An Argument From Ignorance

Has man penetrated space?
The telescope reveals our earth as a very small, insignificant speck floating in unlimited space. When you look into the sky, you are facing infinity! What is beyond space? And what is beyond that? So, as we think upon the problem, there is borne home to us that there is something greater that mortal man, and we only have to gaze into the heavens to be brought face to face with the infinite.

Our nearest neighbour (excluding the moon, earth's satellite) is the planet Venus, which is 39,000,000 kilometres away when at its nearest point. With Venus, and other planets, we revolve around the sun which is 150,000,000 kilometres away.

The sun is the centre of a little system of its own, called the solar system, and the nearest star to the solar system (and itself the centre of its own system, for every star is a sun in its own right) is Alpha Centauri, some 42 million million kilometres away.

The solar system is a very small dot in the vast Milky Way, which we see on a night spread across the sky. Every point of light seen (excluding the few planets associated with the sun) is a mighty sun controlling its own vast system like our sun. Train a telescope upon the heavens, and for every dot of light you see with the naked eye, you will see another thousand! The larger the telescope that man produces, the more he realizes that there is no limit to discoveries! He is face to face with the Infinite.

Yet it is all governed by marvellous precision and order, more meticulous and exact that the best watch that man has ever made.

Did "Lady Luck" cause all this to happen? Did blind chance create remarkable order? To pose the question is to answer it!

So tremendous is the vault of heaven, that ordinary measurements are inadequate, and man has adopted another unit called light year. Light travels at the rate of 300,000 kilometres per second. Multiply that by 60 for the distance in a minute, again by 60 for the distance in an hour, again by 24 for the distance in a day, and finally by 365 for the distance covered in a year, and the total of nearly ten million million kilometres is the enormous yardstick, our nearest star-neighbour Alpha Centauri) is four and one-third light years distant from the earth! In other words, if the rockets that landed on the moon were directed to our nearest star, they would take 5,000 years to reach it! And long before that, I should think, those who launched it would have lost interest in the progress!

Yet scientists glibly speak of "man's conquest of space"!

How puny is man in comparison with creation about him. God could well say to Job: "Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" (Job 38:32).

Astronomers have ascertained that this giant of the sky, at least a million times larger than our own sun (and the sun is over a million times larger than the earth), flies through space with its retinue of worlds, or "sons," at the rate of more than fourteen hundred thousand kilometres an hour! Surely only Omnipotent power can "guide Arcturus with his sons" on their furious race through space. How true are the words of the Psalmist: "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:3-6).

Yet God, in His infinite mercy, has bridged these mighty distances, and has revealed Himself as a Father unto humanity, that He might save some for His glory (see Psalm 103:11-17).

When pygmies look up!
When man gazes into the heavens, he sees something of the glory and wonder of the Creator. The Bible describes God as "hanging the world upon nothing" (Job 26:7), and speaks of the "circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:2). Have you ever thought of the weight of the globe which is computed at 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes, and considered the mighty power of God who projected it into space at a speed of 29.7 kilometres per second and continues to hold it in position by His mysterious force of gravity? This speed makes the fastest, most powerful jet-plane seem stationary! Have you ever pondered the mystery of those mighty heavenly bodies all hurtling through space at tremendous speeds; and yet all subject to such laws of precision that astronomers can predict their position in relation to the earth to the minute?

Is this mighty power and marvellous precision an evidence of Creation or Chance?

Immense as is the earth, it is small in comparison with the sun. Because of its vast distance from us, the sun, when viewed through colored glass, appears as a small red disc;; but actually, its diameter is approximately one and a half million kilometres.

The sun is nature's hearth, for terrestrial life depends upon its rays. Nothing is more interesting than the wanderings of a ray of light. First there is its long journey through space at the speed of 300,000 kilometres per second. It reaches the earth and caresses the fields. Every blade of grass seizes it with delight, and solar heat becomes imprisoned in its frail organism. The beasts of the field are allured by the fine green tufts of grass, and thus the sun's rays enter into their bodies and become transformed into milk, flesh or wool, finally ending upon our tables in the form of food, or upon our backs in the form of clothing! We can admire with gratitude the magnificent sun which provides in its rays the means of life for man, and can respond to the wisdom of God by giving thanks for His wonderful and beneficent creation; and at the same time, leave the evolutionist to his slime (see 2 Peter 2:22)!

The sun, with its health-giving rays, and its power to dispel darkness, is a fitting symbol for the Lord Jesus Christ who proclaimed himself to be "the Light of the World" (John 8:12), and who will not only give life to those who come under his beneficent influence, but will ultimately destroy the spiritual darkness and superstition that holds mankind encased in gloom (Isaiah 60:1-2). Concerning his coming reign on earth, the Psalmist declared: "His name shall continue as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed" (Psalm 72:17).

As we look towards the heavens, and view the mighty forces that God has projected into space, we see the tokens of His power, tokens which illustrate His ability to execute His great purpose in the earth: "The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Daniel 2:44).

To accomplish this purpose, God will send Jesus Christ back to this earth (Revelation 1:7).

Originally posted by checkbaiter
How puny is man in comparison with creation about him. God could well say to Job: "Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" (Job 38:32).

Astronomers have ascertained that this giant of the sky, at least a million times larger than our own sun (and the sun is over a million times larger than the earth), flies through space with its retinue of worlds ...[text shortened]... .

To accomplish this purpose, God will send Jesus Christ back to this earth (Revelation 1:7).

GOO! i may get back to you later after i read all this crap. i may not, though, too.

The Marvel of Man
The human body is a wonderful and intricate piece of living mechanism. The heart, the blood-stream, the lungs, and so forth, are all working hard and constantly to maintain life in being, and yet so wonderfully is this done, that we are unconscious of it all until some disarrangement or accident causes us to heed it.

Is all this the result of chance working away in a pool of slime? The Bible teaches that man was made for the glory of God, and was given the intellect to reflect His glory. Unfortunately, that same intellect is so often prostituted to the cause of folly and stupidity.

As an example of the marvellous mechanism of the body, consider the wonder of light as taken into the body through the eye. Science says that light is a series of wave movements in the ether initiated by luminous bodies such as the sun, and which vibrate up and down at right angles to the direction of light. Light is made up of a combination of various waves, the colors of which are shown in the rainbow when the light of the sun is reflected in falling rain. These waves vary in size according to the particular color or shade but they average approximately 0.00042 of a millimetre in size.

We appreciate the beauty of light and color through the sight of the eyes, and that is possible because of the delicate membrane of the retina, which is an expansion of the fibres of the optic nerve, spread out at the back part of the eye. Although only 0.3175 millimetre in thickness, it is composed of no fewer than ten different layers, each 0.3175 millimetre thick. As light travels at the speed of 300,000 kilometres per second, it is a matter of simple mathematical computation to determine that when we look at a violet flower (violet color waves being the shortest), the retina vibrates at the tremendous rate of 750,000,000,000,000 vibrations per second!

No wonder the Psalmist declared of the Creator: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Psalm 139:14). In the marvel of the retina of the eye, we have an example of the infinite power of the Creator, who has thus created a living substance 750 billion times more delicate than the escapement of a watch. It would take over 22 years for a watch to tick as many times as the retina vibrates in a second! Yet "the fool hath said" (Psalm 14:1) that man is a monument to the marvel of chance, not to the moulding of a divine and intelligent Creator!

The Evolutionist Stung by a Bee!
Consider the amazing wax-cells that abound in the beehive. Each cell is a perfect hexagon which the bee by instinct makes without mistake. Try to do this yourself! Without ruler, protractor or set square, endeavour to carefully draw a perfect hexagon. You will find it impossible! Yet the bee does it! How?

Moreover, each comb contains two sets of cells, one opening on each side of its faces. The cells of one side, however, are not exactly opposite to those of the other; for the middle of each cell abuts against the point where the walls of the three cells meet on the opposite side, and thus the partition that separates the cells is greatly strengthened. This partition is not flat, but consists of three planes which meet each other at a particular angle, so as to make the centre of the cell its deepest part.
It has been ascertained by measurement that the angles formed by bees are 109.28 and 70.32 degrees respectively. By very intricate calculation, it was determined by the mathematician Konig, that the best angles for such a purpose should be 109.26 and 70.34. In other words, the mathematicians and the bees differed only by the small discrepancy of two minutes of a degree, or 1/10,800th part of a circle, an infinitesimal space in so small a thing as a bee- cell.

Were the bees by this minute fraction at fault? Or did the geometricians err? The latter proved to be the case. MacLaurin, the Scottish mathematician, not satisfied with this explanation, applied himself to a fresh and careful investigation of the question. He showed that, owing to a slight misprint in the logarithmic tables, the result previously obtained was erroneous to the exact amount of two minutes of a degree! So the bees were right, and the mathematicians were wrong.

Whence came the knowledge of the bees? Even Darwin was stung into silence by these little creatures, saying, "What shall we say concerning the honeybee...?"

What, indeed! The special instincts which cause the bees to make their cells perfect hexagons, the sparrows to build their nests with straw, the beavers to build a dam, and the rabbits to burrow in the ground, are all proofs of the creation of separate species: a silent testimony to the existence of an infinite Creator working according to intelligent plan.

The Evolutionist Reveals God's Wisdom
Unconsciously, the evolutionist gives his witness to the marvellous prescience and wisdom of God, because the growth and influence of his theory in these last days is clearly predicted in God's word. The Bible declares: "Know this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?... for this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth..." (2 Peter 3:4-5).

Here is a Bible prophecy clearly stating that in the "last days" men would be "willingly ignorant" of the facts of creation! The widespread teaching of the evolutionary theory, in spite of the evidence that can be brought against it, is a fulfilment of this prediction. Is it not a remarkable thing, that God should predict the very trend that is so obvious today? Scripture shows that the theory will be responsible for the moral declension that would be a feature of the "last days" prior to Christ's coming to set up his kingdom on earth, so that the widespread, blind acceptance of this myth of evolution is a significant "sign of the times."

We need to heed these warning, prophetic words of the Bible, and refuse to bow down to such a God-defying doctrine as evolution, which in spite of the claims of so-called learned men, cannot be proved as true, and remains in the realm of magical imagination.

Let people consider the wonders of creation, whether viewed in the heavens above, or upon the earth beneath, and here will be instantly recognized tokens of glory that speak of the wisdom of the Creator's hand. Let them closely study the Bible, and they will be compelled to realize, that in this wonderful Book, there is found something equally as marvellous as the intricate patterns of life in its diversity, as is manifested on all sides.

It is inconceivable that God should have arranged for creation without purpose, and inasmuch as we see design and wisdom in the heavens and the earth, in man and in all creation, so there must be a future purpose for life on this earth.

The Bible reveals that purpose. It declares: "The whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord" (Numbers 14:21). It is for that reason that Jesus Christ is to return; it is for that reason that the Bible has come into existence: to bring man God's revelation and to call him to salvation. That Book offers you life eternal upon the earth at Christ's coming (Romans 2: 6-7; Revelation 22:12; Daniel 7:27).

What can the present offer you? A life of frustration and difficulty ending in death! But what of the future? That depends upon what you do with Jesus Christ and with God! Are you really satisfied with things as they exist on earth at the present? Are you happy about the future in which families must grow up? Cannot you discern the growing evil on every side? The increasing immorality? The tremendous problems that are already facing humanity?

The Bible has the solution to these things. For, although people are being subjected to pressure today that can drive them away from the things of God and the Bible, wisdom dictates that you show sufficient determination and independence of mind to resist these influences, and seek that which can be of inestimable benefit.

The issue is up to you!

From...
http://www.thechristadelphians.org/htm/pamphletz/p0011m.htm

Originally posted by LemonJello
GOO! i may get back to you later after i read all this crap. i may not, though, too.

Like I said...common sense.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Here we go again...you define good, by your definition, as well as completely ignoring God's Word....which He has protected all these centuries....just to give you the oppurtunity to pick it up, read it, pray over it, ask Him to show you....and the sad part?.....He is more than willing, He will bend over backwards to show you and give you all the eviden ...[text shortened]... et I pray for them, because I know they are blind, deceived, pride can be a terrible thing......

It was almost better when he was C&P'ing the Bible. Some of these people really shouldn't be encouraged to write their own thoughts.

Edit: Ah, after reading further in the thread, I see we are safely back to C&P.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Like I said...common sense.

Please simply give the link next time instead of spamming the forum.

Originally posted by telerion
It was almost better when he was C&P'ing the Bible. Some of these people really shouldn't be encouraged to write their own thoughts.

Edit: Ah, after reading further in the thread, I see we are safely back to C&P.

Yes, it's an obvious copy and paste job. That's the only time their posts are legible.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Like I said...common sense.

Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense."

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Yes..it is called logic and common sense...consider...
How clever is man?
The Bible demands faith, however, and in this materialistic age, when man has probed so many secrets of life, it is popular to mock at a Bible faith. Man imagines that he has grown beyond it, and thinks that he has all the answers to life's problems. But how mistaken is such a v ...[text shortened]... overhead is a "miracle," but a loud laugh goes up when we refer to the miracles of the Bible.

The Bible demands faith, however, and in this materialistic age, when man has probed so many secrets of life, it is popular to mock at a Bible faith.

CB, could you define what you mean by the word “faith” here? This is a word that has been bandied about and argued about on here, sometimes because people were using it in different ways with different understandings. Sometimes it is used as synonymous with “belief;” sometimes as just an opinion formed, or a decision based, on (whatever) evidence, under conditions of uncertainty (e.g., I may decide to leave my umbrella at home, on “faith” that the meteorologist’s prediction of a low probability of rain is likely right); sometimes as antithetical to reason and evidence, sometimes as complementary to them.

Also, I would just comment at this point that questioning “Bible faith,” is not the same as mocking it. I saw nothing of mockery in LJ’s starting post.

Originally posted by vistesd
[b]The Bible demands faith, however, and in this materialistic age, when man has probed so many secrets of life, it is popular to mock at a Bible faith.

CB, could you define what you mean by the word “faith” here? This is a word that has been bandied about and argued about on here, sometimes because people were using it in different ways with differe ...[text shortened]... e faith,” is not the same as mocking it. I saw nothing of mockery in LJ’s starting post.[/b]

Yes. There is no mocking when we realize that the story of Noah's Ark is just a story. There yet may remain something to be gleaned from this ancient tale ...

Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
What is an example of an instance of strong evidence? Does that category of evidence have well-defined criteria?

Something basic and pervasive—like gravity? Not being a scientist, I cannot explain how gravity works, but I do not question its “existence” as a force.

Or something more Epicurean perhaps, like pain when I stub my toe. I don’t know all the neurological processes that lead to the sensation of pain, but I’m pretty sure that my toe hurts—and will hurt again if I keep whacking it on some hard object.

Originally posted by rwingett
Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense."

Good ole' Tom wasn't exactly a fundamentalist christian. lol maybe he was a Deist .

on principle , I refuse to read long posts.

Originally posted by rwingett
Yes, it's an obvious copy and paste job. That's the only time their posts are legible.

lol - yes; one sentence contains more commas than checkbaiter can count up to.