“Evolution, False Assumptions?”   “Part 2”

What is an assumption? An assumption is the act of assuming that something is true; to take something for granted to be true. Evolutionists like to make assumptions about the “theory of evolution.” Like what for example? Well to start with they take many necessary steps for granted in trying to explain how non-living chemicals were able to give rise to the first living cell, which will in turn evolve into something else ever and ever more complex, and ultimately forming life itself. As I said in part one, in order for evolution to be a science it must fit into the process of the scientific method. And the scientific method is the “pursuit of knowledge involving the finding and stating of a problem, the collection of facts through OBSERVATION and EXPERIMENT, and the MAKING and TESTING of IDEAS that need to be proven right or wrong. And it is a FACT that there are NO scientific experiments to prove the chemicals to molecules to man theory. It’s simply impossible to take to test or experiment and to verify or reproduce or to be able to be proven in any way at all.
A famous evolutionist named Dr. G. A. Kerkut listed seven assumptions that evolutionist make in his book titled, “Implications of Evolution.” Understand these are the things that ALL evolutionist “take for granted” to be true. And I might add that you will almost never see them listed in any high school textbooks. Here are those assumptions that will not be mentioned during discussions about evolution. Most evolutionists will ignore the first six assumptions and only consider the seventh one. These assumptions are:

     1. That all living things came from non-living material, i.e. spontaneous generation (or the coming into existence of living things directly from lifeless matter instead of from other living things).
     2. That spontaneous generation only happened once.
     3. That all viruses, bacteria, plants and animals are ALL related to each other.
     4. That all multiple-celled life forms evolved from single-celled life forms.
     5. That all the invertebrate (living creatures without a backbone) animals are interrelated.
     6. That all vertebrates (animals with a backbone) evolved from invertebrates.
     7. That from the first vertebrates came first fish, amphibian (animals that can live both on land and in the water; cold-blooded animals like frogs and newts) evolved from the fish, then reptiles evolved from the reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles etc.), and the reptiles evolved to birds and all mammals (monkeys, dogs, and yes, man).

We need to understand that these are “assumptions” that evolutionist MUST make, why? Because there are absolutely no factual (testable and reproducible) science in which they can draw their support. The process of moving from non-living things to even one simple (so-called) single cell, which in turn produces man and every other living thing on this planet is ALL AN ASSUMPTION!
In fact today we have what is called an electron microscope in which scientist have discovered that cells are consistently different in various kinds of animals. It is now commonly known, although not often reported, that at the level of micro studies of cells, that living things that we see included in the “evolutionary tree” are not related to each other after all. In 1 Corinthians 15:39, we find what the scriptures already tell us this is true, “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.”

What! Are you saying that this was written over 1900 years ago? Yes, and we see that our Creator God created life with all of its various and particular characteristics, and inspired His Prophets and apostles to record the details, which today’s scientists are only just beginning to discover.
God’s word also tells us that just as there are many different kinds of flesh in the bodies of His earthly creatures, so too are there different kinds of heavenly bodies – the stars are each different from each other. We now know that not all stars are the same? In fact it is certain the stars in the heavens are not the same as the sun that we see in the sky, and our moon is not like other moons that we see traveling around other planets in our solar system. The Bible makes a distinction between the sun, moon and the stars. 1 Corinthian 15:41 says, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.” Scientists have learned much about our sun, which they “ASSUME” is a star. And they apply these assumptions to all stars. But have you ever noticed that the Bible NEVER refers to the sun as a star? And so beloved, much of what we not think that we know about stars may be completely wrong. Think about that for a few minutes.

How many stars are in the heavens? Scientists tell us that there are over a trillion-trillion stars. And yet God the Creator tells us in His word that He knows exactly how many stars there are and has numbered each one of them, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth” (Isa 40:26)! Our God is a God of infinite power and wisdom!

Evolutionists “assume” that all life came from non-living chemicals, and that this only happened once, that everything that we see alive; animals or plants, all came from one primordial single cell. They believe that non-life gave birth to life in one single call, and that one single cell is the ancestor of all animal and plant life.

I have been told that the chances of life “evolving” from non-life is so astronomically high so as to be impossible without an intelligent Creator and Designer. In fact the odds are calculated to be only one chance in ten to the 450th power, that’s a 1 followed by 450 zeros’! If all of the electrons the universe were to be crammed into one point of space, (most of the universe is empty space) That number of electrons would be ten to the 130th power; this is how many electrons that the universe could be able hold. And if each of these particles could do one hundred billion-billion events (an event is the process of evolving from energy into matter) every second it would take 10 to the 170th power (years) for all of the events to happen. That means that the universe would be 100 times older than anyone says that the universe is! Put simply, and I am a simple man, this would mean that for evolution to even get started is ZERO! And there are not enough electrons in the universe to, by evolutionary chance, to generate even one single cell. And yet, evolutionist refuse to acknowledge any higher power, no designer, no person, no God in the creation of life? No matter how you calculate it “no one+time+chance=everything.

When evolutionist examine the stars and the smallest atoms, they do not honour God as being their Creator, nor do they give Him thanks, they are reduced down to making foolish speculations, Romans 1:18-23 speaks of them “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”  Beloved the theory of all living things, including man from one single cell is no more than foolish speculation. These so-called scientist are no more than con-artists, and evolution is a great big hoax, without one single fact to back it up.

Before I close I would like to take a brief look at the so-called simple cell. To start out, there is NOTHING simple about a cell. Each and every cell in our body is a self-sufficient machine, able to synthesize over 3,000 to 6,000 compounds one million times every second! Can any deny that such complex activity needs a Designer and a Creator? Evolutionists don’t like to talk very much about the cell wall or skin, because it is so very complex. This membrane only allows specific amounts of certain chemicals and solutions into and out of the cell. These concentrations must vary by as no more than 1/100%, or the cell will die. And how do all of these chemicals get together, and how is it that they are all in the correct amounts and mixtures, and all coming at the same time? And how does the cell wall around them form in such a way so as to only allow specific concentrations of these chemicals in and out of each cell? And on top of all of that, how does all of this somehow know how to in turn reproduce itself and not die while doing so?

The answer is that God designed and created it all. Little child of God, you cannot go out side on a clear night and gaze up at the universe, with its laws and intricate order without standing in awe at the marvelous design and purpose behind it all. To believe that everything in this universe happened by chance violates science itself. Can random chance produce the complex nervous system in the human body? Or can it bring about a system for a human eye? I’m not in the least concerned in proving the existence of God. They say that there is no God. They tell us that we can’t prove His existence…they can’t conceive of a Designer.

Ask any scientist if he believes in electrons and he’ll readily answer “yes, certainly I do.” Ask them if they have ever seen one, and they’ll say, “no.” And yet they tell us that there is an electron, which they have never seen. How do they know that there are electrons then? As I said before they believe it by “faith.” How can they say that there are electrons, and in the same breath refuse to accept the reality of a Designer? They observe the activity of electrons as they work, and we observe the activity of the universe and believe in the Creator and Designer God who holds it by His power. Whether we look at the universe through a telescope or a microscope, we are compelled to think about the One Designer, who makes it all work in perfect harmony. That’s why my son-in-law Paul tells me that physicists believe in God. They understand the probability of these things, or should I say the improbably of these things, and know that intelligent design demands a Creator.

Beloved our challenge today, as at other times in the past in the face of worldly opposition is do we subject the Bible to science, or do we subject science to the Bible? As I said before, do we believe God and His Word or do we believe the artful imagination of men? I want us all to understand that the theory of evolution cannot nor will it ever be reconciled with the truth. Evolution is in constant conflict with the Holy Scriptures. We must understand this and teach our children the truth.
Just for a moment in closing I would like to consider what can only be described as a marvel of God’s creation, which I would challenge anyone to explain to me how it could have possibly have evolved, and that creature is the Bombardier Beetle. This beetle can only exist with all of its systems fully functional. It defends itself in a very unique manner. When the beetle senses danger, it takes harmless enzymes within one of its body chambers with a concentrated solution of hydrogen peroxide in another separate chamber, and then mixes these together in a third chamber generates a noxious spray of very caustic benzoquinones, which explode from its body at a boiling point of 212 degrees! And it shots this fluid out through twin rear nozzles, which it can rotate, just like a gun turret, hitting its enemy with bull’s eye accuracy.

How can evolution explain this? The truth is that it can’t. We see that each stage of its so-called evolution would led it to its destruction. How could it evolve this means of defending itself without first destroying itself? You see evolution says that something cannot evolve until there is a need for it.
What? Do you mean that the creature must first realize that it needs to evolve something before it came happen? Yes that’s the theory of evolution. This bombardier beetle would have to have known that it needed a way to prevent these chemicals from exploding and blowing itself up when it mixed them up. If it mixed them up in the wrong order or in the wrong place within itself it would be dead, and having died in trying to do so would mean that it could not evolve. And if it died, where did it come from? The evolutionists say, “We don’t know.”

So how does the beetle keep from blowing itself up? God, its Creator, has created it so that it can manufacture another chemical, called an inhibitor, which it mixes in with the explosive chemicals. But this same inhibitor will not allow the use of the explosion of its hot, burning liquid and gases to be used. And then along comes a hungry spider and eats up the beetle, hence no beetle to evolve. And dead bugs can’t evolve. So the Creator also gives the little beetle an anti-inhibitor that it can add to the mixture when the beetle needs to defend itself.

Okay now, the beetle adds in the anti-inhibitor, and what keeps it from just exploding? Well, the Great Creator God has given the little beetle a especially tough “combustion chamber” which must have an outlet for the violent reaction and releasing of its energy with pinpoint accuracy…or again the bug would be dead!

And it never mistakes a friend for a foe. How can this little one-half inch long beetle know how to aim at and only shoot its enemies? How could this incredibly complex advanced defense system evolve? Well, it didn’t, no one+time+chance cannot bring this about. This is one small example of a special, very intricate creation by God the Creator who is intimately involved with His creatures.
In the next article I hope to be able to look at the direct contradictions that evolution make against the Bible, i.e. God’s Word.

The Conflict Between the Bible and Evolution- Ancient Languages

Part 3- Conclusion

 

 

Elder Thomas McDonald

“The Doctrine of Unlimited Predestination Examined"  Part II

As far as I know the only way of determining the meaning of a piece of writing is by the meaning of the words of which the writing is composed. With a view to finding out exactly what is said in their connection I now copy each text in which the two words “Predestinate” and “Predestinated” appear in the Bible.

First: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:” etc. Romans 8:28-30. These are the two instances in which the word PREDESTINATE appears.

And Secondly: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved,” and, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ,” Eph 1:4-6 and 11 – 12.

These are two instances in which the word PREDESTINATED appear. And these are the only instances the two words are used in the Bible. I now hope that the reader will note carefully what it is that is said to have been predestinated. It is not things, it is people. Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate. And, whom He did predestinate, them He also called. So it is people that He did predestinate. And again: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children, and in whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, etc. So we see again that it is people that God did predestinate. According to these texts God did not predestinate things, He predestinated people. Please remember that.

Now unto what did He predestinate them? To the adoption of children – to be conformed to the image of His Son. I don’t believe there is a man living who can prove that He predestinated them unto sin and death, or to apostasy. Before defining the word PREDESTINATION and going farther into this point, I should like to return to my young friend and to his question in the church bulletin.
“Is man really a free moral agent, or has God already mapped out his life, even to designating the day of one’s death?” There they are: Free Moral Agency, and the unlimited predestination of all things. Now which is the truth? I repeat “neither one.” Since there are so few who profess to believe in the unlimited predestination of all things, and since they do not actually believe it and live according to it, I will briefly dispose of that phase of the discussion as follows:

Speaking of the children of Judah, the Lord said, “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart,” Jeremiah 7:31 and 19:5. Here we learn of some folks doing some things which the Lord commanded not, neither spake it, neither came it into His heart or mind. I wonder if God predestinated things that He did not command, nor spoke and that came neither into His heart or mind? Of course He did not. How the cause labors that tries to prove such things! Now if these people of Judah were burning their sons and daughters as offering in idol worship, which they were, and if such thing was neither commanded or spoken by the Lord and came neither into His heart or mind – which it did not – then upon what premise can it be said that God did eternally and unconditionally predestinate them to do it? Certainly not upon any scriptural premise. That doctrine did not originate in the Scriptures. It originated in the mind of Man.

Part III

Copied from a pamphlet by Elder Glen Williams                         

9 AM to Noon

In the entirety of human history, there are no more crucial hours recorded than the six hours our Lord and Savior hung upon the cruel cross on Golgotha’s hill. There’s a popular song that has a line “…and the darkest hour, is just before dawn.” True, in nature. But the darkest hour in history occurred on the day Christ was crucified.

Jesus was placed on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, lifted up, at nine a.m. as we count time. It was the third hour of the day according to Jewish reckoning. Their day began at sundown, or around 6 PM, and was carved into four three hour watches, the last ending at sunrise, or 6 AM. [6-9 PM Evening Watch; 9-12 Midnight Watch; 12-3 AM Cockcrow; 3-6 AM Morning Watch]

The third hour of the day was the time of the morning sacrifice. The evening sacrifice took place around three in the afternoon, or the ninth hour.

How fitting Jesus was the first and last sacrifice!

From noon to three pm, (mid-day until the ninth hour), darkness was across the land and the wrath of God was poured out onto Christ. It was the cruelest three hours in creation’s history. Jesus had undergone much suffering, humiliation, physical beatings, abuse and agony in the hours before; and certainly, the pain and torture of being nailed to the cross was horrifying, yet it paled in comparison to that which he suffered in the three dark hours.

Preachers tell us God turned out the lights on that act so no one could see the justice; no one could see the suffering; no one could see the brutality as God looked away from his Son who had become our sin. At high noon, the sun straight up in the sky, there would be no shadow over the Messiah. No darkness at all, telling all who might see the symbolism – he who is light is about to become darkness for us. Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Here is our perfect gift in the sacrifice of Jesus. For three hours the Sun was not seen. Nor was the light of the world.

Mar 15:27 And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
Mar 15:28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. 29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

Jesus was placed upon the cross before the other two. He was the reason for the day’s events; the others were due to be put up at the next convenient time. Christ was on the cross at the time of the morning sacrifice, placing Him there around nine. The malefactors, if the Romans were diligent and efficient, were in place by nine-thirty.

It’s probably approaching ten am now. All three crosses are fixed in place, the Roman soldiers have stepped back to admire their handiwork and the crowds are allowed up close to pass by. We often picture, thanks to Hollywood and artists, gigantic crosses stretching toward the sky. In actuality, the crosses were probably only seven or eight feet high. Passersby could show their disgust by spitting upon the victims or striking them.

The two thieves are not in as much pain as Jesus. They were not beaten or scourged on this day; their only weariness comes from the trek up the hill carrying their cross. The timing of their sentence no doubt fell to Roman efficiency; they didn’t know they were fulfilling prophecy.  The thieves also had the benefit of the painkiller offered to victims of the cross. They no doubt took it readily. Christ declined.

Mar 15:23 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received [it] not.

Matthew says those around began to mock Him.

Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Near the end of the first hour, the thieves also mocked Him.

Mat 27:44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

But then, at some point between ten am and noon, a transformation occurs in one of the thieves.

Luk 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luk 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

A change takes place. Whether born again on the cross, or converted under the very presence of God, evidences of grace show forth from this criminal. In an hour, he has undergone a transformation. From railing and blasphemy, from participating in the world’s evil, from cursing and mocking the one beside him, the thief’s change is dramatic.

First, he defends Jesus –

Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

Second, he shows a fear of God he didn’t have before. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Third, he understands something new about justice. “We receive the due reward of our deeds.” Does this sound like a man who has been shown his depravity?

Now, he perceives Jesus’ innocence. “This man hath done nothing amiss.”

Ever wonder how he knew that? It wasn’t common practice for thieves and murderers sentenced to death to be allowed to roam the streets absorbing the culture and gossip until their date with destiny. This is a man who had been long locked up. He had no natural means of knowing “this man hath done nothing amiss.” It was a revealed knowledge.

Next, he calls Jesus “Lord.” From cursing and mocking to suddenly realizing where salvation stood. Phl 2:11 And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

More fruit is manifest: he shows faith and belief. And he prays. Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He got an answer immediately.
He had been instructed about eternal life – life after this fleshy existence. He knew something of heaven. And all without the benefit of a preacher, altar call, or living a life without sin. Imagine!

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

What a remarkable change! On the day in which the Creator of the universe would see His only begotten Son beaten, humiliated and put to death, indeed, on the very day when He would experience a first ever separation from Christ, God still cares enough about a poor wretched miserable sinner, a convicted thief and murderer, a man who is at that very hour shouting blasphemies at His very beloved Son – to send His Holy Spirit.

Even while His Son was about to bear the sins of the elect, the justice and punishment we deserved, God was giving life – the new birth to the vile creature who hung on the right hand of Christ. While Romans and Jews passed by, mocking, ridiculing, making great sport of our King, God was performing a heart operation next door. He was unstopping ears, giving spiritual sight to blind eyes and opening understanding. He was speaking grace, mercy and truth to a condemned man, taking away his sin and wickedness and placing on the cross next to it. And by so doing, he ensured and upheld the covenant he had made with Himself before the foundation of the world; not one of His elect would be lost.

While He was dying on the cross, reconciling the world to Himself, He did not neglect the least of His saints. While justice was being carried out on the center cross, mercy was operating beside it.

John 5:25 says Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

The hour is coming. That means it will take place in the future. And now is. That means it’s occurring right now. It takes place every hour.

During one of the most dreaded and important hours in history, the Holy Spirit is in operation, faithful to His elect.

Brother Royce Ellis