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Forwarded message:
Subj: Editorial to Popular Mechanics: Urgent!
Date: 96-11-26 00:16:03 EST
From: Djbrad
To: corrdpt@fotf.org
Dear christian:
Please find enclosed rough draft of an editorial letter I am writting to
Popular Mechanics. I have not yet filled in a few ##s and double checked
sources yet, but soon to go!! Please pass this on to all of interest and
publish / distribute at will to God's glory. I would also appreciate any
criticism, especially of technical content.
Sincerely,
Doug Bradley
(970) 587-2587 home
(303) 465-1727 work
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Dear Editor:
=0D
I have always been a fan of your magazine and I have considered it very =
good in illuminating a wide variety of new technological advances. After=
reading the December article "Science Solves the Ancient Mysteries of th=
e Bible" I have been very disappointed in the credibility of your writers=
as well as the fact that a credible mechanical magazine has verged into =
unfamiliar territory.
Before you dismiss me as a technologically challenged individual or as u=
nscientifically rigorous in thought, I have a B. S. in Mechanical Enginee=
ring and a M. S. in Engineering Mechanics and I have been working as a Me=
chanical Engineer in Broomfield, Colorado for the last two years. At one=
time, I wouldn't acknowledge the presence of a heaven or hell, God, or t=
he possible validity of the Bible. I attempted to discredit people who b=
elieved in the Bible and God. My views have changed since the summer of =
'90 while working in Yellowstone National Park. Since this date, the dat=
e that I placed my trust in Jesus Christ and allowed him to be Lord of my=
life, I have seen things in a different light.
It seems as though you have tried to discredit the Bible as not being th=
e inspired truthful word of God (recorded by godly men). As for the stor=
y of Lot and his wife, it is difficult for me to imagine a person transf=
ormed into salt, but if God wanted to do it, he could. Many passages in =
the Bible are hard for me to imagine in earthly terms, but when you put i=
t in God sized terms ( a God who is omnipotent and omnipresent) it become=
s easier to understand, but it still requires faith. I believe it takes =
more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe that the Bible=
is the inspired word of God.
Because I am in a scientific discipline, I will stick to scientific evid=
ence in my arguments. Here are a few facts which you should have include=
d in your article:
Millions of fossils of highly complex forms of life exist.
No transition fossils exist.
"As by this theory innumerable transition forms must have existed, why do=
we not find them embedded in countless numbers in the crust of the earth=
?" -Darwin
The absence of transitionary fossils show macroevolution never happened, =
current observations show that it is not happening, and genetic research =
indicates that it will not happen.1 =
When we first landed on the moon, scientists believed there would be __ f=
t of dust on the lunar surface based on the estimated age of the earth. =
We actually found __ in. of dirt which dates the earth to ~ __ yrs which =
is collaborated by the Bible (surprise).
Odds of us evolving from microbes2 : 1,###,###,### : 1 =
1st Law of Thermodynamics
- Can't create something from nothing
(The swirling gases in the "Big Bang Theory" had to come from
somewhere)
2nd Law of Thermodynamics =
- All things run down hill unless work is introduced.
( Outside intervention (work) is required to put swirling gases in order=
to form large mass )
Human body very intricate - hard to believe it happened by chance
Carbon dating - based on =BD life of Carbon 14, too long to accurately me=
asure beyond __ yrs. =BD life: 5740 yrs
=0D
The Bible is unique1
The Bible features 66 books written by forty authors ( kings... peasants)=
with no contradictions
Written over a period of sixteen hundred years
Parts have been preserved for over 4000 years
Archaeologically accurate
In the old testament, there are over 318 prophecies about coming of the m=
essiah that were fulfilled
Modern translations of new testament extremely accurate and reliable
Within the 1st 200 years AD, all but eleven verses of the New Testament w=
ere quoted by early church fathers (36,389 citations)
- duplicate records
Scholars are sure of exact wording on all but 400 words in the New Testam=
ent (most exceptions are tense, minor word changes)
These are a few scientific facts to reinforce the validity of God's word=
=2E It still requires faith to believe the Bible; God gave us the choice=
to accept or reject him through his son Jesus. He will never force us t=
o believe, but he desires a close personal relationship with each of us. =
Unfortunately, we have separated ourselves from God through sin. Since =
God is a just god, he punishes all sin with eternal death. The way out o=
f this dilemma is putting our trust in Jesus who died on the cross in our=
place. The Bible says: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus i=
s Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you=
will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justi=
fied, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
(NIV) Rom 10:9-10.
After reading your article, how can we trust the credibility of your mag=
azine on scientific/technological issues if the proper background researc=
h is not conducted on issues which the author was clearly not an expert i=
n? If the author must rely on testimony from other sources, proper refer=
ences should be given, rather than quoting that "researchers believe=85".=
I am confident that your more discerning readers will agree with this.
I would hope that your future articles would address subjects (technical=
ones) which are more familiar to the author. If you continue writing ab=
out issues which are poorly researched, documented, and do not show both =
sides of an argument, I would like to know so I may cancel my subscriptio=
n. I do not want to have a subscription to a magazine that intentionally=
misleads readers by presenting only one side of an issue.
Please have the decency of responding to these comments and questions. =
I am eagerly waiting your response.
=0D
Sincerely,
=0D
Douglas J. Bradley
If you share the same views as I do with regard to this Popular Mechanics=
article please print and sign your name below:
=0D
Print Name:
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Sign Name:
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1 Geek Proofing Your Faith: How to Handle 12 Tough Issues Without Looki=
ng Stupid. Johnson & Ross.
1995.
2 The Next Move. Milk & Honey Press. Robert Linsted. 1992. ??=
???????
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