Biblical Creation and Evangelism

In some ways, liberal  implies being generous and having a kind heart. Politically, liberalism has changed its meaning over the years, so classical liberalism is very different from leftist modern liberalism. Theologically, liberalism does not hold to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible. Liberalism can emphasize dialogue, which may seem reasonable on the surface. Dialogue is important for clarifying points and determining viewpoints. However, the dialogue of liberalism also involves compromise and change in areas where these things do not belong — often in the name of being "progressive". With liberalism, to be progressive may seem like a worthy goal, but it "progresses" away from the Word of God. (Indeed, I did a web search on apologetics resources which yielded items "you can trust" that include theistic evolutionists and other untrustworthy sources. Biblical creationists were conspicuously absent.) Notice that theological liberals believe few if a

Misotheists often level a complaint about Christianity that there is no free will, sometimes indicating that God is a marionettist pulling our strings. When we sin, he punishes us even though it is not our fault. Admittedly, questions about free will have been debated by Christians for centuries. When such shallow attempts at theology are made by atheists, they conveniently ignore the fact that in their worldview , free will is impossible. Materialists reject the existence of God, so everything — even morality — does not make sense. Modified from image of train tracks merging, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Some believers in fish-to-fool evolution admit that the logical conclusion of their worldview is that we are all dancing to our chemicals in the pale moonlight. There are some who presuppose evolution believe it provides free will. Debate in their camp ensues. A big problem here is that people do not understand the meaning of free will. We can make choices that are only consistent w

It is both annoying and baffling how some folks do not want to take the Bible at face value, instead elevating their opinions or secular science views above Scripture. If you study on it a spell, false religions do something similar: We  will tell you what the passages mean, do not think you  can understand it. When someone cites William Lane Craig, I am on guard. While he can dismantle atheism, he has compromised in key areas of Christian doctrine . One of these is original sin. The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man , Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens,1615 I'll allow that the words  original sin  do not appear in the Bible, but other essential Christian doctrines, such as the Trinity, are not found under the names we know. That does not make them any less real. Although Craig mocks original sin (Adam and Eve at the forbidden fruit, and we inherit the sin nature), it is clearly evident from a plain reading of Scripture. This heresy is serious, and people should be very

Gardens. Many people make gardening a major hobby, spending hours in them, weeding, pruning, planting, and doing all sorts of things to gussie them up. The results can be quite impressive. Then some folks do just enough to keep their small patch going. People who read classic (in this case, old) literature, they have probably noticed gardens being mentioned or even playing significant parts in the stories. If you study on it, you should remember that gardens were in the Bible. The first was Genesis 2:8 when God planted a garden in  Eden. Church garden, RGBStock / Adrian van Leen Biblical creationists talk about the dominion mandate , which is when God told mankind to subdue and rule over the earth as stewards. That means we take care of it for its benefit , not exploit or run roughshod over it. Environmental extremists have an evolutionary view that makes Earth more important than humanity. One approach is rewilding , which is essentially to just l et everything go and have nature take

Although it is an old word and often used when movie studios mock Christians who are the villains shout it, heresy is useful. Heresies about Jesus abound. Perhaps it is a heresy when an atheist claims there is no God (or the absurdity that he never existed), but we will focus on heresies among professing Christians. Unfortunately, people believe at least three of the most common false teachings. Why do they believe them? Because they are easily deceived. Bluntly, this usually comes from spiritual laziness and biblical illiteracy. The Good Shepherd , Public Domain Pictures / Bernard Plockhorst, mid-1800s As mentioned before, I was raised in a theologically liberal denomination. When I went to a conservative Christian school for my last three years, I had no understanding of the Trinity or that Jesus is God the Son. Yes, the Trinity cannot be fully understood and must be taken by faith, but we can learn basic teachings in the Bible. Some teachings are not heresies but are heterodox, oft

An interesting expression is that some concept is not a hill to die on . This implies that the speaker does not consider the idea to be all that important, or that it is something a bit interesting but he does not have enough information or motivation to argue it. Similarly, some people say that the age of the earth is a side issue; it is not a hill to die on. While informed creationists say that belief in recent creation or the age of the earth are not requirements for salvation, they are still important  issues. Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock, Wikimedia Commons / Scglossop1 ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) In settlements and the military, people would want to fortify the higher ground because it was easier to defend. It could be costly for opposing forces to lead a charge up that hill. Conversely, those making the defense should be aware that they are defending the correct hill and not ignoring the importance of another hill nearby. It may be surprising, but defending the hill of the young earth a

There can be no denying that the idea of someone changing sexes has gone from a rare aberration into acceptance in recent years, and the rest of us are being coerced into being enthusiastic about it. We are called hateful and phobic for not accepting the the reality they are attempting to create and foist upon the world . Even more so for Christians and biblical creationists who believe what God's Word says about the created order. It is not  "hateful" for speaking the truth and trying to turn people from their flawed beliefs; they deny the Bible and science . Distorted woods, original image by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Amazingly, people try to put evolution into Genesis and pull out transgenderism! People who do this reject the Bible and denigrate those of us who believe it. They ignore creation science evidence (and some, albeit inadvertent, secular evidence) supporting how we all came from Adam and Eve. Evolutionists believe humanity had multiple first ancestors, and because

Although professing atheists like to say that if God is loving and powerful, he should be able to stop evil in the world. Even Christians ask these kinds of questions (albeit without the sneering). After all, God created a perfect world. It is natural to question and even argue from our own perspective, but we tend to forget about trying to see things from the point of view of someone else. What is God's side of the matter? If people will allow him to speak, he tells us in the Bible. Living and dead trees in the woods via Cowboy Bob Sorensen, modified at PhotoFunia People, plants, animals get sick. Everything that is born, dies. Evolutionists depend  on death because that supposedly gives rise to new life forms that are more equipped to survive. Yet they still resent it instead of celebrating that the aged and sick are out of the way. That's because they know that God is real. Deep inside, we know that death is the enemy, just like the Bible says. This enemy has been defeated b

First of all, the word theory  is often used by people who simply have a conjecture or an idea they are making up on the spot. In science, a theory is a step above a hypothesis  and is expected to have an evidential basis. The Gap Theory  has nothing to do with science, but is not just an off-the-cuff speculation, either. Even though it has been refuted long ago, people zombify it and let it roam around, annoying theologians and confusing lay people. Standley Chasm, Unsplash / Stephen Mabbs There are some variations on the Gap Thing (you make my heart sing). It exists as a compromise for professing Christians to say they believe the Bible and also have deep time. The gap supposedly exists between the first two verses of Genesis, but is supported by an illegitimate reading of the text — and a heapin' helpin' of eisegesis. Now we have a gap. Want to see what's in it? Billions of years. The fall of Satan. Lucifer's Flood, which is supposed to explain geology. Ruin and reco

A common argument from misotheists against the existence of God is that since there is suffering in the world, God either does not exist or does not care. Some suggest he does not have much power. Christians also wonder why pain exists. God is condemned by unrighteous people to justify their rebellion (Job 40:8), but they do not see things from his perspective. They use prejudicial conjecture and statements without knowledge. Darwinists will say that pain evolved to help organisms survive; keep your fingers out of the fire. Cross and crown of thorns, RGBStock / Adrian van Leen Six days ago, this cowboy had torn meniscus surgery. It's a comparatively minor knee surgery and I went home the same day. It still hurts there and in other parts of the leg. Ibuprofen helps somewhat, but I really don't want to take the prescribed opioid. Naturalism relies on the complex scientific principle of Making Things Up™ because they are working from other conjectures that are also made up. While

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Biblical creation science is in a special niche of evangelical Christianity, and is not extremely popular. Many people who do follow it are enthusiastic and attentive. Because creation science is more intellectual than other areas that interest professing Christians, many people have little use for it. Take a look at the name: It has Bible, creation, and science. Another name that is commonly used is young-earth creation (YEC), but many of us are using that much less than before because we follow what the Bible teaches, and are not trying to force-fit science into Scripture. Creation, Pixabay / Karin Henseler It seems reasonable to assume that those involved in a smaller area of interest would be glad to have other people join us. Sure, it's great to fellowship with like-minded individuals, but this is not just a religious social club. Someone who identifies as a creationist isn't necessarily a Christian. In fact, there are a few reasons that people shou

It is common to hear people make an appeal to a form of religiosity by declaring something is a sin. Presumably this is done to give their declaration some form of power or impact, but it usually just sounds trite. My wife's parents said it was a sin to throw away food. I say it's a sin to eat Brussels sprouts. Anyone can make such a claim, but can seldom support it with Bible verses or scriptural principles. This is not surprising, since most professing Christians are biblically illiterate. Worse, t hey are functional heretics and are unsaved ! To say that something is sinful without having knowledge is trivializing sin and the death of Jesus on the cross. Kneeling at the Cross, PxHere When posting material that refutes the idea that Christmas and Easter are of pagan origin, I see many professing Christians clinging to their uninformed opinions and traditions rather than examining the well-researched material. They were judging knowledgeable Christians and acting like they wer

At this writing, we are in the final days before Christmas 2022. From the condition of the formerly United States to other parts of the world, and even in the lives of individuals, some people are not feeling it. Put up the tree, watch some movies, buy presents. Depression is rampant at Christmas. We get focused on our obligations, our problems, our ailments. All those songs about feeling happy seem to make things worse for some of us. I reckon that the problem is not with Christmas (how can it be?), but with our focus. Bible and Christmas, Pixabay / congerdesign It's time to saddle up and ride to the top of the hill and get the big picture. The big stores, songs about "the most wonderful time of the year" (which are nonsensical outside certain latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere anyway), other trappings are add-ons or even corruptions of the true meaning of Christmas. It is far, far greater in its scope and impact than people can imagine, and prophesied back in Genesis!

Many people claim they have a problem with God, or that God has a problem, because they think he is wicked or incapable. They are making their case from a limited perspective. We are human and God is infinite; the created cannot fully understand the Creator. In addition, people are in rebellion against him. Misotheists pretend God does not exist, then absurdly ridicule Christians who say that there is plenty of evidence for him (Romans 1:18-23). Read or listen more and they are condemning God to justify themselves (Job 40:8). The most common complain is evil in the world. Question mark and big door, Unsplash / Jac Alexandru Of course, things God considers evil are often accepted by these people. They are working from personal preferences and arbitrary standards. There's a prairie schooner-full of speculation, guesswork, uninformed opinions, prejudicial conjecture and all that good stuff used to contemplate and "explain" God. Very disrespectful. How about his point of view

There are some people who call themselves "Red Letter Christians" because they think that only the words of Jesus in red letters are important. So much for spiritual growth! Such a view is not only silly, but self-refuting simply because Jesus referred to other parts of Scripture. A slightly more reasonable but still erroneous idea is that the Old Testament was fulfilled and we are living under the New Testament (Covenant), so it is not needed. As with the Red Letter view, this one shows ignorance and biblical illiteracy — a problem that too many professing Christians have in some form. Genesis 2:24-25, Pexels / Brett Jordan Related to all this is how some people mythologize and allegorize the first eleven chapters of Genesis. This is often done by people who want to believe in long ages and various compromising positions. If they would actually read the Bible without liberal spectacles to color their perceptions, they might see that these areas are treated as history through

It may be surprising to many people that, when they speak of the devil, the correct image is not the horned monster with a pitchfork and a pointed tail. He was actually the most beautiful thing ever created — and damned proud of it! No, that was not gratuitous profanity. His pride caused his damnation. The Bible tells us God hates pride, but that does not mean pride in a job well done or telling someone that you're proud of them. Many people today have damnable pride. Proud strutting cock, Pixabay / Steve Smith There is a huge amount of pride parading around nowadays where people are flagrantly rebelling and violating God's moral standards. It is also abundant in many ways, whether the business executive, uppity connoisseur of "good" things, narcissistic atheists , professing Christians holding to the One True Belief™, or elsewhere. Used under Fair Use provisions for educational purposes This child believes that it is exceptionally difficult for arrogant people to hu

People have wanted immortality for a very long time and pondered various ways to make it happen. Many believe they will live on in some way through their progeny. Some have tried to use the occult to attain immortality. With the rise of technology, science fiction writers were inspired to write stories of brains being kept alive, consciousness transferring to another person or into a machine — the 1818  Frankenstein  novel certainly inspired many of these ideas as well. Some folks believe c ryonics  (or cryogenics ) has definite possibilities. Cryonics, Pixabay / harmonynotapathy No, despite urban legends, Walt Disney was not frozen. Quite the opposite , in fact. There are many books and movies that involve people being frozen and reanimated at a future date. Some have people standing in chambers, or laying in stasis pods or something similar. There are businesses that will freeze people shortly after they are legally dead in hopes that in the future, whatever killed them will have bee

The idea that the waters above or firmament in Genesis 1:6-8 indicated a canopy was used by biblical creationists a few decades ago, but knowledgeable creationists have mostly abandoned it [ 1 ]. The idea was promoted by Dr. Henry M. Morris, and the Institute for Creation Research still has some hints about it [ 2 ], but they were seeing problems with it in the late 1990s [ 3 ] and have pretty much put it out to pasture today [ 4 ]. I taught that idea myself. Part of its appeal is its explanatory power. RGBStock /  Sias van Schalkwyk One of the challenges of creation science material (and scientific material in generally, if you study on it) is that things change — often quickly. Theories and conjectures are modified and even rejected, but someone may own a book or video from a few years earlier that influenced their thinking. Perhaps an underinformed lecturer is spreading outdated information. So, we have to cowboy up, get informed, and make changes when necessary. Theories come 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 &quo