With the election campaign in full swing, we anticipate a very common question at our seminars this fall: “How do you explain the origin of the races?” Our answer to this question almost got us tarred and feathered one time. We had said that all “races” originated from Adam and Eve, and more recently from Noah and his family. Therefore, we aren’t so distant from our black brothers and sisters. Whew! Some of those in attendance didn’t want to hear that! It was a small...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – How Did All the Skin Colors Arise?
A common question of skeptics of the Bible and even of some Bible-believing Christians is, “If we all came from Adam and Eve, why are there so many different skin colors?” There is a good answer, which is consistent with both the Bible and with well-known genetic principles. I will deal with the genetic principles in the next article (The Origin of the Races), but let’s review here the Biblical foundations for answering this question. The early chapters of Genesis reveal...
Read MoreThe Origin of the Races
The explanation of the origin of “races” is given by simple genetic principles. (For those of you who freaked out in high school biology, hang in there! I will try my best to make this understandable. Geneticists, please bear with the simplification!) All right, here we go! Our “looks” are determined by genes. Genes coding for a particular trait (like skin color) can come in a variety of forms called “alleles.” Sometimes these alleles appear to be of equal strength,...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – What Happened to God’s Good Earth?
In our last Gems From Genesis article,, we focused on Genesis 1:31: “And God saw that it was very good.” And truly it was, but as we look around our world today, we see many things that are NOT good. How do we reconcile these things with the Bible? How do we reconcile them with a loving, powerful Creator God? We need to read further in Genesis. Genesis 3 describes the steps leading up to the tragic event that theologians have come to call The Fall. The first human...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – In the Image of God pt. 2
In the last article, we looked at some ideas of what it means to be made “in the image of God.” In particular, we talked about the fact that as a result of Adam’s sin, the image of God has been blurred and distorted in mankind. However, in the fullness of time, God sent Jesus, “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15 AKJV), to be the “last Adam” and to undo the damage done by Adam’s sin, that we may be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29 AKJV). This is truly...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – In the Image of God
At the end of Creation Week, after God had prepared the world and filled it with a spectacular array of plants and animals, He performed His crowning work of creation – the creation of mankind. Genesis 2 describes this creative act in some detail, but the verses in Genesis 1 majestically declare the essence and position of man in creation. While the animals were created “after their own kinds,” only mankind bears the image of the Creator. Over the ages, Bible scholars...
Read MoreGems From Genesis: Conflicting or Complimentary Accounts?
After a lecture at a university, a student told me that although he had a church background, he had become an atheist. When I asked him why, he said that one reason was because of all the contradictions in the Bible. I asked for an example, and he replied that there are two different creation stories, one in Genesis 1 and another in Genesis 2. Personally, I was glad that he chose this example of a so-called contradiction, because I myself had struggled with it in the...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – Our Active God
In the last article, we looked at the broad sweep of the drama of creation. Now let’s dig a little deeper and explore Genesis 1:1-2:3 in a bit more detail. If you can, take a few minutes now to read the passage, paying special attention to what you can learn about God, from just this section. OK, ready? Here are a few of my observations. What more can you find? Right from the start, God is there, taking the initiative, in control. He is “outside” of creation, separate...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – The Drama of Creation
Like a good movie, the bible starts with intrigue – with a powerful attention-getter: “In the beginning, God created. . . “ With this verse, we are drawn into the story – left with a sense of wonder, awe, and a desire to know more. What was it like before creation? Why did He create? What was His purpose? What motivated Him? What did He create? When did He do it? How did He do it? How long did it take? What was it like when He finished? For the curious child or...
Read MoreGems From Genesis 1
Genesis – the book of beginnings! What a treasure! There is so much hidden in these pages, yet they are too often skimmed through, overlooked, ignored, or even scoffed at in our “sophisticated” world. But stop and think what we would be missing without the book of Genesis. In Genesis, God gives us valuable information about Himself, ourselves, and our world, that we would have no other way of knowing for sure. In the pages of Genesis, we read about the creation of the...
Read MoreSurviving Education with Your Faith Intact
We recently had the opportunity to speak at 3 secular universities in Minnesota. Our talks were sponsored by a group that takes a bold, yet loving stance, confidently standing for the truth of God’s Word. This ministry is graciously serving students and presenting a dynamic Biblical alternative to the prevailing secular worldviews. How encouraging it was for us to work with a group which sees the importance of foundational Biblical truths in actively discipling Christian...
Read MoreParents! Students! You Must Read This Book!
“I Thought I was well prepared for college. I had attended a solid college prep high school and was a good student. I was well grounded in a Christian world view and knowledgeable about a host of other world views. I’d sunk my teeth into the basics of orthodox Christianity, the Christian classics, compassionate conservatism, and was good to go. Turns out, I was wrong.” This book is essential battle gear! Fish Out of Water, Surviving and Thriving as a...
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Friends - Richard's Life was Changed!! - And this is why he is leading AOI's Colorado Family Camp! Join us July 30 - Aug 4 - conta.cc/3X4JroB pic.twitter.com/u8j1AP1Pmu
