A True Story Is A True Story

Pam & Tim Tebow (AP Photo)

So let'em tell it!

Liberal women's groups et al are offended at the prospects of a Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. The reason? Because it is "likely to convey an anti-abortion message." In our ultra-sterile revisionist environment, more and more people appear to be developing an allergic reaction to history...

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The Bible Was Written Before It Was Quoted? No Kidding!

Pottery shard dug up during excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel's Elah valley.

3000-2000 B.C. - Job exclaims how badly he wants his words written in a book - with an iron stylus and lead, to be specific (Job19:23).

1600-1400 B.C. - The Book of the Wars of the LORD is referenced (Numbers 21:14).

1525-1405 B.C. - Moses writes in a book as a memorial to recite to Joshua (Exodus 17:14). Moses writes down all the words of the LORD (Exodus 24:4). Moses writes down the Law and gives it to the priests (Deuteronomy 31:9).

1400 - B.C. - The Book of Jashar is referenced (Joshua 10:13).

1020-971 B.C. - King David writes at least a hundred and twenty-three Psalms.

1000 - B.C. - King David (before ascending the throne) laments the death of King Saul and Jonathan and tells certain men to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow, and it is written in the Book of Jashar (2 Samuel 1:18).

950-931 B.C. - King Solomon writes 3,000 proverbs, 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32) and Ecclesiastes, in which he concludes that the writing of many books is endless (Ecclesiastes 12:12).

640 B.C. - Hilkiah the high priest finds the book of the Law in the House of the LORD (2 Kings 22:8). King Josiah tears his clothes upon discovering that his people have disobeyed YAHWEH's Law (2 Kings 22:11) [Note that this is BEFORE captivity in Babylon].

627-574 B.C. - Jeremiah writes down the prophecy of Babylon on a single scroll (Jeremiah 51:60).

483-473 B.C. - Queen Esther commands the establishment of the customs of Purim, and they are written in a book (Esther 9:32).

44-95 A.D. - Jude, half-brother of Jesus Christ, quotes the antediluvian writings of Enoch, indicating that the beginnings of written Scripture are far earlier than 3000 B.C. (Jude 1:14-15).

2010 A.D. - Some scientists believe that none of the Bible was written until 600 B.C., and are therefore astonished to find a piece of Hebrew writing from the era of King David.

"Until now, many scholars have held that the Hebrew Bible originated in the 6th century B.C., because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced this month..." (From Live Science, January 15, 2010)

Did I miss something?

Now I finally understand why discussing the Bible with nonbelievers is like arguing with aliens from a different planet. I was trying to tell them about the real Bible, and all this time they thought I was talking about fragmented Babylonian calenders and love stories copied by hyperventilating Jewish captives. I'm becoming more and more convinced that believers and nonbelievers alike enjoy giving entirely too much credit to pagans.

~Amanda~

Post Scriptum - Don't anybody start on one of those rants about circular reasoning (as though I don't already know what it is). Haven't you heard of the External and Bibliographic tests? Get with it!

Jesus Christ, The Narrow-Minded Bigot?

"It's a commonplace scenario that was repeated recently: Christian invites unbeliever to salvation. Unbelieving onlookers wag their heads and proceed to enact the contemporary equivalent of stoning or the lion's den, whichever stamps the notion out quickest..."

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The Star of Bethlehem

We could spend our entire lifetimes drinking in the evidence for the creative GOD of the Bible within the finite basin of our universe and still never find it dry - the fingerprint of an infinite Designer, no doubt! Are you not impressed by the design of the giraffe, that can bow and raise its long neck quickly without losing consciousness? Look to the bombardier beetle, with its built in arsenal of chemical weaponry. Not impressed? Look to the smallest unit of living matter, the cell. Not impressed? Look to the complex symbolism within the Hebrew and Chinese languages. Look to the precise chemistry of the atmosphere, the way a fish breathes under water, the way the immune system fights like a trained army, and the way a mammal nurses its young. Still not impressed? Look to the heavens.

Behold a system so mathematically precise that you can fast forward and rewind an image of its motions with modern software.

"The heavens are telling the glory of GOD; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world."
~ Psalm 19:1-4

The actual Hebrew words in those sentences that are often translated as "declaring" or "telling" are çâphar (ספד) and nâgad (נגד). The meaning of çâphar is

"to score with a mark as a tally or record, i.e. (by impl.) to inscribe, and also to enumerate; intens. to recount, i.e. celebrate:-commune, (ac-) count, declare, number, + penknife, reckon, scribe, shew forth, speak, talk, tell (out), writer." Strong's Concordance.

Ah, doesn't that sound astronomical?

The word çâphar is the same word used in Job 12:8, 28:27 ("Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out"), 1 Chronicles 16:24, Psalm 78:6 ("That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children...") and many other verses.

The meaning of nâgad is

"to front, i.e. stand boldly out opposite; by impl. (causat.) to manifest; fig. to announce (always by word of mouth to one present); spec. to expose, predict, explain, praise:-bewray, x certainly, certify, declare (-ing), denounce, expound, x fully, messenger, plainly, profess, rehearse, report, shew (forth), speak, x surely, tell, utter." Strong's Concordance.

The word nâgad is used in Genesis 41:24 (when Pharaoh told Joseph about his dream, "I told it to my magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me"), Esther 4:8, Job 31:37, Isaiah 3:9, 21:6, 41:22 ("Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; as for the former events, declare what they were, that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce what is coming..."), and many other passages.

Read Psalm 19 with this fuller understanding of the beautiful Hebrew words çâphar (ספד) and nâgad (נגד) and no longer does it simply mean that the starry sky is an impressive display to reflect GOD's glory. The celestial bodies have been placed there with a mission to communicate and verify the entire saga of salvation.

"Then GOD said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years...'"
~ Genesis 1:14

The Hebrew word in that passage often translated as "signs" is 'ôwth (אות), which means

"a signal (lit. or fig.), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:-mark. miracle, (en-)sign, token." Strong's Concordance

Before I delay any longer, I really must let you see what one Christian lawyer on a quest to understand the Star of Bethlehem discovered along the way.

Hint: Remember that YAHWEH named the stars, not man (see Job 9 and Amos 8) - different cultures have told stories to go along with the stars, but they haven't changed the names and their meanings. Then recall the great sign that appeared in heaven in Revelation 12 about the woman clothed with the sun; the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. Now prepare to realize that there is something historically significant about December 25th, and no, it has nothing to do with pagans, Santa Clause, or even a manger.

Introducing, Frederick A. Larson...

Post Scriptum to skeptics - Still not impressed? There's more...

~Amanda~

Christmas Eve in History - "When Science Gets it Right"

Ray Comfort reflects on a historical Christmas Eve:

"Today in History -- December 24, 1968: Apollo 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0_Ki_-4Sqg

William Anders:

"We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness..."

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Be sure to remember this priceless snippet at the end:

"When a whining (Mother of Atheism) Madalyn Murray O'Hare attempted to sue NASA for the above, the courts tossed the case out because it was out of their jurisdiction. Funny."

-UPDATE-

This subject was also written about by Stacy McDonald:

http://yoursacredcalling.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-24-1968.html

Winning America's Heart Back by Amanda Read (11/16/09)

How often have you looked at someone who passionately disagrees with everything you stand for and thought, “just look at the facts! You can’t argue with facts, if these people would just look at the truth they would have to change their minds!”? I’m discovering that with some people, no matter how often the facts are crammed down their throats, their beliefs will not change.

This summer a little book by C.S. Lewis caught my attention. In The Abolition of Man: How Education Develops Man’s Sense of Morality, Lewis taps into how the educational establishment controls the way people believe. His analysis surprised me, but the more I thought about it, the more it appeared to be true. The secret to educators’ success in controlling the culture is not their appeal to intelligence or rationality, but their appeal to emotions. To put it memorably, brainwashing has more to do with the heart than the mind...

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Image by The Cross-Eyed Blog and Webzine

Why Study Historical Costume? Analysis by Jennie Chancey

Jennie Chancey gives a fascinating analysis of why the study of historical costume is more than just an enjoyable hobby:

"...The study of clothing isn’t therefore just a frivolous hobby for me or something I do for the sheer fun of it. It is fun, but I take it as seriously as I take the study of any other facet of history or literature. Clothing has told a story from the Garden of Eden onward, and to ignore the story or pretend it doesn’t matter is to become bound up in our own age as the be-all and end-all of civilization–which it most certainly is not. When I study portraits of my foremothers, I see character leap from the canvas. I gain a better understanding of biography, of place, of historical antecedents. It’s why I’m so grateful I have photographs of my ancestors dating back to the 1840s. It’s why I absolutely love the fact that the Proverbs 31 woman is represented as clothed with feminine dignity..."

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