Wednesday 11 February 2009

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE PROVE THAT KINGDOM OF EDOM EXISTED WHICH PROVES THAT BIBLE IS TRUE


“So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt. And he put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.” 2 Samuel 8:13-14 (NASB)
The Bible contains records of the checkered history of Edom–the land where the descendants of Esau lived (now southern Jordan). During the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, the king of Edom refused passage to Moses and his people on their journey to the promise land (Numbers 20:14-22). Later, David conquered Edom (see map below), as described in 2 Samuel, but the inhabitants of that region remained a thorn in Israel’s side until the Assyrians conquered Israel.

Extrabiblical evidence shows that the kingdom of Edom existed during the 8th and 9th centuries B.C., yet David’s reign started in the 11th century B.C. Some have argued that the lack of extrabiblical evidence for the existence of Edom during David’s time means that the Bible is not a reliable historical document. Recent excavations in the relevant region now provide the support needed to refute such an argument.
According to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, parts of an extensive copper mine in the Edom region date to the 10th century B.C. In fact, the authors argue that most of the mining activity occurred during the reigns of David and Solomon. This fits well with the biblical account where Solomon undertook many construction projects that required a wealth of mined metals.
While this evidence does not prove explicitly that the biblical account is correct, it does supply support for the thesis that the kingdom of Edom existed three centuries earlier than the current scholarly consensus allows. It also provides a reminder (when seeking extrabiblical evidence in support of the Bible) that the absence of evidence does not give evidence of absence.

TWO FAMILIES SUE A SCHOOL FOR CHRISTIANITY IN CLASSROOM


MONTPELIER, — Two families are suing the Irasburg school district over a teacher who it claims proselytized in the classroom and retaliated against students who complained.
In a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on their behalf, the families accused Irasburg Village School teacher Wally Rogers of including religious books he bought with school funds in a reading program and creating incentives for students to read them.
They also said he posted the Ten Commandments on the wall, distributed religious materials and directed students to his Web page, which contained information on creationism. By allowing it, the school district violated their constitutional rights, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday.
"This has been a long battle for us. And we're just hoping that this brings it a close, that people get educated on what's going on," said Melvin Downs, of Irasburg, one of the plaintiffs.
People don't understand that Christianity cannot be taught in a public school, he said. "We hope to educate the public about what's happening, what's been happening for probably almost 15 years now," he said. "There's been people who have come forward and complained for years."
Principal Paul Simmons and Superintendent Stephen Urgenson didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment Monday. Pietro Lynn, a Burlington attorney representing the supervisory union, said he could not talk about the details of the case.
"The school acted appropriately in all respects," he said. "We expect that we will prevail in this matter."
Melvin and Anne Downs and Robin and Robert Voitle, who each had daughters in Rogers' seventh grade class, said Rogers added overtly religious books he bought with school funds in a list of books students could read as part of a reading program.
But he offered more points to students for reading those books than the others, according to the families.
Rogers also distributed a statement entitled "Why Jesus is better than Santa Claus," saying Jesus "rides on the wind and walks on the water" and "became our gift and died on the tree," the lawsuit said.
After complaining to the principal, the families said Rogers retaliated by singling out the students, which encouraged other students to belittle them, the lawsuit said.
The principal did not address the problems so the family went to the school board and then the superintendent, the complaint said.
In response, the school district agreed to pay for the children to go to other schools, the lawsuit said. But last year, the families were told the school district would pay for only one year of tuition and billed the Voitles approximately $400 for the difference in costs between the Irasburg and Orleans school, the lawsuit said.
The Voitles' daughter attends Coventry Village School. Their 11-year-old son is home schooled. The Downs' two daughters attend Orleans Elementary and Brownington Central School. Both families said their younger children would have attended the Irasburg school had the teacher and administrators behaved differently.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and reimbursement for attorneys' fees.
"We'd like everyone to realize that this is a public school and it has to follow the same laws that everybody else does," Downs said.

BISHOP WHO DENIED HOLOCAUST OUTSTED BY THE SEMINARY



The seminary announced the dismissal on Sunday in a statement that said the bishop, Richard Williamson was no longer the director of the La Reja seminary on the outskirts of the Argentina capital.
He has said the “historical evidence” argues against Nazi gas chambers and said that only 200,000 to 300,000 people died in concentration camps in the Holocaust.
Bishop Williamson’s views “in no way reflect the position of our congregation,” the Rev. Christian Bouchacourt, the director of the Latin America branch of the Catholic Society of St. Pius X, said in the statement. He expressed “sadness” that the Bishop Williamson’s statements had prompted accusations that “discredited” the congregation.
Pope Benedict XVI provoked widespread anger last month when he rescinded the excommunications of Bishop Williamson and three fellow bishops, all members of the Society of St. Pius X, as part of an effort to heal a 20-year schism.
Apparently surprised by the vociferous reaction to the rehabilitation of Bishop Williamson, including unusual public criticism from Chancellor Angela of Germany, the pope’s native country, the Vatican said Bishop Williamson must recant his views on the Holocaust.
The pope has also made efforts to soothe offended relations with Jews and other groups angered by Bishop Williamson’s rehabilitation, saying he had been unaware of the bishop’s views.
News of Bishop Williamson’s dismissal from the Argentine seminary came after the pope and Chancellor Merkel had a “cordial and constructive” phone conversation, spokesmen for both said Sunday.
A joint statement issued Sunday by the Vatican and the chancellor’s office said that both the pope and Mrs. Merkel referred to Benedict’s Jan. 28 remarks condemning Holocaust denial and expressing solidarity with Jews.
A statement released Wednesday by the Vatican Secretariat of State called on Bishop Williamson to recant his comments. In a rare case of the Vatican’s diplomatic arm furthering remarks by the pope, the Secretariat of State also made clear that the traditionalist bishops would not be welcomed back into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church unless they accepted the liberalizing teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
Last week’s statement by the Secretariat of State seemed to repair relations with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which plans to continue its dialogue with the Vatican, said its director general, Oded Wiener. The body had asked to postpone a March meeting with the Vatican in protest.
Vatican officials are expected to meet Thursday with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella organization.

STUDY TEEN SPENDS 87 HOURS PER YEAR LOOKING AT ONLINE PORN ; PRAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE


Sure, your teen checks his/her Facebook account, probably does some online shopping and plays a few games while on the computer.
But did you know that he or she is probably also looking at porn?! And not just a cursory glance.
A new study finds that the average teen spends one hour and 40 minutes each week surfing the Web for pornography, according to the Daily Mail.
That's 87 hours a year!
The Daily Mail also reported:
Other key findings of teen's Web surfing proclivities include:
- One hour and 35 minutes per week looking at dieting and weight loss Web sites- Two hours and two minutes per week looking at clips on YouTube- Nine hours per week on social networking sites, chat rooms, forums, MSN and other ways to talk to friends and acquaintances.
The study was conducted by CyberSentinel.
'The alarming thing about this research is that it shows that teenagers are obviously exploring all sorts of topics as a result of modern-day pressures,' said Ellie Puddle, Marketing Director of CyberSentinel.
'And for some reason they find it easier to go online to conduct their research than asking mum and dad for advice.' she continued.