A report in the New York Post last Saturday documented the “judge not” philosophy that has permeated American society. Titled “A massive, silent cultural revolution has changed America,” the report describes a “mass departure of moral judgment from public life.” The author observes that “we don’t want to judge others for anything, even if what they’re doing is destructive.” He offers statistics to prove that in contrast with a decade ago a majority of Americans no longer condemn marijuana use, out-of-wedlock child bearing, homosexuality, and homosexual “marriage.” The article is wrong, though, about when this happened and how. It begins with the words, “It happened without a Summer of Love...” In fact, the seeds of today’s morally relativistic, non-judgmental society were sown in the 1960s and even earlier, and it has taken a generation for the fruit to be evident. The major fault lies at the footsteps of America’s churches. Instead of being salt and light in society, the majority of churches have followed in lockstep with the world’s pop culture. How many churches preach plainly against the world’s music, sensual dancing, immodesty, the corrupt dating culture, and the filthiness coming out of Hollywood and Nashville? Even if you go back to the 1950s, the number of churches obeying biblical commands such as Ephesians 5:11 and 1 John 2:15-17 in a clear and unequivocal manner were few and far between. Such obedience wasn’t evident in the Southern Baptist churches in which I grew up, and in those days Southern Baptist churches were the most conservative of the churches. The independent Baptist movement of the 1960s and 1970s did result in a movement of biblical separatism, but it was often polluted by biblical shallowness, man centeredness, and legalism, and today the average independent Baptist church is no different from a Southern Baptist church in spiritual character and separation. This is usually evident when you examine the youth department. Christians who don’t reprove the Beatles or Beyonce won’t reprove DeGeneres or Jenner. American Idol, with its vanity and moral sensuality, had as much support from supposed Bible-believing churches as from “the world.”

(Friday Church News Notes, June 12, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:16
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."

Perhaps you'll remember that it was Arthur Eddington who measured the bending of starlight near the sun during an eclipse in 1919. His work validated details of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and established Eddington as one of the greatest astronomers of all time.

But you may not have ever heard that this great scientist was also a man of great faith. His whole life was influenced by his reverence for God as Creator. In fact, he wrote that the details of Creation were worthy of being measured, explored and appreciated. In his book Science and the Unseen World, Eddington declared that the world's meaning was not discoverable from science but must be sought through understanding spiritual realities. How many scientists today would come out and say something like that?

As author and creationist Don DeYoung points out in his book Pioneer Explorers of Intelligent Design, Eddington avoided offering proofs for God's existence but said that the most flawless proof for the existence of God is no substitute for a personal relationship with Him. Such a relationship would take even the most convincing arguments against God's existence and turn them harmlessly aside.

Eddington was absolutely correct. A vital relationship with our Creator, Jesus Christ, will safeguard us from even the most persuasive claims of atheists. Not only will we know for certain that God exists, we will know from personal experience the peace that comes from having an intimate relationship with our Creator and Savior.

Photo: One of Eddington's photographs of the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, presented in his 1920 paper confirming Einstein's theory that light "bends". Notes: Don DeYoung, Pioneer Explorers of Intelligent Design, pp. 2-3 (BMH Books, 2006). (PD). Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Psalm 9:1
"I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works."

Evolutionists are simple minded. It's a fact! Charles Darwin thought that the cell was virtually as simple as a blob of gelatin with a nucleus inside, and evolutionists have been simple minded ever since.

To check this out, Creation Moments asked an evolutionist which came first: the heart, the blood or the blood vessels? After all, if the heart evolved first, what good would it be without the other two? If the blood evolved first … well, you get the idea. The evolutionist pretty much avoided our question and said that the heart could easily have come about through natural processes. After all, he said, the heart is "a simple pump."

To put it simply, evolutionists think they can bolster their argument by claiming that the incredibly complex things God created actually have quite simple beginnings. Random collisions between molecules – given enough time – will certainly be able to create simple things, they say. And those simple things, they continue to conjecture, will gradually become more and more complex things, given enough time. Case closed, say the evolutionists.

How different this is from reality! What scientists once called the "simple cell" is now known to be a city in miniature, complete with manufacturing facilities, transportation systems, power plants and a library of code that enables the cell to be self-replicating. And it's all packed inside that tiny so-called "simple" cell!

For those whose minds are not held captive by atheistic naturalism, an incredibly complex universe filled with amazingly complex creatures requires an unfathomably complex God.

Notes: "Evolutionists Are Simple Minded," www.creationmoments.com/resources/blog/201104/evolutionists-are-simple-minded.
Illustration: Courtesy of BruceBlaus. (CC-BY-SA 3.0).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“In 2013, Ruud Koopmans published the results of a pan-European study, based on interviews with 9,000 European Muslims, which showed large numbers of European Muslims believe in many of the ideas championed by the Islamic State: a return to the roots of Islam, the conviction that religious (Koranic) law stands above all secular laws; a hatred of Jews and homosexuals; and a view of the West as the enemy of Islam. ... More recently, in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the BBC surveyed 1,000 British Muslims and found that 24 percent consider ‘violence against those who publish images of the Prophet’ is justified. Asked whether ‘Muslim clerics preaching that violence against the West can be justified are out of touch with mainstream Muslim opinion,’ 45 percent disagreed. Put another way, nearly half of British Muslims stand comfortably by those clerics who justify violence against the West. ... And that’s just in the U.K. Sadly, one can no longer pass these views off as those of a ‘small minority’ of Europe’s Muslims. Across Western Europe, Koopmans’ study determined, ‘Two-thirds of the Muslims interviewed say that religious rules are more important to them than the laws of the country in which they live. Three quarters of the respondents hold the opinion that there is only one legitimate interpretation of the Koran.’ ... Moreover, 56 percent of Belgian and 64 percent of Austrian Muslims responding to Koopmans’ survey in 2008 agreed that “Jews cannot be trusted,” and indications are strong that Muslim attitudes towards Jews have only worsened. Indeed, with the targeted killings of Jews in Brussels, Paris, and Copenhagen over the past year, Muslim hate towards Jews in Europe has now reached a crisis. Clearly, we are watching trends that stretch across all of Europe. The issue here is one of trends, and these trends, which involve hundreds of thousands of radical, fundamentalist Muslims, paint a deeply disturbing picture.”

“Radicalization of Europe’s Muslims,” Breitbart.com, Mar. 23, 2015

Psalm 119:114
"Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."

It has long been known that electric eels are able to immobilize prey with a jolt of electricity. But new research, reported in the journal Science, has shown that eels also use their electric organs to make fish come out of hiding. A researcher from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, found that the electric discharges from eels caused the muscles of their prey to twitch, making them easier to capture by revealing their whereabouts.

Dr. Kenneth Catania, who led the study, set up small aquatic arenas to test the eels' hunting abilities – putting an eel and a fish into the same tank. As he discovered, the eels' electric pulses directly activated the nerves that controlled their prey's muscles. "You and I couldn't activate every muscle in our bodies at once," he said, "but the eels can do that [remotely] in their prey."

Dr. Catania noticed that hungry eels would emit pairs of pulses when their potential meal was out of view. These "doublets", as they are called, generate very rapid and strong muscle contraction, causing the fish to jump and bringing them out of hiding.
 
Just like the hapless fish in the tank, we have powerful enemies who seek our destruction. But we know we also have an all-powerful God who protects and preserves us. In Psalm 143:9, the writer cries out: "Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me." While our enemies may be many and strong, our God is stronger still.

Notes: "Electric eels 'remotely control their prey'," BBC News Science & Environment, 12/4/14. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30335335. Photo: Courtesy of Stephen G. Johnson. (CC-BY-SA 3.0).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:10-11).


In Isaiah’s day, Israel rejected God’s Word and tried to corrupt the prophets. The people professed to love God and they participated in the temple rituals, but they despised God’s holy laws. They wanted to live as they pleased. They wanted preaching, but not right preaching. They didn’t want to hear reproof of sin and sound doctrine. They wanted to hear “smooth things” that encouraged them regardless of how they lived and that did not interfere with their plans. They wanted God, but not “the Holy One.” They would rather hear “deceits” than the truth. Israel has continued in this terrible condition until today. She rejected the greatest Prophet and Preacher, Jesus, her own Messiah. The Isaiah 30 passage is also an apt description of apostate Christianity as Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. They profess to love Christ and the Bible, but in reality they love their own lusts. They flock to hear teachers who downplay repentance and conversion and holy living, who preach smooth things and invent fables such as gibberish tongues, spirit slaying, laughing revivals, non-judgmentalism, self-esteemism, positive confession, the veneration of Mary, contemplative prayer, rock & roll worship, theistic evolution, ecumenism, non-essential doctrine, and universalism. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

(Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2015, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1 John 4:6
"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

What do a butterfly's shimmering wings, a fish's opalescent scales, and a peacock's brilliant feathers have in common? None of the colors come from pigments. As an article at the Gizmodo website rightly points out, "All of their beautifully iridescent colors are produced by the physical interaction of light with sophisticated nanoscale architecture that we are only just beginning to understand."

That is a true statement, a scientific statement describing why such striking colors come from wings that do not use pigments. Unfortunately, the writer quickly turns from science to science fiction when she states that the first color-building life forms probably date back to the Cambrian explosion over 500 million years ago – a time that, quote, "was a period of rapid evolutionary advancement, during which eyes evolved from simple light sensors to neurologically sophisticated organs that could detect color, shade and contrast."

Where is the evidence for such a statement? And why can't science writers stick to science? Once again, we see how science writers – and the publications they work for – seamlessly blend science and science fiction into the same sentence. Evolutionists' brains are wired this way because of their commitment to the philosophy of evolution. So, too, should Christians be so committed to the authority of the Word of God that we can't help but view the vibrant colors of butterfly wings as painted there by our magnificent Creator!

Truly, the brilliance of butterfly wings depends entirely on the brilliance of the God who created them!

Notes: M. Stone. "How Nanoscale Optics Create Nature's Most Dazzling Colors," Gizmodo, 2/19/15. http://gizmodo.com/how-nanoscale-optics-create-natures-most-dazzling-color-1686142700. Photo: Courtesy of Didier Derkarts. (CC-BY-SA 3.0).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Called the new Ouija board, the Charlie Charlie Challenge is a new teen craze. It consists of laying pencils in a cross shape on a sheet of paper on which the words “yes” and “no” are written and saying, “Charlie, Charlie, are you here?” or “Charlie, Charlie, will you come out to play.” The hashtag #CharlieCharlieChallenge has been tweeted 1.8 million times and the Charlie Charlie Challenge was one of the most searched terms on the Internet over the Memorial Day weekend. Secular sources such as NBC, BBC, and Fox News dismiss the activity as harmless fun, but the Bible says that demons are real, and playing around with the occult is forbidden by God and can have serious consequences.

(Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Romans 11:33
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"

Have you ever heard the palindrome "Madam, I'm Adam"? With a palindrome, the letters are exactly the same whether you read the sentence from left to right or from right to left.

But did you know your genetic code is a different kind of palindrome that conveys one series of messages when it is read from front to back and a different series of messages when it is read it from back to front? Other meaningful information can even be found in overlapping portions of the genome! Think about your genetic code as if it were a novel. It would tell one story when read from front to back, an additional story from back to front, and many other stories as you read overlapping messages of the code!

Evolutionists find this very troubling. After all, their whole theory depends on random mutations resulting in improvements. But as scientists at the FMS Foundation point out, this multi-directional coding makes it impossible for a random "typo” to benefit one code without disrupting the others. This fundamental problem, they said, has been overlooked until now. "The bottom line," they conclude, "is that overlapping codes cannot arise by any natural process – they must be very carefully designed."

Yes, evolutionists must come to grips with the fact that the genetic code was designed. Chance mutations would only destroy the code. While evolution can't even begin to account for the genetic code found within every cell of your body, it was an easy task for our Creator!

Notes: "Scientists Discover Astounding DNA Complexity," Chris Rupe, Dr. John Sanford and Chloe Pappano, FMS Foundation, 2014. http://media.wix.com/ugd/a704d4_43295b5fe0e548f69dca984314e4f925.pdf. Illustration: Courtesy of Madprime. (CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication) Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In a video message to the John 17 Movement’s recent conference in Phoenix, Pope Francis says that “division is the work of the ‘Father of Lies’” and that he “does everything possible to keep us divided” (“The Devil Knows Christians Are One,”Catholic Herald, May 25, 2015). The Pope said all Christians are one, whether “Evangelicals, Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics, or Apostolic.” The John 17 Movement is based on the heretical ecumenical interpretation of John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Leaders of the Movement include Robert Briggs of the American Bible Society, Roman Catholic Bishop Eduardo Nevares, and Pentecostal pastor Giovanni Traettino. In John 17, the Lord emphasizes that true Christian unity is one based on supernatural salvation and obedience to revealed truth. It is not a “unity in diversity” that ignores doctrinal differences for the sake of a broad tent and that reduces truth to “essentials” and “non-essentials.” Christ emphasized that He was praying for those who love and obey the Word of God and keep its doctrine (John 17:6, 8, 14, 17, 19). This is not a prayer that envisions the modern ecumenical crowd that downplays the Word of God for the sake of a broad, lowest-common-denominator “unity.” It is not a unity of all denominations with their multiplicity of heresies. As usual, the Pope has it exactly backwards. The devil is not the father of doctrinal division; he is the father of the ecumenism that is building a one-world “church.” Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

(Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Soulfest in Gilford, New Hampshire, one of the biggest contemporary Christian music festivals, is Exhibit A that music is at the heart of the one-world “church.” Since at least 2002, the festival has had a Roman Catholic presence, and this year promises more of the same. The August 6-8 festival will feature a daily Catholic Mass and performances by Roman Catholic musician Matt Maher. Joining hands with Rome this year are some of the most popular and influential CCM groups and artists, including Big Daddy Weave, Switchfoot, Kari Jobe, Third Day, Natalie Grant, For King & Country, Toby Mac, David Crowder, Mandisa, Thousand Foot Krutch, Britt Nicole, Scott Stapp, The Vespers, Peter Furler, Rachel Taylor, The Wrecking, Andy Needham Band, Epic Season, Kardia, Chasing Cooper, Sleeping Giant, Five Iron Frenzy, Steve Taylor, Children 18:3, Bread of Stone, 3 Shades of Blue, Sanctus Real, The Violet Burning, I Am Clay, Chelsea Amber, Nibba, Exit 244, Jo Petty Band, and All 4Faith. Also participating are Word of Life Fellowship and the Salvation Army. Bands and artists participating in past Soulfests include Skillet, Casting Crowns, Family Force 5, Phil Joel, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Jars of Clay, Mercy Me, Audio Adrenaline, P.O.D., Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Call, Sam Phillips, BarlowGirl, Israel Houghton, and Bethany Dillon. Roman Catholic leaders use the Mass as a mystical tool to recapture “lapsed Catholics.” Commenting on the 2009 Soulfest, the Catholic News Agency observed, “Among the various Christian denominations represented at Soulfest, the Catholic presence was significant. Daily Mass was celebrated Thursday through Saturday at 10 a.m., with a lively music ministry guided by the talented Matt Maher, one of the most popular, critically-acclaimed Catholic musicians in the country. ... David Simon ... explained how wonderful it is to have daily Mass at Soulfest. ‘It’s an opportunity for Catholics who left the Church to want to come home; it’s such an opportunity to see the power of the Eucharist’” (“Strong Catholic Presence at Large Music Festival,” Catholic News Agency, Aug. 13, 2009). The Catholic Mass has occultic power. I have read the testimonies of many individuals who have been converted to Rome through attending the Mass. In 2009, the Catholic band Glenridge performed on the main stage at Soulfest. The members of Glenridge testify of their one-world church faith as follows: “We love being Catholic, but know that we are one body under the love of Jesus Christ no matter what Christian church you go to on Sunday” (Ibid.). Soulfest has a strong emphasis on social work and social justice, another major element in building the one-world “church.” Donald Miller, emerging church author of Blue Like Jazz, has spoken at Soulfest. (For more information about the bands and artists mentioned in this report see The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians, which is available in print and as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org. Every preacher and Bible teacher should own and use this valuable resource.)

(Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:24
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so."

Evolutionists tell us that we used to walk on all fours, just like the apes from which we evolved. While this is fine for the Planet of the Apes science-fiction films, creationists are adamant that such a theory should not appear in school textbooks.

Family physician and author Dr. Robert Peprah-Gyamfi would agree. In his book Seeing God Through the Human Body, he recalls how he was taught in school that humans once walked on all fours. Even before he became a Christian, he didn't believe it for one second. But now, as a Bible-believing creationist, he regards that notion as absolutely ridiculous.

In the book's chapter on the human skeleton, he points out that God "built the human skeletal system as a kind of scaffold that would not only support and protect delicate organs of the body, but also enable us to move from place to place."

He went on to write that evolution is "a preposterous theory that stems from nothing other than unbelief propagated by people who cannot or are not prepared to believe there is a powerful force in the universe, God Almighty, capable of doing anything." He sums it all up with these words: "The whole world may take me for a naïve, crazy person running away from the bare facts. As far as I'm concerned, however, the notion that we once walked on all fours is absolute rubbish."

Don't worry, doctor. There are millions of people who believe exactly as you do!

Notes: Dr. Robert Peprah-Gyamfi, Seeing God Through the Human Body, pp. 127-132 (HighWay, 2009).
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Genesis 6:17
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."

Evolutionists hate the very idea of the worldwide flood because they know that such a catastrophe would cause the Earth to appear to be much older than it truly is. And without those long ages of time, evolution becomes an impossibility.

Surprisingly, dead clams – like many other sea creatures – have much to tell us about the flood of Noah's time. Clams are known as bivalve mollusks. They have two valves that are hinged together, and they can close their shells very quickly to protect themselves from predators. When a clam dies of natural causes, the clam releases its grip on its shell, and it opens within a matter of hours. But if a buried clam shell is found shut tight, it shows that the clam was buried suddenly.

We mention this because fossil clam graveyards are found all over the world containing millions of clams with their shells shut tight. This speaks to us of a catastrophe that buried billions of clams very quickly. In other words, the worldwide flood of Noah's time. Since these fossil clam beds are found all over the world – and are often high above their natural habitat – it can only mean that the biblical worldwide flood is a fact of history.

Now, if the Bible is right about the worldwide flood, the Earth is much younger than it appears to be, so there simply isn't enough time for evolution to take place. Graveyards of closed clams have given us an open-and-shut case for biblical creation!

Notes: www.evidenceofdesign.com/clams/. Photo: Courtesy of Drowmale. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“A Nevada public charter school apologized to a sixth grade student for censoring her from using a Bible verse in a school PowerPoint presentation, according to the Liberty Institute, the North Texas-based religious liberties law firm which has represented the family involved in the matter. Twelve-year-old Mackenzie Fraiser attends Somerset Academy in North Las Vegas and was told by her teacher in February that she could not use the New Testament passage John 3:16 for the assigned ‘All About Me’ project, which had to include an ‘inspirational saying’ according to documentation provided by the Liberty Institute. When the girl’s father, Tim, a pastor, learned about the situation in late April, he contacted the school. Then, he received a letter from Assistant Principal Jenyan Martinez advising him that when Mackenzie submitted the project ‘the matter became one of having a captive audience that would be subject to her religious beliefs,’ which in her understanding would violate US Department of Education (USDE) policy. In a demand letter authored by Liberty Institute Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys on Wednesday, May 20, in which the firm sought an apology from Somerset Academy for the youngster they gave school officials 10 days to redress the project to avoid legal action. Despite the principal’s interpretation of USDE policy, Dys cited in his letter that ‘it is a bedrock constitutional principle that students retain First Amendment freedoms while at school. Private student speech, such as student class assignments, is protected by the Constitution and the government must remain neutral toward the private expression of religion by students.’ Moreover, Dys underscored that the US Department of Education (USDE) ‘affirmed this longstanding position of neutrality toward the free exercise of religion by students – including such expression as part of a student’s written or oral classroom assignments.’ Fraiser had the constitutional right to express her beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. He also stated, ‘Contrary to Assistant Principal Martinez’s incorrect--and unlawful--assumption, when a student speaks within the classroom, her speech does not automatically become government speech. Decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence and the United States Department of Education guidelines come to precisely the opposite conclusion: absent other factors not present in this situation, student assignments constitute private student speech that cannot be censored by school officials (teachers, administrators, etc.) based on the religious content of their submissions.’ Two days later, a letter of apology from Somerset Academy followed on Friday, May 22 in which they acknowledged that the teacher and the public charter school administrator ‘acted in good faith at all times’ but they were wrong.”

“Nevada School Apologizes,” Breitbart, May 24, 2015

Romans 14:11
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

While attending school in England, I was taught that my knee is a hinge joint – a rather simple design, much like the hinge of a door. But I now know that the knee is actually a masterpiece of design that could only have come from the hand of a supremely intelligent Designer and Creator.

Dr. Stuart Burgess, the aerospace engineer responsible for the solar array deployment system on the European Space Agency's earth observation satellite system, wrote a whole chapter about the human knee in his book Hallmarks of Design. He refers to the knee as a sophisticated "four-bar system" in which two bones and two ligaments work together in perfect harmony.

"When a mechanical engineer looks at the anatomy of the human leg," Burgess writes, "the four-bar mechanism in the knee joint stands out as one of the most important and impressive mechanisms." He observes that while the ball-and-socket joint is explained to students in England, the four-bar mechanism of the knee is rarely mentioned in biology textbooks. Burgess believes that teachers are reluctant to talk about it because such a sophisticated mechanism bears the hallmarks of design.

Someday every knee shall bow before the Creator of the universe … and this includes even the most obstinate evolutionists. Creation Moments is here to help you share the truth of biblical creation with unbelievers so that when they do bend their knees, they will do so not out of force but in worship.

Notes: S. Burgess, Hallmarks of Design, pp. 10-33 (Day One Publications, 2002). Illustration: Courtesy of BruceBlaus. (CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported) Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Romans 3:20
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Some time ago, we told you about the nineteenth-century paleontologist Louis Dollo, who proposed a law that has become a cornerstone of evolutionary belief. Dollo's law says that  a structure or organ lost during the course of evolution would not reappear in that organism. In other words, evolution never shifts into reverse.

But even a recent issue of Smithsonian Magazine points out that Dollo's law has been broken again and again. For instance, it mentions a tree frog from South America that lost its lower teeth only to re-evolve them after 200 million years.

Apparently, Dollo's law has now been broken yet again. According to a recent study of the wrists of modern birds, a bone lost from dinosaurs for tens of millions of years reappeared when dinosaurs evolved into birds and took flight.

But wait! According to Dollo's law, evolution never goes backward. Structures which have disappeared should not return. Ever faithful to Darwinism, the magazine is left to conclude: "Perhaps the very bone you are sitting on, your coccyx, is ready to re-evolve a tail at some future moment when humans might need it again to hang from trees."

Dollo's law should be true if you're an evolutionist but it isn't. But the law established by our Creator is true, and it condemns each and every one of us because we have broken that law. Christians can thank God for that law, however, because it drives us to seek salvation in Christ.

Notes: "The Wrists of Birds Reveal Evolution Undoing Itself", Smithsonian.com, February 2015.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

May 17 marked the 48th anniversary of the end of Israel’s Six Day War in which she regained control of east Jerusalem. The occasion was marked by a march through the city with thousands gathering at the Western Wall to thank God for the return of Jerusalem to the Jewish nation (“Israelis Mark Jerusalem’s Reunification,” Israel Today, May 17, 2015). Meanwhile the Palestinians vow to “liberate” Jerusalem from “the Zionists” and to make East Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian State. How will this stalemate ever be resolved? According to Bible prophecy, the Third Temple will be built and will be desecrated by the Antichrist (Mat. 24:15; 2 Th. 2:3-4). The building of it will probably be possible by a peace pact that will be made with Israel and the Muslims.

(Friday Church News Notes, May 29, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Psalm 71:1
"In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion."

Some sports figures have practically made an art of trash-talking. Perhaps the most famous of them all is Muhammad Ali. His taunts-filled trash-talk – both before and during the bouts – worked so well, it helped him become heavyweight boxing champion.

Until recently, no one knew that some bats do the very same thing in order to distract other bats from gobbling up bugs they want for themselves. Using high-pitched echolocation signals at just the right moment, the Mexican free-tailed bat can block a competitor's chance to get a meal.

As reported in Science magazine, a biology postdoctoral student at the University of Maryland discovered this behavior by accident. When he played a recording of a bat's echolocation signal right as a bat was about to catch an insect, the bat was up to 85.9 percent less likely to catch its prey.

A biologist at the University of Toronto who studies bat echolocation but who wasn't involved in the new study was quick to note that the bats' competition for the same food source provided "the perfect environment" for such a behavior to evolve.

It goes without saying that he reached such a conclusion without any evidence whatsoever. The minds of far too many biologists are so permeated by evolutionary thinking that they are unable to even consider the possibility that bats were designed by a Creator who gave each creature the skills it needs to thrive.

Notes: "Bats Make Calls to Jam Rivals' Sonar—First Time Ever Found", National Geographic online, 11/6/14. A.J. Corcoran and W.E. Conner. Bats jamming bats: Food competition through sonar inference. Science. Vol. 346, November 7, 2014, p. 745. doi: 10.1126/science.1259512. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In 13 states in America, more than 50% of the dead are cremated. Nationwide, the rate is nearly 50%, which is double what it was just 15 years ago. In 1965, the rate was only 4% (“Cremation in America,” May 20, 2015, Slate). According to the cover story in the December 5, 1995, issue of USA Today, the rising acceptance of cremation has coincided with a drop in “religious barriers to cremation.” It is interesting that a secular newspaper sees the connection between religion and cremation. Historically, Christian burial has been a testimony of faith in the bodily resurrection, whereas cremation has been practiced among Hindus and others who deny the bodily resurrection and who believe in reincarnation. Historically, wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has found acceptance, pagan practices such as cremation have been rejected. The increase in cremation in North American society has paralleled the rejection of the Bible. As paganism increases its steely hold on American hearts, and as spiritual compromise and apostasy destroy the power of churches, cremation becomes increasingly popular. (For more on this see Cremation: What Does God Think?, which is available as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org.)


(Friday Church News Notes, May 29, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)