Tree Devotionals (Contain Bible Verses, so enter at your own risk)

[TreeCo]

This is what I believe:


Issac Asimov:

"I’ve never been particularly careful about what label I placed on my beliefs. I believe in the scientific method and the rule of reason as a way of understanding the natural Universe. I don’t believe in the existence of entities that cannot be reached by such a method and such a rule and that are therefore “supernatural.” I certainly don’t believe in the mythologies of our society, in Heaven and Hell, in God and angels, in Satan and demons. I’ve thought of myself as an “atheist,” but that simply described what I didn’t believe in, not what I did.

Gradually, though, I became aware that there was a movement called “humanism,” which used that name because, to put it most simply, Humanists believe that human beings produced the progressive advance of human society and also the ills that plague it. They believe that if the ills are to be alleviated, it is humanity that will have to do the job. They disbelieve in the influence of the supernatural on either the good or the bad of society, on either its ills or the alleviation of those ills."

 

[surveyor]

Humanism: You Will Be Like God

James Montgomery Boice explains the dangers of secular humanism.

www.crossway.org

 

[CaPowell]

This is what I believe:


Issac Asimov:

Thanks for sharing that TreeCo and giving us an idea of what you believe and where you're coming from.

I love sci-fi, but for some reason, I could never get into Asimov. Maybe I'll have to give his Foundation series another try someday.

The quote is beautifully poetic and all, but I find it somewhat depressing and wholly lacking in explaining origins (I realize the quote was just a concise summary of humanism).

Where did life come from? How does nothing+no one= everything? How did the first cell magically pop into existence with all the necessary parts (irreducible complexity)?

I see nothing wrong with the supernaturalas a reasonable explanation, especially when the supernatural God of the Bible has revealed Himself to us.

I can't help but think of the fish tank in my kids room whenever I think of naturalism. When I set up the tank, I instituted some natural laws. I control the water quantity, quality, and temperature. I control the light. I even dressed up their little biosphere with a bed of rocks and some living plants. Our world is like their tank, and our universe is like my kid's room. Everything within this is within the box of naturalism. The fish might be able to look through the glass and possibly see to the far wall (the end of the universe). They might say, "Well, that is it. That is all there is." They could observe their natural laws and make some pretty good conclusions. But, what they don't know is that I exist outside of the laws of their tank/room. Kind of like how God exists outside of time and space. He created the laws and is not subject to them.

 

[CaPowell]

Humanism: You Will Be Like God

James Montgomery Boice explains the dangers of secular humanism.

www.crossway.org

That was good, especially the very last sentence.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Seems like someone is playing fast and loose with reality.

That Giant Noah's Ark Attraction Has Caged Dinosaurs

It's like the 'Flintstones,' except on a big boat.

www.huffpost.com

 

[Reach]

Thanks for sharing that TreeCo and giving us an idea of what you believe and where you're coming from.

I love sci-fi, but for some reason, I could never get into Asimov. Maybe I'll have to give his Foundation series another try someday.

The quote is beautifully poetic and all, but I find it somewhat depressing and wholly lacking in explaining origins (I realize the quote was just a concise summary of humanism).

Where did life come from? How does nothing+no one= everything? How did the first cell magically pop into existence with all the necessary parts (irreducible complexity)?

I see nothing wrong with the supernaturalas a reasonable explanation, especially when the supernatural God of the Bible has revealed Himself to us.

I can't help but think of the fish tank in my kids room whenever I think of naturalism. When I set up the tank, I instituted some natural laws. I control the water quantity, quality, and temperature. I control the light. I even dressed up their little biosphere with a bed of rocks and some living plants. Our world is like their tank, and our universe is like my kid's room. Everything within this is within the box of naturalism. The fish might be able to look through the glass and possibly see to the far wall (the end of the universe). They might say, "Well, that is it. That is all there is." They could observe their natural laws and make some pretty good conclusions. But, what they don't know is that I exist outside of the laws of their tank/room. Kind of like how God exists outside of time and space. He created the laws and is not subject to them.

I heard a very good message on the radio today, by Dr. Robert Jeffress, speaking on how we can know that God exists. He’s working through a series, and I find the timing of this particular message to be remarkably perfect. If you care to listen to it, it’s available here: https://ptv.org/broadcast/how-can-i-know-there-is-a-god-part-4/?popup=true

 

[CaPowell]

Seems like someone is playing fast and loose with reality.

That Giant Noah's Ark Attraction Has Caged Dinosaurs

It's like the 'Flintstones,' except on a big boat.

www.huffpost.com

Pretty much every culture has dragon mythology. The term 'dinosaur' wasn't coined until 1842. The dragons sound remarkably similar to dinosaurs.

There is much credible evidence that man did in fact walk with dinosaurs.

 

[CaPowell]

I heard a very good message on the radio today, by Dr. Robert Jeffress, speaking on how we can know that God exists. He’s working through a series, and I find the timing of this particular message to be remarkably perfect. If you care to listen to it, it’s available here: https://ptv.org/broadcast/how-can-i-know-there-is-a-god-part-4/?popup=true

I caught a couple of these last week and thought they'd be worth sharing.

Thanks, Reach.

 

[CaPowell]

Here is another cool excerpt from the Bruce Malone book 'Have You Considered?'. I have never heard of a bunyip before this. I've also included a link from Google from the millions of years perspective.

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

 

[Reach]

Here is another cool excerpt from the Bruce Malone book 'Have You Considered?'. I have never heard of a bunyip before this. I've also included a link from Google from the millions of years perspective.

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

View attachment 81375

That’s wild! I’ve also heard of dinosaurs drawings being recognized by natives in some of the unexplored parts of the Congo, and so it would not surprise me if there were still some living down there. Many new species of plants and animals are discovered or rediscovered every day, why can’t there still be dinosaurs around?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

There is much credible evidence that man did in fact walk with dinosaurs.

OK...show me some...none that is solely based on theology or religion or some devine voice.

Playing games with 'dragon' and 'dinosaur' is laughable. There is no way that the dioramas at the ark in Kentucky can be interpreted as showing dragons.

You slide back and forth in and out of mythology and legend when it suits you. Very slippery

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Gotta ask again for clarification...

Look through this article and do a word search on 'years ago'. Look at the thousands of 'years ago' associated with the date. Which ones fit with your claim of YE?

Please clarify...it seems like you're always dancing around my questions. I simply can NOT understand how anyone can believe YE.

 

[CaPowell]

I'm sure some of these have been faked, but there are lots of authentic Peruvian burial stones depicting different things. One argument for authenticity of dinosaur depictions on these stones is that the tales are pointed up. This is a relatively recent discovery. The thinking of the day was that they dragged their tales on the ground, so why would a forger not copy that thinking?

Google Search

www.google.com

 

[CaPowell]

Gotta ask again for clarification...

Look through this article and do a word search on 'years ago'. Look at the thousands of 'years ago' associated with the date. Which ones fit with your claim of YE?

Please clarify...it seems like you're always dancing around my questions. I simply can NOT understand how anyone can believe YE.

Which article are you referring to there, Tom?

 

[CaPowell]

I also think the Biblical descriptions of "behemoth" and "leviathan" in the book of Job sound a lot more like dinosaurs than hippos, crocodiles, or elephants (as modern skeptics try to suggest).

 

[Tom Dunlap]

'Might' have existed means that buny might NOT have existed too.

I did a google read in buny. Interesting on a lot of layers. Before closing the google search page I was skimming down the paragraphs from each citation. My eye kept stopping on the word myth or its derivations.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I'm still waiting for "much credible evidence" not conjecture or a tap dance. Mythology is not credible evidence

 

[CaPowell]

I'm still waiting for "much credible evidence" not conjecture or a tap dance. Mythology is not credible evidence

I'll leave this here. They spent much more time on this than I have to invest at the moment and can probably write much more coherently. There are a lot of cool dinosaur depictions from around the world towards the end of the article. Goodnight buzzers.

Dinosaurs

God created dinosaurs on day six of creation, approximately 6,000 years ago. These fascinating creatures can now serve as “missionary lizards” for the gospel.

answersingenesis.org

 

[Tom Dunlap]

And again...

I'm still waiting for "much credible evidence" not conjecture or a tap dance. Mythology is not credible evidence

 

[Tom Dunlap]

This was in my FB feed just now. Seemed like perfect timing