Science Forced to Reverse Position—Again!

Is there life in outer space? Yes! God, His Christ, and a celestial host dwell in the third heaven.  Are there aliens among us? Yes!  Angels and devils are all over the earth and have been spotted a myriad of times. Has anyone ever crossed into the theoretical parallel universe to return and tell of it?  Yes! The born-again know this place as the all-powerful but invisible Kingdom of God.  Has anyone gone to heaven or hell and returned to describe it?  Yes! In the Scriptures, these events are told and a multitude of earthly testimonials certify the Bible’s record. 

One day soon, you and I will stand before God to give account of our lives.  We know this place as the Great White Throne Judgment.  Revelation 20:11-15:

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The “Book of Life” is a book of spiritual birth certificates.  Is your name recorded there? Have you been born again as Jesus directs in John 3?  Why not make it today?  Today, you can be washed clean of all your sin and even the shame.  Today, you can receive the power to break all bondages and to live a glorious and purpose-filled life.  Will you choose Christ Jesus today?  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Psalm 2:1-3:

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

GOD SAID, II Corinthians 10:4-5:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

GOD SAID, Romans 12:9-17:

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

MAN SAID: Enlightened men should not be fettered by old and invalid Christian prohibitions.  We are our own light. 

Now The RECORD: How is it that today’s latest scientific discoveries consistently confirm the Words of the Living God?  It was Darwin’s position that as science continued to advance, the credibility of the Bible would continue to diminish until it was rendered irrelevant.  But, the exact opposite is the reality.  As Charles Darwin, the champion of evolution, is entirely wrong, so is every other tenet that contends with the truth.  God’s Word and His commandments and precepts are true and righteous altogether and disregarding them has serious consequences. Because they are the truth, all commandments of God have inherent within them a blessing or a curse.  Obey them and enjoy the blessing and the benefits of doing the right thing.  Disobey, and suffer the curse of doing the wrong thing.  A couple of examples will suffice:

♦ God commands against fornication, which includes all sexuality—physical and mental—outside the marriage bed.  Liberal, educated men have totally rejected God’s dictates concerning fornication and instead have aggressively promoted lewd and immoral—and yes, deadly—conduct.  Deadly, it truly is. 

The U.S. is about 1/23 of the global population.  GodSaidManSaid took America’s STD (sexually transmitted disease) statistics and multiplied by 23, rendering the following global numbers: 

• 1,610,000,000 cases of genital herpes and HPV;

• 115,000,000 cases of chlamydia;

• 25,300,000 cases of gonorrhea;

• 23,000,000 cases of HIV;

• 1,035,000 cases of AIDS;

• 6,900,000 cases of Hepatitis B; and

• 2,760,000 cases of syphilis.

It is certain: God’s Word cannot be discarded without devastating results.

♦ Just relatively recently, the medically-recommended and government-promoted food pyramid was flipped on its head.  The showdown between margarine and butter is an excellent example of the results of  dishonoring the Word of God.  The following excerpts are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Margarine and Nutritional Armageddon:”

Part of the sub-head in a feature article in Better Nutrition reads, “How the Margarine Craze Brought America to the Brink of Nutritional Armageddon.”  Margarine is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.  According to Dr. W. Willett, PhD, MD, of Harvard, “It can be conservatively estimated that approximately 30,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are attributable to trans-fatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.”  That is exactly what margarine is. 

In the over 40 years that American medicine has been pushing margarine down the throats of its followers (if the rate has remained constant), over 1,200,000 deaths are attributed to its namesake: partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.  And, that is just in America, which is about 5% of the world’s population. 

The following was printed in Health Immunity Digest:

Warning: Hydrogenation is dangerous to your health.  Hydrogenated foods such as margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils:

• Cause heart disease;

• Increase LDL, the bad cholesterol, and lower HDL, the good cholesterol;

• Increase inflammatory responses;

• Cause toxicity in the liver;

• Promote aging and free radical damage; and

• Inhibit immune function.

The esteemed British medical journal, The Lancet, reported on a health study that followed 85,000 nurses since 1976.  The study showed that the consumption of just four teaspoons a day of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil margarine increases the risk of coronary heart disease—and how about this: Butter has no adverse effect. 

The health periodical Second Opinion had this to say:

I’ve preached for years about the dangers of eating margarine as a substitute for real butter.  Now the devastating results are starting to hit hard.  In addition to it being nutrient-free, margarine is a saturated hydrogenated fat that causes our neurochemistry to go into a tailspin.

The doctor continues:

In contrast, essential fatty acids (such as butter) are just that: essential.  The difference between trans-fatty acids and essential fatty acids is the exact difference between depression and a normal emotional state of mind.  It’s also a major factor that needs to be considered in greater detail in Alzheimer’s and other brain illnesses. 

Finally, the doctor reports:

As you age, it’s terribly important that you avoid any and all products that aren’t real or have been altered by processing.  That means you can toss out any margarine, Egg Beaters, and low-fat or no-fat dairy products.

Most are not aware that over 70% of the human brain is constructed of cholesterol and that butter is an excellent supporter of that neurological structure.

Earlier, I estimated 1.2 million deaths as a result of margarine and its partially hydrogenated kin.  If we prorate that number worldwide, the death toll would be 24 million—and that doesn’t even address the mental and emotional disorders to which it has contributed and continues to contribute.

GOD SAID butter. [End of quotes]

The first time the word butter is found in the Bible, it is on the LORD’s supper plate (Genesis 18).  

Today’s feature finds science is again forced to reverse positions and to genuflect before the God of the Bible. 

It was called the “Me Generation.” One of the first marketing prongs which emphasized self-indulgence was slugged with the words “You’re worth it.”  Self-image, self-esteem, a sense of entitlement, “what’s in it for me,” “if it feels good, do it,” and similar statements all put “I” as the center of the universe. Of course, this flies in the face of God’s Word that teaches us, "to, in honor, prefer one another,” and teaches its adherents to “bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” It teaches self-control. Consider Proverbs 16:32:

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

The headline in an April 2015 article in Scientific American reads, “Conquer Yourself, Conquer the World.”  A few excerpts of the feature written by Roy F. Baumeister follow:

Self-control is not just a puritanical virtue.  It is a key psychological trait that breeds success at work and play—and in overcoming life’s hardships.

The ability to regulate our impulses and desires is indispensable to success in living and working with others.  People with good control over their thought processes, emotions, and behaviors not only flourish in school and in their jobs, but are also healthier, wealthier, and more popular.  And they have better intimate relationships (as their partners confirm) and are more trusted by others.  What is more, they are less likely to go astray by getting arrested, becoming addicted to drugs, or experiencing unplanned pregnancies.  They even live longer.  Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho summed up these benefits in one of his novels: “If you conquer yourself, then you will conquer the world.”

Social psychologists’ appreciation of the importance of self-control reflects a shift in perspective.  Thirty years ago, many of them mistakenly regarded cultivation of self-esteem as a panacea for personal problems and social ills—an honest mistake.  High self-esteem is associated with doing well in life, so it was reasonable to assume that a boost would improve people’s lives. 

When analyzed more closely, the data suggested that self-esteem does not itself lead to success. It is less a cause than an effect.  When researchers tracked students over long periods, they found that getting good grades results in better self-esteem later.  But having higher self-esteem does not produce stellar report cards.  Self-control, however, is the real deal.

Experiments on self-control began in the 1960s with pioneering studies of delaying gratification conducted by Walter Mischel, now at Columbia University.  Using a procedure that came to be dubbed as the “marshmallow test,” he offered children a choice between immediately getting the white, cylindrical candies (or another of their favorite treats) or else receiving a couple of those same sweets if they could only wait a while.  More than a decade after these early experiments were published, Mischel and his colleagues tracked down the children, by then young adults, and did so again as they entered middle age.  The ones who had the most success at resisting temptation at age four went on to be the most successful as adults. 

Recognizing the requirement of self-control for well-being, I and others have set about probing the psychological and biological processes underlying it.  The findings indicate that the act of opting to not express anger or of choosing to forgo a marshmallow is akin to drawing on a store of energy that gets you through mile 26 of a marathon.  As with any source of energy, it becomes depleted over time and needs replenishing.  What psychologists have learned about self-control in recent studies may even provide new ideas for treating the seemingly intractable challenges of drug and alcohol addictions. 

Muscles do not just become fatigued; they increase in strength when used regularly.  Self-control can also strengthen with practice, as shown when people go through an exercise program to enhance it.  In several studies, volunteers were assigned for a two-week period to change how they speak—avoiding curse words, using complete sentences, and saying “yes” and “no” instead of “yeah” or “nope.”  In another program, subjects were simply asked to improve their posture—sitting or standing up straight.  After the exercises were completed, we evaluated the subjects’ self-control using lab tests, such as squeezing a handgrip for as long as possible, but without any altering of speech or posture patterns.  Those who had practiced the earlier exercises performed significantly better than a control group that had not had to clean up their language or sit up straight. 

It has occurred to us from these studies that the Victorian notion of “building character” seems to have some scientific validity.  Exerting self-control on a regular basis appears to build up a person’s capacity to call on more of this character trait in a pinch.

A therapist may have difficulty convincing an addict that he or she has taken the wrong path if that person sees nothing permanently damaging with having a few drinks or popping painkillers while continuing to fulfill responsibilities at home and work.  This new insight into the nature of addiction provides further evidence of the extent that self-control can influence our behaviors in myriad ways—and how it may even, perhaps counterintuitively, enable us to persist in adhering to self-destructive habits.  It demonstrates, once again, that our ability to control our emotions and desires lets us manage, for good or bad, the endless challenge of adapting to the world around us. [End of quotes]

They always end up here.  The Word of God lays out a plethora of commandments laden with dos and don’ts, which require self-control and not self-esteem.  The results of obeying them are life and life more abundantly.  Choose life and live!

GOD SAID, Psalm 2:1-3:

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

GOD SAID, II Corinthians 10:4-5:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

GOD SAID, Romans 12:9-17:

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

MAN SAID: Enlightened men should not be fettered by old and invalid Christian prohibitions.  We are our own light. 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Baumeister, R., “Conquer Yourself, Conquer the World,” Scientific American,  April 2015

GodSaidManSaid, “Margarine and Nutritional Armageddon”

GodSaidManSaid, “The Literal Difference is Staggering—Part VI”

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