Think & Believe NewsletterA Publication of Alpha Omega Institute May/June, 2008; Vol. 26, No.3...
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India In India, Richard Stepanek focused on seminaries where he found forms of evolution and a watered down version of the Bible being taught. One student said, “Rich, we really need to know this [creation] information in India, because we are suffering a lot of persecution. We’re not going to die for a lie. We need to know that the Bible is true. This information gives us knowledge and a firm foundation. It prepares us for persecution because we know the Bible is true.” A pastor told Rich he could keep him busy 24/7 teaching in seminaries with this kind of teaching. Another man with an internet-based ministry recorded 6 half-hour segments of Rich teaching. He told him, “This is what India needs to hear. We don’t have anything like this in India.” Rich says, “The need is overwhelming. The fields truly are white, but the laborers are few.” We find this need everywhere we go. That’s why we continue to “go” wherever the Lord opens doors of opportunity. ThankYou for “going” with us through your prayers and support. Please pray for more laborers and funds to train others. God recently opened doors for AOI speakers to teach in other countries. What did we find? Here are a few glimpses: Ecuador Richard Stepanek found a deep need for solid creation teaching, both in schools and churches. Most people are confused about science and the Bible. They are led to believe in evolution and never hear scientific evidence that affirms the truth of Scripture. He says, “The problem is, people just don’t know.” They end up rejecting the Word of God because of lack of scientific knowledge.” Rich was surprised with the openness in public schools. Not only did he share the scientific evidences of creation, but also the Gospel message. Rich says, “There is more freedom in Ecuador than in the States to talk about God. People don’t realize we are losing our freedoms here.” One teacher in a secular school told him, “This was an answer to prayer. We have talked about evolution and creation, but we didn’t understand it. Today you talked about it so clearly and answered our questions.” Costa Rica We (Dave and Mary Jo) also found the same need at the University of A Publication of Alpha Omega Institute May/June, 2008; Vol. 26, No.3 Creation Ministry in Other Lands by Dave & Mary Jo Nutting T&B Costa Rica, in public schools, in churches, and in one-on-one discussions. We too, were amazed by the freedom to teach on creation and the Bible in public schools. When we asked our Costa Rican friend, Patricia Urpi, why the creation ministry is important in Costa Rica, she replied: “Because people are bombarded with so many different teachings in the church, in schools, and in life – various doctrines, evolution, radical environmentalism, New Age, UFOs, etc. People don’t know what’s true and what’s not true. Creation teaching puts it in perspective. It also helps young people and adults defend their faith in school, at the university, and other places. We were very encouraged to see Scott Leisner at work. Scott is a campus ministry director in Costa Rica and has come to AOI for training to teach creation. He did an excellent job as our translator and, near the end of our time in Costa Rica, he took over the creation teaching at schools and churches using our programs! Besides that, he has now started to train others to spread the message in Costa Rica and other lands. PTL! Multiplication! Think & Believe Rich Stepanek with children in Ecuador. Scott Leisner, AOI trainee, gives a lecture to Costa Rican students. Rich Stepanek with a pastor and his family in India.
Transcript of Think & Believe NewsletterA Publication of Alpha Omega Institute May/June, 2008; Vol. 26, No.3...
India InIndia,RichardStepanekfocusedonseminarieswherehefoundforms
ofevolutionandawatereddownversionoftheBiblebeingtaught.Onestudentsaid,“Rich,wereallyneedtoknowthis[creation]informationin
India,becausewe are suffering a lot of persecution. We’re not going to die for a lie. WeneedtoknowthattheBibleistrue.This information gives us knowledge and a firm foundation.ItpreparesusforpersecutionbecauseweknowtheBibleistrue.” ApastortoldRichhecouldkeephimbusy24/7teachinginseminarieswiththiskindofteaching.Anotherman
withaninternet-basedministryrecorded6half-hoursegmentsofRichteaching.Hetoldhim,“ThisiswhatIndianeedstohear.Wedon’thaveanythinglikethisinIndia.”Richsays,“Theneedisoverwhelming.The fields truly are white, but thelaborersarefew.” We find this need
everywherewego.That’swhywecontinueto“go”wherevertheLordopensdoorsofopportunity.ThankYoufor“going”withusthroughyourprayersandsupport.Pleaseprayformorelaborersandfundstotrainothers.
GodrecentlyopeneddoorsforAOIspeakerstoteachinothercountries.What did we find? Here are a few glimpses:
Ecuador RichardStepanekfoundadeepneedforsolidcreationteaching,bothinschoolsandchurches.MostpeopleareconfusedaboutscienceandtheBible.Theyareledtobelieveinevolutionandneverhearscientific evidence that affirms the truthofScripture.Hesays,“The problem is, people just don’t know.” TheyenduprejectingtheWordofGodbecauseoflack of scientific knowledge.” Richwassurprisedwiththeopennessinpublicschools.Notonlydid he share the scientific evidences of creation,butalsotheGospelmessage.Richsays,“ThereismorefreedominEcuadorthanintheStatestotalkaboutGod.Peopledon’trealizewearelosingourfreedomshere.”Oneteacherinasecularschooltoldhim,“Thiswasananswertoprayer.Wehavetalkedaboutevolutionandcreation,butwedidn’tunderstandit.Todayyoutalkedaboutitsoclearlyandansweredourquestions.”
Costa Rica We(DaveandMaryJo)alsofoundthesameneedattheUniversityof
APublicationofAlpha Omega Institute May/June,2008;Vol.26,No.3
Creation Ministry in Other Landsby Dave & Mary Jo Nutting
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CostaRica,inpublicschools,inchurches,andinone-on-onediscussions.Wetoo,wereamazedbythefreedomtoteachoncreationandtheBibleinpublicschools. WhenweaskedourCostaRicanfriend,PatriciaUrpi,whythecreationministryisimportantinCostaRica,shereplied:“Becausepeopleare
bombardedwithsomanydifferentteachingsinthechurch,inschools,andinlife–variousdoctrines,evolution,radicalenvironmentalism,NewAge,UFOs,etc.Peopledon’tknowwhat’strueandwhat’snottrue.Creation teaching puts it in perspective.Italsohelpsyoung
peopleandadultsdefendtheirfaithinschool,attheuniversity,andotherplaces.WewereveryencouragedtoseeScottLeisneratwork.ScottisacampusministrydirectorinCostaRicaandhascometoAOIfortrainingtoteachcreation.Hedidanexcellentjobasourtranslatorand,neartheendofourtimeinCostaRica,hetookoverthecreationteachingatschoolsandchurchesusingourprograms!Besidesthat,hehasnowstartedtotrainotherstospreadthemessageinCostaRicaandotherlands.PTL! Multiplication!
Think & Believe
Rich Stepanek with children in Ecuador.
Scott Leisner, AOI trainee, gives a lecture to Costa Rican students.
Rich Stepanek with a pastor andhis family in India.
Hislovetriumphedoverhatred,andHisgoodnessdefeatedtheevil.Evennow,HeisworkingtobringallthingsintoconformitytoHiswillandpreparingaplaceforustodwellwithHimforeverinrighteousness.Hisgoodnessispouredoutonusabundantlydaybyday.“TheearthisfullofthegoodnessoftheLORD.”(Ps33:5)“OtasteandseethattheLORDisgood:blessedisthemanthattrustethinhim.”(Ps34:8)“OgivethanksuntotheLORD;forHeisgood:forhismercyendurethforever.”(Ps.118:29)
SixtimesinGenesis1,wefind the phrase “It was
good.”Thisphrasefollowsapattern:Godspeaksandsome-thinghappens.ThenGodexam-inesHisworkandpronouncesit“good.”Followingthecreationofman–maleandfemale–GodlooksatallthatHehasmadeandsays,“Itisverygood.” Thisisnotaseriesofhap-hazard,trialanderrorevents.Rather,Godfollowsawellthought-outplan.Heispurpose-fulandpreciseinwhatHedoes.Hedoesn’tmakemistakes.NordoesHefollow“dead-end”pathwaysorblindalleys.Eachstep,eachactis“good.”Howdifferentthisisfromtheevolu-tionaryviewoforigins,basedontime,chance,andnaturalprocesses–accidents,death,elimination of the “unfit,” and eonsoftimeleadingtoextinc-tion.HowdifferentistheGodoftheBiblefromthe“gods”of
Think & Believe May/June 2008
Book Review: Refuting Compromise by Dave Nutting
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evolution!HeknowswhatHewantsandHedoesit–inanorderly,mas-terfulway. Somepeoplewouldhaveusbe-lievethatGodusedevolutionasHismethodofcreating.ButwhywouldGodusesuchawasteful,cruelway,basedonchance,struggleforsurviv-al, and death? Evolution is not consis-tentwiththerevelationofGodgiveninScripture.ThroughouttheBible,weseeGod’spower,wisdom,andgoodness.WereadthatHeisaGodoforder,notofchaos.Hecontinuallyactstobringorderoutofchaos,lightoutofdarkness,andlifeoutofdeath. GODISGOOD!Hewillnotactinanymannerinconsis-tentwithHischaracter.HeisLightandLifeandLove.AndHeisLORD!AllHisworksaredoneinrighteous-ness,justice,grace,andtruth.Atthecross,
Gems From Genesis “And It Was Good”
by Mary Jo Nutting
RefutingCompromise,byDr.JonathanSarfati,
isaveryimportantbookthatneedstogetintothehandsofChristiansandtheirpastorsandteachers. Why? Due to thewidespreadteach-ingofevolution,BiblicalcompromiseisrampantinChristiancirclesinclud-ingmanyseminaries.Thiscompromisehasbeenpassed
downtopastorsand,asAOIspeak-ershaveseen,eventothemission-arieswhothenbringittootherlands.Theoverallresultofthiscompromiseisaweakeningof
theBiblicalmessage,confu-sionwithintheChurch,andintoomanycases,alossoffaithinthetrueGodoftheBible. Sarfatidoesatre-mendousjobofanalyz-
ingandrefutingmanyofthe“theisticevolution”and
“progressivecreationism”arguments– both Biblically and scientifically. Bytheway,manyofthese“scien-tific” objections to the Bible that Sarfatianswersarethesameoneswehearontheuniversitycampusbystu-dentswhoargueagainsttheexistenceofGod! Wehopethisexcellentbookwillhelpyouandyourfamilystandfirmly on the Truth of God’s Word! SpecialPrice:$15includesshipping.Seetheenclosedordersheet.(Spe-cialgoodthrough6/30/08.)
esis1:11-13,withalltheiruniquefeatures,
thantograspforthe flimsy straws ofevolution.I
firmly accept as truththepassagein
John1:3,whichsays:“Allthingsweremadebyhim[JesusChrist];andwithout
himwasnotanythingmadethatwasmade.”This includes the flower knownasshootingstar
anditsuniquepollina-tionsystem.
Style
Anthers
Duringthecoldwintermonths,whenthegroundisfrozen
andsnowoftencoversthesoil,Ispendmanyhoursstudyingvariousplantspeciesinpreparationforthespringseason.Recently,whilestudyingthedetailsofanold“friend,”Dodecatheonpulchel-lum,commonlyknownastheshootingstar,Icameacrossafascinatingstatementinabookti-tled,Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary,byRonaldJ.Taylor.Itsaid:“Theunusualshape of the shooting star flow-er reveals biological significance. The flower has adapted to be ‘buzz’ pollinatedbybumblebees.” The flowers of the shooting star hangdownward,andthepetalsarebentbackward,withthestamens(themaleportion)andthestyleandstigma(thefemalepor-tion)extendingoutward.Thusthe flower superfi-ciallyre-semblesadartorshootingstar. Thepollenisnoteasilyextractedfromthepollentubes,because it is fine-grained and firmly attached.However,bumblebees,especiallythoseofthespeciesBom-bus terrestris,areideallydesignedtodothejob.Theygraspthebaseofthestamenswhilehangingup-
side down and vibrate their flight musclesrapidly,thus“buzzing”the flower. This dislodges the
pollen,muchlikewedis-lodgesaltfromasaltshakerbyshakingitupanddown. Thevibrationsshakethepollenoff
the flower’s anthers andontothebee’s
body.Thebumble-beegroomsmostof
thepollenfromherbodyontospecial
pollen-carryingstruc-tureslocatedonthehindlegs,andthentakesitbacktothe
nesttofeedthelarva.However,someofthe
pollenremainsonthebumblebee’sbodyandisdepositedon the next flower the bee visits. This design of pollination flies inthefaceofthetheoryofevolu-tion.Oh,evolutionistswillclaimthatbuzzpollinationistheresultofsimultaniousevolution.Theywillnodoubtsaythattheplantevolvedovertimetowithholdits
polleninthisfashion,andthatthebum-
blebee“learned”toextractitby“buzzing”theflower. However,
theyfailtoprovideanyevidenceofthisand
theyalsofailtoexplainhowtheshoot-
ingstarwaspollinatedwhileitwasevolving.
Thus,Ibelieveittakesfarlessfaithtoacceptthecreationofplantsondaythree,asrecordedinGen-
Think & Believe May/June 2008
Buzz Pollination: Evidence for Designby Stephen B. Austin
• Honeybees perform a dance consisting of waggles, loops, and buzzes to communicate direction, distance and the qualityof food sources.
• Honey is not created by bees. Instead, the bees extract the nectar from the flowers and regurgitate it over and over until it becomes honey.
• The amount of honey the average American consumes in a year is just over one pound.
• To produce one pound of honey, workers may visit two million flowers and travel 55,000 miles.
• When collecting pollen and nectar, a worker bee may visit 50-100 flow-ers in one trip. Upon return, she may be carrying over half her weight in pollen and nectar.
• Although a productive hive can store up to two pounds of honey a day, a single worker may only pro-duce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/dancesroun.html
Did you know?
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legendsandloreofmanyisolatedpeoplesworldwide.Forexample,theNavajohaveaworldwideflood story in their mythology. Attheendoftheweek,theGalbraiths take the men on a field trip emphasizing flood geology and design biology. This field triptotheBistiWildernessisahighlightoftheweek. FortheNizhonischoolchildren,rangingfromelementarythroughhighschoolgrades,theGalbraithspresentthesametopicsasfortheOvercomers.LiketheOvercomers,theNavajoyoungsters also enjoy the field tripandthefossilexhibitswhichtheGalbraithsbringwiththem.MorerecentlydoorshaveopenedfortheGalbraithsto
teachcreationtoNavajoyoungpeopleatmulti-churchrevivalmeetingsinnorthwestNewMexico.Theyhavefoundthe
NavajoChristianstobetruebrothersandsistersintheLord.TheyaskthatyouprayfortheLordtoraiseupNavajopastorstoleadtheirpeopletoanewandbetterday.
Creation Training: June 9-13!“Theharvesttrulyisgreat,butthelabourersarefew:prayyethereforetheLordoftheharvest,thathewouldsendforthlabour-ersintohisharvest.”(Luke10:2)Areyoulaboring in God’s harvest fields? If you are interestedinreceivingtrainingtolearnhowtosharethecreationteachingandthegospelmessagemoreeffectively,we’dliketohelp.Callformoreinformation.
WeareveryencouragedwithAlanandDianeGalbraith’sexcellentministry.TheyaresomeofAOI‘s “trainees” and
arealsovolunteers.Notonlydotheydoanexcellentchildren’sministry,but,forseveralyears,AlanandDianehavebeentakingthecreationmessagetotheNavajosatamissioninNewMexico.ThisMissionhastwouniqueteachingopportunities:Oneistothemeninthe“Overcomers”alcoholrecoveryprogram;theothertochildrenattendingtheNizhoni(HarmonyinNavajo)ChristianAcademy. AmajorityofthemenintheOvercomersprogramarenotChristianwhentheyentertheprogrambutmanybecomebelieversbythetimetheygraduate.ThecreationteachingtheGalbraithsbringservesasafoundationfortheirintroductiontoChristianityand,liketheexperienceofNewTribesmissionaries,startinginGenesismakesiteasiertoacceptJesusastheirpersonalSavior. Inadditiontothestandardcreationvs.evolutionteaching,theGalbraithshaveincludedasessiononhowthemajor events of the first 11 chapters of Genesiscanbefoundinthehistory,
Think and Believe is published by Alpha Omega Institute, a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Editors: Dave & Mary Jo Nutting. Single copies are free upon request. Please write for permission to reprint material in this publication. Your donations are much needed and appreciated. © Alpha Omega Institute 2008
Alpha Omega Institute • PO Box 4343 • Grand Junction, CO • 81502 • (970) 523-9943 • www.discovercreation.org
Director’s Column:The Galbraiths In Navajo Land
by Dave & Mary Jo Nutting
T&B
Upcoming EventsG= Galbraith, J=Johnson, N=Nutting, S=Stepanek
There’s still time to sign up for one of AOI’s exciting Creation Mountain Adventures! Grab your family and friends and join us for a wonderful time of fun,
fellowship, and learning in God’s beautiful creation. There’s something for everybody! Don’t miss it! Check the web for
more information and call today to reserve your spot.
Twin Peaks Bible Camp: June 29-July 4Redcloud Ranch 1: August 3-8Redcloud Ranch 2: August 10-15
5/25, Fruita, CO, Monument View Bible Church, Mark Henry, (970) 858-3954, LJ5/28, Manitou Springs, CO, Summit Ministries, DN6/5, Manitou Springs, CO, Summit Ministries, (719)-685-9103, DN6/9-13, Ulysses, KS, Ulysses Mennonite Breath-ern, Nathan Gift, (620) 356-4015, LJ6/9-13, Grand Junction, CO, Creation Teaching Training Session, Gail Tompkins, (970) 523-9943, DN6/12-14, Denver, CO, CHEC Homeschool Conference, (720) 842-4852, RS6/21-26, Nogales, AZ, First Baptist Church, Gene Willey, (520) 281-1677, RS6/24, Manitou Springs, CO, Summit Ministries, (719)-685-9103, DN6/29-7/ 4, Collbran, CO, Twin Peaks Bible Camp, Gail Tompkins, (970) 523-9943, LJ, RS7/ 3, Manitou Springs, CO, Summit Ministries, (719)-685-9103, DN7/11-13, Browning, MT, Glacier Meadow Camp, Dean Landis, (406)-270-8333, DN7/18-20, Browning, MT, Glacier Meadow Camp, Dean Landis, (406)-270-8333, DN7/21-25, Indiana, PA, Calvary E-Free Church, Gino Cosentino, (724) 463-8890, LJ7/24-26, Colorado Springs, CO, The Begin-ning and End of the Universe Conference, Rich Carroll, www.rememberthycreator.com (719) 477-2100, DN8/3-8, Lake City, CO, Camp Redcloud, Gail Tompkins, (970) 523-9943, DN, RS8/10-15, Lake City, CO, Camp Redcloud, Gail Tompkins, (970) 523-9943, DN, RS
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