Follow the Science?
I’d like to take a short break and talk about something that I think is relevant, if not specific, to the shofar. It has to do with science.
Scientists depend on empirical data to draw certain conclusions regarding the topic that they study. Empirical data is data that can be replicated. However, the world view of the scientist compiling and interpreting the data comes into play and can, shall we say, add shades of color to their conclusions.
If the scientists have a world view excluding the possibility of the existence of God, their views and conclusions drawn from empirical data could possibly be biased when compared to the views and conclusions drawn from empirical data by scientists that include the existence of God in their view.
Here’s the caveat. Scientists strive to obtain empirical data that can be replicated. In other words, in the testing process the testing can be done repeatedly obtaining the same data. What’s wrong with that? Science is yet to be able to replicate an act of God. Therefore, God is usually not considered during scientific testing. Man cannot replicate that which God is capable of doing! Yet, in God’s time, God can replicate events, seasons, and outcomes at His will. He’s done it before, He’s doing it now, and I have no doubt that He will continue doing so.
Even the greatest minds reject God in their studies. Even Stephen Hawking, the English theoretical physicist, rejected God. Hawking finally admitted that the universe did not come into being by a “big bang” as once was theorized. His final conclusion? “The universe has always existed because…it had to.” How’s that for a scientific conclusion? Hawking rejected the possibility of God. Although his mind was brilliant beyond belief, he was imprisoned within a body that was crippled and deformed and, I suppose, the possibility exists that he blamed God for that. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. But Hawking never considered God to be greater than his own superior intellect which was lacking spiritual peace. Hawking was far advanced in his study of theoretical physics, but he was less than a toddler in the things of God.
Here’s what I’m getting at. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Religion. Magna Cum Laude, thank you very much. Woo Hoo! Big deal! I don’t put a lot of stock into that piece of paper. What I did learn is this. Science does not prove or disprove the Bible. If anything, the Bible proves or disproves science!
An example would be the Assyrian Empire. Prior to the middle nineteenth century, there was no evidence that the Assyrian Empire existed. Well, there was no empirical, concrete evidence. However, the Assyrians and the Assyrian Empire were documented in the Bible. But because there was no current, tangible evidence many scientists and scholars dismissed the biblical account of any such empire! Jesus mentioned the existence of Nineveh as a historical fact in Matthew 12:41. Even then, scientists and scholars disputed Assyrian existence. They held to a world view without the possibility of God and our Lord and Savior. They were wrong.
“Then it happened that night that The Angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh. 2 Kings 19:35-36 (NASB95)
185,000! DEAD! Boom, just like that.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Austen Henry Layard and Paul Emile Botte discovered the ruins of three Assyrian cities in northern Iraq, including Nineveh. Not only that, but tens of thousands of tablets documenting military expansion of the empire, crushing everything from the Tigris to the Nile.
Skeptics were silenced. There was nothing more that they could say. The Bible proved scientific naysayers and scholastic community wrong. Assyria, long ago destroyed and forgotten, remembered only within the documentation of the biblical texts, was a reality.
As I said, I don’t put a lot of stock into that diploma that I received. But I’m thankful for it. What it taught me was a love of God’s Word. It taught me how to ask questions and how to dig for answers. Obtaining that diploma taught me that finding the same pre-recorded, broken record answers that everyone else was spewing was not necessarily the prescribed path. Sometimes the right answers are not in learning the answers themselves, but rather learning how to ask the right questions.
What does all this have to do with the shofar? I’ll tell you. When the shofar first spoke to me, I had no clue what it was saying. I know now but only because I have spent time soaking and meditating on God’s word. That understanding came from spending time in prayer asking for wisdom and understanding. It took time for Holy Spirit to lead me, guide me through the Scriptures and saying, “Do you see?”
Sometimes, I don’t see. Sometimes, I have to be shown other pieces of the puzzle or certain other aspects of the mystery have to be revealed before I can see. Eventually, I see what is being shown to me.
I have no doubts that many of you are thinking, “Lonnie I don’t know where you get all this, but I think it’s a bunch of hogwash.” I pray that’s not what you’re thinking but I understand if that how you feel. But know this, every time Holy Spirit reveals something to me that I’ve never seen before, the grandeur and the beauty of God’s plan, the means of the salvation that He provided to us through Jesus Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct us to that destination becomes even more awesome and amazing. My faith and joy multiply exponentially every time I see and understand what Holy Spirit is showing me.
I have been laughed at, ridiculed, and scoffed for blowing the shofar. I’ve been called many names, none of which are appropriate to mention here. I’ve been accused of being a member of some Hebraic roots movement. Which is not true. The truth is that if it’s in God’s Word I’m foolish enough to believe it. I believe God said what He meant, and He meant what he said. I’ve not read anywhere where He made a retraction on anything that He’s said. Do I worship the shofar? No! May it never be! Do I worship the one who speaks through the shofar? ABSOLUTELY!
I understand science. I have a pretty good understanding of God’s word or so I believe. I cannot prove anything that I share with you about the shofar scientifically. However, I can attest to the fact that God is true to His Word which is the Holy Bible, and I can attest to the fact that God’s time and how He works in His time is well documented in the Bible! I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. I know it first-hand! No one has had to tell me about it because I’ve BEEN THERE and SEEN IT myself.
I sound the shofar every day through the Month of ELUL, the first day of the seventh month (Yom Teruah/Rosh Hoshana), through the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). These times, these events, this season was important enough that God mentions each on MULTIPLE occasions. These events meant something to Israel and the Jews back then and they have meaning, although a slightly different, but still similar meaning, for us now. It has meaning that will amaze you in how God has orchestrated time and events on His time line for our benefit.
I’ve heard a popular, trendy phrase lately. “Follow the science!” What? You mean the science that told us to wear common masks that are ineffectual screening viruses? You mean the science that told us to take multiple vaccines and boosters that did not prevent the contraction of or transmission of that virus? Do you mean the science that tells us, “This virus is BAD! But this Ape pox is gonna be a whole lot worse! Be afraid! Be VERY Afraid!” Friends I’ve followed the science and found a huge pile of money that came from the pockets of many and found its way into the pockets of few. Just sayin’. That’s what I’ve found.
I’m not saying that the disease process in question was not real. It is real. I’m a nurse and I’ve seen it. What I am saying is that science created the problem and then was either unable to solve the problem or refused to solve the problem to maximize profits. You may believe what you wish. I am not deterred.
I am NOT afraid! I am NOT listening to or following that science. I’m listening for the sounds of trumpets! I’ll follow that to the source! The source is God’s Holy Word.
I am The Old Watchman, Ezekiel. Listen! Listen very carefully. Shalom!
