Remains of Cities Built on the Continental Shelf

Remains of Cities Built on the Continental Shelf

 underwater remainsimages

Some of the world’s greatest mysteries are remains of cities, temples, and other man made structures all over the world on the earth’s continental shelves below the surface of the oceans. A few are found in sites only tens of feet below the ocean surface. Others are found in places a few hundred feet deep.

 

The remains have been subjected to ocean currents, as well as chemical and physical erosion for thousands of years. Part of the mystery is why there are any remains of man made structures at all. Continue reading Remains of Cities Built on the Continental Shelf

Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”

When King Solomon wrote these words, he wasn’t speaking in riddles. His advice was a comparison about making wise investments and getting a return on those investments.    King Solomon of Israel and King Hiram of Tyre had formed an alliance and had also developed a friendship. The Israelites had little knowledge of navigating ship on the open ocean, but the Phoenician sailors of Tyre had a long history of ship building and traveling long distances by ships in search of minerals and other natural resources.

Continue reading Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters

Where Did I Come From?

I have been praying for revival for several years. Revivals have come in different places across America over the years, but during this past year, the need for many churches to be revived by a move of the Holy Spirit has become increasingly important. I believe conviction of sins and repentance by church members is a key before awakenings can come to large numbers of the unsaved.

There is a growing awareness in my spirit that America’s tolerance of Darwinian evolution in schools and in our culture is one of the sins of which churches need to repent. Why do we tolerate our children being taught that humans evolved from a one-celled organism that spontaneously arose from just the right chemicals and conditions in a warm pond when both the Bible and nature tell us otherwise? Is God not being robbed of the glory due Him for creating all living things and humans made in His image, as well as for everything that exists? The National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Teachers Association, and practically every university science department is in agreement that science can only be explained by natural processes. Anything taught or published that suggests a connection to something supernatural is automatically eliminated from the field of science (and Truth according to secular reasoning). Superstitious beliefs certainly have no place in science, but great harm has come to children who are taught that unguided natural processes explain where they come from.

There is a key question that every person on earth will eventually seek to answer, because it is one of the foundations on which one’s basic beliefs about life are built. This very important question is Where did I come from? It is no accident that the answer is found in the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  Nor was it superfluous that Matthew and Luke recorded the ancestors of Joseph and Mary, the earthly parents of Jesus, even though Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. Matthew’s account goes back to David and Abraham. Luke’s account goes back to Adam.

 In fact, the first and second chapters of Genesis teach that Adam and Eve were the original ancestors of all people on earth. They were planned, designed and created by God. Created fully mature, they were able to speak and understand a language, somewhat like a computer can be programmed to understand and respond to commands. But, distinctly different from computers, the first humans were able to think, reason, make decisions of their own free will, and enjoy a relationship with their Creator.    

Throughout history, many explanations for where we came from have been proposed. The Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is clearly declared in the Bible as the Creator of everything. False gods and goddesses, personified heavenly bodies, deified men and women, demons, and even respected scientists have claimed answers to this important question. During the period of history known as the Enlightenment, human reasoning often provided answers that were elevated above God’s wisdom.

During this time, Deism became a widely popular philosophy, finding a way not to be accountable to God, but unable to ignore that He created the heavens, the earth, all living things, and humans. Deism taught that God created a perfect universe and gave humans such an intelligent mind that human reasoning should be able to find the answers for all problems.  Therefore, there was no further need for Him to intervene in what He had made. This left no need for the salvation provided by Jesus. It also meant that petitions for God’s intervention to problems were not needed. In 1859 when Charles Darwin proposed that all life evolved by means of natural processes, many Deist made an easy switch to agnosticism or outright atheism.

Darwin was born as the Enlightenment was well underway, and he had a huge influence on how to answer where did I come from? He was a brilliant scientist and made some important observations. He made a five-year trip around the world on a ship as the ship’s naturalist. During this time, he spent several weeks on the Galapagos Islands. He observed that there seemed to be several different varieties, or even species, of finch birds on the islands. He rationally proposed that at some time in the past, a few pioneer finch birds had somehow landed on the islands, and the present population of finch birds were all descendants of those original few ancestors. He proposed that their different characteristics evolved over time from a process he described as natural selection. The birds who were best able to survive in their environments passed their favorable traits on to their offspring, and those least able to survive generally did not pass their traits on to offspring. In other words, the fittest birds survived. He surmised that the same pattern had occurred in iguanas and tortoises, which seem to have evolved in the same way as the finch birds.   

Other scientists noted many groups of plants and animals also appeared to have common ancestor parents. For example, all varieties of cats may have evolved from the original God-created parents partly by means of natural selection to produce lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, house cats and other felines. Lions and tigers do not ordinarily mate in the wild, but in captivity there have been several cases of lions and tigers producing liger and tigon kittens. The ability of animals to mate and produce live offspring is a strong indication they had a common ancestor at one time. Dogs and wolves and dogs and coyotes are also able to mate and have live offspring, indicating they had common ancestor parents at one time.

Darwin carefully studied his observations and concluded that finch birds, iguanas, and tortoises, as well as other groups of plants and animals descended from common ancestors. Furthermore, he believed natural selection played a role in the evolutionary process. So far these are examples of microevolution, which is legitimate science.

But then Darwin took a giant leap of faith and proposed something very different, known as macroevolution. He started with strong, likely assumptions, such as all finch birds had common ancestor parents and many other groups of living things showed similar evidence of evolution over time. He knew that all living things were made of cells and contained many of the same chemicals. Then he extrapolated his observations and proposed that instead of many common ancestors, there was only one. His theory (actually a hypothesis) was that ALL living things and once living things—plants, animals, microbes, and humans—evolved from a single one-celled common ancestor that formed by natural processes when just the right chemicals and conditions came together to spontaneously become a living organism. Over millions of years, new organisms would gradually evolve from the original common ancestor by means of natural selection and other natural processes.

This proposal is a problem for Christians. Additional posts will discuss this topic.

The Glory Thieves

Christians tend to think of “wicked” people as those who commit murder and violent acts against others or engage in robbery of things that belong to others. But God, who sees into the heart, discerns the pockets of wickedness, even when ordinary people do not.  

 David gives us some insight about hidden sins as he writes about the sins of the fathers in Psalm 106:6-8. We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.  

 This Psalm expresses the seriousness of forgetting what God has done for us. When the Israelites found themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, they had forgotten the mighty acts He performed on their behalf in Egypt. As a result, they did not have enough faith to trust God to save them from this desperate situation. Nevertheless, Moses and Aaron trusted God and did exactly as He commanded, and the waters of the Red Sea miraculously parted. The Israelites witnessed another mighty miracle when they walked through the Sea on dry ground to the other side. David wrote that incredibly the Israelites soon forgot what the Lord had done and did not wait for His Counsel. Rather than trusting God’s counsel and the laws He gave them, they trusted their own reasoning. Eventually, as they continued to elevate their human reasoning abilities above God’s Word, a number of the people did the unthinkable and sacrificed their infant sons and daughters to demons. So, the Lord handed His people over to the nations and their foes ruled over them for many years. 

The antidote for keeping this wicked sin from getting a stronghold in our hearts is found in numerous Psalms, which tell us to Praise the Lord, Give thanks to the Lord, Sing before the Lord, and Forget not His benefits.          

 Ignoring and being unthankful for God’s miracles and kindnesses is certainly robbing God of the glory He is due, but attributing His works to an evil cause is even worse. There is an account in Matthew of a demon-oppressed man, blind and mute since birth, who was brought to Jesus. The man was instantly healed and he spoke and saw. Some of the religious leaders who witnessed this amazing miracle accused Jesus of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus replied with a stern, strong warning of the danger of attributing the glory due to God for a miraculous work to Satan himself. The religious leaders who were quick to accuse Jesus of partnering with an evil being were coming close to committing an unpardonable sin themselves. (Matt. 12:22-32)

 When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, his first request was that God’s name would be glorified and honored on earth. Before we claim innocence in this area, Americans need to examine the ways in which we fail to give honor to God for His incredible Creation.

The truth is that many Americans are guilty of robbing God of His glory by giving credit and glory for the origin of every living thing to unguided natural processes, an idea known as Darwin’s theory of evolution. Most children hear this theory from the time they are very young from cartoons and children’s books, featuring fantasized stories about cave men and dinosaurs. School textbooks teach it as a fact. 

Writing Romans 1:18-20, the apostle Paul speaks directly to people who do not acknowledge God as the Creator of everything. Paul says The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s people are reminded over and over that He is our Maker, and for this, He deserves our praise.

 The multitude of Scriptures telling us to praise God is not because God has a human-like, prideful ego. Giving praise to God, who is our Creator, focuses our attention on God’s divine power and wisdom and beauty and helps us to know Him better and to have more faith in Him as we pray. God is the most perfect and beautiful thing in the universe, well above any other thing we might admire. Finding reasons to praise the Perfect One enables us to judge the imperfect by comparison. We are the beneficiaries when we offer Him our praises.    

How should parents respond when children are being taught about origins in a way that robs God of His glory?  The best way is to simply tell them the truth.

Charles Darwin is given credit for this theory. After observing a variety of traits in finch birds on the Galapagos Islands, he concluded that they were all descendants of a few original finch birds. Over a long time, the birds who were best able to survive in their environments were able to produce offspring with the same favorable traits as their parents. Birds unable to adapt to their environments probably didn’t live long or produce many offspring. He called this concept natural selection and taught that new varieties, or even species, would gradually be produced in this way. Evidence from other genetic studies indicate that brown bears, black bears, polar bears, and other bears all descended from the same original pair of bears, with some bears adapting to a variety of different environments. Canines are clearly related by common ancestors, as dogs and wolves and dogs and coyotes are able to mate and produce offspring, even if they do not ordinarily mate in the wild. Members of the cat family also seem to have evolved from the same feline ancestors. There are examples of lions and tigers in captivity who mated and produced liger and tigon kittens.      

Darwin’s original observations and conclusions are no different than those of any scientist who identifies as a creationist or an intelligent design proponent. Up to a point, Darwin’s observations and hypotheses about common ancestors and the influence of natural selection are actually not controversial.

 Controversies ensued only when he went beyond where there is adequate evidence for his proposal that all animals, plants, microbes, and humans evolved from a single common ancestor. No wonder this idea is controversial. Darwinian evolution proposes that humans evolved from ape-like animals by random, unguided natural processes. Supposedly, the first human cavemen gradually learned to make tools, develop a language, and acquire other human characteristics over long periods of time. The entire evolutionary process would require millions of years in which natural selection and other natural processes are the creators of all living things. If Darwinian evolution is true, then God the Creator is either false or irrelevant.

A key ingredient of all worldviews is how one answers the question, “Where did I come from?” Unless God planned, designed, and created humans in His image, the answer would have to be, “I am the product of random, unguided natural processes.” Multitudes of philosophies and beliefs, true and false, build on the foundation of what one accepts about origins.             

Darwin was likely correct in saying that all finch  birds evolved from the same finch bird ancestors.The small evolutionary changes Darwin observed in finch birds, iguanas, tortoises, and other living things are known as microevolution, which is actually observable and based on evidence. It also agrees with the Bible that all living things have their beginning with their God-created original ancestors, which began life during the Creation Week. But he took a giant leap of faith when he claimed that every living and once-living thing on earth evolved from a one-celled organism that spontaneously formed in a warm pond with just the right chemicals and conditions. He made major tenuous assumptions as he extrapolated his evidence and observations. Instead of proposing that there were many original kinds of plants and animals, as the Bible teaches, he proposed the macroevolutionary idea that ALL plants and animals were descendants of one Common Ancestor.

Parents, along with Bible teachers, should help their children understand that microevolution is observable science, influenced by natural selection and genetic traits as Darwin proposed. But the macroevolutionary theory he proposed is not observable. Nor is it  supported by strong evidence. It certainly doesn’t agree with the account of creation in Genesis. Christian parents should help their children believe that everything written in the Bible–history, wisdom, praises to God, the Good News of salvation, and science—is accurate and true. 

Although much about microevolution is legitimate science, Darwin’s macroevolutionary proposal is a glory thief that fails to give God the glory for planning, designing, and creating the ancestors of all the amazing living creatures on earth, including humans.                         

Natural selection and other natural processes do not have the power to create living things on earth. Nor do they have the power to turn an ape-like animal into a human. Only God can make humans, whom He created in His image. All of the glory for His incredible Creation rightly belongs to God the Creator.       

It’s Beginning to Rain

Throughout the history of America, there have been several great spiritual awakenings and revivals in response to the earnest prayers of God’s people. Except for pockets of revivals in recent years, it’s been over a hundred years since a great awakening or revival swept over this country.

Yet, because of the hardships and tragedies of 2020, with the corona virus pandemic and the fears of the national election, God’s people are crying out for the help and deliverance that only He can provide.

Small groups of Christians have spontaneously formed to pray and fast for almost every city in America. In September, Franklin Graham and Rabbi Jonathan Cahn urged people to come to Washington, DC, to pray for the nation and the elections. Hundreds of thousands came and millions prayed and fasted as they watch the event on TV.

OneCry, Intercessors For America, and many other Christian groups and churches have called for additional days of prayer and fasting, fervently praying for God to heal our nation and to send a great revival.

God may not answer all of our prayers in the ways we are expecting, but He is definitely answering and He is sending the rain we desperately need. Listen to the words of this beautiful prophetic song.

        

It’s beginning to rai-ai-ain-hear the voice of my father-

He’s saying who so ever will, come and drink of my water-

He’s promised to pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters-

If you’re thirsty and dry, look up to the sky, it’s beginning to rain!

The turtle doves are singing sweet songs of the morning-

The leaves on the trees turn their silver cups to the sky-

The silent clouds above are beginning to gather-

The barren land is so thirsty, and so am I!

It’s beginning to rain- hear the voice of my Father –

He’s saying who so ever will, come drink of my water-

He’s promised to pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters-

If your thirsty and dry, look up to the sky, it’s beginning to rain!

At that first drop of rain that you start to hear, throw open the windows-

Call all your children together, and throw wide the door!

When the rains of the spirit are starting to fall, fill every vessel-

He who drinks his fill, will thirst no more!

It’s beginning to rain- hear the voice of my Father-

He’s saying who so ever will come and drink of my water!

He’s promised! To pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters!

Listen to me now! If your thirsty and dry look up to the sky!

If your thirsty and dry look up to the sky!

If your thirsty and dry, look up to the sky!

It’s beginning to rain!

 Songwriter(s): Gloria Gaither, Aaron Wilburn, Bill Gaither  

Creation by God’s Wisdom and Power

I was recently reading an account about the earthly life of Jesus from Matthew 12:29-37. A demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, who healed him. The people were astonished when the man could both talk and see, and they began to ask if Jesus could be the Son of David. When the Pharisees heard what the people were saying, they told them that Jesus had only driven out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

Then Jesus, knowing their thoughts, first talked briefly about how a house divided could not stand. If He was chief of the demons, He would be working against Himself.

He then went on to warn the Pharisees in the strongest terms about the danger of what they were saying. They had just seen an amazing miracle, and they gave Satan himself credit for it. Miracles and other mighty works of God were always intended to bring Him glory. Robbing God of the glory He is due is a great wickedness.

As I read these words, I realized that all of the original first living things–plants, animals, humans, and all other living things–had been created by God’s wisdom and power. But, instead of giving God glory for the incredible beauty, order, and complexity of Created things, many people believe, and even teach, that all living things evolved from one Common Ancestor by means of natural selection, other natural processes, random events, mutations, and variations in inherited traits.

It is highly likely that a large variety dogs, coyotes, wolves, and similar animals are the descendants of an ancestor pair of male and female canines. One evidence of this is that dogs and coyotes and dogs and wolves can mate and produce live puppies, although this is somewhat rare in nature. The same thing is true of felines. Lions, tigers, house cats, panthers, cheetahs, and other felines are most likely the descendants of an original ancestor pair of felines. Lions and tigers do not normally mate in the wild, but occasionally do in captivity, producing liger and tigon kittens. These kinds of changes that occur over the years, known as microevolution, do not result in dogs evolving into cats or cats evolving into dogs. They show original “kinds” (the Bible term) of living things evolving into variations of the same kind. These examples also showcase God’s glory in giving the kinds of plants and animals He created the ability to adapt and adjust to different environments.

Macroevolution is a theory proposed by Charles Darwin that every living thing–presently living or once living–evolved from one Common Ancestor. Microevolution is good science. Macroevolution is a glory thief!

Defining Racism

Some people, like Billy Graham, Florence Nightingale, and Martin Luther King, Jr. seem to be shielded from criticism and are almost never targets of protests. I used to think Charles Darwin was in this category, because his proposals and writings are almost universally accepted by science and educational leaders as enlightening and correct. Although evidence for many of his ideas is scanty, it was somewhat of a shock when I read what Phillip Johnson, a distinguished retired Berkley law professor, said about Darwinian evolution. Johnson’s specialty was logic and analyzing arguments. When he began to analyze the arguments for and against Darwinian evolution, he characterized evolution as “atheistic” and “falsified by all of the evidence” and whose “logic is terrible,” saying intelligent design is a much better way to study origins. A little additional research has easily led me to agree with Mr. Johnson. Continue reading Defining Racism

Common Core: Explained and Critiqued (from AFA Journal, September 2018)

Early approval of Common Core

Enthusiasm and agreement marked the plans by the nation’s governors and state educational leaders to produce a set of common standards that public schools could unify around. Some of the ambitious goals for Common Core State Standards were that all students who graduated from high school would be ready for college work or for careers; the achievement gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups would narrow; and U.S. students would maintain high rankings on international achievement tests.

 

A rushed beginning

The standards were written in 2009. Continue reading Common Core: Explained and Critiqued (from AFA Journal, September 2018)

The Real Civil War: God’s Truth vs Secular Humanism

For the past few years prominent American universities have seen large numbers of angry student protesting conservative speakers. Why are they motivated to do this? Legitimate groups from the University invited the speakers and no one was being coerced to attend the events. Nevertheless, the aim of the protestors was to make sure no one on campus heard a conservative viewpoint.

These protests, ranging from shout outs to full-blown riots, occurred on such campuses as UC Berkley, Middlebury College, Claremont McKenna College, the University of Chicago, the University of Washington, and U.C. Davis. Some of the most intelligent young people in the nation attend these great universities. Continue reading The Real Civil War: God’s Truth vs Secular Humanism

Miracle in Magalia, California

This post is a little different from most of what is on this site, but it is so amazing, I thought I’d include it anyway to show that miracles still happen today. You may not see this in regular news.

The November 15, 2018, issue of the Mississippi Baptist Record featured an incredible story about an event that occurred in the small city of Magalia, near Paradise, California, during the worst of the wildfires. I haven’t seen this in any of the news reports, but this is what happened on November 9, 2018.

Most of the residents of Magalia and Paradise had already evacuated, but Doug Crowder, the pastor of Magalia Pines Church, stayed behind to help the elderly, the homeless, Continue reading Miracle in Magalia, California

Assuming God’s Power is Limited

My mother once wisely counseled me not to limit my prayers, because I had a tendency to assume what the outcome of my prayers would be before I had even prayed. My scientist friends make a similar mistake when they make certain limiting assumptions about creation. Continue reading Assuming God’s Power is Limited

Does Common Core Fuel Hostility Toward Family , America, and Christianity?

Christian parents in America are baffled by the rude, and even violent behavior of some young people on college campuses as they protest conservative speakers, capitalism, the military and police. There is an increasing approval of socialism and communism by young voters, in spite of the obvious failures of communist countries. Veterans who sacrificed much to ensure that America remains a free nation look in utter amazement at the lack of respect for America’s heroes. Did these ideas originate on college campuses or did they begin much earlier in our elementary and high schools? Continue reading Does Common Core Fuel Hostility Toward Family , America, and Christianity?