The Low Opinion of Women

"Any Christians out there want to take on why the Bible has such a low opinion of women? The Bible is so much more damaging to society in that regard than porn, in my opinion."

You obviously don’t know your Bible, or perhaps you having been visiting atheist websites and getting a lopsided view of the Scriptures from a few verses from the Old Testament. The Bible highly esteems women. Take the time to read the Book of Ruth or the Book of Esther and other parts of the Old Testament, where women are portrayed as heroes. Or read Proverbs 31 to see the incredible virtues of a liberated, hardworking, much-loved wife and business woman.

Then read in the New Testament, about how Jesus treated women with the utmost respect-—the "sinful" woman who washed His feet, and the one who was caught in the act of adultery. Or read in the Epistles about how husbands are instructed to love their wives as much as they love their own bodies.

Most women have no idea how men talk about them when they are not around--how they boast of their sexual exploits. So, I would suggest that you take the time to read the Bible, and you see how God’s Word honors the fairer sex, while much of a godless world treats women as sex objects to be used, and then discarded.

I Had a Dream...

I had a dream. I was riding my bike around a corner when I saw three hungry-looking jaguars waiting for me. They were massively powerful, and the first one’s eyes had a look of absolute determination. I didn’t take the time to look into the eyes of the other two.

I knew I couldn’t outpace them, but I desperately tried. It was no use. In seconds I would be dead meat. Do you know what I did to get away from them? I woke up.

You have a terrifying three-fold dilemma in front of you. Death is waiting around the corner. Every day you look into its cold eyes. You can’t outpace it. It will only be a matter of time until you are dead meat.

After death, something worse awaits you. It is Eternal Justice. It has absolute and resolute determination that you get what is coming to you. Once sealed in eternity, you cannot escape divine equity.

But there is one more terror in this nightmare in which you find yourself. If you die in your sins, a place of punishment in Hell waits for you. There, perfect justice will be done.

Do you know what you have to do to get out of this nightmare? Simply wake up. Stop dreaming about the brainless and unscientific theory of evolution. It is a dead-end path. It's based on an unfounded faith, not in proof. Stop the insane and rebellious dream that God doesn’t exist and that there will be no ultimate retribution. It’s coming. God will punish lust as adultery, hatred as murder, all liars, thieves, fornicators and adulterers. You will even have to give an account of every idle word that you have spoken.

You have His offer of mercy through the blood of the cross--the Savior suffered for your sins, then defeated death on the third day. The escape is there. You need not be a slave to death.

Salvation in Jesus is universal (see Isaiah 55:1-7). If you repent and trust the Savior it doesn't matter who you are or what background you come from--black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

An Uninformed Question

A cynical atheist asked the presumably rhetorical question, "And God created humans with an appendix because.....?"

The reason for the question is the old and misguided thought that evolutionists have that the appendix is vestigial, and that therefore just one more proof that evolution is true. In Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) and in his later works, he referred to several "vestiges" in human anatomy that were left over from the course of evolution. These vestigial organs, Darwin argued, are evidence of evolution and represent a function that was once necessary for survival, but over time that function became either diminished or nonexistent. So here is the answer to the question from two different sources. One is Christian, the other is secular:

1. "However, as doctors learned more about these organs, especially the appendix, they discovered that they are not useless after all. The appendix is a small pouch that extends off the large intestine. It also is called the vermiform (worm-shaped) appendix because it looks like a three-inch earthworm. In recent years, doctors have observed that the appendix is a tough soldier against infection, especially in people who have been exposed to some types of radiation. Inside the appendix is lymphoid (LIM-foid) tissue which helps produce white blood cells that fight disease. Also, early in a child's life the appendix is relatively larger than it is in adults. It is during these early stages of life that the appendix appears to play an even bigger role in guarding the body from infection."

2. Scientific American said, "For years, the appendix was credited with very little physiological function. We now know, however, that the appendix serves an important role in the fetus and in young adults. Endocrine cells appear in the appendix of the human fetus at around the 11th week of development. These endocrine cells of the fetal appendix have been shown to produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones, compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms. There had been little prior evidence of this or any other role of the appendix in animal research, because the appendix does not exist in domestic mammals."

I am amazed that evolution believers would attempt to clutch onto such weak straws when the winds of truth have already blown them away.


"Anna Sethe said......because the appendix does not exist in domestic mammals. It doesn't? And I thought it was a rather prominent structure in herbivore animals. What about the tailbone or third molars, Ray?"

Anna...it's really not a "tail" bone. It is the bottom of your backbone, and without it you couldn't go to the bathroom each day. It supports the necessary muscles.

Claims that wisdom teeth (third molars) usually cause damaging crowding have not held up under the scrutiny of recent empirical studies (see "Third molars and incisor crowding: when removal is unwarranted." Southard, T.E., 1992, Journal of the American Dental Association, 123(8):75–78).

Wisdom teeth were given by God for you to chew and enjoy your food. Be wise and take care of them. Floss.

More "Scientists" Who Believe the Unscientific "Nothing Created Everything."

"If symmetry is perfect on a cosmic scale, the total amount of energy in the universe is actually zero. Does this mean that nothing caused the universe? If our universe is an absolute zero, absolutely nothing seems required to cause it! Is our universe such an ultimate absolute accident? Is it nothing that was caused by nothing for no reason at all? Extreme Big Accident Cosmology answers affirmatively. This cosmology is advocated by Quantum Cosmologists like Edward P. Tryon, Peter Atkins, A. Vilenkin, Victor J. Strenger, Quentin Smith, and a few others for whom the origin of our universe was a stupendous accident, having no cause whatsoever." What Caused the Big Bang? By R. B. Edwards, Page 163

The "Forming" of the Universe

"Atheists do not believe the Universe is a 'creation' in the sense you use the word. Thus they cannot believe it was 'created.' Most of those answering, such as myself, just think the Universe was formed due to natural causes. Natural causes, properties, phenomena, are not a creator." G. E. (Get Education).

I can understand why atheists do not believe that the universe was "created," or even that it’s a "creation." Both those words speak of a Creator, so you need to find another word that doesn't have that connotation. I noted that you are careful not to say that the universe is eternal. That would be a way out, but you know that such a belief is a scientific impossibility. Time would have caused an eternal universe to disappear into dust, eons ago. So the natural word to settle on, when it comes to what happened in the beginning, is to say that the universe "formed." An atheist is someone who believes that everything formed itself.

So if there was such a thing as the atheist Old Testament, it should begin with "In the beginning there was nothing, and nothing formed itself into everything." But you can't believe that because of what you have said. You believe that nature existed, and that nature ("natural causes") formed itself into everything. But if nature existed, then you don't have a beginning. What caused nature?

There’s a huge elephant in the room and it's standing on your foot. You are trying your best to deny its existence, and yet still sound educated. I feel your pain.

Modern Science

A recent news item said, "Scientists have detected that New Zealand was moved about 30cm (12 inches) closer to Australia by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the Tasman Sea last week."

There was another report saying,

" . . . on the west coast of the South Island and a 2-inch tsunami reported in the Tasman Sea to the north of the epicenter, according to the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center."

A whole country moved 12 inches, and a two-inch tsunami. Wow. And people wonder why we lose faith in modern science when they come up with such silliness.

Think of the incredible achievement of landing a man on the moon. When it happened, it was a huge deal. What do we have to show for it 40 years later? A cure to cancer? A cure for the common cold? A permanent solution for starving nations? Nope. We have rocks. Moon rocks.

The CAT scan and a number of other inventions came from the space industry, but think of how much more could have been achieved if those billions had been put into pure science instead of rock-finding.

Now they are talking about landing a man on the moon once again. The estimated cost for more rocks--$100 billion dollars.

However, knowing the Creator and what He has in store for those that love Him, helps bring all this into perspective. There’s no hurry to check out the universe. We will have eternity to do that.

Dirt is Just Dirt

"Ray, I assume you must be a bit shell-shocked from your recent debate. I'll let it slide that the bulk of elements which comprise the human body are primarily found in the air, not the soil (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen). But Ray, are you honestly affirming the case that all the ingredients to produce life were present on Earth before life existed?" Prester John

Definitely not. Dirt is just dirt. It has no life at all. The life came from the source of all life--God: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).

You are a living being. Your life is invisible (your soul). When that soul leaves the body in which it lives, no one will see it leave. Your doctor may just say "This man is now dead," but he won’t see your life pass into eternity. He will make that assessment because your life has left your body. Again, God is the source of that life. When someone becomes a Christian they are "born" of the Spirit of God (see John 3:3-5). The Holy Spirit abides in them--they receive the life of God.

If you carefully study the words of Jesus, you will notice that He continually made the incredible claim that He was the very source of life: "I am the way the truth and the life," "I am the resurrection and the life," "I have come that they might have life," etc. The Bible says of Him: "In Him was life," "Christ, who is our life," and "He that has the Son has life."

So when you reject Jesus Christ, you are rejecting the most valuable thing in the universe. Life. And why do you reject eternal life? Because you love your sin. See John 3:19-20 for details.

God Made Man From Soil...are You Kidding?

It was eminent scientist, Stephen Hawking, who said, "There have been various ideas, but for me the most attractive is that the universe was spontaneously created out of absolutely nothing." So it’s not too difficult to take that a step further and believe that it was God who spontaneously created the heavens and the earth.

But the Book of Genesis goes on to tell us that God then made man from the soil of the earth. Such a thought seems a scientific impossibility. However, according to Yale university, the elements that make up the soil are:

1. Potassium, 2. Calcium, 3. Magnesium, 4. Phosphorous, 5. Iron, and 6. Manganese .

If God made the human body from the soil, it make sense that both the soil and the body would be made up of the same elements. Let’s then see if these six elements that are present in the soil are also in the human body:

1. Potassium: "Potassium plays an important role in smooth muscular and cellular functioning, cardiovascular functioning, muscle contractions, nerve transmission, in conversion of glucose into glycogen and muscle building etc."

2. Calcium: "Calcium comes in many forms, and is a whitish substance which is a primary ingredient in things such as chalk, ivory, pearls, and bones. It is known as the fifth most common element in the earth’s crust and is a primary mineral in the human body."

3. Magnesium: "Magnesium is essential to the functioning of the human body because it transmits nerve impulses, causes the contraction of muscles and is integral to healthy development of teeth and bones."

4. Phosphorous: "Phosphorus is present in bones and teeth and combines with calcium to form calcium phosphate which is the substance which gives the skeleton rigidity. It is also present in every cell in the human body and in the body fluids as well."

5. Iron: "Iron is a mineral found in every cell of the body. Iron is considered an essential mineral because it is needed to make part of blood cells."

6. Manganese: "Manganese is an essential element to the human body..."

Is it then a coincidence that the same six elements that are in the soil are also in the human body? That’s what you have to figure out before death takes you into eternity . . . when your body decomposes and turns back to the soil, from which it came.

Notes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW5-aQonz3E
http://www.yale.edu/fes519b/pitchpine/elements.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/potassium-deficiency-effects-of-low-potassium.html
http://www.essortment.com/all/vitaminsmineral_rszw.htm
http://www.essortment.com/all/whatismagnesiu_rtca.htm
http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandNutrition/Phosphorus.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002422.htm
http://www.manganese-wilsons-parkinsons-disease.com/

Debate with Thunderfoot

"Thunderfoot, the brilliant and creative genius behind the ‘Why do people laugh at creationists’ video series on youtube has extended an invitation to Ray Comfort for a debate. Thunderfoot has the most popularly subscribed to Atheist channel on youtube with 54,000 subscribers where Comfort’s Way of the Master channel draws only 9,000."

This morning we filmed the debate. I was both impressed by his intellect, and by the fact that he was such a nice guy.

"The Sky is Definitely Blue."

"There probably isn’t a God. I’d never be stupid enough to commit myself 100% to the statement that 'THERE DEFIANTLY IS NO GOD!' because I don’t know it for a fact. It’s summer here in the UK, so I can look out my window and say, for a fact "the sky definitely is blue." You could say that to a color blind person that the sky isn’t blue, but you’d be wrong because the color blind person has a vision deficiency causing them to see incorrectly." Andy Duchemin

I appreciate the fact that you have illustrated my point. As an atheist, you can’t be sure of anything in this life. You can’t be sure if God doesn’t exist. You can’t be sure of evolution. You can’t be sure of what is right and what is wrong. But you are sure that the sky is blue. However, it’s not. It has no color at all. It’s an illusion. The only thing you can be sure of is your death.

On the other hand, those who know God (as apposed to those who simply "believe" in His existence) can be sure of many things. This is because God is never wrong. Ever. He is absolutely trustworthy in that which He says. We can therefore know absolutely about our origins, and we can know absolutely what is right and what is wrong. There is no "probably" when it comes to His immutable promises. Rather than let this fact upset you, see it instead as unspeakably good news for those who are tossed back and forth on the sea of speculation. It means that you can have a solid foundation for this life, and absolute hope (know that you have everlasting life) in the next.

Did God "Murder" His Son?

"Sorry Ray, I do not take my morals from a God who drowns opposing armies in the ocean, killed every living thing on Earth in a global flood, punished humanity for all time for eating a piece of fruit, rained fire and brimstone on entire cities because he didn't like their behavior, killed the first born of an entire nation, and murdered his own son. Thank God he does not exist." askegg

It seems that you don’t know your Bible. God didn’t "kill every living thing on earth in a global flood." He allowed all the fish, and a family of eight people to be saved. He didn’t punish humanity "for all time for eating a piece of fruit." Adam was punished for his "disobedience" (see Romans 5:19). If you refuse God’s mercy, you too will be punished for your disobedience, not for Adam’s.

You are also wrong when you said that "God murdered His own Son." The Bible says that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Jesus of Nazareth was the Creator in human form (see John 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:16). The reason God became a Man was to suffer for the sin of the world (taking the punishment that is due to us). We violated God’s Law (the Ten Commandments), and Jesus paid our fine. That means you can have your case dismissed. It means you can escape Hell, and receive everlasting life as a gift from God (see Romans 6:23).

God warned the Pharaoh ten times that He would judge Egypt, and you pin-pointed the reason for God drowning his army. It was because it was an "opposing" army. That's a good lesson for us: oppose and you lose. Like Pharaoh, you have been warned (through the Ten Commandments) that God will judge the world because it is at war with Him (see James 4:4). If you refuse to surrender and carry on with your rebellion, God will give you over to what the Bible calls a "reprobate mind." I would hate that to happen to you.

You are right though about the fire and brimstone. The same Justice of God that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah abides on you (see John 3:36), believe it or not. Please, think about your eternal salvation. There's nothing more important.

Really Worth Watching

This was produced by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), and broadcast by ABC TV in Australia):

http://www.abc.net.au/compass/s2606271.htm

The Dilemma, Again

"Wow Ray, I have personally answered your versions of infinite regression, and 'nothing creating everything' and corrected your pathetic misunderstanding of the second law of thermodynamics... Not that I am claiming you are lying in this regard, I don't think so. You are simply expressing your ignorant opinions. However if you had any intellectual honesty you would acknowledge that there are answers given to your supposed stumpers that you are unable to refute." Ryk

I am happy to acknowledge that answers have been given to explain the "nothing created everything" dilemma, and I choose to believe that those answers are wrong. There's nothing to refute.

I have seen numbers of those who called themselves "atheists" change their minds and admit that they weren't atheists, the moment they realized that they did believe that "something" created everything. That was because the alternative was ridiculous. That realization is the pin that pops the bubble of atheism. That’s why I am staying with this, much to the annoyance of the faithful posters.

However, my consolation is that if they don’t like me saying this, they are free to go elsewhere. Think about it. If every professing atheist leaves, this would no longer be "Atheist Central." The Blog would dry up. I would be out of their lives forever. Or could it be that they get bored talking to those others who profess to be atheists?

So, what do you believe: creator or no creator? You could say that there is no such thing as "creation," which many atheists say, which is absurd. You could say "I don't know." But if you do, you are not an atheist. You are agnostic. You could try to define "nothing" as being something, which is also ridiculous. One of your atheist friends said, "An atheist is someone who believes 'the something' is NOT INTELLIGENT, because cosmology, abiogenesis and evolution show you don't need an intelligent designer to end up with a planet filled with life." Crazy-talk. So you do have a dilemma.

Here’s another atheist’s attempt to distance himself from the essence of atheism: "Let's say I believe that something caused the universe to form. SOMETHING not NOTHING. However I think that something was natural and not God. See, I am still an atheist because I don't believe in God, and yet at the same time I believe that something caused the universe." So he believes in a creator as the cause of the universe. He’s not an atheist.

Let me add to all this that I am honored that you post here. Best wishes to you and yours.

If I Could Score One Point

"But to think that you've somehow trumped your atheist 'enemies' by denouncing them for not acknowledging a Supreme Being who, by your admission, is not the loving God you proclaim he is, is a reverse double bluff." Rene

I don’t consider you as enemies. I would like to see every atheist as my friend. Neither do I consider myself as being better than you, although I do see myself as being infinitely better off in the light of eternity.

If I could score one point with those who profess atheism, it’s to convince them that the god they don’t believe in, doesn’t exist. Each of us, until we are "regenerated" by the Holy Spirit, has our "understanding darkened." We are as Einstein said, like a little child in a massive library. I would add "an illiterate" little child. We are incapable of understanding, and so like Job (see Job 38:2), our words are without knowledge.

When an atheist talks of God as being a God of love, I can understand the impossibility of reconciling His harsh judgments with His professed love. How could He kill humanity through the Noahic flood or mercilessly kill all the Canaanites, and still be called “loving”? It makes no sense.

The answer in simple. It is because He is also "just" and "holy." To help us understand this, we must take a moment to do something that is unpleasant. Think objectively about your sins. Be blatantly honest. Don’t try to justify yourself. Go through the Commandments one by one and ask if you are you guilty of lying, stealing, blasphemy, lust, fornication, unthankfulness, ingratitude, failure to love others as much as you love yourself, and of course the big one--failing to God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength? Then ask how you would do if God lost patience and judged you right now by that perfect Law, and you have to come to the conclusion that He hasn’t dealt with you according to your sins. He hasn’t treated you as He treated the Noahic generation or the Canaanites.

If we remove God’s moral Law (the Ten Commandments) from the equation, this “God of love” and the harsh judgments we read in the Bible are diametrically opposed. But when the Law enters and we understand that He is both just and holy and loving and merciful, then we begin to get a right image of the God we must face.

This has never been so clearly illustrated as at the cross. There we see an evident display of God’s wrath against sin as the Lamb of God suffered for the sin of the world. But we also see an evident and amazing display of His love and mercy of God, when we understand that He suffered in Christ so that our case could be dismissed (see Romans 5:8).

Still, what I am saying is just words, and all the talk in the world cannot help you in this case. You need to "taste" what I am saying, because you are dying for want of the Bread of Life (see John 6:35). Every minute of every day is drawing you closer to breathing your last. The minute that you "taste and see that the Lord is good," the life of God will enter your dying body, and the argument about His existence and the Savior He proved will be over. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32).

New video clip

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Solve the mystery: find out the real cause of death.

Is God Guilty of Murder?

"No one argues that Mein Kampf is a hateful book full of racist lies but for some reason the Bible is immune to this, especially by its readers. Interestingly both books are big on genocide." Andy Duchemin

The "God kills children" argument is a favorite among atheists, and I concede that there is no disagreement. God killed almost all of the human race through the Noahic flood. This included men, women, children, and no doubt puppies, and cute little kittens (another favorite among atheists). Only those animals and people who entered the ark were saved from the Judgment of God. He also told Joshua to kill every Canaanite man, woman and child. All of them. So if you want to make a moral judgment against God, you do have a case.

But it would be wise to gather even more evidence to make your case against God watertight. The Bible says that God also proclaimed the death sentence on the entire human race--every man, woman and child. This death-sentence included all of the animal kingdom as well.

So there you have it. You now have multiple billions of deaths for which you can directly blame God.

So what are you going to do about it? Should you spread the word that you have evidence that God actually kills people? Or should you just keep quiet, because (as a professing atheist) remember, you are supposed to believe that He doesn’t exist.

Was Jesus a False Prophet?

"In Mark 14:62 in response to the chief priests and the council who have posed the question 'are you the Christ,' Jesus says: 'I am. And YOU will SEE me sitting at the right hand of power, and COMING with the clouds of heaven.' Did those men SEE him coming with the clouds or sitting in power? They almost certainly saw him die, but the Bible never confirms that this prophecy was fulfilled. In fact, when the Bible record ends, his disciples are still awaiting His coming. It never happened. It still hasn't happened 2000 years later. Why Ray? Is Jesus a False Prophet?"

You forgot that the hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear His voice (see John 5:28). There is going to be a resurrection of the just and the unjust (see John 5:29). Every eye will see Him. The chief priests will bow the knee before Him. So will Hitler and every murderer, rapist, thief and liar. Richard Dawkins will bow down to Jesus Christ as Lord of the Universe and Creator of all things (see Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10). By Him, everything was created (see Colossians 1:16) and every human being will see him in His glory, including you. John saw the resurrected Christ and trembled in terror. He shines with a brightness above that of the sun (see Acts 26:13).

So it would be wise to stop asking whether He was a false prophet. Instead confess and forsake your sins, and put your trust in Him while He extends His mercy to sinful men and women. He has waited for 2,000 years because He is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. Everything Jesus said would happen has happened throughout history (see Matthew 24 and Luke 21), and you can therefore bet your very soul that those men to whom Jesus said will see His coming, as sure as Hell will see it.

What's Wrong With a Bit of Cussing?

"Ray, what is wrong with using 'filthy language'? Biblically or otherwise? Words are words, and it is you who projects meaning onto them. 'Filthiness' is a category that certain words are intentionally used to carry, meaning that if (for example) the entire human race forgot the filthy words of today, new ones would pop up to take their place in the semantic vacuum. But I ask again, what's wrong with using the f-word (filthy word)?" Lurker

If you are an atheist, you can’t say anything is morally "wrong." Is rape wrong? If you answer "Yes," I ask you "Who says?" If you say "Society," then if society deemed rape morally okay, does it become right? What about murder? Is that right or wrong? What say society says it’s right, just for getting rid of Jews and blacks? Is it then right? Is it morally okay to kill children in the womb? You say again, "If society says so." How about men marrying men? If society says so. Is pedophilia wrong? Same scenario.

You have no rock to stand on. We do. The rock upon which the Christian stands is immovable, and it will judge all of humanity (including you) on the Day of Judgment (see Romans 2:12). We have the solid rock of the Law of God. The Commandments were written in stone and they are unchanging. They tell us that murder is morally wrong, so is adultery, fornication, lust, greed, envy, and pride. Everything that violates the spirit of God’s Law is morally wrong (see Romans 7:14). That includes what the Bible calls "filthy language" (see Colossians 3:8).

A recent study found that the use of filthy language tends to help certain people deal with pain:

"The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table. Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word."

All these researchers found was that certain human beings with a filthy mouth (subconsciously) place value on filthy talk. No doubt blasphemy was included in their language:

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies"(Matthew 15:18-19).

"Idiot" Home School Textbooks

"Evolution has been proven despite what your idiot homeskool ‘textbooks’ told you. The only questions are about the details." Ryk

Those who are home schooled usually excel at spelling (it would seem that you weren’t home schooled).

I have met many kids who have been educated by their parents (using "idiot" home school textbooks) and I have found that they are consistently respectful, well-adjusted to life, sociable with their peers, and extremely knowledgeable. This is because those that are educating them deeply love them, and they have the ability to care for them as individuals. Studies have shown that children whose parents are directly involved in their education are more apt to excel in academics. In addition to this, extended periods of time together strengthen family relationships, not only between the child and his parents, but also with his siblings.

Granted, by not being educated by the public system, their kids will miss out on learning how to communicate using filthy language. They will also miss out on the use of illegal drugs. According to a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, "Millions of U.S. teens attend ‘drug-infested schools’ where students routinely see drugs used, sold or kept on schools grounds . . . Thirty-one percent of high school students -- more than 4 million -- see drug dealing, illegal drug use or students high or drunk at least once a week on their school grounds."[1]

Home schooled kids will also miss out on sexual promiscuity, contracting sexually transmitted diseases (one in four U.S. females has a sexually transmitted disease[2]), being bullied, and maybe being shot to death (to date, there have been shootings resulting in the deaths of students in 76 different U.S. public schools). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures an incredible one in five kids in public schools have seriously considered suicide: "19.3 percent of high school students have seriously considered killing themselves."

Back in 2007, nearly 6.2 million students in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24 dropped out. According to ABC, "A study this week from Strong American Schools reports that 40 percent of seniors still do not understand the math they were taught in the eight grade. And an earlier study from Common Core found that nearly a quarter cannot identify Adolph Hitler, more than half cannot place the American Civil War in the right century, and a third do not know that the Bill of Rights guarantees free speech."[3]. The American public school system is a failure.

Had home schoolers attended public school they would have also been brainwashed by an unproven theory about human origins, and ended up believing that they are nothing but an animal with no ultimate moral accountability. Evolution doesn’t simply teach that we have a common ancestor in primates. It seriously teaches that we are primates,[4] and if the result of public schooling education is to reject God and His gift of eternal life, the depth of that tragedy will only be measured in the light of eternity.

Sadly, millions of impressionable young people have already been brainwashed into believing that evolution is a proven fact, and that all it lacks is "details." How could any theory be proven when there are no details to provide proof? The missing link (the details) is still missing. All evolution believers have is a blind faith in what they have been taught by other believers in the theory, and "evolution did it" isn't good science. It's a pseudo-science. And that’s a fact.

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[1] http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1640311120070817
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/science/12std.html
[3] http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4732319&page=1
[4] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-humans-the-only-prima

Remarkably Compatible Genealogies

"I invite you to compare the genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17 to the genealogy in Luke 3:23-28. They are remarkably incompatible, and one wonders how you can call the Bible, in this case, anything but utter confusion. Perhaps, though, you can answer a question I've had for a long time. How can Jesus be the son of Joseph, as both these genealogies attest? Wasn't God his father? Aren't these genealogies, in fact, entirely pointless? And isn't the prophecy that the Messiah would descend from the line of David thus unfulfilled?" eugyppius

Study the wording in Luke 3:23 closely. It says "as was supposed" or "what was thought to be the son of Joseph." He wasn’t. He was the Son of God (God manifest in human form). Then carefully look at the wording of Matthew 1:16. It says, "Joseph the husband of Mary." In neither case is Joseph called the father of Jesus.

In both of these cases, the genealogy goes through the lineage of David (Luke 3:31 and Matthew 1:6). There is no confusion at all in these lists. If names in both don’t reconcile, there are rational explanations. For example, in Matthew we are told that "Jacob begot Joseph," but Luke 3:23 says, "Joseph, the son of Heli." Luke’s record was "according to Law" (a literal translation of "so it was thought" in Luke 3:23), indicating that Joseph was not actually the son of Heli but was reckoned his son according to the Law. Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, Mary’s father.

Please don’t get your information from atheist websites. They hold up the same old mistaken arguments, and they never seek an answer. Imagine if you reject God’s gift of everlasting life and end up (being justly punished for your sins), solely because you believed what some stranger said on an atheist website, instead of sincerely looking into it yourself. What a tragedy.

The Basics of Science

"When you claim that atheists believe 'nothing created everything,' and that it is pitifully dishonest and stupid to believe that, you're making a complete and utter fool of yourself when the next sentence out of your mustachio'd mouth is that 'nothing created the creator who created everything,' and that there's absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with believing that. How is that even different?" Nathaniel

Good question. It’s different in that it is the dimension of "time" that demands a beginning. If time didn’t exist there would be no beginning. Time is God’s creation and He dwells outside of its limits. He is eternal. Creation (the universe) dwells within the element of time (is temporal) and therefore had to have a beginning. It’s very simple.

"If you want to maintain that atheists truly do believe 'nothing created everything' (which we don't, but you don't care about that, do you?), then it absolutely does follow that you yourself believe that 'nothing created God,' who then proceeded to create everything else. If you want to claim that God always existed, then I will do exactly the same thing with the universe."

And in doing so you reveal that you don’t understand the basics of science. The Second Law of Thermodynamics shows that the universe cannot be eternal because it would have crumbled into dust (in time).

"This is what you do, Ray. You dismiss the scientific explanation as 'impossible' or 'ridiculous,' and the use the very same explanation when asked about your God. It's pathetic, Ray. You're pathetic."

The fact that I’m pathetic doesn’t change the fact that either you believe that nothing created this universe or you believe that something created it. You have no fence to sit upon. Either you are an atheist (believing that nothing created everything) and, as the Bible so aptly says, are a "fool' (see Psalm 14:1), or you believe that something created it and are therefore not an atheist.

I don't think that you are pathetic. I just think that you need to rethink your beliefs.

An Elementary Point for Professor Dawkins

Seraph wrote:

"One of the central arguments of The God Delusion by Dawkins is this...

'... the designer hypothesis immediately raises the larger problem of who designed the designer?'

You will find a brilliant response and refutation to this argument by William Lane Craig. I thought I would share Craigs' response with those who have briefly alluded to Dawkins' reasoning in their respective posts. Craig succinctly expresses:

'... Dawkins' claim here is that one is not justified in inferring design as the best explanation of the complex order of the universe because then a new problem arises: who designed the designer?

This rejoinder is flawed on at least two counts. First, in order to recognize an explanation as the best, one needn't have an explanation of the explanation. This is an elementary point concerning inference to the best explanation as practiced in the philosophy of science. If archaeologists digging in the earth were to discover things looking like arrowheads and hatchet heads and pottery shards, they would be justified in inferring that these artifacts are not the chance result of sedimentation and metamorphosis, but products of some unknown group of people, even though they had no explanation of who these people were or where they came from. Similarly, if astronauts were to come upon a pile of machinery on the back side of the moon, they would be justified in inferring that it was the product of intelligent, extra-terrestrial agents, even if they had no idea whatsoever who these extra-terrestrial agents were or how they got there. In order to recognize an explanation as the best, one needn't be able to explain the explanation. In fact, so requiring would lead to an infinite regress of explanations, so that nothing could ever be explained and science would be destroyed. So in the case at hand, in order to recognize that intelligent design is the best explanation of the appearance of design in the universe, one needn't be able to explain the designer.'"

The "Myth" of Creationism

"My purpose for being here (and I can only speak for myself and not the other unbelievers here) is to stand up for reason and especially to try to dissuade anyone from spreading the myth of creationism, especially in public schools."

This is censorship at its worst. Those who are anti-knowledge see themselves as the intellectual saviors of poor dumb college and university students, who don’t have the ability to think for themselves. These are the book burners, who do what they do for the good of society. Their society. And they do what they do in the name of “reason” and "science," when their atheistic belief is completely unreasonable and absolutely unscientific.

If you think atheism is scientific and reasonable, let me ask you some questions. Do you believe that nothing created everything? If you do, that's not only unscientific, it's unreasonable. This is because your "nothing" isn’t nothing. It is something because it had the amazing ability to create everything. So do you then believe that something created everything, although you are not sure what that something was? That's reasonable.

Keeping in mind that the most intelligent of human beings can’t create a grain of sand from nothing, do you think that that "something" that made everything was intelligent? It obviously is; and if you do believe the "force" that made the flowers, the birds, the trees, the human eye, and the sun, the moon and the stars was intelligent, you then believe that there was an intelligent designer. You have just become an unscientific knuckle-dragger in the narrow-minded eyes of our learning institutions that embrace Darwinism.

But you are not alone if you believe in God. Many of our greatest scientists believed in the existence of a Creator: Galileo, Newton, Nicholas Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Michael Faraday, Louis Pasteur and Kepler, just to name a few. Einstein (a theist who didn’t believe in a personal God) rightly said, "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind." He also said, "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."

The incredible harmony in creation proves beyond a doubt to any thinking mind that there is a Creator...don't you think?

Richard, the Liar-heart?

When I contrasted having absolute assurance of something with the word "probably," an atheist (Richard) replied, "All planes and elevators are probably safe. Accidents do happen. All knowledge is probable . . . So the use of probably simple means the person is not as arrogant to assume he/she has absolute knowledge. Anybody who claims to have absolute knowledge is a liar."

However (using his own standards of judgment), this man must be a liar, because he made a number of absolute statements in his reply. He said that "all" planes and elevators are probably safe. That means that he has absolute knowledge of all planes and elevators. There’s not one plane or elevator in this entire universe, of which he isn’t perfectly familiar.

Then he does the same thing with his "all" knowledge. To say "all knowledge is probable," he must have all knowledge to know that it's probable. So he humbly claims omniscience. He thinks that he is God. Then he boasts of his humility (he’s not arrogant like those who use absolute statements) and says "Anyone who claims to have absolute knowledge is a liar."

Richard Dawkins shows the difference between the belief of the atheist and the experiential knowledge of the Christian, with his "There is probably no God." The Christian knows God, while the professing atheist doesn’t. He is an "atheist"--a ("without") theist ("God"). He is without God.

Then Richard (the absolute statement-maker) goes out on a limb and makes another absolute statement, in an effort to prove that God doesn’t keep His promises:

"Now please explain why there has NEVER been a single substantiated report of a single amputee that regained his amputated limb back from God."

How does he know that this has never happened in history, or somewhere else other than in his very limited world? The best he can offer is that he has never heard of such a thing.

His broad statement is typical of those who adamantly say that there is no God. In reality, they don’t know that God doesn’t exist. So they need to sit at the feet of the learned professor Dawkins, and stay with the word "probably."

Preaching to the Choir

"I was just wondering, Ray, why did you move to the U.S. -- why come to America since it is so Christian? Why not go to a country that is primarily Hindu or Buddhist or atheistic? According to polls about 85% of Americans consider themselves Christians and at least 35-40% call themselves "born again" while only 10-12% of Americans are atheists...Aside from this blog aren't you pretty much preaching to the choir in the U.S.?" Southern Comfort

I was honored to be invited to come to this country, back in 1989. I had been speaking in Hawaii in 1988 when the pastor of a church in California heard what I was saying, called me in New Zealand some time later and said, "America must hear this message!" So, at his church’s kind invitation and clear direction from God, I uprooted my family and came to the United States.

I already knew that He was going to bring me here (see, Out of the Comfort Zone for details) and I knew why. I had discovered the reason that this nation in particular was filled with so many "false converts." A false convert is a person who says that he is a Christian, but his life doesn’t match what he professes to believe. Some stay within the Church as false converts, but many are exposed by "tribulation, temptation and persecution" and go back to the sinful world (as the Bible says) like a dog returns to its vomit (see 2 Peter 2:22). Your own experience is an example of a false conversion:

"I was brought up in a Christian home and accepted Christ as my savior at the age of 14. I committed my life to full-time Christian service at 18. I am a graduate of a conservative Christian college and seminary, having studied the Bible formally at the college level for 6 years and as a Christian for many more years than that. I was in Christian ministry for over 20 years. So I guess you could at least say I am very familiar with the bible and its teachings. I don't know if it would surprise you or not, but I know several other preachers who have rejected the tenets of Christianity after having been in the ministry for many years."

You stayed in the Church for many years, and were able to fake it even longer than the well-known false convert, Mr. Dan Barker. But nowhere in the Bible does it say to "accept" Christ as your Savior. That was the root cause of your problem.

My problem is that people who have had a false conversion are often bitter and angry (as with Mr. Barker) and therefore unreachable with the true gospel. I hope that’s not your case. If you are interested in the details of why you fell away, please take the time to listen to "Hell’s Best Kept Secret" and then "True and False Conversion" on livingwaters.com (there’s no charge).

Inconsistent Teaching?

A skeptic wrote: "But I don't believe that Ray's 'vile worm theology' is the consistent teaching of the Bible, nor is it consistent with a healthy self-image. Here are instances, in fact, where certain people are considered 'blameless': 'This man [Job] was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil' (Job 1:1). 'But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me' (Psalm 26:11). 'Both of them [Zechariah and Elisabeth] were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly' (Luke 1:6). We don't see this universal groveling in the muck over one's imperfection. We can thank the Church for that miserable sentiment."

It's important to understand that when the Bible speaks of someone being "blameless" it doesn’t mean that they are without sin. It simply means (in the Old Testament) that they trusted in God through animal sacrifice, and were therefore released from the condemnation of His Law. It was God's mercy that saved them.

This is also the legal state of the Christian (in the New Testament). He is a wicked sinner like every other human being, but because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, he is counted as blameless. The Law of God has no demands on him. He is "justified" in the sight of God.

The word translated 'blameless' [Greek amomos] is used a number of times in the New Testament:

"That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

"(God) chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).

"Christ ... gave himself up for (the church) ... to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25-27). See also (Revelation 14:5).

This is an incredible truth of the Bible. All who repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ will be found blameless on the day of Judgment. That means that God's Law will not condemn them to Hell.

That's why it doesn't faze me when I am accused of being a liar and a hypocrite by atheists. God's approval is all that matters. If I am a liar and a hypocrite (a pretender) I will end up in Hell, but if I am genuine, I will be found blameless.

Look at this wonderful promise for every Christian: "Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:33-34).

A Valued Piece of Garbage

"Sometimes Ray makes me angry, or annoyed, flabbergasted or concerned for his mental health. But all in all, he is a good man. I wouldn't torture him, make him feel like a horrible useless little sinful piece of garbage, or arbitrarily destroy him on a meteorological whim. I wouldn't call him names or accuse him of greed. My gut is that Ray's not all that bad. Probably. Steve."

I’m glad you used the word "probably." It shows that you think that you could be wrong about me being a good man. And, you are. Big time. I’m not a good man, and I am "all that bad." A "good" man loves the God who gave him life--with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength. He also loves every other human being as much as he loves himself. A good man never lusts after women, or has a selfish or unclean thought sexual though. He is perfect, in thought, word, and in deed.

By human definition of the word "good," I may be good. But man's definition is very low. God’s is very high, and it’s by His perfect standard of goodness that we will be judged on Judgment day. Definitely.

No doubt this will make you angry, annoyed, flabbergasted and very concerned about my mental health. This is because you don’t understand God’s terrible justice, neither do you understand His amazing mercy. You and I may be a "sinful piece of garbage," but it is on that garbage that God set His love, and suffered and died to cleanse us of our filth.

The Flag and Independence

What does your country’s flag mean to you? To the United States, the flag is very special because it symbolizes freedom. It is a country that is unique in that it calls itself "One nation under God." That means that it’s a nation where you can have the freedom to love God, or you can be an atheist and even be free to promote your atheism. That is very special.

The flag reminds us that we fought for our independence. It came with a price. Many died so that we could be free, and those who honor the flag honor their precious sacrifice.

The symbol of Christianity is a blood-stained cross. It reminds the Christian that he is free from the demands of Eternal Justice. There was a time when he was ignorant, foolish and deceived by sin. He didn’t understand his moral state before God. I look back on my pre-conversion state and remember how the Cross was meaningless to me. It was a foreign flag to which I had no allegiance.

But when the moral Law opened my eyes to its just wrath (see Matthew 5:27-28), I suddenly understood the sacrifice. I had violated God’s Law (the Ten Commandments), and 2,000 years ago Jesus paid my fine in His precious life's blood. He defeated death by rising on the third day. That meant that upon my repentance and faith in the Savior, God could and would legally commute my death sentence.

On the Day of Judgment the Law of God cannot condemn me, because my crimes against God no longer exist. They have been blotted out by the mercy of the Judge. I have independence from the power of death. Fine paid; case dismissed.

So when I hear someone despise or discount the Cross as meaningless, I know why they feel that way. They need understanding, and that's the reason for this blog. May you find independence from death today. Happy 4th of July.

Dripping Hands

When asked "Do you believe a woman has the right to kill her child in the womb?" one atheist answered: "Nope. A child has the right to live. A blastocyte however has the sentient equivalent of a colony of bacteria and it is more morally wrong to slaughter a cow at a slaughterhouse than to kill a blastocyte."

The Bible is consistent when it refers to a pregnant woman as being "with child." It doesn't say "with fetus" nor does it redefine a child in the womb as a "blastocyte."

We are also told in Scripture that the life of the flesh is in the blood (see Leviticus 17:11). If you lose your blood, you lose your life. The blood is sparked at conception, therefore life begins at that moment. Take that life and you murder a human being, and no amount of redefinition will change that fact, and if you have murdered another human being, you will stand before God on Judgment Day with the blood of the innocent on your hands (see Proverbs 6:16-17).

A society may redefine its beliefs, but new definitions don’t change reality. Hitler redefined the Jews as being less than human, and thus began the efficiency of Nazi Germany. Jewish men, women, and children were marched or sent by train, truck, or bus to a nearby forest. A ditch was dug to serve as a mass grave. The Jews were ordered to remove their clothing, place it in neat piles, and wait. Small groups were then taken down into the pit. One German witness later recalled:

"The pit was already two-thirds full. I estimated that it held a thousand people. I looked for the man who did the shooting. He was an SS man who sat at the edge of the narrow end of the pit, his feet dangling into it. He had a tommy gun on his knees and was smoking a cigarette. The people--they were completely naked--went down some steps ... to the place where the SS man directed them. They lay down in front of the dead and wounded. Some caressed the living and spoke to them in a low voice. Then I heard a series of shots." [Testimony given at Nuremberg]

Many Nazis escaped the justice of man, but none will escape the Justice of God.

So the next time you advocate the murder of an innocent human being because of your redefinition of life, feel free to wash your hands (as Pontius Pilate did) in water. It won’t change a thing.

"Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky.—Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our pow'r to accompt?—Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" Macbeth Act 5, scene 1, 26–40

When Did Life Appear?

When did life appear on the earth? Was it billions of years ago, or was it something like 6,000 years ago? The Smithsonian doesn’t know (pictured). They use the word "probably" when it comes to when life began, which is probably the most-used word when it comes to the theory of evolution. I use the word "probably" when it comes to it being the number one word, because I really don’t know. I could be wrong.

Imagine stepping into a plane that you believed was "probably" safe, or into an elevator that has cables that are "probably" secure. But think of what the evolution believer does. He believes that earth probably began billions of years ago, and therefore whole-heartedly rejects the Bible’s account of creation and consequently its offer of Heaven and warning of Hell. All because of probably.

The word "know" is used 717 times in the Bible (KJV), but you won’t find the word "probably" even once. That’s because when God says something, His promise is immutable. You can have faith in it, believe it, rely on it, cling to it, and completely trust it with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. I have been doing that for over 37 years and never once have I been even slightly disappointed.

It’s because of this absolute trust in God that I know that I have everlasting life. I know that my many sins are forgiven, and I know that I have escaped the damnation of Hell.

This implicite trust is something that God gives to all those who repent and trust in Jesus. If we call upon His name He gives us a new heart with new desires, "seals" us with His Holy Spirit, imputes what is called "righteousness" to us, and on top of that He gives us the ability to trust Him and His promises in such an unshakeable way.

I know that many of you say that you don’t believe that God exists (let alone have faith in His promises), and of course you don’t have faith in what I have to say because you think I am a lying, money-hungry, snake-oil salesman. But I will say it anyway: I cannot find words in the English language to express my love for God. I am at a loss for words when it comes to my fathomless appreciation, my burning gratitude, my exploding thankfulness--for the fact that He has saved me from the power of the grave and given me everlasting life.

Write us off if you will, but you cannot take that reality from those that love God. It's ours forever...and all you have is "probably."

How do you know?

"The stories [my grandmother] tells are quite vivid. If I didn't know better, I'd believe every word she said. I, and other family members, sometimes feel the need to bring her back to reality, but most of the time, we realize that it's futile to try. I'm not suggesting that your mental condition is comparable to a 72 year old woman with Alzheimer's (I would never insult my Grandmother like that), but when you, or anyone else, claims to 'know God', I can only assume that you're in a state of hallucination."

What’s the basis for your assumption that you are the one who is sane and that your grandmother is not? Here are a few test questions: Do you believe that there is a creation without a Creator? Do you believe a woman has the right to kill her child in the womb? Should homosexuals have the right to marry each other? What is the purpose of your existence (other than to find happiness while you are here)? What is your definition of a sane person? How do you know your definition is the correct one? Does your grandmother think that she is a primate? Do you think she is? Do you believe Richard Dawkins is correct when he says that we are all primates? If there was one chance in a million that God exists, and He is offering you everlasting life, would you take the time to look into it?