I'll be offline for a bit. My parents were in their fifth wheel behind my brother-in-law's mom's house, but somebody complained. The police came over yesterday and told them they had to move. Now they're staying at a nearby campground--I'm heading out to spend the night there. Thus I'll be offline for just a bit. I hope I live! ;-)
~Matt
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Redesign
Please drop me a line to let me know what you think of the graphics redesign. I'm almost done, but need to rush to work right now so I'll save the rest of the tweaks for later.
~Matt
--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero
~Matt
--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero
Expedition
Yesterday my family and I set out on an expedition to Big Bone Lick and points beyond.
I haven't been to the state park in years--and for many of those years all I had was a T-shirt. It was interesting as I tried to explain the shirt to people who saw it. Many people in California had absolutely no idea what it was about. I think the easiest way to describe it might be to compare it to the La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California. Both areas attracted many animals who fell into morasses and died. The attractors were quite different however. At BBL animals were attracted by the many salt deposits--hence the title of a "lick." It was quite a popular area for Indians to hunt because of the abundance of animals. The first Europeans in the area were amazed by the massive bones that they found, including those of mastadons and mammoths.
As you can see in the signs above even Lewis and Clark were involved in researching the area and hauling bones back to museums in the East. The only bad part about all of these expeditions which established the start of vertebrate paleontology in America is that there are no bones remaining at the site (or very few). The Shocktober exhibit at the Museum Center last October was partially based upon the premise that giant eggs had been discovered at Big Bone Lick (fictional of course).
The area includes several attractions, though they are small.
There is a nature center (closed on Wednesdays), a trail with animal recreations, a .4 mile nature trail, a small museum, and a mini-herd of bison.
The recreation area (right) was interesting. I even bought a postcard of the display--though the picture looked a bit better as the area was flooded. Actually it was that detail that allowed me to find out where the bison herd was located. They weren't where they had been previously (and were still listed on the park map) because apparently the area is subject to frequent flooding. Therefore a new bison pasture had been constructed and the clerk at the gift store gave us directions. After eating lunch under a pavilion at the picnic area (it had been threatening to rain and sprinkling a bit all day) we hiked up the trail to see the bison.
Before this though we had been through the "museum." Now perhaps quite understandably because there are not many bones left at the site and there isn't anything dramatic like tar pits the museum isn't too large. It actually consists of one large room with displays along the walls (such as the skull on the right), a large painting of mastadons and mammoths along one wall, and a central display with a large skull. The gift shop took up nearly as much room as the museum area. I didn't really find much too interesting in there, except for some shirts that were too expensive for me to consider at this time. I did find a small keychain related to the Lewis and Clark expedition bicentenial (1803-1806/2003-2006) along with the postcards mentioned above.
It was fun to see the bison as I don't think that I've seen any for many years--probably not since I was last in Yellowstone (probably during the last century). There weren't too terribly many, but it was still enjoyable to watch them--especially the several calves.
After Big Bone Lick our next objective was Kincaid Lake. Apparently my sister and brother-in-law have been hearing for quite a while about the campground there and wanted to check it out. I don't think they're going on a long summer trip this year so they are looking for camping places closer to home that they can enjoy. Unfortunately we headed east from Big Bone Lick. Only 40-50 miles separate the two areas (both have campgrounds so we checked out Big Bone Lick's before we left there) but it seemed much longer.
I think it was Route 22 that we took from the Interstate over towards Kincaid. Soon after leaving the freeway we were deep into the country and the road began winding, dipping, and curving. We passed a fifteen miles to Kincaid sign at one point and then about ten miles later we came to the ten miles to Kincaid sign. That might be a slight exageration, but on the other hand that road did curve quite a bit. I doubt there were any straight stretches longer than a couple car-lengths. Finally we arrived in the thriving metropolis of Falmouth, Kentucky. (In response to this my sister said "I don't know what was thriving there except for the graveyard business." --more on that in a bit)
Oh, I forgot to mention something earlier. At one point my brother-in-law's mom (who was following the van in her vehicle) lost us at the turnoff to Big Bone Lick. She didn't see us turn off and then we played phone tag for a bit until we managed to finally reconnect. Coming through Falmouth I spotted the sign to turn to Kincaid and I pointed it out--though my Dad (driving the van) didn't see until it was too late. After we came back around we headed up the road until everyone became convinced that we had made a wrong turn.
We came back through the light and saw that no, the sign was there. Finally after asking two different people directions we found the proper way through Falmouth, over the blue bridge, and up the hill to the lake.
There were some interesting sights in Falmouth, including a sign above a plumber's business that had us all in stitches and a library entrance that looked like a prison. Mostly though the buildings didn't look in great shape, and there weren't many people about. Graveyards and funeral homes were definately in abundance on our drive to the lake though. I think that (including right at the lake) we saw no fewer than six graveyards, some quite large.
We didn't really see the lake, except as we drove by, but we did explore the campground (it was nice, but a bit too open to visit if it was crowded) and the picnic area. The kids had a great time at the playground--but my nephew Chase got stuck when he climbed into the kiddie swing. He is small for his age (going into seventh grade next year) but not quite small enough that he could fit in the swing--though he had thought that he could. Around five it started pouring so we all retreated underneath the pavilion and dived into a picnic dinner of macaroni salad and rolls.
While it did sprinkle several times throughout the day it never truly rained when we wanted to be outside and so it was a great day, even with the long and twisty drive to Kincaid Lake. Thankfully we discovered a more direct route back that would be used if ever going back to the lake to camp or picnic.
On the way back I was dozing until we lost my brother-in-law's mom again when she stopped at a gas station. I was dropped off to get a better picture of the plumbing sign (though I misunderstood and snapped a picture of the historical sign at the left). I was upset that I had been largely woken up and so stood around and took pictures of the non-bustling downtown area. Then I spotted the gas station and decided to walk down, thinking that there was no point to my just standing around waiting to be picked up. On the way up the road I passed by the library though and decided to duck inside. I had an idea that I might ask about a library card (since Kenton County where I live abuts Pendleton County I might be able to get a card there) but these thoughts were dispelled when I spotted a table of books with signs reading "$1.00 per bag." I immediately forgot about the gas station and rationalized that if everybody else noticed I was missing they would of course look in the library for me. I spent a few minutes browsing books and was disappointed not to find too many that were interesting. After my dad and nephew Chase came in looking for me he picked out a kids book to get and I took the stack up front to pay my one dollar. At that point I wasn't at all disappointed that I had been dropped off. One of the books is all about eighteenth century American pioneers and the foods that they ate in different regions of the country. It also contains recpies! :-)
~Matt
I haven't been to the state park in years--and for many of those years all I had was a T-shirt. It was interesting as I tried to explain the shirt to people who saw it. Many people in California had absolutely no idea what it was about. I think the easiest way to describe it might be to compare it to the La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California. Both areas attracted many animals who fell into morasses and died. The attractors were quite different however. At BBL animals were attracted by the many salt deposits--hence the title of a "lick." It was quite a popular area for Indians to hunt because of the abundance of animals. The first Europeans in the area were amazed by the massive bones that they found, including those of mastadons and mammoths.As you can see in the signs above even Lewis and Clark were involved in researching the area and hauling bones back to museums in the East. The only bad part about all of these expeditions which established the start of vertebrate paleontology in America is that there are no bones remaining at the site (or very few). The Shocktober exhibit at the Museum Center last October was partially based upon the premise that giant eggs had been discovered at Big Bone Lick (fictional of course).
The area includes several attractions, though they are small.
There is a nature center (closed on Wednesdays), a trail with animal recreations, a .4 mile nature trail, a small museum, and a mini-herd of bison.
The recreation area (right) was interesting. I even bought a postcard of the display--though the picture looked a bit better as the area was flooded. Actually it was that detail that allowed me to find out where the bison herd was located. They weren't where they had been previously (and were still listed on the park map) because apparently the area is subject to frequent flooding. Therefore a new bison pasture had been constructed and the clerk at the gift store gave us directions. After eating lunch under a pavilion at the picnic area (it had been threatening to rain and sprinkling a bit all day) we hiked up the trail to see the bison.Before this though we had been through the "museum." Now perhaps quite understandably because there are not many bones left at the site and there isn't anything dramatic like tar pits the museum isn't too large. It actually consists of one large room with displays along the walls (such as the skull on the right), a large painting of mastadons and mammoths along one wall, and a central display with a large skull. The gift shop took up nearly as much room as the museum area. I didn't really find much too interesting in there, except for some shirts that were too expensive for me to consider at this time. I did find a small keychain related to the Lewis and Clark expedition bicentenial (1803-1806/2003-2006) along with the postcards mentioned above.
It was fun to see the bison as I don't think that I've seen any for many years--probably not since I was last in Yellowstone (probably during the last century). There weren't too terribly many, but it was still enjoyable to watch them--especially the several calves.
After Big Bone Lick our next objective was Kincaid Lake. Apparently my sister and brother-in-law have been hearing for quite a while about the campground there and wanted to check it out. I don't think they're going on a long summer trip this year so they are looking for camping places closer to home that they can enjoy. Unfortunately we headed east from Big Bone Lick. Only 40-50 miles separate the two areas (both have campgrounds so we checked out Big Bone Lick's before we left there) but it seemed much longer.
I think it was Route 22 that we took from the Interstate over towards Kincaid. Soon after leaving the freeway we were deep into the country and the road began winding, dipping, and curving. We passed a fifteen miles to Kincaid sign at one point and then about ten miles later we came to the ten miles to Kincaid sign. That might be a slight exageration, but on the other hand that road did curve quite a bit. I doubt there were any straight stretches longer than a couple car-lengths. Finally we arrived in the thriving metropolis of Falmouth, Kentucky. (In response to this my sister said "I don't know what was thriving there except for the graveyard business." --more on that in a bit)
Oh, I forgot to mention something earlier. At one point my brother-in-law's mom (who was following the van in her vehicle) lost us at the turnoff to Big Bone Lick. She didn't see us turn off and then we played phone tag for a bit until we managed to finally reconnect. Coming through Falmouth I spotted the sign to turn to Kincaid and I pointed it out--though my Dad (driving the van) didn't see until it was too late. After we came back around we headed up the road until everyone became convinced that we had made a wrong turn.
We came back through the light and saw that no, the sign was there. Finally after asking two different people directions we found the proper way through Falmouth, over the blue bridge, and up the hill to the lake.There were some interesting sights in Falmouth, including a sign above a plumber's business that had us all in stitches and a library entrance that looked like a prison. Mostly though the buildings didn't look in great shape, and there weren't many people about. Graveyards and funeral homes were definately in abundance on our drive to the lake though. I think that (including right at the lake) we saw no fewer than six graveyards, some quite large.
We didn't really see the lake, except as we drove by, but we did explore the campground (it was nice, but a bit too open to visit if it was crowded) and the picnic area. The kids had a great time at the playground--but my nephew Chase got stuck when he climbed into the kiddie swing. He is small for his age (going into seventh grade next year) but not quite small enough that he could fit in the swing--though he had thought that he could. Around five it started pouring so we all retreated underneath the pavilion and dived into a picnic dinner of macaroni salad and rolls.
While it did sprinkle several times throughout the day it never truly rained when we wanted to be outside and so it was a great day, even with the long and twisty drive to Kincaid Lake. Thankfully we discovered a more direct route back that would be used if ever going back to the lake to camp or picnic.
On the way back I was dozing until we lost my brother-in-law's mom again when she stopped at a gas station. I was dropped off to get a better picture of the plumbing sign (though I misunderstood and snapped a picture of the historical sign at the left). I was upset that I had been largely woken up and so stood around and took pictures of the non-bustling downtown area. Then I spotted the gas station and decided to walk down, thinking that there was no point to my just standing around waiting to be picked up. On the way up the road I passed by the library though and decided to duck inside. I had an idea that I might ask about a library card (since Kenton County where I live abuts Pendleton County I might be able to get a card there) but these thoughts were dispelled when I spotted a table of books with signs reading "$1.00 per bag." I immediately forgot about the gas station and rationalized that if everybody else noticed I was missing they would of course look in the library for me. I spent a few minutes browsing books and was disappointed not to find too many that were interesting. After my dad and nephew Chase came in looking for me he picked out a kids book to get and I took the stack up front to pay my one dollar. At that point I wasn't at all disappointed that I had been dropped off. One of the books is all about eighteenth century American pioneers and the foods that they ate in different regions of the country. It also contains recpies! :-)~Matt
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Happy Birthday!
My (quite unevil) sister (the middle of three sisters) is forty years old today! Happy birthday Cheryl! She is the Idaho farmeress. I just wish I could be out there to wish her a happy birthday in person (and snag some of her fresh berries and other delicious food she grows, ;-)).
~Matt
~Matt
Monday, June 05, 2006
Georg...I mean Julie!
Yes, Julie is out here to visit. She flew in Saturday and went to Christopher's graduation yesterday. Today I'm going to take her up to Cincinnati so that I can show her the museum before I have to go into bigg's to work.
~Matt
~Matt
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Graduation
Chris graduated today (with honors) as one of his school's four valedictorians. It was a good ceremony, and the gym wasn't too stuffy. Congrats Chris! :-)
~Matt
~Matt
Saturday, June 03, 2006
America and God
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Besides the fact that Jefferson did not believe in the God of the Bible we should not (as Christians) celebrate the Declaration of Independence. Much is made of the fact that Jefferson refers to rights granted by a Creator. He, however, believed in a God very different from what we find in the Bible. His Jesus was just an impossibly "good moral teacher" who never performed miracles or claimed to be part of the Godhead. Jefferson edited the Gospels and called the rest of the New Testament a "dungheap" (or was it dunghill?). Therefore we may safely assume no true Christian association is meant in the above sentence. This isn't the only evidence though.
~Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson
Where in Scripture can you find the idea that we as people have rights? We, the world, and everything created (i.e. everything in the universe) belong to God. We are His to do with as He will. He created each and every one of us. (Ps 139:13 For You [God] formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.) God created a good world. He is good and perfect, if He calls something good (Genesis 1--multiple verses: "...and God saw that it was good.") then it must be good, i.e. perfect and sinless. We, humanity, were the ones who marred and crippled that awesome Creation. As beautiful and awe-inspiring as the natural world is today think of how much, much, much it must have been better before the Fall. So let us review. God makes us, we say to God "I don't need you, I'm breaking your laws, I hate you." Quite reasonably he declares that our just punishment is henceforth death--all shall die because they have sinned and broken his divine law.
We have absolutely no rights, save one. We have the right (or the obligation) to die. We do not have the right to live. We do not have the right to liberty or freedom. We do not have the right to happiness or its pursuit. We do not have the right to privacy (an omnipotent, omnipresent God sees and knows everything, everywhere, everywhen). We do not have the right to live the "American dream." We do not have the right to equal opportunity. We do not have the right to succeed. God is "I AM," and we just can't ever hope to compare. His rules, His laws are all that truly matter. We have all broken His law: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom 3:23) We have no rights.
Matt 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."I claim dual citizenship. God owns my life, America owns my vote. Yes, my first and truest citizenship is in Heaven--but this does not mean that I should ignore everything that happens hear on Earth. I was born in and am a citizen of the United States. I have obligations to the United States because I accept her citizenship. I believe it is my civic duty to vote. But my obligations are somewhat like the relationship between a state and the federal goverment (I said somewhat, so be quiet you naysayers!). If my country calls on me to break God's law then I will say no (and accept the consequences). If my country asks me to do something in line with or not contradictory to God's law then I will answer the call because I believe it is my duty.
America isn't God's nation. God takes precedence, and in many ways His ways and precepts are contradictory with America. We have no rights with God--we have only His grace and mercy. We are completely dependent on Him. In America we are taught to be self-reliant and to pursue self-agrandizement. God teaches us to die to self, to crucify our old man with Christ. Even if you dig back to the Founding Fathers and their generation you'll find that they lived in a man-centered universe rather than one devoted to God. But even if they had lived lives completely devoted to God it wouldn't matter. You can't impose God, you can't impose Christianity upon others from the outside. If you do it becomes mere religion--it is not living, breathing faith. It becomes a pale mockery of its true self. Jesus didn't come to found a temporal kingdom on Earth (read Ben-Hur for an excellent understanding of this). He came to build up a spiritual kingdom that should permeate every facet of our lives, but life separately from the kingdoms of earth.
America isn't a Christian Nation. It never has been. It never will be until Christ returns to overthrow the puny "prince of the world" Satan and rules over every land as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
~Matt
Fifteen to Twenty
No, not a prison sentence, just the amount of free time I have left this afternoon. But that isn't all free as some of that time must include donning my uniform. *sigh* I'm really getting tired of this job--and no, that isn't just because today will be my first day without any quarters--though that is a part of it. I enjoy working directly with people, and I don't get that feeling at all with this job. I'm really wishing I could quit tomorrow and start another job. It isn't work that I hate--just this job right now. I couldn't imagine working this job for years...
~Matt
~Matt
Garage Sale
I had a very successful adventure this morning at a garage sale down the street. I came home with a couple CDs that I've wanted for a while. The soundtracks to the movies Dances with Wolves and Maverick. I've been borrowing the second from my parents but am finally giving it back to them now that they're here. I also found a tripod for my digital camera, a VHS edition of NBC's Merlin, and a National Geographic DVD about US Embassies. But the best find was a DVD edition of the BBC's first season of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. I didn't even know that it had ever been made into a TV show, I've just always loved his books. All of this for only $8.00! :-) I love garage sales!
~Matt
~Matt
Friday, June 02, 2006
Adventure?
Well today I'm taking my parents up to the Museum Center. They haven't even seen the place before as far as I know. I know I never went up there when I was visiting this area before, unfortunately. I procured comp tickets for them to all three museums and one of the Omnimax shows (sadly not the new one--either my supervisor misunderstood or the new one isn't open for comp tickets yet).
I'm looking forward to the day as I haven't had the chance to just wander the museum for a while--especially with people that I know will be interested in the exhibits. It is a bit different than taking kids through who just want to play in the Children's museum. I've done that before and it was a bit of work to try to get them interested in other exhibits.
~Matt
I'm looking forward to the day as I haven't had the chance to just wander the museum for a while--especially with people that I know will be interested in the exhibits. It is a bit different than taking kids through who just want to play in the Children's museum. I've done that before and it was a bit of work to try to get them interested in other exhibits.
~Matt
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
23:14
Yes, it is actually later than that, but my computer clock is constantly losing time. I do not know why it will not stay set properly--even when it is plugged in all of the time and not just turned off it never stays correct for long. I cannot wait for Windows to actually run its time search--it would be much too far from normalcy by that point.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
What can I say?
It is hot and muggy. Did I mention that it is hot? Did I mention that the humidity makes it even worse? Well then it still needs to be mentioned again! It has been hot and muggy.
I was busy so I didn't get outside too much today, so I didn't sweat as much as I could have, thankfully. Tomorrow I'll be outside more, unfortunately.
Tonight I learned how to play golf. No, not with clubs, well yes, there are clubs, but not what you're thinking. Clubs and spades, not clubs hitting balls. I played a couple of different versions with my mom and she also taught me the game garbage. We didn't play much of that, but it was also fun. Hopefully I'll get to play more later--and if we teach my nephews then I'll get to play anytime. :-)
~Matt
I was busy so I didn't get outside too much today, so I didn't sweat as much as I could have, thankfully. Tomorrow I'll be outside more, unfortunately.
Tonight I learned how to play golf. No, not with clubs, well yes, there are clubs, but not what you're thinking. Clubs and spades, not clubs hitting balls. I played a couple of different versions with my mom and she also taught me the game garbage. We didn't play much of that, but it was also fun. Hopefully I'll get to play more later--and if we teach my nephews then I'll get to play anytime. :-)
~Matt
Monday, May 29, 2006
Short Work
Just before dinner I recieved a call from work. Apparently one of my co-workers never showed up for his shift. I'm off today, but they wanted to know if I would come in for two hours tonight. I thought about it for a moment, and realizing that I wasn't doing anything much (and I'll be working 9-5 the rest of the week) I said yes. As a bonus, because they don't want to pay overtime, they'll let me go two hours early on Thursday.
Today we all (including my parents who are visiting) went down to Lexington to watch my nephew Ryan play his last soccer game of the season. It was quite hot (up to 90 F) and muggy, but an interesting time nonetheless. On the way back we stopped at bigg's and purchased more corn. Last night I bought ten ears for $1.00, and the prices were still good today so my sister, mom, and I all went in. We cooked up some today and will probably have the rest tomorrow night. They aren't the biggest ears, but for the price I can't complain--plus they did taste good!
Right now I'm waiting for my clothes to come out of the dryer. I was planning to wash them tonight, tossing them in the dryer before I headed to bed if necessary--but that wouldn't work going in. All of my work clothes were dirty. So I threw in a load as soon as I said I'd come in, and I think I'll have just enough time for them to dry before I need to put them on.
~Matt
Today we all (including my parents who are visiting) went down to Lexington to watch my nephew Ryan play his last soccer game of the season. It was quite hot (up to 90 F) and muggy, but an interesting time nonetheless. On the way back we stopped at bigg's and purchased more corn. Last night I bought ten ears for $1.00, and the prices were still good today so my sister, mom, and I all went in. We cooked up some today and will probably have the rest tomorrow night. They aren't the biggest ears, but for the price I can't complain--plus they did taste good!
Right now I'm waiting for my clothes to come out of the dryer. I was planning to wash them tonight, tossing them in the dryer before I headed to bed if necessary--but that wouldn't work going in. All of my work clothes were dirty. So I threw in a load as soon as I said I'd come in, and I think I'll have just enough time for them to dry before I need to put them on.
~Matt
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Smithsonian
I recently subscribed to Smithsonian magazine when I recieved an offer that I couldn't refuse. I also recieve National Geographic Magazine, and have for several years. I know that both are steeped in Evolutionary thinking and I accept that. I am a Creationist. I believe that everything in the Bible is true, period. If God said it happened, it happened. The Earth and everything in it was created in six literal days (no day ages or billions of years). I either ignore or privately laugh at the Evolution based articles. But one I couldn't help but be disturbed by.
The article is in the May 2006 issue of Smithsonian and is entitled "Dinosaur Shocker!" It relates how Paleontologist Mary Schweitzer discovered soft tissue inside the fossilized leg bone of a supposedly 65 million year old T. Rex. I'll quote two paragraphs from the article before continuing:
Thirdly I take issue with Schweitzer's claim. I'll state upfront that one cannot surely know the state of another's immortal soul--but this gives me doubts. First of all she denies the validity of Scripture--yet she seems to affirm it if she thinks the verse worth putting up. How can a God who lied from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.) be trusted to know the future and bring it about? Or what if he lied in Genesis so that the simple people of Old Testament times wouldn't be confused by the truth of Evolution. Then wouldn't it follow that we cannot know what else he might have lied about? Answers in Genesis (whatever you think of Creation) has it right when they say that once you reject Genesis 1:1 you have undermined the entirety of Scripture. You have started down an extremely slippery slope. Without a literal reading of Genesis you have no reason for Christ to die and be resurrected. If men weren't created and evolved then Adam and Eve weren't real and they didn't sin. Thus there is no need for a redeemer.
According to Scripture Adam and Eve were definately human, not the first primordial organisms to evolve who somehow without brain, souls, or anything else remotely sentient chose to disobey God and sin--thereby condemning all of their evolutionary descendents to an eternity in Hell unless they waited billions (or is it only millions for life?) of years for Jesus to be born and die.
Outwardly you can be a "Christian" if you reject the Bible, but you cannot be a "complete and total Christian" if you reject the very tenets of faith. It would be as if a Muslim rejected everything Mohommed taught, and then said, "but I still follow Islam." It would be a lie, he would be following his own religion that might have some similarity to Islam--but it wouldn't be Islam.
All verses are from the NASB.
Forgiveness of sins belongs only to God. Sins are an affront to Him, and only He can forgive their commision. Were Jesus a man he would definately have been blaspheming at that moment.
Now perhaps someone can have saving faith in Christ and yet reject Genesis. I doubt that these two could go together, but I don't reject the idea. I know that Genesis is true, so the person in question is still wrong, but they may be saved. Thus I do not come out and say that Schweitzer cannot possibly be a Christian, I simply doubt that she can truly be a spokeswoman for Christians. She serves much better as a method of placing up strawmen arguments such as "science versus religion." You can find many accredited scientists who disagree with Schweitzer and are not "hijacking" her reasearch. You could say they're hijacking God's creation to prove their ludicrious theory if you wanted to have fun. :-)
None of this was surprising to me or unexpected. It was merely an interesting note within a fascinating (once you get past the millions of years old crap) article.
~Matt
The article is in the May 2006 issue of Smithsonian and is entitled "Dinosaur Shocker!" It relates how Paleontologist Mary Schweitzer discovered soft tissue inside the fossilized leg bone of a supposedly 65 million year old T. Rex. I'll quote two paragraphs from the article before continuing:
Meanwhile, Schweitzer's research has been hijacked by "young earth" creationists, who insist that dinosaur soft tissue couldn't possibly survive millions of years. They claim her discoveries support their belief, based on their interpretation of Genesis, that the earth is only a few thousand years old. Of coruse, it's not unusual for a paleontologist to differ with creationists. But when creationists misrepresent Schweitzer's data, she takes it personally: she describes herself as "a complete and total Christian." On a shelf in her office is a plaque bearing an Old Testament verse: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to propser you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."Okay, well first of all it is a literal reading of Genesis, NOT an interpretation. Reading in day ages or billions of years is an interpretation. I am a man. To believe that that statement is me claiming to be a male human is NOT an interpretation, it is literal reading. Secondly it is implied that creationists aren't paleontologists, and by extension not scientists. I take great exception to this. Besides the several Doctors (earned degrees at accredited Christian and secular universities!) that I knew in college there are many Creationist scientists with the best credentials. But this spin is not surprising--they have to discredit Creationism however they can because they refuse to grant it a fair hearing.
Thirdly I take issue with Schweitzer's claim. I'll state upfront that one cannot surely know the state of another's immortal soul--but this gives me doubts. First of all she denies the validity of Scripture--yet she seems to affirm it if she thinks the verse worth putting up. How can a God who lied from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.) be trusted to know the future and bring it about? Or what if he lied in Genesis so that the simple people of Old Testament times wouldn't be confused by the truth of Evolution. Then wouldn't it follow that we cannot know what else he might have lied about? Answers in Genesis (whatever you think of Creation) has it right when they say that once you reject Genesis 1:1 you have undermined the entirety of Scripture. You have started down an extremely slippery slope. Without a literal reading of Genesis you have no reason for Christ to die and be resurrected. If men weren't created and evolved then Adam and Eve weren't real and they didn't sin. Thus there is no need for a redeemer.
According to Scripture Adam and Eve were definately human, not the first primordial organisms to evolve who somehow without brain, souls, or anything else remotely sentient chose to disobey God and sin--thereby condemning all of their evolutionary descendents to an eternity in Hell unless they waited billions (or is it only millions for life?) of years for Jesus to be born and die.
Outwardly you can be a "Christian" if you reject the Bible, but you cannot be a "complete and total Christian" if you reject the very tenets of faith. It would be as if a Muslim rejected everything Mohommed taught, and then said, "but I still follow Islam." It would be a lie, he would be following his own religion that might have some similarity to Islam--but it wouldn't be Islam.
Young-Earth Creationists also see Schweitzer's work as revolutionary, but in an entirely different way. They first seized upon Schweitzer's work after she wrote an article for the popular science magazine Earth in 1997 about possible red bloood cells in her dinosaur specimens. Creation magazine claimed that Schweitzer's research was "powerful testimony against the whole idea of dinosaurs living millions of years ago. It speaks volumes for the Bible's account of a recent creation."Where to start here? Good question. There is another subtle dig by referring to Earth as a popular science magazine, but not even mentioning that Creation has scientifically based articles. But that isn't a big deal--they are so entrenched in the idea that to be a scientists YOU MUST accept Evolution that they can't get past that. I don't expect anything better. But again I have a problem with what Schweitzer says. Let us go back to an oft mentioned quote from C.S. Lewis which I'll paraphrase: "Jesus wasn't just a good moral teacher. He was either a lunatic or truly the Son of God, there is no middle ground."
This drives Schweitzer crazy. Geologists have established that the Hell creek Formation, wehere B. rex [the skeleton containing the bone in question] was found, is 68 million years old, and so are the bones buried in it. She's horrified that some Christians accuse her of hiding the true meaning of her data. "They treat you really bad," she says. "They twist your words and they manipulate your data." For her, science and religon represent two different ways of looking at the world; invoking the hand of God to explain natural phenomena breaks the rules of science. After all, she says, what God asks is faith, not evidence. "If you have all this evidence and proof positive that God exists, you don't need faith. I think he kind of designed it so that we'd never be able to prove is existence. And I think that's really cool."
All verses are from the NASB.
John 14:6-9Clearly Jesus is saying that if you have seen Him you have seen God the Father. A sane man could never truthfully make this claim.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and {yet} you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how {can} you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Matthew 9:2-3
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."
And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This {fellow} blasphemes."
Luke 22:70
And they all said, "Are You the Son of God, then?" And He said to them, "Yes, I am."
Luke 5:21
The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this {man} who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
Forgiveness of sins belongs only to God. Sins are an affront to Him, and only He can forgive their commision. Were Jesus a man he would definately have been blaspheming at that moment.
John 8:52-59Confused? Let us go back to Exodus where God was talking to Moses out of the burning bush:
The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets {also;} and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.' Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out {to be?}"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw {it} and was glad."
So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
(emphasis mine)
Exodus 3:13-14I AM describes God, it is his name. He isn't a "was" or a "will be." Always God is I AM. At creation, I AM. At the flood, I AM. At the birth of Christ, I AM. At the end of time, I AM. Everything physical is God's creation. He is above it, beyond it, He is NOT a part of it. He is I AM. For Jesus to say "I am" was a very, very clear statement that he was claiming divinity. He could not be a "good moral teacher."
Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Leviticus 24:16
'Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Now perhaps someone can have saving faith in Christ and yet reject Genesis. I doubt that these two could go together, but I don't reject the idea. I know that Genesis is true, so the person in question is still wrong, but they may be saved. Thus I do not come out and say that Schweitzer cannot possibly be a Christian, I simply doubt that she can truly be a spokeswoman for Christians. She serves much better as a method of placing up strawmen arguments such as "science versus religion." You can find many accredited scientists who disagree with Schweitzer and are not "hijacking" her reasearch. You could say they're hijacking God's creation to prove their ludicrious theory if you wanted to have fun. :-)
None of this was surprising to me or unexpected. It was merely an interesting note within a fascinating (once you get past the millions of years old crap) article.
~Matt
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