A Good Soldier

"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;" 2 Timothy 1:8

"Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." 2 Timothy 2:1-7

His Plague Is In His Head

For anyone who claims they know there is no God (Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion", and so many other deluded people):

In order for you to know absolutely that there is no God, you would have to have absolute knowledge. You would have to be omniscient which is one of God's attributes. So if you claim to know there is no God, you are claiming to be God yourself. We Christians find it much easier and much more logical to believe in the God of the Bible, the real omniscient Creator of the universe than to believe that you are God.

By the way, if any evolutionist really wanted the truth, he would look at the evolution and creation models side by side, looking at the evidence for each and which one best fits the known facts of science. The book I am currently reading (Scientific Creationism) does this very thing even without Biblical reference until the last chapter of the book. Now, I remember why I thought so highly of this book when I read it the first time.

I quote from page 28:

"Note the wistful suggestion of Isaac Asimov:

"Where did the substance of the universe come from?
..... If 0= +1 + -1, then something which is 0 might just as well become 1 and -1. Perhaps in an infinite sea of nothingness, globs of positive and negative energy in equal sized pairs are constantly forming, and after passing through evolutionary changes, combining once more and vanishing. We are in one of these globs in the period of time between nothing and nothing, and wondering about it."

The source for the Asimov quote is "What Is Beyond The Universe?" Science Digest, Vol. 69 (April 1971), p. 69.

My response to Isaac Asimov, after calming from my infinite burst of laughter, is that there is nothing in poor Isaac's head, or perhaps there is "an infinite sea of nothingness". Thank you Mr. Laughter. Maybe I should read more of Asimov's material for the comedy. You do know that the name 'Isaac' means 'laughter', don't you?

Anyway, Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) had a "plague in his head" and in his heart like leprosy (Leviticus 13:44). I'm sure his views on life and death changed in 1992 when he went to hell. Poor Isaac's soul is now in torment in hell. He is being tormented in the flame of hell and desires to be comforted. And in addition to that he wishes to have someone sent to his family with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and testify unto them, lest they also go to the same place.

Luke 16:19-31 - There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Man's Origin, Man's Destiny

From the Epilogue (pages 271-272):

"Science (so-called) has been misused for a hundred years to invalidate the testimony of God in the Scriptures (particularly the argument from design). The biblical story of creation has been laughed out of court, and chance and natural selection have been put in its place. Huxley and others have reiterated ad nauseam that God is now an unnecessary concept. But science, real science, knows that a prime cause (or mover) is now just as necessary as in the days before "modern" science. The testimony of the Bible is still just as valid today as is the testimony of the living Christ in a living man."

"Moses' witness of Christ is so strong and the internal evidence for the correctness of his writings so compelling, that anyone doubting Moses will doubt any truth, no matter where it comes from or how evident its validity."


Man's Origin, Man's Destiny - A Critical Survey of the Principles of Evolution and Christianity by A.E. Wilder-Smith [Bethany Fellowship, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1975.]


Excellent Book.

READING

A little while back a comment was added to my weblog about Evolution. That comment began a debate that I really didn't care to take time out for. The commenter turned out to be a catholic theistic evolutionist. And he didn't seem to profit any from it. Hopefully, if anyone else reads the blog and comments, they can see the nonsense of this commenter's position. Anyway, I began to wonder if my knowledge about evolution was sufficient. The few Science books that I recall reading prior to this time (which I will reread also soon) are "Genesis & Evolution" by M. R. DeHaan, "Scientific Creationism" by Henry M. Morris, "Dead Men Tell Tales" by Harry Rimmer, and "The Harmony of Science and Scripture" also by Harry Rimmer.

I recently started reading more books on this subject. I remember thinking after reading Scientific Creationism that it was a very good and strong defense of creationism. Now, I have read "After Its Kind" by Byron Nelson, "The Collapse of Evolution" by Scott Huse, "The Twilight of Evolution" by Henry M. Morris, and "Science and the Bible" by Henry M. Morris. After reading After Its Kind and The Collapse of Evolution, I think it is essential that anyone who desires to discuss evolution and creationism in an intelligent conversation to have read these two books (at least). And if you can read these two books and remain an evolutionist, you should be prepared to refute the evidence in them.

I am going to continue with "Man's Origin, Man's Destiny (A Critical Survey of the Principles of Evolution and Christianity)" by A. E. Wilder-Smith. I also have in my library the following: The Biblical Flood & The Ice Epoch (Donald Wesley Patten), The Flood (Alfred M. Rehwinkel), The Genesis Flood (Whitcomb and Morris), Why Scientists Accept Evolution (Clark and Bates), The World That Perished (John C. Whitcomb), The Early Earth (John C. Whitcomb), A Study of the Sky [1896] (Herbert A. Howe), The Stars In Their Courses [1931] (Sir James Jeans), The Deluge Story in Stone (Byron C. Nelson), Earth's Earliest Ages (G.H. Pember), Creation, Time, and Eternity (J.S. Secrist), God, The Atom, and the Universe (James Reid), Crying Stones (Harry Rimmer), Evidences For Immortality (Harry Rimmer), and Voices From The Silent Centuries (Harry Rimmer).

Anyway if anyone wants to discuss evolution or creation with me, I will ask them first, "Have you read "After Its Kind" and "The Collapse of Evolution"? After you read those two books then come back and talk to me about it."

After having received "The Long Day of Joshua and Six Other Catastrophes" by Patten, Hatch, and Steinhauer and seeing that it is a sequel to Mr. Patten's other book, "The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch", I think I have a more definite plan. I am now nearly 2/3 through "Man's Origin, Man's Destiny". The next four books to read will be "Scientific Creationism" (Morris), "The Flood" (Rehwinkel), "The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch" (Patten), and "The Long Day of Joshua". From there, I'm not sure yet which direction I will go. I am hoping that Rehwinkel's Flood and Patten's two books will break some of the monotony of being in the fifth book in a row on evolution.

Anyway, I was looking around in my library the other day and found some other science books that I have not already mentioned. They are the following: Creation or Evolution? (David D. Riegle), Evolution (J.W.G. Johnson), Evolution and Christian Faith (Bolton Davidheiser), Scientific Confirmations Of Old Testament History (G. Frederick Wright; 1906), Archaeology and the Ancient Testament (James L. Kelso), The Christian View of Science and Scripture (Bernard Ramm), The Creator And The Cosmos (Hugh Ross), Creation And Time (Hugh Ross), Refuting Evolution (Jonathan Sarfati), Refuting Compromise (Jonathan Sarfati), The Lie: Evolution (Ken Ham), 301 Startling Proofs & Prophecies (Peter & Paul Lalonde), Modern Science In Bible Lands (Sir William Dawson; 1895), and The Christian's Handbook of Science and Philosophy (Dr. Peter S. Ruckman).

Then, I have this idea to read as many books as possible that are listed on Dr. Ruckman's Recommended Reading List. There are 54 books in this list. Over 20 of them are out of print. I have all but seven of them. I have read 28 out of the 54.