On the Bible for a Muslim

Introduction
I have an acquaintance who is a very friendly man who happens to be a Muslim. I notice his business is always very supportive of America. On the fourth of July their business is covered with American flags. He, and I believe some of his relatives come from Iran, probably as refugees. The rulers of Iran are very domineering, and use the Muslim religion's teachings to further their domination. My acquaintance and his family probably appreciate much about the United States that most Americans take for granted.

A couple weeks ago I asked him if he would read a Bible if I gave him one. He said, "yes". I have been very slow to respond. Partly because I wanted to do it the best way I could think of, which turns out to be by doing a blog post about what I want him to know, as an open minded reader of the most incredible book on the planet.

(updated 12/12)
One of the comments many people make about the Bible is that it is like many other books of the many religions. That is true in a limited sense, but not in the fullest sense.

The Bible is like other books considered holy which are used to teach aspects of living considered very significant. It is often used to justify teaching that certain people are special in a religious way, deserving of our obedience and support. Like other books considered holy, it teaches many things about how to be a good person, such as caring for widows and orphans, that defending your homeland from tyranny and rebellion are important, and so on.

Notice I said men use the Bible similar to the way other holy books are used, not that it necessarily teaches those uses clearly, or that our attitude toward that behavior is important for life in eternity. There are deceivers in every religion, because it is the business of religion to teach men how they should behave, and deceivers can abuse that position as a teacher for their own selfish reasons. God is patient even with such deceivers, hoping they will repent and come to know Him personally. One day that patience will end, when those men meet their own mortality or when it is time for this earth to be made New better than it has ever been.

A couple of the more interesting ways the Bible is unique include that it clearly teaches:

• God is so incredibly Holy no sacrifice of any kind by a human can gain God's favor. That is why Messiah as both God and man had to allow Himself to be sacrificed. The best way I know to begin seeking God's favor is to take seriously what He has had written for us.
  
  
• God is always noticing what we desire and counting that we desire Him and being like Him more than any other thing about us. So appreciating the good things about America that come from living His truth, such as freedom from religious rulers, the right to vote, and the right to defend your own life and property counts toward finding the only True God.
  
  
• God encourages us to be wise about who we give power and support to for our own good. That is why worshipping false gods and false ideas of God is wrong, because it is evil toward ourselves and others around us.
  
  
• God encourages us to refer to His Word (the Bible), to understand it for ourselves whenever anyone claims something about it to be important. So this post won't be complete until I can give the verses to support what I say here (which is one of the reasons I feel inadequate to start, there is a LOT of work to complete what I want this to be).
  
  
• God calls upon us never to trust anyone who claims to be a religious authority to whom we owe obedience. Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ or Messiah) never said, "I am God", but only demonstrated that He was the prophesied Messiah which anyone could understand by reading the related prophecy in the Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament"). He came as God in the flesh not just for anyone who witnessed the signs He gave, but for us also who can only read about it and Hope to find God through His Word.
  
  
• The Bible claims it is the complete revelation of God, and needs no other additions, nor any specially endowed human interpreters we must respect. This is because Messiah has already done what is necessary to win our hearts, and His Apostles have completed that by writing what we know as the New Testament to explain what is necessary for us to know about God's plan and our place in it. This completeness is clear in Revelation 18:20-22.
  

Other points I hope to make here include:

• The books which make up the Holy Bible were accepted by a consensus of believers using public dialog before the Reformation. Those books today are published as the Holy Bible by Protestant varieties of Christianity. Before the Reformation, what became the Catholic church added to the Bible teachings, such as that the Pope was a greater authority on religious truth than the original Bible, which led to the Reformation when Martin Luther led the Protestants in forming their own church(es). Similarly other christian-related groups have added to or modified the teachings of the original Bible, placing special trust in human teachers after the Apostles chosen by the Messiah, and in special human interpreters of those teachings (a common practice in those religions is that only specially qualified teachers may interpret, while evangelical christians expect every believer or seeker of truth to interpret for themselves). Jesus is warning against anyone who claims such special human authority over religious teaching in Matthew 23:8-12. Only a genuine Messiah would say never again trust a human with authority to rule over religious matters.
  
  
• Gifted human interpreters are still very worthwhile, but will never come with God's authority to be rulers, which is the way of evangelical Christian churches. Our pastors are chosen by the congregation, which often delegate them a merely human authority to rule, to spend money and issue rules of conduct within the church itself. Such self-governing churches were the model from which the American form of self-government was developed.
  
  
• Likewise only a genuine Messiah would say that hate is equivalent to murder and if there is any reason for hate between people, one should resolve that issue before giving an offering to God and those who seem to serve God. That looking at a woman with lust means your heart is just as offensive to God as committing adultery, and it is better to put out your own eye than to so sin (Matthew 5:21-30)
  
  
• The Old Testament (more respectfully the Hebrew Bible) is organized with the first five books attributed to Moses first, then books about the history of the israelites and the muslims, then books written by the prophets in approximately chronological order. These provide what God wants us to know about how He developed the relationship with men before the Messiah came, including several detailed prophecies about the Messiah. Such as that He would be the "offspring of a woman" (virgin birth) to finally defeat the evil god you and I give this world to whenever we consider our own wants more important than God's (Genesis 3:15); He would be born as a man, worshipped as God, called the "son of man", and rule earth forever (Isaiah 9:6, Daniel 7:13); As the perfect sacrifice Himself, He would feel forsaken by God, suffer the torment which is crucifixion (which is visible suffocation by exhaustion and cannot be faked) (Psalm 22 of David, Isaiah 52:13-53:12).
  
  
• The New Testament is organized with four "gospel" accounts of Jesus' life on earth, which share several points in common about chronology but differ on aspects they emphasize. Matthew is written by that Apostle for the very religious reader like the Hebrews themselves, and carefully traces the prophecies such as those above with when they occur in Jesus life, such as Matthew 27; Mark is written by a companion of an Apostle and is the oldest and shortest account, written for the action oriented reader; Luke is written by a Greek, a doctor and companion of Apostles for the analytical reader (Dr Luke is the only non-Hebrew author in the Bible. He also wrote the book of Acts); John is attributed to that Apostle, who wrote for the clearest proofs that Jesus was God in the flesh. Much of the rest of the New Testament was written by Paul, a highly zealous religious pharisee named Saul who actively pursued early Christians to be sure they were put to death until Jesus appeared to him personally (Acts 7:54-9:30), after which he became named Paul.
  
  
• Since it is nearly Christmas now, the best accounts of the first Christmas are in Matthew 1:18-2:9 and Luke 2:1-39.

There is so much more that needs writing here.

The way I found out the Truth was by listening to radio sermons, and reading along with my Bible, including freely writing notes on the page margins and underlining key words (God WANTS us to analyze His word very carefully - I feel unarmed without a Bible and a good pen). Like many similar ministries these have Internet archives of radio shows and free information they give away to help the readers follow along, especially Thru the Bible. My favorites are Thru the Bible http://www.ttb.org/, Truth For Life http://www.TruthForLife.org/, The Word For Today http://www.twft.com/. There are many local churches I would also recommend. The best way to find them might be in the newspaper listings.

To my Muslim acquaintance, maybe you celebrate Christmas, as many do who are not Christian, so...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

Tim

To be continued..

To Evolutionists: I apologize for young earth creationists.

To evolution advocates everywhere:

Please forgive the young earth creationists who reject evolution for its very long time spans and changing lifeforms. Many of them are friends of mine and even Bible teachers I respect. However I consider it pretty plain that they reject evolution's timespans and lifeform changes because they fail to take literally that:

• We are to study God’s creation itself because it reveals His truth, majesty and power, although not necessarily His mercy and love (Psalm 19, Romans 1).
  
  
• Anyone who attempts to confuse the wisdom of God’s own words, or add to them will be rebuked by God (Job 38:2, Proverbs 30:5).
  
  
• God created heaven and earth from nothing in the beginning, before the “first day” (Genesis 1:1). Since men of every era understand the sun to be the key part of the heavens, literally this indicates the sun was created before the earth.
  
  
• After the earth was created and before the “first day”, God made the seas through a natural seeming process of unknown duration, which ended with a thick cloud layer that darkened the natural light (Job 38:8-9).
  
• Literally, God only says air-breathing sea creatures, birds, and mankind were created from nothing during the six days (Gen 1). We must remember that the scriptures were written for the understanding of mankind of every era, so only plants and animals familiar to every man are actually discussed. God’s only summary of the six day period itself says God made heaven and earth complete then (Exodus 20:11). Therefore we should assume all other aspects of heaven and earth, such as the planets and less familiar living things may have been created from nothing, or made from other existing things at any point between in the beginning and the sixth day. The Bible has no word for a species, so no one can claim that the existence of a new species is against the Bible. It does describe kinds of plants and animals reproducing according to their kind, and God resting from His acts creation, which might be interpreted as meaning a creature of one scientific phylum could never mutate into a creature of another phylum, and that no new phyla came into existence since the sixth day.
  
  
• The "first day" may be so named because it was the first day men of every era would understand, when heaven and earth were nearly complete and literally natural light became apparent at the surface of the seas. The Hebrew word translated “day” has several literal meanings, including a period of unspecified duration (usually defined by a continuing event which marks it, examples of which could be the land producing vegetation, or the appearance of the heavenly bodies through the thinning cloud layer).
  
  
• The words for “morning” and “evening” may be used figuratively for some of the six days (as Moses uses them in Psalm 90:5-6) to support God’s purpose for creation,, namely that all men should seek to know and serve God on a weekly basis (Exodus 20:11) for their own personal good (2 Tim 3:16).
  
  
• The land produced seed-bearing plants the third day (Gen 1:11-12). Literally the sun must be providing energy, since it provides natural light that is apparent, even though the sun as a heavenly body cannot yet be seen. Notice the activity God controls appears natural and would literally be of long duration, involving change in the apparent lifeforms. Interpreting the third day as a long period is giving weight both to God’s literal “land producing” words and to known scientific evidence (which is obtained by study of something God says reveals of Himself).
  
  
• The sun, moon, and stars were literally made apparent the fourth day in the order it would have occurred due to thinning cloud cover, which enabled using them for light and to mark time, thus completing God’s purposes for them (Gen 1:14-19). Sometime during the fourth day, the dark cloud layer that God established during the making of the seas (Job 38) is largely removed.
  
  
• Fish, air-breathing sea creatures of all sizes, and birds were created from nothing the fifth day (Gen 1:20-23). No mention is made of microscopic lifeforms, fungi, arthropods, or non-air breathing creatures. Since these mentioned are divine creations of God, we must assume something more obvious and drastic than precise intelligently guided radiation causing an exact pre-designed mutation of DNA was occurring. The Darwinian mechanism for natural selection is obviously excluded, since that would appear natural. Whether such acts of creation are beyond evolution itself depends on what one means by "evolution".
  
  
• The land produces air-breathing land animals of all sizes and kinds during the sixth day (Gen 1:24-26). No mention is made of creating them and we are not to add to God's word (Proverbs 30:5-6), therefore considering what God's creation has taught us, we can assume they were made from pre-existing sea creatures or simpler land animals God does not speak of. This also is literally a long period where lifeform changes become apparent.
  
  
• The creation of mankind also occurs the sixth day (Gen 1:26-27). Notice divine “creation” from nothing is mentioned closely with “in God’s image”. Later the mechanics about making Adam's physical body is described as making him from the dust of the earth (Gen 2:7). This may mean the divine spark of spirituality, intelligence, and moral decision is “in God’s image,” somehow present in mankind only by way of obviously divine action, and that the physical form of men was first constructed from pre-existing dust, which may literally include the DNA of earlier creatures that had died.
  
  
• When God presents living creatures for Adam to name on the sixth day, to see if they are suitable companions for him, Adam should be understood to study each creature so it can be accurately named according to the Hebrew traditions. Such study is not done hastily out of respect for the creature and its' Creator (Gen 2:18-20). Here is recorded the first scientific activity of mankind. When Eve is presented, Adam exclaims "at last", which would hardly be suitable if he had only been waiting for merely part of one day (Gen 2:21-24).
  
  
• God ends the sixth day God completing His work with giving dominion over the earth and all its creatures to mankind. This includes that green plants are given for air-breathing land animals and birds to eat, so no predation among those animals occurred from the sixth day (Gen 1:26-31). Literally this means land animal predation could have occurred earlier, but young earth creationism rejects that also. When Satan portrayed God as evil, Adam failed to stop his deceptions, and cooperated with it despite knowing God well, which gave dominion of this world to that deceiver. That is why we have land animal predation occurring later.
  
  

Luke 1:54 is for real !

Several years ago, after the LORD had blessed me with the Reality of His Word via several verses, our President then vetoed a ban on partial birth abortions. I picked up my well-used Bible and wondered what the LORD might have to say about abortion. At that point I had had several answers from the Hebrew portion of the Bible (Old Testament), and part of what was on my mind was: why not the New Testament?

Somehow it seemed right to expect an answer when I put my finger in blindly without watching. When I looked my finger was on a verse I had read and studied probably a couple times earlier. But the context of those two questions gave it wholly different meaning.

"He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
Luke 1:54-55, NIV (courtesy of BibleGateway.com)

This is from Mary's song upon being told by the angel that she would be the unmarried mother of the Messiah, who would among other things be worshipped as "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6) . This verse is about an unborn Messiah given through His unmarried mother, concerning mercy to Abraham and his descendants. Can there be a clearer verse about the purpose of the LORD regarding the unborn? Can there be a clearer confirmation in a verse form about the Reality of that Messiah? The One who is and shall be Lord of all things?

Now whenever I am faced with a scoffer, I have the answer to any foolish thing from his mouth, and to any doubts of my own fate. Luke 1:54 ! Like Job, I know my Redeemer Lives!

Some may wonder how anyone can take the Bible seriously. I didn't start that until age 49. My foolish mistake. Here is my collection favorite verses which only a truly Good and Righteous Lord would say, and said by Jesus the Christ. I dare any skeptic to look them up and give me a reason why any mere human or conspiracy of humans would say AND live them, as Jesus and His apostles did.

"But as for you, do not be called 'Rabbi,' because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. And do not be called masters either, because you have one Master, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Matthew 23:8-12, HCSB. Hypocrites and cults prefer to avoid this one.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way." Matthew 5:11-12, NLT

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!" Matthew 5:21-22, NLT

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God." Matthew 5:23-24, NLT (what religion-conspiracy of men teaches that?)

"Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even your good eye —causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29-30, NLT

"Do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.... Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one." Matthew 5:34-37, NLT. Beyond that is most often the temptation to steal glory from the LORD for personal pride.

"But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too." Matthew 5:39-40, NLT. Note this is about grave personal insult not unjust physical harm, see Luke 22:35-38 about unjust harm.

"I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.... If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? ... If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:44-48, NLT

Matthew 5 is part of the Sermon on the Mount, which is intended to show how impossible it is to please the LORD by what you do. One can see how this relates to the Hebrew scriptures by examining Leviticus 19, in which the Hebrews are commanded to be Holy because the LORD is Holy. None of us can ever be that perfect, and failing one point of it is choosing Hell. The only salvation is in truly knowing the Lord, Himself.

Every reference Messiah makes to the "Son of Man" is pointing to Daniel 7:13-14. That is part of Daniel's prophecy about the end of time, where the Son of Man receives worship from all men and everlasting dominion over them, and prophecies to the very year when He will appear the first coming. Good "Son of Man" examples include: Matthew 20:17-18 predicting his imminent crucifixion, and Matthew 20:25-28 explaining His first coming is about saving as many lives as possible, not everlasting rule yet. Other such examples occur in the other Gospels.

Before it was time for Messiah to Be the passover sacrifice, He avoided confrontation because that would mean demonstrating power to avoid trouble too early. When the time had come for the Ultimate passover sacrifice all the Hebrew scriptures point to, Jesus confronted hypocrisy and human motives more directly. He gave the Hellfire of Matthew 23 to those in the religion- conspiracy for power who plotted to kill him, which included:

“You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins." Luke 8:23-24, NLT.

I AM is the phrase the LORD gives Moses to use to identify Who sends him (Exodus 3:1-15). In Hebrew it sounds like the name of the LORD Israelites are forbidden to say aloud. In that way the LORD gives Moses can speak of the LORD without violating law. This is one instance of Jesus naming Himself as "I AM", the synonym for the LORD which Moses was given. Failing to believe Who Jesus is, is calling the LORD's prophets liars and rejecting the most Holy Divine sacrifice to end all human made sacrifices.

Jesus said: "For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning.... When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” Luke 8:44-47, NLT. Who did He say they don't listen to? Who was speaking?

"Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!" At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. Luke 8:56-59, NLT. Again He names Himself "I AM".

On the night of His betrayal before the Passover sacrifice Jesus went with the disciples to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas then led some officials from the chief priests and a detachment of soldiers with torches and weapons to the garden.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I Am he,” Jesus said... As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! John 18:4-6, NLT

After He invited them to arrest Him a second time, Peter mistook the moment as the time to strike for the everlasting rule.

"And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.” Luke 22:50-53, NLT. They didn't arrest Him earlier because His miracles were too many and too public, so too many of the people believed Him. These are words of One who COULD be in control, but yields that for the purposes of the LORD.

Hebrews were forbidden to hold night trials by Mosaic law, but they held one as follows.

The leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any. Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other.... Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!” Mark 14:55-64, NLT

Of course they had His true testimony that He claimed to be Lord as the Messiah, but no evidence that it was a false claim punishable by Mosaic law. What deceived them was false teaching by the priests was there would be a sacrifical Messiah-like person (as in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22), and a separate ruling Messiah as in Daniel 7:9-14. Since Jesus clearly did not intend to rule then, they wanted to believe false human teaching that He could not therefore be the Messiah.

The religion-conspiracy who wanted the crucifixion posed the threat of riots to intimidate the Roman governor, who being human cooperated. On the cross, Messiah said one more thing to them, and to all Men, which could only have come from the Lord.

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:32-34, NIV

Crucifixion is a form of torture in which one must use one's severely injured ankles and wrists to lift up, so breath can be taken in. Death comes with exhaustion, exactly as King David's Psalm 22 described it a thousand years before crucifixion was invented outside of Israel. It is death by suffocation when one cannot lift himself up one more time.

The living move with loud tortured breaths. There are no "accidental" survivals of crucifixion. If such were to happen the guards themselves would be executed for failing their duty. This is why the guards broke the legs of the men still breathing at the end, so they would finally suffocate. But the Messiah, due to the extreme tortures even before the crucifixion was already dead. This is why John 19:34 notes there was water in His chest cavity when the guard stabbed the Messiah's body with his spear, death was already sure.

After the Messiah's body disappeared the religion-conspiracy concocted a wild story about the body being stolen despite the tomb guards (Luke 28:11-15). This was an obvious lie only someone who wanted to could believe. Roman tomb guards like the execution guards would themselves be executed for failure. Like the Governor the Roman guards cooperated with the story.

I am sure I could find more such verses Messiah said, which only the Righteous Lord of all things would say. There are many more that only a Righeous LORD would publish, but most of them are not historically connected with Jesus words in the flesh which is our most important point here.

If you have become convinced you need the only Messiah, Focus On the Family has counselors who may help you. Look for them at www.family.org. Don't put it off because the LORD won't always be patient with you. I should stress that Focus on the Family is in no way connected with our content here.

Why again I love Grunts

Here again (in a different re-telling) is my story about WHY I am thankful to every kind of combat military, beginning with Infantry. Several things happened that I now understand were real Blessings from God.

I finished college in January 1968, when the Tet Offensive began. Uncle Sam sent me a letter that the Army wanted my bod. I wasn't very aware of what the war was about, all I knew was I didn't want to be shot at in the jungles of Vietnam. By the time for inductment arrived, I had enlisted in the Navy which was glad to get college grads, even with bad eyesight like mine.

At Navy boot camp in San Diego, whenever we swabbies felt the marching and discipline were too much, all we had to do was look through the chain link fence at the Marines in their bootcamp, going through their version of a warmup to survive Hell.

I asked for officer training, so had to wait maybe four months for a Navy decision. They asked us what we might do while waiting, so I signed up to be a punched card jockey. They had me preparing and delivering reports, including the report of sailors who needed orders after being turned down for officer training. I actually handed a report of my own availabililty to the Petty Officer who managed those decisions. He asked me what I wanted to do, so I said Computers !

He cut my orders for computer basic skills school in San Francisco at Treasure Island, and field specific school for Operations Control Centers in Washington, DC. I made one of the top three grades in the last school so they gave me choice of orders. That is how I got two years of shore duty in the middle of Oahu, living at Wheeler AFB next to Schofield Barracks (both are shown in movies about Pearl Harbor). I was working UNDER pineapple fields about 1/3rd mile east of Schofield at Kunia tunnel, an alternate operations control center in case nuclear threat forced evacuation of Pearl Harbor.

Since that training plus waiting took a year, all that Sweet shore duty took up three years of my four year obligation. After that third year, the Navy decided to send me to sea duty aboard the USS Constellation. Those three years gave me the chance to gain E-5 rank as a Data Processing Petty Officer. That is about as high as any enlisted can get without a longer commitment. This meant by the time I showed up on the Connie, I was high enough for daily management of our computer room, rather than scrubbing decks, cleaning rancid ashtrays, or worse.

Aboard the Connie, we had a couple months still of shore duty in San Diego. Then we did go to war via the Phillipines to Vietnam. Aboard the Connie, I worked sometimes 10 hour days, but in perhaps the only air-conditioned space aboard ship. Not like most of the guys who worked in sweltering heat, doing unpleasant or dangerous things.

For example I never had to handle planes up on the flight deck, where an engine can blast you off the deck into the sea (from five stories up) or worse. Once we were having a rare day off with a picnic on the flight deck, when we got a warning of unknown ships or planes approaching. We had to clear the deck so the two ready-five fighters (ready to launch in five minutes) could take off. That was when a flight deck crewman got sucked INTO one of the jet intakes. He was eventually flown off to a hospital in critical condition. I never did hear if he made it, or whether there was a real threat. This is a real story, not a movie script.

So now you know why I feel greatly in debt to every Grunt who chooses to do what I avoided, going in harm's way for us at home. Also to those pilots who flew every day risking Hell on earth for my sake. And to those sailors who took boats up the rivers, FIBERGLASS boats, hoping to out gun or outrun whatever posed a threat. There are many more folks, of course because I always had dozens of ships and planes protecting me in that multi-thousand ton ship with its one air conditioned computer room.

So yes I had plenty to be thankful for, and none of it deserved. No wonder I found it easy to start taking the Bible seriously. Once you do that for real, the God who wrote it begins treating you seriously right back.

Is THIS the Freedom we ask our Best to pay the Cost of?

PLEASE IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 OR SQUEAMISH, note that except for the Scripture link, every link in this post is to an anti-abortion website which publishes very difficult images. They SHOULD be difficult to look at, because they are about human beings being mutilated to death for profit.

Looking for reasons to be on with publishing about the Reality of the Creator's Truth, I found Abortion Statistics that some 1,370,000 babies are aborted in this "free" country every year. That is over two and a half babies killed every minute, because so many of us doubt the Reality of the Creator and His Truth.

Looking further to see what authority this website has, I found something even more concrete and horrible. Their campaign to convince the Home of the Free and the Brave how horrible we are to the unborn, with graphical pictures of the unborn being murdered. The home page of Center for Ethical Reform at http://www.abortionno.org/ has a ten second delayed video I couldn't bear to finish watching.

Their campaign to waken up Christians to the issue features large handheld signs they take to larger churches. It is based upon ...

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20, NIV

These signs are among the more tolerable images, about the calling of every Christian who knows Christ is real. My favorite is: Would Jesus use bloody signs to make his point? My only additional question is: We ask our best to pay the cost of our Freedom. Is this the Freedom we want them to pay for?

Remember Me: for every US Defender

Freedom is not free.
This video says it MUCH better than I can.

"Remember Me" by Lizzie Grant.
It is the best argument I know for YouTube.
Lizzie made me cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervaMPt4Ha0

Memorial Day, 2007

Only a Truly Good God would say...

We must remember this world we have is only temporary. It seems entirely possible that some of the alarmist talk about Global Warming may be true. How much is true remains to be seen. And we must be vigilant to avoid giving power to anyone who seeks it for ambition.

Deborah Zabarenko is Environmental Correspondent for Reuters.com. It is possible that some of what she publishes is from self-seeking sources after unwise power. Yet it is all very compelling information. I found her from a very alarming article on AOL.com for today.

Just before that, some truth obviously from the Creator blessed me with the perspective we should begin with: Knowing God is where everything worth having begins. Below was a Verse of the Day for me.

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:13-18, NIV

This is one of those self-evident proofs that at least the New Testament book of James, thought to be written by Jesus' younger half-brother, is clearly truth from the mind of the Creator Himself, Him who loves all Mankind. This is the Verse Of The Day for today from BibleGateway.com, who offers a VotD tool for any website, including Myspace.

The book of James is full of ordinary concepts applied in a very spiritually pure way, and in many ways a summary of Proverbs applied with the full revelation of God in mind. That revelation consists in the deeds and lessons of Jesus the Messiah, as well as those men he selected to fulfill that revelation. Unlike the false Jesus some present, the truth from James cannot be said to be easy to live by. Consider one of my favorites, which I have trouble finding the discipline to live by, and which comes only a few verses later than the above.

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:13-17, NIV (emphasis added)

Love Truth to Know It

On Mother's Day.
My kids and wife are out of town. My mother lives about four hundred miles away in the foothills of the Sierras between Sacramento and Tahoe. So God decided to use Mother's day to remind me what I was born for, "loving truth to know it" and sharing that for Life.

I have been having trouble getting motivated publishing about God's Word via CitiZendium.org (the public contribution Internet encyclopedia with reasonable controls over content) as an author. There are no central articles there about the Bible, and the consensus of other authors there is we should begin with a table about the various books of the Bible with a column for every major religion and a row for every book. That doesn't seem so hard, but it is so very far from what I have passion about.

Then God reminded me of a couple things: You have to love spiritual truth before you can know it; and there are babies dying every day because so many folks do not yet know it. Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal has an excellent quote (thanks to BrainyQuote.com) on the first point. A friend's posting on a forum I use reminded me I need to read more of Pascal.

Loving Truth to Know It.
"Human beings must be known to be loved;
but Divine beings must be loved to be known." - Blaise Pascal

One of my concerns about participating in CZ.org is that there are so many folks there with imposing credentials that I need to be convincing with to make any real contribution, and I am just an ordinary guy whom God happens to have blessed with His reality through His Word (see older postings here for that). In the book store I was looking for any book that might help with publishing that Books_of_the_Bible page I should be working on. I found nothing oriented for persons of every Bible-related religion about the content of the whole Bible. But God did leave something there I am convinced I need.

Out of place on the Bible bookshelf was the book about "How to Argue and Win Every Time" by Gerry Spence, a famous lawyer with an incredible win record. One of his major points early on is that you have to convince folks out of passion for what you know personally, because no one is a better expert on that than you are. Gerry Spence might be a recognizable name to anyone who comes here out of love for personal freedom and the duty to Defend Others. He defended Randy Weaver, the separatist of Ruby Ridge fame in Idaho whom the BATF and FBI attacked in 1992. In that point, Mr. Spence is agreeing with Christian advice to base your testimony on your own personal reasons for knowing God is real, and in a way with Blaise Pascal.

That one must Love Truth to Know It is of course the very principle of the Bible itself. You cannot begin knowing God until you begin to love what He stands for. Until you have done that, you are most often disobeying the first commandment, Thou shalt have no other God before me. The fact real Truth is based upon Love explains why so many consider the Bible false, they do not begin with loving real Truth. Why is Reality like that, one might ask? That way only lovers of God are destined to spend eternity with Him, that is a consequence of realizing He is in control and desiring Him. Out of respect for our wishes He would not have it any other way. But notice that choice is Ours, not an arbitrary punishment of His.

So now I must get ready for Church again, and at least may have the right attitude to publish as I am certainly called to do, and now better armed intellectually and spiritually for. The next time someone comes to me with an argument against the Bible, I will ask them: What is your favorite verse? Why? If they have no good answer, they are unqualified to convince anyone about the lasting truths of the Bible.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So what does the above have to do with Mother's Day? God reminded me by a radio sermon this week what all the Lost are doing with their power of "choice" over the lives of babies, and the Spiritual truth about abortion that He gave me before.

At least a couple years after God began blessing me with His truth in supernatural ways, I was wondering why all the scriptural answers to my concerns were coming from the original Scriptures (Old Testament). At that time several years ago our President vetoed a ban against Partial Birth Abortion. It was on my heart to know what God thinks of abortion. I got the feeling that it was the right time to put my hand in my Bible without looking.

I opened my eyes to find my finger on a verse I had studied before but didn't Realize what it might mean. In answer to the two questions on my heart: Is the New Testament really from God? And, What does God feel about Abortion? My finger was on Luke 1:54-55. This is Mary's song of praise as the mother of the Unborn Messiah about what Messiah's first coming means to all Israelites yet unborn.

He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
Luke 1:54-55, New International Version
(Courtesy of BibleGateway.com)

Whoa! Is that an answer? Not only is this about the Reality of the Unborn Messiah, His purpose on earth is Mercy to all the Descendants of Abraham. I am again in Awe of what God does with His Word!

For Virginia Tech and all of Us

To You, the almighty eternal Creator,

Lord, we pray turn this evil into Good; Let this remind us how fallen this doomed world is; That our true Hope is in You alone; How much we all need You and Your eternal Truth. Encourage those who can to bring comfort where it is needed most. Be with those injured physically and emotionally, with those families and friends. Remind them how Real You are; How Real Your promise of Heaven is for anyone who persists in trying to know You personally until it is You they love.

In the name of the Messiah; God in the flesh who chose incredibly to be the Lamb of God on that awful cross; Him who came so we might begin knowing not only our own unworthiness, but Him above all, and through Him our Eternal home.

In His name we ask it, Amen.

I am a member of my town's (pop: 40,000) Emergency Preparedness Committee of nine volunteers. Tonight it happened we were meeting to hear a report from the Principal of our largest high school to hear about a bomb threat against that school of 2500 students a month ago (It was my daughter's former high school). I post about this because it gives some perspective about what is going on in Virginia now, and raises the issue of how secure Liberty and Justice for All may be after 911.

Our case was different from Virginia Tech since there was a direct threat against occupying the school, not a shooter attacking students. Around 0800 AM a note was found with a disabled grenade. It threatened ten more real devices with remote triggers. The Principal was emphatic about how well everyone did their part. The students and staff evacuated in the rain to the athletic field in four minutes. Some sixty law enforcement including SWAT responded. Later came the Feds: FBI, ATF (gun and bomb law enforcement), and FAA (with portable gear to control helicopter air traffic), then eventually twelve bomb squad people (two squads). If there had been a need for even more force over time (like for an earthquake or WMD threat), today the local law enforcement could bring in the National Guard, who can likewise escalate response to include activating local reserve military.

The other differences after 911 are interesting. Pre-911 it was the Principal who had control of the school campus and decided whether the it was safe to occupy, and of course law enforcement attempted to go carefully to unnecessary harm.

Now the Principal's only role is to help everyone meet law enforcement's requirements. There were possible bombs, so no one could use a cell phone because those can be a bomb trigger (as in Iraq). The school became a crime scene, so no one could go back for emergency supplies, handheld HAM sets to indirectly reach a phone system, a phone list, or a portable loud-speaker. The evacuated students and staff had to leave the field because that was part of the crime scene. The local transit system happened to have a couple buses available so the people were bussed to my son's nearby middle school, and all the kids were home safe by 1 PM. No bombs were found. The investigation continues but the Principal expects no students were involved because he gets great cooperation from them and no one has offered clues for the reward.

The other big difference from pre-911 is: the SWAT team has already walked the campus to identify their firing positions in case of shooters there. Their immediate goal responding to shooters now is to kill the perpetrator(s) as soon as possible. I expect that means no negotiation, no waiting. Another consideration the Principal pointed out:was that the anniversary of Columbine is 04/20 Friday.

To anyone who knows me: that Principal wouldn't want the school identified with that bit about the SWAT team. I am likewise avoiding mention of exactly what law enforcement body was involved.

How has all our local and federal 911 planning become a concern for Liberty and Justice for All? Every organizational response is in place now. All it would take is enough key people to agree that Federal control over civilian life is a urgent emergency, and that could be initialized over a week or so. Notice that is exactly what many folks already want regarding Global Warming: a government takeover regarding civilian involvement in possible causes of Global Warming.

Our father's God to Thee,
Author of Liberty,
to Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's Holy light.
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

Dare I publish on God's Word?

I have been considering working as an author for CitiZendium.org, the new public contribution Internet encyclopedia. The first thing I noticed there was that no one had yet published an article about the Bible itself. There is a reasonable article already on CZ's predecessor Wikipedia.com, and one can bring that article forward to CZ easily.

The question remains: am I one to do this work for God's incredible Truth? This Sunday morning I have finally taken time to start my day with God's Word. Usually I am too busy doing selfish or other ultimately useless normal things. I got the feeling it was time to look at a "random" cite in the Word. Without even putting my finger in, I just opened my new NLT version and looked where my attention seemed to belong, to the following:

Then the man led me out of the Temple courtyard by way of the north gateway. We entered the outer courtyard and came to a group of rooms against the north wall of the inner courtyard. This structure, whose entrance opened toward the north, was 175 feet long and 87½ feet wide. One block of rooms overlooked the 35-foot width of the inner courtyard. Another block of rooms looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtyard. The two blocks were built three levels high and stood across from each other. Between the two blocks of rooms ...There was an outer wall that separated the rooms from the outer courtyard; it was 87½ feet long. This wall added length to the outer block of rooms, which extended for only 87½ feet, while the inner block—the rooms toward the Temple—extended for 175 feet. There was an eastern entrance from the outer courtyard to these rooms.
Ezekiel 42:1-9, New Living Translation

The obvious question would be how can this relate to me? Is this a mistaken foolish fake "revelation"? Perhaps the first very important rule when interpreting Scriptures is, "Always look for the full context" in the rest of God's Word.

That context obviously includes the whole vision given Ezekiel from chapters 40 through 48. This is an extremely detailed vision conveying how God's Temple in Jerusalem both was to be when rebuilt after the return of the Israelites, and probably more accurately how absolutely Holy and Real Heaven will be at the end of time. Ezekiel was a prophet to the Israelites during their captivity in Babylon near 587 BC. Some of the passage about that vision tells us:

1. Ezekiel's vision came as follows: "On April 28, during the twenty-fifth year of our captivity—fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem—the Lord took hold of me. In a vision from God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see toward the south what appeared to be a city. As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod. He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.” (Ezk 40:1-4).
2. “The room beside the north inner gate is for the priests who supervise the Temple maintenance." Ezk 40:45
3. The rooms in Ezk 42:1-9 are for those priests.
   
4. "Then the man told me, 'These rooms that overlook the Temple from the north and south are holy. Here the priests who offer sacrifices to the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. And because these rooms are holy, they will be used to store the sacred offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. When the priests leave the sanctuary, they must not go directly to the outer courtyard. They must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering, because these clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building complex open to the public.'" (Ezk 42:13-14)
5. "Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape shone with his glory... I fell face down on the ground." (Ezk 43:2-3)
6. "The Lord said to me, 'Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will live here forever among the people of Israel. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by honoring the relics of their kings... They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger. Now let them stop worshiping other gods and honoring the relics of their kings, and I will live among them forever.'" (Ezk 43:7-9)
7. “'Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you, so they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan, and they will be ashamed of what they have done. Describe to them all the specifications of the Temple—including its entrances and exits—and everything else about it. Tell them about its decrees and laws. Write down all these specifications and decrees as they watch so they will be sure to remember and follow them. And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy.'" (Ezk 43:10-12)
8. No one will enter the sanctuary unless they have a "heart for God" (43:8) and have "surrendered themselves to the LORD" (43:9)
9. Those levites who "strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness. They may still be Temple guards and gatekeepers, and they may slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people. But they encouraged my people to worship idols, causing Israel to fall into deep sin. So I have taken a solemn oath that they must bear the consequences for their sins, says the Sovereign Lord. They may not approach me to minister as priests. They may not touch any of my holy things or the holy offerings, for they must bear the shame of all the detestable sins they have committed. They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties." (43:10-14)
   
10. The rooms for the priests are also where they change clothing. "'They must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing.'" (43:19)
11. "'They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common'" (43:23)

I fear to engage in interpreting the above. It is so Concrete and Holy all at once, and I am so faithless and sinful. Yet I must do so, because it is clearly Given to me since it came that way. It is clearly an Answer about those who interpret God's Word, clearly an Answer about what I am to do regarding publishing on God's Word.

Can anyone require an Answer more clearly about the task of interpreting God's Word? How Utterly important it is to attend to context and detail, in true Humility. To have a real Heart for God. I am truly in Awe, and must return to this later.

(04/27)
So I have had over a week. But have not thought much about the above. Clearly that was truly an Answer meant for me to know, but what does it mean?

• Am I one to do this (CitiZendium) work for God's incredible Truth? Who else but one who takes such a passage seriously, and tries to do so with humble attention to the Context.
• However, I only come back to something so obviously Important a week later without having given it real Study. I must get ready for work now. I therefore have failed so far to make myself ready. Today truly studying this is my task, and "coincidentally" God has cleared my plate of distractions, all my family is out of the house including my wife. No excuses, Tim!
  
• 4:30pm Errmm. The day is closing. I made a stab at getting chores done, and here I am again nearing time to do something with my church and still haven't finished this.

Points of interpretation:

1. God and interpreting His Word is a VERY Holy task. Full of detailed reality, full of responsibility to my own and other folks' relationship with the Almighty Eternal One.
2. For me one key passage is 43:10-14. Here we have Levites (but not priests) who not only worshipped false idols, but led others to do so. AND WE HAVE THEM caretaking God's Temple at the end of time ! Wow. They cannot do the greatest things God has for the faithful Levite priests, but they can help run daily operations. Is that Forgiveness?
   
3. It was the rooms for the specifc priests who manage maintaining the Temple that God brought my attention to, but it is not clear why. I hesitate to make an obvious assumption because one should not interpret scripture with a lack of humility.
   
4. When Y2K was a serious concern regarding our electrical power grid, I twice received Isaiah 50:4-11 by radio and email the same week a man who was to discuss Y2K software projects with me became infected in his leg with the flesh-eating bacteria. Isaiah 50:4-11 includes, "The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.... If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment." In hindsight, God clearly did not mean that Y2K should be a concern, but that folks were worshipping themselves by how they prepared for it, and that entire scripture apparently applies specifically to my own responsibility as one who has tried to understand His word. With that as a context for the above, it seems my question is answered.
   
5. The context for this passage includes other passages of the Bible, especially those He has shown me in one way or another. Knowing God requires getting close to Absolute Holiness, which is clearly dangerous in itself, but only if you haven't accepted the only Holiness He offers: the blessing that comes with beginning to know what He did on that cross. When you have understanding you have responsibility to share that understanding. And having it means Life Eternal in the presence of the Source of all Good things.
6. I see no wiggle room here about my responsibility to publish on the Bible. If I am not ready it is because I have not fully asked Him to make me ready, and persist in turning to meaningless idols instead.
   

God's Truth on Knowing It

From

The nature of God's Word:
1 Cor 2:13, NIV
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths

Why God gives us His Word:
Deu 8:3 NIV
He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

What happens when we know God's Word.
Luke 11:28 NIV
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

To religious hypocrites who add to or subtract from God's Word.
Mark 7:9,13 NIV
Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

Genesis: Length of Days

For CitiZendim.org I am working on a short explanation of the positions held by Young Earth Creationists regarding Genesis chapter one. Below is part of a dialog with a valued friend who takes the YEC positions.

LENGTH OF DAYS proposed YEC summary.
The six days of Genesis 1 refer to regular solar days, which we know from the first occurance of "day" as part of the day/night cycle in Genesis 1:5; whenever "day" is modified by a number, like second day or six days, it can only mean a true solar day; and God commands us to work six days and rest one day just as He worked on the six creation days and rested on day seven (Exodus 20:11).

LENGTH OF DAYS YEC article for ICR.org by Dr John Morris.

The length of the days of Genesis 1 has been much debated. Are the days of Genesis 1 regular solar days, referring to the rotation of the earth on its axis, or could each day be a long, indefinite period of time, equivalent in total to the vast time spans of geology? Such an interpretation would give solace to Christians who try to harmonize long ages with Genesis.

It is true that the Hebrew word yom,translated "day," can have a variety of meanings. By far its most common is a literal day, but it can mean "age." The question is, what does it mean here? As always for a word with multiple possible meanings, we must let the Scriptural context take precedence in discerning its meaning for a particular usage.

Interestingly, the very first time the word is used, in Genesis 1:5, it is strictly defined as the light portion of a light/dark cycle as the earth rotated underneath a directional light source, producing day and night. It is also true that whenever "day" is modified by a number, like second day or six days, it can only mean a true solar day. There are no exceptions in Hebrew. Any uncertainty is resolved in the Ten Commandments as God commands us to work six days and rest one day just as He worked on the six creation days and rested on day seven (Exodus 20:11).

Now consider that each day in Genesis is modified by the term "evening and morning," both commonly used words in the Old Testament. Can they be referring to indefinite periods of time? Standard Bible study tools define the Hebrew word for "evening" (ereb) as meaning simply evening or night. It is derived from expressions connoting "the setting of the sun or sunset," and associated with evening sacrificial meal and rituals. Often mentioned is the "evening sacrifice" or "returning at evening." Likewise the word for "morning" (bôqer) literally means morning or dawn, the breaking through of daylight, and reference is made to "rising early in the morning" or keeping the fire burning until the morning. There is little possibility of translating the word pair as "the end of an age" and/or "the beginning of an age."

The job of both Bible student and expositor is to carefully determine what the Author of Scripture is communicating to the reader. We dare not impose on the straightforward Word of God our own bias. We must stand in submission to Him and His words. Remember, God is all wise and wants to reveal truth to us, things we might not know otherwise. He can also write clearly. He will help us understand even difficult passages if we value His thoughts above our own.

LENGTH OF DAYS potential criticisms of YEC that I will try to find explained better.

The most obvious meaning of certain verses is that slow normal processes occured under God's direction. Gen 1:11-12 says the earth produced vegetation, and seeds produced plants. Gen 1:24 says the earth produced living land animals. Gen 2:6 says Adam chose the names for each animal, in the Hebrew culture that means he spent time to know each animal's appearance and perhaps seasonal behavior. At least the periods marked by the third and sixth yoms could most obviously correspond to several seasons or longer.

If the Genesis 1 "day" is a solar day, then the most obvious meaning of Gen 1:5 includes the existence of the Sun in its normal relationship with the earth, contradicting the YEC assertion that the sun is created during the fourth yom.

"Creation" is never used in the Scriptures with "six days" as if that were the primary activity of God in that period. Those six days are always summarized as six days of making heaven and earth complete. This is true of not only the original Hebrew uses of bara (create) /asah (complete), but also every Genesis one English translation of ten or so I have studied.

The use of evening and morning in Genesis 1 uniquely places them so closely together that there appears to be no room for a "night" between them, so what is being counted may not be solar days but periods of activity without a significant pause between them. Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, and it provides an example of using morning and evening regarding the life-cycle of grass, which is much longer than one solar day.

There is no obvious reason why God would not describe completing the making of earth in six stages followed by rest, and command us out of respect for His work to observe six solar work days followed by rest in Him as a celebration of His goodness .

"For [in] six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy." Exodus 20:11, NLT

Since the "in" of Exodus 20:11 is not in the original translation, it should never be read as if obeying the command is our purpose (implying mankind was made for the sabbath), but perhaps that God takes our motivation about that command so seriously that He describes the completion of the making earth in six periods because He wants us to obey that command for our own good (the sabbath was made for mankind).

My Resume for Citizendium

The Wikipedia.com as you may know is a huge publicly edited encyclopedia, which suffers from amateur opinions and sometimes edit-wars between contributors over how an article should be written. Citizendium.com is an attempt to replace the Wikipedia with a wiki public contribution system that includes better author identification and expert review of submissions to reduce poorly written material and edit-wars over personal opinions, such as how Genesis chapter One should be read. Below is my resume as submitted to them in my application to become a Citizendium author.

Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics, with minor in Logic, San Jose State College.

I am a software developer, tester, and computer manager with over thirty years experience in business and aerospace software projects, with a bachelor's in math and a minor in logic. I have also been responsible for end-user support and documentation in several positions. Currently I am the sole developer of some two thousand custom software modules specific to my employer's manufacturing market, and often use the Internet for research in computer support and security issues.

Graduating from college in January 1968, I enlisted in the US Navy to avoid being drafted. I was blessed with the beginning of a computer career at two Navy schools, with two more years of shore duty in Hawaii, and one final year aboard the USS Constellation serving in Vietnam. Ever since then I have tried to appreciate what real combat military and their families endure in order to keep the rest of us secure in Liberty.

Since 1994 I have been a self-educated student of the Bible, outside the influence of self-promoting teachers. I have studied most chapters of three modern editions of the Bible, and experienced the reality of how God's Word responds to belief in extraordinary ways, involving at least forty of the Bible's sixty-six books. One of the proofs of the Bible’s authenticity is also one of the Messiah’s new teachings: that God directly guides and inspires those who believe Him, without need of special teachers.

" Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:10-12, New International Version
(courtesy of BibleGateway.com)

Aside from computers, software, and the Bible my interests include Internet computer gaming; American History from the Revolution to the Vietnam War, embracing the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, and the Federalist Papers; and the personal responsibility not only to represent neighbors as we would ourselves, but to keep and bear arms as government of, by, and for the people.

Of Heaven and Hell

Speaking of someone who has died we often say they are "in a better place", but that may not be true of course.

To enter Heaven, a person must know the Holy One who created it, and this world which He gave completely as a blessing to mankind, all of whom (particularly myself) are busy polluting it with sin every day. With many people it is impossible to be sure if they do truly know God or not, because like myself we are all hypocrites somehow, so being blessed with knowing God may not be obvious. Its also true God might call people to faith in Him through dreams.

Despite that we rarely speak of it, there is an eternal alternative to Heaven. And no, it isn't under control of the Devil. He will be the primary subject of Hell at the end of time, not in control of it. Hell is the total absence of all good things, because they come from the Source of all good things. Hell is total loneliness and utter regret with an eternity of knowing Heaven was within your reach and you delayed or refused to reach out for it. A Good God would not condemn anyone there? Of course not. It is always by the individual's choice, God does not want anyone to be Lost but He will not override your personal preference in eternity.

For anyone reading this who does NOT have that assurance of knowing the Holy Creator, the best I can do is tell you to take the Bible as literally as it tells you to do, and take all of it to heart - for that is what God's Book and You were designed for. Keep truly seeking Him there with all your heart and He will come to you.

For anyone who DOES have that assurance, I recommend the book "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. His Eternal Perspective Ministries is at www.EPM.org. "Heaven" is available in many Christian book stores. It gives all the Biblical evidence about how Real and Physical the New Earth - Heaven will be at the end of time. No sickness, no tiredness, nothing boring, everything uplifting in every real and joyful sense - just the way we try to imagine the Garden of Eden was. No floating around with harps, especially if you'd rather ZOOM around with a guitar Wink. When there is singing it will be full-out incredible concerts by folks you know and love, sometimes including Me and maybe You (by then I will be a MUCH better singer Wink). Cooking, eating, hugging, walking, talking, sight-seeing, even playing with pets and playing sports I suppose, without end without limit, all to the glory of the Creator and what He has made for us and, by then, made of us.

PS: Don't believe everything the Young Earth Creationists say about the Bible. The way I read it, they refuse to take both Genesis 1 and Job 38 literally.