We are going to the Dwell Conference (www.dwellconference.com) in New York tonight. It's Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please pray for us.
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Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
a DNA echo of Noah and the Flood?
Study says near extinction threatened people
I am keenly interested in the history of the world's people groups being run by Genographic Project (I think it's mainly a National Geographic led study project).
They look at DNA samples from around the world to retrace common ancestors back to the beginning. Recently, in the above article, they are reporting a catastrophe recorded in our DNA that points to an almost extinction of humanity.
The reason for all those details is not given by the article. It would be good to look at those if available.
What does the Bible predict we'd find?
That all humans are closely related, that all nations spread out from one family at the beginning of recorded history (2,000-3,000 B.C), and that family was the only survivor of a giant catastrophe that killed off everyone else.
I think the National Geographic study is starting to flesh out those facts from our DNA.
(But maybe not! Who knows?! I don't want to force this fresh study to say more than it does)
Update: Answers in Genesis analyzes this news much more in depth.
I am keenly interested in the history of the world's people groups being run by Genographic Project (I think it's mainly a National Geographic led study project).
They look at DNA samples from around the world to retrace common ancestors back to the beginning. Recently, in the above article, they are reporting a catastrophe recorded in our DNA that points to an almost extinction of humanity.
"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."Read the whole article, and the current theory is that this happened in Africa, 70,000 years ago, by a drought, reducing us to 2,000 people.
The reason for all those details is not given by the article. It would be good to look at those if available.
What does the Bible predict we'd find?
That all humans are closely related, that all nations spread out from one family at the beginning of recorded history (2,000-3,000 B.C), and that family was the only survivor of a giant catastrophe that killed off everyone else.
I think the National Geographic study is starting to flesh out those facts from our DNA.
(But maybe not! Who knows?! I don't want to force this fresh study to say more than it does)
Update: Answers in Genesis analyzes this news much more in depth.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Muslims: Let us reason together
Muslims,
Your zeal for God is great. Let us reason together about standing before Him.
He may call the world into judgment at any moment--and if not now, he will call us into judgment at our death.
I do not want to stand before God's judgment. He will look at me inside and out and find me guilty. If he were to weigh my good against my bad, the bad is just too great. I will fail his judgment.
I ask you to consider that you would fail too. If God judges rightly, who can stand? If God were to only use my own standards against me, I still fail. God is great! God is good. He will not let the wicked go unpunished.
Liars must be punished. But I have lied. Thieves will not receive a reward. I have stolen. Murders will not inherit God's kingdom. But I have murdered my brother by hating him in my heart. Lust. Coveting. Sabbath breaking. Idol worshiping. Taking the name of God in blasphemy. Treating money, reputation, success as a god before God.
I have done all of these. Have you? Should we expect God to accept us? This concerns me. I hope that it concerns you.
Radical History
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Boom! There it is! I can't save myself from God's wrath. If God himself doesn't not atone for my sins, I'm toast.
Should we not expect God to get the glory in a man's salvation? God is glorious! We cannot become right with God by working to cover our bad deeds with good ones. In fact, I am so wicked that Christ had to die for me. But he did it. So God gets the glory, not me.
And God proved that Jesus is "his man" by raising him from the dead. This is an important point. If God raised a dead man back to life, we should be able to investigate it historically. This is worth the time--go find out if God really raised Jesus from the dead. If so, Jesus is God's man. Jesus claimed many times to not only be sent from God, but to also be God. If God raised Jesus from the dead, God also showed his approval of 1) Jesus's claims to be God, 2) Jesus's sacrifice of his own life as being acceptable before God.
To receive Jesus's gift of eternal life, rightness before God, and be able to truly please God you must 1) change your mind about sin--leave it and turn to God, 2) believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Submission to God matters!
Do not let Christians fool you that submission to God doesn't matter. If God is God (there is no God but God!) then he is Master. He requires full submission. If God truly saves a man, he will give him both saving faith in Jesus and good works that flow from turning away from sin.
What would happen if God had taken Jesus off the cross, and put a substitute in his place for the crucifixion?
Then there is no perfect God-man for God to pour out his wrath against sin, and we are all now still accountable before God, and we all face judgment hoping our "Good" is enough to cover our "Bad".
There is no hope for anyone who has sinned. None. God is great. He will crush every sinner and bar him from paradise.
While the Quran says that Jesus "didn't die" on the cross--it's not that he didn't die. He died. But he was not defeated. Evil was defeated through the sacrificial death of Jesus (Isa).
What if Jesus is not God?
If Jesus is not God, then God has only punished a substitute creature for our sins. His blood, although innocent, would not be sufficient to deal with the world's sins.
This sounds like two or three Gods
It's one God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). God is one.
God created man. Man did not create God. So why does man think he can determine how God exists? God decides who he is. And God decides how much to tell man about himself.
But my family will disown me, and I may be killed for being a Christian?
Yes and No. You do not need leave your culture, shame your family. You don't need to start going to a church building on Sundays and change your name to a Christian name. If you are a Muslim, you will always in some way be a Muslim. It is your identity.
But now you can be a true Muslim, a true submitter to God, a true pleaser of God through what Isa (Jesus) has done.
You will be persecuted though, and God promises persecution to all his servants. Do not be surprised, but know that following God is expensive.
Jesus says count that cost now. You may be asked to pay it. But if God raised him from dead, he is Lord. You have been saved from your sins AND your obedience unto death will be rewarded.
Do not be killed for doing violence in God's name. But it is honoring to God to be killed for being a believer in his Son.
Let us both pray to God, that the One True God would show Himself to us. And that if there is any way that we can please Him, that he would show us and give us the power to obey and submit to him fully.
Allahu Akbar! God is Great!
Your zeal for God is great. Let us reason together about standing before Him.
He may call the world into judgment at any moment--and if not now, he will call us into judgment at our death.
I do not want to stand before God's judgment. He will look at me inside and out and find me guilty. If he were to weigh my good against my bad, the bad is just too great. I will fail his judgment.
I ask you to consider that you would fail too. If God judges rightly, who can stand? If God were to only use my own standards against me, I still fail. God is great! God is good. He will not let the wicked go unpunished.
Liars must be punished. But I have lied. Thieves will not receive a reward. I have stolen. Murders will not inherit God's kingdom. But I have murdered my brother by hating him in my heart. Lust. Coveting. Sabbath breaking. Idol worshiping. Taking the name of God in blasphemy. Treating money, reputation, success as a god before God.
I have done all of these. Have you? Should we expect God to accept us? This concerns me. I hope that it concerns you.
Radical History
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Boom! There it is! I can't save myself from God's wrath. If God himself doesn't not atone for my sins, I'm toast.
Should we not expect God to get the glory in a man's salvation? God is glorious! We cannot become right with God by working to cover our bad deeds with good ones. In fact, I am so wicked that Christ had to die for me. But he did it. So God gets the glory, not me.
And God proved that Jesus is "his man" by raising him from the dead. This is an important point. If God raised a dead man back to life, we should be able to investigate it historically. This is worth the time--go find out if God really raised Jesus from the dead. If so, Jesus is God's man. Jesus claimed many times to not only be sent from God, but to also be God. If God raised Jesus from the dead, God also showed his approval of 1) Jesus's claims to be God, 2) Jesus's sacrifice of his own life as being acceptable before God.
To receive Jesus's gift of eternal life, rightness before God, and be able to truly please God you must 1) change your mind about sin--leave it and turn to God, 2) believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Submission to God matters!
Do not let Christians fool you that submission to God doesn't matter. If God is God (there is no God but God!) then he is Master. He requires full submission. If God truly saves a man, he will give him both saving faith in Jesus and good works that flow from turning away from sin.
What would happen if God had taken Jesus off the cross, and put a substitute in his place for the crucifixion?
Then there is no perfect God-man for God to pour out his wrath against sin, and we are all now still accountable before God, and we all face judgment hoping our "Good" is enough to cover our "Bad".
There is no hope for anyone who has sinned. None. God is great. He will crush every sinner and bar him from paradise.
While the Quran says that Jesus "didn't die" on the cross--it's not that he didn't die. He died. But he was not defeated. Evil was defeated through the sacrificial death of Jesus (Isa).
What if Jesus is not God?
If Jesus is not God, then God has only punished a substitute creature for our sins. His blood, although innocent, would not be sufficient to deal with the world's sins.
This sounds like two or three Gods
It's one God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). God is one.
God created man. Man did not create God. So why does man think he can determine how God exists? God decides who he is. And God decides how much to tell man about himself.
But my family will disown me, and I may be killed for being a Christian?
Yes and No. You do not need leave your culture, shame your family. You don't need to start going to a church building on Sundays and change your name to a Christian name. If you are a Muslim, you will always in some way be a Muslim. It is your identity.
But now you can be a true Muslim, a true submitter to God, a true pleaser of God through what Isa (Jesus) has done.
You will be persecuted though, and God promises persecution to all his servants. Do not be surprised, but know that following God is expensive.
Jesus says count that cost now. You may be asked to pay it. But if God raised him from dead, he is Lord. You have been saved from your sins AND your obedience unto death will be rewarded.
Do not be killed for doing violence in God's name. But it is honoring to God to be killed for being a believer in his Son.
Let us both pray to God, that the One True God would show Himself to us. And that if there is any way that we can please Him, that he would show us and give us the power to obey and submit to him fully.
Allahu Akbar! God is Great!
Friday, April 11, 2008
blog title change
I switched my blog title from "Fundamentalist!" to "Josh Crews's blog".
I think the term "fundamentalist" should be reclaimed by Christians lovingly holding to the fundamentals* of Christian teaching.
After September 11, fundamentalism is disparaged as the problem with the world. "It was religious fundamentalists who flew those planes into the towers". But as Tim Keller said, "Have you ever heard of an Amish terrorist?" Christian fundamentalism isn't the problem, but Christian unbelief in their own teachings is a problem.
But it's probably a little too intense for a blog title. At least for now, so I'm switching it.
*Fundamentals of Christian teaching
God is redeeming the world through one man, his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God. He died as a substitute for our sins. A sinner is counted righteous by God as a free gift through faith in Jesus. He bodily rose from the dead. He is coming back as Judge to set all things right.
A big "sticking point" for fundamentalists: the Bible should be taken literally unless the Bible suggests otherwise.
I think the term "fundamentalist" should be reclaimed by Christians lovingly holding to the fundamentals* of Christian teaching.
After September 11, fundamentalism is disparaged as the problem with the world. "It was religious fundamentalists who flew those planes into the towers". But as Tim Keller said, "Have you ever heard of an Amish terrorist?" Christian fundamentalism isn't the problem, but Christian unbelief in their own teachings is a problem.
I'm a sinner and part of the problem.So I hope to see the term "fundamentalism" recovered in the culture, and for Christian fundamentalists to be known for having a love for all people, and a hope to offer the world that's not based on them, but on God.
I can't fix the world, but I know someone who can (Jesus).
Love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you.
But it's probably a little too intense for a blog title. At least for now, so I'm switching it.
*Fundamentals of Christian teaching
God is redeeming the world through one man, his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God. He died as a substitute for our sins. A sinner is counted righteous by God as a free gift through faith in Jesus. He bodily rose from the dead. He is coming back as Judge to set all things right.
A big "sticking point" for fundamentalists: the Bible should be taken literally unless the Bible suggests otherwise.
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