Archive for January, 2014
CNN: Noah’s Ark discovery in the British Museum 2014
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Biblical archaeology, The Bible on January 31, 2014
In an article on CCN, it is reported that Irving Finkel, a British Scholar has discovered a 4,000-year old tablet from Iraq which contains an account similar to the Mosaic account of Noah’s Ark.
Link to CNN article; http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/28/noahs-ark-discovery-raises-flood-of-questions/
Revelation TV. Predestination debate: James White & Michael Brown
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Biblical Scholarship on January 24, 2014
On Friday 24th January from 9pm, Revelation TV, Dr James White and Dr Michael Brown will be in debate concerning the most excellent topic of Predestination.
This debate has raged primarily since the 16th century through the interpretation of predestination by John Calvin and still continues to this day. However, in any debate it is important for the listener, reader, or viewer to understand the doctrine first and to listen carefully to both sides of the argument.
I am presently writing a book on this very subject, so I am very interested in the subject.
It may be helpful firstly to recognize some points before joining the debate;
- The doctrine of ‘Predestination’ is an interpretation of Biblical texts which claims that God has predetermined the salvation of particular people whom He has revealed to be His elect. That through the cross of Christ, God has chosen and effectively redeemed a people for Himself. A people of whom their effectual salvation does not depend upon the ‘free choice’ of man, but the elective purposes of God. In other words, the elect are not elect because they believe, they believe because they are elect.
- The Bible communicates ‘Predestination’ as something predetermined by God.
- The early Church fathers (1st -3rd centuries) upheld the freedom of human choice.
- St Augustine (354-430 AD) was probably one of the earliest Theologians to deny the doctrine of ‘Free Will’.
- During the 16th century reformation, most reformers denied the doctrine of ‘Free Will’. This was affirmed by Martin Luther and also the ’39 articles’ of the Church of England.
- The Calvinistic interpretation of ‘Predestination’ is generally associated with the Theological position and scriptural interpretation of John Calvin (1509-1564).
- The Arminian interpretation of ‘Predestination’ is generally associated with the Theological position and scriptural interpretation of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609).
- If the Calvinistic doctrine of ‘Predestination’ is true, the doctrine of ‘Free Will’ must be seen as untrue or denied.
- If the Arminian doctrine of ‘Predestination’ is true, the doctrine of ‘Free Will’ or ‘Free Choice’ must be upheld.
I personally regard John Calvin as one of the finest Theologians known to church history. I also find Jacobus Arminus’s works of great worth. However, I also recognize that people are only human and the Bible is like a piece of wax, it can be interpreted or molded this way or that.
The question remains; are these positions true or important? If they are true, then surely they are most important. If they are wrong, then surely it is important to show why. What do you think?
Steven Weinberg and the scientific agenda to destroy religion
Posted by simon peter sutherland in new atheism, Science and evolution on January 9, 2014
“I think the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief; and anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization” Steven Weinberg.
(Beyond belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival. 5 November 2006)
The above words, can and do display a form of scientific totalitarianism. I say this because any attempt to destroy some system of belief or choice of persons, is a denial of rights. I do not want religion to be weakened or destroyed. Many of us like religion and the things it represents and I for one am not going to be told whether or not I can live in a world that has no beliefs in providence, design or meaning.
Perhaps it is strange that Weinberg’s words are wrapped up in a claim of ‘Reason’ when it is nothing of the kind! If it were a claim to reason, he would not try to inspire people to go out into the world and weaken religion. Even Jesus in His great commission never inspired other systems of thought to be destroyed but merely left alone, that is if the hearers rejected His Truth.
I think Weinberg’s words clearly present manifestations of an organised agenda to replace ‘religion’ with some form of ‘science’ or so called science, at least the familiar science which people lay hold of ‘evolution Theory’. Using it, to replace God or Church.
I think secularism is just another word for bigotry against Christianity.
It is a historical fact that the Christian church or at least the Roman Catholic church has many enemies from the past. There is a certain branch of ‘science’ that has been at war with the Christian church since the 16th century. In that context, science is at war with religion. And as each century has passed, each generation has manifested this war in different forms.
Today we have this undercurrent movement which is covertly using Darwin’s theory to destroy the Christian church, primarily true Christians who believe the Word of God which these people tread upon. When I say true Christians I mean those who believe everything that Jesus and His Word communicate. It is they whom these so-called scientists hate.
I have no doubt whatsoever that this huge organisation (which may have no name) has an agenda to destroy Christianity. I have no doubt either that they are using every medium possible, every critical line of scholarship, archaeology, entertainment and every celebrity face they can conjure up to do this dirty work.
Evidence in their eyes is just another way of saying ‘we have proven you wrong’. But the problem is that when an agenda is presented before evidence or ‘science’ whatever that term may define, then it puts the finds of this certain ‘science’ in question? For example; when an artifact is discovered, it must be interpreted, but when three or four scholars explore the artifact, one can fine that they rarely agree on its interpretation.
But this is not the case with evolutionary scientists. They agree with each other and stand together like sheep going to be sheered. It reminds me of Nazi Germany or some other totalitarian movement which covertly gains power yet turns when it has it . It is a suspect movement to say the least, rather like a verbal war. Especially when certain establishments within ‘science’ or a scientific community are so clearly at war with religion?
A point I think that is worthy of consideration is that science is not at war with religion or the Bible, but rather it is the successors of the 19th century evolutionists through to the modern 21st century evolutionary scientists who are both openly and covertly at war with God and His book. They are the ones who are treading upon the Bible with their muddy boots and are using the dirt of the earth in their smear campaign.
However, the facts themselves prove that ‘science’ should not be at war with religion or Christianity in any way and that outside of Dawkins’ theories of the retina and so forth, life itself spells out intelligent design. Thus, the facts are on our side, but not when the facts are in the hands of modern orthodox evolutionary scientists and their hypothetical theories.
It is suspect and cultish to say the least when any organisation agrees consistently with itself and its teachers and when any person from within begins to disagree with them or progresses into theism or Creationism by seeing the evidence of God scientifically, they are excommunicated from the so-called academic or scientific community and denied the role of being a scientist, thus, the followers of these communities are preprogrammed or brainwashed against them.
But so many arguments presented, including Richard Dawkins’ retina argument, are designed, presented and researched with the aim of refuting ‘Creationism’. Which when it is all said and done, any of us could assemble the matter of fact and twist the facts according to that agenda. People begin to twist facts to suite theories and not theories to suite facts.
Thus, when an agenda is manifested and people are in the lab, what could happen when DNA is at the hands of evolutionary scientists who have set themselves up to “weaken religion”. No one can contradict them, even within the scientific community, since, I reiterate if anyone moves away from evolutionary science and sees evidence of creation, that person is told to reject that notion and if they do not, their funding is shut off and they are cast out of that establishment.
Thus, beyond the surface and public face of evolutionary science, the witnesses and facts only point to one thing; evolutionary science is not open even remotely to the concept of creation and neither does it remotely consider the possibility that Moses got it right. It is clear that they have brainwashed a generation of young and middle age people into thinking as they want them to think. They have made their creed and allegiance and if anyone rejects it, they are no longer part of that community.
The question is; do these people really believe that their fantasies of destroying Christianity will make the world a better place? That if they succeed in reducing the prominence of the Christian church, that a fundamentalist intolerant religion will not step in its place and reap the rewards?
Do they really believe that men in their depraved hearts will walk hand in hand in peace? If so, then they are the ones guilty of believing in fairy tales.