture is correct, just imagine a world where everyone is genuinely trying to follow what Jesus says we should do? NOW, THAT IS TRULY A MENTAL IMAGE that will amaze you!!!

Bible Reading March 27 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  March 27 (World English Bible)

Mar. 27

Leviticus 9, 10

Lev 9:1 It happened on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

Lev 9:2 and he said to Aaron, "Take a calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before Yahweh.

Lev 9:3 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a year old, without blemish, for a burnt offering;

Lev 9:4 and a bull and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before Yahweh; and a meal offering mixed with oil: for today Yahweh appears to you.' "

Lev 9:5 They brought what Moses commanded before the Tent of Meeting: and all the congregation drew near and stood before Yahweh.

Lev 9:6 Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh commanded that you should do: and the glory of Yahweh shall appear to you."

Lev 9:7 Moses said to Aaron, "Draw near to the altar, and offer your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as Yahweh commanded."

Lev 9:8 So Aaron drew near to the altar, and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

Lev 9:9 The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar:

Lev 9:10 but the fat, and the kidneys, and the cover from the liver of the sin offering, he burned upon the altar; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 9:11 The flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp.

Lev 9:12 He killed the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons delivered the blood to him, and he sprinkled it around on the altar.

Lev 9:13 They delivered the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head: and he burned them upon the altar.

Lev 9:14 He washed the innards and the legs, and burned them on the burnt offering on the altar.

Lev 9:15 He presented the people's offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and killed it, and offered it for sin, like the first.

Lev 9:16 He presented the burnt offering, and offered it according to the ordinance.

Lev 9:17 He presented the meal offering, and filled his hand from there, and burned it upon the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

Lev 9:18 He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, which he sprinkled around on the altar,

Lev 9:19 and the fat of the bull and of the ram, the fat tail, and that which covers the innards, and the kidneys, and the cover of the liver:

Lev 9:20 and they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar:

Lev 9:21 and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before Yahweh, as Moses commanded.

Lev 9:22 Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

Lev 9:23 Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people.

Lev 9:24 There came forth fire from before Yahweh, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar: and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Lev 10:1 Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them.

Lev 10:2 And fire came forth from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.

Lev 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, 'I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' " Aaron held his peace.

Lev 10:4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp."

Lev 10:5 So they drew near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.

Lev 10:6 Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, "Don't let the hair of your heads go loose, neither tear your clothes; that you don't die, and that he not be angry with all the congregation: but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled.

Lev 10:7 You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of Yahweh is on you." They did according to the word of Moses.

Lev 10:8 Yahweh spoke to Aaron, saying,

Lev 10:9 "Drink no wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, that you don't die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:

Lev 10:10 and that you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;

Lev 10:11 and that you are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses."

Lev 10:12 Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, "Take the meal offering that remains of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar; for it is most holy;

Lev 10:13 and you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion, and your sons' portion, of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire: for so I am commanded.

Lev 10:14 The waved breast and the heaved thigh you shall eat in a clean place, you, and your sons, and your daughters with you: for they are given as your portion, and your sons' portion, out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the children of Israel.

Lev 10:15 The heaved thigh and the waved breast they shall bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh: and it shall be yours, and your sons' with you, as a portion forever; as Yahweh has commanded."

Lev 10:16 Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,

Lev 10:17 "Why haven't you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, seeing it is most holy, and he has given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh?

Lev 10:18 Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary: you certainly should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded."

Lev 10:19 Aaron spoke to Moses, "Behold, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before Yahweh; and such things as these have happened to me: and if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in the sight of Yahweh?"

Lev 10:20 When Moses heard that, it was pleasing in his sight.

 

Mar. 27, 28

Mark 16

Mar 16:1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.

Mar 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

Mar 16:3 They were saying among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"

Mar 16:4 for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.

Mar 16:5 Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed.

Mar 16:6 He said to them, "Don't be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him!

Mar 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.' "

Mar 16:8 They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.

Mar 16:9 Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.

Mar 16:10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

Mar 16:11 When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.

Mar 16:12 After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.

Mar 16:13 They went away and told it to the rest. They didn't believe them, either.

Mar 16:14 Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn't believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

Mar 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.

Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.

Mar 16:17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages;

Mar 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Mar 16:19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

Mar 16:20 They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

Why Not Just Be a Member of the Church? by J.C. Bailey

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

Why Not Just Be a Member of the Church?

The history of the Old Testament reveals that idolatry was a very prevalent sin, not only among the heathen but also among the people of God. God made it very plain that He did not intend for it to be that way. In giving the Ten Commandments God said: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, nor that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing loving kindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:3-6).

Despite this plain command of God, the history of the Old Testament reveals how the people of God wandered off into idolatry time after time. They were severely punished and would return to God, only to wander into idolatry again.

Finally, God, as punishment for their idolatry, sent them into slavery. The two tribes returned and small remnants of the other tribes. They learned their lesson. They were cured of their idol worship, and though they still have errors, the Jewish people do not worship idols.

They had learned that the best defense is an offense. After their return from captivity the Old Testament Scriptures were translated from the Hebrew into Greek. What English is today in the literary world, Greek was in that day. Through reading of the Bible there were many people in the world who were no longer idolaters when Jesus came. They had not embraced the Jewish faith but they did believe in the God whom the Old Testament reveals. Cornelius, in Acts 10, is an example. In the world of today wherever faith in the Bible goes, idolatry ceases.

The Old Testament reveals there is one God. The New Testament makes that truth even plainer.

Just as the Bible reveals one God, it reveals that there is one church. In fact it is explicit in teaching that sobering fact. There is no place in the plan of God for more than one God and there is no place for more than one church. The church was in the mind of God from eternity: "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Ephesians 3:10,11).

Two truths are evident from this passage: that the manifold wisdom of God was to be made known through the church and that the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is to be made known through the church. The work of the church was not an afterthought in the mind of God but it was His eternal purpose.

In the plan of God, the church was not to belong to one nation but to all the nations. This is how the Holy Spirit through Isaiah described the coming church: "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it" (Isaiah 2:2). The Holy Spirit informs us that the house of God is the church of the living God (I Timothy 3:15). In plain language God said He would establish one church for all nations and Paul told us in Ephesians 3:10,11 that it was established for all time. He says further: "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever" (Ephesians 3:20,21).

So as God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2) so the church is to exist for all time and for all eternity. We shall establish it more clearly but just as idolatry has no place in the plan of God, so denominations have no place in the plan of God. Jesus built His church (Matthew 16:18). He said the gates of Hades would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). Denominations are made by men and Jesus said they would all be rooted up: "Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13). God by Christ planted one church and He says that it will last for all time and for all eternity but those plants which He did not plant shall be rooted up. The teaching is plain, isn't it?

Denominations try to justify their existence by saying they are different branches of the church. Any student of church history knows that the various denominations were formed by men. Some are very ancient; some are new, but they were formed by men. But Christ built His church (Matthew 16:18). There is one body (Ephesians 4:4). That body is the church: "And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1:22,23).

Just as surely as there is only one God, there is only one church. The work of Jesus Christ is to be done in that church.

We find a very sad thing in the church of the New Testament. They belonged to the church. They had obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ, but then they began to follow men. In the church at Corinth there were those who said --- "I am of Paul --- I of Apollos --- I of Cephas; I of Christ" (I Corinthians 1:12). This was wrong. Paul asks the question, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized into the name of Paul?" Though they were members of the church yet they became divided into contending factions. How bad is that? "For ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal and do ye not walk after the manner of men? For when one says, I am of Paul, and another I of Apollos, are ye not men? What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed" (I Corinthians 3:3-5). So when we follow men instead of Christ (or think we follow both), the Holy Spirit says we are carnal.

What does it mean to be carnally minded? The Holy Spirit says that to be carnally minded is death: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" (Romans 8:6,7).

It took hundreds of years for men to learn that there was only one God. That did not alter the fact that it was true, even though they did not believe. Men are better now. Wherever the Bible goes, men believe in one God. And if men believe there is only one God because the Bible says so, then they can only believe in one church and should serve God in that church. Let us quote again: "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20, 21).

The power that works in us is our faith in the gospel (Romans 1:16). I tell my Indian brethren that I am afraid that they sometimes have more faith in me than they do in Christ. If they do, then the time will come when that faith will be of no use. Some brethren put their trust in the philosophies or methods of certain men. Thus the church is divided. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name."

J.C. Bailey (1987, Bengough, Saskatchewan)


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

Noah, the Flood, and 120 Years by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=5374&b=Genesis

Noah, the Flood, and 120 Years

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Q:

 “I am confused about some of the numbers found in Genesis 5-7. What exactly does the 120 years refer to in Genesis 6:3? I’ve heard some say that it refers to the limit of one’s lifespan on Earth, but that can’t be true because people lived longer than 120 years after the Flood. I also don’t understand how, as some have concluded, it could refer to there only being 120 years left before God flooded the Earth. That seems impossible since Noah was 500+ years old when he learned about the Flood (Genesis 5:32-6:13), and the Flood occurred when he was 600 (Genesis 7:6). It seems that either the 120 years does not refer to the time just before the Flood or the “120 years” should have been “100 years” (otherwise the Flood would have come in the 620^th year of Noah and not the 600^th year). Can you help explain this conundrum?”

A:

 You have correctly concluded that the “120 years” reference in Genesis 6:3 does not allude to the limit of a person’s lifespan on Earth. A number of people have lived longer than 120 since the Flood. Just five chapters after the “120 years” reference, we learn that after Noah’s son Shem begot Arphaxad, “Shem lived five hundreds years” (11:11). Then, each patriarch listed after Arphaxad (for about the next 500 years) lived to be over 120 years old (and in most cases well over 120—Genesis 6:12-25). Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and Jacob all lived to be older than 120 (Genesis 25:7; 25:17; 35:28; 47:28). Even Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, who lived approximately 1,000 years after the Flood, lived to be 123 (Numbers 33:39). What’s more, according to the Encyclopedia of Genetics, Jeanne Calment of France “died in 1998 at the age of 122.”¹
Furthermore, immediate and remote Bible verses suggest the 120 years is a reference to something very different than the limit of a person’s lifespan. The people on Earth during Noah’s pre-Flood life were extremely wicked. In fact, “the wickedness of man” was so “great,” that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The Earth had become so depraved and filled with so much violence by the time Noah was 500 that God decided to bring destruction upon the Earth, the likes of which the world had never seen (6:13; 7:6). However, since God is perfect in His patience and desires to see sinners repent rather than perish (whether in the Flood or in eternal hell—2 Peter 3:9; cf. Romans 15:4-5; 1 Timothy 2:4), “the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:20). Similar to how God patiently waited hundreds of years before bringing judgment upon the increasingly wicked Canaanites (since at the time of Abraham their sin had “not yet reached its full measure”—Genesis 15:16, NIV), God waited year after year, and decade after decade “while the ark was being prepared” (1 Peter 3:20).
During this waiting period, God’s “Spirit” contended with a works-of-the-flesh-loving mankind for 120 years (Genesis 6:3; cf. Galatians 5:19-21). Notice that when Peter wrote about Noah, his disobedient contemporaries, and the patience of God (1 Peter 3:20), he remarked that “the Spirit” of Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison” (3:18-19, emp. added).

• When exactly did the Spirit of Christ do this? When “the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah” (3:20, emp. added).
• How did God’s Spirit go about His work? We are not informed in all the ways He worked during the years leading up to the Flood, but we do know that Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). It may be that Lamech and Methuselah (Noah’s father and grandfather) were also godly preachers through whom God’s Holy Spirit spoke.
• To whom did the Spirit speak? Peter says, “To the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient” (3:19-20). How did the Spirit speak to spirits in prison? Dave Miller explained: “[A]t the time Peter was writing the words, that is where those people were situated. Those who were drowned in the Flood of Noah’s day descended into the hadean realm, where they continued to reside in Peter’s day. This realm is the same location where the rich man was placed (Luke 16:23), as were the sinning angels (“Tartarus”—2 Peter 2:4).”²

Indeed, in the days of Noah the Spirit of Christ spoke to disobedient souls (before they departed from their bodies in death for the hadean realm, i.e., “spirit prison”). Since God is longsuffering with mankind, He “waited patiently” (1 Peter 3:20, NIV). He did not bring judgment upon the world hastily. Our gracious God did not fail to give mankind ample time to repent. However, the Lord’s longsuffering is not eternal suffering. He did not wait forever. Rather, as the Lord said in Genesis, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (6:3). It seems biblically consistent and perfectly logical to conclude that this period of 120 years was the amount of time that the human race as a whole had to repent before the Flood waters destroyed the Earth.
To some, however, this conclusion seems impossible. After all, if, before we ever learn about the coming Flood, Genesis 5:32 indicates that Noah was 500 years old when he “begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth,” and Genesis 7:6 specifies that the Flood occurred when Noah was 600, then only 100 years of time is possible, not 120, right?
As with all perceived problems with the inspired Word of God, the difficulty is not with the inspired penmen, but with uninspired interpreters. There actually is no difficulty whatsoever if we take into account the fact that neither the book of Genesis nor the Bible as a whole was written in a strict chronological fashion.³ For example, Genesis 2:5-25 does not pick up where Genesis 1 left off. What’s more, Genesis 11 speaks of an event that actually occurred when some of the people mentioned in the previous chapter (Genesis 10) actually lived.⁴ Similarly, the 120 years of Genesis 6:3 could reasonably extend back to when Noah was 480 years old, not 500. Simply because the Bible reader learns that Noah was 500 when he began having sons (Genesis 5:32),⁵ does not mean that God could not have begun communicating at an earlier time about His impending judgment upon the world.
Finally, notice that Genesis 5:32 serves as the conclusion to the Adam-to-Noah genealogy. As with other Bible passages where one or more genealogies precede the mention of certain events that actually occurred during or before the lifetimes of some of those previously mentioned in the genealogies,⁶ some of the events in Genesis 6:1-9 (including God’s expressed warning in 6:3) took place before Noah actually began siring sons at age 500.

Endnotes

¹ “Genetics of Ageing” (2001), Encyclopedia of Genetics, ed. Eric C.R. Reeve (New York: Routledge), p. 582, emp. added.
² Dave Miller (2002), “Did Jesus Go to Hell? Did He Preach to Spirits in Prison?” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=851&topic=71.
³ See Eric Lyons (2005), “Alleged Chronological Contradictions,” Reason & Revelation, 25[10]:73-79, October, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=6&article=1582.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Genesis 11:10, 7:6, and 8:13 seem to indicate that Shem was not the firstborn of Noah, but was born two years later. If so, the number 500 represents the year in which Noah began having sons. A comparison of Genesis 11:26, Acts 7:4, Genesis 11:32, and 12:4 suggests that Abraham was not the firstborn son in his family either. Likely, Shem, Abraham, Arphaxad (Genesis 11:10; 10:22) and others are all mentioned first for the same reason—because they are Messianic ancestors, not because they were necessarily the firstborn sons of their fathers.
Interestingly, numerous other Messianic ancestors, such as Seth, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and Perez, were not firstborn sons. Lest someone accuse Moses of dishonesty when recording these genealogies, we must remember that “the year of begetting a first son, known in the Old Testament as ‘the beginning of strength,’ was an important year in the life of the Israelite (Gen. 49:3; Deut. 21:17; Psa. 78:51; and Psa. 105:36). It is this year…and not the year of the birth of the Messianic link, that is given in each case in Genesis 11” [John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris (1961), The Genesis Flood (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 480.]
⁶ See 1 Chronicles 1-11 where people are listed (e.g., the children and grandchildren ofZerubbabel—3:19ff.) who would likely not even be born until sometime after the close of the events recorded in 2 Chronicles; cf. Ezra 1-5. See also Genesis 10-11.

Suggested Resources

Sexual Deviation Prior to Political Correctness by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1017

Sexual Deviation Prior to Political Correctness

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

As human culture inevitably experiences moral degeneration, behavior that was once considered to be deviant, abnormal, immoral, and—from a Christian perspective—sinful, will inevitably be redefined as normal and acceptable. This historical trend is most certainly what has been happening in America over the last 60 years with regard to homosexuality and transgenderism. Mark it down: pedophilia and bestiality are right around the corner.
To see the extent to which the intellectual elite have fallen into line with political correctness, examine the following pages reproduced verbatim from the 1952 “Bible” of the American Psychiatric Association that depicted the psychiatric community’s assessment of homosexuality and transvestism at the time:
Title Page

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
Mental Disorders
Prepared by
The Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics of the
American Psychiatric Association

Published by
AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION
MENTAL HOSPITAL SERVICE
1785 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
WASHINGTON 6, D.C.
1952

Page 38

MENTAL DISORDERS
000-X60 Sociopathic Personality Disturbance

000-x61 Antisocial reaction
….
000-x62 Dyssocial reaction
….
000-x63 Sexual deviation
    This diagnosis is reserved for deviant sexuality which is not symptomatic of more extensive syndromes, such as schizophrenic and obsessional reactions.
Page 39
    The term includes most of the cases formerly classed as “psychopathic¹ personality with pathologic sexuality.” The diagnosis will specify the type of the pathologic² behavior, such as homosexuality, transvestism,³ pedophilia, fetishism and sexual sadism (including rape, sexual assault, mutilation).
These allusions to homosexuality and transgenderism were maintained until December of 1974 when the pervasive pressure of political correctness encroached upon the profession.⁴ These changes do not constitute moral progress; rather, they demonstrate moral dysfunction and degeneration. As Isaiah well-described the moral conditions of his own country 2,700 years ago:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!… Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 5:20-21,24).⁵

EndnotES

¹ “Psychopathology” is defined as “the branch of medicine dealing with the causes and processes of mental disorders; abnormal, maladaptive behavior or mental activity” (Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health (2003), 7^th Edition, http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/psychopathology.“Psychopathy” is defined as “a personality disorder characterized by deceitfulness, manipulation, grandiosity, lack of empathy or guilt, and often aggressive or violent behavior. It is sometimes considered a subset of antisocial personality disorder” (The American Heritage Dictionary, https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=psychopathy).

² “Pathological” is defined as “extreme in a way that is not normal or that shows an illness or mental problem” (“pathological,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathological).

³ The term “transvestism” refers specifically to “a person who likes to dress like a person of the opposite sex” (“transvestite,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transvestism). Transvestism is more commonly identified today with “transgenderism” which is defined as “of, relating to, or being a person (as a transsexual or transvestite) who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth” (“transgender,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transgender). Transgenderism is also referred to medically as “gender dysphoria.”

⁴ DSMII, published in 1968, continued to identify homosexuality and transvestism under the broad category of “Personality Disorders and Certain Other Non-Psychotic Mental Disorders” and under the specific category of “Sexual deviations.”

⁵ Make no mistake: genuine Christians possess true compassion for those individuals whose environment has been such that they have been drawn into aberrant sexual behaviors. Christians see as sinful all forms of “fornication” (sexual conduct that is out of harmony with the directives of the Creator)—including adultery, polygamy, bigamy, incest, homosexuality, etc. Hence, Christians possess the same loving regard that God has for everyone—“not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Indeed, the Christian posture was expressed by Paul to Timothy: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

God and the Laws of Science: The Law of Causality by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=3716

God and the Laws of Science: The Law of Causality

by	Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

The Law of Cause and Effect states that every material effect must have an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause. The mass of a paper clip is not going to provide sufficient gravitational pull to cause a tidal wave. There must be an adequate cause for the tidal wave, like a massive, offshore, underwater earthquake (“Tsunamis,” 2000, p. 1064). Leaning against a mountain will certainly not cause it to topple over. Jumping up and down on the ground will not cause an earthquake. If a chair is not placed in an empty room, the room will remain chairless. If matter was not made and placed in the Universe, we would not exist. There must be an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause for every material effect. Perhaps the Law of Cause and Effect seems intuitive to most, but common sense is foreign to many when God is brought into the discussion.

CAUSALITY AND HISTORY

The Law of Cause and Effect, or Law/Principle of Causality, has been investigated and recognized for millennia. In Phaedo, written by Plato in 360 B.C., an “investigation of nature” is spoken of concerning causality, wherein “the causes of everything, why each thing comes into being and why it perishes and why it exists” are discussed (Plato, 1966, 1:96a-b, emp. added). In 350 B.C., Aristotle contributed more to the causality discussion by stipulating that causes can be “spoken of in four senses”: material, formal, efficient, and final (Aristotle, 2009, 1[3]). Moving forward two millennia in no way changed the established fact pressed by the Law of Cause and Effect. In 1781, the renowned philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote concerning the Principle of Causality in his Critique of Pure Reason that “everything that happens presupposes a previous condition, which it follows with absolute certainty, in conformity with a rule.... All changes take place according to the law of the connection of Cause and Effect” (Kant, 1781). Fast forwarding another 350 years, our understanding of the world still did not cause the law to be discredited. In 1934, W.T. Stace, professor of philosophy at Princeton University, in A Critical History of Greek Philosophy, wrote:

Every student of logic knows that this is the ultimate canon of the sciences, the foundation of them all. If we did not believe the truth of causation, namely, everything which has a beginning has a cause, and that in the same circumstances the same things invariably happen, all the sciences would at once crumble to dust. In every scientific investigation this truth is assumed (1934, p. 6, emp. added).

The truth of causality is so substantiated that it is taken for granted in scientific investigation.

A few decades later, the Law of Cause and Effect still had not been repealed. In The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Richard Taylor wrote, “Nevertheless, it is hardly disputable that the idea of causation is not only indispensable in the common affairs of life but in all applied sciences as well” (1967, p. 57, emp. added). Even today, when scientific exploration has brought us to unprecedented heights of knowledge, the age old Law of Causality cannot be denied. Today’s dictionaries define “causality” as:

• “the principle that nothing can happen without being caused” (“Causality,” 2009).
• “the principle that everything has a cause” (“Causality,” 2008).

Indeed, the Law of Cause and Effect is not, and cannot rationally be, denied—except when necessary in order to prop up a deficient worldview. Its ramifications have been argued for years, but after the dust settles, the Law of Cause and Effect still stands unscathed, having weathered the trials thrust upon it for thousands of years.

THE LAW OF CAUSALITY—A PROBLEM FOR ATHEISTS

Creationists have absolutely no problem with the truth articulated by this God-ordained law from antiquity. The Bible, in essence, articulated the principle millennia ago when in Hebrews 3:4 it says that “every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.” A house must have a cause—namely, a builder. It will not build itself. However, evolutionists are left in a quandary when trying to explain how the effect of the infinitely complex Universe could have come about without a cause. Three decades ago, Robert Jastrow, founder and former director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA, wrote:

The Universe, and everything that has happened in it since the beginning of time, are a grand effect without a known cause. An effect without a known cause? That is not the world of science; it is a world of witchcraft, of wild events and the whims of demons, a medieval world that science has tried to banish. As scientists, what are we to make of this picture? I do not know. I would only like to present the evidence for the statement that the Universe, and man himself, originated in a moment when time began (1977, p. 21).

When Jastrow says that there is no “known cause” for everything in the Universe, he is referring to the fact that there is no known natural cause. If atheism were true, there must be a natural explanation of what caused the Universe. Scientists and philosophers recognize that there must be a cause that would be sufficient to bring about matter and the Universe—and yet no natural cause is known. The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms says that “causality,” in physics, is “the principle that an event cannot precede its cause” (2003, p. 346). However, the atheist must concede that in order for his/her claim to be valid, the effect of the Universe not only preceded its cause, but actually came about without it! Such a viewpoint is hardly in keeping with science. Scientifically speaking, according to the Law of Cause and Effect, there had to be a Cause for the Universe. The only book on the planet which contains characteristics that prove its production to be above human capability is the Bible (see Butt, 2007). The God of the Bible is its author (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and in the very first verse of the inspired material He gave to humans, He articulated with authority and clarity that He is the Cause Who brought about the Universe and all that is in it.

UNCAUSED CAUSE?

Often the atheist or skeptic, attempting to distract and side-step the truth of this law without responding to it, retorts, “But if everything had to have a beginning, why does the same concept not apply to God?” Notice that this statement is based on a misunderstanding of what the Law of Cause and Effect claims concerning the Universe. The law states that every material effect must have an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause. The God of the Bible is a spiritual Being (John 4:24) and therefore is not governed by physical law.

Recall also what Professor W.T. Stace wrote in A Critical History of Greek Philosophy concerning causality. “[E]verything which has a beginning has a cause” (1934, p. 6, emp. added). As mentioned above, scientists and philosophers recognize that, logically, there must be an initial cause of the Universe. [Those who attempt to argue the eternality of the Universe are in direct contradiction with the Second Law of Thermodynamics (see Miller, 2007).] However, God, not being a physical, finite being, but an eternal, spiritual being (by definition), would not be subject to the condition of requiring a beginning. Therefore, the law does not apply to Him. Psalm 90:2 says concerning God, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (emp. added). The Bible describes God as a Being who has always been and always will be—“from everlasting to everlasting.” He, therefore, had no beginning. Hebrews 3:4 again states, “every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God,” indicating that God is not constrained by the Law of Cause and Effect as are houses, but rather, is the Chief Builder—the Uncaused Causer—the Being who initially set all effects into motion. The point stands. The Law of Cause and Effect supports the creation model, not the atheistic evolutionary model.

REFERENCES

Aristotle (2009), Metaphysics, trans. W.D. Ross, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html.

Butt, Kyle (2007), Behold! The Word of God (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/Behold%20the%20Word%20of%20God.pdf.

“Causality” (2009), Collins English Dictionary—Complete & Unabridged, 10th ed. (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers), http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Causality?x=35&y=25.

“Causality” (2008), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press), http://www.wordreference.com/definition/causality.

Jastrow, Robert (1977), Until the Sun Dies (New York: W.W. Norton).

Kant, Immanuel (1781), The Critique of Pure Reason, trans. J.M.D. Meiklejohn (London: Henry G. Bohn), 1878 edition, http://philosophy.eserver.org/kant/critique-of-pure-reason.txt.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (2003), pub. M.D. Licker (New York: McGraw-Hill), sixth edition.

Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,” Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, April, http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3293.

Plato (1966), Plato in Twelve Volumes, trans. Harold North Fowler (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170%3Atext%3DPhaedo%3Asection%3D96a.

Stace, W.T. (1934), A Critical History of Greek Philosophy (London: Macmillan and Co.).

Taylor, Richard (1967), “Causation,” in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Paul Edwards (New York: Philosophical Library).

“Tsunamis” (2000), The Oxford Companion to the Earth, ed. Paul L. Hancock & Brian J. Skinner (Oxford University Press).

Did Paul Write About Jesus as a Historical Person? by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=2836

Did Paul Write About Jesus as a Historical Person?

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

In his book, The Pagan Christ, Tom Harpur claims that the story of Jesus was mythical. To bolster his assertion that there never was a real human named Jesus as depicted in the gospel accounts, Harpur alleges that the apostle Paul, whose writings were penned before the gospel accounts, never mentioned Jesus as a historical figure. Harpur wrote: “The earliest writings in the New Testament, which make up more than one-quarter of its total content, are the letters of the Apostle Paul. What is absolutely striking about them is their virtual silence on the whole subject of a historical Jesus of Nazareth” (2004, p. 166). Harpur believes this claim to be of such force that “[t]here is no question that this is the datum that ultimately stares down the proponents of historicity.... Paul never once mentions the man Jesus, in the full historical sense” (pp. 166-167).
Harpur, anticipating the fact that many who read Paul’s writings see that the apostle mentioned Jesus, wrote:

Of course, a critic will argue that Paul does occasionally speak of Jesus by name. This is quite true. But today, most Bible theologians agree that even when he does so, he is not talking about a man of flesh and blood, a historical person, any more than the Egyptians were when they spoke of Iusa millennia earlier.... Yes, Paul does talk about “this Jesus whom we have seen,” and at times he gives the impression he has an interest in an actual person, but closer examination shows that he really is speaking always of mystical visions of an exalted, spiritual being whom he calls Christ (pp. 167-168).

Is it true that Paul only mentioned Jesus “occasionally” and never referred to Him as a flesh and blood human being? Certainly not. In fact, it is amazing that Harpur could make such an outlandish, unscriptural claim and still have his book published by anyone familiar in the least with Paul’s writings.
The fact of the matter is Paul often spoke of Jesus in terms that cannot be understood correctly in any way other than as a historical, flesh-and-blood human being. Paul used the name “Jesus” 218 times in his writings (Strong, 2001, p. 453), not counting other names for Jesus like Christ or Lord. For Harpur to say Paul “occasionally” mentioned Jesus is outright dishonesty. Paul used the name Jesus five times in the first eight verses of Romans, seven times in the single-chapter book of Philemon, and 22 times in the brief, four-chapter book of Philippians. An honest account of Paul’s writings shows that they are replete with Jesus’ name, containing it an average of two and a half times per chapter.
Not only did Paul repeatedly mention Jesus, but he specifically stressed that Jesus had come in the flesh as a real human being. For instance, in 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul wrote: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” To elucidate what he meant by the word “man,” Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (emp. added).

Any attempt to turn Paul’s phrase “in the likeness of men” into some sort of spiritual, mystical appearance is doomed to failure. Furthermore, Paul more specifically mentioned that “the likeness of men” that he discussed in Philippians meant human flesh. Paul wrote to the Romans about “Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3, emp. added). The apostle further mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:13 that Jesus “witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate” (emp. added).
Harpur’s major contention is that Paul did not mention details about Jesus’ life such as His birthplace in Bethlehem, His mother’s name, or His specific miracles. Yet, if the guiding hand of God produced the New Testament documents, it makes perfect sense that such information would not be repeated in Paul’s writings, since it was so thoroughly documented in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In truth, the fact that Paul repeatedly alludes to Jesus in the flesh, but does not reiterate the various details of the gospel accounts, shows that Paul coincides with the Gospel writers, but was independent of them as well. Why would God need to record for the fifth time the various miracles and facts about Jesus’ life in the writings of Paul? Paul consistently dealt with many of the events in Jesus’ life such as His death, burial, resurrection, trial before Pilate, birth according to the seed of David, and the overarching fact that He took on the form of a human. Harpur’s complaint that Paul did not mention enough of the details that are recorded in the gospel accounts is a criterion that he and his fellow skeptics have arbitrarily chosen and that proves nothing.
Harpur’s false assertion that “Paul was a mystic, and he knew only the mystical Christos, Christ not ‘after the flesh’ but after the spirit” (p. 172) lacks scholarly integrity and biblical foundation. The obvious truth is that Paul saturated his writings with the name of Jesus and repeatedly stressed that Jesus had come in the flesh as a historical human being. The details he left out of his writings accord perfectly with what one would expect from divine inspiration, and show that, while he acknowledged the historical Jesus, his writings serve as testimony independent of the gospel accounts.

REFERENCES

Harpur, Tom (2004), The Pagan Christ (New York: Walker).
Strong, James (2001 reprint), The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Nelson).