Job 38:36
"Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?"

Whether you know it or not, you are the proud owner of the most complex arrangement of matter in the universe. I am speaking of your brain. Even though it weighs only three pounds, the brain's structure is so complex that it defies all explanation except to admit that a higher intelligence created it.

The average brain has ten billion neurons and multiple billions of connections. It has been estimated that the brain is able to hold one million times more information than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. If true, this suggests that man was smarter in the past or meant to live much longer. Thanks to the brain, you can listen to someone talk and begin to put your reply together for him while your brain is also directing a number of other projects – like your heart beat, breathing, and blood chemistry – without your conscious attention. Your brain, through its extended sensory system, allows your finger to feel a vibration of less than eight-one-thousandths of an inch and lets you see 10 million different colors.

The brain is so marvelously complex that even scientists who deny the soul and believe that the material stuff is all that exists have admitted that the brain leads them to wonder if there is not more to reality. Some are now even willing to talk about a spiritual reality.

Photo: A pyramidal neuron from the hippocampus, stained for green fluorescent protein. PLoS Biology Vol. 4, No. 2, e29. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

The moral collapse that we are witnessing in America has been a long time in developing. At a fundamental level, it began in the 19th century with theological modernism and Darwinian evolution, in fact, but it was at work dramatically even in the 1950s which is considered the heyday of morality and biblical Christianity in modern America. I was growing up then and America was anything but biblically moral, even in the deep South where there was a Baptist church on every corner. Independent Baptists barely existed then. It was the Southern Baptists who were the conservatives, yet they weren't taking the Bible seriously. There was more a form of godliness than the true reality thereof. Kids typically went through the motion of "trusting Jesus" without a genuine conversion experience and without being true disciples of Christ, and then lived as they pleased and drank as deeply of the emerging pop culture as they wished. It was almost expected that church kids would "sow their wild oats." The humanistic philosophy was that parents shouldn't be too "strict or tight-laced." When rock & roll blasted on the scene, there was some resistance by the elders, but it was party time for the church kids, and it wasn't long before the parents were rocking, too! When television and Hollywood foisted their wares on society, the churches pretty much accepted what was offered, except for the most extreme stuff, walking lock step with the world. They complained about the moral pollution, but they stayed tuned in, nonetheless, which is a major form of soul-deadening hypocrisy. It was a Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Walt Disney kind of Christianity. A major thing that was missing from "conservative" American Christianity in the 1950s and 1960s was obedience to biblical separation. In fact, separation was publicly and brashly renounced by major "evangelical" leaders, with Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham at the forefront. But when God's people are the "friends of the world," they are the enemies of Christ (James 4:4), and there is no power and blessing in that arrangement. The deep compromise that flowed from the churches affected the entire nation. For a long, long time, America's morals have been leavened by the licentious end-time philosophy (2 Timothy 3-4), promoted through the government school system, the pop-entertainment culture, the mainstream news media, judicial activism, and in many other ways. The roots of the tree have been rotten for a long time.

(Friday Church News Notes, September 26, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 10:8
"Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me."

Dr. David Menton is a biologist who believes that God created the heavens and the Earth in six days only some six thousand years ago. As he likes to point out, he is a biologist who evolutionists say cannot exist – a biologist who rejects evolution.

But Dr. Menton's accomplishments make it hard for evolutionists to deny his right to be considered a top-notch scientist. Before completing his doctorate, David Menton worked as a dermatology researcher at the Mayo Clinic. After earning his doctorate, he worked as a research scientist at the University of Iowa, where he made a major discovery acknowledged by fellow scientists. Dr. Menton discovered that skin cells are 14-sided polygons called tetra-kai-deca-he-drons – sort of fun to say when you get the hang of it. He also discovered that these flat tetrakaidecahedrons are stacked and interlocked like poker chips, one exactly on top of another. From this he learned that when skin cells reproduce too rapidly they do not stack as they should, resulting in skin problems like psoriasis. No, there can be no question that Dr. Menton is a qualified biologist.

We wouldn't want you to think that Dr. Menton is the only scientist, or even the only biologist, who believes in creation as taught in the Bible. Thousands of qualified scientists believe in creation, despite what some evolutionists say.

Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

"Evangelicalism" has been corrupted by many things, including Protestantism (with errors such as infant baptism, replacement theology, allegoricalism, and amillennialism) and the onslaught of New Evangelicalism in the 1950s with its rejection of "separatism." As a result, evangelical scholarship has been influenced by liberal scholarship. Evangelical preachers sit at the feet of liberals via the classroom and literature and the Internet and are influenced by their unbelief. Oftentimes their Christian faith has been entirely overthrown; other times they modify their faith to allow for liberal views. Consider, for the example, the following description of the crossing of the Red Sea in Halley's Bible Handbook (Deluxe Edition, Zondervan, 2007): "The sea then would have flowed north into the depressions known today as the Bitter Lakes. If a steady wind pushed the shallow water north into the Bitter Lakes, it would have lowered the level of the water so that a land bridge would appear, which is not an uncommon phenomenon. The waters on the north and the south then were a 'wall' or 'defense.' There is no need to assume perpendicular heaps of water defying gravity--although there is no question that God could have done exactly that" (Halley's Bible Handbook). This is unbelieving nonsense. Our part is to believe what God's Word says, not try to invent naturalistic explanations for the miraculous. The Bible says "the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left" (Ex. 14:22, 29). They were led through "depths" (Psa. 106:9). That is a description of a "perpendicular heap"! The Halley's Bible Handbook also says that the six days of creation could have been "long, successive periods," whereas the Bible plainly states that they were ordinary "evening and morning" days. Beware, friends. If you walk in counsel of the ungodly, you could end up in the seat of the scornful. The blessed way is to reject the counsel of the ungodly in no uncertain terms, to fly the flag of biblical faith against every error, to meditate in the Scripture day and night, and to test everything by its perfect precepts (Psalm 1:1-3).

(Friday Church News Notes, September 26, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

"A Christian author from the Pacific Northwest is adding his voice to a growing discussion across the country as a scientist at California State University is challenging his former employer in court after being fired for presenting fossil evidence undermining evolutionary 'millions of years' theory. As previously reported, Mark Armitage was a scientist at California State University--Northridge (CSUN) up until two years ago, where he worked as a researcher and supervised the school's electron microscope laboratory. He was suddenly terminated after he discovered soft tissue on a Triceratops fossil, the findings of which were also published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. ... He states because of his find and subsequent report, his supervisor entered the lab and declared, 'We will not tolerate your religion in this department!' ... Armitage recently appeared on the radio broadcast Creation Moments after listeners sent him hundreds of letters of support surrounding his legal challenge. '[W]e have the evolutionists on the run,' he said. 'They are scrambling to explain the presence of these delicate and life-like cells and tissues that could in no way survive the ravages of deep time.' ... 'Tell your unsaved friends that you have a friend (me) who has been going on dinosaur digs and is unearthing and publishing his findings of soft tissues. ... Tell them if soft tissues are the norm, then the Earth cannot possibly be old, and that suddenly Genesis is believable as actual history.' ... Daniel Greenup, author of Generation Why?, told Christian News Network on Friday that he is not surprised Armitage was fired over his discovery as evolutionists fear critical thinking. 'All of us were told about the importance of free inquiry, critical thinking and diversity in school, but it's really not true,' he said. 'Universities generally love diversity of skin color and diversity of sexual orientation, but they're not interested in diversity of opinion. They want you to believe what they believe, and they definitely don't want you to critically think about it. So, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Armitage has been fired for his findings.'"

("Evolutionists Evade Critical Thinking," Christian News Network, Sept. 6, 2014)

"Everybody is currently talking about Robin Williams and his tragic suicide. ... Robin Williams acknowledged that he had opened himself up to transformative demonic powers that aided him on stage. ... Williams also recognized that these powers had manifested a very evil influence on stage and that there could be a hefty price to pay for their assistance. Williams told James Kaplan of US Weekly: 'Yeah! Literally, it's like possession--all of a sudden you're in, and because it's in front of a live audience, you just get this energy that just starts going…But there's also that thing--it is possession. In the old days you'd be burned for it. ... But there is something empowering about it. I mean, it is a place where you are totally--it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where you really can become this other force. Maybe that's why I don't need to play evil characters [in movies], 'cause sometimes onstage you can cross that line and come back. Clubs are a weird kind of petri dish environment. I mean, that's where people can get as dark as they can in comedy--in the name of comedy, be talking about outrageous stuff and somehow come out the other side' ('Robin Williams,' US Weekly, January, 1999, p. 53). Williams' statement answers the question as to why demonic powers use entertainers. Their goal is to promote evil and darkness and increase mankind's rebellion against God. Williams went on to say on the heels of that admission: 'The people I've admired--Jonathan [Winters], in his best days, was out. Gone. But the price he paid for it was deep.' Sadly, it seems that the price Robin Williams has now paid is just as deep as that of his idol, Jonathan Winters. ... Like Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters had to contend with the tormenting demonic powers he utilized for fame and fortune. 'These voices are always screaming to get out,' Winters told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, further admitting 'They follow me around pretty much all day and night.' At the height of Winter's success, he voluntarily committed himself to a psychiatric hospital for eight months. ... It was in Williams' stand-up [in clubs] where he would go into his manic, stream-of-consciousness rants filled with vulgar language, perverse sexuality and the glorification of illicit drugs and drunkenness. Many people express shock after seeing Williams' stand-up, not knowing his act was so perverse. ... The terrible irony is that many of these comics, such as Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters, who are portrayed in their public persona to be happy and filled with laughs, are in fact the most tormented and joyless souls on earth. Jesus gave the solemn warning, 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?' (Mark 8:36). ... Several other famous comedians have been diagnosed with mental illness and suffered from severe depression. Just to name a few: John Cleese, Paul Merton, Jim Carrey, Stephen Fry, Ruby Wax, Dave Chappelle, Chevy Chase, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Hugh Laurie, David Walliams, and Maria Bamford. Tony Hancock, who was considered the funniest comic actor of his time, ended up killing himself while filming a television series in Australia in 1968. We cannot truly have peace until we have a relationship with the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). ... Jesus--not drugs or alcohol--is the Savior of the world and the only One who can deliver us from the penalty of sin, hell, death and enslavement from satanic powers. Jesus declared: 'The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly' (John 10:10)."

("Robin Williams: The Sad Truth the Media Won't Tell You" by Joe Schimmel, goodfight.org)

Genesis 2:24
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

Did you know that some fish actually go fishing? Yes, the female anglerfish lives deep down where it is cold and dark, and it has a six-inch-long fishing pole fixed to its top lip with a little orange light on the end. When the angler is not fishing, the rod fits into a groove on the top of its head. The angler's victim swims along and sees the orange light – the bait – to him, it looks like a good lunch for a small fish. He moves in, but it jumps out of reach and the next thing he knows he becomes the angler fish's lunch!

The strangest part of the anglerfish's life is its mating practices. While the female is over three-feet long – and the mouth takes up almost half this length – the male anglerfish is only a half-inch long. He has no fishing pole and no light. Mating starts when the tiny male swims up to the female and sinks his teeth into her side. He never lets go for the rest of his life. In fact, soon his skin and circulatory system actually join the female's, and through this union they become, literally, one flesh. Eggs are eventually laid.

Our Creator has an infinite variety of ways to reproduce the species but this one demonstrates quite literally the one-flesh principle of human marriage.

Photo: Courtesy of Robbie N. Cada.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

1 Corinthians 15:37-38
"And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body."

In the fall the plants and trees of much of the Earth's northern hemisphere prepare for winter. Flowers lose their petals, and the leaves fall from trees as the air begins to become cooler. But there is far more to this change in the plants than simply a response to lower temperatures.

Many, if not most, plants measure the relative length of darkness to light in a 24-hour day to tell them to prepare for winter. In a similar way, they measure the relative length of light to darkness to tell them to prepare for spring. Other living plants seem to integrate time and temperature to prepare for the seasonal change. Apple buds, for example, need 1,000 to 1,400 hours of near-freezing temperatures before they even think about spring.

When winter finally arrives, we may wake up to what is a white and seemingly sterile world. It is then hard to believe that the plants and trees are out there sleeping while measuring time and temperature to be awake again in the spring.

It is no less a mystery to all of us that one day the dead will rise and believers will spend eternity with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet, life rising so gloriously out of the apparent dead of winter shows a similar power of our Creator on a smaller scale.

Photo: Courtesy of Tom O Hitz. 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

Women are very important in the work of God. They cannot be church leaders (1 Timothy 2:12), but they can do many things. As the late R.G. Lee said, "... we gladly make declaration that some of the fairest and most fragrant flowers that grow in the garden of God and some of the sweetest and most luscious fruit that ripens in God's spiritual orchards are there because of woman's faith, woman's love, woman's prayer, woman's virtue, woman's tears, woman's devotion to Christ" (Payday Someday). Consider the role of women in Jesus' earthly life. The woman at the well brought her village out to hear Christ (John 4:28-30). Many women assisted Jesus during His earthly ministry (Lk. 8:2-3). Women opened their homes to Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). It was a woman who anointed Jesus for His burial prior to His death (Mat. 26:6-13). It was mostly women who stood at the cross (Mat. 27:55-56). Women observed Jesus' burial and came to anoint Him after He was dead (Lk. 23:55-56). It was women who first came to the empty tomb and first believed the resurrection (Mat. 28:1-6). It was women who reported the resurrection to the apostles (Mat. 28:7-8). Women played a large role in the early churches. They were in the upper room on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14). They were full of good works (Acts 9:36). They labored with Paul in the gospel (Phil. 4:3). They trained their children and grandchildren (2 Tim. 1:5). Older women taught the younger women (Titus 2:3-5). Women were messengers for the congregations (Rom. 16:1-2). They assisted their husbands in planting churches (Rom. 16:3-5; Acts 18:24-26). Women were the firstfruits of the gospel in places (Acts 16:14). Women showed hospitality to preachers (Acts 16:14-15).

(Friday Church News Notes, September 19, 2014,www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Genesis 8:22
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

It is interesting to look at scientific predictions made, say, a generation ago. Here is one that appeared in the December 1977 issue of Science Digest predicting our future climate. This article pointed out that the world's climate is already cooler than at many points in recorded history. It said that at one time Greenland was actually green and England was a major producer of wine. The article noted that while a few scientists think the Earth is warming, most climatologists agree that Earth's climate is definitely cooling. Some even say that we may be in for a new Ice Age. The words "Ice Age" evidently caught the media's attention. Some listeners will recall the same message given on radio and TV.

The certainty of evidence for a cooling Earth is interesting in light of the same certainty, a quarter century later, that the Earth is heating up! And notice how both predictions are working from almost the same temperature records. The article noted the reason for this early fear: the winter of 1976-77 was especially cold and snowy for much of the northern hemisphere. Then, a decade later, after a warmer summer or two, we hear about a runaway "greenhouse effect." Our best response is to remember the Lord's promise to Noah that the seasons, seedtime, and harvest will continue until the end of the world.

Photo: Courtesy of Ringomassa. 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

Ephesians 6:1
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right."

Parents today are under a lot of pressure to be more "permissive" and less "authoritative" in raising their children. Research has now shown the results of this progressive thinking.

In a study of 124 youngsters conducted over a twelve-year period, researchers studied parenting styles and the effect of each style on the development of young people. Researchers divided the parenting styles they saw into categories ranging from parents who didn't seem to care to those who were extremely demanding and restrictive while offering their children little emotional support. They found that parents who consistently set down clear standards of conduct and clearly defined limits, while offering close emotional support, produce teenagers who fared better in academic tests, are emotionally more stable, and are much less likely to be involved with alcohol or drugs than any other group. The so-called "democratic" parenting style, they noted, produced far more heavy drug users than parents who set limits. They also noted that restrictive parents who offer little emotional support for their children tend to produce teens who, while not heavily involved with drugs, are less happy with life and fall below average on academic tests.

Researchers concluded that the limit-setting, rule-enforcing parents who offer strong emotional support to their children are the most successful parents. And this is exactly the style of parenting Scripture teaches us.

Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Recently Cynthia and Robert Gifford were fined $13,000 for "discriminating" against two lesbians who wanted to have a "gay wedding" on their New York farm. The lesbians approached the Giffords in 2012 to inquire about holding their "nuptials" at the Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke, New York. When informed that the Giffords are Christians and believe that marriage is restricted to one man and one woman, the lesbians filed a complaint with New York's Division of Human Rights, "claiming they had been discriminated against as a result of their sexual orientation." "A judge subsequently ruled in their favor, rejecting the Giffords' argument that the family owns a private business that is legally permitted to issue such refusals. Judge Migdalia Pares ruled that Liberty Ridge Farm is a public accommodation because it rents its space and regularly collects fees from the public" ("After Being Fined," The Blaze, Aug. 29, 2014). The judge also required the Giffords to pay $1,500 each to the lesbians. The Giffords have decided to stop hosting any weddings on their property.


(Friday Church News Notes, September 19, 2014,www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

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:"

The familiar little insect known as the water boatman is a marvel of engineering design. About an inch long, it swims on its back on the surface of the pond using two of its legs that are extra long and have little paddles on the end, just like the oars of a boat. Anyone who has tried swimming on his back knows how difficult it is to see where he is going, but not the water boatman. His eyes are especially placed for perfect sight while swimming on his back.

As mentioned, the boatman is an insect so, of course, it does not have gills like a fish, yet he spends a lot of time under water. How does he do this? Well, his Creator gave him the ability to breathe through his tail that he sticks out of the water just like a snorkel tube. There are tiny hairs that keep the water out of this tube while he draws fresh air in to refill his air tanks for another dive. Those tiny hairs also tell the boatman whether a nearby movement in the water is something that would threaten him or something that might be good for lunch.

Surely, the specialized features of this little insect could not have gradually developed by trial and error but are evidences of superb design and a master Designer.

Photo: Courtesy of Holger Gröschl. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

I have subscribed to World Council of Churches (WCC) publications for 35 years, and they are a window into the heart and soul of end-time apostasy. For example, last week's WCC Weekly Summary included a call for all "churches" to build new non-judgmental bridges to one another and beyond to other religions and to refrain from offending others with dogmatism. There is a call to celebrate the creation and honor "the feast of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment." There is a call to "fast for the Climate," which is "an interfaith initiative bringing people of different faiths to fast, as a spiritual exercise, in solidarity with the victims of climate change." And there is the announcement of the annual International Day of Prayer for Peace, Sept. 21, held in conjunction with the United Nations International Day of Peace. Some of the things that are missing from WCC publications but which are prominent themes in the New Testament faith are as follows: The holiness of God and the fallen condition of man; eternal judgment; the gospel of personal salvation through faith in the blood of Christ; the urgency of preaching this gospel to every soul in every nation; the call for all men to repent and believe this gospel; the exposure and reproof of false doctrine; holy Christian living and separation from the world; the imminency of the return of Christ; the coming Day of the Lord to judge man's sin; and the coming glorious kingdom of Christ. For more, see The World Council of Churches, a free eBook available from www.wayoflife.org.


(Friday Church News Notes, September 19, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

"A federal judge nominated to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan has upheld Louisiana's state constitutional amendment enshrining marriage as being between a man and a woman. 'The court is persuaded that a meaning of what is marriage that has endured in history for thousands of years, and prevails in a majority of states today, is not universally irrational,' wrote Judge Martin Feldman on Wednesday. He broke a series of over 20 federal decisions striking down state bans on same-sex 'marriage,' opining that states should have the right to decide its own affairs, including allowing voters to have their say regarding preserving the institution of marriage. 'Must the states permit or recognize a marriage between an aunt and niece?' Feldman asked. 'Aunt and nephew? Brother/brother? Father and child? May minors marry? Must marriage be limited to only two people? What about a transgender spouse? Is such a union same-gender or male-female? All such unions would undeniably be equally committed to love and caring for one another, just like the plaintiffs.' 'This court is powerless to be indifferent to the unknown and possibly imprudent consequences of such a decision,' he wrote. 'A decision for which there remains the arena of democratic debate.' Louisiana's Amendment 1 was passed during the 2004 November election with 78 percent of the vote. 'Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman,' it reads. 'No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman.' J. Dalton Courson, an attorney that challenged the amendment, said that he would appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals."

("Federal Judge Becomes First to Uphold State Marriage,"Christian News Network, Sept. 4, 2014)

Bill Nye recently told Popular Science that he is ready to suffer eternal judgment rather than give up his evolutionary faith. "Let's say that I am, through my actions, doomed, and that I will go to hell. Even if I am going to hell, that still doesn't mean the Earth is 6,000 years old. The facts just don't reconcile" ("Evolutionist Bill Nye," CharismaNews, Sept. 10, 2014). Nye starred in the Disney/PBS children's television program "Bill Nye the Science Guy," which ran from 1993-1998 and which was part science and part comedic. Lately he has made himself the great defender of "true science," which in his mind is evolutionary science, and the avowed enemy of creation science. Nye claims that a young earth doesn't reconcile with the facts, but in a debate with Ken Ham in February he demonstrated a gross ignorance of the facts. Though he claims that creationism is dangerous to science, it was obvious that his examination of the creationist position has been perfunctory. It was apparent in the debate that he has not read the Bible. He doesn't know its content and history, the rules of biblical interpretation, the principles of biblical apologetics, and such things as biblical archaeology and ancient history touching the Bible. It was obvious, too, that he is ignorant of the wealth of material written by highly educated creationists in defense of the biblical worldview. To mention a few: Andrew Snelling, Ph.D. geology - Earth's Catastrophic Past, a two-volume, 1100-page work; Walt Brown, Ph.D. mechanical engineering, MIT - In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood; Stuart Burgess, Ph.D. biomimetics and engineering design - Hallmarks of Design; Lowell Coker, Ph.D. microbiology and biochemistry - Darwin's Design Dilemma; Don DeYoung, Ph.D. physics - Thousands ... Not Billions; Jonathan Sarfati, Ph.D. physical chemistry - By Design. All of these men are far more educated in "real science" than Bill Nye (with his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering), yet he despises their research by ignoring it. It was obvious, too, that Nye has not carefully examined the vast evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God that He claimed to be and that He did indeed rise from the dead as He said He would, evidence that has convinced many brilliant men and women, including scientists. Lacking the education necessary to reach an informed decision on his issue, Nye nonetheless cleaves stubbornly to his delusion that faith in the Bible is blind religious faith. And now he says he is ready to go to hell for his evolutionary faith, a faith which is indeed blind and which flies in the face of true science. Every known scientific fact tells us that a universe cannot come from nothing, that life cannot rise from non-life, and that complex things such as DNA require a designer and creator. I'm sorry for Bill Nye, but the Bible says his blindness is willful. He has the same opportunity to investigate the truth as any other man. For example, Bill Nye could read the books that have been written by  lawyers who have used their judicial skills to investigate the claims of Christ. Examples are Simon Greenleaf's An Examination of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Law, Edmund Bennett's The Four Gospels from a Lawyer's Standpoint, Irwin Linton's A Lawyer Examines the Bible: An introduction to Christian Evidences, and Sir Norman Anderson's Christianity the Witness of History: A Lawyer's Approach. Bill Nye doesn't have to go to hell. He could be saved through the lovely grace of Jesus Christ as multitudes of others have been, and the living Christ stands ready to prove the truth to any sincere seeker. "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

(Friday Church News Notes, September 19, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

When you know who made something and why it was made, you know the purpose of the item. That's true of can openers, and it is true of human life. Anyone who doesn't know who designed us or why is almost certain to be confused about their purpose in life.

For generations, evolutionary scientists tried to explain our origin by comparing fossilized bones. But more recently, they have turned to comparing the genetic material of current human groups. You might remember when scientists announced that they had discovered that all living people could be genetically traced to a woman in Africa many long evolutionary years ago. They called her "Eve." Today they admit that this picture is a little simplistic. Further studies have led to two contradictory theories. In the first, all humans today evolved from a single African population. The second position is that modern humans are the result of the interbreeding of populations from Africa, Asia and Europe. Some also admit that the flaw in both positions is that the same genetic data can be interpreted to support either theory.

The major flaw in all of these studies is that they assume man is a product of evolution. As long as evolutionary science refuses to consider God's account, which says He made us, it will be without a solid scientific basis to answer questions about why. And people who do not know why they were made are almost certain to live empty, purposeless lives.

Notes: Bruce Bower, "DNA's Evolutionary Dilemma," Science News, February 6, 1999, v. 155, p. 88.
Illustration: Courtesy of Shanel. 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

Romans 8:22
"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

Researchers have been trying to find out what is causing frogs to grow extra legs, or in some cases, grow no legs at all. While frogs with extra legs or no legs have been reported for centuries, there was some question about whether the incidence was increasing. Some suggested human pollution was to blame, while others suggested an increase in ultraviolet radiation was causing the problem. But none of the suspected pollutants have yet been found in association with deformations in the wild. Now some answers are beginning to emerge.

Two different research papers point to a parasitic flatworm as the culprit. A study of deformed frogs in California showed that the ponds with deformed frogs also had a species of snail that hosts the flatworm. A second study in the Pacific Northwest showed that the pattern of malformation in frogs followed the pattern that is typical of parasite damage. Researchers there said that the pattern rules out suspected human pollutants called retinoids. Other researchers pointed out that flatworms will probably not be the cause in every case; they still suspect human pollution but have been unable to prove it.

We know that the real cause of these frog deformations is ultimately human pollution. That pollution is called sin. It was man's sin that brought decay and death to God's original perfect creation because disobeying God does have consequences. The whole creation groans under the consequences of man's sin. That's why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to deliver us from the ultimate consequences of our sin. Someday He will return to deliver all believers and the creation from sin forever.

Notes: S. Milius, "Parasites make frogs grow extra legs," Science News, May 1, 1999, v. 155, p. 277.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Scientists have learned more about how the amazing archerfish can hit land-based targets up to 6.5 feet away with a stream of water it shoots from beneath the surface. Using high-speed cameras, scientists discovered that the jet of water that the fish spits from its mouth is constantly and perfectly tweaked so that a focused blob of water congregates just in front of the target ("Spitting fish 'adjust for distance,'" BBC News Science & Environment, Sept. 5, 2014). The fish accomplishes this complicated task, not by adjusting the pressure of the water created by squeezing its gill covers, but by micro adjusting the diameter of its mouth. It perfectly adjusts the water jet stream for each target, regardless of the distance. Prof. Stefan Schuster of the University of Bayreuth in Germany says, "They just do it with the mouth opening diameter. It is not a simple maneuver... The diameter is continuously changing. I've never seen anything in which they use a nozzle that changes its diameter. The most standard approach is adjusting the pressure. ... It means that the physics the fish is using is much more complicated than previously thought." Sadly, the scientists did not reach the reasonable conclusion that the animal must have been created by an intelligent Being that both understands physics and has the ability to create such amazing living creatures. This is the only sound conclusion since a fish doesn't know anything about physics and since there is no evolutionary creative mechanism (e.g., mutations, natural selection) that could produce such complexity in animals at the DNA level.

(Friday Church News Notes, September 12, 2014, www.wayoflife.org,[email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 36:3
"I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker."

"A recently recorded video is circulating online of Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch speaker and author Joel Osteen, calling on congregants at Lakewood Church to 'do good for your own self' because obedience, the church and worship are not for God as much as for self-happiness. 'I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we're not doing it for God--I mean, that's one way to look at it--we're doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we're happy,' she declares in the undated 36-second clip with her husband standing by her side and nodding. 'That's the thing that gives Him the greatest joy…' 'So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy,' Osteen continues. 'When you come to church, when you worship Him, you're not doing it for God really. You're doing it for yourself, because that's what makes God happy. Amen?" Osteen is the author of the book Love Your Life, and is 'co-pastor' of Lakewood in Houston, Texas. Her husband Joel is known for his motivational speeches and his books Your Best Life Now and It's Your Time."

("Osteen Says Obedience, Worship 'Not for God,'" Christian News Network, Aug. 28, 2014)

Psalm 9:17
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

Are we Christians becoming less able to defend the truths of Scripture, like creation? Dozens of studies show that not only are we, as a group, less ready to defend the hope that we have in Christ, but also we are less able to explain why we have that hope.

George Barna, president of the Barna Research group, has analyzed data from 28 religion surveys that he conducted between 1987 and 1996. In 1992, nearly 50 percent of those polled said that they had read the Bible during the previous week. By 1996, that figure had dropped to 34 percent. Yet, in another 1996 poll, 80 percent of those polled said the Bible is the most influential book in human history, and 76 percent said that the Bible is important to them.

Barna concludes from this kind of information that for many Americans, the Bible has turned into an unused religious icon. The result is a general biblical ignorance. Barna documents this fact with examples from other surveys. For example, 80 percent of those asked thought, incorrectly, that the statement, "God helps those who help themselves" was in the Bible. In another instance, only 50 percent of those polled knew that Jonah was a book of the Bible while 10 percent thought that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

If we are to defend the great truths of the Bible – like creation and the flood – and show their relevancy to Christ's saving work, we must each look at ourselves. Shouldn't we all study the Bible more than we do?

Notes: David Briggs, "Survey: Bible mere icon in homes," Brainerd Daily Dispatch (Minn) Friday, August 2, 1996, p. 9A.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Faith Chapel Christian Center near Birmingham, Alabama, has opened a $26 million dollar entertainment center. The facility features a 12-lane bowling alley, a basketball court, a fitness center, a banquet hall and cafe, a teen dance club, and an adult alcohol and smoke-free night club. Pastor Michael Moore explains the name of the facility, The Bridge, as follows: "We believe we can really meet the needs of the community. It will bridge people from the world to the Kingdom" ("Alabama Megachurch Builds $26 Million," Christian News Network, Aug. 27, 2014). This is beyond foolish and ridiculous. It is apostasy. There is no hint in Christ's Great Commission about entertaining unbelievers or bringing them to the gospel through an entertainment program. The command of Christ does not teach churches to entice sinners through worldly means; it commands the churches to go and preach to sinners. America is already entertained to death, and most churches are merely Christianized versions of the world. There are Christianized sports programs, Christianized social media, Christianized rock music. Whatever the world has, there is a Christianized version of it. The result has been less spiritual power and influence than ever. "If we win people with sensationalism we will need sensationalism to keep them. People who come for loaves and fishes have to be kept with loaves and fishes" (John Phillips).

(Friday Church News Notes, September 12, 2014,www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 8:13-14
"So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web."

A family reunion among spiders is not a pretty thing. Many of the some 35,000 species of spiders begin eating their siblings as soon as they hatch. For this reason, spiders are typically lone hunters. Evolutionists have always explained that spiders evolved this way because it works best for them.

But a few species of spiders are social. They live together in large communities, caring for each other's young and working together to get food. Their social structure is not like that of bees or ants; but, as one researcher put it, spider society is more like a herd of wildebeests. A South American social spider lives in multi generational colonies that can have hundreds of thousands of members. Australia's crab spider is also social, building a nest of eucalyptus leaves. The colonial orb weaving spider of Mexico and the U.S. Southwest builds huge colonies out of individual orb webs. The largest colony web ever found was 12 feet deep, six feet high and 600 feet long. It contained hundreds of thousands of members!

Evolutionary scientists have been struggling not just with an explanation for how social spiders evolved, but how it happened independently among eight unrelated families of spiders. But the answer should be obvious. The same Creator Who made the wildebeest a herd animal also made social spiders the same way. He did it so we might recognize His existence and then learn of His love for us in sending His Son to be our Savior.

Notes: Laura Helmuth, "Spider Solidarity Forever," Science News, May 8, 1999, v. 155, p. 300.
Photo: Courtesy of André Karwath. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Waldensians joined forces with the German and French Reformed Protestants. By then most of them had adopted infant baptism. They have grown increasingly weaker in modern times, and today the Waldenses are on the cutting edge of ecumenical and theological apostasy. In 1975, the Waldensian churches in Italy merged with the liberal Methodists. The Waldensians are members of the radically liberal World Council of Churches (WCC). (The Sixth WCC Assembly in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1987, began with pagan sacrifices offered by North American Indians who danced around a "sacred" fire.) The book You Are My Witnesses: The Waldensians across 800 Years, which I purchased at the Waldensian Museum in Torre Pellice, leaves no doubt about the apostasy of the present-day Waldenses. In 1947, they formed the Agape ecumenical center, the building of which "ended definitely the church's conservative tilt" and "created the critical mass which led the church into far more liberal, and even radical, years" (You Are My Witnesses, p. 277). Since the early 1980s, Agape "has been hosting ecumenical conferences for homosexuals" (p. 303). In 1962, the Waldensian synod voted to ordain women as pastors, and today 14% of the pastors and roughly 50% of the theological students are females (p. 298). In 1968, Waldensians helped establish the Lombardini center in Milan, Italy. It "was perhaps the most Marxist in all Italian Protestantism" and "in theology it was pronouncedly Barthian" (p. 282). Valdo Viney, former dean of the Waldensian Seminary, says that the time for traditional evangelism "is over and that it is now necessary that Waldensians be a critical leaven within Italian Christianity and culture" (p. 283). The advanced apostasy of the Waldensian churches is described in the following paragraph, which is near the end of the book You Are My Witnesses: "Culturally, Italy is a pluralistic society, in which all confessions can live peaceably side by side, believers and non-believers, Christians and Muslims, Jews and Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Who better than the ancient Waldensian Church, now rooted across the peninsula and Sicily, can symbolize this opening to pluralism, to legitimize it and give it an historical perspective as old as the nation?" (p. 293). This sounds like the syncretistic, all-encompassing "one-world harlot church" that we read about in Revelation 17, and the Waldenses, having rejected their glorious heritage, are right in the middle of it. For more on the modern Waldensians see In the Footsteps of Bible Translators,  a free eBook available from www.wayoflife.org.

(Friday Church News Notes, September 12, 2014, www.wayoflife.org,[email protected], 866-295-4143)