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..."

Click here to continue.

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...

Click here to continue reading.

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..."

Click here to read the entire article.

Comprehensive Atheist Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke (by Ray Comfort)

Ray Comfort is doing a study of the Gospel of Luke at his blog, Atheist Central.

"However, thanks to Bruce and his Bible, I was inspired during the following night to begin a comprehensive atheist Bible study on the Gospel of Luke. Why Luke? Because that’s what I had been reading and thinking of how atheists should read this wonderful book.

So, we are going to give Luke an autopsy and dissect every verse, scrutinize it, find out its meaning, and leave the conclusion to the skeptic who has dared to set aside his prejudices and look solely at the evidence, wherever it may lead him. My hope is that, as with each of the four gospels, it will lead you to the cross. Feel free to join me. Get your scalpel ready. Here goes..."

Continue reading the series below:

Circular Reasoning
The Catholic Church and Peter
Steven Spielberg Blew it
Extra Terrestrial Beings
Unbelief for Dummies
Don't be Like Them
A Word Atheists Shouldn't Use
How to Read the Bible and Stay in the Dark
"Sorry Elizabeth." Richard Gunther (cartoonist)
Back to Doctor Luke
...and more

From "Circular Reasoning":

"God was the author, and men were simply the "pens" He used to communicate His Word to humanity. Does it live up to this claim? After searching the Scriptures daily for almost 40 years, I am persuaded beyond doubt that it does.

Luke was also the (Ghost-writing) author of the Book of Acts. As a doctor, his narrative is methodical, and very meticulous. The book was written around 60 years after Christ (1).

It begins, as does the Book of Acts, by addressing a man named "Theophilus." It would seem that this "most excellent Theophilus" was a Roman official, and not merely a friend or associate of Luke. Yet nothing is known about him from other historical evidence. Perhaps he was simply a Roman officer who expressed an interest in Christianity, and who better to write to him than a man who said that he "had perfect understanding of all things from the very first"? So the question comes down to, do we trust Doctor Luke? Should we unquestioningly swallow everything he prescribes in this letter? Of course not. More than 200,000 people die each year because they trusted the medical profession(2). Honest skepticism is healthy.

The reason why Luke wrote to Theophilus "an orderly account," was that he "may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." In a world of uncertainty, Luke was hoping to give him the certainty of a solid rock upon which he could build--an "anchor of the soul" upon which he could trust."

ALERT: Christian Girl From Muslim Family Runs For Her Life in U.S.A.

Rifqa Bary is the 17-year-old daughter of Muslim immigrants from Sri Lanka that reside in Ohio. She says she came to know Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior four years ago, and when her parents discovered her conversion this summer she fled to Florida to escape the very real possibility of being taken back to Sri Lanka to be disposed of in an "honor killing" or to be placed in an insane asylum. Listen to Rifqa explain her peril in her own words:



The girl's full name is said to be Fathima Rifqa Bary, but she only calls herself Rifqa, which is actually a form of the Biblical name Rebekah. Let us keep her in our prayers.
Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs has exclusive in-depth research on the case at http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/rifqa-bary-slow-motion-honor-killing/.

Origin of the Unoriginal: Episode I by Amanda Read, (8/18/09)

Are you prepared for the drama…the romance…the comedy…of the original science fiction story? Ironically, it happens to be a true story. Sit right back and you’ll hear how the unbelievable hypothesis became the darling tale of a once scientific Western Civilization.

The origin of the universe is the ultimate nucleus of all debate. “Where did we come from?” – that very question, in all its cliché simplicity, is the prequel to the ultimate factors that determine an individual’s worldview. It challenges a person to decide how to regard life, death, the universe and morality. There is no detouring around it, though there are so many intellectual “scientific” thinkers that insist upon imagining fine print complexities and tut-tutting away all supposedly childish speculations because they would much rather have the public quietly accept their theoretical spoon feeding. Perhaps this sort of situation has always existed in civilization to some extent. In the past two centuries, so much has happened so quickly that probably few have given much thought to the fact that the debate of origins was given a very peculiar treatment not too long ago. Ah, it doesn’t appear too out of the ordinary anymore, because we have grown up immersed in it, regardless of which side of the debate we actually stand on. But there are plenty of extraordinary things in history that no one likes to talk about any more. Perhaps this has become one of them...

Click here to continue reading.

Image by The Cross-Eyed Blog and Webzine