In our own words.

What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?

As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we strive to adhere to the form of Christianity that Jesus taught and that his apostles practiced. This article summarizes our basic beliefs.

God. We worship the one true and Almighty God, the Creator, whose name is Jehovah. (Psalm 83:18; Revelation 4:11) He is the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.—Exodus 3:6; 32:11; John 20:17.

Bible. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired message to humans. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16) We base our beliefs on all 66 of its books, which include both the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament.” Professor Jason D. BeDuhn aptly described it when he wrote that Jehovah’s Witnesses built “their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there.” *

While we accept the entire Bible, we are not fundamentalists. We recognize that parts of the Bible are written in figurative or symbolic language and are not to be understood literally.—Revelation 1:1.

Jesus. We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.—John 14:28.

The Kingdom of God. This is a real government in heaven, not a condition in the hearts of Christians. It will replace human governments and accomplish God’s purpose for the earth. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:9, 10) It will take these actions soon, for Bible prophecy indicates that we are living in “the last days.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:3-14.

Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom in heaven. He began ruling in 1914.—Revelation 11:15.

Salvation. Deliverance from sin and death is possible through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 4:12) To benefit from that sacrifice, people must not only exercise faith in Jesus but also change their course of life and get baptized. (Matthew 28:19, 20; John 3:16; Acts 3:19, 20) A person’s works prove that his faith is alive. (James 2:24, 26) However, salvation cannot be earned—it comes through “the undeserved kindness of God.”—Galatians 2:16, 21.

Heaven. Jehovah God, Jesus Christ, and the faithful angels reside in the spirit realm. * (Psalm 103:19-21; Acts 7:55) A relatively small number of people—144,000—will be resurrected to life in heaven to rule with Jesus in the Kingdom.—Daniel 7:27; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:9, 10; 14:1, 3.Earth. God created the earth to be mankind’s eternal home. (Psalm 104:5; 115:16; Ecclesiastes 1:4) God will bless obedient people with perfect health and everlasting life in an earthly paradise.—Psalm 37:11, 34.

Evil and suffering. These began when one of God’s angels rebelled. (John 8:44) This angel, who after his rebellion was called “Satan” and “Devil,” persuaded the first human couple to join him, and the consequences have been disastrous for their descendants. (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12) In order to settle the moral issues raised by Satan, God has allowed evil and suffering, but He will not permit them to continue forever.

Death. People who die pass out of existence. (Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) They do not suffer in a fiery hell of torment.

God will bring billions back from death by means of a resurrection. (Acts 24:15) However, those who refuse to learn God’s ways after being raised to life will be destroyed forever with no hope of a resurrection.—Revelation 20:14, 15.Family. We adhere to God’s original standard of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, with sexual immorality being the only valid basis for divorce. (Matthew 19:4-9) We are convinced that the wisdom found in the Bible helps families to succeed.—Ephesians 5:22–6:1.

Our worship. We do not venerate the cross or any other images. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19; 1 John 5:21) Key aspects of our worship include the following:

Praying to God.—Philippians 4:6.

Reading and studying the Bible.—Psalm 1:1-3.

Meditating on what we learn from the Bible.—Psalm 77:12.

Meeting together to pray, study the Bible, sing, express our faith, and encourage fellow Witnesses and others.—Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:23-25.

Preaching the “good news of the Kingdom.”—Matthew 24:14.

Helping those in need.—James 2:14-17.

Constructing and maintaining Kingdom Halls and other facilities used to further our worldwide Bible educational work.—Psalm 127:1.

Sharing in disaster relief.—Acts 11:27-30.Our organization. We are organized into congregations, each of which is overseen by a body of elders. However, the elders do not form a clergy class, and they are unsalaried. (Matthew 10:8; 23:8) We do not practice tithing, and no collections are ever taken at our meetings. (2 Corinthians 9:7) All our activities are supported by anonymous donations.

The Governing Body, a small group of mature Christians who serve at our world headquarters, provides direction for Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide.—Matthew 24:45.

Our unity. We are globally united in our beliefs. (1 Corinthians 1:10) We also work hard to have no social, ethnic, racial, or class divisions. (Acts 10:34, 35; James 2:4) Our unity allows for personal choice, though. Each Witness makes decisions in harmony with his or her own Bible-trained conscience.—Romans 14:1-4; Hebrews 5:14.

Our conduct. We strive to show unselfish love in all our actions. (John 13:34, 35) We avoid practices that displease God, including the misuse of blood by taking blood transfusions. (Acts 15:28, 29; Galatians 5:19-21) We are peaceful and do not participate in warfare. (Matthew 5:9; Isaiah 2:4) We respect the government where we live and obey its laws as long as these do not call on us to disobey God’s laws.—Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29.

Our relationships with others. Jesus commanded: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” He also said that Christians “are no part of the world.” (Matthew 22:39; John 17:16) So we try to “work what is good toward all,” yet we remain strictly neutral in political affairs and avoid affiliation with other religions. (Galatians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 6:14) However, we respect the choices that others make in such matters.—Romans 14:12.

If you have further questions about the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you can read more about us on our website, contact one of our offices, attend a meeting at a Kingdom Hall near you, or speak to one of the Witnesses in your area.

Education v. indoctrination.

Should Students “Accept” Evolution – Or Think Critically About It?
Sarah Chaffee

How should evolution be taught in public schools? It depends on who you ask. Discovery Institute advocates teaching the scientific controversy over evolution. I have detailed in the past what that looks like.

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify our position in light of a recent study in PLOS Biology,  “Teaching genetics prior to teaching evolution improves evolution understanding but not acceptance,”  and the accompanying interview with one of its authors.

The authors advocate a genetics-first approach. That sounds great! If schools teach genetics correctly, and teach evolution correctly (citing mainstream sources, including  Third Way views and ideas about alternative mechanisms to neo-Darwinism). We want students to understand more about science and evolution, not less.

main finding of the study is that lower-ability students who learned genetics first demonstrated better understanding of evolution. Corresponding author Laurence Hurst notes:

There appears to be a tendency to consider evolution as a separate and distinct subject and so teach it in isolation. In some cases we found teachers rather marginalize it, teach it last and prefer not to give it much attention. This seemed very odd to me. To my mind microevolution is simply a branch of genetics. If you understand DNA, you can understand mutation and the concept of the allele. It is then a very small leap to understanding that alleles change frequency and, bingo, you have arrived into population and evolutionary genetics. This logical order is also there in “On the Origin of Species” although Darwin, naturally, was rather fuzzy on the genetics. In addition, there had been a news piece in Science that mentioned in passing that understanding of evolution was correlated with understanding of genetics. Naturally there could be many explanations for this, but it laid a seed of curiosity in my head. [Emphasis added.]

Unfortunately, the extrapolation from micro- to macroevolution is in fact fraught with difficulties – a theme of Tom Bethell’s recent book, Darwin’s House of Cards.

Hurst also focuses on whether students agree with evolution:

Why do you think there is a weak correlation between understanding and acceptance of evolution? What were some of the factors that you found might increase a student’s acceptance of evolution?

LH: We were very struck by this result. Indeed, in our pilot survey the correlation between evolution acceptance and understanding was negative! In our experimental data set the correlation is positive but weak, both before and after teaching. Indeed, genetics understanding is a much better predictor of acceptance of evolution. In short, we found students who understood evolution very well but didn’t accept it and others who accepted it but didn’t understand it all that well. The qualitative data repeatedly pointed to a role for authority figures with both tacit approval by teachers and parents being important. But external figures, be these TV personalities such as David Attenborough and religious figures, were also important to some. Indeed, in one school the teacher reassured the class that the pope approved of evolution and students told us what a relief this was. For some schools, a simple word like that might help.

What struck us most, however, was that while many students accepted the scientific view of evolution (over 80 percent after teaching), few could provide the evidence when quizzed in focus groups. We wonder if the act of teaching the subject in a scientific context by trusted people who provide tacit approval (i.e., teachers), is actually more important than understanding per se. In the primary school context, a study we are currently in the middle of, our analysis to date suggests that teacher acceptance of evolution is the only class-level predictor of student improvement in understanding. This fits with the notion of tacit approval/disapproval from the teacher as being a key parameter. This is a worry for countries were [sic] many teachers reject the scientific view of evolution.

I find myself slightly confused by the alternating use of the terms “understanding” and “acceptance” here. He speaks of the role of influence, and of course, there is no way to completely remove this factor from education.

However, it’s strange to speak of “acceptance” of a scientific theory, as if it were something very different, like a religious doctrine. Evolution should stand on its own like any other theory. It should not require monitoring for “acceptance.”

It would be more fruitful to inculcate critical reasoning skills in science classrooms. That’s why Discovery Institute advocates teaching the scientific controversy about evolution in public schools.

Schools would do better to consider teaching the role of genetics, and its limitations, in neo-Darwinism. Thinking like scientists, taking strengths and weaknesses of the evidence into account, will help prepare young people for success in whatever field they choose to pursue.

A fuse for the Cambrian explosion.

A Thousand Dickinsonia Specimens Don’t Change the Ediacaran Story
Evolution News | @DiscoveryCSC

Dickinsonia is one of the enigmatic creatures classed in the Ediacaran biota, a group of Precambrian macrofossils taking its name from the type section in the Ediacaran hills of South Australia. Growing from an inch to several feet long, this air-mattress-like creature has been variously interpreted as anything from a fungus to an animal, according to Stephen Meyer in Darwin’s Doubt (see Figure 4.1 on p. 80).

Most paleontologists have concluded, Meyer says, that whatever it was, Dickinsonia was not an ancestor to the bilaterian animals that appeared in the Cambrian explosion, having lacked the essential traits that characterize bilaterians, such as a head, gut, sensory organs, or limbs (see pp. 81-86). It’s not even clear that it has bilateral symmetry at all, or the triploblastic structure (three distinct tissue layers; see p. 93) characteristic of true animals.

Three researchers from the University of California, Riverside, went to Australia and examined a thousand specimens of Dickinsonia. Did they find anything to change its status as a possible ancestor? The spin-prone NASA rag Astrobiology Magazine tries to make it seem so, announcing  “New Study Sheds Light on Earth’s First Animals.”  They include a large color picture of the creature.

More than 550 million years ago, the oceans were teeming with flat, soft-bodied creatures that fed on microbes and algae and could grow as big as bathmats. Today, researchers at the University of California, Riverside are studying their fossils to unlock the secrets of early life.

In their latest study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, Scott Evans, a graduate student in the Department of Earth Sciences, and Mary Droser, a professor of paleontology, both in UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, show that the Ediacaran-era fossil animal Dickinsonia developed in a complex, highly regulated way using a similar genetic toolkit to today’s animals. The study helps place Dickinsonia in the early evolution of animal life, and showcases how the large, mobile sea creature grew and developed. [Emphasis added.]
But what the article asserts in these opening paragraphs, it undermines at the end, showing that Dickinsonia could not have been in the evolutionary chain to the phyla that appeared in the Cambrian explosion (530-525 million years ago). They conclude:

The study showed that Dickinsonia’s development, and particularly that of the modules, was complex and systematic to maintain the oval shape of the animal. The accumulation of new modules, by a process called terminal addition, suggests that Dickinsonia developed in a related way to bilaterians, a complex group that display bilateral symmetry, including animals ranging from flies and worms to humans. However, the researchers do not believe Dickinsonia was ancestrally related to bilaterians, since it lacked other features that most bilaterians share, most notably a mouth, gut and anus.

“Although we saw some of the hallmark characteristics of bilateral growth and development, we don’t believe Dickinsonia was a precursor to today’s bilaterians, rather that these are two distinct groups that shared a common set of ancestral genes that are present throughout the animal lineage,” Evans said. “Dickinsonia most likely represents a separate group of animals that is now extinct, but can tell us a lot about the evolutionary history of animals.”
What can it tell about the evolutionary history of animals, however, if it (1) was not a precursor, (2) lacked the notable features of bilaterian animals, and (3) grew by “terminal addition” of new modules? Snowflakes and bubble mats can do that. Let’s see if the paper in PLOS ONE can shed any more light.

The Ediacara Biota represents the oldest fossil evidence for the appearance of animals but linking these taxa to specific clades has proved challenging. Dickinsonia is an abundant, apparently bilaterally symmetrical Ediacara fossil with uncertain affinities. We identified and measured key morphological features of over 900 specimens of Dickinsonia costata from the Ediacara Member, South Australia to characterize patterns in growth and morphology. Here we show that development in Dickinsonia costata was surprisingly highly regulated to maintain an ovoid shape via terminal addition and the predictable expansion of modules. This result, along with other characters found in Dickinsonia suggests that it does not belong within known animal groups, but that it utilized some of the developmental gene networks of bilaterians, a result predicted by gene sequencing of basal metazoans but previously unidentified in the fossil record. Dickinsonia thus represents an extinct clade located between sponges and the last common ancestor of Protostomes and Deuterostomes, and likely belongs within the Eumetazoa.
Did they find genes? No. Did they observe developmental gene networks? No. Did they find “stomes” (mouths) on these creatures? No. The connection to Protostomes (first mouth) and Deuterostomes (two mouths) is all inference. They had nearly a thousand of these creatures to look at, and only inferred that they lie somewhere between sponges and animals. And yet they admit that whatever Dickinsonia was, it went extinct.

Droser et al. place this creature within “an extinct lineage that split somewhere between sponges and the LCA [last common ancestor] of Protostomes and Deuterostomes,” meaning that it really has nothing to do with animals, which without exception have a mouth. For a transitional form, Dickinsonia is a pretty sad contender.

The highly regulated growth of Dickinsonia, along with features such as posterior addition, bilateral symmetry and organization around an anterior-posterior axis are characteristics found in bilaterians. However, most bilaterians are triploblastic and have a through gut and there is no evidence for the number of tissue layers or the presence of a mouth, anus or any type of gut in Dickinsonia. Some highly derived modern bilaterians do not have a through gut and many studies have demonstrated the importance of the secondary loss of characters in phylogenetic reconstructions, but it is unlikely that Dickinsonia is highly derived and our results suggest that it does not have the suite of characters necessary to be considered a crown group bilaterian.
If they had a better contender, they surely would offer it up. They do mention Kimberella as an incipient mollusk, and Helminthoidichnites as a hopeful bilaterian, acknowledging Graham Budd’s criticisms (Meyer, p. 85). But after combing through a thousand of these air mattress lookalikes, they can’t even bring themselves to postulate that Dickinsonia was a more complex (“derived”) animal that lost traits.

The only feature they try to attribute to evolution is apparent “highly regulated growth” of the organism to maintain its ovoid shape as it grows. But you can’t watch fossils grow, so that’s an inference, too. Nor can you watch fossils move, as they claim it did (again, by inference only, based on the slight difference between front and back ends). There’s no clear evidence of a second tissue layer, let alone a third. And they can’t even call the repeated structures “segments” which would presage a worm of some type. They call them “modules” instead. But do these modules really show a pattern of “highly regulated growth” and development?

We therefore conclude that the number of modules is not solely determined by overall size and that similarly sized specimens can have vastly different module numbers. The reasons for large differences in module number between specimens may simply be random…. This suggests that there was likely little functional significance in maintaining a specific number of modules with respect to size and highlights that conserving an ovoid shape and consistent length to width ratio was critical for D. costata.
What about the creature’s anatomy? Earlier reports “have suggested that Dickinsonia possessed complex internal structures,” but that idea got shot down, too:

No evidence for internal structures was observed in any specimens analyzed herein. All previous reports of features such as a through gut are likely due to deformation or the draping of Dickinsonia over irregular features present on the Ediacaran seafloor.
Perhaps that rules out claims of locomotion as well. We don’t see any evidence that Dickinsonia did much at all but sit there on the ocean floor. And if it grew, it didn’t grow like any other animal we know:

The plasticity of module number with respect to overall size between specimens of D. costata, despite the tight regulation on modular growth, suggests that module number is not a reliable proxy for age and that different specimens add and inflate modules at variable rates. This suggests that growth in Dickinsonia is fundamentally different from that of truly segmented animals.

We are not currently aware of any modern or extinct organism, segmented or otherwise, that grows in the same manner as D. costata. Any convergence between the growth of D. costata and modern organisms would likely reflect the importance of maintaining an ovoid shape and not phylogenetic ancestry.
Whatever similarities this creature might have had to other organisms, living or extinct, they chalk up to a familiar Darwinian magic wand, “convergent evolution.” It’s just out there, unique, distinct, unrelated — and extinct.

By the way, the paper never mentions a “genetic toolkit” that the NASA article bragged about. The authors only suggest that if the creature grew in a predictable way, it must have had “gene regulatory networks” like animals have. But if it did, it got those by convergent evolution, too, since it wasn’t on the line to the Cambrian animals.

In short, Dickinsonia doesn’t change the situation with the Cambrian explosion. We wonder if those putting out the money for this study are pleased with these pitiful results (the authors received funds from the NSF, NASA, National Geographic, and half a dozen other institutions). It’s worth knowing more about these creatures, but they don’t seem to offer any consolation for Darwinists.


The authors end by stating that more studies will be needed on other Ediacaran creatures in order “to gain further insight into the evolutionary history of early animals.” Translation: More funding, please. Meanwhile, Steve Meyer’s challenge stands.

War,Just and otherwise:The Watchtower Society's Commentary.

WAR:
A state of hostility accompanied by actions designed to subjugate or to destroy those viewed as the enemy. A number of Hebrew words involve waging war; one of these, from the verb root qa·ravʹ, means basically “come near,” that is, to fight. The Greek noun poʹle·mos means “war”; and the verb stra·teuʹo is from a root that refers to an encamped army.

The Bible says that Nimrod “went forth into Assyria,” which was evidently an act of aggression, into the territory of Asshur the son of Shem. There Nimrod built cities. (Ge 10:11) In Abraham’s day Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, subjected a number of cities (all apparently around the southern end of the Dead Sea) for a period of 12 years, forcing them to serve him. After they rebelled, Chedorlaomer and his allies warred against them, vanquishing the forces of Sodom and Gomorrah, taking their possessions, and capturing Abraham’s nephew Lot and his household. At that Abraham mustered 318 trained servants and, together with his three confederates, pursued Chedorlaomer and recovered the captives and the plunder. However, Abraham did not take any of the booty for himself. This is the first record of a war waged by a servant of God. Abraham’s warring to recover his fellow servant of Jehovah had Jehovah’s approval, for, on Abraham’s return, he was blessed by Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God.—Ge 14:1-24.

God-Ordained Warfare. Jehovah is “a manly person of war,” “the God of armies,” and “mighty in battle.” (Ex 15:3; 2Sa 5:10; Ps 24:8, 10; Isa 42:13) Not only has he the right as Creator and Supreme Sovereign of the universe but he is also obligated by justice to execute or authorize execution of the lawless, to war against all obstinate ones who refuse to obey his righteous laws. Jehovah was therefore just in wiping out the wicked at the time of the Flood, in destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, and in bringing destruction upon Pharaoh’s forces.—Ge 6:5-7, 13, 17; 19:24; Ex 15:4, 5; compare 2Pe 2:5-10; Jude 7.

Israel used as God’s executioner. Jehovah assigned the Israelites the sacred duty of serving as his executioners in the Promised Land to which he brought them. Prior to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, the nation had not known warfare. (Ex 13:17) By victoriously directing Israel against “seven nations more populous and mighty” than they were, God magnified his name as “Jehovah of armies, the God of the battle lines of Israel.” This proved that “neither with sword nor with spear does Jehovah save, because to Jehovah belongs the battle.” (De 7:1; 1Sa 17:45, 47; compare 2Ch 13:12.) It also gave the Israelites the opportunity to demonstrate obedience to God’s commandments to the point of endangering their lives in God-ordained warfare.—De 20:1-4.

No aggression beyond the God-given limits. However, God strictly commanded Israel that they were not to engage in wars of aggression or conquest beyond the territory that he granted to them and that they were not to fight any nations except the ones he ordered them to fight. They were not to engage in strife with the nations of Edom, Moab, or Ammon. (De 2:4, 5, 9, 19) But they were attacked by these nations in later times and were forced to defend themselves against them in warfare. In this they had God’s help.—Jg 3:12-30; 11:32, 33; 1Sa 14:47.

When, during the period of the Judges, the king of Ammon tried to justify his aggressions against Israel by falsely charging Israel with taking Ammonite land, Jephthah refuted him by recalling the historical facts. Jephthah then proceeded to fight against these aggressors, on the principle that ‘every one whom Jehovah dispossesses before us we will dispossess.’ Jephthah would not relinquish an inch of Israel’s God-given land to any intruder.—Jg 11:12-27; see JEPHTHAH.

Sanctified warfare. Anciently, the fighting forces, before they entered battle, were customarily sanctified. (Jos 3:5; Jer 6:4; 51:27, 28) During warfare Israel’s forces, including non-Jews (for example, Uriah the Hittite, who was probably a circumcised proselyte), had to remain ceremonially clean. They could not have sexual relations, even with their own wives, during a military campaign. Accordingly, there were no prostitutes who followed Israel’s army. Moreover, the camp itself had to be kept clean from defilement.—Le 15:16, 18; De 23:9-14; 2Sa 11:11, 13.

When it was necessary to punish unfaithful Israel, those foreign armies bringing the destruction were viewed as ‘sanctified,’ in the sense that they were ‘set apart’ by Jehovah for the execution of his righteous judgments. (Jer 22:6-9; Hab 1:6) Similarly, those military forces (principally the Medes and Persians) who brought destruction on Babylon were spoken of by Jehovah as “my sanctified ones.”—Isa 13:1-3.

The false prophets in Israel, in their greediness, were said to “sanctify war” against anyone who did not put something into their mouths. Undoubtedly they sanctimoniously claimed divine sanction for their acts of oppression, which included sharing in the responsibility for the persecution and even the death of true prophets and servants of God.—Mic 3:5; Jer 2:8; La 4:13.

Conscription. At Jehovah’s command Israel’s able-bodied males 20 years old and upward were conscripted for military service. According to Josephus, they served up to the age of 50 years. (Jewish Antiquities, III, 288 [xii, 4]) The fearful and fainthearted were rejected because Israel’s wars were wars of Jehovah, and those displaying weakness of faith in fearfulness would tend to weaken the army’s morale. Exemptions were given to men who had just completed a new house, as well as to those who had planted a vineyard and had not used its fruitage. These exemptions were based on the right of a man to enjoy the fruitage of his work. The newly married man was exempt for one year. During this time the man might be able to have and to see an heir. Here Jehovah revealed his concern and consideration for the family. (Nu 1:1-3, 44-46; De 20:5-8; 24:5) The Levites, who took care of the service at the sanctuary, were exempt, showing that Jehovah considered the spiritual welfare of the people more important than military defense.—Nu 1:47-49; 2:32, 33.

Laws concerning assault and siege of cities. Jehovah instructed Israel as to military procedure in the conquest of Canaan. The seven nations of Canaan, named at Deuteronomy 7:1, 2, were to be exterminated, including women and children. Their cities were to be devoted to destruction. (De 20:15-17) According to Deuteronomy 20:10-15, other cities were first warned and terms of peace extended. If the city surrendered, the inhabitants were spared and put to forced labor. This opportunity to surrender, together with the assurance that their lives would be spared and their women would not be raped or molested, was an inducement to such cities to capitulate to Israel’s army, thus avoiding much bloodshed. If the city did not surrender, all males were killed. Killing the men removed danger of later revolt by the city. “The women and the little children” were spared. That “women” here no doubt means virgins is indicated by Deuteronomy 21:10-14, where prospective war brides are described as mourning for parents, not for husbands. Also, earlier, when Israel defeated Midian, it is specifically stated that only virgins were spared. Such sparing of only virgins would serve to protect Israel from false worship and no doubt from sexually transmitted diseases. (Nu 31:7, 17, 18) (As to the justice of God’s decree against the Canaanite nations, see CANAAN, CANAANITE [Conquest of Canaan by Israel].)

Food-producing trees were not to be cut down for siegeworks. (De 20:19, 20) Horses of the enemy were hamstrung during the heat of battle to incapacitate them; after the battle they undoubtedly were killed.—Jos 11:6.

Not All of Israel’s Wars Were Proper. Israel’s lapsing into a course of unfaithfulness was accompanied by conflicts that were little more than power struggles. This was the case with Abimelech’s warring against Shechem and Thebez in the time of the Judges (Jg 9:1-57), as well as Omri’s warfare against Zimri and Tibni, which led to his being firmly established in the kingship over the ten-tribe kingdom. (1Ki 16:16-22) Also, instead of relying on Jehovah for protection from their enemies, the Israelites began to trust in military might, horses and chariots. Thus, in the time of Isaiah, the land of Judah was “filled with horses” and there was “no limit to their chariots.”—Isa 2:1, 7.

Ancient War Strategy and Tactics. Spies were sometimes sent out ahead of the attack to ascertain conditions existing in the land. Such spies were not sent to initiate unrest, revolt, or subversive underground movements. (Nu 13:1, 2, 17-19; Jos 2:1; Jg 18:2; 1Sa 26:4) Special trumpet calls were employed for mustering forces, for war calls, and for signaling unified action. (Nu 10:9; 2Ch 13:12; compare Jg 3:27; 6:34; 7:19, 20.) On occasion forces were divided and deployed in flanking attacks, or in ambush and decoy operations. (Ge 14:15; Jos 8:2-8; Jg 7:16; 2Sa 5:23, 24; 2Ch 13:13) In at least one instance, at Jehovah’s direction, singers of praise to God were put in the vanguard, ahead of the armed forces. God fought that day for Israel, throwing the camp of the enemy into confusion so that the enemy soldiers killed one another.—2Ch 20:20-23.

Fighting was to a great extent hand to hand, man against man. A variety of weapons were used—swords, spears, javelins, arrows, slingstones, and so forth. During the conquest of the Promised Land, Israel did not rely on horses and chariots; their trust was in the saving power of Jehovah. (De 17:16; Ps 20:7; 33:17; Pr 21:31) Not until later times did the armies of Israel employ horses and chariots, as did the Egyptians and others. (1Ki 4:26; 20:23-25; Ex 14:6, 7; De 11:4) Foreign armies were sometimes equipped with war chariots having iron scythes extending from their axles.—Jos 17:16; Jg 4:3, 13.

War tactics changed during the course of the centuries. Generally, Israel did not concentrate on developing instruments of offensive warfare, though considerable attention was given to fortification. King Uzziah of Judah is noted for building “engines of war, the invention of engineers,” but these were primarily for the defense of Jerusalem. (2Ch 26:14, 15) In order to be able to attack the higher and weaker part of a city’s wall, the Assyrian and Babylonian armies, particularly, were known for their siege walls and their siege ramparts. These ramparts served as inclined planes up which towers with battering rams were brought; from these towers, the archers and slingers fought. Along with these were other forms of siege engines, including giant rock throwers. (2Ki 19:32; Jer 32:24; Eze 4:2; Lu 19:43) At the same time the defenders of the city attempted to hold off the attack by means of archers, slingers, as well as by soldiers who would throw firebrands from their walls and towers and from missile-throwing engines inside the city. (2Sa 11:21, 24; 2Ch 26:15; 32:5) In assaulting walled fortifications, one of the first things attempted was the cutting off of the city’s water supply, while the city about to be besieged often stopped up water sources around the city to deprive the attackers of their use.—2Ch 32:2-4, 30.

On defeating an enemy, the victors sometimes stopped up wells and springs in the area and spread stones over the ground, occasionally sowing the ground with salt.—Jg 9:45; 2Ki 3:24, 25; see ARMS, ARMOR; FORTIFICATIONS.

Jesus Foretells War. Jesus, the man of peace, observed that “those who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Mt 26:52) He declared to Pilate that, had his Kingdom been of this world, his attendants would have fought to prevent his being delivered up to the Jews. (Joh 18:36) Yet he foretold that Jerusalem, because of rejecting him as the Messiah, would in time suffer siege and desolation, during which her “children” (inhabitants) would be dashed to the ground.—Lu 19:41-44; 21:24.

Shortly before his death, Jesus gave prophecies that applied to that generation and also to the time when his presence in Kingdom power would begin: “You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.”—Mt 24:6, 7; Mr 13:7, 8; Lu 21:9, 10.

Christ Wages War as “King of Kings.” The Bible reveals that the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, with ‘all authority in heaven and on earth’ granted to him by his Father, will engage in a warfare that will destroy all of God’s enemies and establish everlasting peace, as his title “Prince of Peace” implies.—Mt 28:18; 2Th 1:7-10; Isa 9:6.

The apostle John had a vision of things to take place after Christ’s enthronement in heaven. The words of Psalms 2:7, 8 and 110:1, 2 had foretold that God’s Son would be invited to ‘ask of Jehovah the nations as his inheritance,’ and that Jehovah would respond by sending him forth to ‘go subduing in the midst of his enemies.’ (Heb 10:12, 13) John’s vision depicted a war in heaven in which Michael, that is, Jesus Christ (see MICHAEL No. 1), led the armies of heaven in a war against the Dragon, Satan the Devil. The outcome of that war was the hurling of the Devil and his angels to the earth. This war immediately followed the ‘birth of the male child’ who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron. (Re 12:7-9) A loud voice in heaven then announced: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” This brought relief and joy to the angels; but it presaged troubles, including wars, for the earth, as the declaration continued: “Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Re 12:10, 12.

After Satan was hurled to the earth, he made God’s servants on earth, the remaining ones of the ‘seed of the woman,’ “who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus,” his chief target. Satan initiated warfare against them that included both a spiritual conflict and actual persecution, even resulting in death for some. (Re 12:13, 17) Succeeding chapters of Revelation (13, 17-19) describe the agents and instruments Satan uses against them, as well as the victorious outcome for God’s holy ones under their Leader Jesus Christ.

‘War of the great day of God Almighty.’ The 19th chapter of Revelation gives a view of the greatest war of all human history, surpassing anything that men have ever witnessed. Earlier in the vision it is called “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” Aligned against Jehovah and the Lord Jesus Christ as the Commander of God’s armies, the hosts of heaven, are the symbolic “wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies” assembled to the site of this war by “expressions inspired by demons.” (Re 16:14; 19:19) None of God’s earthly servants are pictured as having part in this battle. The earthly kings “will battle with the Lamb, but, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them.” (Re 17:14; 19:19-21; see HAR–MAGEDON.) Following this fight, Satan the Devil himself is to be bound for a thousand years, “that he might not mislead the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.”—Re 20:1-3.

With the conclusion of this war, the earth will enjoy peace for a thousand years. The psalm that declares “[Jehovah] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire,” had initial fulfillment in God’s bringing peace to Israel’s land by wrecking the enemy’s war instruments. After Christ defeats the promoters of war at Har–Magedon, the extremity of this earthly globe will enjoy full and satisfying peace. (Ps 46:8-10) Persons favored with eternal life will be those who have beaten “their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears” and who do not “learn war anymore.” “For the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.”—Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3, 4.

War threat forever ended. Revelation’s vision goes on to show that at the end of the thousand years Satan the Devil will be brought back from his binding in the abyss and will again induce many to come up to wage war against those remaining loyal to God. But no damage will be done, for ‘fire will come down out of heaven’ and devour these enemies, thereby removing all threat of war forever.—Re 20:7-10.

Christian Warfare. While the Christian does not engage in a physical war against blood and flesh (Eph 6:12), he is engaged in warfare nonetheless, a spiritual fight. The apostle Paul describes the war waged within the Christian between “sin’s law” and “God’s law,” or ‘the law of the mind’ (the Christian mind in harmony with God).—Ro 7:15-25.

This warfare of the Christian is an agonizing one, requiring the exertion of every effort for a person to come off winner. But he can be confident of victory through the undeserved kindness of God through Christ and the help of God’s spirit. (Ro 8:35-39) Jesus said of this fight: “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door” (Lu 13:24), and the apostle Peter counseled: “Keep abstaining from fleshly desires, which are the very ones that carry on a conflict [or, “are doing military service” (stra·teuʹon·tai)] against the soul.”—1Pe 2:11, Int; compare Jas 4:1, 2.

Against wicked spirits. In addition to this warfare against sin’s law, the Christian has a fight against the demons, who take advantage of the tendencies of the flesh by tempting the Christian to sin. (Eph 6:12) In this warfare the demons also induce those under their influence to tempt or to oppose and persecute Christians in an effort to get them to break their integrity to God.—1Co 7:5; 2Co 2:11; 12:7; compare Lu 4:1-13.

Against false teachings. The apostle Paul also spoke of a warfare that he and his associates were waging, in carrying out their commission as those appointed to care for the Christian congregation. (2Co 10:3) The congregation at Corinth had been wrongly influenced by presumptuous men called by Paul “false apostles” who, by giving undue attention to personalities, had caused divisions, sects, in the congregation. (2Co 11:13-15) They became, in effect, followers of men such as Apollos, Paul, and Cephas. (1Co 1:11, 12) The members of the congregation lost the spiritual viewpoint, that these men were merely representatives of Christ, unitedly serving the same purpose. They became fleshly. (1Co 3:1-9) They viewed men in the congregation ‘according to what they were in the flesh,’ their appearance, natural abilities, personalities, and so forth, instead of regarding them as spiritual men. They failed to recognize that God’s spirit was operating in the congregation, and that men such as Paul, Peter, and Apollos were accomplishing what they did by God’s spirit, for His glory.

Therefore, Paul was impelled to write them: “Indeed I beg that, when present, I may not use boldness with that confidence with which I am counting on taking bold measures against some who appraise us as if we walked according to what we are in the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. For we are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; and we are bringing every thought into captivity to make it obedient to the Christ.”—2Co 10:2-5.

Paul wrote to Timothy, whom he had left in Ephesus to care for the congregation there: “This mandate I commit to you, child, Timothy, in accord with the predictions that led directly on to you, that by these you may go on waging the fine warfare; holding faith and a good conscience.” (1Ti 1:18, 19) Not only did Timothy have before him conflicts because of sinful flesh and because of the opposition of the enemies of the truth but he also had to wage warfare against the infiltration of false doctrine and of those who would corrupt the congregation. (1Ti 1:3-7; 4:6, 11-16) His actions would fortify the congregation against the apostasy that Paul knew would occur after the apostles passed off the scene. (2Ti 4:3-5) So it was a real fight that Timothy had to wage.

Paul was able to say to Timothy: “I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith.” (2Ti 4:7) Paul had maintained his faithfulness to Jehovah and Jesus Christ by right conduct and service in the face of opposition, suffering, and persecution. (2Co 11:23-28) He had additionally discharged the responsibility of his office as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, fighting the war to keep the Christian congregation clean and spotless, as a chaste virgin, and as “a pillar and support of the truth.”—1Ti 3:15; 1Co 4:1, 2; 2Co 11:2, 29; compare 2Ti 2:3, 4.

God’s material support of the Christian. In the warfare of the Christian, God views the Christian as His soldier and, therefore, provides him with the necessary material things. The apostle argues, with regard to the authority of one serving as a minister to others: “Who is it that ever serves as a soldier at his own expense?”—1Co 9:7.

Christians and Wars of the Nations. Christians have always maintained strict neutrality as to fleshly warfare between nations, groups, or factions of any kind. (Joh 18:36; Eph 6:12) For examples of the attitude of the early Christians in this respect, see ARMY (Those Known As Early Christians).

Other Uses. In the song of Barak and Deborah, after the victory over the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, a circumstance is recalled that sets forth a principle: “They [Israel] proceeded to choose new gods. It was then there was war in the gates.” (Jg 5:8) As soon as they forsook Jehovah for false worship, trouble came, with the enemy pressing at the very gates of their cities. This is in harmony with the psalmist’s declaration: “Unless Jehovah himself guards the city, it is to no avail that the guard has kept awake.”—Ps 127:1.

At Ecclesiastes 8:8, Solomon wrote: “There is no man having power over the spirit to restrain the spirit; . . . nor is there any discharge in the war.” In the day of death the dying person cannot restrain the spirit, or force of life, and keep it from returning to God the Giver and Source, so as to live longer. Dying humans cannot control the day of death and prevent it from ever reaching them. They cannot, by any human efforts, be discharged from the war that the enemy Death wages against all mankind without exception. Sinful man cannot get some other sinful man to substitute for him in death and thus enjoy a furlough from death. (Ps 49:6-9) Only through Jehovah’s undeserved kindness by means of Jesus Christ is relief possible. “Just as sin ruled as king with death, likewise also undeserved kindness might rule as king through righteousness with everlasting life in view through Jesus Christ our Lord.”—Ro 5:21.

Darwinism's unicorn(a simple beginning to life) keeps receding into the distance.

Bacteria perfected protein complexes more than 3.5 billion years ago.
Source:

Cell Press

Researchers are resurrecting ancient bacterial protein complexes to determine how 3.5-billion-year-old cells functioned versus cells of today. Surprisingly, they are not that different, reports a study published June 9 in Cell Chemical Biology. Despite a popular hypothesis that primordial organisms had simple enzyme proteins, evidence suggests that bacteria around 500 million years after life began already had the sophisticated cellular machinery that exists today.

Fossils of 3.5-billion-year-old bacteria are not available, but scientists can reconstruct what their enzymes may have looked like based on phylogenetic trees of proteins from living bacteria. Comparing the amino acid sequences of more than 50 bacteria helped to computationally generate the sequences for the protein subunits of an enzyme complex that was very likely similar to that found in the bacteria's last common ancestor. The researchers then produced this ancient enzyme complex to study its structure and function.

"There is a generally accepted theory (see bottom citation below) that states that very old enzymes were not as sophisticated as they are now," says senior author Reinhard Sterner of the Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry at the University of Regensburg in Germany. "But we used the method of ancestral sequence reconstruction to go back as far as possible in evolutionary time to show that the tryptophan synthase complex from the last bacterial common ancestor was sophisticated--characterized by the high enzymatic activity and communication between subunits seen in modern enzyme complexes."

"Our data and similar results that have been found by other people suggest that enzymes were already sophisticated 3.5 billion years ago, but this was a surprise because biological evolution started only about 4 billion years ago," says co-author Rainer Merkl, also at Regensburg. "We conclude that in this very early phase of biological evolution--between 4 billion and 3.5 billion years ago--we probably have primitive enzymes with low efficiency, but this 500 million years was enough time for these enzymes to become fully sophisticated."

What happened in that 500-million-year gap to place the evolutionary pressures on bacteria to make enzyme complexes is a mystery. Creating these structures is very difficult, as a complex involves multiple subunits that catalyze different reactions in isolation as well as in response to one another. Once formed, however, these complexes have not been seriously altered in billions of years of subsequent evolution, proving their efficiency.

Going forward, Sterner and his colleagues want to continue using the ancestral sequence reconstruction method to better understand the exact steps that led to the formation of the tryptophan synthase complex and its adaptation to specific habitats.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Cell Press. 

The best explanation for sophisticated engineering remains a skilled engineer/skilled engineers.

Understanding Cardiovascular Function: Beyond Irreducible Complexity

Howard Glicksman 

Editor's note: Physicians have a special place among the thinkers who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar with the challenges of maintaining a functioning complex system, the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News & Views is delighted to present this series, "The Designed Body." Dr. Glicksman practices palliative medicine for a hospice organization.

Our body comprises trillions of cells that must follow the laws of nature. These laws demand that to survive, our body must have enough water and that water must be properly distributed between the cells and the blood.

They also demand that water be lost from the body when it breathes (to obtain oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide), perspires (to control its temperature), and forms urine (to get rid of toxic chemicals). Previously, as we've seen in this series, despite the imperative to lose water due to its metabolism, the body is able to follow the rules and take control of its water content by drinking fluids and conserving water loss from the kidneys.

This takes place through osmoreceptors, Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH), and the ability of ADH to stimulate the thirst center and specific ADH receptors in the kidneys. In my previous article I pointed out that this system must have had the capacity to provide the body of our ancient ancestors with the amount of water needed to live and reproduce. But what would have happened if this complex system failed to work properly?

Water makes up about 60 percent of the body by weight and the average adult has a total of about 42 liters. Our cells must keep their volume and chemical content within a narrow range. This ability is directly related to the body's total water content. A water loss of about 5 percent (two liters) results in a dry mouth, increased thirst, and fatigue. If this isn't corrected and progresses to 10 percent (four liters), then extreme thirst, headache, and moderate sluggishness and weakness take place. A loss of 15 percent (sxi liters) results in heart flutter, dizziness, and problems with concentration. With a water loss of 20 percent (eight liters) there comes confusion and lethargy, which can lead to coma. And at about 25 percent water loss (ten liters), death follows from dehydration.

At complete rest the body loses about one liter of water daily due to respiration, perspiration, and urine formation. That's why, when a debilitated person stops all intake, he usually dies from dehydration in about ten days.

The gastrointestinal system readily absorbs water, and the kidneys filter water out of the circulation at a rate of about 7.5 liters/hour (180 liters/day). If none of this filtered water were to be taken back into the body, we would die in about 90 minutes. The tubules in the first part of the kidney automatically take back about 90 percent of the filtered water. However, that still leaves the remaining 18 liters of water that is filtered out daily.

If our ancestors lacked osmoreceptors, ADH, or ADH receptors, just to stay alive at complete rest would have required them to take in 18 liters of water per day. This means that every hour of every day of every year of their existence (probably not very long), they would have had to empty their bladder while at the same time drinking 750 mL (26 oz) of water. Obviously, the absence of osmoreceptors, or ADH, or ADH receptors is incompatible with life.

When most people hear the word diabetes, they think of diabetes mellitus, the "sugar disease." The term diabetes refers to diuresis or excessive urination. The term mellitus refers to honey or sweetness. A person with diabetes mellitus passes excessive amounts of sweet urine.

However, there is another, less common, condition that is also called diabetes, in which the person passes excessive amounts of urine that is bland, tasteless, or insipid. Diabetes insipidus (DI) takes place when there is a deficiency in the effect of ADH within the body. This manifests as passing at least four liters of urine daily, but the more severe the deficiency the more urination takes place.

Diabetes insipidus occurs from a reduced production of ADH in the hypothalamus or posterior pituitary gland (central or neurogenic DI) or a reduced response by the ADH receptors in the kidneys (nephrogenic DI). Without treatment it is difficult to remain very active while at the same time being able to maintain adequate total water content. Today, there is a treatment for DI called desmopressin, which is inhaled through the nose.

However, DI is not the only medical condition that exists in relationship to ADH. Just as not having enough of a response to ADH can cause debility and death, so too can having too much. The Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH (SIADH) is a condition, often due to cancer or brain injury, in which, due to excessive ADH activity, the body holds on to too much water.

This leads to a significant drop in the body's total chemical concentration and makes water move into the brain cells by osmosis. This can lead to cerebral edema and brain malfunction resulting in lethargy, weakness, and confusion that can rapidly progress to seizures, coma, and death. Fortunately, once SIADH is diagnosed there is medical treatment available that can prevent debility and death.

Being able to control the body's water content is a matter of life and death. So, in explaining how life came into being, it's important to remember a few things.

Human life would be impossible without the presence of osmoreceptors, ADH, and ADH receptors. As Michael Behe might say, the system the body uses to control its water content is irreducibly complex. Evolutionary biology needs to explain how all of these parts came together as a functioning system.

Moreover, as I've often said in this series, when it comes to life and death, real numbers have real consequences. The presence of osmoreceptors, ADH, and ADH receptors is not good enough to explain how the body controls its water content. The osmoreceptors have to respond fast and well enough to give the body proper warning. The posterior pituitary gland has to send out the right amount of ADH, not too much and not too little. Finally, the ADH receptors have to respond in the right way as well.

So, while irreducible complexity is a good indicator of intelligent design, in maintaining life, an irreducibly complex system must also have natural survival capacity. By this I mean the system must know what is needed to survive within the laws of nature and then do that naturally.

Now that you understand how the body controls its water content to make sure it has enough blood in the circulation, it's time to move on. Life is a bit more complicated than evolutionary biologists would have us believe, isn't it? In addition to water, there's another very important chemical the body has to control to maintain its blood volume. What is it? For that we'll have to wait until next time.