6.27.2005
An Objective Faith: Why Christians Believe the Bible
6.23.2005
D3's Birthday Party Vacation
Link to Me!
Experiment with the height and width until you get the size you want. If the image is too distorted, that's ok. If you want, you can click on the link, download the picture, downsize it to the right width, and edit the words "D3's Blog" so that they appear better. Whatever you want to do with it is perfectly ok . . . as long as you still link to me!
If you don't already link to me, please do! Leave me a comment with a link to your site and I will link to it from my site. I'm getting around 20 hits per day not including my own visits, and the numbers keep on escalating!
In Him,
D36.22.2005
Winds of Change Unravel Progressive Creationism
Incorrect Information
I thought you'd like to see it since, you know, new genes are not suppose [sic] to be created.
S
6.21.2005
Letter to the Editor
Blinded by Science
While scanning the June 10th edition of the Herald-Leader, I noticed a headline: "Scientists search for common-ancestor cell." I had to see what it was about. Biologists have now decided that all organisms, from President Bush to the bush in your yard, are descended from a single cell. This is convenient for them, as it only requires life to arise from the "primordial stew" once. Momentarily, let’s set aside the myriad of evolutionary difficulties. We won’t criticize the never-observed "process" of new information being added to the genome; necessary for Darwinism. We won’t even analyze the abject impossibility of that first fully operating cell "appearing" from non-life. If, as the article intimates, we are the "cousins of everything from whales to . . . pond scum," where does that place us? If, indeed, it is perfectly alright to squash a fly, who can say that it is ‘wrong’ to squash the life out of the elderly, the sick, or anyone else who we think is useless? The researchers stated that the efforts to understand this bug will help other branches of "science" as well. Branches like "evolution", the study of something that never happened, "genetics", biogenetic tampering, "medical science", cloning other human beings, and last of all, "finding primitive life on other planets". They expect if they understand life’s beginnings on this planet, and know what simple life forms to look for elsewhere, they can prove that we are all accidents. It’s amazing what lengths humankind will go to to disavow a Creator.
Besides the fact that they failed to put "III" after my name, and the fact that they changed "Creator" to "creator", they did pretty well considering that I only submitted the letter 3 days ago. -D3
6.18.2005
I now pronounce you. . . .
Ingredients:
- 1 Nissan Maxima
- 27 rolls of cheap toilet paper
- 1 deck of Bicycle playing cards
- 14 plastic cups
- 20 feet of nylon string
- 1 stick of white shoe polish
- 12 very jovial guys
You can guess the results.
We took all their luggage from the backseat and placed it in the trunk, then wrote "We have your bags" on the window. The car was so stuffed with toilet paper that we had trouble closing the doors. The leftover tubes were put to good use too; they adorned the radio antenna and the windshield wipers.
Once we get the pictures that we took, I'll see if I can post them as well.
Happy Wedding Day, Dan & Andrea!
New look
6.17.2005
Bible Bowl
Today, my younger brother and sister are going to Cincinnati for a Bible Bowl tournament (Boy, I like links, don't I?).
My dad wanted me to make personalized name tags for each of the kids on the team. I used a trial edition of Adobe Photoshop that came with a book we purchased. It's a trial edition not only because it says so, but because it's a real trial to use it! You cannot save anything from the Photoshop application since it's the free version, so you have to Ctrl-PrintScreen (Copy screen contents onto the clipboard) in order to save your work.
Here is a sample of one of the nametags.
The res was much better, but HelloPicasa wouldn't upload anything bigger than what you see at the link. If you download the pic at the link the picture takes you to you should be able to see it with better resolution.
Professional looking?
The reason their team is called Winchester BLAST is because some of the team members are from Winchester, and BLAST is an acronym for the first names of the team.
Cya guys!
David
6.16.2005
Summer has begun!
- We got up at 10 AM.
- We had brunch at Waffle House.
- We went swimming.
- We had tennis lessons.
- AND WE NEVER DID ANY SCHOOLWORK!
That is the essence of summertime.
On a less light note, my 16th birthday bash is going to be held in two weeks. I will be turning 16 on the 12th of July , but at that time I will be attending TeenPact University in Georgia. TPU will be a lot of fun. I am helping out a little bit with some of the research for the Ivy League Track curriculum.
On that note, does anyone know of some information concerning what the Bible says about Mathematics? That's one of the things I have to find out for TPU.
I've been reading up on HTML, and I think I have found a way to make a clickable map!!!
For example:
Which state is Georgia, where I will be attending TPU?
(This is supposed to be a clickable map . . . why isn't it working???) If the state you click sends you to the TeenPact website, you'll know you are correct!Clickable maps are fun! Good luck!
In Him,
David S. MacMillan III
PS. If all you webwizards can help, click "View=>Source" to see the raw html. Please tell me where I went wrong.
6.15.2005
Answers In Genesis
6.14.2005
The Law : : Francis Bastiat
The Law
The Law was written by an economic theorist named Frederic Bastiat in the early nineteenth century. In his book, Bastiat analyzes the purpose, meaning, and progression of modern law. He explains why law is needed, the limits of law, and he also points out many laws in effect during his lifetime that actually promoted the very thing that the legal system was formulated to restrict.
The root of The Law lies in an explanation of justice. Bastiat tells his readers that, at best, law is but a necessary evil. Or, to put it more plainly, law is necessary because of evil. God has given men certain liberties: personal freedom, the right to own and use ones own property, and the like. These liberties are justly used for the personal gain of whoever holds them.
However, all men are sinful, and wish to gain what is not their own through underhanded means. This, Bastiat intimates, is a violation of liberty. He calls this act "plunder". Plunder, of course, is a form of injustice. How can injustice be stopped? God has given individuals the right to use force when their liberties are violated through injustice. The law is simply "the collective organization of the individual right of lawful defense."
One of the most fundamental insights in The Law relates to our understanding of this definition. Strange as it may seem, law is not put into place to create justice per se. Rather, the law exists only to prevent injustice. When we understand this key principle, our understanding of legal systems is greatly increased.
Why is this so important? Many people view the government as an instrument for providing prosperity and well-being. But that is not its purpose! All the law exists for is to counter injustice and plunder. Whenever men try to twist the government into an instrument for equalizing and justifying humankind, this inevitably results in something Bastiat calls "legal plunder".
Legal plunder, like its counterpart illegal plunder, is the non-consensual removal of one man's property for the benefit of another. The difference is that in the latter case the person guilty of plunder is the criminal, but if a person resists the legal plunderer, they themselves become criminal. The law is a powerful thing that must not be turned to immoral ends.
In reading The Law, my thinking about government responsibilities and intervention was drastically changed. I can now see the rise of socialism in America. Many, if not most, of our governmental programs today are built around legal plunder. I firmly believe that our economy is doomed for destruction unless we abolish these abuses in our legal system.
David S. MacMillan III
6.04.2005
Eschatology 101
Welcome to Eschatology 101! This article will be presented in the most straightforward and simple manner possible. Before we start, though, I would like to clear up a common misconception that many people have concerning prophetic interpretation. Many of you have heard the "Golden Rule" of prophecy formulated by Dr. Tim Lahaye:
Daniel has been praying in Babylon, and Gabriel has been sent to give him a vision of the end times.
"Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
The Hebrew word for "weeks" and the word for "sevens" are the same. This was translated "weeks" here; it really means a set of seven somethings. We know from later in this chapter that it means 7 years (see a little bit lower down in the passage).
"Your people and your holy city" is addressed to Daniel. This, of course, means Israel and Jerusalem (which, incidentally, is what he was praying about).
So Israel has seventy seven-year-periods left, after which all the things Gabriel lists will happen: the Most High (Christ) will be anointed, all vision and prophecy will be finished, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, no more sins will be committed, etc. This is an indication of Christ's Second Return, right?
Here's a chart to illustrate what we've covered:
Start of the 70 wks.}----------------------------------{Christ reigns in glory
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem So it starts at the decree to Nehemiah to restore Jerusalem in about 440 BC. Knowing this, we can add to our chart:*445 BC*}------------------------------------------{*End of the World*
Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
The street and the wall obviously mean Jerusalem in this context (restore and build Jerusalem). Records show that, indeed, it took seven "weeks" from the command to restore Jerusalem in 445 to the finishing of construction in around 409 BC. Then it took 62 "weeks" before Messiah would come. This leaves one week from Messiah until the end of the world.
*445 BC*}--(7wks)--*409 BC*---(62wks)---*Messiah*-(1wk)-{*End of the Age* And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
So the sixty-two weeks measures until approx. 28 AD, when Christ was cut off but not for himself.
*445 BC*}------(A total of 69 wks)-------*28 AD*--(1wk)--{*End of the Age*
Here's where it gets tricky:
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood (explanation: a flood of armies), and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
We don't know anything yet about this elusive "prince who is to come", but we do know that in 70 AD, the Romans under Titus destroyed the city and the temple. Since then, Israel has been desolated by Gentiles.
But like I said, this is interesting. We know that the world did not end 7 years after Christ was "cut off". Look at the first part of this passage where it talks about the 70 weeks themselves: Seventy weeks have been determined for your people (Israel) and your holy city (Jerusalem).
Since God doesn't lie, we conjecture from this passage that the 70 weeks is only "counting off" during the God-ordained existence of the Israelites and their total occupation of Jerusalem. This would mean that the prophetic 70-week "clock" stopped ticking after the Jews rejected Messiah. What does this do to our chart?
*445 BC*}---69 weeks---*Messiah is cut off*-{ Blank space }-1wk-{*End of the Age*
Since the blank space started when the Jews were "broken off" and the Gentiles were "grafted in" (see Romans 11 for explanation), we call the blank space the Church Age.
**}-----------69 weeks----------**-{ Church Age }-1 week left-{**
So what is the deal with the last week? We know so far that:
- This week ushers in Christ's 2nd return.
- This week must have Israel holding Jerusalem.
The passage now tells us about this week. I'm including some of the last part of the passage to make it easier to understand.
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary . . . Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
Wait a minute! Who is this "he" who is going to take up the last week? It can't be Christ, for it says later that "he" breaks his covenant. Reading carefully, we notice that it talked about a "prince who is to come". Apparently, "he" is this prince, and he will make a treaty with many nations for the last week.
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.
So we have this prince who makes a covenant of seven years with many nations, but breaks it in 3.5 years later (the middle of the week), bringing an end to the sacrifices in the temple and desecrating it. This desecration lasts 3.5 years, until the consummation of all things, when Christ returns.
So our chart now looks like this:
*}-69 weeks-{*Church Age}-*3.5 years-DESOLATION-3.5 years*-{Christ's Return
Look familiar? This is where we get the famous "Tim Lahaye style" charts depicting the end times. Seven years, huh?
Second Thessalonians 2 tells us more about this prince. When he is revealed in the last days, he "opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Someone who is opposed to Christ is called Anti-Christ. John tells us that "You, children, have heard that THE ANTICHRIST is coming, and even now the spirit of antichrist is in the world".
2 Thessalonians tells us that this "lawless one" will be consumed by the breath of the Lord and the brightness of his Second Coming.
This, my friends, is where we get a chart like this one (click for larger picture):
Chart taken from Lamb&Lion Ministries.
I hope that Dr. Reagan doesn't mind! :-) If you read this, Dr. Reagan, I hope you aren't offended by my using the pic. If so, give me a call (Ben or Linda Rake will give you my number; we live in the same city) and I will take the picture off immediately and replace it with a link to your article.
This, my friends, is the basis of eschatology. In Him, David S. MacMillan III