my school

Sekolah (Kelas) Menengah Inggeris Sabak Bernam yang bermula dengan 33 murid pada awal tahun 1956 telah berkembang dengan pesatnya menjadi 1234 murid pada awal tahun 2009. Sekolah Menengah Inggeris yang awal hingga sekarang telah melalui perubahan nama iaitu Government English School (GES) Sabak Bernam, National Type Secondary School (NTSS) Sabak Bernam dan Sekolah Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra (STARP) Sabak Bernam.Selamat bertemu semua bekas pelajar dan bekas guru. Mengimbas kembali era persekolahan suatu nostalgia. Kejayaan murd-murid mengharumkan nama sekolah harus diberi pujian. Tidak lupa juga, kecemerlangan murid-murid adalah hasil usaha guru-guru membimbing murid-murid menjalankan peranan mereka. Kita amat menghargai jasa bakti mereka.Semua bekas pelajar GES/NTSS/STARP, marilah kita menggembleng tenaga. Kita lanjutkan semangat khidmat bakti. Kita kukuhkan semangat “1 Malaysia”. Kita perkasakan kembali Alumni STAR Putra. Kita letakkan alumni ini di persada mahligai.

Japan tsunami 2011

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Tsunami in Japan 2011: Waves Stirred Up by Earthquake Cause Wide Destruction

Learn about the science behind tsunamis and earthquakes

by Borgna Brunner and Beth Rowen

Location of the earthquake. Source: U.S. Geological Survey

Tsunami in Japan

Japan was hit by an enormous earthquake on March 11, 2011, that triggered a deadly 23-foot tsunami in the country's north. The giant waves deluged cities and rural areas alike, sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, a train, and boats, leaving a path of death and devastation in its wake. Video footage showed cars racing away from surging waves. The United States Geological Survey reported the earthquake and on Monday revised its magnitude from 8.9 to 9.0, which is the largest in Japan's history. The earthquake struck about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for Russia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the west coasts the U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America. As of Tuesday, March 22, more than 8,600 were confirmed dead. That number will likey continue to rise with more than 13,000 people still missing.

Earthquake Causes Nuclear Disaster

Disaster struck again on Saturday, March 12, when about 26 hours after the earthquake, an explosion in reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station caused one of the buildings to crumble to the ground. The cooling system at the reactor failed shortly after the earthquake. Officials feared that a meltdown may occur, and radioactive material was detected outside the plant. These fears were realized on Sunday, when officials said they believed that partial meltdowns occurred at reactors No. 1 and No. 3. The cooling systems at another plant, Fukushima Daini, were also compromised but the situation there seemed to be less precarious. More than 200,000 residents were evacuated from areas surrounding both facilities. Problems were later reported at two other nuclear facilities. By Tuesday, two more explosions and a fire had officials and workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station struggling to regain control of four reactors. The fire, which happened at reactor No. 4, released radioactivity directly into the atmosphere. The Japanese government told people living within 20 miles of the Daiichi plant to stay indoors, not use air conditioning, and keep their windows closed. More than 100,000 people are in the area. On Wednesday, March 16, while safety workers were still trying to contain the fire at reactor No. 4, officials announced that reactor No. 3 may have ruptured and appeared to be releasing radioactive steam. According to Tokyo Electric Power, the plant's operator, 5 workers have died and 22 more have suffered various injuries since the quake.

At a news conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan emphasized the gravity of the situation. "I think that the earthquake, tsunami, and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the war. If the nation works together, we will overcome," he said. The government called in 100,000 troops to aid in the relief effort. The deployment is the largest since World War II.

The tsunami in Japan recalled the 2004 disaster in the Indian Ocean. On Dec. 26, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake—the largest earthquake in 40 years—ruptured in the Indian Ocean, off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake stirred up thedeadliest tsunami in world history, so powerful that the waves caused loss of life on the coast of Africa and were even detected on the East Coast of the United States. More than 225,000 people died from the disaster, a half a million were injured, and millions were left homeless.

See statistics on Deadliest Tsunamis and Deadliest Earthquakes.

The Science of Tsunami

A tsunami (pronounced soo-NAHM-ee) is a series of huge waves that occur as the result of a violent underwater disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcanic eruption. The waves travel in all directions from the epicenter of the disturbance. The waves may travel in the open sea as fast as 450 miles per hour. As they travel in the open ocean, tsunami waves are generally not particularly large—hence the difficulty in detecting the approach of a tsunami. But as these powerful waves approach shallow waters along the coast, their velocity is slowed and they consequently grow to a great height before smashing into the shore. They can grow as high as 100 feet; the Indian Ocean tsunami generated waves reaching 30 feet.

Tsunami is the Japanese word for "harbor wave." They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tidal waves, but tsunamis have nothing to do with the tides. Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean, and are most common in the Pacific Ocean.

Read more: Tsunami Factfile: Learn about the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 and the Indian Ocean in 2004 — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/science/weather/japan-tsunami-2011.html#ixzz1M6s61PtC

begening world

Genesis 1:1-2:4
The Beginning of Our World

By Gary DeLashmutt

This Bible Study is also available on Audio Tape

Introduction

Genesis means “beginning.” The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings (our world; humans; sin; salvation), and is foundational to the biblical world-view.

This morning we will look at Genesis 1. I want to spend the first part addressing some important apologetical issues, and then spend the last part reflecting on the key themes of this chapter.

Key apologetical issues

The first thing we must realize about Gen. 1 (and chapters 2-11 as well) is that it is history rather than myth. More than any other passage of scripture, Gen. 1-11 has been rejected by many as true history. This is because of a lack of extra-biblical historical records for this period, and because of supposed contradictions with science.¹ Therefore, we are told, this passage must be stories that humans made up to help them cope with life, like the Epic of Gilgamesh or the stories of Zeus. But Gen. 1-11, including the creation account, is real history, reporting on real persons and events in space and time. There are several reasons why I say this.

First, the author (Moses) uses the same historical narrative style in chapters 1-11 as he does in chapters 12-50. If you read through the book of Genesis in one setting, you will see that the author does not change his style at chapter 12 or give any textual clue that he is moving from myth to history. Rather, you will see that the book is a unity—a record of historical events that sets the stage for the rest of the Bible.

It makes references to places, and time (location of Eden, Babel, Ararat; how long people lived). Myths have no interest in places and time, because they want to remove their characters from history.

It ends each section (real chapters?) with the same phrase, “ . . . these are the generations of . . .”—thus demonstrating the unity of the book.

Second, the rest of the Old Testament and Jesus himself regard these chapters as real history.

See Ps. 136, where the psalmist praises God for creating the world as described by Gen. 1 in the same way that he praises God for delivering the Israelites from Egypt as described in Ex. 1-19.

See Matt. 19:4,5, where Jesus regards Adam and Eve as real historical people.

Third, the biblical creation account is fundamentally different from other ancient creation myths, like the Babylonian Enuma Elish. As is so often the case, to actually read the other myths is to realize how very different the biblical account is. In fact, one of the main purposes of the Genesis account is (probably) to correct the erroneous creation myths of the ancient Near Eastern culture.²

Monotheism distinct from nature vs. polytheism or animistic nature deities

Straightforward narrative to inform vs. myth-ritual to enact in order to stabilize nature

God is eternally pre-existent vs. theogony (gods are born, undergo metamorphosis)

Creation out of nothing vs. from pre-existing materials

Creation by word vs. through sexual intercourse, battle, struggle, etc.

Humans created last vs. first (not the case in “Enuma Elish”)

The second thing we need to realize about Gen. 1 is that it harmonizes with origins science, but it is not a scientific textbook. Let’s take a closer look at both halves of this statement.

Gen. 1 harmonizes with origins science. There is no contradiction between what is recorded here and what science has discovered about the origin of the universe and life on earth. Rather, there is agreement about the most important issues.

The universe began at a point in time. For centuries, many scientists held that the universe was eternal, but now we know this is not the case. Through a variety of means, we can trace the universe back to a moment in time when all of its mass was condensed into a single point of incredible density. This mass exploded, and the aftermath of this explosion is the universe. This is the so-called “Big Bang.”

Of course, the Bible also tells us that universe had a beginning. It also explains what science could never explain—how this mass came into being, what caused it to explode, and why such order has resulted from this explosion. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

“The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same . . . We scientists did not expect to find evidence for an abrupt beginning because we have had, until fairly recently, such extraordinary success in tracing the chain of cause and effect backward in time . . . For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”³

The earth is very old. Solid scientific evidence indicates that the earth and the universe are several billion years old (e.g., red shift; radioactive dating of rocks). Unfortunately, many Christians have dogmatically stated that Genesis says the earth is only a few thousand years old. The classic presentation of this position was formulated by Bishop Ussher, who calculated the genealogies back from Jesus and proclaimed that the universe was created during the week of October 18-24, 4004 BC, with Adam created on October 23. Although young earth creationists have moved this date back by several thousand years, they still have a problem with both scientific evidence and the biblical text.

First of all, genealogy does not mean chronology. Careful comparison of the biblical genealogies reveals that they are not exhaustive; they only name key ancestors to establish descent. The Hebrew terms are general, meaning “became the ancestor of” or “descended from.” In other words, the Bible doesn’t tell us how long ago the first humans were created.

Second, it is not at all clear that Gen. 1 is describing creation in six successive 24-hour days.

There is evidence from the text that Moses is using the word “day” (yom) to refer to a period of time longer than 24 hours.⁴ Gen. 2:4 sums up the six creative “days” as “the day that the Lord God made heaven and earth.” There is no ending to the seventh “day.” The events of Gen. 2:4-25 require more time than a 24 hour day (tending grade until lonely, naming all the animals, deep sleep while Eve formed, presenting Eve to him). “Evening and morning” can connote beginning and ending rather than requiring a 24 hour day. In other words, Gen. 1 may be a general description of God’s activity in the creation and development of the earth over a very long period of time in a way that corresponds generally with the findings of origins science (vegetation to sea animals and birds to land animals to humans).

It is also possible that Gen. 1 is describing six literal but not sequential days. The text does not specify that the six creative days were sequential. It simply refers to them as “a day.” These “days” may refer to roughly 24 hour day long periods in which God intervened dramatically to introduce new life forms, etc.—and between which God was active in a very long fashioning process of these life forms.

New life forms emerged suddenly, followed by gradual development. Darwin postulated that the fossil record would show a gradual development of simpler to more complex life forms. But the fossil record shows something very different—sudden “irruptions” of new, more complex life forms, followed by long periods of development of those life forms. This better fits the Genesis 1 record, assuming it is describing an old earth.

Humans are more recent than most other life forms. Unlike the ancient Near Eastern myths which placed humans before other life forms, the biblical creation account is confirmed by the fossil record, which tells us that humans have appeared very recently in geological time.

Having said the above, we must also understand that Gen. 1 is not a scientific textbook. It is unfair to impose upon it standards of specificity and perspective that are appropriate to the scientific discipline. Consider these differences:

It is a very general summary, focusing on God’s role in creation, rather than a detailed scientific treatise that focuses on when this happened and the secondary causes involved.

It uses “observational” language—it describes things from the perspective and interest of a human observer on the earth. We do this every day when we speak of the sun “rising.” This explains why the sun, moon and stars are described on the fourth day (probably their appearance through the atmosphere).

It is highly selective. It focuses on matters that were known by and were of interest to the original (human) audience. We do this every day when our news focuses on events that pertain primarily to human affairs. This explains why microscopic sea life is omitted, as well as many other things.

What does Genesis 1 teach us?

God is revealed through but distinct from his creation. Just as we can learn something about the artist by studying his art works, we can learn something about the Creator by studying his creation (Rom. 1:20 – power and intelligence). But if the canvas was burned up, the artist would remain. In the same way, God exists independently from his creation.

Therefore, pantheism, animism, and polytheism (including nature worship and witchcraft) are false and dangerous, because they can lead you into involvement with evil spirits. Though Moses does not explicitly state this warning in this passage, it is implied and he does elsewhere (see Deut. 18).

Humans alone are created in God’s image (see 1:26,27). We will unpack this in detail next week, but consider what these verses emphasize.

We are to be benevolent rulers over nature (1:26,28).

This rulership is to care for nature, not rape or exploit it. The charge that the Bible gave western people to permission to exploit nature is untrue. Here and elsewhere, the Bible calls on humans to be humane in their treatment of animals, for example (sabbath rest; ox and mule; muzzled threshing). Such exploitation (usually motivated out of monetary greed) is a fallen perversion of biblical dominion.

Yet this means that human life is of greater value than non-human life. It means that, within proper restraints, the rest of creation was given to humans to use and enjoy. Therefore, humans may domesticate animals, practice agriculture, use animals for medical research, exterminate roaches and termites from houses, kill viruses and bacteria that cause sickness, use trees for housing materials and furniture, etc.

We can relate to God in a personal way (1:27?). You are created by God, created in his image, created above all else to relate to God. Unless you are doing this, you are fundamentally missing out on the purpose of your life. Have you acknowledged this fact? Continue with us in this study of Genesis and learn how God’s creation was spoiled, and what God is doing to restore it.

Conclusion

NEXT: “What does it mean to be human?”

Footnotes

1 “It may be regarded as an axiom of modern study that the descriptions of creation contained in the biblical records, and especially in Gen. 1:1-2:4a, are permanently valuable only in so far as they express certain religious truths which are still recognized as such. To seek for even a kernel of historical fact in such cosmogonies is inconsistent with a scientific point of view. H. Zimmern and T. K. Cheyne, “Creation,” in Encyclopedia Biblica, I (1899), col. 938.

2 See Alexander Heidel, The Babylonian Genesis (Chicgo Press, 1951), and Bruce K. Waltke, “Creation and Chaos” (Portland: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary), pp. 47,48.

3 Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers (New York: Warner Books, 1978), p. 105.

4 This is not a recent attempt to harmonize Gen. 1 with modern science. Christian and Jewish scholars have noted this for many centuries, even when most people assumed the earth was relatively young.

Copyright 1998 Gary DeLashmutt