Da Bauz's Take

Greetings I am but s simple Christian who has become completely disenchanted with “chasing the ‘almighty’ dollar” thus now pursue knowing The Almighty G-d; Jesus Christ / Yeshua Ha Mashiach; Rabbi Yeshua Bar Yosef. It is my hope that I may present some insightful yet provocative food for thought. I welcome all who read this to ask questions. In fact please do not take anything I write at face value, rather research and verify the facts and form your own opinions. Blessings in Christ, Da Bauz

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

WHY THE DISCONNECT?

#RAD #ATEND G-d (Christ) #IIC714

Why The Disconnect? Is G-d (Christ) The G-d Of The Impossible (Limitless Possibilities) Or A Gawd Of Limited Substance?

In The Walkway Called Solomon’s Portico

If any of you were asked, Christian or non-Christian friends and onlookers, if you could or would believe (under any circumstance) that a man of 40 years of age, who was a cripple, could be made whole and able to walk, what would you say?

What if you were told that not only he could be made to walk, and walk normally, but that he could be expected to be seen dancing and running with excitement and enthusiasm, what would you say now?

What if it was added that he'd been crippled for a few years, what would you say about that?

Permit me, if you will, to digress for a moment. Those of you who declare your faith in G-d (Christ) and His miracles, but simultaneously deny His creative work, over a 'just six-day process', why?

For those of you who dismiss G-d and His power, and even His outright existence, we should talk about the myriad lack plausibility of the many atheistic beliefs about origins, and the evolutionary processes. And should the Lord lead, we will post on those themes also. But for this post, the intended focus is the apparent disparity between - the "G-d (Christ) did it, with respect to the miracles of the New Testament, and we accept that" - and - the "G-d did it, with respect to the miracles (be they creation, a great flood, stopping the apparent movement of the sun, or the belly of a whale, etc., to name a few) of the Old Testament / TaNaKh, and we defer to 'science says NO, therefore we cannot' accept that." Do you see the disconnect?

Okay, back to the lame man, and the walkway called Solomon’s Portico. Earlier it was asked, what if it was added that the crippled man had been a cripple for a few years, what would you say about that?

Well now, let's ramp that up a bit, shall we... What if he'd been crippled for many years, perhaps even dozens, what would you say about that? And remember, we also spoke about him having been seen dancing and running with excitement and enthusiasm, so really now what would you say?

Okay, don't let me lose you on this, stay with because this gets wild... seriously.

Imagine an infant, as heartbreaking as it is (or would be), being born an invalid. Unable to ever walk, and needing to be carried everywhere, and needing to have his every need handled by another person. Consider the plight of this young person growing up, going through childhood into young adulthood, and then through his 20's and 30's until he'd turned forty years of age. Now please do not let me lose you here, again because this is (to steal a phrase from the Donald) yuuuuuuuuuuge...

What does science say, wait... back up for a moment, what does your own common sense say, about the muscle tone, and development of a 40-year-old, including muscle atrophy for one who has never even walked? For any athletic types reading, what do you think are the odds of a man who had been active, who had been very able-bodied, to go through a period of even 90 days of very restricted mobility (if not completely immobile)? Do you think you'd see him up dancing around because some kook declared - "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" - after just a 90-day rehab stint?

Again, now... I really hope I have not lost you here. The lame man from the walkway of Solomon’s Portico, he had not just gone through a few months of rehab. He had not lost the ability to walk... no... He never had the ability. He'd never run, he'd never danced, in fact he'd never even moved of his own accord before. And he had lived for 40 very long years never having the ability to do anything physically exerting.

And then these upstarts, Peter and John came along - Acts 3:1 - 8 - and say to this poor crippled man - "...silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." - KJV, and what do we read happened?

Well in verse nine we read that the lame man - "...jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them -- walking, leaping, and praising God..." HCSB

Did you see that? Do you see that? A man who was lame from birth. A man who, according to Acts 4:22 was 40 years old when Peter and John spoke to him in the Name of Jesus. A man who by all definitions of science, not only should have never walked, but absolutely could not have run, and danced and leaped for joy, all because - "Science Says".

Now, as Christians we are not asked to just blindly accept such a story, no. We have the privilege, by virtue of the power of G-d the Holy Ghost, (the One who raised Christ's body from the grave - Romans 8:11) of having Jesus personally indwelling us, to bear witness to our spirit of the magnificence and truth of this wonderful story.

So please tell me why, when "Science Says" a lame man of 40 years (lame from birth) could not possibly ever just miraculously - rise up and walk, and leap - you are willing to accept that what "Science Says" (in the case of the lame man from the Portico of Solomon’s Temple) is incorrect. But when it comes to what "Science Says" about G-d creating in just six days, or the universe being a mere six thousand years old, somehow in this case what "Science Says" is taken as being fact and correct? Are we seeing the disconnect here too?

“No Jesus, NO peace” and yet, “Know Jesus, KNOW peace”

How does one get to “know” Jesus? Simple, invite Him into your heart, as Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” [Revelation 3:20 NIV] How can be assured that this Jesus stuff means anything? Well because the Bible tells us so, as the Apostle Paul wrote:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” [Romans 10:9-10 NIV]

And for those of you who say to me, I can’t be bothered reading the Bible, “it’s confusing” or “it’s a waste of my time”, may I draw your attention to what the Bible says about wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” [Proverbs 9:10 NIV]

If nothing else, PLEASE read two chapters from the Bible – (don’t own one, sorry NO excuse, if you’re reading this, you can access this: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16&version=NIV) John 3 and John 14!

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And John 14:6 says: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Just sayin’...

What is #RAD? #RAD is:

R epent of rejecting Christ

A ccept Christ as your Lord

D evelop your relationship with G-d

#RAD your relationship with the Living Almighty God Himself as your personal Lord and Saviour depends on it!

What is #ATEND G-d (Christ)? Ask me!

John 3:16, Revelation 3:20, Romans 10:9 -10, Revelation 21:27, II Corinthians 5:21 and I John 5:13 / John 20:31!

Shalom!

Cited or consulted sources and resources

http://bit.ly/1kliLwA - “Bible Hub”

http://bit.ly/1kliTMD - “BibleGateway”

http://bit.ly/1MzWhEQ - “Bible.org”

Monday, 28 March 2016

A Pre-Adamic Race / Gap Theory, Sound Doctrine Or A Stretch

#RAD #ATEND G-d (Christ) #IIC714

A Pre-Adamic Race / Gap Theory, Sound Doctrine Or A Stretch

Sadly, there is probably more evidence for the tooth-fairy, than is there any sound Biblical basis for the "GAP theory" in Creation. By taking a few words, one being the Hebrew word 'hayah' ( הָיָה ), pronounced 'haw-yaw' found in Genesis 1:2, which can be rendered as 'became' or 'to have become', as well as 'was', and insisting that it be rendered "became" in Genesis 1:2. As well as a couple of other words found in Scripture, such as 'mala' ( מָלֵא ), pronounced "maw-lay" which can be translated as replenish (taken to mean to 'start over') or simply mean "to fill" Genesis 1:28. We wind up seeing entire doctrines built up, and a host of challenges to other very foundational Scriptural doctrines also, all on a wafer thin eisegesis of Scripture, based upon one or two words.

Context is king, see Genesis 1:2, 1:28, 3:20 and 4:25 to name a few.

The single biggest problem with what many "GAP" theorists argue that - 'science (read "Secular[1]" science) disagrees with a very young age for the Earth'- is that it seems to place an inordinate amount of emphasis on “science [read “secular science”] says, therefore…".

I very firmly believe, however, that any suggestion that Scriptural exegesis (interpretation) should be adapted to, controlled by, or otherwise subjected to any sort of submission to a Secular world view that, (let's be honest folks, whether or not atheists admit it... they hate God) calls God a liar, says that God is not real, and that kowtows to their gawd of naturalism, is repulsive. Sound Biblical exegesis requires drawing from scripture, using Biblical context and relying on the Holy Ghost. The complete opposite of Biblical exegesis is eisegesis which is to 'read into' Scripture.

Thus, my number one reason for hedging on the subject of - "a GAP theology because science says, therefore…" - is that science (again read Secular or 'God-hating science') should not in any way dictate what a Christian believes God or Scriptures 'really' mean or meant. Remember here, the very same secular science that says that myriad Old Testament / TaNaKh tales such as - creating everything in six days, a global catastrophic flood, a man surviving three days in the belly of a whale, to name but a few, are impossible, also likewise states (and states emphatically) that walking on water... a virgin getting pregnant... turning water into fine wine, instantaneously... a dead man being resurrected, especially after three days in the desert heat… and myriad other things are all just as completely as absurd and impossible. Impossible for man? Yes. Impossible for God? No.

Scripturally speaking, I also see more than a few challenges with this GAP theology.

Let's begin with I Corinthians 15:45, here we read - "...Adam the first man...", this certainly flies in the face of a pre-Adamic race that was wiped out by Satan's flood, as one variation of the GAP suggests in Genesis 1:2

Next, let's look at Genesis 2:5 - 8 where we read - "...there was no man to cultivate the ground...",(NASB) this renders another variant of a pre-Adamic race of peoples, not very sound.

Continuing, let's consider Genesis 2:18 - 20, wherein we read that "...for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him...", (ESV) this too renders that other variant of a pre-Adamic race of peoples, not very sound.

In Genesis 3:20, Adam who names his wife "Eve", is referred to as the mother of all living, once more rendering that other variant of a pre-Adamic race of peoples, not very sound.

Many use the argument of one of the variants of these GAP theologies, that A) Cain feared for his life, and B) that he even found a wife, ergo - there must have been another group of a pre-Adamic race of peoples - this of course is not only stretching Scripture, it is completely not necessitated. It is not outside of Scripture to see that Cain's murder of Abel could have very well have been near Adam's 130th year. It is also not outside of Scripture to consider that every 18 to 25 years, new babies began to arrive from new generations (or the now young adult children, and grandchildren, etc.), and... it is also not inconceivable that Adam and Eve could very well have had a baby a year, for not just the first 18 to 25 years (or more), but well into their 500 or even 600 or 700’s years of age, including a distinct possibility of twins or even triplets showed up periodically. This would amass a base population that would go from just two people to tens of thousands just by the time Seth was born. More than enough people for Cain to find a wife, and also be very, very terrified of retribution from, for the murder of his brother.

All of this requires of course that the wife Cain found, Genesis 4:17, was his sister. And yes, most all of us today would argue "repulsive", but please note two things, A) incest wasn’t outlawed by G-d until Moses time, and B) the simple fact that G-d had Moses address incest in Leviticus 18 is a good and clear indicator it happened historically. Remember, prior to Adam's sin Genesis 3:6 & 7, all of creation was perfect (Genesis 1:31). There were no genetic defects, no DNA degradation, so the birth defect issues that we see today, with close family members being sexually active with each other, just were not there... in fact, as Moses did not receive the Law from G-d until c.~ 2,500 years post fall-of-man, this would at least suggest that the practice had little negative impact on mankind for those first c. ~ 2k years. But I digress.

The idea of Cain 'building a city' is also oft-times challenged and argued as evidence for some alternate variant of a pre-Adamic race of peoples. This too is not unreasonable to answer within Scripture, based upon both the lengthy lifespans of early man, and the purer gene pool. As noted earlier, by the time Seth was born there could easily have been tens of thousands of people already. And Cain was absolutely no older than 130, by the time Seth was born, even if Cain were birthed in Adam and Eve's first year... why? Adam was only 130, when Seth was born Genesis 5:3, ergo Cain could not have been older than 129 years, when he murdered Abel. With average lifespans ranging between 700 and 900+ years, Cain himself and his wives, could have sired 100's of thousands of offspring, by the time he was 260... so, building a city... not out of the realm of possibilities or plausibility.

No matter what the view or variant of pre-Adamic humanoids, it creates vast amounts of problematic issues, not the least of which is / are:

Mortality, especially human mortality, before the sin of Adam

Romans 5:12, and I Corinthians 15:21, paint a clear picture and form a very vital and central Christian doctrine, and really a Tenet of the Christian faith - "sin came into the world through one man… and so death spread to all men..." (ESV). Even if one holds to the view, which I do not, that animal mortality before Adam's sin did somehow occur, one simply cannot ignore that all of these pre-Adamic / GAP theories require men, at least some men, dying before Adam's sin.

Thus I believe that not only are any and all of these variants of pre-Adamic humanoids not only a stretch for Scripture… they are, in fact, blatantly unscriptural.

“No Jesus, NO peace” and yet, “Know Jesus, KNOW peace”

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And John 14:6 says: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Just sayin’...

What is #RAD? #RAD is:

R epent of rejecting Christ

A ccept Christ as your Lord

D evelop your relationship with G-d

#RAD your relationship with the Living Almighty God Himself as your personal Lord and Saviour depends on it!

What is #ATEND G-d (Christ)? Ask me!

John 3:16, Revelation 3:20, Romans 10:9 -10, Revelation 21:27, II Corinthians 5:21 and I John 5:13 / John 20:31!

Shalom!

[1] - Secular Science, that is to say neo-darwinian philosophy(ies) (many of which have been around long before Darwin's book "On Origin of Species"), is hell bent on disproving that God even exists, never mind that He has no real power

Additional reading (in no particular order), and yes some of what these sites point to is very much in defense of the GAP / pre-Adamic race theories. While other citations are for sites that argue against, or challenge such theories. I highly recommend reading them all, and keeping in mind one vital governing principal - "...Now [we] know in part; then [we] shall know fully..." I Corinthians 13:12.

“Genesis Gap Interpretation"

http://www.kjvbible.org/gap_theory.html

"Closing the Gap"

https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/gap-theory/closing-the-gap

"Time Interval Between the First and Second Verses of Genesis"

http://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/creation-or-evolution-does-it-really-matter-what-you-believe/earths-age

"Does the Bible say anything about a pre-Adamic race?"

http://www.gotquestions.org/pre-Adamic-race.html

"The Gap Theory"

http://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/is-there-a-god/the-gap-theory

"Does the Bible teach that there was a pre-Adamic race?"

https://carm.org/was-there-a-preadamic-race-according-to-bible