Followers

Friday, July 31, 2009

Remember Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

This morning I came across a quote written by a Chinese Evangelist while he was in prison:
"I am not afraid of being looked down upon by people, because, when I look up I see the smiling face of God"

I admire our brothers and sisters who are in difficult persecution right now! I can't begin to imagine what they are going through. I am blessed to live in a country where I don't have to worry about having my Bible taken from me or having the police come and take me away to prison. Yes, sometimes people will insult us but we don't have to face being taken away from our families or being killed. If you were going through persecution right now what would you do? Would you give in? Or would you stand up to them?

I wanted to ask everyone to please pray for our fellow believers.

In Christ,
~Mac
Matthew 5:11-12: " Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Thursday, July 30, 2009

It has been raining for three days now..of course that means I can't spend time with my horses other than feeding them.boo hoo! We need the rain though so I should be thanking God instead of complaining!
My best friend and I have been taking art classes together and yesterday was our last class. Art classes were held every two weeks so it was a for sure time too see each other!!! Oh well 4-h is picking back up and we will see each other a LOT! We are both officers so between meetings and projects we should see one another much more than we have been! YESSS!!!

"Best friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere."
~ Unknown

Today and last night I helped my mom rearrange the den....before it was complete it looked like a nightmare!! We had to move shelves so there were books covering the floor and everything!! now... IT LOOKS AWESOME!!!

~Kat

Have Faith

Mona Khauli
Throughout the fifteen-year old war, God has moved in our midst, and through us to others. The most recent example of God's miraculous protection involved a young couple.
One day heavy artillery bombing took them by surprise, when a Syrian offensive was launched against Christian areas. Before they could run to take shelter, a phosphorous shell penetrated the roof of their bedroom and exploded, setting the place on fire. They were both severely injured and burned. The woman, a few months pregnant, was miraculously saved. Her husband, however, was pronounced clinically dead on arrival at the hospital as he had sustained serious injuries from head to toe. His parents and church brethren pleaded with hospital staff to give him emergency care, while they committed themselves to the bedside in prayer. For months, he "existed" by way of instruments that pumped life into his shredded body, bandaged together like a cocoon.
But God intervened and performed a miracle. Six months later he was released from hospital a walking miracle, only in need of surgery to restore sight in one of his eyes. Doctors and nurses saw him off with these words; "Lazarus has risen from the dead."
Pray and trust. Have faith in God to perform a miracle. God is in control.

The God we serve is able to save us ... but even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods... (Daniel 3:17,18)
Mona Khauli: writer of this paragraph

These words are so rich and meaningful; yet they are so difficult to put into practice.
To glory in tribulation? How can this be? It is neither human nor tactful to rejoice in suffering, especially when it concerns people around us. What does Paul really mean?
The best way to explain is to quote a Christian woman in my country, Lebanon. She was facing one family hardship after another. When asked how she managed to cope with all these hardships she answered: "Troubles are challenges to me. Even difficulty that comes my way is a perpetual source of wonder. I am so eager to see how the Lord will get me out of it."
She had found the secret. Not theoretically but through pains and problems. "In all these things we are more that conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 9:37). Her secret was Paul’s secret. Paul’s experience became her experience. What about you?
It is no secret what God can do, what He has done for others He will do for you.
...we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
(Romans 5:3-5)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What is Faith?

Mona Khauli
Faith is:

Expecting God to accomplish miracles through my five loaves and two fishes. He can use me.
Rejecting the feeling of panic when things seem out of control. He is in control.
Confidence in God’s faithfulness to me in an uncertain world. He holds the future.
Depending on the fact that God loves me, not on my ability to figure out how or why. He can be trusted.
Thanking God for his gift of emotional health, not assuming it all stems from my ability to cope with stress. He provides.
"...I do believe; help me to overcome my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).

Monday, July 27, 2009

Proof

Thomas Malthus's work gave Charles Darwin the idea that life is a constant struggle against each other.

Here are some examples that prove this theory is false...

The Clownfish and the Sea Anemone

The Sea Anemone normally spells death to fish. Their tentacles are full of stingers and each one delivers a paralyzing poison to any fish that it touches. As soon as the fish is paralyzed the anemone feast on it.

The Clownfish is a tasty meal for other predator fish. He is coated in a layer of mucus that covers his whole body.

So what is so cool about both these creatures? They live together!!

The Sea Anemone is home to the Clownfish! How is this possible? Well scientists are not positive but they believe it has something to do with the mucus that covers the Clownfish. It is similiar to the anemone's mucus as well! By living inside the anemone the motion made from the Clowfish swimming in and out attracks it's predators that are delicious meals for the anemone. Thus when a predator fish arrives it darts inside and the anemone has a tasty meal! The movement of the clownfish also frightens butterfly fish away which eat Sea Anemones!


The Blind Shrimp and Goby

These two organisms live together in a hole on the ocean floor. The hole has been dug by the Blind Shrimp. The ocean currents are constantly filling the hole with debris which the Blind Shrimp must clear out. Thus when it goes out to clear the whole it is in constant danger of being devoured by some predator creature. As it's name implies it can't see very well so it has no way of knowing when danger lurks. This is where his friend the Goby comes in. Opposite of the Blind Fish the Goby has good vision. When the Blind Shrimp needs to clear the hole he goes out with him. The Goby keeps watch as the shrimp clears the path. The Blind Shrimp attaches one of it's tentacles to the Goby which flicks it tail when danger arrives. They both dart into the hole to safety. The Blind Shrimp's supplies the Goby with a safe place to live.

The Oriental Sweetlips and the Blue-Streak Wrasses


Like most fish the Oriental Sweetlips has teeth. What happens is you don't keep your teeth clean? They rot and fall out. So how does this fish keep it's teeth clean? That's where the Blue-Streak Wrasses come in. The Oriental Sweetlips swims to what is called a cleaning station when it needs it's teeth clean. It opens it's mouth and in swim the Blue-Streak Wrasses. They plaque supplies the Blue-Steak Wrasses with a tasty meal and in return helps the Oriental Sweetlip's teeth from falling out.

THESE THREE EXAMPLES ARE PROOF THAT LIFE IS NOT A CONSTANT STRUGGLE! THESE CREATURES ARE HELPING EACH OTHER SURVIVE NOT STRUGGLING AGAINST EACH OTHER! THIS ALSO SHOWS THAT THERE MUST BE A CREATOR FOR SO COMPLEX SITUATIONS COULD NOT HAVE FORMED BY CHANCE!!

Heritage Days Photos





Heritage Days

Saturday my family and I spent the morning at the annual Heritage Days held at the town square. There were many different exhibits such as vintage John Deere tractors, old cars and truck competition, Military convoy,concert,old cavalry soldiers, and FOOD!!!! I feasted on funnel cake and kettle corn! It's so cool standing around on the court house lawn and walking around the square. Now most people go the the mall and other outlets and no one really walks around and shops on the square.Although there aren't many stores but....It was nice imagining what it was like in the old days! I'll post some more pictures I took of Heritage Days in just a moment!


~Kat

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Awesome Video!

I absolutly loved this video! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It reminds of the scripture that says "The Heavens declare the glory of God the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm's 19:1
Enjoy,
~Mac

So Who Created God?

By definition, an infinite, eternal being has always existed—no one created God. He is the self-existing one—the great ‘I am’ of the Bible.19 He is outside of time—in fact, He created time.
You might say, ‘But that means I have to accept this by faith, as I can’t understand it.’
We read in the book of Hebrews, ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’ (Hebrews 11:6).
But this is not blind faith, as some think. In fact, the evolutionists who deny God have a blind faith—they have to believe something that is against real science—namely, that information can arise from disorder by chance.
The Christian faith is not a blind faith—it is a logically defensible faith. This is why the Bible makes it clear that anyone who does not believe in God is without excuse:
‘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’ (Romans 1:20).

Can Mutations Happen?

Actually, it is now clear that the answer is no! Dr Lee Spetner, a highly qualified scientist who taught information and communication theory at Johns Hopkins University, makes this abundantly clear in his recent book:
‘In this chapter I’ll bring several examples of evolution, [i.e., instances alleged to be examples of evolution] particularly mutations, and show that information is not increased … But in all the reading I’ve done in the life-sciences literature, I’ve never found a mutation that added information.9
‘All point mutations that have been studied on the molecular level turn out to reduce the genetic information and not to increase it.10
‘The NDT [neo-Darwinian theory] is supposed to explain how the information of life has been built up by evolution. The essential biological difference between a human and a bacterium is in the information they contain. All other biological differences follow from that. The human genome has much more information than does the bacterial genome. Information cannot be built up by mutations that lose it. A business can’t make money by losing it a little at a time.’11
Evolutionary scientists have no way around the conclusions that many scientists, including Dr Spetner, have come to. Mutations do not work as a mechanism to fuel the evolutionary process.

Design in Living Things

Molecular biologist Dr Michael Denton, writing as an agnostic, concluded:
‘Alongside the level of ingenuity and complexity exhibited by the molecular machinery of life, even our most advanced [twentieth century technology appears] clumsy … . It would be an illusion to think that what we are aware of at present is any more than a fraction of the full extent of biological design. In practically every field of fundamental biological research ever-increasing levels of design and complexity are being revealed at an ever-accelerating rate.’3
The world-renowned crusader for Darwinism and atheism, Prof. Richard Dawkins, states:
‘We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully “designed” to have come into existence by chance.’4
Thus, even the most ardent atheist concedes that design is all around us. To a Christian, the design we see all around us is totally consistent with the Bible’s explanation that God created all.
However, evolutionists like Dawkins reject the idea of a Designer. He comments (emphasis added):
‘All appearance to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature is the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way. A true watchmaker has foresight: he designs his cogs and springs, and plans their interconnections, with future purpose in his mind’s eye. Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation for the existence and apparently purposeful form of all life, has no purpose in mind … . It has no mind … . It does not plan for the future … it is the blind watchmaker.’5
Selection and design
Life is built on information, contained in that molecule of heredity, DNA. Dawkins believes that natural selection6 and mutations (blind, purposeless copying mistakes in this DNA) together provide the mechanism for producing the vast amounts of information responsible for the design in living things.7
Natural selection is a logical process that can be observed. However, selection can only operate on the information already contained in genes—it does not produce new information.8 Actually, this is consistent with the Bible’s account of origins; God created distinct kinds of animals and plants, each to reproduce after its own kind.
One can observe great variation in a kind, and see the results of natural selection. For instance, dingoes, wolves, and coyotes have developed over time as a result of natural selection operating on the information in the genes of the wolf/dog kind.
But no new information was produced—these varieties have resulted from rearrangement, and sorting out, of the information in the original dog kind. One kind has never been observed to change into a totally different kind with new information that previously did not exist!
Without a way to increase information, natural selection will not work as a mechanism for evolution. Evolutionists agree with this, but they believe that mutations somehow provide the new information for natural selection to act upon.

How Would You Answer?

In our everyday experience, just about everything seems to have a beginning. In fact, the laws of science show that even things which look the same through our lifetime, like the sun and other stars, are running down. The sun is using up its fuel at millions of tonnes each second—since, therefore, it cannot last forever, it had to have a beginning. The same can be shown to be true for the entire universe.
So when Christians claim that the God of the Bible created the entire universe, some will ask what seems a logical question, namely ‘Where did God come from?’
The Bible makes it clear in many places that God is outside of time. He is eternal, with no beginning or end—He is infinite! He also knows all things, being infinitely intelligent.1
Is this logical? Can modern science allow for such a notion? And how could you recognize the evidence for an intelligent Creator?

Complete article

For the complete article on Cain's Wife go to this link:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/who-was-cains-wife

The First Man

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that Adam was “the first man.” God did not start by making a race of men.

The Bible makes it clear that only the descendants of Adam can be saved. Romans 5 teaches that we sin because Adam sinned. The death penalty, which Adam received as judgment for his sin of rebellion, has also been passed on to all his descendants.
Since Adam was the head of the human race, when he fell we who were in the loins of Adam fell also. Thus, we are all separated from God. The final consequence of sin would be separation from God in our sinful state forever. However, the good news is that there is a way for us to return to God.
Because a man brought sin and death into the world, the human race, who are all descendants of Adam, needed a sinless Man to pay the penalty for sin and the resulting judgment of death. However, the Bible teaches that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). What was the solution?
The Last Adam
God provided the solution—a way to deliver man from his wretched state. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15 that God provided another Adam. The Son of God became a man—a perfect Man—yet still our relation. He is called “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45) because he took the place of the first Adam. He became the new head and, because He was sinless, was able to pay the penalty for sin:
For since by [a] man came death, by [a] Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:21–22).
Christ suffered death (the penalty for sin) on the Cross, shedding His blood (“and without shedding of blood there is no remission,” Hebrews 9:22) so that those who put their trust in His work on the Cross can come in repentance of their sin of rebellion (in Adam) and be reconciled to God.
Thus, only descendants of the first man Adam can be saved.

Why is it important?

Many skeptics have claimed that for Cain to find a wife, there must have been other “races” of people on the earth who were not descendants of Adam and Eve. To many people, this question is a stumbling block to accepting the creation account of Genesis and its record of only one man and woman at the beginning of history. Defenders of the gospel must be able to show that all human beings are descendants of one man and one woman (Adam and Eve) because only descendants of Adam and Eve can be saved. Thus, believers need to be able to account for Cain’s wife and show clearly she was a descendant of Adam and Eve.
In order to answer this question of where Cain got his wife, we first need to cover some background information concerning the meaning of the gospel.

Why we must be ready to defend.

We don’t even know her name, yet she was discussed at the Scopes Trial,mentioned in the movies Inherit the Wind1 and Contact,2 and talked about incountries all over the world for hundreds of yearsSkeptics of the Bible have used Cain’s wife time and again to try to discredit the book of Genesis as a true historical record. Sadly, most Christians have not given an adequate answer to this question. As a result, the world sees them as not being able to defend the authority of Scripture and thus the Christian faith.
For instance, at the historic Scopes Trial in Tennessee in 1925, William Jennings Bryan, the prosecutor who stood for the Christian faith, failed to answer the question about Cain’s wife posed by the ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow. Consider the following excerpt from the trial record as Darrow interrogates Bryan:
Q—Did you ever discover where Cain got his wife?
A—No, sir; I leave the agnostics to hunt for her.
Q—You have never found out?
A—I have never tried to find.
Q—You have never tried to find?
A—No.
Q—The Bible says he got one doesn’t it? Were there other people on the earth at that time?
A—I cannot say.
Q—You cannot say. Did that ever enter your consideration?
A—Never bothered me.
Q—There were no others recorded, but Cain got a wife.
A—That is what the Bible says.
Q—Where she came from you do not know.3
The world’s press was focused on this trial, and what they heard has affected Christianity to this day—Christians can’t defend the biblical record!
In recent times, this same example was taken up by Carl Sagan in his book Contact2 (which was on the New York Times best-seller list) and used in the movie of the same name based upon this work.
In the book, we read the fictional character Ellie’s account of how she could not get answers from a minister’s wife, who was the leader of a church discussion group:
Ellie had never seriously read the Bible before ... . So over the weekend preceding her first class, she read through what seemed to be the important parts of the Old Testament, trying to keep an open mind. She at once recognized that there were two different and mutually contradictory stories of Creation ... and had trouble figuring out exactly who it was that Cain had married.4
Sagan cleverly listed a number of common questions (including Cain’s wife) that are often directed at Christians in an attempt to supposedly prove the Bible is full of contradictions and can’t be defended. The truth is—most Christians probably couldn’t answer these questions. And yet there are answers. But since churches lack in the teaching of apologetics,5 particularly in regard to the book of Genesis, most believers in the church are not able to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

2009 Rodeo

Click here to view these pictures larger

2009 Rodeo

Last night I was able to attend the rodeo for the second time only this time I watched instead of working in the concession. I forgot my camera but fortunately my grandpa brought his iphone. The pictures turned out surprisingly well for a phone camera!! As I watch the contestants and those in the rodeo arena I am reminded of the awesome ability God has given us to be able to bond with a magnificent animal ... the horse!! Those who are not accustomed to being around them may not realize the time and effort required in training a horse to be bomb proof. To me it's one of the most awesome feelings sitting up there on a horses back and working together to complete your task. Some say dog is man's best friend. For me it's my horse! Together we perfect our riding and we perform together. My favorite time of the day aside from spending time with my family and strengthening my relationship with God is being with my horse! All your cares and worries vanish while astride your friend and companion as your work as a team. The bond grows stronger with each moment spent together. I've had a hard time with my horse since I bought him around 4 years ago. He was extremely mean. In this past year I have finally been able to reach and bond with him. We've come a LONG way! Partly because I am older and have a better understanding of how he thinks.I love being with him now and actually enjoy riding him.

More post about how to defend your faith will arrive momentarily! lol

~Kat

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Bible Challenge

About a month ago, I started reading the Bible in 90 days. Now I have just started back up again. Because I was at my Grandparents and didn't have much time to read, I am catching up (that is a horrible excuse, I know, but I did read my Bible for five minutes every day). I was wondering if ya'll would like to take the challenge with me? Here is what you have to do to complete it visit-www.havenministries.com/schedule.pd. I think it is really exciting to do it because you learn so much more than if you just read a chapter a day. You also make connections with different people. It makes so much more since. Just remember that you aren't studying it. It is best to read it quickly rather than slowly (not to quickly in which you don't get the point of it). Here is the website for reading your Bible in 90 days visit-www.biblein90days.org/

In Christ,
Mac
P.S. Sorry, but I have not been able to figure out how to hyperlink yet.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Well it's raining here and unfortunately I can't ride this morning....but hopefully it will clear off before tonight!!! Our 4-H club is running the concession stand at our annual local rodeo!! I LOVE RODEOS!! Too bad I won't be in the stands to watch it but at least I'll be there!! Also one of my best friends(actually we are so close so that we say we're sisters) is flying home with her family from spending a week or so on vacation!! I've missed you sista!! My grandpa arrived home last night so I won't be taking care of his animals anymore for a while. My little brother will be disappointed since he loves animals(horses especially). Well school is calling me and I need to help my mom with chores around the house so....Later for now.

~Kat

Thursday, July 23, 2009

It's been busy here at my house! First thing this morning I fed my horses and worked my horse Hot Shot(the horse in the pic above). After finishing up at the barn I made breakfast for my siblings and we began cleaning our house(which isn't the easiest thing to do since I have brothers). While cleaning the upstairs I threw in a cd and the time passed by quickly. Thank goodness for music it makes cleaning so much easier, though instrumental works best so you don't stop to sing along!*imagine-toilet brush as mic and singing along to the newsboys*lol There was also time for school and I have added new blog entries! I love researching to post stuff about evolution verses creation!! I feel that whenever I'm learning to defend my faith I'm closer to God!

Well the house is now fresh and clean and I'm about to head out to feed my grandpa's animals while he is on vacation!hmmm... I wonder what's for dinner?

~Kat

What is Creation?

The term creationism is often used in a derogatory sense to suggest the inferiority of a religious viewpoint (as opposed to a claimed scientific viewpoint exclusive to evolution), but this use is deceptive. The belief in creation is not an auxiliary belief attached to the Bible; instead, creation is the logical conclusion of a clear reading and understanding of Genesis in its intended form—that is, as a historical narrative. This historical narrative, which was given to humanity by the infallible Creator, is the basis and foundation upon which a biblical worldview is based.

There are various forms of creationism, including old-earth creationism, progressive creationism, and young-earth creationism (some also label the Intelligent Design Movement as being a form of creationism). Most forms of creationism contend that an intelligence, not natural processes, created the universe and all life. However, only young-earth creationism is supported by a straightforward reading of Genesis without introducing outside suppositions and beliefs foreign to the text (e.g., that “science” has proven the ancient age of the earth).

Based upon the biblical account, there are seven main tenets (the “7 C’s”) of young-earth creationism: 1) the triune God of the Bible created the earth, the universe, and all life around 6,000 years ago (some allow for a range of 6,000–10,000 years old); 2) humanity rebelled against God, and God removed some of His sustaining power, which led to death and suffering (the Curse); 3) a year-long global catastrophe (the worldwide Flood) 4,000–5,000 years ago destroyed all land life not aboard Noah’s Ark and much of the sea life (evidenced by the fossil record); 4) God judged humanity by causing a confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel, giving rise to the various people groups around the world; 5) Jesus Christ (God made flesh) was conceived by the Holy Spirit and physically born of a virgin over 2,000 years ago; 6) Christ died on the Cross and rose to life again to make a way for humanity to be restored to God; and 7) Christ will one day return to judge the earth (the consummation).

Creationism, like evolutionism (or naturalism), is an interpretive framework through which all data is processed. Both are based upon beliefs about the past and past events, but only one, creationism, relies upon an eyewitness account. Attempts to place naturalism outside the realm of belief are untenable.

What is Evolution?

The word evolution (sometimes called Darwinism) has a variety of definitions, from simply “change” to “the natural process by which all life derived from a single ancestor,” and is referred to alternately as “hypothesis,” “theory,” “law,” and “fact.” Because of its imprecise nature, the term is often used ambiguously to imply that the processes we can observe in the present (e.g., natural selection) “prove” that the processes we cannot observe in the past must have happened as well (e.g., the change of dinosaurs into birds). In fact, the term evolution can also be used to denote the philosophy of naturalism, which depends upon unobserved events in the past (including in astronomy, chemistry, and geology).

In scientific terms, evolution generally means the change in genetic material between generations, which is also referred to as “descent with modification.” These changes are attributed to mutations, gene flow and drift, and natural selection, which are examples of observational science and can be shown to occur. However, the other aspect of evolution is the belief that all animals descended from one original ancestor. Evolutionists sometimes claim this “fact” is established in the fossil record, homology (similar structures), and genetic evidence. However, any evidence involving historical science (one-time events that cannot be retested) is subject to interpretational bias on the part of the scientist.

Mutations and genetic drift are often cited as the source of heritable traits from one generation to the next. While mutations do cause changes in the genome and genetic drift changes the frequency of those traits, neither process is capable of changing one kind of animal into another. More often, mutations have either no noticeable impact or cause degeneration.

When evolutionary scientists claim that evolution is a fact, they are relying upon a fallacy known as “bait and switch” (define a term one way, but use it in a completely different way later). Often the claim is that since one can observe natural selection, then descent from a common ancestor must also be true. However, this presupposes that the current processes we observe could cause the origin of completely novel structures (e.g., giving rise to lungs or complex brains). Such a claim is contrary to information theory and the laws of nature.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Defending Faith

Do you ever feel stumped when someone asks you why you believe in God and creation? Well I know I have so this post will hopefully give you some answers to defend your faith!

First of all let's cover some basic questions evolutionists will ask you and theories they believe in. Keep in mind that while defending your faith always remember to have a good attitude and be polite. Yes you may get frustrated but we can't let anger get in the way of a Godly attitude!After all we are representing the King of Kings! There are some arguements we should avoid as well... such as talking about a subject you really don't know much about and some of the terms sound like evolution but actually have to do with creation.Make sure you are aware of what you are speaking of before you get into and argument!

1. What happened to Dinosaurs?
According to evolutionists: Dinosaurs first evolved around 235 million years ago, long before man evolved. No human being ever lived with dinosaurs. Their history is recorded in the fossil layers on earth, which were deposited over millions of years. They were so successful as a group of animals that they eventually ruled the earth. However, around 65 million years ago, something happened to change all of this—the dinosaurs disappeared. Most evolutionists believe some sort of cataclysmic event, such as an asteroid impact, killed them. But many evolutionists claim that some dinosaurs evolved into birds, and thus they are not extinct but are flying around us even today.


According to the Bible: Dinosaurs first existed around 6,000 years ago.3 God made the dinosaurs, along with the other land animals, on Day 6 of the Creation Week (Genesis 1:20–25, 31). Adam and Eve were also made on Day 6—so dinosaurs lived at the same time as people, not separated by eons of time.Dinosaurs could not have died out before people appeared because dinosaurs had not previously existed; and death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering are a resultof Adam’s sin (Genesis 1:29–30; Romans 5:12, 14; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22).Representatives of all the kinds of air-breathing land animals, including the dinosaur kinds, went aboard Noah’s Ark. All those left outside the Ark died in the cataclysmic circumstances of the Flood, and many of their remains became fossils.After the Flood, around 4,300 years ago, the remnant of the land animals, including dinosaurs, came off the Ark and lived in the present world, along with people. Because of sin, the judgments of the Curse and the Flood have greatly changed earth. Post-Flood climatic change, lack of food, disease, and man’s activities caused many types of animals to become extinct. The dinosaurs, like many other creatures, died out. Why the big mystery about dinosaurs?

For the complete article visit(http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/what-happened-to-the-dinosaurs)


2.Noah's Flood:
The account of Noah and the Ark is one of the most widely known events in the history of mankind. Unfortunately, like other Bible accounts, it is often taken as a mere fairy tale.

The Bible, though, is the true history book of the universe, and in that light, the most-asked questions about the Ark and Flood of Noah can be answered with authority and confidence.

How Large Was Noah’s Ark?
The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits (Genesis 6:15).
Unlike many whimsical drawings that depict the Ark as some kind of overgrown houseboat (with giraffes sticking out the top), the Ark described in the Bible was a huge vessel. Not until the late 1800s was a ship built that exceeded the capacity of Noah’s Ark.

The dimensions of the Ark are convincing for two reasons: the proportions are like that of a modern cargo ship, and it is about as large as a wooden ship can be built. The cubit gives us a good indication of size.1 With the cubit’s measurement, we know that the Ark must have been at least 450 feet (137 m) long, 75 feet (23 m) wide, and 45 feet (14 m) high. In the Western world, wooden sailing ships never got much longer than about 330 feet (100 m), yet the ancient Greeks built vessels at least this size 2,000 years earlier. China built huge wooden ships in the 1400s that may have been as large as the Ark. The biblical Ark is one of the largest wooden ships of all time—a mid-sized cargo ship by today’s standards.

How Could Noah Build the Ark?
The Bible does not tell us that Noah and his sons built the Ark by themselves. Noah could have hired skilled laborers or had relatives, such as Methuselah and Lamech, help build the vessel. However, nothing indicates that they could not—or that they did not—build the Ark themselves in the time allotted. The physical strength and mental processes of men in Noah’s day was at least as great (quite likely, even superior) to our own.2 They certainly would have had efficient means for harvesting and cutting timber, as well as for shaping, transporting, and erecting the massive beams and boards required.

If one or two men today can erect a large house in just 12 weeks, how much more could three or four men do in a few years? Adam’s descendants were making complex musical instruments, forging metal, and building cities—their tools, machines, and techniques were not primitive.

History has shown that technology can be lost. In Egypt, China, and the Americas the earlier dynasties built more impressive buildings or had finer art or better science. Many so-called modern inventions turn out to be re-inventions, like concrete, which was used by the Romans.

Even accounting for the possible loss of technology due to the Flood, early post-Flood civilizations display all the engineering know-how necessary for a project like Noah’s Ark. People sawing and drilling wood in Noah’s day, only a few centuries before the Egyptians were sawing and drilling granite, is very reasonable! The idea that more primitive civilizations are further back in time is an evolutionary concept.

In reality, when God created Adam, he was perfect. Today, the individual human intellect has suffered from 6,000 years of sin and decay. The sudden rise in technology in the last few centuries has nothing to do with increasing intelligence; it is a combination of publishing and sharing ideas, and the spread of key inventions that became tools for investigation and manufacturing. One of the most recent tools is the computer, which compensates a great deal for our natural decline in mental performance and discipline, since it permits us to gather and store information as perhaps never before.

How Could Noah Round Up So Many Animals?
Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you, to keep them alive (Genesis 6:20).
This verse tells us that Noah didn’t have to search or travel to far away places to bring the animals on board. The world map was completely different before the Flood, and on the basis of Genesis 1, there may have been only one continent. The animals simply arrived at the Ark as if called by a “homing instinct” (a behavior implanted in the animals by their Creator) and marched up the ramp, all by themselves.

Though this was probably a supernatural event (one that cannot be explained by our understanding of nature), compare it to the impressive migratory behavior we see in some animals today. We are still far from understanding all the marvelous animal behaviors exhibited in God’s creation: the migration of Canada geese and other birds, the amazing flights of Monarch butterflies, the annual travels of whales and fish, hibernation instincts, earthquake sensitivity, and countless other fascinating capabilities of God’s animal kingdom.

Where Is the Evidence in the Earth for Noah’s Flood?
For this they willingly forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water (2 Peter 3:5–6).
Evidence of Noah’s Flood can be seen all over the earth, from seabeds to mountaintops. Whether you travel by car, train, or plane, the physical features of the earth’s terrain clearly indicate a catastrophic past, from canyons and craters to coal beds and caverns. Some layers of strata extend across continents, revealing the effects of a huge catastrophe.

The earth’s crust has massive amounts of layered sedimentary rock, sometimes miles (kilometers) deep! These layers of sand, soil, and material—mostly laid down by water—were once soft like mud, but they are now hard stone. Encased in these sedimentary layers are billions of dead things (fossils of plants and animals) buried very quickly. The evidence all over the earth is staring everyone in the face.

Was Noah’s Flood Global?
And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered (Genesis 7:19–20).
Many Christians today claim that the Flood of Noah’s time was only a local flood. These people generally believe in a local flood because they have accepted the widely believed evolutionary history of the earth, which interprets fossil layers as the history of the sequential appearance of life over millions of years.12

Scientists once understood the fossils, which are buried in water-carried sediments of mud and sand, to be mostly the result of the great Flood. Those who now accept millions of years of gradual accumulation of fossils have, in their way of thinking, explained away the evidence for the global Flood. Hence, many compromising Christians insist on a local flood.

Secularists deny the possibility of a worldwide Flood at all. If they would think from a biblical perspective, however, they would see the abundant evidence for the global Flood. As someone once quipped, “I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t believed it.”

Those who accept the evolutionary timeframe, with its fossil accumulation, also rob the Fall of Adam of its serious consequences. They put the fossils, which testify of disease, suffering, and death, before Adam and Eve sinned and brought death and suffering into the world. In doing this, they also undermine the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ. Such a scenario also robs all meaning from God’s description of His finished creation as “very good.”

If the Flood only affected the area of Mesopotamia, as some claim, why did Noah have to build an Ark? He could have walked to the other side of the mountains and escaped. Most importantly, if the Flood were local, people not living in the vicinity of the Flood would not have been affected by it. They would have escaped God’s judgment on sin.A local Flood?

In addition, Jesus believed that the Flood killed every person not on the Ark. What else could Christ mean when He likened the coming world judgment to the judgment of “all” men in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37–39)?

In 2 Peter 3, the coming judgment by fire is likened to the former judgment by water in Noah’s Flood. A partial judgment in Noah’s day, therefore, would mean a partial judgment to come.

If the Flood were only local, how could the waters rise to 20 feet (6 m) above the mountains (Genesis 7:20)? Water seeks its own level; it could not rise to cover the local mountains while leaving the rest of the world untouched.

Even what is now Mt. Everest was once covered with water and uplifted afterward.13 If we even out the ocean basins and flatten out the mountains, there is enough water to cover the entire earth by about 1.7 miles (2.7 km).14 Also important to note is that, with the leveling out of the oceans and mountains, the Ark would not have been riding at the height of the current Mt. Everest, thus no need for such things as oxygen masks either.

There’s more. If the Flood were a local flood, God would have repeatedly broken His promise never to send such a flood again. God put a rainbow in the sky as a covenant between God and man and the animals that He would never repeat such an event. There have been huge local floods in recent times (e.g., in Bangladesh); but never has there been another global Flood that killed all life on the land.

Complete article can be found at:(http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/really-a-flood-and-ark)

3.The Big Bang:
Astronomy has been much in the news these past several years as we see or read reports about the latest discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, the twin Mars’ rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the numerous space probes such as Galileo, Cassini and Huygens. All of these space programs assume that the universe began with a big bang billions of years ago. The public, for the most part, swallows these stories without any critical thinking. But is the big bang a truly scientific theory? Has “science” proven the age of the universe? In this chapter, we will explore the big bang and see why many scientists are abandoning the theory. We will see why the big bang doesn’t fit the Bible or science.

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The “big bang” is a story about how the universe came into existence. It proposes that billions of years ago the universe began in a tiny, infinitely hot and dense point called a singularity. This singularity supposedly contained not only all the mass and energy that would become everything we see today, but also “space” itself. According to the story, the singularity rapidly expanded, spreading out the energy and space.

It is supposed that over vast periods of time, the energy from the big bang cooled down as the universe expanded. Some of it turned into matter—hydrogen and helium gas. These gases collapsed to form stars and galaxies of stars. Some of the stars created the heavier elements in their core and then exploded, distributing these elements into space. Some of the heavier elements allegedly began to stick together and formed the earth and other planets.

This story of origins is entirely fiction. But sadly, many people claim to believe the big bang model. It is particularly distressing that many professing Christians have been taken in by the big bang, perhaps without realizing its atheistic underpinnings. They have chosen to reinterpret the plain teachings of Scripture in an attempt to make it mesh with secular beliefs about origins.

Secular compromises
There are several reasons why we cannot just add the big bang to the Bible. Ultimately, the big bang is a secular story of origins. When first proposed, it was an attempt to explain how the universe could have been created without God. Really, it is an alternative to the Bible; so it makes no sense to try to “add” it to the Bible. Let us examine some of the profound differences between the Bible and the secular big bang view of origins.

The Bible teaches that God created the universe in six days ( Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11). It is clear from the context in Genesis that these were days in the ordinary sense (i.e., 24-hour days) since they are bounded by evening and morning and occur in an ordered list (second day, third day, etc.). Conversely, the big bang teaches the universe has evolved over billions of years.


The Bible says that Earth was created before the stars and that trees were created before the sun.1 However, the big bang view teaches the exact opposite. The Bible tells us that the earth was created as a paradise; the secular model teaches it was created as a molten blob. The big bang and the Bible certainly do not agree about the past.

Many people don’t realize that the big bang is a story not only about the past but also about the future. The most popular version of the big bang teaches that the universe will expand forever and eventually run out of usable energy. According to the story, it will remain that way forever in a state that astronomers call “heat death.”2 But the Bible teaches that the world will be judged and remade. Paradise will be restored. The big bang denies this crucial biblical teaching.


Scientific problems with the big bang
The big bang also has a number of scientific problems. Big bang supporters are forced to accept on “blind faith” a number of notions that are completely inconsistent with real observational science. Let’s explore some of the inconsistencies between the big bang story and the real universe.

Missing monopoles
Most people know something about magnets—like the kind found in a compass or the kind that sticks to a refrigerator. We often say that magnets have two “poles”—a north pole and a south pole. Poles that are alike will repel each other, while opposites attract. A “monopole” is a hypothetical massive particle that is just like a magnet but has only one pole. So a monopole would have either a north pole or a south pole, but not both.

Particle physicists claim that many magnetic monopoles should have been created in the high temperature conditions of the big bang. Since monopoles are stable, they should have lasted to this day. Yet, despite considerable search efforts, monopoles have not been found. Where are the monopoles? The fact that we don’t find any monopoles suggests that the universe never was that hot. This indicates that there never was a big bang, but it is perfectly consistent with the Bible’s account of creation, since the universe did not start infinitely hot.

The flatness problem
Another serious challenge to the big bang model is called the “flatness problem.” The expansion rate of the universe appears to be very finely balanced with the force of gravity; this condition is called “flat.” If the universe were the accidental byproduct of a big bang, it is difficult to imagine how such a fantastic coincidence could occur. Big bang cosmology cannot explain why the matter density in the universe isn’t greater, causing it to collapse upon itself (closed universe), or less, causing the universe to rapidly fly apart (open universe).

The problem is even more severe when we extrapolate into the past. Since any deviation from perfect flatness tends to increase as time moves forward, it logically follows that the universe must have been even more precisely balanced in the past than it is today. Thus, at the moment of the big bang, the universe would have been virtually flat to an extremely high precision. This must have been the case (assuming the big bang), despite the fact that the laws of physics allow for an infinite range of values. This is a coincidence that stretches credulity to the breaking point. Of course, in the creation model, “balance” is expected since the Lord has fine-tuned the universe for life.

Inflating the complexities
Many secular astronomers have come up with an idea called “inflation” in an attempt to address the flatness and monopole problems (as well as other problems not addressed in detail here, such as the horizon problem). Inflation proposes that the universe temporarily went through a period of accelerated expansion. Amazingly, there is no real supporting evidence for inflation; it appears to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated conjecture—much like the big bang itself. Moreover, the inflation idea has difficulties of its own, such as what would start it and how it would stop smoothly. In addition, other problems with the big bang are not solved, even if inflation were true. These are examined below.

Where is the antimatter?
Consider the “baryon number problem.” Recall that the big bang supposes that matter (hydrogen and helium gas) was created from energy as the universe expanded. However, experimental physics tells us that whenever matter is created from energy, such a reaction also produces antimatter. Antimatter has similar properties to matter, except the charges of the particles are reversed. (So whereas a proton has a positive charge, an antiproton has a negative charge.) Any reaction where energy is transformed into matter produces an exactly equal amount of antimatter; there are no known exceptions.

The big bang (which has no matter to begin with—only energy) should have produced exactly equal amounts of matter and antimatter, and that should be what we see today. But we do not. The visible universe is comprised almost entirely of matter—with only trace amounts of antimatter anywhere.

This devastating problem for the big bang is actually consistent with biblical creation; it is a design feature. God created the universe to be essentially matter only—and it’s a good thing He did. When matter and antimatter come together, they violently destroy each other. If the universe had equal amounts of matter and antimatter (as the big bang requires), life would not be possible.

Missing Population III stars
The big bang model by itself can only account for the existence of the three lightest elements (hydrogen, helium and trace amounts of lithium). This leaves about 90 or so of the other naturally occurring elements to be explained. Since the conditions in the big bang are not right to form these heavier elements (as big bang supporters readily concede), secular astronomers believe that stars have produced the remaining elements by nuclear fusion in the core. This is thought to occur in the final stages of a massive star as it explodes (a supernova). The explosion then distributes the heavier elements into space. Second and third generation stars are thus “contaminated” with small amounts of these heavier elements.

If this story were true, then the first stars would have been comprised of only the three lightest elements (since these would have been the only elements in existence initially). Some such stars3 should still be around today since their potential lifespan is calculated to exceed the (big bang) age of the universe. Such stars would be called “Population III” stars.4 Amazingly (to those who believe in the big bang), Population III stars have not been found anywhere. All known stars have at least trace amounts of heavy elements in them. It is amazing to think that our galaxy alone is estimated to have over 100 billion stars in it. Yet not one star has been discovered that is comprised of only the three lightest elements.

The collapse of the big bang
With all the problems listed above, as well as many others too numerous to include, it is not surprising that quite a few secular astronomers are beginning to abandon the big bang. Although it is still the dominant model at present, increasing numbers of physicists and astronomers are realizing that the big bang simply is not a good explanation of how the universe began. In the May 22, 2004 issue of New Scientist, there appeared an open letter to the scientific community written primarily by secular scientists5 who challenge the big bang. These scientists pointed out that the copious arbitrary assumptions and the lack of successful big bang predictions challenge the legitimacy of the model. Among other things, they state:

The big bang today relies on a growing number of hypothetical entities, things that we have never observed—inflation, dark matter and dark energy are the most prominent examples. Without them, there would be a fatal contradiction between the observations made by astronomers and the predictions of the big bang theory. In no other field of physics would this continual recourse to new hypothetical objects be accepted as a way of bridging the gap between theory and observation. It would, at the least, raise serious questions about the validity of the underlying theory.6
This statement has since been signed by hundreds of other scientists and professors at various institutions. The big bang seems to be losing considerable popularity. Secular scientists are increasingly rejecting the big bang in favor of other models. If the big bang is abandoned, what will happen to all the Christians who compromised and claimed that the Bible is compatible with the big bang? What will they say? Will they claim that the Bible actually does not teach the big bang, but instead that it teaches the latest secular model? Secular models come and go, but God’s Word does not need to be changed because God got it exactly right the first time.

Conclusion
The big bang has many scientific problems. These problems are symptomatic of the underlying incorrect worldview. The big bang erroneously assumes that the universe was not supernaturally created, but that it came about by natural processes billions of years ago. However, reality does not line up with this notion. Biblical creation explains the evidence in a more straightforward way without the ubiquitous speculations prevalent in secular models. But ultimately, the best reason to reject the big bang is that it goes against what the Creator of the universe Himself has taught: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

I have just barely scratched the surface of evolution verses creation. More info will soon follow!!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

This morning I had an appointment with a new piano teacher which required awakening around 6:40. After breakfast, feeding animals and finally getting all the kids dressed we headed off to the "big city". It was a very successful viewing of a lesson in session. We (mom,cousins and siblings) decided to eat in town at Genghis Grill since we live around 1 to 1 1/2 hours away. Arriving home I completed school and am now sitting at the computer finishing my second blog entry! More posts will be arriving momentarily! lol

~Kat
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