Were the Pyramids Built Before the Flood?

May 24, 2013 by NoAuthor

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I’m surprised how often I am asked about the age of the ziggurats and pyramids, in particular the Great Pyramid of Giza, located in modern-day Egypt.

One of the main reasons for this question is that secular literature commonly dates the Great Pyramid around 2550 BC.1 If this date is correct, then the Great Pyramid existed before the Flood of Noah’s day, which occurred around 2350 BC and destroyed everything on earth (2 Peter 3:5–6)! Obviously, something is askew.

Did this pyramid survive the Flood? Consider three points:

First, the Great Pyramid of Giza lacks significant water damage. The Flood was incredibly destructive. Researchers point out that the entire surface of the earth was radically changed. The surface of every continent was destroyed and new mountains formed. Thousands of feet of mud and sand were dumped on every continent, burying and fossilizing creatures and plants. Nothing manmade could survive such a catastrophe. (By the way, that means that the location of the Garden of Eden is also lost.)

[Read the rest of the article at Answers in Genesis.]

Mommy, Will a Tornado Come to Our House?

May 24, 2013 by NoAuthor

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Your children may have questions about the destructive tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma this past Monday. Your answer to these questions will impact the way your children think about God.

When something good happens like an unexpected gift or news that a biopsy was benign, it is not difficult to say that God is good. When someone who is obviously evil experiences judgement it is also easy to talk about the goodness and justice of God. But what about when the third massive tornado strikes the same town in 15 years? This third storm, an EF5 tornado, leveled neighborhoods and took the lives of children in their elementary school. Is God still good and just? What do you tell your children?

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 applies just as much to the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, as it does to every other event of life. Remember, the emphasis of the love of God and his commands is to overwhelm the heart of the parent/teacher. Children are to be taught from a heart that desires to bring honor to God above all else. If you are unsure about God’s goodness regarding events like this recent tornado, you will give your kids an uncertain view of God’s rule in this world.

[Read the rest of the article at Shepherd Press.]

How to Win Your City

May 23, 2013 by NoAuthor

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World-changers are a rare breed. But they don’t have to be. If displaced youths can revolutionize the kingdoms of the earth in God’s name, you and I can transform our communities with the gospel.

Consider the year 605 B.C., as the nation of Judah is losing power and significance. Babylon rules the world, with Nebuchadnezzar as king and general.

Then the unthinkable happens. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, and the city falls because God hands it over to him. Thus begins the book of Daniel: clarifying who truly controls the situation, thereby revealing Daniel’s secret confidence that inspires him in three key world-changing behaviors. Since he knows God rules all earthly kingdoms, he can settle down, start small, and win big.

[Read the rest of the article at The Gospel Coalition Blog.]

Seeking True Satisfaction

May 23, 2013 by NoAuthor

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I was at the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry on a recent morning, a beehive of industry and intelligence plopped in the middle of a blighted area where outside the walls are hustlers and addicts and down-and-outers.

I got into the elevator with a young industrious-looking man in powder blue scrubs, one of the many bright dental students buzzing around the halls in similar attire. “Is orthodontics on the second floor?” I asked, just to confirm. “Yes,” he said. Then I asked if he knew whether orthodontics patients were supposed to wait for their appointments in an upstairs waiting room, or whether they should sit downstairs with the throngs in the first-floor general waiting room.

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “We don’t have much interaction with those guys.” “Oh?” I inquired. “They’re better than us,” he answered with a slight chuckle. At that point we arrived at the second floor, the doors parted, and he sprinted away.

[Read the rest of the article at WorldMag.com.]

The Best Move You Can Make in Your Marriage

May 23, 2013 by NoAuthor

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He wasn’t about to budge. That much was evident.

I could see it in his eyes. Could tell by his body language. My husband was in his Brick-Wall-Mode and he wasn’t moving.

All I’d done was ask him to change — only change this one thing that bothered me greatly — and yet he was rather closed to the idea. Completely closed, in fact. I’m not even sure if he was listening.

What to do now?

That’s what I was left wondering. Because I sure wanted him to do it differently.

I figured I had options. I might resort to crying, yelling, whining, pouting or maybe some serious nagging — although I’d have to admit I’ve never had much success with any of those approaches. Nor could I find any support for it in the Bible. No, I would have to come up with a better plan.

So with a big, heavy sigh, I began praying.

Not a stiff, formal prayer, but a pour-your-heart-out and a Lord-You-made-this-man-so-now-what? kind of prayer. I bet you know the kind I’m talking about.

And then I waited. Prayed some more. Waited and waited and waited.

Still nothing.

[Read the rest of the article at The Time-Warp Wife.]

Boy Scouts at the Brink: The Moment of Decision Arrives

May 22, 2013 by NoAuthor

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Meeting Thursday in Grapevine, Texas, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America will decide whether it will retain or revise its historic membership policy on the issue of homosexuality. The 1,400 voting members of the B.S.A. National Council hold the future of one of America’s most iconic organizations in their hands. In reality, they are not only deciding a matter of membership policy. They are actually deciding the future of the entire organization.

The culture wars came to the Boy Scouts many years ago. For the last few decades, the Boy Scouts have had to fight battles with both secularists and homosexual activists. The secular challenge came first, with demands that the Scouts drop their historic requirement that boys affirm belief in God as a criterion for membership. Soon thereafter, the demand for the full inclusion of homosexual members and leaders followed. The Scouts have had to fight legal battles both locally and nationally, costing the venerable organization millions of dollars in legal fees. In 2000, the B.S.A. prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court when the nation’s highest court ruled that the Boy Scouts had a constitutional right to exclude openly gay boys and leaders from the organization, so long as that exclusion is based in one of the organization’s core convictions — an “expressive message.” The B.S.A. won the case because that is exactly what they claimed. They argued that excluding openly homosexual boys and leaders from Scouting was necessary and required by the Scout Oath.

[Read the rest of the article at AlMohler.com.]

Hedonism to the Extreme: Lamborghini and Our Souls

May 22, 2013 by NoAuthor

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“What does a tractor manufacturer know about sports cars?” said Enzo Ferrari to an Italian mechanic from humble roots.

This mechanic, Ferruccio Lamborghini, did manufacture tractors, and he did well. But he also liked fast automobiles and building things, and in the decade following World War II he decided to try his hand at supercars. Frustrated with the Ferrari’s handling on the road, and Ferrari’s dismissal at some suggested improvements, Ferruccio blazed his own trail by creating Automobili Lamborghini. By the fall of 1963, at the Turin Motor Show, he released the Lamborghini 350 GTV and launched the beginning of an iconic supercar brand — a brand at which most men have only marveled from afar.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that original design.

To commemorate the anniversary, Lamborghini has unveiled a new car that many say is aptly named “Egoista” — that is, “selfish.” Yes, that’s right. The car is named “Selfish.” It is a single-seat concept engineered for those who want to treat “me, myself, and I.” One commentator writes that the Egoista, along with its 5.2-litre V10, 600 horsepower engine, has aesthetically more in common with a fighter jet than with a vehicle meant for the ground. And there’s no secret about the marketing.

[Read the rest of the article at Desiring God.]

The Danger of Quick Judgments

May 22, 2013 by NoAuthor

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Parents will sometimes have heated arguments with their older children and teenagers. I know this is not exactly breaking news. But, here is something to consider. There is a danger of forming lasting opinions and judgments based on the arguments. A heated conversation is a bad time to form lasting opinions.

For example, a father may conclude that his son is totally rebellious and has no desire to do anything he is asked to do. This is because in a heated argument his son defiantly refused to do obey. Dad tells mom later on that he is so disappointed with their son and his bad response.

However, if Dad would calm down for a moment and he might realize that perhaps he had provoked the argument by not being respectful of his son. He had confronted his son while he was having a text conversation. Dad automatically assumed his son was not doing anything important and admonished him to cut the grass like he was supposed to. One thing led to another and the conversation ended with the son saying there was no way he was cutting any grass today or any other day.

[Read the rest of the article at Shepherd Press.]

Speaking Terms

May 21, 2013 by NoAuthor

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Not sure what all the fuss is about. All this ruckus, I mean, in the military where our wonderful folks in uniform are being told they’re not going to be allowed to evangelize their colleagues. Or sometimes, if parties to the debate aren’t quite sure what the word “evangelize” means, we’ll use the term “proselytize” instead. Nobody seems sure which of the two is worse.

But I say this is much ado about nothing. It’s no big deal, whenever the bothersome blather of one citizen begins to invade the peace and quiet of another citizen, to try to find some way to quiet the offender. There’s always someone capable of thinking up an appropriate muzzle, and then applying it. In fact, I’ve got a special plan ready to apply to the current problem in the military.

[Read the rest of the article at WorldMag.com.]

The Goodness of God and the Reality of Evil

May 21, 2013 by NoAuthor

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Every thoughtful person must deal with the problem of evil. Evil acts and tragic events come to us all in this vale of tears known as human life. The problem of evil and suffering is undoubtedly the greatest theological challenge we face.

Most persons face this issue only in a time of crisis. A senseless accident, a wasting disease, or an awful crime demands some explanation. Yesterday, evil showed its face again as a giant tornado brought death and destruction to Moore, Oklahoma.

For the atheist, this is no great problem. Life is a cosmic accident, morality is an arbitrary game by which we order our lives, and meaning is non-existent. As Oxford University’s Professor Richard Dawkins explains, human life is nothing more than a way for selfish genes to multiply and reproduce. There is no meaning or dignity to humanity.

[Read the rest of the article at AlMohler.com.]