“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 NIV
This weekend, I went to the grocery store. The checker, who seemed to be in her early 30s, asked if I had any plans for fun over the holiday weekend. I said I was working harder at remembering the reason for the holiday, which was to appreciate the sacrifice of those who laid down their lives so we could have freedom. I asked her if Hitler were waging war in Europe today, would America’s young men have the moral fiber to join the army to go against him? “Oh, no,” she exclaimed, “they wouldn’t.” As she stood there realizing that America wasn’t all she had hoped for, I put words to what we were both thinking. “America hasn’t ‘changed,’” I said, “it’s deteriorated.” It must have been an unusually serious discussion for her because she mistakenly undercharged me by more than $30. (After later discovering the error, I returned to the store and made it right).
This Memorial Day, I encourage you to ponder the real reason for the day, to remember those who died for you, and to consider what lessons you can learn from it. For one, freedom is not free. Those who died for you and me gave us freedom unmatched by many nations. If they could see us now, these fighting men would either be proud or embarrassed by our behavior. Many in America have used their hard-won freedom for good. Yet many others have used freedom to squander their lives away or to bring evil upon America from within.
Read the riveting account of the World War II battle of Tarawa in 1943, as told by the late Gil Ferguson, who, at age 19, survived the battle, and later served 10 years for pro-family, conservative values in the California Assembly. Tarawa was the first major American offensive in the Pacific. Victory here came at the price of 3,000 dead or wounded U.S. Marines. Consider reading it aloud to family and friends to help you have a REAL Memorial Day.
I fully expect tomorrow’s California Supreme Court ruling on Prop. 8 ruling to be half right and half wrong. Remember, this case never should have gone to court. The California Constitution clearly gives voters the last word when it comes to constitutional ballot measures.
During the March 5 oral arguments, Justices George and Kennard made it clear that, like it or not, they had to go with the voters, which would put them with three other justices — Baxter, Chin and Corrigan — who upheld man-woman marriage last year. At the same time, nearly all of the judges ignored the straightforward, retroactive effect of Prop. 8, which specified that the only valid marriage in California ‘is’ between a man and a woman, ‘regardless of when’ the marriage was performed.
Bottom line, it’s virtually guaranteed that the court will rule that only man-woman marriages could be performed after the Nov. 4, 2008 vote on Prop. 8 — but that nearly four months of homosexual ‘marriages’ performed before Election Day will still be recognized as valid.
This kind of convoluted ruling would be half right and half wrong, not giving the Constitution or the voters the respect they deserve. Prop. 8 would therefore be corrupted by the courts. Remember, last year, over a five-month period, in a mad “rush to the alter,” every homosexual who wanted a “same-sex marriage” got one.
You’ve probably heard the news this week about the unveiling of the so-called “missing link” in human evolution that “proves” God didn’t create the world.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the huge amount of “faith” needed to believe in the shabby evidence for “Ida.”
On May 19, a team of scientists in New York presented a fossilized skeleton that they claim is 47 million years old. They said the creature — nicknamed “Ida” — had four legs and a long tail, was about the size of a small cat, and had human-like nails instead of claws, along with a bone in her foot that is similar to humans.
But those making the claim that a fossilized lemur proves Darwin’s theory of evolution are deceiving themselves.
The fossil is similar to a modern lemur, and in no way resembles a human skeleton.There’s no evidence that it’s anything other than an extinct, lemur-like creature.As researchers at Answers in Genesis point out:
…rather than an apeman-like missing link that some media sources have irresponsibly implied, the real story is quite underwhelming and should in no way faze creationists. Let’s first review the facts:
• The well-preserved fossil (95 percent complete, including fossilized fur and more) is about the size of a raccoon and includes a long tail. It resembles the skeleton of a lemur (a small, tailed, tree-climbing primate). The fossil does not resemble a human skeleton.
• The fossil was found in two parts by amateur fossil hunters in 1983. It eventually made its way through fossil dealers to the research team.
• Ida has opposable thumbs, which the ABC News article states are “similar to humans’ and unlike those found on other modern mammals” (i.e., implying that opposable thumbs are evidence of evolution). Yet lemurs today have opposable thumbs (like all primates). Likewise, Ida has nails, as do other primates. And the talus bone is described as “the same shape as in humans,” despite the fact that there are other differences in the ankle structure.
• Unlike today’s lemurs (as far as scientists know), Ida lacks the “grooming claw” and a “toothcomb” (a fused row of teeth) In fact, its teeth are more similar to a monkey’s. These are minor differences easily explained by variation within a kind.
Stop and think about it. If evolution were true, the earth’s crust would be absolutely crammed full of fossils of species that were noticeably but incrementally different from each other. As Dr. Phil Fernandes wrote in “The Scientific Case Against Evolution”:
The fossil record is assumed to prove evolution, but, this is not the case. The fossil record shows no evidence of transitional forms (missing links). New life forms appear suddenly and fully developed. There are no animals with half-fins or half-wings in the fossil record. If there were transitional forms, why have none been found? This is a serious problem for evolutionists. Harvard paleontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Louis Agassiz have admitted this lack of evidence for evolution in the fossil record. Aggassiz, a nineteenth-century creationist, stated:
Species appear suddenly and disappear suddenly in the progressive strata….the supposed intermediate forms between the species of different geological periods are imaginary beings, called up merely in support of a fanciful theory.
Gould, a twentieth century evolutionist, stated:
In any local area, a species does not arise gradually by the steady transformation of its ancestors; it appears all at once and “fully formed.”
So, despite the hopes and dreams of some prominent atheists, the lemur-like fossil is not a “missing link” that proves evolution and disproves God and His creation.
If anything, the “Ida” claim fails in everything but showmanship. Still, this media-centric news story is an ironic, stark reminder that millions of transitional fossils just aren’t there!
In contrast, there is abundant evidence that the earth and the cellular structure of humans was designed and is not by chance. This evidence should convince even self-proclaimed agnostics that the universe, the world and life were intelligently designed — yes, even by God Himself. All that’s needed are honesty and an open mind.
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