Head-dibs

Question: God tells Adam and Eve to “ be fruitful and multiply ” (Genesis 1:28), but later says, “ when a woman gives birth and bears a male child, she shall be unclean for seven days . . . but if she bears a female, then she shall be unclean for two weeks as in the days of her menstruation . . . ” (Leviticus 12:2, 5). Is childbearing sinful?  Isn't God asking the impossible? Answer: The issue centers around an act that was part of the original creation: childbearing is an act ordained and blessed by God, but Israel is instructed that the performance of bringing a child into the world brings a condition on the woman that separates her from God. First, it is not the birth that causes the problem, but the flow of blood connected with it in the context of ceremonial law (as opposed to civil or moral law). The Bible teaches that " life is in the blood " (Genesis 9:4). Leviticus 12:6-7 shows that after her days of ceremonial waiting, the woman was to bring a sacrifice f...

James White gives us " The Real Story Behind the Harold Camping Decoder Ring ." Robertson McQuilkin speaks on " Priorities in Great Commission Living ." "Christian schooling is growing in South Korea. That phenomenon brought a TV production crew from South Korea to the campus of Columbia International University and Ben Lippen School in February to produce a program on what makes Christian education work, and the philosophy behind it." Animal Beat-box:

The short answer: “Yes.” Here is the link of reasoning behind the question:   Genesis 1:1 says God created the heavens and the earth and Isaiah 44:24 says, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself.’” The New Testament says that the world was made by Jesus in John 1:10 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. The bottom line is this: Jesus and God are not divided. Colossians 1:15-17 is one place that explains, “ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together .”  The explanation is quite simple: Jesus is the “ image of the invisible God .” The Greek word here is “icon” and we use th...

It doesn't say that.  The Bible teaches that birds were formed from the ground.  Let’s read the passage in question from the King James: “ And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.’ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good .” Notice those words in brackets? They are not there in the Hebrew and have been inserted for easier reading in English. What does it say in the Hebrew? The poetry alone is quite impressive: “ And God said, ‘Let the waters teem/swarm [“sharats”] with teeming/swarming things [“sherets”] that have life, and flying creatures [“owph”] flying [“uwph”] in the open expanse of heaven. And God created great sea monsters/dragons/whales [“tanniyn”] and every living soul that move...

How can they “sing for joy” (Job 38:7) at the creation of the earth on Day 1 if they were created on Day 4 (Genesis 1:16-19)? God asks Job this question: “ Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). Frankly, I am surprised that the question is not “how can stars sing?” The first part of the answer regarding the stars is found in the figurative language itself, a kind of language we use daily. If I were to ask, “Who won Super Bowl XLV?” the answer would be a representative name (The Packers) instead of the roster of those who actually played in the game for the winning team? MSNBC says the Packers Beat the Steelers—did they really? Is everyone ok? What did they beat them with? The article also says the quarte...

"The Gospels say that women were the first to see the resurrected Christ (Mary first and then to the other women) and then to Peter and then to the Twelve. Later in the New Testament, Paul says that Peter (Cephas) was the first one to see Christ after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:5). Which is correct?" Since men’s testimonies were considered legal (official) in the first century, it is understandable that the apostle Paul would not list the women as witnesses in his defense of the resurrection in his letter to the Corinthians. Jesus did appear first to Mary Magdalene, then to the other women, and then to Peter. Paul was not giving a complete list. The order of the appearances of Christ is as follows: The order of the Resurrection appearances is as follows: Mary and the women (Matthew 28:1-10; John 20:10–18); Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5); Two disciples (Luke 24:13–35); Ten apostles (Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23); Eleven apostles (John 20:24–31); Seven apostles ...

This question reminds me of those lateral thinking problems: “A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the child is taken to hospital gravely injured. When he gets there, the surgeon says, 'I can't operate on this boy - for he is my son!!!' How can this possibly be?” Some evidence has been withheld behind the question, so the problem appears to be more difficult than it really is; for example: Matthew 28:2-5 describes at least one angel who seemed to be the one responsible for rolling the stone, as witnessed by the guards, not the women. “ And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men .” When the women arrive, there is no mention that they see the one who sat on the stone. We do know they see at least one sitting inside t...

The editors of The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible see a contradiction in the following accounts (dutifully quoting from the KJV): The Tomb was Closed: “ The angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it .” (Matthew 28:2) The Tomb was Open: “ And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre .” (Luke 24:2) “ Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away .” (Mark 16:3-4) “ The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre .” (John 20:1) Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible does not truthfully present or examine all the evidence. First, the quote of Matthew 28 is incomplete. Starting from verse 1 we read in the NASB (a clearer translation of the Greek), “ Now after the Sabbath, as it began to daw...

Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:43-46 and Luke 23:5-53 each state the Joseph of Arimathea took down and buried the body of Jesus. John 19:38-42 says the same thing, only adding one piece of information the others did not: Nicodemus helped Joseph. That’s not a problem, nor is it a contradiction. So what? Well, Acts 13:27-29 says that the Jews and their rulers crucified, took down and buried the body of Jesus. “ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb .”  Ok, so who are the Jews and their rulers? Mark 15:43 shows that Joseph of Arimathea is both a Jew and a ruler, “ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who hi...

Genesis 1:1-2:3 describe the first six days of creation, but 2:4 says, “ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and heaven .” So which is it: did it take one day, or six days? Answer: six days. Let’s be fair in the use of language. When we refer to a day of work do we mean “9 to 5” or “24 hours?” “Back in the day,” I had a mullet. “Back in the day,” I drank beer. “Back in the day,” I could have cared less. What day? There is no particular day of which I am thinking, but am instead recalling a period of time—a number of years as a matter of fact! The same is true here. Moses is not being fickle, but for the purpose of introducing a new narrative is summarizing what he has said once already.

Sure seems that way, doesn’t it? The answer lies in the very text itself! When you look at a novel, what do you see? You see a book with a title. What’s it about? Depending on the publisher you may either flip the book over or look at the inside leaf to find more information about the novel—what is it about? Now that you have been informed, you read the novel! How many novels are there in what you just read? Just one, with the story told three different ways: title, synopsis, and body. This is very much like what happens in Genesis. The author tells what he wants to communicate and then he communicates it. When he is done, he gives a synopsis of what he just said! Now that the audience understands what is on the author’s mind, he can lift one detail from what he just shared and can expand on that one detail. He tells us what he wants to say in Genesis 1:1: “ In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth .” This is the title. Now he gives details in Genesis 1:2-3. This...

I was on the campus of USC in May 2006 sharing the gospel with students in "The Horseshoe." I was going through the law with this guy to point him to his need for Christ: he admitted he had broken the 9th and 8th and 3rd Commandment. When I asked if he had committed adultery, he said he had not. I pointed out that Jesus said that if you look at a woman so as to lust after her, that adultery had already been committed. He got extremely agitated and raising his voice fired back, “You can’t quote what Jesus said because his words are contained in a humanly written book that is filled with errors!” I wanted to ask him who wrote the textbook in his hand if he thought the author was right in the ever-changing flow of understanding. I didn’t. Instead, I held out my Bible and asked him to show me some of those errors. He stepped back and declined my offer. He sarcastically shot back, "prove walking on water archeaologically!” I confessed I could not, but that’s why such eve...

“What’s on your mind?” the psychiatrist asked. “It doesn’t matter,” replied the physicist. “What is matter?” prodded the psychiatrist. “Never mind” replied the physicist. ************** “Does it matter what I believe? If I love Jesus, isn’t that enough?” These are questions that seems to echoing through the age. But are these good questions? Perhaps the first question is inadequate. What is “it” that “matters?” Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be, “If I love Jesus, what I believe matter?”; or, “Is my love for Jesus enough to have a bearing on what I believe?” If one were to ask Jesus, He would say that belief has everything to do with love that is bound up in Him. Jesus answered this question three times, saying plainly: “ If you love Me, keep My commandments .” (Jn 14:15); “ He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him ." (Jn 14:21)...

The existence of hell and the surety of the judgment are not the claims of fallible man. The Bible is the source of the claim, and it is utterly infallible. When someone becomes a Christian, he is admitting that he was in the wrong, and that God is justified in His declarations that we have sinned against Him. However, let’s surmise for a moment that there is no Judgment Day and no hell. That would mean that the Bible is a huge hoax, in which more than forty authors collaborated (over a period of 3,000 years) to produce a document revealing God’s character as "just." They portrayed Him as a just judge, who warned that He would eventually punish murderers, rapists, liars, thieves, adulterers, etc. Each of those writers (who professed to be godly) therefore bore false witness, transgressing the very commandments they claimed to be true. It would mean that Jesus Christ was a liar, and that all the claims He made about the reality of judgment were there-fore false. It would a...

Somewhere along the journey When life's hard times get tough, A still, small voice but whispers, “You've wandered long enough.” God understands your “balanced life” And honors all your zeal, He knows you love to worship Him And that your walk is real. He's seen you in the dark of night When no one is around, He's heard you cry out in the night When no one heard a sound. He knows that on the surface You daily bear your cross, But also knows the compromise When you might suffer loss. He loves you; oh, He loves you; Yet His analysis Is, “Child, I love you so much... There's more to life than this.” “There is a deeper walk with Me Let's just call Satan's bluff... Go ahead and say to Me, ‘I've wandered long enough.' “I want to enter Canaan's gates With all its plains and lakes, I want whate'er you have for me; Oh, God whate'er it takes! Lead me to that promised land And may I ne'er return Give me all t...

“If” is such a small word and under the right circumstances it can be very, very powerful. “If” is a conditional word and often instigates doubt. “If” is the launch-pad of adventure and helps make sons into men. Long before Kipling, Job understood the power of “if,” for he uses it on himself in self-examination the way the surgeon uses a scalpel. 31 times he uses the word “if” as it is recorded in the thirty-first chapter of Job, fifteen times directly, and 16 times indirectly. Job understood the perfection of the Almighty and in the course of the bad counsel of so-called friends, Job examines himself against God, who said of him, “ there is none like him in all the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil .” (Job 1:8) The fear of God is what keeps one from evil—how does Job measure up against God who is good? The baseline for examination is found in God Himself, knowing that sin must be punished (Job 31:2-4). What does God know to be true about yo...

Just a quick note to wish everyone a " Happy Atheist Day !" Click here to listen to a debate  between Atheist Ron Barrier and evangelist Ray Comfort. This debate was hosted by the American Atheists, Inc. in April 2001 in Orlando, Florida at the National Annual Meeting of American Atheists, Inc. Ray Comfort attended by invitation. Comments are appreciated!