Creation

Creation of the Earth

Earth time and cosmological time are best explained by considering two twins, one of whom traveled into space at near the speed of light for a few minutes while his twin remained on earth. After returning to earth a few minutes later the space age twin would find several decades had elapsed on earth and his twin brother would be an old man. What took a short time when the universe expanded faster than the speed of light at the Big Bang can take millions of years measured by earth time. The Bible bears an uncanny similarity to creation as understood by science when it is compared with the fossil record where one day in God’s time as recorded in the Bible equates to the major geological era.


Day 1 of Creation

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."


DAY 2 (Ediacaran Era, began about 600 million years ago.)

The Bible says: "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."


DAY 3 (Prechmbrian Era, began about 542 million years ago.

The Bible says: "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day."


DAY 4 (Paleozoic Era From the Greek meaning "Old Animals." It includes the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian periods and is characterized by the appearance of marine invertebrates, primitive fishes, land plants, and reptiles that ended about 251 million years ago. Most species became extinct but the tree and plant life remained.)

The Paleozoic is bracketed by two of the most important events in the history of animal life. At its beginning, multi-celled animals underwent a dramatic explosion in diversity, and almost all living animal phyla appeared within a few millions of years.

At the other end of the Paleozoic Era, the largest mass extinction in history wiped out approximately 90% of all marine animal species. The causes of both these events are still not fully understood and the subject of much research and controversy, some say it was due to a meteorite hitting the earth and blotting out the sun which accounts for the reappearance of the sun and moon on day four.

The Bible says about day 4: "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."


DAY 5 (Mesozoic Era, ended about 65 million years ago. Popular name: Age of Reptiles that evolved from the reptiles of the Paleozoic Era becoming increasingly adapted to life on dry land.)

The Bible says: "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."


DAY 6 Cenozoic Era. This era began about 65 million years ago and includes the geological present including humankind. Popular name: Age of Mammals.

The Bible says: "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

USURY

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USURY


Banks are "supposed" to keep our money safe but both banks and the money they look after are corruptible. Without blemish or defect means to be perfect as Jesus Christ is perfect but you cannot say that about money which is responsible for much of the corruption in the world and usury has a large influence on much of this corruption and it is this greed that has been responsible for the collapse of the banks.

The Israelites were forbidden to charge interest on loans made to other Israelites, but were allowed to charge interest on transactions with non-Israelites. However there are numerous examples where this provision is evaded. (This could be the answer to your question about the conflict between the church and the people?)

Usury has always been inextricably linked to economic abuses, mostly of the masses and the poor but sometimes of the rich including royalty and King Richard (Lionhearted) expelled the Jews from England because they almost bankrupted the country with their excessive interest rates.

The main moral argument is that usury creates excessive profit and gain without "labour" which is deemed "work" in the Biblical context and is the result of avarice, greed, trickery and manipulation. In addition, usury is said to create a divide between people due to obsession with monetary gain. Most importantly, usury is the derivation of profit from biological time, which is linked to life, considered sacred, God-given and divine, leading to excessive worrying about money instead of God, thus subjugating a God-given sanctity of life to man-made artificial notions of material wealth.

Regardless of usury the love of money has always been the source of evil and we cannot be made incorruptible by something that is corruptible but thank the Lord we have been made incorruptible through the precious blood of Christ who is without blemish or defect and we can rest in the safety of His love which is secure eternally.

Verses 3-6 exhort us to praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for his great mercy whereby he has given us new birth and a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade which is kept in heaven for us until the day of His returning and not unnaturally the apostle Peter tells us to "greatly rejoice."

The chapter closes by reinforcing the message that we have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God for "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Praise God.

Some information is from Wikipedia

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ATHEISTS

Atheists are aggressive, insulting, prejudiced and hostile. They talk about “live and let live” but are not prepared to let others do the same. They talk about “double standards,” while practising double standards themselves and they abuse those who are different from themselves rather than accepting them.

They take the Bible literally instead of trying to understand the point that is being made and follow the crowd because they are unable to reason things out for themselves while often inflaming the situation by twisting what Christians have said.

The atheists rejection of Christian morality has led to increased promiscuity and drug taking resulting in the chav culture and general disrespect for other people leading to deprivation of others due to the greed and selfishness of those in high places which has engulfed the whole of society resulting in the “look after number one culture “while at the same time they blame everyone but themselves for the problems in society which they by their action and speech acquiesce to.

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FOUNDERS OF VARIOUS RELIGIONS

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Bahá'u'lláh (founder of Bahá'í Faith)

Siddha-rtha Gautama (founder of Budhism)

Muhammad (founder of Islam)

Hinduism (no founder. Hindu beliefs vary widely, with concepts of God and/or gods ranging from - Panentheism, pantheism, monotheism, polytheism, and atheism with Vishnu and Shiva being the most popular deities.

Taoism (founder Laozi?)

Zoroastrianism (founder Zoroaster)

Christianity (founder Jesus Christ)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_places_of_founders_of_world_religions

Ten Tests of a True Christian from the Bible

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1. Do we walk in the light or in the darkness?
“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7)

2. Do we claim to be without sin, or do we confess our sins?
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1 John 1:8-10)

3. Do we just say we know God or do we obey Him?
“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.” (1 John 2:3-5)

4. Do we hate our brother or do we love him?
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” (1 John 2:9-11)

5. Do we love the world or do we do the will of God?
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

6. Do we mix with other Christians and have fellowship with them?
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:18-19)

7. Do we deny that Jesus is the Christ or do we acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God?
“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist - he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:22-23)

8. Do we practice sin or do we strive toward righteousness?
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.” (1 John 3:4-7)

9. Do we love our brother just in words or do we love our brother in deeds?
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:14-18)

10. Do we listen to the world or do we listen to the words of God?
“They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” (1 John 4:5-6)

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Three New Testament Verses About Slavery

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Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)
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1. The New Testament is for today and the verses you give prove what I was saying about how words change over the years. "Christians who are slaves" does not work but if you read it as "Christians who are workers" we can see that it applies to us. Being a company employee, I work for my boss and I serve my customers and clients. This is a far cry from being a slave the like of which we saw in the days of William Wilberforce which is a modern invention.

2. Bearing this in mind the New Testament verses you gave read thus:

a) For workers to obey their bosses.
b) For workers to respect their bosses.
c) Is different in as much as it is about the second coming of Jesus and Judgement day and is a warning to Christians that if they neglect to do their duty they will be punished even then because I am a servant of Christ.

All these three instructions if followed make for good employees and there is no reason why everyone cannot follow them.

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NOAH

As far as the Israelites were concerned Israel was the "Whole Earth" This is what has caused us to think the flood was global.

In Exodus 10:15 We read about a plague of locusts that "covered the face of the whole earth." It should be pretty evident that this locust plague covered only part of the land Egypt and as you can see it describes the locust as covering "the face of the whole earth." Yet we never assume these locusts covered the entire globe.

After the Israelites were delivered from Egypt and settled in Canaan, the scripture says they "covered the face of the earth" (Numbers 22:5,11).

Not even fundamentalists would say that Israelites covered every square foot of the planet...This is simply a way of stating that they occupied the land in which they were dwelling.

Again in Gen 4:14 we read, "Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; Cain was in the Land of Nod.

Matthew 4 verse 8 and again we read the same exaggerated view of their land.

"The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

The same idiom is used to describe the Israelite conquest of Canaan,
Deut 2:25
"This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.

The only people who needed to tremble were the local people who were the Canaanites Moabites and Edomites.

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