HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH EZINE

In my searches for valuable websites to link to, I often run square into some that are not so valuable. But then, maybe they are.

More years ago than I care to think about, I had a close friend, a member of the Lord's church who even did a little preaching on the side. But as years went by and, after a disappointment or two, he left the faith and began to make some disparaging remarks about the church, God, the Bible, etc. I talked with him as much as I could, but he would not listen, and soon became vehement, very passionate with his arguments, even to the point of tears.

On a few matters, I was able to successfully show him where he was wrong, but he found many others that he would not accept logical reasoning on. And he gave me his proof text that convinced him that the Bible was not inspired, Leviticus 11: 21 and 22. He contended that these verses were saying that Grasshoppers were 4 legged insects. And, since the language is a little confusing, at the time I was unable to make a satisfactory argument against his view to convince him.

He died a couple of years ago, and since then, I have been able to reach a full understanding of those verses and now realize that I may have been able to save his soul if I had but only studied them more diligently. Today, I found an infidel's website who had a very smart remark about those verses, and it brought them back to mind. Here is a segment taken from his website:

Many of the biological mistakes in the Bible were anatomical in nature. The Leviticus writer (let bibliolaters think this was Moses if they want to) was so unobservant, for example, that he apparently thought insects were four-legged creatures:

"All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination to you. Yet these may you eat of all winged creeping things that go on all fours, which have legs above their feet, with which to leap upon the earth; even these of them you may eat: the locust after its kind, the bald locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. But all winged creeping things, which have four feet, are an abomination to you (Lev. 11:20-23, BB)."

Although the specific references to locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers in this passage indicate that insects were the creatures under consideration, a curious thing about the Hebrew word oph that is here translated "winged creeping things" is that it was the same word used six times in the creation story (Gen. 1:20-30) to refer to birds. It is the same word used twelve times in the Genesis account of the flood to refer to birds. In the KJV and ASV, the word is translated birds or fowl(s) in all of these places. The KJV, in fact, even used fowls to open the Leviticus passage cited above: "All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you."

(AgapePress) - There's been a big victory for Christian students at one Michigan high school. Officials at that school have decided to permit a Christian student club to express its message at the school's multicultural show.

Huron High School officials in Ann Arbor have reversed their prior decision to bar the Christian Alpha Omega student club from presenting a video with clips from the movie Jesus of Nazareth set to music at the upcoming show. This comes after the Thomas More Law Center threatened to file legal action against the school for violating the students' federal statutory and constitutional rights.

Lead attorney Robert Muise says a demand letter from his group prompted the school to changes its position.

"It forced them to go back and rethink what they were doing," Muise says. "[W]e're pleased they put their collective minds together and realized that the way they were treating this Christian club was discriminatory -- and in fact was going against what they were trying to demonstrate during this show, which is diversity."

According to Muise, the Islamic Student Union and the Gay/Straight Alliance at the Huron High School have never been prohibited from presenting videos at the multicultural show. The attorney explains that his group threatened to take legal action against the school if it censored the Christian group.

"The message that is constantly being expressed is the message of the [American Civil Liberties Union] -- that anything [having to do with] religion has to be taken out of school, or that Christians can be discriminated against," he says. "That's certainly not the case, and the law compels otherwise -- and this is just one example."

Muise says he hopes the Huron High decision will help educators across the country understand that Christianity cannot be excised from the public square.

One of the least favorite visitors at a summer evening picnic is probably the common mosquito. The irritating buzzing sound as it passes your ear on the way to feast on the blood coursing through your neck, can set off a frenzy of swatting and spraying of bug repellent. After you have been used as supper by this lowly insect, the mildly painful and itching bite inflicted is more of a nuisance than an injury. And yet, while we may have a total disdain for this blood eating creature, the method she (in many species only the female eats blood) uses to obtain her food shows a marvelously thought out plan designed by God for her survival.

The feeding apparatus in this insect is not a kind of basic tube or hypodermic needle, but an exquisitely made piece of biological machinery. It is in this structure that God shows his wisdom of design. If the female mosquito is to feed she must first overcome a formidable barrier--the skin. This multi-layered structure of dead cells stand in the way of a tasty meal. To get through the skin, the mosquito has been created with a unique proboscis. This micro find structure has two tubes, one that goes into the digestive system, and one for the salivary canal, that goes out. On the side of the proboscis are finely serrated edges for piercing the skin. This whole structure is enclosed in a protective sheath when not in use. This arrangement of seven different structures is so complex that it staggers the imagination. This does not take into account the complexity of how the mosquito actually finds you to begin with, or the complex actions needed to take the blood into the body without clotting the proboscis.

The question to be answered is, "How did the first mosquito develop these things correctly, by random accident or trial and error, before it died of starvation? Obviously it did not. When fossils are found of mosquitoes they are completely equipped with a perfectly formed feeding apparatus. This is exactly what we would predict, for God created instantly the lowly mosquito.

"Developing Leadership In The Church For The 21st Century" and a "Bible Foundations" course are offered to meet the two greatest needs in the church today.

The leadership book is a practical, 63 page book of 13 chapters with review questions. The character traits, work habits and characteristics needed in servant leaders are detailed, that men may be taught, trained and disciplined to become self-disciplined servants of Christ. $5.00 plus s/h.

The Bible Foundations study is a unique course, designed to be used either as a study by mail or as a one-on-one study. Fourteen lessons stress the authority of the Bible, the authority of Christ, rightly dividing the word, what it means to obey the gospel, and Christ's church on earth today. Review questions are designed to lead to obedience to the gospel. $2.00 plus s/h. Unlimited reproduction rights are granted to teachers in programs who teach students in foreign countries. For more detailed information or to order, write to Allard Publications: eallard@juno.com

Chula Vista Books is owned and operated by Mark and Teah McWhorter. We carry a wide selection of Bible related materials--ladies' books, childrens' materials, commentaries, apologetics, lectureship books, missions books, class books, debates, sermon books, church history, topical studies, Bible covers, Bibles, tracts, BCCs and more.

We also send out used book lists from time to time. Unfortunately we do not have a catalog at present but invite your inquiries. If you would like to be on our mailing list, send us your email address.

Mark McWhorter, 420 Chula Vist Mtn Rd, Pell City AL 35125, Phone 205-338-1843

Does your congregation have a web site? Can you add, update and delete information from your existing web site easily? If you answered no to either question visit The Lord's Way. This new service allows you to create a web site for your congregation and update it yourself whenever you want by simply completing online forms. The service is designed for any congregation that wants a web site that contains current, updated and fresh information but does not want to invest the time and money in learning about the inner-workings of the Internet. Your new site will be packed with information about your congregation. Visit us and take a tour!

Did you ever stop and wonder what it would be like to be an atheist, infidel, or what ever you may prefer to call them? It somehow seems to me to be a life as depicted by the comic strip character "Born Loser". It is a lose, lose situation. It is as a quote I read about Alexander Campbell once when he was having a discussion with an atheist. He said, "Sir, you are like that ox over there, you have no hope."

Take this life for instance. It makes no difference what race or nationality they are, they remain a minority. I'm told there is 20% of the populace that are atheist. But I don't believe that. There may be that many who profess to be, so as to justify their failure to submit to God. Besides being a minority, they are a disliked minority.

Can you imagine getting up each morning to face another day of being insulted and told to "Buzz off!"? To place your argument before people only to be looked upon as an idiot? To never actually win an argument because (1) you have no evidence to back up anything you say, and (2) you have absolutely nothing to offer a person that would entice them to listen? And (3) you realize that your cohorts include the Nazi "Skinheads", "Reverend" Matt Hale the "Pontifex Maximus" of the World Church Of The Creator, and his group. Have a great day!

If they could offer me eternal life, I might at least listen. If they could offer me a happier existence here, I might listen. If they could offer me fame and fortune and admiration from men, I possibly might listen. But you see, they have nothing whatsoever to offer.

They have not the faintest idea how they came to be here. They have not a clue as to how anything got here so they design foolish ideas and instead of calling them foolish ideas they call them scientific facts, which only tends to make them appear more foolish. We need to pray for the ones who know better that they will have a change of heart. And for the ones who truly do not know, we need to pray for their enlightenement and try to teach them.

Among the repulsions of atheism for me has been its drastic uninterestingness as an intellectual position. Where was the ingenuity, the ambiguity, the humanity (in the Harvard sense) of saying that the universe just happened to happen and that when we're dead, we're dead?...John Updike

(From the book "1001 Great Stories" by R. Kent Hughes. Courtesy Jade Books)

The theme for SELTC 2003 is "Go!" Based on the book of Matthew, this year's study challenges each of us to allow God to rule in every area of our life. We pray that this year's study affords you the opportunity to grow closer to God and each other. The date for this year's convention is April 18-20, 2003. We will be meeting at the Adam's Mark in Mobile, AL. For more information please visit our website at www.seltc.org or call 205-988-5808.

The Bear Valley Bible Institute, Scottsboro Extension (BVBISE) is half-way through it's second year of operation under the oversight of the elders of the Broad Street Church of Christ in Scottsboro, Alabama. The school is an extension of the BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE of DENVER. 40 courses (and eight out-of-class mini-courses) completed over a four-year period lead to the Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree. The Associates Degree may be earned in half that time.

One course is taught each month (except July and December) in two all-day Saturday sessions along with outside assignments. The school is TUITION FREE. The only costs to the student are for required texts & materials, and a $5 fee each Saturday to help cover the teacher's expenses. The teachers are academically well-qualified and experienced gospel preachers who know and love the Bible as the verbally inspired and authoritative word of God, and who volunteer their time and work as a labor of love.

BVBISE is committed to training sound and able Bible teachers (men and women), and faithful gospel preachers for service in the kingdom of Christ. The format is designed to make this training possible for men and women who must continue their jobs and other pursuits while they study. Credit is given for previous college or preacher-school study. A preacher-school graduate may be able to earn the Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree in as little as four months of study. For more information please contact the Broad Street Church of Christ, 613 South Broad Street, Scottsboro, AL 35768. Phone: 256-574-2489. EMAIL

A controversy prevailed among the beasts of the field as to which of the animals deserved the most credit for producing the greatest number of whelps at a birth. They rushed clamorously into the presence of the Lioness and demanded of her the settlement of the dispute. "And you," they said, "how many sons have you at a birth?' The Lioness laughed at them, and said: "Why! I have only one; but that one is altogether a thoroughbred Lion."

The value is in the worth, not in the number...Aesop