Genesis 1:27

Charles Darwin introduced his theory of evolution in 1859 in the book Origin of Species. Many evolutionists, however, would like people to forget that the full title is On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

It is undeniable that Darwin promoted racist ideas that could then be solidly founded upon "science." Although he never mentioned Man in his Origin of the Species, the implications were there that Man had come from the animal kingdom.

In his third book, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animal, published in 1872, Darwin left no doubt about his racist ideas, and head-measuring became a full-time occupation to determine which races were more "evolved" than others. Teams of hunters set out to obtain specimen heads from aboriginal Australian and Tasmanian owners … whether the owners had ceased to use them or not! Entire tribes were shot down, and the museum cases of the "civilized" nations became filled with neatly graduated rows of heads giving supposed "proof" of evolution.

Most evolutionists deny this gruesome chapter in the history of Darwinism. Yet it shows that Darwinism is not only racist, it treats humans as if they were animals. Is it any wonder, then, that most evolutionists are in favor of abortion and euthanasia while creationists oppose these practices? After all, creationists – not evolutionists – know that all people, young and old, are created in the image of God.

Notes: Ian Taylor, "Scientific Racism," on file at Creation Moments.
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

1 Corinthians 10:13

​One of my favorite books is Rupert Sheldrake's Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home. Though the book was written by a non-Christian author who happens to be a well-qualified scientist from Cambridge, this book is filled with interesting stories about animal abilities that evolutionists are powerless to explain.

For instance, the author describes a school of fish as resembling a large organism. To paraphrase from the book, the school's members swim in tight formations, wheeling and reversing in near unison. When the school turns to the right or the left, individuals formerly on the flank assume the lead. When under attack, a school may respond by leaving a gaping hole around a predator. More often, the school splits in half and the two halves turn outward, swim around the predator, reverse direction, and eventually rejoin each other. This "fountain effect" leaves the predator ahead of the school. Each time the predator turns, the same thing happens.

Some filmmakers have produced fine video-footage taken in tropical waters, showing schools of fish, perhaps several hundred, all swimming in very close formation. Something alerts them and they all turn in exactly the same direction in a micro-second; there is no confusion, no touching.

Clearly, there is one superb Mind in absolute control of each of those unfettered souls to guide and to keep them and to teach us. That Mind, of course, is the one who created the fish and the oceans in which they live. Jesus is His name.

Notes: R. Sheldrake, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals, (1999 edition), p. 158. Photo: Courtesy of OpenStax College. (CC-BY-SA 3.0).
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Psalm 2 is one of the Bible’s amazing prophecies. It describes the atheism and moral rebellion of the end times. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). Rage against God and His holy laws is the chief characteristic of the humanistic philosophy of the past three centuries, the philosophy that has largely overthrown the influence of Christianity in Western culture. In The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine (1737-1809) called the Bible “a book of lies and contradictions” and said it is more likely “the word of a demon than the word of God.” Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) rejected a God who punishes those who displease Him. Bentham was an apologist for homosexuality and exhorted governments not to legislate against “drunkenness and fornication.” Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) called himself “the most terrible opponent of Christianity.” Nietzsche concluded his autobiography Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) with the blasphemous words, “Dionysus vs. the Crucified” (not long before he went insane). John Dewey (1859-1952), father of “progressive education” and co-author of the Humanist Manifesto, called God “a faded piece of metaphysical goods” (Dewey, “The Influence of Darwin on Philosophy,” 1916). Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), father of existentialism and perhaps the most influential philosopher of the 20th century, was an atheist whose “life was one continuous celebration of debauchery.” In his autobiography, Sartre blasphemed the Holy Spirit, claiming that he caught Him and threw Him out of his life. Rage against God’s holy laws is also the chief characteristic of the western pop culture that has spread throughout the earth. The rage is expressed continually through movies, television, literature, the news media, the fields of education, fashion, and art. The rebellion is seen in pagan religions, communism, evolution, militant atheism (e.g., the American Atheists paid for billboard ads in September 2012 calling the God of the Bible “sadistic” and Jesus a “useless Savior”), and the homosexual rights movement.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Titus 2:1

​Evolutionists never seem to tire of taunting creationists with such words as: "If creationists were real scientists, their papers would be published in secular scientific journals."

But Dr. Brandon van der Ventel, professor of physics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, doesn't allow such statements to go unchallenged. "Creation scientists," he said, "have published many articles in secular journals." He adds, however, that papers from many creation scientists "are ignored and rejected" not because they are faulty, but because they reject "the evolutionary (or billions-of-years) paradigm."

Though this professor once believed that "somehow God must have used evolution", he now rejects that. "If the story of the fall of Man is 'mythology'," he says, "then there is no need for a plan of salvation. This is ultimately an attack on the personage of our Lord Jesus Christ and His redeeming work on the cross."

Though most of his fellow academics reject a worldwide flood, he says that "Jesus explicitly refers to Noah's flood…. This raises the question: If the Lord's statement about Noah's Flood is false, then why should we believe His statement concerning eternal life?"

Dr. van der Ventel turned away from evolution when he realized that the Bible is authoritative even on scientific matters. Doubting Genesis, he said, often leads to "a slippery slide to unbelief, where we can end up questioning the inerrancy and infallibility of the entire Bible."

Notes: J. Sarfati, "Nuclear physicist embraces biblical creation," Creation Ministries International.
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Psalm 6:6

​Many men today believe that the shedding of tears is a sign of weakness. They seem to have forgotten that Jesus wept when told that Lazarus had died. Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" who shed tears over a backslidden nation. Even David, the slayer of tens of thousands, wrote that he often drenched his bed with tears.

Our Designer not only gave us glands to produce tears, He also gave us an ingenious way to dispose of excess tears. Here is how William Paley described this design feature in his nineteenth-century classic Natural Theology:

"To keep the eye moist and clean … a wash is constantly supplied by a secretion for the purpose; and the superfluous brine is conveyed to the nose through a perforation in the bone as large as a goose quill. When the fluid has entered the nose, it spreads itself upon the inside of the nostril and is evaporated by the current of warm air which in the course of respiration is continually passing over it."

Listen closely to Paley's next words: "It's easily perceived that the eye must want moisture; but could the 'want' of the eye generate the gland which produces the tear, or bore the hole by which it's discharged – a hole through bone?"

The answer, of course, is no, not in a billion years! As any rational person can plainly see, these features were designed by our Creator.

Notes: William Paley, Natural Theology, p. 33. (The Works of William Paley, D.D., Ward Lock & Co., London.).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

While researching Hillsong New York City, a reporter for GQ magazine experienced the power of Hillsong’s worship music. Taffy Brodesser-Akner described the experience as follows: “The music of Hillsong is a catalog of Selena Gomez-grade ballads, with melodies that all resemble one another, pleasingly, like spa music. ...Lyrically, it’s a hymn, and yet the singing is hot-breathed and sexy-close into microphones. It made my body feel confused” (“What Would Cool Jesus Do?” GQ, Dec. 17, 2015). What the reporter experienced is the confusion of combining the holy with the sensual. From my late 60s and early 70s “hippie” days, I understand all too well the sensual power of rock & roll, even in its “soft” forms. After I came to Christ in 1973 at age 23, the Spirit of God dealt with me about separating from the “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John. 15-17), which is a perfect definition of the music I had loved since the early 60s. It was not an easy decision or a quick one, but one day, probably in early 1974, I shut off my car radio and turned my back on rock & roll for good. I have never regretted it, and through the years I have re-examined that decision before the Lord and have been reaffirmed and strengthened in my resolve. I made that decision because rock is sensual and worldly. By its lyrics and music, it has, from its inception, promoted rebellion to God’s “strict” path of holiness. More than any other one societal influence, rock has promoted selfishness, stirred up rebellion, broken up homes, created alienation, encouraged moral relativism. I lived rock & roll, and I have studied rock & roll. The GQ reporter unknowingly wrote one of the most candid and accurate descriptions of contemporary worship music that I have ever read. “Hot-breathed and sexy” (apart from the marriage bed, Hebrews 13:4) has nothing to do with biblical Christianity, and the fact that CCM can be described as making someone’s “body feel confused” is an irrefutable witness to the fact that it is not holy. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Proverbs 20:17

​"Planned Parenthood, the leading government-funded abortion provider in the United States, has a history rooted in Social Darwinism, a sociological theory from evolution's doctrine of survival of the fittest."

With these words, Creation Moments' Mark Cadwallader comments on the underlying reasons on why Planned Parenthood has now been shown to commit sickening atrocities the likes of which have not been seen since the systematic slaughter of millions by the Nazi war machine.

"Evolution," he continues, "regards humans as animals – just more evolved. And as Darwin's theory came into acceptance, so-called experts began treating human beings as glorified animals. Videos have come to light showing doctors calmly discussing the manner in which they crush and dismember babies to preserve decidedly human body parts and organs for sale. Hopefully, such exposés will awaken many people to a mass human atrocity in the same way that images of the holocaust did."

He goes on to write that "an original objective of Planned Parenthood has been to cleanse society of undesirable people – including minorities – so that evolution could be advanced." He then points out that such evil acts are "intellectually justified by the fallacy of evolution."

Christians are feeling more and more like exiles in a world that has grown increasingly hostile to biblical foundations. Just as Daniel and his three friends refused to compromise their faith in the time of their exile, so must the church in our day do what we can to expose and oppose the rotted fruit of evolutionary ideas.

Notes: Mark Cadwallader, "Has Compromise with Evolution Led to a Babylonian Exile for the Church?"
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In a recent report in a magazine that epitomizes the cutting edge of the Western pop culture, the writer explains the motivation for contemporary Christianity. “Hip” pastors aren’t fooling the world for a minute. Here is what the reporter said about Hillsong New York City: “I was witnessing the logical conclusion of an evolutionary convergence between coolness and Christianity that began at the dawn of the millennium, when progressive-minded Christians, terrified of a faithless future, desperately rended their garments and replaced them with skinny jeans and flannel shirts and piercings in the cartilage of their ears, in a very ostentatious effort to be more modern and more relatable” (Taffy Brodesser-Akner, “What Would Cool Jesus Do?” GQ, Dec. 17, 2015). She nailed it. Cool Christianity is about trying to be acceptable to the world, but hip pastors aren’t trend-setters; they are pathetic followers of whatever the world happens to be wearing/hearing/doing. If an “old-fashioned,” pre-21st century, dinosaur “fundamentalist” Christian happens into a cool mega-church, he or she is the one who is really dressed differently, the one really going against the stream, the one really marching to a different tune, the one not being conformed to peer pressure. The uber-cool female reporter for GQ understands exactly what that crowd is up to. They aren’t fooling anyone but themselves, if that. Cool Christianity is not about truth; it’s about being accepted by this generation and it’s about love for the sensuality of the world. Cool and Christ are contradictory masters, and you can’t love both. That decidedly non-cool James, from the first century, could tear up any megachurch with one message. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Hillsong is one of the world’s most influential groups of megachurches and produces some of the most influential contemporary worship music. Hillsong is a multimillion dollar brand, and its leaders know exactly what they are doing by conforming Christianity to the Western pop culture. A reporter for the ultra-hip, “metro-sexuality” GQ magazine defined Hillsong’s popularity in a recent report on Hillsong New York City. After identifying Hillsong as the church of choice for the likes of Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Bono, and after interviewing Hillsong attendees, she says: “And all around the church, that is the story the congregation tells from beneath their hats: that finally there are clergymen who look familiar, who offer messages that relate to their actual lives, who accept that they’ve lived in New York long enough to know it won’t fly to smear gay people, or tell women to go home and have kids, or expect young, bright, beautiful, maybe-cool people to dress humbly and plainly and ignore the thrills of modern life in a mega-city. This church is the one, finally, that really is different” (Taffy Brodesser-Akner, “What Would Cool Jesus Do?” GQ, Dec. 17, 2015). Taffy’s report makes it clear that she doesn’t understand the gospel, thinking that baptism is regeneration, but then again, a visit to Hillsong probably didn’t help her much in the theology department, that not being their strong suit. She definitely understands worldly cool, though, and she recognizes that Hillsong’s draw is its compromise with the pop culture and its refusal to preach against the elements of worldly cool that people love the most. If Hillsong suddenly started preaching repentance and the whole counsel of God and proclaiming the command of God’s Word to separate from “the thrills of modern life in a megacity,” they would just as suddenly be mega nothing. I suggest that they start with this one: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Last week, Southern Baptist President Ronnie Floyd participated in the the Onething 2015 interdenominational conference in Kansas City, hosted by the International House of Prayer (IHOP). In his speech to the rockin’ mixed multitude, the Baptist pastor said, “My being here isn’t an endorsement of your theology or your endorsing my orthodoxy. ... We’re not in total agreement about life, ministry or the Bible. ... Yet my being here is a clear indication that people must come together and pray” (“Southern Baptist President Leads,” Charisma News, Jan. 4, 2016). Pastor Floyd has no biblical authority to pray with a mixed multitude representing different theologies and even different gospels. IHOP is a radical charismatic outfit that believes it will release the judgments described in the book of Revelation and usher in the return of Christ by its “spiritual warfare.” As we have documented in the book End-Time Confusion, IHOP is built on lying prophecies and false “signs and wonders.” They are deceived by demons masquerading as angels of light. One of the worship leaders at Onething 2015 was Matt Maher, a Roman Catholic who prays to Mary and believes that his musical calling is to create ecumenical oneness. Other Catholic charismatics were in attendance. Leslie Bertucci posted, “As a Catholic Charismatic, I wept tears of joy so many times this week as I had the privilege of worshipping the living God with so many diverse brothers and sisters in Christ.” Ryan Baptista added, “There was a beautiful unity across denominations this week.” Ronnie Floyd is disobeying the Word of God and is therefore helping create a “one world church.” The Bible commands God’s people to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), but Pastor Floyd did not do this. If he were an earnest contender, he would not have been invited in the first place. The Bible commands God’s people to mark and avoid those that create divisions by false doctrine (Romans 16:17). Floyd ignored this and the Bible’s many other separation commands. Further, the Bible commands God’s people to have the same mind and judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). The unity spoken of in Scripture is always a unity in truth. This forbids the type of “unity in diversity” that is promoted by IHOP. The spiritual blindness and deep compromise of the Southern Baptist Convention was on full display by Floyd’s presence at Onething. (For more about IHOP, including an eyewitness report of their 24/7 prayer room, see End-Time Confusion: The International House of Prayer, available in the free eBook section at www.wayoflife.org.)

(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

2 Peter 2:5

​A long-time friend of Creation Moments, Richard Rothermel, recently shared his thoughts with us about the worldwide flood of Noah's time and why this historic event is so important for creationists to defend. Here is what he had to say.

"The secular world cannot deal with the relics of the Global Flood, as described in Scripture. Instead, unbelievers prefer to interpret the sedimentary rocks and fossils as the result of vast ages of geological and biological evolution. Old-earth creationists also deny a global flood, preferring the interpretations of secular science (and inadvertently, perhaps, damaging the foundation of the Gospel)."

Richard continues: "The 'secular' interpretation is not only anti-biblical, it simply cannot stand scientific scrutiny. As biblical creationists, we must make every effort to ensure we understand the significance of the Global Flood for upholding the authority and integrity of Scripture. The Global Flood truly 'washes away' all those millions of years, and Darwinism goes SPLAT!

"An enormous mass of geological and paleontological information has come to light over the years which confirms the reality and magnitude of the Flood. With all of this evidence, Dr. John Whitcomb, coauthor of the groundbreaking The Genesis Flood, has rightly observed: 'Now, the Christian world has no excuse – if they ever had any – for adding millions and billions of years to earth history.'

"Until we master the concepts of the Global Flood chronology and its proper interpretation," Richard concludes, "we will have a hard time supporting biblical six-day creation and refuting compromise."

Notes: Personal correspondence from Richard Rothermel on file at Creation Moments.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Three months after publishing the final in a series of books blaspheming God and Christ and biblical truth and exalting man as god, the prominent philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) went insane and lived as a pathetic recluse for the last eleven years of his life, nursed by his sister. His final book was titled The Antichrist. The following comment on Nietzsche’s life is excerpted from Kevin Swanson, Apostate: The Men who Destroyed the Christian West, 2013: “When the self-consistent humanist finally comes to the realization that there is no essential meaning in what he says, he is forced to abandon rationality completely, and opt for insanity. If according to his worldview, the brain is just another natural process in a purely material world then what are these immaterial ideas? If the brain is a collage of chemical reactions similar to the chemical processes that happen when grass grows in the yard, why should we take the ideas coming from the mind of these men seriously? Without an immaterial God as the absolute Source of wisdom and knowledge, there is no possibility for meaning or human rationality. The most self-consistent brilliant philosopher will either turn to God or turn insane.”

​
(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Proverbs 20:17

​Evolutionists never tire of taunting creationists with the statement, "If creationism is scientific, why are there no papers from creationists published in peer-review publications?"

The standard creationist response is that since these peer-review publications are run by evolutionists, it is obvious why they refuse to publish articles by creationists. But perhaps we should also mention that when an article appears in a peer-review publication, this is no guarantee that the articles are accurate or even true.

While the peer-review process makes sense in theory, in actual practice, it has been found to fail miserably in this fallen world of ours. Not long ago, we told you about two of the most prestigious medical publications admitting that the peer-review process is deeply flawed. One editor wrote: "It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published." The editor of the other publication added: "Much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue."

Now, several new cases of peer-review fraud have come to light. One of the biggest research publishers in the world recently announced that 64 articles published in 10 of its scientific journals are being retracted because the scientists had come up with a scheme to peer review their own papers! To make matters worse, the publisher retracted 43 other papers five months earlier for the same reason.

Because the sin nature dwells in all men, we know that the only writings that can be fully trusted were authored by the ultimate truth-teller – God Himself.

Notes: B. Yirka, "Publisher retracts 64 articles for fake peer reviews," PhyOrg, 8/19/15.
​Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

The Roman Catholic doctrine of sainthood proves its heretical nature. Nowhere do we find Christians in the New Testament churches praying to saints. The Bible instructs us to pray to God the Father through Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5). To pray to a mere man or woman is blasphemy. In the New Testament the term “saint” is applied to all born again Christians, not to a special class of deceased Christians. See Acts 9:13, 32, 41; 26:10; Rom. 8:27; 12:13; 15:25, 31; 16:2, 15; 1 Cor. 6:1, 2; 14:33; 16:1, 15; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1, 12; 13:13; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2, 4; Phile. 7; Heb. 6:10; 13:24. Even the carnal Christians at Corinth are called saints (2 Cor. 1:1). Born again Christians are not saints because they are sinless and special; they are saints because they have a sinless Savior and He has removed their sin before God (Rev. 1:5, 6; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10). In the sight of God, through Jesus Christ, the believer is “holy and unblameable and unreproveable” (Col. 1:22). This is why we can be called saints. Praise the Lord’s holy name!

(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Genesis 7:14
​
​Considering the chameleon's slow walking speed, you might never guess that it possesses the fastest tongue of any creature. On second thought, it does makes a lot of sense for a wise Designer to equip chameleons with a tongue that's actually longer than its entire body … and lightning-fast so it can catch fast-moving insects.

Using high-speed video and x-ray film, two Dutch biologists have calculated that the chameleon shoots its tongue out of its mouth at more than 26 body lengths per second. They found that the chameleon's tongue accelerates from 0 to 20 feet per second in only 20 milliseconds!

So what's the chameleon's secret? By dissecting the chameleon's tongue, the biologists discovered a layer of collagen tissue that serves as a biological catapult that propels the tongue just similar to the way a drawn bow fires off an arrow.

Can evolution explain how this catapult got there? Creationist and author Bruce Malone points out in his book Censored Science, "It is theoretically possible to make up a story of how the chameleon's specialized eyes, tongue, and catapult structures all just happened to develop independently in order to work in perfect concert. But given that there is no fossil evidence of any other creatures possessing such structures, it would seem to be a more logical conclusion that the features were created all at the same time, rather than developed by many small step-changes over huge periods of time."

Notes: B. Trivedi, "'Catapults' Give Chameleon Tongues Superspeed, Study Says," National Geographic News, 5/19/04. Bruce Malone, Censored Science: The Suppressed Evidence, pp. 18-19 (Search for the Truth Publications, 2009). Photo: Photograph by Paul Souders, Corbis. (Fair Use). Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

With the declaration that a second miracle has occurred, Pope Francis had given clearance for Mother Teresa to be canonized next September, the 19th anniversary of her death. Sainthood requires the documentation of two miracles attributed to the deceased individual. The first, in 1998, was the cure of a stomach tumor in an Indian woman. Though the bishop declared this a miracle performed by the dead nun, the woman’s husband said he believed that medicine had cured his wife. The second case, in 2008, was the “inexplicable” recovery of a Brazilian man who woke from a coma after his wife prayed to the dead nun. By her own admission, Mother Teresa found only darkness in her spiritual life and practice. This is documented in the shocking book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, the Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta (2007), which contains statements made by the nun to her confessors and superiors over a period of more than 65 years. In March 1953, she wrote to her confessor: “... THERE IS SUCH TERRIBLE DARKNESS WITHIN ME, as if everything was dead. It has been like this more or less from the time I started ‘the work.’” In 1979 she wrote: “THE SILENCE AND THE EMPTINESS IS SO GREAT -- that I look and do not see, -- Listen and do not hear.” Her private statements about the spiritual darkness she encountered in contemplative prayer continued in this vein until her death, and they are the loudest possible warning about the danger of the Catholic contemplative mysticism which is sweeping through evangelicalism. Contemplative practices, such as the Jesus Prayer, breath prayers, visualizing prayer, centering prayer, and lectio divina are exceedingly dangerous. They are vehicles to bring practitioners into contact with demons. Many who practice these things end up believing in a pagan concept of God such as pantheism (God is everything) and panentheism (God is in everything). Through these practices people typically become increasingly ecumenical and interfaith in thinking. See Evangelicals and Contemplative Prayer, available in print and free eBook editions from www.wayoflife.org.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Proverbs 3:5-6

​Born the son of slaves in the early 1860s, George Washington Carver grew up to become one of America's most prominent chemists. Though most people recognize him as the man who gave us peanut butter, few know that Carver was a scientist with a very close relationship with his Creator.

As we learn from the book, George Washington Carver: His Life and Faith in His Own Words by William Federer, after speaking to the U.S. House and Ways Committee, the committee chairman asked him where he had learned so much about peanuts. Carver responded: "From an old book." The chairman asked: "What book?" And Carver replied, "The Bible."

Wishing to know more, the chairman then asked, "Does the Bible tell about peanuts?" And Carver responded, "No sir. But it tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut, and He did."

On a different occasion, when asked the secret of his success, he answered: "It is simple. It is found in the Bible, 'In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.'"

While working in his laboratory – which he called "God's Little Workshop" – Carver developed over 300 innovative uses for peanuts and another 100 uses for the soybean, including beverages, cosmetics, paints, medicines, and food products.

So the next time an evolutionist tells you that men of faith can't be real scientists, tell him the story of Mr. Peanut.

Notes: Federer, William J. (2002). George Washington Carver: His Life and Faith in His Own Words. St. Louis: Amerisearch.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

An official report published by Rome says that Jews (and everyone else) are saved, and Jews should not be the target of evangelism. The document, “The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable,” was published by The Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, one of Rome’s many ecumenical ventures that began with the Second Vatican Council. The fifth chapter of the report “emphasizes that through Jesus Christ--and through his death and resurrection--all people have a part in salvation, all are saved. Although Jews cannot believe in Jesus Christ as the universal redeemer, they have a part in salvation, because the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” The sixth chapter deals with evangelism, and urges Catholics to “refrain from attempts at conversion or mission toward Jews” (“Summary of ‘The Gifts and Calling of God,’” Vatican Information Service, Dec. 10, 2015). If Jews are saved by means of the covenants of God without faith in Jesus Christ, why did Christ Himself call upon them to repent and believe (Luke 13:1-5), and why did He warn them of eternal judgment when they rejected Him (Matthew 11:20-24)? The Roman Catholic Church is the heart and soul of Mystery Babylon, and she is uniting with all of her daughters today. Note that this latest document says that ALL men have a part in salvation. It is impossible to be more ecumenical than that. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

“A bill has been filed in the New Hampshire state House that would end mandatory government licensing of marriages in the state, effectively nullifying in practice both major sides of the contentious national debate over government-sanctioned marriage. HB1596 acknowledges the right of two individuals to marry and that because of this ‘it is improper for the government to license a right.’ The bill reads, ‘The state of New Hampshire is compelled to return to the practice of certificate of notice of intent to marry and a certificate of marriage which existed until 1997 and which provides interested parties the opportunity to object to a proposed marriage.’ Instead of having to get a state marriage license, couples would provide a certificate of notice of intent to marry and a certificate of marriage. ... The marriage certificate would record that the marriage ceremony took place and records the person who solemnized the marriage. The certificate would be completed by the bride, groom, the officiant, and the clerk of the town or city.  The certificate would then be used to register the marriage.”

​“Get Government Out of Marriage: New Hampshire Bill Would Nullify Both Sides in Practice,” Tenth Amendment Center, Dec. 14, 2015

According to a new Pew Research poll, 30 percent of Southern Baptists agree that “homosexuality should be accepted by society” (“Nearly Third of Southern Baptists,” Pulpitandpen.org, Dec. 18, 2015). I have long said that Southern Baptist churches are the major reason why “the South” is so morally corrupt. A large percentage of Southerners are Southern Baptist, a percentage large enough to set the moral tone for the region, and that percentage was much larger when I was growing up. What you have in the “Bible Belt,” for the most part, is a worldly lifestyle covered with a thin veneer of churchianity. The average Southerner can talk a good talk about knowing the Lord, but his walk doesn’t match his talk. This is not a new thing. Much the same condition prevailed in my youth. When the rock & roll culture blasted on the scene with Elvis in the 50s and the Beatles in the 60s, Southern Baptist kids were right in the middle of it, loving every aspect of it, including the dating, the dancing, the “petting,” and the vain pursuit of worldly “cool.” Growing up in Southern Baptist churches, I can only recall a bare handful of sincere Christian young people who obeyed God and separated from the world. My younger sisters have the same memory, as we have discussed many times over the years. Those who walk in lock-step with the world will adapt the world’s thinking. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Jewish immigration to Israel continues at a rapid pace. Fear of growing antisemitism in Europe and other places, combined with economic incentives, is driving the immigration from a human perspective, but from a biblical perspective it is a fulfillment of prophecy. For the second consecutive year, the largest group has come from France. A total of 7,238 French citizens immigrated to Israel in 2015 under the Law of Return (“France is Israel’s largest source of aliyah,” The Times of Israel, Dec. 22, 2015). This is 10% more than 2014, which was the highest number from France since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Some 19,000 French Jews have immigrated since 2012. Jews continue to return from Russia as well, numbering more than 11,000 in the last two years. Nearly 3,000 per year emigrate from the United States. “And he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off! Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11-12).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Psalm 53:1

​Have you noticed how many of the most admired atheists come from a science background? I could name dozens – Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Stephen Hawking, to name a few. Thousands of people are fans of the late Carl Sagan and his protégé, Neil deGrass Tyson. Some of these atheists are practically superstars with followers numbering in the millions.

Well, Charles Darwin had his share of followers, too. At first, his Origin of Species was accepted not on any scientific merit but rather because it offered an apparently rational alternative to the miraculous. Darwin's earliest followers were not scientists of the day but rather theologians who rejected the miracles of the Bible.

Darwin's followers each had their own particular motives for accepting the theory of evolution. But one of his most notable followers was Karl Marx. As the author of The Communist Manifesto, Marx found the struggle-to-the-death principle in natural selection a perfect confirmation of his own view of man's class struggle. In appreciation, Marx sent Darwin a copy of his Das Kapital in 1873.

Six years later, Marx wrote to Darwin, requesting permission to dedicate his next volume to him. But Darwin declined the offer, explaining that "it would pain certain members of his family if he were associated with so atheistic a book."

Sometimes I wonder if Darwin would turn in his grave if he knew of the horrors his theory has been asked to justify in the last two centuries!

Notes: Ian T. Taylor, In the Minds of Men: Darwin and the New World Order (TFE Publishing and Creation Moments, Sixth Edition, 2008), pp. 386-387. Photo: (CC-BY 3.0). Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com