October 27, 2008

Gap Theory - No Support

Gap Theory: Its BackgroundThe Gap Theory was first proposed in 1814 by a Scottish minister named Chalmers. It was during this period that scientists were beginning to teach that the earth was billions of years in age. As a response to the scientific community, Chalmers theorized a "gap" in time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. His motive was probably well intentioned, but there is no scriptural reason to infer or imply that such a gap ever existed.

Gap Theory: The Position & ProblemsThe Gap Theory holds that the ages of evolution (the periods and eras of "modern science") occurred before the six days of biblical Creation, but were part of the creative process of God. These ages were then terminated by a global cataclysmic event, followed by a period of replenishing the earth, according to the following instructions of God in Genesis: "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:28 KJV).

Probably the greatest problem with the Gap Theory is that it makes God responsible for the creation of evil. The theory implies that God used the methods of death and decay on a global scale for billions of years in order to accomplish His unknown purposes in a primeval world. The fossils and geological records, which the theory tries to place before Genesis 1:2, are the direct testimony of this violence and death. However, Paul writes about the manner in which Christ will destroy the last enemy - death: "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:25-26 KJV).

Death cannot be construed as a benefit that God instituted in order to aid mankind or creation. Evolutionism teaches that death is part of the process that nature uses in order to continually promote each species and allow adaptation to the environment (survival of the fittest). The Bible clearly teaches that death is the result of the rebellion of Satan and Adam's sin, and not something that God created during the time period that gap theorists believe exists between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Chalmers taught that the rebellion of Satan and his demons took place before Adam was created (a pre-adamite rebellion.) Satan's rebellion and eventual placement in Eden is actually discussed in a couple of books of the Bible, including Ezekiel: "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezekiel 28:13-15 KJV).

To believe that a rebellious Satan was on earth prior to "day six" is in direct conflict with the following scripture: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31 KJV). If God beheld everything after day six and it was "very good," how could Lucifer have rebelled back in verses one and two? That is simply impossible, since scripture would be in conflict with itself, which is an interpretive violation. Everything would not be "very good" if sin was present in the Garden and Lucifer had already rebelled against God. The concept of a pre-adamite rebellion seems to fall apart quite rapidly upon further examination of all the scriptures associated with the fall of Lucifer. Since there could not have been a pre-adamite rebellion, Satan's actions could not have accounted for the age-long spectacle of suffering and death in the world during the geologic ages that preceded it. Thus, God would have to be responsible for the death and suffering in the pre-adamite world, but that is impossible.

Gap Theory: No Support in ScriptureThe Gap Theory has been advocated by many sincere Bible teachers, but it actually involves numerous and serious fallacies. In general, contemporary biblical scholars and scientists do not accept this theory. There is no scriptural support for any of its tenets that pass the tests of sound Biblical interpretation.

October 10, 2008

The Financial Fiasco

“Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” ¯Luke 12:15

We are facing the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. It is a monetary mess! You know things are bad when Washington Mutual suffers the biggest bank failure in the history of the United States.

Who’s to blame? Labour Party say the Tories. The Labour Party point to the Tories. But perhaps we should to look somewhere else—In a mirror! It’s our addiction to greed and spending money we don’t have! From Wall Street to Main Street and across the political spectrum, we have long ago stopped believing in the importance of “living within our means.” We’ve become accustomed to having whatever we want, when we want it—cars, flat-panel TV’s, plush furniture, designer clothes and accessories, and yes, houses—trying to figure out ever-more “creative” ways to postpone the inevitable. The inevitable has happened.

Another mirror we should look into is the mirror of the Bible (James 1:23-25). We don’t have to look far. Just take a peek at 1 Timothy 6:9-10—“They that WILL BE RICH fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which DROWN men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is THE root of all evil: which while some COVETED AFTER, they have ERRED from the faith, and pierced themselves through with MANY SORROWS.”

Will we ever learn?

September 15, 2008

UK's first official sharia courts

ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.

The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.

Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.

Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.

It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs the courts, said he had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996.

Under the act, the sharia courts are classified as arbitration tribunals. The rulings of arbitration tribunals are binding in law, provided that both parties in the dispute agree to give it the power to rule on their case.

Siddiqi said: “We realised that under the Arbitration Act we can make rulings which can be enforced by county and high courts. The act allows disputes to be resolved using alternatives like tribunals. This method is called alternative dispute resolution, which for Muslims is what the sharia courts are.”

The disclosure that Muslim courts have legal powers in Britain comes seven months after Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was pilloried for suggesting that the establishment of sharia in the future “seems unavoidable” in Britain.

In July, the head of the judiciary, the lord chief justice, Lord Phillips, further stoked controversy when he said that sharia could be used to settle marital and financial disputes.

In fact, Muslim tribunal courts started passing sharia judgments in August 2007. They have dealt with more than 100 cases that range from Muslim divorce and inheritance to nuisance neighbours.

It has also emerged that tribunal courts have settled six cases of domestic violence between married couples, working in tandem with the police investigations.

Siddiqi said he expected the courts to handle a greater number of “smaller” criminal cases in coming years as more Muslim clients approach them. “All we are doing is regulating community affairs in these cases,” said Siddiqi, chairman of the governing council of the tribunal.

Jewish Beth Din courts operate under the same provision in the Arbitration Act and resolve civil cases, ranging from divorce to business disputes. They have existed in Britain for more than 100 years, and previously operated under a precursor to the act.

Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark the beginnings of a “parallel legal system” based on sharia for some British Muslims.

Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: “If it is true that these tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and criminal law, I would like to know which courts are enforcing them because I would consider such action unlawful. British law is absolute and must remain so.”

Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: “I think it’s appalling. I don’t think arbitration that is done by sharia should ever be endorsed or enforced by the British state.”

There are concerns that women who agree to go to tribunal courts are getting worse deals because Islamic law favours men.

Siddiqi said that in a recent inheritance dispute handled by the court in Nuneaton, the estate of a Midlands man was divided between three daughters and two sons.

The judges on the panel gave the sons twice as much as the daughters, in accordance with sharia. Had the family gone to a normal British court, the daughters would have got equal amounts.

In the six cases of domestic violence, Siddiqi said the judges ordered the husbands to take anger management classes and mentoring from community elders. There was no further punishment.
In each case, the women subsequently withdrew the complaints they had lodged with the police and the police stopped their investigations.

Siddiqi said that in the domestic violence cases, the advantage was that marriages were saved and couples given a second chance.

Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “The MCB supports these tribunals. If the Jewish courts are allowed to flourish, so must the sharia ones.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4749183.ece

September 14, 2008

Update on Delange Family

Please find an update from his wife. Please continue to pray for the family

Matthew has been improving more and more each day. They moved him to a regular room on Thursday and now I can stay in the room with him 24/7 and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The first night was pretty good. He slept all night and I got the best sleep I've had in 3 weeks. Last night was a FAR different story. He didn't sleep a wink and was very agitated and restless all night.

I have been reminded in the last few days of many memories of our life together. One of those memories is the song I sang to Matthew on our wedding day 18 years ago.

*****************'I asked the Lord for someone and I always knew that in God's time and in God's way it would be someone like you. All my hopes and all my dreams were suddenly fulfilled. It's almost unbelievable our love was in His will.Only God could love you more for He gave this love I have for you. What a blessing to know He's your Lord. For only God could love you more than I do.I'm tempted to be saying that we met by chance. But God was there at every turn in every circumstance. To share this love God's given me seems such a fearful task. But every moment we have shared is more than I could ask.'*****************

Then as I lay on the floor next to my husband's hospital bed our vows rang loud. 'For better or for worse...in sickness and in health.... as long as we both shall live.' So many times those vows are just part of the ritual. We repeat them quick to get to the end where the preacher says, 'I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs...'. But laying there next to Matthew those vows had a different meaning to my heart and for the first time in 18 years I LOVED those vows and wanted so badly to say them over and over again to him. You see, without going into great detail about the affects of Matthew's brain injuries, I am taking complete care of him. He can do nothing on his own. The therapist said your brain is a filing cabinet and when you hit it as hard as Matthew did all those files fall out and scatter. It is painstaking and very frustrating to have to sit down and put them all back where they belong. That is where Matthew is right now. Sometimes he knows the kids, sometimes he doesn't. There are times when he gets mad at me and says things he would NEVER say before. That's when I just step back and look at him and say, 'For better or for worse....in sickness and in health....and we are BOTH still alive!'

If I could give anyone advice from this side of the trial. Ladies, when you lay your head down tonight next to your husband, please, for me, don't take it for granted. Tell him how proud you are to be his wife. How much you love him. Thank God that it is not him laying in a hospital bed and that you are blessed to have your best friend to help you cope with a messy house or unruly children. Thank God that your husband is able to lead your home and follow him without doubt and question. Remember, he is the head of your home and he has to stand before God.

We will be flying out Monday morning to North Carolina. I have made the decision to move there for the time being. Our families are very supportive of my decision and I need everyone else to just believe that I am doing what I feel the Lord would have me do. Matthew will be going to a LTACH facility for sometime and then he will move to a rehab hospital. We are looking at 6 - 9 months of intensive rehab. The medical staff here is calling him a miracle and we have been overjoyed to introduce many of them to THE GREAT PHYSICIAN. By all of their medical knowledge Matthew should have died, but we serve a God who raises people from the dead. This was God's way of saying, 'I love you both and My grace will always be sufficient.'

Haleigh is doing great and back to her old self. We will see how much more help she needs when we get started back in school. Please keep that in your prayers as well.

Again, Matthew is doing great and progressing far better than the doctors ever thought he would. Please pray for him as he struggles to get 'back' to us.

Because of God's Grace and Mercy, Lori, Matt and children!

Pray for Dr. Sammy Allen


I want to let everyone know that our pastor back in Georiga Dr. Sammy Allen went to the doctor for a heart cath. He has 5 blockages in his heart and is going to have bypass surgery next week.

Please pray extra for him that all will go well. He is in good spirits, and is handeling everything well. Just please pray extra for him.

Thanks so much.

In Christ,
Bro. Roger Tooley

September 3, 2008

Delivering the Message

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

John 14:1–3


Christians are the mail carriers of God’s message.

Have you ever sent someone a letter or an email but they never got it? One of the most frustrating things in life is when an important message doesn’t reach its destination. From the time of the Pony Express back in the Old West or the modern age of email, text messages, and voicemail, human beings have been looking for a more reliable way to communicate with each other.

God is looking for reliable Christians to deliver His message. But God’s message is more important than any email we could send. His message provides life to a dying world. It provides hope to those who are lost, and it provides love to those who are hurting. God’s message is the message of salvation through His Son.

Romans 8:29 shows us this, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Each day that we yield our lives to Him and follow His will, we are choosing to become more like Him. One of the foundational reasons for becoming like Christ is that we may share the message of Christ without reservation to a lost and dying world.

Second Timothy 1:9 says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” God has given us a holy calling. He called us by His grace and for His purpose.

One of the great things about being a Christian is that we know there is a purpose in life. While most people wonder about the meaning of life and seek to “find themselves,” we know that God has a plan for our existence on earth. His plan for every Christian is that we would tell others the good news of His salvation.

The message of Christ is vitally needed in our world today. God is calling people who have conformed to His image and who are living for Him to take His message and deliver it to the world around them.

Can God use you to deliver His message to this world? So many times we complain about the mail system or about technology not being dependable, but are you being dependable to deliver God’s message? Determine today to be the best “mail carrier” God has in delivering His message of salvation to those around you.

September 2, 2008

Update on Delange Family

After a night and a day (Saturday night and Sunday, 8/30-31) of a few unwanted hurdles, today (9/1) has been a better day with some very welcomed and much need victories.

On Sunday evening they did the tracheotomy and PEG tube (feeding tube through the abdomen) on Matthew which seemed to have made almost immediate improvements. Later that night, as told by the nurse, she went in at one point, called his name and he opened his eyes to look at her. He also gave the 'thumbs up' on command and stuck out his tongue when she asked him to. Upon hearing this great news from the nurse, the anticipation for Lori and the family to get in to see him at 11AM (the first visiting hours of the day) was enormous, and he did not dissappoint! During the day today he has responded to simple commands like the 'thumbs up' and 'stick out your tongue.' HE WATCHED LORI as she would bend down to wipe his forehead or to give him a kiss for which he could not get enough (nor could she!) They have increased his 'stimulation' medicine to try to get him to 'wake up' even more. His breathing has also improved with the tracheotomy. Although still connected to the ventilator, he is breathing mostly on his own. In fact, all the time that I was in with him today, all the 'breaths' as monitored by the ventilator were his – not one by the machine!!!

Haleigh is getting better by the day. In physical therapy she played 'beach volleyball' with her siblings and cousin. She has lost some weight but the nurses are working on that. She will need some more rehab as she continues to work through her injuries inside and out.

WCPO out of Cincinnati ran a feature story on their news cast on Monday (9/1) evening.

Copy and paste this link into your browser.http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=7fe4daae-1aaa-4387-9fd7-62df3f328e13