Dying and yet living. Jesus, remarkably designed organisms and the normal Christian life.
Jesus Christ could lay down his life and take it up again. He raised up Lazarus from the dead after several days, brought a little girl back to life but it was His own death, burial and resurrection that was the greatest miracle of all. Because only God in the form of man could be big enough to take the punishment and shame for all sins and human enough to be an appropriate sacrifice, a man who was tempted by all forms of sin but preferred His Father's will from the day of His birth until...well, there is no until with God. God invented time along with the temporal world and He decides when the creation He made will be ended. Some believe that the Laws of Thermodynamics foretell of the death of the Universe, but Earth as a habitable planet would be ruined by the eventual death throes of our star, the Sun. Like a wound watch winding down, the created world must end but God the Creator has said that He will decide when that end comes. I do not believe He waits for entropy to do the work for Him. When every child of God has decided to follow Him and when all who hate God have made their final rejection of His offered salvation, that is when this world will be burned up like flash paper and gone.
Science can see that organisms are designed. The myth of "junk DNA" has been debunked, the fairy tale of abiogenesis is just that, as Pasteur said, a "chimera." Only in the warped minds of absolute materialists do universes make themselves. Naturalism has no creative explanation for anything at all, whether physical or immaterial. There is no evidence for infinite universes (a contradiction in terms there) but, if that was considered, there would be one with a Creator God who made them all. There is no way out for the naturalistic materialist via scientific investigation. You do understand that science is devoted to casting aside what cannot be until there is only one possibility found? You do realize that a created Universe was never falsified by anyone at any time? There was never a scientific reason to abandon creation by God. This was always a metaphysical hostile takeover of science by zealous atheopaths!
In the world of organisms there are innumerable irreducibly complex systems and symbiotic relationships more convoluted and inter-related than the six degrees of Kevin Bacon! So go ahead and tell me how the Monarch Butterfly could have evolved? Can you explain how mankind can think and reason and be creative? Exactly how many bison can I kill for dinner with a poem, a song, a work of art? How can information be so vital to life and have no material substance at all? How can life be at all, as it also has no substance to it? No one can present you with a gram of life in a box. Try to think for a minute, all of you who have taken evolution for granted. Don't you think if the proponents of evolution actually had any proof to present they would have shouted it from the rooftops long ago? Anyone who can prove evolution ever happens can pocket a nice big chunk of cash, but no Darwinist will dare try because they love their money and they fear the humiliation of defeat.
Adnan Oktar offered a king's ransom for proof of evolution. No one dared try.
The life science prize includes this verbiage:
Rules for the Life Science Prize Mini-Trial1. The evolutionist puts $10,000 in escrow with the judge.
2. The creationist, Joseph Mastropaolo, puts $10,000 in escrow with the judge.
3. If the evolutionist proves evolution is science and creation is religion, then the evolutionist is awarded the $20,000.
4. If the creationist proves creation is science and evolution is religion, then the creationist is awarded the $20,000.
5. Evidence must be scientific, that is, objective, valid, reliable and calibrated.
6. The preponderance of evidence prevails.
7. At the end of the trial, the judge hands the prevailing party both checks. 8. The judge is a superior court judge.
9. The venue is a courthouse.
10. Court costs will be paid by the prevailing party.
Alternative Rules for the Life Science Prize Mini-Trial To accommodate, especially those fearful of contending against creation, these modified rules were offered in vain to some organizations, some universities, and some evolutionists like Dr. Francisco Ayala.
1. The evolutionist puts a $10,000 check in escrow with the judge.
2. The devolutionist, Joseph Mastropaolo, puts a $10,000 check in escrow with the judge.
3. If the evolutionist proves evolution is science, then the evolutionist is awarded the $20,000.
4. If the devolutionist proves that devolution, the opposite of evolution, is science, then the devolutionist is awarded the $20,000.
5. Evidence must be scientific, that is, objective, valid, reliable and calibrated.
6. The preponderance of evidence prevails.
7. At the end of the trial, the judge hands the prevailing party both checks.
8. The judge is a superior court judge.
9. The venue is a courthouse.
10. Court costs will be paid by the prevailing party.
Note. There is no limit to the number or qualifications of those on the evolutionist's side. If the evolutionist has the scientific evidence, then there is also no limit to how many times the evolutionist may contend and win $10,000.
Why don't all of these oh-so certain evolution-pushers like Richard Dawkins pick up some free money? Want to take a guess? We used to say that "Money talks, b______t walks."
Keep walking, Darwinists. But don't think for one minute that you can fool either God or real scientists. This charade cannot be kept up for much longer. Despite all the money and time and marketing for Darwinism the thoughtful individual balks at the idea and the critical thinker eventually rejects it. Some like Dr. Henry Morris realized it in mid-life, some like Anthony Flew came to their senses late in life and some like Peter Hitchens found himself a believer in both God and creation while his brother was the opposite. Brilliant scientific minds like Von Braun and Kelvin and Newton and Maxwell and Bacon stood upon faith in Christ as they reached for truth in scientific pursuit of what can be known by testing and observation. Not for one minute would any of them stand for an artificial imposition of naturalism upon scientific investigation. Methodological naturalism is a religious idea completely separate from science.
To quote from the excellent blog WisdomForLife:
"...We humans deeply and innately sense that there is more to life than this life. I suspect that this also helps to explain the strange energy of protest behind the odd (and relatively recent) brand of militant atheism in men like Hitchens, Dawkins and Harris. These men want so desperately to be known as evangelists of all things rational and logical. Yet they are glaringly blind to the deep inconsistencies and irrational agendas of their own mission.
Another well-known atheist, Bertrand Russell, once cast a more honest and depressing vision of human meaning (which I am equally certain he would now recant): “Man is the product of causes which hand no prevision of the end they were achieving and which predestine him to extinction in the vast death of the solar system.” This is a far more logical conclusion for atheism.
Scottish agnostic, Richard Holloway, offered a perceptive reflection when he groaned,
“This
is my dilemma. I am dust and ashes, frail and wayward, a set of
predetermined behavioral responses, … riddled with fear, beset with
needs…the quintessence of dust and unto dust I shall return…. But there
is something else in me…. Dust I may be, but troubled dust, dust that
dreams, dust that has strong premonitions of transfiguration, of a glory
in store, a destiny prepared, an inheritance that will one day be my
own…so my life is spread out in a painful dialectic between ashes and
glory, between weakness and transfiguration. I am a riddle to myself, an
exasperating enigma…the strange duality of dust and glory.”
Let’s be honest enough to admit that a longing for deeper meaning is universal to humanity. We’re driven toward it as if it is our birthright or a kind of necessary spiritual oxygen. We’ve been told that our pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. We are seeking creatures by nature and we often conceal the deeper realities of our pursuit with lots of temporal fillers. Just one more vacation, one more purchase, one more party, one more relationship, one more round of drinks — and on it goes. Like Dorothy, we’re off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz — only to draw back the curtain in disappointment time and time again.
Perhaps it seems predictable to quote C. S. Lewis, but he was right when he postulated, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
There is so much truth in Augustine’s famous prayer: “Everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being: You have made us for Yourself, and hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
On some level, Jesus would have agreed with the subtitle to Hitchens’ book, “How religion poisons everything.” Jesus invested large amounts of teaching to opposing religion. Religious people hated Jesus and, unlike Hitchens, Jesus was put to death by a plot inspired by religious people. With great passion, they looked for opportunities to kill Jesus."
You see, to live for Christ is to die to self. It is easy to live for yourself. It is almost impossible to put God's will ahead of your own. You have to seek to die to your own self every day. In First Corinthians 15:31 Paul said, "...I die daily..." but to truly make this comprehensible to you I will quote from Galatians 2:20:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
The ironic thing about this blog is that I am not a religious man and I do not like religion. I am a man of faith. Faith is all about relationship with God and not about "do this" and "don't do that." I have no respect for legalism and I do not seek formalism, although some who love formalism also love Christ. You choose your flavor of God as long as it is Jesus Christ the Savior who is the source. Yet the Darwinists of the comments threads are the religious ones! How odd this is, that the Christian is the one who is free and the Darwinist is tied to his dogmatic religion like a dog out in the yard. I would that they would all be free as am I!
Do not mistake my confidence in my Savior for arrogance or self-satisfaction. The fact is that the very minute that the Christian life gets comfortable then it is no longer normal Christianity. I have stood in between a drunk with a .45 and a drunk the size of a NFL lineman and put my life on the line to save a life, and yet I am not man enough to tell everyone I know about Jesus every day. I have to push myself to be more like Christ and less like myself. My church was not meant to be a country club of friendly folks, it is supposed to be a hospital for the hurting, a battle zone for those held hostage by sin, a charge of warriors seeking to beat down the doors of Hell!
I care not for prizes to be given out in Heaven for what is done for Christ, because what He does in me is either powered by Him or it is done by me. What I do in my own strength will not be worth anything that has eternal value, it is when I am His servant that I can do anything of worth. I do not fear condemnation from Christ because I did not witness to someone but I do not wish to see anyone fling himself into Hell. So every day and every hour and every minute there is a battle with my flesh to push down the me and lift up the Him within me. This blog is a labor of love for others, it is me making myself seem foolish to Darwinists and drawing their derision. The call me stupid, the call me a liar, they seek to make me angry. Yet I love them.
Dying to Live Another Day
Suspended Animation
by Heather Brinson Bruce
June 6, 2012
Death holds a morbid curiosity for many people. Its unexplained mysteries and its darkness bring out our curiosity. The recent resurgence of vampire and zombie lore is a perfect example. These creatures of horror seem to defy death. Is death something we should laugh at, be scared of, or willingly embrace?
Since Adam’s Fall, death has haunted life. Death is a nasty intruder, and we spend our lives trying to avoid and ignore it.
Animals seem to share our distaste of death, avoiding dead creatures they didn’t kill. Some animals seem especially well equipped to escape death’s clutches, at least for a time. Through various forms of suspended animation, some animals appear to die, only to return to the land of the living after hours, months, or even years.
Water Bear
Credit: Eye of Science | Photo Researchers, Inc.
A water bear can survive without water for decades.
When the patch of moss they live in begins to dry out, water bears start shutting their systems down. They fold their eight legs into themselves, bend in half, and secrete a waxy substance over their surface. The wax helps prevent the loss of water while the water bear is in the “tun” state. Their metabolism shuts down—they are essentially dead.
But even decades later, the simple addition of water brings these tenacious critters back to life. The water bear resumes its ponderous gait, eating and reproducing as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.
Lungfish
Tom McHugh | Photo Researchers, Inc.
A lungfish can avoid drought by cocooning itself underground for up to four years.
Before the water is completely gone, lungfish dig into the mud and get comfortable. As the mud hardens, the lungfish wraps itself in a presumably waterproof cocoon, open only at the mouth. This allows the air-breathing fish to continue respiration. The lungfish remains underground until water returns. It can wait for up to four years!
The lungfish can survive so long because it reduces its metabolism to as little as one-sixtieth the normal level. Imagine if yesterday’s meal kept you satisfied for two months. Just add water (enough to swim in), and the lungfish will leave its dugout to resume normal activity.
Striped Burrowing Frog
Courtesy of Pete Reid
A striped burrowing frog buries itself for up to seven years.
The mitochondrion is the “power plant” of the cell. By increasing its efficiency, more energy can be produced, stretching the frogs’ last meal and fat reserves much further. Frogs depend on wet conditions almost as much as fish do, so such special designs are essential to survival. The return of water works magic for these frogs.
This raises the question—why don’t all animals have such efficient mitochondria? Mitochondria need oxygen to generate energy molecules. Unfortunately, the presence of oxygen also produces molecules known as free radicals. These molecules can wreak havoc on DNA, proteins, and other parts of the cell. The more free radicals in your system, the more damage that must be repaired.
During estivation, striped burrowing frogs can reduce their metabolism by as much as 82%, consequently dropping their oxygen demand. This in turn produces very few free radicals to cope with. When frogs come out of estivation, they produce a special protein that protects them from those mischievous free radicals.
Mountain Stone Weta
www.rodmorris.co.nz
The mountain stone weta, a large insect in New Zealand, can survive being frozen for the entire winter.
The reason? Water expands, forming ice crystals as it freezes. While this is handy for floating ice and beautiful snowflakes, it means that water in any cell will burst the cell’s membrane, with disastrous results. How does the weta survive?
The weta’s blood is very different from people’s. Called hemolymph, it is full of special sugars that prevent the water from crystallizing into mini ice chunks. This preserves the cell structure and allows the weta to survive temperatures down to 14°F (-10°C) for several months. Once it warms up, the weta thaws and resumes life.
Opossum
© Charles Schug | iStockphoto.com
An opossum can avoid predators by appearing dead and unresponsive for hours.
The obvious example of such behavior is the opossum of North America (not to be confused with the possum found in Australia). In fact, the opossum is so well known for its ability to play dead that it has infiltrated our language. But what does it mean to “play (o)possum”?
When an opossum is threatened with no avenue of escape, it will hiss to scare the threat away. Failing that, it will play its ace in the hole. The opossum will draw its lips back, foam at the mouth, and fall to its side. Its eyes will half-close and a foul-smelling fluid will start oozing. The body will be so stiff and unresponsive that the opossum won’t respond when poked, bitten, or even carried off. The entire display hinges on one vital principle—predators would rather kill their own dinner. Eating a stinky animal that just “died” might be a sure-fire way to come to your own smelly end.
All this may be old news to some people. Opossums play dead to avoid being eaten, so what? The miracle of this death is that scientists don’t understand how the opossum does it. They can’t figure out whether the opossum consciously controls its display of “apparent death” or if it’s triggered automatically in high-stress situations. The reduced heart rate and breathing is analogous to a person fainting, which is not a controllable reaction. But studies show that the opossum’s brain activity is just as engaged and alert as ever. Once the threat dissipates, the opossum wakes up in a matter of minutes.
Hognose Snake
© Mgkuijpers | Dreamstime.com
A hognose snake can avoid predators by appearing dead and unresponsive for hours.
Absolute Victory
Genesis 3 explains where death came from. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. While some animals have the ability to delay death for a time, each one will still die. The promise of Jesus Christ gave hope that God would conquer death, not merely delay its arrival. So while these animal designs remind us about our natural desire to defy death, our efforts merely delay the inevitable. Only Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross, the innocent for the guilty, could defeat death and open the way for each of us to enjoy eternal life. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).The Science of Staying Still
ANHYDROBIOSIS is a state of suspended animation that allows a creature to survive without water. The water bear’s skill at this has inspired research into new ways to prepare vaccines. If doctors could produce a dry vaccine, more people could benefit.ESTIVATION (or aestivation) occurs when an animal needs to avoid severe heat and dry conditions. Typically, the animal buries itself in the ground, where temperatures are cooler, and reduces its metabolism until conditions turn favorable.
THANATOSIS is the process of animals’ feigning death. It is often used as a defense, as demonstrated by the opossum and the hognose snake.
HIBERNATION is common among rodents like chipmunks (but bears do not hibernate, despite the popular myths). This conserves resources when food is scarce. Hibernation can last for days or months, depending on the animal, temperature, and time of year.
BRUMATION is the reptilian version of hibernation. Reptiles’ activity drops to almost nothing, although they still need to drink occasionally. Reptiles can brumate for up to eight months.
DENNING is what bears do (a milder form of hibernation). When a bear dens, its sleep is undisturbed through the winter (except when females have cubs). Additionally, its body temperature drops only slightly, as opposed to the drastic drops in true hibernation.
DIAPAUSE occurs when insects and certain fish face harmful environmental conditions. By putting development on hold, the animal can recommence development when favorable conditions return.
earned dual degrees in English and chemistry from Clemson University. She writes and edits for Answers magazine as part of the full-time staff.