Doubting the Authority of God's Word

Christians are concerned that young people are leaving the church, causing a rise in the "nones" category (people who claim "no religions affiliation"). Atheists are gleefully trumpeting this increase, inaccurately claiming that the survey proves an increase in atheism. (What they conveniently ignore is that yes, some people do renounce the faith, but others are not currently attending a church while still having strong Christian beliefs. In some areas, it is difficult to find a Bible-believing church.) Various studies and surveys have been made in an attempt to determine why young people are shunning church attendance.

Credit: Freeimages / Sufi Nawaz

One of the main reasons Christianity becomes unpalatable is when adherents treat it like a buffet-style religion. "I'll take some mercy, resurrection, verses out of context that make me feel good, social justice, being inclusive, compromise with atheistic science interpretations, those are nice. Don't be giving me none of that eternal punishment, truth of Genesis, Jesus is the only way to salvation, authority of Scripture, and all that!" The very last item in the list is very important: people reject the authority of the Bible that they claim to believe. The Bible is God's written Word, and has a great deal to say about itself. We need to find out what it says and be uncompromising on essential doctrines. Further, we must know what and why we believe, so we can give answers and resources to people, young and old, who ask us.

Two-thirds of young people are walking away from the church by the time they reach college age, and many aren’t coming back. As Already Gone has shown, many of these young people are leaving because they have unanswered questions about the Christian faith that led them to doubt God’s Word.
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Churches have offered many different solutions to combat this growing exodus. One popular so-called solution is to water down the authority of God’s Word. Proponents of this view argue that most people in today’s world don’t believe the Bible, so we shouldn’t treat it as if it were the absolute truth because this will drive people away.

To finish reading, click on "God’s Word: The Authority Over Us".

Andy Stanley, Frank Turek, and Bad Theology

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Andy Stanley has been disappointing some people, and causing quite a few to be alarmed by his opposition to the authority of Scripture. (Note: Do not be confused. Charles Stanley is his father, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and heard on In Touch Ministries . I've found most of his teachings to be doctrinally sound, and he upholds the inerrancy and authority of the Bible.) Unfortunately, megachurch director Andy Stanley has been saying things that are destructive to the truth, including recommending the false teaching of theistic evolution. Gray wolf image credit: US National Park Service While shooting from the hip can be a good thing, someone claiming the title of pastor should reign himself in . Stanley was disrespectful of small churches, then apologized later . In another instance, " What did he just say?", Stanley may have used a very bad word in a sermon. When the segment was legally posted on YouTube

Disappointment with Young Earth Creation

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen First, a note for anyone who is curious. The usual format: introduction with some of my thoughts plus links for useful information, excerpts of featured articles, then links to keep reading. I put my name on it and call it an article when I have more to say. This one will be different. I will reference older articles, then add some thoughts that I hope will prove helpful. There is more following the excerpt and link. So, does anyone remember Ken Keathley? Medal image manufactured at Custom Medal Maker Several years ago, Ken Keathley renounced young earth creationism to accept an old earth view. Apparently, he was disappointed by people in the young earth community. No kidding? Taking Friendly Fire This is where I'm going to open up and get personal with both of my readers. Ken Keathley is not the only one who has been disappointed, and in addition, I've been deeply hurt by the young earth community. Things I have posted on social(ist) media have been &qu

Evaluating Truth Claims in Genesis

Some people try to dismiss Genesis as myth containing spiritual truth using elements from the pagan neighbors of the Hebrews. Others say it is misunderstood, as if the Creator of the universe was unable to communicate with us. With closer inspection, we see that Genesis is a historical narrative. Credit: RGBStock / Billy Frank Alexander The idea that the early chapters of Genesis are mythological should not be accepted by professing Christians, as there are serious problems that result. (One of these is that Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others referred to these chapters as literal history, so by denying this, one is calling them liars!) Also, there are repercussions with the gospel message. Read some classical mythology, then come back to Genesis and see the difference. Myths are vague and have a different flow, but the Bible is precise. Indeed, even the sequence of creation days is specific — a day itself is defined. Interestingly, many translations have in Genesis 1:5 less accurate by us

Biblical Creation and Evangelism

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