DNA Evidence for God

 DNA evidence is often used in criminal proceedings to prove whether or not a suspect was at

the scene of a crime. It is also used to prove that certain convicted criminals were actually

innocent. This can be done because DNA contains unique, meaningful information about the

person from which it came. Coded information.

Meaningful information must come from an intelligent mind, especially if the message is

coded or encrypted. For example, the following pattern is just a random bunch of 1’s and

0’s. It means nothing and it conveys no message at all.

00010100 10001110 10010010 01001001

11101010 01010011 00010110 11010100

00001101 11101001 01100010 11101010

01010111 01101101 10101110 10010010

01110010 00011110 10010110 10100100

01101101 00100100 01111010 10100100

On the other hand, the next pattern is a meaningful binary code.

01001001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01000111 01101111 01100100 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01110110 01100101 01101110 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101000 00101110 

It doesn’t look much different but this set of 1’s and 0’s can be decoded and it has a specific

meaning that can be read and understood. It says, “In the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth”

What is the difference? The first pattern was made by senseless random tapping of the ONE

and ZERO keys of my computer. The second pattern is a string of numbers, actually in

groups of eight, and they were generated by a text to binary converter. The converter was

designed by a programmer and can be used to code and decode information. This pattern

contains a meaningful message that can be read and understood. It required intelligence to

write the conversion program and it required a human mind to compose the message and

convert it to binary using the converter.

The DNA molecule is a complex set of chemicals. It seems impossible that it could

accidentally come into being by chance. But suppose it did, would it do anything? No it

would just be a complex molecule in a pool of primordial soup. Before it could do anything, it

would require some support structure to go with it. But even more important, it would

require some information encoded in its structure, some meaningful information. Where

would this information come from?

DNA contains a code similar to a computer code. Computers uses 1’s and 0’s intelligently

arranged in meaningful sequences by programmers using various languages and code

compilers.

DNA contains 4 chemicals abbreviated ACGT that are used to code information. These

chemicals are arranged in a meaning code comprised of base pairs. This code describes the

particular life form that carries the DNA in every cell. The very simplest life form has about

500,000 base pairs of coded information within its DNA. Human DNA has about

3,000,000,000 base pairs of coded information. This code can be read and understood by

scientists who study DNA. They have even learned how to modify the code to bring about

“beneficial” changes in some plants and animals. This is called genetic engineering.

If the DNA code was just a random pattern of chemicals there would be no message, no

meaning. It would not describe a living being and would not function. Just like the simple

binary code shown above required a human mind to lay it out in a meaningful pattern, a

super intelligence (God) was required to create the information contained in the DNA

molecule.

When you look at the DNA molecule, you are looking at concrete evidence that God exists

and that He created the heavens and earth as he said. Meaningful information must come

from a mind. The DNA molecule with its complex code of life came from the mind of God.

Easy 13 Question Quiz

 National Anthem Quiz…

1.  What was the original name of the poem  that became the national anthem

a.  Star Spangled Banner b.  Wave Old Glory

c.  Defence of Ft M’Henry d.  The Battle of New Orleans

2.  What year was the national anthem written

a.  1776 b.  1812 c.  1778 d.  1814

3.  Who wrote the national anthem

a.  Ben Franklin b.  France Key 

c.  William Beanes d.  Major George Amistead

4.  How many verses does the national anthem have?

a.  4 b.  3 c.  2 d.  1

5.  Who made the flag that inspired the writing of the national anthem?

a.  Betsy Ross b.   Rebecca Young

c.  Mary Pickersgill d.  Caroline Armistead

6.  The flag that inspired the national anthem had:

a.  13 Stripes and 13 Stars b.  15 Stripes and 13 Stars

c.  13 Stripes and 15 Stars d.  15 Stripes and 15 Stars

7.  How large were the stars of the now famous flag.

a.  6 inches b.  24 inches

c.  12 inches d.  8 inches

8.  During the night of the now famous Battle, how many flags few over the star shaped fort.

a.  2, but not at the same time b.  14, including one for each colony

c.  5, one at each point of the star shaped fort d.  Just One flag

9.  The final assembly of the large flag took place in what building?

a.  St. Jude’s Church b.  Johnson’ livery stable

c.  Claggett’s Brewery d.  Baltimore Courthouse

10.  How many Americans died in the Battle that fateful night

a. 409 killed, 1200 wounded b. 4 killed, 24 wounded

c.  24 killed, 400 wounded d. 12 killed, 49 wounded

11.  What popular tune became the tune for the national anthem

a.  Greensleaves b.  Sheep may safely graze by Bach

c.  To Anecreon in Heaven d.  Our God a shelter from the storm

12.  What year did the national anthem become the National Anthem?

a.  1778 b.  1814 c.  1896 d. 1931

13.  For what  work was the author of the Anthem also known?

a. Writer the Pledge of Allegiance b.  Founder of Baltimore Flag Company

c.  Co-founder of American Sunday School Union d.  Founder  China Inland Mission

Mowing and Raking

 Today, after a rather laid back morning with breakfast of waffles, Susie and I headed to the church to do some lawn care.  I jumped on the Bad Boy mower and used it to rake all the leaves in various parts of the campus.  Susie spent a lot of time cleaning up the area in front of the church entrance.  She wanted more time so I proceeded to mow the whole campus lawn except for the ball field.  After mowing, Susie still wanted to clean up the cedar tree droppings around the machine shop parking area, so we did that too.  It was a hard afternoon of work.

This evening we relaxed and watch two episodes of The Mandelorian.  Afterward, Susie played some video games while I worked on my blog.  We listened to a couple of short stories in the form of audio books.

Books and Lectures of H. A. Ironside

We have posted some of the works of H. A. Ironside in Blogger format for your enjoyment and edification.  If you do not know who he was, you should check out his BIO on Wiki.  It is interesting and will not be repeated here.  This format is hopefully more readable that some that are available and we will have pop up reference verses for your convenience. 

Full Assurance

Lectures on Galatians

Holiness the False and the True

Evolution's Tricky Trees

Ever since Darwin published his Origin of Species, evolutionist have been pondering the tree of life.  Scrawled among Darwin’s notes was this crude image of a tree that gave rise to the modern “Common Ancestor” theory of evolution that is now universally held among evolutionary theorists. 

They say that we did not come from apes or monkeys. This is obvious because there are too many differences between us and them.  Instead, all living things that we see today, sprang from common ancestors that no longer exist.  Very fancy evolutionary trees of all types and details can now be seen in text books and on the internet, wherever evolution is taught.  The “trees” look impressive, but in reality, they cleverly hide the lack of evidence that there is for the theory of evolution.   Here is an example of a typical tree of life.

Science has not always held the common ancestor view.  It was once thought that evolution progressed through a ladder of ascent with man at the top of the ladder having evolved from lower animals.  This rejected theory is now called Orthogenesis.  This method had some appeal because you could line up a bunch of life forms that seemed to show a progression from crude to complex and then convince people that it may have happened that way.   Here is an example of a fallacious Orthogenic tree of life proposed by Henry Fairfield Osborn.  Scientists now agree that none of these animals were directly related.

There is one thing for sure…..whatever man came from, he had to come directly from it.  I came directly from my dad who came directly from his dad who came directly from his dad in a straight line progression.

Keeping that principle in mind,  look closely at any evolutionary tree of life and you will notice something.  Almost all the life forms are on the outer edges of the tree and where all the branches intersect, there is usually NOTHING.  Each of these intersections represents an unknown common ancestor.  If you will simply redraw the tree and straighten out the lines for any given specie, you will discover an amazing thing.   Those complicated family trees are hiding the fact that evolutionist do not really know the origin of anything.   The figure below is the same as the fancy tree pictured above simply redrawn tracing the evolution of man.  Behold the missing chain of evidence.   We came directly from and unknown common ancestor, who came from another unknown common ancestor, who came from another. 

Prominent evolutionist, Stephen Gould once wrote, "The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils." Written by evolutionist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould (Professor of Geology and Paleontology, Harvard University) in his article "Evolution's Erratic Pace", in Natural History, Vol. 86, No.5, May 1977 p:13-14

Don’t be fooled by any of evolution’s tricky trees.  Isaiah 45:12 says, 

 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host. 

The Fish that Fried Good Friday

Good Friday will soon be here , the day most Christians choose to remember that Jesus Christ went to the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world.  Truly the most important thing is THAT He died for us and rose again the third day and that we can have eternal life as a free gift through faith in Him.  However, there is something "fishy" about Friday.  Jesus said in Matthew 12:40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  This verse plainly says that Jesus would be "three days AND three nights" in the grave.  If you count from Friday to Sunday morning, you just cannot come up with three days and three nights, even if you use "New Math."  The following is a non-traditional explanation.

The fish is not the only part of this scaly problem.  In these verses, Matt 26:18; Mark 14:14; Luke 22:8-15, the Bible plainly states that Jesus ate the passover with his disciples before he was captured but in John 18:28, it says that the Jews refused to go into Pilate's palace because they did not want to be unclean and thus miss out on eating the passover, a meal they should have already eaten the day before, the same day that Jesus ate it.

Traditionally, the problem of the three days has been explained this way.  The Jews had a tradition that any part of a day counted as the whole day.  In the words of Rabbi Elazar ben Axaryah, "A day and a night are an Onah, and the portion of a Onah is the whole of it."  Onah is the Hebrew word for a portion of time.  This neatly explains all the verses that speak of "three days," like Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Matt 27:63; John 2:19.  It also takes care of verses that refer to "the third day," Matt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7,21,46;Acts 10:40; and 1Cor 15:4.  

It gets fishy when you throw Matthew 12:40 into the mix.  William Graham Scroggie in his book "A Guide to the Gospels" stated, "When the number of nights is stated as well as the number of days, the expression ceases to be an idiom and becomes a literal statement of fact."  Jesus was to be in the grave "three days AND three nights."  We can't just throw this fish back.

The time element is also bothersome.  There was a lot of activity between the time that Jesus actually  died and the time that His resurrection was discovered.  There was dialog between the Jews and Pilate about removing the bodies from the Cross.  The thieves' legs were broken.  The centurion talked with Pilate about the death of Jesus.  Joseph of Arimathaea met with Pilate and requested the body of Jesus and at some point went to the market to buy linen.  Nicodemus took time to acquire 75 pounds of ointments for the burial and later met up with Joseph to retrieve and embalm the body.  The women went to the market and bought the raw material for spices which they later prepared at home by cooking them.  This is a partial list of the twenty different events that took place.  All of them took time.  If Jesus was crucified on Friday, there would only be about three hours to accomplish it all.  Remember, no work could be done on the Sabbath and the markets would be closed.

So, how do we solve the problem of the fish?  The answer is in John 19:31.  Now it was the day of preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. (John 19:31 NIV)

Jesus died on Passover the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan, it was the preparation day of the Sabbath.  John is the only writer that points out that this Sabbath was a "special Sabbath."  The KJV reads ,"...for that sabbath day was an high day."  The fact is that the 14th could be any day of the week and the day following the 14th was always a Sabbath since it was the 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-7).  To add to our confusion the Jews marked their days from Sundown to Sundown instead of using the Roman calendar.  So, using the Roman calendar to aid in our understanding, Jesus ate the passover meal with his disciples on Tuesday evening which to the Jews was the beginning of the 14th.  He was crucified on Wednesday the 14th and died around 3 P.M.  Joseph and Nicodemus negotiated for His body and He was taken from the cross, wrapped in a single piece of linen cloth ( grk - sindon - Matt 27:59 singular) and laid in the tomb all before sundown.  Thursday was the special Sabbath.  The women and all concerned had a full day to recover a little bit from the shock of the events that occurred on Wednesday.  On Friday, Joseph returned to the tomb and replaced the single piece linen with proper burial bandages (grk - othonia John 19:40 plural) using a separate piece for Jesus' head.  This was when the 75 pounds of ointment were used.  The women had time on this day to cook up their spices.  At some point, the tomb was sealed and the guard was set.  Saturday was the regular Sabbath and every one rested again.  Early Sunday morning the women took their spices to the tomb and found it empty on the 1st day of the week.

This explanation solves the problem of the fish in Matt 12:40, and it allows enough time for all the events to take place.  Traditionally Saducees dined on the 14th and Pharisees dined on the 15th, which could explain the Jews concern about being unclean.  There were also several other special meals during the Passover week that had this requirement.

So... Big Deal... the whole world celebrates Good Friday.  Why should we even worry about it.  Some skeptics are quick to point out the apparent contradictions in time.  Others try to say that Jesus didn't really die but only swooned on the cross.  The "three days and nights" buries that idea.  As Christians we should study carefully and have an answer for every man that asks us the reason of the hope that is in us. (1Pet 3:15)  Also, when asked for a special sign of his authority, His burial and resurrection is the only sign that Jesus gave.  We should know how to properly explain it even though we enjoy our Good Friday celebrations.

Matthew 12:40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

The Good Friday Fish Mystery - Matthew 12:40
Jewish days: Sunset to Sunset	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th
	xxxxx Night Day xxxxx	xxxxx Night Day xxxxx	xxxxx Night Day xxxxx	xxxxx Night Day xxxxx	xxxxx Night Day xxxxx
	6 p.m. to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. ---- Risen
Roman Days: Midnight to Midnight	Tuesday - Wednesday 13th ----------14th Passover Dines -------Dies	Wednesday -- Thursday 14th ----------15th Special Sabbath	Thursday --------- Friday 15th ----------16th	Friday --------- Saturday 16th ----------17th Regular Sabbath	Saturday --------- Sunday 17th --------------18th
		"Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"

Gee, I have not entered anything into Blogger in a long time.

Today, I mowed the yard before it got too hot outside.  I made our lawn great again!!

After lunch, I finished up a quilting project that I was working on.  A small 4th of July deco quilt.  It is a simple one but it was fun to do.  It's two sided with the opposite side appropriate for Valentine's day or may be even Christmas.

Yesterday, I made the Roses great again.  I pulled off all the ugly or diseased stuff, then sprayed them with "Disease B Gone" and then gave them a shot of Rose Food.  Today they look better.