Neuro-illogical Intellection

Once upon a day I lost my mind and my head was in my hands. The world was a blur, spinning around as I fade in and out, all alone with just me inside sorting through the mess inside. I was struggling through the fight to keep control, like a worm from a bird (that’s right skipper) Finding focus here and there, my head was spinning like the earth around the sun, making moves and losing steps. I was thinking: I could use some meds, would it be the answer to it all? Then finding focus in my faith, changing the world because that’s the game and you play the game; you lose your face. It just starts to wander, you then get dazed. Looking for something that’s missing, constantly waiting worried of taking the jump, but forgetting to land.

On a daily basis, you see the faces. The ones that pass you by, wondering what’s inside, what’s behind the facade? I’m walking alone down a trail that’s different, its not paved, there’s no signs or dotted lines. I take a hike off for a while, but I just come back from the wide. My shadow trails behind, sometimes forgetting to follow, and instead I follow what’s been dragging me down.

It’s something different not wanting to know how you feel about life, because you’re afraid of what you’d find. That’s kind of the position I’m in now. I’ve been struggling with a mixed bag and I don’t really feel like sorting it all out. So I just keep adding things. I’ve been asking myself a question: am I who I want to be? I don’ know. Some questions are better left unanswered.

Overhead

Hyper Static Union
Lifegiver
"Overhead"

The things I want are tearing me apart
I knew this from the start
They’re daggers to Your heart
Though I desire to trade my will with Yours
I’m shutting open doors and crawling on all fours
I need Your touch, open my eyes
Cut me down to size, I’m dying to rise

I promised I’d be less and let You be more
In my attempt to do what I have read
To die is gain, I want to serve the One I adore
But it appears there’s too much overhead

I’d rather stay than give my life away
The life that I have made, a price I just can’t pay
So I ignore Your calling from the shore
You offer so much more but the cost I can’t afford
Short-sighted eyes, my spirit’s demise
Listening to lies, dying to rise

I need Your touch, open my eyes
Cut me down to size, I’m dying to rise

Horizon problem of the Big Bang

The horizon problem (also known as the homogeneity problem) is a cosmological fine-tuning problem within the Big Bang model of the universe. It arises due to the difficulty in explaining the observed homogeneity of causally disconnected regions of space in the absence of a mechanism that sets the same initial conditions everywhere. It was first pointed out by Wolfgang Rindler in 1956.

[Job 26:10 NIV] "He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness."

[Pro 8:27 NIV] "I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,"

Morning Sickness: Is it my imagination or am I pregnant?

Just the other morning, something I did really bothered me. It wasn’t one of the normal things that I do, like grabbing the salt shaker instead of my glass of milk, or putting the fly swatter in the fridge. It was what I realized when I woke up- I was wearing a shirt. Yeah yeah. Its not that strange, is it? But it is when you don’t wear one going to bed. There are two logical, well mostly, explanations for this event. One would be this: sometime in the night little green goblins with hair on their toes tried to smother me with a shirt, but failed. Or I woke up in the night, put on a shirt and simply don’t remember it. I asked my parents about it. They didn’t really have much to say about it, like normal. Its not really important to them. But it bothered me. Why couldn’t I remember? I don’t remember a time when I haven’t remembered doing something. Unless I don’t remember remembering a time even though it really happened, but I just don’t remember. (huh?) It wasn’t until I had stood up and starting picking out clothes for the day that I realized that I was wearing a shirt. And possibly the only reason I could even recall specifically not wearing a shirt when I went to bed, was the shirt that I was wearing. It was… a belly shirt. Yes. It was so small and tight, it was hard to breath. After a little breakfast thanks to Tyler (Petel, brutel, something-el) and the energy drink special at Greenway, I had a little time to think about it on my way to work. What else have I done when I am sleeping and unaware? Is there more? I ask myself what kind of person someone would find in my subconscious. Is it possible that I’ve lived an entire day in my subconscious, unaware? Could I function a day not as Ryan, but as THE Ryan, the one underneath and inside? I’ve run through the scenarios. And honestly I don’t know. Maybe my life has been an unconscious “something”. Possibly this train of thought is something my subconscious mind has conjured up. It’ll only last until the real me wakes up and the person typing this becomes imagination. I guess I won’t know if I’m the real deal or I’m the me in my unaware upstairs. Would my being aware of the fact that I’m just a figment of my own imagination render me as real as my counterpart, or would I only still be just the dust in the air? Is my conscious self going to know about this when I wake up? To me, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take it on faith that I’m the real deal. To me, this is as real as it gets, until someday I’ll move past it all and into the realm of the Most High.

A Blanket of Security

I've got a younger brother and I don't mind him. Really. I know it could be hard to believe with all the nagging, the whining and complaining, but I really don't mind him. He's pretty neat. And he's got life pretty easy. I'm not complaining or anything, but who wouldn't want a nice fort to come play in after school? Behind him is his fortress; his own place he made for himself and his favorite things. He constantly is improving it, adding sections by running blankets across the couch and the end table and using pillows and boxes to make walls. He's seems like he enjoys spending time creating something of his own, a place where he can get away from the rest of the family. Its his own little Fortress of Solitude. I would like to have one of those someday. A place where I can go when I feel like the rest of the world is too busy for me. Or when I'm just content to watch a movie in peaceful ambiance. And the best part of Matthew's fort is this... he choose to share it with me.

Madame Maniana

HA! When I sat down tonight, I had this great idea- lets figure out where the hell I’m going for college. It was a great idea. Instead of procrastinating, like normal, I might actually get something done. Take today for example. Besides going to church and getting an earful of whatever Eric was talking about, I did very little. Mom was nagging me about how much of a failure I am, not taking my ACT(again), not cleaning my room, not helping her, not doing this not doing that. Don’t get me wrong- I did help her. But she, like every day since I was born, is “I’m disgusted with you Ryan.” I think it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to, which is good because otherwise I’d have gone all Bates Motel a long time ago. Anyway, I thought I’d Google a few colleges and maybe write down some useless stuff. But then again, I could just write about it and I’d feel better. I honestly don’t know what school I should party at. Not to worry, I do have some direction to my life. I do know what I’m interested in. And not interested in (underwater basket weaving) I can see myself with a four year degree in biochemistry, biotechnology, or just plain biology. I could also see myself going on to graduate school to be a vet, like mi padre. I know I know, the whole following the footsteps thing, but I really do like animals. I’d not really prefer to work with pigs, since they piss in your boots. Actually I hate pigs, so I’m staying away from the large animal side. I’d focus on small animals. I would either go into research, finding new medicines, or find a practice somewhere to join. Being a senior this Tuesday has really had me thinking lately. I’ve thought about my future, and the millions of ways it can unravel. Although I hate to admit this, I actually want to get married and live happily ever after. Maybe even have a couple kids, as much as I hate that idea, I think I would. I even started a list titled Why Not to Have Kids. I just want a good paying job that has decent hours. A nice house that I can call home, with a garden big enough to feed my wife and I. Maybe a kid or two, and a dog. And plenty of cats. I’d have a separate shed where I might have a shop. I don’t really like mechanical work or wood work, but I’d have it anyway just to keep it neat and organized. I’d have trees to plant, lawn to mow, weeds to pull, maybe some horses. And my wife would help me cook in the shiny clean kitchen, using the fresh vegetables from the garden. I know the males in my generation would castrate me for saying this, but my wife wouldn’t even have to be perfect. Just as long as she loves me for who I am and has a “good heart” as my little brother would say. Wow, I can’t believe I’m saying this. Hehehe isn’t that funny, I probably sound like some desperate mortician with a social deficiency. Well my point is, its likely that won’t happen. Although I would like for my future to depend on that “special someone” but you just can’t count on it. So I’m plowing ahead with my own plans. Whether that be living the simple life in the mountains, backpacking in , ranching Down Under , or monkin’ it in a monastery, I’m ready for anything that comes this way. I just wish I knew what it was, like Madame Maniana the Mystic Cat.

Facial Deception

While I'm typing this, my head pulsates with pain. Yes, pulsates. I bet your wondering your why, or maybe your not, I really don't care. Its bad enough that I am typing with my eyes closed so I don't have to feel the light off the screen burning holes into the back of my skull. Its not so much of a surface pain, or even an early stage migraine pain. Its a late stage, after the loss of vision, after you take your meds and after you lay down. Its the nauseating stuff, the kind that, when you look away too quickly or you turn on the lights, a wave of nausea hits you, and you struggle to push down the pressure built up in your throat. I am contemplating whether to hope I can reach the toilet in time or pray that it passes. I went with the latter. The back of my throat screams "no" to the burn it feels every time my body wretches out dry heaves. I can feel my eyes roll back in their sockets when a wall of pressure attacks my mind. I sometimes wonder what triggers this. Was it the cookie dough, the ignorance, the corn dogs? My nose is whispering corn dogs, but all it "nose" is peach. Hahaha. Another one of my self-flogging failures- humor. Oh, I crack one here or there. But they really aren't that great. You laugh and say, "oh, about time you had a good one" but they aren't any good. Maybe I try too hard without realizing it. And that could possibly apply to all of my life. I've tried to slip into the background. It hasn't really worked. I realized a while ago that the spotlight isn't the best place to be. I've tried to hide some pain behind a smile. Thats just a quick fix. Behind closed doors the mask comes off. I've alway hoped that there was someone that would help me take it off. Now I'm not so sure there is. I mean, I take it off because it should feel good. No one likes to breath the same air. You run out of oxygen that way. And your face gets hot. So it feel good to take it off. But then you realize why its on. Its on so that you aren't reminded of things you forgot. Or things you don't remember. Or even of who you are. I used to think that once someone helped me take it off, they would like the face under the veil. But now I'm not so sure. I'm scared that they'll see something they didn't expect. I am scared they won't know I wear one. I'm scared that I'll become a part of me. The masks leaves you without air, without light, and in the end: empty.

When you wear a mask, you can't feel the breeze.

Meaning of Life, on paper

I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek
(great book so far, its a lot better and deeper than other similar books)

Out of body out of mind...

 Its strange sometimes how ones body can act entirely apart from the mind, almost as if they were two different people competing for the same occupied space. This is one of those times. My body sits idly while my mind is in a state of turmoil. I'm plugged into the world through a set of ear buds, subconscious of what's going on around. But I don't think I'm here, not entirely at least. Ten minutes from now, I'm not sure I'll be able to recall this moment in the time line of life. Its almost as if I'm on a ride of my life, gazing through the rounded plastic dome above me. I've started to look beyond the bugs splattered on the windshield. I see mechanical arms whirled past me. I'm spinning around and around. I look around me, everything is at a stand still, but looking out, I'm moving faster than I realize. I concentrate. I can feel the slight increase and decrease in g-force. Why was I oblivious to this before? Has it always been this way. I take a closer look out of my sphere. There's a gray sky. But there's one in here, bright blue and clear. I look closer at the bonds that bind me, they're weathered, rusted with age and time. Down below me as I'm heaved into the sky is the control panel. The bright red lever shins brightly in the melancholy air under glass. I wonder why there's no one around to stop this ride I'm on. But the overgrown streets and vending carts give me my answer. I catch glimpses of abandoned buildings, their roofs collapsed and rotting. Is this an illusion or is it reality? I can only hope that there will be someone someday to lift that cover on that lever. Someone to slow this down. Someone to tell what happened, why things are this way. Until then, I'm spinning into the distance until the ride breaks down and takes me with it.

Continued here in 2024: https://ezekiel3714.blogspot.com/2024/08/out-of-soul-out-of-spirit.html 

Quotes of Interest

We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.
- Charles Caleb Colton

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.

-Andre Gide

Tolerance? No way man...

 And Jesus said unto His disciples, “Go into all the world, teaching all men to live any way they want, and urging each to find his or her own path to God. Let not any one of you make someone feel inferior or victimized because of their beliefs. Above all, be tolerant. Verily, verily, I say unto you that what you believe and how you live do not matter, so long as you are sincere.”

Leaving that place, Jesus led His disciples to Jerusalem where they broke bread at Club Upper Room. There He addressed them again, saying, “I am one of the ways, one of the truths, and just one possible life. If you are basically a good person, you’re okay in my book. And if you choose to come to the Father (or Mother, if you prefer) through Me, that’s cool. Now go forth to live according to whatever feels good to you.”

And there was much rejoicing. 

     That isn’t found in any Bible translation, but it is how many people think it does read. In these times, its hard to be living for Jesus. Lately my life has taken a turn; I’ve realized its time to get off the fence. “Jesus didn’t say he was ONE of the ways to get to God; He said HE was the ONLY way. When it comes ot being intolerant, Jesus is the leader of the pack. He will not let you stay on the fence. 

The reason I am bringing this discussion to light, is not because I love debating. And I don’t talk about right and wrong to be a jerk or a “judgmental bigot”. I am doing this because I care. If I didn’t, I’d just let it go by, sitting down and shutting up. Jesus doesn’t give me that option. 

The Art of Tolerance.

    Moral relativism, when you think that what is right or wrong depends on what YOU think is right or wrong. Everything is relative to YOU. And that’s what not ok about it. It’s the, what’s-wrong-for-you-may-be-right-for-me attitude. Moral relativism and Christianity don’t go together. It’s like oil and water. 

    First off, it’s broken.

 “Tolerance is the virtue of those who believe in nothing. Rather than stand up for what is right or wrong, the voice of tolerance says we should just let everybody be, that we’ll better understand each other and other beliefs and cultures if we accept them as they are. I can buy that concept- to a point. Where do you draw the line then?” What about Hitler? Was he wrong to kill every living Jew? Of course. Although Hitler believed he was doing the right thing for him, even the most tolerant among us would speak out against his reign of terror- if only because he was the very model of intolerance. Its an intolerant kind of tolerance. There’s no right or wrong- except its right to believe his way, and wrong to believe any other. Its in complete opposition to what their central belief is. It says: We’re tolerant of all- except you, you and you. There is no standard of right and wrong- except for when you violate what we say is right, You can follow any religion you please, as long as it’s on our list of accepted ones. We love to hear alternative voices- but if you try to talk to us about Jesus, we will silence you. It consistently violates its own central pillar of belief. What is that? Broken. Unstable. False. In other words, WRONG.”

And about the “there’s no absolute truth” statement. Its is, of itself, claiming to be absolute truth. It’s self-refuting. 

Jesus isn’t just “one way or another” HE IS THE WAY. That’s not my idea. It’s what HE said. 

“ I am the way and the truth and the life. No on comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“Christianity isn’t one of many valid pathways to God. It’s your only option. To disbelieve that is to disbelieve Christianity altogether. If that’s where you are, hey, that’s you choice. But don’t call yourself a Christian. Jesus divides people. He unites them, too, but when it comes to what you believe, there’s no halfway with Jesus. You’re either with Him, or against Him. There is no alternative.”

    Why would someone believe in no absolute truth, the whatever-goes mentality? They may not now another way. Its what the media teaches. Its easy. Why would you want to make work for yourself when you can go with the flow? You can kinda-sorta be everything. Like a New Age Hindu/Buddhist. You get to pick and choose the parts you like.  Or If there’s no sense of right or wrong, there’s no condemnation. Its “sin in a toga”.

    Christianity seems gloomy to them. Its all about feeling guilty, rules, and condemnation. What happens when you down though? Who do you lean on? You lack purpose if you’re a moral relativist. What’s worth dying for then?

    Let me know if you find a verse that suggests moral relativism and Christianity go hand-in-hand. Also, let me know if it says its ok with God to sin. Let me know if its biblically correct to reject Christianity and the only way to God and say that all religion are equally valid.

“Only the Christ of Christianity- can take away your sins, fulfill your deepest longings, heal those buried hurts, and bring you into heaven.”

Three absolute truths you need to belief to be a biblical Christian:

1. The Bible is the true and inspired Word of God
2. God exists and is exactly as the Bible describes him to be.
3. Jesus is the only way to get to God.

• “Belief that the Bible is of divine, superhuman origin is the linchpin.”  *in short the key is prophecies and their fulfillment
• Who is He? Love and holiness. He is loving and forgiving. He’s full of grace and loves shower us with gifts. But He’s no Santa Clause. He’s the divine judge. He points at sin and calls it evil. It was holiness that expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden, but love that even in that moment promised a redeemer. (gen. 3:15) 
• Jesus is the only way to God. “That’s as narrow, intolerant, and exclusive as you can be. Its says that all other religions aren’t just inferior, but are wrong. It’s a slap in the face to every Hindu-Buddist-New-Ager-Whatever belief system. If the other two absolute truths are true, you can’t get around this one.” John 14:6, John 11:25, John 6:40, Acts 4:11-12 all say it: no other name gets you to heaven. 

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the fate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter though it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matt. 7:13-14

“Sometimes there really is just one right way to do something. So if the Bible is true, as we’ve seen, and if Jesus is the Son of God, as the Bible says, and if Jesus says that He really is the only way to get to God, then we have to say it’s true. We don’t have any other options. And if it’s true that there’s no other way to get to God but Jesus, then every other way is wrong. If every other way that people use to try to get to God is wrong, then way is the most loving and kind thing to do for them? Is it to just let them go on living in ignorance and misery, even though you know they’re wrong and you have the truth that would save them?” 

That’s what evangelism and spreading His word is all about!

You know the “Jesus was a great moral teacher like Buddha and Gandhi?” That’s likely a tolerant person. He doesn’t want to dis Jesus or any other religion. But Jesus doesn’t leave us that option. If He was just trying to be a good teacher, He did a bad job. He claimed to be the Son of God. (mark 14:61-62, john 10:30, John 14:9) 

“You have two options here, say that His claims were true or false. What would the moral relativist’s answer: His claims were false. He wasn’t God. All right, then your left with only two conclusions, neither of which is that He was a good moral teacher. If a man repeatedly and publicly spouts a major untruth, he can’t be a good moral teacher. You have to say He was either a liar or lunatic. If you say Jesus was a liar, you’ve got some problems. First, you’ve been calling a liar a good moral teacher, so your own thinking has been wrong. Second, if He knew His claims were false and yet you deliberately foisted them on gullible people, that makes Him a hypocrite because He denounced liar in His ministry. The lunatic theory: If he was that fuzzy headed, how could the rest of His reaching be so sane? How could be build a entire theological system is he was deluded? If Jesus said He was God but wasn’t, them He is either a liar or a lunatic. Are you ready to call Him either one? If not, what’s left?  If Jesus said He was God and it’s impossible that that claim is false you’re pretty much forced to say His claims were true.”

All in all, it takes faith. Faith to believe there’s no absolute truth. Faith to believe there is. Christianity however, is a faith that gives purpose. It gives meaning. 

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No on comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 

Thanks to the book “Be Intolerant” by Ryan Dobson; it’s where most of this stuff stems from. The longer passages in quotes are from the book- they are summed up perfectly. I encourage you to read it, right along side your Bible!

Do all dogs go to heaven?

If you don’t believe that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and He died for your sins, you are on your way to hell. You may think this is pretty gloomy, but its reality. Ah hell, it’s the real deal, that’s for sure! This brings to mind a quote from Ice Age:

Dodo: Now don't fall in. If you do, you will definitely... ...Burn and die.

1. First off, we deserve to go to hell, for eternity. Cuz we’re a sinners. There’s nothing we can do about, we are NOTHING to God as sinners. And is no way, shape or form, can we “earn” our way to heaven by “being a good person”.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)

If we could earn our way to heaven, there would be no reason for Jesus to have died for our sins and there would be no reason for his grace.

2. God’s Holy. We’re sinners. They don’t mix. God’s nature prohibits any fellowship with sin. We’re screwed by ourselves. It’s a fact.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Its set in stone, if you sin, you die. Its God’s law.

3. God’s loves you. Period. Remember John 3:16?

“Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

“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.” ( 2 Peter 3:9)

4. Jesus was your substitution sacrifice, paid for your sins with His life. It’s the free gift of grace, and YOU had nothing do with it, other than accepting it. You must believe Jesus died for your sins and rose again in three days. You can’t just go to church, or be a good person , or even believe just in God. Even the demons believe in God, but they aren’t going to heaven. (First few chapters of Job?)

“If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

5. The Bible is the word of God and in the Bible, God testifies that Jesus died for your sins and was buried; and that on the third day He rose from the dead. You must believe and confess this in order to be saved.

“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

6. We’re sinners and apart from Him we can do nothing. He’s the perfect sacrifice. Unless we believe that, we’re going to spend an awful long time in a pretty nasty place. God is Just, but He's also righteous and merciful. While we deserve hell, He's given us the option to receive His forgiveness if only we ask for it, because he LOVED us enough to provide a way out.

“Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:13)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:8-11)

7. It’s His love for us that allows us to be with Him for eternity. It’s your choice; you just have to accept it.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes through the Father but through me.” (John 14:16)

That means there is only one heaven, one way to be saved, and only one God.

It’s an exclusive club. Either you’re in, or… you’re out. Sink or Swim.

Revelation of Truth

For a while I've been looking for a good answer to... i really don't know. Its hard to know what exactly I mean, since its plain to me. Hopefully this will put some light on it. I've been wondering what the root of many issues are, and I think Answers In Genesis put it pretty well. These are the parts that I thought applied:

I understand that the Bible is a revelation from our infinite Creator, and it is self-authenticating and self-attesting. I must interpret Scripture with Scripture, not impose ideas from the outside!

Thus, as a ‘revelationist,’ I let God’s Word speak to me, with the words having meaning according to the context of the language they were written in. Once I accept the plain words of Scripture in context, the fact of ordinary days, no death before sin, the Bible’s genealogies, etc., all make it clear that I cannot accept millions or billions of years of history. Therefore, I would conclude there must be something wrong with man’s ideas about the age of the universe.

And the fact is, every single dating method (outside of Scripture) is based on fallible assumptions. There are literally hundreds of dating tools. However, whatever dating method one uses, assumptions must be made about the past. Not one dating method man devises is absolute! Even though 90% of all dating methods give dates far younger than evolutionists require, none of these can be used in an absolute sense either.

Question: Why would any Christian want to take man’s fallible dating methods and use them to impose an idea on the infallible Word of God? Christians who accept billions of years are in essence saying that man’s word is infallible, but God’s Word is fallible!

This is the crux of the issue. When Christians have agreed with the world that they can accept man’s fallible dating methods to interpret God’s Word, they have agreed with the world that the Bible can’t be trusted.

They have essentially sent out the message that man, by himself, independent of revelation, can determine truth and impose this on God’s Word. Once this ‘door’ has been opened regarding Genesis, ultimately it can happen with the rest of the Bible.

You see, if Christian leaders have told the next generation that one can accept the world’s teachings in geology, biology, astronomy, etc., and use these to (re)interpret God’s Word, then the door has been opened for this to happen in every area, including morality.

Yes, one can be a conservative Christian and preach authoritatively from God’s Word from Genesis 12 onwards. But once you have told people to accept man’s dating methods, and thus should not take the first chapters of Genesis as they are written, you have effectively undermined the Bible’s authority! This attitude is destroying the church in America.

This issue is this: Can fallible, sinful man be in authority over the Word of God?

Answers in Genesis

Is the bible written by God?

Check this out, all you who fail to acknowledge the Bible, in its entirety, to be true.  It pretty much means that if you think that parts of the bible are just views of men, you deny God's omnipotence and power over the sin and errors of men. If you claim there to be an error in scripture, then there is an error in God which is contradictory to your whole belief and God Himself. Jesus himself quoted, lived, and referred to the Old Testament, making it credible. Why would Jesus disciples become martyrs over something that wasn't entirely from God? The power of God resides in Christ followers most effectively through the Word of God. Luke chapter 16 clearly indicates that the greatest miracles would have no effect on men's hearts, if they will not believe God's Word. 

Jesus=Truth=the Word 

http://www.biblestudylessons.com/cgi-bin/gospel_way/bible_inspiration.php

John 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."

 James 1:22-25

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- he will be blessed in what he does."

 It seems paradoxical that a law could give of freedom, but God's law points out sin in us and gives us the opportunity to ask for God's forgiveness. (Romans 7:7,8)

 As Christians, we are saved by God's grace, and salvation frees us from sin's control. As believers, we are free to live as God created us to live. Of course, this does not mean that we are free to do as we please. (1 Peter 2:16) We are now free to obey God.

Having faith and obeying God's law are intertwined. Obeying the word is not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.