I received a lot of feedback about the Maranatha Baptist College promotional ad that we mentioned in the March 16 edition of Friday Church News Notes. (The video is located at http://vimeo.com/37974789.) The responses can be divided into five categories: (1) those who think the ad is innocent fun and that I am making a mountain out of a molehill; (2) those who think the ad represents something more serious (the largest group, see “Comments about Maranatha Ad” and “More Comments” at the Way of Life web site); (3) those who focused on my mistake in regard to “the profanity”; (4) those who disagreed with my characterization of the video as Southern Gospel rap; and (5) those who took the opportunity to treat me like a fool, calling me a Pharisee, an Amish, a hypocrite, an ignoramus, more stupid than a block of wood, a man living in a fundamentalist bubble, a gossip, and even a couple of things I cannot print. As for the music being “Southern Gospel rap,” that was my attempt to describe it, and I see nothing wrong with the characterization. If you don’t agree, call it what you please! That’s not the real issue one way or the other, but if you want to strain at gnats and swallow camels, that is your business. As for the “profanity,” it was an innocent mistake that was made by dozens of other people that I heard from. The audio is not clear enough at that place and it should be corrected so there is no possibility of mistaking what the cool guy is saying. As it turns out, while there was not one particular profanity, the entire thing is profane. As for the ad being fun and not a big deal, it is true that the ad in itself is basically just silly. It is childish. In itself it is not a huge thing, but I am convinced that it represents something big. It certainly represents a different philosophy of Christian life and ministry than the one the school was founded on. Several people who knew the Cedarholms testified of this. For example, Pastor Dave Sorenson said he believed Dr. Cedarholm would roll over in his grave at this insult to the school. A woman who visited the school in 1968 wrote, “I remember going with my local church to the school to help clean it before they opened and having a private tour given by Mrs. Cedarholm. I think both she and Dr. Cedarholm would be horrified at the changes that have occurred. How sad that at 2:07 [of the video], where the faculty is using hand gestures for MBBC, that her portrait is hanging at the far left of the screen.” More importantly, the ad represents a different philosophy than the one the Word of God teaches. It does not represent a soberminded Christianity based on the fear of God. It does not represent a clear unconformity to the world. Those who think my warning was merely about one silly video are missing the point, and I am thankful to the Lord that many have the spiritual discernment to understand this. As for who is right on this, let’s give it ten years and the truth will be evident for all to see. But you see, my friends, by then it will be too late to sound a warning, for no matter what you think of me or how many names you call me, it is still true that “a little leaven leaventh the whole lump.” 

(Friday Church News Notes, March 30, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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The following is excerpted from an interview with Dr. Raymond Damadian that was conducted in January 2012 by Shem Dharampaul of Alberta, Canada. Dr. Dharampaul is a Fellow of the College of Physicians in Canada and is trained in nuclear medicine. Dr. Damadian, biophysicist, is the recipient of the Lemelson-MIT Achievement Award as “the man who invented the MRI scanner.” In 1988 he was awarded the National Medal of Technology, America’s highest award for applied science, and a year later, he was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame, an honor he shares with Thomas Edison, Samuel Morse, and the Wright Brothers. The first MRI scanner that Dr. Damadian and his colleagues built in 1977, “The Indomitable,” resides at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. “QUESTION: Why do you believe that the Bible is true? DAMADIAN: If you take the trouble to examine the evidence supporting the Bible and contradicting alternative theories, from my perception, the evidence is overwhelmingly in support of the biblical record and vacates alternative thoughts such as evolution. The evidence for evolution is non-existent. In my opinion, evolution is science fiction. QUESTION: Does the Bible’s account of creation contradict any known facts of science? DAMADIAN: No. Absolutely not! In my opinion evolution contradicts them.” 

(Friday Church News Notes, March 23, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

We deal with Southern Gospel music in the video presentation series Music for Good or Evil, and we were encouraged recently to receive the following testimony: “I have compared everything you state to the Word of God and find it to be biblical. I personally came under conviction dealing with Southern Gospel music. I did research with the help of your website and prayed daily and realized I was wrong. I have found sacred Christian music to be more spiritual and now I am not listening to Southern Gospel any longer. I just wanted to be an encouragement to you and tell you we are praying for you daily. Thank you for the referral to oldchristianradio.com. I have gotten much closer to the Lord listening to sacred music.” 

(Friday Church News Notes, March 23, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1 Kings 8:23
"And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:"

If we could harness all of the sun's energy that reaches the Earth, we would have more than enough energy to fill all our energy needs – even if the entire world became as industrialized as the west. Yet, less than 0.10% of all of the sun's energy output reaches the Earth! What is going on within the sun to create so much energy?

Most people have heard that the sun produces its energy through nuclear fusion. And even though most scientists think this is true, they admit that the real answer isn't that simple - and the full answer is unknown. If the sun produces its energy by nuclear fusion, one of the results of that process is a tiny particle called a neutrino. But, in fact, the neutrinos that should be coming from the sun are not. Worse, new calculations of the temperature needed for the sun to ignite into the nuclear fusion process show that the evolutionary theory for how the sun formed does not generate enough heat for fusion.

An alternate theory says that the sun's heat is a result of its powerful gravity pulling the sun in on itself – called gravitational collapse. This would explain why the neutrinos are missing. But evolutionists have rejected gravitational collapse because if this is where the sun's heat comes from, the sun could not be billions of years old.

Despite our scientific sophistication, many of God's works still defy our understanding!

Notes: DeYoung, Don B., and David E. Rush. 1989. "Is the sun an age indicator?" Creation Research Society Quarterly, v. 26, September. p. 49.

Copyright © 2012 by Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

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Woman missing in Colorado fire zone
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Mark Driscoll, senior pastor of the Mars Hills megachurch in Seattle and co-founder of the Acts 29 church planting network, believes “we’re sitting at the edge of a precipice” or “a new movement, with the potential to see revival in our generation” (Driscoll, “It’s Time to Move from Minutia to Movement,” Acts29network.org, March 8, 2012). Driscoll is excited that this movement is “spilling over traditional boundaries that have historically separated people” and describes it as “a number of tributaries coming together to form a river.” He speaks of how he has learned from a diverse assortment of Christian leaders, and though he differs with them doctrinally his “goal is to work relationally with them.” He says, “I’m fortunate to have close friendships with Christian leaders from around the world and across the theological spectrum.” The unity that Driscoll praises is created by “moving from minutia,” which is defined as “the small, precise, or trivial details of something.” This is the tired old heresy of “in essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty” which is at the heart and soul of the ecumenical program but which is rebellion to the clear commands of God’s Word. You will look in vain for support for the “non-essentials liberty” doctrine from the writings of Christ and the apostles. Jesus commanded that the churches teach “all things” (Mat. 28:20) and Paul taught all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27). We are to keep the apostolic doctrine and commandments “without spot” (1 Tim. 6:13-14). There are no “non-essential” teachings in Scripture. While not every teaching is equally important, no teaching is of no importance so that it can be ignored for the sake of a broader unity. Driscoll is describing a movement, for sure, but it isn’t new and it isn’t godly. It is the spirit of end-time apostasy. It is the corrupt “church” that grows into an impressive tree whose branches are filled with birds of the air (Mat. 13:31-32). It is the “church” that is well on the way to being fully leavened by ancient and end-time heresies, all orchestrated to the theme song of the world’s rock & roll (Mat. 13:33). Predictably, Driscoll concludes by taking a nasty and slanderous cheap shot at those who refuse to jump in the new movement river but instead “shoot at” and “attack” the leaders of the new movement by testing them by God’s Word. Driscoll is a likable person, a “man’s man” in a feminized society, but he has no idea what he is doing. 

(Friday Church News Notes, March 23, 2012, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Isaiah 45:12
"I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

Many airports around the world have a problem with birds interfering with takeoffs and landings. In 1985 birds caused over half a million dollars worth of damage to airplanes as they collided with the moving planes. But Japan's All Nippon Airways came up with a way to keep birds away from its planes.

All Nippon Airways did this by giving the birds a message: "Our airplanes taste bad." You see, many insects that taste bad to birds have a large spot on them, called an eyespot. When birds see an insect with an eyespot, they avoid it because they know it tastes bad.

Balloons with eyespots painted on them have been successfully used in Japan as scarecrows to keep birds out of crops. Flags with eyespots have been used to keep birds off buildings. So All Nippon Airways painted eyespots on the rotating fans of their jet engines. The spots are painted just a little off center so that as the fan spins, it looks like a very angry eyespot. As a result, birds have been avoiding All Nippon Airways planes. In the year after the eyespots were introduced, only one bird struck a plane.

In our modern age of high technology, it seems strange that we would learn how to solve some of our technological problems from nature. But it really shouldn't seem strange. After all, the Creator who is responsible for the creation knows far more than even the best scientist!

Notes: Boxer, Sarah, ed. 1987. "These eyes high in the Japanese sky are strictly for the birds." Discover, January. p. 8.

Copyright © 2012 by Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com