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Category: Christians & the World Today

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Some people, even preachers, say that everything that happens in the world – good, bad, or otherwise – is the will of God. Is it?

“I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek. They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others” (Psalm 73:3-5 NAB). The realities of this life often just don’t seem to make any sense, even as they didn’t to Bible writer Asaph 3,000 years ago. The opposite of what common sense would tell us is what often happens. Why? read more

SHOULD WE PRAY FOR ISRAEL?

SHOULD WE PRAY FOR ISRAEL?

To get the correct Biblical view in answer to this question, we need to understand and view the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, and not the other way around. People often misunderstand and mistinterpret the scriptures by doing this.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem .  . . For the love of the house of  Yahweh our God I will pray for your well-being”—Psalm 122:6,9 NJB

There is the Old Testament exhortation above to pray for Jerusalem, which represents the ancient nation of Israel. Yahweh is referred to as “the God of Israel,” “the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 41:13; 59:8; 68:8; 78:41; 106:48).  Today, there are a number of  Christians who strongly believe that the modern nation of Israel, which was established in 1948, should be prayed for. Is this what God wants us to do? We are told to: read more

SHOULD CHRISTIANS PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?

SHOULD CHRISTIANS PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?

Many who profess to be Christians strongly believe that it is their duty to be involved in politics for the good of this world. There is no doubt that many of these Christians are very sincere and well-meaning in their efforts. 

“If I had to do it all over again, I would avoid any semblance of involvement in partisan politics . . .  An evangelist is called to do one thing, and one thing only: to proclaim the gospel.”—Billy Graham, during an interview in the later years of his life read more

ARE THERE MULTIPLE PATHS or WAYS TO GOD?

ARE THERE MULTIPLE PATHS or WAYS TO GOD?

It is popularly believed  that there are many ways or paths to God. Many truly believe that one can find God through either any of such diverse paths as Christianity, or Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Islam, or Shintoism, or Confucianism, or Paganism, or Mysticism, or Sun Worship, or through their own enlightenment and path, or Native American religion, or Spiritism, or “the energy of the universe,” or New Age, or by being a good person, or through no religion at all, or through nature, or any combination of these and/or other beliefs, etc. Those who disagree with this populist idea are viewed as narrow-minded, or ignorant. read more

REVIVED 46,000 YEAR OLD WORM DEBUNKS MACRO-EVOLUTION

REVIVED 46,000 YEAR OLD WORM DEBUNKS MACRO-EVOLUTION

CNN ARTICLE, July 28,2023:

“Scientists have revived a worm that was frozen 46,000 years ago — at a time when woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers and giant elks still roamed the Earth.

The roundworm, of a previously unknown species, survived 40 meters (131.2 feet) below the surface in the Siberian permafrost in a dormant state known as cryptobiosis, according to Teymuras Kurzchalia, professor emeritus at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden and one of the scientists involved in the research.

Scientists have revived a ‘zombie’ virus that spent 48,500 years frozen in permafrost
Organisms in a cryptobiotic state can endure the complete absence of water or oxygen and withstand high temperatures, as well as freezing or extremely salty conditions. They remain in a state “between death and life,” in which their metabolic rates decrease to an undetectable level, Kurzchalia explained.

“One can halt life and then start it from the beginning. This a major finding,” he said, adding that other organisms previously revived from this state had survived for decades rather than millennia.

Five years ago, scientists from the Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science in Russia found two roundworm species in the Siberian permafrost.

One of the researchers, Anastasia Shatilovich, revived two of the worms at the institute by simply rehydrating them with water, before taking around 100 worms to labs in Germany for further analysis, transporting them in her pocket.

After thawing the worms, the scientists used radiocarbon analysis of the plant material in the sample to establish that the deposits had not been thawed since between 45,839 and 47,769 years ago.

But still, they didn’t know whether the worm was a known species. Eventually, genetic analysis conducted by scientists in Dresden and Cologne showed that these worms belonged to a novel species, which researchers named Panagrolaimus kolymaenis.

Researchers also found that the P. kolymaenis shared with C. elegans — another organism often used in scientific studies — “a molecular toolkit” that could allow it to survive cryptobiosis. Both organisms produce a sugar called trehalose, possibly enabling them to endure freezing and dehydration.

Belching lakes, mystery craters, ‘zombie fires’: How the climate crisis is transforming the Arctic permafrost
“To see that the same biochemical pathway is used in a species which is 200, 300 million years away, that’s really striking,” said Philipp Schiffer, research group leader of the Institute of Zoology at the University of Cologne and one of the scientists involved in the study. “It means that some processes in evolution are deeply conserved.”

And, Schiffer added, there are other actionable insights which can be gleaned by studying these organisms.

“By looking at and analyzing these animals, we can maybe inform conservation biology, or maybe even develop efforts to protect other species, or at least learn what to do to protect them in these extreme conditions that we have now,” he told CNN.”
 
In the CNN article above, “Philipp Schiffer, research group leader of the Institute of Zoology at the University of Cologne”, admits: “It means that some processes in evolution are deeply conserved.” This newly discovered and revived 46,000 year old worm is more evidence that the Darwinian theory of Macro-Evolution is deeply flawed, and does not fit the facts. This 46,000 year-old worm is much like worms in existence today, indicating that Darwinism, or Macro-Evolution, does not happen, and has never happened.  read more

IS FAITH INFERIOR TO REASON?

IS FAITH INFERIOR TO REASON?

Atheists assert that faith is inferior to reason. One of the reasons (no pun untended) for this is that they usually have a misconception of what faith actually is, thinking it is blind faith or credulity. True Biblical faith is:

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”—Hebrews 11:1 NASB

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for, it is the evidence of things we cannot see”—Hebrews 11:1 NLT

“Faith” here is from the Greek word pistis, which refers “to confidence that something is real, with a strong implication that action will ensue from this belief” (NLT Word Study System). read more

IS ASTROLOGY HARMLESS, or DANGEROUS?

IS ASTROLOGY HARMLESS, or DANGEROUS?

Astrology is an ancient pseudo-science which has been proven to be false in every way. The positions and movements of stars and planets have been proven to have no effect on the actions and choices of humans on earth. It was commonly practiced in the ancient world, and appears to have its roots in Babylon. There have been many cuneiform tablets discovered from the area of ancient Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, which contain astrological charts and other astrological references.

Astrology creates the impression that life is fatalistic, or pre-determined, and manipulates people to believe in false predictions. The Bible mentions astrology and astrologers in an unfavorable light. read more

THE EVIDENCE PROVES GOD’S EXISTENCE

THE EVIDENCE PROVES GOD’S EXISTENCE

“Even when walking in the street the fool, lacking understanding, calls everyone a fool”—Ecclesiastes 10:3 NAB

BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY REQUIRES LESS FAITH TO BELIEVE IN THAN ATHEISM

While Christians are often derided for their seemingly “blind faith” in the Creator/God’s existence, the facts give powerful evidence the Biblical Creator/God is real. 

The overwhelming scientific evidence confirms the essential truths of the “Big Bang”. In just the last 100 years, scientists, such as cosmologists and astronomers, have been forced by their very own discoveries to admit the universe had a beginning, which harmonizes with what the Bible stated as fact thousands of years ago. For example: read more

SHOULD EASTER AND THE LORD’S SUPPER BE CELEBRATED? IF SO, WHEN?

SHOULD EASTER AND THE LORD’S SUPPER BE CELEBRATED? IF SO, WHEN?

Revised March 17, 2024

“The Lord’s Supper . . . do this in remembrance of me . . . For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”—1 Corinthians 11:19,26 NIV

While the dates from year to year vary within certain guidelines, for the year 2020, most Christian churches observed Easter on April 12th, and Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) observed “the Lord’s Supper” (1 Corinthians 11:20), which they call the “Memorial of Christ’s Death,” on April 7th. For the year 2024, these dates are March 31st, and March 24th, respectively. The celebrations for these dates are rigidly set and observed each year, and carry a very huge importance for these groups. Please see, and very carefully read, the article: “What Is Memorial Day for Christians?” on this website to get further details regarding the proper Biblical celebration of “the Lord’s Supper.” Also, please see the article, “Is Easter a Biblical Celebration?” on this website.

The fact is that “the Lord’s Supper” is Biblically commanded to be celebrated, but Easter is not. Easter, which is neither mentioned, nor commanded, in the Bible, is said to be the celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, but is partially based on pagan springtime fertility rites. Christians

“must no longer live as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4:17 NIV) read more

IS ALMIGHTY GOD THE FATHER ALONE?

IS ALMIGHTY GOD THE FATHER ALONE?

Revised January 18, 2023

Trinitarians assert that ‘God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit’ all rolled into one God, but three entities at the same time. Of course, this makes no sense, but let’s see what the Bible says:

“We know that ‘An idol is nothing at all in the world’ and that ‘There is no God but one’. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’), yet for us there is one God, the Father . . . and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ“—-1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NIV.

One thing we can infer from this is that worship of anything other than God the Father is idolatry. This is confirmed by:

“The true worshippers will worship the Father in sprit and truth; that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and those who worship  must worship in spirit and truth“—John 4:23,24 NJB

Jesus here makes no allowance for worshipping the Son or the Holy Spirit!

Making clear that only the Father is Almighty God and is the Father alone is this:

“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”—2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV read more

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