Mary Frances Allen August 27th, 2010

…"she stole your purity?…. "

Laurie M. August 27th, 2010

I really appreciated this interview and Rachel's perspective. I suspect she's a fair bit younger than me, but I've gone through similar transitions, and am still going through them to this day. One thing I know is that God is big enough to handle all my questions and doubts.

Bruce Szwast August 28th, 2010

Well. I could say 'I believe this' or 'I believe that'. But I will ask questions:

When is the last time you read Genesis looking to find the basis for Jesus, or were you looking for a way to prove evolution – many do you know; when is the last time you put yourself in Adam's place and thought about what would I tell Eve and their offspring about my recollection of the Beginning; and what about Eve who had a personal encounter with the Devil; and what about the godly line of Seth who 'called on the name of the Lord', in the order of Melchizedek, a priest forever, and preached to the descendents of Cain who scoffed at the promise of God's return to deal with the Devil; and what about the scoffers who died in the Flood, and what exactly what they were scoffing about; and how would you like to be in Moses sandals and listen to God and record His recollection of the Beginning; when are you going to interview the Author of Life; is that when the Church is relevant?

If Bryant was not on his deathbed; if he asked himself some questions; if he had access to creation science ministries who are tirelessly working to provide Biblical and scientific alternatives to the modern day scoffers; or are you standing with the scoffers?

Bruce Szwast

2 Peter 3

1. Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
2. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4. They will say, "Where is this `coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."
5. But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
6. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
11. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12. as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
15. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
16. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Zach August 28th, 2010

Is anyone else confused by Bruce's post?

Laurie M. August 29th, 2010

I think he's saying he didn't care for the discussion.

Bruce Szwast August 29th, 2010

Sorry Zach, I was in a rush yesterday; a typo and William Jennings Bryant who? I will send you a cd. And Laurie, you are just not whistling Dixie:

Rerun:

Well. I guess I could say 'I believe this' or 'I believe that'. But I will ask questions:

When is the last time you read Genesis looking to find the basis for Jesus, or were you looking for a way to prove evolution – many do you know; when is the last time you put yourself in Adam's place and thought about what would I tell Eve and their offspring about my recollection of the Beginning; and what about Eve who had a personal encounter with the Devil; and what about the godly line of Seth who 'called on the name of the Lord', in the order of Melchizedek, a priest forever, and preached to the descendents of Cain who scoffed at the promise of God's return to deal with the Devil; and what about the scoffers who died in the Flood, and what exactly they were scoffing about; and how would you like to be in Moses sandals and listen to God and record His recollection of the Beginning; when are you going to interview the Author of Life; is that when the Church is relevant?

If Bryant was not on his deathbed; if he asked himself some questions; if he had access to creation science ministries who are tirelessly working to provide Biblical and scientific alternatives to the modern day scoffers; or are you standing with the scoffers?

2 Peter 3

Addon:

We won that battle of Scopes with a probably uninformed and biased judge and jury; today we are losing the war to a definitely uniformed and biased judge and jury.

ps 1: If 6 days is true, we all marry our cousins; if evolution is true, who knows?

ps 2: What does Jasher know of spiritual things? If a Pillar by Night, and Cloud by Day, then the sun went down anyway; but all were too busy to notice the presence of God, except the losers of course.

Nu 14:14 14:And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Bruce Szwast

Zach August 29th, 2010

I thought so, but I wasn't quite sure. Thanks for the clarification, Laurie!

Zach August 29th, 2010

I replied with my last reply before you replied Bruce. So that was not in response to your last comment but to Laurie's.

And I must say, I am slow because I'm still confused.

Bruce Szwast August 30th, 2010

God Bless you Zach

Back in 1975 I was very confused also, and very pessimistic about life. I found a Bible in a bookstore and started to read it – from Genesis forward mind you. My pessimism turned to Optimism. I did not see conflicts just yet; I was more fascinated by the people, places and events. In the course of time, I found the Father in Genesis, the Son in Matthew, and the Holy Spirit in Paul's letters. End of story, not really…

It took me a while before I found a church (in NJ) where I found agreement with the preaching. It was a struggling church where 2 Phila. seminary professors (Dillard OT and Gaffin NT) would alternate as pulpit supply. Wow, what agreement – all of God's Word is inspired and relevant. Yesterday I had to drive 60 miles (each way) to find a church that even comes close to the environment I experienced in those days. LOL (sorry, that is about as contemporary as I get – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, you know).

Starting back in 1999, I was blessed with the opportunity to put James Ussher's Chronology into a computer program that demonstrated the Bibles historical framework. My co-churchers were impressed with Kings/Chronicles demonstrated on a single screen or the inter testament period demonstrated on a single screen. But when I showed them a page that demonstrated the Pre-Flood days – that is when the holy water hit the fan. 'You cannot say the earth is 6000 years old'! The entire project suddenly became frivolous to them. Of course they also told me 'the will of the creature' doesn't mean what you think! So much for Biblical context!

What is the moral of this story? Genesis is the foundation of everything we believe in and there is no way you shove evolution into the Bible. All you are doing is substituting God's eternal wisdom with man's questionable intelligence. There are (and still is) 'Answers in Genesis'. I am not a scientist, but I have learned enough to know that the world's version of creation is neither intelligent nor wise, and only leads to destruction.

Bruce Szwast

Prodigal Daughter August 30th, 2010

Respectfully, Bruce, I think you missed the point of the interview with the author.

Bruce Szwast August 31st, 2010

Dear Prodigal, time to come home:

I don't think I missed the point at all; I may have dismissed the point if anything. The bigger point is that I saw someone being rewarded for undermining God's Word in order to make a smaller point. What I wrote about the last two days is the bigger point.

Yesterday I started my bio; let's go back to the beginning. My parent's families grew up in the depression. The men worked in mines and steel mills to provide for their families, and during WW II defeated a formidable foe; and the women worked in men's places to support the effort. After the war, my father was understandably a disciplinarian, and my mother stayed home and took care of us (pta, church, etc). She would also feed the homeless on the front porch (mostly WW II vets, I suspect). Not a contradiction, but an indicator of a successful society – we do need both. Don't listen to the humanistic media on this one. GWB was one of the few right on this one.

I left home to work at 17 and was somewhat overwhelmed and discouraged by the ungrateful attitude of the 60's generation (etcetera). Fortunately I was in the army and missed most of it and had good jobs afterwards to keep me occupied. But it was God, in time, who revealed to me that even in our brokenness and poverty my parents gave me all they could. Mostly love, discipline, and sacrifice, and it was my job just to be grateful and carry on. Could we do better? If we stand together on God's Word we can. We are always at war.

Also respectfully, Bruce Szwast

Bill August 31st, 2010

Great interview…The Bob Jones skit was hilarious…as were the random monkey noises.

Bill September 1st, 2010

I appreciated Rachel's transparency, but I honestly don't think I would become an evolutionist even if I were to convert to atheism.

I'm not sure what my alternative would be (ala Michael Denton)but that theory seems to be the most far fetched creation myth of them all. Don't believe me? Listen to an evolutionist explain the evolution of the eye ball by means of mutations, or a the evolution of the bird from a fish, it's actually quite comedic. It sounded to me that her beliefs were based more on rebellion against her previous fundamentalism rather than scientific fact, but i could be wrong and who could blame her?

Still loved the interview; I might disagree with Rachel but immensly appreciated her honesty.

Bruce Szwast September 1st, 2010

Thanks Bill. I am not totally insensitive to Rachel. Seems like the previous fundamentalism you refered to may not have had the creation science info that is available to us today. We may have to blame the current fundamentalism (or lack thereof) and it's leadership which, for various reasons, does not take the time to present the whole counsel of God, in particular the subject and consequences of a proper understanding of our origins. We are called to be salt and light. Evolution is bland and full of darkness.
Bruce Szwast

Bruce Szwast September 2nd, 2010

Now I am really sensitive to Rachel. After another day of work, prayer, thought, and rest.

ETC's slogan 'we are sick of religion' may be a religiously correct way of saying 'we are sick of theology'. You know, the churches 'Tower of Babel'. Each group has defined a set of standards which we have to adhere to in order to be saved, or at least to be part of a functioning body. Well intentioned in most cases, but the real victims are those of us who sit in the pews suffering from battle fatigue. Yes, even the Creation/Evolution battle also has its victims.

I grew up morally as a Catholic, I grew up spiritually as a Presbyterian (the two are not mutually exclusive, inclusive, whatever) and I had to leave the church I was in because I was told I had to believe in the 'doctrine of election and predestination' in order to be saved. Other churches told me that I needed the gift of the Holy Spirit, or I needed to be re-baptized, or I had to believe in Premil theology, or I just had to 'believe in Jesus, and all will be well'. I am tired too, but remain an optimistic Berean.

Maybe my comfort is just trying to understand God from what He has said, and comparing it to sheer beauty of what He has created and the salvation available in Christ. Maybe that is why I study Bible Chronology, or church history, or the sciences.

Come to think of it, all theologies to one degree or another is the Bible out of context. If you really press me, I will tell you who had the best theology (then you can burn me at the stake). Bruce Szwast

Jed Wright September 3rd, 2010

Nice and interesting lady, but there is no way she has lived in Dayton TN all her life and talks like that. All of us East Tennesseans show out our hillbilly anytime we get near a microphone.

I think she understood herself subliminally when she made the comment at the end of the interview about the "knee jerk rebellion" to her raising. If she keeps searching, the King will bring her gently back from the dark side of the force.

rosedale November 8th, 2010

That fake "BJU" advert. Is there a link somewhere directly to it? I'd love to share that with my friends, it is golden. If there is a link please let me know!

Erik Guzman November 8th, 2010

Ask and ye shall receive!

http://stevebrownetc.com/2007/08/podcasts/comedy-bits-pieces/bob-jones-university/

rosedale November 8th, 2010

You are the best.

Bruce Bronson November 12th, 2010

Ecclesiastes 1 NKJ

2. "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

Ecclesiastes 1 NIV

2. "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

Ecclesiastes 1 Romanized

2 habeel habaaliym 'aamar qohelet habeel habaaliym hakol haabel.

——————————–

Ecclesiastes 12 NIV

13. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
14. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

( 13. cowp daabaar hakol nishmaa` 'et-haa-'Elohiym yraa' w'et-mitswotaayw shmowr kiy-zeh kaal-haa'aadaam.
14. kiy 'et-kaal-ma`aseh haa-'Elohiym yaabi' bmishpaaT `al kaal-ne`laam 'im-Towb w'im-raa`. )

Bronson, Bruce Bronson