GENESIS AS HISTORY AND SCIENCE

Lately, as I contemplated on the book of Genesis, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to behold wonderful things out of it, and I am delighted to make my findings available for Historians, Scientists, Linguists and Theologians.  I am excited because my findings effectively debunks the idea that Genesis is myth and not fact.

GENESIS AS HISTORY

Two criteria for ascertaining what is history and what is not, are oral tradition and written record.  For the uninitiated, oral tradition describes information that is handed down from generation to generation, by word of mouth.  Because the tendency for oral tradition to be added to, or subtracted from, is there, there is need to keep a written record of the tradition.  Intellectuals will be surprised by my view that Genesis has both!

An obvious instance of oral tradition is the statement of Lamech: “And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years and begat a son:  And he called his name Noah, saying, this same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed (Genesis 5:28-29).  The Holy Spirit prompted this oral tradition to the be recorded, as I shall demonstrate in the cause of this article, that at that early period of human history, tradition could be relied upon, considering the fact that the life span of humans was much longer then than today.  Adam and Methuselah for example lived for over nine hundred years.  Human longevity on the one hand guaranteed stability to the tradition on the one hand, and on the other, suggests that the human memory was sharper and thoroughly dependable than it is today.  I will leave this aspect of the scripture for now, because it appears as if I am theorizing.

GENESIS AS SCIENCE

Let me say that Genesis is more scientific than secular science!  The scientific method supposedly depends on observation and experiment.  My point is that the reliability of the Genesis account of origins can be observed by everyone who has eyes to see today.

First, God’s creation of the world in six days and resting on the seventh day:  “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day, God ended His work which he had made” (Genesis 2:1-2).  Nobody will doubt that the weekly circle is made up of seven days.  Furthermore, chapter one repeatedly states:  “And the evening and the morning were the first day… And the evening and the morning were the second day… And the evening and the morning were the third day… And the evening and the morning were the fourth day… And the evening and the morning were the fifth day… And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:5-31).  Everyone observes this circle of evening and morning, which confirms that the Historian has in mind a twenty-four hour day!

Second, we observe the continuity of the punishment pronounced by God on Adam and Eve, for eating the forbidden fruit:  “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19).  Every cemetery in the world demonstrates that this is true.

Third, note the statement which the Lord made after Noah and his sons came out of the Ark:  “While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease”.  Can any one deny that this is so today?  (Genesis 8:22).

Fourth, observe the confusion of human languages at Babel:  “And the Lord said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:6-7).  The diversity of human language is a phenomenon we observe on a daily basis.  Moreover, linguists have discovered the existence of language families, such as the Indo-European languages.  Furthermore, Genesis informs us how humans came to acquire the power of speech:  “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he Him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).  This image of God in humans explains the fact that humans are creative, and are able to communicate with one another through speech, both spoken and written.  Specifically, God gave Adam opportunity to utilize his language skills, as recorded in Chapter three:  “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Genesis 2:19).  Again, linguists have found that only humans could use language, a fact that the Genesis account already informs us about.

CREATION OR EVOLUTION?

Fifth, we are faced with the question:  Were we created, or did we evolve?  The Genesis record is not silent on this issue.  First, it makes an assertion: “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).  Second, the Genealogy recorded in Genesis demonstrates that this is what happens: “And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enos… And E’nos lived ninety years and begat Cainan:  And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years and begat sons and daughters:… And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:…” (Genesis 5:6, 9, 10, 12).  That we were created is proven by the fact that, since recorded history, everyone who have lived on earth, had come through procreation.  So it is unnecessary to consider whether we evolved or not, for everyone alive today has a birthday!  We can see that the real myth is evolution, which nobody knows when it occurred.  And if you ask me, I think it took place in the head of evolutionists!

A WRITTEN RECORD

At the outset, I stated that we find the two sources of history in Genesis, namely, oral tradition and written record.  The writer of Genesis – Moses to be specific – made use of a written record left behind by the most reliable human Adam himself!:  “This is the book of the generations of Adam.  In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;…” (Genesis 5:1).  Hence, there is no prehistoric man for, Adam was the first man of letters!

MOSES AS AUTHOR

Moses’ authorship of Genesis should not be doubted, for Stephen gives an interesting piece of information about him: “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22).  The word ‘wisdom’ refers to philosophy, a term which formerly define all branches of learning.  It is a fact that philosophy originated in Egypt, but the Greeks took it, refined it and passed it unto Western thought.  He was a scholar and mastered the Egyptian script called Hyrografic.  I present this finding for consideration by all scholarly minded people.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

Does the universe operate by unalterable laws?  ‘Secular’ scientists maintain that the universe operates by fixed laws and they intend by this assertion that it did not emerge by a special act of creation.  Paul writes concerning these atheistic scientists, that ‘they did not like to retain God in their knowledge’ (Romans 1).  Admittedly, the universe is governed by laws, but not laws based on blind chance!  For if these laws were products of chance, we should see the sun, moon, and stars all shining perpetually at the same time!  The seas should overflow their banks, and there should be summer, winter, day and night at the same time!

Again, the laws by which the Universe runs, is revealed in Genesis: “And God said, ‘let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).  “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).  There is no scientific document outside the Bible that states these laws, and once more we see how scientifically accurate the Bible is.

TIMES OF REFRESHING

I am highly optimistic that revival is not a phenomenon that belong in the past; I specifically believe that the Church is about to experience the greatest revival in history.  The words which form part of Peter’s sermon at the gate of the Jerusalem Temple, strengthens my conviction on this issue:  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:  Whom the heaven must receive until the time of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 4:19-21).

The Apostle Peter, looking with prophetic insight across the ages, predicted a situation that began to exist in the church a few centuries after the Apostolic age. If we understood Peter, we should not be discouraged at the weak spiritual condition in which the contemporary church finds herself, in the face of Militant Atheism, secularism, liberalism and sundry enemies of the Christian faith.  The expression employed by Peter, “times of refreshing”, suggests there will be times of declension followed by a large-scale renewal of interest in spiritual things – what the evangelical churches have described as “Revival”, these five hundred years. 

We are familiar with the pattern: spirituality decreases, false converts whose Christianity is merely nominal enter the church in large numbers due to a lack of solid, spirit-empowered preaching, God’s people are forced to introduce human technique of evangelism, such as the church growth movement, and contemporary worship as in our own day, and worse still, a variety of human ideologies arises to compete for peoples hearts, comprehended today in a secular view of reality, such as relativism, and religious pluralism.  This situation encourages me to state that, ‘Times of Refreshing’, is about to burst on the international scene again.

Additionally, Peter’s words suggests that, all the Revivals that have occurred in Church History, have been in the eternal plan of God, so revivals are included in God’s eternal plan: God “…worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11).

I am even ready to state that Peter here predicts the Revival we call the Reformation, The 18^th Century Revivals under Wesley, Whitefield, Edward and others, and the 19^th Century Revivals under Finney, Moody, Spurgeon and others!

ANOTHER REVIVAL PREDICTED

On the basis of Peter’s word, the contemporary church is to expect another revival and prepare for it by prayer and fasting; already the usual sign that precedes revival have begun to appear: God’s people have commenced praying again!  The Apostle Peter intends us to understand that Revival will precede the second coming of Christ:  “…when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached to you:” (Acts 3:19-20).

THE MATTHEW 24 REVIVAL

In Matthew 24, our Lord Jesus Christ makes a similar statement:  “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).  The word ‘witness’ suggests that the preaching will be with power, to the extent that humanity will be impacted, in other words a global revival!

The certainty of this revival, can be demonstrated by considering that the other ‘signs’ of Christ’s second coming, mentioned by the Lord Himself – earthquakes, food shortage, global conflict, widespread lawlessness and immorality, are being fulfilled daily before our very eyes.  Global revival is next on the line!

THE DISHONESTY OF HIGHER CRITICISM

I have been thinking of the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 3:1-2: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?  Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God”.  The oracles of God describes the Old Testament as we have it in the King James Version, from Genesis to Malachi.

The higher critics in their approach to the study of the Bible, lack the competence required to criticize scripture.  Infact, the idea of Biblical criticism is ruled out for one or two reasons.  First, ‘The oracles of God’ were not committed to the higher critics hence, they do not know the inherent rules of interpreting scripture, rules well-known to the Jews because it was to them the Old Testament was committed.  Second, the Higher critics are beyond the reach of the period of biblical revelation.  Third, these ‘Oracle of God’ had been committed.  It is for this reason that every now and then, a discovery is made which confirms the reliability of the account given in the Old Testament.

For instance, in the First century, Jesus, the God-Man confirmed the accuracy of the divisions of the Old Testament as generally accepted by the Jews at that time: “And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44).  The Jews never accepted the Apocrypha as Scripture, and Jesus confirms that they were right!  It is not… ‘the law of Moses, the prophets, the Psalms, and the Apocrypha!  There were some controversies at that time, but the canonicity of the Old Testament as we have it today, and the authorship of the books were never in doubt.  It is very convenient for the higher critics to cast doubts on the Old Testament today, but had they done so in the first century they would have made themselves ridiculous.  The reason they could make a fool of themselves today and succeed in getting recognition for their stupidity, is attributable to the two thousand years gap that exist between the 21^st century and the first century.  This absurd ignorance is imposed upon them by the long passage of time.   They need only read the gospels in order to keep up to date with the undisputed understanding prevalent at that time.  The Higher critics have questioned the existence of Jonah as a historical figure, yet Jesus and the Jews of His day took it for granted that Jonah existed: ‘…And as Jonah spent three days and nights in the fishes belly, even so shall the son of man spend three days and nights in the bowels of the earth’.  The higher critics question whether Isaiah wrote the book of Isaiah or not.  But no Jew in the first century had such a doubt: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.  And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because, he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;…” (Luke 4:16-18).  The method of higher criticism is foolhardy, for, who is in a better position to be better informed, the Jews who lived two thousand years ago, or non-Jewish self-acclaimed critics who live in another time and in a different cultural environment?

Alicia Keys welcomes second son

 2014-12-30 10:50

Los Angeles - Alicia Keys gave birth to son Genesis Ali Dean early Saturday morning. It's baby number two for the Grammy-winner and husband, producer-rapper Swizz Beatz, who are also parents to 4-year-old Egypt Daoud.

The 33-year-old singer shared the news on her Instagram account, Sunday, with a photo of Genesis's footprints. The image also details that the baby was born at 1:52 a.m. and weighs 6 pounds, 5 ounces (2.86 kilograms).

Keys expressed excitement via a Facebook post with the caption, "the joy of joy is joy" and that she is grateful.

Dating is weird says Khloé Kardashian

Los Angeles - Khloé Kardashian thinks dating "is so weird."

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, who filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Lamar Odom, in December 2013 and ended her on-again, off-again relationship with rapper French Montana earlier this month, admits she's still adjusting to being single and doesn't want to rush into another romance.

The reality TV beauty, who celebrated her 30th birthday last June, said: "By the time I hit that age I thought I would have kids and still be married. But because that's not the way it went, you can't sit in a ball and cry.

I had a husband, so I think there's an adjustment period, which I don't want to rush. Dating is so weird."
But Khloé hopes to find long-lasting love again.

She told the February issue of British Cosmopolitan magazine: "I don't crave sex. I talked about it more openly when I was married because it's more comfortable. I crave companionship, I just want to cuddle. I got married at 25 -- I was young, but I loved it. I do like it when you save certain things for your marriage.

Nicki Minaj talks about having an abortion

2015-01-02 09:22

Los Angeles - Nicki Minaj has admitted her abortion is the "hardest thing" she's gone through.

The 32-year-old rapper has opened up about her decision to have a termination when she was just a teenager in high school and admits it is a decision that has "haunted" her "all (her) life".

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she said: "I thought I was going to die. I was a teenager. It was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through."

Nicki moved from Trinidad and Tobago to New York as a child and went on to study at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. It was while she was studying at the school that she fell pregnant and the father was older boy from Queens she was dating.

The Anaconda hitmaker knew at the time she couldn't go ahead with the pregnancy because she wasn't in a position to care for a baby properly.

She added: "It'd be contradictory if I said I wasn't pro-choice. I wasn't ready. I didn't have anything to offer a child."

Nicki, 32, has used her music to express her feelings about the abortion, touching on what happened on the track Autobiography, from her 2008 mixtape Sucka Free, and on her single All Things Go - which features on her latest album The Pinkprint.

In All Things Go she raps about her wishes for her younger brother Micaiah 'Caiah' Maraj and wonders what her child would have been like.

In the lyrics, Nicki - whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj - rhymes: "I want Caiah to go to college, just to say we did it. My child with Aaron would have been 16 any minute / so in some ways I feel like Caiah is the both of them / It's like he's Caiah's little angel, looking over him."

Top 10 Bedroom Mood Killers

t would be nice if we were all constantly brimming with unrequited passion like Edward and Bella ... aren’t they having the longest pre-shag OF ALL TIME? But we’re not.  Which makes keeping the mood once you’ve caught it all the more important.

1. Bad breath. While funky arm pits can be a turn on and sweat a useful lubricant, bad breath is never cool. Keep breath mints in your bedside drawer at all times, along with the condoms. Also follow the basic rule: if you’re not sure, your breath is probably a bit dodge. Oh, and minty lube might work in a pinch.

2. Washing machine kissing.I have never found someone who actually likes a tongue tonsil scrubbing. You? Exactly. Keep your tongue where you can still feel it. And start slow. You can’t go wrong with a slow, tension-building snoglet.

3. Stampeding southOne of my favourite lines ever is from The Meaning of Life is when the Cleese school master character is teaching sexual education, with the help of his wife.

“No need to go stampeding for the clitoris, boy, give the girl a KISS!”

My thoughts exactly.

3. Terrible musicThis is obviously quite subjective, so I asked my Twitterstream to give a few examples. They suggest avoiding, inter alia:
-    The Macarena
-    ‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’
-    ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?’
-    ‘I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie World...’
-    ‘Pump up the Jam’
-    ‘Like a Virgin’
-    De La Rey
You get the picture.

4. FartingActually, on second thought, that might actually be quite a sweet ice-breaker, if you’re both nice and it doesn’t smell too bad.

5. The phoneTell me you don’t answer the phone during sex. A friend once told me a guy texted while she was going down on him, but I hope that was just a horribly bad dream.

7. The TV, the laptop, the iPad...
Again, all totally unacceptable. Unless of course, you are porn folk. Then hey, go right ahead.

6. Children knocking on the doorOr, much much worse, children STANDING IN THE DOORWAY.

7. Inappropriate gesturesSo obvious, yet such a regular passion killer, possibly because filters are rarely at optimum setting while turned on.  Rule of thumb? Don’t compare anything to your thumb. Or shrug. Or – and I can’t stress this enough – ROLL YOUR EYES.

8. Cats
It’s creepy to have sex with a cat in the room, dude. It just is.

9. SnortingMany, many animal like noises are sexy in the bedroom. Snorting is not one of them.

10. Snoring
Like snorting, snoring is never good.