This is a true story (with names changed) from a Christian Reformed denominational draft paper on human sexuality:

During Sunday worship, Lisa, 45, wonders how church members would react if they knew she and her husband each have deep personal relationships with other people which include sexual intimacy. They practice polyamory. She and Andrew know that many biblical figures were polygamous, and the couple believe Jesus preached an ethic of love. They realize they cannot meet all of each other’s needs and are happy to have discovered deeper love with more people.

This couple isn’t just your 70’s “swingers.” There’s way more to it than “just” swapping sex partners for a night. This practice is distorting everything Christians believe about family and fidelity and it’s probably happening right in your church.

The following blog is by Dr. Preston Sprinkle, PhD. in New Testament, former professor at Cedarville and Eternity Bible Colleges and the President of The Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender. www.centerforfaith.com.
(more…)

A Continuation of Age Six (Day Six): Mankind (p. 54-47).
“Let us make man in our image…’So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

A. The only Hebrew noun used for mankind in Genesis 1 is ‘adam. This noun, used frequently in Hebrew literature, refers exclusively to the first individual human or to the first human couple and their descendants. In the report of God’s creation of ‘adam, we see the third and final usage of bara in Genesis 1. Just as in the case of the nephesh, a second verb, asa, is used. Again, something about ‘Adam is completely new, and something about him is not. Because creatures with body and soul (meaning that they had emotions) already existed, the spiritual dimension of this one creature set him apart from all others. Only the human, God’s final work of the creation days, bears “the image of God.” This distinction applies to no other creature.
(more…)

Age Four (Day Four): Lights in the Sky (p. 41-46).

A. For many millions of years after light first pierced the dark shroud surrounding Earth, the sky would continue to resemble the heavy overcast of a stormy day. Certain atmospheric constituents, along with air temperature, pressure, and humidity, would have prevented any break in the cloud cover. Volcanic activity also may have contributed to this permanently overcast condition. The carbon dioxide level was substantially higher than the current level, contributing to high humidity. Fossil evidence affirms the existence of such conditions. Through time, changes in these various environmental factors – stabilization of air temperature and pressure, consumption of carbon dioxide by plants, and decrease in volcanic activity – would have brought about another major transformation of the atmosphere, this time from translucent to transparent. At least for some moments, probably only a few at first, the clouds would break.

B. A significant factor was the slowing down of Earth’s rotation rate. A slower rotating Earth means calmer wind velocities (much calmer – Jupiter with a ten-hour rotation rate has average wind velocities exceeding a thousand miles per hour). Calmer wind velocities mean significantly less efficient sea-salt aerosol production. (Sea-salt aerosols are produced as winds whip up ocean waves.) Since a new discovery establishes that sea-salt aerosols make up by far the largest fraction of cloud nuclei, Earth’s cloud cover would thin dramatically as its rotation rate slows down.
(more…)

Age One (Day One): Light comes to the earth (p. 28-31).

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.” Genesis 1:3-5

A. God created physical light, that is, electromagnetic radiation “in the beginning” when he brought the cosmos into existence. Indeed, light is the dominant form of energy for both the primordial and present day universe. (p. 29)

B. The first act of God as he began to shape “modern” earth was to clear away some of the heavy atmosphere of gas and dust, so that light could better be seen on the earth. This light came from the sun, moon and stars.

C. Even though the earth’s atmosphere cleared up enough to allow sunlight to brighten the earth during the day and darken the earth at night, there still were no sunsets or sunrises to clearly distinguish the beginning and end of each day.

D. With the coming of light, photosynthesis was now possible and it’s highly likely that micro-organisms in the sea, which still covered the earth, began to grow and reproduce. The biblical accounts of the creation of fish and birds on the fifth day do not preclude simpler life forms prior to day five. What would fish eat if plankton and algae were not already present? Or what would birds eat if insects and worms did not already exist? It is not inconsistent with the Bible, and very consistent with science to believe that living coral reefs began to form about this same time.

Age Two (Day Two): The water cycle begins. (p. 31-34)
(more…)