Saturday, September 30, 2006

Bible Facts from Fiction


I was having a discussion with a friend of mine the other day about the bible and he was bound and determined that it was indeed, just a good story book; that there was no way most of that stuff was real. Well, I agree that a lot of it may be exaggerated and not quite in perspective due to the fact that it was written by man who, as we know, often get things wrong. So, to prove my friend wrong (which I like to do), I researched five events in the bible that seem extremely fictional but in fact, may have historical merit backed up by science. And keep in mind, I’m not by any means saying that these were not miracles. I believe that they were indeed miracles; manipulations of nature by God.
Story Number One:
“But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them; and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen…And Moses stretched outhi hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided.” Exodus 14:16-21
Fact Number One:
Russian scientist Volzinger determined that if a strong wind blew at 30 meters per second over a shallow reef, then yes, it could have blown that reef dry. He also calculated it would have taken the fleeing Jews about four hours to make their crossing. Some 3,500 years ago, the reef was much closer to the surface, Mr. Volzinger said. He set about calculating how much wind speed would have been needed to blow the water from the formation at low tide, how long the area would stay dry and how quickly the seas would come crashing back. "It would take the Jews — there were 600,000 of them — four hours to cross the 7-kilometer reef that runs from one coast to another. Then, in a half-hour, the waters would come back."
Story Number Two:
“Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Jedaea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jew? For we have seen his star in the east, are come to worship him…When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Matthew 2:1-10
Fact Number Two
Michael Molnar concluded that the star was actually a double eclipse of Jupiter roughly 2,000 years ago.
The former Rutgers University researcher came up with the idea while studying a symbolic star map on an ancient Roman empire coin from Syria, which depicts Aries the ram and other celestial symbols.
Molnar, deducing that Aries was the sign of the Jews, figured that ancient astrologers would have searched that constellation for a sign of a savior of the kingdom of Judea.
Computer modeling backed up his claim. But Molnar lacked historical proof until now, he said.
The Mathesis, a book written in 334 A.D. by Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer of Constantine the Great, described an astrological event involving an eclipse of Jupiter by the moon in Aries, and said that it signified the birth of a divine king.
"Maternus did not mention Jesus' name," Molnar said. "But Roman astrology was a popular craze at the time and everyone reading the book would have known the reference was to Jesus and that the astrological event was the star of Bethlehem."
(http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/12/27/star.coverup/index.html).
Story Number Three:
“For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and fory nights; and every living substance that have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth….And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth…And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.” Genesis 7:4-24
Fact Number Three:
Columbia University researchers William Ryan and Walter Pittman speculated in their 1997 book "Noah's Flood" that when the European glaciers melted, about 7,000 years ago, the Mediterranean Sea overflowed into what was then a smaller freshwater lake to create the Black Sea.
Last year Ballard found indications of an ancient coastline miles out from the current Black Sea coast. The new discovery provides evidence that people once lived in that now inundated region.
Ballard, a National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said he studied shells found along the ancient coastline and found two types. One group is an extinct type of freshwater shell, while the second is from saltwater shellfish.
The saltwater shells date from the present back 6,500 years, while the freshwater shells all date to 7,000 years ago and older.
"So we know that there was a sudden and dramatic change from a freshwater lake to a saltwater sea 7,000 years ago," he said Tuesday.
"And we know that as a result of that flood a vast amount of land went under water.
"And we now know that land was inhabited. What we don't know is who these people are, we don't know how broad their settlements were ... but we're expanding our studies to try to determine that."
Ballard said his team, using remote-controlled underwater vessels with cameras, located a former river valley beneath the sea, and in the valley was the collapsed structure. Remains include preserved wooden beams that were worked by hand.
The structure was "clearly built by humans," and was characteristic of stone-age structures built 7,000 years ago in the interior of Turkey, Ballard said. It contained a stone chisel and two other stone tools with holes drilled through them, he said. (http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/13/great.flood.finds.ap/)
Story Number Four:
“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights….Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly…And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land.” Jonah 1:17 and 2:1-10
Fact Number Four:
There is no doubt that there are sea creatures with jaws large enough to swallow a man whole and 'belly' is a fairly vague term in English, let alone in ancient Hebrew, so if Jonah was swallowed by a creature such as a sperm whale, he might have been in the great laryngeal pouch. There is an oft-quoted story concerning a certain James Bartley, when he was a harpooner on the whale-ship Star of the East, in 1891, under the command of Captain Killam, near the Falkland Islands. In the course of a whale hunt, Bartley fell into the sea and disappeared. The whale was killed and the next day, when the sailors cut it open, they were amazed to find Bartley still alive in the whale's stomach. He was revived and in time recovered from his experience. The report says, 'During his sojourn in the whale's stomach Bartley's skin, where exposed to the action of the gastric juice, underwent a striking change. His face, neck, and hands were bleached to a deadly whiteness, and took on the appearance of parchment. Bartley affirms that he would probably have lived inside his house of flesh until he starved, for he lost his senses through fright and not from lack of air.’ Also, the ancient Hebrews idiomatically counted a part of a day as a whole day, so that 'three days and three nights' could have been as short as 38 hours.
(http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i2/jonah.asp)
*Prepare yourself; this last one is a doozy…it’s for those of you who have no other way to explain such a miracle!
Story Number Five:
“And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away…And in the fourth watch of the night Juses went unto them, walking on the sea.” Matthew 14:22-25
Fact Number Five:
The study, which examines a combination of favorable water and environmental conditions, proposes that Jesus could have walked on an isolated patch of floating ice on what is now known as Lake Kinneret in northern Israel.
Looking at temperature records of the Mediterranean Sea surface and using analytical ice and statistical models, scientists considered a small section of the cold freshwater surface of the lake. The area studied, about 10,000 square feet (930 square meters), was near salty springs that empty into it. Nof figures that in the last 120 centuries, the odds of such conditions on the low-latitude Lake Kinneret are most likely 1-in-1,000. But during the time period when Jesus lived, such “springs ice” may have formed once every 30 to 60 years.
Such floating ice in the unfrozen waters of the lake would be hard to spot, especially if rain had smoothed its surface.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12152740/)



Thursday, September 14, 2006

Redemption

How many of us can say we haven't sinned? I don't think anyone on earth can claim that perfection. And sometimes our transgressions are huge; so huge that we wish we could sever that part of us away. We wish that God would appear right before you and tell you that you are forgiven and not to worry. I am going to tell you that this wish is a reality.
Let's start at the beginning. Sin exists because of a lovely thing called 'temptation.' All the way back to the first sin when the serpant tempted Eve to eat from the Tree. This act has been in our human nature ever since;
'Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptaion. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.' Matthew 26:41
This passage also reminds us to pray before hand so as to avoid temptaion; a saving grace we often don't use. I have learned that if you do indeed pray mightily to be saved from temptaion, your prayers will be answered; Even if it's because you were just busy praying.
I think often times why we don't is because we let our bodies be stronger than our spirits. Another common habit of human nature.
Jesus was tempted by Satan also. Let's look at Luke, Chapter 4:
'Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit to the desert where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written. 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So, if you worship me, it will all be yours."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord you God and serve him only.'"
The devil led him to Jeruselem and had him stand on the highest point of hte temple. "If you are the Sond of God, " he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
He will command his angels
concerning you
to guard you carefully;
they will lift yoiu up in their hands
so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone.
Juses answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'
Whe the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time."
Jesus fought away temptaion just showing us how capable we are of doing the same. After all, at that time, Jesus was just a man like all of us.
Here is one of my favourite verses regarding the subject of temptation:
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up to it." 1 Corinthians 10:13.
And don't let these words discourage yoiu. I realize that we don't take the way out he provides us with every time. And the cool part is, God knows that that would happen! And so it is written:
"-maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." Exodus 34:7.
And that's why Jesus died on the cross! He was beaten ruthlessly and left to die on a piece of wood because we make such stuped mistakes. God loves us that much!
"This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 25:28.
And it's even simpler than that:
"All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him recieves forgiveness of sins through his name." Aacts 10:43.
Now, I know you're thinking, 'how can it be that easy?' It's that easy because not only does God love us that much, he also knows how unforgiving we can be on ourselves. Because even when he's moved past it, we're still angry at ourselves. And, as always, he gives us a passage for this also:
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I don not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phillippians 3:12-14.
If God can forgive some of the horrible things we do, surely we can also forgive ourselves and more importantly, forgive others; our brothers and sisters in Christ. I encourage yoiu all, if yoiu have someone in you life (including yourself) that youhave not yet forgive, please do so now. God already has. God bless!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Titled: Jesus Busting a Gut

I was talking to my friend Matt the other day and I had been painting and he was like "Can you make me a picture?" I asked him what he wanted and he said he wanted a picture of Jesus just cracking up because you never saw him laughing; he always looked sad and tortured and he just didn't think that was Jesus' style. So, here is my picture of Jesus how I like to think of him.