The lexicon is the enemy?

 I've been reading pastor James White's 'the forgotten Trinity' (because I'm a masochist). There is a sentence at the beginning of verse 4 of chapter 2 that has just indelibly imprinted itself on my cerebral cortex, it reads as follows: before we present a definition of the Trinity, it is important to point out that we face a real difficulty right at the start :language itself. 

In my experience statements of this sort are usually preludes to extensive goalposts shifting. 

This war on the lexicon is why even among trinitarians there remain fiery debates about the definition of the trinity.

Ps. Mark12:30NIV"Love the Lord(JEHOVAH) your God with all your..

 with all your MIND...’"

Yet another evangelist of the multiverse preaches the word.

 To Avoid a Cosmic Beginning, Physicist Paul Steinhardt Goes to Extraordinary Lengths

Brian Miller 

The YouTube channel Closer to Truth recently interviewed physicist Paul Steinhardt about his cyclical cosmological model. The model has proven very attractive to atheists since it avoids the philosophical implications of the universe having a beginning. I have written previously about why the model actually does not avoid a beginning and how it requires high levels of fine-tuning to generate a life-permitting universe (here,here). What struck me with renewed force in the recent interview is the model’s layer upon layer of assumptions unsupported by any empirical evidence. 

Renouncing Inflationary Cosmology 

Steinhardt is one of the most interesting and influential figures in cosmology. He was one of the original architects of inflationary cosmology. He later rejected the theory for reasons he detailed in his Scientific American article “Pop Goes the Universe.” He argued that all the major predictions of the simplest and most tractable versions of inflationary theory have failed. And current versions are so contrived and flexible that they could fit nearly any data, so they have no real explanatory power: 

A common misconception is that experiments can be used to falsify a theory. In practice, a failing theory gets increasingly immunized against experiment by attempts to patch it. The theory becomes more highly tuned and arcane to fit new observations until it reaches a state where its explanatory power diminishes to the point that it is no longer pursued … A theory like the multimess does not exclude anything and, hence, has zero power.  

The Basic Framework 

Steinhardt proposes that his cyclic model of cosmology better explains the structure of our universe and avoids many of the pitfalls of inflationary cosmology. The basic framework for his theory includes the following components:

Our universe resides in a multidimensional brane that resides in a higher dimensional space containing other parallel branes hosting other universes.

The branes collide periodically due to an interbrane force drawing them together.

The collisions result in big bang events in the branes. The universes in the branes then expand due to the energy of the collision causing a contracting universe to bounce into an expanding one. The branes reset to their original separation. 

The collision transfers energy into a scalar field. That energy then transfers from the scalar field into the production of matter and energy uniformly filling the universe. 

The universe expands as in standard Big Bang cosmology with galaxies, stars, and planets forming as the universe cools. 

The expansion of the universe eventually accelerates. 

The expansion phase ends, and the universe begins to slowly contract. The slow contraction smooths out the universe.  

The contraction ends in a bounce, and the universe again expands starting a new cycle. 

The expansion, contraction, and bounce are directed by the energy of the scalar field whose value corresponds to the distance between the branes. 

Multitude of Assumptions 

The cyclic cosmological model purportedly explains such features of our universe as the near uniformity of the cosmic background radiation and the lack of curvature of space as well as other models, but it can only do so by relying on numerous speculative assumptions. The entire framework is founded on string theory which many physicists are starting to seriously question (here, here). It also assumes the existence of parallel multidimensional branes containing separate universes — a questionable application of string theory, even if true. The collision of the branes must occur in just the right manner to generate universes with just the right amount of inhomogeneity to birth galaxies with stars and planets. 

Even if all of these assumptions were true, the level of fine-tuning required in the bounces would still be immense. Cosmologist Andrei Linde stated about an earlier version of the model the following 

By evaluating the initial amplitude of quantum fluctuations on the scale corresponding to the observable part of the universe one finds that the branes must be parallel to each other with an accuracy better than 10−60 on a scale 1030 times greater than the distance between the branes. 

In addition, even if branes existed and collided properly, justifying the dynamics of such highly orchestrated expansion, contraction, and bounces requires postulating a very particular scalar field. Its value must depend upon the distance between the branes, and its energy must be described by a very specific mathematical form. And the transfer of energy from the field into the production of common matter and energy requires the proper coupling of the scalar field with the fields underlying the matter and energy. 

The irony is that Steinhardt’s criticisms of inflationary cosmology likely apply with equal force to his own theory. No empirical evidence supports any of the theory’s essential components. The numerous ad hoc features of his model are likely flexible enough to explain any observed data with the right choice of fine-tuned parameters and initial conditions. And the only testable predictions of string theory, which forms the bedrock for the entire framework, have failed. Claims that cyclic cosmology offers a compelling explanation for the structure of our universe is considered by most cosmologists dubious at best. 

A Simpler Explanation 

The most obvious conclusion about our universe is that it was created by a transcendent mind who designed it for the purpose of supporting life. This hypothesis is further supported by the evidence for design we see in our planetary system and throughout life. Denying the conclusion of design has forced scientists to propose the most arcane and contrived theories filled with multiverses, mysterious fields, and other wild speculations. Such efforts by many scientists are perfectly reasonable given their materialist framework. But an honest evaluation of the evidence should at some point inspire them to question their philosophical assumptions.  

The Watchtower society's commentary on the Holy Bible.

 BIBLE 

The Holy Scriptures, the Inspired Word of JEHOVAH, acknowledged as the greatest book of all times due to its antiquity, its total circulation, the number of languages into which it has been translated, its surpassing greatness as a literary masterpiece, and because of its overwhelming importance to all mankind. Independent of all other books, it imitates no other and copies none. It stands on its own merits, giving credit to its unique Author. The Bible also is distinguished as having survived more violent controversy than any other book, hated as it is by enemies legion in number. 

NAME 

The English word “Bible” comes through the Latin from the Greek word bi·bliʹa, which is, in turn, derived from biʹblos, a word that describes the inner part of the papyrus plant out of which a primitive form of paper was made. The Phoenician city of Gebal, famous for its papyrus papermaking, was called by the Greeks “Byblos.” In time bi·bliʹa came to describe various writings, scrolls, books, and eventually the collection of little books that make up the Bible. Jerome called this collection Bibliotheca Divina, the Divine Library.

Jesus and writers of the Christian Scriptures referred to the collection of sacred writings as “the Scriptures,” or “the holy Scriptures,” “the holy writings.” (Matt. 21:42; Mark 14:49; Luke 24:32; John 5:39; Acts 18:24; Rom. 1:2; 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16) The collection is the written expression of a communicating God, the Word of God, and this is acknowledged in phrases such as “expression of JEHOVAH'S Mouth” (Deut. 8:3), “sayings of JEHOVAH” (Josh. 24:27), “commandments of JEHOVAH” (Ezra 7:11), “law of JEHOVAH,” “reminder of JEHOVAH,” “orders from JEHOVAH” (Ps. 19:7, 8), “word of JEHOVAH” (Isa. 38:4), ‘utterance of JEHOVAH’ (Matt. 4:4), “JEHOVAH'S word.” (1 Thess. 4:15) Repeatedly these writings are spoken of as “sacred pronouncements of God.”—Rom. 3:2; Acts 7:38; Heb. 5:12; 1 Pet. 4:11. 

DIVISIONS 

ixty-six individual books from Genesis to Revelation make up the Bible canon. The choice of these particular books, and the rejection of many others, is evidence that the divine Author not only inspired their writing but also carefully guarded their collection and preservation within the sacred catalog. (See APOCRYPHA; CANON.) Thirty-nine of the sixty-six books, making up three-quarters of the Bible’s contents, are known as the Hebrew Scriptures, all having been initially written in that language with the exception of a few small sections written in Aramaic. (Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12-26; Jer. 10:11; Dan. 2:4b–7:28) By combining some of these books, the Jews had a total of only 22 or 24 books, yet these embraced the same material. It also appears to have been their custom to subdivide the Scriptures into three parts, as ‘the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ (Luke 24:44; see HEBREW SCRIPTURES.) The last quarter of the Bible is known as the Christian Greek Scriptures, so designated because the twenty-seven books composing this section were written in Greek. The writing, collecting and arrangement of these books within the Bible’s canon, also demonstrate JEHOVAH'S supervision from start to finish.—See CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES. 

Subdividing the Bible into chapters and verses (AV has 1,189 chapters and 31,173 verses) was not done by the original writers, but was a very useful device added centuries later. The Masoretes divided the Hebrew Scriptures into verses; then in the thirteenth century of our Common Era chapter divisions were added. Finally, in 1555 Robert Estienne’s edition of the Latin Vulgate was published as the first complete Bible with the present chapter and verse divisions.

The sixty-six Bible books all together form but a single work, a complete whole. As the chapter and verse marks are only convenient aids for Bible study, and are not intended to detract from the unity of the whole, so also is the sectioning of the Bible according to the predominant language in which the manuscripts have come down to us. We, therefore, have both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, with “Christian” added to the latter to distinguish them from the Septuagint Version, which is the Hebrew portion of the Scriptures translated into Greek. 

AUTHORSHIP 

The accompanying table shows that about forty human secretaries or scribes were used by the one Author to record the inspired Word of JEHOVAH. “All Scripture is inspired of God,” and this includes the writings in the Christian Greek Scriptures along with “the rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:15, 16) This expression “inspired of God” translated the Greek phrase The·oʹpneu·stos, meaning “God-breathed.” By ‘breathing’ on faithful men, God caused his own spirit or active force to become operative upon them and actively directed what JEHOVAH wanted recorded, for, as it is written, “prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.”—2 Pet. 1:21; John 20:21, 22; see INSPIRATION.

This unseen holy spirit of God is his symbolic “finger.” Therefore, when men saw Moses perform supernatural feats they exclaimed: “It is the finger of God!” (Ex. 8:18, 19; compare with Jesus’ words at Matthew 12:22, 28; Luke 11:20.) In a similar display of divine power “God’s finger” began the writing of the Bible by carving out the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. (Ex. 31:18; Deut. 9:10) It would, therefore, be a simple matter for JEHOVAH to use men as his scribes even though some were “unlettered and ordinary” in scholastic training (Acts 4:13), and regardless of whether by trade he was a shepherd, farmer, tentmaker, fisherman, tax collector, physician, priest, prophet or king. JEHOVAH'S active force put the thoughts into the writer’s mind, and in certain instances allowed him to express the divine thought in his own words, thus permitting personality and individual traits to show through the writing, yet at the same time maintaining a superb oneness in theme and in purpose throughout. In this way the resultant Bible exceeded in wealth and in scope the writings of mere men, reflecting as it does the mind and will of JEHOVAH The Almighty God saw to it that his written Word of truth was in language easily understood and easily translated into practically any tongue. 

No other book took so long to complete as the Bible. In 1513 B.C.E. Moses began Bible writing. Until sometime after 443 B.C.E. when Nehemiah and Malachi completed their books, other sacred writings were added to the inspired Scriptures. Then there was a gap in Bible writing for almost five hundred years until the apostle Matthew penned his historic account. Nearly sixty years later John, the last of the apostles, contributed his Gospel and three letters to complete the Bible’s canon. So, all together, a period of some 1,610 years was involved in producing the Bible. All the co-writers were Hebrews and, hence, part of that people “entrusted with the sacred pronouncements of God.”—Rom. 3:2.

The Bible is not an unrelated assortment or collection of heterogeneous fragments from Jewish and Christian literature. Rather, it is an organizational book, highly unified and interconnected in its various segments, which indeed reflect the systematic orderliness of the Creator-Author himself. God’s dealings with Israel in giving them a comprehensive Law code as well as regulations governing matters even down to small details of camp life—things that were later mirrored in the Davidic kingdom as well as in the congregational arrangement among first-century Christians—reflect and magnify this organizational aspect of the Bible. 

CONTENTS 

In contents this Book of Books reveals the past, explains the present and foretells the future—matters that only He who knows the end from the beginning could author. (Isa. 46:10) Starting at the beginning by telling of the creation of heaven and earth in the indefinite past, the Bible then gives a sweeping account of more than 42,000 years during which the earth was being prepared for man’s habitation. Then the truly scientific explanation of the origin of man is revealed—how life comes only from a Lifegiver—facts that only the Creator now in the role of Author could explain. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7) With the account of why men die, the overriding theme that permeates the whole Bible was introduced. This theme, the sanctification and vindication of Jehovah’s name, was wrapped up in the first prophecy concerning ‘the seed of the woman.’ (Gen. 3:15) More than two thousand years passed before this promise of a “Seed” was again mentioned, God telling Abraham: “By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.” (Gen. 22:18) Over eight hundred years later renewed assurance was given to Abraham’s descendant King David, and with the passing of more time Jehovah’s prophets kept this flame of hope burning brightly. (2 Sam. 7:12, 16; Isa. 9:6, 7) Another thousand years after David, more than 4,000 years after the original prophecy in Eden, and the Promised Seed himself appeared, Jesus Christ, the legal heir to “the throne of David his father.’ (Luke 1:31-33; Gal. 3:16) Bruised in death by the earthly seed of the “serpent,” this “Son of the Most High” provided the ransom purchase price for the life rights lost to Adam’s offspring, thus providing the only means whereby mankind can get everlasting life. He was then raised on high, there to await the appointed time to hurl “the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan,” down to the earth, where he finally is to be destroyed forever.  Thus the magnificent theme announced in Genesis and developed and enlarged upon throughout the balance of the Bible is in the closing chapters brought to a glorious climax as Jehovah’s grand purpose by means of his kingdom is made apparent.—Rev. 11:15; 12:1-12, 17; 19:11-16; 20:1-3, 7-10; 21:1-5; 22:3-5.

This kingdom under Christ the Promised Seed is the means by which the sanctification and vindication of God’s name JEHOVAH will be accomplished. Following through on this theme, the Bible magnifies JEHOVAH'S name to a greater extent than any other book; the name occurs more than 6,800 times in the Hebrew Masoretic text, in addition to the abbreviated form “JAH,” and in scores of instances where it combines to form other names like “Jesus,” meaning “JEHOVAH is salvation.” We would not know the Creator’s name, or the great issue raised by the Edenic rebellion involving this name, or God’s purpose to sanctify and vindicate that name before all creation, were these things not revealed in the Bible.

In this library of sixty-six books the theme of the Kingdom and JEHOVAH'S name are closely interwoven with information on many subjects. Its reference to such fields of knowledge as agriculture, architecture, astronomy, chemistry, commerce, engineering, ethnology, government, hygiene, music, poetry, philology and tactical warfare is only incidental to development of the theme; not as a treatise. Nevertheless, it contains a veritable treasure-house of information for the archaeologists and paleographers. In a general way this vast field of information may be divided into four subjects: (1) History and prophecy; (2) Basic truths and doctrines; (3) Fundamental principles; (4) Christian ministry.As an accurate historical work and one that penetrates the past to great depths, the Bible far surpasses all other books. However, it is of much greater value in the field of prophecy, foretelling as it does the future that only the King of Eternity can reveal with accuracy. The march of world powers down through the centuries, even to the rise and ultimate demise of present-day institutions, were prophetically related in the Bible’s long-range prophecies.

God’s Word of Truth in a very practical way sets men free from ignorance, superstitions, philosophies and senseless traditions of men. (John 8:32) “The word of God is alive and exerts power.” (Heb. 4:12) Without the Bible we would not know Jehovah, would not know the wonderful benefits resulting from Christ’s ransom sacrifice, would not understand the requirements that must be met in order to get everlasting life in or under God’s righteous kingdom.

The Bible is a most practical book in other ways too, for it gives sound counsel to Christians on how to live now, how to carry on their ministry, and how to survive this anti-God, pleasure-seeking system of things. Christians are told to “quit being fashioned after this system of things” by making their minds over from thinking like worldlings, and this they can do by having the same mental attitude of humility “that was also in Christ Jesus,” and by stripping off the old personality and putting on the new personality. (Rom. 12:2; Phil. 2:5-8; Eph. 4:23, 24; Col. 3:5-10) This means displaying the fruitage of God’s spirit, “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control”—subjects on which so much is written throughout the book.—Gal. 5:22, 23; Col. 3:12-14. 

AUTHENTICITY 

The veracity of the Bible has been assailed from many quarters, but none of these efforts has undermined or weakened its position in the least. Sir Isaac Newton once said: “I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatever.” Its integrity to truth proves sound on any point that might be tested. Its history is accurate and can be relied upon. For example, what it says about the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians cannot be successfully contradicted. (Jer. 51:11, 12, 28; Dan. 5:28) Or what it says about persons like Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 27:20; Dan. 1:1), Egyptian King Shishak (1 Ki. 14:25; 2 Chron. 12:2), Assyrians Tiglath-pileser and Sennacherib (2 Ki. 15:29; 16:7; 18:13), or the Roman Emperors Augustus, Tiberius or Claudius (Luke 2:1; 3:1; Acts 18:2), or Romans such as Pilate, Felix or Festus (Acts 4:27; 23:26; 24:27), or its remarks about the great temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Areopagus at Athens (Acts 19:35; 17:19-34)—what the Bible says about these or any other places, persons or events is historically accurate in every detail.—See  ARCHAEOLOGY 

What the Bible says about races and languages of mankind is also true. All peoples, regardless of stature, culture, color or tongue, are one species of creatures. The threefold division of the human family into the Japhetic, Hamitic and Shemitic races, all descending from Adam through Noah, cannot be successfully disputed. (Gen. 9:18, 19; Acts 17:26) Says Sir Henry Rawlinson: “If we were to be guided by the mere intersection of linguistic paths, and independently of all reference to the Scriptural record, we should still be led to fix on the plains of Shinar, as the focus from which the various lines had radiated.”—The Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records, p. 287.

The Bible’s teachings, examples and doctrines are most practical for modern man. The righteous principles and high moral standards contained in this book set it apart as far above all other books. Not only does the Bible answer important questions, it also provides many practical suggestions which, if followed, will do much to raise the physical and mental health of earth’s population. The Bible lays down principles of right and wrong that serve as a straightedge for just business dealings (Lev. 19:35, 36; Prov. 20:10; 22:22, 23; Matt. 7:12), industriousness (Eph. 4:28; Col. 3:23; 1 Thess. 4:11, 12; 2 Thess. 3:10-12), clean moral conduct (Ex. 20:14-17; Lev. 20:10-16; Gal. 5:19-23), upbuilding associations (Prov. 5:3-11; 13:20; 1 Cor. 15:33; Heb. 10:24, 25), good family relationships—duties of husband toward wife and children, wife toward husband and children, and children toward parents. (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 13:24; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21) Peace of mind, contentment and security are benefits enjoyed by Bible lovers. As the famous educator, William Lyon Phelps, once said: “I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.” “It is a book,” to quote John Quincy Adams, “which neither the most ignorant and weakest, nor the most learned and intelligent mind can read without improvement.” 

When it comes to scientific accuracy the Bible is not lacking. Whether describing the progressive order of earth’s preparation for habitation (Gen. 1:1-31), or speaking of the earth as being spherical and hung on “nothing” (Job 26:7; Isa. 40:22), or mentioning the ‘skin of the teeth’ (Job 19:20), or classifying the hare as a cud chewer (Lev. 11:6), or declaring “the soul of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11-14)—in all these and many more details the Bible is scientifically sound.

On points relating to cultures and customs, in no regard is the Bible found to be wrong. In political matters the Bible always speaks of a ruler by the proper title that he bore at the time of the writing. For example, Herod Antipas and Lysanias are referred to as district rulers (“tetrarchs”), Herod Agrippa as king, Sergius Paulus and Gallio as proconsuls. (Luke 3:1; Acts 25:13; 13:7; 18:12) Triumphant marches of victorious armies, together with their captives, were common during Roman times. (2 Cor. 2:14) In other details the Bible is accurate. For example, the hospitality shown to strangers, the Oriental way of life, the manner of purchasing property, legal procedures in making contracts, and the practice of circumcision among the Hebrews and other peoples.—Gen. 18:1-8; 23:7-18; 17:10-14; Jer. 9:25, 26.

Bible writers displayed a candor that is not found among other ancient writers. From the very outset, Moses frankly reported his own sins as well as the sins and errors of his people, a policy followed by the other Hebrew writers. (Ex. 14:11, 12; 32:1-6; Num. 14:1-9; 20:9-12; 27:12-14; Deut. 4:21) The sins of great ones such as David and Solomon were not covered over, but were reported. (2 Sam. 11:2-27; 1 Ki. 11:1-13) Jonah told of his own disobedience. (Jonah 1:1-3; 4:1) The other prophets likewise displayed this same straightforward, candid quality. Writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures showed the same regard for truthful reporting as displayed in the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul tells of his former sinful course in life; Mark’s error of conduct and also Peter’s are related. (Acts 22:19, 20; 15:37-39; Gal. 2:11-14) Such frank, open reporting builds confidence in the Bible’s claim to honesty and truthfulness. 

Facts testify to the integrity of the Bible. The Bible narrative is inseparably interwoven with the history of the times. It gives straightforward truthful instruction in the simplest manner. The guileless earnestness and fidelity of its writers, their burning zeal for truth, their painstaking effort to attain accuracy in details recommend the Bible for what it is, God’s Word of Truth.—John 17:17.

If there is a single point that alone proves the Bible to be the Inspired Word of Jehovah it is the matter of prophecy, for what man can even foretell with accuracy the weather more than a few hours in advance? Yet there are scores of long-range prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled. For a partial listing and a consideration of some of the more important ones, see the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 343-346. 

PRESERVATION 

Today none of the original writings of the Holy Scriptures are known to exist. Jehovah, however, saw to it that copies were made to replace the aging originals. Also, from and after the Babylonian exile, with the growth of many Jewish communities outside Palestine, there was an increasing demand for more copies of the Scriptures. This demand was met by professional copyists who made extraordinary efforts to see that accuracy was attained in their handwritten manuscripts. Ezra was just such a man, “a skilled copyist in the law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given.”—Ezra 7:6.

For hundreds of years handwritten copies of the Scriptures continued to be made, during which period the Bible was expanded with the addition of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Translations or versions of these Holy Writings also appeared in other languages. Indeed, the Hebrew Scriptures are honored as the first book of note to be translated into another language. Extant today are thousands of these Bible manuscripts and versions.—See MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE; VERSIONS. 

The first printed Bible came off Gutenberg’s press about the middle of the fifteenth century. Today distribution of the Bible (whole or part) has reached over two billion copies in upward of 1,300 languages. But this has not been accomplished without great opposition from many quarters. Indeed, the Bible has had more enemies than any other book; popes and councils even prohibited the reading of the Bible under penalty of excommunication. Thousands of Bible lovers lost their lives and thousands of copies of the Bible were committed to the flames. One of the victims in the Bible’s fight to live was translator William Tyndale, who once declared: ‘If God gives me life, ere many years the ploughboys shall know more of the Scriptures than the clergy.’

All credit and thanksgiving for the Bible’s survival in view of such violent opposition is due Jehovah, the Preserver of his Word. This fact gives added meaning to the apostle Peter’s quotation from the prophet Isaiah: “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like a blossom of grass; the grass becomes withered, and the flower falls off, but the saying of Jehovah endures forever.” (1 Pet. 1:24, 25; Isa. 40:6-8) We, therefore, do well to pay “attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place” in this twentieth century. (2 Pet. 1:19; Ps. 119:105) The man whose “delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law he reads in an undertone day and night,” and who puts in practice the things he reads, is the one who prospers and is happy. (Ps. 1:1, 2; Josh. 1:8) To him Jehovah’s laws, reminders, orders, commandments and judicial decisions contained in the Bible are “sweeter than honey” and the wisdom derived therefrom is “more to be desired than gold, yes, than much refined gold,” for it means his very life.—Ps. 19:7-10; Prov. 3:13, 16-18 

Almighty God's Spirit:The Jewish perspective.

 "Holy Spirit"

The term "holy spirit" appears three times in the Hebrew Bible: Psalm 51 refers to "Your holy spirit" (ruach kodshecha)[3] and Isaiah refers twice to "His holy spirit" (ruach kodsho).[4]

Psalm 51 contains a triple parallelism between different types of "spirit":

Fashion a pure heart for me, O God; create in me a steadfast spirit (רוּחַ נָכֹון‎). Do not cast me out of Your presence, or take Your holy spirit (רוּחַ קָדְשְׁךָ‎) away from me. Let me again rejoice in Your help; let a vigorous spirit (רוּחַ נְדִיבָה‎) sustain me.[5]

"Spirit of God"

Variations of a similar term, "spirit of God", also appear in various places in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew noun ruacḥ (רוח‎) can refer to "breath", "wind", or some invisible moving force ("spirit").

The following are some examples of the word ruacḥ (in reference to God's "spirit") in the Hebrew scriptures:[6]

Genesis 1:2 "a wind from God sweeping over the water" [7]

1 Samuel 16:13 "and the spirit of the LORD gripped David from that day on."

Psalm 143:10 "Let Your gracious spirit lead me on level ground."

Isaiah 42:1 "Behold My servant, I will support him, My chosen one, whom My soul desires; I have placed My spirit upon him, he shall promulgate justice to the nations."

Isaiah 44:3 "So will I pour My spirit on your offspring, My blessing upon your posterity."

Joel 2:28 "I will pour out My spirit on all flesh; Your sons and daughters shall prophesy."

Rabbinic literature

The term ruach haqodesh is found frequently in talmudic and midrashic literature. In some cases it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it is used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God.[1] The rabbinical understanding of the Holy Spirit has a certain degree of personification, but it remains, "a quality belonging to God, one of his attributes".[8] The idea of God as a duality or trinity is considered shituf (or "not purely monotheistic").[citation needed]

Nature

What the Bible generally calls "Spirit of God" is called in the Talmud and Midrash "Holy Spirit" due to the disinclination to the use of the Tetragrammaton.[9] It is probably owing to this fact that the Shekhinah is often referred to instead of the Holy Spirit. It is said of the former, as of the Holy Spirit, that it rests upon a person. The difference between the two in such cases has not yet been determined.

Although the Holy Spirit is often named instead of God,[10] it was conceived as being something distinct. The Spirit was among the ten things that were created on the first day.[11] Though the nature of the Holy Spirit is really nowhere described, the name indicates that it was conceived as a kind of wind that became manifest through noise and light. As early as Ezekiel 3:12 it is stated, "the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing," the expression "behind me" characterizing the unusual nature of the noise. The Shekhinah made a noise before Samson like a bell.[12] When the Holy Spirit was resting upon him, his hair gave forth a sound like a bell, which could be heard from afar. It imbued him with such strength that he could uproot two mountains and rub them together like pebbles, and could cover leagues at one step.[13]

Although the lights which accompanied the noise are not expressly mentioned, the frequently recurring phrase "he beheld (hetzitz be-) the Holy Spirit" suggests that he upon whom the spirit rested saw a light. The Holy Spirit gleamed in the court of Shem, of Samuel, and of King Solomon.[14] It "glimmered" in Tamar (Genesis 38:18), in the sons of Jacob (Genesis 42:11), and in Moses (Exodus 2:12), i.e., it settled upon these individuals.[15] Like everything that comes from heaven, the Holy Spirit is described as being composed of light and fire. When it rested upon Pinchas, his face burned like a torch.[16]

From the day that Joseph was sold, the Holy Spirit left Jacob, who saw and heard only indistinctly.[17] When the Temple was destroyed and Israel went into exile, the Holy Spirit returned to heaven; this is indicated in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "the spirit shall return unto God".[18] The spirit talks sometimes with a masculine and sometimes with a feminine voice, as the word ruach is both masculine and feminine, the Holy Spirit was conceived as being sometimes a man and sometimes a woman.

Individuals possessing the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit dwells only among a worthy generation, and the frequency of its manifestations is proportionate to the worthiness. There was no manifestation of it in the time of the Second Temple,[19] while there were many during the time of Elijah.[20] According to Job 28:25, the Holy Spirit rested upon the Prophets in varying degrees, some prophesying to the extent of one book only, and others filling two books.[21] Nor did it rest upon them continually, but only for a time. The stages of development, the highest of which is the Holy Spirit, are as follows: zeal, integrity, purity, holiness, humility, fear of sin, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit conducts Elijah, who brings the dead to life.[22] Pious individuals act through the Holy Spirit;[23] whoever teaches the Torah in public partakes of the Holy Spirit.[24] When Pinchas sinned the Holy Spirit departed from him.[25] Abiathar was deposed from office as High Priest when he was deserted by the Holy Spirit without which the Urim and Thummim could not be consulted.[26]

In Biblical times the Holy Spirit was widespread, resting on those who, according to the Bible, displayed a propitious activity; thus it rested on Eber and (according to Joshua 2:16) even on Rahab.[27] It was necessary to reiterate frequently that Solomon wrote his three books (Proverbs, Shir haShirim, and Ecclesiastes) under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,[28] because there was a continual opposition not only to the wise king personally, but also to his writings. A teacher of the Law says that probably for this reason the Holy Spirit rested upon Solomon in his old age only.[29]

The Holy Spirit rested not only on the children of Israel who crossed the Red Sea,[30] but, toward the end of the time of the Second Temple, occasionally on common people; for "if they are not prophets, they are at least the sons of prophets".[31] The Holy Spirit is at times identified with the spirit of prophecy.[32] Sifre remarks: "'I will put My words into his mouth,' means 'I put them into his mouth, but I do not speak with him face to face'; know, therefore, that henceforth the Holy Spirit is put into the mouths of the Prophets."[33] The "knowledge of God" is the Holy Spirit.[34] The division of the country by lot among the tribes was likewise effected by means of the Holy Spirit.[35]

Works inspired by the Holy Spirit

The visible results of the activity of the Holy Spirit are the books of the Bible, all of which are believed (in Jewish tradition) to have been composed under its inspiration. All the Prophets spoke "in the Holy Spirit"; and the most characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy, in the sense that the person upon whom it rests beholds the past and the future. With the death of the last three prophets (Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), the Holy Spirit ceased to manifest itself in Israel, and only the Bat Kol remained available to the sages.[36] Although the Holy Spirit was not continually present, and did not rest for any length of time upon any individual, yet there were cases in which it appeared and made knowledge of the past and of the future possible.[37]

Frequently, in rabbinical literature, a single Biblical verse is described as having been spoken by the Holy Spirit (for example, verses in which God speaks in the first person).[38]

Non-Jews and the Holy Spirit

The opposite of the Holy Spirit is the impure spirit (ruach tum'ah; lit. "spirit of impurity"). The Holy Spirit rests on the person who seeks the Shekhinah, while the impure spirit rests upon him who seeks impurity.[39] On the basis of II Kings 3:13, the statement is made (perhaps as a polemic against Jesus) that the Holy Spirit rests only upon a happy soul.[40] Among the pagans Balaam, from being a mere interpreter of dreams, rose to be a magician and then a possessor of the Holy Spirit.[41] But the Holy Spirit did not appear to him except at night, all pagan prophets being in possession of their gift only then.[42] The Torah includes the Balaam section in order to show why the Holy Spirit was taken from the non-Jew—i.e., because Balaam desired to destroy a whole people without cause.[43] A very ancient source explains, based on Deuteronomy 18:15, that in the Holy Land the gift of prophecy is not granted to the non-Jew or in the interest of the non-Jew, nor is it given outside the Holy Land even to Jews.[44] In the Messianic time, however, the Holy Spirit will (according to Joel 2:28–29) be poured out upon all Israel; i.e., all the people will be prophets.[45] According to Tanna Devei Eliyahu[46] the Holy Spirit will be poured out equally upon Jews and pagans, both men and women, freemen and slaves.

Relationship to other Jewish concepts

See also: Shekhinah

The Shekhinah (Biblical Hebrew: שכינה šekīnah; also Romanized Shekina(h), Schechina(h), Shechina(h)) is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God. This term does not occur in the Bible, and is from rabbinic literature.[47]: 148 [48][49]

Rashi taught that quasi-Sefirah Da'at is ruach haQodesh.[50]

See also

Biblical inspiration

Holy Spirit, general article

Holy Spirit in Christianity

Holy Spirit (Christian denominational variations)

Holy Spirit in Islam

Further reading

Levison, John R. (1997). The Spirit in First Century Judaism. Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums, 29. Leiden: Brill.

References

Chaim Kramer. Anatomy of the soul. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Jerusalem/New York, Breslov Research Institute, 1998 ISBN 0-930213-51-3

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Holy Spirit". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

Alan Unterman and Rivka Horowitz, Ruach ha-Kodesh, Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition, Jerusalem: Judaica Multimedia/Keter, 1997).

Maimonides, Moses. Part II, Ch. 45: "The various classes of prophets." The Guide for the Perplexed. Trans. M. Friedländer. 2nd ed. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. pp. 242-244. Print.

Psalms 51:11

Isaiah 63:10–11

John R. Levison The Spirit in First-Century Judaism 2002 p65 "Only Psalm 51, which contains no less than four occurrences of the word, im, permits the identification of the holy spirit with the human spirit.13 Three references occur in close succession in this psalm (51:10-12; MT 51:12-14):"

Translations from Sefaria

See: Darshan, Guy, “Ruaḥ ’Elohim in Genesis 1:2 in Light of Phoenician Cosmogonies: A Tradition’s History,” Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 45,2 (2019), 51–78.

Joseph Abelson,The Immanence of God in Rabbinical Literature (London:Macmillan and Co., 1912).

See, for example, Targum to Isaiah 40:13

e.g., in Sifre Deuteronomy 31 [ed. Friedmann, p. 72]

Hagigah 12a,b

Sotah 9b

Sotah 17b; Leviticus Rabbah 8:2

Genesis Rabbah 85:12

See Genesis Rabbah 85:9, 91:7; Leviticus Rabbah 32:4, "nitzotzah" and "hetzitz"; compare also Leviticus Rabbah 8:2, "hitkhil le-gashgesh"

Leviticus Rabbah 21, end

Genesis Rabbah 91:6

Ecclesiastes Rabbah 12:7

Yoma 21b

Tosefta Sotah 12:5

Leviticus Rabbah 15:2

Yerushalmi Shabbat 3c, above, and parallel passage

Tanhuma, Vayechi, 14

Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:9, end; compare Leviticus Rabbah 35:7

Genesis Rabbah 60:3; Leviticus Rabbah 37:4; compare Genesis Rabbah 19:6; Pesikta 9a

Public Domain Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Abiathar". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

Seder Olam, 1; Sifre, Deuteronomy 22

Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:6-10

Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:10, end

Tosefta Sotah 6:2

Tosefta Pesachim 4:2

Compare Seder Olam, 1, beginning; Targum Yerushalmi to Genesis 41:38, 43:14; II Kings 9:26; Isaiah 32:15, 40:13, 44:3; Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:2

Sifre 170 (to Deuteronomy 18:18)

Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:9

Sifre Numbers 132, p. 49a

Tosefta Sotah 13:2-4, and parallels

ib.; also with reference to Rabbi Akiva, Leviticus Rabbah 21:8; to Gamaliel II, Leviticus Rabbah 37:3 and Tosefta Pesachim 1:27; to Rabbi Meir, Leviticus Rabbah 9:9; etc.

Sifre Numbers 86; Tosefta Sotah 9:5; Sifre Deuteronomy 355 (six times); Genesis Rabbah 75:8, 84:12; Leviticus Rabbah 4:1 [the expression "and the Holy Spirit cries" occurs five times], 14:2, 27:2; Numbers Rabbah 15:21; 17:2, end; Deuteronomy Rabbah 11, end

Sifre Deuteronomy 173, and parallel passage

Yerushalmi Sukkah 55a, and elsewhere

Numbers Rabbah 20:7

Numbers Rabbah 20:12

Numbers Rabbah 20:1

Sifre, Deuteronomy 175

Numbers Rabbah 15, end

Tanna Devei Eliyahu, section 4

McNamara, Martin (2010). McNamara, Martin (ed.). Targum and Testament Revisited: Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament (2nd ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-80286275-4. Whereas the verb shakan and terms from the root škn occur in the Hebrew Scriptures, and while the term shekhinah/shekhinta is extremely common in rabbinic literature and the targums, no occurrence of it is attested in pre-rabbinic literature.

S. G. F. Brandon, ed., Dictionary of Comparative Religion (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1970), p. 573: "Shekhinah".

Dan, Joseph (2006). Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-19530034-5. The term "shekhinah" is not found in the Bible, and it was formulated in talmudic literature from the biblical verb designating the residence (shkn) of God in the temple in Jerusalem and among the Jewish people. "Shekhinah" is used in rabbinic literature as one of the many abstract titles or references to God.

 

On JEHOVAH'S purpose for the earth

 Was this earth meant to be just a proving ground of our worthiness to spend eternity in a spirit world? Was this physical body meant to be an instrument of trial rather than a blessed gift? 

What does the Bible really teach about the matter?

James1:13KJV"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:" 

NO provision of JEHOVAH is for the purpose of temptation. Not our physical bodies, not our earthly home, nor any of the multitude of provisions made by JEHOVAH for our flourishing. 

Genesis5:2KJV"Male and female created he them; and BLESSED them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." 

This blessing was doubtless uttered in the hearing of humanity's founders; were they being lied to? 

Genesis 2:9 KJV "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life ..." 

Note please there was no tree of death in this paradise. The presence of the tree of life indicates that it was not part of JEHOVAH'S purpose that death and the death dealing(aging,disease,privation, strife etc.) be inevitable to our founders or their offspring. Thus a future in a spirit world would have been out of the question nor would there have been any desire for such a transfer. 

Ultimately what makes paradise paradise is an intimate relationship with JEHOVAH and our brother servants. 

Millennia of experience outside of paradise has taught us that beauty and abundance do not a paradise make. 

Ecclesiastes 1:14KJV"I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." 

Not even a mountain of gold can buy paradise. 

And for the record sin began in heaven. 

John 8:44NIV"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth,... " 

Thus the Lord JEHOVAH made a heavenly paradise for his heavenly sons and an earthly paradise for his earthly sons and sin invaded both. Why? Because we must first have paradise dwell in us before we can dwell in paradise. 

First a new man, then a new world, this is the lesson JEHOVAH is trying to teach us. 

If we are not grateful for what JEHOVAH has done we will not be grateful for what he will do. 

So have rebellious men and angels thwarted JEHOVAH'S purpose for a global paradise. We find no support for this disrespectful claim any place in the scriptures. Rather we are assured. 

Daniel7:27Emphasized Bible "And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under all the heavens shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Highest,—his kingdom is an age-abiding kingdom, and all the dominions unto him will render service and shew themselves obedient."

The role of the logos in creation.

 Revelation4:11NWTstudy edition"“You are worthy, JEHOVAH* our God, to receive the glory+ and the honor+ and the power,+ because you created all things,+ and because of your will they came into existence and were created.”" 

Acts17:24 KJV"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" 

The Lord JEHOVAH is the ultimate source of all the wisdom and power manifest in creation both physical and super-physical  ,and thus is rightful ruler of all that he has created and sustains. But the scriptures clearly show that JEHOVAH uses prior creations as instruments and/ raw materials in producing later creations. 

Acts17:26KJV"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;" 

Note please that JEHOVAH rightly takes credit for our existence and all that is necessary for its continuance and flourishing despite there being intermediate causes between himself and us. 

Note also that these intermediate causes are all themselves part of his creation. Of course there can't be an infinite regression of such Intermediaries, thus there must be a proto creation, one produced without any intermediate creation serving as instrument. And who can then go on to become the first link in the chain of intermediate causes than led up to us and this world we call home. 

Proverbs8:22 BibLE"“Jehovah framed me first in line,

foremost of his works in the past." 

Proverbs8:30BibLE"I was master-workman at his side

And was taking my pleasure day by day,

playing before him at every time," 

It is to this scripture that scriptures like :

Colossians1:15-17KJV"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by(Grk en) him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." 

And: 

John1:3KJV"All things were made by(Grk.dia) him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." 

Refer ,according to Strong's the prepositions en and dia(from which we get the word diameter) denote instrumentality e.g 

John1:17KJV"For the law was given by(dia) Moses,..." 

Hebrews1:1KJV"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by(en) the prophets," 

Hence such terms are NEVER  used to describe JEHOVAH'S role in the origin of the creation. He is the ultimate source of ALL the energy and information found in his creation. And thus it is to him and not any instrumentality he may choose to employ ,that full credit should be given. 

1Corinthians8:6KJV"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of(ex) whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by(dia) whom are all things, and we by him." 

Alas, for Darwinism; the fossil record's gonna fossil record.

Fossil Friday: Desmostylia, and the Problem of Horizontal Tooth Displacement 

Günter Bechly 

This Fossil Friday features the skeleton of the Miocene mammal Neoparadoxia cecilialina, which is on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This species belongs to the extinct order Desmostylia, which is an enigmatic group of Tertiary mammals that had an amphibious lifestyle similar to modern hippos. 

Desmostylia have generally been considered to be close relatives of sirenians (manatees) and proboscideans (elephants) (Reinhart 1953) within a common clade called Tethytheria (McKenna 1975, Domning et al. 1986, McKenna & Bell 1997). This was disputed by a phylogenetic study of Cooper et al. (2014, also see Beatty & Cockburn 2015), who suggested that desmostylians are basal odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla). Of course, this hypothesis would have to dismiss all the similarities with Tethytheria as convergences, which seems quite implausible. However, other new evidence again supported a tethytherian relationship (Gheerbrant et al. 2016). Therefore, desmostylian affinities are still considered controversial until this day (Matsui & Tsuihiji 2019). Phylogenetics over and over proves to be a rather “soft” science, if it can be called a science at all. We will come back to this question. 

Anyway, with Desmostylia at least the genus Desmostylus also has some kind of horizontal tooth replacement (Santos et al. 2016, contra Domning et al. 1986), similar to the possible relatives of Desmostylia, sea-cows and elephants. Indeed, this phenomenon represents a genuine problem for neo-Darwinism. 

Here Is Why 

If Darwinian evolution is true, we should expect that congruent derived similarities in modern representatives of given lineages are confirmed as homologies in the ground plan of these lineages when early fossil representatives are studied. In other words: similarities in modern relatives should go back to their common ancestor. In many cases the exact opposite is the case, the pattern of similarity found in modern species dissolves into a mess of incongruent homoplasy in their earlier fossil representatives. 

A good example is found in the mammal clade Tethytheria, which includes modern elephants and sea-cows (sirenians). Elephants and sea-cows, even though quite different in habitus and way of life, are considered to be most closely related (sister groups) based on numerous shared derived characters like the position of a single pair of teats on the breast, a two-pointed spherical heart, skull structures, etc. They also share a unique type of tooth replacement: They lack permanent premolars, and as these cheek teeth wear down and fall out, they are replaced by new cheek teeth that slowly shift forward from behind along the dentary in a kind of “conveyor belt” manner. This distinct mode has been called horizontal tooth displacement.

The similarities between sirenians and elephants were first recognized in 1836 by the French naturalist Henri de Blainville, who classified them together in a group called “les gravigrades.” Blainville was especially impressed by the shared mode of horizontal tooth replacement. Such a horizontal tooth replacement is only shared by recent elephants and manatees, but absent in almost all other mammals, so that it would naturally be interpreted as a trait inherited by the common ancestor of Tethytheria. So far so good. 

Or Not So Much 

A first indication that the mode of tooth replacement may be a convergence could be the fact that among living sirenians it is only present in manatees but not in dugongs (Mitchell 1973, Marsh 1980). However, this might as well represent a secondary reduction due to the degenerate cheek teeth of dugongs (Lanyon & Sanson 2006).

Another possible indicator of convergence might be the fact that, contrary to a common misconception in the literature, the mode of horizontal tooth replacement in manatees and elephants is not really identical (Domning & Hayek 1984, Beatty et al. 2012): in elephants the replacement (“mesial drift”) is limited to just three normal molars (Roth & Shoshani 1988, Sanders 2018), while manatees add supernumerary molars as long as they live (Domning 1982, Domning & Hayek 1984). Of course, the latter mode could just be an extension of the former, so that this difference does not exclude homology per se. An even earlier precursor state might be the eruption of permanent teeth well past sexual maturity, which is very uncommon in mammals in general, but found in some afrotherian mammals such as elephants, sirenians, and hyraxes (Asher & Lehmann 2008).

Unfortunately, the fossil record revealed even more incongruence that definitely closed the case in favor of convergence: horizontal tooth replacement is only found in Neogene elephants (Sanders 2018), but not in older and more primitive fossil proboscideans. Among fossil sirenians only the trichechine genera Ribodon and Trichechus had horizontal tooth replacement (Beatty et al. 2012, Self-Sullivan et al. 2014). Finally, in Desmostylia most of the dozen genera apart from Desmostylus show no indication of horizontal tooth replacement. The unique horizontal tooth replacement in Desmostylus, manatees, and elephants obviously originated independently in each of these three lineages and does not support their close relationship. 

A Window into the Past 

Without the benefit of a good fossil record as window into the past, we would never have suspected this. The apparent homologous pattern of derived similarity (so-called synapomorphy), congruent with other data, evaporated under closer scrutiny, and had to be explained away as convergent or parallel development. How many other similarities might mislead us to infer common descent?

After all, convergence turned out to be much more common than believed in the golden era of neo-Darwinism, prior to the genomic revolution. This is also confirmed by the discovery of horizontal tooth replacement similar to manatees in two very far removed species, the Australian rock wallaby or Nabarlek (Peradorcas concinna) (Thomas 1904: 226, Sanson 1989), and the African rodent Heliophobius argenteocinereus (Gomes Rodrigues et al. 2011, Gomes Rodrigues & Šumbera 2015). 

Such striking convergences have often been mentioned as problem for Darwinian evolution, because biological similarities are incongruently distributed among organisms. But in examples like the horizontal tooth replacement the problem seems to go even deeper, because the incongruences are clustered in groups that are thought to be closely related based on other evidence, so that the relationships seem to be reinforced by false homologies. Nature appears to be deceptive. Are Darwinists bothered by such problems? Not at all: Saether (1979) even boldly declared this bug to be a feature and called it “underlying synapomorphies.” So, can phylogenetics be considered a serious scientific discipline? Not according to any reasonable measure. 

References 

Asher RJ & Lehmann T 2008. Dental eruption in afrotherian mammals. BMC Biology 6:14, 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-6-14.

Blainville HMD de 1836. Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences, séance du 20 mars 1836, vol. IV, p. 426.

Beatty BL & Cockburn TC. 2015. New insights on the most primitive desmostylian from a partial skeleton of Behemotops (Desmostylia, Mammalia) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(5):e979939, 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2015.979939.

Beatty BL, Vitkovski T, Lambert O & Macrini TE 2012. Osteological Associations With Unique Tooth Development in Manatees (Trichechidae, Sirenia): A Detailed Look at Modern Trichechus and a Review of the Fossil Record. The Anatomical Record 295(9), 1504–1512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.22525.

Cooper LN, Seiffert ER, Clementz M, Madar SI, Bajpai S, Hussain ST & Thewissen JGM 2014. Anthracobunids from the Middle Eocene of India and Pakistan Are Stem Perissodactyls. PLoS ONE 9(10): e109232, 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109232.

Domning DP 1982. Evolution of manatees: A speculative history. Journal of Paleontology 56(3), 599–619. JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1304394.

Doming DP & Hayek L-AC 1984Horizontal tooth replacement in the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). Mammalia 48(1), 105–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1984.48.1.105.

Domning DP, Ray CE & McKenna MC 1986. Two new Oligocene desmostylians and a discussion of Tethytherian systematics. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 59(59), 1–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810266.59.1.

Gheerbrant E, Filippo A & Schmitt A 2016. Convergence of Afrotherian and Laurasiatherian Ungulate-Like Mammals: First Morphological Evidence from the Paleocene of Morocco. PLoS ONE 11(7): e0157556, 1–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157556.

Gomes Rodrigues H & Šumbera R 2015. Dental peculiarities in the silvery mole-rat: an original model for studying the evolutionary and biological origins of continuous dental generation in mammals. PeerJ 3:e1233, 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1233.

Gomes Rodrigues H, Marangoni P, Sumbera R, Tafforeau P, Wendelen W & Viriot L 2011. Continuous dental replacement in a hyper-chisel tooth digging rodent. PNAS 108(42), 17355–17359. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109615108.

Lanyon JM & Sanson GD 2006. Degenerate dentition of the dugong (Dugong dugon), or why a grazer does not need teeth: morphology, occlusion and wear of mouthparts. Journal of Zoology 268(2), 133–152. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2005.00004.x. 

Marsh H 1980. Age determination of the Dugong (Dugong dugon (Müller)) in Northern Australia and its biological implications. Report International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 3(3), 181–201. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240628646

Matsui K & Tsuihiji T 2019. The phylogeny of desmostylians revisited: proposal of new clades based on robust phylogenetic hypotheses. PeerJ 7:e7430, 1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7430.

McKenna MC 1975. Toward a Phylogenetic Classification of the Mammalia. pp. 21–46 in: Luckett WP & Szalay FS (eds.). Phylogeny of the primates: a multidisciplinary approach. Proceedings of WennerGren Symposium no. 61, Burg Wartenstein, Austria, July 6–14, 1974. Plenum Press, New York (NY). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2166-8_2.

McKenna MC & Bell SK 1997. Classification of Mammals above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York (NY), xii+631 pp.

Mitchell J 1973. Determination of relative age in the dugong Dugong dugon (Müller) from a study of skulls and teeth. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 53(1), 1–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1973.tb01409.x. 

Reinhart R 1953. Diagnosis of the New Mammalian Order, Desmostylia. The Journal of Geology 61(2), 187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/626067.

Roth VL & Shoshani J. 1988. Dental identification and age determination in Elephas maximus. Journal of Zoology 214(4), 567–588. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1988.tb03760.x

Saether OA 1979. Underlying Synapomorphies and Anagenetic Analysis. Zoologica Scripta 8(1-4), 305–312. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.1979.tb00644.x

Sanders WJ 2018. Horizontal tooth displacement and premolar occurrence in elephants and other elephantiform proboscideans. Historical Biology 30(1-2), 137–156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1297436

Sanson GD 1989. Morphological adaptations of teeth to diet and feeding in the Macropodoidea. pp. 151–168 in: Grigg G, Jarman P & Hume I (eds). Kangaroos, Wallabies and Rat-kangaroos. Vol. 1. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton (NSW)

Santos G-P, Parham JF & Beatty BL 2016. New data on the ontogeny and senescence of Desmostylus (Desmostylia, Mammalia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(2):e1078344, 1–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2016.1078344

Self-Sullivan C, Domning DP & Velez-Juarbe J 2014. Evolution of the Sirenia. http://67.59.130.204/sirenianevolution.pd

Thomas O 1904. On a collection of mammals made by Mr. J. T. Tunney in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory of South Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 11, 222–229. https://www.biodiversitylibraryf.....ibrary.org

 

Planet X: a brief history.

 Hypothetical Planet X 

Overview: 

Caltech researchers have found mathematical evidence suggesting there may be a "Planet X" deep in the solar system. This hypothetical Neptune-sized planet orbits our Sun in a highly elongated orbit far beyond Pluto. The object, which the researchers have nicknamed "Planet Nine," could have a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbit about 20 times farther from the Sun on average than Neptune. It may take between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one full orbit around the Sun.

The announcement does not mean there is a new planet in our solar system. The existence of this distant world is only theoretical at this point and no direct observation of the object nicknamed "Planet 9" have been made. The mathematical prediction of a planet could explain the unique orbits of some smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt, a distant region of icy debris that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Astronomers are now searching for the predicted planet. 

In Depth 

In January 2015, Caltech astronomers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown announced new research that provides evidence of a giant planet tracing an unusual, elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The prediction is based on detailed mathematical modeling and computer simulations, not direct observation.

This large object could explain the unique orbits of at least five smaller objects discovered in the distant Kuiper Belt.

"The possibility of a new planet is certainly an exciting one for me as a planetary scientist and for all of us," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. "This is not, however, the detection or discovery of a new planet. It's too early to say with certainty there's a so-called Planet X. What we're seeing is an early prediction based on modeling from limited observations. It's the start of a process that could lead to an exciting result."

The Caltech scientists believe Planet X may have has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and be similar in size to Uranus or Neptune. The predicted orbit is about 20 times farther from our Sun on average than Neptune (which orbits the Sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles). It would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the Sun (where Neptune completes an orbit roughly every 165 years). 

When was it Discovered? 

Planet X has not yet been discovered, and there is debate in the scientific community about whether it exists. The prediction in the Jan. 20 issue of the Astronomical Journal is based on mathematical modeling. 

What is its Name? 

Batygin and Brown nicknamed their predicted object "Planet Nine," but the actual naming rights of an object go to the person who actually discovers it. The name used during previous hunts for the long suspected giant, undiscovered object beyond Neptune is "Planet X."

If the predicted world is found, the name must be approved by the International Astronomical Union. Planets are traditionally named for mythological Roman gods. 

Why Do They Think It's There? 

Astronomers studying the Kuiper Belt have noticed some of the dwarf planets and other small, icy objects tend to follow orbits that cluster together. By analyzing these orbits, the Caltech team predicted the possibility that a large, previously undiscovered planet may be hiding far beyond Pluto.

They estimate the gravity of this potential planet might explain the unusual orbits of those Kuiper objects. 

What’s Next? 

Astronomers, including Batygin and Brown, will begin using the world's most powerful telescopes to search for the object in its predicted orbit. Any object that far away from the Sun will be very faint and hard to detect, but astronomers calculate that it should be possible to see it using existing telescopes.

"I would love to find it," says Brown. "But I'd also be perfectly happy if someone else found it. That is why we're publishing this paper. We hope that other people are going to get inspired and start searching."

"Anytime we have an interesting idea like this, we always apply Carl Sagan's rules for critical thinking, which include independent confirmation of the facts, looking for alternate explanations, and encouraging scientific debate," said Green. "If Planet X is out there, we'll find it together. Or we'll determine an alternate explanation for the data that we've received so far.

"Now let's go explore." 

Sources 

Fesenmaier, Kimm, "Caltech Researchers Find Evidence of a Real Ninth Planet," press release, last modified January 20, 2015

Konstantin Batygin and Michael E. Brown, "Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System," The Astronomical Journal

Green, James, "A New Planet in our Solar System? NASA Takes a Look," video statement, last modified January 20, 2015 

Still seeking straight answers II

 Revelation1:18KJV"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." 

If the descent into hell is invariably unidirectional ,why this key?

The thumb print of JEHOVAH : Geography edition II.

 Geologist Casey Luskin: Our Intelligently Designed Planet 

Evolution News @DiscoveryCSC 

A new ID the Future episode continues geologist Casey Luskin’s presentation about how Earth is fine-tuned in numerous ways for life. Here in the second half, he highlights the many ways Earth’s precise mix of atmospheric gases is strikingly fit for life. On top of that (or rather, beneath that), Earth’s active geology and water-rich surface — unique in our solar system — are masterful at helping maintain our life-friendly atmosphere over long ages. Luskin argues that these and other finely tuned characteristics of planet Earth strongly suggest intelligent design. He also offers an additional design argument, this one aesthetic in nature, and takes questions from the audience. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Download the podcast or listen to here. Part 1 of his talk is here. 

The great unconformity: a brief history.

 Great Unconformity 

Of the many unconformities (gaps) observed in geological strata, the term Great Unconformity is frequently applied to either the unconformity observed by James Hutton in 1787 at Siccar Point in Scotland,[1][failed verification] or that observed by John Wesley Powell in the Grand Canyon in 1869.[2] Both instances are exceptional examples of where the contacts between sedimentary strata and either sedimentary or crystalline strata of greatly different ages, origins, and structure represent periods of geologic time sufficiently long to raise great mountains and then erode them away. 

Background 

Unconformities tend to reflect long-term changes in the pattern of the accumulation of sedimentary or igneous strata in low-lying areas (often ocean basins, such as the Gulf of Mexico or the North Sea, but also Bangladesh and much of Brazil), then being uplifted and eroded (such as the ongoing Himalayan orogeny, the older Laramide orogeny of the Rocky Mountains, or much older Appalachian (Alleghanian) and Ouachita orogenies), then subsequently subsiding, eventually to be buried under younger sediments. The intervening periods of tectonic uplift are generally periods of mountain building, often due to the collision of tectonic plates. The "great" unconformities of regional or continental scale (in both geography and chronology) are associated with either global changes in eustatic sea level or the supercontinent cycle, the periodic merger of all the continents into one approximately every 500 million years. 

Hutton's Unconformity 

Hutton's Unconformity at Siccar Point, in county of Berwickshire on the east coast of Scotland, is an angular unconformity that consists of gently dipping, reddish, Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous breccias, sandstones, and conglomerates of the Old Red Sandstone overlying deeply eroded, near-vertical, greyish, Silurian (Llandovery) greywackes and shales. The Llandovery greywackes and graptolite-bearing shales of the Gala Group were deposited by turbidity currents in a deep sea environment about 425 million years ago. The overlying Devonian strata were deposited by rivers and streams about 345 million years ago. Thus, this unconformity reflects a gap of about 80 million years during which deep sea sediments were lithified, folded, and uplifted; later deeply eroded and weathered subaerially; and finally buried by river and stream sediments.[1][3][4]

Exposures of the unconformity at Siccar Point, provided James Hutton, accompanied by John Playfair and Sir James Hall, the clearest example of an unconformable relationship between two sets of sedimentary strata that involved a complex geological history. The clear truncation of near-vertical Silurian sedimentary strata by well-bedded conglomerates and sandstones belonging to the Upper Old Red Sandstone allowed Hutton to demonstrate the existence of significant breaks in the geological record, in this case a break separating strata that were then called alpine schistus and secondary strata. This and other unconformities provided evidence for Hutton's ideas about the recycling of geological materials and for unconformities representing very large time periods. He argued that these concepts pointed to the great antiquity of the Earth and the vastness of the geological time-scale.[1][5] 

Powell’s Unconformity, Grand Canyon 

The Great Unconformity of Powell in the Grand Canyon is a regional unconformity that separates the Tonto Group from the underlying, faulted and tilted sedimentary rocks of the Grand Canyon Supergroup and vertically foliated metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Vishnu Basement Rocks. The unconformity between the Tonto Group and the Vishnu Basement Rocks is a nonconformity. The break between the Tonto Group and the Grand Canyon Supergroup is an angular unconformity.[6][7]

Powell's Great Unconformity is part of a continent-wide unconformity that extends across Laurentia, the ancient core of North America. It was first recognized twelve years before Powell's expedition by John Newberry in New Mexico, during the Ives expedition of 1857–1858. However, the disruption of the American Civil War kept Newberry's work from becoming widely known.[8] This Great Unconformity marks the progressive submergence of this landmass by a shallow cratonic sea and its burial by shallow marine sediments of the Cambrian-Early Ordovician Sauk sequence. The submergence of Laurentia ended a lengthy period of widespread continental denudation that exhumed and deeply eroded Precambrian rocks and exposed them to extensive physical and chemical weathering at the Earth's surface. As a result, Powell's Great Unconformity is unusual in its geographic extent and its stratigraphic significance.[9][10]

The length of time represented by Powell's Great Unconformity varies along its length. Within the Grand Canyon, the Great Unconformity represents a period of about 175 million years between the Tonto Group and the youngest subdivision, the Sixtymile Formation, of the Grand Canyon Supergroup. At the base of the Grand Canyon Supergroup, where it truncates the Bass Formation, the period of time represented by this angular unconformity increases to about 725 million years. Where the Tonto Group overlies the Vishnu Basement Rocks, the Great Unconformity represents a period as much as 1.2 to 1.6 billion years.[7][10] (See also geological timescale.) 

Frenchman Mountain, Nevada

Edit

A prominent exposure of Powell's Great Unconformity occurs in Frenchman Mountain in Nevada. Frenchman Mountain exposes a sequence of Phanerozoic strata equivalent to those found in the Grand Canyon. At the base of this sequence, the Great Unconformity, with the Tapeats Sandstone of the Tonto Group overlying the Vishnu Basement Rocks, is well exposed in a manner that is atypical and scientifically significant in its combination of extent and accessibility. This exposure is frequently illustrated in popular and educational publications, and is often part of geological fieldtrips. There is a gap of about 1.2 billion years where 550 million year old strata of the Tapeats Sandstone rests on 1.7 billion (1700 million) year old Vishnu Basement Rocks.[11][12][13] 

Possible causes of the Great Unconformity 

There is currently no widely accepted explanation for the Great Unconformity among geoscientists. There are theories that have been proposed; it is widely accepted that there was a combination of more than one event which may have caused such an extensive phenomenon. One example is a large glaciation event which took place during the Neoproterozoic, starting around 720 million years ago.[23][24][25] This is also when a significant glaciation event known as ‘Snowball Earth’ occurred.[23] Snowball Earth covered almost the entire planet with ice. The areas that underwent glaciation were approximately those where the Great Unconformity is located today. When glaciers move, they drag and erode sediment away from the underlying rock. This would explain how a large section of rock was taken away from widespread areas around the same time 

And still yet even more on why ID is already mainstream.

Design Detection in the New York Times — The Issue of Science Fraud 

Paul Nelson 

Microbiologist Elisabeth Bik writes for the New York Times that “Science Has a Nasty Photoshopping Problem.” The illustrations in the article are particularly useful for showing the role of Bill Dembski’s paired notions of “specification” and “small probability” as the two arms of an analytical pincer. When that pincer closes around a pattern, intelligent causation is uniquely implicated. 

The duplicated images isolated by Dr. Bik — e.g., blots from electrophoretic gels, photomicrographs of bacteria — each individually represent a small probability pattern. But when that SAME pattern is reproduced in a putatively independent sample, the specification arm of the pincer closes on the pattern in question. Each duplicated image specifies its original, or another image, with the same small probability, only now we must take the product of those small probabilities. Design is implicated: the deliberate, directed, intentional action of at least one intelligence.

“Rediscovering” Dembksi’s Analytical Pincer

What’s so fascinating to me, at this moment in November 2022, is the independent “rediscovery” of this analytical pincer by Lee Cronin, Sara Walker, and their collaborators, in their Assembly Theory project. Here’s a screen capture from Cronin’s Twitter account, just a few days ago: 

The motto of the Assembly Theory team is “copy number counts.” Why, or how, can we be sure that the bogus images Bik has identified represent science fraud? Why have so many papers been retracted after their duplicated images have been caught?

“Copy number counts.” Or, to use Bill Dembski’s formulation — after all, Bill got there in his Cambridge U Press monograph almost 25 years (1998) before the Assembly Theory project — specified patterns of small probability are caused by design, not undirected physical processes.

By the way, I apologize for the f-bombs, but see this clip from Martin Scorsese’s movie Casino. The first big slot machine payoff specifies the second, and those two payoffs specify the third, when conjoined analytically with the small probabilities in each case. “There’s an infallible way,” says Robert De Niro (playing casino boss Sam Rothstein), to determine that cheating (design) was involved. "they won" 

 

A plague on both their houses.

 Daniel11:27ASV" and as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." 

According to JEHOVAH'S word through the prophet Daniel, the end times of the present global civilisation will be characterized by (among other things) a bitter struggle between a pair of world powers emerging from the ancient greco-Roman civilisation for global dominance. 

The above quote makes it clear that the Lord JEHOVAH does not think very highly of either of these entities. It also puts true Christians and sincere truth seekers on guard against putting faith in their promises. 

Mind over matter again.

Placebos Demonstrate Power of the Human Mind 

Denyse O'Leary 

We don’t often hear about researchers crying but when scientists at Ovid Therapeutics heard the test results for their drug, gaboxadol, they couldn’t help it.

They were testing the sleep-inducing drug to help with the symptoms of Angelman Syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder that appears in infancy. It results in a variety of developmental problems such as walking and balance disorders, inability to speak or sleep properly, gastrointestinal issues, and seizures. It affects people in different ways and to different degrees. Notably, those who cope with Angelman smile and laugh a lot and have a normal lifespan.

Waiting with Hope 

The Ovid team had high hopes for gaboxadol in August of this year because even improving quality of sleep would help sufferers a lot. So, at a conference on the disorder, they waited for the news in hope… 

“Ovid’s chief medical officer called into the conference room. He got straight to the point: There was no statistically significant benefit for children who received gaboxadol versus a placebo. The treatment had failed.

The room fell silent. Levin thought about how the company would need to restructure its programs and how its stock would be battered. But mostly he thought about the families and the overwhelming disappointment they would feel.

Levin began to cry. His colleagues, many of whom had also devoted years of their lives to this project, cried too.” 

ANGIE VOLES ASKHAM, “WHAT NEXT FOR ANGELMAN?” AT SPECTRUM (OCTOBER 20, 2022) 

Angelman Syndrome is caused by a loss of function of the UBE3A gene in the 15th chromosome derived from the mother. 

About the Placebo Effect 

But now, about that placebo effect… Molecular biologist Rebecca Burdine, whose daughter Sophie suffers from Angelman, was there to present a keynote address. As Askham recounts, 

One problem, Burdine knew, is that even updated forms of assessment might not capture all of the ways a treatment could benefit a child. Even worse, treatments for many neurodevelopmental conditions, including Angelman syndrome, remain frustratingly susceptible to the placebo effect in clinical trials. Simply enrolling a child in a trial — giving them more medical and parental attention — can cause improvement in some skills. Burdine knew that in the gaboxadol trial, a child who had never walked before took their first steps — but it turned out that they were receiving placebo. That experience told Burdine that, until placebo-controlled trials were run, it would be impossible to know how well a treatment worked.

As the field progresses, Levin and his colleagues are also hoping to understand how people with Angelman syndrome respond to placebo, and how the condition affects people over time. To that end, last month Ovid released the data from its placebo-controlled gaboxadol trial and has encouraged other companies to do the same. 

ANGIE VOLES ASKHAM, “WHAT NEXT FOR ANGELMAN?” AT SPECTRUM (OCTOBER 20, 2022) 

The placebo effect means that, if you are part of a research study where you think you are receiving treatment for a disorder, you may start to improve in testable ways — even if you are in the control group, getting a sugar pill. It is literally “all in your mind.” But, as Ovid’s unfortunate experience shows, it is nonetheless powerful enough to affect a genetic disorder by itself. 

“More Than Positive Thinking” 

Professor Ted Kaptchuk, who studies the effect, explains:

“The placebo effect is more than positive thinking — believing a treatment or procedure will work. It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together” …

MENTAL HEALTH, “THE POWER OF THE PLACEBO EFFECT” AT HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING (DECEMBER 13, 2021) 

How Does It Work? 

How placebos work is still not quite understood, but it involves a complex neurobiological reaction that includes everything from increases in feel-good neurotransmitters, like endorphins and dopamine, to greater activity in certain brain regions linked to moods, emotional reactions, and self-awareness. All of it can have therapeutic benefit. “The placebo effect is a way for your brain to tell the body what it needs to feel better,” says Kaptchuk.

But placebos are not all about releasing brainpower. You also need the ritual of treatment. “When you look at these studies that compare drugs with placebos, there is the entire environmental and ritual factor at work,” says Kaptchuk. “You have to go to a clinic at certain times and be examined by medical professionals in white coats. You receive all kinds of exotic pills and undergo strange procedures. All this can have a profound impact on how the body perceives symptoms because you feel you are getting attention and care.” 

MENTAL HEALTH, “THE POWER OF THE PLACEBO EFFECT” AT HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING (DECEMBER 13, 2021) 

A 2015 paper in Nature on the neuroscience of the placebo effect points to its importance.

Read the rest at Mind Matters News, published by Discovery Institute’s Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.