Biblical Creation and Evangelism

People who are involved in Christian apologetics ministries (especially biblical creationists) are often ridiculed by atheists as "reality deniers" or with similar epithets. Critics claim the intellectual high ground because they believe reality and Christians do not, but that is posturing — and unwarranted. Everyone has the same facts, but their worldviews dictate how facts are interpreted. When atheists claim that that material things are all that exist and that  is reality, those are just arbitrary assertions. They have no facts. People who believe the Bible can see that atheists are blocked from reality. Gate - You shall not pass, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Unfortunately, it is not just misotheists who are blocked. Many Christians are being harmed by the denial of the truth and authority of God's written Word. Evolution is a stumbling block for both believers and unbelievers, as people are told that particles-to-pastor evolution is a proven fact. (Indeed, evolutio

For some reason, many professing Christians are determined to get long ages out of the first two chapters of Genesis. The word under fire is  yôm , which means literal day (or part of a day) when qualifiers are used, otherwise it can mean an indefinite  period of time. Why those people want to take the only word that can mean literal day and confuse the issue so they can have millions of years in Genesis is baffling. They take the rest of Genesis and the Old Testament at face value, relying on context, when  yôm is used. Bible and pathway, Unsplash /  Aaron Burden If God wanted to indicate long ages, there are other words available. Several popular efforts have been made to compromise with the enemies of God and make creation seem to be older than God's Word tells us. (Do they really  believe the Bible, or is it just for show?) These compromises include the " Gap Theory ," the " Framework Hypothesis ," theistic evolution, and others. One of the others is the po

The title of this post should not be news to people who believe the Bible and its authority, as we believe that it means what it says. There are times when people will honestly disagree about the meaning of certain texts, but the global Flood is made clear. People began trying to find ways to grease the pig of deep time and slip in through the fence. Several efforts at compromise have been discussed on this site alone, but one of those most amazing attempts is to claim that the Genesis Flood was a local event. Noah's Ark at Ark Encounter, Wikimedia Commons / Cimerondagert ( CC by-SA 4.0 ) In some ways, the article linked below reinforces what many know, but it may also open the eyes of others. I'd be much obliged if you would let it show you how  to think biblically, and when you read not only Genesis but other parts of the Bible, keep an eye out for the many ways that the idea of a local flood is ridiculous. Here is a nugget for you to keep in your pocket and take it out to l

To say someone has a hole in the heart is imprecise, as there are several conditions that qualify . Most of the time people are born with it, others develop one of the problems later in life. Unless treated, they can be debilitating. Christian denominations have been compromising and even abandoning their foundations for quite some time. Even atheists see that churches are more interested in being "relevant" and keeping up with the trends rather than staying with their true calling — but most churches are oblivious to the correlation between leaving their foundations and churches closing. Black Church of Budir, Iceland, Unsplash / Cassidy Dickens Just recently, my pastor mentioned that James 3:1 tells us teachers receive stricter judgment. That is something I take seriously. Although I am not in a formal setting, I am indeed teaching or offering teachings from others. I pray for wisdom, to glorify God, to edify the saints. Someone who has been trained in a theological cemeter

It is consistently baffling that many professing Christians put the authority of science above Scripture, especially regarding the age of the earth. These owlhoots are grossly inconsistent — they think science is right about long ages, but then believe the Bible about the unscientific Resurrection of Jesus. When asked why it is so important to them to elevate the ever-changing pronouncements of scientific philosophies over the word of God, they do not provide satisfactory answers. The same may be wondered about John Nelson Darby and Cyrus Ingerson Scofield. First page of Genesis, RGBStock / Billy Frank Alexander The Gap Theory is a way of inserting billions of years between the first two verses of the Bible. It is handily refuted by biblical creation ministries ( here is one example ). What is interesting is how the Scofield Reference Bible, Darby, and others were influential in promoting old Earth creation while not accommodating evolution.  On a personal note, regular readers may ri

Professing atheists and others who reject the authority of the Bible look for excuses to say it contains errors and contradictions. When given serious attention, charges of contradictions are quickly refuted . It seems that atheists and other scoffers pass along talking points, no matter how vacuous, instead of thinking. At first glance, the first two chapters of Genesis may give someone a reason to pause. An honest reading shows that they are not contradictory. Indeed, they were written to be read one after the other. Fall of Adam and Eve via Hippopx It may seem that the second chapter of Genesis contradicts the first chapter in the order of creation, but take a closer look. Notice that other aspects of creation are not discussed. Indeed, it becomes clear that the sections are complementary , not contradictory. The second chapter spells out details about the creation of man. Also, the original language and grammar give us important clues. Between the creation of Adam and the creation

It should stand to reason that people who say they are Christians — followers of Jesus — should give give great value to his view of Scripture. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of biblical illiteracy among Christians. To be direct, many who bear that name are actually heretics . People sure are fond of their opinions. Post something on social(ist) media, you get a passel of "Well, I  think..." responses, and many of those are contradicted by the linked articles they refused to read. Opinionated biblically illiterate heretics are ripe for deception by cults. Bible open to Genesis, Pexels / Luis Quintero Many professing Christians are not committed to the inerrancy of Scripture, and often add in teachings, sayings, traditions, and opinions. We look to the Bible to learn about Jesus and salvation. We also read it to find out about living the Christian life and the return of Jesus. Why bother if it's full of errors or alleged contradictions ? This also a clear rejection o

Although the term New Age  is not as common as before, the concept remains. It was misnamed from the beginning because it is a repackaging of Hindu, Astrology, and other Eastern religious views. Essentially, it is religious buffet. For a while, calling something New Age was a marketing scheme. The music under that moniker could be jazz, electronic, nature sounds, and more — although it did not involve spirituality unless the listener added it. Books, board games, and more had New Age trappings. It should not surprise anyone that Christian elements were added and corrupted. Serpent meditating and glowing, made with AI image generator at Bing New Age stuff is not atheistic by nature, but it denies the authority of the Bible. Evolution is an ancient pagan religious idea that is seen in Eastern religions and New Age spirituality. Satan himself was the first evolutionist , rejecting God as Creator and believing that God also evolved just as he himself was doing. The first lie was back in Ge

Someone said that he asked people who believe the falsehood that the US Constitution has a separation of church and state clause, "Do you want something that is taught in seminaries also taught in public schools?" They answered in the negative. He pointed out that this subject was evolution. One would expect that a college calling itself  Christian  would believe and teach what is contained in the Bible, and uphold biblical authority. Many have fallen away and teach vague religiosity, and usually shun biblical creation. Faro game at Orient Saloon ca. 1900 / National Archives , colorized at Palette It has been demonstrated that particles-to-professor evolution makes atheists out of people, or causes them compromise their faith so that it becomes almost unrecognizable — even resembling Deism. Parents who care will provide their children with strong teachings in creation and other areas of the faith, and make resources available. This includes biblically-strong sites and weblogs

Genesis 1:6-8 has caused controversy for a mighty long time, and God is under no obligation to give us a full explanation for everything he says. We try to figure out things with science and theology. Sometimes we are successful, and other times debates continue. Let me say again that models and hypotheses come and go, but biblical creationists hold to the Word of God above all else — as it should be. People often have to delve into the original languages and the contexts of biblical passages. Some sections are very difficult to translate correctly, such as in this subject. ESA / Hubble & NASA, Sarajedini et al (Usage does not imply endorsement of site content) Creation scientists, like secular scientists, debate models and such. F'rinstance, the water vapor canopy over the earth was popular for a few years but was mostly abandoned because of both scientific and theological considerations. It doesn't help that some people believe that Genesis teaches Earth has a solid dom

The American Scientific Affiliation provides an example of what happens when an ostensibly Christian organization begins with an uncertain foundation and continues to compromise on Scripture. Not to be confused with other groups with similar names, it had an interesting approach to science and religion working in harmony. People of varied religious persuasions were members. Unfortunately, they did not seek the authority of the Word of God, but wanted validation from secular science. It did not go well. Secularists insist on naturalism. Sure, it's great to have those st00pid djumb theists promoting evolution and pretending it came from God, but that's not enough. The ASA had a "big tent" approach, but that turned into a circus. It has drifted into not only theistic evolution, but also open hostility toward biblical creation and its proponents. Note that the god of TE is not the God of the Bible, and numerous compromises and scriptural tap dancing are constantly requir

When reading the beginning of the Bible, people who actually believe it reach Genesis 2:7 and see where God made Adam from the dust of the ground. Okay, that is interesting, another miracle during the week that was full of them. Then they move on without further thought. Same with me. There are some owlhoots  that claim to believe the Bible but somehow reject what it plainly says. These types generally take a liberal view of Scripture, and that most likely includes evolution — which is taught in seminaries. Some views merging Adam and evolution are...truly bizarre. Hands with dirt, Unsplash / Gabriel Jimenez (cropped) Sometimes Adam and Eve are relegated to mythology or symbolism, but there are people who don't want to so blatantly dismiss parts of the Bible, though they still reject its authority. These will force in something resembling magic where Adam was some evolving creature, then God made it fully human. Well, if someone truly believes the Bible, the wording in the account

As many professing Christians claim, the Bible is essential for Christianity. It contains the words of life everlasting and the love of God — but far too many cannot be bothered to read it. When it is pointed out that all of us  are to be able to present the gospel, people clutch their pearls and walk away. They cannot present or defend the gospel message, just like far too many professing biblical creationists do go beyond reading picture captions. Those folks try to stand up to atheists but get their clocks cleaned because atheists and evolutionists know their talking points. The very basis of it all is understanding basic Bible interpretation. Reading the Bible , N.C. Wyeth, 1920 Christians must presuppose several things, not the least of which is that the Bible is true. It is also necessary to respect its authority, which is something that other biblical creationists and I have stressed many times. In addition, rational thinking (which has practical applications in every area of li

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

Both misotheists and liberal scholars who profess to be Christians saddle up and ride together, attacking the Genesis narrative. (As I have said before, if Christians receive support and applause from enemies of God, that should prompt self-examination about their faith .) In this case, the hard sky. These tinhorns figure that the ancient Hebrews had a view of the universe similar to their pagan neighbors, and it was apparent in the Bible. A many things are implicit in this accusation. It can also be considered  poisoning the well . Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (misrepresentation, modified), WikiComm / Tom-L ( CC BY 4.0 ) Obviously, materialists reject the inerrancy and authority of the Bible, but so do many liberal Christians. One "error" is the sky vault dome shell thing. If the Hebrews had hairbrained views of cosmology, why should we believe Genesis when it says "windows of heaven?" For that matter, the Lexham English Bible refers to a solid dome . B

Although unplanned, this post fits well with " Old-Earth Inerrancy Contradicts Itself ." There are quite a few professing Christians that claim to believe the Bible, but upon further inquiry, we see that they are riding the owlhoot trail — they rejected the authority of Scripture. One way to distort the truth is to blur it by putting secular science views in the magisterial position. Some go as far as to say that Jesus was wrong about creation because he did not have the enlightenment of modern science. It is easy for a Bible-believing Christian to wonder if those folks, who are married up with an old earth view, have bothered to think things through. Such a position cascades throughout all of Scripture. Some say Jesus was wrong, as were Peter, Paul, and others. This negates the Bible's trustworthiness, and also denies the Deity of God the Son, who is the Creator. Salvation become impossible! Recently, I was involved in an exchange with someone whose thinking on the age

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

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 Singing

Ask around, and people have many definitions for courage. Some folks have the mistaken notion that courage  includes doing something reckless. "Yep, took lots of courage to try to jump that active volcano with a bicycle." No, that is stupidity.  Bravery  is often used synonymously with courage, but  there are differences . A person can be courageous and scared silly, but doing what is right is more important than giving in to fear.  Christians need to cowboy up and show courage, standing up for the truth. Pixabay / Bruce Courage is an act of will. There are people who are vainglorious, but the truth is revealed when danger falls from a tree, they turn their backs and bravely flee. Other times, some people are surprising when they show courage in the face of danger. What dangers do biblical creationists face? In Western countries, it is mostly fear of ridicule from unbelievers. They should ask themselves if enemies of God are people from whom they want admiration. I almost joi

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  This post is likely to offend and enrage people, but I have to tell the truth. Sure, people say that as an excuse for being unkind, but keep reading to discern my motives. It is a sad fact that many professing Christians are effectively non-Christian heretics , accepting things that are contrary to the Bible that they claim to believe. The Word of God is the source of life, but many are unaware of its contents. They will not even read it. Image credit:  pazham  at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Take six minutes and read (or listen to the audio by my favorite reader), " The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy " and then come back. A bane of social media is when people will simply ignore the content and make uninformed comments, and the linked material often contradicts their opinions. (This is one reason I seldom make my titles into questions such as, "Was Adam the First Man?") I've mentioned before that when I asked someone if they read the article on