From the January 28, 2014 eNews issue
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A recently deciphered 4,000-year-old tablet from ancient Mesopotamia contains the specifications for building an ark to endure a great flood and closely parallels the Biblical story of Noah. There is, however, one difference; the craft described on the tablet is round.
The tablet has gone on display at the British Museum in London.
Described by the museum’s tablet curator Irving Finkel as “one in a million,” he said that the tablet was “one of the most important human documents ever discovered.”
The cuneiform passage on the tablet describes a circular vessel known as a coracle, not the rectangular vessel of the Book of Genesis. It tells a similar story, complete with the key instruction that animals should enter “two by two.”
“It was really a heart-stopping moment—the discovery that the boat was to be a round boat,” Finkel said at the launch of his book The Ark before Noah. “That was a real surprise.”
George Smith, a British Museum decipherer, first identified the story known from the Book of Genesis in a seventh-century cuneiform tablet from Nineveh. As Finkel describes it, “when the gods decided to wipe out mankind with a flood, the god Enki, who had a sense of humor, leaked the news to a man called Atra-hasis, the ‘Babylonian Noah,’ who was to build the Ark.
“Atra-hasis’s Ark, however was round. To my knowledge, no one has ever thought of that possibility. The new tablet also describes the materials and the measurements to build it: quantities of palm-fiber rope, wooden ribs and of hot bitumen (tar) to waterproof the finished vessel.
“The result was a traditional coracle, but the largest the world had ever dreamed of, with an area of 3,600 square meters and six-meter high walls.”
Elizabeth Stone, an expert on the antiquities of ancient Mesopotamia at New York’s Stony Brook University, said it made sense that ancient Mesopotamians would depict their mythological ark as round.
Before this newest discovery, Answers in Genesis addressed the issue of the dimensions and shape of the ark. In their article “Thinking Outside the Box” Tim Lovett writes the following about the ark.
“While the Bible gives us essential details on many things, including the size and proportions of Noah’s Ark, it does not necessarily specify the precise shape of this vessel. It is important to understand, however, that this lack of physical description is consistent with other historical accounts in Scripture. So how should we illustrate what the Ark looked like? The two main options include a default rectangular shape reflecting the lack of specific detail, and a more fleshed-out design that incorporates principles of ship design from maritime science, while remaining consistent with the Bible’s size and proportions.
“Genesis describes the Ark in three verses, which require careful examination:
6:14 – “Make yourself an ark [tebah] of gopher wood; make rooms [qinniym] in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch [kofer].
6:15 – “And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
6:16 – “You shall make a window [tsohar] for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks” (NKJV).
“Most Bibles make some unusual translation choices for certain key words. Elsewhere in the Bible the Hebrew word translated here as “rooms” is usually rendered “nests”; “pitch” would normally be called “covering”; and “window” would be “noon light.” Using these more typical meanings, the Ark would be something like this:
“The tebah (Ark) was made from gopher wood, it had nests inside, and it was covered with a pitch-like substance inside and out. It was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. It had a noon light that ended a cubit upward and above, it had a door in the side, and there were three decks.
“As divine specifications go, Moses offered more elaborate details about the construction of the Tabernacle, which suggests this might be the abridged version of Noah’s complete directions. On the other hand, consider how wise Noah must have been after having lived several centuries. The instructions that we have recorded in Genesis may be all he needed to be told. But in any case, 300 cubits is a big ship, not some whimsical houseboat with giraffe necks sticking out the top.
“Scripture gives no clue about the shape of Noah’s Ark beyond its proportions—length, breadth, and depth. Ships have long been described like this without ever implying a block-shaped hull.
“The scale of the Ark is huge yet remarkably realistic when compared to the largest wooden ships in history. The proportions are even more amazing—they are just like a modern cargo ship. In fact, a 1993 Korean study was unable to find fault with the specifications.
“All this makes nonsense of the claim that Genesis was written only a few centuries before Christ, as a mere retelling of earlier Babylonian flood legends such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh story describes a cube-shaped ark, which would have given a dangerously rough ride. This is neither accurate nor scientific. Noah’s Ark is the original, while the Gilgamesh Epic is a later distortion.”
Articles about the tablet seem to give credence to the thought that the ark was round rather than rectangular. The Bible, however, makes it clear that the ark wasn’t round, given the dimensions God gave to Noah. They make the same mistake that others have made about the ark of Genesis vis-à-vis the ark of the Epic of Gilgamesh. They assume that the author of Genesis merely copied the story of Noah and the Flood from the Babylonian story.
Given the integrity of the Old Testament as a divinely inspired work, the opposite is true.
References
Hodge, B. (2011, January 21). Was Noah’s Ark Shaped Like a Box? Retrieved from Answers in Genesis:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2011/01/21/feedback-ark-shape
Lovell, T. (2007, March 19). Thinking Outside the Box. Retrieved from Answers in Genesis:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/thinking-outside-the-box
Prigg, M. (2014, January 24). Was Noah’s Ark ROUND? Retrieved from The Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2545494/Was-Noahs-Ark-ROUND-3-700-year-old-clay-tablet-reveals-boat-coracle-reedsbitumen.html
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Matthew 21-22
Notes for BSF
LET OUR FAITH MOVE MOUNTAINS (Matthew 21:18-22)
Religious hypocrites are the tree with leaves but no fruit
Like the fig tree that bore no fruit, the religious hypocrites bore no fruit either. They claimed they loved God, but they did nothing for God. They produced no works; they did not do the will of God, and they therefore had no fruit. Worse, they used God's name for selfish gains. Their faith was not based on their love for God.
Great faith moves mountains
Matthew 21:21
If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
Pray in faith and receive
Matthew 21:22
And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
It is tempting to take this verse out of context -- and many people do. They think that as long as they pray for it, this verse tells them that they will therefore receive it. However, when understood within context, we will learn that HOW we pray is critical.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we now that he hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of him.
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Prayer -- FAITHFUL prayer -- is not just us asking God for anything we want, treating God like He is a glorified Santa Claus. Faithful prayer is praying in God's will, with humility, with the heart of God, craving to fulfill His will (not our own).
JESUS COMES IN HIS OWN AUTHORITY (Matthew 21:23-32)
As we have seen in previous passages, the religious leaders continuously sought ways to discredit Jesus. In this passage, they straight out asked Jesus, "Who do you think you are?" They want to know on whose authority Jesus comes, because their reputation derives from their authority being the religious leaders. If Jesus wasn't preaching and teaching based on their authority, then what confidence could people have in Jesus' words?
It is very ironic that the very people who claimed to know God best were also the ones who remained the blindest to God incarnate, Jesus.
Jesus did not need to come in anyone's authority. He is God. He came in His own authority. But the religious leaders weren't interested in the answer to their question. They were interested only in making Jesus look bad. Knowing this to be their true motive, Jesus trapped them in their own scheme.
DO THE WILL OF GOD, NOT JUST OFFER LIP SERVICE (Matthew 21:28-32)
The first son...
* Said he wouldn't work but repented and went to work
* According to Jesus, did the will of the Father
* Is representative of the disciples
The second son...
* Said he would work but never did
* Did not do the will of the Father
* Is representative of the religious leaders
It is interesting that the religious leaders could tell Jesus which son did the work of God and which son did lip service -- yet, they still remained blind to their own spiritual blindness.
THE WICKED VINEDRESSERS KILL THE LANDOWNER'S SON (Matthew 21:33-46)
Again, the religious leader could correctly identify the fate of the wicked vinedressers who not only killed the landowner's servants but his son as well. They even deduced that Jesus was speaking of them through these parables. However, instead of letting the message sink in, they remained focused on getting rid of Jesus -- exactly as this parable foretold!
The symbolism used in this parable:
Landowner = God
Vineyard = House of Israel
Tenants = Israelites
Landowner's servants = Prophets
Heir = Jesus
Little to their knowledge, this parable would become a reality through the course of history.
The Israelites continued to stray away from God's path, despite the numerous prophets God sent to Israel. And eventually, they also rejected Jesus, Son of God, and nailed Jesus to the Cross.
Matthew 21:43
The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
Jesus pronounced this judgement on the Israelites, revealing that the kingdom of God will be given to another nation who will bear the fruits of it.
Before the coming of Jesus, the Bible divided people into Jews/Israelites and Gentiles. God called the Israelites as His people, not because they were deserving, but because He loved them.
Deuteronomy 7:7
The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a might hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
And through the Israelites, the rest of the world was to come to know God and receive salvation. Unfortunately, instead of being a good influence to the rest of the world, the Israelites fell away from God and became corrupted with the world. And so, God sent prophets after prophets warning the Israelites of the coming judgement of their non-repentance -- to which the Israelites did not heed. This all culminated at the 1st coming of Jesus, when Israel as a nation rejected Jesus as their messiah. This was why Jesus wept over Jerusalem:
Luke 19:41-44
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!
And because Israel rejected Jesus, the mission of the kingdom of God has been given over to the Gentiles. In this new era, the Bible now divide people into Christians (those who follow Christ) and non-Christians.
Studying this passage, we must be very wary of Replacement Theology. Supporters of this theology claims that Christians have "replaced" Israelites in the fulfillment of God's prophecies and even go as far as condemning Israelites, calling them unworthy of God's kingdom. Bottom line, Replacement Theology calls God a liar, taking all the promises of God and throwing it out the window.
Deuteronomy 7:7
Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Romans 11:17-18
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Why? Because God promised, all the way in the beginning:
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family,and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
As Paul explained in Romans 11, God is not done with Israel. This is best reflected in the book of Revelation, where after the Rapture, the Bible returns to dividing people as Jews/Israelites and Gentiles. Why?
Matthew 23:39
For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"
Jesus will not return until the Israelites are ready to receive Him as their Messiah. When that day comes, God will first judge Israel (and the world) for their trespasses, bringing forward the Tribulation period, before restoring their place in the kingdom of God. But until that day comes, we are in the era of Grace.
See my notes on Daniel 9 for detailed discussion of God's timeline.
MANY ARE CALLED, FEW ARE CHOSEN (Matthew 22:1-14)
Upon the 2nd coming of Jesus, everyone will be "judged."
Those who are in Christ, we will be judged by Christ at the Mercy Seat. We are all saved because we are all covered by the blood of Christ, so instead of condemnation, at this judgment, we will be rewarded for all the works we have done in His name. At this "rewards ceremony," we will also party like there's no tomorrow at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb -- which is described in this parable.
Those who are not in Christ, they will face the Great White Throne judgement. Because these people are not covered by the blood of Christ, they will each have to answer for the sins they have committed. Since they have chosen to walk apart from God, they will not be able to enter into God's kingdom and will not partake in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is along the same line of warnings Jesus had been given to the religious leaders. God set out calling the Israelites as His people, yet the Israelites didn't take it seriously, squandering their opportunities.
Matthew 22:8
The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
The "invitation" was then sent out to everyone else (Gentiles).
The attendees of this Wedding Feast are only those in Christ, who are clothed in white linen, garments of salvation, robe of righteousness ("wedding garment") (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:9; and 2 Corinthians 5:21).
We are all given the chance to receive Jesus, but not all of us choose to receive Jesus.
LET OUR FAITH MOVE MOUNTAINS (Matthew 21:18-22)
Religious hypocrites are the tree with leaves but no fruit
Like the fig tree that bore no fruit, the religious hypocrites bore no fruit either. They claimed they loved God, but they did nothing for God. They produced no works; they did not do the will of God, and they therefore had no fruit. Worse, they used God's name for selfish gains. Their faith was not based on their love for God.
Great faith moves mountains
Matthew 21:21
If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
Pray in faith and receive
Matthew 21:22
And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
It is tempting to take this verse out of context -- and many people do. They think that as long as they pray for it, this verse tells them that they will therefore receive it. However, when understood within context, we will learn that HOW we pray is critical.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we now that he hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of him.
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Prayer -- FAITHFUL prayer -- is not just us asking God for anything we want, treating God like He is a glorified Santa Claus. Faithful prayer is praying in God's will, with humility, with the heart of God, craving to fulfill His will (not our own).
JESUS COMES IN HIS OWN AUTHORITY (Matthew 21:23-32)
As we have seen in previous passages, the religious leaders continuously sought ways to discredit Jesus. In this passage, they straight out asked Jesus, "Who do you think you are?" They want to know on whose authority Jesus comes, because their reputation derives from their authority being the religious leaders. If Jesus wasn't preaching and teaching based on their authority, then what confidence could people have in Jesus' words?
It is very ironic that the very people who claimed to know God best were also the ones who remained the blindest to God incarnate, Jesus.
Jesus did not need to come in anyone's authority. He is God. He came in His own authority. But the religious leaders weren't interested in the answer to their question. They were interested only in making Jesus look bad. Knowing this to be their true motive, Jesus trapped them in their own scheme.
DO THE WILL OF GOD, NOT JUST OFFER LIP SERVICE (Matthew 21:28-32)
The first son...
* Said he wouldn't work but repented and went to work
* According to Jesus, did the will of the Father
* Is representative of the disciples
The second son...
* Said he would work but never did
* Did not do the will of the Father
* Is representative of the religious leaders
It is interesting that the religious leaders could tell Jesus which son did the work of God and which son did lip service -- yet, they still remained blind to their own spiritual blindness.
THE WICKED VINEDRESSERS KILL THE LANDOWNER'S SON (Matthew 21:33-46)
Again, the religious leader could correctly identify the fate of the wicked vinedressers who not only killed the landowner's servants but his son as well. They even deduced that Jesus was speaking of them through these parables. However, instead of letting the message sink in, they remained focused on getting rid of Jesus -- exactly as this parable foretold!
The symbolism used in this parable:
Landowner = God
Vineyard = House of Israel
Tenants = Israelites
Landowner's servants = Prophets
Heir = Jesus
Little to their knowledge, this parable would become a reality through the course of history.
The Israelites continued to stray away from God's path, despite the numerous prophets God sent to Israel. And eventually, they also rejected Jesus, Son of God, and nailed Jesus to the Cross.
Matthew 21:43
The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
Jesus pronounced this judgement on the Israelites, revealing that the kingdom of God will be given to another nation who will bear the fruits of it.
Before the coming of Jesus, the Bible divided people into Jews/Israelites and Gentiles. God called the Israelites as His people, not because they were deserving, but because He loved them.
Deuteronomy 7:7
The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a might hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
And through the Israelites, the rest of the world was to come to know God and receive salvation. Unfortunately, instead of being a good influence to the rest of the world, the Israelites fell away from God and became corrupted with the world. And so, God sent prophets after prophets warning the Israelites of the coming judgement of their non-repentance -- to which the Israelites did not heed. This all culminated at the 1st coming of Jesus, when Israel as a nation rejected Jesus as their messiah. This was why Jesus wept over Jerusalem:
Luke 19:41-44
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!
And because Israel rejected Jesus, the mission of the kingdom of God has been given over to the Gentiles. In this new era, the Bible now divide people into Christians (those who follow Christ) and non-Christians.
Studying this passage, we must be very wary of Replacement Theology. Supporters of this theology claims that Christians have "replaced" Israelites in the fulfillment of God's prophecies and even go as far as condemning Israelites, calling them unworthy of God's kingdom. Bottom line, Replacement Theology calls God a liar, taking all the promises of God and throwing it out the window.
Deuteronomy 7:7
Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Romans 11:17-18
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Why? Because God promised, all the way in the beginning:
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family,and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
As Paul explained in Romans 11, God is not done with Israel. This is best reflected in the book of Revelation, where after the Rapture, the Bible returns to dividing people as Jews/Israelites and Gentiles. Why?
Matthew 23:39
For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"
Jesus will not return until the Israelites are ready to receive Him as their Messiah. When that day comes, God will first judge Israel (and the world) for their trespasses, bringing forward the Tribulation period, before restoring their place in the kingdom of God. But until that day comes, we are in the era of Grace.
See my notes on Daniel 9 for detailed discussion of God's timeline.
MANY ARE CALLED, FEW ARE CHOSEN (Matthew 22:1-14)
Upon the 2nd coming of Jesus, everyone will be "judged."
Those who are in Christ, we will be judged by Christ at the Mercy Seat. We are all saved because we are all covered by the blood of Christ, so instead of condemnation, at this judgment, we will be rewarded for all the works we have done in His name. At this "rewards ceremony," we will also party like there's no tomorrow at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb -- which is described in this parable.
Those who are not in Christ, they will face the Great White Throne judgement. Because these people are not covered by the blood of Christ, they will each have to answer for the sins they have committed. Since they have chosen to walk apart from God, they will not be able to enter into God's kingdom and will not partake in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is along the same line of warnings Jesus had been given to the religious leaders. God set out calling the Israelites as His people, yet the Israelites didn't take it seriously, squandering their opportunities.
Matthew 22:8
The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
The "invitation" was then sent out to everyone else (Gentiles).
The attendees of this Wedding Feast are only those in Christ, who are clothed in white linen, garments of salvation, robe of righteousness ("wedding garment") (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:9; and 2 Corinthians 5:21).
We are all given the chance to receive Jesus, but not all of us choose to receive Jesus.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Matthew 19-21
Notes for BSF
BE NOT ATTACHED TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD (Matthew 19:23-30)
In the previous passage, the rich young ruler could not let go of his riches to follow Jesus. When faced with the choices of eternal life or earthly riches, the rich young ruler could not see beyond his materialistic possessions. Hence, Jesus said:
Matthew 19:24
... It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Can we even imagine a camel going through the eye of a needle? And yet, Jesus said that this feat is easier to accomplish than having a rich man enter into the kingdom of God. That is a sobering thought, isn't it?
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The most valuable things are those that last forever. Money, social status, power – These things can vanish at any time. However, our salvation in Christ, our reward in Christ is eternal. No one can take it away from us.
John 10:28
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
When we become so attached to the things of this world, we become blind to the treasures that await us in the Kingdom of God. We might think it is obvious that we would all choose eternal glory with God than to choose temporary materialistic provision, but whenever we are reluctant to let go of something (work, fame, sports, drugs, etc.) to pursue God, we are in the exact same unfortunate state as the rich young ruler. If we cannot see beyond the things of this world and allow ourselves to become overly attached to these things, it would indeed be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for us to enter into God's Kingdom.
God changes hearts
When told to give up all that he had, the rich young ruler turned around and left Jesus, believing he couldn't, and worse, unwilling to try.
The disciples, on the other hand, continued to follow Jesus for guidance. They asked Jesus that if giving up all that we have to follow Jesus was near impossible, then how can anyone succeed. Jesus revealed to them that whatever is impossible for man is not impossible for God.
We may have a hard time letting go of the materialistic, or do not know how to take that first step to follow Jesus, or are giving up trying to minister to some very hard hearts -- Whatever the reason for our reluctance, God can change and strengthen us and the people we're helping, as long as we are willing.
The rewards of following Jesus are great
Matthew 19:28-29
Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my Name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A LANDOWNER (Matthew 20:1-16)
Continuing His theme of "the last will be first, and the first will be last" (Matthew 19:30), Jesus told this parable to illustrate the following:
1. Those who always think they deserve more will often be those who receive the least
This is God teaching these people a lesson in pride. When we feel we deserve more, we are being the judge. We are judging ourselves and others, and we conclude that we are better than others. This is why we believe we deserve more. But who are we to judge? Are we so perfect that our judgment is always fair, balanced, and objective? The parable here is to teach us that we are not the judge.
Luke 12:48
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Because we are not all-knowing and all-seeing like God, we cannot possibly be aware of the reasons why some receive more and why other do not. However, it is clear from the Bible, that God does not judges us against others. Instead, He judges us based on our own abilities to make do with whatever He has given us. If He has given us much, then more will be expected of us. Hence, whatever has been given to us, receive with gratitude and appreciation. Focus on doing the best work for God with what we have been given. As for what God wants to give to others, that is between God and those individuals.
Many times, people who are humble are often the ones that society doesn’t want to use. The society think of these people as weak, and they would rather use someone who is prideful, because companies and organizations want their employees to show how they are better than everyone else. Yet, we see that God especially love those who are humble, because these people often put themselves last, always are ready to serve rather than be served.
Matthew 20:28
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
This is why those who put themselves last are always promoted by God.
The landowner is a picture of the sovereignty and fairness of God
God is the judge – He gets to determine who receives what and how much.
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the older son behaved in a similar manner as the men who had worked all day: They all acted as if they were the judge. Based on their own selfish thinking, they believed that they deserved more because they have been working harder, been there longer. They were so focused on their own benefits that they never thought what joy it would be for the landowner to provide for more people or for the father to have his son return to him. Instead of rejoicing with the landowner/father for the good that had come, these people
bickered because they saw only that they received less that they deserved.
Going by human logic, it seems reasonable to assume that if I have put in more work than Person A, then I ought to receive more pay than Person A. Using this logic to understand the parable in this passage, we may thus find the landowner to be "unfair," giving the same wage to people who had worked all day and people who had worked for the last hour of the day.
What we need to understand here is the difference between salvation and rewards.
Salvation is for everyone. Whether we have been Christians for decades or become a Christian just before we die, as long as we are in God, we will receive eternal salvation.
Rewards, on the other hand, are tiered. Judging on what we have done with the talents that God has given us and how we have done it (condition of our heart), we will be rewarded accordingly at the Mercy Seat of Christ (Cf. Revelation 22:12; Matthew 25:14-29).
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
When we start judging what we deserve and what others deserve, we start acting as God and allow pride to overwhelm our fleshly desires. This caused the downfall of Lucifer -- Let us learn from it.
JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH (Matthew 20:17-19)
Jesus revealed to His disciples for the 3rd time how He would be sacrificed:
1. He will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes -- Indeed, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
2. The religious leaders will condemn Him to death -- Indeed, the religious leaders conducted a total of illegal trials to convict Jesus. They couldn't do it legally, so they had to resort to illegal tactics.
3. He will be delivered to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, to crucify -- Indeed, because the Jews, under Roman rule at the time, did not have the right to execute prisoners, they had to hand Jesus over to the Roman government and convince the Romans to execute Jesus
4. He will conquer death, and on the 3rd day, He will rise again -- Indeed, our sins are forgiven, and we have eternal life, all because our Lord and Savior lives!
BE DEFINED BY THE HUMILITY OF OUR HEARTS (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 18:34)
The disciples debated among themselves who would be the greatest one day. The mother of James and John even came to Jesus requesting that they be elevated to sit on the right and left hand sides of Jesus.
Matthew 20:22
You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?
The wrath of God is not easy to endure. In fact, if we are ever to face the wrath of God, we would die, because we are in sin, and the righteousness of God abolishes all sin. This is why Paul said, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This death is not just our physical death but our spiritual death. In other words, when we remain in sin, we are spiritually dead and remain apart from God -- Sin simply cannot exist or persist in the presence of God.
Only Jesus can endure drinking from the cup (Cf. Psalm 75:7-8; Isaiah 41:17)
Drinking from the cup has been compared to drinking the sediment, the least tasty, the least valuable part of a glass of wine. Drinking from the cup is used to illustrate God’s wrath.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Peter 2:24
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Jesus was sinless and did not deserve the wrath of God. We are sinful and fully deserve the wrath of God. However, Jesus took that cup of wrath from us -- AND DRANK IT FOR US -- so that we do not have to drink it ourselves.
The only way we can return to the presence God AND LIVE is if our sins are washed away. This is why Jesus had to come and die for us. Only His blood can permanently wash our sins away, allowing us to once again be in the presence of God without being judged for our sins. By dying for us, Jesus had to endure the wrath of God, to take on all the wrath for our sins, so that we would not have to endure it – because we would not survive! No one can share Jesus’ cup of wrath. Only Jesus could endure it without dying eternally apart from God because Jesus had no sin.
The disciples did not realize how great sin is in the eyes of God, and that is why they did not understand how they could never take on the cross without them dying eternally as a result.
They thus sadly fought for a “powerful” position next to Jesus, as if such a position was another earthly position like a vice president or something.
When we equate blessings of God with earthly values, we often fail to see the heavenly value of the treasures that we have.
Matthew 20:26-28
Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
PRAY TO HAVE OUR EYES OPENED (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
The blind men prayed to have their eyes be opened. We should pray a similar prayer, that our spiritual eyes be opened, to be able to see the Truth of God.
JESUS' TRIUMPHANT ENTRANCE (Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19)
Jesus officially announced Himself as the Messiah when He entered into Jerusalem as prophesied by the Old Testament prophet Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9
Behold, our King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Any Jew back then would recognize the significance of this sign.
The disciples and the people praised Jesus as the Son of God when they recognized Jesus' declaration, spreading their clothes on the road, paving His entrance into Jerusalem. They sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David," proclaiming to the world that they welcome the Messiah as they sang from Psalm 118:26.
However, the religious leaders refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah -- DESPITE THE FACTS. Further, they knew that Jesus' disciples and the people were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, and they wanted Jesus to rebuke His disciples for blaspheming (Luke 19:39)! It is very ironic that despite all their training, despite how they hold themselves as the most knowledgeable gurus of anything pertaining God, they fell blind to the coming of their Messiah and even demanded to have the Messiah to apologize for His Triumphant Entry!
Jesus' response? He completely endorsed the cheering and proclamation of His disciples and the people!
Luke 19:40
If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO TURN HIS HOUSE OF WORSHIP INTO DEN OF THIEVES (Matthew 21:12-17)
We do not see Jesus angered much in the Bible. Here, we see Jesus in full blown anger: When we abuse and manipulate treasures of God to further our own personal agenda, be aware of God's wrath. God's House is sacred and is reserved solely as a House of Prayer. To turn it into anything else is a grave, grave sin.
The Temple is not just a building
John 2:18-22
The temple is Jesus’ body
1 Corinthians 6:19
The temple is our bodies
Ephesians 2:21–22
The temple is the Church body
Christ cleanses the temple of our bodies through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:24).
BE NOT ATTACHED TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD (Matthew 19:23-30)
In the previous passage, the rich young ruler could not let go of his riches to follow Jesus. When faced with the choices of eternal life or earthly riches, the rich young ruler could not see beyond his materialistic possessions. Hence, Jesus said:
Matthew 19:24
... It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Can we even imagine a camel going through the eye of a needle? And yet, Jesus said that this feat is easier to accomplish than having a rich man enter into the kingdom of God. That is a sobering thought, isn't it?
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The most valuable things are those that last forever. Money, social status, power – These things can vanish at any time. However, our salvation in Christ, our reward in Christ is eternal. No one can take it away from us.
John 10:28
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
When we become so attached to the things of this world, we become blind to the treasures that await us in the Kingdom of God. We might think it is obvious that we would all choose eternal glory with God than to choose temporary materialistic provision, but whenever we are reluctant to let go of something (work, fame, sports, drugs, etc.) to pursue God, we are in the exact same unfortunate state as the rich young ruler. If we cannot see beyond the things of this world and allow ourselves to become overly attached to these things, it would indeed be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for us to enter into God's Kingdom.
God changes hearts
When told to give up all that he had, the rich young ruler turned around and left Jesus, believing he couldn't, and worse, unwilling to try.
The disciples, on the other hand, continued to follow Jesus for guidance. They asked Jesus that if giving up all that we have to follow Jesus was near impossible, then how can anyone succeed. Jesus revealed to them that whatever is impossible for man is not impossible for God.
We may have a hard time letting go of the materialistic, or do not know how to take that first step to follow Jesus, or are giving up trying to minister to some very hard hearts -- Whatever the reason for our reluctance, God can change and strengthen us and the people we're helping, as long as we are willing.
The rewards of following Jesus are great
Matthew 19:28-29
Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my Name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A LANDOWNER (Matthew 20:1-16)
Continuing His theme of "the last will be first, and the first will be last" (Matthew 19:30), Jesus told this parable to illustrate the following:
1. Those who always think they deserve more will often be those who receive the least
This is God teaching these people a lesson in pride. When we feel we deserve more, we are being the judge. We are judging ourselves and others, and we conclude that we are better than others. This is why we believe we deserve more. But who are we to judge? Are we so perfect that our judgment is always fair, balanced, and objective? The parable here is to teach us that we are not the judge.
Luke 12:48
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Because we are not all-knowing and all-seeing like God, we cannot possibly be aware of the reasons why some receive more and why other do not. However, it is clear from the Bible, that God does not judges us against others. Instead, He judges us based on our own abilities to make do with whatever He has given us. If He has given us much, then more will be expected of us. Hence, whatever has been given to us, receive with gratitude and appreciation. Focus on doing the best work for God with what we have been given. As for what God wants to give to others, that is between God and those individuals.
Many times, people who are humble are often the ones that society doesn’t want to use. The society think of these people as weak, and they would rather use someone who is prideful, because companies and organizations want their employees to show how they are better than everyone else. Yet, we see that God especially love those who are humble, because these people often put themselves last, always are ready to serve rather than be served.
Matthew 20:28
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
This is why those who put themselves last are always promoted by God.
The landowner is a picture of the sovereignty and fairness of God
God is the judge – He gets to determine who receives what and how much.
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the older son behaved in a similar manner as the men who had worked all day: They all acted as if they were the judge. Based on their own selfish thinking, they believed that they deserved more because they have been working harder, been there longer. They were so focused on their own benefits that they never thought what joy it would be for the landowner to provide for more people or for the father to have his son return to him. Instead of rejoicing with the landowner/father for the good that had come, these people
bickered because they saw only that they received less that they deserved.
Going by human logic, it seems reasonable to assume that if I have put in more work than Person A, then I ought to receive more pay than Person A. Using this logic to understand the parable in this passage, we may thus find the landowner to be "unfair," giving the same wage to people who had worked all day and people who had worked for the last hour of the day.
What we need to understand here is the difference between salvation and rewards.
Salvation is for everyone. Whether we have been Christians for decades or become a Christian just before we die, as long as we are in God, we will receive eternal salvation.
Rewards, on the other hand, are tiered. Judging on what we have done with the talents that God has given us and how we have done it (condition of our heart), we will be rewarded accordingly at the Mercy Seat of Christ (Cf. Revelation 22:12; Matthew 25:14-29).
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
When we start judging what we deserve and what others deserve, we start acting as God and allow pride to overwhelm our fleshly desires. This caused the downfall of Lucifer -- Let us learn from it.
JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH (Matthew 20:17-19)
Jesus revealed to His disciples for the 3rd time how He would be sacrificed:
1. He will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes -- Indeed, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
2. The religious leaders will condemn Him to death -- Indeed, the religious leaders conducted a total of illegal trials to convict Jesus. They couldn't do it legally, so they had to resort to illegal tactics.
3. He will be delivered to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, to crucify -- Indeed, because the Jews, under Roman rule at the time, did not have the right to execute prisoners, they had to hand Jesus over to the Roman government and convince the Romans to execute Jesus
4. He will conquer death, and on the 3rd day, He will rise again -- Indeed, our sins are forgiven, and we have eternal life, all because our Lord and Savior lives!
BE DEFINED BY THE HUMILITY OF OUR HEARTS (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 18:34)
The disciples debated among themselves who would be the greatest one day. The mother of James and John even came to Jesus requesting that they be elevated to sit on the right and left hand sides of Jesus.
Matthew 20:22
You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?
The wrath of God is not easy to endure. In fact, if we are ever to face the wrath of God, we would die, because we are in sin, and the righteousness of God abolishes all sin. This is why Paul said, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This death is not just our physical death but our spiritual death. In other words, when we remain in sin, we are spiritually dead and remain apart from God -- Sin simply cannot exist or persist in the presence of God.
Only Jesus can endure drinking from the cup (Cf. Psalm 75:7-8; Isaiah 41:17)
Drinking from the cup has been compared to drinking the sediment, the least tasty, the least valuable part of a glass of wine. Drinking from the cup is used to illustrate God’s wrath.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Peter 2:24
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Jesus was sinless and did not deserve the wrath of God. We are sinful and fully deserve the wrath of God. However, Jesus took that cup of wrath from us -- AND DRANK IT FOR US -- so that we do not have to drink it ourselves.
The only way we can return to the presence God AND LIVE is if our sins are washed away. This is why Jesus had to come and die for us. Only His blood can permanently wash our sins away, allowing us to once again be in the presence of God without being judged for our sins. By dying for us, Jesus had to endure the wrath of God, to take on all the wrath for our sins, so that we would not have to endure it – because we would not survive! No one can share Jesus’ cup of wrath. Only Jesus could endure it without dying eternally apart from God because Jesus had no sin.
The disciples did not realize how great sin is in the eyes of God, and that is why they did not understand how they could never take on the cross without them dying eternally as a result.
They thus sadly fought for a “powerful” position next to Jesus, as if such a position was another earthly position like a vice president or something.
When we equate blessings of God with earthly values, we often fail to see the heavenly value of the treasures that we have.
Matthew 20:26-28
Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
PRAY TO HAVE OUR EYES OPENED (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
The blind men prayed to have their eyes be opened. We should pray a similar prayer, that our spiritual eyes be opened, to be able to see the Truth of God.
JESUS' TRIUMPHANT ENTRANCE (Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19)
Jesus officially announced Himself as the Messiah when He entered into Jerusalem as prophesied by the Old Testament prophet Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9
Behold, our King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Any Jew back then would recognize the significance of this sign.
The disciples and the people praised Jesus as the Son of God when they recognized Jesus' declaration, spreading their clothes on the road, paving His entrance into Jerusalem. They sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David," proclaiming to the world that they welcome the Messiah as they sang from Psalm 118:26.
However, the religious leaders refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah -- DESPITE THE FACTS. Further, they knew that Jesus' disciples and the people were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, and they wanted Jesus to rebuke His disciples for blaspheming (Luke 19:39)! It is very ironic that despite all their training, despite how they hold themselves as the most knowledgeable gurus of anything pertaining God, they fell blind to the coming of their Messiah and even demanded to have the Messiah to apologize for His Triumphant Entry!
Jesus' response? He completely endorsed the cheering and proclamation of His disciples and the people!
Luke 19:40
If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO TURN HIS HOUSE OF WORSHIP INTO DEN OF THIEVES (Matthew 21:12-17)
We do not see Jesus angered much in the Bible. Here, we see Jesus in full blown anger: When we abuse and manipulate treasures of God to further our own personal agenda, be aware of God's wrath. God's House is sacred and is reserved solely as a House of Prayer. To turn it into anything else is a grave, grave sin.
The Temple is not just a building
John 2:18-22
The temple is Jesus’ body
1 Corinthians 6:19
The temple is our bodies
Ephesians 2:21–22
The temple is the Church body
Christ cleanses the temple of our bodies through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:24).
Monday, February 10, 2014
Blue-Eyed Cave Spaniards and Other Surprising Archaeology
From the January 28, 2014 eNews issue
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"Before we started this work, I had some ideas of what we were going to find. Most of those ideas turned out to be completely wrong."
— Carles Lalueza-Fox, the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona.
Ancient Europeans may have been dark skinned and blue-eyed, according to recent DNA evidence from skeletons found in a cave in Spain.
The genetic code showed traits that surprised archeologists, including genes coding for strong immune system characteristics that would have helped the ancient hunter gatherers to fight off pathogens.
Such highly prepared immune capabilities were not expected to have evolved until humans began farming and handling animals and facing exposure to their microorganisms on a regular basis. A variety of unexpected bits of information have popped up in the science of ancient history lately, reminding the researchers of the world to be careful about creating stories before they have all the facts in.
300,000 Year-Old Hearth
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has just released information on evidence of a cave holding a hearth and different cooking and gathering areas. The existence of a cave home is not surprising, given the long history of the land of Israel. The findings in Qesem cave are particularly noteworthy, though, because they have been dated to 300,000 years ago, and yet the culture that lived in the cave demonstrated strong intelligence and an advanced social structure.
Infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the ash from the cave, and it was determined that a hearth was used to make fires and cook food. Flint tools of different shapes were used to dress meat, and the archeologists noted that different parts of the cave were used for different activities.
“These findings help us to fix an important turning point in the development of human culture – that in which humans first began to regularly use fire both for cooking meat and as a focal point – a sort of campfire – for social gatherings,” said one researcher. “They also tell us something about the impressive levels of social and cognitive development of humans living some 300,000 years ago.”
Which Story Do We Believe?
According to the common archeological, paleoanthropological story told in popular science today, human beings evolved from relatives of the australopithecines, an ancient ape. The early humans lived as hunters and gatherers for millennia as they developed language and the use of tools, long before they began working the ground and raising animals. The picture of the hairy, ape-like cave man remains firmly embedded in our collective mind’s eye. Musical instruments were first invented 37,000–67,000 years ago. (The Neanderthals had a flute.) Writing was invented about 5200 years ago in ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia. The Bronze Age started about that time, and iron wasn’t used widely until about 1200–1800 B.C.
The Bible paints an utterly different picture of early humans. According to the biblical model, human beings were created genetically perfect and have been deteriorating ever since. Agriculture (not prostitution) is the oldest profession; Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden to tend it, and Cain and Abel raised crops and sheep. The use of iron and brass and the creation of musical instruments began early in human history (Gen 4:21–22,). Caves were used for burial sites (Gen 23:11, 25:9). Men only lived in caves only when they were in trouble (Gen 19:30, Josh 10:16, 1 Kgs 18:13).
Which is correct? The clue might come from genetics.
It is foolish for cousins or other close relatives to marry these days, because genetic mutations run in families. All humans are related to each other—nobody argues otherwise—but the ones that are the most closely related are also the most likely to pair up the family’s specific bad alleles and produce children with genetic defects. If distantly related humans get together, though, the genetic strengths of one mate have a chance to make up the weaknesses of the other, giving their children at least one healthy set of most gene sequences. We don’t marry close relatives because we have the same problems.
According to Genesis, early humans didn’t face the same situation. God had created man and woman “very good,” and the sons of Adam and Eve would have had to marry their sisters, which would have been just fine because all parties concerned had a perfect genetic code without any mutation or errors to compound. The early humans lived long long lives until the Flood, after which the life expectancy dropped asymptotically. Even two thousand years after Creation, Abraham married his half-sister (Gen 20:12). Moses’ father married his own aunt (Ex 6:20). It wasn’t until the desert wanderings that the LORD ordered the Israelites not to marry their close relatives anymore (Lev 18:6ff). This tells a story of a once-perfect genome collecting bits of damage over centuries of generations.
The question is, does what we see in genetics today indicate that we evolved in a long line of messy trials and errors from a common ancestor with today’s apes, or could we reconstruct the genetic code of those perfect early humans by replacing all mutations with the good stuff?
It used to be said that human and chimpanzee DNA were 98.5 percent alike. That ship has sailed. Various recent analyses show that number to be much lower, and University of Florida research geneticist Dr. Richard Buggs places the actual similarities between chimp and human DNA at below 70%. A 2010 paper in Nature showed that there were large differences between the Y chromosomes of humans and chimps, and a variety of other papers have tried to explain various differences through evolutionary mechanisms.
While the protein coding regions of DNA are very similar (humans and chimps use the same proteins to accomplish the same functions) the non-coding, regulatory sections of DNA show massive differences.
Dr. Jeffrey P. Tomkins, former director of the Clemson University Genomics Institute, wrote just a year ago, “Genome-wide, only 70% of the chimpanzee DNA was similar to human under the most optimal sequence-slice conditions. While chimpanzees and humans share many localized protein-coding regions of high similarity, the overall extreme discontinuity between the two genomes defies evolutionary timescales and dogmatic presuppositions about a common ancestor.”
On the other hand, the National Institutes of Health COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer) program has spent the past several years cataloguing every human genetic mutation that causes cancer. By comparing disease-causing alleles in one family to healthy genes in the rest of the population, we might be able to retrace our genetic steps to the non-mutated genomes of our ancient ancestors, whether or not they had blue eyes or were cooking supper in caves 300,000 years ago.
Further Reading
Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%
— Answers in Genesis Journal
Chimpanzee and human Y chromosomes are remarkably divergent in structure and gene content
— Nature
Chimpanzee?
— Reformatorisch Dagblad
Human and Chimp DNA Only 70% Similar, At Least According to This Study
— Dr. Wile Blog
Archaeologists Find Evidence Of 300,000 Year-Old Hearth
— Science Recorder
Swarthy, Blue-Eyed Caveman Revealed Using DNA From Ancient Tooth
— The Guardian
An Introduction to COSMIC, the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer
— National Institutes of Health
Visit Koinonia House for a FREE subscription
"Before we started this work, I had some ideas of what we were going to find. Most of those ideas turned out to be completely wrong."
— Carles Lalueza-Fox, the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona.
Ancient Europeans may have been dark skinned and blue-eyed, according to recent DNA evidence from skeletons found in a cave in Spain.
The genetic code showed traits that surprised archeologists, including genes coding for strong immune system characteristics that would have helped the ancient hunter gatherers to fight off pathogens.
Such highly prepared immune capabilities were not expected to have evolved until humans began farming and handling animals and facing exposure to their microorganisms on a regular basis. A variety of unexpected bits of information have popped up in the science of ancient history lately, reminding the researchers of the world to be careful about creating stories before they have all the facts in.
300,000 Year-Old Hearth
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has just released information on evidence of a cave holding a hearth and different cooking and gathering areas. The existence of a cave home is not surprising, given the long history of the land of Israel. The findings in Qesem cave are particularly noteworthy, though, because they have been dated to 300,000 years ago, and yet the culture that lived in the cave demonstrated strong intelligence and an advanced social structure.
Infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the ash from the cave, and it was determined that a hearth was used to make fires and cook food. Flint tools of different shapes were used to dress meat, and the archeologists noted that different parts of the cave were used for different activities.
“These findings help us to fix an important turning point in the development of human culture – that in which humans first began to regularly use fire both for cooking meat and as a focal point – a sort of campfire – for social gatherings,” said one researcher. “They also tell us something about the impressive levels of social and cognitive development of humans living some 300,000 years ago.”
Which Story Do We Believe?
According to the common archeological, paleoanthropological story told in popular science today, human beings evolved from relatives of the australopithecines, an ancient ape. The early humans lived as hunters and gatherers for millennia as they developed language and the use of tools, long before they began working the ground and raising animals. The picture of the hairy, ape-like cave man remains firmly embedded in our collective mind’s eye. Musical instruments were first invented 37,000–67,000 years ago. (The Neanderthals had a flute.) Writing was invented about 5200 years ago in ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia. The Bronze Age started about that time, and iron wasn’t used widely until about 1200–1800 B.C.
The Bible paints an utterly different picture of early humans. According to the biblical model, human beings were created genetically perfect and have been deteriorating ever since. Agriculture (not prostitution) is the oldest profession; Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden to tend it, and Cain and Abel raised crops and sheep. The use of iron and brass and the creation of musical instruments began early in human history (Gen 4:21–22,). Caves were used for burial sites (Gen 23:11, 25:9). Men only lived in caves only when they were in trouble (Gen 19:30, Josh 10:16, 1 Kgs 18:13).
Which is correct? The clue might come from genetics.
It is foolish for cousins or other close relatives to marry these days, because genetic mutations run in families. All humans are related to each other—nobody argues otherwise—but the ones that are the most closely related are also the most likely to pair up the family’s specific bad alleles and produce children with genetic defects. If distantly related humans get together, though, the genetic strengths of one mate have a chance to make up the weaknesses of the other, giving their children at least one healthy set of most gene sequences. We don’t marry close relatives because we have the same problems.
According to Genesis, early humans didn’t face the same situation. God had created man and woman “very good,” and the sons of Adam and Eve would have had to marry their sisters, which would have been just fine because all parties concerned had a perfect genetic code without any mutation or errors to compound. The early humans lived long long lives until the Flood, after which the life expectancy dropped asymptotically. Even two thousand years after Creation, Abraham married his half-sister (Gen 20:12). Moses’ father married his own aunt (Ex 6:20). It wasn’t until the desert wanderings that the LORD ordered the Israelites not to marry their close relatives anymore (Lev 18:6ff). This tells a story of a once-perfect genome collecting bits of damage over centuries of generations.
The question is, does what we see in genetics today indicate that we evolved in a long line of messy trials and errors from a common ancestor with today’s apes, or could we reconstruct the genetic code of those perfect early humans by replacing all mutations with the good stuff?
It used to be said that human and chimpanzee DNA were 98.5 percent alike. That ship has sailed. Various recent analyses show that number to be much lower, and University of Florida research geneticist Dr. Richard Buggs places the actual similarities between chimp and human DNA at below 70%. A 2010 paper in Nature showed that there were large differences between the Y chromosomes of humans and chimps, and a variety of other papers have tried to explain various differences through evolutionary mechanisms.
While the protein coding regions of DNA are very similar (humans and chimps use the same proteins to accomplish the same functions) the non-coding, regulatory sections of DNA show massive differences.
Dr. Jeffrey P. Tomkins, former director of the Clemson University Genomics Institute, wrote just a year ago, “Genome-wide, only 70% of the chimpanzee DNA was similar to human under the most optimal sequence-slice conditions. While chimpanzees and humans share many localized protein-coding regions of high similarity, the overall extreme discontinuity between the two genomes defies evolutionary timescales and dogmatic presuppositions about a common ancestor.”
On the other hand, the National Institutes of Health COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer) program has spent the past several years cataloguing every human genetic mutation that causes cancer. By comparing disease-causing alleles in one family to healthy genes in the rest of the population, we might be able to retrace our genetic steps to the non-mutated genomes of our ancient ancestors, whether or not they had blue eyes or were cooking supper in caves 300,000 years ago.
Further Reading
Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%
— Answers in Genesis Journal
Chimpanzee and human Y chromosomes are remarkably divergent in structure and gene content
— Nature
Chimpanzee?
— Reformatorisch Dagblad
Human and Chimp DNA Only 70% Similar, At Least According to This Study
— Dr. Wile Blog
Archaeologists Find Evidence Of 300,000 Year-Old Hearth
— Science Recorder
Swarthy, Blue-Eyed Caveman Revealed Using DNA From Ancient Tooth
— The Guardian
An Introduction to COSMIC, the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer
— National Institutes of Health
Matthew 19
Notes for BSF
JESUS STRESSES THE HOLINESS OF MARITAL VOWS (Matthew 19:1-12)
Matthew 19:3
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him.
In one of their numerous attempts to get rid of Jesus, the Pharisees, on this occasion, tried to trap Jesus in controversial topics, such as these below:
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" (Matthew 19:3)
Jesus answered: "What God has joined together, let not man separate." (Matthew 19:4)
God created men and women in His image (Cf.Genesis 1:27-28; 2:23-25). From the beginning, man was meant to be one with one woman. Marriage between one man and one woman was to remain holy, inseparable by man.
However, there was an exception.
"Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" (Matthew 19:7)
Jesus answered: "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives but from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:8)
Back in the days of Moses, women could not support themselves without either support from their fathers or their husbands -- because women could not work. Their role in society was to take care of the family and be fully supported by the male head of the family. If the husbands abandoned their wives, the wives would most likely starve to death or die from exposure to the elements. In such a society, women needed protection against spiritually and/or physically abusive marital relationships. As defined by God since the beginning, marriage was a holy joining of one man and one woman, an eternal commitment that should not be taken as a whim as it is in our culture today. However, knowing humans to be humans, God provided "a way out" for people who are stuck in an unhealthy marriage through Moses (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).
To protect the women, God did not permit men to divorce their wives for just any random reason (like our laws allow nowadays). In fact, there was only one reason for divorce: adultery. This law prevented men from abandoning women, and at the same time allowed women to be freed from spiritually unfaithful husbands. Along the same lines, this law also protected faithful husbands whose wives were unfaithful.
Despite this one and only "loophole," we need to recognize the point Jesus is making here: Marriage is a blessing from God between two people. He brings a man and a woman together, joining them for an eternity. What God has joined, man cannot break apart. Divorce was never intended for the couple God has brought together. When we fail to view marriage through such a godly perspective, we can easily be caught trapped in a unhealthy and unbalanced relationship, leading to inevitable divorces of marriages that should not have taken place in the first place. And divorces resulting from any reason other than adultery do not fare well in the eyes of God:
Matthew 19:9
And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
Many people who do not like the "rules" of the Bible, even self-proclaimed Christians, would often label these rules as outdated, archaic. They would make the case that these rules may have applied in the old days, but we now live in a modern society, and these rules need to be amended to fit the social standards and views of today.
Friends, who is God here? Is God God, or are we God? If we expect God to remain faithful to His promises pronounced since the beginning of time, and we look forward to these promises fulfilled, why should we expect Him to be "fickle" when it comes to His laws? God does not change. He is as He was -- and therefore, His definition of marriage has not changed through time. Marital vows between two people remain just as serious and holy as they were since Adam and Eve. As Christians, we are to uphold ALL values of God -- not only those that are convenient for us. When our fleshly lust draws us away from God's Will, reflect and understand the sin that is at work, and then, repent. God is very clear about His stance on the issue of marriage and divorce. There is no gray area here.
Upon understanding the seriousness of marital vows, the disciples responded:
Matthew 19:10
If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.
Celibacy is a choice (Matthew 19:10-15; 1 Corinthians 7)
As taught by Jesus and stressed by Paul, celibacy is a calling.
1. It is noble to remain celibate for God’s will.
2. However, if we cannot control lust of the flesh, then it is best that we marry one person and remain devoted to that person for the rest of our lives.
Whether we are called to be celibate or choose to marry, take it to prayer. There is no success in any walk apart from God.
LITTLE CHILDREN ARE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Matthew 19:13-15)
The people brought little children along so that Jesus could pray over them. However, the disciples rebuked those who brought the little children (Mark 10:13). The text does not explain why the disciples would disapprove, but we can speculate that perhaps their trip with Jesus was of a more serious nature, and they thought it would be improper to have the proceedings be interrupted by children. Regardless of the reason, we learn that Jesus was displeased with the disciples' actions (Mark 10:14) and welcomed and embraced the children.
Mark 10:15
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.
As we grow and mature into adulthood, we become more and more aware of social etiquette and can often be burdened by them. Children, on the other hand, are not so inhibited by social bindings. All their true emotions are readily displayed on their faces -- Love, joy, sadness, anger, guilt, etc. are all honestly revealed. With raw honesty, they approach Jesus -- And Jesus wholeheartedly welcomes it all. This is how we are to approach Jesus, completely open, completely naked.
JESUS IS NOT JUST A GOOD TEACHER (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-31)
The rich ruler showed no humility.
First, he called Jesus, “teacher,” instead of recognizing Him as the Messiah or the Son of God.
Second, he called Jesus, “good,” which induced Jesus to rebuke him because no one is good other than God. "Good" is a standard of measurement. Unless we are perfectly good, who are we to define "good"? Hence, only God can define truly define what is good, because He is without sin and perfect. By calling Jesus "good," the rich ruler put himself in the position of God, using his own values to judge Jesus. Instead of seeing things with God’s standards, he defined “good” based on his own terms – This is pride.
Third, he was focused on fulfilling tasks rather than seeking to have the heart of God. He believed he could live up to all the expectation and accomplish any task given to him. However, When asked to give up everything for God, he was unwilling to let go of his riches.
Entering into eternal life is not just about fulfilling tasks. There is always something more that we can do better; there is always something we need to do better in order for us to be “perfect.” Jesus exposed his sin of pride and his love of money. Jesus pointed out the flaw in the rich ruler’s thinking, showing him that in his heart, he held money and riches above God – Money and riches were his idols. Instead of taking the time to reflect and eventually repent, the rich ruler immediately rejected Jesus' teaching. He had no real interest in entering into God’s kingdom; he only wanted what he wanted, not what God has to offer.
JESUS STRESSES THE HOLINESS OF MARITAL VOWS (Matthew 19:1-12)
Matthew 19:3
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him.
In one of their numerous attempts to get rid of Jesus, the Pharisees, on this occasion, tried to trap Jesus in controversial topics, such as these below:
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" (Matthew 19:3)
Jesus answered: "What God has joined together, let not man separate." (Matthew 19:4)
God created men and women in His image (Cf.Genesis 1:27-28; 2:23-25). From the beginning, man was meant to be one with one woman. Marriage between one man and one woman was to remain holy, inseparable by man.
However, there was an exception.
"Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" (Matthew 19:7)
Jesus answered: "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives but from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:8)
Back in the days of Moses, women could not support themselves without either support from their fathers or their husbands -- because women could not work. Their role in society was to take care of the family and be fully supported by the male head of the family. If the husbands abandoned their wives, the wives would most likely starve to death or die from exposure to the elements. In such a society, women needed protection against spiritually and/or physically abusive marital relationships. As defined by God since the beginning, marriage was a holy joining of one man and one woman, an eternal commitment that should not be taken as a whim as it is in our culture today. However, knowing humans to be humans, God provided "a way out" for people who are stuck in an unhealthy marriage through Moses (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).
To protect the women, God did not permit men to divorce their wives for just any random reason (like our laws allow nowadays). In fact, there was only one reason for divorce: adultery. This law prevented men from abandoning women, and at the same time allowed women to be freed from spiritually unfaithful husbands. Along the same lines, this law also protected faithful husbands whose wives were unfaithful.
Despite this one and only "loophole," we need to recognize the point Jesus is making here: Marriage is a blessing from God between two people. He brings a man and a woman together, joining them for an eternity. What God has joined, man cannot break apart. Divorce was never intended for the couple God has brought together. When we fail to view marriage through such a godly perspective, we can easily be caught trapped in a unhealthy and unbalanced relationship, leading to inevitable divorces of marriages that should not have taken place in the first place. And divorces resulting from any reason other than adultery do not fare well in the eyes of God:
Matthew 19:9
And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
Many people who do not like the "rules" of the Bible, even self-proclaimed Christians, would often label these rules as outdated, archaic. They would make the case that these rules may have applied in the old days, but we now live in a modern society, and these rules need to be amended to fit the social standards and views of today.
Friends, who is God here? Is God God, or are we God? If we expect God to remain faithful to His promises pronounced since the beginning of time, and we look forward to these promises fulfilled, why should we expect Him to be "fickle" when it comes to His laws? God does not change. He is as He was -- and therefore, His definition of marriage has not changed through time. Marital vows between two people remain just as serious and holy as they were since Adam and Eve. As Christians, we are to uphold ALL values of God -- not only those that are convenient for us. When our fleshly lust draws us away from God's Will, reflect and understand the sin that is at work, and then, repent. God is very clear about His stance on the issue of marriage and divorce. There is no gray area here.
Upon understanding the seriousness of marital vows, the disciples responded:
Matthew 19:10
If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.
Celibacy is a choice (Matthew 19:10-15; 1 Corinthians 7)
As taught by Jesus and stressed by Paul, celibacy is a calling.
1. It is noble to remain celibate for God’s will.
2. However, if we cannot control lust of the flesh, then it is best that we marry one person and remain devoted to that person for the rest of our lives.
Whether we are called to be celibate or choose to marry, take it to prayer. There is no success in any walk apart from God.
LITTLE CHILDREN ARE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Matthew 19:13-15)
The people brought little children along so that Jesus could pray over them. However, the disciples rebuked those who brought the little children (Mark 10:13). The text does not explain why the disciples would disapprove, but we can speculate that perhaps their trip with Jesus was of a more serious nature, and they thought it would be improper to have the proceedings be interrupted by children. Regardless of the reason, we learn that Jesus was displeased with the disciples' actions (Mark 10:14) and welcomed and embraced the children.
Mark 10:15
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.
As we grow and mature into adulthood, we become more and more aware of social etiquette and can often be burdened by them. Children, on the other hand, are not so inhibited by social bindings. All their true emotions are readily displayed on their faces -- Love, joy, sadness, anger, guilt, etc. are all honestly revealed. With raw honesty, they approach Jesus -- And Jesus wholeheartedly welcomes it all. This is how we are to approach Jesus, completely open, completely naked.
JESUS IS NOT JUST A GOOD TEACHER (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-31)
The rich ruler showed no humility.
First, he called Jesus, “teacher,” instead of recognizing Him as the Messiah or the Son of God.
Second, he called Jesus, “good,” which induced Jesus to rebuke him because no one is good other than God. "Good" is a standard of measurement. Unless we are perfectly good, who are we to define "good"? Hence, only God can define truly define what is good, because He is without sin and perfect. By calling Jesus "good," the rich ruler put himself in the position of God, using his own values to judge Jesus. Instead of seeing things with God’s standards, he defined “good” based on his own terms – This is pride.
Third, he was focused on fulfilling tasks rather than seeking to have the heart of God. He believed he could live up to all the expectation and accomplish any task given to him. However, When asked to give up everything for God, he was unwilling to let go of his riches.
Entering into eternal life is not just about fulfilling tasks. There is always something more that we can do better; there is always something we need to do better in order for us to be “perfect.” Jesus exposed his sin of pride and his love of money. Jesus pointed out the flaw in the rich ruler’s thinking, showing him that in his heart, he held money and riches above God – Money and riches were his idols. Instead of taking the time to reflect and eventually repent, the rich ruler immediately rejected Jesus' teaching. He had no real interest in entering into God’s kingdom; he only wanted what he wanted, not what God has to offer.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Americans Still Aren’t Ape about Evolution
From the December 31, 2013 eNews issue
Visit Koinonia House for a FREE subscription
A full one-third of Americans still do not believe in evolution, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center. After 150 years of Darwinism and multitudes of books that begin, “Millions of years ago,” a significant number of Americans still believe that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.” Even those who do believe in evolution do not think God was left out; almost a quarter agreed that “a supreme being guided the evolution of living things for the purpose of creating humans and other life in the form it exists today.”
Evolution continues to be a controversial subject in America, especially among white evangelical and black Protestants. The gap has widened between Republicans and Democrats over the past four years. According the Pew, 54% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats in 2009 believed in human evolution, while the most recent survey shows Republicans backing heavily away from evolution with just 43% of Republicans versus 67% of Democrats affirming human evolution.
These results are based on telephone interviews - both landlines and cell phones - with 1,983 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The survey questions are hardly precise. Technically, evolution simply means “change over time” and it’s hard to argue that humans and other living things haven’t changed at all over the years. Despite the simplicity of the words, though, the intention of the survey is clearly to gauge Americans’ fundamental beliefs regarding how we got here - through God or Evolution or Both?
The real question isn’t whether humans and other living things have changed over time. They clearly have changed - there are no giant sloths or gophers with horns wandering around the earth anymore. The question is whether humans and other living things evolved step-by-step from amino acids floating in some ancient ocean. The question is whether sloths and gophers evolved from something else, and especially whether human beings are just glorified apes or special creations made in the image of God.
Members of the scientific community express disgust at these sorts of surveys and insist that schools just are not teaching evolution well enough. They assume that if evolution were taught more consistently and deeply, all Americans would recognize the strength of Darwin’s breakthrough theory. They see serious religious faith as an obstacle to scientific knowledge.
Pew notes that the views people take about evolution are affected by their gender, age, and education. The implication is often that uneducated old women still believe in Adam and Eve, but educated young men with a grasp on the finer principles of science know better. After all, Grandma still listens to Barry Manilow on her collection of vinyl records while bright young men pack 10,000 songs and videos of their trips to Taipei on their Androids.
There are a couple of things that those disgusted scientists do not fully appreciate, however. First, they do not recognize the power of God working in people’s lives, the reality of God’s Spirit moving in the hearts and minds of everyday people. They also do not see that evolutionary theory has failed to satisfy the intellectual honesty of a great many people who do not hold the same materialistic assumptions of many scientists.
The First Humanist Manifesto
In 1933 renowned educator John Dewey and a variety of his fellows signed The Humanist Manifesto, a statement of the beliefs of the Humanist religion. The humanists wanted to create a new religion void of God, one in which man decided right and wrong. The first doctrine of this new religion was:
“Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.”
For the past 80 years, the humanists in the education establishment have been fighting to institute their position as the only one that can be considered acceptable and respectable – especially in science. Anybody who suggests that the Universe is not self-existing and is created gets criticized as “religious” and is tossed out of respected scientific circles. The fundamental problem is that the humanists do not know whether the Universe is self-existing. They do not know; they believe. And yet, every scientist is expected to go along with them.
If the Universe really were self-existing, then it would turn out okay. Cosmology and biology should follow certain rules that smoothly explain the Universe and life as we see it. But, if the Universe and the life in it were actually created, then we should expect to see major conundrums in Humanist interpretations of the data collected from the world.
Footprints in the wrong layers
In 2006, archeologists returned to a site in Mexico where ancient human footprints were discovered more than 50 years ago. They uncovered 11 more prints in the area and age-dated them based on the ratios of uranium and thorium in the soil. They concluded that a man walked through a marshy oasis in the desert 10,550 years ago, leaving a trail of the oldest tracks found in North America. Archeologists hope to learn more about the nomadic Coahuiltecans who lived in central Mexico and Texas long before the Mayans arrived.
“As the ancient nomadic hunter-gatherers needed to adapt to the increasingly hostile desert conditions, they expanded their ability to find resources, leading to longer cycles of nomadism and possibly the expansion of their unique desert culture right into the 18th Century when they finally become extinct after the arrival of the Europeans,” the team notes in the study, published in the February 2014 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Nobody questions that the tracks are human. They appear side-by-side, left-right-left with five toes and everything one would expect from a human footprint.
However, in 1976, paleoanthropologists discovered human-like prints at the Laetoli site in Tanzania. Three individuals walked along, one of them stepping into the prints of the person who walked in front, like a child following a parent. The prints were dated to 3.6 million years ago in the Plio-Pleistocene. They walk left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, and the feet have the arches of a human foot.
They are not credited to humans though. The prints are credited to the Australopithecus afarensis, the species of the famous ape Lucy. Artists have painted pictures of hairy apes walking upright and leaving those tracks, because that’s the story the evolutionary anthropologists like to tell. According to the common model, humans evolved from a close relative of the Lucy and were not supposed to have been in existence 3.6 million years ago. Therefore, the tracks are interpreted to be ape tracks and not human, and sculptures of Lucy show her with fully formed human feet.
And yet. Lucy’s skeleton doesn’t show us what her feet looked like, because the feet bones are missing. Apes do not have human-like feet; their big toe acts like a thumb on a hand and is used for grasping tree branches and food. There are no knuckle marks on the ground at the Laetoli site. The only reason to assume those human-like tracks are not human tracks is the preconceived idea that humans evolved from apes. Neither the skeletons of the Australopithecines nor the feet of any modern ape support the evolutionary conclusions.
PBS states, “The prints, say experts on hominid body structure, are strikingly different from those of a chimpanzee, and in fact are hardly distinguishable from those of modern humans.” The experts have had a hard time believing the prints were made by ape feet. Yet, that’s the official interpretation.
Theories are tools; they are not babies. They can be thrown out and modified to fit facts. In making theories, it is vital to examine the underlying assumptions and philosophies that might be incorrect. If a theory doesn’t quite work, it might be due to faulty underlying assumptions that need to be reexamined.
Many Americans have a hard time believing that humans and other life on earth evolved from microbes. Maybe they need to study more biology and paleoanthropology. On the other hand, it may be some evolutionists should address the serious problems evident in their pet views.
Notes
The Republican Party Isn’t Really the Anti-Science Party
— The Atlantic
Humanist Manifesto I
— American Humanist
Oldest Human Footprints In North America Discovered, Tracks Preserved For 10,550 Years
— International Business Times
Public’s Views on Human Evolution
— Pew Forum
Laetoli Footprints
— PBS.org
Visit Koinonia House for a FREE subscription
A full one-third of Americans still do not believe in evolution, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center. After 150 years of Darwinism and multitudes of books that begin, “Millions of years ago,” a significant number of Americans still believe that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.” Even those who do believe in evolution do not think God was left out; almost a quarter agreed that “a supreme being guided the evolution of living things for the purpose of creating humans and other life in the form it exists today.”
Evolution continues to be a controversial subject in America, especially among white evangelical and black Protestants. The gap has widened between Republicans and Democrats over the past four years. According the Pew, 54% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats in 2009 believed in human evolution, while the most recent survey shows Republicans backing heavily away from evolution with just 43% of Republicans versus 67% of Democrats affirming human evolution.
These results are based on telephone interviews - both landlines and cell phones - with 1,983 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The survey questions are hardly precise. Technically, evolution simply means “change over time” and it’s hard to argue that humans and other living things haven’t changed at all over the years. Despite the simplicity of the words, though, the intention of the survey is clearly to gauge Americans’ fundamental beliefs regarding how we got here - through God or Evolution or Both?
The real question isn’t whether humans and other living things have changed over time. They clearly have changed - there are no giant sloths or gophers with horns wandering around the earth anymore. The question is whether humans and other living things evolved step-by-step from amino acids floating in some ancient ocean. The question is whether sloths and gophers evolved from something else, and especially whether human beings are just glorified apes or special creations made in the image of God.
Members of the scientific community express disgust at these sorts of surveys and insist that schools just are not teaching evolution well enough. They assume that if evolution were taught more consistently and deeply, all Americans would recognize the strength of Darwin’s breakthrough theory. They see serious religious faith as an obstacle to scientific knowledge.
Pew notes that the views people take about evolution are affected by their gender, age, and education. The implication is often that uneducated old women still believe in Adam and Eve, but educated young men with a grasp on the finer principles of science know better. After all, Grandma still listens to Barry Manilow on her collection of vinyl records while bright young men pack 10,000 songs and videos of their trips to Taipei on their Androids.
There are a couple of things that those disgusted scientists do not fully appreciate, however. First, they do not recognize the power of God working in people’s lives, the reality of God’s Spirit moving in the hearts and minds of everyday people. They also do not see that evolutionary theory has failed to satisfy the intellectual honesty of a great many people who do not hold the same materialistic assumptions of many scientists.
The First Humanist Manifesto
In 1933 renowned educator John Dewey and a variety of his fellows signed The Humanist Manifesto, a statement of the beliefs of the Humanist religion. The humanists wanted to create a new religion void of God, one in which man decided right and wrong. The first doctrine of this new religion was:
“Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.”
For the past 80 years, the humanists in the education establishment have been fighting to institute their position as the only one that can be considered acceptable and respectable – especially in science. Anybody who suggests that the Universe is not self-existing and is created gets criticized as “religious” and is tossed out of respected scientific circles. The fundamental problem is that the humanists do not know whether the Universe is self-existing. They do not know; they believe. And yet, every scientist is expected to go along with them.
If the Universe really were self-existing, then it would turn out okay. Cosmology and biology should follow certain rules that smoothly explain the Universe and life as we see it. But, if the Universe and the life in it were actually created, then we should expect to see major conundrums in Humanist interpretations of the data collected from the world.
Footprints in the wrong layers
In 2006, archeologists returned to a site in Mexico where ancient human footprints were discovered more than 50 years ago. They uncovered 11 more prints in the area and age-dated them based on the ratios of uranium and thorium in the soil. They concluded that a man walked through a marshy oasis in the desert 10,550 years ago, leaving a trail of the oldest tracks found in North America. Archeologists hope to learn more about the nomadic Coahuiltecans who lived in central Mexico and Texas long before the Mayans arrived.
“As the ancient nomadic hunter-gatherers needed to adapt to the increasingly hostile desert conditions, they expanded their ability to find resources, leading to longer cycles of nomadism and possibly the expansion of their unique desert culture right into the 18th Century when they finally become extinct after the arrival of the Europeans,” the team notes in the study, published in the February 2014 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Nobody questions that the tracks are human. They appear side-by-side, left-right-left with five toes and everything one would expect from a human footprint.
However, in 1976, paleoanthropologists discovered human-like prints at the Laetoli site in Tanzania. Three individuals walked along, one of them stepping into the prints of the person who walked in front, like a child following a parent. The prints were dated to 3.6 million years ago in the Plio-Pleistocene. They walk left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, and the feet have the arches of a human foot.
They are not credited to humans though. The prints are credited to the Australopithecus afarensis, the species of the famous ape Lucy. Artists have painted pictures of hairy apes walking upright and leaving those tracks, because that’s the story the evolutionary anthropologists like to tell. According to the common model, humans evolved from a close relative of the Lucy and were not supposed to have been in existence 3.6 million years ago. Therefore, the tracks are interpreted to be ape tracks and not human, and sculptures of Lucy show her with fully formed human feet.
And yet. Lucy’s skeleton doesn’t show us what her feet looked like, because the feet bones are missing. Apes do not have human-like feet; their big toe acts like a thumb on a hand and is used for grasping tree branches and food. There are no knuckle marks on the ground at the Laetoli site. The only reason to assume those human-like tracks are not human tracks is the preconceived idea that humans evolved from apes. Neither the skeletons of the Australopithecines nor the feet of any modern ape support the evolutionary conclusions.
PBS states, “The prints, say experts on hominid body structure, are strikingly different from those of a chimpanzee, and in fact are hardly distinguishable from those of modern humans.” The experts have had a hard time believing the prints were made by ape feet. Yet, that’s the official interpretation.
Theories are tools; they are not babies. They can be thrown out and modified to fit facts. In making theories, it is vital to examine the underlying assumptions and philosophies that might be incorrect. If a theory doesn’t quite work, it might be due to faulty underlying assumptions that need to be reexamined.
Many Americans have a hard time believing that humans and other life on earth evolved from microbes. Maybe they need to study more biology and paleoanthropology. On the other hand, it may be some evolutionists should address the serious problems evident in their pet views.
Notes
The Republican Party Isn’t Really the Anti-Science Party
— The Atlantic
Humanist Manifesto I
— American Humanist
Oldest Human Footprints In North America Discovered, Tracks Preserved For 10,550 Years
— International Business Times
Public’s Views on Human Evolution
— Pew Forum
Laetoli Footprints
— PBS.org
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