Ken Ham's Blog, page 455

The Emergent Church—an Evolutionary Hermeneutic?

Many people have been perplexed on why the leaders of what's called the emergent church movement believe and teach the way they do. The research we have done into the movement shows very clearly it is a result of using an evolutionary hermeneutic. And what do I mean by that? Because the leaders have accepted the secular belief in evolution, they then use this to interpret and understand Scripture. Here is emergent church leader Brian Mclaren in his own words:

If we believe that  the same God who created an evolving universe is revealed in an evolving  Bible, we can derive some fascinating insights from contemporary studies of  genetics.  Today's chickens, it turns out, still have the genetic  information in their DNA that was used to produce long tails, scales and teeth  in their ancestors the dinosaurs.  During embryonic development, some of  those primitive dinosaur characteristics still manifest themselves in  chickens. (Human embryos similarly have stages where they sport gills and  tails, so it is said that our ontogeny recapitulates our phylogeny.)  We  might say that the Bible similarly retains a record of its own evolution, and  in our individual spiritual development we may personally recapitulate earlier  stages. This is a theme to which we will return in our last few chapters.  (McLaren, Brian D.,  A new kind of Christianity: ten questions that are transforming the  faith (New York: HarperOne, 2010), p. 273)

The above quote is from McLaren's notes at the end of the book. In the section of Chapter 10 that this note refers to, McLaren uses the word "evolution" very loosely, but also uses evolutionary ideas. Mclaren states, "As human capacity grows to conceive of a higher and wiser view of God, each new vision is faithfully preserved in Scripture like fossils in layers of sediment" (p. 103). Really, both statements say it all—they sum up much of the emergent church theology.

How many people have not really understood that the emergent church really is an outgrowth of evolution applied to the Bible?

Again, such movements show clearly the importance of the Answers in Genesis' biblical upholding ministry as we expose the scientific and theological problems with evolution and the church's compromise with it.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Your Tax Dollars at Work—Indoctrination in Millions of Years

Welcome to the Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming. For Americans, here you can experience your tax dollars "at work," indoctrinating visiting families in millions of years (and evolution). Follow me as we drive into the visitors center.

The sign to welcome us.

A sign explaining you will experience traveling through the supposed billions of years of earth's history.

Here are some of the signs along the way:

After traveling half of a mile, you have now reached a sign at the visitors center.

Now walk along the railing with all the millions of years signs on the side of the visitors center.

Now walk down the railing at the back of the visitors center with the millions of years signs.

More signs.

Now walk down beside the railing at the front of the visitors center until you see the two red arrows that explain the distance between those arrows, supposedly representing what is called "recorded history."

Wow! From half a mile to these two red arrows, secular scientists know exactly what happened over the supposed billions of years! The reason there is such an emphasis on attempting to indoctrinate people in millions of years is because secularists can't even postulate the idea of evolution without an incomprehensible amount of time. And actually, when you see the supposed billions of years of history spelled out like this, and then what is supposedly recorded human history, one realizes how far out this is. People begin to question how fallible humans in the present could ever determine with such accuracy such an incomprehensible history!

Yes, your tax dollars at work as authorities attempt to indoctrinate the public in a fairy tale regarding supposed history. And then you walk into the visitors center and see the display of fossils as well as the labels of millions of years, millions of years, millions of years, and more millions of years.

Oh, a reminder of what I've shared before on this blog: the fossils in the glass cases are what the scientists found. The labels and the paintings are their story to attempt to reconstruct the past from a total evolutionary, naturalistic perspective.

And then, one reads how these fossils had to be formed catastrophically. For instance, see this beautiful stingray fossil:

And look at these beautifully preserved fish fossils:

And lastly, see these two fish caught in the act of swallowing their lunch:

The sad thing is that such indoctrination in millions of years and evolutionary ideas occurs across the nation in museums, national parks, national monuments, zoos, aquaria, and so on—yet the secularists are up in arms about one major Creation Museum.

Isn't it amazing? The atheists attack my Facebook page, and they continually mock AiG, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter in their blogs. Also, articles are written in newspapers and magazines on evolution and opposing AiG, and secular organizations run conferences with presentations on how to deal with the Creation Museum and biblical creationists. Why are they so worried when there is an overwhelming indoctrination in millions of years and evolution across the nation? Because, for most people, many will question millions of years and evolution once they are taught how to think correctly about science and the Bible—shown how observational science confirms that millions of years and evolution can't be true and how the Genesis account of origins explains the evidence. And then many people begin to realize they have to take God's Word seriously. And there are those who recognize they are sinners in need of salvation.

Well, I just thought Americans might like to see your tax dollars as they are being used at just one national monument.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

No Wonder Two Thirds of Young People Are Leaving the Church

In 2009, the book (which Britt Beemer from America's Research Group and I co-authored) Already Gone, was published. This book detailed results of nationwide research into why two thirds of young people will leave the church by the time they reach college age.

It was found that the teaching of evolution and millions of years had a lot to do with creating doubt in their trust in Scripture. Such doubt (as Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:3) can lead to unbelief.

The research also showed that those young people (the two thirds group) who went to Sunday school were—surprisingly—more likely to have heard a Christian leader (pastor, Sunday school teacher, and so on) tell them they could believe in evolution and millions of years. We also found those in this group that they were more spiritually worse off than those who didn't go to Sunday school and were more inclined to accept abortion and "gay" marriage.

The research also showed that churches and Christian homes were by and large not teaching children and young people how to defend the Christian faith. They were not being taught apologetics, yet most of these same young people were being taught the wrong sort of apologetics—"secular apologetics"—at public school and on TV. Most were being given the supposed evidence and reasons that evolution and millions of years are true (evidence there supposedly never was a global Noah's Flood and evidence against the Bible being true).

Sadly, such compromised teaching of evolution and millions of years—accepting the secular religion of the day—is rife in churches across America. Here is an example (sadly, it is not the exception) I came across this past week.

Dr. Michael Helms, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jefferson (Georgia) wrote an article for the column "Pastor's Pen"  for the newspaper called The Paper of Braselton, Chateau Elan, Hoschton and Jefferson, Georgia. In this commentary, he is giving an answer to a question a 10-year-old daughter asked her father: "Who came first: Adam and Eve or the caveman?"

I have reprinted the article for you, along with my comments. Also, I have included PDFs of the actual article.

Who Came First, Adam and Eve or the caveman?

A fellow Rotarian has an intelligent 10-year-old daughter. Already at such an early age, faith and science are colliding in her world, creating tensions she's trying to reconcile. She asked her father not long ago, "Who came first, Adam and Eve or the caveman?"

It seems like a simple question for a Christian father to answer, but not so fast. If he says, "Well darling, you know the Bible says Adam and Eve were the first people God made, so that means they came first," then the child is conflicted with the science she's studying, which tells her the caveman evolved from lower forms of life.

Comment: Let's examine the comment "conflicted with the science she's studying." As we see so often, people don't understand there is a big difference between "historical science" (beliefs about the past) and "observational science" (which builds our technology and is based on the repeatable test). What he really means is what she is being taught about origins at schools conflicts with what the Bible clearly teaches about origins. And this is the issue. It is a conflict. If children in our church aren't taught correctly, this is one of the very reasons such children begin to doubt the Bible and eventually leave the church.

If he says, "Well darling, scientists tell us human beings evolved, so the caveman came first," then the child is conflicted with the Bible, according to most preachers I know, for that would deny the historical accuracy of the scriptures. Wouldn't that destroy the trust and faith this child places in the Bible?

Comment: It certainly is causing a destruction of "the trust and faith this child places in the Bible." And by the way, a "caveman"  is simply a man who lives in a cave! People living in caves are mentioned in the Scriptures (e.g., at the time of Job). There are people who live in caves today. Sadly, the secular world (and even some Christians) equates "cavemen' with so-called primitive people, usually in some sort of evolutionary scenario.

I know committed Christians who believe God used evolution as His mode of creation. That of course means they must read the Genesis account as something other than a literal account of creation. I don't see where this interpretation affects their ethics at all, that is, how they treat

their fellow man, or even their love for God. Remember, many parts of the Bible are not taken literally. No one takes these words of Jesus literally, "So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet" (Matthew 18:8 NLT).

Comment: This is a fallacy so often used to undermine Scriptural authority. One takes a passage out of context, and uses that to reject taking Genesis (which is written as historical narrative) literally. By the way, it would be better to have only one hand and one foot than to spend eternity in Hell. In other words, one's eternity is so very important—it is priceless and worth much more than anything on this earth.

Many times we have shown clearly that Jesus (Matthew 19) and Paul (Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15) quoted Genesis as literal history. If there is no historical Adam and no historical Fall, what is the gospel all about? Why are we sinners? Are we sinners? Where did sin come from? In fact, the first time the gospel is preached is in Genesis 3:15. If that is not to be taken literally, then the gospel is not to be taken literally. Genesis chapters 1–11 is foundational to all doctrine. If Genesis is not literal history, then what is marriage? It could be anything people want to make it to be. Jesus in Matthew 19 makes it clear that the doctrine of marriage is based on a literal Adam and Eve.

At what point in the evolutionary process would God have created male and female in His own image? That's a question I've never resolved. I have kept a simple faith and have always treated Adam and Eve as literal people, but I admit, I don't understand their timelines in relation to

the aging of the world and the study of paleontology.

Comment: If Genesis is not a "literal account of creation," then how can this pastor even believe in a literal Adam and Eve? This is utter confusion—confusion because he is accepting the secular "historical science" and using that to reinterpret the infallible, inerrant God-breathed Word.

So what about those who use the Bible to establish the number of generations from the birth of Jesus to the creation of Adam to fix the age of the earth? In their desire to be as deeply committed to the Bible as possible, people who believe in this interpretation of the Bible have set themselves up to reject everything scientific that doesn't fit with an earth that's a little more than 5,000 years old. Are you ready to teach your children that dinosaurs were on the ark? Not me.

Comment: Actually, the years come to 6,000 not 5,000. So what is the reason he is not "ready to teach your children that dinosaurs were on the ark?" He doesn't give an answer to the question, but in a way he answered it above: because he takes the word of fallible man, who has devised a religion to explain life without God, and adds that to God's Word. In doing so, he, therefore, rejects God's clear Word in Genesis; except, he wants a literal Adam and Eve, but doesn't take the account of creation in Genesis as literal!

So how's a father to answer his 10-year-old child? You see, the pieces of the puzzle don't fit so easily together to explain to a 10-year-old or even to me just exactly how the world and human beings came to be or when. There's mystery in our creation. I suppose this is the reason all

the timeline questions are not answered in seminary, unless you attend one of those schools that has all the answers. Most allow for some mystery in God's world and in the scriptures.

Comment: There is no mystery. It is only a mystery when one takes man's fallible beliefs of origins as infallible, and takes God's clear Word as fallible! That is what is happening here—so sad.

Maybe that's the answer. You see, the child has asked a question that's a trap. Her father seemed to realize it was a trap and that's why he was so cautious in answering his daughter. He wants his daughter to affirm her faith while having a healthy appreciation for science. He doesn't

want her to reject either one, but to continue to subject both to tough questions, which demand the best answers, for this is one of the best ways for her to discover truth and knowledge. People with a healthy faith learn that mystery is a component of God, which should be embraced and incorporated in their faith.

Comment: The child asking a question is a "trap?" No, it is a child seeking to understand God's Word and wanting answers to the skeptical questions of this age. This dad needs to stand on God's authoritative Word and teach his daughter that what she is being taught at school about origins is a belief—it is fiction. He needs to instill in his daughter that scientists, who don't know everything, who weren't there in the past, have constructed a story about how they believe life arose on earth. The dad needs to teach his daughter that only God knows everything, and only God has always been there—and His Word is true and infallible. And then he needs to give his daughters answers based on God's Word, and show that observational science confirms God's Word over and over again. My fear is that if this dad takes this pastor's advice, his daughter could easily end up in that two thirds that are Already Gone.

When Jesus was asked questions he felt were designed to trap Him, he always answered the question with a question. Maybe that's how this father could answer his daughter. Instead of answering her questions with a statement, perhaps he should respond with a question: "Well, darling, who made them Adam, Eve and the caveman?"

Comment: When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He said "It is written . . . ."  When Jesus was asked about marriage in Matthew 19, he said, "have you not read?" I would say to this pastor, "Have you not read? "By one man sin entered the world and death by sin" (Romans 5). Have you not read, "The first man Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45)? Have you not read, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews 11:7)? Actually, I could give many other references; in fact, Genesis is the most quoted from or referred to book in the Bible.

You see, Genesis begins with a FORTISSIMO! "In the beginning, GOD." Everything begins with God. You can't have an Adam, an Eve or a caveman, for that matter, without God. Now, if you want to argue about time, go ahead, but the book of Genesis was not written to tell us how old the

earth is. It was not written to tell you where all the people came from. For example, where did Cain get his wife? Who were the people God was protecting him from when he marked Cain? We don't know and the author doesn't seem to care.

Comment: Genesis 5:4 tells us that Adam had other "sons and daughters." The Bible does tell us where Cain's wife came from. And it was "in the process of time" that lead to Cain killing Abel. By the time this happened, there would have been many people. Cain was obviously frightened of all his family members because he killed one of them.

And by the way, the Author is God.  The Author is Jesus—Jesus is the Word. So Jesus "doesn't seem to care" about his Word? No wonder we have such problems in our churches with two thirds of young people leaving the church.

Genesis is written to tell us WHO made the earth and all that dwells within it. It is not written to tell us exactly how God made the earth or even the time lines, only that God spoke and that it came into being, "ex nihilo," that is, "out of nothing," and that we were made from the dust of the ground.

Comment: How does he even know this, as if Genesis is not to be taken literally? Then how can he take "In the beginning God" literally? Maybe that too is symbolic, so who knows what that means? This is all very inconsistent.

Scientists will continue to grapple with the how's of creation, but there will always be mystery around creation because when you begin with nothing and end up with a universe, that demands the presence of the supernatural, which is surrounded with mystery. You cannot explain how you get from nothing to something. It will be plenty to keep scientists busy for a long time.

Comment: Actually, secular scientists will continue to grapple with how the universe and life came into being until they are prepared to accept the Word of the infallible God who gave us a written revelation to tell us all we need to know.

If a 10-year-old can grapple with the question, "Who came first, Adam and Eve or the caveman," I think she can be comfortable living with a bit of mystery. "Child, what we know for sure is that the infinite God came first. What we know is whenever science proves anything beyond any doubt, only then can we can embrace it fully. Any thing science can prove does not threaten our faith. It's like God pulling back His veil and saying, 'This is how I did it.' But until then, much of life's origins remain shrouded in mystery, even as scientists chip away at understanding it. Be comfortable with mystery, for we worship a mysterious God, who has revealed enough of Himself that we can be assured of our faith in Him and of His mysterious nature."

Comment: This 10 year old won't be "comfortable"—research shows what is likely to happen to her, sadly.

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Dr. Michael Helms is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jefferson.

Comment: How about taking the words of Paul in Corinthians and Romans where Genesis is quoted as literal history? What about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 where he states that the woman is "of the man"—that woman came from man, just as Genesis describes (i.e., woman from man's side).

Sadly, this sort of compromise is rife in our church; it reflects the state of the church and the state of so many Christian colleges. Look for the sequel to Already Gone, called Already Compromised, to be released May 1.

You can obtain the book Already Gone, and you can preorder Already Compromised.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Instant Evolution

AiG's researcher/speaker/writer Dr. Georgia Purdom (who has a PhD in molecular genetics) has written an interesting blog item on what is supposed to be "instant evolution."

She writes:

The headline read, "Instant Evolution in Whiteflies: Just Add Bacteria."[1] Any time I see the words instant, speedy, or sudden together with evolution, I'm intrigued. Evolution, as the term is commonly used, denotes an unobservable process that occurred in the past over eons of time resulting in the change of one kind of organism into a completely different kind of organism. According to evolutionary ideas, changes in organisms aren't supposed to happen rapidly, hence the need to modify the word evolution with an adjective such as "instant" when a change does occur quickly …

The researchers found that whiteflies with Rickettsia lay more eggs, have more eggs survive, and the sex ratio is changed favoring more female offspring (the bacteria are passed maternally—mother to offspring). A news article on the research stated the following:  "It's instant evolution," said Molly Hunter, a professor of entomology in the UA's [University of Arizona] College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the study's principal investigator. "Our lab studies suggest that these bacteria can transform an insect population over a very short time."  I agree that their research shows that bacteria have the ability to alter the whitefly population, but is that an example of "instant evolution"? No. It is merely an alteration of reproductive abilities that the whitefly already possessed.

I encourage you to read the entire blog—that has more great teaching/information—at:

http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/georgia-purdom/2011/04/14/instant-evolution/

Speaking in Jackson, Wyoming, in the Morning

Tomorrow morning I will be speaking at Community Bible Church in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Here is the information:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/outreach/event/6963/

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

On the Fox News Channel Starting Nationwide Today

Today is the debut of a new Creation Museum TV commercial. It will air nationwide in the U.S. on the Fox News Channel. We've had a few TV spots air on Fox, but this one is different and somewhat "edgy." Viewers will get a glimpse of some of the negative press coverage the Creation Museum has received, and then I come on camera and end with a few comments, including the words: "Think for yourself."

These spots will air nationally on the number one rated news network on U.S. television and on the following shows (times are Eastern time zone):

7:55 AM—Fox & Friends
10:35 AM—America's Newsroom
9:25 AM—America's Newsroom
12:25 PM—Happening Now
3:55 PM—Studio B

Note: Times are subject to change, especially if news breaks.

This TV spot is a collaboration between the Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis along with Mark Tilghman, a founding partner of Joseph David Advertising. We will be utilizing the number one rated cable news network, Fox News, plus there will be digital efforts to include blogs and social media that will allow individuals to be a part of the conversation about meaningful issues like creation vs. evolution.

Yes, in a culture in which public schools, science museums, and much of the media present an anti-biblical, pro-evolution viewpoint to the exclusion of biblical creation, we want people—as the TV spot shares—to "think for themselves" on an important topic like this one. A visit to the Creation Museum affords its visitors the opportunity to be exposed to a viewpoint that has been largely expelled from society.

With these TV ads over the next days, we're placed in a good window—during the final days leading up to Easter.  These spots will continue next week at a similar schedule as above.

Spread the word!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Dream to Work for AiG

We are receiving more and more letters and emails from young people who tell us they want to be creation scientists, speakers, writers, and so on, and they want to work for AiG. Here is a letter we received from a junior in high school:

Some people dream of becoming an astronaut, a pilot, or the President of the United States.  I, as a junior in high school, have set my sights on becoming a speaker/writer/researcher for AiG. It is my dream to work for your ministry. Thank you for everything that you do. God has used your books, your videos, and the Creation Museum to significantly impact my life, as well as my parents'.  . . . I eagerly wait to see what plans God has for Answers in Genesis in the future.

Praise the Lord for these teens who the Lord is raising up to take a stand on God's Word!

Creation Museum Photo Wins Contest

A family visiting the Creation Museum recently shared a wonderful story with us. Their local newspaper had a monthly photograph contest, so this family submitted the photograph they had taken of them at the Creation Museum by one of our Foto FX photographers. They won the contest for that month, and then found their photo was selected as the winner for the year.

Here is the family holding the newspapers with the notification of their winning Photo FX photograph.

Below are scans of the sections of the newspaper showing their Creation Museum photograph and that they had won the monthly and annual contests:

Congratulations to this family, and thanks for the publicity they gave to the Creation Museum! This is better than placing and advertisement in the paper.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Educating Children/Young People

AiG influences thousands upon thousands of children and teens each year through the Creation Museum, websites, resources (books, DVDs, and so on), and conferences. As part of our AiG conferences, we often conduct two 1.5 hour sessions for grades K–6 and 7–12 respectively. I make the K–6 program fun for the kids, and they love learning the true history of the world from the Bible, using dinosaurs, Noah's Ark, etc. The children also hear the gospel message clearly. For the grades 7–12, I teach them creation apologetics in topics such as geology, biology, anthropology, and biochemistry; and I am often joined by an AiG scientist. These young people are excited to learn that they can trust God's Word and defend their faith.

Here are photographs taken at our school programs this past Monday morning at Christian Life Center in Dayton, Ohio.

Elementary and middle school students from Northside Christian School

Junior and senior high classes of Northside Christian School

Some of the buses that brought lots of children

Kids and parents looking at resources

Students at the junior and senior high session

Autographing books for children

Looking at resources

Children filing in for the 1st session

Children packed to overflowing in the auditorium

Speaking to the children

Praise the Lord for all the children who are being raised up on the truth of God's Word and who are being equipped to be able to defend the faith against the false ideas of evolution and millions of years.

AMC is Coming! Discount Still Available.

The Apologetics Mega Conference (AMC) to be held here in northern Kentucky is getting closer, and the anticipation for this year's major in-depth apologetics conference is growing.

This July 18–22 national conference will come on the heels of the release of one of the most important apologetics books of the year, AiG's Already Compromised. The sequel to our book on why so many young people are leaving the church (called Already Gone, co-authored by Britt Beemer), Already Compromised is about how young people are being taught biblical compromise in Christian colleges.

More than ever, the church needs to equip its people to defend the authority of the Word of God and the gospel of Christ. Join us for our equipping conference, and visit the Creation Museum (only 20 minutes away) to help repair the cracks of compromise in the foundational book of our faith, Genesis. Though an intensive conference, AMC is suitable for suggested ages 15 and up, and thus teens who are thinking about going to a Christian college should benefit by attending. I will be one of the keynote speakers.

Join us July 18–22 at Florence Baptist Church, located about 15 miles south of Cincinnati and directly off I-75 in beautiful Northern Kentucky. We are thankful for the church's pastor, Dr. Tim Alexander, for opening his church's doors to AiG, and we ask you to pray for him as he battles a serious illness right now.

See full conference details.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Mysteries with a Powerful Message

A lot of people enjoy watching mysteries on television—Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, and so on. If you love a good mystery and at the same time love the message of Answers in Genesis, I encourage you to obtain two unique and outstanding publications, pictured below. Julie Cave is a mystery writer—but with a difference. Her mysteries (as nail biting as they are) are also written to teach people the truth concerning God's Word in Genesis and the stand for authority of God's Word and Christian morality. She has accomplished this in an amazing way.

The first time I read the manuscript for Julie's first book (Deadly Disclosures), I couldn't put it down. I never thought I would enjoy a fiction book as much as I did this one. And I just love the way she has incorporated AiG's message so that readers are challenged concerning God's Word and the gospel.

Julie then wrote a sequel entitled The Shadowed Mind, and she did it again! It is another nail-biting mystery with an incredibly powerful message about God's authoritative Word (and the controversial issue of euthanasia, amongst other challenges).

Deadly Disclosures

The Shadowed Mind

You can find out more about these publications at the following web resources:

Visit Julie's blog is at www.juliecave.com.
Like her author Facebook page at facebook.com/julieacave.
Follow her Twitter feed at twitter.com/julieacave.

You can also view these videos about her books.

Deadly Disclosures
The Shadowed Mind

The Shadowed Mind—Quotes from Reviewers

The author doesn't just give us an interesting murder mystery, but she also taught me about a subject that I knew virtually nothing about!

Although I'm not much of a Mystery person, I though this book was an amazing picture of God's love and grace. It shows us how no matter who we were in the past, God is able to transform us with His love into who he wants us to be. Highly recommend this book!

It was a refreshing reminder of how valuable all life is to our Creator.

A gripping mystery, a thrilling ride and a topical eye-opener, The Shadowed Mind ticks all the right boxes!

The author also did a masterful job of proving irrefutably the link between the lack of belief in creationism to evolution and ultimately to eugenics. As a Christian, the references to God, His Word, Jesus Christ, creation, forgiveness and salvation were refreshing and realistic.

Available on Special

Both these books are currently available at a special price!

Coming Soon

Julie's third book in the series is coming soon.

Pieces of Light

I encourage you to read the first two in preparation for the coming release of Pieces of Light.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Is Jesus an Evolutionist?

A Nazarene college professor believes He is! Karl Giberson, from Eastern Nazarene College (located on Boston's south shore), wrote this on a CNN website. The Nazarene school's website states, "Karl Giberson teaches science and religion, and directs the honors program at Eastern Nazarene College. He is one of the leading scholarly voices in America's ongoing controversy over evolution."

What has this academic scholar at a Nazarene college written lately? From the religion blog at the CNN website, he wrote an article entitled "Jesus would believe in evolution and so should you."

Here are some excerpts from Dr. Giberson's commentary—which in itself is an attack on the Word of God. And really, because Jesus is the Word (John 1:1–2), an attack on God's Word is also an attack on the Son.

Giberson states the following:

When science began in the 17th century, Christians eagerly applied the new knowledge to alleviate suffering and improve living conditions.

First of all, "science" means knowledge. What he is referring to is modern empirical science—based on repeatable, observable facts. Such empirical science has enabled us to develop technology, medicines, etc. For this we are all grateful. Whether a scientist is an evolutionist or creationist, we can applaud them for the great technological advances because of operational (or observational) science. But Giberson then steps out of discussing observational science and steps into historical science (beliefs about the past).

But when it comes to the truth of evolution, many Christians feel compelled to look the other way.

From the context of the article, we see that by "evolution" he is referring to Darwinian evolution—molecules to ape-like creatures to man. This is not "truth." It is a belief about the past. He then demeans Gods inspired ("God breathed," 2 Timothy 3:16) Word by stating the following:

They hold on to a particular interpretation of an ancient story in Genesis that they have fashioned into a modern account of origins—a story that began as an oral tradition for a wandering tribe of Jews thousands of years ago.

Giberson is actually applying his belief in evolutionary history to the Bible. He assumes that people in the past were not as intellectual or as intelligent as people today. Giberson has a very different view of inspiration than that of orthodox Christians. He obviously does not see the record of Genesis as "God breathed." Yet in the New Testament (Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, to name just a couple of references), the apostle Paul referred to events in Genesis as real history—foundational to the gospel. Jesus, in Matthew 19, quoted from Genesis 1 and 2 as real history—as the foundation for the doctrine of marriage.

Jesus is the Truth. He is the Word. To claim that Genesis is just an ancient story that "began as an oral tradition for a wandering tribe of Jews" is to attack the Word of God, and thus it is an attack on the Son of God, who is the Word.

He continues.

This is the view on display in a $27 million dollar Creation Museum in Kentucky. It inspired the Institute for Creation Research, which purports to offer scientific support for creationism.

Those who have actually been to the Creation Museum know it is a place the honors God's Word and proclaims the gospel.

Later in the article, Giberson states the following:

For more than two centuries, careful scientific research, much of it done by Christians, has demonstrated clearly that the earth is billions years old, not mere thousands, as many creationists argue. We now know that the human race began millions of years ago in Africa—not thousands of years ago in the Middle East, as the story in Genesis suggests.

So Paul was wrong in 1 Corinthians 11 about the origins of humans when he twice stated that the woman is of the man? Paul said that the woman (the first woman, Eve), came from the man (a reference to God creating Eve from Adam's side in Genesis 2). To believe in evolution as Giberson does, one must believe that woman came from an ape-woman and man from and ape-man.

The Bible makes it clear that man was made from dust and woman from his side. Jesus, in Matthew 19, quoted from Genesis 2:24 regarding the "one flesh," thus clearly stating that the Genesis 2 account is literal history. So if Giberson is right, Jesus didn't tell the truth, and Paul was wrong. So what is the Bible really? If it is fallible, who determines which bits are fallible?

Giberson goes on to again state that evolution is fact.

And all life forms are related to each other though evolution. These are important truths that science has discovered through careful research. They are not "opinions" that can be set aside if you don't like them. Anyone who values truth must take these ideas seriously, for they have been established as true beyond any reasonable doubt.

Well, there is one verse of Scripture that comes to mind.

Let God be true but every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)

Giberson then discusses supposed evidence for evolution. This evidence is all countered and answered clearly in various articles on answersingenesis.org.

Later in the article, he states the following:

Christians must come to welcome—rather than fear—the ideas of evolution. Truths about Nature are sacred, for they speak of our Creator. Such truths constitute "God's second book" for Christians to read alongside the Bible. . . . To understand how the heavens go we must read the book of Nature, not the Bible.

This is a similar concept to one taught by Hugh Ross, that nature is the 67th book of the Bible. However, nature is cursed! It is affected by sin. And nature doesn't "say" anything. Fallible man has to interpret nature. The only way to ensure one has the right basis to interpret it correctly, is to build one's thinking on the history revealed in Scripture.

When this is done, we understand that nature is suffering from the affects of the Fall. The whole creation groans because of sin (Romans 8:22). One doesn't look at the creation and see billions of years. That is an interpretation made by fallible man, and that interpretation is incorrect.

The written Word of God makes it clear that thorns came after the curse, yet there are fossil thorns in rocks said to be supposedly millions of years old. The Bible makes it clear that death, disease, and suffering are the result of sin; but death, disease, and evidence of violence and suffering abounds in the fossil record. This record had to come after sin—not millions of years before man.

Giberson continues.

The Book of nature reveals the truth that God created the world through gradual processes over billions of years, rather than over the course of six days, as many creationists believe.

Actually, the Bible does state that God created in six days (Exodus 20:11). Read the account for yourself. Where does it state billions of years? It doesn't. And where do you read in "the book of nature" that the world is billions of years old and that life evolved? You read this in man's fallible books, as fallible man who "suppresses the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1), as Giberson is doing, then imposes this story (and that's what it is, a made-up story) on nature.

He then states the following:

Evolution does not contradict the Bible unless you force an unreasonable interpretation on that ancient book.

What he is saying is that evolution doesn't contradict the Bible, unless you take the Bible as written. As long as you reinterpret God's Word—thus undermining its authority—you can make God's Word mean anything you want to make it to mean.

Giberson ends the article with the following:

To these questions we should add "What would Jesus believe about origins?" And the answer? Jesus would believe evolution, of course. He cares for the Truth.

Here are the words of Jesus (He is the Word—so any quote of Scripture is to quote Jesus).

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

The entirety of Your word is truth. (Psalms 119:160)

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:45–47)

You can read Giberson's entire Bible-undermining commentary at the following link:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/10/my-take-jesus-would-believe-in-evolution-and-so-should-you/

Already Compromised

On May 1, our new book Already Compromised will be released. It details the compromise teaching (like this commentary above) that is permeating our Christian colleges. This book is both revealing and shocking. You can pre-order Already Compromised now.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Dayton Conference

Last night, I spoke at the Christian Life Center in Dayton, Ohio. This is the first of a series of presentations by Dr. Jason Lisle and me. The Saturday evening service is the smallest of the church's services. Today, I speak at three morning services (and my Saturday evening presentation will be shown at two satellite churches). Then we speak twice Sunday evening and twice Monday evening, with two special school assembly programs Monday morning. For more information, go to the AiG website event page.

Here are some photographs taken last evening:

Pastor Shannon and I

Entrance to church

A section of the auditorium

Lots of interest in the resources

Various people I spoke to after the service (three photos):

Please pray for the rest of the conference. If you live in the region, please note that the church is conveniently located—very near where I-75 and I-70 come together—and so we hope you can attend one or more of the sessions.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken