Genesis Verity Turley — Born April 28, 2015

Genesis – The first book of the Bible, containing historical accounts spanning the first 2,369 years of Earth history, beginning with creation and ending with the death of Joseph.

Verity – n.

“After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest scientific guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has survived—and is perhaps better for the siege. Even on the critics’ own terms—historical fact—the Scriptures seem more acceptable now than they did when the rationalists began the attack.”
—From an article in Time magazine, 1974

“Yea, Hath God Said?”

Despite his best attempts throughout the ages, The Enemy of our Creator has failed to destroy the credibility of God’s infallible Word. The assaults have only proven to further reinforce what Scripture has touted all along: That it is without error and can be trusted on every point. Nonetheless, his attacks persist and what better place to start in discrediting God’s Word than at the very beginning?

The Book of Beginnings

Whether it is from the God-hating philosophies of Darwinian Evolutionary theory, or the biblically and scientifically incoherent compromises such as day-age theory and gap theory, the book of Genesis has found itself at the epicenter of a battle waged for the souls of men, fought with particular ferocity in the last century and a half since the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species*.

While perhaps almost cliché in their familiarity, the opening verses of the first book of the Bible—the account of God’s work during creation week—serve as the very bedrock to all of our Christian faith.

“…if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” —Psalm 11:3

It is then no surprise to find that the Enemy’s focus has been to discredit the book of Genesis. If the opening pages of Scripture were proven to be inaccurate and unworthy of our trust, it would only stand to reason that the rest of His Word would be likewise dubious at best. However, far from untrustworthy, Scripture repeatedly proves its dependability and continues to be consulted in the disciplines of archeology, biology, geology and others as the most reliable historical document we have. Discoveries in every field of science—from life’s irreducible complexity, the miracle of birth, red-light shift, the presence of soft dinosaur tissue, the world of genetics, and a whole host of others scream “designed!”. Even the flood-deposited, fossil-filled strata layers remind us that, if we become silent on this issue, even “…the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40)

6 Literal, 24-Hour Days

Despite many creative compromises concocted to avoid conflict with the widely accepted evolutionary worldview, the Bible is explicitly clear that creation week consisted of 6 literal, 24-hour days, roughly 6,000 years ago. On this truth rest the doctrines of sin and salvation, therefore we reject any theory that suggests the presence of death before sin—implicit in theories such as the day-age theory, because, if the Bible is wrong in identifying sin as the cause of our spiritual death, then Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins ceases to accomplish what Christ stated he came to accomplish. Scripture is clear: when man sinned, sin entered the world:

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…” —Romans 5:12

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” –I Corinthians 15:21,22

Fighting the Good Fight

A mis-guided although honest assessment by an evolutionist:

“Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god. Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing!” —Bozarth, G. Richard, “The Meaning of Evolution,” American Atheist (February 1978)

Bozarth errs in this important point: We do not fight against science. Science is an important vehicle through which to bring glory to God by uncovering the brilliance of His creative works. We fight rather against false philosophies and vain deceit and “…and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God … bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”.

God be praised for the wonders of His magnificent creation! We will not lean on our own understanding, but trust wholly in His infallible Word and the indisputable Verity of Genesis.

*Full Title: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

Our smallest baby yet, weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 oz.

Biggest brother Calvin is absolutely smitten!

Big brother Christian is elated at her arrival!

A sister for Shiloh at last! And a real live baby doll to play with!

Shiloh Faith Turley — Born June 29, 2013

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ….” —From Romans 5:1

What’s In a Name?

As with our boys, we have striven to give our firstborn daughter a name rich with meaning—one that is beautiful, will be an inspiration to her, and serves as a proclamation of those things which we as a family hold dear. Her name holds the following significations:

Shiloh

Shiloh is a name rich with meaning. It’s familiar in the Bible as the name of an ancient town wherein the Ark of the Covenant was first hosted before the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s also familiar as the place where Samuel was dedicated to the service of the LORD by his parents and where he was first called by God.

Shiloh is also used in Genesis 49 during Jacob’s benediction to his sons where he states that “the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.” Shiloh is a term used here to describe the Savior, Jesus Christ, and—derived from a root word most commonly interpreted as “peaceable”, “tranquil”, or “quiet”—the meaning ascribed is thus “Peace Bringer” or “Bringer of Peace”. Peace then in this sense is reconciliation, namely to a God against whom we have trespassed. Without the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no peace with God. Without His sacrifice, there is no reconciliation. He offers us both peace and reconciliation—but on His terms. Praise the Lord—the Prince of Peace—for reconciling us to Himself!

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” —Colossians 1:20

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation . . . and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. —Ephesians 2:16,18

Lastly, Shiloh is the name of a town just 100 miles from here and the site of one of the most well-known and pivotal battles of the American Civil War, fought in 1862. We learned that we were expecting Shiloh on the sesquicentennial year of that battle. The battle is of particular significance to our family as our ancestors were owners of a portion of the land that was to become the site of the great battle, and men from both sides of my family were present and fighting there for Southern independence.

Faith

Shiloh’s middle name is Faith for it is by our faith in Christ Jesus that we are justified and reconciled to Him, and by which we are made at peace with Him:

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand….” —Romans 5:1

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…” —Ephesians 2:8

More than anything in the world, we desire that our children would submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ—the Prince of Peace—and that He would grant them faith in Himself that they may live a fruitful life of service to Him, exercising great faith in Him, and living at peace with their Creator.

Our sweet little Christian Clyde — Born September 26, 2011 A.D.

“If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” —I Peter 4:14-16, NIV (emphasis added)

Our gracious Heavenly Father has once again blessed our household with a new member, and one who indeed bears that name: Christian Clyde Turley. Choosing a name that a man may possess for his entire life—for perhaps a century to come—is a sobering and thrilling task. We enjoyed it this time every bit as much as we did with Calvin Blair, and God granted us equal unity as before and clarity of vision for which we were grateful.

Calvin holds his long-awaited little brother

Christian is inspired by a number of things. To us, it is a virtue name of sorts, such as Patience or Hope. Though we cannot know the fullness of God’s plan for little Christian (as we also cannot know if Patience will be impatient or Hope despairing), our highest aspiration for him as his parents is that he would follow Christ, and follow Him fervently. As III John states in reference to spiritual children:

“….I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” —III John 3-4, KJV

His name is also inspired by Christian, the main character of our favorite book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Throughout his journey from the “City of Destruction” to the “Celestial City”, Christian experiences trials and temptations, faces common defeats and inspiring victories, exhibits great strengths and all-too-familiar weaknesses, and wages war against the flesh—all concepts keenly familiar to followers of Christ. It has been an inspiration to us towards further sobriety and deliberate living. Below is an illustration from an 1861 reproduction antique copy we own.

Christian’s Burden Falls Off

Clyde is inspired by a steadfast follower of Christ and Christian’s maternal great-grandfather, Howard Clyde Garrett, whose father’s name was also Clyde. Mr. Garrett has walked faithfully with the Lord for many years and had a profound impact on Melissa in her growing up years, reinforcing the importance of walking with the Lord that her parents taught her and creating a beautiful picture of a multigenerational devotion to God. Below, he reads to Calvin in their Bessemer, Alabama home.

Great-Grandaddy Howard Clyde Garrett Reads to Christian’s Big Brother, Calvin

Below are more pictures from the first 24 hours. Enjoy!

Our sweet little Calvin Blair — Born October 25, 2009 A.D.

In God’s providence and boundless kindness, we welcomed into this world our little son this Lord’s Day at 7:00 p.m. After a relatively short (10 hours), but intense labor, our firstborn made his entrance into this life, safe and healthy. Mama is also well and we are both praising the Lord for His goodness to us!

What’s in a name?

God has given my wife and me great unity in all things, and the selection of our son’s name was no exception. Very soon after discovering that we were to have a son, we had chosen the name Calvin Blair for him. Names are important to us for a number of reasons, and among those reasons is the fact that we desire to give our children names that will be significant. Calvin’s name is intended,  in part, to honor his paternal great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, Fred Calvin Blair, Sr. and Jr., who, in turn, we believe to be named after the great Reformer, John Calvin, in whose honor also we name him, this being the five-hundredth year anniversary of his birth. We desire that little Calvin Blair would be a man who desires to honor both his father, as well as the generations that came before him, and one who would be zealous and actively engaged in the Reformation of our day.

Below are photographs of both his great-grandfather Fred Calvin Blair, Jr. (photo circa 1920) and his great-great-grandfather Fred Calvin Blair, Sr. (photo circa 1910). Below also are a few more snapshots of our little man. More are sure to come in the days ahead! Enjoy!