More Evidence from the world of Science that Creation is the Answer, and Explanation of Life.

This article is from the Book “In six days”  why fifty scientists choose to believe in creation  edited by john f. ashton PhD… I suggest you buy the book: it will reveal to you that science is not supporting evolution as you might think.

Ariel A. Roth (born 1927) is a zoologist and creationist who was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and now lives in the United States. He is a leading figure in the field of flood geology, having been involved and published extensively on the creation–evolution controversy.

1. Former professor and chairman of Biology at Emmanuel Missionary College,
2. Now Andrews University and at Loma Linda University.
3. Former director of the Seventh-day Adventist run Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University.
4. Editor of the journal Origins for 23 years.
5. After receiving his PhD in Biology at the University of Michigan,
6. Roth pursued research in invertebrate zoology and on fossil and living coral reefs funded by NOAA, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies.
7. Additional training to facilitate his research in radiation biology, geology and mathematics at various campuses of the University of California.
8. Longtime member of the Geological Society of America and the Society for Sedimentary Geology.
9. Published many articles in both scientific and popular journals and lectured worldwide[ii].

It is sometimes suggested that belief in creation is a matter of faith, while science, which usually endorses evolution, is considered to be more in the realm of reason. What concepts of faith and reason are different to evaluate and quantify[iii] we generally recognize that we have to exercise a degree of faith to believe in anything, be it science, evolution, creation, or the Bible. However, there are many good reasons to believe in creation by God in six days in fact, it seems to me that it takes a greater degree of blind faith (where there is no evidence) to believe in evolution than in the creation model of the Bible. The same problem applies to intermediate views between evolution and creation, such as theistic evolution or progressive creation, which have little support from either the data of nature or the Bible[iv].

The origin of life

Probably the most baffling problem which evolution faces is a question of the origin of life. How could living organisms which, even in their simplest forms, are extremely complex arise by themselves? The severity of the problem is well acknowledged by many competent scientists and need not be dwelt upon here.

The problem of complexity

The presence of complexity– interdependent parts that do not function unless other parts are also present– pose another major problem for evolution. For instance, a muscle is useless without a nerve going to the muscle to direct its contracting activity. But both the muscle and the nerve are useless without a complicated control mechanism in their brain to direct the contracting activity of the muscle and correlate its activity with that of other muscles. Without these three essential components, we have only useless parts. In a process of gradual evolutionary changes, how does complexity evolve?

Interdependent parts, which represent most of the components of living organisms, would not be expected from random, Undirected changes (mutations) as is proposed for evolutionary advancement.

How could these develop without the foresight of a plan for a working system? Can order arise from the turmoil of mixed- up, undirected changes? For complicated organs that involve many necessary changes, the chances are implausibly small.

Without the foresight of a plan, we would expect that the random evolutionary changes would attempt all kinds of useless combinations of parts while trying to provide for a successful evolutionary advancement. Yet as we look at living organisms over the world, we do not seem to see any of these random combinations. In nature, it appears that we are dealing largely, if not exclusively, with purposeful parts. Furthermore, if evolution is really an ongoing process, why don’t we find new developing complex organs and organisms that lack them? We would expect to find developing legs, eyes, livers, and new unknown kinds of organs, providing for evolutionary advancement in organisms that lack desirable advantages. This absence is a serious indictment against any proposed un-directed evolutionary process, and favors the concept that what we see represents the work of an intelligent creator.

The simple example of a muscle, mentioned above, pales into insignificance when we consider more complicated organs such as the eye or the brain. Each contain many interdependent systems composed of parts that would be useless without the presence of all the other necessary parts. In these systems, nothing works until all the necessary components are present and working. The eye has an automatic focusing system that adjusts the lens so as to permit us to clearly see close and distant objects. We do not fully understand how it works, but a part of the brain analyzes data from the eye and controls the muscles in the eye that change the shape of the lens. The system that controls the size of the pupil so as to adjust to light intensity and to reduce spherical lens aberration also illustrates interdependent parts. There are the 100 million light- sensitive cells in the human eye that send information to the brain through some one million nerve fibers of the optic nerve. In the brain this information is sorted into various components such as color, movement, form, and depth. It is then analyzed and combined into an intelligible picture. This involves an extremely complex array of interdependent parts. But the visual process is only part of our complex brains, which contains some 100 billion nerve cells connected by some 400,000 kilometers (about 248548.48 mi) of nerve fibers. It is estimated that there are around 100 billion connections between nerve cells in the human brain. That we can think straight (we hope most of us do!) is a witness to a marvelous, ordered complex of interdependent parts that challenges suggestions of an origin by random evolutionary changes. How could such complicated organs develop by an unplanned process?

The Search for an Evolutionary Mechanism

Movements of all kinds of things in nature tend to mix things up, be they molecules, huge boulders, or polluting substances poured into the ocean. This inexorable tendency runs counter to evolution, where organisms are supposed to have become more and more organized, from disorganized components, as the complexities of organisms evolved. How did evolution from simple to complex counter the tendency towards randomness that is so prevalent in nature? For two centuries evolutionists have been searching for a mechanism that would explain the origin of complexity, but so far this has been a virtual futile search.  

At the beginning of the 19th century, the French naturalist la marque proposed that usage of an organ- caused evolutionary advancement, such as a neck becoming longer due to usage. His views have been largely rejected. About half a century later, Charles Darwin and England proposed a system of natural selection. In this process very small variations between organisms would be subject to the competition between organisms. This would result in the survival of the more advanced forms, while the weaker ones would be eliminated. Over long periods of time, this process would gradually evolve the advanced forms of life on earth. 

While Darwin’s model of natural selection is the one usually presented in basic textbooks of biology, it has been much criticized recently for a variety of reasons. It has a fatal flaw when it comes to the question of the gradual development of biological systems with interdependent parts, and this is the case for most if not all biological systems. The problem is the very system of natural selection which Darwin proposed will tend to eliminate the interdependent parts of complex systems as these systems develop. The parts do not function until all the interdependent parts are present and the system works and provides some survival value to the Organism. These non- functioning parts will tend to be eliminated by a natural selection process that should give preference to organisms that are not encumbered with extra useless parts. For instance, in our simple example of an evolving muscle- nerve- control interdependent system: if we are at the stage where we have evolved only a muscle, that muscle would be a useless encumbrance until the nerve and control mechanisms have evolved. Until that time, natural selection would tend to eliminate those organisms with non- functioning parts of developing interdependent systems, and thus would interfere with evolutionary progress. 

Half a century after Darwin proposed his views, the Dutch biologist de Vries vigorously challenged the idea that the small variations proposed by Darwin could have any significant evolutionary effect. He proposed much larger changes, called mutations. Unfortunately, his prime example, the dwarfing of the evening primrose plant around Amsterdam, turned out to be only the recombination of traits already present in the plants and not a new mutation. The same applies to the most commonly used example of evolution: the darkening of the English peppered moth. This darkening protected the moths from predators by making them less visible as the environment darkened during the industrial revolution. The moth has again become lighter as the environment has become lighter. These changes, which are sometimes called mutations[v], are now acknowledged as representing only a fluctuation in different kinds of genes already present, and as such do not represent the novel changes of a real mutation[vi]. However, mutations, which represent more or less permanent genetic changes, were soon found in fruit flies and other organisms. But mutations are not a great breakthrough for evolution. They are almost always detrimental, and as such are more representative of a mechanism for degeneration rather than for advancement. One useful mutation out of 1000 is being generous to evolution. 

In the middle of the 20th century, leading evolutionists proposed the “modern synthesis.” Held as the final evolutionary model, it incorporated Darwin’s natural selection, de Vries mutations, and studies in population genetics. At the same time, other evolutionists were calling for much larger sudden changes than those noted for mutations. 

These larger changes were needed because of major gaps between groups of organisms and assumed evolutionary lineages, as seen in the fossil record, and also because of the inadequacy of the survival value of small evolutionary changes while developing complex systems with interdependent parts[vii]. The term “hopeful monster” was suggested for these proposed suddenly appearing new forms. But they would need matching mates to be able to breed with, and as one commented, “who will breed with a monster, hopeful or otherwise?”[viii] 

The modern synthesis did not remain as the dominant evolutionary mechanisms for very long, although many leading evolutionists still defend the model. One evolutionist comments, “and today the modern synthesis– neo- Darwinism– is not a theory, but a range of opinions which, each in his own way, tries to overcome the difficulties presented by the world of facts.”[ix] We are now in a period of diverse evolutionary opinions. A variety of new ideas and controversies have appeared. They revolve around such questions as: (1) can one really identify the evolutionary relationships of organisms? (2) are evolutionary changes gradual or sudden? (3) is natural selection important to the evolutionary process? (4) how does complexity evolve without the advantage of foresight? Computer programs attempting to answer this have been only remotely related to the complexity of the real biological world. Many scientists who do not believe in creation are criticizing the evolutionary model.[x] 

We are thus faced with the fact that after two centuries of conjecture, a workable mechanism for evolution has not been found.[xi] While the perseverance of evolutionists is commendable, it was seem that by now it is time for science to give serious consideration to other alternatives of origins, such as creation. 

The evidence from the fossils 

The fossils which represent past life on earth should have much to say about how that life originated. Some consider the fossil record that we find in the rock layers of the earth to be the strongest evidence for evolution, because there is an increase from simple to complex, as one ascends through the rock layers. However, if these layers were laid down by the great flood described in the Bible, one would also expect some sort of ascending complexity as the flood gradually destroyed the biological realms of the world that existed before it. On our present earth, we have simple life in the deep rocks, more complex life in the oceans and the most complex on land. Destruction of these realms by rising flood activity would result in a general increase in complexity.[xii] More important to the question of origins are two aspects of the fossil record that pose serious problems for the evolutionary scenario. One is the great scarcity of intermediate forms; the other is the lack of geologic time for the major evolutionary changes postulated. 

If evolution has proceeded over the eons of time postulated, we should expect a great number of intermediates between the major types of organisms, but we can scarcely find any. Charles Darwin was fully aware of the problem and openly admitted to it in his origin of species, stating, “why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate lengths? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such fine graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection that can be urged against my theory.”[xiii] Darwin then attributed the problem to the “extreme imperfection” of the fossil record. We have found millions of fossils since Darwin’s time, and the lack of intermediates remains a major problem for evolution. The paleontologist David B. Kits[xiv], at the University of Oklahoma, points out, “despite the bright promise of paleontology provides a means of ‘seeing’ evolution, it has presented some nasty difficulties for evolutionists, the most notorious of which is the presence of ‘gaps’ in the fossil record. Evolution requires intermediate forms between species and paleontology does not provide them.” A very few missing links, like Archaeopteryx, which is considered to be intermediate between reptiles and birds, have been described, but these few examples do little to satisfy the many thousands expected there. 

Some evolutionists have postulated that evolution proceeds by occasional rapid jumps (punctuated equilibria[xv]), but these small jumps do not solve the problem at all. The problem for evolution is that it is between the major groups of plants and animals (phyla and divisions) that we would expect the greatest number of intermediates, and this is precisely where these intermediates are virtually absent. Any gradual process would be expected to leave all kinds of fossils between major groups as major changes evolve. It does not appear that evolution has taken place.

As one examines the details of the fossil record, it soon becomes apparent that if evolution took place, it had to proceed at a highly erratic rate of change. The model of a slow, gradual advancing evolutionary process is not supported by the fossil record as evolutionists interpret it. For instance, the simplest forms of life are assumed to have evolved around 3,500 million years ago. Yet almost 3,000 million years later, the fossil record shows little evidence of any evolutionary advancement. We are still virtually in the one- cell stage of life forms for the first five sixths of evolutionary time period then less than 100 million years later ( 1/35 of evolutionary time), virtually all the animal phyla have evolved. Some evolutionists suggest only 5-10 million years (1/ 350 of evolutionary time) for most of this.[xvi] 

Evolutionists refer to this very brief period for the evolution of most animal phyla as the “Cambrian explosion.” Samuel Bowring of the Massachusetts Institute of technology comments, “and what I like to ask my biologist friends is: how fast can evolution get before they start feeling uncomfortable?”[xvii] The phenomenon of the Cambrian explosion fits remarkably well with a model of the biblical flood which postulates that this part of the fossil record represents the level of the Seas before the flood where most of the animal phyla would be expected. Above the Cambrian explosion we have other smaller “explosions.” for instance, evolutionists propose that most mammalian orders evolved in a mere 12 million years and living orders of birds in 5-10 million years.  The fossil record as interpreted by evolutionists shows that the thousands of millions of years proposed for advancement are not there. Evolution needs all the time it can get, and the improbabilities it faces indicate that geologic time is far too short to accommodate those advancements. The rapid rates of evolution that would be required to accommodate the fossil record significantly reduce that time and accentuate even more the improbability problem of evolution. 

[i] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-24-la-oe-masci24-2009nov24-story.html#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20survey%20of%20members%20of%20the,higher%20power%2C%20while%2041%25%20say%20they%20do%20not.

[ii] Introduction From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[iii] A.A. Roth, “Do We Need To Turn Off Our Brains, When We Enter A Church? close origins 23 (1996 ): P. 63-65.

[iv] For a detailed discussion of these various points see A.A. Roth, Origins: Linking Science And Scripture (Hagerstown, MA review and Herald Pub. Assoc., 1998).

[v] For example: Carl Sagan, the Dragons of Eden: Speculations On The Evolution Of Human Intelligence (New York: Ballantine books, 1997 ), P. 28.

[vi] For example: T. H. Jakes, “Responses Of Critics,” and P. E. Johnson, Evolution As Dogma: The Establishment Of Naturalism (Dallas, TX: Houghton Publishing Co., 1990 ), P. 26-28.

[vii] Richard Benedict Goldschmidt, The Material Basis Of Evolution (New Haven, CT: Yale University press, 1940).

[viii] C. Patterson, Evolution (London: British Museum and Ithaca, and NY: Cornell University press, 1978), P. 143.

[ix] Soren Luvtrup, Darwinism: the refutation of a myth (New York: Croom Helm, 1987 ), P. 352.

[x] For a listing of nine books by non- creationist that challenge evolution or Darwinism, CP. 140-141 and Roth, origins: linking science and scripture.

[xi] More details, see chapters 5 and eight in Roth, Origins: Linking Science And Scripture.

[xii] This is discussed further in Roth, Origins: Linking Science And Scripture, chapter 10.

[xiii] Charles Darwin, The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life (London: John Murray 1859), in the reprinted edition: J. W. Burrow, editor (Penguin Books, London and NY, 1968), P. 292.

[xiv] D. B. Kits, “Paleontology And Evolutionary Theory,” Evolution 28 (1974 ),: P. 458-472.

[xv] N. Eldridge and S.J. Gould, “Punctuated Equilibria: An Alternative to Phyletic Gradualism,” in T.J.M. Schopf, editor, Models of Paleobiology (San Francisco, CA: Freeman, Cooper, and Co, 1972), p. 82-115.

[xvi] S.A. Bowring, J. P. Grotzinger, C. E. Isachsen, A.H. Knoll, S.M. Pelechaty, P. Kolosov,”Calibrating Rates of Early Cambrian Evolution, “ Science 261 (1993): p. 1293-1298.

[xvii] As quoted an M. Nash, “when life exploded,” time 146 (23 ) (1995), P. 66-74.

INTRODUCTORY WORDS ABOUT EVOLUTION

Practical Biology has made great advances in revealing the complex chemical and physical processes that permit plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses to function.

Theoretical Biology presents Evolution as the origin and method by which these complex living organisms came into existence.

Where You Came from Determines Who You Are, Why You Are Here, and Where You Are Going.

Are you an evolutionary accident or created in God’s image?

If you are a son of a chimp, you can live by the law of the jungle.

If you are a child of God, you were created in the image of God and have the privilege and duty to live by the law of God!

Did you evolve without purpose or meaning, or were you created with a divine purpose and a heavenly goal?

Two Kinds of Evolution

Micro-Evolution (small evolution) causes variable colors, shapes, and sizes of the same species; it is observed in nature and is accepted as scientific fact by Evolutionists and Creationists.

Macro-Evolution (Big Evolution) is theoretical, not factual, and proposes that non-living material accidentally evolved into plant and animal life and that inferior plant and animal life accidentally evolved into higher forms of life.

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION: TRUTH OR MYTH?

Spontaneous Generation: The Basic Premise on Which Evolution Stands

Evolution is based on the premise that life suddenly emerged from non-living material.

Spontaneous Generation Has Never Been Observed

Scientists of the late 19th century believed that maggots were spontaneously generated from the deterioration of garbage.

Louis Pasteur demonstrated in the laboratory that garbage did not produce maggots when protected under a glass covering.

Unprotected garbage attracted flies that laid their eggs on the garbage and later hatched into maggots, which are fly larvae.

He concluded that spontaneous generation is unscientific and that life always comes from previous life, not from non-life.

Yet, modern evolutionist are still advocating the same unscientific view of spontaneous generation that Pasteur refuted.

The Miller and Urey Experiment

Miller and Urey, artificially created a few amino acids and other DNA components as well as other organic substances, claiming they created life in the test tube.

These organic substances are not living matter, but only some of the components that make up life.

Even these lifeless amino acids were produced not naturally, as spontaneous generation requires, but in the laboratory under closed conditions.

The process required that water be inserted at one point of the experiment and that the resulting substances be protected from water later in the process.

In an open environment, these organic substances would have been destroyed by rain, wind, etc. as rapidly as they were formed. (The cosmos is a closed system, yet the Earth is an open system)

Miller and Urey also utilized electric shocks to form these substances, on the basis that lightning provides the same shock in nature.

The Miller and Urey experiment showed that intelligent man can produce a few of the components that make up life in a closed atmosphere. They did not demonstrate how nature could produce amino acids in an open atmosphere.

The Complicate Process by Which Non-living Material Could Evolve into Living Plants and Creatures

In order to form by chance a simple plant, the protons and neutrons in the nuclei of non-living substances would have to be miraculously replaced with a DNA molecule of a plant.

Other non-living matter would need to be miraculously combined and their nucei replaced with different DNA so as to produce bacteria, fungi, and other forms of animal life.

Plants would have to undergo dramatic changes in the DNA.

Sea Life must undergo complex DNA changes to become land creatures.

HOMOLOGY: A COMMON ANCESTOR OR A COMMON DESIGNER?

Biologists Claim: Similar Structure in Different Animals Proves Evolution

Similarity of Humans to Monkeys, Chimps, and Apes Proves Evolution

Modern biologists now believe “remarkable biochemical similarities of chimpanzee and human proteins” testify to their “incredibly close biological relationship.”

Since a chimpanzee is the closest animal in similarity to man, we would expect it to have some of the same proteins that humans have.

The Evolution of a Chimp into A Human Violates Scientific Observation

“Species” is defined by biologists as having “potential in nature to interbreed and produce fertile offspring and possess similar inherited characteristics.”

Different Species of the same genus sometimes can interbreed, but they do not produce fertile offspring.

The horse and donkey, different Species of the same Genus, can interbreed, but their offspring is a mule, that is infertile and cannot reproduce.

In no case can Species of different Genera interbreed and produce a new Genus or a new species.

The Chimpanzee is from the Genus called Pan and from the species called Troglodytes, whereas the Orangutan is from the Genus called Pongo and the species called Pygmaeus, and man is the species Homo Sapiens of the Genus Homo.

No one has ever observed a chimp give birth to a superior species of its own Genus (Pan), much less a species of a superior Genus (Homo). If it ever occurs, it will be miraculous, contrary to scientific observation.

The Evolution of A Chimpanzee into A Human Violates the Scientific Law of Cell Reproduction

Law of Reproduction: “Cells of each species possess a characteristic number of chromosomes: human cells have 46, cotton plants 52, turkeys 82, and some ferns 1,000. During normal cell division, the two daughter cells must receive the same number of chromosomes.”[iii]

Since two daughter cells must have the same number of chromosomes to reproduce, reproduction cannot occur if either of the parents has a different number of chromosomes.

Chimpanzees have 48 Chromosomes in their DNA.
Humans have 46 Chromosomes with a different number and order of the bands of genes, as well as different genes on each band of each chromosome.

A Chimp of 48 chromosomes cannot produce a fertile offspring of 46 chromosomes because it would violate the scientific Law of Cell Reproduction.

Chimpanzees cannot interbreed with humans and produce any offspring; how much less could two chimps or a chimp and another animal of the same genus produce a human being.

Intelligent scientists cannot cause a chimp to produce a superior species, much less a man.

Since a chimp’s producing a superior species has never been observed and violates the scientific law of cell reproduction, it is anti-scientific.

The Biblical View of the Fixity of the Species is More Scientific Than Evolution

Genesis 1:21,24 says “God created…every living and moving thing…according to their kinds.”

The Bible teaches the fixity of the species or kind, as observed by scientists and in conformity with the law of cell reproduction.

The Biblical law of fixity of species conforms to scientific law, whereas evolution contradicts it.

Homology Indicates a Common Designer, Not a Common Ancestry

MUTATIONS: EVOLUTION OR DEGRADATION?

Laboratory Experiments Show That Radiation Can Modify (Cause Mutations) In the Molecular Structure Of DNA

95% of mutations are fatal or seriously injure the creature so that it is inferior, not superior.

Mutations might cause a different variation of the same species, but in no case have mutations been observed to produce a new species.

Scientist’ Accomplishments with Modifications or Repair of the DNA

Scientists have learned how to repair defective genes, but they have been unable to modify the DNA to create a superior species.

Scientists have developed better quality plants and animals by cross breeding but have never been able to produce a new species of animal or plant.

Scientists’ Failures in Experimenting with DNA

Scientists have continually experimented with radiation treatments to modify the DNA to produce a new species but have never succeeded.

Scientists have experimented with modifications of DNA of fruit flies by inserting multiple copies of an eye gene into fruit-fly embryos.

14 eyes appeared on the fruit fly’s wings, legs, and antennae.

Scientists produced a Frankenstein fruit fly who is grossly inferior to a normal fly.

THE FOSSIL RECORD: EVOLUTION OR CREATION?

Scientists Claim: The Fossil Record Proves Evolution

Many Biology text books leave the impression that only lower forms of life appear in the earliest strata of earth and that the higher forms of life gradually appear in successive strata in later ages of earth’s history.

The evidence actually shows both simple and advance animals suddenly appeared in the Cambrian Age, the first period when life is found.

The famous evolutionist, G.G. Simpson, writes, “All these phyla…begin in the Cambrian…. There is little logical order in time of appearance. The Arthropoda appear in the record as early as undoubted Protozoa, although by general consensus the Protozoa are the most primitive phylum and the Arthropoda the most advances.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica calls this phenomenon “an evolutionary explosion; Yet, it claims it “cannot be” and that life must have existed in Pre-Cambrian Ages, although no evidence of life appeared in earlier ages.

Simpson admits that the absence of Pre-Cambrian fossils is the “major mystery of the history of life.”

Advance and simple life existing side by side in the earliest age of earth confirms the Biblical description of creation, but contradicts evolution.

The Evolutionary Picture Presented by Scientists Would Be Miraculous if True.

Life on earth begins with a reptile, who miraculously evolved from a fish, which is cold blooded, has scales, with fins, no legs, no jaw, and lives in water.

Reptiles are: Cold blooded, have scales, 4 legs, and 6 bones in the lower jaw, live on land and have 18 more differences.

The reptile miraculously turned into a bird; birds are warm-blooded, with feathers, 2 wings and 2 legs, with a beak and 18 more differences.

If this reptile’s legs evolved into wings, in the interim he could neither walk nor fly and would have died before he could ever evolve into a bird.

The same reptile miraculously turned into a snake that has scales, but no legs and 18 other differences. In the process of losing his legs, the intermediate would have died before it produced a snake.

This same amazing reptile produced another kind of reptile who miraculously turned into a mouse, which is a mammal, who miraculously evolved into a horse, who incredibly evolved into a monkey.

Mammals are warm-blooded instead of cold-blooded, have fur or skin, give birth to the child out of birth track instead of hatching eggs, have 1 bone in the lower jaw (instead of 6) and have 18 more differences.

Every one of these miraculous creatures of evolution violated the definition of a species and contradicted the molecular law of Cell Reproduction that requires that the DNA of each animal have the same number of chromosomes of the parents.

None of these asserted evolutionary changes have ever been observed, nor have they been scientifically produced in the laboratory.

Missing Transitional Fossils Disprove Evolution and Confirms Creation

If evolution is true there should be hundreds of examples of transitional fossils between phyla of insects, spine creatures, and worms, and even more transitional fossils between mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.

Simpson, admits, “Transitional types are not invariably lacking in the record. A multitude of them are known between species, many between genera, a few between classes, but none is true, between phyla.

Sir Fred Hoyle, who won the Nobel Prize in Astronomy, says, “The evolutionary record leaks like a sieve.”

If man descended from a chimp there should be thousands of fossils of half-chimp/ half-humans, but there are none.

The Absence of Living Intermediate Animals Disproves Evolution

If modern man evolved from a Chimp the intermediate half-chimpanzee/half-human would be superior in intellectual power to modern chimps, and thus millions of them should still be living in our modern world.

According to the Darwin’s theory of the Survival of the Fittest, these transitional beings should have survived better than the chimp. Yet not one of them survived. Why is the Chimp present in abundant numbers, but his superior evolutionary product is nowhere to be seen?

The Fossil Record Indicates Creation and Fixity of Species, Not Evolution

OUTDATED ARGUMENTS STILL USED BY SOME BIOLOGISTS

Embryology: Scientists Claim the Human Embryo Proves Past Evolution

Scientists once claimed that the embryo of a human passes through states of its evolutionary past from fish to animal, to human.

A human embryo first appears with a tail like that of a fish, then loses its tail and produces legs, supposedly demonstrating its past evolutionary history.

Study of the DNA shows that the design of a human is encoded so that its embryo will gradually develop into a full-grown human being.

The DNA in a human has no similarity whatsoever to the DNA in a fish.

Informed scientists no longer use this argument, but many freshman biology textbooks still teach that embryology is proof of evolution.

Vestigial Organs: No Proof of Evolution (Organs for which no useful function has been found)

1960 biology textbooks listed 200 vestigial structures of the human body, including the thyroid and pituitary glands, all as evidence of evolution.

By 1990 modern biology found useful functions for all 200.

Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest: Does not Create A New Species.

Natural selection produces micro-evolution.

Flowers can change colors but not into different plants.

Animals can change shapes and colors, but their species remains unchanged.

Survival of the Fittest also produces only micro-evolution, not macro-evolution.

Mutations can cause a plant to become sturdier, but not to turn into a different species of plant.

Moths of a certain color survive better than other moths because of environment, but don’t produce a different species.

Animals can become stronger and prettier based on survival of the fittest, but do not produce different species.

New discover nullifies Darwin’s main argument about the Giraffe.

Darwin claimed that Giraffes suffered successive famines and that only the ones with long necks survived.

Scientists have discovered that tiny blood pumps cover the entire length of the Giraffe’s neck. Without these pumps the heart could not pump the blood to the head and the Giraffe would die.

Thus, the DNA would have to be altered to add these blood pumps to the Giraffe’s growing neck to circulate the blood all the way to the Giraffe’s head and back to the heart.

Nothing natural could rewrite DNA to include these blood pumps; therefore, Giraffes have always had those blood pumps.

EVOLUTION: THE SIN OF IDOLATRY!

Man’s Homage to Mother Earth and Animals as His Maker is Idolatry.

Romans 1: 21 – 25 says that the “wise” (evolutionistic scientists and philosophers), “became fools” when they rejected God as Creator and worshiped animals as their makers.

Men who believe all life evolved naturally from the dust of the earth worship Mother Earth as their creator.

Men who believe reptiles evolved into chimps foolishly give credit to reptiles and chimps as their father and maker.

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20).

The Gospel of Christ Calls Men Out of Idolatry (Evolution), (Acts 14: 8 – 20).

CONCLUSION

The scientific evidence contradicts evolution. Only an omnipotent, omniscient creator can satisfy the scientific evidence.

Refutation of Geologists’ “Unitarianism” Method of Dating the Grand Canyon

37 Steven A. Austin, Grand Canyon, Monument to Catastrophe, 1994, p. 113.
38 New Encyclopedia Britannica,1991 Ed., 12.196.
39 New Encyclopedia Britannica,1991 Ed., 9.640-1.
40 Steven A. Austin, Grand Canyon, Monument to Catastrophe, 1994, p. 126.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid., p. 128.
45 Henry Morris, Scientific Creationism, pp. 151-2.

46 New Brown Driver Briggs Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon, p. 134.
47 Ibid., p. 427.

48 Huse, Collapse of Evolution, pp. 22-23.
49 Bert Thompson, Essays in Apologetics, I.78; Collapse of Evolution, pp. 20-21.

50 Robert Gentry, Creation ‘s Tiny Mystery.
51 Huse, Collapse of Evolution, p. 25.
52 Ibid., p. 23.

• The sun is presently 864,950 miles in diameter and averages a distance of 92,957,000 miles from earth. 54 The sun would have to double its size (going back in time) 108 times to cover the present distance between the sun and earth: 92,957,000 divided by 864,950 = 108.
• Since the sun doubles in size each 100,000 years, the sun would have extended beyond the earth’s present position 10,800,000 years ago and the distant planets of our solar system would have burned up.
• Therefore, it is impossible that the earth could have existed even 100,000 years ago, much less 10,800,000 years ago.
• The scientific calculation of 5 billion years for the age of the earth is scientifically impossible and ridiculously absurd.
• A 6,000 to 7,500 year range for the earth’s age allows life to have comfortable temperatures for plants to grow and animals and humans to survive; thus, the scientific rate of the shrinkage of the sun is in complete harmony with the Biblical age of the solar system.

53 Bert Thompson, Essays in Apologetics, I.78-79.

B. Hydrogen Converted Into Helium55

• Hydrogen is constantly being converted into helium in space at the rate of 3 x 10 to the eleventh power grams per year.
• However, space is composed almost entirely of hydrogen, with the presence of only small amounts of helium.
• Since no source is known to produce hydrogen in space, most of the hydrogen should have turned into helium if the universe is really ten billion years old.

Because of this abundance of hydrogen and sparsity of helium, Sir Fred Hoyle, who won the Nobel Prize in Astronomy, concluded that the universe is only thousands of years old rather than billions of years.

• Helium enters the earth’s atmosphere by escaping from cracks in the earth’s crust from the decay of uranium and thorium at the rate of 3 x 10 to the 11 power grams per year.
• The amount of helium in earth’s atmosphere is 3.5 x 10 to the 15 power.
• At the rate helium is entering earth’s atmosphere, the earth should be about 10,000 years old.

A. Disintegration Rate of Comets 56

• Comets are gradually disintegrating from the heat of the sun.
• The rapid rate of disintegration indicates that their age could not be more than 10,000 years old.
• No comets would exist if our solar system were really five billion years old.

B.  Speed of Star Clusters 

• Star clusters contain thousands of stars swarming in different directions at enormous speeds.
• They are moving so fast that these clusters could not have held together for millions of years, much less billions of years.

CONCLUSION

Many other evidences indicate that the universe and the earth are not more than 10,000 years old and thus within the range of the biblical range of dates for Creation.

54 “The Sun,” New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1991 Ed., 11.387.
55 Bert Thompson, op. cit., I.79-80.
56 Huse, op. cit., p. 28.

THE BIBLICAL EXPLANATION OF THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work. . . For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:9, 11).

51% of Scientist believe in God

Establishing the historical reliability of both the Old and New Testaments.

This is only a partial example, and these examples have been seriously altered to make it possible to include in this comment, but references are given for your further study.

As we go through the Bible we will take a closer look at many of these points of reference.

Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the New Testament

Peter S. Williams

Peter S. Williams examines the historical reliability of the New Testament in the light of the findings of archaeology.

“On the whole … archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archaeologist has found his respect for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Palestine. Archaeology has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics. ” — Millar Burrows, Professor of Archaeology, Yale University.

Charlotte Allen observes that “Archaeology, which was then a young science, was by and large ignored by the academic biblical scholars of the [nineteenth] century. For the great German exegeses of the era … a voyage to Palestine was beside the point; as the life of the historical Jesus was for them solely a matter of interpreting texts. “[Today, scholars know that archaeological data can be a valuable aid to interpreting texts, as well as providing independent adjudication of a text’s historical veracity.

As Nelson Glueck states, “It may be staled categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference “, whereas on the other “Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. “

Archaeologist William F.

Albright observes:

The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth-and-nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which will appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history. Likewise, Joseph Free confirms “Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which had been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contrary to known facts.

“Theologian Craig L. Blomberg

notes how: Archaeology can demonstrate that the places mentioned in the Gospels really existed and that customs, living conditions, topography, household and workplace furniture and tools, roads, coins, buildings and numerous other ‘stage props’ correspond.”‘ the Gospels describe them.

It can show that the names of certain characters in the Gospels are accurate, when we find inscriptional references to them elsewhere. Events and teachings ascribed to Jesus become intelligible and therefore plausible when read against everything we know about life in Palestine in the first third of the first century.

Archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed

Reed observes that “The many archaeological discoveries relating to people, places, or titles mentioned in Acts do lend credence to its historicity at one level; many of the specific details in Acts are factual. “ And as Lee Strobel observes:

In trying to determine if a witness is being truthful, journalists and lawyers will test all the elements of his or her testimony that can be tested. If this investigation reveals that the person was wrong in those details, this casts considerable doubt on the veracity of his or her entire story. However, if the minutiae check out, this is some indication — not conclusive proof but some evidence — that maybe the witness is being reliable in his or her overall account.

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a rare clay seal mark and a 2,600-year-old stone stamp bearing Biblical names amid the ruins of a building destroyed by the ancient Babylonians.

The amazing finds, which date to the First Temple period, were made in Jerusalem’s famous City of David. The artifacts were discovered in the remains of a structure razed in the 6th century B.C., likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., according to experts.

In a statement, Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, which oversaw the dig, said charred pottery shards were found in the building, indicating that the seal mark and stamp survived a major fire.

Both artifacts feature ancient Hebrew script.

In ancient times, a seal stamp, or bulla, was used to authenticate documents or items.

The Nathan-Melech/Eved Hamelech seal stamp found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

The Nathan-Melech/Eved Hamelech seal stamp found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

The tiny 1 cm seal stamp has been dated to sometime from the middle of the seventh century to the start of the sixth century B.C. Deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem, the stamp features the words: “(Belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King.” In the second book of Kings 23:11 “Nathan-Melech” is described as an official in the court of King Josiah. The seal is described as the first archaeological evidence of the Biblical name.

“Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together,” said Mendel-Geberovich, in the statement.

A 1 cm stamp-seal made of bluish agate stone was also found in the ruins. The stamp is engraved with the name: “(Belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu.” The name “Matanyahu” appears in the Bible and on other stamps and seal marks, but the name “Ikar” has not been seen before.

The Ikar Ben Matanyahu seal found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

The Ikar Ben Matanyahu seal found in the City of David. (Photo Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

Mendel-Geberovich believes that “Ikar,” which can be translated as “farmer,” likely refers to a private individual, as opposed to a description of the person’s occupation.

Stamp seals, which were often used to sign documents, where often set in their owners’ signet rings. It is unclear who “Ikar” was.

“These artifacts attest to the highly developed system of administration in the Kingdom of Judah and add considerable information to our understanding of the economic status of Jerusalem and its administrative system during the First Temple period, as well as personal information about the king’s closest officials and administrators who lived and worked in the city,” said Prof. Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the statement.

The excavation took place at the Givati Parking Lot in Jerusalem’s City of David.

Israel continues to reveal fresh details of its incredible history. Archaeologists in the City of David, for example, recently discovered an unusual clay jar fragment depicting a ‘grotesque’ ancient deity for scaring away evil spirits. Experts also recently uncovered the estate of a wealthy ancient Samaritan at Zur Natan in central Israel.

In another project, researchers have been shedding new light on the history of a Biblical site linked to the Ark of the Covenant.

Engravings of ships were also recently found on an ancient water cistern discovered in a city in the Negev desert.

Givati Parking Lot Excavations in the City of David, where the discoveries were made.

Elsewhere, archaeologists confirmed the first full spelling of “Jerusalem” on an ancient stone inscription excavated in the area of Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, known as Binyanei Ha’Uma.

In separate excavations, experts discovered a site that may offer fresh insight into the ancient biblical kingdom of David and Solomon, and a trove of bronze coins, the last remnants of an ancient Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire, near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

In February 2018, archaeologists announced the discovery of a clay seal mark that may bear the signature of the biblical Prophet Isaiah.

The Nathan-Melech/Eved Hamelech seal found in the City of David.

Other recent finds in recent years include the skeleton of a pregnant woman, dating back 3,200 years, in Israel’s Timna Valley, at a place once called King Solomon’s Mines.

At the site of an ancient city on the West Bank, archaeologists are also hunting for evidence of the tabernacle that once housed the Ark of the Covenant.

Some experts also believe they have found the lost Roman city of Julias, formerly the village of Bethsaida, which was the home of Jesus’ apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

We will review archaeological evidence under the following three categories:

• Culture — Beliefs and Practices
• Places — Urban centers and individual buildings
• People — Titles, Names and Relationships

Culture

Here is a selection of finds relating to cultural practices mentioned in the New Testament.

Crucifixion Victim

In 1968 an ancient burial site was uncovered containing about 35 bodies. One named Yohanan Ben Ha’galgol had a 7 inch nail driven through both feet. Yohanan’s legs were crushed by a blow consistent with the common use of Roman ‘crucifragium’ John 19:31-32 . This find proves that a victim of crucifixion (like Jesus) could receive a proper Jewish burial.

Leprosy in the First Century

Some have suggested that there was no ‘leprosy’ (i.e. Mycobacterium Leprae or Hansen’s Disease) in the Middle East in Jesus day:

However, thanks to archaeology there is now dramatic evidence of ifs existence in the early first century. Scientific testing of the burial shroud in the so-called ‘Shroud Tomb ‘ has confirmed [he presence of leprosy… Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radio carbon dating confirmed the first-century date of both shroud and skeletal remains. DNA testing confirmed that the man rapped in the shroud was related to other members whose skeletal remains were recovered in the tomb. This DNA testing also revealed that the man has suffered from leprosy.

First-Century Fishing Boat

In the 1980s, drought exposed a well-preserved first-century fishing boat (measuring 26.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet high) in the mud of the Sea of Galilee:

Under the direction of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, archaeologists began a race against time to carefully extract the boat from the mud before the waters returned… Eventually it was placed in a climate-controlled environment to protect it from aging… Pots and lamps found inside the boat dated it to the first century. Carbon-14 testing further confirmed the dating. The design of the boat was typical of fishing boats used during that period on the Sea of Galilee. In the back of the boat was a raised section like the one where Jesus could have been sleeping, as indicated in the Gospel accounts. The boat could accommodate 15 people including crew. This archaeological discovery confirms the description given in the Bible.

The Politarch Inscription Pompeii Palindromes

Excavated at Pompeii, the Roman city engulfed in liquid mud when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, were two palindromic inscriptions of:

the famous SATOR or ROTAS square, one scratched on the wall of a private house, the other on a pillar in a public exercise yard. This palindrome appears at sites across the Roman Empire in later centuries… All sorts of ingenious explanations have been offered for this remarkable square. On the principle that the simplest explanation is the best; unraveling it as a Christian text gains first place. With the N at the center, the other letters can be re-arranged in a cross shape to read PATERNOSTER [‘Our Father’] horizontally and vertically, with A [alpha] and O (omega) at each end. If this is correct; there were people in Pompeii “who knew at least the first words of the Lord’s prayer in Latin before 79.

The Alexamenos Graffito

This piece of graffiti, from near the Palatine Hill in Rome and rather roughly dated to late in the second-century AD, was apparently drawn by one Roman soldier to mock the faith of a fellow soldier who was a Christian. It shows a man standing by a crucifixion victim with the head of a donkey. The Greek caption reads: “Alexamenos worships [his] God”.

Christian Church at Megiddo, c. 230 AD

John Dickson reports that: “Megiddo is the site of the earliest church building yet found. This strategic trade city contains the remains of a Christian prayer hall dating to the third century. It contains three mosaic inscriptions pointing to its Christian use. “One Greek inscription, which refers to the table in the center of the hall that was probably used for communion, states: “The God-loving Akeplous has offered (he table to the God Jesus Christ”. The fish that adorn the center of one of four mosaics in the hall are a Christian symbol — the word ichthys (Greek for fish): “is an anagram of the words lesous Christos Theou Yios Soter: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour” (for video of this find cf. http://youtu.be/a21cDvAMzQ8).

Places

Here is a selection of finds relating to places mentioned in the New Testament.

Bethlehem

In May 2012 the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a bulla (a small clay seal) that mentions Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (cf. links to a photo  and video of the bulla):

Nazareth

Theologian R.T. France describes Nazareth as:

so insignificant that its name occurs nowhere in Jewish literature until long after the time of Jesus. It was a small village, largely devoted to agriculture, bypassed by the main roads which ran to the near-by Hellenistic city of Sepphoris, The capital of Galilee… it’s population has been estimated at between 500 and 2, 000, and The remains of its buildings show no sign of wealth in the relevant period.

Lee Strobel notes that “Skeptics have been asserting for a long time that Nazareth never existed during the time when the New Testament says Jesus spent his childhood there. However, Paul Barnett reports that “in 1961 a mosaic dated from the third century in which Nazareth appears was unearthed in Caesarea Maritima. Nazareth … is not mentioned in the Old Testament, nor in Josephus ‘s work. Questions as to its genuineness were resolved by this discovery

The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period.

Capernaum

There are sixteen references to Capernaum (Caper = ‘village’ of Nahum), by the Sea of Galilee, in the gospels: R. T. France notes that:

The houses excavated at Capernaum were one-story buildings, with an outside staircase giving access to the flat roof. The roof was not of stone, but of wooden beams or branches thatched with rush and daubed with mud This explains Mark’s description of how four men carried a potential patient onto the roof and, literally, ‘uncovered the roof and dug it out ‘ so as to let the man down in front of Jesus (Mark 2:1-4), and [he size of the rooms in such houses (never more than five meters across, and often much smaller) shows how quite a modest crowd could make this the only means of access.

The Synagogue in Capernaum

Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum according to Mark 1 :21-22 and Luke 4:31-36. Luke 7:1-10 records how Jesus healed the slave of a Roman centurion posted locally.

The Roman Presence in Capernaum

Randall Price notes that “Recently the Roman presence was confirmed through the excavation at Capernaun of a number of Roman-style buildings, including a Roman bathhouse. ” As Ian Wilson reports: “In this regard, archaeologists have found evidence of Roman military presence in Capernaum in the form of a long bathhouse, of positively non-Jewish design, that almost certainly belonged to the garrison commanded by Jesus ‘s centurion.

Peter’s House in Capernaum

It was pointed out to early pilgrims such as Egeria, the mother of emperor Constantine, who recorded c. AD 380 that: “In Capernaum the house of the prince of the apostles has been made into a church with its original walls still standing. It is where the Lord cured the paralytic. ” Peter Walker affirms “graffiti that referred to Jesus as Lord and Messiah .

provides strong evidence that the room was used as a place of Christian worship — almost certainly because it was believed to be the room used by Jesus, perhaps the home of Simon Peter (Luke 4:38) … Given that The early tradition goes back to the first century, this is almost certainly the very place where Jesus stayed— the home of his chief apostle, Peter.

Jerusalem and The Pool of Bethesda

John 5:1-15 describes a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda, surrounded by five covered colonnades. Until the 19^th century, there was no evidence outside of John for the existence of this pool and John’s unusual description “caused bible scholars to doubt the reliability of John ‘s account, but (he pool was duly uncovered in the 1930s — with four colonnades around its edges and one across its middle.  Ian Wilson reports: “Exhaustive excavations by Israeli archaeologist Professor Joachim Jeremias have brought to light precisely such a building, still including two huge, deep-cut cisterns, in the environs of Jerusalem ‘s Crusader Church of St Anne.

Jerusalem and The Pool of Siloam

In the 400s AD, a church was built above a pool attached to Hezekiah’s water tunnel to commemorate the healing of a blind man reported in John 9:1-7. Until recently, this was considered to be the Pool of Siloam from the time of Christ. However, during sewerage works in June 2004 engineers stumbled upon a first century ritual pool when they uncovered some ancient steps during pipe maintenance near the mouth of Hezekiah’s tunnel. By the summer of 2005, archaeologists had revealed what was “without doubt the missing pool of Siloam.  Mark D. Roberts reports that: “In the plaster of this pool were found coins that establish the date of the pool to the years before and after Jesus. There is little question that this is in fact the pool of Siloam, to which Jesus sent the blind man in John 9.

Bethany and The Tomb of Lazarus

Peter Walker writes: “There is no doubting the general location of Bethany. The Arabic village of El-Azarieh preserves in its name the way the Byzantines referred to it — as the ‘Lazarium ‘, that is, ‘the place of Lazarus’. Until recently this was a tiny village… There is a strong likelihood that Lazarus ‘ tomb has been correctly identified and preserved.

People

Here is a selection of finds relating to people mentioned in the New Testament.

Herod the Great

We have a bronze coin minted by Herod the Great. On the obverse side (i.e. the bottom) is a tripod and ceremonial bowl with the inscription ‘Herod king’ and the year the coin was struck,

Erastus, Treasurer of Corinth

John McRay reports that:

Before AD 50, an area 62 feet square was paved with stone at the northeast corner of the theater in Corinth, Greece. Excavations there revealed part of a Latin inscription carved into the pavement which reads, ‘Erastus in return for his aedilship laid [the pavement] at his own expense. ‘ The Erastus of this inscription is identified in the excavation publication as the Eraslus mentioned by Paul in Romans, a letter written from Corinth, in which Erastus is referred to as ‘the city treasurer’ [Romans 16:23/ …

Gallio, Proconsul of Achaea

“This designation in Acts 18:12-17 M’as thought to be impossible. But an inscription at Delphi notes this exact title for the man, and it dates him to the time Paul leas in Corinth

Multiple Historical Figures Named in Luke 3: 1-2

In Luke 3:1-2 we see references to eight historical figures:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — when [2] Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,  Herod tetrarch [a governor of a quarter of a province] of Galilee, his brother

Philip tetrarch of lturea and Traconitis [cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.106-108], and  Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene — during the high priesthood of Annas and  Caiaphas, the word of God came to  John son of Zechariah in the desert. (Luke 3:1-2 [cf Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18:5.2]

The historicity of all eight figures is assured, and archaeological evidence plays its role here, as the following examples demonstrate:

[l] Tiberius Caesar

The Denarius coin, 14-37 AD, is commonly referred to as the ‘Tribute Penny’ from the Bible. The coin shows a portrait of Tiberius Caesar. Craig L. Blomberg comments: “Jesus ‘famous saying about giving to Caesar what was his and to God what his (Mark 12:17 and parallels) makes even more sense when one discovers that most of the Roman coins in use at’ the time had images of Caesar on them.

[2] Pontius Pilate

“In 1961, in Caesarea Maritima, where Pontius Pilate lived, an inscription was found which, among other things, confirms not only the rule of Pilate in Judea but also his preference for the title ‘Prefect’. The inscription isn’t complete anymore, but there ‘s little question about what it once said.  In Latin the inscription reads:

TIBERIEUM

IUS PILATUS

ECTUS IUDA

The original wording was thus:

TIBERIEUM

[PONT]IUS PILATUS

[PRAEF]ECTUS IDUA [EA]

Translated, this reads: “To Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.

[5] Lysanias, Tetrach of Abilene

Scholars used to say that Luke didn’t know what he was talking about, because everybody knew that Lysanias was the ruler of Chalcis, who was killed in 36 BC. But then an inscription was found at Albia near Damascus from the time of Tiberius (AD 14-37) which names Lysanias as Tetrarch just as Luke had written. It turned out there had been two government officials named Lysanias!

• Caiaphas the High Priest

In a tomb located to the south of Jerusalem discovered several ossuaries, one of which contains what many scholars believe to be the bones of the former high priest Caiaphas and his family. On the side and back of the ossuary is the inscription: “Yosefbar [son of] Caifa

• John the Baptist

On July 28th 2010 a team of Bulgarian archaeologists excavated a small alabaster box containing several pieces of bone from under the altar of the fourth century AD St. Ivan the Forerunner Church on Sveti Ivan, a Black Sea island off Sozopol on the Bulgarian coast: “We knew we would find a reliquary there and our expectations came true “, lead archaeologist Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov wrote in an e-mail to CNN: seems rather logical to suggest the founders of the monastery did their best to bring relics of its patron saint. That saint was John the Baptist, after whom the Island of Svetti Ivan (St, John) and St, Ivan (John) the Forerunner Church were named.

Alexander of Cyrene

When Jesus was on the way to be crucified, the Roman soldiers forced a man called Simon from Cyrene to carry his cross-beam (cf. Matthew 27:32• Luke 23:26). Simon had sons called Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13). In 1941, Israeli archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik discovered a tomb in the Kidron valley in eastern Jerusalem. the chance that the Simon on the ossuary refers to the Simon of Cyrene mentioned in the Gospels seems very likely.

The Barsabbas Family

Modem archaeological findings cast light upon these references to Joseph and Judas Barsabbas. As reported by Jerusalem Christian Review (December 2000 online edition), Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a 1st century tomb in the mountainside off the Kidron Valley, containing ossuaries bearing signs of the cross. The inscriptions identify the cave as the tomb of the Barsabbas family. Historian Ory N. Mazar states that “at least some members of this family were among the very first disciples of Christ. ” The ossuaries included:

• Simon Bar-Saba, the Hebrew version of ‘Simon Barsabbas’
• Mary, daughter of Simon maybe one of the several Marys in the NT (eg. Matthew 28: 1 )
• Joseph Barsabbas
• The other candidate from Acts, Matthias, may have belonged to the same family, as one of the other coffins in the same cave carries the name M’T’I’, Hebrew for ‘Matthias’ • Another Son of Saba was Judah (the Hebrew form of the Greek Judas) Barsabbas

Professor Mazar comments:

the impact of these fascinating discoveries is multiplied when we consider the additional evidence found in the tomb such as coins and artifacts, that clearly show the tomb was hermetically sealed less than a decade after the crucifixion of Christ. This is years before any part of the New Testament was written, proving that the Scriptures are consistent with the archaeological evidence.

The Tomb of St. Phillip the Apostle

A July 29th 2011 Biblical Archaeological Society Press Release announced that: “During the course of excavating a Byzantine-era church in the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis (in modern southwest Turkey), Professor Francesco D ‘Andria and his archaeological team have discovered the tomb of St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles

The ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus’ Ossuary

James, the brother of Jesus, was martyred in AD 62. A mid-1st century AD chalk ossuary discovered in 2002 bears the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” ( ‘Ya’akov bar Yosefakhui di Yeshua’).

The Empty Shroud

The intensively studied ‘Shroud of Turin’ — which bears a superficial, photographically negative image of a flogged and crucified man (an image that also contains three dimensional information) — was formerly dismissed by many on the basis of 1988 carbon dating tests giving the Shroud a medieval date. However, recent peer-reviewed scientific findings show that this carbon dating is unreliable because the dated samples were taken from a medieval patch, On the other hand, a mass of historical and forensic evidence points towards an earlier and even first-century date for the Shroud

A statistical comparison between data from the Shroud and the New Testament’s description of various irregular details of Jesus’ punishment establishes that if the Shroud is a genuine 1 ^st century artifact then it probably was Jesus’ actual burial cloth.

Conclusion

Archaeology adds to the cumulative case for the historical reliability of the New Testament by empirically verifying references to specific cultural practices, beliefs, places and people. As Paul

Barnett concludes:

archaeology neither proves nor disproves the New Testament. It does, however, endorse the narratives at many points, especially in the case of inscriptions, which by their nature are specific. Here we meet characters secondary to the main story — the Herods, [he high priest and several Roman governors. Moreover, through archaeology we are able to fill in background details that enhance the narratives in both the Gospels and in the book of Acts. Archaeological findings have confirmed that [he texts of the New Testament are from first to last historical and geographical in character.

A few “old testament” evidences

Archaeological finds that contradict the contentions of biblical minimalists and other revisionists have been listed above. There are many more, however, that corroborate biblical evidence, and the following list provides only the most significant discoveries:

A Common Flood Story. Not just the Hebrews (Gen. 6—8), but Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Greeks all report a flood in primordial times. A Sumerian king list from c. 2100 BC divides itself into two categories: those kings who ruled before a great flood and those who ruled after it. One of the earliest examples of Sumero-Akkadian-Babylonian literature, the Gilgamesh Epic, describes a great flood sent as punishment by the gods, with humanity saved only when the pious Utnapishtim (AKA, “the Mesopotamian Noah”) builds a ship and saves the animal world thereon. A later Greek counterpart, the story of Deucalion and Phyrra, tells of a couple who survived a great flood sent by an angry Zeus. Taking refuge atop Mount Parnassus (AKA, “the Greek Ararat’), they supposedly repopulated the earth by heaving stones behind them that sprang into human beings.

The Code of Hammurabi. This seven-foot black diorite stele, discovered at Susa and presently located in the Louvre museum, contains 282 engraved laws of Babylonian King Hammurabi (fl. 1750 BC). The common basis for this law code is the lex talionis (“the law of the tooth”), showing that there was a common Semitic law of retribution in the ancient Near East, which is clearly reflected in the Pentateuch. Exodus 21 for example, reads: “But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot…” (niv).

The Nuzi Tablets. The some 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets discovered at the ruins of Nuzi, east of the Tigris River and date-able to c. 1500 BC, reveal institutions, practices, and customs remarkably congruent to those found in Genesis. These tablets include treaties, marriage arrangements, rules regarding inheritance, adoption, and the like.

The Existence of Hittites. Genesis 23 reports that Abraham buried Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, which he purchased from Ephron the Hittite. Second Samuel 1 1 tells of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. A century ago the Hittites were unknown outside of the Old Testament, and critics claimed that they were a figment of biblical imagination. In 1906, however, archaeologists digging east of Ankara, Turkey, discovered the ruins of Hattusas, the ancient Hittite capital at what is today called Boghazkoy, as well as its vast collection of Hittite historical records, which showed an empire flourishing in the mid-second millennium BC. This critical challenge, among many others, was immediately proved worthless — a pattern that would often be repeated in the decades to come.

The Merneptah Stele. A seven-foot slab engraved with hieroglyphics, also called the Israel Stele, boasts of the Egyptian pharaoh’s conquest of Libyans and peoples in Palestine, including the Israelite’s: “Israel — his seed is not.” This is the earliest reference to Israel in non biblical sources and demonstrates that, as of c. 1230 BC, the Hebrews were already living in the Promised Land.

Biblical Cities Attested Archaeologically. In addition to Jericho, places such as Haran, Hazor, Dan, Megiddo, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Gezer, Gibeah, Beth Shemesh, Beth Shean, Beersheba, Lachish, and many other urban sites have been excavated, quite apart from such larger and obvious locations as Jerusalem or Babylon. Such geographical markers are extremely significant in demonstrating that fact, not fantasy, is intended in the Old Testament historical narratives; otherwise, the specificity regarding these urban sites would have been replaced by “Once upon a time” narratives with only hazy geographical parameters, if any.

Israel’s enemies in the Hebrew Bible likewise are not contrived but solidly historical. Among the most dangerous of these were the Philistines, the people after whom Palestine itself would be named. Their earliest depiction is on the Temple of Rameses Ill at Thebes, c. 1150 BC, as “peoples of the sea” who invaded the Delta area and later the coastal plain of Canaan. The Pentapolis (five cities) they established — namely Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gaza, Gath, and Ekron — have all been excavated, at least in part, and some remain cities to this day. Such precise urban evidence measures favorably when compared with the geographical sites claimed in the holy books of other religious systems, which often have no basis whatever in reality.

Shishak’s Invasion of Judah. First Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 12 tell of Pharaoh Shishak’s conquest of Judah in the fifth year of the reign of King Rehoboam, the brainless son of Solomon, and how Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem was robbed of its treasures on that occasion. This victory is also commemorated in hieroglyphic wall carvings on the Temple of Amon at Thebes.

The Moabite Stone. Second Kings 3 reports that Mesha, the king of Moab, rebelled against the king of Israel following the death of Ahab. A three-foot stone slab, also called the Mesha Stele, confirms the revolt by claiming triumph over Ahab’s family, c. 850 BC, and that Israel had “perished forever.” Obelisk of Shalmaneser Ill. In 2 Kings 9—10, Jehu is mentioned as King of Israel (841—814 BC). That the growing power of Assyria was already encroaching on the northern kings prior to their ultimate conquest in 722 BC is demonstrated by a six-and-a-half-foot black obelisk discovered in the ruins of the palace at Nimrud in 1846. On it, Jehu is shown kneeling before Shalmaneser Il! and offering tribute to the Assyrian king, the only relief we have to date of a Hebrew monarch. Burial Plaque of King Uzziah. Down in Judah, King Uzziah ruled from 792 to 740 BC, a contemporary of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. Like Solomon, he began well and ended badly. In 2

Chronicles 26 his sin is recorded, which resulted in his being struck with leprosy later in life. When Uzziah died, he was interred in a “field of burial that belonged to the kings.” His stone burial plaque has been discovered on the Mount of Olives, and it reads: “Here, the bones of Uzziah, King of Judah, were brought. Do not open.”

Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. King Hezekiah of Judah ruled from 721 to 686 BC. Fearing a siege by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, Hezekiah preserved Jerusalem’s water supply by cutting a tunnel through 1,750 feet of solid rock from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls (2 Kings 20; 2 Chron. 32). At the Siloam end of the tunnel, an inscription, presently in the archaeological museum at Istanbul, Turkey, celebrates this remarkable accomplishment. The tunnel is probably the only biblical site that has not changed its appearance in 2,700 years.

The Sennacherib Prism. After having conquered the 10 northern tribes of Israel, the Assyrians moved southward to do the same to Judah (2 Kings 18—19). The prophet Isaiah, however, told

Hezekiah that God would protect Judah and Jerusalem against Sennacherib (2 Chron. 32; Isa. 36— 37). Assyrian records virtually confirm this. The cuneiform on a hexagonal, 1 5-inch baked clay prism found at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh describes Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 BC in which it claims that the Assyrian king shut Hezekiah inside Jerusalem “like a caged bird.” Like the biblical record, however, it does not state that he conquered Jerusalem, which the prism certainly would have done had this been the case. The Assyrians, in fact, bypassed Jerusalem on their way to Egypt, and the city would not fall until the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo-Babylonians in 586 BC. Sennacherib himself returned to Nineveh where his own sons murdered him.

New International Version Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture (Zondervan, 2005)

Paul Barnett, ts The New Testament Reliable?, second edition (IVP, 2003)

Craig A. Evans, Jesus and His World; The Archaeological Evidence (London: SPCK, 2012)

Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament; The Life ofJesus and the Beginning of the Early Church, revised edition (Princeton University Press, 1992)

Gary R. Habermas, The Secret of the Ta[piot Tomb: Unravel!ing the Mystery of the Jesus Family Tomb (Holman Reference, 2007)

John C. lannone, The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence (St Pauts, 1998)

John McRay, Archaeology & the New Testament (Baker Academic, 1991)

John McRay, ‘Archaeologica: Evidence for the New Testament* in John Ashton & Michael Westacott (eds.), The Big Argument: Does God Exist? (Master Books, 2006)

Alan Millard, Discoveries From The Time Of Jesus (Lion, 1990)

Randall price, The Stones Cry Out: What Archaeology Reveals About the Truth of the Bible (Harvest House, 1997)

Charles L Quarles,-Buried Hope or Risen Savior? The Search for the Jesus Tomb (B&h Academic, 2008)

Hershel Shanks & Ben Witherington, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family (Continuum, 2003)

Jeffery Sheler, Is The Bible True? How Modern Debates & Discoveries Affirm The Essence Of The Scriptures (HarperCollins, 2000)

Kenneth E. Stevenson, Image of the Risen Christ: Remarkable New Evidence About The Shroud (Frontier Research, 1999)

Carsten Peter Thiede, The Emmaus Mystery (Continuum, 2005)

Peter Walker, The Weekend that Changed the World: The Mystery of Jerusalem’s Empty Tomb (Marsha!! Pickering, 1_999)

Peter Walker, In The Footsteps of Jesus: An Illustrated Guide to the Places of the Holy Land (Lion, 2009)

Referring to the Tulmud in which every mention of Christ is in a negative sense is use simply to verify that Jesus Christ was a real person, and that He was crucified, being considered a false teacher, and a worker of magic tricks (miract^r—^d •

Specific references

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of a sorcerer named Jesus (Yeshu in Hebrew) and his five disciples. The sorcerer is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover.

Sanhedrin 107 tells of a Jesus (“Yeshu”) “offended his teacher by paying too much attention to the innkeeper’s wife. Jesus wished to be forgiven, but [his rabbi] was too slow to forgive him, and Jesus in despair went away and put up a brick (idol] and worshipped it.”

In Gittin 56b, 57a a story is mentioned in which Onkelos summons up the spirit of a Yeshu who sought to harm Israel. He describes his punishment in the afterEife as boiling in excrement.

Some scholars claim that the Hebrew name Yeshu is not a short form of the name Yeshua, but rather an acrostic for the Hebrew phrase “may his name and memory be blotted out” created by taking the first letter of the Hebrew words.

In addition, at the 1240 Disputation of Paris, Donin presented the allegation that the Talmud was blasphemous towards Mary, the mother of Jesus (Miriam in Hebrew), and this criticism has been repeated by many Christian sources. The texts cited by critics include Sanhedrin 67a, Sanhedrin 106a, and Shabbath 104b. However, the references to Mary are not specific, and some assert that they do not refer to Jesus’ mother, or perhaps refer to Mary Magdalen.Scholars have identified the following references in the Talmud that some conclude refer to Jesus:

1. Jesus as a sorcerer with disciples (b Sanh 43a-b)
2. Healing in the name of Jesus (Hui 2:22f; AZ 2:22/12; y Shab 124:4/13; QohR 1:8; b AZ 27b)
3. As a Torah teacher (b AZ 17a; Hul 2:24; QohR 1:8)
4. As a son or disciple that turned out badly (Sanh 103a/b; Ber 17b)
5. As a frivolous disciple who practiced magic and turned to idolatry (Sanh 107b; Sot 47a)
6. Jesus’ punishment in afterlife (b Git 56b, 57a)
7. Jesus’ execution (b Sanh 43a-b)
8. Jesus as the son of Mary (Shab 104b, Sanh 67a)
9. As a sorcerer with disciples

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of Jesus and his five disciples. Here, Jesus is a sorcerer who has enticed other Jews to apostasy.

Healing in the name of Jesus

1. Scholars have identified passages in the Talmud and associated Talmudic texts that involve invoking Jesus^r name, as the messiah of Christianity, in order to perform magical healing:
2. Tosefta Hullin 2:22f— “Jacob … came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera ^ll section exists in variant spellings of Jesus: mi-shem Yeshu ben Pantera (principal edition), mishem Yeshu ben Pandera (London MS), mi-shem Yeshua ben Pantera (Vienna

Abodah Zarah 2:2/12 — “Jacob … came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MS: Venice)

3. Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 — “Jacob … came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him” (Editions or MS: Venice)
4. Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) — “Jacob came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ^l‘

(Editions or MSS: Vatican 291, Oxford 164, Pesaro 1519)

5. Babylonian Abodah Zarah 27b — “Jacob … came to heal him” (Editions or MSS: New York 15, Pearo, Vilna)
6. Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7 — “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MS: Venice)
7. Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8 — “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘l (Editions or MS: Venice)

Torah teacher

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in the context of a Torah teacher:

1. Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a — “One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me” (Editions or Mss: Munich 95, Paris 1377, New York 15)
2. Tosefta Hullin 2:24— ^lt He told me of a word of heresy in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri”
3. Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) — “He told me a word in the name of Jesus son of Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Oxford 164, Vatican 291, Pesaro 1519)
4. Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a — “Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Munich 95, Paris 1337)

The son or disciple who turned out badly

Sanhedrin 103a and Berachot 17b talk about a Yeshu ha-Nosri (Jesus of Nazareth) who “burns his food in public”, possibly a reference to pagan sacrifices or a metaphor for apostasy. The passages identified by scholars in this context are:

1. Babylonian Sanhedrin 103a — “that you will not have a son or disciple … like Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Firenze 11.1.8—9, Barco, Munich 95)
2. Babylonian Berakoth 17b — “that we will not have a son or disciple … like Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MS: Oxford 23)

As a sinful student who practiced magic and turned to idolatry

Passages in Sanhedrin 107b and Sotah 47a refer to an individual (Yeshu) that some scholars conclude is a reference to Jesus, regarded as the messiah of ChristianitySome passages that have been identified by scholars as mentioning Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in this context incJude:

1. Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b — “not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away” (Editions or MSS: Barco, Vilna)
2. Babylonian Sotah 47a — “not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away” (Editions or MSS: Vatican 110, Vilna, Munich 95)
3. Babyonian Sanhedrin 107b — ^ltJesus said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1)
4. Babylonian Sotah 47a — “Jesus the Nazarene said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow” (Editions or MS: Oxford 20)
5. Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b — “The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic (Editions or MSS: Firenze 11.18—9, Barco )
6. Babylonian Sotah 47a — “The master said: Jesus the Nazarene because he practiced magic” (Editions or MS: Munich 95)

Punishment in the afterlife

In Gittin 56b-57a a story is recorded in which Onkefos, a nephew of the Roman emperor Titus who destroyed the Second Temple, intent on converting to Judaism, summons up the spirits of Yeshu and others to help make up his mind. Each describes his punishment in the afterlife.

— Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 56b-57a

Execution

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus in the context of his execution:

1. Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b -“on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2)
2. Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — “Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned” (Editions or MSs: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
3. Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — “Do you suppose Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made?” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
4. Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b — ‘tWith Jesus the Nazarene it was different” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Firenze 11.1.8—9, Karlsruhe 2)
5. In the Florence manuscript of the Talmud (1177 CE) an addition is made to Sanhedrin 438 saying that Yeshu was hanged on the eve of the Sabbath.

Mother and father

Tombstone of Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, a soldier who has been claimed to be the “Pantera” named by Talmud.

Some Talmudic sources include passages which identify a “son of Pandera ^ll (ben Pandera in Hebrew), and some scholars conclude that these are references to the messiah of Christianity.

The Talmud, and other talmudic texts, contain several references to the “son of Pandera ^ll . A few of the references explicitly name Jesus (“Yeshu”) as the “son of Pandera^lt : these explicit connections are found in the Tosefta, the Qohelet Rabbah, and the Jerusalem Talmud, but not in the Babylonian Talmud. The explicit connections found in the Jerusalem Talmud are debated because the name “Jesus” (“Yeshu ^tl ) is found only in a marginal gloss in some manuscripts, but other scholars conclude that it was in the original versions of the Jerusalem Talmud.

The texts include several spellings for the father’s name (Pandera, Panthera, Pandira, Pantirj, or Pantera) and some scholars conclude that these are all references to the same individual, [95] but other scholars suggest that they may be unrelated references.[96] [n some of the texts, the father produced a son with a woman named Mary. Several of the texts indicate that the mother was not married to Pandera, and was committing adultery and — by implication —Jesus was a bastard child. Some of the texts indicate that Mary^ls husband’s name was Stada.

Some Talmudic sources include passages which identify a ‘Ison of Stada” or “son of Stara” (ben Stada or ben Stara in Hebrew), and some scholars conclude that these are references to the messiah of Christianity.

Son of Pantera / Pandera in a healing context

Two talmudic-era texts that explicitly associate Jesus as the son of Pantera/Pandera are:

1. Tosefta Hullin 2:22f “Jacob … came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera ^ll
2. Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) “Jacob … came to heat him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ^tl

Both of the above passages describe situations where Jesus’ name is invoked to perform magical healing. In addition, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud explicitly identify Jesus as the son of Pandera:

1. Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7 “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Panderal’
2. Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8 “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera”
3. Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/12 “Jacob … came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘t
4. Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 “Jacob … came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him”

However, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud do not contain the name Jesus in these passages, so the association in this case is disputed, The parallel passages in the Babylonian Talmud do not contain the name Jesus.

Son of Pantiri / Pandera in a teaching context

Other Talmudic narratives describe Jesus as the son of a Pantiri or Pandera, in a teaching context:

1. Tosefta Huffin 2:24 “He told me of a word of heresy in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri ^ll
2. Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) “He told me a word in the name of Jesus son of Pandera ‘t

However, the parallel accounts in the Babylonian Talmud mention Jesus but do not mention the father’s name:

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a “One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me ^t‘

Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a “Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene”

Pandera and alleged adultery by Mary

The Babylonian talmud contains narratives that discuss an anonymous person who brought witchcraft out of Egypt, and the person is identified as “son of Pandera” or “son of Stada”. The Talmud discusses whether the individual (the name Jesus is not present in these passages) is the son of Stada, or Pandera, and a suggestion is made that the mother Mary committed adultery.

1. Babylonian Shabbat 104b “Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera? ‘t (Editions or MSs: Oxford 23, Soncino)
2. Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera?” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2, … )
3. Babylonian Shabbat 104b “husband Stada, lover Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Vatican 108, Munich 95, Vilna )
4. Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “husband Stara, lover Pandera” (Editions or MSS: Herzog 1, Barco)
5. Babylonian Shabbat 104b “husband Pappos, mother Stada ^il (Editions or MSS: Vilna, Munich 95 )
6. Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “husband Pappos, mother Stada ‘l (Editions or MSS: Vilna, Munich 95)
7. Babylonian Shabbat 104b “his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women’s hair^l‘ (Editions or MSS: Vilna, Oxford 23, Soncino)
8. Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a “his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women’s hair” (Editions or MSs: Karlsruhe 2, Munich 95)

Mary as the mother

There is no Talmudic text that directly associates Jesus with Mary (Miriam), instead the association is indirect: Jesus is associated with a father (“son of Pandera”), and in other passages, Pandera is associated with Mary (as her lover).

Christians

Typically both Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds use the generic minim for heretics. Aside from mentions of the five disciples of “Yeshu ha Notzri,” the plural Notzrim, “Christians,” are only clearly mentioned once in the Babylonian Talmud, (where it is amended to Netzarim, people of the watch) in B.Ta ^fanit 27b with a late parallel in Masekhet Soferim 17:4. And then “The day of the Notzri according to Rabbi Ishmael is forbidden for ever” in some texts of B.Avodah Zarah 6a.

Relation to the Toledot Yeshu

The Toledot Yeshu (History of Jesus) is a Jewish anti-Christian polemic that purports to be a biography of Jesus. Some scholars conclude that the Toledot Yeshu is an expansion and elaboration on anti-Christian themes in the Talmud. Stephen Gero suggests that an early version of the To!edot Yeshu narrative preceded the Talmud, and that the Talmud drew upon the Toledot Yeshu, but Rubenstein and Schäfer discount that possibility, because they date the origin of the Toiedot Yeshu in the early Middle Ages or Late Antiquity.

Related narrative from Celsus[edit]

The Platonistjc philosopher Celsus, writing circa 150 to 200 CE, wrote a narrative describing a Jew who discounts the story of the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Scholars have remarked on the parallels (adultery, father’s name “Panthera”, return from Egypt, magical powers) between Celsus ^l account and the Talmudic narratives. In Celsus! account, the Jew says:

. .[Jesus] came from a Jewish village and from a poor country woman who earned her living by spinning. He says that she was driven out by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, as she was convicted of adultery. Then he says that after she had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus. He states that because he [Jesus] was poor he hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit, because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God . . . the mother of Jesus is described as having been turned out by the carpenter who was betrothed to her, as she had been convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Panthera.^ll

The Bible

As we begin our apologetic tour through the bible beginning in Genesis it occurred to me maybe we should first defend the legitimacy of the scripture and describe what it is first.

THEORIES OF CRITICAL SCHOLARS ABOUT BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

1. Claim: Deliberate Deception: The Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the apostles deliberately lied when they claimed their messages were from GOD.
   1. Comment: Imposters and liars are not willing to die for their faith
2. Claim: Self-Deluded Sincerity: These men sincerely believed their message was from GOD, but were self-deluded.
   1. Comment: Self-deluded men are unable to predict accurately future history 100’s of years before it occurs.
3. Claim: Evolution of Thought: The Bible records man’s continued development of thought from each preceding generation rather than God’s gradual revelation to man.
   1. Comment: Paul claimed that his knowledge of Christ did not come from any man, but by a direct revelation of Christ himself (Galatians 1:12).
4. Claim: Existential Inspiration: The Bible is a record of differing experiences of men of GOD who interpreted their experiences and God’s will in different ways.
   1. Comment: The Bible teaches that GOD had different laws and covenants with man throughout past ages Jeremiah 31:31 predicted a new and better covenant, which Jesus, the Messiah fulfilled with His New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-12). Jude 3 says this covenant represents not different faiths, but “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
5. Claim: Genius Inspiration: Like Shakespeare, talented men wrote the Bible.
   1. Comment: Uneducated shepherds, Galileans and fishermen joined their books with educated men like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul.
6. Claim: Gradual Illumination: The Bible represents the gradual illumination of truth that occurs in the lives of all religious people.
   1. Comment: Since the first century A.D. no Jew or Christian has written or received any illumination that is superior to the teaching found in the Bible.
7. Claim: Partial Inspiration: The Penmen of the Bible were sometimes inspired with Divine ideas and at other times wrote errors that were not inspired by God. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:10, “not I, but the Lord” and in 7:12, “I, not the Lord” are cited in favor of the theory of Partial Inspiration.
   1. Comment: Jesus said in John 16:12-13 that He taught only part of His will to the apostles during His earthly ministry and the Holy Spirit would reveal additional teachings and guide them into “all the truth.”
   2. Comment: Paul’s statement, Not I, but the Lord,” refers to what Jesus taught on earth (1 Corinthians 7:10-11) and his statement, “I, not the Lord,” refers to additional revelation of the Holy Spirit which Jesus did not teach on earth.
   3. Comment: Paul said all he taught was from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14) and all his commands were “the Lord’s commands” (1 Corinthians 14:17).
8. Claim: Embellished Truth: The core of history was embellished by alleged miracles, which are really myths.
   1. Comment: These scholars are evolutionists and do not believe in the miracle of creation or in any other miracle and consider all the Bible’s miracles as myth.
9. Claim: Thought Inspiration, But Not Verbal Inspiration: GOD inspired the thoughts, but the writers often made errors in attempting to express these thoughts into words.
   1. Comment: These scholars are honest enough to admit that the Bible does contain remarkable ideas and predictions that could only come from God.
   2. Comment: 1 Corinthians 2:13 says; Paul’s words, not just his thoughts, were inspired.
10. Claim: Dictation Inspiration: Some ultra-conservative scholars believe that every single word was dictated by the Holy Spirit into the mind of the prophets as they wrote.
    1. Comment: At times revelation and inspiration occurred simultaneously in the form of dictation, as Jesus said in Matthew 10: 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
    2. Comment: In most cases GOD allows the author to do his own research, as Luke did (Luke 1: 1-4), and to express the ideas in his own unique style (Dr. Luke used the language of a physician), but guided the writing to guarantee its truth (John 16:13).
11. Claim: Plenary Inspiration: Plenary means “complete.” Conservative Bible scholars believed the Bible is completely inspired without errors.
    1. Comment: The rest of the lesson is devoted to what the Bible actually says about its own inspiration as being indeed complete, adequate and without error.

 THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN REVELATION AND INSPIRATION

Different Word Meanings

Revelation means “uncovering” or “revelation” in both Hebrew (galah) and Greek (apocalupsis).

Inspiration of GOD means: breathed into by GOD in both Hebrew (ruwach Shaddai) and Greek (theopneustos).

Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD GOD formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

GOD breathed into Scripture and it became the living word of GOD Hebrews 4:12 “The word of GOD is living and active.”

Examples of Revelation

Visions and Dreams: Numbers 12:6 he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.

Face to Face speaking. numbers 12:7-8 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Taught directly by Christ: Galatians 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Angels: Revelation 1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

How Inspiration Relates to Revelation

When Moses wrote down the revelation GOD spoke, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember and write accurately what GOD had said. Thus, Exodus 24:4 says, “Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.”

Jesus promised in John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

When Paul preached or wrote, the Holy Spirit inspired him to remember precisely what Jesus directly revealed to him, 1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

When John wrote his gospel, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what he had heard Jesus say and what he had seen Jesus do, just as Jesus promised (14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.)

When John wrote the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit reminded John of what the angel had said and shown to him (The revelation from Jesus Christ, which GOD gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,)

GOD INSPIRES ALL SCRIPTURE, NOT PART OF THEM

All Scripture is “GOD -breathed…is Inspired by GOD.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is GOD -breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All Scripture Includes Old Testament Scripture. When Paul said, all Scripture is inspired, he specifically noted the Old Testament Scriptures.

All Scripture Includes the New Testament Scripture

Paul believed New Testament writing also is inspired Scripture, because Paul quoted Luke 10:7 as “Scripture” in 1 Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” The first verse is from Deuteronomy 25:4 and the 2nd verse contain the exact Greek words of Luke 10:7. Thus, Paul called both the Old Testament and the New Testament “Scripture.”

GOD -breathed Scripture Includes Both Old and New Testament Writings.

THE INSPIRED BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE GOD’S WORDS, NOT MAN’S

The Old Testament Claims 3,800 Times to Be God’s Word

David in 2 Samuel 23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

“This is what the Lord says” (Isiah 66:1).

“The word of the Lord came to me saying” (Jeremiah 1:4).

Ezekiel 1:1 “I saw visions of GOD,” 2:1 and 3:1 “And He said to me”

“There is a GOD in heaven who reveals mysteries (Daniel 2:28).

New Testament Scripture Claims to Be God’s Word

Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. John 7:16

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:24

If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 1 Corinthians 14:37

And we also thank GOD continually because, when you received the word of GOD, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of GOD, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of GOD. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 peter 1:23-25

Peter quotes Isaiah 40: 6-8 as God’s word and then claims that his own writing is the same Word of GOD that Isiah taught.

In 2 Peter 1: 20-21, Peter denied that Scripture is of Human Origin.

THE BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE UNERRING TRUTH (without errors)

The Bible claims to Speak Only the Truth

GOD is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19

Yet you are near, LORD, and all your commands are true. Psalm 119:151

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Jesus Claimed All Old Testament History to Be True (Matthew 23:35) that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Abel is in Genesis, the first Old Testament book and Zechariah is in 2 Chronicles, the last Old Testament book in the Hebrew Bible.

Jesus Claimed the Old Testament Predictions as God’s Inspired Word.

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45

Jesus Claimed Old Testament Miracles Were God’s Inspired Truth.

1. Creation of the universe (Mark 10:29; 13:19).
2. Creation of all living creatures (Matthew 10:29-30)
3. Creation of man (male and female) in His own image (Matthew 19: 4-6)
4. The Flood, Noah, and the Ark (Matthew 24: 37-39; Luke 17:26-27).
5. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning Sulphur (Luke 17: 28-30).
6. Lot’s wife turning to salt (Luke 17:32).
7. GOD speaking to Moses out of the burning bush (Luke 20:37).
8. God’s provision of manna from heaven (John 6:49-51).
9. Elijah’s miraculous support of the widow in Zarephath (Luke 4:24-26)
10. Elisha’s miraculous cleansing of the leprosy of Naaman (Luke 4:27).
11. Jonah’s deliverance from the belly of the big fish (Matthew 12:40).
12. Jesus Said, “Scripture Cannot Be Broken” (John 10: 34-35).

THE BIBLE CLAIMS COMPLETE AND ALL SUFFICIENT TRUTH

The Bible Claims to Reveal ALL the Truth That GOD Wants Man to Have

Old Testament Covenant

1. “The secret things belong to the Lord our GOD, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29
2. and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32: 46-47
3. Isaiah predicted a coming King who would make a new covenant with a people of GOD who would include the Gentiles (non-Jewish nations). Luke 4:18 Jesus quotes Isaiah 42 and refers this promise to Himself (Isaiah 42: 1-7).
4. Jeremiah predicted that GOD would one day make a new covenant with His people, that would be different than Moses’ Law (Jeremiah 31:31).
5. The Hebrew writer explains that this covenant is the New Testament of Jesus.

New Testament Covenant

1. Jesus Christ charged His apostles to teach all of His truth to the whole world (Matthew 28: 18-20).
2. Jesus has all authority as Lord and King.
3. God’s people are to include all nations.
4. The apostles were to teach “everything” Christ commanded.
5. The Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all He taught (John 14:26)
6. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:12-13
7. Toward the end of Paul’s life, he told the Ephesian elders, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of GOD. Acts 20:26-27
8. as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 2 Peter 1:3
9. Jude 3 urges Christians to contend for “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints”
10. All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of GOD may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17
11. There is not truth GOD wants us to teach or believe that is not revealed in Scripture.
12. There is no work or act of worship that GOD commands us to perform that is not recorded and authorized in Scripture.
13. Through the knowledge of Scripture, the man of GOD can be completely adequate to serve, obey, and please GOD.

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE INALTERABLE TRUTH (cannot be changed)

1. Old Testament Commands Could Not Be Deleted or Changed
2. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your GOD which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2
3. Jesus condemned the Jews who followed religious tradition rather than God’s word in the Old Testament, He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of GOD because of your tradition? Matthew 15:3
4. Jesus considered religious tradition as a dangerous addition to God’s word.

The New Testament Covenant: Complete and Adequate

1. Paul said that he was a minister of the New Testament, not the old Testament (2 Corinthians 3:6-18)
2. Paul said that Christian Jews die to the Old Law when they are baptized into Christ and come under the Covenant of Christ (Romans 7:1-6).
3. Paul prohibited Christians from practicing or teaching anything that went beyond the teaching of the Scriptures: Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 1 Corinthians 4:6
4. In the context, the Corinthians were calling themselves by the names of men, not by the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 1-4)
5. Paul had taught that Christians should do everything in the name of Christ, not the name of man (Colossians 3:17).
6. Paul commanded them not to go beyond Scripture by exalting men in the place of Christ.
7. Thus, Paul prohibited the church from appointing any man in the place of Jesus Christ.
8. Paul condemned any modification of the gospel of Christ: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1: 8-9).
9. Paul the apostle did not have the right to change the gospel.
10. An angel does not have the right to change the gospel. Neither does the Pope!
11. Man, cannot change the gospel without incurring the condemnation of eternal damnation.
12. The last book of the New Testament gives a solemn warning not to add or take away from Scripture (Revelation 22: 18-19)

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE COMPLETELY PRESERVED TRUTH

1. The Old Testament is Preserved. Jesus taught that every word and letter of the Old Testament would be preserved until every prophecy is fulfilled (Matthew 5: 17-20).
2. The Bible Endures. Isaiah 40: 6-8 said that God’s word (Old Testament) endures forever.
3. Jesus said, “My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
4. Peter said the Word of GOD he taught would “endure forever” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE PRECIOUS AND PRACTICAL TRUTH

1. What Men of God Think about this Book
2. Book of Wisdom (Deuteronomy 4:6; Ephesians 3: 3-5).
3. Book of Life (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
4. Book of eternity (John 6:68; Ephesians 3:9-11).
5. Book of Love (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:9).
6. Book of light (Proverbs 6:23; John 8:12; Psalms 119:1-5).
7. Book of strength and power (Psalms 119:50; Acts 20:32).
8. Book of Hope (Romans 15:4; Psalms 119:81).
9. Book of God’s word and God’s truth (Psalms 119:142; 160; John 8:32).
10. Above all, it is a book of God’s Son and God’s people (John 20:30-31).
11. What Modern Man’s Attitude Should Be Toward this Book.
12. Study it and mediate on it as God’s Word (Psalm 1:2).
13. Believe it as God’s Word (Mark 16: 15-16).
14. Obey it is as God’s Word (Acts 2:36-39).
15. Share it as God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
16. Defend it as God’s Word (1 Peter 3:15).

SUMMARY: The Bible clearly claims to be God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word. Since Jesus and the apostles believed the Bible is God’s Inspired and Inerrant Word, how can any true Christian believe less? Do we know more than Jesus?

The Bible is a Historical Book

1. Christianity comes from historical eyewitness testimony. We know that things happened in the past because it is recorded in reliable historical documents.
2. If the New Testament is a reliable historical document:
3. Then there was a Nazarene named Jesus and He claimed to be the Son of God
4.  Then when it says Jesus walked on water, He did!
5. When it says that He fed 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread, He did!
6. When it says that He raised the dead and was raised from the dead, He did and He was!

NOTE: there are records from the past, which we have every reason to believe, are true since both archaeology and contemporary documents from the same time zone have confirmed their general reliability. Whether we believe the Bible is the word of God or not, one thing is for sure. If is is a history book, then these things are true.

An Example of Historical Context, Luke 1: 1 – 4

1. Written to Theophilus an official in the imperial network of the Roman empire. “Most excellent Theophilus.”
2. Three times in the book of Acts (also written by Luke) the phrase “most excellent” is used of Roman governors.
3. This man had access to the police files.
4. He had access to records.
5. He would be able to check things out to know whether or not they were so.
6. He had been instructed in the way of Christ. Luke opens his account to Theophilus by assuring him that the material he was about to read had been carefully researched, secured from eyewitnesses, that the material was accurate, and that the events were to be presented “in order” of their occurrence. Then he states the reason for such precision of research and accuracy of writing: “that thou mightiest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed” (Luke 1:4)

NOTE: What Luke claims then is that his book is reliable historical testimony, that it contains the facts as they literally and really happened.

Your New Testament records the events that eyewitnesses like Matthew and John and Peter and Paul and careful researchers like Luke and others, the authors, the writers of the New Testament were able to record.

The ground of our faith is the testimony of eyewitnesses.

1. “He that hath seen hath born witness and his witness is true and he knoweth that he saith true that you may believe. “ John 19:35 John said”
2. “What I am writing is what I saw.”
3. “I was a participant in what I saw.”
4. “I know it is true, and I am writing that you might believe.”
5. The testimony of Thomas the apostle, John 20: 24 – 29. “My Lord and my God.”

NOTE: Why do we believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead? Not because of a feeling or an existential experience. We believe because of men like Thomas and Matthew and john and Peter and others who saw and recorded their eyewitness testimony.

The Propositional Statement and Methodology of Study

Propositional Statement (The thing to be proven):

1. “There is abundant evidence from historical sources which is adequate to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the word of God.”
2. The Methodology (How to prove the proposition): A Two-fold methodology.
3. “To establish the historical reliability of the New Testament documents – to prove to you that the New Testament is a history book.”
4. “To reason those historical evidence which the New Testament contains, and by a systematic argumentation of those facts to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is the word of God.”

CONCLUSION:

Here is the beginning place for an investigation into the genuineness of Christianity. It must begin with a real historic space-time Jesus for apart from his own historical existence neither redemption nor resurrection could amount to any more that pie-i-the-sky-by-and-by.

Belief is the result of an honest evaluation of reliable, convincing evidence. An unwavering faith in God, Christ as the Son of God and the Bible as God’s Word must be grounded on actual documented evidence rather than being inherited from our family or derived from our feelings. The case for belief is not to be found in either science or philosophy.

Christian Evidences seek to confirm the Deity of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible by presenting various evidences to substantiate this. The historical approach of Christian Evidences seeks to confirm that the Christian faith rests upon a reliable foundation of historical facts. These facts of history from the basis of the evidences for belief. It is this kind of evidence, its historical reliability and its weight in relation to the Biblical claim, which we shall investigate during the course.

REMARKABLE SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE 

1. Recent Scientific Truths
   1. The Scriptures reveal extraordinary scientific truths that were not discovered or confirmed by scientists until the 15^ththrough the 20^thD.
   2. Astronomical Truth
   3. The numberless stars, “I will make the descendants of David my servant…as countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22)
   4. Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. (NKJV)
   5. Isaiah 40:22 (c.700B.C.) wrote, “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” Discovered 2,300 years later
   6. Jesus said in Luke 17: 31-36 that people will be working in the fields during the day and sleeping during the night when He returned. Jesus knew that day and night occurred simultaneously over the earth 1,350 years before Galileo discovered it.
      1. Luke 17: 31-37 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord? “So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
      2. Laws of Physics and Geology
      3. Hebrews 11: 3 says by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Discover that matter is composed of invisible molecules in 1920 A.D.
      4. Job 38: 16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? The ocean/ seas are very deep, and in almost complete darkness, and the pressure there is enormous, it would have been impossible for Job to explore the bottom of the ocean. Springs in the Ocean were discovered by Oceanographers in the 1970’s using deep diving research submarines built to withstand 6,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.
      5. Oceanographers also discovered the trenches at the bottom of the sea mentioned in Job 38:16
      6. Psalm 8:8 (C. 1000 B.C.) The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas Paths, or streams through the oceans were discovered in 1854
      7. Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. The water cycle was not recognized as scientific fact until the 17^th
      8. Biological and Medical Truths
      9. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmityBetween you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed;He shall bruise your head,And you shall bruise His heel.” Scientist used to think that only the man had “seed” until the 17^thcentury when they discovered that the woman also has “seed” that combines with man’s “seed” when a strand of DNA (discovered in the 19^th century and identified in the 20^th century) from the women combines with a strand from man
      10. Leviticus 13 gives instructions for quarantine for diseases to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the camp. Discovered in the 19^thcentury, 3,240 years after Moses’ time.
      11. Leviticus 17:10 forbids Israelites to drink or eat blood of animals. In the 19^thcentury scientists realized that diseases of animals can infect humans of their blood is eaten or drunk.
      12. Leviticus 15: 5-13 instructs the washing of hands and clothes to prevent infection after touching a diseased or dead person.[i].
      13. Genesis 17:12 commands Abraham and his descendants to circumcise their male children on the 8^thday after birth. In the 20^thcentury medical scientists discovered that vitamin K causes blood to clot and does not enter the body significantly until the 8^th day after birth.[ii]
   7. NOTE:Such remarkable scientific foreknowledge can be explained only by an omniscient Scientist who revealed these truths to His prophets.

AMAZING PREDICTIONS OF FUTURE PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND EVENTS 

The Accuracy of Biblical Prophecy

God told Isaiah, “write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness” (Isaiah 30:8)

1. God predicted the Future of Babylon
   Isaiah chapters 13-14, 44-45, written about 700 B.C.
   1. Medes will conquer Babylon (Isaiah 13:17). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
   2. “Cyrus” (predicted by name) will free the Jews from Babylonian Captivity and permit them to return to Judea and rebuild Jerusalem (Isiah 44:28; 45:1). Fulfilled 539 B.C.
   3. Babylon to be desolate and uninhabited, like Sodom and Gomorrah, forever (Isiah 13: 19-22. Fulfilled c. 363 A.D.
   4. Babylon to be covered by swamps of water (Isaiah 14:23) – “The great part of the country below ancient Babylon has now been for centuries a great swamp”[iii] (Over 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it).
   5. Name survivors and offspring of Babylon to be cut off forever (Isiah 14:22). The name of Babylon ceased to exist more than 1,000 years after Isiah predicted it.
2. Prophecies Concerning Egypt. Ezekiel 29: 15-16 predicted that the great and might country of Egypt would become, and remain forever a lowly kingdom. He further predicted that Egypt would not become extinct as Babylon was.
   1. Date of Ezekiel’s prophecy: between 592 and 586 B.C
   2. Egypt remains “a lowly” and impoverished nation, thus continuing the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy for the last 2,580 years.

1. Rome and the Kingdom of Christ
   1. Daniel predicted in 604 B.C. the coming of four world empires.
      1. Babylon the first empire (Daniel 2:38)
      2. Medo-Persia the second (Daniel 2:39; 5:28-31; 6:8)
      3. Greece the third world empire (Daniel 2:39; 8:20-21).
      4. Daniel describes in detail the fourth world empire (Daniel 2:40-43; 7:17-27).
      5. History and the Bible (Luke 2:1) identify the fourth kingdom as the Roman Empire.
   2. Daniel 2:44 predicted that the Kingdom of God would be set up during the days of the fourth world empire (Rome).
   3. Daniel 7 also predicted that the Messiah’s Kingdom would outlast the Roman empire.
   4. Jesus Christ, who began to preach about 26 A.D. , it the 15^th year of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome (Luke 3:1) said, “The time has come,” and “The Kingdom of God is near.”
   5. Two years later Jesus told His apostles that the Kingdom would be established during their lifetime (Mark 9:1)
   6. After His resurrection, Christ claimed to have all authority and He commanded His apostles to expand His kingdom to all the world (Matthew 28:18-20)
   7. Jesus’s apostles taught that His kingdom was established in the 1^st century during the Roman Empire (Colossians 1:13 and Revelation 1:5,6,9)
   8. Rome fell in the 4^th century – Christ’s Kingdom continues to exist to this day.
   9. Daniel prophecies c. 604 B.C., 600 years before Christ was born and 900 years before Rome fell. A Hebrew manuscript of Daniel was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls with a carbon 14 date of c.150 B.C. 150 years before Christ was born and 450 years before the Roman Empire fell.
   10. Daniel’s amazing predictions could not have been made without Divine foreknowledge, proving the Bible is the Work of God.

MESSIANIC PREDITIONS FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST

1. Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell lists 332 Old Testament predictions of Jesus Christ
2. Six Old Testament Prophecies of Christ’s Dual Nature as Both God and Man are Fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
3. Six of the 80 Prophecies Predict Christ’s Genealogy
   Luke 3 traces Jesus genealogy all the way back to Adam and Eve
4. Three Prophecies of Christ’s Youth and Three Prophecies Concerning His Forerunner, John the Baptist (See Table-8A)
5. Ten Different Roles of the Future Messiah. As Prophet, Priest, King, Shepherd, Servant, Son of Man, Sacrifice, Counselor, Judge, and Redeemer.
6. Ten Different Aspects of the Messiah’s Life and Ministry
   His miracles, preaching in Galilee to the poor and sinful, speaking in parables, making a covenant with the Gentiles, and living a sinless life.
7. Thirteen Different Ideas About Christ’s Betrayal by Judas
   His rejection by the Jews and humiliation before Pilate. The Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, His betrayal by a friend for 30 pieces of silver.

The Death of Christ

Eight are listed:

1. 1. Pierced hands and feet,
   2. Pierced side
   3. Garments Divided
   4. One garment taken by lot,
   5. Gall and vinegar for drink,
   6. Forsaken by God,
   7. Vicarious death for others and,
   8. A death that justifies others.
2. Christ’s Resurrection from the Dead
   His ascension to heaven, His reign over all nations while seated at God’s right hand and His final victory over death in the final resurrection at His second doming.
3. Odds of Varied Numbers of Prophesies Being Fulfilled in One Person’s life.[iv]
   1. Eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 17 zeros. This number will cover Texas with silver dollars by 2 feet deep.
   2. Forty-eight prophecies: 1 to 10 with 157 zeros
   3. Eighty prophecies 1 to 10 with abut 260 zeroes
   4. To illustrate the odds of the 332 prophcies of Christ that McDowell lists, Batsell Barrett Baxter pictured 40 archers and placed them from 1,400 to 400 yards away from a hidden target, to represent the prophecies that were made about Christ from 1,400 to 400 years before He was born. Each of the archers shoots his allotted arrows into the sky toward the hidden target. Imagine 332 arrows flying through the sky toward a hidden target, and all of them hitting the bull’s eyes.
   5. Jesus alone fulfills all 332 prophecies.
   6. One of the principal methods used by the apostles to convert unbelievers was to prove to them that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah (Acts 2: 14-36; 3:17-26; 8:32-35; 13:16-41, 17: 2-4; 10 – 12; 18: 4-6)

THE SUPERIOR CONTENTS OF BIBLICAL TEACHING

1. The Wisdom of Solomon
   No one in history has succeeded in expressing greater wisdom more concisely than Solomon (except for Jesus). Read this wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
2. The Patience of Job
   Job is a masterpiece of philosophical, scientific, and religious concepts in real life situations. Yet it was written more than 3,500 years ago.
3. The Devotion of David
   The Psalms contain the highest spiritual concepts and the deepest yearnings of the soul to praise and glorify God.
4. The Superior Morality of the Bible
   1. The Ten Commandments and other moral laws found in the Old Testament are superior to the moral standards of other nations when Moses wrote.
   2. The morality of Jesus’ Sermon on the mount sets the highest moral standard ever taught in human history (Matthew 5 – 7)
5. The Impartiality of the Bible
   1. Most ancient histories glorify their heroes and kings and fail to record their weaknesses and their defeats.
   2. The bible impartially presents the strengths and weaknesses of its most important characters.
      1. Noah’s drunkenness (Genesis 9:21).
      2. Sarah’s lie (Genesis 18: 15-16)
      3. Jacob’s deceit (Genesis 27)
      4. The envy and jealousy of Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 37)
      5. Judah’s fornication with Tamar (Genesis 38).
      6. Moses’ killing of an Egyptian (Exodus 2: 11 – 16).
      7. Israel’s sin and exile in the wilderness as punishment.
      8. King Saul’s witchcraft (1 Chronicles 10: 13-14)
      9. David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).
      10. Solomon’s multiplied wives and idolatry (1 Kings 11).
   3. The Bible points out Israel’s defeats as well as its victories
      1. Saul’s defeat at the hands of the Philistines and his suicide (1 Samuel 31)
      2. Absalom’s rebellion against his father, David (2 Samuel 15).
      3. Pharaoh Shishak’s sacking of Solomon’s treasures (1 Kings 14:25-28)
      4. Assyrian destruction of the Kingdom of northern Israel (2 Kings 24-25)
      5. Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kings 24-25)
      6. Slaves in Babylon for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36: 20-23).
   4. Unified and Consistent Truth
      1. Unity of thought in diversity of culture.
         1. About 40 authors wrote the 66 books of the Bible over 1500 years.
         2. The authors had varied cultural backgrounds, different religious teachings, and different educational backgrounds and professions.
         3. The promise of the coming Messiah links together the entirety of the Old and New Testaments
      2. While God’s covenants are different for each age, the same God is recognized as the Omnipotent, Omniscient Creator and Father in each covenant.
      3. Jeremiah 31:31 specifically predicted the coming of Christ’s new covenant, and Hebrews 8-10 shows that the Old Testament prepared for and foreshadowed Christ’s New Testament.
   5. The Wisdom, Love, and Purity of Jesus Christ
      1. Jesus’ analysis of “the two greatest laws” in the Old Testament demonstrates His divine wisdom (Mark 12: 30-32)
         1. Jesus said the first and most important law is “love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
         2. The second most important law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
         3. The Golden Rule of Jesus is the best expression of the two greatest laws; “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
      2. Jesus’ new and superior law of love for neighbor.
         1. “Anew command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34-35).
         2. Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
         3. Jesus demonstrated that icredible love by dying on the cross for not only His friends, but also for His enemies (Romans 5:6-8)
      3. His teaching to “Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) was demonstrated by His perfect life, the only man to attain a sinless life (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
   6. The Power of the Gospel to Transform Lives
      1. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11
      2. The power of the gospel has changed more lives than the teaching of human philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology in all of history.

the mathematical impossibility of Evolution

This is a presentation offering evidence that mathematics that refutes the possibility of evolution.

Remember if we can see that evolution is impossible, we could technically stop right here, because that only leaves creation as the answer we are seeking.

No theory of chance can explain the creation of the world. Before chance can send atoms whirling through infinite void, the atoms have to exist! What has to be explained is the being of the world and matter. It makes no sense to say that chance can account for the creation of being.
Claude Tresmontant, University of Paris

To begin with, according to the statement above, if there was a big bang, what banged? We cannot get to a point where there was absolutely nothing and then suddenly there was something without a Creator, a causing force.

In reality the logical mind would immediately recognize the impossibility of evolution, however apparently our so called “great minds” aren’t necessarily logical minds.

So I want to lay a little ground work here. The basic building blocks of life are DNA and RNA.

Simply put the DNA is the building block, and the RNA is the plans, or instructions for the DNA.

What is DNA made of?

DNA is made of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. These building blocks are made of three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar group and one of four types of nitrogen bases. To form a strand of DNA, nucleotides are linked into chains, with the phosphate and sugar groups alternating

What does DNA do?

DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. To carry out these functions, DNA sequences must be converted into messages that can be used to produce proteins, which are the complex molecules that do most of the work in our bodies.

How are DNA sequences used to make proteins?

DNA’s instructions are used to make proteins in a two-step process. First, enzymes read the information in a DNA molecule and transcribe it into an intermediary molecule called messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA.

Next, the information contained in the mRNA molecule is translated into the “language” of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. This language tells the cell’s protein-making machinery the precise order in which to link the amino acids to produce a specific protein. This is a major task because there are 20 types of amino acids, which can be placed in many different orders to form a wide variety of proteins.

DNA only has 5 different atoms – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorous. According to one estimation, there are about 204 billion atoms in each DNA ..

So how many “pieces” make up an Atom? Three Easy Pieces. Even though many super-tiny atomic particles exist, you only need to remember the three basic parts of an atom: electrons, protons, and neutrons. What are electrons, protons, and neutrons? Electrons are the smallest of the three particles that make up atoms.

Both the protons and neutrons reside in the nucleus. Protons have a postive (+) charge, neutrons have no charge –they are neutral. Electrons reside in orbitals around the nucleus. They have a negative charge (-).

What are elements?

An atom is the smallest building block of everything that exists. The smallest object you can see under a microscope has more than 10 billion atoms .

There are over a hundred different types of atoms, that we call elements. They form the world we live in.

All matter is made up of elements which are fundamental substances which cannot be broken down by chemical means. There are 92 elements that occur naturally. The elements hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are the elements that make up most living organisms. Some other elements found in living organisms are: magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium.

By the late 1800’s many elements had already been discovered. The scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, proposed an arrangement of known elements based on their atomic mass. The modern arrangement of the elements is known as the Periodic Table of Elements and is arranged according to the atomic number of elements.

All the above is to demonstrate the complexity of the simplest form of life.

So it means the DNA which is the building blocks of life, is useless without the RNA to tell it what to do.

Which came first the DNA or the RNA? Which came first the chicken or the egg?

When I built my first PHP/ MySQL website, I spent approximately 4 hours a day, for six months working on the PHP, the code to pull information from my database. I just could not get it to work, so finally I told Jody, that I had come to the end, I just couldn’t do it, but I was going to go over the code just one more time, so I printed it out, about 25 pages of coding (and this was a very simple code for a very simple beginner website) and started reading…. And I finally notice one word outside the code that just didn’t belong there, so I removed it, reloaded the code and it worked perfectly. The point is this, if I had added just one extra comma for instance, the site would not work, it was useless. So even with the training I had received, and the ability to recognize and control mistakes, they were still there, now what if I had just started blindly writing stuff? Would I have saved myself all that grief, knowing it would have come together perfectly by chance?

This simple little website that caused me so much grief because of one misplace word is absolutely nothing compared to the billions of pages of information that would be required for one DNA.

And when we consider the number or amount of DNA in a human body the rest of this class will make perfect sense in just how absolutely the thought of life occurring by chance is insulting to our intelligence, yet they push this idea, very aggressively on the people of the world, and crazy as it may seem, most people actually buy into it.

In 2014 the MIT physicist Max Tegmark a believer in evolution, not creation argues in “Our Mathematical Universe” that mathematics is the fundamental world reality that drives the universe. It could be said that mathematics is operating in a god-like fashion. However, Tegmark and others believe this perfectly mathematically ordered universe came from chaos billions of years ago, and not from an intricate planning Creator. What does this really tell us? That this so called “Great Mind” had a wire loose somewhere, blinded to his own statement of fact.

So, can we prove the earth is young, or at least give overwhelming evidence? Can we put creation on trial? Can we present the evidence of a young earth in such a way that only those who insist on believing in evolution will do so?

The reason for this is I am a firm believer that as we attempt to prove there is an absolute truth, we can turn to mathematics, (and several forms of science) and math simply doesn’t lie.  Let me qualify that, mathematics in a simple form, used honestly is a form of absolute truth.

There can only be one absolute truth concerning any subject, two conflicting views cannot both be absolutely true.

It is mathematics that makes space travel possible, it is mathematics that is behind computer science. Consider this truth; it is the arrangements of “one’s and “zeros” that are the basis for computer languages. It’s just that simple, two numbers to create the greatest calculator in history. But just get one of those zeros in the wrong spot and see what happens.

Without math being an exact science, space travel and most modern technology would be impossible, and taking that a step further, we couldn’t even purchase accurately sized clothing or shoes.

The theory of evolution proposes that all the highly structured systems of the universe just happened through a series of evolutionary accidents, all by chance starting with a big explosion billions of years ago. I would ask, did the big explosion also create facts such as mathematics?  Seems like a silly question doesn’t it, but the truth is mathematics would have to have existed before the big bang, pointing to a creator.

Just as the RNA had to exist first so the DNA would have a purpose, so that it could be used, yet the DNA had to exist first for the RNA to even have a reason to come into existence…. It actually means there had to be a plan in place with a creator behind it, just like me creating a database, knowing full well I would develop a code after I was done so I could access my information.

The universe is perceived as self-contained and self-evolving.

Diametrically opposed to this philosophy, Biblical creationism maintains that the innumerable, highly complex systems and intricate structures of the universe offer exceptionally strong evidence of an omniscient Creator. It is the creationist’s view that the astounding degree of complexity and order found throughout the universe could never be produced by mere chance but rather represents the handiwork of an Almighty God.

In a nutshell, the evolutionist would have us believe this incredibly ordered universe just happened by a great explosion.  It doesn’t take a lot of sense to know that a great explosion destroys, not creates, so in step one, we start realizing that it takes a lot of faith to believe in evolution.

In fact, the order, especially the intricate and irrefutable reliability and truth of mathematics points out that it’s truth proves that some things are impossible, such as 2 + 2 equaling 3.  I was in the class of 65 North Hi School in Wichita Kansas, and in that year a song was released by Barbara Lewis – Baby I’m Yours and one of the lyrics in the song is

“And I’ll be yours until two and two is three, Yours until the mountain crumbles to the sea”

Because of the impossibility of that ever happening, it is a known fact, math is an absolute truth, 2 + 2 will always be 4 and that song will always be a great one…

Okay, lets step to the side for a moment, just because I love things like this, when I googled 2 +2 =3 to find the information on that song, one of the options that came up was 2 Thessalonians 2:3 which reads: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction”.

You think maybe God was trying to tell us something?

The man is doomed through the boom?

Well one of the ways they are trying to deceive us is with the big boom theory.

Lighting a stick of dynamite in a shed, blowing it up, and it reassembles itself into a skyscraper is impossible, but that is exactly what the big bang theory expects us to believe.  Simply put, it is witness against itself, professing to be the mathematical geniuses they would have us believe, and then asking us to believe the mathematically impossible (mathematics does not equal order).

Let’s take another view, the Bible States that God created the heavens and the earth in one day, which perfectly describes the big bang theory, except it was a controlled big bang, that did come together perfectly because God was and is in control, and agrees with the fact that something, such as mathematical order, existed before the big boom, in other words, it came from something that existed previously, and it was planned to perfection, and executed to perfection, and as we look at the earth and cosmos we can see the mathematics behind that perfection.

And it gives a reason to believe there was nothing, and all of a sudden something…

If you stop and think about it, the idea that an unordered, unplanned, out of control explosion created the mathematically perfect universe is the ultimate insult to our intelligence.

So let’s have some fun with mathematics.

THE ODDS

Have any of you tried your hand at gambling? Well, if you have you know if you place a bet on any certain outcome that only has a 1 in 10 chance of coming up you will probably go home broke… yet, mathematicians will tell you there is a chance you might win, in fact it is only until you reach the odds of 10 to the 50^th power  (1 to 1 with 50 zeros following it) that you reach the point of impossibility so as we move forward keep that in mind just one number less than 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and you could WIN!!!

Let’s start with the likelihood of the chance of evolution of life utilizing the basic principles of mathematical probability.

For example, the probability of getting hit by lightning is about 1 in 600,000 (fortunately). The probability of winning a lottery grand prize with a single ticket is about 1 in 5.2 million (unfortunately).

First example: evolutionist way of thinking is that if a monkey was set in front of a typewriter, long enough he would eventually type, by pure chance, a perfect unabridged dictionary.  Of course, this idea is completely ridiculous, in fact total nonsense, however let’s illustrate this.  It is calculated that the probability of a monkey arranging the word evolution by randomly selecting letters from the alphabet is only 1 chance in 26 to the ninth power, in other words, 1 chance in 5,429,503,679,000.

The odds of this monkey writing the first verse of the bible by accident is 1 in 181,479,392 X 10 to the 62nd power; in plain language 1 chance in 181, 497,392 with 54 zeros past it (way past possibility remember the odds above 1 to the 50^th power is the limit of possibility).

Let’s take this science of probability a step further.  Consider the chance of accidental development of a very simple system composed of only 200 integrated parts (simple compared with living systems)  the probability of forming such an ordered system is 10 to 200 factorial, or 1 chance in 788,657,867,364,790,503,552,363,213,932,185,062,295,138,977,687,263,294,742,533,244,359,449,963,403,342,920,304,284,011,984,623,904,177,212,138,919,638,830,257,642,790,242,637,105,061,926,624,952,829,931,113,462,857,270,763,317,237,396,988,943,922,445,621,451,664,240,254,033,291,864,131,227,428,294,853,277,524,242,407,573,903,240,321,257,405,579,568,660,226,031,904,170,324,062,351,700,858,796,178,922,222,789,623,703,897,374,720,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

This colossal number can be written more simply as 1 chance out of 10 to the 375th power of selecting the proper arrangement for a 200-part integrated system on the first trial.

But what if we keep on trying different combinations over and over again? Won’t we eventually achieve the desired result?

Well, to begin with, there are only 10 to the 80th power electrons in the known universe. Assuming this to be the maximum number of parts available to work with, without attempting to go through a lot of numbers here (as if we haven’t already done that) let me put it in a way that we can understand the impossibility of this ever happening.

If we could try various combinations attempting to get the right number for this 200-part integrated system at 1 billion per second, in other words, every second of the day we could try one billion combinations of the parts;  how many hours do you think it would take to come up with the right combination?

If we take that number and give scientists 30 billion years (the age some scientists say is the age of the earth), attempting to randomly come up with this number at the rate of 1 billion per second, we would still be far short of enough time for the odds to come through.

Now the scientists might argue, that one part was built upon another part, in other words, evolved, however that makes the numbers even worse. The numbers of probability actually increases, and in short, makes this whole process mathematically impossible. We’re back trying to get a nickel out of our 2 + 2 pennies.

Let’s add to their problems, a 200-part system is a ridiculously primitive element compared with living systems. Modern research by NASA has demonstrated that the most basic type of protein molecule that could be classified living is composed of at least 400 linked amino acids. Each amino acid, in turn, is made up of a specific arrangement of four or five chemical elements, and each chemical element is itself a unique combination of protons, neutrons and electrons. Golay has demonstrated that the chance formation of even the simplest replicating protein molecule is 10 to the 450th power.

Wysong has calculated the probability of forming the proteins and DNA for the smallest self-replicating entity to be 10 to the 167,626 power, even when granting astronomically generous amounts of time and mixtures, who can imagine what the chance formation of a more complex structure or organ such as the cerebral cortex in the human brain would be?  It contains over 10,000,000,000 (ten thousand million, 10 billion) cells each of which is carefully arranged according to a specific design, and each of which is fantastically complex in itself!

Schutzenberger of the University of Paris at a conference on “Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution, “concluded that the probability of evolution by mutation and natural selection is inconceivable.

I quote

“We believe that it is not conceivable. In fact, if we try to simulate such a situation by making changes randomly at the typographic level…on computer programs we find that we have no chance. (i.e. less than 1/10 to the 1,000 power) even to see what the modified program would compute; it just jams”

(Schutzenberger, algorithms (procedures) and the Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution, in mathematical challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution.)

Okay guys, I don’t really even need a closing statement, the facts are clear. We serve an awesome God. He created everything in such a complex manner that humans can’t even count high enough to consider the odds, computers can’t count high enough. We were barely able to compute the odds against a simple 200-part organism developing by chance and found it was totally impossible.

God created everything in such a way for modern man. He knew the levels of education mankind would aspire to. He knew earlier generations would live by faith, as we do, but we need to be able to give a logical defense for our beliefs according to 1 Peter 3:15.  When we can do this in such an irrefutable way, by proving mathematically all we have looked at had to be creation, it had to come from a higher power than we can even imagine.

We have only touched the surface of proof; we have some exciting studies ahead of us.

This lesson, in part,  comes from the book titled “Collapse of Evolution” by Scott M. Huse.

(and by the way the human body is made up of 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7 octillion) atoms, which make up 37.2 trillion cells in your body, according to an estimate made by engineers at Washington University, there are around 10 to the 14 power atoms in a typical human cell. Another way of looking at it is 100,000,000,000,000 or 100 trillion

Interestingly, the number of cells in the human body is estimated to be about the same as the number of atoms in a human cell. )

It would take 31,709.79 years to count to 1 trillion, so to count to 100 trillion it would take 3,170,900 years (app) that is to just count to that number, now think of the number of years it would take trying to make that right combination at 1 billion attempts per second for a human body to accidently, or through evolution to develop.

There are 24 hours in a day so you would count 24X60x60 = 86,400 in one day. There are 365 days in a year so you would count 24X60x60x365 = 31,536,000 in one year. To find how long it would take to count to a trillion  divide 1 trillion by 31,536,000. That is 1,000,000,000,000/31,536,000 = 31,709.79 years @ one billion attempts per second.

So we have moved from a 200-part integrated system to a 100 trillion part system… so I would venture to say that we have moved into the twilight zone if we believe these numbers could happen by chance.

Questions and Answers Concerning the Great Flood:

1.     What are the two views for the origin of the earth’s scenery?

Answer: Uniformitarianism and Flood geology

FLOOD GEOLOGY

2.     Why did God send the Genesis Flood?

Answer: Because it says in the Bible that “…that every intent of the thoughts of his [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5b, NASB).

3.     What is the Scripture evidences for a global Flood?

Answer: The language and context of Genesis 6-9; the account blends into Genesis 1250, which is commonly accepted as history; local floods do not last 371 days; no need for animals to be on the ark; ark ended up in the mountains; tops of other mountains not seen for about 70 days; the rainbow covenant would make no sense with a local flood; and people and animals told to repopulate the earth.

4.     About how many animals are needed on the ark?

Answer: 16,000 or less.

5.     How many global flood legends exist from cultures all over the world?

Answer: More than 500.

6.     Give one reason why the Epic of Gilgamesh is a degraded copy of the original Flood version.

Answer: The boat is cube shaped and would roll over in rough water.

7.     What is one of the strongest evidences for the Flood as seen at Grand Canyon?

Answer: There is little or no erosion seen between the widespread layers of sedimentary rocks.

8.     What do widespread sedimentary layers extending tens to hundreds of thousands of square miles mean?

Answer: These layers require at least a regional catastrophic event to deposit them, which is the style of sedimentation expected in the Flood.

9.     What are two conditions necessary for the formation of fossils?

Answer: The organism must be buried rapidly and the degrading mechanisms under ground must be slowed or stopped.

10.   Why didn’t the Floodwater have to cover Mount Everest?

Answer: Because Mount Everest rose up out of the Floodwater at the end of the Flood, as indicated from Psalm 104:8.

11.   How did Enlightenment scholars come to believe the Genesis Flood wrong?

Answers: They simply chose to believe the Genesis Flood was wrong.

12.   The Flood can be divided up into what two stages?

Answer: The Flooding Stage and the Retreating Stage

13.   During the Retreating Stage of the Flood, the water transforms from sheet flow into channelized flow.  Could you describe this?

Answer: At first, the water was moving as wide currents over the earth (the Sheet Flow Phase), but as more and more mountains and plateaus became exposed above the water, the Floodwater was forced to divert around these obstacles, becoming more channelized (the Channelized Flow Phase).

14.   What is one of the new results of the RATE project?

Answer: The RATE project has discovered that the millions and billions of years that come out of radiometric dating are caused by a period of accelerated radiometric decay during the Creation week and possibly during the Flood.

15.   How did God drain the Floodwater?

Answers: By raising the mountains and continents and causing the valleys and ocean basins to sink, the water then runs off the future continents and into the future oceans.

16.   In what way does Psalm 104:6-9 refer to the Flood and not the condition of the earth early on Day 3?

Answer: In verse 6, God covered the mountains, while on Day 3, He uncovered the mountains.  In verse 9, God set a boundary that the water may not return to cover the earth, which must refer to the last time the earth was globally flooded, which was at the peak of the Genesis Flood.

17.   Based on the height of the granite in the Teton Mountains and the depth of the granite in Jackson Hole, what is the vertical change on the Teton Fault?

Answer: 33,000 feet (10,100 m).

18.   Where did the thick accumulation of sediment in the Bighorn Basin come from?

Answer: The sediment, now hardened into sedimentary rock, came from the erosion of the surrounding mountains during uplift and from upcurrent to the south and west.

19.   What is the greatest vertical change in the granite upper crust in the state of Wyoming?

Answer: It is 45,000 feet (13,415 m) between the top of the Wind River Mountains at 14,000 feet above sea level and the granite at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) below sea level in the Hanna Basin.

20.   Is crustal uplift and sinking commonly seen over the earth?

Answer: yes

21.   Is there geological evidence for one of the last major geological event in earth history that was responsible for the draining of the Floodwater?

Answer: Yes, it is that most mountain ranges rose recently, as documented by Ollier and Pain (2000) in their book The Origin of Mountains.

22.   What is the maximum thickness of the sedimentary rocks off the east coast of North America?

Answer: It is 12.5 miles (20 km) thick in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin off southeast Canada.

23.   What two pieces of evidence show that the ocean basins have sunk?

Answer: Deep troughs filled with sedimentary rocks just offshore and flat-topped volcanic mountains and plateaus called guyots well out from shore.

24.   What is the evidence that guyots have sunk thousands of feet?

Answer: They have been sheared off flat by a powerful current, probably near sea level.  The fact that the average depth of the guyot top is 5,000 feet (1,525 m) below sea level indicates much sinking of the ocean basins.

25.   What would cause general west to east currents during the Sheet Flow Phase of the Flood?

Answer: The spin of the earth or Coriolis effect

26.   What is an anticline?

Answer: It is a dome or ridge caused when sedimentary rock has been uplifted.

27.   How much sedimentary rock eroded from the top of the San Rafael Swell and how do we know this?

Answer: Up to 17,000 feet (5,200 m) was eroded.  We know the amount of erosion by projecting the tilted sedimentary rock to the north up onto the axis of the San Rafael Swell.

28.   What is an eroded escarpment?

Answer:  It is a tall cliff or steep slope that resulted from erosion by water and not by faulting.

29.   What does it mean for quartzite rocks to be rounded and spread 800 miles east of their nearest outcrop over a low slope?

Answer: It means high-speed Flood currents eroded the Rocky Mountains, rounding the rocks.  Normal rivers cannot transport quartzite anywhere near that distance.

30.   What are percussion marks and what do they mean?

Answer: Percussion marks are semicircular cracks on the surface of a rock.  They are especially abundant on hard rocks.  They indicate ferocious pounding of the rocks in a very turbulent flow of water.

31.   How far have resistant rocks spread from the Appalachian Mountains?

Answer: About 650 miles to the south.

32.   Based on Devils Tower, how thick were the sedimentary rocks above the present surface?

Answer: At least the height of the tower, 1,250 feet (380 m), since it is the throat of an eroded volcano and the lava must have moved upward through solid rock.

33.   How did the continental shelf form during the Flood?

Answer: By tremendous sheet erosion coming off the continent and depositing the sediments in the deeper water along the continental margin as the currents slow.

34.   How is the Portland Delta an example of Flood deposition along the continental margin?

Answer: The Portland Delta was deposited when the currents of the Lake Missoula flood slowed down at the mouth of the Columbia Gorge.  This is similar to how the continental shelf formed by decreasing sheet current speed.

35.   Because the sheet flow occurred before the channelized flow, what sort of multiple features should we see on the surface of the earth?

Answer: We should see landforms created first by sheet flow and secondly by superimposed channelized flow.

36.   What does it mean for the rest of the Bible, if geological observations support the global Genesis Flood?

Answer: You can trust all of the Bible.

37.   Is it actually predicted in the Bible that people will reject the Genesis Flood?

Answer: Yes, in 2 Peter 3:3-6 the Bible predicts that in the last days, scoffers will deliberately ignore the evidence for the Flood.

Uniformitarianism

38.   What is uniformitarianism?

Answer: The view that geology and the fossils can be explained by present processes over millions of years.  It is simply defined as the present is the key to the past.

39.   What are two main problems with the uniformitarian antecedent stream hypothesis?

Answer: One is that streams must be older than the mountains according to the uniformitarian paradigm, and a second main problem is that aligned water gaps cannot be explained.

40.   Why can’t geologist explain the many mysteries of the earth’s surface?

Answer: It is because of their unjustified assumption of uniformitarianism.

41.   What is the significance of Devils Tower to uniformitarianism versus the Flood?

Answer: It shows that the sedimentary rocks around the Tower had to be eroded quickly, or else the Tower would not stand so tall.  Devils Tower would not have remained standing if erosion was by slow processes over millions of years.

42.   Why are planation surfaces so difficult for uniformitarian scientists to explain?

Answer: They are not forming today (except on a very small scale when a river overflows its banks and planes a hill), and yet they are widespread all over the earth.  They were even more widespread since they have been partly eroded away.

INSELBERGS

43.   What is an inselberg?

Answer: It is an erosional remnant sticking up above a nearly flat surface; It is an isolated residual knob or hill, rising abruptly from a lowland erosion surface.  From a distance, it looks like an island jutting up from the sea, and the word in German means “island mountain.”

44.   How tall are the highest inselbergs?

Answer: Over 2,000 feet (600 m) tall.

45.   Tower karst are inselbergs in what kind of rock?

Answer: Limestone

46.   Is it reasonable for inselbergs to stand tall for many millions of years?

Answer: No, erosion is so fast, especially on a vertical surface, that inselbergs should not last long.

47.   Why is the Flood a superior mechanism for the formation of inselbergs?

Answer: Because inselbergs have to form fast, all the material around needs to be eroded.  Present processes over millions of years, uniformitarianism, cannot produce inselbergs, but the fast erosion of the Flood during the formation of planation and erosion surfaces is expected to leave behind tall erosional remnants.

48.   Why do planation surfaces and inselbergs point to a global Flood?

Answer: Because the Flood can easily form these surface features, and since they are found worldwide, the Flood must be a global event.

PLANATION SURFACES

49.   What is a pediment?

Answer: It is a planation surface that lies along the foot of a mountain, ridge, or plateau.

A pediment is defined as: “A broad sloping erosion surface or plain of low relief, typically developed by running water at the base of an abrupt and receding mountain front” (Bates and Jackson, 1984, p. 372).  It is essentially a planation surface at the foot of a mountain, mountain range, ridge, or plateau.

50.   Why are pediments so difficult to explain by uniformitarianism?

Answer: Because they are not being formed today by present processes.  They are being destroyed.

51.    How are planation surfaces readily formed during the Flood?

Answer: With currents moving very fast, resistant rocks are transported at and near the bottom.  These rocks scrape the surface, eroding it and flattening it, just like sandpaper smoothing rough wood.

52.   What is the difference between an erosion surface and a planation surface?

Answer: Both are eroded in hard rock, but an erosion surface is more rolling while a planation surface is flat or nearly flat.

53.   Why is it not possible that flat planation surfaces could have survived for many millions of years?

Answer: Because erosion on a million year time scale is so fast that such a flat surface should be dissected in no time at all.  It shows that those dating methods that date the surface to many millions of years are wrong.

54.   What is so interesting about the Cypress Hills planation surface in Canada?

Answer: It is not only flat over an area that was once greater than 1,000 mi2 (2,540 km2), but also it is capped with about 75 feet (23 m) of well-rounded quartzite cobbles and boulders from west of the continental divide—a transport distance of more than 250 miles (400 km).

55.   What is the difference between a planation surface and a flood plain or terrace?

Answer: A planation surface has been cut down into solid rock by water, while a flood plain or terrace is a deposit of sediments or gravel with a flat top.  The former is erosional, while the latter is depositional.

GEOMORPHOLOGY

56.   What is the geological subfield of geomorphology?

Answer: The science that studies the general configuration of the earth’s surface, especially the classification, description, nature, and origin of landforms and their relationships to the underlying geological structures.

57.   What is so significant of a nearly flat surface, capped by rounded rocks, on tilted hard and soft sedimentary rocks?

Answers: Such features are not forming today, but require a strong current to truncate both hard and soft rocks evenly and leaving behind rounded rocks on the top.

WATER GAP

58.   What is a water gap?

Answer: It is a gorge through a mountain or plateau. According to Bates and Jackson (1984, p. 559), a water gap is: “A deep pass in a mountain ridge, through which a stream flows; esp. a narrow gorge or ravine cut through resistant rocks.

59.   What is the difference between a water gap and a wind gap?

Answer: A water gap is cut all the way through a barrier, so that a river or stream runs through the gorge.  A wind gap is not cut down far enough, but is essentially an erosional notch in the barrier in which wind now passes through.

60.   What are some water gaps in the western United States?

Answer: Hells Canyon, the Green River through the eastern Uinta Mountains, Grand Canyon, and the Shoshone River water gap.

61.   Where are the deepest water gaps in the world?

Answer: Through the Himalaya Mountains from southern Tibet.

62.   Why are the Zagros water gaps so enigmatic?

Answer: It is because there are 300 of them in “young” mountains, and they are constantly going through mountain gorges up to 8,000 feet (2,440 m) high and do not flow down valleys much.  The rivers also pass in and out of barriers.

63.   How would the Flood carve water gaps?

Answer: During the Channelized Flow Phase, narrow currents perpendicular to barriers would carve a notch through the barrier, causing the water to accelerate through the notch, and erode even more.  The process continues until the Floodwater drains from the area.  Afterwards, rivers and streams will naturally flow in the low area through the barrier.

64.   How did the Palouse River water gap form during the Lake Missoula flood?

Answer: During the Lake Missoula flood, water rushed over a ridge between Washtucna Coulee and the Snake River.  It carved downward, forming a 500-foot (150 m) deep canyon through the ridge.  After the flood, the Palouse River no longer flowed down Washtucna Coulee, but instead takes a left hand turn and flows through the water gap into the Snake River.

65.   What is the longest water gap in the world?

Answer: Grand Canyon

66.   What is the deepest water gap in the United States?

Answer: Hells Canyon along the Idaho-Oregon border.

67.   Why did the draining Floodwater carve the Grand Canyon through the Kaibab Plateau at intermediate altitudes?

Answer: The whole area was covered by water.  The converging of three wide currents from the northeast through the southeast of the Kaibab Plateau in the area of the present eastern Grand Canyon probably started the initial notch.  Then erosion was generally like the formation of any other water gap after that.

68.   What is a submarine canyon?

Answer: It is a deep gorge excavated perpendicular to the shoreline through the continental shelf and slope of the continents and even off some large islands.

69.   What are landforms?

Answer: They are features that taken together make up the surface of the earth.  They include large-scale features like mountain ranges, plateaus, or plains, and small-scale features such as hills, valleys, slopes, canyons, or alluvial fans.

70.   What is the difference between a plateau, mesa, and butte?

Answer:  A plateau is larger than a mesa, which is larger than a butte.

71.   According to the Flood model, which came first, the valley or the river?

Answer: The valley was eroded by the channelized Flood erosion, so the valley came first, and the river simply took advantage of the low spot and came second.

72.   Why are vertical walled valleys generally young?

Answer: Because with time, vertical-walled valleys become more V-shaped.

73.   How can large vertically-walled canyons be explained by the Genesis flood?

Answer: Large vertically-walled canyons were formed recently by a lot of water, and there has not been enough time since the Flood (4,500 years ago) for the canyon to become V-shaped.

74.   Why is Crickmay’s superflooding hypothesis closer to the real origin of pediments than other hypotheses?

Answer: Because Crickmay realized that pediments were formed by a lot of water flowing parallel to the mountain range or ridge and not issuing out from the mountains or ridge.  This deduction was based especially on the fact that some pediments are capped by exotic rocks from well upstream.

75.   How would pediments form during the Channelized Flow Phase of the Flood?

Answer: Since pediments are essentially planation surfaces, they likely formed by the last high-speed flow down a valley with the subsequent water flow too weak to eroded the pediment.

76.   What does it mean that pediments are found all over the earth?

Answer: Similar to other geomorphological features, it means the Flood that produced the pediments was a global Flood and not a local flood.

77.   What is a submarine canyon?

Answer: It is a deep chasm, averaging 30 miles (50 km) long and 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, perpendicular to the coast of the continents and large islands and cut in the continental shelf and/or slope.

78.   Do uniformitarian scientists have a good explanation for the origin of submarine canyons?

Answer: They have two problematic hypotheses today that are difficult to prove.  Otherwise, they have been unable to explain the origin of submarine canyons.

79.   How can the Flood explain the origin of submarine canyons?

Answer: Submarine canyons can be eroded by narrow currents coming off the rising continents and depositing much sediment on the continental shelf during the Channelized Phase of the Flood.  The sediments then slid down the continental slope, eroding a narrow canyon.

80.   Have uniformitarian scientists explained the origin of Grand Canyon?

Answer: An emphatic NO after over 50 years of trying.

81.   What are two seemingly fatal observations to the creationist dam-breach hypothesis?

Answer: First, the complete absence of shorelines and high deltas for the suggested lakes, especially compared to previous bodies of water during the Ice Age, and second, the existence of long tributary canyons carved all the way down to the Colorado River in slot-like canyons.

82.   How was the sedimentary rocks first eroded from off the Colorado Plateau, before Grand Canyon was carved?

Answer: By strong west to east sheet current flow during the Sheet Flow Phase of the Flood.

83.   What probably caused the west to east sheet flow to reverse direction and channelize?

Answer: The rise of the southern Rocky Mountains blocked and broke up the west to east sheet flow, eventually causing an east to west flow.  By this time other plateaus and mountains became exposed above the Floodwater resulting in channelized flow and the erosion of valleys and canyons.

84.   What seems to be the major problem in explaining landforms?

Answer: They were not formed by uniformitarianism, that is by slow processes over millions of years.

85.   Did uniformitarian scientists prove the Genesis Flood wrong?

Answer: No, they just assumed it was wrong at a time when there was little knowledge of the rocks and fossils.

C.S. Lewis correctly states that Pride is the granddaddy of all sin. Most sins start here… pride.

And as look around our world and see signs of the time of rapture… the persecution of Christians a level we have never experience before, even here in America. The potential for the end-times great revival now developing in Kentucky, and the Jewish Rabies in Jerusalem on the verge of declaring a man the “Messiah”… the big three signs of the approaching rapture… maybe looking at the source of sins is a positive way to prepare ourselves for the event Christians have been looking forward to for 2,000 years.

A scientific Approach to Christianity The Mind

Let’s begin at the beginning…. And what is the beginning of the Mind except at birth itself.

It is said by many that we are innocent until we reach the age of accountability which is a different age for everyone.

But what does that mean?

We are accountable for sins we have been committing since birth…

What is the granddaddy of all sin? Pride

Pride is anything self-centered.

Many say we are born into sin… but how is a baby sinful?

When a baby is born it knows nothing but self… it’s own needs, hunger, clean diaper, and etc.

When a baby reaches about age 2 we start hearing things like “I can do it myself”

This is a desire for self-reliance, again, a sense of self.

Its world is still wrapped around self.

It is a parent duty, obligation to teach the child to look beyond self, to look at others and desire their benefit as we do our own… in other words our first duty to a child is the 2^nd greatest commandment. To love your neighbor as yourself….

In ages past we saw this, the child was not glorified, was not taught to glorify itself, but more like,

“a child is to be seen, and not heard”.

Modern child psychology would probably be totally offended by this… because they are deceived into thinking they have the right answers, they are the intellectuals the rest of us need to obey.

Which is what? An even greater elevation of pride.

Many of todays children are incorrectly taught to have great self-esteem and respect… center on self… if it’s not good for me it’s not good.

When a child is raised like this, the later need for self-rejection, the opposite of pride, becomes very difficult, and the idea of self-sacrifice is completely insane to them.

However, pride runs much deeper than this…. Much deeper!

The following is a Catholic Video speaking to Pride… it is very good, and sometimes hard to take because it doesn’t leave any of us out. We can find ourselves somewhere in the video, so if we refuse to watch, or if we reject the part we dislike isn’t that pride?

One of the great deceptions of Satan is to hide from our view the sin of pride through the prideful thoughts of entitlement.

And, on the other hand, if we recognize ourselves and use the information to grow by rejecting self, and self-entitlement, shouldn’t that be our goal, and our purpose?

Another Scientist who did not fall for the evolution theory

Dr. Kramer is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He holds a B.S. (Hons) from the University of Manitoba, an M.S. in biochemistry from the University of Manitoba, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota and completed three years of post-doctoral studies as a Hormel fellow at the Hormel Institute and as an NRC fellow at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Kramer has identified, characterized and synthesized the structure of numerous food, bacterial, and biological components and has published 128 refereed papers and numerous abstracts and book chapters. He was one of the core scientists who evaluated the toxicological, nutritional and biochemical properties of canola oil and demonstrated its safety. He presently serves as associate editor of the scientific journal LIPIDS.

Since completing my PhD in 1968, I have spent 30 years doing lipid research. Although my work has not specifically addressed the “origin of life” or the “age of the Earth,” I believe these issues have far- reaching implications in the area of lipid biochemistry and nutrition research.

Although I had committed my life to Jesus Christ and made a radical profession of my faith at the age of 16, at which time I was baptized, I now faced “my hour of decision.” Should I believe in evolution or God? Having studied this area without the help of any Christian literature on this topic, I came to the firm conclusion that evolution lacked evidence to make it credible. I therefore determined to believe God’s account for the time being and continued looking for evidence, one way or another.

Early background

I grew up in a Bible- believing home. Throughout high school I liked the sciences and excelled in these subjects. Therefore, it was natural for me to choose a career in scientific research. It was during my last year in high school that one of the pastors in our church approached me, concerned that I might lose my faith if I proceeded in a scientific career. He encouraged me to view the first chapter of Jesus without a timescale, since in his opinion it was more important to believe that God created all things, irrespective of how long it took. At first, this View seemed rather inconsistent with my interpretation of Scripture. But, I must admit, this thought raised sufficient doubt in my mind that I did not defend either position with much enthusiasm for several years. I was relieved that a critical confrontation never materialized in any of my classes throughout my BSc (Hons) and MSc program in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Manitoba.

Confronted with a Choice.

In 1964, I transferred to the University of Minnesota for a PhD program in Biochemistry with a minor in organic chemistry. It was there I was confronted with this very issue in my second year in a course in endocrinology. We were asked to write an essay on how life began, based on evolutionary principles. Weeks of reading and studying this subject provided me with no logical mechanism for evolutionary processes. I was looking for the type of evidence familiar to me in biochemistry and organic chemistry. It was obvious to me that life could not form or be sustained in either a reducing or oxidizing atmosphere, never mind the unlikely association of inanimate molecules to form highly ordered structures containing information. Fragile biological cells, and processes were several parts. All need to be working together simultaneously.

While I had to write the essay. I did. I described a possible scenario which I thought would be tested experimentally. However, after rereading the essay several times, I continued to see the weakness of my arguments. in total frustration and confusion, I added a few sentences at the end to the effect that would be easier to believe in a creator who made it all, then in favorable conditions, acting on inanimate matter over time. The low mark on the essay was most discouraging, and all attempts failed to change the score. I realized I was found out!

although I had committed my life to Jesus Christ and made a radical profession of my faith at the age of 16, at which time I was baptized, I now faced “my hour of decision.” Should I believe in evolution or God? Having studied this area without the help of any Christian literature on this topic, I came to the firm conclusion that evolution lacked evidence to make it credible. I therefore determined to believe God’s account for the time being. And continue looking for evidence, one way or another.

It was at this time I came across books by McKay and Morris and Whitcomb which impressed me greatly. On the other hand, I became very disillusioned with Evolutionists who managed to give good science followed by irrational conclusions that complex systems and processes just happened by some unexplained and evolutionary mechanism plus time.

In retrospect, that low mark on the evolution essay was the best thing that happened to me. I learned to critically evaluate the facts, irrespective of outside pressures. It was then that I began to see clear evidence for creation (Rom. 1:19–20). I took every opportunity to study Scripture and read books on beginnings. It was at this time I came across books by MacKay and Morris and Whitcomb which impressed me greatly. On the other hand, I became very disillusioned with evolutionists who managed to give good science followed by irrational conclusions that complex systems and processes just happened by some unexplained evolutionary mechanism plus time. No evidence. No logic. Just wishful dreaming. It also became evident to me that both views were strictly a matter of belief. To me the creation scenario appeared more logical than an explosion followed by self-propelled organization of matter which does not possess these properties.

Read the full text from the source at:

https://creation.com/john-k-g-kramer-biochemistry-in-six-days