Merry Christmas everyone!

Yeshua Ha-Adonai!

Old debate

Photo By roger.karlsson

Stan the half truth teller and I had a big debate about whether Adam and Eve knew it was wrong to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil since they did not yet "know" good and evil.

Originally I claimed that they obviously did have some but not full "knowledge" before they ate of the tree or else God would not expect them to understand that it was wrong to disobey Him. They still didn't have full knowledge yet which they were protected from.

I heard a preacher ages ago suggest that to "know" in the Bible was to choose to have a relationship with someone. Then it hit me. The word "knew" used in the phrase in Genesis where Adam "knew" Eve is exactly the same Hebrew word as to "know" good and evil.

Genesis 4:1
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”

Go figure, to "know" doesn't just mean to have knowledge it means to have a relationship with...

Revelation... ding ding

New blog "The Benevolent Hecklers"

Hi peoples,

Due to struggling to find time to post very few days to keep my blog running, I have decided to start a new blog where some Christian friends and myself will be sharing articles with each other and anyone else interested. The blog will be open to comments from everyone but will be a blog with multiple authors.

It will also be an overflow from a group we have here in NZ where we discuss theology and apologetics etc.

http://thebenevolenthecklers.blogspot.com/

cheers,

Dan

P.S. Though I will keep this one going :)

David Wilkerson is with the Lord

How sad and yet how hopeful it is when people pass away; Yet, Paul says that absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, Hallelujah!
David Wilkerson is author of the famous "The Cross and the Switchblade" and founding pastor of Times square church.
Truly a great guy that God has used and still uses today. He is known as God's Watchman.

From my knowledge he is the type of guy I look up to and admire; especially his relationship with God. He is someone that spurs me on to seek God deeper and deeper.

Thank you David for all you have done and praise God!

Richard Dawkins Interviews Wendy Wright

INTERVIEW

LOL.

Quite entertaining. I found this from Ray Comfort's blog and I must say some serious face palming in places as they say! and regarding BOTH parties. The interview is about the benefits and deficits of evolution on people.

The interview was fascinating, both brought good points but Wendy kept dodging some answers by Dawkins and Dawkins kept on claiming evidence for evolution as if it were proof.

Commonality may be evidence for evolution if someone is in the mind set to believe it, but commonality is certainly not proof... good point Wendy.

In my opinion Dawkins was right and Wendy wrong that there is evidence for evolution, it is whether it should be considered as gospel is the question.

I also loved the point that Wendy brought that controversy should be taught and encouraged when it comes to evolution or design. Scientists aren't the only ones that should have opinion, even they are subject to their pre-conceived world views.

DP

Matisyahu

Photo by EricMagnuson

Matisyahu is an Orthodox Jew who pens reggae/rock music. It is not normal reggae in that he really does have a Jewish sound to his music and doesn't really sound much like a rootsy Rastafarian unlike Christafari.

I use to think he was a Messianic Jew but from my understanding he is an Orthodox Jew. Much of his lyrics are based on the old testament and the Psalms; so he still holds many biblical principles in his messages.

When I listen to his music I get the impression he is someone who seeks God. I can only pray and hope that he comes to know HIS JEWISH MESSIAH... YESHUA not as a blond hair blue eyed western Jesus but a Jewish messiah prophesied beforehand by His people.

Have a listen and I hope you enjoy his music as I do! Here are three of my favourite songs of his.

Jerusalem

One Day

Time of your song

Eastern Lamp Mussel

Image by Helti

I found out about this amazing creature by watching a dvd called "incredible creatures that defy evolution 3".

NOTE: I cannot remember the name of the mussel but this mussel is closest to the one I observed on the dvd. The one I observed on the dvd may have been a relative.

This particular mussel has a very unique way of reproducing, in fact it is highly specific. The female mussel mantle looks like a minnow fish. It pumps water through its mantle and causes it to actually look like a little fish swimming in the water, it even has what looks like a mouth at one end opening and closing!

The reason it does this is because it is trying to attract specific varieties of fish (4 in fact) to come and eat them. The mantle has little mussel larvae on it which will attach itself to the predator fish. The hard part is, is that at a split second just as the fish goes to bite the mantle (and you know how fast they bite), the mantle has to react and fling the tiny mussel larvae into the water surrounding which then allows the mussel larvae to attach to the gills of the predator fish.

The larvae live there for a month and then drop to the ocean floor. It has to be on specific types of fish or else the little larvae die!

The questions that need to be asked is:

a. How did this mussel variety ever learn to be so quick as to be able to reproduce?

b. What did they do to survive when and if there was no bass, bluegill or sunfish?

c. How did this mussel learn or develop itself so as to look like a minnow? It even has two spots that look like eyes!

d. Looking at the evidence at hand, is it more likely that they were designed like that or that they happened to develop themselves like that?

Eastern Lamp Mussel

Photos of our little boy

Hello everyone! Meet little Simeon, He is now 6 1/2 weeks old. He enjoys singing (cooing to music), smiling, feeding, sleeping, grizzling and sicking up.... many many hobbies. Thank you Lord for him!

News talk ZB interview with John Lennox NZ

Photo By Medienmagazin pro

John Lennox is a christian apologist, philosopher of science and professor of mathematics.

Here is a half hour audio mp3 interview covering quite few topics including God's existence, hope and science. John Lennox had recently taken a tour of New Zealand and this is some of the fruit of it.

Quite an interesting interview. It features comments from Lennox regarding past debates with Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins as well as some atheists phoning up in NZ, even an "atheistic christian", go figure?

Thanks to Thinking Matters for providing the Interview

I agree with the majority of Lennox's comments but I thought he could have done a more in depth explanation regarding the earthquakes and suffering, although I know you are always limited when it comes to radio time. I hope to do a post sometime concerning the reason and causation behind the disasters that have happened.

DP

Jon Foreman

Photo by susieq3c

If you haven't heard of Switchfoot (a great band :D), they are an alternative rock band who are sincere Christians but I would not call them a "Christian band" since they wanted their music to be universal... fair enough, kind of like Jars of Clay. It makes them less "cliche-ic" and is not as full of Christianese in their lyrics as many other Christian bands.

The lead singer for Switchfoot had taken a little side track and wrote some solo albums while still heading Switchfoot back in 2007-2008.

He took a different angle to switchfoot and went nearly all acoustic and wrote challenging and personal songs in a rather unique way. He used many different types of weird/different instruments which make the listen quite an experience.

I really love his music, if I just chuck on one of his albums and have a listen, it really can be an incredible a time of reflection on life. He likes to tackle quite deep facts of life, some pleasant and some not so pleasant, not hiding behind colourful roses and peaceful gardens. Probably one of my favourite artists these days.

BROKEN FROM THE START

A MIRROR IS HARDER TO HOLD

THE CURE FOR PAIN

and a more obviously christian one:

YOUR LOVE IS STRONG

Have a listen : )

Reverse Thinking

This video is rather clever I thought, definitely one to check out whether you agree or not : D

cheers,

Reverse Thinking

Miracles by our Lord

Photo by Louis Du Mont

Last Sunday my wife and I decided to visit my old church that I grew up in to show friends our little Simeon who has just entered the big wide world. But what was cool was that there was a testimony time for people to share from the congregation regarding the miracles that God had done for them. So I would like to share some of them!

One young guy who is my brother's friend had broken (or similar) his foot a week or so ago and he was un-able to run on it because of the pain. His foot was swollen and he could see where a bone was sticking out a little. He went to a prayer meeting and people prayed for him to be healed and as they were praying he said he could watch it as the swelling went down and the bone under his skin come back into place! Exciting :D

There was a guy that I did not know who could provide medical verification of his healing. His arm was disconnected from his shoulder in a way that he could not lift it very high at all. He was prayed for and he was able to move his arm freely around like a windmill. He went to the doctor and the doctor told him that what he was able to do was impossible after seeing the scans of what it was before. The doctor told him he would have to send his patients to a prayer meeting in the future lol.

Another guy I know who works with my dad and was my science teacher at school had a couple of tests that showed he had high blood sugars. He was worried it was diabetes and so he was prayed for and he went back for a conclusive test and came back as normal!

Cheers God, for the mercies You perform for us who do not deserve Your mercy!

Logic Primers

Image by Sha Sha Chu

I have just been through these logic primers by Brian over at his fantastic blog Apologetics 315.

Looking back I really wish I had read these sooner as it would have helped me to clarify myself better and engage in discussion a little more easily.

It is an easy to read and not too long series of articles that take you through a basic understanding of logic. He covers such topics as how to form valid arguments coherently and how to avoid fallacies. You can access it here

LOST CIVILIZATION

Another good read from RtB concerning evidence for Genesis and its accuracy. Enjoy. I had to cut out the pictures because it was warping the text. Here is the link:

http://www.reasons.org/lost-civilization-beneath-persian-gulf-confirms-genesis-history-humanity

"Lost Civilization Beneath The Persian Gulf Confirms Genesis History Of Humanity


In almost every culture and religion of the world lies a story of a lost civilization. The Greeks told the tale of a sophisticated island nation suddenly submerged. However, the Greeks were not the only people group to embrace an Atlantis-type legend; many cultures recounted the lost-city-beneath-the-sea scenario. The ubiquitous nature of these stories, accounts, and legends lends credence to the possibility that in the early days of humanity’s history a relatively advanced civilization was indeed lost.

Now, a research paper published in Current Anthropology provides scientific evidence for such a lost ancient civilization, evidence that confirms much of Genesis 1–11’s historical account of humanity’s early days.1 University of Birmingham archeologist Jeffrey Rose reports on the discovery, conducted over the past six years, of over sixty new archeological sites along the shoreline of the Persian Gulf. All of these sites are dated as older than 7,500 years. Rose states that “these settlements boast well-built permanent stone houses, long-distance trade networks, elaborately decorated pottery, domesticated animals, and even evidence for one of the oldest boats in the world.”2In 2006, archeologist Hans-Peter Uerpmann of the University of Tubingen in Germany uncovered the remains of three different settlements that date between 25,000 and 125,000 years old at the base of Jebel Faya in the United Arab Emirates.

In his paper, Rose points out that during the late Pleistocene epoch (150,000 to 12,000 years ago) reduced sea levels periodically exposed the “Gulf Oasis.” The Persian Gulf receded to such a degree as to bring above the surface a landmass as large as, or larger than, Great Britain. Rose explains that this landmass was well watered by four large rivers flowing at the time: the Tigris, Euphrates, Karun, and Wadi Batin. Additionally, the region was watered by fresh water springs supplied by subterranean aquifers flowing beneath the Arabian subcontinent. Such an abundant and well-distributed supply of fresh water combined with the region’s warm weather would have supported a lush agricultural enterprise.

Rose argues that during the latter part of the last ice age a thriving civilization existed in what is now the Persian Gulf. As sea levels rose and as water rushed in through the Strait of Hormuz to fill up the Persian Gulf (see figure 1), people would have exited the Gulf Oasis and formed settlements along the rising shoreline. To build an iron-clad case for his theory, Rose calls for underwater exploration in the Persian Gulf to search for tools, human-built structures, and, best of all, fossil remains of humans. However, Rose also points out that the water’s rushing in to fill up the Persian Gulf and other neighboring regions could explain the many flood accounts and myths that emanate from that part of the globe. Such a flood event could have destroyed the very kind of evidence that Rose needs to solidify his case.

As Rose Himself Describes, the Gulf Oasis is consistent with Biblical account of Noah's Flood.

Rose’s theory fits not only the biblical account of Noah’s flood, it comports especially well with the earlier chapters of Genesis. Skeptics have long charged that the Bible’s description of the Garden of Eden brings biblical inspiration and inerrancy into question. Genesis 2 claims that the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers all meet together in Eden.3 However, the Pishon and Gihon flow out from the mountains of central Arabia (Havilah) and southwest Arabia (Cush), respectively, while the Tigris and Euphrates flow out from the mountains of Ararat in Armenia and Turkey (see figure 1).

As skeptics point out, nowhere on the planet do the four rivers come together. Their charge holds true—but only for today’s geography. All four rivers flow into different parts of the Persian Gulf and all four rivers meet together in what Rose identifies as the Gulf Oasis. As Rose points out, the Gulf Oasis was also watered by springs upwelling from subterranean aquifers. Genesis 2:6 also states that “streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.” Genesis 7:11 identifies “springs of the great deep” as part of the source of the flood waters that wrecked havoc upon the ungodly of Noah’s generation. The Gulf Oasis vindicates the unique claims Genesis makes about the Garden of Eden and its surroundings.

A calibration of the Genesis 5 and 11 genealogies yields dates for Noah and Adam that are consistent with the timing of the existence of the Gulf Oasis. I describe that calibration based on historical and scientific dates for Abraham and Peleg in my book More Than a Theory.4

As Rose himself describes, the Gulf Oasis is consistent with biblical account of Noah’s flood. A long torrential rain storm, a tectonic event bursting forth water from subterranean aquifers, water from the Indian Ocean rushing through the Strait of Hormuz, plus a heat wave generating a sudden melt of snow in the surrounding mountains would have caused a devastating flood wiping out all inhabitants in the Gulf Oasis, the Mesopotamian Plain, and many of the regions surrounding Mesopotamia and what is now the Persian Gulf. Such an event would be perfectly consistent with everything Genesis 6–9 says about Noah’s flood.5 Rose’s study provides yet another example of how the more we learn about archeology, the more reasons we gain for concluding that the Bible is the inspired inerrant Word of God.

Endnotes:
1. Jeffrey I. Rose, “New Light on Human Prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf Oasis,” Current Anthropology 51 (December 2010): 849–83.

2. Jeanna Bryner, “Lost Civilization May Have Existed beneath the Persian Gulf,” LiveScience (December 9, 2010), http://www.livescience.com/history/lost-civilization-possibly-existed-beneath-persian-gulf-101209.html (accessed December 10, 2010).

3. Genesis 2:10–14.

4. Hugh Ross, More Than a Theory (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009), 189–90.

5. Hugh Ross, The Genesis Question, 2nd ed. (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2001), 127–72."

Christchurch Earthquake

A city in NZ has had seriously big earthquake recently. My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved! Michael, I'm glad your safe! 

Would like to announce a new arrival

Yes, Esther went into labour on Tuesday and we now have our first child. He was 8 pounds 13.

We have called him Simeon, after the Simeon in the Bible who met Jesus as a child. His name means "hearing" or "God hears".

In amongst the sleepless nights we are absolutely stoked that God has blessed us with this little fellow.

Truely, God hears.

Theology group discussion - Evil

Some friends and I have been getting together about once a month to discuss theology in general and any difficulties regarding our understanding with christianity or really anything such as atheism or deism.

We have had a couple of topics so far and so I thought I would share a bit about what we discussed about God and evil, more particularly, about Isaiah 45:7 - "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."

Often, I had wondered about what this verse means. We searched the meaning of the word evil ("ra") and we found that it actually had two possible meanings:

1. It could mean a moral evil

or

2. It could mean a natural evil

So what is the difference? Moral evil is to do something morally wrong such as murder or rape etc. What is interesting about natural evil is that Hebrews had a mindset that evil could also be a calamity or in other words dis-functional.

For example: When God flooded the world, it was not a moral evil act but it was a dis-functional act for God to do (because people died). He was right to judge people and wipe out what was morally wrong but people died in the act. God's best or functional ideal for humanity is to have righteousness dwell in the land and to have no death.

Like a country giving capital punishment to a moral wrong. The state isn't necessarily morally wrong for doing so (Some people might think so...) BUT a dis-funtional thing happened, someone died... it was not the best functional conclusion that could happen. It would have been functional to have everyone living good lives.

The other interesting aspect to this word "ra" is that it is used in the tree of the knowledge of good an evil.

I remember having a big debate with "Stan the half truth teller" about whether Adam and Eve could comprehend moral evil before they ate from the tree. Stan argued that God gave loaded guns to infants, (God told them not to eat of the tree of which they didn't understand that it was wrong to eat from). I argued that they only had a part knowledge of what was right and wrong before they ate from the tree and then had a full understanding of moral evil after.

I think we were both possibly wrong. IF "ra" in this sentence meant that Adam and Eve would have knowledge of dis-functionality then it completely changes the understanding of what that tree was about. They wouldn't necessarily suddenly understand what was right and wrong morally but would have an awareness understanding of what dis-functionality is. They would now comprehend dis-functionality - disease, distance from the garden and God.

So really the tree could be a tree of the knowledge of good and calamity. Good can mean moral or beautiful in a similar manner. So Adam and Eve knew it was wrong to eat of the tree but did not have entire (God still told them they would die) knowledge of the calamity that could happen if they ate from it.

It doesn't make sense to say that God told Adam and Eve not to do something that they didn't know was right or wrong to do.