Biblical Creation and Evangelism

A fairly common remark that biblical creationists hear is something like, "Creation, evolution, the age of the earth — all those things are side issues. We need to focus on preaching the gospel." I had one of these a spell back, only this one was amazingly sanctimonious. Unfortunately, because so many people misrepresent us, we need to frequently point out that believing in a young earth and rejecting evolution are not salvific (required for salvation) issues. This does not mean that they are unimportant or even irrelevant! Creation Tiles, Unsplash / Alex Shute One simple reason to refute evolution as well as affirm creation and the young earth is that those things have been stumbling blocks to many people. Also, it should make an impression on Christians how the church fathers as well as the way people in the Bible viewed the importance of creation. Irenaeus (c. 130–202 AD), a significant leader in the early Christian Church, wrote Against Heresies to counter wrong ideas in...

Something very important and practical in many areas of life that biblical creationists encourage people to do is use discernment and critical thinking. We cannot accept someone's say-so because we like them, they profess to be authorities, are creationists, are Christians, or other reasons. While the leadership in the secular science industry has an atheistic agenda, what about Christians and creationists? There are indeed wolves among us (such as theistic evolutionists who identify as "evolutionary creationists"), sometimes mistakes are made. We have to watch for deceit as well as errors. Feathered dinosaur, Flickr / Aaron Gustafson ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunny In many instances, trust has to be earned. Do you trust me? If so, why? It could be that you like my writing style, accept my Statement of Faith , agree with much of the content, approve of linked sources, or whatever. Perhaps you apply those criteria other authors. But you must still use discernment...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Many of us with some life experience look back on television, movies, and so on, seeing how moral values were more prevalent in the past. We object to the blatant immorality in modern programming and certain agendas being forced on us. Some of us watch very few modern shows. This is all relative, however. I will use The Andy Griffith Show  for an example. Some Christian values were present, and going to church was mentioned, but there was very little content that had any mention of biblical teachings. Many times, Sheriff Taylor and friends would lie to others. He lied to his son Opie, helped Otis the town drunk deceive his relatives to seem respectable, and more. We cannot expect biblical truth from secular entertainment — and never could. One problem with lying is that it shows disrespect for the other person and takes away his or her ability to choose. Also, in The Andy Griffith Show  (and many others), they lied for what seemed to be a greater g...

Dinosaurs and the Bible are subjects frequently cussed and discussed regarding biblical creation science views, but because of secular propaganda, they are usually rejected out of hand by many people. Declarations of how dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years are in all sorts of media. These include science documentaries, children's programming, news reports, science journals (as expected), advertisements and more. Christians are often swayed by evolutionary material and dismiss what God's Word says without thinking. Dinosaur image from RGBstock /  Adrian van Leen Of course, a scoffer might say, "Hey, there was no death in the beginning. What if an Ultrasaurus didn't watch where it was going and stomped on Adam? Haw, haw, haw!" If someone like that is going to use our presuppositions to register a complaint, they should be consistent and use what the Bible actually teaches. Some rational thought would also be helpful. Even so, an honest inquirer may won...

The inerrancy of Scripture in the original autographs (manuscripts) is a doctrine that many professing Christians claim to believe, but we also acknowledge that there a a few copyist and other minor errors that have crept in over the centuries. Also, it is obvious that not all translations agree with each other. There are public statements on doctrine and inerrancy that have been signed by famous Christian people, and one is something that I would sign myself. However, the wording about Genesis and creation is such that theistic evolutionists, old earthers, and biblical creationists find it acceptable. Old Bible with Genesis, RGBStock /  Billy Frank Alexander Something this child has long believed should be an alarm bell is when they say they believe the Bible is without error, then turn around and say that it doesn't mean what it says on the very first page. They also have to reject evidence for recent creation, tap dance around numerous passages of Scripture (especially those th...

A basic principle of Christianity is that humanity was created imago Dei , in the image of God. This is contrary to the concept of dust-to-Darwin evolution, where we are the products of time, chance, natural selection, mutations, and luck. For them, we are nothing special. Just another animal. We often do not show that we are created in the image of God, and evolutionists may use our current state to reject the truth of the Bible. Something clearly happened after Genesis 1:27. Night silhouette under stars, Unsplash / Greg Rakozy Adam and Eve were exploring, enjoying, and doing other newly-created beings stuff. Then in Genesis 3:1-17, that sidewinder Satan decided to foul things up. After all, we are God's masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), and he hates that. The Christian worldview holds that people are image-bearers of God, worthy of dignity and respect. This is one reason abortion is abhorrent . Eve took the fruit, gave to Adam who was with her , and all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and ...

There are some professing Christians that believe God used evolution for his method of creation, but that view is fundamentally flawed. If you study on it, one simple problem with that idea is how we react to suffering and death. While we know that everyone eventually dies, we are not passive about it. Credit: Freeimages /  V Fouche From the standpoint of atheistic naturalism, there is no hope. As I have stated before, my oldest brother had Down Syndrome. He lived much longer than expected, finally passing away at age 64. My father had dementia, Alzheimer's, and (I think) Parkinson's, and didn't know who I was — or who he was — at the end. Not too long after he died, my mother was taken by a malignant glioma. There are many other people I could mention who have lost loved ones and even suffer under conditions right now. However, we have that hope based on promises in the Bible for a grand reunion when everyone will be whole again. According to Scripture, death is an enemy ...

Something that this child learned several years ago is the importance of worldviews, including how they are made and the way they impact our lives. I bring these things up every once in a while because they are crucial, especially for Christians. Many professing Christians do not know what and why  they believe things, and are essentially heretics. They are riding to perdition in a handcar. We must not only make sure of our salvation , but have a proper worldview and submit to the authority of God's Word. Spectacles by kkiser at FreeImages Everyone has a worldview. It's how we interpret reality and respond to life. People may not know that word, and I doubt that they have analyzed the components and developed their own. Worldviews are mostly built on our presuppositions — those things we take as basic truths, though they are not tested or proven true. For more about this, see " What’s Your Worldview? " Unfortunately, many Christians are into tribalism, a kind of ...

Christians and Jews generally affirm that God is independent, the maker of all things, and needs nothing. It should be obvious. Although these facts are made clear throughout Scripture, there is a view known as process theism  that rejects biblical truth in this area. Everything depends on God for its existence (Heb. 1:3), but process theism rejects this. Somehow, God depends on some other entity, and he is evolving with creation. With this comes a rejection of creation out of nothing —  creatio ex nihilo . Dwarf Starburst Galaxy Henize 2-10 credit: NASA , ESA et. al. (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) I'll allow that ex nihilo  creation is not stated explicitly in the Bible, but it is clearly found by reasoning from Scripture. The denial of creatio ex nihilo  is tied in with greater problems in process theism. (Adding to the confusion is that there is no specific creed for process theism, so one may encounter those who believe in certain aspects but...

Christians are confronted with unbelievers of various stripes, including atheists, the apathetic, moral relativists, cultists, evolutionists, false teachers, and many others. Biblical creationists uphold not only essentials of the faith, but the authority of God's Word as well. Genesis is foundational to the faith. Things get more difficult when a well-heeled fifth column undermines not only the truth of Genesis, but trust in the Bible itself. The owlhoots at the Templeton Foundation are using their money to finance compromise among Christians. Mostly made at PhotoFunia For a Christian, humility means that we are entirely dependent on the work of Christ for our salvation, and our works cannot earn or keep it. In addition, good works are a result  of our salvation. We give glory to Jesus. John Templeton, however, redefined humility  as uncertainty about the truth, and it definitely  does not come from sacred texts. The ever-changing whims of manmade science philosophies,...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  The hands up yonder at the Darwin Ranch (near Deception Pass) are in a "Katie, bar the door!" frame of mind.  Question Evolution Day is near, and they have an intense dislike people examining the evidence that is presented for quark-to-questioner evolution. It is interesting that many people who tell us to "question authority" are willing to accept pronouncements about origins and even theology because of some vague "scientists say" attitude. We can have an impact and keep the pressure on  using the internet . Flickr /  sentex64  ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ) Despite the claims of prosperity preachers, the Christian life is not fun and games. It is spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-20, 2 Cor. 10:3-6). We will  have persecution (2 Peter 3:14, Rom. 8:35, Mark 4:17, Heb. 10:33, 2 Tim. 3:12), so we can't just sit back being saved, not fulfilling God's commands to grow and influence the world (2 Peter 3:18, Matt. 5:13-16). It take God-given c...

We have discussed some rather in-depth subjects here, but there is a question that I bypassed. After all, most of the major creation science organizations deal with it, so I made the erroneous assumption that it was not needed. That is, where did Cain get his wife? While the question is an honest one for people who are new to biblical creation teachings, it is also treated like a "Gotcha!" question by atheists and other evolutionists. They act like it cannot be answered, therefore, Genesis is a myth. Or, therefore, evolution. Who knows what they looked like? Here are two ladybugs from Pixabay / Ron van den Berg It's okay to admit it if you don't know the answer, but there are plenty of resources (including the one linked below) that you should investigate and get back to the person asking the question. None of that, "Just have faith and believe" excuse stuff, you savvy that, pilgrim? Especially for the young'uns. The quick answer is that if people actual...

Many of us engaging in apologetics are confronted with people who say they want to ask questions, but instead, they want to slap leather with us. It seems that they want to play the "Gotcha!" game, and if an apologist is unable to answer a question or objection, they can further justify their rebellion against God. (Embarrassing the apologist is a bonus.) A favored tactic of scoffers is to turn a discussion into a shootout, rapidly firing their statements and not allowing a response.  Cropped from Pixnio / Amanda Mills In the Nye-Ham debate, Bill Nye exploited the debate rules and indulged in a related tactic known as elephant hurling , where Ken Ham was unable to respond in the allotted time. Something I've pointed out many times is that misotheists and other evolutionists often rely on intimidation. While 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to sanctify Christ and be ready to answer, there is no command about getting pummeled. Also, there comes a time when we discern that we're b...

People have long believed in forms of determinism , where behaviors and even events are the result of environmental causes, genetics, conditioning, and so on. This also extends to belief in fate, karma, and God (some religious views make God our puppeteer). So much for free will, huh? I have a vague memory of watching Steve Irwin on television where he came across a dead animal, looked at the camera, and said reverently, "It's nature's way!" In addition to the fallacy of reification, he was affirming an aspect of determinism. Original image: Wikimedia Commons / Tage Olsin ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia I'm going to lose friends and followers over this, but I have to be truthful. Like Steve Irwin in that show, some Calvinists solemnly declare after something bad happens, "God is sovereign." We know and believe that, but a little humility is in order: there is no single Christian system that fully understands every aspect of the Bible. It's ...

Misotheists and other unbelievers frequently try to find errors in the Bible, or to simply make God a bad guy. One of these is found in the annals of atheistic  soi-disant  reasoning, equivocating on the definition of slavery . For people today, the word generally has connotations of Antebellum slavery in Southern American. We have seen that context is vitally important for properly interpreting and understanding the Bible. A cursory reading ancient texts translated into modern languages does not provide all the necessary information to do this properly. Pharaoh clipart by Free Christian Illustrations What we can call harsh slavery  has been around for millennia. It was often a consequence of losing a war or battle, but the children of Israel were born into it (Exodus 1:8-13). Such slavery spanned years, cultures, ethnicities, and languages — which means no group can make a pretense at exclusive victimhood. Also, harsh slavery exists today, especially in Communist China a...

It is common to take a stroll in a wooded area and encounter critters, which often scamper away. Others freeze in place as a defense, or possibly doing threat assessment. They usually want to get away from us. Animals have fear of us and of each other.  Our apartment is on the second floor of three. Lots of trees in the area. Squirrels show no fear in leaping up onto our porch, but when we go outside, they run off.  Wikimedia Commons /  Jineshpanchal  ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) One was on the porch when a big hawk landed on the railing. That's never happened before. The rodent froze in terror and just laid there. The hawk just looked at it, probably not hungry at the moment. If we had gone to the sliding glass door, I lack belief either would have stayed put. Even domestic animals show fear of humans, including pets around strangers. Animals that have gone feral or never knew human contact are in touch with their inner wildness. It takes a mighty long time to make friends with...

Secularists often say science and faith are not compatible, which is usually accompanied by misrepresentations of faith and then ridicule. Professing atheists furiously defend minerals-to-microbiologist evolution, which is foundational to their religion. Theistic evolutionists promote atheistic interpretations of science philosophies above biblical truth. A major organization for TEs is BioLogos, which is famous for misrepresenting and belittling biblical creationists. Like cultists, they occasionally have elements of truth in what they say. This happened in their article on trusting scientific experts. Although the BioLogos article had grains of truth, it had serious errors from the start. There were also inconsistencies and contradictions. Biblical creationists do not advocate denial of science, but we do encourage discretion. Scientific "facts" change. (The proponents of "follow the science" cite the secular science industry where it has promoted biological impos...

Several months ago, I was in a hair cuttery and we were making conversation. It came up that I write creation science material, and the lady said she had never heard of it. Her nearby co-worker had a modicum of knowledge, but that was it. Living in a culture that is saturated with atheistic materialism, that is not a surprise. Freeimages / Brano Hudak People are in spiritual darkness (John 3:19), are blinded to the light of the truth (2 Cor. 4:4), and cannot understand spiritual matters of any depth (1 Cor. 2:14). While it is not up to us to have brilliant arguments and save the lost (1 Cor. 2:1-5), we are to sanctify Christ as Lord and be ready to present the gospel (1 Peter 3:15). The Holy Spirit does the drawing, convicting, and saving. Evolution is foundational to atheism (which in turn are foundational to naturalistic philosophies, secular humanism, and so on) as well as some other non-Christian religions. Some people, like the barber mentioned above, are ignorant of the truth. Af...