Items Posted In December, 2020

The French Revolution

The Bastille was a French prison housing political prisoners. These prisoners were released from Bastille by a rioting population starting the French Revolution.

Posted on July 29, 2020 by

Categories: Historical Evidence, Philosophical

Tags:

The French Revolution provides an important illustration of a revolution gone wrong.  Its temporal association with the American Revolution invites a comparison between the two.  Both were in civilized countries with advanced concepts of social justice founded in concepts of equality and the rights of the common man. By any objective measure, the French Revolution went terribly wrong.  It led to the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent French citizens even though it started attempting to provide a more just society.  The carnage wrought by the Revolution did not stop in France but spread throughout Europe when Napoleon became… Read More »

Jerusalem Chronicle

The Jerusalem Chronicles is an ancient Babylonian text concerned the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Chronicle is one of a series of a history written concerning the fir eleven years of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. The chronicle concerns the period between 605 and 594 BC including his military campaigns against various other countries including Judah, Egypt, and Assyria.  The table is currently housed in the British Museum in London, and measures 3.25 inches by 2.4 inches long.  Even though it was acquired in the antiquities market and its original place of origin is unknown, it has been verified as being genuine. The Historicity of the Biblical Account The document is important as… Read More »

The Hittites

The Hittite nation was an ancient superpower rivaling Egypt and Babylon, but faded into obscurity until found by modern archaeologists.

The Hittites were an ancient civilization that arose and fell several times during Old Testament times.  They were a powerful group with a formidable army that was powerful enough to invade Babylon. In fact, they eventually grew so strong and expanded their empire so widely that they became an ancient superpower on the same level as Egypt and Assyria. Battle of Kadesh The two kingdoms would eventually clash in the region where they meet each other – modern-day Syria.  The Battle of Kadesh is dated to 1274 BC and represents the earliest battle in recorded history for which detailed battle… Read More »

The Shishak Invasion

Portal in Egypt showing the invasion into Israel

The Shishak invasion of Israel by the Egyptian armies of Shishak is described in Scripture and illustrated on a wall located in Egypt. The reign of King Rehoboam was tumultuous.  He was the son of Solomon and a grandson of David.  The Kingdom of David was still united when Rehoboam took over after the death of Solomon, his father. Solomon, the King of Israel, had broken the Mosaic mandates of the Torah by taking wives who were not Jewish.  The clear reason for this mandate was to prevent non-Jewish customs and beliefs from infiltrating into the Jewish community and turning… Read More »

Giving Other People’s Money

The charitable giving of other people's money is common in secular society, but is only an imitation of real charity.

Posted on June 27, 2020 by

Categories: Charity, Social Values

Tags:

Those who are in favor of a large, centralized government often believe giving other people’s money to charity is to be encouraged.  Those who pay taxes do not have a direct voice in how their money is spent, or how inefficiently the government redistributes their hard-earned dollars. Benjamin Franklin is from my hometown of Philadelphia and did many great and wonderful things as a Founding Father of our country.  He wrote an autobiography that has a story concerning the founding of a charity hospital in that city.  Many people living in colonial Philadelphia had medical needs that went unmet due… Read More »

The Ivory House

King David's Palace has been found in Old Jerusalem, along with a multitude of confirmatory artifacts including ancient bullae and pottery. These latter items confirm the historicity of Scripture confirming the David dynasty in the tenth century BC.

The Ivory House is mentioned in the Bible as a minor reference concerning the ancient Kings of the Northern Kingdom.  Its construction was influenced by Phoenician culture brought into Israel by Queen Jezebel. King Ahab was one of the more wicked kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel reigning during the 9th century, BC.  Ahab along with his wife Jezebel greatly expanded worship of Baal and brought Phoenician customs into Israel.  These included such things as child sacrifice, fertility rights, idol worship, and sacrifices to a false god. The Bible gives them both a very negative portrayal and they both… Read More »

Suffering and Evil

A Christian understanding of the purpose of suffering and evil is to draw people closer to God.

Posted on June 18, 2020 by

Categories: Philosophical

Tags:

The existence of great suffering and evil on earth has been difficult for many people to understand in a universe made by a loving God. Many cosmologists including Einstein, Hoyle, and Davies have questioned the existence of God due to the great suffering that is present everywhere on earth. Natural calamities such as  earthquakes, fires, floods, and climate change can cause one form of suffering that is independent of the activities of mankind or animals. Man-made disasters such as war, pollution or destruction of natural habitats can produce another form of suffering.  Animals can produce suffering of other creatures as… Read More »

Order of Creation

The early Earth was bombarded by a series of asteroids which periodically liquefied the rocks on Earth.

Posted on June 8, 2020 by

Categories: Biblical History, Cosmology, Science

Tags:

“Higher critics” of the last two-hundred years have missed some of the most important historical features of the Genesis account of creation in the first chapter of Scripture.  A casual reading of the order of creation might lead the reader to believe the account suggests the creation of the stars before the Sun, or plant life existed prior to sunlight. Does this mean the ancient writer of Genesis who lived in an agricultural society could believe plants existed before the Sun, or is there a more likely explanation?  Is the story of Creation purely a mythological story or perhaps written… Read More »

Made For Life

The speed of light is now known not to change over space or time.

The universe seems to be made for life; it seems like the universe was made in such a way as to promote the existence of intelligent life.  The question that has plagued cosmologists for decades is how this extraordinary fine-tuning came into existence.  An analogy might help in understanding this problem. Your New Office Suppose you have just landed your first desk job.  It is your ideal position, one you have applied for many years ago but only now secured.  You can’t wait to get to work! You check in to human resources, get the key to your office, and… Read More »

How Did Life Go Live

Posted on May 31, 2020 by

Categories: Biology, Intelligent Design, Philosophical, Science

Tags: ,

How Did Life Go Live The question, “How Did Life Go Live” has led many scientists, theologians, and laypersons to different conclusions.  Antony Flew came to the conclusion that God must exist in order for life to exist. Antony Flew was one of the world’s leading atheists, frequently engaging theists in intense debates concerning the existence of God. Then during the beginning of one such debate in 2004, Flew amazed the viewing public by announcing he now believed in God. This was a revelation of monumental proportions.  Flew indicated he would always follow where the evidence leads and felt with… Read More »