Olmec Origins

The Olmec and a Biblical Perspective of Ancient History

By Bethany Youngblood
When I was a child, we would sit together as a family and watch documentaries about ancient history. My parents would mute or forward through places where the narrator talked about certain things; ideas about history that were secular. The Bible did not talk about that stuff, so young ears did not need to hear about it. But a young mind starts to connect the dots, begins to wonder why the only way to look at ancient history is from a perspective that doesn’t agree with the Bible. As I got older, I realized that the realm of interpreting ancient history has been largely left up to the Non-Christian crowd. This passive acceptance of a secular worldview is hindering Christians in their understanding of history. Instead of seeing God’s special design for mankind, we get lost in the popular speculation that ancient man was less intelligent or less capable than we are today. Adopting a Biblical worldview when looking at ancient history is something every Christian should consider. If Christians were to peel back the layers of secular speculation and get at the realities of ancient man, they would see that everything secular historians present as evidence fits perfectly within a Biblical model.

A Road to Heresy

By Derrick Zuk

Photo Credit: Derrick Zuk

I hear my fellow believers talking about geology and science and the age of the earth and I find myself wondering, do we believe in two different gods? If you believe the earth is millions of years old and hold consistently to that view, then logically you cannot believe in the same God I do.

Biographies of Ancient Man: Joseph

By Jacob Brockmann 

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2010/04/05/Joseph-in-Egypt-Part-V.aspx

In The Genius of Ancient Man, we contrast two beliefs of human origins: the humanistic, evolutionary model of mankind slowly evolving from simple organisms to apes to humans and the biblically-based model that outlines how God created man perfectly intelligent, highly skilled, and capable of amazing feats.

We want to introduce you to some of the most ancient people of history, men and women created in the image of God, people whom God describes to us in His perfect, authoritative Word.

Biographies of Ancient Man: Bezalel and Oholiab

By Danae Styles

When listing our favorite and most prominent men in the Bible, the names Bezalel and Oholiab are not likely the first names to come to anyone's mind. However, these individuals were outstanding men of their day and both are excellent examples of the intelligence of ancient man.

Artist's Impression of the Tabernacle
http://eborg3.com/Bible-Alphabetical/Bible-Alphabetical-T.htm

Biographies of Ancient Man: Noah

By Analea Styles

Lately there has been one biblical name that seems to be on everyone’s lips, showing up all over in news feeds, blogs, and social media platforms. He even has a hashtag! But who is this “Noah” that everyone is talking about? Well he’s Darren Aronofsky’s fantastical cinematic Noah. And he’s the biblical Noah of Genesis. And he’s everyone’s own interpretation of the two.

An artist's imaginative rendition of Noah and the Ark 

The purpose of this post is not to get into the debate over said recent film. Read our review of Noah if you are interested in our stance. Instead, we would like to introduce you to the Noah the Bible teaches as one of the most intelligent, skilled, and righteous men of the ancient world.

The Incredible Journey

By Bethany Youngblood

Wikimedia Commons

"So The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because The Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:8-9 KJV)

The Biblical account of the Tower of Babel is a familiar one. We know that it was at Babel that God divided the languages and thereby scattered the people in all directions to fill the earth and multiply. But we are not so familiar with the span of time between the dispersion and the many civilizations that were created by the migration from Babel. Evolutionary models for how man populated the globe are so common that when confronted with the question of how it happened from a biblical perspective and within a biblical timeframe, we often come up short for answers.

The Proper Way to Engage

A Response to the Ken Ham / Bill Nye Debate
By Matthew Zuk

First of all I would like to praise God for giving courage, wisdom, grace and clarity of thought to Ken Ham. We must always remember to give God the glory for all of our accomplishments as everything we have; all of our gifts, talents and abilities come from our Creator God who made us in His image! I thought that Ken did a phenomenal job of standing firm on the authority of God’s Word and he presented the Gospel at least four to five times throughout the debate. He stayed on message and presented his position very well throughout the night. He remained gracious to Bill Nye and did not resort to ad hominem arguments to tear Bill down. Ken maintained composure regardless of what Bill said and simply stayed on the message that there is only one absolute authority: God, and only one door to salvation: Jesus Christ.

It is important to remember that it is not our job to “win” debates when we are talking to unbelievers. They are blind to the truth and so no matter what evidence we bring up it will never convince them. They will always find some way to refute the evidence we present, even if our evidence is conclusive and their points make no sense.

Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Emphasis added)

These verses explain how we should expect the unsaved world to interpret the knowledge they receive. All people know that God exists, however they reject Him and exchange serving Him with serving themselves and other created beings. They exchange the Creator for the created, the infallible with the fallible, the righteous with the unrighteous, the perfect with the sinful, and the infinite with the finite. As believers we see how absurd this exchange is, however these verses explain that the people who reject God and suppress the truth have become futile in their thinking. I think last night’s debate was a great example of this; no matter what Ken said, Bill would always reject it for what he considers “real science”, even if it has no basis. He would rather reject logic than accept God, and thus, as Paul in Romans states, he was futile in his thinking.

This is why we cannot convince someone with evidence to accept Christ; only the Holy Spirit can change an unsaved person’s heart. He must change their desires and open their eyes to see the truth. And what is the truth? They are sinners who deserve eternal torment; they are hopelessly lost and cannot obtain salvation through works of their own. Only the sacrifice of Christ by the grace of God can save them and that all they need to do is put their trust and faith in Christ and repent of their sins.

Our mission whenever we speak to unbelievers is to properly represent Christ and to present them with the only means to their salvation: the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We need to present the truth. That is our message, that is what we have been commanded to carry out to all ethnicities.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

That is our purpose, to go out and reach people with the Gospel and to hold the Word of God as the supreme authority. We are to do all things to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and I would like to thank Ken Ham for striving to reach this goal, for being a leader in taking a stand on the authority of the Word of God and for recognizing he can only achieve this through God’s grace and strength! Pray for Ken and all of the staff at Answers in Genesis and pray that God will open the eyes of Bill Nye and those who have rejected the truth. And praise God for all that He has done; He is truly awe inspiring!



Read more of our debate responses:

• An Answer to the Mysteries - Analea Styles
• Drawing Worldview Conclusions - Pastor Don Landis

An Answer to the Mysteries

A Response to the Ken Ham / Bill Nye Debate
By Analea Styles

As I watched the debate last night I was struck by the very real joy that Bill Nye has for science and discovery. No one can deny that Bill Nye, “The Science Guy”, has a deep passion for learning about the universe and desperately wants to figure things out “scientifically”. He mentioned that one of our greatest questions is “Why are we here?” In fact he was keen on pointing out that mankind has many big questions about life, the universe, and origins – things we don’t understand and he willingly admitted, “I want to know”.

Well, I think we would all agree that we also “want to know”. And the history of mankind testifies that we have a deep inner yearning to discover and learn. We know there is something more out there; there are great mysteries that we are eager to solve. Nye often used that very word, “mystery”. He claimed, “We go to work everyday to try to solve the mystery of the universe”. He admitted that consciousness is “a great mystery” to him and emphasized that it is the “joy of discovery” that drives humanity.

Indeed mankind has been driven to develop multiple fields of science through which to investigate the world, invent new technologies, and explore new places. We can all relate Bill’s enthusiasm for discovery, at least in part.

For Bill, these discoveries and answers must come from the natural world. He puts his faith in the “reasonable man”, believing that mankind can and will discover the answers on his own, in time, through mainstream scientific methods. Bill rejects any hint of the supernatural and said that for him, natural selection is “compelling and wonderful and fills [him] with joy.” But it can’t answer his biggest questions. And in the end, science can’t save “for the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” (1 Cor. 3:19).

However, as believers, we can find the answers to many of these “mysteries” and deep questions that have plagued mankind. For Paul tells us in Colossians 2 that Jesus Christ is the great mystery “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3).

“For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1: 16-17).

I love how Ken Ham repeatedly pointed to God’s Word as the answer. We do not back down on the reality that we base our beliefs on FAITH in God and His perfect Word. We have our confidence in Him. We know the compelling and wonderful truth of the Bible, the true joy that comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), faith in God (Romans 15:13), and salvation in Christ (Psalm 51:12)!

If you have questions like Bill Nye; if you love to discover and ache to find the answers to those big questions of life; if you find that the naturalistic and materialistic response of secular science doesn’t solve the mysteries in your soul, I will join Ken Ham in saying “there’s a Book out there” which has the answers. And we pray “ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17).


Read more of our debate responses: 

• The Proper Way to Engage - Matthew Zuk
• Drawing Worldview Conclusions - Pastor Don Landis

Was Noah's Ark Round??

By Analea Styles 

You may have seen the recent news about a newly translated artifact that supposedly sheds light on the biblical story of Noah’s Ark.

According to headlines, “the original Noah’s Ark…was round”[1]. This Fox News article goes on to promote the assumption that the biblical account of Noah’s ark is a more recent, rewritten, and unreliable version of older historical accounts.

The tablet on display at the British Museum
http://nypost.com/2014/01/24/4000-year-old-tablet-suggests-noahs-ark-was-round/

Irving Finkel, the man who translated the “4,000 year-old” tablet, states, “I am sure the story of the flood and a boat to rescue life is a Babylonian invention”[2]. There are many secular historians who would agree with him – that the biblical account of the worldwide flood was written after the Jews went into exile in Babylon. Historians claim that the Jewish people heard the tale of the global flood while they were living there and later added it to their own Scriptures.

Spread the word about JHBC!

Hello readers! We're taking a break from the usual research article this week and taking the opportunity to promote Jackson Hole Bible College. Check out our new video, and share with others!


Our one-year intensive program is geared towards discipleship and worldview training. The nine months students spend here will impact them for eternity!

“There isn’t a day I don’t use something I learned at JHBC. Not a day. Class of ’00. Thank you all so much.” Meaghan Newell

We are dedicated to presenting the “big picture” schematic of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, our courses teach apologetic principles that will cultivate a strong Biblical worldview in students. Our curriculum is based in creationism, dispensationalism, and biblical inerrancy. We stand unwaveringly on the authority of the Word of God and aim to provide students with a high view of Scripture and the ability to apply its truth to their lives.