An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about creation. This follows this post about Lamentations and the month called "Av."  For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!

Vertical News: Sandstone Arches Shaped by Stress and Gravity

article by Amanda Stiver

Unique properties of sand grains under stress help scientists understand sandstone rock formations.

Source: freeimages.com/ranjithd

Uniquely shaped sandstone arches and rock formations, like those found in the state of Utah and other places, are amazingly beautiful and for many years experts assumed their formation was simply the effect of random wind and rain erosion. However, recent research by scientists from Charles University in Prague has found that other factors are at play. Internal stress fields and the pull of gravity determine where and how much material is worn away by erosion.
In the experiment, small cubes of sand were used, put under stress and placed under water. As sand was worn away that which remained was put under greater stress and eventually the grains locked together and ceased to be affected by erosion. Using these basic factors, researchers were able to re-create some of the formations seen in the natural world (Jonathan Webb, “Sandstone Shapes ‘Forged by Gravity,’” BBC News at BBC.com, July 21, 2014).
God set laws of physics and nature in motion in order to shape and maintain the planet. The long-term effect of these laws can be seen in, among other things, the amazing variety of rock formations and strata visible all around the earth.
Using stress to create something far stronger and more lasting is an element of sandstone formation, as we’ve seen, but also a principle used in metalsmithing. However, the most relevant use of stress-to-strength is found as God works with us.
The apostle Peter put it this way, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you,” (1 Peter:5:10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you., NKJV).  God allows us to go through trials in order to forge our character and refine our outlook as we prepare now to be God-beings, a part of the family of God, in the Kingdom of God.

Can atheists "prove" there is no God?

BLOGGERS NOTE: I WILL BE MOVING FROM FACEBOOK TO TWITTER AND BLOGSPOT SOON!


An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about atheism. This follows this post about changes after the Berlin Wall came down. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.   Youth Focus from Vertical Thought... The God Debate





article by Doug Horchak





Can atheists "prove" there is no God?



Recently, two of the world's most vocal atheists published books to defend their claim that there is no evidence for God's existence. Richard Dawkins ( The God Delusion ) and Christopher Hitchens ( God Is Not Great ) have presented their best arguments for their position that God does not exist and that religion poisons the world. Ironically, their own books provide much "evidence" to the contrary.



So what are their claims? Let's consider their reasoning and conclusions. Common arguments by atheists against God include:



• Comparing the God of Israel to all gods through history. In the minds of atheists, all gods take on the same value. Whether it is Zeus, Thor, Baal, Vulcan, Vishnu or the God of the Bible, there is no difference in their eyes. They conclude that all gods have been humanly contrived to accommodate the social and psychological needs of man.



• Discrediting the notion of God because of violence done in His name. As atheists evaluate history, they often note how many times violence, genocide, killing, rape, murder and war have happened in the name of God. Whether the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades or the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Africa, these types of violence are commonly cited as the hypocrisy of religion and a result of belief in God. Atheists conclude that there could be no benevolent, loving God behind this.



• Claiming errors and duplicity of Scripture. Many atheists deny the existence of the Judeo-Christian God based on alleged discrepancies of the Bible. Examples of biblical disagreements they cite include issues related to history, science, the teachings of Jesus, death, murder and war. If the Word of God—the Bible—contradicts itself, they reason, the book cannot represent the mind of an omniscient God.



• Showing that paganism is in mainstream Christianity. Both Dawkins and Hitchens cite the fact that, although mainstream Christianity claims its origins from Jewish forefathers and the writings of the Bible, much of its doctrine, ceremony, images and worship have their origins in pagan practices actually condemned in the Bible. They correctly note that the origins of Christmas and Easter (mainstays of many churches) come from Babylon, Egypt and Greece—not the true Creator God of the Bible.



Atheists point out that these practices are hypocritically borrowed from earlier pagan religions. If the forms of worship are this flawed, they reason that claims by these same worshippers that God really exists must likewise be hypocritical.



• Asking who designed God. When trying to debunk intelligent design (a movement of scientists claiming that the complexity of systems enabling all life to exist cannot be adequately explained by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution), atheists fall back to what they believe is the mother of all questions: Who designed or created God? In answer to Christians saying that God is the original cause of all things, they want to know who created Him. Since there is no acceptable answer to this question (at least to them), they believe that there clearly can be no God.



• Concluding that Darwinism must be true! Atheists believe that there is only one answer to the origin and development of life: that of Darwinian evolution. Most professors, teachers and scientists in the fields of zoology, anthropology and biology believe and teach this theory as fact. Atheists see this instruction by educators as further proof that there is no God.



When atheists make sense



You might be shocked to know that some of the observations from which atheists argue make perfect sense! When you consider the observations and knowledge of religion and history that avowed atheists embrace, it is easy to see why they struggle with believing in a Creator God! Much of the historical evidence of religion, biblical interpretation and deeds done in the name of God discredit religious people's efforts to justify their belief in God. Some facts to consider:



• The many gods in varied cultures through history do not represent the true God. These "gods" are, in fact, fictional and do not, nor have they ever, existed.



• The varied practices, doctrines and historic acts of Christians through the ages (in the Middle East, Europe, America and around the world) are confusing and hypocritical.



• The confused and often contradictory interpretations of the Holy Bible by so many denominations, sects, groups and individuals are mind-boggling. These individuals have misrepresented the Bible!



• Many of the practices that began in the church of Rome in the second and third centuries were borrowed from the pagan customs of the pre-Christian world. The observance of Christmas, Easter, New Year's Day and even worship on Sundays is not taught in the Bible!



A missing dimension, once again



The fact is, we do live in a world that is confused about virtually everything—including God, science, morality, religion and the Bible! While many people (like Hitchens and Dawkins) assume that the history of mankind and religion represents a God-centered worldview's best shot—actually, the opposite is true! The history of mankind generally represents man's rejection of God. Human history doesn't represent God at His best, but man at his worst!



For nearly 6,000 years man has been devising his own view of morality and life—which includes various forms of religion (including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.). What we see in the practice, teachings and history of these religions is too often generated and designed solely by human beings—not by God at all!



Jesus Christ told His disciples nearly 2,000 years ago that, as time went on, the masses would be deceived by many claiming to be His true representatives. He said: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5 [4] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.





See All..., King James Version).



Put another way, the vast majority of the world's religions and religious leaders would be counterfeits. The result is that millions of people have been deceived by Satan the devil—the real ruler and god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.



See All...; Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.



See All...).



While there are as many views of the meaning of the Bible as there are religious sects, even this confusion was foretold by God! The written history of the God of Israel is unlike the accounts and historic writings referring to any other deity in human history. In the writings of the Holy Bible, God is referred to as transcending the physical realm, including the many gods conceived in the human mind. The gods of images and human imaginations are nothing compared to the invisible, all-powerful God of the Bible!



Evidence of a Creator



The Bible tells us that people, having the physical creation before them, are truly "without excuse" when it comes to knowing that God exists (Romans 1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:



See All...).



Interestingly, while the modern intelligent design movement acknowledges that the creation truly was created, a majority of educators deceptively decries the concepts of irreducible complexity and design inference as nonscience. Even so, a large and growing body of scientists and educators today realizes that this complex universe could not exist without some intelligence behind it!



In more than one place in the Bible, God tells us that "the fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalms 14:1(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.



See All...; 53:1). And yet, some of these same "fools" that have sadly rejected the idea of a loving, omniscient creator God do have a clear understanding of the hypocritical, confusing and often violent history of mankind and its many religions.



Their fundamental error is that they attribute such confusion and chaos in man's history to the best the idea of God can offer, when, in fact, man's sordid past (and his immediate future) are the result of man's rejecting the true Creator. GN

.

God Is Great

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Greatness of God! This follows this post about countries with a population explosion! For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

God Is Great

by Dan Dowd

Christopher Hitchens died from cancer on December 15, 2011. Mr. Hitchens, a lifelong atheist, rose to fame with a book he wrote titled, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything . The premise of his book was that most bad things in history can be laid at the feet of religion – Christianity in particular, but, later in his life, also Islam.

While Mr. Hitchens was correct that too many bad things have been done in the name of various forms of Christianity, his reactionary view blinded him to the value that Christianity, in general, brought to the world. Such things as the end of slavery in the U.S. and Britain, support for the poor, hospitals to care for the sick, schools that teach across income and social levels, et al – along with civil laws based on Biblical principles.

Increasingly though, Mr. Hitchens’s views are gaining traction – and not just with atheists. Young evangelicals are leaving the churches of their youth because they don’t like being told how they should live their lives. They don’t like being told pre-marital (or extra-marital) sex is wrong, that living together unmarried is sin, that abortion is murder or that homosexuality is sin (Laura Sessions Stepp, “Why Young Evangelicals Are Leaving Church,” CNN.com, December 16, 2011).

The odds on faith

Unfortunately, too many “Christians” have bought into the same argument that Mr. Hitchens made, and they see God as the source of discomfort in their lives. They want religion to be a support for lifestyle choices rather than a mirror to see how a person needs to change in order to be more like God.

Let’s challenge ourselves. Instead of seeing God’s way of life as too hard, too demanding, or the source of mankind’s troubles, let’s look at it from another perspective. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, writer, inventor and philosopher who lived in the early 1600s. Pascal is famous for his “wager,” the Pascal Wager.

According to Pascal’s theory, and since the existence of God cannot be proven (or disproved) through reason, there is still much to be gained from wagering that God does exist, and little to gain from wagering that He doesn’t. Consequently, a rational person should simply “wager” that God does exist and live accordingly.

While we shouldn’t look at following God’s way as a wager, Pascal does have an interesting point. What is the down side of living a life seeking to be like God? Is there a down side?

Christian qualities

Consider what you and I have because of obeying and living life as God says it should be lived. People know we are trustworthy because we don’t lie and won’t spread lies. We don’t steal. In fact, religious people are generally more generous in their time and money to help others.

We know and trust in answered prayer. Medical science can’t explain it, but people who are prayed for (even if they don’t know they are being prayed for) generally do much better in their recovery. We also watch what comes out of our mouths, a significant contrast in an era of unrelenting profanity.

Most strikingly, we have peace in our outlook because we know where world events are headed and why – and how it will all be fixed. We understand the meaning of life.

The other path

All around us we see the fruit of lives lived in opposition to God’s law. Does that disregard for, or rebellion against God’s law make them happy? Are their lives more meaningful? If so, why is there so much crime? Why are there so many broken families? Why are there so many wars and interpersonal conflicts?

Obeying the Ten Commandments and living according to Godly principles will, by themselves, bring a more rewarding life. Yet how much more do we have by knowing about God’s plan of salvation for ourselves, and all mankind?

Christopher Hitchens was wrong – God is great, period. God does exist, so let’s live our lives accordingly.

Evolution's Probability Is Humorously Slim

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the odds required for evolution's veracity. This follows this post about rising Latin American economic power.  For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Evolution's Probability Is Humorously Slim


by Jason Nitzberg


There is this great scene in a movie I once saw. A guy has tried his hardest to pursue the woman of his dreams, and he finally asks her the big question: what are his chances that they could become a couple? 1 out of a 100?



She responds, “No, more like one out of a million.”



As he drops his head to think about her answer, a contemplative look washes over his face. Then he looks up. His eyes are getting a little bigger, as he says with excitement building in his voice, “So, you're telling me there's a chance!”



Call it hope, call it optimism, or maybe just call what it really is: faith.



The very probability of one out of a million seems to scream "this is not going to happen," but that doesn't seem to stop us sometimes from hoping. Even the very fact that the odds got worse tells you that the woman’s point was not that he had a chance, but that he didn’t have a chance.



The leap of faith required to believe in evolution is similar to this man’s faith that he had a chance. The probability of evolution is directly analogous to this man’s humorously slim odds.





With Infinite Amount of Time, Anything is Possible

There is a lot in the teachings of evolution that makes a lot of sense. But this teaching always rubbed me the wrong way: with an infinite amount of time, anything is possible. While I can certainly put together an argument showing that this is perfectly logical, it ignores the fact that there are all these other ramifications that would help validate it—or invalidate it.



One of my friends recently gave an example of this on his blog , when he wrote about the Boltzman Brain . The teaching supposes, hypothetically, that given enough time through billions and trillions of years, all the atoms needed to form a self-contained brain would convene in one spot floating in the middle of space. This brain would already have feelings and emotions and memories locked into it.



Where Are All the Monkey Brains?

Again, the Boltzman Brain makes perfect sense and given the chance, is a logical conclusion given an infinite amount of time. But logic is not truth. The problem is that if a brain could be formed in the depths of space with memories, then we should be seeing, even in our limited life-span of 70 years here on earth, all kinds of examples of strange things just appearing.



Don’t you remember the half banana that appeared out of thin air on the wall in that downtown Chicago pizza place back in 1994? How about the random popcorn kernels appearing over the Suez Canal in 1972? How about that story your great grandmother tells of her great grandmother finding this fluffy thing that is described eerily like a blue colored Kleenex? Where are all the random monkey brains appearing in our house that didn’t quite make it to become Boltzman Brains?





Missing Accidents

With the Infinite Monkey Theorem, we have a very logical thought process: eventually, given enough time, all the works of Shakespeare would be reproduced by an infinite amount of monkeys sitting at typewriters. The problem however, is that it would leave an awful lot of accidents—parts of Shakespeare at different levels of completion, all over the place. There would be an infinite amount of in-between stages of partials, and lots and lots of failures. Lots of accidents. An over abundance in fact—so much so that we should be overrun by the accidents.



But so many of the so-called accidents are missing.





The odds are so slim, but yes, I am admitting evolutionists have a chance.



Do we really want to take it, though?







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Helps in Dealing With Evolutionary Teaching

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about help in dealing with evolutionary teaching. This follows this post about the Americans who were killed in Libya. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown  for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Helps in Dealing With Evolutionary Teaching



article by Good News Editor





To help our readers cope with the avalanche of evolutionary doctrines brainwashing our present world, the publishers of The Good News have produced two booklets that directly confront the theory of evolution.



They are titled Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? and Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What We Believe? These two eye-opening publications address and answer many questions about the subject of evolution.



In addition, many related articles in The Good News have been conveniently archived for you on our website. For instance, "Creation or Evolution: Which Is More Believable? " (published in the November-December 2009 issue), "The Debate Over Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist " (published in the July-August 2007 edition), and "Can You Believe Both the Bible and Evolution? " (published in the July-August 2006 issue), can be found there, along with many more. Please check our website at www.GNmagazine.org  .

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"The New Atheism"

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/  about atheism which is having a major affect on so many contemporary issues. This follows this post about the Russians from the war against Serbia until now.  For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown  for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.


Compass Point




I have been working on a Beyond Today program called "The New Atheism". My reading has taken me through a couple of books recently written by noted atheists. "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens are two that are currently on best seller lists.



Reading these books has not changed my mind about God. I have not read any atheist argument that has moved me off my long held faith and belief in God. reading the thoughts of these men leave me cold and lonely. I have to read them in short segments. But you need to read what the other side is thinking and saying to stay current.



This "new atheism" is really nothing new. The arguments are the same as those of of atheists through the ages. It comes down to to what Paul said in his letter to the Romans, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting". (Romans 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;



See All...)



God can be proven by many undeniable proofs from nature, reason and the Bible. But the most important proof lies in something we must make a conscious decision to do. That is to prove God by doing what He says and determining by the fruits of life live His way that He is and He stands behind His word. By this we develop a relationship with Him that establishes proof to us that He exists. It is probably the most important way we can approach the subject. It is available to everyone.

Britain Debates Life's Ultimate Question

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about atheism in Britain. This follows this post about the Amerian educational crisis.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Britain Debates Life's Ultimate Question






article by John Ross Schroeder





Especially in the last year, the reemergence of media coverage about aggressive atheism has helped focus British attention on that most crucial of all questions: Does God exist? Even scientists are arguing the question. In spite of a rather vigorous defense, atheism certainly appears to be gaining ground in Britain and Europe.



In the title of a feature article, columnist Gerard Baker of The Times recently called 2006 "a good year for religious conflict and atheism" (Dec. 22, 2006).



Many things have been and are being written about Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins' disbelief in God. He is perhaps the world's foremost apostle of atheism. John Preston, writing in Seven (the magazine supplement of The Sunday Telegraph), stated that Dawkins "is almost evangelical in telling Christians they are misguided in their faith" (Dec. 17, 2006, p. 8).



Even those who vehemently oppose his views generally acknowledge that Professor Dawkins "has caused a sensation this year with the runaway success of his anti-religious book, The God Delusion" (The Sunday Times, Dec. 24, 2006, p. 2). His book has headed the nonfiction best-seller list in Britain, and it stayed on The New York Times best-seller list for 14 weeks.



On a recent train and ferry trip from England to Northern Ireland, I saw at least two individuals reading The God Delusion intently. In one case I sat down opposite a businessman, and a conversation about Professor Dawkins' book soon ensued. It turned out to be a friendly discussion in which I pointed out some of the flaws in the author's rationale.



Education and religion



Richard Dawkins started his aggressive educational campaign with a two-part television documentary titled The Root of All Evil?—referring to religion in general and Christianity in particular.



However, as Gerard Baker has astutely pointed out, "The two great global conflicts of the 20th century were not truly religious at all...It was twisted ethnic, rather than religious, ideology that principally animated the Nazis. And it is worth noting that the narrowly avoided conflict which would have trumped even these tragedies—a nuclear war with the Soviet Union—would have been launched and prosecuted in the name of militant atheism" (The Times, Dec. 22, 2006).



As British author Roger Scruton summed it up, "Richard Dawkins believes that faith is an infectious disease which spreads intolerance and conflict. In fact...it is our principal source of love and peace" (The Spectator, Jan. 14, 2006, p. 24).



Professor Dawkins has stated that "there is a strong correlation between religion and education: the more educated people are, the less religious" (FT magazine, Dec. 16/17, 2006, p. 16). It's no surprise that secular-minded professors are "educating" students away from believing in God. But actually we would suggest that only those who have examined the overwhelming evidence and have come to believe in the reality of a personal God are truly educated.



Nonetheless, this exponent of atheism is not at all satisfied with education in even elementary schools that mostly emphasize secularism. A fairly recent report stated that "the Oxford professor and campaigning atheist is planning to take his fight against God into the classroom by flooding schools with anti-religious literature" (The Sunday Times, Nov. 19, 2006, p. 5). Dawkins plans to set up a charity that "will subsidise books, pamphlets and DVDs attacking the 'educational scandal' of theories such as creationism while promoting rational and scientific thought" (ibid.).



Far too many erroneously believe that religion is chiefly responsible for every human wrong in the world. Gerard Baker helps counter this false notion: "You don't have to be religious to have a dangerous inclination to bend others to your own views. Professor Richard Dawkins provided a timely reminder that belligerent intolerance of the beliefs of others is by no means the preserve of the faithful" (The Times, Dec. 22, 2006).



Comparative national religious beliefs



Historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto recently assessed the current state of British religious interest in general terms. He stated: "Sermons are about society, not salvation. Alastair Campbell [Tony Blair's director of strategy and communications] spoke for England when he said we don't do God. The British now respond to religion with the embarrassment once provoked only by sex" (The Independent, Dec. 24, 2006, emphasis added throughout).



British educational authorities like Chris Woodhead have indicated that "RE [Religious Education] lessons are badly taught and fail to instill faith and tolerance. They should be axed" (The Sunday Times, July 24, 2005, p. 11).



The Jewish community in Britain also has adherents in the atheist/agnostic camp, while still claiming to hold to some aspects of Judaism. For instance, one couple gave their twin sons "a faith-free" bar mitzvah. The two are quoted by The Jewish Chronicle as saying, "You can be Jewish without praying to a God you don't believe in" (Dec. 22, 2006, p. 20).



According to Harvard professor and author Niall Ferguson, "the Gallup Millennium Survey of Religious Attitudes shows that barely 20 per cent of West Europeans attend church services at least once a week, compared with 47 per cent of North Americans and 82 per cent of West Africans. Less than half of Western Europeans say that God is a 'very important' part of their lives, as against 83 per cent of Americans and virtually all West Africans. And fully 15 per cent of Western Europeans deny that there is any kind of 'spirit, God or life force'" (The Daily Telegraph, July 31, 2005).



The other side of the debate



Daily Mail columnist and author Melanie Phillips has pointed out that "religion lies at the heart of our society's greatest achievements because it enables the human spirit to soar...It was this Judeo-Christian heritage that has given us values that secularists prize, such as human rights and tolerance. Religion gives us a code to live by which helps make us better people...The value we in the West place on every individual and on the principle of equality is based on our foundation religious doctrine that we are all created equal in the image of God" (Daily Mail, Dec. 19, 2005).



Columnist Jeff Jacoby articulated the fact that "without God the difference between good and evil becomes purely subjective" (International Herald Tribune, Dec. 15, 2006).



At least a few scientists also ask some searching questions relevant to life's ultimate question. For instance, Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, stated: "The pre-eminent mystery is why anything exists at all. What breathes life into the equations; and actualized them in a real cosmos. Such questions lie beyond science, however; they are the province of philosophers and theologians" (The Sunday Times, Dec. 24, 2006).



A cover article in Time magazine (international edition) stated: "The universe seems uncannily well suited to the existence of life. Could that really be an accident?" (Nov. 29, 2004, p. 58).



In yet another piece from Time, Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Research Institute, states: "For me the fundamental answers about the meaning of life come not from science, but from a consideration of the origins of our uniquely human sense of right and wrong and from the historical record of Christ's life on earth" (Aug. 15, 2005, p. 34).



The testimony of a former atheist



It happens! About three years ago, "one of the most renowned atheists of the past half century...changed his mind and decided that there is a God after all. Anthony Flew, emeritus professor of philosophy at Reading University, whose arguments for atheism have influenced scholars the world over, has been converted to the view that some sort of deity created the universe" (The Sunday Times, Dec. 12, 2004, Internet).



To quote this long-believing atheist directly, Professor Flew stated: "I have been persuaded that it is simply out of the question that the first living matter evolved out of dead matter and then developed into an extraordinary creature" (ibid.).



It is axiomatic that life comes from life! The question is: Who possessed life before the creation? The Bible tells us that both the Father and the Son have life within Themselves (John 5:26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;



See All...).



During the middle of the first century, the apostle Paul addressed academics in Athens, declaring the reality of the Creator God to the Greek philosophers of his day (see Acts 17:16-28 [16] Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

[17] Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

[18] Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

[19] And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

[20] For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

[21] (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

[22] Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

[23] For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

[24] God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

[25] Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

[26] And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

[27] That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.





See All...). This aspect of the gospel is also a part of the teaching of the United Church of God today.



We have written in voluminous detail about the many reasons we believe there is a personal Creator God who has always existed. Please be sure to request (or download) our free booklets on this important subject— Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist?, Who Is God? and Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe? The rationale for these three booklets springs from the Bible and from the perspective and evidence of true science.



Does it really matter what you believe?



There are two opposing worldviews at stake in this crucial battle for the minds of the British people. The first worldview argues that human beings are nothing but a cosmic accident, the result of millions of years of being gradually engineered by the evolutionary process, occasioned through the survival of the fittest. Thus the bottom line is that we should all look out for number one because this life is all there is.



This despairing outlook sums up the Darwinian worldview. In his weekly Spectator column, British author Paul Johnson has analyzed the results.



"Much of the blame lies with Richard Dawkins, head of the Darwinian fundamentalists in this country [Britain], who has (it seems) indissolubly linked Darwin to the more extreme forms of atheism, and projected on to our senses a dismal world in which life has no purpose or meaning and a human being has no more significance than a piece of rock, being subject to the blind process of pitiless, unfeeling, unthinking nature" (Aug. 27, 2005, p. 25).



Yet, as world statesman Sir Winston Churchill once articulated in a speech to both houses of the U.S. Congress: "He must be a blind soul indeed that cannot see that a great purpose is being worked out here below."



The other worldview is firmly based on life having a great divine purpose. In the vernacular it says, "It's not about me." This life is not about human beings seeking to please the self, but instead, showing love to neighbor and striving to become more like the greatest Man who ever lived, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He showed us the ultimate example of love in giving His life for us so that we might eventually share the entire universe with Him (see Romans 8:16-23 [16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.





See All...; Hebrews 2:5-11 [5] For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.

[6] But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

[7] Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

[8] Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

[9] But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

[10] For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

[11] For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,





See All...).



If you would like more information about this second and much more fruitful worldview, request or download our free booklet What Is Your Destiny? Why did God create human beings in the first place? Does the Bible reveal a great divine plan and purpose? Why has it been hidden from most of mankind? All these questions and more are answered in this publication, which you can read in just one sitting. WNP



Recommended Reading

Can you really know if a Creator God exists? Can you prove it? If so, why did He create you and me? These are crucial questions, and never have the answers been more important. Request a free copy of Life’s Ultimate Question: Does God Exist?

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God, Science and the Bible: DNA Discoveries Demonstrate Divine Design

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the existance of a Creator. This follows this post about "shop till you drop."   For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

God, Science and the Bible: DNA Discoveries Demonstrate Divine Design






article by Mario Seiglie





Recent discoveries about DNA—including the finding that so-called "junk DNA" is anything but—once again clearly points to a supreme Intelligence having imbedded an incredible multifaceted code in our genes.







Source: Photos.comWhen first discovered, scientists believed that DNA was a somewhat simple genetic code filled with what they termed "junk DNA," useless bits assumed to be evolutionary remnants from our supposed ancestors. But now they have found the code to be astoundingly complex, multilayered and even bidirectional.



On Sept. 5, 2012, The New York Times reported: "The human genome is packed with at least four million gene switches that reside in bits of DNA that once were dismissed as "junk" but that turn out to play critical roles in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave . . .



"The thought before the start of the [DNA] project, said Thomas Gingeras, an Encode researcher from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, was that only 5 to 10 percent of the DNA in a human being was actually being used. The big surprise was not only that almost all of the DNA is used but also that a large proportion of it is gene switches.



"Before Encode, said Dr. John Stamatoyanno-poulos, a University of Washington scientist who was part of the project, 'if you had said half of the genome and probably more has instructions for turning genes on and off, I don't think people would have believed you'" ("Bits of Mystery DNA, Far From 'Junk,' Play Crucial Role," Sept. 5, 2012, online edition).



The astounding complexity of the DNA code was the main reason Sir Antony Flew, the late world-famous philosopher who had been the leading atheist in England, renounced his atheism a few years back and accepted the existence of a divine intelligence behind it all.



He wrote: "What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together" ( There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, 2007, p. 75).



Let's see some of the examples of the incredible complexity of the DNA code.



Spy codes—as in Washington's day

Back in the days of the American Revolution, George Washington and his officers sent each other letters with double meanings. A letter intercepted by the enemy would simply have sounded like a typical message describing incidents on a farm. But to those with the deciphering key, the same message may have described troop numbers and locations. Yet without the key, the secret message would be safely hidden.



Similarly, scientists have come to realize that certain areas of the genetic code have secondary messages that can be deciphered by a cell's translating devices.



Comparing DNA to a spy code, science historian Stephen Meyer explains: "In the same way, the cell has protein machinery and RNA codes that jointly function as a cipher enabling it to access and read the secondary imbedded messages within the primary message of the genome . . . The presence of these genes imbedded within genes (messages within messages) further enhances the information-storage density of the genome" ( Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, 2009, pp. 463-464).



Imagine how difficult it would be to write a message and inscribe within it other messages! Mindless evolution could never produce genetic information of any kind, much less in overlapping levels of this nature!



DNA's bidirectional code

Scientists also have found the genome to be bidirectional—relaying different messages when read from opposite directions—providing efficiency of space.



Dr. Meyer explains: "In the same way that words are ordered into sentences and sentences into paragraphs, nucleotide bases [within the DNA molecular chain] are ordered into genes and genes are ordered into specifically arranged gene clusters.



"Or think of these individual genes as computer data files and groupings of genes as folders containing several files. The groupings of DNA 'files' that we observe serve several roles. These groupings allow the cell to make longer transcripts that are combinations of different gene messages. In other words, the coding modules of the gene files in a 'folder' can be combined in numerous ways—and in both directions—to greatly increase the number of encoded transcripts and protein products from the same genomic region or resources" (pp. 467-468).



Again, imagine how difficult it would be to design something like this! If you read forward, you find one message. If you read backwards, you find another message. Again, how could evolution possibly account for this? It is further clear evidence of a brilliant Mind at work!



From "junk DNA" to a complex computer operating system

Computer users are familiar with a computer's operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, which sets and controls the environment in which software programs run. Scientists are now startled to discover that many regions of the genome, previously thought to be useless, in fact provide key functions similar to a computer's operating system.



Dr. Meyer explains: "Portions of the genome that many biologists previously regarded as 'junk DNA' are now known to perform many important functions, including the regulation and expression of the information for building proteins . . . the nonprotein coding regions of the genome function much like an operating system in a software program, directing and regulating how other information in the system is processed" (p. 367).



Discarding the "junk DNA" myth

To believe that all this incredible, efficient complexity simply evolved through mutation and natural selection is to deny the overwhelming facts.



As molecular biologist Jonathan Wells concludes: "Scientists make progress by testing hypotheses against the evidence. But when scientists ignore the evidence and cling to a hypothesis for philosophical or theological reasons, the hypothesis becomes a myth. Junk DNA is such a myth . . .



"As recent discoveries have demonstrated, we are just beginning to unravel the mysteries of the genome. Indeed, the same can be said of living organisms in general. But assuming that any feature of an organism has no function discourages further investigation. In this respect, the myth of junk DNA has been a science-stopper. Not anymore. For scientists willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads, these are exciting times" ( The Myth of Junk DNA , 2011, p. 107).

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Atheistic Scientists Who Play God Where It Might Lead

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about atheism. This follows this post about Kosovo and Serbia.   For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Atheistic Scientists Who Play God Where It Might Lead






article by John Ross Schroeder





For science to work properly it has to be governed by moral values and ethical standards.



Modern science and religion have had an uneasy relationship often marked by suspicion and contention. Despite recent attempts to forge a common philosophical approach and considerable media publicity about efforts to harmonize science and theology, the relationship remains a difficult one.



In fact, a recent survey shows that fewer scientists believe in God than ever before. Today only about 7 percent of leading scientists profess belief. Doubt, disbelief and agnosticism reign in the world of science. The statistics are not encouraging (please see sidebar).



Britain's Richard Dawkins is in the forefront of militant atheism. Noted journalist Paul Johnson has named him as a prime candidate for the title: "The most dangerous man in Britain." Dawkins presently occupies a specially created professorial chair at Oxford University.



Writes Mr. Johnson: "Dawkins, a handsome, plausible and self-confident performer on TV and radio, uses his position not only to undermine belief in God, but to press the case for scientific adventurism of the kind many find frightening." Professor Dawkins is a strong advocate of human cloning.



Paul Johnson continues: "When Dolly the sheep was cloned, Dawkins said he looked forward to having a copy of himself made, 30 years younger, so that he could go on pontificating well into the 21st Century."



Two Types of Scientific Inquiry



There is both a right and wrong type of scientific inquiry. In many ways science has made every day life in the 20th Century a better experience for millions upon millions of people. As Mr. Herbert Armstrong has said, "It is not the thing itself, but the wrong use of the thing." A good thing that science creates could be put to a wrong use, or the thing itself could be intrinsically wrong. For science to work properly it has to be governed by moral values and ethical standards. No field of human endeavor can exempt it itself from basic rules, and still avoid horrendous consequences. It helps a great deal if scientists truly believe in God and the Ten Commandments.



But atheism can be dangerous! Those who advocate human cloning are not usually strong believers in God and the Bible, but the very opposite.



In the past, questionable inventions in the scientific laboratory have been misused by irresponsible political tyrants seeking to impose their godless doctrines and ideologies on many others. Human cloning may soon be added to the already extant dangers of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.



Mr. Johnson points out that "the desire to produce armies of identical superwarriors is an ancient one in China, as thousands of recently-unearthed terracotta figures, more than two millennia old, testify." Dictators using human cloning on an industrial scale is a frightening prospect. What about Saddam Hussein's notorious revolutionary guards, chosen for their size, strength and cunning?



We live in an uncertain world filled with all kinds of jeopardy. Certain aspects of scientific inquiry threaten to go amok. Only the principles of the Bible can keep scientists on the right track. That is one reason why atheism, twinned with the rejection of Scripture, is so potentially dangerous to humankind.



Sources: The Daily Mail (London), February 1, 1999; The Atlanta-Journal Constitution , February 7, 1999; Newsweek (Atlantic edition), July 27, 1998.





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Leading Scientist Reject God



This survey was conducted by asking 1,000 scientists listed in a reference book of top scientists about their religious beliefs.



Belief in a Personal God



1914

1933

1998



Personal belief

27.7

15

7.0



Personal disbelief

52.7

68

72.2



Doubt/agnosticism

20.9

17

20.8





Source: Nature Journal (quoted by The Atlanta Journal—Constitution )

.God the FatheratheismcloningDoctrinal BeliefsRichard DawkinsGod in ScienceWorld News and ProphecyScience.

Movie Expelled

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/  about a Movie called "Expelled." This follows this post about America's power.   For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Movie Expelled

Got out today to see a movie, “Expelled”, by Ben Stein. I found it a fascinating expose of bias in the academic community when it comes to the debate between intelligent design and Darwinism. Stein bases his movie on the cause of academic freedom and uses imagery of the Berlin Wall to juxtapose the story.



What I found intriguing were the frank admissions from die hard Darwinians of the process leading to atheism when one adopts the central tenets of evolutionary theory. Scary and without hope.



If you believe in Darwin’s theory you won’t like the movie. If you at least care about freedom of thought in academic circles you should see the film. Highly recommended.







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God Makes Sense

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/  about God. This follows this post about the dangers of a big government. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

God Makes Sense


by Amanda Boyer




God Makes Sense



Source: Photos.com"If there is not a God, nothing makes sense—not even chance." In our first of the Fundamental Theology module classes at the Ambassador Bible Center, Dr. Ward gave these words of wisdom.



The Bible says in Isaiah 45:18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.



See All...: "For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: 'I am the Lord, and there is no other'" (NIV).



When we look around at God’s creation, there is no doubt that a higher being has fashioned the universe. Mankind has even proven God’s Word true in our discovery and understanding of Earth’s placement in the solar system. For example, if the Earth was any closer to the sun, glaciers would melt, the oceans temperature would increase and evaporation would amplify. Inversely, if the Earth were any further away from the sun, our planet would be covered with ice and the carbon dioxide in the air would dissolve. Earth would be uninhabitable.



But knowing God is the Creator and Sustainer of life just isn’t enough, because our existence is not by chance! God is a personal and purposeful being. He is our Creator, and we were made to have a relationship with Him, as well as a purposeful life. Without God, our lives are empty. We need Him to have any true sense in our lives.



Growing in faith of God begins in believing in His existence—but it doesn’t end there. Hebrews 11:6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.



See All... says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." So take the challenge of diligently seeking God and see the reward of sense in your life.







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Atheism is Dead - God

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about atheism. This follows this post analyzing some of the worst people in the past hundred years.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Atheism is Dead - God

11 comments

article by Randy Stiver





What is the attraction of atheism, and why has is become so evangelistic? Are we missing something, or is the atheist philosophy missing something?







Friedrich Nietzsche



Source: WikimediaIs God Dead?" So asked the cover of Time magazine on April 8, 1966, in the midst of the sexual and drug revolution. The headline echoed the atheistic sentiments of the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (pronounced NEE-che ).



Nietzsche wasn't the first person to reject God's existence, but he was one of the more famous to do so in the late 1800s. In his book The Gay Science he wrote, "God is dead," and gave his own (obviously fictitious) account of "God's murder." From 1859 Charles Darwin's theory of evolution attracted many philosophers and scientists. It gave them a doctrine—actually an atheistic religion—to replace any belief in God as the Creator of all things. Nietzsche's "God is dead" philosophy helped popularize the implications of the theory of evolution.



Especially in America—ironically often described as the most religious nation in the world—a battle continues between those who believe in God and the atheistic-evolutionary forces of popular culture, science and higher education. The intimidation factor of higher education has ensured that you are taught the "theory" of evolution in school as unarguable fact. (To learn the real facts of the matter, order our free Bible study aid booklets Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? and Creation or Evolution: Does It Matter What You Believe? )



God most assuredly is not dead. The T-shirt of a friend of mine bore a clever message in this regard. The first line said, "God is dead. —Nietzsche." The second line said, "Nietzsche is dead. —God." Truth is in the second line. But here's a greater truth: Atheism is dead too.



Its proponents don't know that yet, but as a philosophy—actually a godless religion with evolution as its handmaiden doctrine—atheism is truly dead. However, the atheist movement presently thinks it has the upper hand. Militant atheism or atheist activism is regularly in the headlines during these early years of the 21st century. Atheism websites and publications abound. Beginning about 2009, evangelistic atheism advertisements have been plastered on buses in many European and American cities.



Nevertheless, though popular for the moment, atheism's demise is coming—with no possibility of resurrection.



Why is atheism dead?

For any readers who've embraced atheism, this is offered as encouragement to reconsider that philosophy.



Honestly, atheism died for a lack of truth and logic. It lacks truth because, first, God is not dead and, second, the godless philosophy depended on unprovable evolution to explain life. Being unprovable, evolution remains a theory—and not a good one. A viable theory is supposed to fit the facts available—yet evolution does not even come close.



Atheism lacks logic because it underestimates the complexity of life, doesn't do math well—especially fractal geometry—and it won't ask itself the really hard question. (Fractal geometry, originally called Chaos Theory, is a relatively recent branch of mathematics that discovered that the patterns of coastlines, leaves, trees, hilly landscapes and virtually anything in nature are not random but mathematically calculable—and evidence of a supreme Designer!)



What is the atheist movement trying to do?

What have most great religions attempted throughout history? Answer: dominate . Remember, atheism is essentially a nontheistic religion, and human nature is remarkably predictable.



This question was clearly summarized in a December 2011 blog titled "What Are the Goals of the Atheist Movement?" by leading atheist activist Greta Christina. In essence, the first goal as she expressed it is to "see atheists fully accepted into society, and to have atheism accepted as legitimate." One could argue that this goal seems to have long been met in most halls of academia. The other goal is more ominous: "a world where there's no religion"—no religion except atheism , of course.



Why does atheism hate traditional religion so much?

A recurring atheistic argument against traditional religion is that all the world's wars (and other societal evils) have been caused by religion. Sadly, this is true to a significant degree. But we must realize that these are consequences of false religion—not merely believing in God. Even much that has been passed off as Christianity is not the true Christian religion of the Bible. Moreover, we should ask: Has atheism ever been guilty of wars, killing and destruction?



Dr. Rudolph Rummel of the University of Hawaii, in his book Death by Government , chronicled how many of their own people various governments in history have killed (not including battle deaths or capital punishment for crimes). The worst of the worst, in terms of sheer numbers, was the communist Soviet Union, which murdered nearly 62 million Soviet subjects during its 70-year history. The next most deadly was the communist Chinese government launched by Mao Tse-Tung, with 35 million killed. In third place was Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, which exterminated 21 million. It should be realized that Friedrich Nietzsche's godless philosophy infused Nazi thinking.



But the worst murderer of its own people by percentage was the Cambodian communist regime of Pol Pot, which during the late 1970s slaughtered one third of the country's 6 million people.



Belief in God didn't cause these atrocities. They were perpetrated by fundamentally atheistic regimes. So atheism is by no means a panacea.



Why doesn't atheism ask the hard question?

Put any discussion of the divine, spiritual law on hold. Scientists—including atheistic ones—believe in, constantly rely on, and use the laws of physics (including mathematics and all the natural laws of science) to carry out their work. The hard question: Where did the laws of physics come from, and why do they always work?



Atheism doesn't want to answer this question, yet science willingly assumes the certainty of these physical laws. Theoretical physicists have in recent years developed the matrix or M-Theory—an extension of string theory—to explain the universe. (You'll have to google it, as there's no room to address it here.) But even that has at its basis certain fixed laws of physics. Where did those laws come from?



When pushed for an origin of the laws of science, the atheistic-evolutionary answer essentially is that those laws have just always been there . Thus logic fails the atheist movement by the refusal to address origins.



There is an answer, though. Let's move from the seemingly unknown (origin of the laws of physics) to the known (origin of societal laws). Where do laws governing society come from? That's easy. They are made by legislators and sustained, albeit imperfectly, by judicial branches of governments. Societal laws don't exist by happenstance, and neither do the laws of science—they are specifically made and dynamically sustained! Bottom line: Laws—spiritual or physical—demand a Lawgiver who is also a law Sustainer. And that would be God .



The future of atheism

God is on His throne, and Jesus Christ will soon return to the earth to establish the Kingdom of God. However, there is an evil spirit being—Satan the devil—who wants human beings to reject belief in God, and as one of his many deceptions he has spawned atheism (compare John 8:44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.



See All...; 2 Corinthians 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.



See All...; Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.



See All...).



On the horizon before Christ's second coming is the worst world war in history (see our free Bible study aid booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? ). And this war will arise from conflicts between world religions—false religions, not the true religion of the Bible. As the battle lines are drawn, the resulting fervor will draw atheists and believers alike to one worship system or another—but, again, not the worship of the true God as revealed in the Bible. Atheism as we know it today will be virtually extinguished in those troubled times.



And as the divine plan in Scripture unfolds, all will come to believe in God. The question then will be whether they choose to believe what God says . Either way, the conclusion is the same: Atheism is dead. —God.

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Who Was Jesus? Why is he called the "Son of God"?

An interesting article from www.ucg.org about Jesus as the Son of God. This follows this post about lonileness. This follows this post about the persecution of Christians.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.


Who Was Jesus?


While Jesus was human in the fullest sense, He was also more than simply human—for He was, in fact, the divine Son of God with all that name implies. Indeed, as we have seen, He was the Creator God made flesh. And when His human life was over, He returned to the divine glory He shared with the Father from eternity past.



"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.



See All...).



Except perhaps for the book of Hebrews, the Gospel of John gives the most complete explanation in the New Testament about the divinity of Jesus Christ. As previously noted, verses 1-3 and 14 of John 1 clearly explain that the Word was God and dwelt with the Father until He later became the Messiah or Christ, meaning "Anointed One."



As British scholar F.F. Bruce commented regarding Jesus: "The New Testament indicates that he existed before he lived on earth as a historical character. We are thus encouraged to ask not only, 'What was the mode of this earlier existence of his?' ... but also, 'What is he said to have done in that earlier existence?'" ( Jesus Past, Present and Future: The Work of Christ, 1979, pp. 11-12).



As The New Bible Commentary: Revised explains about the opening passage of John's Gospel: "In the prologue the pre-existence and deity of Christ are expressed explicitly. The Logos [the Greek term rendered 'Word' here] was not only with God in the beginning, but was God (1:1), and it was this Logos who became flesh and is identified with Christ" (p. 928).



Several other passages in John's Gospel reveal significant details that help us understand even more fully. Consider an account later in chapter 1: "The next day John [the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward Him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, "After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me"'" (verses 29-30; compare verse 15).



John the Baptist was born before Jesus (Luke 1:35-36 [35] And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

[36] And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.





See All..., 57-60) and began his ministry before Christ began His. Yet John still said of Jesus, "He was before me." Why? Considering the whole of John 1, the reason must be that Jesus was the preexistent Word prior to His human birth (John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.



See All...).



His existence before Abraham

In dealing with accusations from the Pharisees in John 8, Jesus said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from [beside the Father in heaven] and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going" (verse 14).



Later the apostle Paul commented on their lack of understanding: "The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, or understand the words of the prophets which are read sabbath by sabbath; indeed, they fulfilled them by condemning him" (Acts 13:27For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.



See All..., REB).



Just as in the first century, relatively few people today truly comprehend who Jesus was, where He came from, what He is doing and what He will yet do.



Later in John 8, the Jews gathered about Jesus asked Him, "Who do You make Yourself out to be?" (verse 53). They simply had no idea of the real identity of the One with whom they were speaking. It is the same today. Few people really understand the true origins of Jesus Christ.



He patiently explained, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (verse 56). But how was this possible? The patriarch Abraham lived around 2,000 years before Jesus' birth. So those who heard Him challenged, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" (verse 57). To this question Jesus gave a stunning response: "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (verse 58).



We should pause for a moment to digest what Jesus said.



He was declaring that His existence preceded that of Abraham. Moreover, the phrase "I AM" was a well-known title of divinity to the Jews. This goes back to Moses' first encounter with God at the burning bush.



A crucial encounter with Moses

Moses was concerned about how the Israelites would receive him and the commission God gave him, so he asked God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name? What shall I say to them?'" (Exodus 3:13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?



See All...).



Observe the Creator's reply: "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.



See All...).



Note also the next verse: "Moreover God said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: "The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations" (verse 15).



As is common throughout most English translations of the Old Testament, the word "Lord" here with capital letters is substituted for the Hebrew consonants Y-H-W-H (commonly known as the Tetragrammaton, meaning four letters). No one today knows for certain how to pronounce this name, but the most common pronunciation now is Yahweh. (A common, though errant, earlier rendering was Jehovah .)



The name YHWH is similar in meaning to "I AM" (Hebrew EHYH or Eheyeh ). Both imply eternal, self-inherent existence (compare John 5:26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;



See All...). No one created God. We should understand that He has many names in Scripture, each of which tells us something about His wonderful, divine nature and character.



Given this background, therefore, when Jesus said in John 8:58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.



See All... that He preceded Abraham and referred to Himself with continuous existence using the term "I AM," there really should be no doubt as to just what He meant. The Jews well knew what He meant, which is why they immediately tried to stone Him to death (verse 59). Jesus was saying that He was the very God of Israel.



Who was the God of the Old Testament?

The fact is, Jesus Christ is the "I AM"of the Bible. He was the guiding Rock who was with the children of Israel in the wilderness when they left Egypt (see Deuteronomy 32:4He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.



See All...). Paul wrote: "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed [accompanied] them, and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:1-4 [1] Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

[2] And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

[3] And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.





See All...).



The "I AM"of the Old Testament is further described as abounding in "goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,



See All...). Similarly, the New Testament tells us that Jesus was "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.



See All...). Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.



See All...).



There are, it should be noted, places in the Old Testament where YHWH clearly refers to God the Father. For instance, in Psalm 110:1(A Psalm of David.) The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.



See All..., which we've noted earlier, King David stated, "The Lord [ YHWH ] said to My Lord . . ." YHWH here is the Father speaking to David's Lord, the One who became Jesus Christ. Often, however, the name YHWH refers to the One who became Christ—and sometimes it refers to both the Father and Christ together, just as the name God often does.



Consider that except for Jesus, no human being has ever seen the Father (John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.



See All...; 5:37; 6:46; 1 John 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.



See All...). Yet Abraham, Jacob, Moses and others all saw God (Genesis 18; 32:30; Exodus 24:9-11 [9] Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

[10] And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

[11] And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.





See All...; 33:17-23). So the YHWH, the "I AM," the Word, who later became Jesus Christ, was the One they saw. It was He who dealt directly with human beings as God in Old Testament times. Christ later died for our sins and became the ultimate mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;



See All...), a role He had already partially fulfilled as the preexistent Word before His human birth.



So the Word was indeed the God of the Old Testament—and yet the Father fulfilled this role in a very real sense as well. For Jesus dealt with mankind on the Father's behalf as His Spokesman (compare John 8:28Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.



See All...; 12:49-50). Moreover, in many passages in the Old Testament it can be difficult to separate these two great personages, whereas the New Testament is usually clear in this respect.



Of course, since Jesus came to reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.



See All...), the logical conclusion is that the Father was not generally known by those in Old Testament times except for a few of the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets. King David, for example, is one who understood.



Partially quoted earlier, Hebrews 1:1-2 [1] God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;





See All... states: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds."



In this opening passage of the book of Hebrews the clear implication is that the Father is the moving force behind the whole Old Testament. In context, verse 2 interprets verse 1. Though God the Father is the prime mover behind the Hebrew Bible, it is through Jesus Christ that He created the entire universe.



Also, the vital principle of the Bible interpreting the Bible helps us to understand the intent of Hebrews 1:1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,



See All... in the light of other scriptures. Since God made the worlds through Christ and created all things by Him (Ephesians 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:



See All...; Colossians 1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:



See All...; John 1:3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.



See All...), He dealt with man through the agency of the preexistent Word, Christ.



Jesus—both God and man

Jesus Christ today is the mediator between God the Father and man. But to perfectly fulfill that crucial role He had to have been both God and man. He was truly a man in every sense of that word or we have no salvation from our sins. The apostle Paul calls Him "the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;



See All...), as does the apostle Peter (Acts 2:22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:



See All...).



Paul tells us, in a verse quoted earlier from a different translation, that we should have the same humble, serving attitude of Jesus Christ, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped [i.e., held onto], but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8, New American Standard Bible).



Jesus' manhood was full and complete in the sense that He lived a life as a physical human being that ended in death. He became hungry and ate, grew tired and rested, and walked and talked just like any other human being. There was nothing in His physical appearance to distinguish Him from other Jewish men



of His time (Isaiah 53:2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.



See All...).



The essential difference was in the realm of the spiritual. Jesus continually received needed spiritual power from the Father (compare John 5:30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.



See All...; 14:10). In fact, He possessed God's Spirit from conception, actually being begotten in Mary's womb through the Holy Spirit. Although tempted like every one of us, Jesus never transgressed God's law. He never once sinned (Hebrews 4:15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.



See All...; 1 Peter 2:22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:



See All...).



One of the most insidious heresies in the 2,000-year history of Christendom is that Jesus Christ was not really a man—that He was not really tempted to sin. The apostle John condemned this teaching in the strongest terms (1 John 4:3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.



See All...; 2 John 7).



This heresy began in the first century and it persists even today, continuing to lead people away from the truth of God. We need to recognize that if Jesus had not really been human, then His sacrifice for our sins would be null and void.



The Son of Man and the Son of God

Jesus Christ is called "the Son of Man" more than 80 times in the New Testament. It was the term He most commonly used in referring to Himself.



Christ repeatedly referred to Himself as the Son of Man in connection with His sufferings and sacrificial death for the sins of mankind (Matthew 17:22And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:



See All...; 26:45; Mark 9:31For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.



See All...; 14:41). Although of divine origin, He deliberately identified with our human plight—the sorrows and sufferings of the human race. The prophet Isaiah foresaw Him as "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.



See All...).



Sympathizing with our human frailties and difficulties, Jesus tells us: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 [28] Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.





See All...).



He also called Himself the Son of Man when referring to His role as the coming Ruler of humanity in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:28And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.



See All...). He even used it when He described Himself as "the Lord of the Sabbath," explaining how the seventh-day Sabbath should be observed with mercy and compassion (Mark 2:27-28 [27] And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

[28] Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.





See All...; Matthew 12:8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.



See All...; Luke 6:5And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.



See All...).



Then, when He came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" (Matthew 16:13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?



See All...). They replied by recounting several commonly held but erroneous beliefs about Jesus' identity. Simon Peter responded by saying, "You are the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of the living God" (verse 16). Jesus observed that the Father Himself had revealed this wonderful truth to Peter (verse 17). And all of His apostles came to recognize the same truth, which is reiterated elsewhere in the New Testament (Matthew 14:33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.



See All...; John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.



See All...; Romans 1:3-4 [3] Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

[3] Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

[4] And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

[4] And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:





See All...).



Indeed, while Jesus was human in the fullest sense, He was also more than simply human—for He was, in fact, the divine Son of God with all that name implies. Indeed, as we have seen, He was the Creator God made flesh. And when His human life was over, He returned to the divine glory He shared with the Father from eternity past. (To learn much more about who Jesus was and the events of His life, death and resurrection, be sure to read our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story .)