Posted on 02/24/2008 4:18:12 PM PST by no nau
How do we know that any of history from that era isn't fiction for that matter?
I would like to live in the country again where the wild animals can be seen in their native habitat. I grew up in the country just outside the city limits of a small MS town. I might have complained about doing chores but we got to see nature at its best. I miss those days when we would check the garden to see the first tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, peas, etc. Plus seeing all of the small fruit developing. We could not wait until the plums got ripe but we ate them green with a little, ok, a lot of salt. Still one of my favorite foods.
My trees were loaded last year when a freeze got them all. Got my figs, too.
I have watched intervention shows where the family or friends are trying to get people the help they need but they seem to like living the ugly side of life. I can not understand why they make the choices they do.
I do not like alcoholic drinks. I was talking with my daughter about wine and how I simply did not like the taste of it. She said it was an acquired taste. Well, excuse me, but why would I want to drink something that you have to get an acquired taste for? Give me southern iced tea, juice, orange or lemonade or just plain water with a lemon slice in it.
So, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Socrates and the designers and builders of the pyramids had not a whit, not even the beginning, of any wisdom or knowledge?
Hm?
Amen. You said it all.
All proof requires faith as any basic philosophy instruction will show is incontrovertible.
Don't know, I've got three, I think King James Version? and one called NIV?
Ask Him for understanding.
Been asking for over twenty years, he hasn't got back to me yet though. (not joking)
All of my evangelical friends kept telling me that Huckabee was going to "take off" among the general population. They kept saying that it was only a matter of time before non-evangelicals flocked to him. They kept insisting that he was the next POTUS. None of that ever happened. They just couldn't understand that the vast majority of the populace simply doesn't think like them. Sort of like the people who think a nationwide "revival" is always around the next corner, when in reality, religion in America will probably go the way of European Christendom.
“We do all have the same evidence”
I would have to firmly disagree with that.
Variation within species is recognized by creationists. If it wasn’t there, everything would be a virtual clone of its parents. It allows for survivability when conditions change. It allows for stability and predictability without boredom and stagnation.
The problem is the difference in interpretation of that fact.
Evolutionists see it as evidence to support the ToE which claims that species can evolve into totally different species.
Creationists see it as part of the infinite variety God programmed into each kind of animal for the reasons mentioned above.
The creationist position is to wallow in willful ignorance. Show some intellectual content if you expect to receive any.
There are 3 major world paradigms....1...Theism (God made all)...2...Pantheism...(god is all)...3...Atheism...(no god at all).
When dealing with creation the first question to be asked is, "Did the universe have a beginning?" Christians, Muslimsm, and Jews say yes, and Hindus', New Agers, Buddists, Mormons say no. One or the other is correct. In evaluating this question one should put aside intellectulal objections, emotional objections, volitional objections and look at the facts as we understand them today. The scientific evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the universe exploded into being out of nothing. Either someone created something out of nothing (Christian view) or no one creeated something out of nothing (atheists view). Which of these position require more faith? The reason some refuse to believe this obvious truth is because belief requires assent not only of the mind but also of the will. Many honest nonChristians have more of a volitional resistance to the Christian view. In other words they have the evidence, they simply do not want to believe.
C.S.Lewis once famously revealed the absurdity of expecting virtue from people who are taught that no virtue exists:"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprize. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful." The truth of the matter is this: false ideas about truth lead to false ideas about life. So...can the truth be known? Discovering the truth begins with the self evident laws of logic called first principles. They are called first principles because they have nothing behind them. They are not proved by other principles. They are an inherent reality.
An irritating fact developed when in 1916 Albert Einsteine developed the theory of General Relativity. But he volitionally developed a corolary...a universal constant (which was not true, but to which he adhered for many years for the sole reason he did not like the implications of the theory...he divided his theory by zero....knowing that this was error. He adhered to it until a cosmologist, Arthur Eddington, conducted an experiment during a solar eclipes which confirmed that the General Relativity was true...the universe was expanding,..not static. If one takes a video real of the universe expanding and runs it backward, it will rewind to...Nothing. Einstein famously said, "Philosophically, the ntion of a beginning of the present order of nature is repugnant to me....I should like to find a genuine loophole." See, volitional blindess. Meanwhile Dutch astronomer Willem de Sitter discovered independently that the universe was expanding. In 1927 astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the expanding universe by looking through the telescope. Looking through the 100 inch telescope at California's Mount Wilson Observatory he saw the "red shift" of light from every observable galaxy, which meant that those galaxies were moving away from us....thus confirming what Einstein had theorized. In 1929 Einstein pilgrimaged to Mount Wilson to see it for himself. He did. He stated that his 'cosmological constant', dividing by 0, was crushed beneath the weight of emperic and observable observation and was the "greatest blunder of his life".
The cosmological argument proving a beginning was the beginning of the end for the atheist. In accordance with the cosmological argument, and in accordance with the Law of Causality, the universe had a beginning. The arguement goes like this: 1.Everything that had a beginnging had a cause. 2. The universe had a beginning. #. Therefore, the universe had a cause. To deny the Law of Causality is to deny rationality. The very process of rational thinking requires us to put together thoughts (the causes) that result in conclusions (the effects). So, if someone doesn't believe in the Law of Causality, simply ask that person, "What caused you to come to that conclusion?"
Since the Law of Causality is well established and undeniable, premise 1 is true. What about number 2. Dis the universe have a beginning. Prior to Einstein it was not provable by science. Now the General Theory of Relativity says yes. Observations by Hubbel says yes. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, a study of matter and energy, says the universe is running down like a clock. With each passing moment the amount of usable energy is diminishing. Now if the universe has always been, then surely there has been enough time for entropy to maximize...but here we are. There are those who will refer you to esoteric physics to gain advantage, but like Sir Arthur Eddington said, "When one tries to dismiss the Laws of Physics, especially the second, I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation."
The universe is expanding....not into 'empty space-but space itself is expanding-there was no space before the Big Bang. It did not emerge from existing material. Chronologically there was no 'before' before the beginning. Time, space, and matter came into existence at the Big BAng. Therefore, the question which needs to be asked of atheists is, "If there is not God, why is there no God?"
Next, we examine the work of 2 scientists who accidentally discovered in 1965 while working for Bell Labortories, there seemed to be radiation coming from everywhere. Intially they thought pigeon droppings had gotten on some wires, but they meticulously removed that and the observations were the same. This was Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson and their discovery of this pigeon dropping effect resulted in the Nobel Prize. Technically known as the cosmic background radiation, this is the afterglow of an initial huge explosion. Now as early as 1948 three scientists predicted that this radiation would be out there if a Big Bang had occurred. Penzias and Wilson stumbled on to it. Robert Jastrow, astronomer said, "No explaination other than the Big Bang has been found for the fireball radiation. The clincher which convinced the last Doubting Thomas, is that the radiation discovered by Penzias and Wilson has exactly the pattern of wavelengths expected for the light and heat produced in a great explosion. Supporters of the steady-state theory have tried desperately to find an alternative explanation but they have failed."
And finally, COBE, the $200,000,000 satellite discovered the "Ripples", long predicted if there was a Big BANG. In 1989 COBE was launced and began sending back photos. The project leader at NASA, Geoge Smoot, announced COBE's findings. He said, "If you are religious, it's like looking at God." University of Chicago's astrophysist Michael Turner, said The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated. They have found the Holy Grail of Cosmology". Stephen Hawking agreed as said it was probably the most improtant scientific discovery of all time. What did COBE find? It found not only ripples, but scientists were amazed at their precision. The ripples show the explosion and expansion of the universe was specifically 'tweaked' to cause just enough matter to congregate to allow galaxy formation, but not enought to cause the universe to collapse. Smootcalled this matter the 'seeds' of the galxies as they exist today. (These pictures can be seen o COBE's website and are the largest structurees ever detected with the largest extending one-third across the known universe. That is 10 billion light years or 60 billion trillion (60 followed by 21 zeroes) miles.
If there is no God, Why is there no God rather than nothing?
The atheist will invarably ask, regarding first cause...'Well, then, what caused God?' The answer is what the Bible says. He is not caused. He is spirit. He is not part of this universe, but is separate and distinct from the universe, and therefore not subject to the laws of order He imposed upon His universe. He is the Alpha and Omege...from everlasting to everlasting. Beside Him there is no other. The only other explaination is that "everything that came to be, came from nothing". That is where science begins to the atheist.
I hope this very cursory explaination helps you to explain to those who refuse to follow step by step to the beginning....In the beginning, God...........
I did not like him but not because of his religion. I did not like his other beliefs. You can not say that about my church which is growing by leaps and bounds. It is a conservative Southern Baptist Church.
As usual, this is a fun debate, but won’t change anything. Nite all, have to get up at 4:30.
“Creationists just make stuff up. That’s why they’re called creationists.”
Every one makes stuff up. Including scientists.
They call it Theory, when they make stuff up.
That’s why it’s called the Theory of Evolution.
If it was a proven fact, it wouldn’t be called a Theory.
In all likelihood, neither the scientists nor creationists are ‘correct’ about the matter.
Sure. They did that and archaeoraptor to prove that the ToE was true beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Oops, wait a minute...
I guess creationists aren't the only ones who make things up, now are they?
He never told us. Either; no one, it doesn’t matter, or even if He told us, we wouldn’t understand.
The bible isn’t a book about somebody but The Word IS Somebody - Jesus, The Living Word. There is power behind the Words.
When one accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior and turn his/her broken down life over to Christ, they then live their life through Him since The Holy Spirit will then live within them. His Beauty for their ashes. He fails no one if they come with a humble spirit knowing they need a Savior. And we all do!
He gives us good things in trade for the mess of our lives, if we’re willing.
You take your kids there so they can learn the "truth" and people will point at them and laugh for believing that we rode dinosaurs:
By time Ham has explained their eyes have glazed over and they are ready to accept anything just to get him to stop talking.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.