What Our “Lower Cousins” Teach Us About Infanticide by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3743

What Our “Lower Cousins” Teach Us About Infanticide

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Journalist Jeffrey Kluger recently penned an article titled, “Scientists Discover Mother Monkeys Who Kill Their Babies.” In that piece, he reported on the work done by primatologist Laurence Culot. Culot and his team spent a considerable amount of time studying wild mustached tamarins, a type of monkey that lives in Peru (Kluger, 2011).

Culot’s research uncovered the fact that mother tamarins sometimes allow their babies to fall to their deaths from the tops of trees. In addition, mother tamarins occasionally cause the death of their offspring in a more direct way. The team reported one incident in which the mother bit her own baby’s head off and proceeded to eat its brain and upper body.

Kluger’s article focused on why tamarins would be so brutal. Several factors are thought to be responsible for a mother tamarin’s decision to kill her offspring. The article noted that if there were not enough supporting males to help the mother raise the baby, or if there were too many other babies born at the same time, a mother would often kill her own baby or allow it to die without attempting to protect it. Apparently, if it does not look like the baby has a high probability of survival, the mother will terminate its life and wait for a more opportune time to give birth. As Kluger said: “The explanation for such pitiless behavior is as cold as it is unavoidable: tamarin mothers are simply very good at balancing their genetic ledgers and know when they’re heading for a loss” (2011).

So what does such brutal animal behavior have to do with human behavior and morality? Absolutely nothing if a person understands the truth that God created all humans in His own image, and that every human child has a right to life simple because it is human (Lyons and Thompson, 2002). Unfortunately, however, that fact is not understood by many in our world today. An increasing number of people have chosen rather to believe in the false idea of atheistic evolution. If, according to the atheistic evolutionary belief, humans evolved from animals and are related to primates, then primate behavior can help us understand human behavior. If we can find a naturalistic explanation for why tamarin mothers kill their babies, then we can use that same reasoning to account for why human mothers kill their babies. As James Rachels stated:

Animal behaviour is routinely studied with an eye to acquiring information that can then be applied to humans. Psychologists who want to investigate maternal behaviour, for example...might study the behaviour of rhesus monkey mothers and infants, assuming that whatever is true of them will be true of humans—because, after all, they are so much like us (1990, p. 166, emp. added)

Kluger applied this type of reasoning to the research on tamarins:

Humans recoil at such stark genetic number crunching, but while infanticide among our species is socially and criminally proscribed, it does happen—and far too often. And when mothers are the perps, they are often facing some of the same kinds of pressures as tamarins—uncertain resources (read: money) and an absent or unreliable male (2011).

The sickening, immoral connections Kluger makes between murderous tamarin mothers and humans is all too clear. If tamarins murder their babies because they don’t have the resources to raise them, and humans are related to tamarins, then it is “natural” for human mothers to kill their babies as well. Kluger attempted to soften the implications of his statement by saying that humans have options that “tamarins don’t” and “nothing excuses willful neglect, never mind murder.” His attempt failed, however, in light of his concluding statement: “We may be the highest primates, but we remain members of that sometimes brutish club, and our lower cousins still do have plenty to teach us” (2011, emp. added). What, pray tell, are our alleged “lower cousins,” the mustached tamarins, teaching us? They are teaching us that if you convince humans that they are nothing more than animals, they will act like nothing more than animals.

REFERENCES

Kluger, Jeffrey (2011), “Scientists Discover Mother Monkeys Who Kill Their Babies,” Time, http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110615/hl_time/08599207678600/print.

Lyons, Eric and Bert Thompson (2002), “In the Image and Likeness of God: Part 1,” Reason & Revelation, 22[3]:17-23, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=149.

Rachels, James (1990), Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism (New York: Oxford University Press).

Where Are You From? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=667

Where Are You From?

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Although it sounds like an easy question, for a growing number of people it is becoming more and more difficult to answer: Where are you from? Ask the eighteen-year-old college freshmen who grew up in a military family where she is from, and you likely will hear her rattle off five or six different states (and perhaps even a few countries!). Ask the son of a Major League baseball player (who has played for eight different teams in his twenty-year career) where he is from, and you might hear him respond by saying, “I was reared in a lot of places.” Ask a preacher’s kid where he was reared, and you likely will hear the same response.

It seems like the longer I live, the more problems I have telling people “where I’m from.” I was born in Macon, Georgia, then lived in Tennessee for five years, back to Georgia for two, in Oklahoma for the next twelve, and then back to Tennessee (in three different cities) for the next six years. I now live in Alabama. Today, when someone asks me, “Where are you from?,” I must confess that I sometimes do not know what to say. “The last move I made was from Tennessee. I spent most of my “growing-up years” in Oklahoma. I was born in Georgia….” Where am I from? Take your pick.

Some critics actually think they have a legitimate Bible contradiction on their hands by pointing out that different passages sometimes speak of the same person being from two (or more) different places. For example, in Mark 1:21-29 Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew are said to have lived in (or very near) Capernaum. The apostle John, on the other hand, recorded that “the city of Andrew and Peter” was Bethsaida (1:44). Are these two accounts contradictory? No. Peter and Andrew were living in Capernaum at the beginning of Jesus ministry, however, they were known as being “of” Bethsaida, which is probably where they first learned a trade, got married, and made a name for themselves. The writers are simply referring to two different times in the lives of Peter and Andrew.

A similar “controversy” surrounds whence Jesus came. Well-known skeptic Dennis McKinsey had the audacity to ask, “Why would Jesus be called ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ when He was born in Bethlehem of Judea” (2000, p. 133). Obviously, Mr. McKinsey is not willing to give the Bible writers the same freedom we have today when we talk about our “ hometown” and our “birthplace.” The fact is, Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1), but grew up in Nazareth (Matthew 2:23; cf. Acts 22:8).

Remember, for something to be a legitimate contradiction, the same person, place, or thing must be under consideration at the same time in the same sense. If not, then it is impossible to know that two things are contradictory.

REFERENCE

McKinsey, C. Dennis (2000), Biblical Errancy (Amherst, NY: Prometheus).

The Messiah--Person or Ideal? by Wayne Jackson, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=220

The Messiah--Person or Ideal?

by	Wayne Jackson, M.A.

Harold Kushner is one of the most prominent Jewish voices in America today. Almost invariably, whenever the Hebrew point of view is desired, the news media solicit his opinions and publicize them widely. This Jewish leader has attracted considerable attention over the past couple of decades as a result of several controversial books he has authored.

In 1971 Kushner produced a book titled, When Children Ask About God. In this volume the famous “rabbi” offered advice to parents about how to cope with their children’s “fears, fantasies, and religious needs.” It is difficult to imagine a literary production that contains more error per square inch of space. As one surveys the pages of this work, he is reminded of the admonition of another Hebrew writer—one almost twenty centuries ago. A divine penman suggested that there are some, who by reason of time ought to be teachers, but who have need that someone teach them their ABCs all over again (Hebrews 5:12).

Consider, for example, Kushner’s observation regarding the term “Messiah.” He has written: “Today, few people still look for a person, called the Messiah, to appear and change the world.” He goes on to assert that the idea of “Messiah” arose in ancient times because people grew tired of unjust rulers, and so they longed for an ideal ruler to come and deliver them. He concluded by suggesting that the term “Messiah” merely embodies an “age” when “all the people will agree on what the world needs.”

Kushner’s view has no basis whatsoever in fact. There is not the slightest evidence in the Old Testament that his opinion regarding the Messiah is valid. Rather, this prominent scholar’s view is the result of his own skeptical inclinations regarding the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, Kushner even goes so far as to deny that God is a person.

But what of Kushner’s idea concerning the Messiah? Let us reflect upon this momentarily. The notion that the Messiah is but an “ideal” is negated thoroughly by a consideration of the test of the Old Testament Scriptures. No better refutation can be found than that which is detailed in the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. This marvelous section of divine literature is a galaxy of prophetic testimony regarding the nature of the Messiah, Who, incidentally, is identified specifically in the New Testament as Jesus Christ (see John 4:25-26). Consider these crucial points in this regard.

First, there is ample historical evidence that the early Jews, both before and after the birth of Jesus, believed that Isaiah 53 was Messianic in its import. It was only after the early Christians began to use it as an apologetic for their claim that Jesus of Nazareth was this Messiah that novel (i.e., nonpersonal) views of the passage became vogue.

Second, anyone who is able to read this chapter with reasonable skill can see clearly that a person is the object of the prophet’s oracle. Verse 2, for example, reads: “For he [the Messiah] grew up before him [God] as a tender plant.” Again: “He was despised, and rejected of men.” Count the personal pronouns referring to the Messiah that are employed within this chapter. Aside from rationalistic bias, there is no compelling reason whatsoever for denying that a real person is being described here.

In the New Testament, Paul spoke of certain Jews who refused to believe in Jesus as the Christ because of the “veil” that shrouded their hearts (2 Corinthians 3:15). Mr. Kushner is of that sort. There is ample evidence that the Messianic hope is fulfilled gloriously in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

When Were the Sun, Moon, and Stars Created? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1990

When Were the Sun, Moon, and Stars Created?

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

At first glance, this seems like an easy question. Just as children have been singing for generations, it was on day four when God made “the Sun, Moon, and stars galore.” Some, however, have alleged that the “sun, moon and stars were created ‘in the beginning’ (Gen. 1:1)” (Thurman, 2006, p. 3), rather than on day four of Creation. Presumably,

on the fourth day, God “set” the sun, moon and stars in the heavens to govern the days, months, seasons and years (verse 17). When God “set” the lights in the heavens, it was much like when we “set” a clock. And that really is what God did—He “set” His clock on the 4th day. But these (the sun, moon, stars) were all created “in the beginning” (Gen. 1:1) (Thurman, 2006, p. 3, emp. added).

The problem with this line of argumentation is that it contradicts what the Bible says.

Certainly, “[i]n the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). But, it was not until later that God created the Sun, Moon, and stars. Genesis 1:14-19 reads:

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19, emp. added).

God not only “set” (Hebrew nathan) the Sun, Moon, and stars in their precise locations in the heavens on the fourth day of Creation, but it was on this day when God literally “made” (Hebrewasah) these heavenly bodies. Similar to how God initially made the land and seas void of animal life (which later was created on days five and six of Creation), the “heavens” were made “in the beginning,” but the hosts of heaven (which now inhabit them) were created “in the firmament of the heavens” on day four (Genesis 1:14).

Consider also how God spoke light into existence on day one of Creation, saying, “Let there be light” (1:3, emp. added). On the fourth day God declared, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens...and it was so” (1:14-15, emp. added). Gary Workman commented on this similarity, saying:

“Let there be lights” (v. 14) is identical in grammatical construction with other statements of “let there be...” in the chapter. Therefore the command can only mean that God spoke the luminaries into existence on the fourth day just as he had created the initial light on day one and the firmament on day two (1989, p. 3).

On day one God made intrinsic light; on day four He made the generators of light. Keep in mind that “the Father of lights” (James 1:17), Who is “light” (1 John 1:5), could create light easily without first having to create the Sun, Moon, and stars. Just as God could produce a fruit-bearing tree on day three without a seed, He could produce light supernaturally on day one without the “usual” light bearers (which subsequently were created on day four). Again, there is no indication in Scripture that the generators of light already were made before day four.

Suppose, however, that the creation of the heavens “in the beginning” had included the creation of the Sun, Moon, and stars (which Genesis 1:14-19 says were made on day four). One still would not be justified in trying to appease the evolutionary timeline by claiming that the “beginning” took place billions of years before the six days of Creation. Why? Because God said, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11, emp. added). Both the heavens and all that is in the heavens were created during the six-day creation.

In truth, on day one God created “the heavens,” and on day four He made the Sun, Moon, and stars. And all things were made within the six days of Creation. No “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15) Bible passage will lead a person to any other conclusion.

REFERENCES

Thurman, Clem (2006), “How Was Light Before the Sun?” Gospel Minutes, September 8.

Workman, Gary (1989), “Questions from Genesis One,” The Restorer, 9[5/6]:3-5, May/June.

Thomas Paine Lost His Common Sense by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=2605

Thomas Paine Lost His Common Sense

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

As one of the Founders of the American Republic, Thomas Paine is particularly known for his literary production, Common Sense, which served to galvanize American sentiments against British oppression. First published anonymously early in 1776, the pamphlet argued strongly for complete independence from England. Many have insisted that, more than any other single factor, Common Sense strengthened American will to fight the Revolutionary War. Historian Gordon Wood described it as “the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era” (2002, p. 55). Helena Costa considered Common Sense to be “by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution.... [I]t remains one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language” (1987, p. 27). The pamphlet, written in a style that connected with the average American, coincided with the popular sermon style of the day and relied heavily on biblical references to argue the case.

Yet, despite his significant role in the founding of America, Paine was among the small handful of Founders who were not particularly pleased with the Christian religion. Styling himself a “deist,” he is especially conspicuous for his production of The Age of Reason—a scathing denunciation of the Christian religion (1794). Written nearly two decades after the Declaration of Independence, Paine challenged the inspiration of the Bible, denounced the formal world religions, including the abundant perversions of Christianity, and opposed the promotion of any national church or religion.

Skeptics and atheists of today like to align themselves with Paine (e.g., “Tom Paine Award...,” 2006; cf. Dawkins, 2006, p. 38). Nevertheless, Paine was not an atheist. He claimed to believe in God and afterlife: “I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life” (1794). He also wrote: “Were man impressed as fully and as strongly as he ought to be with the belief of a God, his moral life would be regulated by the force of that belief; he would stand in awe of God and of himself, and would not do the thing that could not be concealed from either” (1794). Paine not only believed in “the certainty of his existence and the immutability of his power,” he asserted that “it is the fool only, and not the philosopher, or even the prudent man, that would live as if there were no God.” In fact, he stated that it is “rational to believe” that God would call all people “to account for the manner in which we have lived here” (1794).

Paine certainly did not represent the views of the majority of his contemporaries. In fact, several of the Founders rebuked Paine for his treatise (Miller, 2005). One Founder even wrote a lengthy refutation. That Founder was the prominent and influential figure, Elias Boudinot (1740-1821). He has a long and illustrious list of achievements and capacities in service to the country. A member of the New Jersey Assembly in 1775, Boudinot served as Commissary General of Prisoners for the Revolutionary Army (1776-1779). He served in the Continental Congress (1778-1779, 1781-1784), as its President in 1782-1783. He signed the Treaty of Peace with England and was elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to the First, Second, and Third Congresses (1789-1795), when he helped frame the Bill of Rights, and was the first attorney admitted to the Supreme Court bar (1790). He was Director of the U.S. Mint (1795-1805), founding president of the American Bible Society, member of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and president of the New Jersey Bible Society. He died on October 24, 1821 in Burlington, New Jersey and was buried in St. Mary’s Protestant Episcopal Church Cemetery (see “Boudinot, Elias,” n.d.; Boudinot, 1896).

In direct contradiction to the infidelity espoused in The Age of Reason, Elias Boudinot published a masterful rebuttal in 1801, which he titled The Age of Revelation. The title signified that, contrary to the vain machinations of fallible human reason unguided by divine insight, we humans have access to God’s revelation in His Word, the Bible. Consider a few of Boudinot’s choice remarks regarding The Age of Reason and its author (though this brief perusal is not intended to provide the reader with Boudinot’s specific rebuttals to Paine’s points).

First, throughout the treatise, Boudinot identifies Paine’s endeavor to destroy Christianity as typical of the vain attempts of skeptics in every age. He lays Paine’s errors bare, labeling them as “falsehoods and misrepresentations,” “extreme ignorance of the divine scriptures” (p. xiv), “worse than bare misrepresentation” (p. 71), “asserted with a licentious boldness, that refused the aid of proof or reason” (p. 251). The Age of Reason “must be admitted to arise, either from a total want of knowledge of the subject, or a willful perversion of the truth” (p. 71), from “either his ignorance or wickedness” (p. 131), from an “obstinate mind” (p. 209). Indeed, “truth and consistency seem to be no part of the creed of the author of the Age of Reason” (p. 158)—a “rhapsody of nonsense” (p. 247). Boudinot suggests that Paine “seems to have collected together a few technical expressions, belonging to particular subjects, and with which he seems much pleased, in hopes, that by repeating them over and over, he might persuade himself, and perhaps his readers too, that he was acquainted with the doctrines to which they were attached” (p. 72). A good summary of Boudinot’s assessment of Paine’s writing, which he suggests was “styled rather ludicrously ‘the Age of Reason,’” is seen in the following words:

Is it not on the whole, a collection of the most artful deceptions, hidden under a veil of ridicule; dangerous falsehoods, covered by an easy flow of language; and malicious sneers, made palatable by an attempt at wit and satire, that ever disgraced the pen of a pretender to philosophy, and that on a subject of infinite consequence to the essential interests of mankind? (p. 156).

In stark contrast, “True philosophy is the great supporter of the religion of Jesus Christ” (p. 156). Indeed, “take any religion but the Christian, and bring it to the test, by comparing it with the state of nature, and it will be found destitute and defenceless” (p. 157).

As if addressing himself to the evolutionists, atheists, and anti-Christian skeptics of the 21st century, Boudinot declared concerning Paine:

Had he thought proper to have used reasoning and argument, founded on proof, to enforce his observations, he might have expected a suitable reply; but when he contents himself with advancing the most palpable falsehoods and misrepresentations as facts, from which to draw the most important conclusions, and these so enveloped in sophistry, and tainted with ludicrous insinuations, as seem only calculated to impose on the young and unwary mind in matters of infinite importance, he has no right to expect any thing farther, than a positive denial of the gross misrepresentation of factshe has imposed on the public (p. 97, emp. added).

If these characterizations by Boudinot seem harsh or unloving, one must recognize the gravity and seriousness of Paine’s infidelity and the threat posed to society—a fact Boudinot well understood:

The writer of the Age of Reason, may think it harsh to be charged with falsehood in every page of his work; but it would ill become an advocate for the Gospel, not to declare it boldly, and would be doing great injustice to the cause of truth, when the everlasting interests of his fellow man are at stake; and the guilty person has no one but himself to blame for this severity, having presumed to enter on a subject with which he had not taken pains to make himself acquainted; no, not with its alphabet (p. 97, emp. added, italics in orig.).

Second, Boudinot pinpointed Paine’s primary aim, a common tactic of those who promulgate opposition to Christianity, i.e., to advance their cause by subverting the youth:

When I first took up this treatise, I considered it as one of those vicious and absurd publications, filled with ignorant declamation and ridiculous representations of simple facts, the reading of which, with attention, would be an undue waste of time.... I confess, that I was much mortified to find, the whole force of this vain man’s genius and art, pointed at the youth of America...in hopes of raising a skeptical temper and disposition in their minds, well knowing that this was the best inlet to infidelity, and the most effectual way of serving its cause, thereby sapping the foundation of our holy religion in their minds (p. xii, emp. added).

Boudinot felt that Paine’s words “are apparently designed to mislead the young and unwary mind, into the fatal vortex of skepticism and infidelity” (p. 215).

Third, those who rail against the Bible and Christianity would like their victims to believe that they have arrived at some great evidence, proof, or argument that disproves the authenticity of the Bible, the existence of God, and the Christian religion. The fact is that their assertions have all been decisively answered long ago, a point that Boudinot reiterated repeatedly to Paine:

[T]his author’s whole work, is made up of old objections, answered, and that conclusively, a thousand times over, by the advocates of our holy religion. Some of them he has endeavoured to clothe with new language, and put into a more ridiculous form; but many of them he has collected almost word for word, from the writings of the deists of the last and present century (pp. xiv-xv, emp. added).

[T]hese inefficient fragments of the writings of the last century, repeated by the late king of Prussia, Voltaire, and others, now new vamped up, with the aid of ridicule, under the title of “The Age of Reason,” and this addition, “By the Author of Common Sense,” though so often fully answered by learned men, are again introduced into the world, as new matter, in hopes of deceiving the ignorant and unwary... (p. 26, emp. added).

This author, throughout his performance, seems to have taken leave of all pretensions to modesty and decorum, or he certainly would have paid some respect to the learning and wisdom of multitudes of Christian writers and professors, who have so long and so ably defended the Christian system, against the many attacks of more formidable, as well as more modest and decent adversaries, than our author (pp. 189-199, emp. added).

Indeed, “[t]he boldness of impiety is often mistaken for knowledge” (p. xxi). It is uncanny, surreal, and deeply tragic that the last three generations of Americans have been subjected to incessant and comparable denigrations of God, the Bible, and the Christian religion through the university system of the nation, without the benefit of also receiving the decisive refutations that have been available from the beginning. Hear Boudinot:

Let me ask this man...who it is that he supposes will be alarmed by the boldness of his investigations? He must, I conclude, mean the weak and ignorant alone. What has he done to give this apprehended alarm to those who understand the subject? He had done very little more, than change the style and language of his predecessors, though they have been so fully answered (p. 250, emp. added).

Finally, Boudinot well notes that those who are sufficiently versed in the Scriptures, and the abundant evidence for the truth of the Christian religion, will remain unaffected by the propaganda of Paine and other skeptics: “To Christians, who are well instructed in the Gospel of the Son of God, such expedients rather add confirmation to their faith” (p. xiii).

As to the serious and devout Christian, who has felt the transforming power of the religion of Jesus Christ, and has experienced the internal and convincing evidence of the truth of the Divine Scriptures, the treatise referred to, will rather have a tendency to increase his faith, and inflame his fervent zeal in his master’s cause, while he beholds this vain attempt, to ridicule and set at nought, the great objects of his hope and joy, by one who plainly discovers a total ignorance of every principle of true Christianity, as revealed in the Scriptures (p. 27, emp. added).

Jesus Himself expected no one to believe Him unless He provided sufficient evidence, which He did (John 10:37). The evidence for the existence of God, the inspiration of the Bible, and the validity of the Christian religion is available to all who desire to have it. No one can stand before God on the Day of Judgment and legitimately excuse himself on the grounds of unintentional ignorance or lack of access to the evidence. Jesus declared: “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). He also assured: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). The Apologetics Press Web site is a storehouse of just such evidence.

Referring to the apostle Thomas in John 20:24-29, Elias Boudinot’s prayer for Thomas Paine embodies the same hopeful spirit that faithful Christians have for the unbelieving world population: “May God Almighty, of his infinite mercy, grant, that another unbelieving Thomas may be yet added to the triumphs of the cross, though it should be that despiser of the Gospel, the author of the Age of Reason himself” (p. 179).

REFERENCES

Boudinot, Elias (1801), The Age of Revelation, or, The Age of Reason Shewn To Be An Age of Infidelity (Philadelphia, PA: Asbury Dickins), http://www.google.com/books?id=XpcPAAAAIAAJ.

Boudinot, Elias (1896), The Life, Public Services, Addresses and Letters of Elias Boudinot, ed. J.J. Boudinot (New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.).

“Boudinot, Elias” (no date), Biographical Directory of the United States, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000661.

Costa, Helena Rodrigues (1987), Bibliographical Supplement: A Covenanted People, the Religious Tradition and the Origins of American Constitutionalism (Providence, R.I.: John Carter Brown Library).

Dawkins, Richard (2006), The God Delusion (New York: Houghton Mifflin Books).

Miller, Dave (2005), “Deism, Atheism, and the Founders,”http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/650.

Paine, Thomas (1794), The Age of Reason, http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/singlehtml.htm.

“Tom Paine Award for Exemplary Service to Humanity” (2006), Atheist Foundation of Australia, September 8, http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/tompaineaward.htm.

Wood, Gordon (2002), The American Revolution: A History (New York: Modern Library).

Help with flying (like an Eagle) by Gary Rose

Fly like an eagle (Steve Miller Band)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlAlCmqjRug

(click on the link or paste the address into your browser)

I read somewhere that this is called a rainbow eagle; honestly, I have only found this one picture, so I can't say for sure what it is- but wouldn't it be nice if it WERE REAL??

After looking at this a bit, I thought- wouldn't it be nice to be able to soar in the sky like an eagle; to rise above your problems, concerns, and the weight of your to-do list? 

And the old Steve Miller band song came to my mind. Curious, I found the original '76 version on the net, but also the 2013 (above and to my surprise, I actually like better than the earlier release).

One thing led to another and Isaiah 40 came to the forefront of my thoughts. Here it is...

Isaiah, Chapter 40 (WEB)

 ²⁵ “To whom then will you liken me?

Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

  ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high,

and see who has created these,

who brings out their army by number.

He calls them all by name.

by the greatness of his might,

and because he is strong in power,

Not one is lacking.

  ²⁷ Why do you say, Jacob,

and speak, Israel,

“My way is hidden from Yahweh,

and the justice due me is disregarded by my God?”

  ²⁸ Haven’t you known?

Haven’t you heard?

The everlasting God, Yahweh,

The Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint.

He isn’t weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

  ²⁹ He gives power to the weak.

He increases the strength of him who has no might.

  ³⁰ Even the youths faint and get weary,

and the young men utterly fall;

  ³¹ But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength.

They will mount up with wings like eagles.

They will run, and not be weary.

They will walk, and not faint. 

(Emp. added GDR)

When no one is there- God is!! When all hope is lost, human beings call on God!! When I NEED HELP- I CALL ON GOD!!! He gives strength when I have no strength and hope where there is none. 

If YOU don't know The God of Heaven (Yahweh), seek HIM out, HE will change your life. Believe it, because its true!!! You have my word on it!!!

Bible Reading June 20 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  June 20 (The World English Bible) 

June 20

2 Samuel 1-3

2Sa 1:1 It happened after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;

2Sa 1:2 it happened on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

2Sa 1:3 David said to him, Where do you come from? He said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.

2Sa 1:4 David said to him, How did it go? Please tell me. He answered, The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.

2Sa 1:5 David said to the young man who told him, How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?

2Sa 1:6 The young man who told him said, As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning on his spear; and behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.

2Sa 1:7 When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, Here I am.

2Sa 1:8 He said to me, Who are you? I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

2Sa 1:9 He said to me, Stand, I pray you, beside me, and kill me; for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.

2Sa 1:10 So I stood beside him, and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.

2Sa 1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and likewise all the men who were with him:

2Sa 1:12 and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

2Sa 1:13 David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from? He answered, I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.

2Sa 1:14 David said to him, How were you not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed?

2Sa 1:15 David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall on him. He struck him, so that he died.

2Sa 1:16 David said to him, Your blood be on your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have slain Yahweh's anointed.

2Sa 1:17 David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son

2Sa 1:18 (and he bade them teach the children of Judah the song of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):

2Sa 1:19 Your glory, Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

2Sa 1:20 Don't tell it in Gath. Don't publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

2Sa 1:21 You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain on you, neither fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.

2Sa 1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan's bow didn't turn back. Saul's sword didn't return empty.

2Sa 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.

2Sa 1:24 You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet delicately, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

2Sa 1:25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places.

2Sa 1:26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

2Sa 1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

2Sa 2:1 It happened after this, that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? Yahweh said to him, Go up. David said, Where shall I go up? He said, To Hebron.

2Sa 2:2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

2Sa 2:3 His men who were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they lived in the cities of Hebron.

2Sa 2:4 The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, saying, The men of Jabesh Gilead were those who buried Saul.

2Sa 2:5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, Blessed be you of Yahweh, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him.

2Sa 2:6 Now Yahweh show loving kindness and truth to you: and I also will rewarde you for this kindness, because you have done this thing.

2Sa 2:7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

2Sa 2:8 Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

2Sa 2:9 and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

2Sa 2:10 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

2Sa 2:11 The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

2Sa 2:12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

2Sa 2:13 Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

2Sa 2:14 Abner said to Joab, Please let the young men arise and play before us. Joab said, Let them arise.

2Sa 2:15 Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

2Sa 2:16 They caught everyone his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: therefore that place was called Helkath Hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

2Sa 2:17 The battle was very severe that day: and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

2Sa 2:18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle.

2Sa 2:19 Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he didn't turn to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

2Sa 2:20 Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Is it you, Asahel? He answered, It is I.

2Sa 2:21 Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and grab one of the young men, and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

2Sa 2:22 Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me: why should I strike you to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?

2Sa 2:23 However he refused to turn aside: therefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear struck him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it happened, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

2Sa 2:24 But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

2Sa 2:25 The children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill.

2Sa 2:26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, "Shall the sword devour forever? Don't you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?"

2Sa 2:27 Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed everyone his brother.

2Sa 2:28 So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.

2Sa 2:29 Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.

2Sa 2:30 Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.

2Sa 2:31 But the servants of David had struck of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred sixty men died.

2Sa 2:32 They took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.

2Sa 3:1 Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David grew stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2Sa 3:2 To David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;

2Sa 3:3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

2Sa 3:4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

2Sa 3:5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

2Sa 3:6 It happened, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul.

2Sa 3:7 Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?

2Sa 3:8 Then was Abner very angry for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? This day do I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me this day with a fault concerning this woman.

2Sa 3:9 God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Yahweh has sworn to David, I don't do even so to him;

2Sa 3:10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.

2Sa 3:11 He could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

2Sa 3:12 Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make your league with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you, to bring about all Israel to you.

2Sa 3:13 He said, Well; I will make a league with you; but one thing I require of you: that is, you shall not see my face, unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face.

2Sa 3:14 David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I pledged to be married to me for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

2Sa 3:15 Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Paltiel the son of Laish.

2Sa 3:16 Her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then said Abner to him, Go, return: and he returned.

2Sa 3:17 Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past you sought for David to be king over you:

2Sa 3:18 now then do it; for Yahweh has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.

2Sa 3:19 Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin.

2Sa 3:20 So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. David made Abner and the men who were with him a feast.

2Sa 3:21 Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires. David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

2Sa 3:22 Behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a foray, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.

2Sa 3:23 When Joab and all the army who was with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in peace.

2Sa 3:24 Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? behold, Abner came to you; why is it that you have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

2Sa 3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you do.

2Sa 3:26 When Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah: but David didn't know it.

2Sa 3:27 When Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

2Sa 3:28 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before Yahweh forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner:

2Sa 3:29 let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.

2Sa 3:30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

2Sa 3:31 David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, Tear your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. King David followed the bier.

2Sa 3:32 They buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.

2Sa 3:33 The king lamented for Abner, and said, Should Abner die as a fool dies?

2Sa 3:34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell. All the people wept again over him.

2Sa 3:35 All the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun be down.

2Sa 3:36 All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people.

2Sa 3:37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner.

2Sa 3:38 The king said to his servants, "Don't you know that there a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

2Sa 3:39 I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness."

Jun. 19, 20

John 18

Joh 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.

Joh 18:2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.

Joh 18:3 Judas then, having taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

Joh 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went forth, and said to them, "Who are you looking for?"

Joh 18:5 They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

Joh 18:6 When therefore he said to them, "I am he," they went backward, and fell to the ground.

Joh 18:7 Again therefore he asked them, "Who are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

Joh 18:8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way,"

Joh 18:9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, "Of those whom you have given me, I have lost none."

Joh 18:10 Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

Joh 18:11 Jesus therefore said to Peter, "Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?"

Joh 18:12 So the detachment, the commanding officer, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound him,

Joh 18:13 and led him to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

Joh 18:14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should perish for the people.

Joh 18:15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest;

Joh 18:16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought in Peter.

Joh 18:17 Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, "Are you also one of this man's disciples?" He said, "I am not."

Joh 18:18 Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.

Joh 18:19 The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples, and about his teaching.

Joh 18:20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret.

Joh 18:21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, these know the things which I said."

Joh 18:22 When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, "Do you answer the high priest like that?"

Joh 18:23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?"

Joh 18:24 Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Joh 18:25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, "You aren't also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, and said, "I am not."

Joh 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"

Joh 18:27 Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.

Joh 18:28 They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn't enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

Joh 18:29 Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?"

Joh 18:30 They answered him, "If this man weren't an evildoer, we wouldn't have delivered him up to you."

Joh 18:31 Pilate therefore said to them, "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,"

Joh 18:32 that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what kind of death he should die.

Joh 18:33 Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Joh 18:34 Jesus answered him, "Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?"

Joh 18:35 Pilate answered, "I'm not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?"

Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn't be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here."

Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said to him, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."

Joh 18:38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

Joh 18:39 But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

Joh 18:40 Then they all shouted again, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.