TBC NewsWatch

TBC NewsWatch

Beer and Tattoo Bible Conference

ChristianHeadlines.com, 7/1/16, “Arizona Church Raising Money for Church Plant with Beer and Tattoo Bible Conference” [Excerpts]: Apologia Church of Arizona is raising money for a church plant in Hawaii in an unconventional way. Charisma News reports the church is hosting a Bible conference that includes beer flights and an option to get a tattoo.

Church leader Marcus Pittman said in a video explaining the event, “This is actually a fundraiser for our Apologia Kauai church plant, so people of the church are donating to have another member of the church tattoo them so they can go to Kauai and we can plant a church there. So, it’s pretty cool.”

The website for the conference adds, “This ticket allows you to get a beer flight from Boulders on Broadway. All the proceeds from this benefit our Kauai church plant! Boulders is all about the food, craft beer, bike riding, rock climbing and adventure! With 30 draft handles and 70-plus bottles of craft beer. Bring a friend and check out our selection.”

(http://goo.gl/j8ZIjN)

DNA Trends Confirm Noah’s Family

ICR.org, 5/18/16, “DNA Trends Confirm Noah’s Family” [Excerpts]: When research biologist Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson plotted hundreds of human mitchondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences onto a tree diagram, the project revealed an obvious pattern: The mtDNA stemmed from three central “trunks” or nodes instead of just one. Three trends in Jeanson’s data suggest that the wives of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth best explain this finding.

Mothers pass mtDNA to every new generation. It comes from the mother’s egg cell and contains 16,569 chemical base pairs—either adenine-thymine or guanine-cytosine—organized to encode vital information, like words in an instruction manual. Sometimes a DNA copying error, known as a mutation, leaves a different base in place of the original. Several empirical studies reveal that about one human mtDNA mutation occurs every six generations. When a mother’s egg cell mtDNA mutates in one place, the child conceived from that egg cell—plus, if the child is female, later descendants—inherits that difference. This leaves a genetic trail that can lead back to mtDNA ancestry.

Jeanson first downloaded mtDNA sequences taken from all major people groups. He then used standard software that arranges the most similar sequences closest together. The result is a tree-like diagram depicting lines of ancestry.

Jeanson’s data show that the human mtDNA tree has three nodes. This fits Genesis’ claim that all humans who exist today descended from one of the wives of Noah’s sons.

In short, if all peoples descended from three genetically unique mothers, then our mtDNA sequences should trace back to their three nodes.

(http://goo.gl/oEumyC)

DOE: No Talk About Transgender Bathroom

ChristianHeadlines.com, 7/5/16, “Dept. of Education Refuses to Talk about Transgender School Restroom Rules” [Excerpts]:  The Obama administration is refusing to cooperate with lawmakers who want Department of Education (DOE) officials to answer questions about its recent transgender restroom directive.

DOE representatives were set to testify before a Senate subcommittee on July 6 to explain the controversial “guidance” issued last month to all public schools. A joint letter from DOE and the Department of Justice directed schools to allow students to use the restroom of their choice—regardless of their biological sex—or risk losing federal funding.

DOE officials told Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, they will not be able to make the hearing and offered no explanation or alternative dates.

Administration officials routinely appear before Congress, so non-cooperation is unusual, particularly on an issue of ongoing public interest.

“Not only is the Obama administration twisting the law, now they’re not willing to even answer any questions about what they’ve done,” said Greg Scott, a spokesman for Alliance Defending Freedom. “They’ve jammed a policy down to every school district that affects millions of students around the country.”

(http://goo.gl/jLEHmE)