In my mind, DNA is the smoking gun for an intelligent Mind behind life.
Whenever we encounter a language, a code, an information system, it turns out to be the product of an intelligent agent -- not of the blind, automatic processes of nature, as naturalism or materialism proposes.
This explains why, throughout history, many cultures have been polygamous.
By contrast, the Biblical teaching of monogamy means "to each his own."
Monogamy means the top 20 percent of men cannot get most of the women.
Even ordinary men get a chance to have a wife and family.
Church History Proves the Necessity of Sola Scriptura
After some comments on a variety of topics at the top of the program, we dove deep into the following citation from Basil the Great, "because the honor paid to the image passes on to the prototype."
We looked at the original context and meaning, and then how it was plucked out of that context and used by John of Damascus, and how that then became central to the arguments of the iconophiles at Nicea II, and hence became the basis of "infallible dogma" for both Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Not an entertaining program, to be sure, but hopefully a helpful one. Tomorrow we will be doing a Zoom call "open phones" program, so join us then!
A great pleasure to hang out with @HwsEleutheroi. last night. When I was a lot younger James was very formative for me. Among a list of names who really introduced me into the world of things like New Testament studies, biblical manuscripts, Reformed theology, and apologetics, was James. Very fun to share a meal and talk shop. And yes, I did give him a Wes Huff manuscript facsimile.
@MikeCanning7@SteveW928@JakeLandauTO It's OK if you block me. I'm pretty much done.
And, that's what I meant about writing essays. I have in the past, but don't have time now.
Most studies were flawed because because they cherry-picked.
Outcomes are lower for every situation besides low-conflict, biological parents.
Pastors, watch for these men. They are "clouds without water," and they will bring division into your fellowship, and will be proud to do it. They will traffic on the term "Reformed," but clearly have no heart-felt understanding of the meaning. Beware.
In his recent Rogan podcast he says that “initially I thought that intelligent design folks were anti-scientific” but quickly adds “I now know several of them in person and I quite like them and I quite like them scientifically. I actually think they have done an excellent job in pointing out the folly in evolutionary biology.” https://t.co/wvHSU87hJ0
Even the slogans of the secular Left — justice, equality, human rights — are cut flowers from Christian soil. They survive for a time, beautiful in form but severed from their roots. Appropriately, Os Guinness calls Western civilization a “cut flower civilization.”
You can enjoy its beauty for a while, but cut flowers die. The only way to keep them alive is to replant them in the soil of faith. No small job description.
We, the inheritors of Christendom, still breathe the fragrance of a garden planted two thousand years ago. Our laws, liberties, even our language of compassion — all of it blooms from the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when we remove the root, when we deny Christ’s dominion, the petals fall one by one.
Western civilization is dying not because it is old but because it is uprooted. The Church’s task is not to admire the vase but to return to the Garden — to water the roots, to guard the soil, and to fight for what remains alive.
@DrFrankTurek I see a tremendous amount in Scripture about man's *inabilities,* man's slavery to sin, deadness in sin, heart of stone, etc., but I have never, ever seen a single word about man's "free will."
There is not enough time in the history of the entire universe for random mutations + natural selection to construct even a single novel protein - let alone the hundreds needed for even the simplest life.
The simplest cell ever created by scientists in a lab (JCVI-Syn3.0) required 438 unique proteins, totaling over 77,000 total proteins, to keep it alive.
This gives us a scientifically observed and confirmed minimal cellular requirement.
It's absurd to believe Life arose by chance natural processes.
@BilodeauMeg@cgWerks3D@SteveW928 You're welcome to check my account histories and see if they are burner accounts. 😂
But now I'm all out. Enjoy life in your little bubble. Hope you don't get too destroyed by your worldview.
@imPenny2x This might be the best, condensed overview of Christianity I've run across to build upon. There is also a video-series I've used (I haven't read the book, but I'm sure it is excellent).
It will help what you learn better fall into place. https://t.co/XKlDXg0CgP
Want to learn biblical languages? Here’s a little advice from someone who himself does not particularly feel gifted in languages but learned to love them:
- Stay away from interlinears: if you don’t know the language(s) they’re not helpful, and if you do know the language(s) they’re not helpful.
- Commit to learning something every day: a word (or a few), a grammatical form, etc. You’re going to learn best when you allow your brain to become familiar with the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax via slow repetition rather than attempting to cram.
- Optimize your learning. There are SO many excellent resources now:
1. Frequent visits to @dailygreek@doseofhebrew and @DailySeptuagint IS going to help you regularly keep practiced and learn.
2. @biblingoapp is going to be your best friend and will help you learn, master, and gain comprehension in an easy and even gamified way (make sure to use promo code WESHUFF10 at checkout so you’ll get a discount!).
3. Subscribe to @Logos, and particularly, their Biblical Languages: Foundational Study Bundle. Logos Software has all sorts of helpful resources and you can try it for free for 60 days at https://t.co/46gKPRLRlZ.
- A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The danger when you start to get the hang of it is thinking that now you know better than your pastor, or the choices of an English translation. It’s almost always better to assume that you probably don’t know what you don’t know.
- Don’t expect to become an expert overnight. Commit to the task and take things in stride. The moment you open up a Greek New Testament or Hebrew Old Testament and realize you can make sense of the sentence you’re looking at is one of the most edifying feelings. But that takes time, and that’s ok!
- Learn to build up, not to be puffed up. Learning the original languages is going to help you better understand scripture. Your learning should be used to encourage yourself and maybe even bless others with a greater and more relatable understanding of the Word of God. Stay humble.