Good morning friends,
Quotes of the week:
And here’s something fascinating: there’s a rabbinic tradition preserved in the Talmud that says on the Day of Atonement there were three different signs that the animal sacrifices the high priest offered had been accepted by God and atonement given to the nation. In the years when the signs would come up negative, the people would be ashamed and mourn, because God had not accepted their sacrifice. Then it says that during the last forty years before the second temple was destroyed, all three signs were negative each and every time. Think about that: Jesus probably was crucified in AD 30, and the temple was destroyed in AD 70. So from the time of his death to the time of the destruction of the temple-a period of forty years-God signaled that he no longer accepted the sacrifices and offerings of the Jewish people. Why? …Because final atonement had been made through Yeshua, just as he had prophesied. – Dr. Michael Brown (quote from the book the Case for the Real Jesus)
Apathy may be an even greater challenge to Christianity than atheism. In fact, a term has now emerged to describe the growing phenomenon: “apatheism.” – Sean McDowell and J Warner Wallace (So the Next Generation Will Know)
Now, here are your weekly links:
- Seeing Stars at Impossible Distances | The Creation Podcast: Episode 32 – YouTube – For millennia, mankind has looked at the stars in wonder. Technology has allowed us to study these magnificent creations, but we still have questions. A prominent issue is the distant starlight problem. Given the age of our planet, how are we able to see stars at such mind-bending distances? Listen in as host Trey Bowling and ICR physicist Dr. Jake Hebert discuss the matter. The answer may not be as cut and dry as you think!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-p0kmmL4dI&t=1s
- Did Darwin Deceive Us? CET Pt. 1 | The Creation Podcast: Episode 21 – YouTube – If natural selection is a mystical delusion, what then is driving the adaptions we see in living organisms? And how can the principles of engineering help us to understand biological design? In episode 21 of The Creation Podcast, host Ivana Semidey and ICR President Dr. Randy Guliuzza talk about the circular reasoning of evolutionary theory and introduce a new theory of biological design known as Continuous Environmental Tracking (CET).: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBk1vw2o28g
- The Authority of the Septuagint during the Reformation – In the sixteenth century, the Bible was at the heart of the debate between the Protestant Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformers argued for sola Scriptura-that Scripture alone is the sole infallible authority for faith and practice, while Rome contended that Scripture required external authentication from the Roman Church.: https://textandcanon.org/the-authority-of-the-septuagint-during-the-reformation/
- Responding to the Objection: “I don’t see the need for God or Jesus?” – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2023/03/28/responding-to-the-objection-i-dont-see-the-need-for-god-or-jesus/
- Does Secular Historian Josephus Give Historical Corroboration to the New Testament? | Thomistic Bent: https://humblesmith.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/does-secular-historian-josephus-give-historical-corroboration-to-the-new-testament/
- Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647 (1647) | The First Amendment Encyclopedia: https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/old-deluder-satan-act-of-1647/
- 5 Ways Christian Parents Fail to Prepare Their Kids to Engage with Questions of Faith and Science: https://crossexamined.org/5-ways-christian-parents-fail-prepare-kids-engage-questions-faith-science/
- Twenty good arguments for Christianity: https://pjsaunders.blogspot.com/2013/01/twenty-good-arguments-for-christianity.html
- What to say to Mormons – 2. The Bible is Reliable – Mike Licona – If you ask a Mormon if he believes the Bible, he will refer to a Mormon document, The Articles of Faith, verse 8, which says: We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. Mormons will tell you they believe the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly.” Most Christians will agree with that statement. What Mormons won’t tell you, unless you ask, is that they do not believe the Bible has been translated correctly, but that it has been corrupted over the years.: https://www.bethinking.org/mormons/what-to-say-to-mormons/3-the-bible-is-reliable
- The Bibliographical Test Updated | Christian Research Institute – The bibliographical test examines manuscript reliability, and for more than a generation Christian apologists have employed it to substantiate the transmissional reliability of the New Testament. The bibliographical test compares the closeness of the New Testament’s oldest extant manuscripts to the date of its autographs (the original handwritten documents) and the sheer number of the New Testament’s extant manuscripts with the number and earliness of extant manuscripts of other ancient documents such as Homer, Aristotle, and Herodotus. Since the New Testament manuscripts outstrip every other ancient manuscript in sheer number and proximity to the autographs, the New Testament should be regarded as having been accurately transmitted. However, although apologists have stayed abreast of the dates of the earliest extant manuscripts and latest New Testament Greek manuscript counts, we haven’t kept up with the increasing numbers of manuscripts for other ancient authors that are recognized by classical scholars. For example, although apologists rightly claim that there are well over five thousand Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, they have reported the number of manuscripts for Homer’s Iliad to be 643, but the real number of Iliad manuscripts is actually 1,757. Further, the number of manuscript counts for the New Testament’s translation into other languages has not remained static. Thankfully, even though many numbers that apologists have employed are often significantly changed, the New Testament still has the best-attested manuscript transmission of any ancient document and the bibliographical test still remains a reliable indicator that the New Testament has been accurately transmitted to this day.: https://www.equip.org/articles/the-bibliographical-test-updated/
- Why does God allow natural disasters? – YouTube – I can’t see any good coming out of a natural disaster. Can you? But can God? Frank’s answer includes the ripple effect (see his book “Stealing from God” for much more on why God allows evil).: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0-s_jYZ-O0
- Did Sauropod Dinosaurs Live for Centuries? | The Institute for Creation Research: https://www.icr.org/article/16115
- Christian Geologist (Dr. Tim Clarey): These Facts About Dinosaurs Will BLOW Your Mind – YouTube – Today Dr. Tim Clarey lays out numerous mind-blowing facts about dinosaurs. He highlights powerful evidence that dinosaurs and humans lived side by side, long after the flood ended. From ancient carvings found on different continents to the true identity of Job’s Behemoth and Leviathan, this conversation challenges the narrative about dinosaurs most of us grew up believing.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYkU0mMa5w
- Dialogue and Christian Apologetics: A Biblical-Theological Overview: https://crossexamined.org/dialogue-and-christian-apologetics-a-biblical-theological-overview/
- “The New Testament: Text, Translation, Canon” – Mike Licona – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DowENTBcnLE
- 7 Lies Your Kids Will Believe Unless You Do Something – with Mike Winger and Elizabeth Urbanowicz: https://foundationworldview.com/blog/7-lies-your-kids-will-believe-unless-you-do-something
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Blessings to you all