Tag Archive: Truth


EVIDENCE AGAINST THE BIBLE-OR BIAS?

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August 1, 2017

News stories have been published around the world purporting to have evidence of “another” mistake in the Bible. However, once again the “experts” have only shown their bias and their failure to actually read all but one or two Bible verses-if that.

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This time the “evidence” against the Bible concerns the Canaanites. Researchers believe they’ve found DNA evidence that ninety percent of modern day Lebanese are descended from the Canaanites. This, according to reporters as desperate to “disprove” the Bible as they are to “destroy Trump”, is evidence against the Bible, because according to the reports the Bible says the Canaanites were wiped out.

The Washington Post claims that “The Hebrew text offers one explanation for the destiny of the Canaanites: annihilation” (note 1). The obvious conclusion we’re supposed to make, based on the recent research, is that the Bible must be wrong. It continues:

Now a study of Canaanite DNA, published Thursday in the American Journal of Human Genetics, rules out the biblical idea that an ancient war wiped out the group.

Again, the Post is saying that the Bible is wrong because it says the Canaanites were wiped out but they’re still around.

This is, to put it very politely, an untruth. Yes, God wanted the Israelites to purge the land of Canaanites because of the evil they had descended to: killing babies in sacrifice, idolatry, sexual deviancy (sound familiar? See Deuteronomy 20:17-18). However, the Biblical record very clearly states that the Israelites failed in their mission, and did not, as the Post claims the Bible says, “wipe out the group” or “annihilate” the group, or destroy all their cities.

Here are a couple of examples of what the Bible really says happened, rather than the lies or the statements of very uninformed reporters, towards the end of the movement of the Israelites into the land:

“And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canannites lived in Gezer among them” (Judges 1:29);

“Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them…” (Judges 1:30);

Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of “…(etc). (Judges 1:31).

Joshua chapter 9 tells the story of how an entire city of Canaanites survived by being deceptive.

As an aside, isn’t it interesting that what we are discussing is actually evidence FOR the Bible! The Canaanites did -and do- exist, in that very part of the world as recorded in the Bible.

Another error is seen in the Washington Post’s report. It states:

“University of North Carolina religious studies professor Bart D. Ehrman noted in a 2013 blog post that, beyond the Hebrew Bible …there are no references in any other ancient source to a massive destruction of the cities of Canaan.”

If this learned prof. had taken the trouble to look he would see, as we can see just from the few examples above, that the Bible says many Canaanite cities, including large ones such as Sidon, were not destroyed but continued to be inhabited.

A NOTABLE CANAANITE SURVIVOR

One most notable Canaanite who the Bible very clearly tells us survived was Rahab, a prostitute. Rahab was the woman who hid the Israelite spies in Jericho. For her faith she and her family were spared and blessed by the invaders (Joshua 7:25). Not only did she and her family of Canaanites survive, according to the Bible book of Joshua, but Rahab was in the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

James in the New Testament noted that Rahab’s faith caused her to be considered “righteous” in the eyes of the Lord (James 2:25). This is the way-the only way-you or I can be reconciled to God, and it’s the message of the New Testament as well as being the veiled message of the Old. Paul said:

“…by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 ESV).

At least the UK’s Telegraph had the decency to print a correction in a similar report, though at the end, where most people don’t read. It said:

Correction: The original version of this story erroneously said the Bible claimed the Canaanites were wiped. However, elsewhere in the Bible, it says the elimination was not successful (2).

Anytime you read about “evidence” against the Bible or against the Creation, you need to do a little digging, and you’ll soon find that the so-called “evidence” is no more than bias and wishful thinking.

1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/07/27/ancient-dna-solves-mystery-of-the-canaanites-reveals-the-biblical-peoples-fate/?utm_term=.8ded561fb03c

2 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/28/study-disproves-bibles-claim-ancient-canaanites-wiped/

 

 

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FAUX: THE NEW REAL

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July 20, 2017

In my higgorance and naivety I’ve fallen for the fancy synonym for “fake” too many times, and in this case, once is too many times…

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All kinds of things are advertised as being “faux” these days, the word being paraded as though “faux” were something chic, valuable and amazingly desirable. And of course many things are fake without giving any such warning as the four-letter “f” word in my title.

We have fake leather, fake wood, fake flowers, fake glass and fake metal. Fake organs, fake fruit, chocolate, leather, tans, news, scientists, hair, teeth, nails, boobs, men, women, trees, pottery, religion, healing, prophets, apostles, Republicans, beggars, music, promises, names, I.D., money…and the list goes on for as long as you can list anything pertaining to human beings.

The first five readers who’ve read this far will receive a Ferrari…

…but not a real one.

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AM I HOT OR COLD IN THIS AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE?

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January 6, 2017

Am I cold, or hot, or both, or neither? In this age of “devastating climate change” it’s difficult to know what my politically correct temperature should be…

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The temperature outside my house this morning, before wind-chill consideration, was -1 Fahrenheit, or -18 celsius. I live in the north-west corner of the United States: hardly the arctic circle. I heard that in Wyoming the temperature was -15 F, or -26 celsius. As I drove to work and struggled to keep my circulation going I couldn’t help wondering how, with such temperatures here, those glaciers are melting at the poles…
Of course, we mortals aren’t supposed to question the idea that climate change is happening, or that it’s happening because we’ve been eating too well and keeping warm in the winter. After all, I’ve only been on the earth for several decades, and just because I’ve witnessed no change in the climate whatsoever, let alone been convinced that it’s my fault, that doesn’t mean everything’s not going wildly out of control, and that I’m not guilty of trashing the earth.
Only the super-elite know what’s really going on, don’t they: and what’s best for all us plebeians and proles out here. And after all, they deserve to jet around the world and burn all that fuel and own large limousines and keep their houses toasty warm, because they’re the ones who are right about everything. They deserve to get more and more control over our lives and our nations…right?

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Unfortunately, far too many people “out here” have been successfully brainwashed into believing without question pronouncements from our ruling oligarchy via the TV news media and the education establishment which, they insist, are totally unbiased and completely untainted by political considerations. I say “drain that swamp!” Oh, if only that were really possible…

The great 20th century comedian Bob Hope, who was born in Britain as all great comedians have been, once said,
“England is the only place where you get all four seasons in one day”.
And he was right. So right in fact that it would be difficult to detect if there were any change in the climate at all. Where I live now I experience extremes in weather: extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Older locals tell me it used to be much hotter here in the summer. Hotter! So much for global warming.
I suppose we just have to trust that our betters know what we don’t know, like at the recent election time when they told us that Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning, and that he “didn’t have a path to 270”. To tell the truth (honestly, really, truthfully…no, really) I don’t trust anything my “betters” say any more. The people who tell me that babies should not be allowed to be born, and who tell me that I’m a racist because of who I wanted to see in office, and who tell me that dirty water turned into us, and who tell me that I need to shrink my budget while they spend more and more, are not to be trusted, in my humble opinion.
“All reputable scientists believe in global warming and/or climate change”. Really? That’s the image being projected via the Ministry of Truth, as they seek to silence scientists such as Judith Curry. Curry was, until a few days ago, Professor and former Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and President (co-owner) of Climate Forecast Applications Network (CFAN). Curry made a statement to the US senate on the subject which goes against the grain-read it here (1).
“All reputable scientists” believe I’m guilty of destroying the earth’s climate? Then why have 31,487 American scientists, including 9,029 with PhDs signed a petition stating the opposite (2)?

Ah, but they’re the “disreputable” scientists, because they don’t agree with the official story. They’re the “flat earth society” scientists. Well, I’m happy and honored to be a member of the flat earth society (though I’m not a scientist).
We used to be warned about global warming, but since most of us don’t sense any warming but only wish there was some warming going on, well, the concept of climate change is much more marketable.
I’m more inclined to agree with John Coleman, the Weather Channel founder who said that the concept of man-made global warming (remember, there have been natural climate changes throughout earth’s history) is “baloney”. He stated that the issue has now become “political”, and that scientific support for it is based on the need and desire for government funding:
Since the government only funds scientists who put out results “supporting the global warming hypothesis,” he claimed, “they don’t have any choice.”
“If you’re going to get the money, you’ve got to support their position. Therefore 97 percent of the scientific reports published support global warming. Why? Because those are the ones the government pays for and that’s where the money is.” (3).
NOTES
1 https://curryja.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/curry-senate-testimony-2015.pdf
2 http://www.petitionproject.org/
3 http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/weather-channel-founder-man-made-global-warming-baloney

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WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHURCHES?

Filed under: APOLOGETICS, FAITH, Uncategorized — 2 Comments
December 27, 2016

Why are there so many churches? This question is frequently more of an attack on the Christian faith than a genuine inquiry. The underlying assertion is that if Christianity were “true” and real, and if Christians weren’t “all hypocrites”, there would only be one denomination, to which all Christians would belong in perfect love and harmony…

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Here is my own un-churchified, un-theologicalized answer to the question, offered to anyone with an open mind. I say “open mind” because some of the people who ask such questions, while thinking of themselves as being open minded and tolerant, have a very closed mind when it comes to the Christian Church.

The whole matter of “religion” in general comes into the answer here, because what needs to be considered is that other religions and belief systems are divided to at least as great an extent. Hinduism is an umbrella religion consisting of many different beliefs, “paths” and millions of gods. Buddhism has sub-divided endlessly since its inception, often with friction between the schools and organizations. Muslims are clearly at each others throats (literally) in many parts of the world and have been since Mohamed. So to accuse only Christians of division is unrealistic and intolerant.

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The problem lies not in the nature of the Christian faith but in human nature. When Jesus Christ walked the earth there was one Christian faith, and Jesus even had a hard time getting some of his followers to understand or to accept what he was trying to teach them then. From the moment he left this world human nature began to attempt to wrest the Faith from those he entrusted it with. Some thought they had better ideas. Some wanted to ride on the success of the movement. Some wanted to benefit financially from it, and some simply misunderstood it. Some insisted that their own “revelations” trumped those passed on from Christ and the apostles.

Now bring the whole problem forward to our present age. When someone with a strong opinion and personality doesn’t like what he sees in his denomination, he attempts either to change it, or to go off and start his own church. He may have very good reason to, if what he has seen is in fact a serious departure from the faith once delivered to the saints. Many churches and denominations have been started as a genuine way of attempting to right what has gone wrong.

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Alternatively, he may be mistaken, misled, or self-serving. He may alter what he’s heard because he really thinks he’s right-even if he isn’t, and he proceeds to convince others that he’s right, possibly using a little exaggeration or deception to help the process. In such a way entire pseudo-Christian cults are born, and millions of people-gullible or just fooled-are misled.

When a man or woman claims to be a Christian there’s no immediate guarantee that he or she really is one, any more than a box popping up on your screen claiming to offer your computer a clean-up for free is genuine or hassle-free. And this problem is humanity-wide. It’s not just within the Church, it’s in politics, the retail world, advertising, the workplace, education and the home: it’s everywhere. So do yourself a favor: don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because there are numerous divisions in the Church-some of which are perfectly legitimate-it doesn’t mean there’s no truth to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So what’s the fix?

The fix is to consult the instruction manual-the Bible-as it was originally written, and use it to discern who’s telling the truth and who isn’t. Don’t even believe your organization’s claim that its own translation of the Bible is the right one: check it out for yourself. And what about the common accusation that the Bible was “All written hundreds of years after the fact”, and that “It’s all been changed hundreds of times”? Please refer to my post:

https://nickyfisher.com/2015/06/14/a-spiritual-defense-strategy-acronym-2/

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IS SIN AN OUT-DATED CONCEPT?

Filed under: APOLOGETICS — Leave a comment
May 12, 2016

Is the word “sin” outdated?  Most atheists and agnostics say it is. The government says it is, secular establishments say it is, The Doctor says it is (season 7), and even many ministers and churches, attempting to modernize and present a new, seeker friendly front, have let the term and the concept fall by the wayside…

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If you believe that sin is old and out-dated, do you have a list of things which in your own mind are either right or wrong? If, for example, a couple of large hairy men entered your dwelling and carried off your TV, never to be seen again, would that perhaps be wrong in your eyes? Would you call the police, or not? If they moved into your house while you were out, and changed the locks so that you couldn’t enter, would that be wrong? Is it perhaps “right” to save the planet from pollution and certain destruction? If you would answer “yes” to these things, I would certainly agree with you. So then, some things are, to our natural minds, “right” and some things are “wrong”.

So what’s the difference between the words “wrong” and “sin”? Is it just that those things which in the past were called “sin” are not now considered to be wrong, and that therefore the word “sin” is outdated? Sin then can be considered an “old” word for “wrong”, because what was once called “sin” was the “wrong” of those olden times. The only difference between your current definition of wrong and the old view of sin is that “wrong” is what you personally-and perhaps others- deem to be wrong, whereas sin was what someone else once declared was wrong-in this case, the Biblical God.

Why should we live by new views of right and wrong rather than the “old” definitions: because the government says that I must? Is it now all down to government enforcing and propagandizing the new, politically correct morality and way of things, so that we really have a new secular, humanistic “church” called “government”?

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If you disagree with the Biblical God’s view of wrong, called “sin”, you are making the conscious decision that you will throw all fear of possible consequences and judgment out the window, and you are concluding that you are a better judge of what’s right and wrong than God is. Ask yourself: is that a wise course of action? Have you personally gone to great lengths to determine that there really is no God, or that if there is, you know he’s happy for you make all your own decisions about right and wrong?

What will you do when someone else whose idea of right and wrong is different to yours walks into your house and takes your TV? Worse than that, what will you do if the entire political and cultural atmosphere of the nation changes so that what you call “right” is declared to be wrong? Will you then agree that definitions of right and wrong must be changed again because your idea of those things are now out-dated?

Does real, solid, objective truth evolve? Does it not make sense that a universe governed by immutable physical laws, such as the laws of gravity, also operates on objective spiritual laws? And what if the creator of those laws-if we assume for a moment that there is one-has his own ideas of what’s right and what’s wrong?

I suggest to you that the man who ignores the facts and the possible consequences of God’s idea of wrong-doing, calling sin “out-dated”, cannot in the long-run fare any better than the man who believes he can fly and so jumps out of a twentieth-floor window.

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