Once there was no dictionary.
Simon Winchester, in The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, notes that even though it surely was needed, there was no English dictionary before 1604, although inexpensive printed books had been available since 1476. Even the 1604 book was not a true dictionary, but simply a list of 3,000 “hard usuall [sic] English words” with brief, often one word synonyms.… Continue Reading
How is it that the universe seems so ably designed for human life? Cambridge physicist Brand Carter, speaking at a 1973 conference in Poland honoring 16th century astronomer Copernicus, suggested that what we observe is the anthropic principle. The anthropic principle states that the laws of physics seem to be biased toward life. As physicist Freeman Dyson put it, “the universe knew we were coming.”… Continue Reading
Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond cites the “Anna Karenina Principle” in explaining why early man was able to domesticate some wild animals (dogs, cats, etc.) but not others (like foxes). Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy begins his classic Anna Karenina with this sentence: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Tolstoy meant that happiness in a family comes when many different aspects such as sexual attraction, agreement about money and child rearing and other vital issues all work out.… Continue Reading
Genesis 7:13 gives us the census of people that were on the ark: “In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark.” With these four men and four women, the earth was repopulated after the flood. Sin necessitated the flood.… Continue Reading
When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, Moses was afraid. “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:13-14).… Continue Reading
Scientist John Haldane once suggested to theologian Ronald Knox, that in a universe containing millions of planets, it was inevitable that life should appear by chance on at least one of them. Knox replied, “Sir, if Scotland Yard found a body in your Saratoga trunk, would you tell them, ‘There are millions of trunks in the world—surely one of them must contain a body’?… Continue Reading
An astronomer once remarked to Fulton J. Sheen: “To an astronomer, man is nothing but an infinitesimal dot in an infinite universe.” “An interesting point of view,” Sheen responded, “but you seem to forget that your infinitesimal dot of a man is still the astronomer.”
David reminds us of what man the astronomer sees when he looks into the skies. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.… Continue Reading
The census of those on the ark included Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons (Genesis 7:13). With these four men and four women, the earth was repopulated after the flood.
The Bible does not tell us when the races originated. It is possible that the races developed from the division of mankind at the tower of Babel, although Moses only says that God confounded their language and scattered them abroad (Genesis 11:1-9).… Continue Reading
We had a wonderful soul-winning workshop this year. Many of you have been asking for copies of the lessons, so I am posting links to the Videos.
The Growing Need for Everyday Apologetics
(Tim Hall, Johnson City, TN)
Common Sense Arguments for Creation
(Tim Hall, Johnson City, TN)
Common Sense Arguments for the Reliability of the Bible
(Denny Petrillo, Denver, CO)
Sharing the Uniqueness of Jesus
(Rick Kelley, Prestonsburg, KY)
Questions and Answer Session:
(Denny Petrillo, Tim Hall, Eddy Craft)
Answering Alleged Bible Discrepancies
(Eddy Craft, Elizabethton, TN)
