untitled
Hi Mike,
I am of the opinion that the purpose of numerical design in
the bible is to provide delight for those who trust in God and
treasure his word.
I really do not suppose that his purpose is to challenge the
unbeliever to believe such means, as God does this continually
and powerfully at the surface level.
If a person has an open mind then that is a different issue
and conviction can easily occur when confronted with astounding
coincidences of numbers.
The atheist is unlikely to be moved however, but is more likely
to be driven deeper into rejection of God. There are
scriptures to explain this unfortunate reaction, and they refer
to men rejecting light and the reason why they do.
As far as providing you with background material on the
significance of numbers there is a book titled "The Seal of God"
by F C Payne. I had read this book before I encountered Panin.
Basically it would appear that God has "watermarked" the bible
with checksums (my words). The one about Pilate's placard on the
cross is one such instance. God obviously was at no pains to
broadcast this message and its watermark and it was left to
plodders like me to fall over it. My purpose at the time was to
just see whether there were other watermarks than those which I
knew about, and when I found a corker example I was satisfied. I
could probably find others if I took the time to investigate
further. I have done no further work on numbers in the last
twenty years.
Breaking News: [Family member D] has just returned from church
bearing a book entitled "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. I
am about to commence reading it. She has also mentioned a
number of DVD's about a recent high profile debate between creationists
and their opponents. These are available at the local Computer
den where my Linux guru Mike Pav works. I'll check to see exactly
what they are called but this could be the proper intelligent
debate that you have been seeking from me (and not getting).
Cheers [Family member B]
bravenet.com