Thursday, December 9, 2010

If Melanchthon Can Do It, So can You!

Melanchthon was Martin Luther's younger associate in the German Reformation. Luther never met with Calvin, but Melanchthon became friends with Calvin and they often exchanged letters. Luther was 13 years older than Melanchthon and Melanchthon was 12 years older than Calvin. Calvin and Luther disagreed on the eucharist (communion elements). Luther held to the belief of consubstantiation (Christ is actually present IN the bread and wine), but Calvin instead believed Christ was only spiritually present as the elements were being eaten.

Melanchthon originally sided with Luther concerning the Lord's Supper, but later independently broke with Luther on this and went over to Calvin's views.

Melanchthon likewise showed the ability to analyze truth and to think critically concerning Calvin's fatalistic view of divine fore-ordination and predestination. Although Melanchthon originally agreed with Calvin and spoke with Calvin in person and through letters, Melanchthon eventually conceded that man had freedom of will and could accept or reject salvation. Melanchthon did not consider the acceptance of the Gospel as a meritorious work, but said it was man's free will responding to the Truth. On this point he dissented from Calvin.

Melanchthon was a reformation friend of both Luther and Calvin. On several levels he was an equal scholar with them. If he can reject doctrinal positions of both Luther and Calvin, so can you. (source -Philip Schaff, History of The Christian Church, Vol. VIII, p. 387, copyright 1910.)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

New Book Has Arrived

3,000 copies of "Jerusalem: History, Archaeology
and Apologetic Proof of Scripture" have arrived.
Three pallets of books arrived Friday afternoon,
but I was at work.
Zac willingly skipped a class at school to pack the
boxes into storage.
Zac stacked 190 boxes.
This book contains 500 photos of Jerusalem taken
this summer (June 2010)  by Toni and Galyn Wiemers.
It also includes diagrams and maps that help explain the
history and present day location of Biblical sites in
the city of Jerusalem.
This book is available upon request (no charge) from
Generation Word.
Just email a shipping address to
gw@generationword.com
This book is divided into seven sections, including:
  • An introduction to Jerusalem
  • Topography of Jerusalem
  • Jerusalem in the Old Testament
  • Jerusalem during the days of the Macabees
    and the Hasmoneans
  • Jerusalem in the New Testament
  • Jerusalem under the control of the Gentiles:
    Romans, Crusaders and Muslims
  • Some special archaeological treasures
  • The future of Jerusalem




Thursday, December 2, 2010

Is this the Brilliant Mind of the Reformation?

I have been researching John Calvin's life and doctrine. Up until now my impression has been that it is understood that Calvin was "the man." People write about him as if he were the end of theological discussion. Of course, it would appear that John Calvin thought he, like Mohammad and Joseph Smith, was the final authority concerning God's revelation to man. But, there are many, many things that make me wonder if John Calvin is even worth studying other than as a historical figure who misdirected church doctrine and practice 500 years ago (more on that later). But, first check out the margin notes placed in the Geneva Bible (credited to Calvin and his contemporary reformers) after the first verse of Revelation chapter one. Does this sound like something we would use today to guide us through our interpretation of Revelation? 
Revelation 1:1
1:1 - The {1} {a} Revelation of {b} Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John
1 AD The dragon watches the Church of the Jews, which was ready to travail: She brings forth, flees and hides herself, while Christ was yet on the earth.
34 AD The dragon persecutes Christ ascending to heaven, he fights and is thrown down: and after persecutes the Church of the Jews.
67 AD The Church of the Jews is received into the wilderness for three years and a half.
70 AD When the Church of the Jews was overthrown, the dragon invaded the catholic church: all this is in the twelfth chapter. The dragon is bound for a thousand years in chapter twenty. The dragon raises up the beast with seven heads, and the beast with two heads, which make havock of the catholic church and her prophets for 1260 years after the passion of Christ in Re 13:11 .
97 AD The seven churches are admonished of things present, somewhat before the end of Domitian his reign, and are forewarned of the persecution to come under Trajan for ten years, chapter 2,3. God by word and signs provokes the world, and seals the godly in chapter 6 and 7. He shows examples of his wrath on all creatures, mankind excepted in chapter 8.
1073 AD The dragon is let loose after a thousand years, and Gregory the seventh, being Pope, rages against Henry the third, then Emperor in chapter 20.
1217 AD The dragon vexes the world for 150 years to Gregory the ninth, who wrote the Decretals, and most cruelly persecuted the Emperor Fredrick the second.
1295 AD The dragon kills the prophets after 1260 years, when Boniface the eighth was Pope, who was the author of the sixth book of the Decretals: he excommunicated Philip the French King.
1300 AD Boniface celebrates the Jubile.
1301 AD About this time was a great earthquake, which overthrew many houses in Rome.
1305 AD Prophecy ceases for three years and a half, until Benedict the second succeeded after Boniface the eighth. Prophecy is revived in chapter 11. The dragon and the two beasts question prophecy in chapter 13. Christ defends his Church in word and deed, chapter 14, and with threats and arms, chapter 16. Christ gives his Church victory over the harlot, chapter 17 and 18. Over the two beasts, chapter 19. Over the dragon and death, chapter 20. The Church is fully glorified in heaven with eternal glory, in Christ Jesus, chapter 21 and 22.
Galyn Wiemers with two pages from his Bible collection:
Left: a page from the original 1560 Geneva Bible
Right: a page from the original first edition of the King James Bible from 1611-1650.
 It was well known that in his day Calvin would imprison and execute people in Geneva for questioning his teaching (mainly concerning Calvin's book Institutes). I think Calvin would have marked me as a potential problem for the city of Geneva when he started to explained Revelation as is seen above. His henchmen would have escorted me from the preaching meeting when I started to ask questions concerning 34 and 67 AD. I would have been imprisoned when I challenged his exegetical work concerning 70 AD's connection to Revelation 13. I never would have had a chance to hear the wildly ridiculous teaching from Revelation chapter 20 as applied to the year 1073 AD because I would have either been fleeing Geneva by night or burning at the stake in Geneva by day. Calvin's life and doctrine are simply indefensible in so many areas and concerning so many events. I am amazed Calvin is so highly regarded by theologians and believers today. I am still organizing my research, but I am stunned that this man is honored in the Christian church. Based simply on my wife's response to the small amount of information I have read to her concerning Calvin's life and doctrine, I must assume that many other people will also shuddered in disbelief when they hear more of these things concerning Calvin and be repulsed the next time the name John Calvin is mentioned.
---
PS - I do have Calvin's complete commentary set which includes every book of the Bible except for Revelation. There is no commentary on Revelation because Calvin never wrote one.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Teaching is Crucial

(Listen to Radio Program "Teaching is Crucial" - part one and two - online with link at the end of this blog.)
All churches and many Christians will identify the three great Christian virtues as FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. Ever since Paul strung these words together in his letter to the Corinthians in 55 AD these words have been heard in sermons, plastered on book covers, sewn into banners, sung in lyrics and eloquently spoken in every wedding. These three virtuous character traits are the source from which all Christian deeds are to spring. They are the standard by which all Christian activity is measured. Christians are to always "keep the faith," never "give up hope," and continue to "live a life of love."

In many cases clergy consider their job done if the church has named their local assembly with these words ("Hope Church", "Faith Church", etc.) and are weekly encouraged by hearing these words in sermons and lyrics or seeing them on banners and bulletins. But, without teaching the Word of God to people this approach will get as little result as a basketball coach who hollers at his team in the locker room during half time about rebounding without having spent the necessary time in the gym practicing and teaching rebounding technique. The coach can write the word "REBOUNDING" on the locker room chalk board. He can spend his precious halftime minutes hollering about how statistics prove that winning teams must rebound to win. But, if the players do not have the skills and have not practiced the technique the only thing the coach is preparing his athletes for is a future career as coaches who also holler about rebounding at halftime.

Each of these virtues - FAITH, HOPE and LOVE - come from knowing the Word of God. According to the Scriptures themselves the Christian must hear the Word of God, understanding the promises of  God and know God's ways in order to have faith, hope and love.

First, concerning FAITH:
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. -Romans 10:17
Second, concerning HOPE:
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  - Hebrews 6:17-19
Third, concerning LOVE:
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers, fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.' And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in our salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." - 1 Peter 1:22-2:3
Only when faith, hope and love are instilled in the thinking (in the soul, in the world view, etc.) of the Christian will they be able to produce the deeds that come from faith, hope or love.

Notice that Paul credits FAITH, HOPE and LOVE for being the source of the Thessalonian's Christian performance which is identified as WORK, LABOR and ENDURANCE:
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by FAITH, your labor prompted by LOVE, and your endurance inspired by HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ.  - 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Even faith, hope and love are not the final goal of the Christian life. Faith, hope and love are character traits that will produce what everyone is hollering about, which is, good Christian conduct. Faith, hope and love will produce the Christian life, just like rebounding will help produce the victory. But, even then, FAITH, HOPE and LOVE come from good, basic bible teaching (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 6:17-19 ; 1 Peter 1:22-2:2) just like great rebounding in a game comes from hours of drilling and coaching in practices.

Churches need to trust the Word of God instead of trusting in their programs and oversimplified approaches to the eternal Truth revealed in Scripture. Pastors need to heed Paul's advice given to the Ephesian pastors and elders in 57 AD:
Now I commit you to God and to the word of his gracewhich can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.  - Acts 20:32
Remember Paul's words to Timothy:
Command and teach these things,...Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift!!  - 1 Timothy 4:11-14
I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with healthy teaching.  - 2 Timothy 4:1-3
Part One - "Teaching is Crucial (part one)" - radio program in .mp3

Part Two - "Teaching is Crucial (part two)" - radio program in .mp3

Friday, November 12, 2010

Refuting Calvinism - Total Depravity (part one)

This is written to support my rejection of Calvinism. I have no hope that this will change the mind of any Calvinists. Even though I do not say anything original enough to solve a theological conflict that came to a head around 400 AD, I do intend to defend my opposition to Calvinism. I do not care to debate with Calvinist since neither they nor I have any desire to change our position. I do not oppose Calvinism because I am ignorant, shallow, naive or unscriptural. I oppose Calvinism because Calvinism is not supported by accurate scriptural exegesis and Calvinism is theologically, philosophically and scientifically illogical. Even if Calvinism were true there is more than enough scripture that would appear to speak otherwise and, thus, give a person like myself enough evidence to have reasonable doubt. I believe that the Calvinistic doctrines of soteriology are false. Since this belief is based on the ample scripture which supports my doubt I should not have to face ridicule and scorn from the Calvinist. Calvinist need to man-up to their theological position and have enough wisdom to allow me to scripturally man-up to my position. Do note that my position is not Pelagian nor Arminian, but could better be understood in Calvinistic lingo as 2 point Calvinism – T and P -  that also recognizes the free will of man.

T – Total Depravity
U – Unconditional Election
L – Limited Atonement
I – Irresistible Grace
P – Perseverance of the Saints

Total Depravity
What it means to Calvinists: An unsaved person is spiritually dead which means they have no ability to understand or respond to God. Sin has destroyed the ability to receive salvation and has destroyed the human will.
What it does not mean to Calvinists: An unsaved person can still be socially good. This is called “horizontal” good between men and is possible because of “common grace” given to all men. Unsaved are totally incapable of “vertical good” between God and Man which includes receiving God’s plan of salvation.
Verses Used by Calvinist to prove and support Total Depravity:
Ephesians 2:1
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”

·         Calvinist Point: Dead men cannot walk, think, or believe. They are dead and cannot respond. Dead men cannot even know enough to receive the free gift of life. It must be forced upon them.

·         Refutation of Calvinism: “Spiritual Death” needs to be defined by scripture not Calvinist’s philosophy or eisogesis. Spiritual death, like physical death, means separation not annihilation. Death never means the total destruction of the ability to hear or respond to God. James says death is the separation of the soul from the body: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26) 

       Jesus makes it clear that a person who is both spiritually dead and physically dead can respond to spiritual things when he describes the rich man in Hades as recorded in Luke 16:27-31 -“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Also, note Abraham’s response places the brothers' hope in the revealed Word of God and in their response to the Word of God, not in their predestination. 

     The book of Revelation calls eternal damnation the second death (Rev. 20:10), yet this is not the total destruction of the human nor is it annihilation. Isaiah says, “your iniquities have separated you from your God.” (Isaiah 59:2) A spiritually dead person can perceive the truth of God: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) Even after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden they were fully aware of their sinful state and fully able to communicate with God. Adam in his fallen state heard the voice of God and carried on a conversation with him. He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:10) 

      The Bible also uses words besides “dead” to describe the sinful state of the natural man such as “sickness,” and “wounds.” In Mark 2:17 Jesus said, “"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." A sick man and a wounded man are not irresponsive, but can be aware of their disease or injury and be looking for (seeking) help. Man was created in God’s image and that image was not lost when man fell otherwise murder would be wrong for different reasons: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” (Genesis 9:6) Part of the image of God given to man is free will and self-determination. Divine judgment becomes a strange, irrational concept if individual men are not free to choose and take responsibility for their own decisions. Insight can be gained from Colossians 2:12-13 concerning Paul’s words “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” found in Ephesians 2:1. Colossians 2:12-13 describes the faith that saved us as “your faith” that you had “when you were dead in your sins.” It says: “you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.” Jesus says in John 5:25, “An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Here Jesus says the spiritually dead can and will hear him. Details of man’s responsibility when they hear God’s call is found in the preceding verse in John 5:24, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.” In this case not only do the spiritually dead hear Jesus’ voice, but they must also believe the message to have eternal life. This is by no means a radical concept nor is it a strange New Testament theological position!

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
·          
      Calvinist Point: The new birth does not occur because of any “human decision” or because of the human will desiring to be saved. Salvation and the decision and desire for human salvation come only from God. Salvation happens to a man. A man has no part in that salvation.
·          
      Refutation of Calvinism: Verse 12 says clearly “all who did receive him” which clearly indicates a free will response from the man who received Christ. Verse 12 also says that it is to “those who believe” God “gave the right to become children of God.” The Calvinist make a big deal about the phrases that say children of God are not born of “natural descent,” “human decision,” or “husband’s will.” Are these phrases placed here in scripture to emphasize the complete inability of man to respond to the gospel? Are these phrases trying to communicate the concept of total depravity? Or, are they saying mankind has no hope of salvation outside of:
  1. a new spiritual birth,
  2. God’s decision to offer salvation through his one and only Son, 
  3. God’s will to save people. 
To read Calvinism into this verse is an overstatement. This is especially true when the context states “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name.” 

Man’s ability to respond is confirmed elsewhere: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) If man could not respond why is our faith for salvation continuously referred to as our personal faith? “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 6:65) Realize that in every one of these cases the Calvinist has to first teach you the Calvinistic theology before you can “correctly” interpret this verse according to their views. Who would read “whoever believes in him shall not perish,” and then think that it actually meant, “no one can believe because they are all perishing?” How about these other verses? 

Philippians 1:29 – “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” (“granted” is from the word “grace” and means here “to give graciously.” We have all been given the opportunity to believe and to suffer. But, we are not forced to suffer for Christ nor are we forced to believe. We can reject the offer.) 

Philippians 3:8-9 – “That I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” (Notice that the righteousness comes through faith in Christ and that Paul says explicitly that this righteousness comes from God. The righteousness comes from God, not the faith. The faith is our faith. Our faith is an expression of our wills.) 

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Calvinists want to say the “it” that is the “gift of God” is the “faith” to be saved instead of the grace offered to us for salvation. Mr. John Calvin himself wrote that Paul “does not mean that faith is the gift of God, but that salvation is given to us by God.” In the Greek “that” (touto) is neuter and cannot refer to “faith” (pistis) which is feminine but instead refers to the act of being saved by grace. If Paul was thinking about “faith” being the gift he would have needed to use the neuter. The Greek scholar A.T. Robertson said that concerning this verse that “ ‘Grace’ is God’s part and ‘faith’ ours.” 

Romans 10:17 – “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (First comes the Word of God to the unregenerate heart. Second, the unregenerate heart hears and believes the Word of God and salvation occurs. Faith being a gift in this verse is neither explicit nor implicit. It is eisogesis. Clearly not everyone who hears the message responds with faith. But, at the same time, it is clear that every one who would have faith must first hear the Word of God.
Galyn Wiemers reloading camera batteries while sitting above the rubble of the 70 AD Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple with Herodian ashlar stones of the western retaining wall of the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Verses used by Calvinist that have nothing to do with supporting Calvinism:
1 Corinthians 4:7 – “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (This is a reference to receiving spiritual gifts, not everything

1 Corinthians 7:25 – “I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” KJV  (This verse is not talking about salvation faith, but living the Christian life and remaining faithful. Augustine used this verse to support his belief that faith is a gift of God given before we can be saved.)

1 Corinthians 12:8-9 – “To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit..” (This is the spiritual gift of faith, not the gift of faith for salvation.)

Acts 5:31 – “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” (If repentance and forgiveness was given to Israel then all of Israel will be saved.

Acts 11:18 – “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (If God granting the Gentiles repentance is understood in the Calvinistic way then all the Gentiles are also saved!? So, between Acts 5:31 and Acts 11:18 all Jews and all Gentiles are saved? Or, is this saying that both Jews and Gentiles have been given the opportunity to respond? The word “granted” is “hedoken” which is aorist indicative active of “didomi” and means “to give.”


Monday, November 1, 2010

Roman Road

While doing an overview of Romans I typed the following chart known as the Roman Road to Salvation. It is something that I have not taught for several years, at least, not step by step. It was very refreshing to look the verses up and type them out. I thought it would be good for everyone to review it for their own understanding and know it so they can explain our salvation to today’s culture. The way of salvation is both simple and very deep with the richness of God’s wisdom and power.

The Roman Road: The Way of Salvation

5:12
Death came to all men
“Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”

3:23
All men have sinned
“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

3:20
No one will be declared righteous by obedience
“Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.”

5:8
Christ died for us
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

4:25
Christ died for our sins;Christ rose because we were justified
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

6:23
Wages of sin is death; God’s gift is eternal life
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

3:21
Righteousness from God through faith
“Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.”

1:16
Gospel is the power of God for everyone who believes
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God, for the salvation of everyone who believes . . . For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.”

10:9
Confess Jesus and be saved
“The word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in you r heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be save.”

6:14
Sin shall not be your master
“Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

8:28
All things work together for good of those who love God
A Roman Road in Sepphoris, Israel

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him . . . if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Response to Critic of Intelligent Design

Here is an old blog debate I had with a critic of intelligent design (or, creationism). It is always good to see that biblical creationists are not ignorant, stupid, uneducated Bible thumpers...some, creationists are knowledgeable, intelligent, educated Bible thumpers...


Critic: “The only substantive part of ID is as a negative argument that diametrically opposed to evolution, otherwise it has nothing of substance to offer science.”
Response: False on three points. i) ID is a positive argument that intelligence preceded and caused the origin of life. ID is an independent theory that would not necessarily be true if evolution were proven false. ii) ID is not diametrically opposed to evolution, if “evolution” is defined as “change over time.” ID is diametrically opposed to the theory that living things originated from random events. iii) The goal of ID is not to “offer” something to “science,” the goal is the same as that of science. . .to seek the truth concerning our origins. ID is a testable theory that can be falsified in exactly the same way as the theory of evolution.

Critic: “Imagine teaching ecology in school without a fundamental understanding of Darwinism and evolution. What would ID tell these students, other than the showing and teaching these alleged students the incredible complexity of nature? What’s the explanation for these systems and their numerous interactions? God did it of course. Cool huh? Sorry, that’s not science”
Response: Straw-man argument. Both ID and Darwinism seeks to learn how these systems and their numerous interactions work. The only difference is ID says an intelligent being is responsible, Darwinism says random chance is responsible. If you push any Darwinist far enough, they will say “random chance did it.” Cool huh. . .But that’s not science either!

Critic: “I challenge any ID proponent to demonstrate a single predictive model that ID can make regarding living organisms and their present day ecosystems. “There are no models, the ID proponents got nothing but faith.”
Response: Predictive model: Animals were designed by an intelligent designer and have genetic limits outside which they are no longer viable. These limits will constrain the fossil record to be composed of clearly delineated familial forms rather than transitional forms.
Experimental evidence: the fossil record.
Now it’s your turn. Please explain the cambrian explosion in purely Darwinian terms.

Critic: “I have my faith too but the difference is I don’t subject you to it.”
Response: False. We are constantly subjected to atheistic and naturalistic explanations of our origins even though these explanations require a great deal of faith. Moreover, you impose your faith on others in a condescending and arrogant manner suggesting you are unaware of the assumptions on which your faith is based.

Critic: “Science is not faith but a way of reasoning”
Response: True if by “science” you mean the scientific method. False if by “science” you mean currently accepted theories. Darwin’s theory of the origin of life requires a great deal of faith that falls far beyond simply “a way of reasoning.”

Critic: Simple question: sum up for me how ID describes the functionality and modeling of an ecosystem?
Response: Simple answer. Almost exactly the same way evolutionists would describe the functionality and modeling of an ecosystem.

Critic: “[ID] can’t use competition and evolution to describe the changing ecosystem or fluctuating species populations.”
Response: Straw man argument. All ID theorists believe that competition and survival of the fittest occurs in a changing ecosystem. Long before ID or the theory of evolution, mankind was aware that populations could be manipulated through breeding and artificial selection-this is even part of Darwin’s premise in origins.

Critic: “What would ID have to say? Wow, this is so complex, forget about understanding this, this had to be an intelligent designer at work. And that’s fine but it’s not science and you can’t do anything with it.
Response: Straw-man argument. The history of modern science rests on the backs of scientists who believed in ID. Complexity in nature did not lead them to say “forget about understanding this,” instead it drove them to understand it further because they believed the more the learned about nature, the more they were learning about the designer. Mendel, the father of modern genetics, was a monk!

Critic: Reconciling your faith should never be an easy exercise and we don’t need to give people another excuse not to think.”
Response: True. What greater excuse is there to not think deeply about something than to believe it came about by an infinitesimally small, accidental, random event. In my experience human beings don’t spend a lot of time trying to understand random, rare events (might I get struck by lightning on a sunny day?), but take very seriously purposefully designed events (could I get electrocuted if I touch this live wire?). Evolutionists are the ones that don’t want to have to think. They prefer to make straw-man arguments, make false assumptions, and throw around condescending statements rather than wrestling with the faith they have placed in a dying theory.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Bad Choices Today Eliminate Good Options for Future Choices

In Genesis 19 Lot is left in a very difficult situation. Lot wants to be the good host for the strangers that have come to his city of Sodom but he is unable to provide them with a good meal (the unleaven bread he gave them was the frozen pizza of his day) or a safe home. Even Lot's invitation to stay at his home was quickly turned down by his guest. When it came time to be the good host and protect his guest, Lot felt he had to choose between forfeiting his daughters and so be the bad father or surrendering his guest and be the bad host. Why was Lot left to chose between two bad options? Why did he not have any better choices?

Many times in life the decisions we make today eliminate the options we will get to choose from in the future. Bad choices today cancel out the good options from our list of future choices. Even in human history and in world events there are no "right" answers to our dilemmas because previous sins or selfish choices have destroyed the win/win options. Thus, we find ourselves with no clear direction and no real commitment to move ahead since any decision will produce lousy results.

As the angels tried to get Lot to leave the city, Lot hesitated and refused to flee. Why? He was fleeing into the dark wilderness were he would end up living in a cave in the mountains. Why did things end so badly for Lot? He had made a series of bad choices which included leaving Abraham who was still a powerful and wealthy relative living only twenty miles to the west.

Watch this 9:55 minute YouTube message by Galyn Wiemers:

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Quadrants of Life

Through out the scriptures we are told that God is good. When we hear this we tend to describe the word good in terms of immediately recognizable “good.” Our definition of the term “good” could alternately use synonyms like “pleasant, pleasing, desirable, pain-free, or sought-after.” When we study the verses that deal with the phrase “God is good,” we see that part of God’s “good” activity towards us is not within that shallow, immediate definition. In scripture we find things like “testing,” “trying,” “examining,” and “sacrificing” in the context of describing God's goodness towards us.  In Psalm 107, which begins and ends with statements attesting to the “goodness” of God, forty-three verses are laced with real life situations where the goodness of God is manifested to people. Some of these people were lost and wandering, some had been subjected to bitter labor by God, others where caught in a storm sent by God, some of them were suffering in divine discipline for their rebellion. Although each group was in a different situation and for a different reason (some had rebelled, some had obeyed, some were guilty, some were innocent), they all were in the goodness of God. 
 
The truth that God is doing something in our lives to change us is so obvious it goes without saying, but yet it is one of the things we must be taught so we do not go to extremes. 

In Philippians 4:12-13 Paul says he has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” In the original Greek the phrase “learned the secret” is a technical term that refers to the process of initiation. The initiation would include more than knowledge but a sequences of life experiences. Four situations in life are then listed by Paul and written with specific Greek verb tenses. I have taken these four situations and formed a quadrant which can be used to help identify and clarify changing situations in our life. Paul says he has learned to be content when “well fed,” “hungry,” “in plenty,” or “in want.” These four may seem redundant in the English Bible as if saying “prosperity or poverty, or prosperity or poverty.” 

The tenses of the verbs that Paul uses in the Greek text develops the quadrants that can categorize every situation in life. 

The first prosperity phrase (“well fed”) is passive. Meaning Paul was the recipient and not the doer of the verb. In other words he did not cause it to happen. This is true of the last phrase (“in want”) indicating there were times that Paul was in need that were out of his control. Paul did not deserve or cause the lack in this situation, it was given to him. The other two phrases (“hungry” or “plenty”) are in the active tense meaning Paul did or created both of these in his life at some time. 

All of these serve a purpose and is the manifestation of the goodness of God in our lives. You may be suffering undeserving like Joseph or deserving like Samson. You may be prosperous undeservingly like Solomon or deserving like Abraham. But, one thing is true, God’s goodness will eventually take you to all four quadrants and through his initiation you can be content in any of them.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Blame Pastors and Parents, Not Schools and Sitcoms

Pastors and parents often try to blame the government and public schools for the cultural decline of our American society. They also throw sitcoms and Hollywood into the boiling cauldron of responsibility. But, the truth of the matter is our children have been lost long before sitcoms, schools and socialism got a hold of them.

Only 19% of a group who call themselves born again have a Christian worldview? (See Barna Research) If pastors were actually teaching the Bible maybe people would believe in absolute truth, a creator, biblical principles of society, sin, the sin nature of man and the existence of evil. Read this except from Barna's report and maybe you can see how far gone we are as a society. If you do not understand this ask your pastor to explain it. He will not be able to and, most likely, will disagree with it, which is why you can kiss your way of life as you know it good-bye!

"The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults."


0.5% of people ages 18-23 believe in absolute truth, a creator, sin nature, the existence of evil, marriage, family, etc. Now, the argument would be that they once did before they graduated from our public schools, went to our morally corrupt universities and started seeing Hollywood movies. But, you do not have the numbers to support this. These kids are lost before their parents are done with them.

Research shows that 89% of Christian children do not have a Christian worldview when they leave their Christian home for college. But, don't blame the public schools because 40% of children from Christian homes do not have a Christian worldview when the leave elementary school. This means that the secular universities only have to tear down a Christian worldview in 11% of their students because "christian" parents in their "christian" homes have already trashed 89% of the "christian" children.

The failure of our society is the result of incompetent pastors and irresponsible parents. Pastors and parents provide the loudest voices of complaint as they daily lay the blame at the door of the school, the ticket box of Hollywood and legislative hall of a representative government. Experience and research indicates that these numbers are instead the result of the failure of pastors and parents.

Fix the pulpit and the parent and you will fix society.

A corrupt pulpit and a compromised parent will end a Christian culture.

The pulpits and the parents will blame the public school, television and government, but what else would you expect from irresponsible people with no Christian perspective.

More Barna Research

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Theology of the Shattered Windshield

Paul writes to the Ephesians:
“I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.” (4:17)
The life of a believer is to be lived focusing on the truth and the reality of God. A believer needs to hold to the knowledge that God is the creator and sustainer of our lives. God is supreme and his wisdom surpasses our understanding. His standard of righteousness is absolute and unchanging through all generations. 

A believer must live in this world but not allow the things or the ways of the world to distract them from the big picture. When a person drives a car they are focused on the road and the activity outside the car. The driver looks through the windshield, not at the windshield. The safe driver can not look inside the car for very long without having some major problems outside the car. So it is in comparison with the life of the believer. A believer is inside the world but must be viewing life through the windshield of God’s revelation that has been given to man as found in the scriptures. 

Paul says we must “no longer live as the Gentiles do” who have no view outside the windshield. They spend their entire lives trying to find direction and avoid accidents but they never look outside the car. Their whole focus is on the interior of the car as they speed through life. They have no perspective of God, eternity, truth, or reality. They are living in “the futility of their thinking.” It is easy to understand why, though. They have never seen or believed anything else. It is as if they are driving at night with the dome light on and the headlights off.


This is important to the believer for two reasons. Although we have accepted the reality of God and have, at least for a moment, looked up through the windshield long enough to realize we are speeding through life on very busy spiritual highway, we often continue to “live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” We, too, spend the majority of our lives focused on the inside of the car and not on the highway. We are not looking through the windshield at the more serious issues. 

Paul says, that he “insist on it in the Lord” that we live by looking through the windshield as we make decisions and evaluations. 

One of the biggest challenges for the sincere believer who has lived their life looking at God through their windshield is when something strikes our windshield causing it to shatter. A disaster, a situation, something unexpected and undeserved comes from outside the car. It hits our windshield, disappears and leaves a fragmented, shattered windshield filled with distracting lines and breaks. This presents a new challenge for the believer who has been looking through this clear windshield at God.


Up until now the challenge was to either look through the windshield or look inside the car. This new challenge forces the believer to either focus on the shattered windshield or to continue to look through the fragmented pieces of the windshield at God. 

We must realize, and know by faith, that your shattered windshield has not changed anything outside the car. The only thing that has changed is your ability to see it clearly and focus on it through the advantage of a crystal clear windshield. A crack in your windshield does not represent a crack in the kingdom of God. A shattered windshield is not a true representation of everything outside the car. A broken windshield is simply a distraction from the reality that is still outside your car and bigger than your life. Do not allow a shattered windshield to pull your attention back inside the car where you are forced once again to live in the futility of your thinking.

Dogs, Bumper Stickers and Charles Spurgeon

While we were shopping I noticed three things I would like to mention:

First, have you ever seen the little stores set up in the mall that sell treats and snacks for your dog? I have walked by it many, many times. Today when we walked by and I saw the cute little treats, some having been dipped in chocolate (or, so it appeared), I thought, “Do dogs even care? Do dogs even know?” I do not think a dog thinks about how cute or interesting a doggy treat is or even if it is shaped like a bone (which it really isn’t since a dog biscuit doesn’t actually look like anything a dog would recognize as a bone but is merely shaped into what we have come to except as a characterization of a bone.) I know from past experience that when I have given a dog a tasty piece of left over steak or even a piece of dried bread, they chomp it and swallow it fast. They don’t savor the flavor. They barely chew it. A dog eats. That is what a dog does. But we insert our perspective on the dog. It is easier for us to understand our dog if we allow ourselves to believe that the dog thinks like we think. It is easier to have a relationship with a dog if we imagine he thinks like we think. We assume that during the Christmas season our dog would like the Santa shaped dog biscuit just like they would prefer the green biscuit around St. Patrick’s Day. (As you may know, dogs don’t see color they way we do. For example, dogs see blue-green as white. Green, yellow and orange all look alike to dogs.)

The point: If we find it more comfortable to interact with dogs by assuming they think like we think, taste food the way we taste it and see color the way we see it then it is very likely that we also find it more comfortable to interact with God the same way. We find it easier to imagine that God agrees with what we think, likes the things that we like and sees sin in the same light that we see it. This is wrong. A man and a dog perceive things differently just like man and God perceive things differently.

The second thing I want to mention is the $1,000,000,000 bill Toni saw laying by the cash register at a clothing store in the mall. Toni saw it first and asked the clerk what it was? (Everyone knows that a $1,000,000,000 bill shouldn’t be left lying outside the cash drawer.) When Toni picked up the $1,000,000,000 bill I could see it had a picture of Charles Spurgeon on it. Everyone was surprised that I knew who was on the $1,000,000,000 bill. When we looked closer at the portrait it had in tiny little letters “Spurgeon” and the text on the bill explained the way of salvation. The clerk said that every Sunday someone leaves a $1,000,000,000 bill in their store. Apparently some church or some Christian was bringing the truth of Jesus Christ to the mall with false $1,000,000,000 bills.

The third and final thing I saw was a bumper sticker in the parking lot that said “My Boston terrier is smarter than your honor roll student.” I instantly found myself evaluating the bumper sticker with three personal thoughts:
  • I wouldn’t put a big square bumper sticker on my car.
  • I wouldn’t put a big square bumper sticker on my car about my dog.
  • I wouldn’t put a big square bumper sticker on my car about my dog so I could insult you concerning your child.
As I walked into the store I continued to think how pointless that bumper sticker was..

So this is what I thought about while I carried shopping bags around the mall:
  • I thought about how we elevate dogs up and de-elevate God down to our level
  • How we use false money to spread truth 
  • Why we feel the need to insult others with pointless bumper stickers.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Where Is God?

People often ask, "Where is God?" or, "Why would God allow this to happen?" There are a variety of answers for these questions, but we often do not understand the depth of a question like this. We do not perceive the colossal transformation a simple, uninformed request like "I wish God would do something," would unleash on earth and on human history were it met with a divine reply. It would be epic. A new epoch. Malachi wrote:
You have wearied the Lord with your words.

"How have we wearied him?" you ask.

By saying, . . . "Where is the God of justice?"

". . . Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?

For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 2:17-3:2)
The world we live in is filled with evil. God knows this and God wants to change it. God longs to change it. But, understand, God is not just going to come and resolve the evil you are currently campaigning against. God is going to change human history when he comes. Do not consider God to be unconcerned, distant or none existent. Instead, consider God to be patient! Peter wrote:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
God's wrath is currently burning against the great evils done by the vile, corrupt perverts scattered among humanity. We want action now!! But, God is also concerned about the deep rooted evil within my heart and yours. I would not consider either of us to be "vile, corrupt perverts." In fact, if I were God, I would go after the desperate sinners with the "refiners fire" mentioned by Malachi and grade the rest of us on the curve giving extra credit for effort and church attendance. But, this is not divine reality. God is holy, pure and sinless. We are closer to the vile and corrupt then we are to the holy and pure. Remember Jesus' words:
-Mass Murder: "I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." (Matt. 5:22)
-Sexual Deviant: "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt. 5:28)
Clearly God is watching and wanting to set the world right. But, he knows that when he does make his move to fix things he will first have to deal with the sin that is in every man's heart.

So, we continue to long for God's intervention. We pray for needs, hurts and injustice in our communities and around the world knowing that God hears and that God answers prayer. But, we also must realize, as Malachi warned us, that the Lord will appear to set things right, but each of us must personally be ready for that day before it comes, because:

Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?
Right now God is waiting patiently for you to repent. He is not unconcerned. He is patient. He does not want to destroy you when he does come to judge those sinners you are so concerned about and to fix the evil in nature you are so quick to cry out against by saying, "Where is the God of justice?"

Now you know . . . the God of justice is waiting patiently so you can be spared when he does appear . . . when he suddenly appears!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Bible Teaching from Generation Word: First, We Need More People to Leave the Church

Bible Teaching from Generation Word: First, We Need More People to Leave the Church

Listen to the Sound of Babyonian Poetry-1900 BC

Listen to the sounds of ancient Babylonian poetry being read in the original Chaldean language. This site has the reading of Hammurabi's Code and the Epic of Gilgamesh.

I doubt you will be able to understand the words, but it is pretty cool.

http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/mjw65/BAPLAR/Archive

Why I Don't Want My Sons in Ministry

(This post was originally published as a blog by Galyn Wiemers on August 24, 2008)
Two weeks ago on a Wednesday I sent 20 emails to ministries involved in mission work asking for advice (not money) to help me get 3,600 sets of our Bible School Series CDs to Ghana and Nigeria. I was hoping to find a network, an organization or some good advice. It took about a week for the first response to drag in. Now after two weeks I have had four responses from the twenty ministries. One from Tanzania provided some very helpful insight. One Nigerian told me to keep sending CDs and Bibles. Another from the USA told me not to trust the United Nations. And after waiting two weeks, the man in charge of our denomination’s mission outreach emailed me and suggested I might consider putting my messages online!? What??!! It took him two weeks NOT to look at our website and realize that we already have about 700 messages online including RealPlayer files, QuickTime files, video, iTunes, and now, You Tube. The sixteen others have yet to respond.

Well, you say, “The clergy are very busy people. Men of the cloth have a lot of things on their minds and tremendous responsibilities.” Well, I don’t buy that. I have been involved with church ministry now for 22 years. I have been a believer for 32 years. I have raised my family in the church and with all of my boys spending some time (probably, too much time) in Christian schools. You ask, why such negative outrage.

Well, here is one of many reasons. About three days after I had emailed the ministries, I sat down one Saturday morning about 8:00 to email seven businesses that specialize in mass production of CDs. I also asked these seven businesses for advice on getting 3,600 sets of CDs (total 180,000 CD’s) to Ghana and Nigeria. (We have already shipped about 75,000 free CDs in the last four years.) After I had cut and pasted the email (even forgetting to change the name of the first company when I pasted the text on the other emails) I took my son to his Saturday morning basketball game. His game started at 9:00 that morning and by 10:15 my cell phone started ringing. This went on all day with companies calling me and emailing me on a Saturday in response to an email I cut and pasted that Saturday morning. Each of the companies had some idea on how to cut cost or make production and distribution more effective. Most of them were involved in their churches or understood the importance of fulfilling this obligation. Obviously, all of them provided a bid and a price breakdown. The difference was they responded a few hours on a Saturday and by 11:00 that Saturday night I had learned more about CD production and had received several very good ideas. Now, I want you to hear this, these men apologized because they wouldn’t be able to get me a complete bid until sometime on Monday because they wanted to talk with their suppliers and get the best price for this job. By Tuesday I had all the bids on my desk and samples began arriving in the mail.

Meanwhile, back in the world of ministry, by that same Tuesday I had waited seven days now and had received just two emails out of twenty, both telling me to check somewhere else for advice. Sixteen of the twenty ministries have yet to reply. It took seven businesses a matter of hours to respond aggressively. It has been two weeks and I am not planning on ever hearing from the other sixteen ministries.

What does this mean to me as a father of six boys? I never want my sons to be employed in ministry or to run their lives like men of the cloth. Instead, I want my sons to be believers in Jesus Christ, live according to the word of God and run their lives like a business man. I hope they never learn the worthless, inefficient, irresponsible ways of ministry.

So far, of my six sons (ages 12-24), one is training for the Marines, one is a snowboard coach, one is in the engineering program with the Air Force and my fourth son is consumed with the stock market, real estate and reading the Wall Street Journal. When it comes time for them to serve God I want them to be able to respond quickly, confidently and produce decisive results.

I wonder what kind of response I would have received from those same twenty ministries if I had asked them for their mailing address in order to send them a check instead of asking for their advice.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Generation Word Message Archives Updated

The following teaching series have been updated with audio and video from the last four months:

Slipping Fast

The media reports that Protestant Christianity is declining and shows no sign of stopping. I tend to believe the report but I also realize that these are the same media outlets that are against Christianity and conservative values in the first place. They may be doing nothing more than trying to create the news story they want. But, I think in this case the numbers speak for themselves as does our culture. Christianity is losing its influence in America.

Some of the quotes from the Associated Press article:
  • “Mainline Protestant churches are in decline”
  • “The United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping”
  • “More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all.”
If you figure in people moving from one Christian denomination to another along with those switching religions or leaving religion “the number rises to 44 percent” of Americans have left the faith of their childhood.
  • “One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.”
  • “Atheists or agnostics account for 4 percent of the total population.”
Less than 1 percent of the total population is Muslim.
0.7 percent of those surveyed are Buddhist.
“Jews accounted for 1.7 percent of the overall population.”

Now we crunch the numbers. Despite the trend and the media’s headlines, 51% of our population is Christian Protestants. Compare this 51% with 4% atheists AND agnostics, less than 1% Muslim and 0.7% Buddhists. Score: Protestants 51 Others 5.7!

In a tournament game that is a blowout!! I know enough about coaching to realize that 51-6 is not as good as 81-3 but I’d still rather take the Protestant team back to the locker room at half time or to the gym for tomorrow’s practice than the atheists and Muslims. The media could have ran a headline on the front page that read:
  • “Protestants Still Dominate US Religion”
  • “Protestant Major US Religion”
  • “Only 3% of US is Atheist or Muslim”
Another thing the numbers show is Americans are thinking. They are thinking about religion. Many of them are thinking something like the following:
  • I do not like the church I grew up with and am going to look for a better church (19%)
  • I do not think the religion I grew up with is worth continuing so I am switching religions or I am giving up on religion all together (25%)
I have been in one of those above groups for the last 32 years. I am glad I had enough thought and desire to make my religion personal and not just stay with the status quo. To the 44% (19% plus 25%), I pray for success in their adventure. I hope they find fulfillment and meaning in their search and I hope they find Truth.

Surely, if people are leaving a religion, that must mean they are not satisfied. If they are not satisfied that means a good portion of them are still looking for something. And if they are still looking that must mean some of them believe there is something to find. And if that something can be found it must be something that is real with some absolute value. I believe they are looking for reality. Christianity calls it Truth.

The basic game has not changed. The rules, the players and the contest are the same.
People always have free will. People are always faced with many emotions, desires and distractions as they move through life. The goal of life has always been to use wisdom and experience to sort through emotions, desires and distractions. Then each person must establish in their soul the correct values, priorities and morals. This becomes their base of operation. Ultimately, victory is living in agreement with the Truth. Truth is the eternal Reality. Since there is an absolute Truth and there is eternal Reality, it is very, very possible to choose poorly and to lose this game of life. Final Score: the loss of your soul.

Monday, September 6, 2010

From Nigeria

Here is an email I received from Pastor David Ojelade of Lagos, Nigeria. I have been in contact with Pastor David for about five years now. It will be my pleasure to send him a new copy of the "Framework" book:
CALVARY GREETINGS TO YOU IN CHRIST NAME. I WAS WRITING TO TELL YOU THAT YOU BOOK TITLED "FRAME WORK" WAS PRESENTED TO A MISSIONARY FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM THAT VISIT OUR MINISTRY FOR A CHURCH LEADERS SEMINAR. HE TOLD US THAT THE BOOK WAS EXCELLENT AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE NEEDED THE BOOK SERIOUSLY.

THERE IS NOTHING I COULD DO THAN TO GIVE HIM A COPY OF MINE.

HE IS VERY EXCITED AND HE SAID YOU DID A VERY EXCELLENT JOB.

PLEASE SEND ME SOME MORE COPIES. ESPECIALLY TO REPLACE MINE.


Pastors with "Framework" Book

I continue to filter through 400 emails this weekend sent to Generation Word. Several pastors from Ghana have sent a photo of themselves with the "Framework" book. We receive hundreds of request from foreign countries for books, but the cost of shipping one book is $20. That $20 is just for shipping a single book. We have a contact in Maryland that ships containers or crates of supplies and other materials. For us the cost to ship a box of 20 books to Maryland is $20. This is much more reasonable so we ship 100-160 books at a time. When the crate arrives in Ghana pastors and bible colleges then distribute the books to pastors. We are shipping 120 books again this week. It is a simple thing to do and fairly effective once the correct contacts are made.







Email from Temale - Northern Region, Ghana

Generation Word received this email last week concerning the "Framework" books we have sent to Ghana. We will be shipping more this week.

Greetings in the name of our lord Jesus Christ who cares for us. How are you ? I hope by the grace of God you are doing fine as I am doing here in Ghana. First of all thanks to Rev. Abdulai Baba. I am the Wife of the Pastor Addey Daniel of Revelation Of Truth Ministries in Amamsaman-Accra. Already I just came to Ofankor Bible college to improve upon my calling to serve and assist my husband spiritually since our church is situated in a difficult village. It is very difficult to get access to quality materials to read, especially Study Bibles and even ordinary Bible to distribute to church members. This makes it very hard to
win souls for christ, but i hope with this gift I will be able to impact much upon my spiritual life in Christ, since my aim alway is to organize the youth, the women teaching them the ways of the Lord and keeping them together to make sure the keep to the word of God.

After using your Books for a couple weeks I can say it the best comprehensive teaching Book I have ever read, and I am very happy and want to say thanks to your ministry Generation Word and Rev. Abdulai Baba for helping our ministry to reiceve one Box of your Books to support our church leaders. Thank You So Much.
Revelation of Christ Ministries Temale- Northern Rigion

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Western Wall Tunnel in Jerusalem

This summer Toni and I walked through the tunneled portions of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. We could see 20 feet below the tunnels along the courses of Herodian ashlar stones to the pavement of the first century street. Details of these perfectly preserved ashlars can be seen with their 2 inch cut margins that create a 1/2 inch raised, smooth boss. Each course of ashlars is inset 1/2 of an inch to provide stabilization of this wall of stacked stones that was built without cement. Also, the Master Course Stone, which is 41 feet long and weighs 500 metric tons, could still be seen stabilizing the wall. The Romans of 70 AD could not move this stone so they chipped away at it, but eventually gave up and let the rest of the wall stand. The chipped corner of this huge stone can be seen.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Interactive Map of Israel

http://www.eyeonisrael.com/map_Israel.html?showmap=9

Comments from Around the World

I am going through Generation Word emails today and have copied some comments below. I have about 300 more emails to read this weekend, so I will be adding to this list:
  • As a Muslim convert to Christ. the zeal to reach out and minister is strong. Please, assist me with literature/bibles to help me reach out to more people especially my friends in Islam. I also ask for study bibles & good christian books for personal studies.
  • Thank you so much for the word of God that you are doing to make the truth be known to the people of God ,i have visited you site and i was so much impressed in it i request you to be part of this ministry we work together for the kingdom of God. (Uganda East Africa)
  • After reading the first page of your book it opened up this great desire to want to learn and search out the Word of God on a greater level.
  • A big thank you sir for being a great blessing to me and to other people in my school (West Africa Theological Seminary here in Lagos, Nigeria). Your book hope for Americas last generation, your handbooks and other materials you sent are wonderful treasures to me. Coming from a Catholic background, the church History in one of the handbooks blessed me so much. You, your family and your ministry are blessings to our generation.
  • Just wanted to say a quick thank you for the online OT maps! I'm teaching from the book of Genesis for our adult Sunday School class & I've been spending hours looking for maps that would coordinate w/ Gen. 14! I came across your site & found exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for your time & dedication to spreading the Word!!
  • I been sooo "blessed" by hearing the 76 individual sessions of your Genesis series. I can't adequately convey how the LORD has blessed me through your teachings on the book of Genesis. I been a Christian since acknowledging the Lord's call on my life over 40 years ago. I'm currently teaching the youth at one of the Calvary Chapel's here in the southern California area. I've studied diligently the Word of God over the years in an academic environment and and have listened to some of the top teaching that is made available on radio and on the internet here in southern California. I can say with all sincerity that I've never been so excited to listen to anyones biblical teaching and exegesis of the Scriptures, as I have with yours. I have learned more about the book of Genesis, by listening to your Genesis series, than I have in all the years I've studied it. I got so blessed by the Genesis series that I've immediately began listening to your book of Ephesian series.
  • Firstly, I just wanted to say how much I have been blessed by your teaching
    and the accessibility of lectures on the web. I live in Australia and I work full time and have a young family. I am desperate for solid bible teaching, but my local church (whilst is a great church in many ways) falls down in teaching the bible. We preach but don't teach - it's something I want to change. I love your approach, verse by verse, line by line and also your humility in bringing the completeness of 'views' on the bible, even though you have your own strong views about certain things - you still manage to put forward everything and encourage us to 'think'. So I wanted to encourage you, please don't stop teaching!
  • The reason for the email is your book, 'FRAMEWORK For Christian Faith (A Treasury of Christian Information and Bible Teaching)', which Ralph recommends highly to aid me in a book on which I am now working. He suggests your book will save me a great deal of research. Please let me know if your book is still available and how I may go about getting a copy. Thank you very much for your help.
  • I personally congrat pastor Galyn wiemers for his unending generosity shown to millions of people all over the world in providing these books free.I am from India and am coming from a poor family.I wish I had enough money to totally support your ministry.I also wish and pray that an inspired man like Pastor Galyn should be in India too.India is totally immersed in pagan worship.Christianity here is far away from what the Bible teachers.They are led by blind pastors.If pastor Galyn had been here,it would shed some real truth to us.If gods grace can work miracles that grace will one day give me money so that I can personally meet Pastor galyn.I am longing to be with you Pastor.God of Abraham, Jacob,Issac and moses will help me because he is the living God for me.Thank you very much pastor.
  • Your studies that you sent on cd has been a constant source of inspiration and making my foundation strong in the Pure Word. I thank you once again. (India)
  • Your book is phenomenal!!! I'm AMAZED at the info you have included in it!
    It is GOD-INSPIRED, no doubt!!
  • I'm working at developing an online Bible school to train German pastors and church leaders. I've been teaching in classroom settings for about 10 years and would like to expand to meet the needs of more students. It's got to be in German, or I might just recommend the students to your website.
  • WOW!!!!! I was so impressed by all you have done: 2 books, cds, some awesome testimonials, etc.. You have really gone above and beyond. It always makes a coach proud when one of his former players succeeds and excels!! And brother you certainly have done that. I started the Generations book last night and am looking forward to it. Keep up the good work. And remind your boy, ZAC, to run fast, bear to the left and get to finish line quickly
  • The FRAMEWORK Books you sent to us are really revolutionizing our church and Bible Institute. We are opening a local language (TWI) School of Ministry as a Dept. Of our Bible Inst. Our Board has agreed to affiliate with your ministry and authorization to use FRAMEWORK as the sole Textbook in addition to the Holy Bible. We need your urgent reply.
  • I am a middle school youth leader at First Presbyterian Church in _______, IA and a member of our youth group brought the Framework book and the Last Generation book to our meeting. I was intrigued by the outline styles and was told by her to email you to get a copy.
  • Thank you very much! I just finished listening to your teaching on Daniel 11. It was great. I got so much material to work with. I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Word. What a blessing your work is. I am anxious to continue into the Maccabees.I will spread the word about your website.
  • I discovered you today while searching during my lunch hour Sermon audio.com.I enjoyed your lesson on Manasseh, Josiah and Jeremiah. This led me your feel very hungry :-) for your book "Framework". I lead a midweek bible class and also preach on occasion and I feel a bound copy of your book for be so helpful. I notice normally you do not ship to the UK and I can understand why. Would you reconsider for my case.

G.K. Chesterton Quotes

I am going through 400+ emails and have this one I sent to myself that was a collection of G.K. Chesterton quotes:

G.K. Chesterton Quotes:

"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for
all religions." - ILN, 1/13/06

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult
and left untried." - Chapter 5, What's Wrong With The World, 1910

"The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man." - Introduction to the
Book of Job, 1907

"These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own."
- ILN 8-11-28

"All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set
to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive." - The Thing. CW.
III 191

"Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false
devils;

# "Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God." - Christendom in Dublin,
1933

# "America is the only country ever founded on a creed." - What I Saw In America, 1922

# "The Declaration of Independence dogmatically bases all rights on the fact that God
created all men equal; and it is right; for if they were not created equal, they were
certainly evolved unequal. There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the
divine origin of man." - Chapter 19, What I Saw In America, 1922

"When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You
get the small laws." - Daily News, 7/29/05

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it." -
Everlasting Man, 1925

"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." - ILN, 4/19/30

"What embitters the world is not excess of criticism, but an absence of self-criticism."
- Sidelights on New London and Newer New York

"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." - A
Short History of England, Ch.10

"The modern world is a crowd of very rapid racing cars all brought to a standstill and
stuck in a block of traffic." - ILN, 5/29/26

"War is not 'the best way of settling differences; it is the only way of preventing their
being settled for you." - ILN, 7/24/15

"In the struggle for existence, it is only on those who hang on for ten minutes after all
is hopeless, that hope begins to dawn." - The Speaker 2-2-01

"Scepticism is fond of calling itself progressive; but scepticism is really reactionary.
Scepticism goes back; it attempts to unsettle what has already been settled. Instead of
trying to break up new fields with its plough, it simply tries to break up the plough."
(ILN 2-6-09)


Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com
515-321-1960
P.O. Box 399, Waukee, Iowa 50265

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