ALIEN ON A MISSION

There are people brother, there are people praying...

2012-04-24T11:45:40.372+01:00

There are people brother, there are people praying for a fresh baptism for that very reason - preaching the saving gospel of our Lord.

@the space bishop. You are not alone in your belie...

2012-02-05T22:00:39.999Z

@the space bishop. You are not alone in your belief that the 6 Genesis days were not days as we know them (24 hours) but I differ and believe they were 24 hour days because: 1:When day is mentioned It explicitly says "there was evening and there was morning" Sounds like a "day" to me.2:Old earth science is full of holes when looked at impartially (eg Earth's magnetism, moltencore, thickness of meteroric dust etc. all shout "young earth") 3:Jesus believed it when he said that God made the earth in 6 days and rested the seventh. 4: Death before Adam (in any form) makes a joke out of God's pre-sin warning to Adam and ultimately the purpose of Jesus shedding His blood at Calvery.
In some parts of the world if you question their so called "Prophet" they'll kill you. In the humanistic west, particularly Europe, they will try and intellectually murder you if you dare touch the religious idol of "Evolution". Don't you smell a rat? Again thanks for your comments.

Ant. I do of course believe that there is a design...

2012-02-05T17:04:29.382Z

Ant. I do of course believe that there is a designer. And i see that from nature and the way of life. Romans 1 anybody?

You say: "Gen1 can hardly be true theologically and untrue scientifically"
I am not sure what you are trying to say here. Could you explain please? I believe all the bible is truth. But to understand what that truth is you have to interpret the bible correctly. I do not believe Gen Ch 1's truth is that God made the world about 6-10,000 years ago in 6 days.

@ The Space Bishop. We must remember that we are i...

2012-02-01T10:20:08.951Z

@ The Space Bishop. We must remember that we are in a world saturated with evolution propaganda. With the ensuing "Spiral of Silence"(check Wikipedia for this! as well as The God Journey podcast 6.1.12) few scientists publicly express what they might privately believe (or doubt) for fear of rejection or ridicule by peers. That said I would like to say that Gen1 can hardly be true theologically and untrue scientifically. Death came to all through the fall of man and didn't exist beforehand. Having said all this I believe one can follow Jesus and have different views of Genesis but I would certainly question the detrimental effect it has on reading any book when one discovers that the first chapter is not factually reliable. An unbiased look at empirical evidence always points to a designer, even though the creation is corrupted. Finally...I enjoy reading your comments and thanks for taking the time.

I wouldnt put it quite like that. Genesis is teach...

2012-01-31T22:00:00.935Z

I wouldnt put it quite like that. Genesis is teaching us God is creator. I believe that. I don't believe Gen1 is a blueprint for how he did it. I believe it teaches that God is good and created a good world instead of a chaotic one (unlike what was thought by the many religions the Jews knew of at the time)

I believe in a form of theistic evolution because i take the scriptures as inspired by God and hence inerrant. If i were to be a YEC i would need to overcome many problems that the text would bring. Such as the discrepencies between CH1 and CH2. The other people who are implied, Days before the sun etc etc.
A view that takes Ch1 as form of poetry and Gen 2 as form of metaphor means i can still hold to proper interpretation of scripture and still hold to inerrancy.
I want to point out that i do believe Adam and eve existed. I do believe there was a fall. I do believe that there was death before the fall but not as it is now. I do believe in flood but i see it as local. There is much we could debate about but i want to make one point. YEC people like des at the start ask "if you dont believe in Genesis why believe in the rest?" this annoys me greatly. I DO BELIEVE IN GENESIS- i simply believe you are interpreting the text differently -wrongly as it happens. But this debate is a difference of interpretation not one of a lack of faith.

@ the space bishop. Would you like to elaborate on...

2012-01-30T21:57:38.102Z

@ the space bishop. Would you like to elaborate on this? Is there a part of Genesis which suggests evolution?

Well yes but ... your dead right in the hypocrisy ...

2012-01-30T21:28:57.105Z

Well yes but ... your dead right in the hypocrisy of supporting Palestinians for statehood whilst they have murderous intetions in their own constitutions but then you go and do the same thing! You can't support Israel without acknowledging the injustices they perpetrate. The trick is if you support either side without demanding that they both change you've lost your sense of fairness. Allthough James (2) is talking about a situation where a church was favouring the rich over the poor the underlying law is that we are not to show favouritism.

Well ahem I am a chrisitian and I believe and tr...

2012-01-30T20:47:58.643Z

Well *ahem* I am a chrisitian and I believe and trust in the bible and i believe in evolution (with some parameters) and I think its YOU who are interpreting the bible incorrectly.

@nazam. Jesus was a prophet. A true prophet can no...

2011-12-09T21:20:17.798Z

@nazam. Jesus was a prophet. A true prophet can not err in prophesy. Jesus said no one comes to the Father (God) but by Me. He died on the cross and was not switched before death. His death is the perfect and acceptable sacrifice before Holy God for our sin. How else could we have any hope?

We believe that no one will attain salvation becau...

2011-12-02T14:29:07.607Z

We believe that no one will attain salvation because of their good works, including some one who dies as a martyr for their works.

The Prophet of Islam said in a Hadith,

"Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and rejoice, FOR NO ONES GOOD DEEDS WILL PUT HIM IN PARADISE." The Companions asked, "NOT EVEN YOU, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "Not even me unless Allah bestows His pardon and mercy on me".

So here we see that it's not by one's good deeds that one will enter paradise but by Allah's Mercy. However, Allah has commanded us to do good deeds and we would not be recipient of His mercy unless we obey His commands.

Another common objection is that Muslims are not promised or their salvation is not guaranteed.

This is not true for Quran states,

Surah 9:72

"Allah has promised to the believers -men and women, - Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein forever, and beautiful mansions in Gardens of 'Adn (Eden Paradise). But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah. That is the supreme success."

and

Surah 3:9

"Verily, Allah never breaks His Promise"

Now if you ask the Muslim "are you going to paradise?" he is going to say to you "if Allah wills" (insha'allah). The well informed Muslim is not going to tell you "Yes I am going paradise for sure." No, the Muslim hopes and prays that he will end up in paradise. It's not because the Muslim is worried whether Allah will keep His promise, for as we have seen Allah does not break His promise. Rather, it is because the Muslim cannot be sure whether he would continue remaining on the straight path and die as a Muslim and the guarantee or promise of salvation is conditional in remaining and dying as a Muslim.

‎"(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised." Surah 41:30

You may also find this recent debate helpful which is on the same issues;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNVt5xd1ewI

Hi Ant, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't check...

2011-11-21T11:57:57.186Z

Hi Ant, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't check your comments page last week. I'm out of town next weekend but maybe you could drop me a mail (geoff.lillis gmail.com) if you'll be in Temple Bar any weekend in December?

@Geoff. I'll be at Temple Bar Square tomorrow ...

2011-11-18T10:13:12.806Z

@Geoff. I'll be at Temple Bar Square tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 19th) and hope to meet you. Come to Temple Bar Square and introduce yourself at 5pm (I wont be hard to find!). We can retire to a quiet hotel lobby and have coffee and interview. Ant

@Ant, sounds great, I like the idea of the format....

2011-11-14T11:54:26.912Z

@Ant, sounds great, I like the idea of the format. I'm free this Saturday if that suits. I'll pop you a mail when I have access to a proper sized keyboard.
G

@Geoff If you were free I'd be glad to do a s...

2011-11-12T22:02:21.168Z

@Geoff If you were free I'd be glad to do a short interview with you for the Pilgrim Talk podcast. The intention would be to not set up an adversarial debate but to explore differing beliefs on matters of origin and get the listeners (from both sides) to think. It would only take 10-15 minutes and can be done in a city centre cafe if you can get to Dublin for a Saturday afternoon. email me at anthony@helpmyhouse.ie . Cheers. Ant

To add - ever listen to 'Unbelievable?' I...

2011-10-21T06:40:55.179+01:00

To add - ever listen to 'Unbelievable?'
It's a show on Premier Christian Radio, and typically involves atheist / Christian debate. There are YEC debates in their archives.
http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable

Hi Ant, have you considered hosting a debate on yo...

2011-10-19T11:30:30.667+01:00

Hi Ant, have you considered hosting a debate on your podcast? I'm happy to defend old earth / evolution. I'm free evenings and weekends and happy to travel in Dublin. I'll even bring biscuits!
(Hi Dessie!)

Well said Des. If I was the enemy and wanted to di...

2011-09-23T17:05:37.730+01:00

Well said Des. If I was the enemy and wanted to discredit a book (the BIble in this case) I'd certainly spread lies about the beginning of the book. People simply put books down and stop reading them if they believe them to be unreliable.

its sad that people say where christians? and deny...

2011-09-23T16:43:22.125+01:00

its sad that people say where christians? and deny God's word. if you dont believe in Genesis why believe in the rest?

Hi Ant great to see you are out preaching the Gosp...

2011-09-01T01:16:24.847+01:00

Hi Ant great to see you are out preaching the Gospel, I havent been in temple bar for awhile mainly Henry Street. God bless you Des.

A 2006 study compiled statistics on abortions across all 50 states in the USA. Christian groups are those most likely to be creationists; none were below national average in terms of abortions procured. (Interestingly, Catholics were above average.) Either creationism is not an effective method of reducing abortions, or the number of creationists in the USA is statistically insignificant. (Sadly not true.)

I've been reading the collected works of Frederick Douglass recently. He was a leader in the slavery abolitionist movement and a former slave. I can't recommend his works strongly enough. Here's a long quote on religion as he encountered it in the South (where creationism is now most popular):

"... a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,--a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,--a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,--and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection. Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me. For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst. I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others."

Still, I have to say, there were many prominent Christians in the abolitionist movement.

I'm interested in discussing evolution with you, either in person or by blog. I've spoken with Dessie on the subject; I think he'd describe me as reasonably polite and well read.

Do you ever street evangelise before 9pm? Sorry to be picky, I frequently travel at weekends.

I spoke with Dessie recently. You are right, I was...

2011-07-03T11:45:48.367+01:00

I spoke with Dessie recently. You are right, I was wrong. He's charming, warm, humble, an excellent listener and full of genuine passion for his message.

I can mail a pdf if you wish. e-mail me anthony@ab...

2011-06-21T22:26:51.492+01:00

I can mail a pdf if you wish. e-mail me anthony@abaarchitects.ie
Cheers.AB

Is there a scanned copy of this monkey tract avail...

2011-06-20T13:40:59.897+01:00

Is there a scanned copy of this monkey tract available?

Hi Ant, Not sure how often you check your comments...

2011-06-01T07:36:22.237+01:00

Hi Ant,
Not sure how often you check your comments page. I still don't quite see the relevance of your question to evolution, but in case we miss each other, here are some examples of explosions leading to order:
C6H12O6 + O2 -> 6C02 + 6H20
One I remember from my biology days. It's an explosion that started two and a half billion years ago and has been growing in force ever since then. It's happening inside you right now - the burning of glucose in the presence of oxygen to produce energy, water and CO2.
Ever hear the phrase we are all made of stars? Hydrogen and helium are the only 'naturally' occurring elements. Everything else was formed inside stars. When they burn out they explode, scattering the elements.
The moon is the result of an astral body colliding with our planet, ripping off a chunk and settling in orbit. From this we got tides, nighttime illumination and a changed length of day.
Volcanic eruptions spread fertile ash and create new islands. Iceland is relatively new and was formed by eruptions.
Anyway, the full lineup for this year's world atheist convention is here. It's sold out, but if there is a question I can't answer you'd like to put to one of the speakers let me know.

Hi Ant, Thanks for the reply. I was hoping for a q...

2011-05-31T06:54:10.371+01:00

Hi Ant,
Thanks for the reply.
I was hoping for a question related to evolution. That's cosmology.
Evolution explains the diversity of life. It does not seek to explain the origins of life (abiogenesis) or the cosmos (cosmology).
Do you have a question on evolution?