SCIENCE & THE BIBLE by Bolton Davidheiser, Ph.D., Chairman o f the Science Division, Biola College
FORGOTTEN * RELATIVES
“ If don't know each other person ally is never mind. But the ghost of our Lord unites us as one fam ily." This was the sentiment, expressed in a letter, by a Hebrew Christian mother in Israel, whom we helped in her desperate plight. Her English may have been faulty but not her idea of Christian brotherhood. There are many Jewish believers in Christ in Israel, Poland, Hungary, Ger many, and indeed across the face of the earth, who need our understanding, love, and encouragement. W e seek to help these “ our forgotten relatives" that they may not perish under crushing burdens beyond endurance. Our teams of dedicated workers preach the Gospel of Salvation and m in ister lovingly so that none o f these should perish for whom Christ died. W ill you help us in this sacred I task? Your loving and generous help is m ost urgently needed. W rite tor free copy of the most challenging, informative and heartwarming m is s io n a r y p u b lica tio n , IS R A E L M Y GLORY. ---------------------------------------------- M issionary an d Relief Society, Inc. Rev. Victor buKsDazen, General secretary 330 K Witherspoon Bldg., Philadelphia 7, Pa. Canada: Rev. Bruce Millar 1066 Avenue Road, Toronto 12, Ontario ' CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY It is a pleasure to announce a l o n g overdue ministry: Christ- centered litera ture in the field of psychology. For one y e a r you will receive each month (1) A small month- I y m agazine p a c k e d with helpful articles on Christian Psychology, and (2) A valu able booklet. Booklets: Self-Confidence. I How to Handle Fear, Your Courtship and I Marriage, Christian View of Birth Control, Adopted Children, Children With Serious Problems, Why a Psychologist Believes the Bible, Married to an Unbeliever, Tech niques of Counseling, How to Save Time, Techniques of Teaching, others. A gift of ten dollars toward Dr. Narra- more's national radio and Christian Liter ature Ministry, will make you a member, receiving these materials EACH MONTH for a year. Valuable for daily living, writ ing, speaking and counseling. Receipt for tax purposes will be sent immediately. This is a non-profit, Christian corporation. (Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia Univ., is a credentialed psychologist.) USE THIS ORDER BLANK To: Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, Counsulting Psychologist, Box 206, Pasadena, Calif. Dept. KB $10.00 enclosed for membership ......... $5.00 end. today, $5.00 next month...... NAME: ............................................ ADDRESS: ........................................
“Dar&eiedd at TtoottcCay
O n t h e day of the crucifixion there was darkness upon the earth from about noon until three in the afternoon. A number of modem trans lations of Luke’s account say that the darkness was due to an eclipse of the sun. A natural explanation of this kind is altogether impossible for two reasons. In the first place, the longest possible time that darkness can result from an eclipse of the sun is about seven and a half minutes, and this darkness lasted for three hours. In the second place, the crucifixion oc curred at the passover, which was at the time of full moon. An eclipse of the sun takes place when the moon passes in front of the sun, temporarily obscuring its light. Thus the sun and moon appear to occupy the same posi tion in the sky. But when the moon is full it is in the opposite side of the sky as far from the sun as possible, and at this time it rises as the sun sets. Since the darkness could not have been caused by an eclipse and since modem translators know this, it seems to follow that some of them think Luke made a mistake and that they believe they can most accurately translate his statement into modem language by saying it was an eclipse. Although we cannot be positive about Luke’s knowledge of eclipses we know that he was a physician, an educated man, and that the true nature of eclipses was known long before his time. The Roman poet Ennius is said to have described the eclipse of June 21, 400 B.C., in the following words: “ On the Nones of June the sun was covered by the moon and night.” As early as 500 B.C. the relative motions of the sun and moon were known with great accuracy in Babylonia. It further seems to follow that these translators either do not believe the Scripture to be inspired by the Spirit of God, and hence infallible, or else that the manuscripts which are accepted as best are in error here. Let us see what some of the outstand ing authorities say. Thayer’s Lexicon
says the verb used here can perhaps refer to an eclipse but is intransitive and that in this case the reading is j without doubt, “ . . . the sun having failed.” A. T. Robertson (Word Pic tures in the New Testament), says that the Revised Version (of 1881) trans lates the word correctly, “ . . . the sun’s light failing,” leaving the cause unexplained. Moulton and Milligan (The Vocabulary of the Greek Testa ment) made a study of the contem porary usage of words from Egyptian papyri and conclude, “ . . . it seems more than doubtful that in Luke 23:45 any reference is intended to an eclipse.” There has been much discussion about whether the darkness was world wide or local. Some believe the language is ambiguous on this point while others say the structure of the sentence shows that reference is made to the whole earth. In this regard Origen refers to some remarks about an eclipse by a heathen named Phlegon, but it seems most likely that he was writing about a real eclipse in Bithynia. Tertullian, in the 21st chapter of his apology, written to the Roman authorities, said the following, according to a rather recent transla tion by Rudolph Arbesmann et al. (Tertullian. Apologetical Works): “ . . . although the sun was in the midst of her course, the daylight dis appeared. Those who did not know that this, too, had been foretold of Christ thought that there was merely an eclipse. Yet, you have this dis appearance of the sun all over the world related in your own archives.” The evidence compels the conclu sion that there was a great unexplain ed supernatural event. While the Maker of the universe and Lord of creation suffered horrible torture and humiliation nailed to a Cross between two thieves, the sun’s light failed and darkness descended as He laid down His life for the sins of the whole world. Now, all who accept His death as a vicarious atonement for their sins are assured of everlasting life. .
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APRIL, 1960
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