SupernaturalWarfare

The First Law of Thermodynamics states, “In any process, the total energy of the universe remains constant.” Translation: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed - it can only change form.” Ok, so energy cannot be created or destroyed, big deal. What does that have to do with anything? - Quite a bit actually. But before diving into the implications of The First Law of Thermodynamics, lets take a look at Evolution.

How about we assume that the process of Evolution has been proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt. According to Evolution, all matter was formed during the Big Bang approximately 13.7 billion years ago. The Big Bang was a catastrophic explosion from a single atom of matter that was infinitely dense – or at least, that’s one of the accounts of the Big Bang. At any rate, all matter was formed from that explosion. That matter then randomly formed the first cell (which by the way is an example of Irreducible Complexity). That cell slowly adapted, and formed a two cell organism. Slowly over time the original cell duplicated, mutated, and changed forms and formed all living things.

Ok, so we have now outlined the basic principles of Evolution – what does that have to do with anything? Again, believe it or not, has a lot to do with the point that is being made. In every day life, we use energy. The simple action of slapping the snooze in the morning takes thousands of energy transfers. The impact between the hand and the snooze button is a Mechanical Energy Transfer which “snoozes” the clock. But in order to have your arm move, a series of chemical reactions (Chemical Energy Transfers) must take place in your shoulder, arm, and hand to exit the warmth of the covers to crush that confounded alarm clock. But in order to have the energy for your arm to move, a series of chemical reactions (Chemical Energy Transfers) must take place in your stomach to get the energy to make your arm move. The list could go on and on. But let’s not beat the dead horse too much.

That just goes to show that energy is used in everything for everything. But Newton’s First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change form. If that’s the case, then where did the energy come from? The only logical notion seems to be that it was created by a Supreme Being – an all-knowing all-powerful creator.

//Brint it World
-Brian Purkiss

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During the 1800s two men changed the world forever with their theories. Those two men went by the names of Charles Darwin and Carl Marx. But just what do the two men actually believe? And how does their theories effect our belief as Christians?

Charles Darwin brutally attacked Genesis with his theory in The Descent of Man. Darwin invented the theory that mankind came into being randomly, by chance – that people evolved from lesser beings, monkeys, and those monkeys evolved from even lesser beings, and so on and so forth until we get to the singled cell organism. That single celled organism came into being by random atoms coming together and coming to life. Those atoms came about from the “Big Bang.” The Big Bang was created by random particles being drawn towards each other, then exploding. However, scientists have absolutely no idea where those particles came from.

Darwin undermined the Bible’s theory of Creation with his theory of Evolution. He completely took away the total divinity of our Lord and Savior. Near death, Darwin disclaimed his theory of evolution, but modern either scientists ignore that fact, or, believe that that document is a fraud.

Carl Marx’s theory is almost opposite in nature. Marx throws out the book of Revelations and replaces it with Marx’s well-known Communist Manifesto. Marx’s theory believes that the world will get steadily better and that the world will turn into a utopia - a perfect world. The world would turn into a place where everyone is equal; there will be no ranks in society. Everyone will share; there will be no wars, no crime, and no hatred.

It sure sounds nice, and it would be neat if it came true, but it hasn’t and won’t. In the end, Marx’s theory caused the slaughter of millions - not a perfect utopia. The book of Revelation says the exact opposite. The book of Revelation says the world will get worse and worse; then, Christ will destroy it and set up His utopia. There will be no evil what so ever. That is what we Christians look forward to. Even though both theories end with a utopia, the theories arrive at their utopia’s in completely opposite ways. Marx’s theory requires man, in his own power, to perfect him/herself and become perfect. The Bible’s theory requires Jesus to come and save mankind and, using His power, make everything perfect – resulting in utopia.

The theories of Evolution and Communism changed the world forever. Marx’s theory lead to the slaughter of millions, and still is a cause of oppression today. Darwin’s theory changed the scientific world, caused the death of millions, and carried over to public life. Hot disputes concerning Creation vs. Evolution take place all over the world. Scientists undermine the Bible through teaching Evolution in the public school system as a fact, not a theory. Christians are lead astray and compromise with the world over Creation. As many people say concerning this problem, “I don’t know about your God, but my God can create the world in seven days.”

Marx’s and Darwin’s theories are all but opposite in nature, but similar in their foundations. Both theories try and eliminate an all knowing and all-powerful God. Those theories teach the fact that man is inherently good, but, according to Genesis, man is inherently bad. Christians need to stand strong in what they believe in. We need to put all of our faith in the Bible. When ever something challenges the Word, be on your guard and stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ.

//Bring it World
-Brian Purkiss

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[digg=http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Is_the_Bible_Reliable] Christianity’s foundation is the Bible, plain and simple. Christianity stands or falls with its Scriptures. To disprove Christianity, many different nations and peoples have repeatedly attempted to discredit the Bible, but to no avail. Due to the constant attacks on the Bible throughout the years, Christians have meticulously researched and have discovered a sound way to uphold the Bible.

In an attempt to demonstrate that the Bible is the Word of God, the original manuscripts must be proven to be authentic. For if the original manuscripts are forged or altered, then no other argument can prove the Bible is the Word of God. Next the content must be examined. If the text changes from manuscript to manuscript, then how can we be sure to have the correct document? Or if the facts of the Bible are false, then again, how can the Bible be true? And finally, the events in the Bible must align with history. Again, if the events of the Bible don’t parallel history, then how can the Bible be true?

First of all, there are approximately 24,970 manuscript fragments of the New Testament within 226 years of the originals, and, except for some style and spelling differences, all 24,970 are identical (with an exception of two portions of text that was not in the original copies, but common in later manuscripts - which is noted in most Bibles). The Jews have kept part of the Old Testament in their Torah over the years, which wouldn’t have changed. Even so, those books couldn’t be proven to be the original text until the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Old Testament was finally confirmed to have stayed the same since the days before Christ. Finally, the books in the New Testament were written between 50 AD and 95 AD, a 45 year difference. During that time, legends and falsehoods would not have been able to spring up. For, the eyewitnesses would have squashed these distortions of the truth.

Even if the Biblical manuscripts are authentic first century documents, the text must have a legitimate source to truly be the Word of God. For why would we have trusted someone from the Orient in 50 AD to write about Jesus’ teachings when the Gospel hadn’t reached the Orient? Eight different men wrote the New Testament. Their names were James, John, Jude, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Paul, and Peter. Out of those eight men, six had direct contact with Jesus, the two who hadn’t been with Jesus traveled for years with someone who had.

Since we have the original text, and the authors of the New Testament are legitimate authorities on the subject, the events of the Bible align with history. However, the events of the Bible align with ‘pagan history.’ The events mentioned in the Bible are genuine events, the places of the Bible are real places, and the people in the Bible are real people, including Jesus. Many ancient non-Christians agree in their writings that Jesus was actually a man and claimed to be God, such as Tacticus (The Annals of Imperial Rome), Suetonius (Life of Cladius, Lives of the Ceasers), Roman governor Pliny the Younger (Epistles), Greek satirist Lucian (On the Death of Peregrine), Syrian Mara Bar-Serapion (a letter). Even the Jewish Talmud mention’s Jesus! Finally, modern archeology has produced evidence for the authority of the Bible. The events, places, and people are verified from non-Biblical sources through examining the remains of past cultures.

Since the Bible is proven to be the same text back then as it is now, the writings to have come from legitimate sources, and the Bible’s events to align with history, we can conclude that the Bible declares genuine history. Now whether the Bible is the Word of God or not is a totally different matter, but even more so important. Man physically wrote the words of the Bible, there is no doubt about that. But, did God speak to humanity through them? Or were the authors of the Bible writing lies?

According to the Bible itself, the Bible is the Word of God. That is clearly stated by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16a: “All Scripture is inspired by God (God breathed)…” But does what the Bible mean anything to some? No. But, the Bible is full of prophecy. Many of that prophecy has been fulfilled, some is yet to be fulfilled. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah both predicted the destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13-14 and Jeremiah 51). And Babylon did indeed fall. Cyrus the king of Persia conquered Babylon the great in 539 BC. But, a good portion of the Bible’s prophecy is concerning the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament has four hundred twenty five prophecies on Jesus alone, and Jesus fulfilled every one. Some of the prophecies are made to the date. For example, in the book of Daniel, Daniel predicted the exact day the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25). Daniel claimed that 438 years after a decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, the Messiah himself would enter into that Holy City. Since the Babylonian calendar consisted of 360 days, there are 173,880 days in 438 Babylonian years. On March 5, 444 BC, the Persian king, Artaxerxes Longimanus, decreed that the city of Jerusalem should be rebuilt. Exactly 173,880 days later, on March 30, 33 AD (after accounting for leap years), Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Even the uniqueness of the claims of the Bible suggests its truth. No other religion in the world truly claims eternal life by faith alone. All religions require some form of “works” (having more good deeds than bad deeds - for example) in order to get into heaven. Some are more extreme than others, but they all still require some form of earning your way into heaven. The desire to work for something is human. Many people find it hard to accept large gifts for no reason. So man-made religions that are works based to feel adequate. But really, can a sinful, mortal man earn his way to be with a perfect God?

It is proven that we have the original text of the Bible, the authors of the Bible are legitimate sources, and the events in the Bible really happened. We have also made it clear through the prophecies and their fulfillments that some divine power has made itself known through these writings. Why shouldn’t it be the God that the Bible claims it to be? Why shouldn’t God’s Son, Jesus Christ, really be our Lord and Savior? Why shouldn’t He have really come to earth, died for our sins, and rose again? Since that is the case, it can be concluded that the Bible is true. And since the Bible is true, then Christianity is the Truth.

//Bring it World
-Brian Purkiss

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When I am afraid,
I will put my trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid
What can mere man do to me?
-Psalms 56:3-4

It’s amazing how clear the Bible can be. When a storm comes your way, trust in God - what can mere man do to me? If you place your trust wholely in God - and God alone - He will save you.

Don’t tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big your God is!

//Bring it World
-Brian Purkiss

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Continued from // The Cross - Part I

As the procession neared Golgotha, a new feeling began to creep up on Jesus, a feeling He never felt before. Jesus began to feel the inconceivable weight of man’s sin. The feeling grew as He neared the crest of the hill. The Weight of Mankind weighed Him down so He could hardly walk. After a few more steps, the procession reached the crest of the hill. Finally Jesus could bear it no longer; with a cry He collapsed under the Weight of Mankind. Next to Him, Simon cried out and fell underneath the Cross and the two were pinned. Soldiers shouted and the Cross was lifted. One soldier jerked Jesus to His knees and drug him to the place where He was to be crucified. The other lifted Simon to his feet, and gave him a shove. “You are free to go,” the soldier grunted. Simon hesitated, looking towards Jesus and their eyes met. Jesus’ eyes were filled with pain and anguish, such that is incomprehensible to mortal man. Simon could not bear to look into those eyes, and with tears pouring down his face, Simon dashed down the hill back to Jerusalem.

When the soldier drug Jesus to the spot where He was to be crucified, he threw Him down at the foot of the Cross and jeered at Him. “Here is your doom. Today you will go down to the fires of Hell just like any other man.” Jesus made no reply, but got on his hands and knees and, to the astonishment of all who looked on, willingly crawled onto the cross. The soldiers murmured and looked at each other, as if unsure what to do. After a few moments, one of the officers cried out, “What are you doing? Get these men up on their crosses!” It was if time snapped back into motion and the soldiers went to their deadly work. Men bustled about each of the three crosses, readying them to be raised. One soldier seized a hammer and three nine-inch nails and ran to Jesus’ cross. He tossed two of the nails to the ground and held up the nail to drive it into Jesus’ wrist.

As the soldier raised the hammer, his gaze wandered to Jesus’ face. Jesus turned His head and looked into the man’s eyes and held them. The soldier stared back, his face a mixture of astonishment and horror; he couldn’t take his eyes from his Savior. The officer, seeing the man’s bewilderment, shoved him to the ground yelling. “Hurry up! We only have so much time! Nail that man to the cross!” Shaking himself, the soldier plucked up the hammer and nail from the ground. Again he placed the nail on Jesus’ wrist, and after checking to see if the nail was placed properly, shakily raised the hammer above his head.

Continued on // The Cross - Part III

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