Issued: 08/27/22

   PLEASE NOTE:  All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.  The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [later Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God, lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Only Highest God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from God the Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

Focus on the West

   In our days of outreach/interfaith bankrupt religiosity, we of the Judeo-Christian faith should come to terms with the fact that the Bible excludes every other religious belief.  This was underscored by its focus on the histories of Jews [in depth] and non-Jewish peoples [in summary] from Babylon to the emergence of European nations (Daniel 2:31-45, 8:20-25 and Revelation 13:1-7, 17:16-18).  However brilliant and advanced non-European civilizations were, only Rome’s contributions in the forging of Europe and its empowerment of Catholicism as the imperial religion led to the global dissemination of adulterated Christianity.  If God extends salvation to all Who please Him irrespective of race or nationality (Acts 10:34-35), we must wonder why the Holy Spirit nixed Paul’s plans to preach in Asia (Acts 16:6-7).  Instead he and Timothy were steered towards Macedonia, towards the west.  The East and the New World would have to wait until the Age of Discovery was launched by neo-Christian nations in search of plunder under the pretense of evangelization.

   In the Old Testament the Israelites interacted with many empires; yet despite their accomplishments, God only focused on their religious/social practices.  Israelites were not to worship their gods (Exodus 23:24); adopt their customs (Leviticus 18:3, 20:23); or intermarry with them (Deuteronomy 7:3-4; Ezra 9:11-12).  Disobedience was to be nipped in the bud—or else; hence covenants binding on Jews [Mosaic↔Deuteronomy 30:11-20)] and Christians [Jesus’ covenant of faith↔Matthew 26:28; John 14:23; Hebrews 8:1-6].  There was no room for negotiations, revisions, additions/or deletions to God’s contractual terms (Proverbs 30:6; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 5:19):  He does not tolerate being messed around with (1Samuel 2:30, 15:23; Job 40:2; Isaiah 43:13; Daniel 4:35; Matthew 10:28; 1Corinthians 10:22).

   Arabs were referenced in Scripture due to Ishmael’s relationship with Abraham.  Yahweh of hosts¹ promised Agar to make a great nation out of her son (Genesis 21:18); nevertheless Ishmael’s progeny, Arab Muslims, will not inherit with Isaac’s progeny, Isaac being the legitimate heir of the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 21:10-12; Romans 9:6-7; Galatians 3:16, 4:22-31).  However unquestionably brilliant Arabs later became, it was not their intellectual accomplishments that would alienate God:  It was shifting their religious focus from Abraham and Moses to Muhammad and the Qur’ān [Koran], preached by an angel posing as Gabriel and the sort of creed Paul warned us to anathematize (Galatians 1:8-9).  Thus though conceptually an Abrahamic religion, non-Christian Arabs are not counted among the redeemed, which should not scandalize anyone:  Muslims think the same of Christians in general.  To each his/her own.

   End-times messages previously discussed here are meant for Judeo-Christians worldwide to modify behaviors not in sync with Scriptural norms, such as cop-outs, self-serving conceits, prejudices and spiritual adulteries that alienate God—more to the point, behaviors fostered by Satan for that very objective.  Whether relying on science to validate neo-Christian conceits; on secular and religious leaders for guidance when they betray the intended morality of their offices (Romans 13:1-4); on cultic icons and Marian apparitions that transgress injunctions against idolatry, the onus is on us to walk the straight and narrow or fall into the hole where the crying and gnashing of teeth will take place.

    What follows, then, is not meant to be a comprehensive list of Judeo-Christian spiritual defaults; rather a handful of comments on Scriptural teachings intersecting erroneous Judeo-Christian trends now in vogue, yet prophesied to last until hell literally breaks loose (Matthew 24:21; Luke 21:25-26; Revelation 9:1-11).

Science

   With respect to science, the Bible is as dismissive of science as science is dismissive of faith.  Inasmuch as faith is the conviction of things not seen (John 20:29; Hebrews 11:1), science is the antithesis of faith, relying as it does on empirical observation/experimentation.  If the former is God’s golden standard, we must presume science to be Satan’s counter-standard; for indeed it is through science that much of God’s work—and His very existence—is doubted if not downright negated.

   Relying as it does on what is seen, science has more ways of validating its arguments than Judeo-Christians have of validating their own.  No Judeo-Christian can prove the existence of God; then again, if God wanted to settle the issue, He could part the heavens and pose for media coverage.  That He does not do so ensures His objective of  being worshipped sight unseen, voice unheard, and made known by spokesmen like Jesus, the Holy Spirit, prophets, and Apostles (Amos 3:7; John 1:18, 5:37, 16:13; 1Timothy 2:5; 2Peter 1:21).  Instead He has chosen to “trap the wise in their craftiness” (Job 5:13), using Scripture to contradict scientific beliefs like the existence of dinosaurs [chronologies and the Flood account] or the nature of the cosmos (Isaiah 34:4; Matthew 24:35; 2Peter 3:10; Revelation 6:13-14).  He knows very well that Scripture will never sway empiricists; but if they want to believe deceptions, God has no problem consigning them to their initiator and “hardener” of minds:  Satan (Exodus 14:4; Psalms 81:12; Lamentations 3:65; John 12:40, 14:30; Romans 9:18; 2Corinthians 4:3-4; 2Thessalonians 2:11-13).

   Consequently science was a non-issue in Jesus’ preaching; Paul told Timothy to avoid discussions of the falsely called science (1Timothy 5:20-21); Daniel made a passing commentary about future scientific advances (Daniel 12:4); and God argued that lowering oneself to the level of fools made one foolish, so the objective was never to become mired in rhetoric inimical to spiritual growth (Proverb 26:4).  Why, then, do some neo-Christians resort to science?  Two possible answers:  Equating personal predilections with the belief that God will be tickled pink—Cain’s mistake (Genesis 4:3-7); or attempting to temper the “illogic” of faith with scientific logic in search of social validation and credibility—a ploy Jesus decried:  If you are ashamed of my words, I will reject you (Mark 8:38); if I have entrusted much to you, you had better deliver in kind (Luke 12:48). 

   Like any loving parent, it is presumed God wants His children to eat stuff nourishing and safe to eat; thus many health-minded neo-Christians mix Mosaic dietary laws with nutritional factoids.  For example, in the Israelite Exodus things like pork must have been forbidden because they could not be properly cooked or preserved, let alone seafood like lobsters and shrimps which would have necessitated detours to the Red Sea or the Mediterranean for harvesting.  By choosing manna, [which was symbolic of Jesus, the bread to come from heaven (John 6:51)], God substituted a healthy staple instead of cholesterol-laden foodstuffs.  Better yet, the main ingredient, coriander, is an herb now reputed to have assorted benefits like lowering blood sugar, rich in immune-boosting antioxidants, promoting heart, brain, and gut health.  God must have been partial to sweets:  Manna tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31).  Though they hated it, Israelites were fed manna until they got to Canaan’s borders (Exodus 16:35; Numbers 21:5). 

   If we go down the road of God as nutritionist and manna as alimentary panacea, we must question the absence of proteins, amino acids and minerals indispensable for overall health.  After all the metabolic needs of the Israelites traipsing around the desert for 40 years must have been astronomical and hard to replenish.  If we take manna as the vegetarian diet God meant living things to consume (Genesis 1:29-20), we are at a loss to account for Elijah’s crow-catered diet of bread and meat (1Kings 17:2-6); or John the Baptist’s unappetizing fare of locusts [an edible insect in Mosaic Law (Leviticus 11:22)] and wild honey [high sugar content!] (Matthew 3:4).²

   What are we to make of all this contradictory stuff?  That eating does not matter; nutrition is a moot issue; exactly the point Jesus was exasperated to get across:  “Do you not understand that all going into the mouth passes into the belly, and goes out into the latrine?  But the things coming out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the man; for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, slanders:  These are the things defiling man” (Matthew 15:17-20).  And being on Jesus’ page, Paul taught nothing created was intrinsically bad [as Genesis attested by calling the whole of Creation “good”—except Darkness on Day 1]; and that if anyone regarded something edible as unclean, it was only so for him/her (Romans 4:14,23; 1Timothy 4:4-6).  However that was no carte blanche to impose dietary biases/preconceptions on anybody:  No one had the right to tell others what to eat or to pass judgment on what they ate (Romans 14:1-4)—the mindset dietary “fundamentalists” zealously enforce.  In fact doing so puts them in Satan’s bag (1Timothy 4:1-3).

   All of this wisdom has sailed over the heads of health-minded neo-Christians focused on body maintenance at the expense of soul management.  Despite the proven benefits of exercise, Paul went as far as to tell Timothy that “bodily exercise profits little, but piety is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is coming” (1Timothy 4:8).³ Even neo-Christian prophets pushing vegetarianism as the divinely-mandated way to eat (Genesis 1:29-30) are pooh-poohed by Paul profiling vegetarians as weak in faith (Romans 14:1-2).

   So much for food; let us move on to hardcore science.  Enter Creationists, zealously trying—and failing—to reconcile Scripture with scientific findings, since Biblical chronologies and Genesis—which they use as groundwork—do not help much in that respect.  Instead they focus on evolutionary “gaps” and cherry-pick fossil evidence to posit an Intelligent Designer Who outlined a Creation conceptually different from scientific wisdom:⁴  Pre-existent earth and waters before Light and the cosmos were called into being (Genesis 1:1-3,14-18); plants (Genesis 1:11-12) and animals (Genesis 1:20-21)⁵ spontaneously appearing at God’s command (Romans 4:17); man [X,Y] created fully in His image out of a non-chromosomal lump of clay, as well as woman [X,X] out of man’s rib (Genesis 1:26, 2:7,21-22).

   While most of Genesis cannot be explained “rationally” as men interpret the word, Creationists seesawing between faith and science believe Genesis “proves” God’s existence.  It is not unusual to hear Creationists claim that scientific facts bolster their faith—sort of a hybrid fellowship between light and darkness.  Worse still for Creationists, God has not provided them with the means to make any Scripture “stick,” from the alleged submersion of Mount Everest (Genesis 7:20), to the location in the cosmos of the stash of hail to fall during the last plagues (Job 38:22-23)—which should be child’s play for the amazing James Webb Space Telescope.⁶  And let us not talk about the principle that matter can neither be created nor destroyed in terms of the flour and oil being replenished upon consumption (1Kings 17:14-16); and the bread and fish cornucopia overflowing from Jesus’ baskets (Mark 6:38-44).

  One on-line blogger extrapolated from Sherlock Holmes to make the point that there is divine truth in seemingly improbable Scripture.  Mr. Holmes famous quote, “when one has eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” is of no use to us here, since Scripture boasts of scientific impossibilities by definition improbable; so that there are no contrasting “remains” to analyze:  The only truth that can be arrived at is of personal choice not rooted in fact.  Like Paul said, in all things let man be liars and God true (Romans 3:4); but we should not overlook the challenge God demands us to meet:  Sharing the shame and ridicule Jesus endured from his detractors for preaching those truths (Galatians 1:10; James 4:4).

Secular Leaders:  Nobility…

   King Jesus (Revelation 19:20) did not come to earth to live in villas by the Sea of Galilee or travel over Judea in cutting-edge modes of transportation.  He did not wear expensive clothing; had no home to call his own (Matthew 8:20); and could be approached by anyone without need of appointments or protocol.  Jesus had to bite the bullet in order to have the moral stature to ask subjects to serve him; and though doing so exacted a deadly toll, he at least promised universal housing (John 14:2), shares in his inheritance (Romans 8:17), and a kingdom devoid of social distinctions.

   Yet in opposition to those standards, human nobility live in palaces and estates so vast that subjects living in dismal conditions could be relocated there with ample acreage to spare; are fed, pampered, catered to and protected in exchange for symbolic value.  Their veiled contempt for the masses is legendary; pedigree trumps the notion that there are no distinctions among human beings (Galatians 3:28); and the idea of pooling resources so that human needs are equally met is unthinkable (Acts 4:32-35; 2Corinthians 8:12-15).

…Philanthropists and Celebrities…

   When it came to wealth, Jesus was radical.  He loved the spiritual qualities of the rich young man but asked him to part with all his money; the former went away sad but holding on to his moolah (Mark 10:17-23); whereupon Jesus made his famous pronouncement that a camel could pass through the eye of a needle easier than a rich entering the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 10:24)—which wealthy neo-Christians ever since have not taken to heart (Luke 12:20-21, 16:25).

   Philanthropists and celebrities are faulted for prioritizing fame and fortune, two goals that alienate them from God (James 4:4).  If they contribute money or time to humanitarian endeavors, they do so by trumpeting their generosity, which Jesus deemed self-serving and hypocritical:  Their reward is the acclaim they hanker after (Matthew 6:1-4).  However much wealth they dispense is out of their surplus, never the bulk of their assets; so that no matter the limited social good accomplished, they are found lacking in the type of generosity that prioritizes human suffering over financial security (Mark 12:41-44)—never a status to hedge on (Luke 12:20-21, 16:25).

…Politicians…

   In regards to national leaders, God warned us what to expect from their ilk in 1Samuel 8:11-18; the “I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine” MO perennially practiced to hold on to power (Judges 9:1-4); and the resultant partisan corruption (Proverbs 29:12).  The state could be prevailed upon to siphon off assets on trumped up charges (1Kings 21:1-13); eliminate religious dissidents and regime critics (1Kings 19:1-2; 2Chronicles 18:26; Matthew 14:3-5); condemn the innocent in name of self-serving interests (Jeremiah 38:2-5; Matthew 27:15-25; Luke 23:13-25; John 19:1-15); and betray oath of office for monetary gain (Acts 24:26).

   Prophecy forewarned of centuries of bloodbaths by the unholy synergy between European powers and army-less Roman Catholic Church (Daniel 7:23-25, 8:23-24; Revelation 13:1-7, 17:15-17); a pattern of collusion between state and church exemplified in our days by conservative politicians looking for votes and evangelicals willing to exchange them for anti-Christian policies—as for example, the inhumane treatment of alien immigrants [forbidden by God (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 27:19; Jeremiah 22:3; Zechariah 7:12)].  The state is not above shamelessly spinning Scripture (Romans 13:1-2) to justify aliens’ repatriation and family break-ups.

…Religious Leaders…

   Next in line the greatest danger to men’s souls:  Religious leaders posing as stalwarts of Judeo-Christian faith.  Levitical priests defaulted their commission, which led to the invalidation of the Mosaic Covenant (Micah 2:7) and to their ouster as mediators between God and men (Luke 16:16).  From Jesus on the Holy Spirit would be the imparter of spiritual wisdom (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:12-13; 1 John 2:27).  Concomitantly, there were plenty of warnings about “wolves” disguised as sheep feeding off flocks and leading them astray (Ezekiel 22:25-29, 34:2-10; 1Timothy 6:5; Titus 1:16); a situation temporarily addressed by Jesus’ incarnation (Ezekiel 34:11-22), but which Scripture warned was bound to go on throughout the remainder of human history (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10; Acts 20:29-30).

   There is no difference between the lifestyles of the priests of Jesus’ time and modern evangelical leaders who love the spotlight, sumptuous wardrobes, and universal recognition (Matthew 23:1-7).  Some of these are more in keeping with the Sadducee elite ensconced in upper social and economic strata of Judean society, juggling political/social roles with bankrupt religiosity.  Like their Biblical counterparts, they too get in cahoots with the state, endangering the souls of congregants by appealing to their worst impulses in the belief—or perhaps the pretense—that God and Jesus are on their side.

   To all of these, the status quo-overthrowing vision Jesus advocated is as repugnant as garlic to Dracula.  Money and power are the pheromones inciting their egregious immorality; the Jekyll and Hyde brew shape-shifting them from society’s mentors into gluttons of temporal delights.  They operate on the principle that he who has the gold rules; that lots of people can be bought for a price; that lots more respond to wealth in ways akin to worship—even if walked upon, exploited, and disposed of if need be.

…and Us

   The truly guilty ones:  The ultimate enablers, aiders and abettors of all of the above.  Revelation may be future news but the message is old.  God’s people, as He has made clear, “are foolish [and stupid children]:  They do not know Me; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil but do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22).  Even before the Israelites set foot in Canaan, Moses was told that they would invalidate the Mosaic Covenant by defaulting on its terms—i.e., by serving false gods and embracing pagan customs [contrary to Yahweh’s morality] while the going was good (Deuteronomy 31:16-20).  God would be lip-serviced (Isaiah 29:13) in times of plenty (Hosea 13:6); sought after in times of need (Hosea 5:15)—a leitmotif in Judeo-Christian religious history.

   Since the Israelite experience was to be replicated by future Christians, comeuppance for collective disobedience would befall Jews during the so-called “times of ignorance” [pre-Jesus (Acts 17:30)] all the way to the end-times allotted to non-Jewish peoples [post-Jesus Gentiles (Luke 21:24)]:  “For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands”  (Deuteronomy 31:29).  Understanding, when it comes, is usually too late for most (Proverbs 5:11-14; Isaiah 2:19; Jeremiah 23:20, 30:24; Revelation 6:15-17).

   Once people have chosen to believe in something/someone despite evidence to the contrary, not even God Himself can persuade them to change their minds (Zechariah 7:12).  This was the Jewish mindset when it came to political leaders (1Samuel 8:19-20); to worshipping the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:16-19,25); to trust in men for deliverance in face of danger (Isaiah 30:1-2; Jeremiah 17:5, 42:9-14; Amos 9:10); all of which were cause and effect of the supreme mistake of enslaving oneself to the will of others (Romans 6:16).

   Now, if those others are already in Satan’s clutches, where can they lead us if not into destruction?  Need we be rats to their pied-piping?  Knowing full well who they are by what they say and do (Matthew 7:15-20; Luke 6:45), why should we vote them into office?  Make them our spiritual guides?  Be seduced by their scientific arguments?  Why undermine Apostolic endeavors (Ephesians 4:13-14)?  Why invest usurpers with powers exclusively conferred on Jesus (Matthew 23:8; 1Timothy 2:5)?  Why deprive God of His recognition as Creator to curry favor among His deniers and detractors?  Why bow down to our executioners?

    Certainly we have been told the scoop regarding religious leaders (Ezekiel 22:26-28).   Not only the Bible but daily newscasts tell us of evangelicals hard at work empowering would-be dictators; promoting anti-Christian agendas; appealing to the worst human instincts; even exonerating and lionizing people who are walking demos of rank amorality.  For Judeo-Christians professing to follow Jesus’ lead, why are we helping them to bring us down?

   They may be minions of evil but it is us who bring their agendas to fruition.  “They have set up kings, but not by Me.  They have made princes, and I did not approve.  Of their silver and their gold they have made themselves idols for their own destruction” (Hosea 8:4).  “From the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely” (Jeremiah 6:13). “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and My people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:31).

The Escape Clause

   Hence the concept of salvation by grace:  We are saved because in His mercy God wishes it so; we are not saved because of anything we do in the belief our actions score brownie points with Him.  Paul put a damper on that notion:  “To one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due” (Romans 4:4); but he was only following Jesus’ lead:  “Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty‘” (Luke 17:10).  The gist of Matthew 22:1-10 and Luke 14:15-24 is that while some people are more deserving of citizenship in God’s nation, others must be forced in, the undecided seesawing between worldly concerns and heavenly boons promised but not yet manifested.  Though this smacks of hypocrisy, God and Jesus are not into score-settling but committed to mining whatever “ores” of human spirituality meet faith standards (Ezekiel 20:37)—needless to say, while practicing a last minute assay (Matthew 22:11-14).

Why Bother Arguing What Few Want To Hear?

   As far as Judeo-Christians are concerned, the tragic reality of all that we have discussed so far is that it will accomplish nothing.  Jesus’ Christianity was never meant to be a solution to human problems:  His was a rescue mission on behalf of souls hand-picked from the whole of mankind (John 6:39, 10:27-29; Romans 11:5,25; 2Peter 3:9).  Scriptures like Romans 9:22 and Revelation 9:20-21, 13:8, make it clear that not everyone will be saved, especially evildoers ego-tripping on the delusion they are on God’s side (Matthew 7:22-23; 2Thessalonians 3:2; 1John 2:19).  Of all the prophecies predicting Judeo-Christian apostasy (Isaiah 5:1-6; Matthew 21:33-46; 2Thessalonians 2:3), the two most statistically damning are Matthew 24:22 and Revelation 7:3-4—particularly the latter.  In a world with an approximate population of 8 billion people, imagine the dearth of Christian integrity when only 144,000 souls are profiled as being non-denominational [uncontaminated by women] and blameless because they preached nothing false (Revelation 17:4-5).

   So what purpose does our discussion serve; in fact what is preaching all about?  To warn people of entrapments putting their souls at risk, that they take steps to thwart them (Ezekiel 3:18-21; 1Corinthians 9:16).  What was it Jesus said?  “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22).  And where was this knowledge to be found?  In the writings of the Prophets (Luke 16:29-31; John 5:46-47), the standard Paul used to validate his ministry (Acts 26:22-23) and which he impressed upon Timothy (2Timothy 3:14-15) and Titus (Titus 1:9).

   It is through the ceaseless repetition of inviolable Scripture that we are instructed how to reconcile with God or alienate Him in our struggle for redemption.

Still the Snow Job Will Go On

   If we were to offer specific examples backing up our arguments, we would be as hard-pressed as John was to give a complete accounting (John 21:25).  More to the point, it would serve no purpose.  If current events and the self-serving motivations behind them are not compelling enough to set people a-quaking in their shoes, Scriptural warnings certainly will not—as Revelation 9:20-21 attests.

   Psalms 2:1-3 forewarns of the universal rejection of God and Jesus:  It is a done deal.  All they set out to accomplish has been undermined; their Creation has been defiled; their vision of universal brotherhood and goodwill has been pre-empted by a dog-eat-dog variant mankind seems to be accepting of and comfortable with.

   As long as the powers that be enjoy life and privileges to the hilt, their minions will wage their wars, do their dirty work, endure privation, and remain obedient and loyal despite being taken for a ride.

   As long as celebrities dazzle fans with killer abs, designers’ apparel, affairs and scandals by way of vicariously sharing their self-absorbed existences, fans will remain hooked to their excesses.

   As long as science and technology keep the human imagination fettered by social media gadgets and the exciting prospects of rudimentary life in other planets, what does global warming and the annihilation of complex life forms/habitats on Earth matter?

   As long as false evangelists come up with dogmas and pious platitudes more accommodating than God’s demands, or if Jesus is stripped of attributes then invested on a re-invented, pagan goddess, the masses will hearken unto them (Revelation 13:3-4).

   Of all the horrors prophesied in the Bible, it was Solomon who made the most devastating assessment of the human condition:  “The evil of man is great upon him” (Ecclesiastes 8:6).  Indeed.

   And what makes it worse is that though challenged to do better (Luke 4:23), man does not want to get well.

¹ He was the Angel God talking from Heaven directly to Agar on the instructions of the never-seen, never-heard Most High God (Genesis 21:17; John 1:18, 5:37; Colossians 1:15; 1Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:27; 1John 4:12).

² Ostensibly, the Baptist had family and a home to go to for well-balanced meals.  Elijah was sent to crash-down with the Zarephath widow—a non-Jewish, Gentile woman (1Kings 17:8-9; Luke 4:24-27).

³ Of little profit, that is, to spiritual matters; as well as potentially dangerous, since the flesh is constantly at war with the soul (Matthew 26:41; Galatians 5:17).  It does not take rocket science to realize that prioritizing body over spiritual fitness strengthens the former while starving the latter.

⁴ On the supposition that pre-existent matter was compressed to the point of non-existence and “Light” is the Biblical equivalent of the Big Bang explosion, the remainder of Creation as posited in Genesis is out of sync with cosmological evolution.  But then, as discussed in our series Genesis: The Myth That Never Was, there is a symbolic meaning to Genesis 1 that has nothing to do with the natural order and all to do with the historical unfolding of God’s plan.

⁵ Including fully-formed birds, the very animals science posits were essentially dinosaurs that took to the air

⁶ It should be close to Earth just like the fountains of water that flooded the planet from above (Genesis 7:11), and not way out in the Oort Cloud?