Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Sons of God


Noah
USA Today

A new movie about the biblical flood called Noah will be released in 2014.  It includes stars such as Russell Crowe as Noah and Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah.  Little has been officially released about the plot, so we'll have to wait and see to find out how true it is to the Bible.

What lead to the flood
One of the reasons for the flood revolves around verses in Genesis whose meaning has been debated for a long time:

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.(Gen. 6:1-4)

Who were the "sons of God"?  Whoever they were, they along with women bore children that were giants.

There are 3 theories about who the sons of God were: angels, descendants of Seth or rich rulers.  Those who say they are angels say “sons of God” are mentioned as angels in the book of Job(Job 1:6; 2:1) and that ordinary men would not be able to produce giant offspring.  Detractors say angels don't marry(Mt. 22:30).  Some consider the idea of angels breeding with humans to be unthinkable or appalling.

There' s a 4th possibility: they could be children of Adam and Eve before they were banished from the garden.  After creating Adam and Eve, God told them to be fruitful and multiply(Gen. 1:28).  We don't know how long they were in the Garden or what all they did.  After Adam and Eve ate from the tree, God said he would multiply Eve's pain during child birth(Gen. 3:16).  This does provide a hint that Eve gave birth while in the garden.

In closing
How will the movie address this question, if at all?  It will be interesting to find out.  The movie is expected to be a big budget film with lots of special effects.  However, the story is what ultimately makes the movie.






Sunday, August 5, 2012

Mars Rover Lands Successfully

The latest rover, Curiosity, has landed successfully on Mars! 

Here is the first image from the rover.  It is from one of the engineering cameras used to determine the tilt of the rover and the immediate surroundings.  In the coming days more advanced cameras for scientific studies will be deployed.

Praise God for bringing it to the surface safely!  It brings to mind Psalm 136:1-9:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights —
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.