email #0001 From :E.B. to Dr. Truth:
Hello!
You wrote:
"Either man is the result of natural law processes, that is, man arose from animal ancestors; or man is not the result of natural law processes, man is a supernatural creation. Logically only one of these two contrary possibilities can be true."
Don't you think that natural law processes are supernatural.Don't you think that everything that exists is a supernatural creation, that is, God's creation? So how can these two possibilites be contrary? Aren't they in perfect harmony like the whole creation? The genesis story is a nice parable of the creation (evolution). God first created natural law processes (light, heaven, earth, day and night...) Then he created plants, animals (first in water and then on land) and man,And man was created out of dust (or mud), not out of nothing, according to Bible. Isn't the whole story amazingly similar to evolution?
Dr. Truth reply's to E.B.
Dear E.B.: Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 3:52 AM There are hundreds of issues that are debated between evolutionist and creationist. Some of these arguments get into heavy discussions Here's the bottom line. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realizethat evolution is a hoax. Here's the proof. Oh yes, the evolutionists have an answer for this: These creatures simply stopped evolving 300 million years ago. Come on! Where did they pull that line of malarkey from? Where did they get this idea from...the "make up your own rules hand book of evolution"? What do these evolutionist take us for...a bunch of imbecils. "Oh, they
http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-329.htm
You like to use words in very odd ways. And you disagree with most evolutionists on at least one core issue of their philosophy. Particularly when you say, "Don't you think that natural law processes are supernatural creation?" No true evolutionist would assert that the ordinary actions of natural law are "supernatural" as you suggest, for the entire reason for inventing the fiction of evolution is to suppose that natural law, without anything supernatural happening at all, is able to produce all that we see.
The evolutionist viewpoint supposes that natural law and the
"supernatural";are indeed opposites.Regarding your assertion that the Genesis account is a parable, the unique insights of this account, one being the creation of space-time matter;and natural law before anything else, is a truly advanced concept. The idea;that all the waters were together forming therefore one giant ocean, with as;a consequence there being just one land mass [Gen 1:9] has only recently;been recognized with the advent of continental drift theory. The numerous advanced concepts present in the Genesis account, would not be reasonably
expected as the mythic inventions of an ancient people. The style expected;would be much more mythic, with gods interacting with gods, as was the thinking of ancient peoples, particularly the Egyptians, which educated;Moses. These advanced concepts are clear evidence, to the unprejudiced mind, of a supernatural revelation to Moses, just as the Bible claims.
There are a variety of notable differences between the events in an evolutionist development, as distinct from the Genesis account. In evolution life arises in the water, but in Genesis life appears first on the land. In evolution man arises from lower animals, in Genesis man is made;directly from dirt and the willful breath of life from God. In evolution the stars and galaxies are first and the earth arises later along with the
Sun, in Genesis the earth is first and the Sun is made later. And so forth. These many differences show that Genesis is not just a parable of an evolutionist view, for at the time of Moses such an evolutionist view did not exist.
Daniel H. Harris, Ph.D.
#0002 From John to Dr. Truth:
Subject: Evolution easily disproved
concerning the laws of physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
Embedded in the fossil record According to evolutionists these insects are 200 million years old.
Come on! Where is evolution? fossilized dragon flies look like present day dragon flies. Many of our present day insects look just like the ones in the fossil record: ants, spiders, scorpions, dragon flies, beetles, and so forth.
just stopped evolving...." Says who?
Look, it's not only the insects that never evolved, it's other animals also. Look at the fish in the fossil record.
http://www.wmnh.com/wmvf0001.htm
Alligator fossils reported to be millions of years old look like present day alligators.
http://www.mindspring.com/~charlie11/gator.html
The same thing goes for camels, bears, otters, and many other animals. One website says that camels originated in North America 50 million years ago.
http://www.nps.gov/hafo/crittercorner/camelops.html
Come on! If camels in the fossil record look like camels today then that proves that evolution is just not happening. No thinking person should be hoodwinked into accepting the evolutionist idea that evolution has just stopped progressing for certain organisms. Evolutionist are like politicians, they just make up stuff as they go along.
They just make up rules and try to intimidate you into accepting their excuses and cover ups because they are "scientists".
There's no evolution going on. Anybody can see that. Just look at the fossil record. What about the dinosaurs and the huge mammals that once roamed the earth? They became extinct under the stress of various cataclysms: volcanic activity, asteroid collisions, weather changes, ice age, desertification, and so on.
The food ran out. These large creatures that survived the cataclysms could not find food that would allow them to survive and to reproduce. The fossil record is full of extinct animals. The bigger they were the more likely they were to become extinct.
Don't be fooled by evolution. Insects, fishes, and animals that are purported to be millions and millions of year old look exactly like the ones we have today. No evolution, just the same old same old. Don't buy into the malarkey that comes out of the "make up your own rules evolution handbook".
"Oh this one over here has a slower rate of evolution. And this one over here has a faster rate of evolution. And this one over here just stopped evolving. Oh, and this one over here has a variable rate of evolution. OH, and yes, this one over here has a sporadic rate of evolution." C'mon....get real.....says who? There's no way to make such outlandish statements about creatures living today or in the fossil record because nobody has been around to make these observations over the so-called last 300 million years. There's no laboratory proof that can back up these statements. It's all just "make it up as you go along stuff". It's all just evolutionary "SPIN".
john
Reply From: Daniel H. Harris, Ph.D.
To: John
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 5:49 PM
Subject: Re: Evolution easily disproved
Dear John:
Thanks much for the very simple and clear argument. Yes, obviously you are so right. But evolutionists are too smart to pay attention to mere facts, that's why they are evolutionists.
The core issue is sin. The unbelieving are without excuse, and are ready to invent any fantasy, play any trick of the mind, to avoid facing the reality of sin, death and hell. To come face to face with God, the righteous judge, when you know you are deserving of death, is too hard for a mere man. So invention abounds. If it were not evolution, then it would be another deception.
2 Thes. 2:10-12 Those that receive not the "love of the truth" that is, the love of Jesus, who is truth; shall be given strong delusion [verse 11]. So if the witness given by Jesus is rejected, the result is the gift of strong delusion. Yes evolution is only one of those strong delusions. If be have absolute and inescapable proof against evolution,then they will just fall into another strong delusion.
May 2, 2003
Jock writes to Dr. Truth saying:
You say:
"I assert that the Bible is the inspired word of God, without error. http://www.drtruth.org/christmas-star.html
You're saying that all biblical translations are the inspired word of God, or just some?
Jock
[Jock continues, edited for brevity]
We do not have any of the original manuscripts of the books that have been included in the Bible. All we have is copies of copies.
Most of the original manuscripts of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, although a few chapters of Ezra and Daniel were recorded in Aramaic, theThe Septuagint
The Septuagint (from the Latin word septuaginta meaning seventy) was a Greek version of the Bible created during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
(ca. 285-246 BCE) in Alexandria, Egypt for Diaspora Jews. Most of Jews living outside of Palestine were Greek-speaking as a result of Alexander the
Great's (357-323 BCE) campaign to Hellenize his empire.
At first, the Septuagint (LXX) consisted only of the Pentateuch (Torah, first five books of the Bible). Different books were translated from the Hebrew
over a span of two centuries, including the books of the Apocrypha, and were added to the LXX. Since the Greek used in the LXX reflects an Alexandrian
origin, the scholars who created it were most likely Alexandrian rather than Palestinian, as was suggested by a legend circulated by a writer who called
himself Aristeas.
From Alexandria, use of the LXX spread to other Jews of the dispersion. Not surprisingly, early Christians, most of whom spoke Greek, also used the LXX,
even in Palestine where they also knew Hebrew. The Septuagint became a very popular translation and a useful tool for evangelization. Many Christians
during the time of Origen of Alexandria (185-254), for example, valued the LXX as strongly as many 20th-century Christians value the King James Version
of the Bible. Origin studied Hebrew texts and revised the LXX. He then published the Hexapla, which featured six translations of the entire Old
Testament divided in columns, including his version of the LXX.
Among Hellenistic Jews, two views of the Septuagint developed. One group thought the translation was too loose and revised the books in order to make
them a more literal translation. Aquila, a Jewish proselyte produced such a translation ca. 128. Others, like Philo of Alexandria (c. 15 BCE-50 CE),
believed that the original Greek translators of the LXX were inspired and shared equal authority with the original Hebrew version. Jewish reaction
against the LXX began in the first century and grew until Judaism rejected it entirely in the second century. Christians, on the other hand, followed the
view of Philo.
Today members of the Eastern Church who speak Greek still hold the Septuagint in high regard. It remains the official translation of the Old Testament for them.
The Peshitta
The Peshitta is a Syriac Bible. Its creation represented an attempt to created a "standard version" of the Bible amidst a variety of other Syriac texts.
The name Peshitta (which means "simple" or "clear") was first used by Moses bar Kepha (d. 903), perhaps to distinguish it from the more complex Syrohexapla, translated ca. 616 from Origen's revised Septuagint. Written before Syrian Christians divided into two communities in 431 and this version therefore was accepted by both the Jacobites (Monophysites) and the Nestorians
.
The Old Testament portion was probably created a different times spanning the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Some of it was translated by Jews working from mostly the Hebrew sometimes consulting the LXX. Except for Sirach, the books of the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek. The New Testament section was translated near the end of the 4th century or in the 5th century.
The Peshitta originated in Osrhoëne, a buffer state between the Roman and Parthian Empires. The language of Osrhoëne was Syriac, as it was for much of the area, except Antioch of Syria (see map). The Peshitta was probably written in the cities of Edessa (now Urfa, Turkey), Nisibis, and/or Arbela. The Peshitta is the authoritative biblical text for today's Syrian Orthodox, Church of the East, and Maronite churches. The official New Testament canon includes 22 of the books in the Roman Catholic and Protestant canons but does not have 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and the Book of Revelation. InThe Vulgate
As the centuries after the resurrection unfolded, the dominant language spoken in the Roman Empire began to change. No longer was Greek the dominant language. In 382, Pope Damascus therefore commissioned Jerome (c. 347-420) to translate the Bible into Latin, a task which took him twenty years to complete. This Bible came to be known as the versio vulgata (common translation) and became standard for the Western Church. In English, we call this Bible the Vulgate.
Jerome by Rubens
Jerome's earliest translations of the Hebrew Bible were based upon Origen's revisions of the Septuagint; however around 393 he turned to manuscripts written in the original Hebrew.
Augustine argued that, by using Hebrew manuscripts, Jerome was driving a wedge between Christians of the East and West because the Greek-speaking Christians of the East were using the Septuagint.
To illustrate the folly of Jerome's approach, Augustine told him the tale of a bishop from Tripoli who authorized Jerome's new translation for use in his church. When the people heard the Old Testament lesson from Jonah, it was so unfamiliar that they protested the bishop's innovation by rioting in the
streets. Augustine saw this as proof that Jerome's "Hebrew" version was a serious mistake.1
Jerome's translation did not achieve wide acceptance until centuries after his death. The first written English translations of the Bible were made from the Latin Vulgate rather than the original Hebrew and Greek languages. Learn about Caedmon, the Venerable Bede, Alfred the Great, Aldhelm, Eadfrith, the Lindisfarne Gospels, and John Wycliffe.
Dr. Truth answers:
Dear Jock:
It appears there are some things that are so simple they can escape an intellectual like yourself, so immersed in the details of documents.
1) When God speaks, and He does, He is sure that there is somebody to hear. He knows what He is doing, and so He doesn't waste effort. II Tim. 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God …"
2) When God speaks, He is able to [at the time, and if need be, through all time] preserve the intended meaning of His words, even when human error tends to garble things. This has been verified by checking the most ancient finds of Scripture.
3) The originals of Scriptures are indeed given by God and as such are perfect and without error.
II Pet 1:21 "for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Considering that:
1) Those persisting in unbelief can not see the truth of God's Word [just as the blind man can not see], because of willful and sustained disobedience;
2) Whereas those who truly turn to God will surely come to a knowledge of the truth, and
3) Whereas the accuracy of the Scriptures is an issue of faith, a faith that is given only to those willing to believe;
4) Therefore, those blind to the truth of Scripture can not be persuaded by any amount of reason, logic or human understanding. [I Cor 2:14 tells us that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God {such as the truth of Scripture}; for they {the things of God} are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED.]
Faith in the truth of Scripture and the message of Scripture, though evidence and reason may support it, can not be arrived at except by a faith gift given by God. [I Cor 12:3 tells us that, "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."] [II Chron 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose HEART IS PERFECT TOWARD HIM.] That is, the Spirit of God examines the hearts, and those that are truly willing to receive and obey truth are given truth to obey. Those that desire to justify themselves, those wanting to mock God, are left on the outside, cut off from God and are separated from knowledge of the truth. [Gal 6:7 "Be not
deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth [to flesh, or to Spirit], that shall he also reap [if to flesh, then death; if unto Spirit, then unto life eternal]. As explained by Paul in Rom 8:5-8, "For they that
are after [seekers of] the flesh do mind [focus on, think about] the things of the flesh; but they that are after [seekers of] the Spirit [do mind] the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [natural and unbelieving]
is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal [unsaved] mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [not
regenerated] cannot please God."
5) Those blind to the truth of Scripture stay blind until God does the miracle of opening their eyes.
When Moses sought to bring Israel into an understanding of God, there was a veil on their hearts because of disobedience. As Paul tell us in II Cor 3:14-16, "But their minds were blinded: for until this day
remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it [the heart] shall turn to the Lord [yield to His will in obedience], the veil shall be taken away." So the veil is on the hearts of those in unbelief. But those willing to obey even in the midst of doubt, will be rewarded with faith, and the gifting of God.
Thus it is only by prayer and submission to His will that we can receive the grace to believe His word.
May this miracle arrive in your life.
Dr. Truth