All posts in Stepaneks from the Front

Genesis 1:1 In the Beginning God…

by Alpha Omega Institute on June 15, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

Genesis 1:1  “In the beginning God…”

This is a very scientific statement.  This statement deals with the ‘Law of Cause and Effect, or the Law of Causality’. For example, if I drop a ball, the ball will fall and hit the ground.  The effect is the ball falling and hitting the ground.  What was the cause?  What caused the ball to fall?  It was gravity, so gravity is the cause.  Now, what caused or made gravity?  How did gravity get here?  Eventually we need to start with what we call a ‘first cause’, something or someone that had to make and/or create everything.

What is this first cause according to some scientists?

Discover magazine April 2002 tells us that the ‘first cause’ was evolution.

‘The universe burst into something from absolutely nothing-zero, nada.  And as it got bigger, it became filled with even more stuff that came from absolutely nowhere.  How is that possible?  Ask Alan Guth.  His theory of inflation helps explain everything.’

In other words: Nothing did something to nothing to make everything.  For evolution, nothing is the first cause.  But nothing has no intelligence, no power, and no presence.  This idea of something coming from nothing violates the ‘First Law of Thermodynamics’, which states that matter and energy can neither create nor destroy itself.  Evolution violates science!

Back to Genesis:

Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God…

In Scripture, God becomes the first cause.  God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  A being with these attributes would have no problem creating things out of nothing.

Another question arises: is there an opposite of God?  Some people think Satan is the opposite of God.  I do not think so.  I believe nothing is the opposite of God.  God has all knowledge, power, and presence, and nothing has nothing!  As we discussed earlier, science, creation, and God go together. So I believe the opposite of God, science, and creation is nothing, pseudo-science, and evolution.

I was taught in high school and college the motto for evolution is “The present is the key to the past.”  But in Scripture, “the past is the key to the present.”  This means Genesis and creation are relevant for today.  To understand the world around us, we need to understand Genesis and creation.

This brings us back again to Genesis Chapter One.

Day one or the first day of creation starts on Genesis 1:1.

Genesis 1:1a, In the beginning God…

The word “beginning” is a reference to time.  God created time, so this means that God is outside of time.  He does not function in time like we do.  Some people do not understand this concept so they tend to misinterpret II Peter 3:8.

People who believe that the days in Genesis chapter one are not literal days, will use this verse to try and prove their point.  A closer examination of this verse, and a better understanding of Genesis, will reveal this verse actually supports the literal days in Genesis… as we will see.

This verse states “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years.”  “There you have it,” they will say,  “one day is equal to a thousand years.”  But do not stop reading there.  As we continue to read, “a thousand years as one day.”  God is a God of order, so His Word is also a book of order.  So using their reasoning, every time we read one day it really means a thousand years, and every time we read a thousand years it really means one day.  Well, Adam lived to be 930 years old, that means he was just 70 years short of being a thousand years old.  So Adam did not quite live a thousand years , but a thousand years is really only a day.  Using their logic, this means Adam did not quite live to be one day old.  So he was created, named the animals, named the woman, married the woman, and had sons and daughters all in less than one day!  This does not make any sense!  What they missed is this: “to the Lord”  II Peter 3:8.

As we read in Genesis 1:1a, God is outside of time, so to Him a day is the same as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.  For us, since we are created in time, a day is a day and a thousand years is a thousand years.  Returning to II Peter 3:8, the day in this verse literally means one day and the thousand years literally means a thousand years.  The words mean what they say or the whole concept of the verse has no meaning.  In good Biblical interpretation, we must always look first at the context.  The context of II Peter is about God’s future judgment on a wicked world.  It has nothing to do with creation or the days in Genesis chapter one.  Peter is telling us since God is outside of time, He will judge mankind when He wants to and not when we think He should.  Because people take verses out of context, they make big theological mistakes.

Please join me again next time, as we continue in Genesis chapter 1.

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

Can Man Make Himself?

by Alpha Omega Institute on June 12, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

Before we continue in Genesis let us observe the statue to the right.

In the picture, we see a statue of a man carving himself out of rock.  Do you see anything strange here?  Do you believe this could happen?  Can statues make themselves by carving themselves out of rock?  What about humans?  Can humans make themselves from rocks, or the elements of the earth?  What you are looking at is evolution.  Evolution states that we can make ourselves out of the elements of the world.   All you need is rock, gasses, dirt, water, and just add some energy to put it all together.  I forgot one thing… ‘time.’  Time is the magic wand of evolution. The one thing which is missing in this picture is time.  I was taught that given enough time anything can happen.  With billions of years of time, the elements of the earth could organize themselves into the first living organisms.   Then with additional billions of years, these first life forms evolve into humans.  In other words, we can make ourselves!

The Bible addresses this problem.

Psalm 100:3 - Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (emphasis added)

We know statues cannot make themselves.  Just ask a child or a scientist and they will say it is impossible.  We can observe rocks, test rocks, and do scientific research on rocks.  No matter how much time a rock has, it will not turn itself into a statue of a human.  We know it takes a sculptor to make a statue.  It would be silly for a statue to argue with his maker that he made himself and not the sculptor. God knew statues cannot make themselves long before we knew it.  He also knows we cannot make ourselves no matter how much time there is.  We will be addressing these topics and others as we study Genesis.

Using Scripture as our source of truth, we know this statue cannot make itself.  It takes a sculptor to make a statue out of rock, and Scripture also tells us it takes a Creator to make us.  We can make statues, but we have neither the intelligence nor the technology to bring life from rocks.  God who created life, including humans, has to be a greater source of intelligence and technology than man.

Many scientists of Charles Darwin’s day understood this, and they rejected Darwin’s idea of evolution.  Some spent many years refuting spontaneous generation, which states that life came from dead matter.  It was the liberal and worldly church of Darwin’s day that supported Darwin’s theory of evolution. *see Creation 21(4) Sept. – Nov. 1999.

Because of the lack of true scientific and Biblical knowledge, many people are destroyed, lives ruined, and eternal damnation from the rejection of Jesus as their Saviour.

Hosea 4:6 – My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,… 

I believe it is from the lack of the fear of the LORD which has destroyed many a person either in this life or in the life to come.

Knowing all this, we will return to Genesis and explore the wonders of His creation!  By using Scripture as our guide we will learn true science!

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

We Continue In Genesis….Source Of Scientific Method and Knowledge

by Alpha Omega Institute on May 31, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

Continuing with our study of science, we learn science deals with “order, purpose, and laws.”   Examining evolution: evolution is ‘disorder (random chance & accident), purposeless (no intelligence), and lawless.”  God is a Being of “order, purpose, and laws.”  So His creation should also have “order, purpose, and laws.”   When we compare the three - science, evolution, plus God and His creation, we discover evolution does not fit.  The Bible and science go together.

This means that all scientists, even atheists, when using the scientific method, use Biblical principles of order, purpose, and laws.

When God created and made the universe, He used intelligence with energy under His control.  When scientists or inventors make or invent things, they also use order, purpose, laws, intelligence, and energy under control.  Scientists and inventors do not use evolutionary principles, but Biblical principles.

Paul warns Timothy and us today, to beware of pseudo-science philosophies.

I Timothy 6:20

The nature of science is to use the scientific method in the pursuit of truth. This is the same for Romans 1:20, God wants us to study His creation (science).  For God knows by embracing true science, it will point us to the Truth.  Jesus is the Truth!

Science has its limitations.  One of the main limitations of science is the scientist.  The reason why: scientists are human and humans do not know everything and they can make mistakes.

Below are some of the limitations of science.

  1. Scientists have limited knowledge
  2. Humans are imperfect
  3. Scientists make mistakes
  4. Scientists can misinterpret the data
  5. The data scientists collect (experiments) may be flawed

For scientists to properly interpret the data and avoid mistakes, we need to start with a source of all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.  According to Scripture, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

Psalm 111:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverb 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverb 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

The LORD is a source of unlimited knowledge, so His Word is a good place to start for our learning.   Through Scripture we can determine what is true knowledge and what is false knowledge. Scientists discovered this during the Reformation. By returning to Scripture as the source of truth, this was the beginning of man turning to true science and thus brought us out of the Dark Ages.

To truly understand what we are studying or observing, we must start with a source of all knowledge.  If we do not start with a source of all knowledge, there is a good chance we may misinterpret the data, which we have seen scientists do in the past.

 

Rich Stepanek

For further reading, some of the above information came from Exploring Creation with Biology by Dr. Jay Wile and Marilyn F. Durnell pg. 12-13 and Genesis and the Decay of the Nations by Ken Ham pg.23-31

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

Where Should We Look For The Answers To Life’s Toughest Questions? – Genesis Chapter One

by Alpha Omega Institute on May 25, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

People in the world today have many questions; for example:

How did everything get here?

Why are we here?

Who am I?

What is the purpose of life?

Why is there so much suffering and death in the world?

What does the future hold for me?

Where will I spend eternity?

 

We as Christians need to know the answers to these questions, as well as many others.

I Peter 3:15 -  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

Why do we need to have answers to their questions?  If we do not give them the answers, they may search elsewhere for answers and they will probably be told a lie.  Many people reject Jesus and His Word because the church doesn’t have the answers.

To answer these questions and many others; we will turn to Genesis, which is the book of beginnings, and science.  People may ask, ‘what does Genesis have to do with science?’  We will discover that Genesis and science fit perfectly together. I will explain by defining science.

The definition of science in the Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, copyright 1983 states:  “Science: Systematized knowledge from observation, study, and experimentation carried on in order to determine the nature of principles of what is being studied.”

Empirical science is the observation, study, experimentation, etc. of nature or creation to gain knowledge.  I was taught this type of research was a modern day concept starting in the 1600’s, but it is not.  A man living about two thousand years ago wrote the definition of science for our learning.  His name was Paul.

Romans 1:20 -  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”  (emphasis added) 

The words ‘clearly seen’ mean: to see thoroughly, perceive clearly.  Further studies of ‘clearly seen’ we read; to see with the mind, to perceive, know, become acquainted with by experience, to experience, to scrutinize, observe, etc.  In other words, ‘clearly seen’ means; observation, study, experimentation, etc., and what we are studying is creation or nature (things that are made).  From this study of creation, we obtain knowledge (understand or understood). Romans 1:20 is the definition of the scientific method!  But Paul goes a step further.  Through this study and knowledge of creation-nature, we know that God exists.  Actually, there is so much evidence there is no excuse for anyone being an atheist!

Please check back for the next blog, where I will continue discussing answers to these questions, as we go verse by verse through the first chapters of Genesis.

 

Richard Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

One of the Major Problems with Evolution

by Alpha Omega Institute on May 24, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

I believe one of the major problems with the religion of evolution is the origin of life.  Where did life come from? For thousands of years, people believed life came from non-living matter. A famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who lived about 330 BC taught decaying meat would turn into flies.  He performed scientific experiments with meat. If he left the meat (non-life) uncovered and allowed it to decay for a few days, then it would produce maggots.   So Aristotle hypothesized that non-living matter would change into life.

He also made other observations to support his idea.  He studied ooze at the bottom of a river.  Since this ooze was similar to the smell and feel of eels, he believed eels evolved from goo.  His belief was that similar characteristics were evidence of evolution.  This ancient belief of life from non-life is called ‘spontaneous generation’ or ‘abiogenesis.’

Many others did scientific experiments to support the idea of spontaneous generation.  Some would place meat on high shelves, which were too high for maggots to crawl up to, and in a few days they would observe maggots.  As early as 40 BC, there was even a recipe to grow bees.

Scientists, even as late as the 1600’s, were still performing experiments to support abiogenesis. A biologist named Jean Baptist van Helmont demonstrated that he could produce mice within 21 days by putting smelly rags and wheat in a box.  In every experiment, he observed at least one mouse trying to gnaw his way out of the box.  With all this accumulated scientific evidence for spontaneous generation, it became a theory, and then a law called the ‘Law of Abiogenesis.”  This law was considered a scientific fact for almost 2000 years!  Guess what professors were teaching their students!  Spontaneous generation!

A quote from a science textbook titled, ‘Modern Biology,’ states on page 20 that, “until the late nineteenth century, most scientists accepted the idea of spontaneous generation without question.”  Sadly, there was no real evidence for this idea.  Many times, people often draw conclusions that are not supported by facts.  But thankfully, a seventeenth century Italian scientist, Francesco Redi, demanded proof.  Could decaying flesh change into flies?  Redi proved that the answer was no.  Maggots came from eggs laid by flies.  The decaying meat was nothing more than food for the maggots.

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

Colorado National Monument – A Monument to What?

by Alpha Omega Institute on May 15, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

In April, I had the opportunity to lead a school field trip in the Colorado National Monument.   There were about twenty students and staff that came along for the hike.  We stopped at a number of places along the trail to explain some of the geology.  I explained both the evolutionary model and the creation model for the formations we were observing; either there was a lot of time and little water or little time and a lot of water.

The students and the staff both agreed it looked like catastrophic geology.   I also explained what we were observing was the result of God’s wrath.  Most of the geological formations were from the aftermath of the world-wide flood of Noah’s day.  This is a witness to the just nature of God.  God will judge evil, but He is also a loving God.  He wants to save all of us from this present evil world and bring us to a wonderful place which He will reveal in the future.  If the geology from God’s wrath is so beautiful, what will His future paradise look like!

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

The Birth of the Genesis Project

by Alpha Omega Institute on May 1, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

The idea for the Genesis Project started years ago in Africa.  It all began when Lanny and I traveled to Africa a few months after 9/11 to teach about creation and the new age movement.  It was during the last few days of our one month tour and we were finishing up in Johannesburg, South Africa.

It was Saturday night and we were approached by an elder from the church where we were teaching the next morning.  He informed us that his pastor did not want us to teach, but to preach.  Preach only from the Bible, and leave our creation slides at the motel, he said.  We informed the elder we are not preachers, but teachers.  He was not impressed.  The order was to preach from the Bible or stay home.

After the elder left, we contemplated what we should do.  Lanny had the bright idea to preach what we teach.  We taught creation, and where do you find creation?  That’s right, it is taught in Genesis!  Lanny said he would preach on Genesis chapter one and two and for me to preach on chapter three.  That was our plan.  After the preaching on Genesis, a lady was saved!  The pastor was surprised.  Never before had anybody trusted Jesus Christ by the preaching of Genesis!

Then in 2008, I was invited to come to India and teach creation.  The first year I taught primarily the scientific evidence for creation.  The second year, I discovered my teaching was ‘going over the heads’ of most of my students.  They did not understand some of the scientific information.  Most of them were taught evolution, and many believed in some form of evolution. There had to be a better way to teach these scientific concepts.

I realized that most, if not all, the students had Bibles.  So again, I turned to Genesis.  This they could understand.  All I did was add the scientific information as I taught through the book of Genesis.  Because what we observe today is what the Bible has been telling us for thousands of years. They understood!  They were overjoyed to discover that Genesis and creation were true!  Because of the hunger to know the truth, we at AOI are now in the process of putting the Genesis Series  down in writing as well as on DVD’s.  So stay tuned for further developments.

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

The Genesis Project

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 19, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

 

AOI is starting a new Project called the Genesis Project.  We believe the project is greatly needed ,due to the fact that many people have questions and are extremely confused about Genesis.  Many churches do not even teach the truth about Genesis.

What does Genesis tell us about science?  If Darwin would have known the scientific information proclaimed in Genesis, he probably would not have made the mistakes he made about evolution on the Galapagos Islands.  Genesis predicted what Darwin would find on the Islands, 6,000 years before he was even born!  The finches do not show Darwinian evolution, but they do proclaim the greatness of God found in Genesis.

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk who is known as the ‘Father of Modern Genetics’, but is he really the father of modern genetics, or  is there someone who lived thousands of years before him who also understood genetics?  Not only does Genesis reveal information about genetics, but also many other aspects of science.

We have been using this method for years, and are now working to get it in book and video formats.

I am currently teaching a small group from our church by going through my presentations on Genesis 1-3.  They are a select group who have shown specific interest in creation teaching.  It is a family event, as all ages listen together.  It has been a great time of informal, but deep study.  We have been able to address questions as they arise, and progress at whatever pace fits the group.

Some have expressed dismay that so many of our Christian colleges do not teach this information, and do not stress the importance of Genesis in regard to the Scripture as a whole.  It is good to see these families equipping themselves and their children with a foundation for their future.  We hope that this similar type of study can be duplicated all over the globe with the materials that we are producing through this project.

Please keep us in your prayers as we work to complete this in the near future. You can also help financially with donations of any amount to AOI.  Also, stay tuned for another blog, next week, giving the history of when and why God had me begin to look in this direction for teaching.

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

Not Enough Time

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 10, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

Sorry Dave (in response to Savings from Daylight Savings???)!  We only have soooo much time.  Some people would like to have more days in a week like Dave, but it doesn’t work.  The French tried it during the French Revolution.  They implemented the French Republican Calendar in the later part 1793.  The plan for the new calendar was to change the seven day week into a ten day week.  This was to remove all religious (Biblical) and royalist influences from the calendar.  The project did not work.  Man and his domesticated animals had a hard time functioning in a ten day week.  The French Republican Calendar ended in 1805, officially thrown out January 1st, 1806.

Studies have shown the seven day week, six days of work and one day of rest, is the most efficient week there is.   In every country I have traveled they all use the seven day week.  In these countries Sunday is usually the day of rest.  I find this very interesting.  So Dave if you can’t get it done in seven days you are out of time, Daylight Savings time, or not.

 

Rich Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

The Ministry continues in India

by Alpha Omega Institute on April 3, 2012 in Stepaneks from the Front with No comments

Yogesh and Vinita

We are regularly receiving phone calls from a friend who was also my translator in India.   I stayed with this man, Yogesh, and his wife, Vinita, during my last trip to India in February.

He understands the importance of teaching the truth about Genesis so much, that he has decided to do some teaching himself.  On various weekends he will present Genesis teachings to groups at various churches.

It has been a blessing to see how God will use specific individuals to further the creation message in ways we would not expect.  It is also inspiring to understand that this man from India has very limited resources, but yet desires to share his knowledge with others at his own personal expense.

Let us be faithful to pray for those who are ministering in the face of great trials.

 

Richard Stepanek

If you would like to see if an AOI seminar is right for you, or you would like to help the work of Alpha Omega Institute, please visit our website events page or our donate page. Keep up to date with what AOI is doing. Thanks for your partnership.

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