the bible,truth,God's kingdom,Jehovah God,New World,Jehovah's Witnesses,God's church,Christianity,apologetics,spirituality.
Tuesday 23 May 2023
Not losing sight of the truth in the fog of war.
Dave Farina: team atheism's LVP? III
“Well, Everyone Has to Have a Birthday” — How Professor Dave Botches Probability
Dave Farina: team atheism's LVP? II
Where’s the Chemistry? On the Origin of Life, James Tour Exposes Professor Dave as “Clueless”
Dave Farina: team atheism's LVP?
Atheists Review Professor Dave’s Debate Performance
Monday 22 May 2023
Artificial intelligence is the mother of actual incoherence?
Breaking Google Bard
"..nor the Son."
Mark ch.13:32 NASB"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Our Trinitarian (and Modalist) friends wave away the obvious problem this verse creates for their doctrine by claiming that Jesus was speaking from the Son's then human standpoint.
But is this view in harmony with the context of the verse itself ,lets have a look.The verse begins
"But of that day and hour no one knows.."
Obviously meaning no human knows (BTW was Jesus merely saying that no human at that time knew or that no human has ever known and will ever know.), thus if Jesus was speaking purely in terms of the Son's then human existence surely this part of the verse would have covered that.
BTW :some trinitarians claimed that Jesus reclaimed the human body that he was supposed to have sacrificed upon his resurrection,which would mean that he is still human which, according to them, must mean that he is still not omniscient.
Then to illustrate the utter futility of anyone on earth attempting to calculate the 'day or hour' he continues.
",not even the angels of heaven.."
(again did Jesus mean that no angel presently knows or that no angel has ever and will ever know?) ,now, having made it clear that heaven itself was in the dark re:the Father's determination in this matter does it make sense for Jesus to belabor Earth's ignorance? Certainly what no angel knows no human would.
Why then not allow the verse to interpret itself
"nor the Son,But the Father ALONE."
i.e not even this eldest sibling in Jehovah's family of servants has ever known or will ever know.
Acts1,6,7NASB " So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;"
Though his apostles were understandably curious about Jehovah's timing re:the Kingdom the resurrected (hence superhuman) Jesus indicated that the Father had chosen to keep the decision to himself.
It does not seem that Jesus felt belittled by his Father's decision so it's odd that there are those who seem determined to take offense in his behalf.
The bottom line then
John ch.14:28 KJV "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. "
PS. 0ne more thing,a good question deserving of a straight answer would be ,why does the Holy Spirit not know the day or the hour,better yet why is the Holy Spirit not even mentioned in this verse.I mean the verse (quite literally) mentions everyone else.
James Tour on why we can't take origin of life research seriously
James Tour: Reviewing the Challenges for Abiogenesis
Sunday 21 May 2023
The Cambrian explosion is a thing?
FAQ: The Cambrian Explosion Is Real, and It Is a Problem for Evolution
The Flood recollection.
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval waters which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".[1]
The flood-myth motif occurs in many cultures, including the Mesopotamian flood stories, Native American in North America, the Genesis flood narrative, manvantara-sandhya in Hinduism, and Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology.
Saturday 20 May 2023
Micah 5:2 and the true origin of Israel's messiah
Micah5:1 JPS"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, Which art little to be among the thousands of Judah,
Out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose goings forth(mozaah) are from of old, from ancient days.(Olam)"
Strong's:Feminine of mowtsa'; a family descent; also a sewer (marg.; compare tsow'ah) -- draught house; going forth.
Common theme going forth from the belly.
Compare:
Hebrews ch.1:10-12NIV"He also says,
"In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
lie a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
Here our brother Paul quotes psalms102:25,26 and applies them to Jesus ,earlier on at verse 2 he had made the point that the Son was the one through whom JEHOVAH made the ages. Thus both JEHOVAH and his agent could be credited with the production of the physical world. Also both JEHOVAH and his subordinate would need to proceed physical world to logically be made responsible for its existence
Hebrews ch.1:2NIV"but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. "
Thus the verse could apply to both the ultimate source of the power and wisdom manifest in the creation and the primary instrument of that source.
Note please that the creation in question is perishable ,thus we are not discussing anything spiritual, likely the ages in question refer to humanity or human civilization,
Compare:
Genesis ch.1:26JPS"And God said: ‘Let US make(Hebrew asah) man in OUR image, after OUR likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’"
Thus here is the living intelligent instrument through which JEHOVAH accomplished his work that is the only way this instrument could be said to bear God's image an expression that must always pertain to either a human or superhuman Son of God.
Compare:
Hebrews ch.1:3"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. "
Compare:
Proverbs ch.8:30JB" I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence,"
Compare:
Colossians ch.1:15-17"The Son is the IMAGE of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. "
John tried to tell Israel the true origins of the one walking among them
John ch.1:30NIV"This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ "
Of course from an earthly standpoint Jesus does not precede John in any sense.And it does no good to make this preceding abstract because John would also have existed abstractly in JEHOVAH'S mind prior to his birth,and is also the product of a divine miracle. John's ministry also precedes Jesus'
John continues:
John ch.1:31NIV"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all."
Thus John showed why Jesus is greater than himself.
Jesus tried to tell Israel his true origin
John ch.6:62NIV"Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit e and life."
If heaven refers to his being born again why would he need to return there ,heaven of course refers to no particular vector but the superhuman state he surrendered in order to become a sacrifice for our sins
Hebrews ch.2:9NIV"But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."
One cannot return to where one has never been and one need not return to where one has never left ,the glory and honor then is a restoration of a previous superhuman glory.
John ch.17:5"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I HAD with you before the world began."
Here our Lord prays for the restoration of his forfeited superhuman glory which forfeiture was necessary to meet the legal requirements of the atonement.
Hebrews ch 2:14NIV"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil"
Hebrews ch.2:16NIV"For surely it is not angels (spirit beings)he helps, but Abraham’s descendants."
This cannot refer to the new creation because he never forfeited his place in the new creation thus there would be no need to plea for any such restoration.
John ch.3:13NIV"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. "
Jesus is saying that he is unique among all men who ever lived for this reason , obviously Jesus never ceased being part of the new creation,thus this is a strike against the idea that"heaven" pertains to the new creation in this verse , once Jesus became part of JEHOVAH'S new creation he could not exit same without disqualifying himself as Savior.
As stated before heaven refers to his previous superhuman glory. He laid it aside to legally qualify as Savior and upon being born again he reclaimed it hence his prayer at John ch.17:5
John ch.8:23NIV"But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”"
Sin began in heaven, so the pall that was cast over JEHOVAH'S workmanship would extend into heaven ,thus it is fitting that the one that JEHOVAH would rate his first and foremost work in heaven and earth be tested so as to vindicate JEHOVAH'S Workmanship this vindication of JEHOVAH'S Godhood is the primary issue that must be settled.
Our brother Paul against E.C.T
Romans ch.7:1NKJV"Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law [a]has dominion over a man as long as he lives?"
Of course if the real man never dies this would be a moot point,
Once a man is dead justice can make no further demands upon him. The presupposition then is that death is real,and that the real man does in fact die.
Romans ch.7:6NKJV"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."
Thus if Christ did not actually die ,which would be the case if we take reductive spiritualism as our premise because the physical body would then have nothing to do with ones identity,there is no atonement,also if his death did not completely satisfy divine justice ,which would be the case if we take E.C.T as our premise, there would be no atonement. So much for eternal conscious torment.
Friday 19 May 2023
Substitutionary atonement v. The God-man hypothesis.
1Corinthians ch.15:21KJV"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."
It was a perfect man's (not a God-man's) rebellion that condemned us therefore it is a perfect man's (not God-man's) obedience that reconciles us to JEHOVAH
1Timothy1:17NIV"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Matthew ch.20:28NIV"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give(not lend) his life(Soul) as a ransom for many.”"
Leviticus ch.17:11NIV"For the life(soul,Hebrew.nefesh) of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life(soul). c"
Only flesh and blood necessary for the sustaining of the SOUL of the victim can be offered acceptably on JEHOVAH'S altar for the expiation of sin.
Thus to make our Lord the God-man is to cancel the legal basis of the substitutionary atonement.
As the God- man his blood would possess no atoning value as it would be unnecessary for sustaining his soul. That is why he had to completely surrender his superhuman glory to qualify as a substitute.
Hebrews ch.2:17NIV"For this reason he had to be made like them, k fully human in EVERY way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. "
he were the God-man he would be INFINITELY unlike any man who has ever existed and thus would not qualify as a substitute for us.