Biblical Creation and Evangelism

Years ago, the forerunner of this weblog was called A Soldier for Jesus . There was a drawing of Jesus on it. Someone accused me of being an idolater because of it. Also, I joined a Christian-based humor group on Fakebook  that prohibited posting images of Jesus because some people got upset. Probably that idolatry thing again. Where do they get such ideas? Eisegesis from the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:4-6 and other places. I am going to be blunt here. People who sanctimoniously accuse others of being idolaters because they use images of Jesus (or God the Father, such as  Michelangelo  and  William Blake ) have no basis for their pride. They are showing ignorance of scriptural context. It's not a difficult theological context, either, because they are not even reading the rest of the verse. Jesus Pictures ( source here ) as Gallery Exhibit, PhotoFunia (cropped) Pictures can be used as a way of praising God and giving him glory, and possibly a means of focusing in...

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 ...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  When reading some of the battles in the Bible between Israel and the pagan nations, we see that the pagans had gods for practically everything. They were also territorial, and thought Yahweh was like their false gods. You may recall in 1 Kings 20:23, Syria thought Israel had gods of the hills, so they could do better fighting in the plains. It did not go well. Many times in Scripture, God declared that he is above the false gods of their imaginations, and that he is the Creator. A similar pagan theme was used in the unremarkable 1978 movie The Manitou . Native American mythology was used, combining animism and pantheism. (The Great Spirit is called the Gitchi Manitou in Algonquin. Manitowoc in Wisconsin supposedly has its name based on this.) Everything has a manitou, or spirit, even inanimate objects. In the movie and book, one particular manitou was being reincarnated, and it was both powerful and extremely angry. It had to be stopped. The medicine man Sin...

Other biblical creationists and I like to point out the mirific act of God the Son, Creator of the universe (Col. 1:16, John 1:1-3, Heb. 1:2-3), humbling himself to take the form of the man Jesus (Phil. 2:4-11). He did not just pop into existence, but was born of Mary, a virgin (Matt. 1:23). People sing songs about Santa Claus and lie to their children (the  real Nicholas  was a godly man), making him a demigod that rewards good behavior with toys once a year. Secularists obscure the true meaning of Christmas with sentiment. The truth is known to some extent by many professing Christians: Jesus came into the world to save us. But what does that really mean? Far too many people make salvation into a means of gain, a way to be a good person, be happy, get the most out of life right now. In some cultures, "accepting Jesus" is taken to mean, "Add Jesus to your list of gods", but without emphasizing that false gods must be forsaken, and surrendering to the lordship of Ch...

Edited 5 December 2021  To be a Bible-believing Christian (as opposed to a "cultural" or in name only) is not easy. It may seem tempting to put our beliefs out to pasture and embrace the laziness of atheism. We can sit back and say, "I lack belief", and demand proof for everything a Christian says, only to reject anything that does not meet our subjective criteria. Very lazy. Very selfish. But for a Christian, it means denying our very nature — and denying what we know is true. Unknown source image derivative via FotoSketcher and PhotoFunia A Christian is born from above (1 Peter 1:3, John 3:3) and a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). To act in such a way means denying our very nature and rejecting what we know is true. Atheistic philosophies and excuse-making are ongoing. Just watch when a Christian wants to share evidence and have a discussion: atheists keep dodging and changing the subject, as well as attacking God and people. It's also a safe  religion as well as ...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Some of us have been trying mighty hard to encourage folks to use the minds the good Lord gave us, but it gets mighty frustrating sometimes. Perhaps everyone believes a news report, rumor, or something else immediately, without checking on it, sometime or other. Ofttimes, there is an emotional element involved that contributes to confirmation bias  or prejudice. I have seen many times that atheists believe something against Christians, no matter how absurd, because of their bigotry. We expect that. But when Christians believe and spread stupid things, it is embarrassing. Pixabay /  Mark Hultgren Some of y'all may have noticed that I've written on similar subjects before, such as young Albert Einstein putting an atheist teacher in his place (just a story with no substantiation). Recently, I saw on an atheist troll Page on Fazebook (they share posts of Christians and creationists for the purpose of mockery) that a Christian Page has shared the story ...

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...

It has been often pointed out how Jesus said that the world at the time of his return would be like the world before the Flood, where people were doing what they wanted until the watery judgment came (Luke 17:26-27). In the experience of this child, teachers tend to just touch on the following verses about Sodom. There are some similarities, however, there are important differences. Lot and his family leaving Sodom , Peter Paul Rubens, 1625 The world before the Flood was full of evil. Later, Sodom and the cities of the plain were full of wickedness as well, including sexual sins. Today, people are increasingly callous to their wretched behavior and are proud of their perversions. Interestingly, some people appeal to cherry-picked verses to say that the sins of Sodom had nothing to do with sex. These instances of eisegesis and scripture twisting are handily eliminated . We have two judgments that Jesus used as instructions and warnings for us today. People need to repent fo...

Many events occurred during what many Christians call Holy Week , leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and his bodily Resurrection on Sunday. Some professing Christians are confused, annoyed, and even judgmental about our celebrations of Easter, and misotheists join in the attacks. Credit: Free Christian Illustrations One of the questions people have is when they count on their fingers, they believe that Jesus could not have been crucified on Friday and rise from the dead on Sunday. This comes from shoehorning modern counting methods into ancient Jewish reckoning. We do  want to be honest with the text, don't we?  Another problem some people have is the claim that Easter is based on pagan traditions. Unfortunately, this nonsense is spread by modern church traditions and ill-informed pastors. Ignorance of history and languages are not excuses for Pecksniffian attitudes of religious people who look down on those of us who choose to celebrate Easter.  If yo...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  For a short time, there was a series of captioned pictures often called "Unimpressed Astronaut" where the image was condescending about, for example, sky diving . There are many comparisons that people make, and getting some perspective can be a good thing at times.  Adoration of the Shepherds , Giorgione, ca. 1505 We had the winter's first serious cold spell, reaching low temperatures of two degrees Fahrenheit (almost minus 17 Celsius). It was cold for us , especially since winter did not hit our area all that hard until the week of December 17, 2020. People in Montana and other states would be saying, "That's cute". So would many in Canada, eh? Or Siberia, such as in this two-minute video which, for some reason, suddenly became age restricted but I see no problem whatsoever with showing it to children: So, some things that may seem like a big deal to one person are not all that impressive to another. Indeed, what is considered pover...

There are professing Christians who believe that the Genesis Flood was a local event. Worse, some say it was allegorical. Mayhaps they were not taught well, have not seriously read the Bible — or fully believe it. Denying the global Flood has serious repercussions.

The Bible tells us that no one has seen God (John 1:18). Moses wanted to but was told in no uncertain terms that it was not possible (Exodus 33:20). However, there are statements in Scripture about seeing God (such as the rasslin' match between Jacob and God in Genesis 32:24-30 or Isaiah's terrified exclamation in Isaiah 6:5). How do we reconcile these things? The appearance of the angels to Abraham , Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1728 Specifically, no human can see God the Father face-to-face and live. The reference in Isaiah and other places were visions, yet certain people experienced the divine. God has been involved with humanity from the beginning, which includes visitations from angels. Now we come to an interesting aspect. In Genesis and other places we read about "the angel of the Lord". When you read those accounts, this angel is distinct from other angels that God sends to people. Although theologians disagree on this , most seem to believe that this w...

There are times when someone who opposes a person or belief and admits something that is favorable. In American legal parlance, it is a statement against interest , and can be used in court proceedings. Satan knows full well that Jesus is the Creator, and indirectly admitted this fact. There are fools who deny God's existence (Psalm 14:1) or pretend that Jesus is a myth, but even Satan and demons have sense enough to be afraid (James 2:19 NIV). When Jesus was on the earth, he was able to do creation miracles, and Satan (the ultimate sidewinder) tried to use that against him. Matthew’s Gospel (4:1–4) has the following account of the temptation of Christ by Satan: ‘Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘M...

There is a term use about a biblical principle that may seem scary to some people. It is called the dominion mandate. It may sound like one of those political doctrines for the abuse of power like the divine right of kings or eminent domain , but the dominion mandate is a term for our Creator's command to understand and care about the world he has given us. Credit: Unsplash / Dylan Sauerwein Shortly after God created Adam and Eve, he told them, essentially, "See this nice planet I gave you? Reproduce (critters are to do this also), fill the earth, and get it under control". He did not tell them to run rampant and trash the place so he could be like a modern parent and clean up after his spoiled offspring. No, we are responsible to our Creator for how we care for the world. To do that, we must also learn about and understand many things. It is interesting that Jesus indicated this aspect as well! It’s noteworthy that this was God’s first commandment to the man an...

People try to find meaning in life in many ways, but those leave them ultimately unfulfilled. Much of the search for purpose in life is ultimately based on selfishness, while others seek it through altruism and charitable giving, which is often rooted in feeling good about themselves. Credit: Freeimages /  Radu Fizesan Some seek fulfillment in the arts, even using them to express yourself and the things that are important to you, or art for art's sake. Other people spend time caring for animals. I think we all know people who try to gain a sense of purpose in their lives through their jobs and making lots of grotzits. Then there are those who seek political power. Some are shallow and deranged, feeling good about themselves through manipulation and narcissism . Psychology, psychiatry, Eastern religions, liberal religions, occult practices, prescribed as well as illicit drugs, pleasures of the flesh — they still leave people with emptiness inside. Atheists claim that life h...

Some of us get depressed at Christmas. Perhaps we are missing friends and family, or we could be thinking of those who have passed on. Maybe that very un-Jewish manger scene gets you down. There are other circumstances that can get us down. However, Christians can remember the hope that we have. Credit: Unsplash / Tim Mossholder Step up on the hill and get a bigger picture. We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23, Rom. 6:23) against the holy and righteous God, yet he has mercy on us. God the Son is the Creator (Col. 1:16, John 1:1-3), who humbled himself and took on human form (Phil 2:6-11) and died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). He bodily rose from the dead (Luke 24:6-7, Acts 2:32) and we are adopted as children of God (John 1:12-13, Rom. 8:15-17). Yes, we have our down times, worse for some than others. We need to lift our focus off ourselves and our circumstances and remember what God has told us. We do have hope. Not only at Christmas, but always. Even though some of...

Christians who use their Bibles for more than just decorations and actually read them are familiar with the narratives concerning the temptations of Jesus by Satan. When tempted, Jesus replied with, "It is written". The Bible should be the foundation for our lives and conduct, and "It is written" should be second nature to us under many circumstances. Satan Tried To Tempt Jesus by James Tissot Jesus is an example to us. Even though he was God the Son, he knew Scripture. So did other people in the Bible. Someone may object that they were special and inspired by God, but we are to know the Bible which gives us life and guidance. When I was a child, I was told that Satan could not enter a room that contained a Bible, which doesn't hold up when we see apostate churches loaded up with them in the pew racks. Also, Satan was able to step up his game by quoting Scripture as well, but took verses out of context as well as misquoted — just like he did in Eden (Ge...

Since materialists believe that everything evolved, that also means religion itself evolved as well. A Darwinist believes that societies conjured up gods via natural selection when their population levels reached a million people, and these gods were ill-tempered. Background image courtesy of  Why?Outreach There are far too many fallacies in this foolish speculation to count. (One reason biblical creationists emphasize logic and critical thinking to so that people can learn to catch atheists and evolutionists in their bad reasoning and falsehoods.) There stories reek of desperation. Such a notion is also self-refuting, such as how love, compassion, forgiveness, and other good things are overlooked. A typical theory on the ‘evolution of religion’ commits multiple logical blunders, not the least of which is ignoring evidence. What’s wrong with this line of reasoning? ‘The Greeks reached a certain population size. At that population size, the idea of Zeus arose. Zeus was...

On Resurrection Sunday, most Christians celebrate the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead. While the man Jesus began his earthly life in Bethlehem, God the Son has always existed. He made himself known in several places in the Old Testament. These are called theophanies . Abraham Receiving the Three Angels by Bartolome Esteban Murillo, 1667 There is disagreement among scholars about the nature of theophanies. In the broadest sense, they were encounters with God. There is some debate about the identity of the angel of the Lord (although the text indicates that this was the preincarnate Christ ). God was active in human history before he (our Creator) took the form of a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day. This is one of many reasons to humble ourselves and rejoice. As Easter approaches, we tend to focus our reflections on the life, death, and glorious resurrection of Christ. We even mark the timeline of history ...

Among the many parables that Jesus told, one was about the mustard seed. He said that it was the "smallest" seed in Matthew 13:32, which atheists and anti-creationists attack by saying that there are other seeds which are smaller, which means to them that Jesus did not know what he was talking about. Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net / jk1991 We expect atheists to find excuses to claim that Jesus is not God, but it is disheartening when owlhoots who claim to be Christian will also claim that he was mistaken in an effort to justify theistic evolution . No, he is the Creator, and knows what he is doing (Col. 1:16, John 1-1-3). As is the case in many instances of confusion and alleged Bible contradictions, context is vitally important. Here, we can look at not only the immediate context, but the greater context. Jesus was not giving a botany lesson, pilgrim. The parable was an illustration about the kingdom of Heaven. He would have used figures of speech. In fact, I referre...