Galaxies, Black Holes, and Creation

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galaxie picDr Markus-and-Sandra Blietz

Dr Markus and Sandra Blietz

 

Dr Markus Blietz was born in Germany in 1962, and studied physics at the Technical University in München (Munich). In 1994 he earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (near Munich). He now works in the semiconductor industry as a patent manager, helping researchers to develop and patent new ideas. In spring 2008, he was born again, and since then has been a keen supporter of Creation Ministries. Dr Blietz and his wife Alexandra have two children and reside in a small town in Bavaria (Germany), not far away from Salzburg (Austria).

The educational and media system often contrast ‘creationists’ and ‘scientists’. But in every issue of Creation magazine they prove them wrong with an interview with a highly qualified scientist who is also a creationist. Not too many of them have been astronomers or astrophysicists like Dr Blietz.

“My Ph.D. work was about a special class of galaxy called Seyfert galaxies. These contain active galactic nuclei—very bright, star-like centres. The most common explanation is a gigantic black hole in the centre of these galaxies.”

Unusually, Dr Blietz became a Christian quite late in life. He lost his father to cancer, and had a mental ‘burnout’, “so extreme that I could not even read one single word any more! Even the smallest decisions were too much for me. Basically my brain, the instrument which I trained all my life and which I was proud of, all of a sudden went out of operation.”

Secular science could not explain the clear reality of good vs bad. But this difference makes sense if there is indeed a Creator. Then he read the Bible owned by his wife, who was not yet a ‘born again’ Christian:

“I read the Gospel according to Matthew. Almost immediately I understood that Jesus was a real, historical person; that He came to fulfil a mission; and that I needed him urgently.”

Then a Christian friend lent him a small booklet that “explained the full plan of God, from the beginning of the creation, to the coming of Jesus on this earth, His crucifixion and resurrection, His second coming, the final judgment and the creation of a new heaven and earth. I knew this was the truth. In the booklet there was also a prayer, where one could confess his sins and give his life to Jesus. I did not hesitate a minute; I fell on my knees and delivered my life to Jesus.”

“If the Bible is not reliable in its historical statements, how can it be true in other statements? If Jesus didn’t speak the truth about Genesis, how could we trust what He was saying about sin, the cross, resurrection and everlasting life? Jesus Christ is the truth; and if He affirmed the literal creation of the world in six normal-length days, we Christians should do the same. If however we compromise and try to marry millions and billions of years with the creation account of the Bible, we may easily pull folk away from the truth of the Bible and the Gospel.”

“Science is a human endeavour to find the truth about the world of matter. It is not fully reliable, because theories and models change over time. Also, science cannot say anything about the big questions of ‘where do we come from, why are we here, and where do we go?’ Science is limited in its abilities and should not step over the clear limits which have been set by God.”

“Only belief in Jesus Christ can open our eyes and give us the correct view of our world. Before I was a Christian, I never felt really content with the evolutionary world view, which I had adopted. It produced too many contradictions and left open too many questions. Only the truth in the Word of God is able to give a full, comprehensive answer to our basic questions of death and life.”

Article Galaxies, Black Holes & Creation from http://www.creation.com

ISRAEL’S FUTURE FORETOLD AND ASSURED

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Jeremiah 600 BC said:

” ‘For behold , the days are coming, says the Lord’, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it”. Jeremiah 30:3

“Hear the word of the Lord, O Nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say HE who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock”. Jeremiah 31:10

The message itself is simple. First it was God who scattered Israel (from their own land). Second the same God who scattered Israel is now regathering them (to their own land). Third God will not merely regather them; HE will also keep (protect) them. Thus the ultimate safety of Israel is guaranteed by God.

Another remarkable prophecy concerning Israel’s regathering is made by Isaiah 750 BC:

“Those who war against you shall be as nothing, As a non-existent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand.” Isaiah 41: 12,13

When Israel declared itself a Nation on May 14, 1948, the armies of seven Arab nations marched in defiance against her, boasting that they would push the Jews into the sea. Outnumbered 100 to 1, Israel not only repelled the invaders but acquired more of Palestine than was granted in the UN partition plan. Many miracles occurred as Biblical tactics were employed.

One of the greatest military feats in history was the 1967 War. The Arabs again boasted they would destroy Israel. However in six days Israel overran the combined forces of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and took the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the West Bank (Samaria and Judea), and the Sinai.

Psalm 129: 5,6 and Psalm 125:3 reinforce what Isaiah declared.

“Let all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back. Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up”

“For the sceptre of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous ….” 

‘The sceptre of the wicked’ is I believe an accurate description of Islam.

Finally Psalm 33: 8-12 is an unequivocal declaration that it is God’s Word that brought the world into being; and that it is the same Word that directs the course of history. Nations and their governments may hold their councils and issue their decrees, but whenever these are in opposition to God’s prophetic Word, they will come to nothing.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His inheritance.”

As the surrounding darkness increases, the light of biblical prophecy grows correspondingly brighter. It is the only reliable source of information concerning the Middle East.  Whilst bible prophecy signals tough times ahead for Israel we do know that God will fulfill all His counsel and His promises. The critical point of the Lord’s revelation to Israel is prophetically depicted in Zechariah 12:10

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieves for a firstborn.”

Two chapters further on, Zechariah pictures the actual return of the Messiah, JESUS in person on the Mount of Olives.

The Gathering in Jerusalem

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Gathering in Jerusalem

 

It is now the second day of The Gathering. It is impossible to explain with words what I have experienced over the one and half days of the conference. Go to The Gathering website and connect to the conference ” live stream”. You will be blessed mightily – you will experience what worship will be like in heaven. It is also being videoed so you will be able to get a copy to bless your church.

The most amazing thing is the number of Chinese worshippers that are here from mainland China, at least 1500 hence the conference is being broadcast in English and Mandarin. Translation is available to many other languages as well.

God is acting in HIStory in His city and nation in a new and world transforming way. To see Israeli  Jewish and Arab Christian pastors impacted by the presence and passionate  worship of so many Asians was remarkable. They came on stage repenting of past sins and committing to unite to take the Gospel forward in a new way led only by the Holy Spirit. Only God is able to do what happened at this conference last night and this morning. I can’t wait to experience the worship again and to see what God will do with the rest of The Gathering.

You need to go online and experience it yourself.

GOD’S WISDOM versus SATAN’S/MAN’S WISDOM

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The problem with worldly wisdom is found back in the very first words of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

God conceived, created, defined, rules, and judges the entire universe. God alone is ultimate. Therefore, creation and all creatures (including us!) are derived and dependent.

That is why Genesis 1:1 is the most offensive verse in the Bible. If this verse is true, then every premise and postulate of the world’s wisdom is a lie. This is why men respond in such fury against even the obvious – the universe demonstrates Intelligent Design. If there’s a Designer, then I am not ultimate—and if that is the case, everything collapses.

If we turn to the last pages of the Bible, we see this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5)

God is Lord, on His throne. He designed and created the original universe, which was ruined by sin. God will design and create the new heavens and new earth. So we see here: God’s words (not Satan’s, not ours) that are faithful and true, and God’s deeds (not Satan’s, not ours) that are final and determinative. Worldly wisdom is false, temporary, and doomed.

Our only hope lies in the wisdom of God, which centres in the cross of Jesus Christ. We must turn from the pipe-dream of our own ultimacy, bow before the ultimacy of the Lord God. It is only when we start from God’s ultimacy, and the sufficiency of His Word, that we have any hope of true wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).

see complete article Competing Wisdom’s by Dan Phillips on http://www.creation.com

A GOOD GOD & A WORLD OF DEATH & SUFFERING?

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One of the most common questions asked of Christians is some version of: “If God is so loving, why are there bad things in the world?” The implication being that if God created this world in the state it is in, He can’t be ‘very good’ Himself. This is sometimes used as a reason to reject belief in God.

If God created everything in 6 days when exactly were ‘bad things’ created?

The first thing we need to understand is that God wasn’t surprised by the Fall of Adam. God is all knowing and so knew that a punishment would have to be meted out following Adam’s (and his offspring’s) rebellion.

According to Scripture, at the time of the Fall the environment changed and there were changes in the physical construction of some things as well. For example thorns appeared where there were none before. Some might ask ‘Doesn’t that mean God must have created new genetic information for these things at that time where there was none before?’ Not necessarily, because ‘hidden’ genetic information can lie dormant within living things and be activated under certain environmental conditions.

For example up to the 1920’s, scientists used to classify grasshoppers as a separate species to locusts. However, researchers have since determined that they are actually the same creature. Under certain (laboratory reproducible) circumstances they exhibit a sort of Jekyll/Hyde transformation that is truly startling!

Behavioural differences happen immediately at the transformation, with physical changes appearing in subsequent generations. The difference in behaviour (grasshoppers are solitary, locusts swarm), and morphology (locusts have smaller legs, wings and bodies but have a 30% larger brain than grasshoppers) is significant and changes neural, muscular and exo-skeletal expression. And the transformation from grasshopper to locust can also be reversed back again. Yet the DNA of the two creatures is identical.7

This ability for DNA to express different programming from the same source code under different environmental conditions is actually fairly common. The epigenetic code, a set of switches that turn genes on and off (e.g. in response to environmental stimuli) is a main contributor to this ability of the ‘finished product’ to vary despite the same DNA ‘instructions. This is known as ‘phenotypic plasticity’.

Not only is the discovery of latent genetic information an incredible challenge for evolution to account for, and a tremendous evidence of design (because it exhibits all of the characteristics of foresight and pre-planning in the genomes of creatures around the world), but it also helps answer the supposedly unanswerable question of how ‘bad things’ appeared after the Fall if God’s creation was completely finished by the end of the sixth day of creation.

God’s word is true

Foreknowing the Fall of man,9 God created the features of a post-Fall world in latent form within His very good world. They only became activated when God cursed the creation as punishment for Adam’s transgression. And the entire creation groans because of that Curse and is evidence that something is desperately wrong with this world. If God had not caused our physical environment to change at the time of the Fall, we would be lost without Him, bound for Hell but still in a virtual paradise. How would we know there was anything wrong and that we were in need of our Saviour

extract from article “The good, the bad and the ugly ….” by Calvin Smith on http://www.creation.com

 

Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify You,

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Jesus on Cross

 

Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:1-3

What amazing words and JESUS spoke them knowing within hours He would be crucified. 

He also warned them; “Indeed the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think they are offering a service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have told you these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” John 16:2-4 and”I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-14. 

Surely, this is proof enough, JESUS is who He said He was. Whatever He prophesied came to pass. It happened.

The HOLY SPIRIT did come upon the believers at Pentecost just as JESUS told them. It transformed them and empowered them to live their lives knowing they had eternal life. The Holy Spirit comes to ALL believers in JESUS, to empower them to live the Christian life. Christians know the truth because the Spirit of truth dwells within them.

JESUS also told them, He would be killed and resurrected in three days. Here in John 16:16, He said, ” A little while, and you will see me no longer; but again a little while, and you will see Me.” The disciples had no idea what JESUS was talking about. “JESUS knew that they wanted to ask Him, so He said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? John 16:19

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.” John 16:20

We know these nobodies (fishermen and tax collectors) went on to change the world by preaching the Good News.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16

Jesus Christ the Creator, God the Son, though totally sinless, took on human nature, so He could become our Redeemer. He suffered on our behalf the penalty for mankind’s sin, which is death and separation from God. He did this to satisfy the righteous demands of the holiness and justice of God, His Father. All who truly believe in Him, repent of their sin and trust in Him have eternal life in a restored relationship with their Creator God.

 

Worldviews – battle rages

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GIANT’S CAUSEWAY & CAUSEWAY COAST

No matter what part of the world you live in, there will be rocks in your locality that were formed during the Flood of Noah’s day. It is time to increasingly ‘take them back’, renouncing the millions of years and the naturalistic interpretations attached to such formations, and explaining their true origins and spiritual significance. Obviously this will require careful study of the local rocks from a biblical geological perspective, but for those who are serious about making the effort, Tas Walker’s ‘Biblical Geological Model’ is a good place to start.

The Giant’s Causeway, Heritage Site in Northern Ireland has been subject of much debate in recent years concerning how and when the 40,000 interlocking basalt columns were formed. The debate regularly sees calls to censor any creationist interpretations of the site, and attracted world attention in July 2012 when the new Causeway tourist centre included a small reference to the existence of this alternative viewpoint. Secularists were quick to mount a noisy objection. CMI has published a number of articles explaining, for instance, how the Causeway would have formed during Noah’s Flood and the significance of the reddish inter-basaltic beds at Giant’s Causeway.

In the current battle of worldviews we need to take back the history of these stones. As with all rocks that were formed during the Flood they are not just a ‘pile of stones’, but have a huge spiritual significance. As a visible demonstration of God’s judgement on mankind’s sin, the stones give us the opportunity to tell our children and many other people of God’s actions in history.

Such real life geological examples can then be used to orientate and point people to the truth of the Bible and the need for their salvation which can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ—see Acts 4:12. There is overwhelming evidence found in the stones all around us, consistent with a worldwide Flood at the time of Noah; for examples see polystrate fossils, fast octopus fossils, hundreds of jellyfish fossils, flat gaps and much more at Geology Q&A’s. God has not hidden from view the evidence of His previous judgement of sin. It is also an important reminder of God’s coming final judgment of sin at the prophesied end of this cursed earth and heaven.

Extract from article by Phil Robinson http://www.creation.com

Human Genome Decay supports Biblical History

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Recent reports on the human genome provide powerful support for the Biblical history of Creation and The Fall.

In his landmark book Genetic Entropy & The Mystery of the Genome, geneticist Dr John Sanford clearly demonstrates that human genomes are decaying at an unstoppable rate.

Dr Sanford became famous back in the seventies when he jointly invented the “Gene Gun” which enabled scientists to genetically modify fruit and vegetables.

An even more important development occurred with Sanford and colleagues release of a powerful computer simulation programme Mendel’s Accountant. It allows greater refinement in predicting the fate of mutations in populations and the results agree with Sanford’s earlier work. There are no realistic evolutionary models in the scientific literature that contradict these results. This overwhelming negative evidence clearly contradicts Darwinian expectations, but clearly and dramatically fits the Biblical record of Creation and The Fall.

‘The Darwinian claim – that life could have started with low fidelity self replicating molecules – is exposed as culpable foolishness. The ‘RNA world’ scenario collapses into error catastrophe so quickly it is scandalous that such nonsense can be taught as a realistic model of origin in our school and universities.”

This article was extracted from a paper in Journal of Creation Vol 28 (1) 2014:  Human genome decay and the origin of life by Alex Williams.

The book Genetic Entropy & The Mystery of the Genome can be obtained from http://www.creation.com