Recently I was saddened by a story I read in Baptist Press. The story mentions the plight of several privately-owned American businesses that have either been forced or probably will be forced to extend their services to homosexuals, regardless of their religious convictions. It's worthy to note that the businesses are all located in states where homosexual "marriage"/civil unions have been legalized. Also worthy of note is that the businesses are not just confined to one geographical area of our country. You can find these businesses all the way from New England to the Pacific Ocean.
What's troubling is that privately-owned, Christian businesses are being forced to do things that are clearly against their religious convictions. The last time I checked the Constitution, the first Amendment still says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In siding with the plaintiffs in these cases, the courts have basically denied these business owners the freedom to exercise their religious convictions.
There are a couple of other things I've noticed about this story. First, none of the states who have homosexual "marriage"/civil unions laws on the books have allowed their citizens to vote on the issue. In every case, the courts have dictated to its citizens what the law will be. That is not government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It's actually called oligarchy - the rule of a few over many. In this case, it is the rule of the courts over the citizens. The plight of these businesses should remind us that it is not the place of the courts to create our laws. It is the place of the courts to interpret the laws that have been created by the citizenry and our elected officials.
Furthermore, did you notice how groups like the ACLU have taken up the cause of the plaintiffs in all these cases. What does ACLU stand for anyway? American Civil Liberties Union. Why is it that the ACLU never argues that the civil liberties of the Bible-believing Christians have been infringed upon when they are unable to practice their religion as they see fit? The ACLU always takes up the cause of the most radical left-wing groups among us. Pardon me if I think something smells a little fishy.
America is still the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is still a nation that was set aside for the free exercise of one's religious convictions. And in American's case, those religious convictions have always been Judeo-Christian in nature. Yet, the beautiful thing about this country is that no one has to practice either Judaism or Christianity. Our citizens have always been free to worship whom or what they will in whatever way they see fit.
If homosexuals want to worship their own gods or no god at all, that is entirely up to them. Many American citizens have fought and died for their right to do so. But what is not acceptable is that unelected officials are now forcing us to accept the homosexual lifestyle. Not only is that unconstitutional, it is ungodly. I would hope that every red-blooded American would rise up and stand against the erosion of our most fundamental religious rights. Even more, I pray that every blood-washed Christian will continue to speak the truth in love and ask God to send revival to the spiritual wasteland that our country has become.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Evolution, Adam & Eve, and the Age of the Earth
LifeWay Christian Resources, one of the educational arms of the Southern Baptist Convention, recently released a study that is worthy of some consideration. LifeWay surveyed 1,000 Protestant (non-Catholic) pastors to gauge their views on evolution, Adam & Eve, and the age of the earth. As with most surveys, some results were expected while others were nothing short of shocking. In assessing the results I'd like to deal with the previously-mentioned issues one at a time. My ultimate desire is to share what God's Word has to say about each of the subjects in question.
Let's start with the issue of evolution. According to the survey, 64% of pastors strongly disagree that God used evolution to create human beings. 8% of pastors somewhat disagreed that God used evolution to create humans, so you might say that almost 75% (3 out of 4) pastors are fairly convinced that God didn't use evolution to create humans. On the other hand, 24% of pastors either somewhat or strongly agree that God used evolution to create humans.
While it's encouraging to see that most pastors believe the biblical account of creation, it's still alarming to me that 1 of 4 pastors either leans toward or is convinced of evolution. You might not think there is cause to be alarmed but I beg to differ. For starters, the plain testimony of Scripture is that God created the world in six days, and that on the sixth day He created man and woman in His own image (Gen. 1:26). To suggest that God used evolution to create humans is to contradict the truth of Scripture.
Since we've already mentioned the "image of God," I've got a question for those who would suggest that humans evolved: Where along the way did humans pick up the image of God in the evolutionary process? Was it in the transition from sea to land? Or perhaps it was in the evolution from ape to man. No evolutionist could ever answer these questions because there is no answer.
Let's move to Adam and Eve. 74% of Protestant pastors strongly agree that Adam and Eve were literal people, and 8% somewhat agree. That leaves 17% who either strongly or somewhat disagree that Adam and Eve were real humans. While I'm encouraged that the overwhelming majority of pastors affirm Adam and Eve's existence, it's still hard to imagine that almost 1 in every 5 Protestant pastors doesn't think that the two actually lived.
Of course, this is nothing new. Liberal college, universities, and schools of theology have been teaching for years that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are not literal. They've told us that the stories concerning Adam & Eve, Noah, etc., were just allegorical accounts borrowed from other cultures. In other words, they were just bed-time stories that people from all over the ancient world used to tell their kids when they tucked them in at night.
Here's the problem with that viewpoint. If Adam and Eve were not literal people, then there was no Garden of Eden. If there was no Garden of Eden, then there was never a time when man was first tempted and fell into sin. If there was no fall into sin, then there was no need for Savior. And of course, no need for a Savior means no need of a cross, a tomb, or a resurrection. Simply stated, if you're willing to take Adam and Eve out of the picture, you may as well remove Christ too. That may get you an "A" in your college Religion course, but that worldview is clearly not Christianity. So then, 1 of 5 Protestant pastors possesses a worldview that's not even Christian. Ouch! No wonder we're in the mess we're in.
Finally, let's consider the age of the earth. 43% of the pastors either somewhat or strongly disagreed that the earth is approximately 6,000 years old, while 46% to the opposing view. As you can see, pastors are clearly more divided on this issue than the others. I think it has to do with the fact that many well-meaning pastors are attempting to harmonize the precepts of modern science with the truths of Scripture.
To that end, a good number of pastors believe in some form of theistic evolution, whether it be day-age theories of creation, gap theories, etc. The idea is that God created everything that exists about 13.8 billion years ago. They believe that God either used evolution as His creation process, or they are forced to reinterpret the Bible to say that the six days of creation are actually eons of time that may have lasted billions of years instead of 24 hours.
Time will not permit me to provide all the reasons that I feel those well-meaning pastors are wrong, but I think it is very clear that the Bible is not on their side. The greatest problem with day-age theories, gap theories, and the like is that they attempt to use God as a bookend that they place in front of an atheistic worldview. To be frank, saying you believe the Bible while also declaring that the world is billions of years old is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - it just won't work.
I've got an idea. Why don't we just believe God's Word and go on? The Bible says that man was created in the image of God, so forget evolution. The Bible says that Adam & Eve were real humans with real sins who needed a real Savior to set them free. And in providing the genealogies of our Savior, the Bible confirms that the earth is not 13.8 billion years old. It is much younger than the modern prophets of science would have us to believe.
We've got a choice to make. Either we can believe God's Word, or we can accept the arguments of the secular humanists. But whatever we do, we can't ride two horses. It's time for us to get with God or go with the world. I think Joshua said it best: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).
Let's start with the issue of evolution. According to the survey, 64% of pastors strongly disagree that God used evolution to create human beings. 8% of pastors somewhat disagreed that God used evolution to create humans, so you might say that almost 75% (3 out of 4) pastors are fairly convinced that God didn't use evolution to create humans. On the other hand, 24% of pastors either somewhat or strongly agree that God used evolution to create humans.
While it's encouraging to see that most pastors believe the biblical account of creation, it's still alarming to me that 1 of 4 pastors either leans toward or is convinced of evolution. You might not think there is cause to be alarmed but I beg to differ. For starters, the plain testimony of Scripture is that God created the world in six days, and that on the sixth day He created man and woman in His own image (Gen. 1:26). To suggest that God used evolution to create humans is to contradict the truth of Scripture.
Since we've already mentioned the "image of God," I've got a question for those who would suggest that humans evolved: Where along the way did humans pick up the image of God in the evolutionary process? Was it in the transition from sea to land? Or perhaps it was in the evolution from ape to man. No evolutionist could ever answer these questions because there is no answer.
Let's move to Adam and Eve. 74% of Protestant pastors strongly agree that Adam and Eve were literal people, and 8% somewhat agree. That leaves 17% who either strongly or somewhat disagree that Adam and Eve were real humans. While I'm encouraged that the overwhelming majority of pastors affirm Adam and Eve's existence, it's still hard to imagine that almost 1 in every 5 Protestant pastors doesn't think that the two actually lived.
Of course, this is nothing new. Liberal college, universities, and schools of theology have been teaching for years that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are not literal. They've told us that the stories concerning Adam & Eve, Noah, etc., were just allegorical accounts borrowed from other cultures. In other words, they were just bed-time stories that people from all over the ancient world used to tell their kids when they tucked them in at night.
Here's the problem with that viewpoint. If Adam and Eve were not literal people, then there was no Garden of Eden. If there was no Garden of Eden, then there was never a time when man was first tempted and fell into sin. If there was no fall into sin, then there was no need for Savior. And of course, no need for a Savior means no need of a cross, a tomb, or a resurrection. Simply stated, if you're willing to take Adam and Eve out of the picture, you may as well remove Christ too. That may get you an "A" in your college Religion course, but that worldview is clearly not Christianity. So then, 1 of 5 Protestant pastors possesses a worldview that's not even Christian. Ouch! No wonder we're in the mess we're in.
Finally, let's consider the age of the earth. 43% of the pastors either somewhat or strongly disagreed that the earth is approximately 6,000 years old, while 46% to the opposing view. As you can see, pastors are clearly more divided on this issue than the others. I think it has to do with the fact that many well-meaning pastors are attempting to harmonize the precepts of modern science with the truths of Scripture.
To that end, a good number of pastors believe in some form of theistic evolution, whether it be day-age theories of creation, gap theories, etc. The idea is that God created everything that exists about 13.8 billion years ago. They believe that God either used evolution as His creation process, or they are forced to reinterpret the Bible to say that the six days of creation are actually eons of time that may have lasted billions of years instead of 24 hours.
Time will not permit me to provide all the reasons that I feel those well-meaning pastors are wrong, but I think it is very clear that the Bible is not on their side. The greatest problem with day-age theories, gap theories, and the like is that they attempt to use God as a bookend that they place in front of an atheistic worldview. To be frank, saying you believe the Bible while also declaring that the world is billions of years old is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - it just won't work.
I've got an idea. Why don't we just believe God's Word and go on? The Bible says that man was created in the image of God, so forget evolution. The Bible says that Adam & Eve were real humans with real sins who needed a real Savior to set them free. And in providing the genealogies of our Savior, the Bible confirms that the earth is not 13.8 billion years old. It is much younger than the modern prophets of science would have us to believe.
We've got a choice to make. Either we can believe God's Word, or we can accept the arguments of the secular humanists. But whatever we do, we can't ride two horses. It's time for us to get with God or go with the world. I think Joshua said it best: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).
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