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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
The Earth is Flat!
In the 1970’s, an article from the Chicago Tribune caused quite a stir. A certain C. K. Johnson was quoted as saying:
“The sun is a kind of spotlight, thirty two miles across, that moves in a spiral just 3,000 miles above the center of the earth, or what people call the North Pole.”
Johnson, then president of the 1,400 member organization called the “Flat Earth Society”, said there were members in “just about every nation on earth.” Someone asked, “What about the space explorations and the pictures taken showing the earth to be a sphere?” Johnson replied, “All faked. The moon walk was done in a Hollywood set as part of a gigantic hoax.”
Pretty weird, you say? It’s hard to believe that 1,400 people really do believe the earth is flat. Some may just want the card in their wallet to show off at a party or as a joke, but we are not surprised to hear that the community of evolutionists responded to this article by pointing fingers at those who believe God is the architect of the earth and the universe. They said:
“Creationists ignore all of the facts and cling to old, out-dated superstitions, just like the ‘flat-earthers’.”
To them, believing the Bible on the subject of the origin of man and the universe is as ridiculous and illogical as believing the earth is flat.
But, I must respond: that is sheer nonsense. We have encouraged, yea insisted, that rational, logical conclusions be reached by examining the evidence. Would our evolutionist friends please give us the facts, the evidence demanding the conclusion that one species originated from another? Where is the evidence for evolution comparable to that proving the rotundity of the earth? Humans are presently observing proof of the shape of the earth, but where are those humans who have observed Darwin’s “natural selection”, or the modern day “punctuated equilibrium” transformations? Where?
Modern methods “proving” organic evolution attempt to bully everyone into assuming that it has already been proved. Note the following words from Harvard’s George Gaylord Simpson, describing those who reject evolution:
“No space is devoted to proofs that evolution has in fact occurred. Such proofs are not only ample but overwhelming. Of course, no amount of proof can convince those who simply don’t want to accept the truth.”
Well, he’s right on that last point, people will believe what they want to believe, and Simpson may be a perfect example. The obvious implication of his words is that he will not provide any proof, any facts or evidence. Everyone else must simply accept his arrogant assertion that such evidence is there if we really wanted to see it.
Does that not sound remarkably similar to statements made by the Flat Earth Society? No evidence is given that the space program is just a hoax, but “it is there if we really wanted to see it.”
Incredibly, in another setting, Simpson speaks of other theories that are not capable of being tested scientifically.
“Sometimes theories go beyond that which is testable. Such aspects of theories are, for that reason, not scientific in fact, and the disagreement is in the field of philosophy, not of science.”
Perhaps it is not the creationists who “simply don’t want to accept the truth.” If a comparison is to be made, it should be between organic evolution and Flat Earth theories. No proof is available for either, but they insist that we believe it. In fact, the General Theory of Evolution has been forced to explain man’s existence by the long-rejected view known as “spontaneous generation” (a synonym for life arising from non-living matter). Another Harvard professor, George Wald, has stated the following:
“To make an organism demands the right substances in the right proportions and in the right arrangement. We do not think anything else is needed. But that is problem enough. One has only to contemplate the magnitude of this task to concede that the spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. But, here we are, as a result I believe, of spontaneous generation.”
Amazing, you say? Yet it is the Christian who is the “superstitious fool,” according to Simpson and Wald. One last quote from one who believed in organic evolution:
“Evolution is unproved and unprovable. We accept it because the only alternative is ‘creation,’ and that is unthinkable,”
We all must be open to truth and to rational thinking. That means letting the facts lead us to the right conclusion. The Bible is for rational people who seek the truth.
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“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,”
“Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast,”
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". . . as the manner of some is . . .
Hebrews chapter 10 addresses two main spiritual concepts: 1) the work of Jesus in taking away the first law that He may establish the second, thus becoming High Priest to offer remission of sins and atonement for His people; and 2) our unwavering commitment to the New Covenant of Christ, realizing that as Christians, “we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
God has established the fact over and over again in the Scriptures that a Christian can so live his life as to lose his salvation (2 Peter 2; 1 Corinthians 5; Galatians 5:4; etc.). Even the Hebrew writer asked, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29).
To aid the Christian in being “steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9), God instructed us to: “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience…” and to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering…” (Hebrews 10:22, 23). Additionally, we are to “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25). It is interesting to learn that the rationale, in part, for our assembly is to provoke one another unto love and good works. This must also be done if we are to successfully “draw near” to the God of Heaven and “hold fast” the profession of the faith.
Many dispute the meaning of “forsaking” in Hebrews 10:25. Some maintain that it means to “totally abandon the assembly or church with the intention of never returning.” While it is true that one may quit the church, being determined never to return, there are times when Christians will “leave behind or abandon” (The New Analytical Greek Lexicon, Perschbacher, p. 113) an assembly of the church for some worldly or secular reason.
The phrase, “as the manner of some is” stands out for our consideration as well. The Greek word for “manner” is ethos. Ethos is where we get our word “ethic(s)”. Ethic is defined as: 1) “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation”; 2) a set of moral principles; a theory or system or moral values (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition). Since the Christian’s ethics are governed by the holy Word of God, a Christian will not forsake the assembly if he or she is ethically minded.
Therefore, one must conclude that based upon Hebrews 10:22-25, forsaking the assembly not only hinders the Christian from drawing near to God with a true heart (verse 22), holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering (verse 23), it is also inconsiderate of the brethren (verse 24) and unethical (verse 25), according to God’s divine standard for faithfulness. Christians cannot exhort one another unto faithfulness if they are absenting themselves from the assembly times established by those who have the rule over us (Hebrews 13:17). Let us be cautious not to live “as the manner of some is.”
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