Charles Sullivan (aka Charles Evolution)

Becoming Progressive about Religion?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:10:00 +0000

In a piece called Beyond Progressive Religion, Ivan Petrella (associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida) makes a bold suggestion. He recommends we take the best parts of progressive Christianity and of Atheism, and discard the unpalatable parts, in order to formulate a new spiritual outlook.

So, what does Petrella consider the good and the bad of progressive Christianity?

He says:

From progressive Christians, I’d rescue the commitment to progressive understandings of faith and politics. But I’d reject their reliance on the Bible and Jesus. Here they are no different from the religious right, picking and choosing what suits them while ignoring what doesn’t.

Okay, that's not too bad, although it's a bit vague on the particulars of what exactly a progressive understanding of faith and politics is.

Patrella's ideal goal is for people to pick and choose from various religious traditions, smorgasbord fashion.

He makes this claim:

But religions need not be viewed as mutually exclusive and monolithic structures. Instead, they can be resources to tinker with and borrow from. We’re usually born into a religion, but as human beings all of them are our inheritance. To embrace this view is to become a multi-religious individual, someone who draws from more than one religious tradition to forge a spiritual path.

Perhaps Petrella hasn't noticed, but we already have such a thing, and it's called New Age religion, with its pickings and choosings from Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Celtic pre-Christian religions, and a bunch of novel ideas seemingly made up on the spot.

None of this bothers me too much, but what irks me is Petrella's ideas about what we should take and leave from Atheism.

He says:

From atheists, I’d rescue the commitment to reason. Like them, I’m unwilling to abdicate the use of my rational capacity in the name of faith. Unlike atheists, however, I don’t believe religions are false. Billions of people practice religions; in that sense they’re true. Billions of people believe in God; in that sense God does exist. Religions are true, but they’re not sacred. We need to be as self-reflective and critical of religion as we are of any other part of life.

The last sentence is intelligible (and I agree with it), and the bit about being unwilling to give up reason for faith makes sense to me too, but the rest is unintelligible.

So, let's get this straight: What does it mean to say that, "Billions of people practice religions; in that sense they’re true. Billions of people believe in God; in that sense God does exist"?

The problem is that believing something doesn't make it true, regardless of how many billions of people believe it. I'm baffled at how Petrella can champion rational thinking in one sentence, but then immediately after say something so utterly irrational.

At one time the majority of people believed that the sun revolved around the earth, but that didn't make it true that the sun revolved around the earth. And in the same way, just because the majority of people believe in God and religion does not make those beliefs true.

It would indeed be a strange universe if truth was simply a matter of what the majority believed. In fact, this would make science and rational thinking impossible, because if you wanted to know whether some claim is true or false you wouldn't have to actually do any experiments, make observations, gather evidence, check for logical inconsistencies, and so forth. All you'd have to do is have a vote, and whatever the majority voted for would be true.

And this bit from Petrella just seems wrongheaded (although at least it's intelligible):

In a world that’s becoming more religious rather than less, atheism can’t be the answer. Advocates of atheism remain tied to the discredited secularization thesis, making them a minority condemned to insignificance except within circles ever more out of touch with global reality. In addition, their strident tone feeds the culture wars and strengthens the right’s belief that Christianity is under siege.

I'd like to see some empirical evidence that the world is becoming more religious rather than less. Even if it's true, that's no reason to give up in the culture wars struggle. We fight these battles because we don't want to live in a society whose institutions are controlled by the religious right and their antiquated views.

And what makes the "secularization thesis" discredited? The ideas of secularism come out of the Enlightenment, and they go a long way to informing how governments are designed to work in the United States and Europe. I wouldn't want to give up that "thesis" at all.

This all sounds like wishy-washy muddle-headed thinking.

Iraqi Militias Target Gay Men

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Yesterday I blogged about a pro-gay marriage Muslim politician in Maryland, but it seems that he certainly is an anomaly. It would appear that some Muslims find gays so debased that they deserve to be killed.

Referring to a Human Rights Watch report, the Washington Post says:

Gay activists said militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had target lists containing the names of men suspected of being gay. Some were killed and some were tortured, they said. Human Rights Watch said a commonly reported form of torture involved injecting super glue into men's rectums.

These militiamen are not the kind of people you want as neighbors, and I feel for these victims of this barbaric brutality.

According to The Post:

The attacks on gay men appear to have coincided with a call by religious leaders in Sadr City and other Shiite communities to curb behavior that clerics called unnatural and unhealthy.

It comes as no surprise to me to discover that religious attitudes are behind this.

Read more here.

Pro Gay-Marriage Muslim Politician

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:03:00 +0000

As uncommon as it is hear the words "pro gay-marriage" and "Muslim" side-by-side, this is indeed a true story. Maryland state representative (delegate) Saqib Ali has publicly stated that he is in favor of gay marriage. The democrat, representing the 39th district in the lower house in the state of Maryland, does not put his religious beliefs before his political views, even though Islam clearly forbids homosexuality. Ali says:

"If I tried to enforce religion by law — as in a theocracy — I would be doing a disservice to both my constituents and to my religion."

I'm sure plenty of his co-religionists will condemn him for taking this stand (as will many Christians), but it is refreshing. One can only hope that other Muslims will publicly come to his defense, although I'm rather pessimistic on that front.

And he gets right to the heart of the matter when he says: "[Gay marriage] doesn't affect my marriage; it doesn't affect anybody else's marriage. It doesn't harm us in any way."

You can read a bit more here.

This makes me think of John F. Kennedy's speech where he said:

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I won't be expecting invitations to any Muslim gay weddings in the near future, but who knows.

Proof that Humans and Dinos lived Together

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 05:08:00 +0000

It's none other than atheist, biologist, and blogging maniac P. Z. Myers astride a Triceratops. P. Z. and nearly 300 people from the Secular Student Alliance visited the Creation "Museum" in Kentucky, and had a good laugh.

A few postings on P. Z.'s Pharyngula blog here, here, here, and here.

Public Prayers in Jesus' Name

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:23:00 +0000

It seems that Gordon Klingenschmitt is on a crusade in Lodi, California demanding that public prayers "in Jesus' name" be permitted at Lodi City Council meetings.

Klingenschmitt, who runs "The Pray in Jesus' Name Project," was court-martialed from his job as a chaplain in the US Navy in 2006 for appearing at a religious-right protest in his military uniform, which is against military regulations. But Klingenschmitt says he was court-martialed for praying in Jesus' name.

But now Klingenschmitt is determined to have prayers in Jesus' name at Lodi City Council meetings. What is it with these loony Christians who want to foist their prayers on us at government institutions? Don't they read their own Bible?

Jesus said "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret..." (Mathew 6:6, KJV).

The Lodi city bylaws only permit non-denominational prayers at their city council meetings. Apparently, this allows for a wide swath of the gullible superstitious hordes to be content. But if you allow prayers in Jesus' name at these meetings, then you open up a big old can of worms. Because, to be fair, you'd have to allow people of all religious stripes to have their denominational prayers as well, whether they be Muslims, Hindus, Satanists, Scientologists, Raelians, Rastafaris, Wiccans, Flying Spaghetti Monsterists, and so forth.

One can't but help wonder what Klingenschmitt and other Christian fundamentalist nutjobs would make of that. I doubt they'd be pleased, and I don't doubt they'd fight against these other prayers because America is a "Christian nation."

But the truth is that America is a pluralistic nation, so, as far as government sponsored prayers go, it's either all or nothing: all manner of prayers or no prayers at all. I'd prefer the latter.

Klingenschmitt is so far off the deep end that he offered up a prayer for the deaths of Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Praying for someone's death is called an "imprecatory prayer," and guess what? It's in the Bible, so it must be okay.

Here's Klingenschmitt's imprecatory prayer:

Let us pray. Almighty God, today we pray imprecatory prayers from Psalm 109 against the enemies of religious liberty, including Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein, who issued press releases this week attacking me personally. God, do not remain silent, for wicked men surround us and tell lies about us. We bless them, but they curse us. Therefore find them guilty, not me. Let their days be few, and replace them with Godly people. Plunder their fields, and seize their assets. Cut off their descendants, and remember their sins, in Jesus' name. Amen.

What a fine upstanding Christian this Klingenschmitt fellow is.

Anti-Witchcraft conference attacked in Nigeria

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:32:00 +0000

Nigerian Humanist Leo Igwe was attacked by Christians at a conference in Nigeria, a conference which was critical of children being labeled as witches.

The torturing and killing of "child witches" has become a serious problem in parts of Nigeria.

One of the main villains is Helen Ukpabio, head of the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries in southeastern Nigeria.

Ms. Ukpabio, in her book Unveiling the Mysteries of Witchcraft, claims that "a child under two years of age that cries at night and deteriorates in health is an agent of Satan."

Read more about the attack from the British Humanist Association.

The Top 10 Myths about Evolution--Movie Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Thanks to 4article1 (aka GotOngeloof) for putting this preview together.

Why do people laugh at creationists? (part 22)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:51:00 +0000

Why do people laugh at creationists? (part 22)
Ben Stein gets it good in this one.

Science, Evolution, and Creation: Ali G vs Kent Hovind

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Science, Evolution, and Creation: Ali G vs Kent Hovind

Teacher Expelled over Religion

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:41:00 +0000

Teacher Expelled over Religion
From the National Center for Science Education. Other videos available at Expelled Exposed.

Jesus in My School

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:50:00 +0000

A short video from The National Center for Science Education
Other videos available at the NCSE's YouTube site

Expelled Exposed

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Expelled Exposed, a new website by the National Center for Science Education.

Expelled Exposed offers a detailed look at the Ben Stein movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. We'll show you why this movie is not a documentary at all, but anti-science propaganda aimed at creating the appearance of controversy where there is none.

Click the logo to visit Expelled Exposed.

The Top 10 Myths about Evolution--Sample Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:35:00 +0000

You can read the Introduction and a Sample Chapter to The Top 10 Myths about Evolution, by Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan.

Click this link to read (this is a PDF file).

Self-Contradictions of the Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Self-Contradictions of the Bible

by William Henry Burr

New York: A. J. Davis & Company

[1860]

This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published prior to January 1st, 1923, and can be used for any purpose.

THEOLOGICAL DOCTRINES

GOD IS SATISFIED WITH HIS WORKS.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. (Gen. 1:31.)

GOD IS DISSATISFIED WITH HIS WORKS.

And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 6:6.)

GOD DWELLS IN CHOSEN TEMPLES.

And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him: I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. . . . For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there forever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. (2 Chron. 7:12, 16.)

GOD DWELLS NOT IN TEMPLES.

Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands. (Acts 7:48.)

GOD DWELLS IN LIGHT.

Dwelling in light which no man can approach unto. (1 Tim. 6:16.)

GOD DWELLS IN DARKNESS.

The Lord said he would dwell in thick darkness. (1 Kings 8:12.)

He made darkness his secret place. (Ps. 18:11.)

Clouds and darkness are round about him. (Ps. 97:2.)

GOD IS SEEN AND HEARD.

And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts. (Ex. 33:23.)

And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. (Ex. 33:11.)

And the Lord called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid. (Gen. 3:9, 10.)

For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Gen. 32:30.)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw, also, the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. (Is. 6:1.)

Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel. . . . They saw God, and did eat and drink. (Ex. 24:9, 10, 11.)

GOD IS INVISIBLE AND CANNOT BE HEARD.

No man hath seen God at any time. (John 1:18.)

Ye hath neither heard his voice, at any time, nor seen his shape. (John 5:37.)

And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live. (Ex. 33:20.)

Whom no man hath seen nor can see. (1 Tim. 6:16.)

GOD IS TIRED AND RESTS.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (Ex. 31:17.)

I am weary with repenting. (Jer. 15:6.)

GOD IS NEVER TIRED AND NEVER RESTS.

Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? (Is. 40:28.)

GOD IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT, SEES AND KNOWS ALL THINGS.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place. (Prov. 15:3.)

Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Ps. 139:7-10.)

There is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. (Job 34:22, 21.)

GOD IS NOT EVERYWHERE PRESENT, NEITHER SEES NOR KNOWS ALL THINGS.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the town. (Gen. 11:5.)

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and, if not, I will know. (Gen. 18:20, 21.)

And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord, amongst the trees of the garden. (Gen. 3:8.)

GOD KNOWS THE HEARTS OF MEN.

Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men. (Acts 1:24.)

Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. (Ps. 139:2, 3.)

GOD TRIES MEN TO FIND OUT WHAT IS IN THEIR HEARTS.

The Lord, your God, proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 13:3.)

The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart. (Deut. 8:2.)

For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. (Gen. 22:12.)

GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL.

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me? (Jer. 32:27.)

With God all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26.)

GOD IS NOT ALL-POWERFUL.

And the Lord was with Judah, and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. (Judg. 1:19.)

GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE.

With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17.)

For I am the Lord; I change not. (Mal. 3:6.)

I, the Lord, have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it. I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent. (Ezek. 24:14.)

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent. (Num. 23:19.)

GOD IS CHANGEABLE.

And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 6:6.)

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto them, and he did it not. (Jonah 3:10.)

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said, indeed, that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me. . . . Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house. (1 Sam. 2:30, 31.)

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. . . . And it came to pass afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Turn again and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, thus saith the Lord, . . . . I have heard thy prayer, . . . and I will add unto thy days, fifteen years. (2 Kings 20:1, 4, 5, 6.)

And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart and go up hence, thou and the people. . . . For I will not go up in the midst of thee. . . . And the Lord said, I will do this thing, also, that thou hast spoken. . . . My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Ex. 33:1, 3, 17, 14.)

10.

GOD IS JUST AND IMPARTIAL.

The Lord is upright, . . . and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Ps. 92:15.)

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen. 18:25.)

A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deut. 32:4.)

There is no respect of persons with God. (Rom. 2:11.)

Ye say the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; is not my way equal? (Ezek. 18:25.)

GOD IS UNJUST AND PARTIAL.

Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. (Gen. 9:25.)

For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. (Ex. 20:5.)

For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, . . . it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated. (Rom. 9:11, 12, 13.)

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. (Matt. 13:12.)

11.

GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF EVIL.

Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good? (Lam. 3:38.)

Thus saith the Lord, Behold I frame evil against you and devise a device against you. (Jer. 18:11.)

I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. (Is. 45:7.)

Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it? (Amos 3:6.)

Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments that they should not live. (Ezek. 20:25.)

GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF EVIL.

God is not the author of confusion. (1 Cor. 14:33.)

A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deut. 32:4.)

For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. (James 1:13.)

12.

GOD GIVES FREELY TO THOSE WHO ASK.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men freely and upbraideth not, and it shall be given unto him. (James 1:5.)

For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth. (Luke 11:10.)

GOD WITHHOLDS HIS BLESSINGS AND PREVENTS MEN FROM RECEIVING THEM.

He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (John 12:40.)

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor. (Josh. 11:20.)

O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways and hardened our heart? (Is. 63:17.)

13.

GOD IS TO BE FOUND BY THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.

Everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh fmdeth. (Matt. 7:8.)

Those that seek me early shall find me. (Prov. 8:17.)

GOD IS NOT TO BE FOUND BY THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.

Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer; they shall seek me early but shall not find me. (Prov. 1:28.)

14.

GOD IS WARLIKE.

The Lord is a man of war. (Ex. 15:3.)

The Lord of Hosts is his name. (Is. 51:15.)

GOD IS PEACEFUL

The God of peace. (Rom. 15:33.)

God is not the author of confusion but of peace. (1 Cor. 14:33.)

15.

GOD IS CRUEL, UNMERCIFUL, DESTRUCTIVE, AND FEROCIOUS.

I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy. (Jer. 13:14.)

And thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them. (Deut. 7:16.)

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling. (1 Sam. 15:2, 3.)

Because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand, and three score and ten men. (1 Sam. 6:19.)

The Lord thy God is a consuming fire. (Deut. 4:24.)

GOD IS KIND, MERCIFUL, AND GOOD.

The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. (James 5:11.)

For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. (Lam. 3:33.)

For his mercy endureth forever. (1 Chron. 16:34.)

I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. (Ezek. 18:32.)

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Ps. 145:9.)

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4.)

God is love. (1 John 4:16.)

Good and upright is the Lord. (Ps. 25:8.)

16.

GOD'S ANGER IS FIERCE AND ENDURES LONG.

And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. (Num. 32:13.)

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. (Num. 25:4.)

For I have kindled a fire in mine anger which shall burn forever. (Jer. 17:4.)

GOD'S ANGER IS SLOW AND ENDURES BUT FOR A MOMENT.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. (Ps. 103:8.)

His anger endureth but a moment. (Ps. 30:5.)

17.

GOD COMMANDS, APPROVES OF AND DELIGHTS IN BURNT OFFERINGS, SACRIFICES, AND HOLY DAYS.

Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement. (Ex. 29:36.)

On the tenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Lev. 23:27.)

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar; . . . it is a sweet savor; an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Ex. 29:18.)

And the priest shall burn it all on the altar to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. (Lev. 1:9.)

GOD DISAPPROVES OF, AND HAS NO PLEASURE IN BURNT OFFERINGS, SACRIFICES, AND HOLY DAYS.

For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. (Jer. 7:22.)

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. (Jer. 6:20.)

Will I eat of the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most high. (Ps. 50:13, 14.)

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. . . . To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand. (Is. 1:13, 11, 12.)

18.

GOD ACCEPTS HUMAN SACRIFICES.

The king [David] took the two sons of Rizpah, . . . and the five sons of Michal; . . . and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord. . . . And after that God was entreated for the land. (2 Sam. 21:8, 9, 14.)

And he [God] said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering. (Gen. 22:2.)

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then it shall be, that whosoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. . . . And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house and behold, his daughter came out to meet him. . . . And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months that she returned unto her father, who did according to his vow which he had made. (Judg. 11:30, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39.)

GOD FORBIDS HUMAN SACRIFICE.

Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them [the Gentile nations]; . . . for every abomination to the Lord which he hateth have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. (Deut. 12:30, 31.)

19.

GOD TEMPTS MEN.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham. (Gen. 22:1.)

And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he moved David against them to say, Go number Israel and Judah. (2 Sam. 24:1.)

O Lord, thou has deceived [marginal reading, enticed] me, and I was deceived [enticed]. (Jer. 20:7.)

Lead us not into temptation. (Matt. 6:13.)

GOD TEMPTS NO MAN.

Let no may say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. (James 1:13.)

20.

GOD CANNOT LIE.

It is impossible for God to lie. (Heb. 6:18.)

GOD LIES BY PROXY; HE SENDS FORTH LYING SPIRITS TO DECEIVE.

For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. (2 Thes. 2:11.)

Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (1 Kings 22:23.)

And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet. (Ezek. 14:9).

21.

BECAUSE OF MAN'S WICKEDNESS GOD DESTROYS HIM.

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created. (Gen. 6:5, 7.)

BECAUSE OF MAN'S WICKEDNESS GOD WILL NOT DESTROY HIM.

And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I smite any more every living thing. (Gen. 8:21.)

22.

GOD'S ATTRIBUTES ARE REVEALED IN HIS WORKS.

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. (Rom. 1:20.)

GOD'S ATTRIBUTES CANNOT BE DISCOVERED.

Canst thou by searching find out God? (Job 11:7.)

There is no searching his understanding. (Is. 40:28.)

23.

THERE IS BUT ONE GOD.

The Lord our God is one Lord. (Deut. 6:4.)

THERE IS A PLURALITY OF GODS.

And God said, Let us make man in our image. (Gen. 1:26.)

And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us. (Gen. 3:22.)

And the Lord appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mature. . . . And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. (Gen. 18:1, 2, 3.)

For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. (1 John 5:7).

MORAL PRECEPTS

24.

ROBBERY COMMANDED.

When ye go, ye shall not go empty; but every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment; and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Ex. 3:21, 22.)

And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. . . . And they spoiled the Egyptians. (Ex. 12:35, 36).

ROBBERY FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him. (Lev. 19:13.)

Thou shalt not steal. (Ex. 20:15.)

25.

LYING APPROVED AND SANCTIONED.

And the woman [Rahab] took the two men and hid them and said thus: There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were; and it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark that the men went out; whither the men went I wot not; pursue after them quickly, for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house and hid them with the stalks of flax. (Josh. 2:4, 5, 6.)

Was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? (James 2:25.)

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives. (Ex. 1:18-20.)

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. . . . I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also; go forth and do so. (1 Kings 22:21, 22.)

LYING FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not bear false witness. (Ex. 20:16.)

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. (Prov. 12:22.)

All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. (Rev. 21:8.)

26.

HATRED TO THE EDOMITE SANCTIONED.

He [Amaziah] slew of Edom, in the valley of Salt, ten thousand . . . And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. (2 Kings 14:7, 3.)

HATRED TO THE EDOMITE FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother. (Deut. 23:7.)

27.

KILLING COMMANDED.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. (Ex. 32:27.)

KILLING FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not kill. (Ex. 20:13.)

28.

THE BLOOD-SHEDDER MUST DIE.

At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. (Gen. 9:5, 6.)

THE BLOOD-SHEDDER MUST NOT DIE.

And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. (Gen. 4:15.)

29.

THE MAKING OF IMAGES FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath. (Ex. 20:4.)

THE MAKING OF IMAGES COMMANDED.

Thou shalt make two cherubims of gold. . . . And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look to one another. (Ex. 25:18, 20.)

30.

SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION ORDAINED.

Cursed by Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. (Gen. 9:25.)

Of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy. . . . They shall be your bondmen forever; but over your brethren of the children of Israel, ye shall not rule with rigor. (Lev. 25:45, 46.)

I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people afar off; for the Lord hath spoken it. (Joel 3:8.)

SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION FORBIDDEN.

Undo the heavy burdens . . . let the oppressed go free, . . . break every yoke. (Is. 58:6.)

Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him. (Ex. 22:21.)

He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. (Ex. 21:16.)

Neither be ye called masters. (Matt. 23:10.)

31.

IMPROVIDENCE ENJOINED.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. . . . If God so clothe the grass of the field . . . shall he not much more clothe you? . . . Therefore, take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . Take no thought for the morrow. (Matt. 6:28, 31, 34.)

Give to every man that asketh of thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. . . . And lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great. (Luke 6:30, 35.)

Sell that ye have and give alms. (Luke 12:3.)

IMPROVIDENCE CONDEMNED.

But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim. 5:8.)

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his childrens’ children. (Prov. 13:22.)

32.

ANGER APPROVED.

Be ye angry and sin not. (Eph. 4:26.)

ANGER DISAPPROVED.

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. (Eccl. 7:9.)

Make no friendship with an angry man. (Prov. 22:24.)

The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (James 1:20.)

33.

GOOD WORKS TO BE SEEN OF MEN.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. (Matt. 5:16.)

GOOD WORKS NOT TO BE SEEN OF MEN.

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. (Matt. 6:1.)

34.

JUDGING OF OTHERS FORBIDDEN.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. (Matt. 7:1, 2.)

JUDGING OF OTHERS APPROVED.

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? If, then, ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. (1 Cor. 6:2, 3, 4.)

Do not ye judge them that are within? (1 Cor. 5:12.)

35.

CHRIST TAUGHT NONRESISTANCE.

Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt. 5:39.)

All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. (Matt. 26:52.)

CHRIST TAUGHT AND PRACTICED PHYSICAL RESISTANCE.

He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. (Luke 22:36.)

And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple. (John 2:15.)

36.

CHRIST WARNED HIS FOLLOWERS NOT TO FEAR BEING KILLED.

Be not afraid of them that kill the body. (Luke 12:4.)

CHRIST HIMSELF AVOIDED THE JEWS FOR FEAR OF BEING KILLED.

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. (John 7:1.)

37.

PUBLIC PRAYER SANCTIONED.

And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven. [Then follows the prayer.] And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands spread up to heaven. . . . And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me. (1 Kings 8:22, 54; & 9:3.)

PUBLIC PRAYER DISAPPROVED.

When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. . . . But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. (Matt. 6:5, 6.)

38.

IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER COMMENDED.

Because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. . . . And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? (Luke 18:5, 7.)

Because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11:8.)

IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER CONDEMNED.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be ye not therefore like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. (Matt. 6:7, 8.)

39.

THE WEARING OF LONG HAIR BY MEN SANCTIONED.

And no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. (Judg. 13:5.)

All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. (Num. 6:5.)

THE WEARING OF LONG HAIR BY MEN CONDEMNED.

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Cor. 11:14.)

40.

CIRCUMCISION INSTITUTED.

This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee: Every man and child among you shall be circumcised. (Gen. 17:10.)

CIRCUMCISION CONDEMNED.

Behold, I Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (Gal. 5:2.)

41.

THE SABBATH INSTITUTED.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex. 20:8.)

THE SABBATH REPUDIATED.

The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity. (Is. 1:13.)

One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom. 14:5.)

Let no man therefore judge you in meat and drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon; or of the sabbath days. (Col. 2:16.)

42.

THE SABBATH INSTITUTED BECAUSE GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Ex. 20:11.)

THE SABBATH INSTITUTED BECAUSE GOD BROUGHT THE ISRAELITES OUT OF EGYPT.

And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and a stretched out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. (Deut. 5:15.)

43.

NO WORK TO BE DONE ON THE SABBATH UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH.

Whosoever doeth any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. (Ex. 31:15.)

And they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. . . . And all the congregation brought him without the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses. (Num. 15:32, 36.)

JESUS CHRIST BROKE THE SABBATH AND JUSTIFIED HIS DISCIPLES IN THE SAME.

Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. (John 5:16.)

At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were a hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said unto them, . . . . Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? (Matt. 12:1, 2, 3, 5.)

44.

BAPTISM COMMANDED.

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matt. 28:19.)

BAPTISM NOT COMMANDED.

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. . . . I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius. (1 Cor. 1:17, 14.)

45.

EVERY KIND OF ANIMAL ALLOWED FOR FOOD.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. (Gen. 9:3.)

Whatsoever is sold in the shambles that eat. (1 Cor. 10:25.)

There is nothing unclean of itself. (Rom. 14:14.)

CERTAIN KINDS OF ANIMALS PROHIBITED FOR FOOD.

Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat, of them that chew the cud or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel and the hare, and the coney; for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore, they are unclean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. (Deut. 14:7, 8.)

46.

THE TAKING OF OATHS SANCTIONED.

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. (Num. 30:2.)

Now, therefore, swear unto me here by God. . . . And Abraham said, I will swear. . . . Therefore, he called the place Beersheba [the well of the oath]; because there they sware both of them. (Gen. 21:23, 24, 31.)

And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. (Gen. 31:53.)

Because he [God] could swear by no greater, he sware by himself. (Heb. 6:13.)

THE TAKING OF OATHS FORBIDDEN.

But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven for it is God's throne; nor by the earth for it is his footstool. (Matt. 5:34.)

47.

MARRIAGE APPROVED.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make a help-meet for him. (Gen. 2:18.)

And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Gen. 1:28.)

For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife. (Matt. 19:5.)

Marriage is honorable in all. (Heb. 13:4.)

MARRIAGE DISAPPROVED.

It is good for a man not to touch a woman. (1 Cor. 7:1.)

For I [Paul] would that all men were even as I myself. . . . It is good for them if they abide even as I. (1 Cor. 7:7, 8.)

48.

FREEDOM OF DIVORCE PERMITTED.

When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it come to pass that she found no favor in his eyes, . . . then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. (Deut. 24:1.)

When thou goest out to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thy hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest among the captives a beautiful woman and hast a desire unto her, then thou shalt take her home to thy house; . . . and after that thou shalt go in unto her and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. . . . And if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of her. (Deut. 21:10, 11, 14.)

DIVORCE RESTRICTED.

But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery. (Matt. 5:32.)

49.

ADULTERY FORBIDDEN.

Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Ex. 20:14.)

Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Heb. 13:4.)

ADULTERY ALLOWED.

But all the women children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. (Num. 31:18.)

And the Lord said unto Hosea, Go, take thee a wife of whoredoms. . . . Then said the Lord to me [Hosea], Go, yet, love a woman, beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress. . . . So I bought her; . . . and said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man; so will I also be for thee. (Hos. 1:2, & 2:1, 2, 3.)

50.

MARRIAGE OR COHABITATION WITH A SISTER DENOUNCED.

Cursed is he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father. (Deut. 27:22.)

And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, . . . it is a wicked thing. (Lev. 20:17.)

ABRAHAM MARRIED HIS SISTER AND GOD BLESSED THE UNION.

And Abraham said, . . . She is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. (Gen. 20:11, 12.)

And God said unto Abraham, as for Sarah thy wife, . . . I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her. (Gen. 17:16.)

51.

A MAN MAY MARRY HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW.

If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall come in unto her bed and take her to wife. (Deut. 25:5.)

A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW.

If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing, . . . they shall be childless. (Lev. 20:21.)

52.

HATRED TO KINDRED ENJOINED.

If any man come unto me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brother, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26.)

HATRED TO KINDRED CONDEMNED.

Honor thy father and mother. (Eph. 6:2.)

Husbands love your wives. . . . For no man ever yet hated his own flesh. (Eph. 5:25, 29.)

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. (1 John 3:15.)

53.

INTOXICATING BEVERAGES RECOMMENDED.

Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. (Prov. 31:6, 7.)

Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities. (1 Tim. 5:23.)

Wine maketh glad the heart of man. (Ps. 104:15.)

INTOXICATING BEVERAGES DISCOUNTENANCED.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Prov. 20:1.)

Look not thou upon the wine when it is red; when it giveth his color in the cup. . . . At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. (Prov. 23:31, 32.)

54.

IT IS OUR DUTY TO OBEY OUR RULERS, WHO ARE GOD'S MINISTERS AND PUNISH EVIL DOERS ONLY.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. . . . For this cause pay ye tribute; for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. (Rom. 13:1, 2, 3, 6.)

The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do. (Matt. 23:2, 3.)

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake; whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto the governors as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evil doers. (1 Pet. 2:13, 14.)

I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment. . . . Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing. (Eccl. 8:2, 5.)

IT IS NOT OUR DUTY ALWAYS TO OBEY RULERS, WHO SOMETIMES PUNISH THE GOOD, AND RECEIVE UNTO THEMSELVES DAMNATION THEREFOR.

But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them. . . . Therefore God dealt well with the midwives. (Ex. 1:17, 20.)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said. . . . Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Dan. 3:16, 18.)

Therefore, king Darius signed the writing and the decree. . . . (that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God for thirty days . . . he shall be cast into the den of lions). . . . Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and . . . kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed . . . as he did aforetime. (Dan. 6:9, 7, 10.)

And the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou has anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together. (Acts 4:26, 27.)

Beware of the Scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the market places, and the chief seats in the synagogues. . . . These shall receive greater damnation. (Mark 12:38, 39, 40.)

And Herod with his men of war set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. . . . And Pilate gave sentence. . . . And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. . . . And the people stood by beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him. (Luke 23:11, 24, 33, 35.)

55.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS DENIED.

And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Gen. 3:16.)

I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Tim. 2:12.)

They are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. (1 Cor. 14:34.)

Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. (1 Pet. 3:6.)

WOMEN'S RIGHTS AFFIRMED.

And Deborah, a prophetess, . . . judged Israel at that time. . . . And Deborah said unto Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thy hand. . . . And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak. (Judg. 4:4, 14, 15.)

The inhabitants of the villages ceased; they ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel. (Judg. 5:7.)

And on my hand-maidens I will pour out in those days my spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:18.)

And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. (Acts 21:9.)

56.

OBEDIENCE TO MASTERS ENJOINED.

Servants, obey in all things your masters after the flesh. . . . And whatsoever ye do, do it as heartily as to the Lerd. (Col. 3:22, 23.)

Be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also, to the froward. (1 Pet. 2:18.)

OBEDIENCE DUE TO GOD ONLY.

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matt. 4:10.)

Be not ye the servants of men. (1 Cor. 7:23.)

Neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, even Christ. (Matt. 23:10.)

57.

THERE IS AN UNPARDONABLE SIN.

He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. (Mark 3:29.)

THERE IS NO UNPARDONABLE SIN.

And by him all that believe are justified from all things. (Acts 13:39.)

HISTORICAL FACTS

58.

MAN WAS CREATED AFTER THE OTHER ANIMALS.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and the cattle after their kind. . . . And God said, Let us make man. . . . So God created man in his own image. (Gen. 1:25, 26, 27.)

MAN WAS CREATED BEFORE THE OTHER ANIMALS.

And the Lord God said it is not good that man should be alone; I will make a help-meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. (Gen. 2:18, 19.)

59.

SEED TIME AND HARVEST WERE NEVER TO CEASE.

While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest . . . shall not cease. (Gen. 8:22.)

SEED TIME AND HARVEST DID CEASE FOR SEVEN YEARS.

And the seven years of dearth began to come. . . . And the famine was over all the face of the earth. (Gen. 41:54, 56.)

For these two years hath famine been in the land; and yet there are five years in which there shall neither be earing [archaic term for "plowing"—JBH] nor harvest. (Gen. 45:6.)

60.

GOD HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART.

But I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. (Ex. 4:21).

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. (Ex. 9:12.)

PHARAOH HARDENED HIS OWN HEART.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them. (Ex. 8:15.)

61.

ALL THE CATTLE AND HORSES IN EGYPT DIED.

Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep. . . . And all the cattle of Egypt died. (Ex. 9:3, 6.)

ALL THE HORSES OF EGYPT DID NOT DIE.

But the Egyptians pursued after them (all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army) and overtook them encamping by the sea. (Ex. 14:9.)

62.

MOSES FEARED PHARAOH.

And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now, when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled before the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. . . . And it came to pass, in process of time, that the king of Egypt died. . . . And the Lord said unto Moses, in Midian, Go, return unto Egypt; for all the men are dead which sought thy life. (Ex. 2:14, 15, 23; & 4:19.)

MOSES DID NOT FEAR PHARAOH.

By faith he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. (Heb. 11:27.)

63.

THERE DIED OF THE PLAGUE TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND.

And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. (Num. 25:9.)

THERE DIED OF THE PLAGUE BUT TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND.

And fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (1 Cor. 10:8.)

64.

JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS ELIAS.

This is Elias which was to come. (Matt. 11:14.)

JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS NOT ELIAS.

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? and he said I am not. (John 1:21.)

65.

THE FATHER OF JOSEPH, MARY'S HUSBAND, WAS JACOB.

And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus. (Matt. 1:16.)

THE FATHER OF MARY'S HUSBAND WAS HELI.

Being the son of Joseph which was the son of Heli. (Luke 3:23.)

66.

THE FATHER OF SALAH WAS ARPHAXAD.

And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years and begat Salah. (Gen. 11:12.)

THE FATHER OF SALAH WAS CAINAN.

Which was the son of Sala, which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad. (Luke 3:35, 36.)

67.

THERE WERE FOURTEEN GENERATIONS FROM ABRAHAM TO DAVID.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations. (Matt. 1:17.)

THERE WERE BUT THIRTEEN GENERATIONS FROM ABRAHAM TO DAVID.

Abraham begat Isaac . . . Jacob . . . Judas . . . Phares . . . Esrom . . . Aram . . . Aminaldab . . . Naason . . . Salmon . . . Booz . . . Obed . . . Jesse . . . David .. [13]. (Matt. 1:2, 3, 4, 5, 6.)

68.

THERE WERE FOURTEEN GENERATIONS FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST.

And from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. (Matt. 1:17.)

THERE WERE BUT THIRTEEN GENERATIONS FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY TO CHRIST.

And after they were brought to Babylon Jechonias begat Salathiel . . . Zorobabel . . . Abiud . . . Eliakim . . . Azor . . . Sadoc . . . Achim . . . Eliud . . . Eleazar . . . Matthan . . . Jacob . . . Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus [13]. (Matt. 1:12, 13, 14, 15, 16.)

69.

THE INFANT CHRIST WAS TAKEN INTO EGYPT.

When he arose he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod. . . . But when Herod was dead, . . . he took the young child and his mother and came . . . and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. (Matt. 2:14, 15, 19, 21, 23.)

THE INFANT CHRIST WAS NOT TAKEN INTO EGYPT.

And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. . . . And when they had performed all things, according to the law of the Lord they returned . . . to their own city, Nazareth. (Luke 2:22, 39.)

70.

CHRIST WAS TEMPTED IN THE WILDERNESS.

And immediately [after Christ's baptism] the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan. (Mark 1:12, 13.)

CHRIST WAS NOT TEMPTED IN THE WILDERNESS.

And the third day [after Christ's baptism] there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. . . . Both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. (John 2:1, 2.)

71.

CHRIST PREACHED HIS FIRST SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

And seeing the multitude he went up into a mountain, and when he was set his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying. (Matt. 5:1, 2.)

CHRIST PREACHED HIS FIRST SERMON IN THE PLAIN.

And he came down with them and stood in the plain; and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people . . . came to hear him. . . . And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said. (Luke 6:17, 20.)

72.

JOHN WAS IN PRISON WHEN JESUS WENT INTO GALILEE.

Now, after that John was put in prison Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Mark 1:14.)

JOHN WAS NOT IN PRISON WHEN JESUS WENT INTO GALILEE.

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee. (John 1:43.)

And after these things came Jesus with his disciples into the land of Judea. . . . And John was baptizing in Enon. . . . For John was NOT YET cast into prison. (John 3:22, 23, 24.)

73.

CHRIST'S DISCIPLES WERE COMMANDED TO GO FORTH WITH A STAFF AND SANDALS.

And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse; but be shod with sandals. (Mark 6:8, 9.)

CHRIST'S DISCIPLES WERE COMMANDED TO GO FORTH WITH NEITHER STAVES NOR SANDALS.

Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves. (Matt. 10:9, 10.)

74.

A WOMAN OF CANAAN BESOUGHT JESUS.

And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (Matt. 15:22.)

IT WAS A GREEK WOMAN WHO BESOUGHT HIM.

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation, and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. (Mark 7:26.)

75.

TWO BLIND MEN BESOUGHT JESUS.

And behold, two blind men sitting by the way-side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord thou son of David. (Matt. 20:30.)

ONLY ONE BLIND MAN BESOUGHT HIM.

A certain blind man sat by the way-side begging. . . . And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. (Luke 18:35, 38.)

76.

CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED AT THE THIRD HOUR.

And it was the third hour and they crucified him. (Mark 15:25.)

CHRIST WAS NOT CRUCIFIED UNTIL THE SIXTH HOUR.

And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king. . . . Shall I crucify your king? (John 19:14, 15.)

77.

THE TWO THIEVES REVILED CHRIST.

The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. (Matt. 27:44.)

And they that were crucified reviled him. (Mark 15:32.)

ONLY ONE OF THE THIEVES REVILED CHRIST.

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him. . . . But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? (Luke 23:39, 40.)

78.

SATAN ENTERED INTO JUDAS WHILE AT THE SUPPER.

And after the sop Satan entered into him. (John 13:27.)

SATAN ENTERED INTO HIM BEFORE THE SUPPER.

Then entered Satan into Judas, . . . and he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him. . . . Then came the day of unleavened bread when the passover must be killed. (Luke 22:3, 4, 7.)

79.

JUDAS COMMITTED SUICIDE BY HANGING.

And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple, and departed, and went out and hanged himself. (Matt. 27:5.)

JUDAS DID NOT HANG HIMSELF, BUT DIED ANOTHER WAY.

And falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. (Acts 1:18.)

80.

THE POTTER'S FIELD WAS PURCHASED BY JUDAS.

Now, this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity. (Acts 1:18.)

THE POTTER'S FIELD WAS PURCHASED BY THE CHIEF PRIESTS.

And the chief priests took the silver pieces, . . . and bought with them the potter's field. (Matt. 27:6, 7.)

81.

THERE WAS BUT ONE WOMAN WHO CAME TO THE SEPULCHRE.

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene, early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre. (John 20:1.)

THERE WERE TWO WOMEN WHO CAME TO THE SEPULCHRE.

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the OTHER MARY to the sepulchre. (Matt. 28:1.)

82.

THERE WERE THREE WOMEN WHO CAME TO THE SEPULCHRE.

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that that they might come and anoint him. (Mark 16:1.)

THERE WERE MORE THAN THREE WOMEN WHO CAME TO THE SEPULCHRE.

It was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and OTHER WOMEN that were with them. (Luke 24:10.)

83.

IT WAS AT SUNRISE WHEN THEY CAME TO THE SEPULCHRE.

And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun. (Mark:16:2.)

IT WAS SOME TIME BEFORE SUNRISE WHEN THEY CAME.

The first day of the week, cometh Mary Magdalene, early, while it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre. (John 20:1.)

84.

THERE WERE TWO ANGELS SEEN BY THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHRE, AND THEY WERE STANDING UP.

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by him in shining garments. (Luke 24:4.)

THERE WAS BUT ONE ANGEL SEEN, AND HE WAS SITTING DOWN.

For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. . . . And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not. (Matt. 28:2, 5.)

85.

THERE WERE TWO ANGELS SEEN WITHIN THE SEPULCHRE.

And as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white. (John 20:11, 12.)

THERE WAS BUT ONE ANGEL SEEN WITHIN THE SEPULCHRE.

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. (Mark 16:5.)

86.

CHRIST WAS TO BE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE GRAVE.

So shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40.)

CHRIST WAS BUT TWO DAYS AND TWO NIGHTS IN THE GRAVE.

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. . . . It was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. . . . And Pilate. . . gave the body to Joseph. And he . . . laid him in a sepulchre. . . . Now, when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. (Mark 15:25, 42, 44, 45, 46; & 16:9.)

87.

THE HOLY GHOST BESTOWED AT PENTECOST.

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. . . . Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:8, 5.)

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all of one accord in one place. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:1, 4.)

THE HOLY GHOST BESTOWED BEFORE PENTECOST.

And when he had said this he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 20:22.)

88.

THE DISCIPLES WERE COMMANDED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE RESURRECTION TO GO INTO GALILEE.

Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. (Matt. 28:10.)

THE DISCIPLES WERE COMMANDED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE RESURRECTION TO TARRY AT JERUSALEM.

But tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49.)

89.

JESUS FIRST APPEARED TO THE ELEVEN DISCIPLES IN A ROOM AT JERUSALEM.

And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together. . . . And as they spake, Jesus himself stood up in the midst of them. . . . But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. (Luke 24:33, 36, 37.)

The same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, . . . came Jesus and stood in the midst. (John 20:19.)

JESUS FIRST APPEARED TO THE ELEVEN ON A MOUNTAIN IN GALILEE.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, unto a mountain where Jesus had appointed. And when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted. (Matt. 28:16, 17.)

90.

CHRIST ASCENDED FROM MOUNT OLIVET.

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. . . . Then returned they unto Jerusalem, from the mount called Olivet. (Acts 1:9, 12.)

CHRIST ASCENDED FROM BETHANY.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany; and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass that while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50, 51.)

91.

PAUL'S ATTENDANTS HEARD THE MIRACULOUS VOICE, AND STOOD SPEECHLESS.

And the men which journeyed with him [Paul] stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man. (Acts 9:7.)

PAUL'S ATTENDANTS HEARD NOT THE VOICE, AND WERE PROSTRATE.

And they that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. (Acts 22:9.)

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice. (Acts 26:14.)

92.

ABRAHAM DEPARTED TO GO INTO CANAAN.

And Abram took Sarah his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, . . . and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came. (Gen. 12:5.)

ABRAHAM WENT NOT KNOWING WHERE.

By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went. (Heb. 11:8.)

93.

ABRAHAM HAD TWO SONS.

Abraham had two sons; the one by a bond-woman, and the other by a free woman. (Gal. 4:22.)

ABRAHAM HAD BUT ONE SON.

By faith Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac, . . . his only begotten son. (Heb. 11:17.)

94.

KETURAH WAS ABRAHAM'S WIFE.

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. (Gen. 25:1.)

KETURAH WAS ABRAHAM'S CONCUBINE.

The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine. (1 Chron. 1:32.)

95.

ABRAHAM BEGAT A SON WHEN HE WAS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, BY THE INTERPOSITION OF PROVIDENCE.

Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (Gen. 21:2.)

And being not weak in the faith, he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was a hundred years old. (Rom. 4:19.)

Therefore sprang there even from one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky. (Heb. 11:12.)

ABRAHAM BEGAT SIX CHILDREN MORE AFTER HE WAS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, WITHOUT ANY INTERPOSITION OF PROVIDENCE.

Then again Abraham took a wife and her name was Keturah; and she bare him Zimram, and Jockshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. (Gen. 25:1, 2.)

96.

JACOB BOUGHT A SEPULCHRE FROM HAMOR.

And the bones of Joseph . . . buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. (Josh. 24:32.)

ABRAHAM BOUGHT IT OF HAMOR.

In the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emor, the father of Sychem. (Acts 7:16.)

97.

GOD PROMISED THE LAND OF CANAAN TO ABRAHAM AND HIS SEED FOREVER.

And the Lord said unto Abraham, after Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever. . . . For I will give it unto thee. . . . Unto thee and to thy seed after thee. (Gen. 13:14,15,17;&17:8.)

ABRAHAM AND HIS SEED NEVER RECEIVED THE PROMISED LAND.

And he gave him [Abraham] none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. (Acts 7:5.)

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. . . . These all died in faith, not having received the promises. (Heb. 11:9, 13.)

98.

GOLIATH WAS SLAIN BY ELHANAN.

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim a Bethlehemite, slew ["the brother of," supplied by the translators] Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. (2 Sam. 21:19.)

THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH WAS SLAIN BY ELHANAN.

And there was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear's staff was like a weaver's beam. (1 Chron. 20:5.)

99.

AHAZIAH BEGAN TO REIGN IN THE TWELFTH YEAR OF JORAM.

In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. (2 Kings 8:25.)

AHAZIAH BEGAN TO REIGN IN THE ELEVENTH YEAR OF JORAM.

In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. (2 Kings 9:29.)

100.

MICHAL HAD NO CHILD.

Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her death. (2 Sam. 6:23.)

MICHAL HAD FIVE CHILDREN.

The five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul. (2 Sam. 21:8.)

101.

DAVID WAS TEMPTED BY THE LORD TO NUMBER ISRAEL.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go number Israel and Judah. (2 Sam. 24:1.)

DAVID WAS TEMPTED BY SATAN TO NUMBER THE PEOPLE.

And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel. (1 Chron. 21:1.)

102.

THE NUMBER OF FIGHTING MEN OF ISRAEL WAS 800,000; AND OF JUDAH 500,000.

And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah five hundred thousand men. (2 Sam. 24:9.)

THE NUMBER OF FIGHTING MEN OF ISRAEL WAS 1,100,000; AND OF JUDAH 470,000.

And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand [1,100,000] men that drew sword; and Judah was four hundred three score and ten thousand [470,000] men that drew sword. (1 Chron. 21:5.)

103.

DAVID SINNED IN NUMBERING THE PEOPLE.

And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done. (2 Sam. 24:10.)

DAVID NEVER SINNED, EXCEPT IN THE MATTER OF URIAH.

David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (1 Kings 15:5.)

104.

ONE OF THE PENALTIES OF DAVID'S SIN WAS SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE.

So Gad came to David and told him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? (2 Sam. 24:13.)

IT WAS NOT SEVEN YEARS, BUT THREE YEARS OF FAMINE.

So Gad came to David and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, choose thee either three years of famine. (1 Chron. 21:11, 12.)

105.

DAVID TOOK SEVEN HUNDRED HORSEMEN.

And David took from him a thousand chariots and seven hundred horsemen. (2 Sam. 8:4.)

DAVID TOOK SEVEN THOUSAND HORSEMEN.

And David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen. (1 Chron. 18:4.)

106.

DAVID BOUGHT A THRESHING FLOOR FOR FIFTY SHEKELS OF SILVER.

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Sam. 24:24.)

DAVID BOUGHT THE THRESHING FLOOR FOR SIX HUNDRED SHEKELS OF GOLD.

So David gave to Oman for the place six hundred shekels of gold. (1 Chron. 21:25.)

107.

DAVID'S THRONE WAS TO ENDURE FOREVER.

Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever. (Ps. 89:35, 36, 37.)

DAVID'S THRONE WAS CAST DOWN.

Thou hast made his glory to cease and hast cast his throne down to the ground. (Ps. 89:44.)

SPECULATIVE DOCTRINES

108.

CHRIST IS EQUAL WITH GOD.

I and my Father are one. (John 10:30.)

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. (Phil. 2:5.)

CHRIST IS NOT EQUAL WITH GOD.

My father is greater than I. (John 14:28.)

Of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matt. 24:36.)

109.

JESUS WAS ALL-POWERFUL

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matt. 28:18.)

The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand. (John 3:35.)

JESUS WAS NOT ALL-POWERFUL.

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them. (Mark 6:5.)

110.

THE LAW WAS SUPERSEDED BY THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION.

The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached. (Luke 16:16.)

Having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances. (Eph. 2:15.)

But now we are delivered from the law. (Rom. 7:6.)

THE LAW WAS NOT SUPERSEDED BY THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION.

I am come not to destroy the law but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17, 18, 19.)

111.

CHRIST'S MISSION WAS PEACE.

And suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. (Luke 2:13, 14.)

CHRIST'S MISSION WAS NOT PEACE.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matt. 10:34.)

112.

CHRIST RECEIVED NOT TESTIMONY FROM MAN.

Ye sent unto John and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man. (John 5:33, 34.)

CHRIST DID RECEIVE TESTIMONY FROM MAN.

And ye shall also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:27.)

113.

CHRIST'S WITNESS OF HIMSELF IS TRUE.

I am one that bear witness of myself. . . . Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true. (John 8:18, 14.)

CHRIST'S WITNESS OF HIMSELF IS NOT TRUE.

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. (John 5:31.)

114.

CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13.)

The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11.)

CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS ENEMIES.

When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. (Rom. 5:10.)

115.

IT WAS LAWFUL FOR THE JEWS TO PUT CHRIST TO DEATH.

The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die. (John 19:7.)

IT WAS NOT LAWFUL FOR THE JEWS TO PUT HIM TO DEATH.

The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. (John 18:31.)

116.

CHILDREN ARE PUNISHED FOR THE SINS OF THEIR PARENTS.

I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. (Ex. 20:5.)

CHILDREN ARE NOT PUNISHED FOR THE SINS OF THEIR PARENTS.

The son shall not bear the iniquities of the father. (Ezek. 18:20.)

117.

MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ALONE.

By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified. (Rom. 3:20.)

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 2:16.)

The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith. (Gal. 3:11, 12.)

For if Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory. (Rom. 4:2.)

MAN IS NOT JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ALONE.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works? . . . Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. (James 2:21, 24.)

The doers of the law shall be justified. (Rom. 2:13.)

118.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FALL FROM GRACE.

And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28.)

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ our Lord. (Rom. 8:38, 39.)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO FALL FROM GRACE.

But when the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. (Ezek. 18:24.)

For it is possible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance. (Heb. 6:4, 5, 6.)

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. (2 Pet. 2:20, 21.)

119.

NO MAN IS WITHOUT SIN.

For there is no man that sinneth not. (1 Kings 8:46.)

Who can say, I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin? (Prov. 20:9.)

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. (Eccl. 7:20.)

There is none righteous, no, not one. (Rom. 3:10.)

CHRISTIANS ARE SINLESS.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; . . . he cannot sin, because he is born of God. . . . Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. He that committeth sin is of the devil. (1 John 3:9, 6, 8.)

120.

THERE IS TO BE A RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.

The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised. (1 Cor. 15:52.)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; . . . and they were judged, every man according to their works. (Rev. 20:12, 13.)

Now that the dead are raised even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Luke 20:37.)

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. (1 Cor. 15:16.)

THERE IS TO BE NO RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.

As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. (Job 7:9.)

The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward. (Eccl. 9:5.)

They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased they shall not rise. (Is. 26:14.)

121.

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT TO BE BESTOWED IN THIS WORLD.

Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner. (Prov. 11:31.)

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT TO BE BESTOWED IN THE NEXT WORLD.

And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev. 20:12.)

Then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matt. 16:27.)

According to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:10.)

122.

ANNIHILATION THE PORTION OF ALL MANKIND.

Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? . . . For now should I have lain still and been quiet; I should have slept; then had I been at rest, with kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver; or as a hidden, untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. THERE the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest. . . . The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul, which long for death and it cometh not, . . . which rejoice exceedingly when they have found the grave? (Job 3:11, 13-17, 19, 20, 21, 22.)

The dead know not anything. . . . For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest. (Eccl. 9:5, 10.)

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth the beasts, even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast. . . . All go unto one place. (Eccl. 3:19, 20.)

ENDLESS MISERY THE PORTION OF A PART OF MANKIND.

These shall go away unto everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46.)

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. . . . And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:10, 15.)

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. (Rev. 14:11.)

And many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2.)

123.

THE EARTH IS TO BE DESTROYED.

The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Pet. 3:10.)

They shall perish, but thou remainest. (Heb. 1:11.)

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. (Rev. 20:11.)

THE EARTH IS NEVER TO BE DESTROYED.

Who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be removed forever. (Ps. 104:5.)

But the earth abideth forever. (Eccl. 1:4.)

124.

NO EVIL SHALL HAPPEN TO THE GODLY.

There shall no evil happen to the just. (Prov. 12:21.) Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? (1 Pet. 3:13.)

EVIL DOES HAPPEN TO THE GODLY.

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Heb. 12:6.)

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him, a perfect and an upright man? . . . So went Satan forth . . . and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto the crown of his head. (Job 2:3, 7.)

125.

WORLDLY GOOD AND PROSPERITY ARE THE LOT OF THE GODLY.

There shall no evil happen to the just. (Prov. 12:21.)

For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever. . . . The wicked watcheth for the righteous and seeketh to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. . . . Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. (Ps. 37:28, 32, 33, 37.)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. . . . Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Ps. 1:1, 3.)

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. (Gen. 39:2.)

So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning. (Job. 42:12.)

WORLDLY MISERY AND DESTITUTION THE LOT OF THE GODLY.

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; . . . they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Heb. 11:37, 38.)

These are they which came out of great tribulation. (Rev. 7:14.)

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Tim. 3:12.)

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. (Luke 21:17.)

126.

WORLDLY PROSPERITY A REWARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND A BLESSING.

There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive a hundred fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands. (Mark 10:29, 30.)

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. (Ps. 37:25.)

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. . . . Wealth and riches shall be in his house. (Ps. 112:1, 3.)

If thou return unto the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. . . . Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust. (Job. 22:23, 24.)

In the house of the righteous is much treasure. (Prov. 15:6.)

WORLDLY PROSPERITY A CURSE AND A BAR TO FUTURE REWARD.

Blessed be ye poor. (Luke 6:20.)

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth. . . . For where your treasure is there will your heart be also. (Matt. 6:19, 21.)

And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. (Luke 16:22.)

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matt. 19:24.)

Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24.)

127.

THE CHRISTIAN YOKE IS EASY.

Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. . . . For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28, 29, 30.)

THE CHRISTIAN YOKE IS NOT EASY.

In the world ye shall have tribulation. (John 16:33.)

Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Tim. 3:12.)

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth . . . . For if ye be without chastisement then are ye bastards and not sons. (Heb. 12:6, 8.)

128.

THE FRUIT OF GOD'S SPIRIT IS LOVE AND GENTLENESS.

The fruit of the spirit is love, peace, joy, gentleness, and goodness. (Gal. 5:22.)

THE FRUIT OF GOD'S SPIRIT IS VENGEANCE AND FURY.

And the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he slew a thousand men. (Judg. 15:14.)

And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul. . . and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. (1 Sam. 18:10, 11.)

129.

LONGEVITY ENJOYED BY THE WICKED.

Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. (Job 21:7, 8.)

They [men of the world] are full of children and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. (Ps. 17:14.)

Though a sinner do evil a hundred times and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God. (Eccl. 8:12.)

But the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. (Is. 65:20.)

LONGEVITY DENIED TO THE WICKED.

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days. (Eccl. 8:13.)

Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. (Ps. 55:23.)

The years of the wicked shall be shortened. (Prov. 10:27.)

They [the hypocrites] die in youth. (Job 36:14.)

Be not over much wicked, neither be foolish; why shouldst thou die before thy time? (Eccl. 7:17.)

130.

POVERTY IS A BLESSING.

Blessed be ye poor. . . . Woe unto you that are rich! (Luke 6:20, 24.)

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom? (James 2:5.)

RICHES A BLESSING.

The rich man's wealth is his strong tower, but the destruction of the poor is their poverty. (Prov. 10:15.)

If thou return unto the Almighty then thou shall be built up. . . . Thou shalt then lay up gold as dust. (Job 22:23, 24.)

And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, and 6,000 camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. (Job 42:12.)

NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES A BLESSING.

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full, and deny thee and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. (Prov. 30:8, 9.)

131.

WISDOM A SOURCE OF ENJOYMENT.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom. . . . Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace. (Prov. 3:13, 17.)

WISDOM A SOURCE OF VEXATION, GRIEF, AND SORROW.

And I gave my heart to know wisdom. . . . I perceived that this also was vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. (Eccl. 1:17, 18.)

132.

A GOOD NAME A BLESSING.

A good name is better than precious ointment. (Eccl. 7:1.)

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. (Prov. 22:1.)

A GOOD NAME IS A CURSE.

Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. (Luke 6:26.)

133.

LAUGHTER COMMENDED.

To everything there is a season, and a time. . . . A time to weep, and a time to laugh. (Eccl. 3:1, 4.)

Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry. (Eccl. 8:15.)

LAUGHTER CONDEMNED.

Woe unto you that laugh now. (Luke 6:25.)

Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of the fool is in the house of mirth. (Eccl. 7:3, 4.)

134.

THE ROD OF CORRECTION A REMEDY FOR FOOLISHNESS.

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him. (Prov. 22:15.)

THERE IS NO REMEDY FOR FOOLISHNESS.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar, . . . yet will not his foolishness depart from him. (Prov. 27:22.)

135.

A FOOL SHOULD BE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY.

Answer a fool according to his folly. (Prov. 26:5.)

A FOOL SHOULD NOT BE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY.

Answer not a fool according to his folly. (Prov. 26:4.)

136.

TEMPTATION TO BE DESIRED.

My brethren, I count it all joy when ye fall into temptation. (James 1:2.)

TEMPTATION NOT TO BE DESIRED.

Lead us not into temptation. (Matt. 6:13.)

137.

PROPHECY IS SURE.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto we do well that we take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. (2 Pet. 1:19.)

PROPHECY IS NOT SURE.

At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. (Jer. 18:7-10.)

138.

MAN'S LIFE WAS TO BE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS.

His days shall be a hundred and twenty years. (Gen. 6:3.)

MAN'S LIFE IS BUT SEVENTY YEARS.

The days of our years are three score years and ten. (Ps. 90:10.)

139.

THE FEAR OF MAN WAS TO BE UPON EVERY BEAST.

The fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth. (Gen. 9:2.)

THE FEAR OF MAN IS NOT UPON THE LION.

A lion turneth not away for any. (Prov. 30:30.)

140.

MIRACLES A PROOF OF DIVINE MISSION.

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see; the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised. (Matt. 11:2-5.)

Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. (John 3:2.)

And Israel saw that great work which the Lord done upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. (Ex. 14:31.)

141.

MIRACLES NOT A PROOF OF DIVINE MISSION.

And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments, for they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents. (Ex. 7:10-12.)

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass wherein he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods which thou hast not known, and let us serve them, thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. (Deut. 13:1-3.)

If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? (Luke 11:19.)

142.

MOSES WAS A VERY MEEK MAN.

Now, the man Moses, was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth. (Num. 12:3.)

MOSES WAS A VERY CRUEL MAN.

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? . . . Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man. (Num. 31:15, 17.)

143.

ELIJAH WENT UP TO HEAVEN.

And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11.)

NONE BUT CHRIST EVER ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN.

No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man. (John 3:13.)

144.

ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God. (2 Tim. 3:16.)

SOME SCRIPTURE IS NOT INSPIRED.

But I speak this by permission and not by commandment. (1 Cor. 7:6.)

But to the rest speak I, not the Lord. (1 Cor. 7:12.)

That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord. (2 Cor. 11:17.)

We Are Small, Very Small

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:40:00 +0000

New Age Drivel

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:17:00 +0000

New Age Drivel

(a random collection from the internet)

Any idea what the world be like when all the masks of leading (manipulative) formulae are transparent for every being and everyone knows how to use DNA language?

The growth of intelligence takes place by using the energy given to explore the possibilities while standing in the safe space.

There comes a time when illusion becomes apparent and truths surface, like learning to ride a bicycle adjusting to these shifts in conciousness will add salt and pepper to an ever expanding database of wisdom.

The environment around you, being the emmanation of your mind, you end up in whatever state of mind you nurture (create imprints for).

Each observation, however, is couched in mentalizations of time and location and therefore ostensible sequence. Our selective, sequential focusing creates the illusion of events happening. Nothing in the world causes anything else. All is intertwined in a holographic dance where each element influences every other element, but does not "cause" it.

All religions, esoteric schools are in essence the Science of the Being and the Universe - not all schools are created equal, always directly observe the subject you are being taught about...

I see biological parallels between our lives and the laws governing the fluctuations of the universe. Therefore we have everything, insight, and order to be gained through exploration of the quality and phenomena of of existence, including each others’.

If you were given great insight to all and than givin the opportunity to then move on to another phase of exixtance or stay here and do what you could to help advance this brief moment of time what and why would you do?

The world has manifested many festerd wounds as people. There is a natural cycle. Everything has to pass through the fire in order to realize the fire is an illusion. It is only real inside of you. That’s real enough for me. Don’t stoke and you won’t get burned.

Tomorrow is hidden in our past... the things that are done are repeated like a spiral or a funnel... our choices decide the direction... what are we choosing... Life or death, or maybe both because one leads to the other and the other to the other... Recycling itself from one paradigm to the other...which team will one choose to reside on is the question that I pose?

[AND MY FAVORITE]:

I have recently started to think about things in terms of energy instead of specifics and it is simplifying my thought system.

Some Quotations on Religion

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:39:00 +0000

Some Quotations on Religion

President George Washington - "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

President Thomas Jefferson - "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man."

President James Madison - "In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people. Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."

President Abraham Lincoln - "The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession."

President William Howard Taft - "I do not believe in the divinity of Christ and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe."

President Theodore Roosevelt - "I hold that in this country there must be complete severance of Church and State; that public moneys shall not be used for the purpose of advancing any particular creed; and therefore that the public schools shall be nonsectarian and no public moneys appropriated for sectarian schools."

Benjamin Franklin - "I have found Christian dogma unintelligible."

Francis Bacon – "Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men."

Mary Wollstonecraft – ". . . the being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason."

Thomas Edison - "Religion is all bunk. I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God."

Voltaire - "Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror."

Thomas Paine - "All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."

Elizabeth Cady-Stanton - "The memory of my own suffering has prevented me from ever shadowing one young soul with the superstitions of the Christian religion."

Mark Twain - "I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious -- unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force."

Bertrand Russell - "So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."

Susan B. Anthony - "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."

Clarence Darrow – "I do not believe in God because I do not believe in Mother Goose."

H. L. Mencken – "Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration - courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth."

Simone de Beauvoir – "I cannot be angry at God, in whom I do not believe."

Isaac Asimov – "To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today."

Gloria Steinem – "It's an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their reward systems don't try to make it posthumous."

Douglas Adams – "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"

Skepchick Authors Interview--Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:57:00 +0000

Author Interview: Part I, The Top 10 Myths About Evolution, from Skepchick Magazine

March 23rd, 2007 by writerdd

Here's the first part of my interview with Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan, authors of The Top 10 Myths About Evolution.

This is a great little book that's fun to read and jam packed with information. If you're ever involved in conversations about evolution, or you just want to know more about the different issues that have been in the news lately but you don't want to get a degree in evolutionary biology, this book is for you. It's a quick read, and because each chapter is like a short article, you don't have to have an entire weekend free. You can read a bit at a time when you have a few minutes of free time.

I first asked the authors some general questions about why they wrote the book and what their goals were for this book, as well as their outlook on some recent political issues.

Skepchick: Writing and publishing a book is a lot of work. These tasks are not usually taken on lightly. What inspired you to write this book?

Cameron M. Smith: I urgently needed to write the book. For years, in my introductory archaeology courses I was finding that a lot of freshmen and even sophomores — even those who believed in evolution — had some pretty shocking misconceptions about what it was, and how it worked. I wanted to at least be able to say to myself, "I'm doing everything I can about this slide back into Medieval thought."

Charles Sullivan: In our many discussions together we had both been bemoaning postmodernist relativism, with its view that truth is in the eye of the beholder. And we agreed that science and rational thinking are how to get at the truth. Then some of the intelligent design stuff started popping up in the news, and we would email links about the news stories to each other, and bemoan some more about the dreadful state of scientific literacy in America, most specifically related to how evolution works. And then I guess we just got tired of bemoaning and doing nothing, so we figured we'd throw our hats into the ring, as it were, by trying to make a contribution to scientific literacy. And, of course, there's something quite sexy about being a published author.

Skepchick: Many people are afraid that science will rob them of their spirituality and will even cause them to lose their faith, some even believe that this will doom them to eternal damnation. In fact, I used to be a born again Christian, but after I started reading about science in my mid-20s, I did lose my faith. I still consider myself a spiritual person, however. I just look for my spiritual fulfillment in different
places now. As you state in the introduction, myths are quite powerful. You also say, "Many of these myths are based on ignorance, for which the best remedy is knowledge." Do you believe that knowledge of science and the ability to think logically can actually cause people to stop believing beloved myths?

Cameron M. Smith: Absolutely. As we grow as individuals, we drop away the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus because what we once thought was good evidence for them turns out to be not such good evidence. Science is about integrity and being honest with yourself; if your evidence doesn't support your favorite hypothesis, well, you have to ditch or modify it, unless you want to lie to yourself. My mentor once told me to be most careful about my favorite theories, and I work hard to do that. You do it by not getting too invested in any given idea until you have a good pile of facts and observations to support it. In the late 19th and through the 20th centuries, a portion of humanity - those who believed in science - have given up a number of ancient, cherished myths, such as humanity being at the pinnacle of the Natural world. If I didn't think knowledge of scientific fact could influence people's though-processes, I wouldn't write, or teach.

Charles Sullivan: Generally, yes. Clear critical thinking, and evidence-based reasoning can lead people to question and discard many of their most dearly held superstitious and irrational beliefs. It's not always easy, though, especially when there are strong emotions connected with those beliefs, as is often the case with the religious kind. Some people feel a sense of liberation when they're able to see through the hocus-pocus of their superstitious beliefs. Others feel a void, as if they had lost a loved one. And there will probably always be those who refuse to question these beliefs at all because of fear.

The word "spiritual" is tricky because it means many things to many people. But I have no problem with the word as long as it's divorced from mysticism and other forms of supernaturalism.

Skepchick: Do you think this result is desirable?

Cameron M. Smith: Absolutely! I love mythology and wouldn't be interested in a culture lacking parables, morality tales, and so on. But we have to recognize them for what they are; they're symbols of what we value in culture, not factual truth. I can love the myth of John Henry versus the steam engine - in all its detail - without believing that there was an actual John Henry, and so on. When we start to believe in mythical accounts as though they're literal, we're lying to ourselves, and starting to separate ourselves from reality, and I don't think either of those can be any good. If we don't question things, we ignore our most precious ability as a species: the ability to reason.

Charles Sullivan: As far as whether it's desirable to stop believing beloved myths, the late Carl Sagan said it well: "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however
satisfying and reassuring."

Skepchick: I'm quite disturbed by the prevalence of libertarian thinking in the United States, and especially within the skeptical community. Many people seem to believe that the United States would be better off without a public school system. In my state of Colorado, a bill was recently introduced to the legislature that would have allowed students to opt out of classes that did not coincide with their religious
beliefs (fortunately this bill did not make it to the floor.) Do you think that by improving public education we can cut down on the amount of pseudo-science that is believed by the general public?

Cameron M. Smith: I hope so - if not, what are we doing? Science is so simple; it's a system of generating knowledge that recognizes the truth of things by compiling facts and observations about them - there's no great mystery to that. If we can't teach that in school, we might as well quit and just start making up explanations out of thin air.

Charles Sullivan: It seems hard to imagine how improving public education (especially if it included critical thinking) could not reduce the general public's overall belief in pseudo science.

Skepchick: Or will more people simply take their children out of the public school system and even lobby for an end to public schools, claiming that parents should be able to control what their children are taught?

Cameron M. Smith: I suppose that's possible, though I doubt the public school system can be shut down entirely. Nobody would have the time to take care of their kids, much less educate them. I think if public schools were shut down, our civilization would be coming to a close.

Charles Sullivan: It's hard to predict how parents will react. In terms of science curriculum, we should focus on teaching what the general consensus is among scientists in their respective fields. Therefore, just as we wouldn't teach an earth-centered planetary system in a science class dealing with astronomy (regardless of how many parents believed in it), we likewise should not omit the teaching of evolution in biology classes, nor should we teach unsubstantiated "alternatives" to evolution.

Click here for Part 2

Skepchick Authors Interview--Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Part 2: A few myths about evolution, from Skepchick Magazine

March 26th, 2007 by writerdd

Here's the second part of my interview with Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan, authors of The Top 10 Myths About Evolution.

Myth 1: Survival of the Fittest
Skepchick: So much of our language is filled with violent, military images these days, that I'm not really surprised to hear that most people think "survival of the fittest" means "the strongest survive." I found your arguments in this chapter to be quite convincing, but I also found myself thinking "my mother-in-law would not understand this." Communicating with a general audience about scientific topics is always a challenge. How can we work to simplify our messages so even those with no scientific background can understand what we are saying?

Cameron M. Smith: Communicating the material in friendly, plain language is a challenge, but it's the writer's job. I've read 'popular science' that comes off as the author amusing themselves with too many cutesy metaphors, or over-simplifications, so a balance has to be found. I think we did a good job of this in The Top 10 Myths About Evolution, though I don't think it's possible to reach everyone with a single book.

Skepchick: As a follow up, who is the audience for this book? Would it be me (a science hobbiest), or my mother-in-law (a born-again Christian creationist has no doubt been taught that all 10 of the myths you are debunking are true).

Cameron M. Smith: That's tough. As I recall, we started with the idea that it could be read by a high-school-educated person with some interest in the topic. A writer has to do their best to communicate, but the reader, I think, has to bring something to the table as well, they have to bring a willingness to think carefully about what they're reading.

Charles Sullivan: What he said.

Myth 2: It's Just a Theory
Skepchick: I think scientists should stop talking about "the theory of evolution"and just start saying "evolution" or, perhaps even, "the fact of evolution." I mean, no-one talks about "the theory of gravity." Do you think that scientists should stop using the word theory when communicating with the public, because the word is so widely misunderstood?

Cameron M. Smith: Yes. I've thought about approaching various scientific organizations to see what can be done, in the scientific community, to advance evolution from 'theory' to 'fact' status. But there's no formal procedure that I know of for that; it has to be done by consensus and that takes time to build in science - which is as it should be. But the evidence is so compelling for evolution that I do feel we should teach it as fact, and refer to it as fact, rather than theory.

Charles Sullivan: Well, it would be really nice if most people could come to understand that a scientific theory is not a guess or a hunch, but rather "a logical, tested, well-supported explanation for a great variety of facts." Unfortunately, this understanding of a theory is having a hard time making it into the meme pool. So perhaps it would be good for scientists to just call it "evolution" when communicating with the public. But I wouldn't want to monkey with the concept itself as understood by scientists.

Myth 3: The Ladder of Progress
Skepchick: It seems like ever since science began, it has been slowly moving man away from a central position of "God created the universe for humans" to an outlying position of "the universe has no meaning and we are here by accident." Most people, even those who are not fundamentalist believers or creationists, cannot stomach the second statement and, so, come up with many ways to try to keep human beings separate from the rest of nature. Do you think a crisis in meaning or a need to find purpose in our lives plays any significant role in the promotion of myths such as this one, that places human beings on the pinnacle as the final, and most perfect, result of evolution?

Cameron M. Smith: Someone called the 20th century the century of 'demotions' for humanity; we're shoved from the 'pinnacle of evolution' into the hordes of the rest of the world of living things, then we're crammed into the primate order among them, and even among primates we find we're no pinnacle, only one of many coexisting branches. That all sounds like super-left-wing, politically-correct revisionism, but Ann Druyan and Carl Sagan made a great point in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors; that it's actually the coldest facts of biology - relating to DNA - that have shown us our connection to all other living things. If people accept that DNA tells us about corn, or jellyfish or whatever, but then reject what it has to say about us and the rest of the world of living things, well, I don't know how you can rationally communicate with someone in such profound denial.

Charles Sullivan: I think the need to explain what we are, why things happen the way they do, and how we got here are all ancient needs that reflect our natural curiosity. Throughout most of human history our answers to these questions have involved evoking supernatural entities and superstitious beliefs. This tendency to evoke supernatural explanations may even have an evolutionary basis, in that those ancient human groups who ha d a shared mythology that provided meaning and a sense of purpose tended to survive better than those who didn't.

But science and philosophy have given us the tools to examine these old beliefs (many of them quite cherished) about what we are, why things happen the way they do, and how we got here. If we're honest and careful thinkers, we come to realize that these myths are not true, and that there are better answers to many of these questions that we've pondered for millennia.

Perhaps believing that we are a special, chosen species (or the pinnacle of evolution) offers a sense of purpose and meaning to many people's lives. But there's no evidence to believe that we are the pinnacle of evolution. This result may lead some people to think that life is meaningless, but this isn't a necessary outcome. Humans can quite naturally find meaning and purpose in their relations with their families and friends, in pursuing their goals and developing their talents, in love, art, and music, and in their sense of community and connection to humanity and even the rest of nature. The fact that the universe does not care about us, and that we are not the chosen species, is no reason for despair.

Myth 4: The Missing Link
Skepchick: Every time I go to the San Diego Zoo and see the hippos, I think, "Anyone who has sat here and watched these animals and who still does not believe in evolution must be crazy." Do you think there's any way that creationists and IDers will ever be satisfied with the number of "missing links" that are found in the fossil record (or in zoos)?

Cameron M. Smith: I think a lot of creationists and ID-believers have made their minds up. They would say that they've got piles of evidence for their positions, and then direct you to books and magazines showing that evidence. The problem is that their threshold for credibility in the evidence is very low. Every once in a while they show pictures of a dinosaur footprint next to a human footprint, for example, and say "look, this is the evidence!", but that case has been shown to be a hoax a long, long time ago. To really believe something, I've been trained to demand independent verification of facts, repeated observations, an explanation of the principle involved, and so on. Creationists and ID folks just don't demand that kind of scrutiny, and of course in the worst cases rely on faith, which is simply belief without evidence. I don't see how a rational person can read and then reject the basic principles of evolution.

Skepchick: Or is the issue actually quite different: That is, the idea that species are discreet entities as espoused by biblical teachings, rather than simply part of a continuum of life that are isolated by place or time from their closest relations? From my own fundamentalist background, I know that many people are uncomfortable with any type of ambiguity. With this black and white mindset, they cannot fathom the idea that species can be less than concrete realities. Cameron M. Smith: I would just have to ask why one would be uncomfortable with ambiguity. I suppose fear of the unknown drives that discomfort, but I don't understand it. What is there to be afraid of? Regarding species as concrete realities, I think that's a deep human mental 'template' as it were. By that I mean that we as a
species have been making things - inventions from igloos to cell phones - for so long, and with such industry and fascination, that we find it hard to imagine that Nature doesn't also make things for a specific purpose, with certain ends in mind. But as we show in the book, that's just not the case Evolution doesn't have a consciousness with which to invent or build towards particular ends, although it looks that it has done exactly that. It doesn't help that on TV nature shows they always say, for example, "Nature has perfected the mongoose for its environment." In a way that's true, as mongoose have been tailored to that environment by natural selection but it hasn't been by design or intent, and that very subtle point is terribly important.

Click here for Part 3

Skepchick Authors Interview--Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:54:00 +0000

Author Interview: Part 3, The Top 10 Myths About Evolution, from Skepchick Magazine

March 30th, 2007 by writerdd

Here's the third and final part of my interview with Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan, authors of The Top 10 Myths About Evolution.

Myth 5: Evolution is Random
Skepchick:Great job on this chapter. I was very impressed with your arguments. I don't have any question about this particular myth, but I'd like you to comment on the way these myths are perpetuated by religious and political leaders. Do you think the religious and political leaders who promote these myths actually believe them? Or do you think they intentionally foster false information in order to confuse their congregations and constituents?

Cameron M. Smith: I think through the course of human civilization, the ranks of the high priests have probably always included both devout believers and extremely powerful, devious manipulators. When the temple is in charge of agricultural schedules, for example - 'plant now', 'harvest now' - it's easy to imagine all kinds of intrigue with regards to management of agriculture, which was the backbone of every ancient civilization. Now extend that to the manipulation of the readings, let's say of divinations, by everyone from Shang priests (of ancient China) reading the future from the arrangement of cracks in pig skulls, to the reading of discolorations in the internal organs of sacrificed animals in Greece, and I think you have a system of generating 'knowledge' that is very malleable by the priestly elite.

Myth 6: People Come From Monkeys
Skepchick:I agree with your arguments in this chapter, but I don't think it makes any difference to creationists and IDers whether our ancestors were actually chimpanzees or gorillas (species that exist today), or whether they were some yet-unknown hairy primate (a species that is now extinct). The insult of thinking that we come from any "lower" primate or animal life form is the central problem. My question is, "Well, so what if we did come from monkeys? We are obviously no longer the same as these other animals, and we have language, culture, and morals to guide us beyond our animal instincts to live more fulfilling and purposeful lives." Would you comment on this further?

Cameron M. Smith: Yes, I've always been fascinated by connections to the rest of animal life, rather than revolted by it. I don't understand that revulsion, though I'd like to know where it comes from. I do have to say that I'm not sure we have more fulfilling and purposeful lives than other animals. We have a lot of suicides, for example, and I think a lot of animals feel great satisfaction when the food supply is good, for example, or a mate has been found.

Charles Sullivan: I think the realization provided by evolution is that many of the differences between humans and chimps are more a matter of degree than of kind. And we can see many similarities to chimps in our emotions, social lives, moral feelings, and even our intelligence. I certainly value our human intelligence, language ability, creativity, rich emotional life, and reasoning ability, and because of these things I'd rather be a human than a chimp or any other animal. But perhaps by seeing our connection to other animals we can better understand what we have in common with them and what makes us unique.

Myth 8: Creationism Disproves Evolution and Myth 9: Intelligent Design is Science
Skepchick:I find these two myths very interesting. I'd like to ask you a question that has been on my mind for quite some time. It seems to me that scientists usually publish their ideas in professional peer review journals, while creationists and ID supporters primarily publish their ideas as press releases and popular articles. There's an obvious difference between these approaches. However, in the past there havebeen many new scientific ideas that have not been accepted by the scientific community for many years, but that eventually turned out to be true. What do scientists with unusual ideas need to do to convince their peers that their ideas have merit? Or, to be more specific, what would it take for Intelligent Design to be taken seriously as science? Or, how could we recognize the work of an intelligent designer in biological systems, if such a designer did exist, and how could we tell it apart from the results of evolution? (Creationism, especially young-earth creationism, is so obviously unscientific and false, that I won't ask you to comment on that further.)

Charles Sullivan: The British Scientist J.B.S. Haldane was once asked what would count as evidence against evolution. His answer was "fossil rabbits in the Precambrian." Of course there are no such fossils in the Precambrian rock strata because mammals didn't exist then. But such a find would certainly challenge the evolutionary explanation.

For Intelligent Design to gain legitimacy if would have to come up with some phenomena that cannot be explained in terms of natural processes. This does not mean a phenomena for which there is no present natural explanation; science is full of those. It would need to be something that cannot in principle be explained by natural processes. I really don't what that would be. Perhaps some kind of barcode in the DNA that says "the designer was here." But even that would leave open the possibility that the designers were extraterrestrials who had themselves evolved by natural processes.

Myth 10: Evolution is Immoral
Skepchick: That made me laugh, because I like to substitute "gravity" for "evolution" when I read absurd statements about evolution! I do think this is a very important topic, however, and of all the myths that you debunk perhaps the most important and the one that deserves much more discussion in the public arena. The idea that is prevalent in society is not, I think, that "Evolution is immoral" but that "Believing in evolution makes people immoral" or, perhaps, "Evolution can not lead to the development of moral beings, because morality must come from a deity."

Charles Sullivan: Yes. And both of those ideas are covered in the chapter. But there's a nice, short, punchy ring to "Evolution is Immoral" that grabs you by the scruff. Whereas, "Evolution can not lead to the development of moral beings, because morality must come from a deity" is, well, a chapter title that would run off the right margin, around the corner and meet you on the next page.

Skepchick: One reason I find ID completely unsatisfying on an intellectual level, is that its basic claim seems to be that if we can't understand something, it must have been created by a supernatural being. The end result of such thinking is to squelch creativity and stunt intellectual growth. I believe that we will eventually find a biological explanation for morality, supported by scientific research. Do you know of any serious scientific work being done in the area of the evolution of morality? I'm sure the Skepchick readers would be interested in learning more about this topic and reading further.

Charles Sullivan: Even though evolution has shaped many of our moral emotions and impulses (for good and ill), I think that we have the ability to engage in moral deliberation and moral argument in a rational manner. And we often find no pleasure (in brain or body) in fulfilling some of our moral obligations to others, but we fulfill them (when we do) because reason tells us it's the right thing to do. Moreover, I don't see us as puppets whose moral decisions are wholly controlled by evolutionary "strings." Simply put, we should try to do morally what there are the best reasons for doing, while taking into account everyone's interests who will be affected by our actions, while also recognizing that everyone's interests (including our own) count equally from a rational moral point of view.

As far as readings in the science of evolution and morality goes, Harvard psychology professor Marc Hauser and Princeton University philosophy professor Peter Singer have a fascinating little paper that touches on the origin and nature of morality at
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/hausersinger1

Hauser also has a fascinating book called Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong (Ecco, 2006).

Also, Emory University's Primatologist Frans de Waal has a book called Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved (Princeton UP, 2006).

I don't necessarily agree with all that these writers say, but they offer ideas worth thinking about.

That's it. Thanks so much to Charles and Cameron for taking the time to talk with us about their book!

A Young Scientist Debunks Some Bunk

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:14:00 +0000

A Young Scientist Debunks Some Bunk

Therapeutic Touch is a form of therapy where a therapist moves his or her hands along a patient’s “energy field,” directing the flow of positive bodily energy to the injured or diseased area of the body. This practice should really be called Non-Touch Therapy since the therapist never actually touches the patient’s body. The practice of therapeutic touch is said to provide healing by the movement of these “energies.”

According to one account, therapeutic touch is available in over seventy hospitals in the US for patients who request it. But one young scientist had her doubts about therapeutic touch and decided to test whether these therapists can really sense people’s “energy fields,” as they frequently claim they can. This young scientist, Emily Rosa, was a nine-year-old schoolgirl who asked twenty-one touch therapists if they would participate in her experiment for her fourth-grade science fair project. It’s hard to turn down such a request from a charming nine-year-old girl, so the touch therapists agreed to the experiment.

Emily would sit across a table from a touch therapist with the table divided down the middle with a screen that prevented both parties from seeing each other. Two holes were cut in the screen through which a therapist would extend his or her arms, palms facing down. Emily would then place her hand under one of the therapist’s hands without touching it, and the therapist would then state whether Emily’s hand was under the therapist’s right or left hand. Emily flipped a coin to randomly determine whether she would choose the right or left hand of the therapist.

Many of the therapist were convinced that they could make their determination with 100% accuracy. After 280 trials the therapists were accurate 44% of the time, just about what you would from chance (flipping a coin, or guessing). The certainty expressed by the therapists in detecting these “energy fields” quickly vanished once their powers were put to the test.

With a bit of help from her mother and a statistician, the results of Emily Rosa’s experiment were written up and submitted to the highly respected Journal of the American Medical Association. When her piece was published two years later, in 1998, she became the youngest scientist to have a paper published in a prestigious medical journal. Emily’s story appeared on the national news, and she won the “Skeptic of the Year Award” from the Skeptics Society, and a $1000 grant from the James Randi Educational Foundation. And she won a blue ribbon at the science fair.

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Material for this blog gleaned mostly from: Park, Robert L. (2000). Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 208-210.

Aliens, Spirits, or Sleep Paralysis?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:33:00 +0000

Aliens, Spirits, or Sleep Paralysis?

Some people claim they’ve been abducted by aliens while sleeping, where they’re transported through walls and onto alien ships, then probed, prodded, and poked. This has led people to devise various techniques to prevent these night time abductions: You can build your own Stop Alien Abduction Helmut, you could buy a book called How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction, or you could fall back on the old practice of prayer (if it works against demons it’s got to work against aliens).

People who claim to be abducted in their sleep typically report being conscious yet are unable to move their limbs or talk, and they hear odd sounds and see lights, and have a feeling that they’re being watched. The most reasonable explanation for these experiences is Sleep Paralysis. This is where “a person wakes up paralyzed, senses a presence in the room, feels fear or even terror, and may hear buzzing and humming noises or see strange lights. A visible or invisible entity may even sit on their chest, shaking, strangling, or prodding them.”[1]

Sleep paralysis offers a good explanation for strange “encounters” of sleeping people from various cultures throughout the world. These include Hag Riding in Europe and parts of North America, where a witch attacks a sleeping victim; and Kanashibari in Japan, sometimes described as a devil stepping on a sleeping person’s chest; and Kokma in St. Lucia, which is described as the spirit of a dead baby that jumps on a sleeper’s chest and chokes him; and Popobawa in Zanzibar, which is a ghost-like creature with bat wings that sodomizes men in their sleep. Frankly, that last one seems quite frightful to me.

The fear that accompanies sleep paralysis can be very real for those who believe it involves aliens or malevolent spirits. But rest assured, this is a medically documented phenomenon. Here’s a website that offers good advice on how to cope with sleep paralysis. There are also certain medications that can help if you talk to a physician (not a homeopath, please). Sweat dreams.

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[1]. Blackmore, Susan. (May/June 1998) “Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis?”
Skeptical Inquirer, p.25. Link to article here.

Quackery

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Quackery and the Law

In the United States all products marketed as drugs must be tested in order to guarantee their relative safety before being made available to the public. There is one exception to this law. Homeopathic 'remedies' can be marketed as drugs but are except from the same safety standards as other drugs.

This goes back to 1938 when a former homeopath-turned-Senator (Royal Copeland of New York) added a provision to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that exempted homeopathy from the same oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that other drugs receive. Homeopathic 'remedies' require no proof that they're safe or effective in order to be marketed and sold, unlike other drugs.

Herbal and other supplements are in a different boat. If an herb or supplement is marketed with the claim that it will cure a disease or illness, then it must be reviewed by the FDA before going to market. If there's no claim to a cure, then the FDA doesn't really make an issue of it (unless the product has been shown to cause harm). Of course, one way to get around this is to use customer testimonials. As long as the customers are giving testimonials, and they reflect the customers' honest beliefs about their experiences, then it's fair game, but that's an issue for another blog.

The point is that homeopathic 'remedies' can claim to cure disease and illness (unlike herbs and supplements), and they don't need to be tested to prove that they actually work.

Robert L. Park, in his book Voodoo Science, points out that the smoking-cessation chewing gum Nicorette had to be proven safe and effective through numerous clinical trials before it could be marketed. Whereas on the same shelf in the same store you might find another smoking-cessation gum called CigArrest. This product required no clinical trials to test its safety and effectiveness because the manufacturers claimed that the gum was homeopathic.(1).

Since homeopathic 'remedies' have no active ingredients, there would be nothing to test for in a clinical trial. But homeopaths can still claim that it's a cure. As Park points out, locating the active ingredients in homeopathic 'remedies' "would be like trying to prove that holy water has been blessed."(2).
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1. Park, Robert L. (2000). Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 58.

2. Ibid, p. 58.

Florida Evolution Update

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:21:00 +0000

Florida Evolution Update

I've been informed by a reliable authority that the Florida School Board's 4-3 decision to require that evolution be taught in public schools is in fact a victory for evolution, even though the science standards will now refer to evolution as "the scientific theory of evolution."

It would seems that conservative Christians were lobbying the school board to refer to evolution as a theory, in the sense that evolution is only a theory, as in a hunch or a guess.

Well, the school board granted this request, but not how you might imagine. They decided that the phrase "the scientific theory of..." will precede a host of scientific theories such as evolution, plate tectonics, relativity, and so on.

What's great is that these science standards explicitely state that "a scientific theory represents the most powerful explanation scientists have to offer." And the standards also state that evolution is a "fundamental concept underlying all of biology."

I don't think the conservative Christians were pleased with this move by the school board. I'm glad I was wrong in my initial blog (which I've deleted). This is good news indeed.

Here's a link to a report about the Florida decision by the National Center for Science Education.

Synchronicity, Carl Jung, and The I Ching: Nothing but Ordinary Coincidence

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Sullivan) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:45:00 +0000

[[Some background information on Synchronicity and The I Ching.]]

C. G. Jung was impressed by the ability of the I Ching (The Chinese Book of Changes) to offer clear answers to important questions. Jung had previously coined the term synchronicity, a principle which he used to explain how the I Ching works, stating that “...whatever is born or done in this moment of time has the quality of this moment of time.”[1] Synchronicity deals with meaningful coincidences that are not connected in a cause and effect relationship, but are somehow more than mere chance. In relation to the I Ching, Jung says, “…synchronicity takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar interdependence of objective events…as well as the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observers.”[2]

Unfortunately, the only real proof that synchronicity is behind the appearance of two coincidental events is simply that one finds the occurrence of those events significant. The problem is that in life we’re exposed to so many events that the probability is quite high that some coincidences will seem dramatic.[3]

Even Jung himself is not clear about how synchronicity works. At one point he maintains that the outer event and the mental state are simultaneous.[4] Later he maintains that a mental state coincides with a “(more or less simultaneous) external event,” or with a “future event that is distant in time.”[5] The writer Arthur Koestler, a popularizer of much of Jung’s work, found Jung confusing on the matter of synchronicity, writing “One wonders why Jung created these unnecessary complications by coining a term which implies simultaneity, and then explaining that it does not mean what it means.”[6] As is often the hallmark of many pseudoscientific claims, Jung’s synchronicity principle is a “nonrefutable or irrefutable hypothesis.”[7]

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Notes:
1. Wilhelm, Richard. (1931, 1969). The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life, p. 142.
2. Jung. C. G. (1950, 1979). “Forward to the I Ching.” The I Ching or Book of Changes. Trans. from the Chinese by Richard Wilhelm. Trans. from the German by Cary F. Baynes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, p. xxiv.
3. Dean, Geoffrey; Loptson, Peter; Kelly, Ivan; et al. (2005). “Theories of Astrology: A Comprehensive Survey.” Correlation 1996, 15(1): 17-52, p.7.
4. Jung, C. G. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 8: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, p. 441 (paragraph 850).
5. Jung, C. G. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 8: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, p. 526 (paragraph 984).
6. Koestler, Arthur (1972, 1974). The Roots of Coincidence. London: Pan Books Ltd., p. 95.
7. McGowan, Don (1994). What Is Wrong with Jung. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, p. 137.