Mark Driscoll, founder and senior pastor of the Mars Hill multi-campus church in Seattle, and one of the most influential of the "New Calvinist" leaders, has stepped down for at least six weeks while the church's elders consider charges lodged against him in recent months. He is under fire from elders in his own church as well as many influential "evangelical" leaders. He was recently removed from of the Acts 29 church-planting network that he co-founded and has been stricken from previously scheduled speaking engagements. James MacDonald and Paul Tripp resigned as board members from Driscoll's Resurgence Conference. LifeWay has removed his books from their stores. Charges include engaging in a pattern of abusive and intimidating conduct as a leader, plagiarism, inflating book sales to get on bestselling lists, and comments he made anonymously on a blog 14 years ago which were "abusive" to feminists and homosexuals. We find this entire episode puzzling. There must be more to it than is being stated publicly. Driscoll gained a large following in a very feminized city by exuding a "man's man" image. There's nothing new about his crude vocabulary and his "attacks" on the feminization and homosexualization of men today. The charge of plagiarizing was dismissed by his publisher Thomas Nelson. The inflation of book sales was done by hiring an ad agency to purchase copies of the books, a standard practice which some of his evangelical critics have probably engaged in. He has apologized publicly and effusively for these things. There must be more to the matter than meets the eye presently. What we want to know is why haven't his current accusers issued a warning about such things as his X-rated sex sermons, his heresy that apostolic sign gifts have not ceased, his mocking of the biblical Rapture, his vicious slander of biblical fundamentalists, his social-justice, kingdom-building gospel, his New Years' Eve champagne dance parties and other aspects of his "cultural liberalism," which is nothing more than old-fashioned worldliness, his rejection of biblical separatism, and his rock & roll "worship." The answer to this question is that his "evangelical" detractors are as guilty of these things as Driscoll is. Since Driscoll is such an influential figure, I have visited the main campus of his multi-campus church for research, and Mars Hill's contemporary music is as raunchy as any I have heard. The building is darkened, the band cranks up, and the cool, youthful Seattle crowd gets in the "spirit." It is a worldly atmosphere from top to bottom. The experience is mystical and powerful, but not godly and not scriptural. There is definitely more to this unfolding story than meets the eye. We give a lot of information about Driscoll in the book What Is the Emerging Church? E.S. Williams has recently published The New Calvinists: Changing the Gospel features chapters on Tim Keller, John Piper, and Mark Driscoll. Williams, a member of Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, is a medical doctor, and his books The Dark Side of Christian Counselling and Christ or Therapy? are highly recommended.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143)

A Roman Catholic bishop gave the opening prayer for Franklin Graham's Festival of Hope in Pittsburg, August 15-17. Bishop David Zubik rejoiced in the ecumenical spirit represented by the event ("Festival of Hope attendees enjoy final day of worship, music, Graham," Pittsburg Tribune Review, Aug. 17, 2014). He prayed, "Lord, how good it is for us to be here: Orthodox, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Catholic, and many more. Despite our differences, what draws us here is your Son Jesus Christ." There is nothing new here. Though Franklin Graham is more outspoken on some matters than his father, Billy, he is totally on board with the ecumenical agenda. In 1999, Franklin said that his father's ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations "was one of the smartest things his father ever did" ("Keeping it simple, safe keeps Graham on high," The Indianapolis Star, Thurs., June 3, 1999, p. H2). Billy Graham's association with Rome goes back to the early days of his ministry before he came to prominence. We have documented this in the free eBook Billy Graham's Sad Disobedience at www.wayoflife.org. See also the report "Franklin Graham's Radical Ecumenism."

(Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:21
"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

How do you take a much needed nap or get a good night's sleep when you must be alert to danger? Human beings designate people to stay awake and watch for danger when they sleep. Then, they set up warning systems. 
    
Since birds are much more vulnerable to danger, God gave them the ability to do these things on a simple scale, and then He gave them one more amazing gift. Many birds are able to put half of their brain to sleep while the other half stays awake and alert. The eye that serves the sleeping half even closes; the eye that serves the waking half of the brain stays alert, searching for danger. After the first sleeping half is nicely rested, it wakes up, and the other half goes to sleep. Of course, these birds can also put both sides of the brain to sleep at the same time, just as we do. Whales, seals and dolphins are among the non birds that can half brain sleep as well.
    
Evidence of the clever design of this half brain sleep ability can be seen in the fact that where two birds sleep next to each other, each bird will put the half of the brain that faces its partner to sleep. Once that half is rested, they change places, so the other half of their brain can sleep.
    
When Scripture tells us that God looked at His creation and declared it "good," God's standard for good is perfection. His ingenious design, which would allow birds to protect themselves even when sin and death entered the creation, is part of the goodness of God's creation.

Notes: S. Milius, "Half-asleep birds choose which half dozes," Science News, February 6, 1999, v. 155, p. 86.
Photo: Some birds, like this American flamingo, tuck their head into their back when sleeping. Courtesy of Darren Swim. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Genesis 5:2
"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created."

Has your great great-grandfather been born yet? If he hasn't, he's not your great great-grandfather! This might seem like a silly question. But when it comes to the claimed evolutionary fossil evidence for man's evolution, our claimed great great-grandfather has turned up in the wrong period of history. A re-dating of Homo erectus fossil skulls discovered in 1931 and 1933 has placed these supposed "human evolutionary ancestors" squarely in human history. This dating is supported by the geological setting in which they were found. In fact, two excavation sites right next to each other together yielded both modern human and Homo erectus remains!
    
The most likely age for the Homo erectus remains were 27,000 years before the present. You must remember that these are years according to the evolutionary interpretation. But what it means is that Homo erectus and humans like us lived at the same time. This is so troubling to scientists who believe in evolution that they tried several tactics to avoid the problem. First, they argued that the human fossils were not in the same geological layer as the Homo erectus remains. But photographs contradict this claim. Then, they argued that the human remains must have washed into the area from higher ground. But the good condition of the human remains and related bones rules this out.
    
In other words, Homo erectus offers no support for human evolution, and another attempt to contradict God's Word about our special creation falls apart!

Notes: Marvin Lubenow, "Alleged Evolutionary Ancestors Coexisted With Modern Humans," ICR, Impact No. 286, April 1997.
Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Roche. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“The number of children taking powerful anti-psychotic drugs has nearly tripled over the last 10 to 15 years, according to recent research. The increase comes not because of an epidemic of schizophrenia or other forms of serious mental illness in children, but because doctors are increasingly prescribing the drugs to treat behavior problems, a use not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And a disproportionate number of those prescriptions are written for poor and minority children, some as young as age 2. Doctors are prescribing anti-psychotics even though there’s minimal evidence that the drugs help kids for approved uses, much less the unapproved ones, such as behavioral problems. ... ‘What’s not known about the long-term effects is very troubling,’ Christopher Bellonci, M.D., assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, said. ‘The younger you go, the more you can affect the developing brain.’ ... ‘There’s a societal trend to look for the quick fix, the magic bullet that will correct disruptive behaviors,’ David Rubin, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia ... in children and adolescents, the drugs are most commonly prescribed to treat disruptive behavior disorder in boys. ... Anti-psychotics have become huge moneymakers for the drug industry. In 2003, annual U.S. sales of the drugs were estimated at $2.8 billion; by 2011, that number had risen to $18.2 billion.”

(“Are too many kids taking antipsychotic drugs?” ConsumerReports.org, December 2013)

Isaiah 40:28
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."

Dung beetles may not be a very pleasant subject, but after all, someone has to do the housekeeping. So God created what man has classified into 30,000 species of dung beetle. Many will form their finds into a ball about the size of a croquet ball and roll it home for the wife and kids. Others tunnel beneath a find and set up housekeeping there.
    
Now there is a purple flower in Borneo that cuts into the productivity of one of the tunneling species without giving it anything in return. This flower smells, not like a rose, but like dung. It relies primarily on this dung beetle for pollination. Studies show that most other pollinators will examine the flower, but, perhaps put off by the smell, won't attempt to pollinate it. However, the dung beetle is a successful pollinator as it searches the flower for food. The flower's unpleasant odor seems designed to do nothing other than fool the beetle into pollinating it. It apparently offers the beetle nothing.
    
This is an example of a flower imitating the dung of an animal to fool a beetle into pollinating it. It would be nonsense to say that this flower designed this strategy to attract a beetle able to pollinate it. It would be just as silly to say that the impersonal forces of evolution designed this deceptive plant. Only an all powerful, all wise Creator could have designed this relationship which intricately weaves needs and abilities to make the whole creation work!

Notes: S. Milius, "Stinking beauty betrays dung beetles," Science News, January 23, 1999, v. 155, p. .55.
Photo: Courtesy of Rafael Brix. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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There is Christian liberty in communist China. You must register your activities with the government, and you are then at liberty to do whatever the government allows. This is exactly where America has arrived. The American government has confiscated and sold church buildings, torn down crosses and Ten Commandment monuments, forbade Bible reading and prayer in public schools, forbade teaching against homosexuality and evolution in government places, and in a hundred other ways harassed God’s people in the practice of their faith. And it is not President Obama’s fault. He is merely a popularly elected official who is doing what he promised to do. The root of America’s ills is the apostasy and compromise in the churches in general and in the pulpits in particular. The problem lies at the doorsteps of those who call themselves Christians, and only a revival will bring substantive change. The following is excerpted from “China Tears Down Church,” Breitbart.com, May 21, 2014: “China has responded to the fast-growing Christian population in Zhejiang province by destroying churches in bunches. The latest victims are the congregation of Xiaying Holy Love Christians at a ten-story megachurch. The Christian community said Communist officials ordered them to leave the premises immediately following a visiting politician’s orders. The politician was apparently offended by the size of the cross on the roof of the building. ‘They told us the cross was too shiny, too tall and too big. At first they asked us to put it on the wall. We refused. Now they have told us they will tear the church down,’ said a member of the church. Local sources said the last service at the church took place on May 11. ... ‘The demolition work has already started. I have seen churchgoers around here crying,’ said a local resident. According to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report on China, the government considers several Christian groups it does not officially recognize to be ‘evil cults.’ The only official Christian groups recognized by the State are the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, China Christian Council (Protestant), and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.”

(Friday Church News Notes, August 22, 2014,www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 28:20-21
"Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air."

Scripture frequently makes reference to the fact that birds are not very smart compared to human beings. The tropical wetland bird called the jacana shows that you don't have to be very smart to be deceptive. The jacana is noteworthy for several reasons. It is one of only 20 species of birds in the world where the female leaves the care of the young to the males. One flock in southern India was made up of about 50 birds. The males staked out their territory on floating vegetation, often getting into violent fights with other males. Then the females, which are about 60 percent larger than the males, fought with each other for exclusive rights to up to four male territories. Once territories were established, the females would visit each of the males in her territory, mating with each.
    
Once the eggs are laid in each male's nest, the female shows no more interest in her offspring. The male will care for the eggs and youngsters once they hatch, until the time they are ready to leave home. But the smaller males have their own strategy for dealing with their situation. They yell. Researchers say a yelling male is really blackmailing the larger female into giving him some attention. A yelling male attracts the attention of other nearby females who might want to take him into her own harem, so his mate comes running to pay attention to him. Sometimes males will even fake an emergency which brings his mate in a hurry. God is the source of all wisdom, and He gave each of His creatures enough wisdom to conduct their lives.

Notes: S. Milius, Science News, March 6, 1999, v. 155, p. 149.
Photo: Courtesy of John Hill. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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“A South Korean missionary has been sentenced to life in a North Korean prison for attempting to organize underground churches. Kim Jung-wook admitted to committing religious acts against North Korea during his trial on Friday. He will now serve a life sentence of hard labor in prison. Kim Jung-wook was accused carrying surveillance equipment in an effort to spy on the ruling Kim family, the head of the the only political party in the nation. South Korea has denied associated with Kim. The Christian Post reports that Kim apologized for his crimes in the trial and begged for an alternative to the death penalty. Kim also assisted people illegally leaving North Korea for several years. In 2012, Chinese authorities caught 12 illegal immigrants that Kim was aiding in escape, and returned them to North Korea. North Korea holds about 100,000 Christians captive in prison camps; prisoners are abused and are sometimes executed.”

(“South Korean Missionary Sentenced,”ChristianHeadlines.com, June 2, 2014)

"O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works."

Sometimes it seems as if God made some creatures just to show us He could do the impossible. Many of these creatures, by their strange nature, offer direct challenges to evolutionary theory, since there was no evolutionary need for their unique nature.
    
One such creature is a bacterium that has been labeled "the toughest bug on Earth." Its Latin name means "strange berry that withstands radiation." It can withstand thousands of times the radiation that would kill a human. The bacterium was first isolated in the 1950s, but a scientist who began studying the bug in 1988 said, "I had difficulty believing anything like this could exist."
    
Many bacteria form hard capsules around themselves in response to radiation. While this provides some protection, the "strange berry" doesn't form a capsule and still survives better than any other bug. While 500 to 1,000 rads of radiation would kill a human being, the "strange berry" can withstand 1.5 million rads. The radiation shatters the "berry's" DNA into hundreds of fragments, a hundred times the fragmentation that is fatal to other bacteria. But a couple of hours later, the DNA is stitched back together, free of all mutations. 
    
Evolutionists are puzzled because there is no environment containing this much radiation. Why would evolution develop such a creature? The "strange berry" not only challenges evolution directly, but also declares the skill and wisdom of its Creator!

Notes: John Travis, "Meet the Superbug," Science News, December 1998, v. 154, p. 376.
Portrait: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the first microbiologist and the first person to observe bacteria using a microscope.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Many “Christian homosexuals” who “come out” blame Christian teaching on sexuality for their problems. They argue that the teaching that homosexuality is a sin forced them to try to suppress and hide their natural feelings and thus resulted in psychological problems. The British newspaper The Independent calls this “psychological torture ... imposed from a supposedly godly environment” (“Christian Rock Star ‘I’m Gay,”The Independent, Aug. 16, 2014). Vicky Beeching, mentioned in the previous report, even blames a disease (linear scoleroderma morphea) on church teaching. Beginning in Sunday School, she was taught that homosexuality is such a great sin that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for it. After becoming a contemporary Christian musician at age 16, she hid her homosexuality, and she believes that the resulting stress caused psychological and physical problems. When she was diagnosed with the aforementioned disease at age 35 and had to take chemotherapy, she said, “I looked at my life, and thought, ‘I have to come to terms with who I am.’” She determined to “come out” and stop “living as a shadow of a person.” While the stress of living a lie and abiding in unconfessed sin will doubtless cause problems in an individual’s life, the stress cannot be blamed on “the church.” The cause of the stress is not the law but the sin. It is like being in the habit of running red lights because you are “a red-light runner by nature” and blaming the resulting crash on the light. The confusion of “Christian homosexuality” is prophesied in Scripture. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

(Friday Church News Notes, August 22, 2014, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

This month, Vicky Beeching, British CCM musician, announced that she is a lesbian. Beeching, who has led worship music at many North American churches and whose “lyrics are sung by millions in America’s Bible Belt,” says, “I’m gay; God loves me just the way I am.” She believes that God led her to “come out.” “I think God has very much walked me through this, hand in hand. I do not feel I left God in back there, in the evangelical church. I feel like he’s become closer and closer. I feel I was in the desert, making this decision, and he’s been in the desert with me, that this is something he’s led me towards, something I am supposed to do” (“Vicky Beeching on Coming Out,” Christian Today, Aug. 14, 2014). Beeching, who grew up Pentecostal and is now Anglican, says that she begged God to take away her sexual attraction to females beginning when she was 13 years old, made confession to a Catholic priest, and sought deliverance through a charismatic exorcism. The very fact that she sought help from priests and charismatic healers demonstrates that she has looked in the wrong places for spiritual help. Spiritual victory doesn't come by sacraments and priestcraft. And even for those who are truly born again, God doesn't take away the old nature in this present life. Sinful thoughts come from the “old man,” but the believer doesn't have to act on them. Paul says that those who continue to walk in sin as a way of life demonstrate that they haven’t been born again. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). The believer’s spiritual victory is described in the same passage: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).

(Friday Church News Notes, August 22, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

“He who denies the virgin birth denies Bible Christianity, smites the mother of our Lord with shame, snatches the crown of Deity from His head, strips Him of His sinless humanity, and makes His cross a blood-stained failure”





(I.M. Haldeman, A King’s Penknife or Why I Am Opposed to Modernism, 1929).

Romans 1:20
"For 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."

You may never see a troop of monkeys traveling from city to city to perform Shakespeare, but some researchers now believe that monkeys do, indeed, develop culture. This unexpected discovery does not support evolution. Rather, it shows how the creation itself reflects the nature of our Creator. God's very act of creation was an application of His knowledge to impress order on the creation. But human beings are not the only creatures who likewise use knowledge to increase order and make life easier. When such knowledge and order is passed on to the next generation, you have what we call culture.
    
Researchers studied the scientific literature on four populations of African chimps. Their study revealed that these chimp populations do, indeed, pass knowledge on to their children. For example, one population eats soldier ants by holding a stick near the entrance to the nest. Once the stick is filled with ants, they sweep the stick clean with their lips. At another preserve, the chimps collect the ants the same way, but then sweep the stick clean with their fingers.

Researchers have even seen mother chimps teaching their children certain skills. They have seen mother chimps leave nuts and stone "hammers" near rocks that could be used as anvils to teach their children how to open nuts. One mother even did a slow motion demonstration of nut cracking for her child. No, it's not the ability to pass on information that makes us unique. It's God's special love for us in sending His Son to save us!

Notes: B. Bower, "Chimps may put their own spin on culture," Science News, v. 154, December 12, 1998, p. 374.
Photo: Courtesy of SteveHDC. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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Tight clothing is at least as much a potential moral issue for men as skimpy clothing. When we invited feedback on this issue in 2007, while writing the book Dressing for the Lord, most of the men who contacted us indicated that TIGHT SKIRTS, TIGHT BLOUSES, FORM-FITTING JEANS, AND ONE-PIECE BATHING SUITS hold a “VERY great potential” for lust. Since then it has become popular for females to wear tight stockings under a tiny skirt or long shirt and think they are modest since they are “covered up,” but it is incredibly seductive. It makes me wonder what prostitutes do today to set themselves off from the crowd. In our survey, one man said tight clothing is “very inviting and a potential for lust.” Another said, “You don’t even need to see skin; they provide all the curves.” Another said: “I would say the number one problem is any garment that is form fitting, be it jeans, pants, skirt, dress, shirt, or whatever. Anything that is tight, no matter how long it is, leaves nothing to the imagination, and that defeats the whole purpose of covering the skin in the first place!” Another said: “One thing I see in my church is tight clothing. Oh, it may very well be covering but it is revealing the shape in a woman. This can be even more tantalizing to a man.” Another wrote: “The point is that it is not the type of clothing that can trip a man up, rather it is the amount and the level of cling to the body.” One man said that since one-piece bathing suits are “skin tight” he does “not think any red-blooded normal man could look purely on a woman attired like this.” Some of the men also mentioned low-riding jeans as a cause for concern, not only because they totally emphasize the woman’s figure but also because they are suggestive of a bare midriff even if covered with a T-shirt. The T-shirt in such a case is invariably tight, of course.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 15, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Luke 1:17
"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

How important are fathers to their children? First of all, the role of father was given to us by God. But over the last several decades, some have tried to redefine or redesign the family in a way that makes fathers unimportant or unnecessary. Numerous studies have shown what happens when we do this.
    
Between 1960 and 1990 the percentage of children living apart from their fathers doubled to 36 percent. Studies show that it is much worse for a child to lose their father through divorce than through death. Fatherlessness has been shown to be a contributing factor to early sexual activity. Teen suicides, shown to increase in fatherless families, have tripled since 1960.

Scholastic Assessment test scores have dropped 75 points since 1960; the drop is linked to the lack of fathers at home. Teenage boys raised without a father are more likely to get in trouble with the law. Children without their fathers are much more likely to suffer child abuse, according to several studies. One 26 year-long study found that the most important childhood factor in developing empathy is a father's involvement in the family.
    
Yet another study has found that 90 percent of the children who go to church with mom and dad will remain active in church through their teens. If neither parent comes with them, only 40 percent remain faithful. If only dad comes with them, 80 percent remain faithful. We must admit that we cannot improve on God's design for the family.

Notes: David Popenoe, "Life Without Father," Reader's Digest, February 1997, p. 65; Lutheran Witness, June 1995, v. 147, p. 7.
Photo: Courtesy of Kiefer Wolfowitz. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
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A special committee headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff has recommended a three-phase plan to all but do away with cash transactions in Israel (“Israel Eyes Becoming a Cashless Society,” Israel Today, May 26, 2014). The stated objective is to combat money laundering, terrorism, tax evasion, and other illegal activities. The committee estimated that the black market represents over 20% of the nation’s GDP. Whether or not this plan is put into effect, the world is rapidly moving toward a cashless society. Cash is involved in only 3% of consumer transactions in Sweden, 7% in Belgium, 8% in France, 10% in Canada, and 20% in the USA. Some Swedish banks don’t even handle cash any more (“High Tech Sweden Edges Closer to Becoming Cashless Society,” AP, Mar. 17, 2012). Swedish churches use card readers to facilitate offerings.

(Friday Church News Notes, August 15, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:20
"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."

The abundance and variety of living things that God made continues to amaze scientists. All of us learned in school that bacteria are too small to see without a microscope. That's why, when scientists studied a newly discovered type of bacteria that is visible to the naked eye, they couldn't believe it was bacteria! More study convinced them that the sulfur pearl of Namibia is indeed the largest known bacteria.
    
The sulfur pearl of Namibia was discovered in deep-sea sediments in 1997. It is part of a strange family of bacteria that generates energy for life by oxidizing sulfur. Such bacteria had been found earlier in sediments found off the South American coast, but they are nowhere near the size of the sulfur pearl. Not only does the sulfur pearl need no light to live, but also it is an excellent reflector of light, which makes it easy to see. The sulfur pearl is so large that smaller bacteria colonize its outer sheath. To give some idea, if the average bacteria were the size of a mouse, the sulfur pearl would be the size of a great blue whale, the largest animal on earth!  It is, in fact, about as big as a pinhead.
    
Despite its great size, it has no more cytoplasm than the average bacteria. About 98 percent of the bacterium's interior is taken up by a fluid filled sack in which the bacterium stores nitrates which it uses to metabolize sulfur. This allows it to go for months without finding new nitrates. God has generously – and creatively – provided for all His creatures, even this bacterium.

Notes: S. Milius, "Digging bait worms reduces birds' food," Science News, April 17, 1999, v. 155, p. 246.
Photo: Stained microphotograph of Thiomargarita namibiensis bacteria (Sulfur pearl of Namibia).
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“What’s an ‘Islamophobia’--promoting academic to do when there simply aren't enough hate crimes to sustain the mythical narrative that Muslim-Americans are persecuted for their religion? The Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project (IRDP) at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Race & Gender came up with a brilliant idea for this spring’s Fifth Annual International Islamophobia Conference: they invented a thought crime called ‘latent Islamophobia.’ According to the conference description and ‘inspired by [the late Columbia professor] Edward Said’s work on Orientalism,’ ‘Islamophobia’ can be broken into two categories: latent and manifest: ‘Latent Islamophobia is founded upon an unquestionable certitude that Muslims trend towards despotism and away from progress. They are constructed and judged in terms of, and in comparison to, the West, so it is always the Other, the conquerable, and the inferior.’ Manifest Islamophobia ‘is what is spoken and acted upon.’ Near Eastern studies lecturer, IRDP director, and conference convener Hatem Bazian supported this blatant effort to condemn thought, as he promised in his opening remarks that this effort would eventually be a ‘field [and] a distinct area of study’ called ‘Islamophobia studies.’” Other presentations at the Islamophobia Conference included “Gender, Sexuality, Class and Colonialism in Transnational Latent and Manifest Islamophobia” and “Latent and Manifest Islamophobia in Indian Occupied Kashmir: Queerphilic Imperialism and Hindu-homonationalism.”

(FrontPage.com, by Rima Greene and Cinnamon Stillwell, June 4, 2014)

Acts 2:6
"Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

Since God is the Author of all language, we shouldn't be surprised to find many and varied forms of communication among the creatures He made. 
    
The recent discovery that even lowly lizards communicate with one another has offered several surprises for those who believe we evolved. In analyzing over 1,500 displays by sagebrush lizards, researchers say that there is no question that they are communicating with one another. Lizard communication is complex body language that follows recognizable rules of grammar. It is made up of three parts, which include head bobbing, "push ups," and leg motion. Mixing and matching one or more of these actions results in over six thousand possibilities!
    
But what do lizards say to one another? Repeated observations have convinced researchers that they can interpret what the lizards are saying to each other. Much of the communication is used to woo a mate. Lizards will also brag to other lizards when they find a particularly good rock. But a lizard may also warn away another lizard who might want to share his rock.
    
Not only is such complex communication among lowly lizards not expected by evolution, but also researchers noted that the pattern of communication over separated populations does not follow expected evolutionary patterns. Yes, even the lowly lizard glorifies its Creator!

Notes: Susan Milius, "When Lizards Do Push-Ups," Science News, v. 155, February 27, 1999, p. 142.
Photo: Courtesy of Steve Jurvetson. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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“Daniel McArthur, manager of the Christian bakery that refused to make a ‘Support Gay Marriage’ cake, is speaking out about his family’s commitment to their beliefs. Ashers Baking Company of Northern Ireland recently declined an order to make a cake featuring Bert and Ernie and the slogan in favor of gay marriage; the family-owned business is facing legal action for the decision they made based on their religious principles. In an interview with the Daily Mail, McArthur said that the decision was not intended to cause distress, but to follow what their faith says. ‘We are not discriminating against gay people. Our church's definition of marriage is clear: It’s a covenant between a man and a woman, a 6,000-year-old tradition, which is ordained by God. Sexual activity outside marriage is a sin.’ According to McArthur, the family talked about the decision and its potential effects before they declined the order. It was a matter of ‘what our conscience told us against the risk our response might get some public attention,’ he said. As the lawsuit progresses, McArthur says that the family is staying true to their beliefs. ‘We pray that God will give us the strength to fight this.’”

(“Baker Who Refused,” Christian Headlines, July 22, 2014)

1 Kings 20:34
"And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away."

Did King David go to the mall? Malls or shopping areas are hugely popular today. Archaeologists are now asking whether shopping malls originated in the 11th century BC.
    
Archaeologists have long speculated on the purpose of the buildings they call tripartite pillared buildings. These were long, rectangular buildings that were divided into thirds by two interior rows of pillars. Thirty five of these buildings have been found at 12 sites. Some thought they were storehouses. Others suggested they were stables. 
    
Their size and the thickness of the walls made it clear to archaeologists that these were not private homes. Nor has a used household bowl ever been found in one. But many new, unused vessels – including lamps which have no soot – have been found in them. In addition, evidence of high windows has been found at one site. Based on this and other evidence, one archaeologist has suggested that these buildings were, in fact, marketplaces such as those described in 1 Kings 20:34. They originated in the land that Ben Hadad ruled.
    
David could have gone to the mall, for the Philistines had them. But King Ahab appears to have been active in getting malls built in Judah! Perhaps those people three thousand years ago were not so different from us today.

Notes: Moshe Kochavi, "Divided Structures Divide Scholars," Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1999, p. 44.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“A scientist has filed a lawsuit against the California State University, Northridge saying he was terminated from his job due to his religious views after he discovered soft tissue on a triceratops fossil which supported his creationist view. Mark Armitage, a former scientist at CSUN in Los Angeles, was terminated after he discovered supposedly the largest triceratops horn ever unearthed at the Hell Creek Formation excavation site in Montana, according to attorney Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute, who’s filed the lawsuit. ‘Since some creationists, like [Armitage], believe that the triceratops bones are only 4,000 years old at most, [Armitage’s] work vindicated his view that these dinosaurs roamed the planet relatively recently,’ states the complaint filed against the CSUN board of trustees in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to CBS News. The scientist’s findings, which indicate that dinosaurs roamed the earth only thousands of years in the past rather than going extinct 60 million years ago, were published in July 2013 in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. ‘Terminating an employee because of their religious views is completely inappropriate and illegal,’ Dacus said in a statement. ‘But doing so in an attempt to silence scientific speech at a public university is even more alarming. This should be a wakeup call and warning to the entire world of academia.’ Armitage is a published scientist of over 30 years. Soon after the soft tissue discovery, a university official challenged the motives of Armitage, by shouting at him, ‘We are not going to tolerate your religion in this department!’ according to court documents.”

(“Scientist Sues,” The Christian Post, July 27, 2014)

“Several schools in Vancouver have proposed that gender neutral pronouns should take the place of personal pronouns such as ‘he,’ ‘she,’ ‘his’ and ‘hers.’ The pronouns ‘xe,’ ‘xem,’ and ‘xyr’ were suggested as alternatives to encompass all students, including transgender students. According to the new policy, ‘xe’ should take the place of ‘he’ or ‘she,’ ‘xem’ will replace ‘him’ or ‘her,’ and ‘xyr’ will take over ‘his’ and ‘hers.’ According to the schools, students are not required to use the terminology, but are permitted to use the words if they choose to not identify as one specific gender. ‘We’re standing up for kids and making our schools safer and more inclusive,’ said board member Mike Lombardi. In addition, the Canadian schools have adopted new policies for a ‘gay-friendly’ curriculum, in which students ‘have the right to dress in a manner consistent with their gender identity or gender expression.’ During physical education, students may choose to participate with the gender of their choosing when activities are segregated between boys and girls. One more shift includes a required unisex bathroom available for students. The public greeted the changes with criticism and shouting at a school trustees meeting guarded by police.”

(“Canada Schools Propose Xe, Xem, and Xyr,” Christian Headlines, June 25, 2014)

“The Lord Jesus lived a life of victory over the power of sin, and indeed, His life was perfectly holy. He never looked with lust; He never uttered a hasty, unkind, untrue or frivolous word; and He never entertained an impure thought. He was never accused by conscience, never inflamed by wrongful passion, never out of step with the will of God. His time was never wasted, His talents never debased for selfish ends, His influence never bad, His judgment never wrong. He never had to apologize for anything He did or retract a single word He said. He was never too late or too soon; never upset; never insipid, shallow or afraid. He lived on earth approximately twelve thousand days and every one of them was a marvel of holiness. He was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners’ (Heb. 7:26).”

(John Phillips, commentary on Romans)