Monthly Archives: April 2019

Dog Evolution

Nacho: “What! You’ve got to be kidding!”

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. (Genesis 1:24)

I came in late from work the other night, warmed up my dinner and joined my wife in front of the television set to watch the last half of “Hawaii 5-0.” I enjoy this show mostly because I do not need to exert much mental capacity to see through the incredible (a.k.a. “unbelievable”) plots.

After the show, June switched the channel to some animal show. She enjoys all kinds of animal shows, veterinarian shows, and weird shows like “Dr. Pimple Popper.” That explains why I do not watch a lot of T.V. Anyway, the channel she landed on dealt with dog evolution. That piqued my interest, so I stretched out on the couch to watch the rest of the show.

The program started out claiming that all dogs “evolved” from wolves. Evolutionists conveniently conflate two distinct forms of evolution and lump them all together and call it all evolution. However, there is a clear distinction which the evolutionists work hard to blur. They would have us believe that microevolution, minor variations within species, is evidence for macroevolution, which teaches that all life forms, i.e., sea creatures, plants, insects, animals, birds, etc. all sprung from a single-cell creature that resulted from some freak chemical reaction of inert material in some primordial pond. Many problems exist with that notion that would prevent anything to come close enough to where microevolution could take place. Evolutionists cannot explain how macroevolution happens, but they know it did happen because we observe microevolution take place. So, let’s just remove the confusion and call it all evolution.

Setting that debate aside, let’s just play along. Evolutionists want to explain the existence of life without a Life Giver and design without a Designer. If everything just popped into existence, perfectly designed to fill all kinds of environmental niches, there is no need for God.

So the T.V. program proclaimed that all dogs evolved from wolves. I agree with that, only I prefer to say that all dogs descended from wolves – two, in fact, the two Noah carried onboard the Ark. “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive” (Genesis 6:19-20, emphasis mine). That “kind” is the same “kind” that God created back in Genesis 1. We may understand “kind” by the taxonomical term of “family.” Within a “kind,” there exists enough flexibility in the DNA to allow for variation and “speciation.” So from the “wolf kind,” or “canine family” we can get wolves, foxes, jackals, hyenas, dingoes, etc., and our loving canine companions – dogs.

Evolutionists assert that evolution is progressive and that life forms improve through the process, and that weaker forms die off. That is called “survival of the fittest.” However, a close examination of dog evolution shows that the descendants of the pair carried on the Ark, have lost many of the characteristics of the first wolves. Their DNA looses information rather than gaining new information; therefore, it is impossible to breed back up the chain to make wolves out of Chihuahuas.

I found it amusing how the show’s producers discussed breeding programs to “evolve” other varying breeds of dogs. They seemed completely unaware that what they called evolution, which supposedly is a random and purposeless process, actually involved specific purposes determined by an intelligent designer, i.e., the breeder. Great Danes did not just “evolve;” they were bred to be Great Danes by intelligent human beings. Yet somehow, that minor fact seemed to elude the producers of the show.

Wolves did not “evolve” from any other animals. They were created by God in the beginning as the “canine kind.” Dogs and other canine species did not “evolve,” but rather “descended” from wolves (the original canine kind). And the reason we have so many varieties of dogs is that humans, who are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), exercised their God-given intelligence to selectively breed dogs for specific purposes. So much for dog evolution!

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Filed under Apologetics, Dogs, Evolution, Origins, Theology

It Does Matter

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

Recently I listened to a message on the crucifixion. The message excelled in many respects by providing insight into that fateful day of our Lord’s life. However, one part of the message troubled me. The messenger commented that some theologians believe Jesus was crucified on Friday, while others say He was crucified on Thursday. I know that; I’ve heard those arguments before. That is not what troubled me. What troubled me was his comment that the day on which the crucifixion took place does not really matter. The fact of the crucifixion is what really matters.

WOAH!

It does matter! Jesus said very specifically that “the Son of man [shall] be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). That is three full days and three full nights.[1] You cannot get three full days and three full nights from a Friday crucifixion even if you allow for partial days and nights. Why does that matter?

One reason it matters is that “according to one Jewish tradition, the soul hovered about the body for three days in hope of reentering it.”[2] If it were not three full days and nights, then, as some have asserted, He could have resuscitated in the coolness of the tomb and walked out. (There are many problems with that idea, but that rabbit can be chased another day.)

Jesus raised Lazarus four days after his death. Lazarus was so dead that “by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days” (John 11:39). Decomposition had already set in. That being the case, would it have been better for Jesus to remain in the tomb four days rather than three? No, because Scripture predicted that Jesus’ body would not decompose: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). For that reason, it needed to be three full days and three full nights – long enough for the spirit to depart (in the estimation of the Jews), yet not long enough for decomposition to set in.

Another argument against a Friday crucifixion finds its basis in history. Most theologians hold the opinion that Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30. Passover, the day on which Jesus was crucified, always falls on Nissan 14 – the fourteenth day of the first month of the year.[3] Nissan 14, 30 A.D. fell on a Wednesday, not a Friday.[4] A Wednesday crucifixion allows for three full nights and three full days, meaning that Jesus would have risen anytime after 6:00 PM on Saturday evening, the first day of the week by Jewish reckoning – the day begins after sundown.

I believe those are good arguments against a Friday crucifixion, but they are not the best argument. The best argument is Jesus’ own words. He very specifically said that He would be in the heart of the earth, i.e., the grave, for three days and three nights. Anything less than that makes Jesus a liar. Do you really want to go there! If we believe God’s Word is inerrant – and Jesus IS God – then we must accept what HE said, and reject what errant men say. It Does Matter!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Notes:


[1]  “Three Days, Three Nights” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2014/07/13/three-days-three-nights/

[2]  Herschel Hobbs, The Illustrated Life of Jesus, (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 2000), 183.

[3]  Leviticus 23:5

[4]  http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=30

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Filed under Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Easter, Gospel, Religion, Resurrection, Theology