Evidence for God from Science Newsletter June, 2006
Greetings in the name of the Lord! This is the latest update for the Evidence for God website. Welcome to our new subscribers.
Contents (scroll down for descriptions)
- Book Review
- Authenticity of the Bible
- Biblical Creation
- Christian Theology
News
I have been updating the GodAndScience.org website to include definitions for scientific terms. As you browse the pages, you will notice that some words are underlined with a dashed blue line. It looks sort of like a link, but clicking on the word doesn't do anything. However, if you hold the cursor over the word, a "tooltip" will appear with the word's definition. It's not a perfect system. The Firefox (and Netscape) browser displays only the first 75 characters of the definition. Both Internet Explorer and Firefox display the definition for only 10 seconds, so you have to read fast (or move the cursor off and back again to finish reading).
Book Review
Captives of a Concept
(Anatomy of an Illusion) by Don Cameron. Don Cameron, as a former
member of a Body of Elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses has much experience with
the Watchtower Society. According to Cameron, "The concept that still holds
millions of Jehovah's Witnesses captive is their belief that the Watchtower
Society is God's chosen organization to teach them what he wants them to
believe; that all of God’s directions to mankind comes through this one
'channel of communication.'" Don Cameron goes on to show that the teachings
of the Watchtower have changed since 1919, therefore making the basis upon
which they were chosen as God's organization (their "correct" teaching) to
no longer be valid.
Even with overwhelming evidence that the Watchtower is not God's organization, members are unwilling to even examine this evidence for fear of being disfellowshipped. However, Cameron suggests that Christian "students" ask them to teach them about the history of the organization. Surprisingly, information about the Society's history is contained in their current 750-page book, Jehovah's Witnesses -Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, from which Jehovah's Witness can teach themselves the truth about the Watchtower Society, based upon appropriate questions from their "student." I encourage you to get this book and use it to help your local Witnesses out of their false religion. Full review:
Captives of a Conpcept (Anatomy of an Illusion) Book Review
http://www.godandscience.org/cults/captives_of_a_concept.html
Authenticity of the Bible
Ancient Hebrew Language
Skeptics often claim that Old Testament writers exaggerated or made up the existence of the Hebrew kingdoms described in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Hebrew rulers David and Solomon, are said to be minor players or tribal chieftains in the region at best, or fictional characters at worst. However, new physical evidence confirms that the Hebrews possessed their written language as early as the 10th century B.C., in a city 35 miles from Jerusalem, indicating that a centralized Hebrew nation had already been established at that point.
Early (10th Century B.C.) Evidence of
Written Hebrew Language at Tel Zayit, Israel
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/tel-zayit.html
Ancient Christian Church
Skeptics also claim that the Christian doctrine of the trinity and the worship of Jesus was not "invented" until the fourth century Council of Nicea. Now, the discovery of a third century church in Megiddo, Israel discredits that claim, since the church contains an inscription to the "god Jesus Christ" confirming that Christians worshipped Jesus Christ as God before the fourth century.
Early (3rd Century A.D.) Christian
Church at Megiddo, Israel
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/megiddo_church.html
Biblical creation
Death and Suffering
Young earth creationists say that all animals were originally created to eat only plants, and that none ate each other until after Adam and Eve sinned. They claim that God would never create a world with death and suffering (even for animals), since that would reflect negatively on God’s character. What does the Bible have to say about these issues?
Millions of Years of Death and Suffering: Does the Old Earth View Compromise God's Character?
http://www.godandscience.org/youngearth/millions_years.html
Was Adam Immortal?
Young earth creationists say that Adam was created as an immortal being and that his sin resulted in the initiation of his physical death and the death of every other living thing. What does the Bible say about the idea that Adam was created immortal?
Was Adam Created as an Immortal Being?
http://www.godandscience.org/youngearth/adam_immortal.html
Confession and Forgiveness
Confession is important to the Christian, since all Christians commit sins. Confession (Greek word homologeō) is an agreement with God that you have sinned. Some Christians believe that confession is necessary for forgiveness by God to take place. Is this a correct interpretation of 1 John 1:9?
Is Confession Necessary for
Forgiveness of Sin for the Christian?
http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/confession.html
Pages in progress
Is it Okay for Christians to Engage in Premarital Sexual Relations Before Marriage? - A biblical examination to the companion paper that addresses the question Is Living Together Before Marriage a Good Idea? (examines the question from research perspective).
Newsletter Info
New Pages
http://www.GodAndScience.org/new.html
Newsletter Editions
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http://www.GodAndScience.org/newsletter.html
Those are the most recent updates and changes since the last e-mail update. If you would like to see anything in particular at Evidence for God from Science, let me know. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) May God bless you all.
In Christ,
Rich Deem
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Evidence for God from Science
Website: http://www.GodAndScience.org
http://www.godandscience.org/newsletters/2006-06.html
Last Modified June 26, 2006
