Biblical Creation and Evangelism

As we have seen, major movements seldom happen at one specific moment in time. The Reformation is considered to have begun on October 31, 1517 , but some of the groundwork was established years before by people like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale. (Aspects of the Reformation continued after Luther's time.) A major focus of the Reformation was the clarity of Scripture. Credit: Freeimages / Jorge Avina The expensive word for this is perspicuity.  The Bible can be clearly understood regarding important doctrines even by us reg'lar folk, but it also contains a wealth of information to keep someone growing in faith and understanding for a lifetime. The Roman Catholic Church did not want the people to know what Scripture really  said, and it fought to keep the Word of God out of the hands of the people. (For that matter, look at how cults tell people that the Bible can be understood only through their sources and people should not read it for themselves. Some even have the...

People may have thought that we had the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, considered to have "officially" begun on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the "social media" of his time. Read an article, listen to a message, have a German beer and ride off into the sunset. Not so. As we saw in several posts last year, the Reformation had its beginnings long before that date, and continued afterward. Luther at the Diet of Worms , Anton Werner 1877 Dr. Albert Mohler had been presenting a series on the Five Solas which I was looking forward to posting in time for the big anniversary observance. Delays happened, so I decided to save them for y'all in time for the 501st anniversary. Before obtaining those, I recommend reading his article, " Here We Stand ". They lectures are in MP3 format, so you can download and listen to them at your convenience. Free of charge, naturally. Each link will take you to the page where...

I suppose you thought that everyone was finished with material about the Reformation. We had the 500th anniversary of what is considered the beginning of the whole thing, where Martin Luther put out his 95 theses on what was the social media of his day.  Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli by Hans Asper , 1531 / Wikimedia Commons The Reformation continued developing and theology was being refined. Newer Reformers appeared on the scene, and not all were in agreement. Sincere, thinking people will disagree (just like not all biblical creationists are in lockstep). Ulrich Zwingly is often tacked on as an afterthought to Christian history, which is unfortunate. He upheld the authority of Scripture and was in trouble for disputing Papal decrees. This was not just a dispute over religion, but was a threat to governmental authority at the time. One reason I delayed posting this was to make an emphasis about how Zwingly is neglected. [S]trangely, one of the leaders of the Reformation, oft...

Despite the claims of some old-earth compromisers like Hugh Ross, the church fathers believed , for the most part, in a young earth. For that matter, the Genesis Flood, recent creation, and similar matters were largely undisputed and a defense of the position was generally considered unnecessary. The concept of deep time is the new gelding in the theological stable. Credit: Pixabay / strecosa What about the Reformers? You know, that Protestant Reformation that is considered to have begun back yonder about 500 years ago? Yeah, those guys. Remember, a movement does not usually happen in a moment; there is groundwork and developments until the thing commences to happen. We know that Martin Luther took Genesis seriously , but we may wonder about the other Reformers during that period of years. It's a reasonable question, since liberal theologians and many professing Christians today believe the old earth view — especially since Christians ceded both science and theology to secula...

It is October, 2017, the month of the Reformatin's 500th anniversary. The Reformation is considered to have begun when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the Wittenburg church door — a kind of social media of the time, and not an act of vandalism. He wanted debate, or serious discussion, on some matters that had been troubling him about the Roman Catholic Church, faith, the Bible, and more. A movement does not typically happen in an instant, and Luther was a priest and a monk who had been pondering some things for a long time, including his own salvation. He learned some things from Scripture that brought problems into focus, and his writings caused him a heap of trouble, and he was investigated for heresies at the Diet of Worms in 1521. We've heard and read about it a great deal lately. It sounds like a California fad eating style, but actually a diet  back then was a formal assembly, and this was conducted in the city of Worms. Now the term makes sense, doesn't it? It...

One of the main problems for Christian theology occurred when Christians ceded the proper understanding of Genesis to secular science. Not only did those owlhoots compromise on long ages, but they often included evolution as well. At this time, liberal theologians were stampeding through academia and the churches, causing a great deal of confusion and apostasy. Theologians back then had forgotten the importance of a solid foundation. Martin Luther had a different problem than we have: some people rejected six day creation because it seemed too long! (Click for larger.) In the course of events leading to the Reformation, Luther realized the importance of the foundation of Scripture itself. He also held fast to the foundation of the gospel message itself, which begins in Genesis. Our creation reformation requires rejecting compromise on biblical truth, beginning from the very first verse. Five hundred years ago in Wittenberg, Germany, an unusual scholar changed the course of hum...

As most Christians are aware, 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, so don't be surprised when you see a whole passel of articles, sermons, and so forth all over the web. While major movements begin suddenly and have various events leading up to them, October 31 is considered the "official" date when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. Then things really took off. No, not because of the apparent vandalism, because that was the form of social media back then. Instead, things really took off because of what Luther had written. Luther nailing 95 theses , Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872 / Wikimedia Commons Luther emphasized the solae ("alone"): Scripture, faith, and grace. In later years, "Christ alone" and "glory to God alone" were added. The religious authority of the Roman Catholic Church had usurped its authority, focusing on tradition and selling of papal indulgences . Luther also wanted...