Simon Turpin > Quotes

“Theologian Louis Berkhof states, “Since the entrance of sin into the world, man can gather true knowledge about God from His general revelation only if he studies it in the light of Scripture.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In his book For the Glory of God, professor of social sciences Rodney Stark rightly notes that the origin of science came about because of Christian theology: Christianity depicted God as a rational, responsive, dependable, and omnipotent being and the universe as his personal creation, thus having a rational, lawful, stable structure, awaiting human comprehension.…To sum up: the rise of science was not an extension of classical learning. It was the natural outgrowth of Christian doctrine: Nature exists because it was created by God. To love and honor God, one must fully appreciate the wonders of his handiwork. Moreover, because God is perfect, his handiwork functions in accord with immutable principles. By the full use of our God-given powers of reason and observation, we ought to be able to discover these principles.2”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul treats the wisdom of the world in a negative sense (1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5) and will correct it with the wisdom of the cross and the spirit (1 Corinthians 2:6–3:4).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The genealogy in Genesis 10 lists a total of 70 nations to show the totality of all peoples on the earth: 14 from Japheth, 30 from Ham, and 26 from Shem. This may be intended to foreshadow the 70 descendants of Jacob that went into Egypt with him (Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:5).9”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The Hebrew words in Genesis 2:15 “work” (ʿaḇaḏ) and “keep” (šāmar) primarily refer to the principal commission of man to take care of their home, yet they also anticipate the Mosaic context of man’s worship of God (Exodus 8:1, 20, 9:1, 13) and of his obedience to God’s Word (Genesis 17:9, 18:19). The two words also appear together in Deuteronomy 10:12–13 in the context of worshiping God. One of the reasons Adam was put in the garden was to worship God by “working” and “keeping” it, a priestly role (Numbers 3:6-10).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“For example, commenting on Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:4–5, theistic evolutionist Dr. Denis Lamoureux states: “Powerful evidence for a strict literal reading of the Genesis creation accounts comes from Jesus himself … [However,] Jesus accommodated by employing the ancient science of the de novo creation of ‘male and female’ in Genesis 1:27 to emphasize the inerrant spiritual truth that God is the Creator of human beings.”5 It is interesting that Lamoureux admits that Jesus understood Genesis as literal history, however, he believes the reason why Genesis should not be read “literally” — or, rather, plainly — is because Jesus accommodated His teaching to the beliefs of His first-century audience”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In his 2016 book, The World’s Oldest Alphabet — Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script, Dr. Douglas Petrovich argues that it was not the Phoenicians who invented the first alphabet but rather a group of Hebrew sojourners in Egypt (Lahun, Wadi el-Ḥôl) and Sinai (Serâbît el Khadîm, Wadi Nasb) spanning the period from Joseph to Moses (1850– 1446 B.C.). If Dr. Petrovich is correct, then the Israelites played a central role in establishing one of the great pillars of civilization: the alphabet”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Paul did this by quoting two Greek poets to these Athenian philosophers (Acts 17:28). The quotation “In him we live and move and have our being” is probably from Epimenides of Crete, while the quotation “For we are indeed his offspring” is from Aratus’ poem “Phaenomena.” Paul used these Greek poets as a part of his defense and persuasion of the gospel. By taking what they already knew and bringing it to his defense, Paul used God’s revelation in nature to persuade them of what they already knew to be true.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The church is facing a crisis because too few of her people and leaders understand the consequences of combining the Bible and evolution. Too many like to go with the cultural flow and be thought of by “the great and the good” as enlightened and intelligent people rather than as “anti-intellectual” or “fundamentalists” (epithet fallacies).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Work is an essential part of what it is to be human as it was established by God for the benefit of mankind. God worked for six days as a pattern for his people Israel to follow (Exodus 20:8–11). God’s works are also to be studied by all those who delight in them (Psalm 111:2).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In Hebrew the three occurrences of the demonstrative pron-noun this (zōʾt) in verse 23 show Adam’s exclamation of the one who rightly corresponds to him. The fact that the woman (ʾiššâ) came from the man (ʾîš) shows that they are made of the same stuff. Adam goes on to name his wife “Eve” because she is to become the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20). The creation of Eve inspires Adam to poetry, which is a problem for theistic evolutionists, for how could someone be capable of producing sophisticated qualities of poetry if his speech were still evolving at this point?”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“As creatures made in the image of God, mankind is unique, they are not animals, as they were created as His vice regents to have dominion over the earth and are given certain communicable divine attributes: reason, personality, and morality. Not only that, mankind was originally endowed with knowledge, holiness, and righteousness (Ecclesiastes 7:29; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Because of the Fall, knowledge, righteous, and holiness have been destroyed by sin in man. Knowledge has become ignorance, righteousness has become unrighteousness, and holiness has become perversity (cf. Romans 1:18-”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The structural elements between Exodus and the gospels can be seen in two ways. First the Moses-Exodus typology can be seen throughout the gospels: Jesus is depicted as the new Moses (Matthew 5:1; John 5:46); He leads a new exodus (Matthew 2:13, 4:1-17; Mark 1:1–13; Luke 3:4-6); He gives a new law (Matthew 5-7); He supplies bread from heaven (John 6:32-34); He offers a new/final Passover (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). Second, much of Jesus’ teaching fits into the language of covenantal texts: Jesus’ self- declarations as the God of the covenant (John 6:35, 8:12, 8:51), condemnation of Israel’s covenant breaking (Matthew 21:40–41; Mark 12:9), teachings on how to live within the covenant community (Matthew 5–7), blessings and curses of the covenant (Luke 6:20–26; Matthew 23), and even covenant discipline (Matthew 16:18–19, 18:15– 20).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In a similar manner, all major world religions reject the deity of Christ: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Muslims believe Jesus was just a great prophet, whereas Orthodox Judaism sees Jesus as a false prophet. It’s not only the world’s major religions that deny the deity of Christ, but so do all major cultic groups: Mormons, Oneness Pentecostals, Unitarians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inglesia ni Cristo, and Christadelphians. These cultic groups “claim” the Bible as their authority but each in their own way teach that Jesus is a created being.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“These words from the serpent misrepresent God’s authority and bring doubt to the woman (Eve) by: 1) questioning God’s motivation with the subtle addition “really say,” 2) using the name “God” rather than the covenant name “LORD” (YHWH), 3) reworking the wording of God’s command slightly by adding “not” at the beginning (with “any” expresses absolute prohibition), omits the emphatic “freely,” uses the plural “you” rather than the singular in 2:16, and 4) placing “from any tree” at the end of the sentence rather than at the beginning as in 2:16.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The narrative in Genesis portrays Joseph (1915–1805 B.C.) serving as Egypt’s vizier (chief administrator) in the court of native Egyptian rulership, not Semitic (Hyksos, “Shepherd Kings” or “Rulers of Foreign Countries"), most likely in their Twelfth Dynasty. Many of the features of Joseph’s lifespan reflect this setting: 1) the personal names are Egyptian: Potiphar, Asenath, Zaphenath-paneah (Joseph’s Semitic name would not have been changed to an Egyptian name under a Hyksos ruler — Genesis 39:1; 41:45); 2) Joseph shaves himself before seeing Pharaoh, an Egyptian custom not a Semitic one (Genesis 41:14); 3) the embalming process was an Egyptian practice (Genesis 50:2–3); 4) assuming that Joseph was Egyptian, his brothers spoke Hebrew to one another when they first met him (Genesis 42:23), something they would not do if they supposed he was Hyksos;37 and 5) Joseph married the daughter of Potiphera priest of On (Heliopolis), as arranged by the Pharaoh (Genesis 41:45).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“He curses the ground (Genesis 3:17), but there is no curse in the woman’s judgment. This may be because the woman was guilty through deception, whereas the serpent and the man were willfully disobedient. In the justice of the woman’s punishment there is mercy, as it includes the hope of salvation for fallen mankind (Genesis 3:15).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The Passover was always on the 14th day of Nisan (Exodus 12:6). In A.D. 33, the 14th of Nisan was on April 3rd. Jesus’ birth in early 2 B.C. would have made him around 30–31 in Tiberius Caesar 15th year (Luke 3:1) in A.D. 29, making Him “about 30” when He started His ministry (Luke 3:23).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“I will argue that the doctrine of the Fall is a biblical concept and can be derived from the biblical text. It is important to defend the biblical concept of the Fall because no doctrine is more important to our anthropology and soteriology.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Eve does this by: 1) omitting the words “any” and “freely” from the command, 2) identifying the tree according to its location rather than significance, 3) referring to “God” as the serpent had done, rather than “the LORD,” 4) making the command more strict by adding the phrase “you must not touch it,” and 5) failing to capture the urgency of certain death “you will [surely] die.”14 The tactic of twisting God’s Word is second nature to the serpent (cf. Matthew 4:6).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“God then speaks to the woman and pronounces judgments upon her which has two aspects: 1) multiplied pain in childbearing, and 2) her desire will be to rule over her husband (Genesis 3:16). If Eve had children before the Fall there would have been pain (not all pain is bad, i.e., exercise),”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul grounds the bodily death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus in the reality of the history of Genesis. It was a real man, Adam, who brought about physical death and corruption into God’s very good world (Genesis 1:31). This is the reason Paul says Jesus came to earth as a real man in order to undo the work of the first man.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Because Adam cannot find a helper (ʿēzer) who corresponds (kĕnegdô) to him from among the animals (Genesis 2:20), the LORD God puts him into a deep sleep (cf. Jonah 1:5–6) and builds (bānâ) a woman, who corresponds to him, from his “rib” (Genesis 2:21). The verb bānâ depicts the LORD God as “building” Eve out of the “rib” of Adam (Genesis 2:22). It is used elsewhere in Genesis for the material building of a city and a tower (Genesis 4:17, 11:4; cf. Amos 9:6). The word rib (ṣēlāʿ) complements the word built (bānâ), as it is a beautiful picture of how the LORD God constructed the first woman. The term built also compliments the craftsman’s term “fashion” used for the creation of Adam (Genesis 2:7), as the LORD God is now working with hard material and not soft dust.50 Eve, unlike Adam, was not created from the ground, but her source comes from a “living creature.” There is no way to harmonize Genesis 2:22 with theistic evolution: it is describing supernatural creation!”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Archaeological evidence for the family of Jacob being in Egypt at that time is confirmed by Dr Douglas Petrovich’s translation of a caption on Sinai 115, composed by Joseph’s son Manasseh: “6 Levantines: Hebrews of Bethel, the beloved.” Bethel was the home of Jacob (see Genesis 35:1). This places Joseph’s son Manasseh in Egypt in 1842 B.C.19 If the translation is correct, this would make it the world’s oldest extrabiblical reference to the Hebrews (Israelites) in Egypt at the time the Bible places them there. This is in the reign of Sesostris III, who dies two years later (1840 B.C.), after a prosperous reign in Egypt. This fits with Jacob having previously blessed the Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10), the only reference in Genesis to the blessing of a foreigner by a patriarch.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“The goal of neo-paganism is to relativize everything that seems different, to join the opposites and get rid of the distinctions God has made in His creation because of their belief that all is “one” (i.e., pantheism). For example, heterosexuality celebrates otherness (Greek, héteros = other) whereas homosexuality (Greek, homo = same) celebrates the sameness of everything, which is the definition of the neo-pagan worldview.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Apart from overlooking the fact that the gospel is already foolishness and a stumbling block to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23), this belief is antithetical to the apostolic example of preaching to a pagan culture. Wherever the Apostle Paul went in his missionary journeys there was either a revival (Acts 13:48–49, 16:5, 19–34, 17:4) or a riot (Acts 13:50, 14:19, 16:19–24, 17:5). Those early Christians were not persecuted because the message of Christianity was different to that of the Greeks and Romans (i.e., monotheism vs polytheism) but because of its unique and authoritative claim that Jesus is Lord of all, and we must submit to Him (Acts 10:36; 17:6–7; cf.1 Thessalonians 1:9–10).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Theologian and scientist Dr Denis Lamoureux, who is influential among many evangelicals, argues this way: “My central conclusion … is clear: Adam never existed, and this fact has no impact whatsoever on the foundational beliefs of Christianity.… I simply want evangelicals to be aware that there are born-again Christians who love the Lord Jesus and who do not believe there ever was a first man named ‘“Adam.”’25 Lamoureux’s acceptance of evolution may not have resulted in his giving up his faith in Jesus. However, he has had to reject other vital doctrines of the Christian faith: original sin and the inerrancy of Scripture.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Rather, difficulty in our work is a product of the Fall (Genesis 3:17–19). Since the Fall made our work difficult, and because we are in a fallen state, we naturally want to find a way not to do our work. In our culture, and even in the Church, our fallen state often shapes our attitude toward work. For example, in secular society, human fulfillment is often seen as an escape from work (i.e., early retirement or winning the lottery). On the other hand, for many people work is the center of their life and in effect becomes their idol — their means of personal fulfillment. The Bible warns against both of these mentalities.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“When God sought a “helper” fit for Adam, he chose neither an animal nor an exact duplicate of the man, but instead he created a woman — uniquely formed for intimacy, companionship, co-workmanship, and pro-creation (Genesis 2:22). God joined together the first man Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) and the first woman, who was taken from his side, called Eve (Genesis 3:20). The fact that Adam and Eve are made for each other is indicated in the wordplay of man (ʾîš) and woman (ʾiššâ) (see Genesis 2:23).”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last

“Rather than giving us the identity of the serpent, Moses tells us two things about his character, that is different from the other creatures that God has made: 1) it is crafty 2) it can speak.”
― Simon Turpin, Adam: First and the Last