2 Reasons for Biblical History (warts & all)

Now all these things happened unto them for

1) ensamples:

and they are written for our admonition,

upon whom the ends of the world are come.

2) There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful,

who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;

but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,

that ye may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:11,13

ARCHAEOLOGY: Toi

"Prof. Galil points out that King David halted the Arameans' expansion into the Land of Israel on account of his alliance with the southern Philistine kings, as well as with Toi, king of Hamath, who is identified with Tai(ta) II, king of Palistin (the northern Sea Peoples).

"The Empire of David is a realistic historical phenomenon and the Biblical description of its formation and consolidation is possible and reasonable," says Prof. Galil. "It reflects the great struggle between the Arameans and the Sea Peoples for the inheritance of the territories, which were previously part of the Egyptian and the Hittite Empires. David took advantage of these conflicts to unite the northern and the southern Sea Peoples against the mutual enemy, Hadadezer king of Aram-Zobah. David defeated the Arameans and created a regional empire from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates."

"Eight inscriptions recently discovered at different sites clearly indicate that a large kingdom named Palistin existed in northwestern Syria and southern Turkey. It encompassed the cities Hamath, Aleppo and Carchemish," Prof. Galil says. "This kingdom was inhabited by different groups including Sea Peoples. They invaded the Levant in the 12th century BC, conquered vast areas, destroyed kingdoms and took over their lands."

"The inscriptions of Ramesses III, king of Egypt (1182-1151 BC), indicate that he conquered cities in northern Syria and seized control of "the lands of Plst." However, hitherto there was no evidence that Philistines had lived in northern Syria, so scholars assumed that the Egyptian scribes exaggerated, describing places which didn't really exist," Prof. Galil explains. "The discovery of the northern kingdom of Palistin helps us understand the Egyptian inscriptions and the reality of northwestern Syria in those distant days."

"The alliance between David and Toi, king of Hamath, against Hadadezer, king of Zobah, is clearly attested in the Bible," says Prof. Galil, "We know for sure now that Toi of Hamath existed, and that he was indeed a historical figure. The Biblical text in the Book of Samuel is, therefore, well supported by the historical reality of the 10th century BC."
He stresses in particular II Samuel 8:10: "When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to King David, to greet him and to congratulate him on defeating Hadadezer in battle—for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi".

Prof. Galil thus proposes the following scenario. Relations between David and the southern Philistines (particularly the people of Philistine Gath) were close during David's reign in Hebron. But after the unification of Israel and Judah, a war broke out between the Philistines and David, as described in the Bible. At this stage the Arameans' advance led by Hadadezer king of Zobah, results in an alliance between David and Toi king of Hamath, in the sense of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." BCN

When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,

Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi.

And Joram brought with him vessels of silver,

and vessels of gold,

and vessels of brass:

Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD,

with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;

2 Samuel 8:9-11

Creation Moment 12/23/2014 - Power of Angels (as created beings)

What about the power of angels? They were created higher than mankind..... think about the powers they posses by reading below another article on teleportation (entanglement).

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

...For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

Psalm 8:4,5

(1) "Today, numerous teleportation breakthroughs have been made. One example is the work of Professor Rainer Blatt, at the University of Innsbruck. They were successfully able to perform teleportation on atoms for the first time, their work was published in the journal Nature.They were able to transfer key properties of one particle to another without using any physical link. In this case, teleportation occurred in the form of transferring quantum states between two atoms, these include the atom’s energy, motion, magnetic field and other physical properties. This is possible due to the strange behavior that exists at the atomic scale, known as entanglement. It’s what Einstein referred to as a “spooky...”
Another study was published by a team of University of Queensland physicists in the journal Nature in 2013 demonstrating the successful teleportation with solid state systems. A process by which, again, quantum information can be transmitted from one place to another without sending a physical carrier of information. This is the same concept, and is made possible through the phenomenon of entanglement.

There are different categories of teleportation.
Again, the two examples I used above are refereed to as (1) quantum teleportation. 
Another type of teleportation is (2) psychic, which is the conveyance of persons or inanimate objects by psychic means.
“It became known to myself, along with several colleagues both inside and outside of government, that anomalous teleportation has been scientifically investigated and separately documented by the Department of Defense.”  - Eric Davis, Ph.D, FBIS


 (2) A paper published in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in September 1981, in the journal Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) tilted “Some Experiments on the Transfer of Objects Performed by Unusual Abilities of the Human Body” (Shuhuang et al., 1981) reported that ‘gifted children,’ were able to cause the teleportation of small, physical objects from one place to another. Objects included watches, horseflies, other insects, radio micro-transmitters, photosensitive paper and more. The participants never touched the objects beforehand. The experiments were done under both blind and double-blind conditions, and the researches involved came from various colleges and sectors of the Department of Defense.
More research was done by the Aerospace Medicine Engineering Institute in Beijing, in July of 1990. It was published in the Chinese Journal of Somatic Science (Kongzhi et al., 1990: Jinggen et al., 1990; Banghui; 1990). This study reported several experiments involving high speed photography video taping, which was able to capture the transfer of test specimens like nuts, matches, nails, pills and more through the walls of sealed paper envelopes, sealed glass bottles and tubes, sealed plastic film canisters and more without the walls of any of these containers being breached.  All of these experiments reported using gifted children and adults to cause the teleportation of various materials.


“The results of the Chinese Teleportation experiments can simply be explained as a human consciousness phenomenon that somehow acts to move or rotate test specimens through a 4th spacial dimension, so that specimens are able to penetrate the solid walls/barriers of their containers without physically breaching them.”  – Eric Davis, Ph.D, FBIS
This is just another example of many that demonstrate the validity of consciousness, and the many different influences it can have on our physical material world." JRA

WOW...now think about "angels" as created beings with even more powers than humans have, and the ability to use the mind to do things easily (or beyond) psychic teleportation.... Now you see the powers of Lucifer & his angels? Do you realize the power of these created beings?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:12

And no marvel;

for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:14

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:

Exodus 7:11,12

"Hell" in Jonah - Figure of Speech

"Hell" is the Lake of Fire in the end that destroys once & for all. It is also used as a figure of speech in Scripture for being in a really bad spot in a given moment....such as in Jonah 2........so be careful how you interpret the meaning of "hell" in the bible. It can be used allegorically, besides as the grave or the Lake of Fire in the end.

Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly. And he said: I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol [out of the belly of hell—KJV] I cried, and You heard my voice. Jonah 2:1-2

GOSPEL GEM: Mary

Luke 2:26-35,38

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,

named Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;

and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said,

Hail, thou that art highly favoured,

the Lord is with thee:

blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him,

she was troubled at his saying,

and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her,

Fear not, Mary:

for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold,

thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,

and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:

and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;

and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel,

How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her,

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,

and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:

therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And Mary said,

Behold the handmaid of the Lord;

be it unto me according to thy word.

And the angel departed from her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Adds- But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4

"Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker." Desire of Ages p.37.38 E.G.W.

Creation Moment 12/22/2014 - Teleportation?

"A new distance record has been set in the strange world of quantum teleportation. In a recent experiment, the quantum state (the direction it was spinning) of a light particle instantly traveled 15.5 miles across an optical fiber, becoming the farthest successful quantum teleportation feat yet.
About five years ago, researchers could only teleport quantum information, such as which direction a particle is spinning, across a few meters. Now, they can beam that information across several miles." LiveScience
Could entanglement (teleportation), which Einstein called "spooky" physics, be the way God travels (& His "messengers" known to us as angels) through space so rapidly? Just a thought....who knows...

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth,

and the top of it reached to heaven:

and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Genesis 28:12

2 Timothy: Soldier On

The BOOK of 2 Timothy

Thou therefore endure hardness,

as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself

with the affairs of this life,

 that he may please him

who enlisted him as a soldier.

2:3,4

Chapter 1

(Apostasy/Fidelity)

That a boy,...on your FIDELITY

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee,

which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois,

and thy mother Eunice;

and I am persuaded that in thee also.

v.5

Advice--on FIDELITY

1) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,

2) nor of me his prisoner:

3) but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

v.8

Example--of FIDELITY 
1) Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, 
2) and an apostle, 
3) and a teacher of the Gentiles 
v.11

The APOSTASY

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;

of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

v.15

Chapter 2

(Apostasy/Conflict)

The APOSTASY

And their word will eat as doth a canker:

of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

Who concerning the truth have erred,

saying that the resurrection is past already;

and overthrow the faith of some.

v.17,18

There will be Conflict

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:

if we deny him, he also will deny us:

v.12

You may be bound-but the Word isn't

Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds;

but the word of God is not bound.

v.9

Both Good & Bad among the Flock

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver,

but also of wood and of earth;

and some to honour,

and some to dishonor.

v.20

This Seal of your COMMANDER

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,

1) The Lord knoweth them that are his.

2) And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

v.19

Chapter 3

(Apostasy/Stand Fast)

----The coming APOSTASY----

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

lovers of money,

They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God,

disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful.

They will consider nothing sacred.

without love, unforgiving, slanderous,

without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,

They will betray their friends, be reckless,

be puffed up with pride,

and love pleasure rather than God.

having a form of godliness but denying its power.

from such turn away.

v.1-5 KJV/NIV/NLT/NKJV

Stand Fast-as in your youth

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,

which are able to make thee wise unto salvation

through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

v.15

The antidote for APOSTASY

All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine,

for reproof,

for correction,

for instruction in righteousness:

v.16

Chapter 4

(Apostasy/Faithfulness)

WHY the coming APOSTASY

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;

but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,

having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,

and shall be turned unto fables.

v.3,4

Paul's FAITHFUL Example

For I am now ready to be offered,

and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight,

I have finished my course,

I have kept the faith:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge,

shall give me at that day:

and not to me only,

but unto all them also that love his appearing.

v.6-8

--The cloak & the books--

The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus,

when thou comest, bring with thee,

and the books, but especially the parchments.

v.13

***a Spiritual underlying meaning for us today?***

Could the "cloak" represent Christ's Robe of Righteousness?

His "cloak" of Justification for us?

And could the "books" represent His Word?

His Word (Scripture) helps lead us on the path of Sanctification.

Just a thought.....

*******************************************

Summary:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2:15

Footsteps of Paul: Friction

And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas,

Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city

where we have preached the word of the Lord,

and see how they do.

And Barnabas determined to take with them John,

whose surname was Mark.

But Paul thought not good to take him with them,

who departed from them from Pamphylia,

and went not with them to the work.

And the contention was so sharp between them,

that they departed asunder one from the other:

and so Barnabas took Mark,

and sailed unto Cyprus;

And Paul chose Silas,

and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia,

confirming the churches.

Acts 15:36-41

"Both Paul and Barnabas had a tender regard for those who had recently accepted the gospel message under their ministry, and they longed to see them once more. This solicitude Paul never lost. Even when in distant mission fields, far from the scene of his earlier labors, he continued to bear upon his heart the burden of urging these converts to remain faithful,..." Acts of the Apostles p.201 E.G.W.

Creation Moment 12/21/2014 - Bill Nye the so-called Science Guy-caught in another LIE

Bill Nye the so-called "Science Guy"-caught in another LIE

"The biggest danger creationism plays, according to Bill Nye the "Science Guy," is that it is raising a generation of children who "can't think" and who "will not be able to participate in the future in same

way" as those who are taught evolution.
Speaking on MidPoint, Nye said he blames an older generation of evangelicals "who have very strong conservative views" and who are "reluctant to let kids learn about evolution." Their presence on school boards leads to debates over curriculum, Nye argued, which further inhibits schools' ability to teach facts.
"Religion is one thing. People get tremendous comfort and community with their religions," Nye said. "But whatever you believe, whatever deity or higher power you might believe in, the Earth is not 6,000 years old."
Nye, who has a new book out titled "Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation," recently participated in a debate with creationist Ken Ham, which some argued was a moment of embarrassment for the science community." HP
1) Yo Bill....first, there is no conflict between science & religion. the conflict is between science & evolution.
2) It is macro-evolution which has held back science...not creationism. As we've pointed out on a former creation moment, that evolution hindered medical research into the purpose of so-called vestigial organs.
3) No one needs to believe in macro-evolution to be a good scientist. We have blogged many times about some on this website. How about John C. Sanford for starters.....
4) Religion isn't about giving comfort--but thanks anyway for your dismissive analysis. Rather, religion is about finding the truth about life 7 it's meaning. purpose, origin & destiny.
5) And no Bill, the earth is not millions of years old. Reasons for that (magnetic field decay rate, Roche limit, etc., have been given on this website.

Hey Bill.....

Thou shalt not bear false witness..... Exodus 20:16

Evidence of the Tower of Babel in the Stars?

At Babel is when the Zodiac movement began....for it was at Babel that they tried to reach up into the heavens, thus a need to map the stars. Since most cultures had zodiacs, which were very similar, it stands to reason it stems from common belief that has an original source. More evidence for all human linkage to Babel?

If there be found among you,

within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee,

man or woman, that hath..... and worshipped them,

either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven,.....

Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman,

which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates,

even that man or that woman,

and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

Deuteronomy 17:2,3,5

An ABOMINATION in the sight of God then is still one today in His sight.....God's character hasn't changed....just because the Mosaic laws punishments are not carried out today (because they were for the children of Israel, to teach them right from wrong, and to be an example to us today of right & wrong, and to keep His people pure) doesn't mean it's O.K. today for "Christians" to dabble in horoscopes.....

You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

Behold,

they shall be as stubble;

the fire shall burn them;

they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame:

Isaiah 47:13, NASB 14

A Common Source Rooted in Babel



Babylonian-where it all began

Chinese

Mayan

Hindu

Egyptian

Celtic

Therefore is the name of it called Babel;

...and from thence

did the LORD scatter them

abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 11:19

"Star" of the Wise Men

What was the "star" the wise men saw?
I believe it wasn't an actual "star". They thought they saw a "star" both because that's what it appeared to look like in the distance AND because of their background in paganistic astrology.
We know that in the Bible angels are symbolized by stars- Its likely the "star", as the Wise Men saw it, was an angel.

....Good "stars"/angels

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:7

.....Bad "stars"/angels

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:4

When they had heard the king,

they departed;

and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east,

went before them,

till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Matthew 2:9

IN the NEWS - Ancient Babylonian Music

Is this what music sounded like in the court of Nebuchadnezzar in ancient Babylon? Did Daniel hear melodies something akin to this?...INTERESTING...

Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts,

and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon,

and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:48

Click on Link below to listen:
https://soundcloud.com/newsweek-tech-science/sets/the-flood

"Stef Conner’s album The Flood. It’s probably the first ever to be sung in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian,....Conner, who after completing a degree in

music composition got deeply interested in Babylonian literature and poetry—which was originally recorded in cuneiform, wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets.

But the words on the paper, the modern incarnations of these mineral etchings, were not enough for Conner. She wanted to know what these languages sounded like, to summon life from stone. Many of these poems and snatches of writings were sung and chanted, according to historians. The tunes played an important part in rituals in Mesopotamian societies, from funerals to lullabies, Conner says.

So she teamed up with Andy Lowings, who reconstructs ancient instruments and plays a mean lyre, a musical instrument with strings that resembles a harp. The two set out to create music that brings ancient Babylonian poetry to life, and The Flood is the result. It was produced by sound engineer Mark Harmer and can be found on Conner’s website; it will also come out on iTunes next month.

But how does one reincarnate music that no human voice has

uttered for millennia? Conner says a key step was to really understand the language. She carefully studied historical analysis of the stresses and intonations of Babylonian and Sumerian for hints as to how it may have sounded, and researched how language is converted into music in similar Semitic languages. Then, after choosing and memorizing a piece of writing or poem, Conner collaborated with Lowings to create the melody.

She was guided in part by the work of music scholar Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, who came up with a score for the Hurrian hymn to Nikkal, the "oldest song in the world," recorded on a clay tablet found in the ancient city of Ugarit dating to the second millennia B.C."

 NEWSWEEK

Creation Moment 12/20/2014 - God's Building Blocks

"By smashing particles together at close to light speed inside an atom smasher, scientists created a never-before-seen type of matter: an anti-hypertriton.

This particle is weird in many ways.

     First, it's not normal matter, but its eerie opposite, called antimatter, which annihilates whenever it comes into contact with regular mass.

     Second, the anti-hypertriton is what's called a "strange" particle, meaning it contains a rare building block called a strange quark, which isn't present in the protons and neutrons that make up regular atoms." LiveScience 

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,

Daniel 2:28

That $50 bill....

IF there is no God...then you have no meaning, no purpose. Your existence is irrelevant. For if you say your life has meaning to you---you are going to die one day, take an eternal nap in a dust blanket, and within a hundred years no one will be alive who even remembers you. SO WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK TODAY?

But if there is a higher power (which has the authority of being absolute) who stamps you with meaning---then you have meaning--even if you think you don't. SO THEN AGAIN--WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK? YOU STILL HAVE MEANING.



Take a $50 bill. . . . . .YOU may not like a $50 bill. You might think it should have no value. You might declare that it is just a scrap of green paper with a picture of President Grant stamped with a number 50 on it. You might deem it unworthy of value for trading  purposes. BUT WHO WOULD CARE WHAT YOU THINK?
A higher power than you (i.e. U.S. government) has deemed it of value.
Some people use their $50 bill wisely,
Some tear it up & throw it away,
Some make foolish investments with it,
Some physically lose it,
Some give it away,
Some spend it on the wrong stuff......


But there is someone who remembers you, centuries after you die, and because of His value He stamps you with, the nap in a dust blanket doesn't have to be eternal.
Someone stamped your life with meaning......:

But he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.
Ye are bought with a price; 
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved. 

Isaiah 53:5 --1 Corinthians 7:23--John :17

Creation Moment 12/19/2014 - Ears, Eyes & Nose

Amazing--clear cut DESIGN

"The human nose can detect one trillion different odors, far more than we previously thought, say US scientists.

Until now, the long-held belief was that we can sniff out about 10,000 smells.
New estimates published in Science suggest the human nose outperforms the eye and the ear in terms of the number of stimuli it can distinguish between.
The human eye uses three light receptors that work together to see up to 10 million colors, while the ear can hear almost half a million tones." BBC

I will praise thee;

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works;

Psalm 139:14

The "Really" File - (Genetically GREENING Humans)

They traded the truth about God for a lie.

So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself,

Romans 1:25 NLT

These people are serious about GREENING humans via bio-genetics!!! How Hitleresque... Think about this....there are people being taken serious by media outlets who want to bio-engineer humans to be aligned with their political worldview (in this case fitting the worldview of the GREEN Religion). This is unbelievable...IF someone proposed this on just about any other political topic they would NEVER be given any respect by the media. DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TINKER WITH THE GENTICS OF THE DNA OF YOUR POTENTIAL OFFPRING SO AS TO BE ALIGNED WITH SOMEONE ELESE'S WORLDVIEW? DO YOU? The very fact this is even being discussed in academia echoes what went on in the halls & walls of academia in pre-WW2 Germany--as Atheistic Nietzsche's philosophy & Darwinism brewed a toxic mix..... a "perfect race".

GREEN NAZIS-Literally, & they don't even realize who & what they are because they believe their cause for "mother earth" trumps everything........

Climate change:

Could we engineer greener humans?

"Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing humankind, and as the stakes are raised, many are proposing ambitious solutions – from pumping dust into the atmosphere to escaping to space.
But what if instead of trying to fix the world, we fixed ourselves? That’s the question posed by Matthew Liao, director of the Bioethics Programme at New York University, and his colleagues. “We tried to think outside the box,” says Liao. “What hasn’t been suggested with respect to addressing climate change?”

The answer they landed on is human engineering: the biomedical modification of human beings to reduce their impact on the environment. The associate professor suggests that by changing our underlying biology – altering our size or diet, for instance – we could create greener humans.

It wouldn’t be the first time that biological control has been used to limit the ecological impact of a society. China’s controversial ‘one-child’ policy was implemented in 1979 to alleviate pressures on the environment, among other reasons. And the tiny Pacific island of Tikopia was made famous by anthropologist Raymond Firth in 1936 when he reported that its inhabitants followed a strict code of birth control to prevent the population straining the island’s limited resources. Undesirable as these efforts may sound to some ears today, Liao suggests that we could go further in the quest to be more environmentally-friendly humans.

“We can artificially induce intolerance to red meat by stimulating the immune system against

From the "Really" File

common bovine proteins,” he says. Liao envisions a medical aid like a nicotine patch that makes you sick if you try to eat red meat. Such a patch might sound like science fiction – and for now it is – but evidence has recently surfaced that people bitten by the lone star tick, native to the southern US, subsequently developed allergies to red meat, forcibly pushing them toward a vegetarian lifestyle.
Liao also argues that we can reduce the size of our environmental footprint by reducing the size of our physical footprint. “Reducing height by 15cm would mean a reduction in mass of around 25%,” says Liao. That’s a quarter less of you that has to be transported, fed, and watered. Although there’s a social stigma against being short, Liao counters that there are benefits too. Smaller people tend to live longer he says, “and you can fit in airplanes better!”

Once you start down this path, it can take you as far as your imagination will go. What if human eyes could be modified to see better in dim light, reducing lighting bills? Could we cover our skin in chlorophyll for an energetic boost from the sun? Enter hibernation in the winter instead of burning coal to heat our homes?

“A lot of the things we’re talking about are already being done in society, it’s not as extreme as we think. Though these things aren’t being done in the context of climate change. I think if you gave people that option, some will be willing to take it.”
Perhaps our descendants who are living with the worst effects of climate change might be more willing to embrace the idea of modifying our biology. It might prove easier than trying to modify the climate." BBC

REALLY?

 AGAIN

Triple Root of Contentment

Keep your lives

1. free from the love of money

and 2. be content with what you have,

3. because God has said,

Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

IN the NEWS - Christmas Poll 2014

* "Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults (73 percent) expressed belief in the Virgin Birth in a Pew Research poll released Dec. 15 indicating that most Americans believe the Christmas stories in the Bible are historically true.

*Similar numbers (75 percent) said they believe wise men guided by a star brought the infant Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh

*and that angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds (74 percent).

*Four in five (81 percent) believe the Baby Jesus was laid in a manger.

Two-thirds (65 percent) said they believe in all four elements of the Christmas story, while 22 percent believe some elements but not all. Belief ran highest among evangelical Christians and lowest among the religious “nones,” who are split about 50/50 on the historicity of any element of the Nativity story." BNG

And suddenly

there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,

and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men.

Luke 2:13,14

Papal Notes - Pope's American Foriegn Policy

"The U.S., which has had a tight trade embargo on Cuba since 1961, is now set to announce a loosening of economic and travel restrictions. The Obama administration is also looking to set up an embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana "in the coming months," the White House says.

Alan Gross, the American contractor who has been imprisoned in Cuba since 2009, will be released to the United States by the Cuban government, the White House announced Wednesday. The so-called "humanitarian release" will coincide with an exchange of three Cubans convicted of espionage in Miami for one unnamed U.S. intelligence asset. Gross, who was arrested while in Cuba as part of a USAID telecommunications program, was convicted of espionage by a Cuban court in 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Gross' wife and members of Congress, including long-time advocates for his release Sens. Patrick Leahy and Jeff Flake and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, are on board his flight back to the United States.

Although negotiations had been brewing for some time, the first face-to-face meeting between Cuban and American officials took place in Canada in June 2013. Many of the ensuing meetings took place in Canada, but senior administration officials said that the Vatican played an important role in bringing the sides together as well. When Obama visited the Vatican in March, he and Pope Francis discussed the issue, and the Pope sent Obama and Castro personal letters to encourage them to press forward with negotiations.

The Vatican released a statement later Wednesday congratulating the governments of the U.S. and Cuba.


Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., joined in the criticism. "At a minimum Barack Obama is the worst negotiator we've had as president since at least Jimmy Carter, and maybe in the modern history of this country," he said on Fox News Wednesday. "The issue that I care about in Cuba is democracy," Rubio later said on CNN. "Nothing that is happening here will further that cause." The senator, and possible 2016 presidential contender, called the move a "life-line" for the Castro regime." NationalJournal


"Months of talks in Canada and at the Vatican, involving one of Obama's closest aides, culminated on Tuesday, when Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro spoke by phone for nearly an hour and gave final assent to steps that could end a half-century of enmity and reshape Western Hemisphere relations.

"The Vatican played a significant role," Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told Reuters. Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Archbishop of Havana, also took part in the diplomacy, Durbin said.

The secret talks, U.S. officials said, were coordinated via diplomatic Interests Sections - short of full embassies - that the two sides maintain in each others' capitals, as well as Cuba's mission to the United Nations." Yahoo

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;

1798

and his deadly wound was healed:

Since 1798

and all the world wondered after the beast.

Today

Revelation 13:3