News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Science Says Adam, Eve Existed — Chalk one up for William Jennings Bryan and Biblical literalists. DNA researchers are saying humanity descends from a single couple who lived about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
OK, you can take a half-point off the board for the literalists on that.
What’s also notable is that the research shows nine out of 10 other species studied also shows descent from a single pair from about the same time.
Mass Shootings Thoughts and Prayers — The wishing of “thoughts and prayers” after mass shootings is being mocked in some circles as simplistic to the point of being meaningless.
We have come to agree.
In fact, we think it as simplistic, meaningless and ineffective to wish “thoughts and prayers” as it is to blame access to guns for the tragedies as is done in the same knee-jerk fashion by those who mock the wishing of “thoughts and prayers.”
In the 1980s, most states made it difficult for a private citizen to carry a hand gun. Gun rights activist made it an issue and today it is relatively easy to do so. The murder rate has been halved and sometimes in dramatic fashion.
This is what the activists predicted while their opponents loudly claimed things would get much worse.
So now we have the issue of mass shootings which have become a several-times a year occurrence.
Those who desire to disarm the sane and law-abiding cynically use them to advance their political cause.
We, however, think it is far more about culture than it is about having access to immaterial objects.
We have written several times about how school shootings started after abortion was declared a right. Correlation is not causation but correlations are something worth pointing out, and this correlation makes sense.
Teach that it is up to the individual to determine whether a human life exists, and, well, who is to judge if an individual chooses in a way other than you would?
How about the manner in which our society addresses the most important philosophical question: Why are we here?
We teach our young that our existence is but due to a mere sequence of random events. Our courts, in fact, forbid teaching that we are designed, despite the quite reasonable inference of it being so.
Imagine someone being on a moral fence and being inculcated by society that he is but an accident of nature and he should “do as thy will”. Now, imagine that someone being inculcated that he was created to love his neighbor. Which message is most likely to send him to the good side of the fence?
We grant that even the right cultural message isn’t going to completely solve the problem. Limiting access to guns (and knives and cars) for those with objective psychological problems is important. Maybe this requires bringing back mental institutions.
Still, the Vegas and synagogue murderers would have passed the filter for sanity. The wise realize that perfect safety is a chimera, and that is why the sane and law-abiding need access to guns.
Eagles Faith Shines A Light Of Athletic Hope
By Carla D’Addesi
The NFL, until recently, was a tax-exempt, non-profit, which had been shrouded in controversy regarding corporate tax breaks and secrecy about its inner financial working. Often regarded as an organization that promotes fame and fortune, while objectifying women, the NFL has been steeped in controversy among those who worship its very existence.
Millionaire NFL players nationwide used their fame to seek self-aggrandizing attention by kneeling, sitting and fist-raising rather than standing and respecting our American flag and National Anthem. Declining ratings and viewership by American citizens boycotting the NFL caused the horizon to appear bleak for the NFL as empty seats and poor merchandise sales reflected the annoyance felt by most NFL fans.
When out of the dark, a beacon of hope emerged in the unlikeliest of teams – The Philadelphia Eagles! “This little light of mine, I’m gonna’ let it shine,”a childhood song learned by millions of American children in religious schools or Sunday school captures the essence of today’s Philadelphia Eagles!
Courageous, proud, and bold, Philadelphia Eagles players have used their fame as a platform to express their very personal and strong faith as Christians in a time when the Main Stream Media and Hollywood elite shun the very mention of Christianity. Who would have thought that their faith would be on public display exemplifying timeless themes of the weak vs. the strong? David vs. Goliath?
Team unity and faith amongst a core group of Philadelphia Eagles players appears to be the motivation that propelled the team to NFL history, as underdogs, capturing a 2018 Super Bowl victory, 41-33 against the New England Patriots!
From Carson Wentz’s vow to play for an “Audience of One” to Marcus Johnson getting baptized in a swimming pool with Eagles’ teammates witnessing his ceremony in a Charlotte, NC hotel, the Eagles are not shy about professing their faith. Carson Wentz, Zach Ertz, Stefan Wisniewski, Trey Burton, Jordan Hicks and Nick Foles appeared to be in attendance at the hotel pool baptism and Christian re-birth.
Historically, the Philadelphia Eagles have boldly stood for Christ. In 1977, running back, Herb Lusk, became the first NFL player to kneel in prayer in the endzone following a touchdown. A few years later, Lusk felt a calling to become a pastor on Broad Street in North Philly.
In 1985, notable Philadelphia Eagle, Reggie White, voted by ESPN as the greatest player in Eagles’ franchise history, led Bible studies and Evangelical Christian ministries for the Eagles and the Philadelphia area.
Tim Tebow, 2015, became known for his humility and outspoken faith for the Philadelphia Eagles when he prayed in the endzone wearing John 3:16 under the black marks protecting his eyes.
I had the honor of meeting Tim Tebow’s Mom at the White House at a Pro-Life event in January, 2018. Referring to God’s guidance multiple times, Tim Tebow’s mom was an inspiration to me to continue to nurture my own children in following the narrow and sometimes unpopular path, laden with obstacles and challenges, towards Christ.
The Super Bowl LII MVP, Nick Foles, has recently announced his plans to become a pastor to high school students following his NFL career. “Unbelievable. All glory to God,” Foles said during the Super Bowl trophy presentation and MVP ceremony.
I believe this is NOT happenstance, nor coincidence but instead, divine PROVIDENCE. God’s providence is visible over our lives when we least realize it or least expect it.
Whether a football fan, Eagles fan or simply an observer of the celebrations in Philly this week, it’s hard not to smile in wonder and amazement at the strength of these young men who follow God’s calling rather than seek fame and fortune’s all too frequent rewards of “sex & drugs & rock and roll!”
Thank you for being American heroes. We all respect you. Especially our youth!
Carla D’Addesi is a well-respected author and vlogger who has appeared on Fox & Friends, OANN and CBN. She hosts ‘Your Family Matters’ which runs 7-8 a.m., Fridays 1180WFYL. She can followed on Twitter at @CarlaDaddesi and found on Facebook here.
Hallelujah Anyway Is Merciful Read
By Kate Rainey
If you need a break from the polarized news and are searching for some mercy in your life,pick up a copy of Anne Lamott’s latest collection of essays “Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy” (Riverhead Books, 192 pages, $20). This book shows us there is a quieter world, one that is full of wonder, appreciation and generosity. Life is not about getting and achieving more.
Ms. Lamott, who teaches Sunday School at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in California, questions if she even recognizes mercy anymore, “the divine and human; the messy, crippled, transforming, heartbreaking, lovely, devastating presence of mercy.” She believes she, and our world, are starving to death for it.
“Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate straits. Mercy is not deserved. It involves absolving the unabsolvable, forgiving the unforgivable. Mercy brings us to the miracle of apology, given and accepted, to unashamed humility when we have erred or forgotten. Charge it to our heads and not our hearts, as the elders in black church have long said.”
The title of the book is derived from Candi Staton’s gospel song “Hallelujah Anyway.” In spite of our problems, personal or political, the lyrics say “you get down on your knees and pray . . . Praise Him till your situation turns around. You gotta lift up your voice and say: Hallelujah Anyway!”
As in Ms. Lamott’s nine other works of nonfiction, she is vulnerable, makes you laugh out loud and want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with her. What I learned, once again, from this easy read is lack of grace and mercy starts with me. When I do the inside work of being softer with myself, then I don’t have to “condemn others for being total sh__s, although they may be that. (Okay: are).”
Ms. Rainey is a resident of Middletown Township in Delaware County, Pa.
God Proved By Computer Program — There is a certain type that insists science requires a disbelief in God.
One thing about which we have become certain is that God has a great sense of humor.
Kurt Gödel was an Austrian mathematician and a good friend of Albert Einstein, who like Einstein fled Nazi Europe for New Jersey and became Americans. Einstein always thought that Gödel was the brains of the duo.
Gödel developed a logic-based proof of God’s existence over the course of decades.
Since 2013, computer scientists Christoph Benzmüller of Berlin’s Free University and Bruno Woltzenlogel Paleo of the Technical University in Vienna have been addressing Gödel’s proof with software.
Yup. It works.
Still don’t expect the typical atheist to be convinced.
Elon Musk Calvinism — Hipster captain-of-industry hero Elon Musk is claiming that we live in a computer simulation.
The Bank of America thinks there is a good chance he is right.
Take a moment to laugh — or tremble if you should have an account with BoA — then realize that there is a strand of logic here.
Nature follows laws and this makes science possible. It is impossible, however, to account for these laws by nature alone. Even truth itself can’t be found from a recipe.
Obviously, there is something beyond nature. Musk and the BoA analysts appear to be staring at the red pill pondering whether to take it.
We encourage them. They will not find the Matrix though. The reality that awaits is not Agent Smith but God.
Read the Bible, Elon. It’s a good thing.
Tipping Point Summit –Former Pennsylvania State Rep. Sam Rohrer will be among those speaking Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Tipping Point Summit at Grace Fellowship of York, 1405 Seven Valleys Road, York, Pa. 17408. The event runs 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and can also be viewed online.
His topic will be “The Reality of Persecution and How We Can Prepare.”
The summit is engage pastors, church leaders, elders, deacons, and all believers who want to make a difference for decades to come, with critical issues in our country in advance of the November election.
Go here to register and for information.
Rohrer represented the 128th District from 1993 to 2010 and ran against Tom Corbett in the 2010 gubernatorial primary.
Also speaking will be Pastor Michael Anthony who is founder of Godfactor.com and Pastor Jamie Mitchell of Harvest Bible Chapel.
God Miracles Millennials — Pew Research Center, last year, found that “religious nones”, which they describe as a shorthand for atheists and agnostics, make up about 23 percent of American adults, which is seven percent higher than in 2007.
More than a third of Millennials identify themselves as non-religous.
Among the major reasons cited for disbelief are “learning about evolution when I went away to college”, “lack of any sort of scientific or specific evidence for a creator”, and “I’m a scientist now, and I don’t believe in miracles.”
This is ironic. Francis Bacon, generally considered to be the father of the scientific method, sneered at atheism.
“God never wrought miracle to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it,” he wrote in 1612 in his essay Of Atheism. “It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them, confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity.”
In his essay, he called atheists hypocrites which they are when they deny their belief to be a faith. Ask one how everything came about and what the purpose of existence is, and then ask him to prove it via the scientific method.
He will inevitably change the subject.
And not to get into a dispute about the flaws and virtues of the Theory of Evolution but those who hold it as a certainty upon which to base one’s value system are not practicing science.
All the scientific method can do is explain consistencies in nature. It cannot reveal the great truths and to believe that it can is, again, by definition anti-science.
As to the reason for the recent increase in atheism, Bacon hits it on the nose in his 400-year-old work. He cites scandals by priests; the scoffing holy things “which doth by little and little deface the reverence of religion”; and peace and prosperity.
The last point is a little counter-intuitive but when one has a soft life and death seems far away and fear is not a common experience, then the old rules don’t seem to make much sense.
Until one realizes that death is not as far away as one thought and one has to account for the choices one has made.
Quran Hate Speech. Obama’s Attorney General Loretta Lynch responded to the Dec. 2 Islam-inspired slaughter in San Bernardino, Ca. by making a pledge the very next day to a Muslim lobbying group that she would prosecute anyone who used “anti-Muslim” rhetoric.
“When we talk about the First Amendment we make it clear that actions predicated on violent talk are not American. They are not who we are, they are not what we do, and they will be prosecuted. My message not just to the Muslim community but to all Americans is: we cannot give in to the fear that these backlashes are really based on.”
Violent talk not American? Well, she may have a point. Pamela Geller brilliantly produced some very striking examples of violent talk found in the Quran which can be found here and are reproduced below. This talk is certainly unAmerican in our view.
Will Lynch prosecute? LOL.
And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them — such is the recompense of unbelievers, but if they give over, surely Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. Fight them, till there is no persecution and the religion is Allah’s; then if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers. (Quran 2:191-193)
Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that Allah has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for Allah’s guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. (Quran 4:34)
They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them; take not to yourselves any one of them as friend or helper. (Quran 4:89)
This is the recompense of those who fight against Allah and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off; or they shall be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement. (Quran 5:33)
When thy Lord was revealing to the angels, ˜I am with you; so confirm the believers. I shall cast into the unbelievers’ hearts terror; so smite above the necks, and smite every finger of them! (Quran 8:12)
Make ready for them whatever force and strings of horses you can, to strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them that you know not; Allah knows them. And whatsoever you expend in the way of Allah shall be repaid you in full; you will not be wronged. (Quran 8:60)
Then, when the sacred months are drawn away, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. (Quran 9:5)
Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden — such men as practise not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book — until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled. (Quran 9:29)
Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of Paradise; they fight in the way of Allah; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon Allah in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Koran; and who fulfils his covenant truer than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him; that is the mighty triumph. (Quran 9:111)
O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you; and let them find in you a harshness; and know that Allah is with the godfearing. (Quran 9:123)
When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its loads. So it shall be; and if Allah had willed, He would have avenged Himself upon them; but that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will not send their works astray. (Quran 47:4)
Blogger Matt Walsh had this article published on TheBlaze.com, which we are excerpting.
By Matt Walsh
I got this email a few days ago insisting Christians need to be more “inclusive” of open homosexuals. It’s a popular notion these days, so I thought I’d share this with you and respond here publicly:
Matt, you put yourself on a pedestal as this “great Christian” but you do more harm to the religion than anyone else. As a gay man I can say I’m happy to see how finally a lot of Christians and different churches are realizing that Christianity has to be INCLUSIVE of the LGBTQ community and other lifestyles. Not judging of them. Gays and trans people have felt alienated by Christianity and now progressive Christians have finally started to pull the religion into the 21st century and reach out to all of us. Jesus preached tolerance for all people and lifestyles not HATE. The prodigal son was WELCOMED back not told to go away! You are still trying to make divisions and tell some of us Christians we are not Christians just because we live differently. You are a truly sh*tty person and you come off as a bad writer and an uneducated idiot. Just stop talking. You make Jesus mad every time you write your garbage.
-A gay man who loves Jesus
Hi. Thanks for writing. A few points.
First, as I’m constantly reminded, the sins of homosexuality and fornication have existed since Biblical times. Still, it was prohibited in the Old and New Testaments (Genesis 19:1-13, Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9) and by every Christian church for the first 20 centuries of Christianity’s existence. Since you are a self-identified Christian who thinks the moral teachings of the Bible should now be suddenly updated, I have to ask: What changed?
What was revealed in the last few years that proved the prophets, the apostles and all Christian denominations until recently wrong? What new piece of information did humanity obtain? What great revelation occurred? You think a 2,000-year-old faith that professes timeless Truths should “keep up” with the whims of modernity, but why? What do we know in our time that the Church didn’t know — that God Himself didn’t know — up to now? Be very careful in how you answer that question.
Second, I have never referred to myself as a “great Christian” — or a “great” anything for that matter — so I’m not sure why you put “great Christian” in quotes. I consider myself a greatly flawed Christian, even a “sh*tty” one, as you so helpfully and compassionately noted.
See, you need to stop reading with your emotions and read with your brain, man. Your emotions tell you that anyone who advocates virtue is automatically claiming to be virtuous, because it’s easier to dismiss a point based on the perceived motivations behind it rather than consider the point on its own merits. It’s like I’m saying two plus two equals four, and you’re countering that I’m not such a brilliant mathematician. Well, right, but I never said I was a brilliant mathematician. I just said two plus two equals four, because it does, and because even a stupid man can see that.
It’s difficult to have grown-up conversations these days, because people like yourself see every mention of moral truth as either a personal attack or a statement of superiority. This is the real damage you cause in the Faith. It’s not that you’re sinful — we all are, to be sure — it’s that you want to be coddled. You want to shut down professions of Truth that are inconvenient or uncomfortable. You want to modify Christian teachings not because you tried them and found them wrong, but because, to paraphrase Chesterton, you found them difficult and don’t want to try them.
I have many sins, but I will not tell you they are not sins. I come to Christ a sick and broken man looking for healing. You apparently come a sick and broken man looking to be assured you were never sick and broken to begin with. That is the only real difference between us. Or I should say, it’s the only real difference between Christians and “progressive Christians.” Both groups are sinful, both groups are weak, both groups need Christ desperately, but one wants — though they may so often fail — to go Christ’s way, and the other wants Christ to go theirs.
Third, I’m tired of hearing this “inclusive” stuff. Yes of course the Faith is made for people like you. It’s made for all people. It’s not a cult or a club. There’s no entrance exam or membership fee. Christianity is for everyone. If that’s what you mean by “inclusive,” fine, but a better word would be “universal.” In any case, that isn’t what you mean, is it?
When you ask for an “inclusive” Christianity, you ask for a Christianity that, rather than calling you to serve it, bends down and serves you. You’re asking to be “included” in the Faith on your own terms. That’s just not how this works, brother. As Christians, we have no authority to “include” you in that way. You must include yourself.
We go out into the world and proclaim the Gospel. We offer an invitation. We extend a greeting. We fight to win souls. But the souls must come of their own accord and must accept the Truth of Christ willingly and in its fullness. You must enter into the Truth. You must be the one who accepts it. You must be the one who “includes” the Truth in your life. Your lifestyle must change to accommodate the Truth, not the other way around.
By the way, Jesus never uttered the word “lifestyle,” much less did He preach that they all ought to be tolerated. Recently, we’ve started referring to sins as “lifestyles” and pretending that this rhetorical maneuver somehow changes the morality of the issue. It doesn’t. A sin is still a sin, and He instructs us all to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11), which often means dramatically altering our lifestyles.
Indeed, when people came to follow Him in Scripture, He told them to first leave their earthly pleasures behind and then continue along the road (Luke 18:22). He made it very clear that there is in fact a correct lifestyle, a correct way to live, and that way is narrow. Matthew 7:13 tells us the broad and “inclusive” road is the one that leads to damnation. You must choose, then, to walk through the right path, the narrow path, but it will be difficult and demanding, and it will not and cannot be widened to include you.
We all struggle with sin. But struggle is the keyword. Struggle. Fight back. Plead with God in agony to help you defeat these demons. Go to Christ begging that He help you overcome your temptations and live with chastity and temperance. Don’t demand that your sin be allowed to accompany you into Heaven. It can’t. We can accompany our sins into Hell, or ditch the whole ugly package on the side of the road and come Home.
In “The Great Divorce,” C.S. Lewis said, “If we insist on keeping Hell, we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven, we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.”
That’s our choice, in a nutshell.
You can finish the article here.