In a biology class of yesteryears, the professor asked a student, “What is life?” The student replied, “I did know, but I have forgotten.” Then the professor remarked, “What a pity! The only person who has ever known what life is in this room, and he has forgotten!” In the 21st century, scientists still do not know what life is. All they can say is that life is: that property of plants and animals which makes it possible for them to take in food, get energy from it, grow, adapt themselves to their surroundings, and reproduce their kind (Webster). However, on December 10, 1998, came a startling announcement: In a big advance in the race to understand the blueprint of life, scientists announced Thursday that they have, for the first time, mapped the complete genetic instructions for making a living animal. (The Oregonian.12 Nov. 1998) Thousands of dead animals have been made, especially the teddy bear, “a stuffed toy for children resembling a bear in miniature” (Webster). But, is it possible for scientists to make a “living animal”? They believe that they have learned how to make a living animal by studying a very small animal. I. The Roundworm A tiny roundworm (c. elegans) is by far the most complex creature to have virtually all the components of its DNA [“an essential component of all living matter,” Webster] mapped. Although it would take 25 of the worms lined up end to end to fill an inch, it has a nervous …

(Collaborative, extemporaneous, class effort of the first year class of West Virginia School of Preaching [2005] in the course of New Testament Church taught by Louis Rushmore. Students: Aaron Burch, Van Sprague, Edward Partain and Rodney Nulph.) The unique organizational structure of the New Testament church stands in stark contrast to all manmade churches. The one true church (Ephesians 1:22,23; 4:4), for which Jesus shed his blood to build (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28), is an absolute monarchy with Jesus himself alone as the head of it (Colossians 1:18). Therefore, the Lord’s church completely conforms to the distinct standard of New Testament doctrine–in all things–including how it rules or conducts itself. Any church that did not originate in A.D. 33, and about which one can not read upon the pages of inspiration, is not the one, true church, for which our Lord will return to take to heaven (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Hence, Jesus Christ is the head of each autonomous or independent congregation of the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16), each of which fully organized church is ruled by its own elders (Acts 14:23). As the head of his body (the church), Jesus Christ rules the church, which is also his kingdom (Matthew 16:18,19) with all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18 NKJV). Consequently, the churches of Christ meticulously conform to our resurrected Lord’s authority for congregational organization, exclusively discernible in the New Testament (Luke 6:46; John 14:15 ASV). The New Testament unequivocally mandates that every fully organized congregation must submit to …

In 1 Kings 20:13-43 there is an interesting story of Benhadad whom the Lord had marked for destruction. King Ahab, who cared nothing about God’s will, word, work or way, called him “brother,” made a covenant with him and let him go. God’s prophet came to him with this story, a sort of parable, similar in purpose to the one Nathan told King David. “And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he is missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be: thyself hath decided it.  And he hasted and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned that he was of the prophets.  And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had delivered to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria” (1 Kings 20:39-43). The difference in the response of Ahab and David is significant. …

Generally speaking, denominations are much kinder to the Bible than are cults. The Evangelical denominations in America still claim allegiance to the Scriptures, though the mainline denominations do not. However, with the cults the primary allegiance is to what the leader or the organization says rather than to what the Bible teaches. They spend countless hours attempting to overthrow the plain teaching of the Bible, even going to the expense and trouble to make “translations” of the Scripture that read the way they want them to read rather than the way any of the ancient manuscripts do read. Other cults will come up with some sort of a book, or the writings of their original leader that, so far as they are concerned, amount to: (1) the leader’s unimpeachable explanation of what the Bible says, or: (2) overrule the teachings of the Bible with their later book or creed. To illustrate what we mean, we take a look at one of the doctrines of a large cult which teaches that Jesus was not God incarnate, that he is not eternal and that he is not God in the same sense Yahweh is. Consequently, for years and years they denied the plain statement that Jesus is the Word, and that he is God found in John 1:1-6. Finally, they made their own “translation” of the Bible in which, with absolutely no manuscript evidence whatsoever, they made read as follows: “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, …

Recently one of the local radio stations had a publicity campaign in which local merchants competed with each other to see who could offer the lowest price on gasoline and sell it at that price for an hour or so. The winning merchant was one who offered to give away his gas free during the specified time. I heard lots of people say that they were anxious to get their fair share of the free gas and were willing to fight the mad rush to the pumps. I just hoped that no one would get into an accident, because the store was located at a busy intersection on a major highway. I never did hear how it all turned out so I suppose that everything went all right and some folks got some free gas. You know, for the Christian there’s an offer of free gas every week, but it’s not the gas we put into our cars; rather, it’s the spiritual gas that we can receive by attending the midweek service of the church. It’s tough out there in the real world, and the Christian is always bombarded with temptation and discouragement. But real comfort and support can be found by meeting and studying the Bible with other Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25). Yes, we know that God never gave us a command to have a Wednesday night service and if we think of it as such, we’ll not make much effort to attend. But if we think of it as …

In Luke 23:39-43 we read of two men, along with Jesus Christ, being crucified. One man died in rebellion and in deep despair. The other individual received a promise from the Lord before he died. The difference between the two men was in the disposition of the heart. One was stubborn and steeped in sin. The other possessed a broken and contrite heart. One died without hope. The other died with a great expectation based on what the Lord said to him. However, the example of the penitent thief on the cross has been abused, misused and misunderstood by so many people. In hope of a better understanding of this situation, please study carefully the following observations: 1. One man was penitent. He had committed a crime against society worthy of death. However, he manifested a penitent attitude. Of course, God has required repentance in every age. The Psalmist declared, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and contrite heart– These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalms 51:17; Acts 17:31). 2. Jesus Christ had all power to forgive this penitent person of his transgressions. In response to undue criticism by the scribes, Jesus asked, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up …

It seems that many times people feel that what they do today will have no bearing on what will happen to them tomorrow. Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten the principle of sowing and reaping. Even at this time of the year, we are reminded of a decision that was made in the political circles of the nation of Japan many years ago. As a result of that decision, the world was cast into a war of worldwide proportions. Many who read this article were vastly affected by that decision. When one makes a decision to get married, there is a great change in his or her life. When this person then decides to whom they will get married, even more change takes place. These decisions affect this person for the rest of his life, and can well affect his eternal destiny. Another vital decision each accountable person must make is whether to become a child of God or not. Of course, anyone familiar with the Word of God knows that in order to become that child of God the Gospel must be obeyed. This involves hearing the Word of God, believing that word (faith), repenting of one’s sins, making the “Good Confession,” and being baptized for the remission of sins. When one accomplishes all of these things, he is delivered “from the power of darkness, and translated…into the into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). He is now forgiven of all past sins, and as a member of …

[Seek the Old Paths. March 2004: 23.] “I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing” (Hosea 8:12). Israel was the “apple of God’s eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10). He reared, taught and trained them in the ways of righteousness. Through his law, he sought to mold and shape their minds to walk in the paths of things divine. God’s law was an expression of God’s love and concern for the nation. Every demand and prohibition was penned in their best interest. Through his divine precepts, God sought to insulate Israel from the idolatrous ways of the heathen nations and all the sins that flowed there-from. However, Israel had no appetite for God’s decrees, thus viewing them as something foreign and undesirable. God loves the church. Hallowed blood is evidence of the depth of that love. The great heart of God beats with fervent concern for the welfare of spiritual Israel. The law of Christ is designed to shield the church from error and sin and thus, promote truth and righteousness. Every mandate therein was inscribed with man’s earthly happiness and eternal security in mind. Sadly, there are many within the church who view the law of God as a “strange thing.” They cry with ancient Judah, “speak unto us smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10). The church is replete with people who want religion without sacrifice, grace without law and Christ without a cross [emphasis added]. Thus, they view the restricting, demanding, prohibiting will …

Atheism (Greek, atheos, “without God”) is a word that was originally used in Greece of those who, even though they believed in the God of heaven, did not believe in the gods of the Greek and Roman state. Socrates was executed for atheism because he sought to expose the evil of these demonic “gods.” Justin Martyr wrote, “Thus we are called atheists. And we admit that in respect of such supposed gods as those we are atheists: but not in regard to the most true God…” (Apologia I, vi). Atheism is the religion that says “no God.” Until the nineteenth century, the word atheist was used of those who thought that the existence of God was an unprovable thesis. Then came the term agnostic, originating with Thomas Huxley (1825-1895). An agnostic claims that the existence of God is unknowable. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, in a debate with James D. Bales said, “An agnostic is an atheist with no guts.” Clarence Darrow once said, “I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.” In recent news, Texas authorities believe that they have found the remains of the famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who has been missing since 1995. In September of that year, Ms. O’Hair vanished, along with her son Jon Garth Murray, granddaughter Robin Murray-O’Hair and $629,500 from the treasuries of atheist organizations that she founded. Her reputation grew in the wake of her 1963 Supreme Court case of Murray v. Curlett, which …

Florida was devastated by a series of powerful hurricanes. The cumulative effects of Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne prompted President Bush to ask Congress for $7.1 billion in repairs and clean up. It has been interesting to note all of the religious entities that also stepped in to help in disaster recovery. Baptists, Methodists, Adventists, Lutherans and Catholics are just a few of the denominational bodies that have mobilized volunteers to assist. These church-related groups work in concert with the federal government (i.e., FEMA) in an effort to relieve the hurting masses. They donate goods and clothing, provide childcare, offer stress-management counseling services, provide temporary shelter, repair housing, set up food kitchens and shower facilities, furnish laundry details, provide hot meals, distribute cleaning supplies, send out chain-saw crews, and render other humanitarian aid. While we commend those who give of their time, effort and monies to hurricane victims, I think we need to ask a question: “Where are all of the atheists during this crucial time?” Really. Thousands of humble people pledge their hands and hearts to storm relief, but not the atheists. Why not? How many meals do they serve? How many homes do they repair? How do they help carry the financial burden in the storm-stricken south? Where is their organizational structure for lifting the hurting throughout Florida? You see, according to skeptics, religion is a farce. Faith is a crutch for the weak. Belief in God is a tragic waste of time and energy. Ironically, whenever fellow …