Tag Archive: Science


Creation Navigation (Part 1)

Filed under: Creation, Emergent — 3 Comments
July 8, 2013

When driving through a big city, it’s easy to get distracted, redirected, and even lost.  We can find our eyes quickly wandering from the road, pulled away by the bright lights and tall buildings.  Street signs are literally piled one upon another with arrows pointing in every direction, not to mention all the chaos of car horns and sirens.  Sometimes the same thing can be said when trying to navigate our Christian walk.

Truth-vs-lie 2It’s easy to get pulled in a lot of different doctrinal directions, misled by the opinions of men, especially as a young believer. God’s Word instructs us to “Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive…” Ephesians 4:14.  Sadly, there are too many teachers willing to offer their confusing and often times contaminated philosophies to unsuspecting seekers stopping to ask directions, sending them the wrong way down bumpy avenues and dark alleys.

As a born again believer in Jesus Christ, it’s essential to diligently navigate using God’s Word, not man’s opinions or doctrines of devils. One thing that seems to get many Christians misguided in their doctrinal direction is the false notion of evolution.  If a young believer begins reading Genesis at face value it won’t be long before it occurs to him that the Genesis account of creation is in direct contrast to evolutionary teachings.  Now this young believer has a choice.  He can either ignore the first several chapters of Genesis, assuming they are mythological, he can read it as it’s written, or try to blend the evolution and literal creation accounts together.

The goal for the rest of this blog is to provide the first two of five key “sign posts” to help navigate through the concerns and confusion of the evolution vs. creation debate in hopes of keeping born again believers headed in the right direction.

signpost 5Sign Post 1:  The literal intent of Genesis.  Too often people decide to deal with the creation/evolution debate by categorizing Genesis as allegory or mythology.  The problem with this is threefold.  First, the text itself is written as a historical not an allegorical account.  Most Hebrew scholars agree that the Genesis creation account is meant to be understood historically, not simply as some metaphoric storyline. (Note: Mentioning scholars here isn’t to lift up men, but rather to make the simple point that those studying the Hebrew text as a career do have sound input for this point of the argument.)  Of course this doesn’t mean these same scholars have chosen to believe the creation account, but they do at least agree that the text itself is intended to be taken literally, not allegorically.

Dr. James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University), who himself does not believe Genesis is true history, nonetheless admitted as far as the language of Genesis is concerned that-

“So far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story (c) Noah’s Flood was understood to be worldwide and extinguish all human and animal life except for those in the ark.” 1.

Making the Genesis creation account allegorical would be akin to believing your car’s navigation system was not meant to be taken literally.  This would not only add confusion, but would inevitably and continually get everyone in the car lost, rendering the navigation device useless.

Secondly, Jesus Himself quoted from Genesis as a literal text.  For example, when asked about divorce, referring to Genesis 1 and 2, He said, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Matthew 19:4.  Also consider that every writer from the Bible referencing people from Genesis 1-11, i.e. Satan, Adam, Eve, Enoch, Noah, etc. always did so in a literal way. None of the men moved by the Holy Spirit to pen God’s Word ever gave even a slight indication that Genesis was anything but a true historical record.

The third issue with allegorizing the beginning chapters of Genesis is simply this: If the beginning is not historical, then where does the allegory end?  Genesis means book of beginnings.  It’s the record of the how the universe, earth, and mankind began. It’s also the account of the origin of God’s appointed nation, Israel.  There are no grammatical differences indicating chapters 12-50 are to be understood any differently than the first eleven chapters.  Therefore if the first eleven are intended to be allegorical, then why wouldn’t the rest of the book follow suit?  Ironically, those professing Christians claiming the beginning of Genesis is mythological usually don’t ascribe the same interpretive philosophy for the remainder of the book.  This is inconsistent and contradictory at best.  Genesis is meant to be read as the text is written.  Just as it is in any other book, if there are analogies or allegories, it will be clear from the text.

signpost 7Sign Post 2:  Evolution is not a science, but a religion.  Although we exist in a post-modern society, we are still heavily influenced by the philosophies of the early to mid 20th Century.  That is to say we are still quickly beguiled by whatever calls itself science.  There was a time when men believed science was going to be the answer to all the world’s problems.  The issue here is most of mankind’s real problems are caused from his own corrupted, sinful heart and science has no ability to reach the spirit of man.  So in order to supplement the innate lack within science itself and in hopes of making a total departure from the True God of the Bible, men have chosen to ascribe scientific terminology and credentials to spiritual notions.  If you put a robe on a man and place him behind a pulpit he appears religious, however if you put a lab coat on the same man and place him behind a lectern, he appears knowledgeable and scientific regardless of how existential his teachings are.   This is probably the most important sign post of all.  So many people have been duped into believing that evolution is scientific when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. (Note: Due to the overview nature of this article, I will not delve too deeply into this sign post, but because of its importance, several links are provided below for further study.)  Considering the following quotes by two non-Christians:

“In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to ‘bend’ their observations to fit in with it.” (British physicist, H.S. Lipson)2.

“Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion—a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit in this one complaint. . . the literalists [i.e., creationists] are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today.” (Michael Ruse, History and Philosophy Professor, Author of The Darwinian Revolution (1979),Darwinism Defended (1982), and Taking Darwin Seriously (1986). 3.

Real science, the science that builds rocket ships, makes satellites, etc. is not the same as “molecules to man” evolution.  Operational science cares nothing about the meaning of life. If interviewed, most would readily admit that the meaning of life is a spiritual, not scientific pursuit. Yet, in the ultimate sense, evolution attempts to serve as a framework with which all knowledge must be weighed against; a framework that is supposed to explain what life really is all about. Evolution is, in fact, not just a story about where all things originated from, but a story about where we are and where we’re headed.  It actually serves as the overarching historical record of everything related to this universe and mankind. The big picture of evolution really does attempt to be the answer for the origin and meaning of all life.  When all its scientific garb is stripped away, evolution is a spiritual philosophy attempting to replace God’s Word and sadly even God Himself! 

Many may also not realize that evolution, the idea that one creature has the ability to shift into a totally separate and distinct creature, is the basis for every occultic, shamanistic, and polytheistic belief system.  Consider the following quote from occult researcher and Bible apologist, Dave Hunt:

“Evolution plays a key role in the occult.  Theodore Roszak pointed out that mysticism is ‘the parent stock from which the theory of biological evolution springs.’  Anthropologist Michael Harner reminds us that ‘millennia before Charles Darwin, people in shamanic cultures were convinced that humans and animals were related.’  Evolution, as the core belief of Hinduism and witchcraft,is at least as old as the theories of reincarnation and karma, in which it is a key element.” (Dave Hunt, Occult Invasion, p. 20.)

In fact, the natural (or better stated, spiritual) progression of evolution follows that man only has one final step in his ascension.  That step — godhood.  Sadly, this is the very lie that Satan himself was self-deceived by and later fed to the entire human race. (Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 14:14.)  Robert Jastrow, the founder and director for many years of the Goddard Space Institute that sent Pioneer and Voyager said, “Evolution could have been going on in some planets 10 billion years longer than on this planet, and those beings would be as far beyond man on the evolutionary scale as man is beyond a worm. And when we see them, they would seem like gods to us.” 4.

W. L. Wilmer is one of the leading authorities on masonry. In his book, The Meaning of Masonry,   he says:   “The evolution of man into superman—(see, we’re not just talking about evolving in the human beings, but evolving upward to godhood.)—the evolution of man into superman was always the purpose of the ancient mysteries. Man who has sprung from the earth and developed through the lower kingdoms of nature to his present rational state has yet to complete his evolution by becoming a godlike being, and unifying his conscience with the omniscient.” 5.

It is this writer’s biblical conviction that the philosophy of evolution will never be abandoned in the minds and hearts of men, not because it’s so essential for scientific advancement, but because evolution is utterly crucial as THE framework for spiritual deception.  Evolution is, in reality, the ultimate framework deluding billions of hearts and minds into believing they might actually have a chance to become their own gods.  Evolution is as the Bible calls it, a “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20) and stands in direct and complete opposition to God’s Word. It leads many to destruction and many believers into an ineffective walk, doubting their faith in God’s Word, fearing men instead of God.

As we choose to faithfully follow God’s Word, may we carefully consider the sign posts placed along the way.  God has lovingly given us His true and perfect Word to keep us from getting lost and from misdirecting others from the truth that is found in Jesus Christ alone.  

“Evolution is really at the heart of [the occult].   This is how we become gods, and evolution of course, causes you to believe in some kind of a force innate within the universe that is moving us in the direction of godhood.   Therefore, if you can tap into this force through yoga or some other spiritual technique, and you can accelerate your progress towards godhood and gain this power.   So evolution plays a really important role and also plays an important role, it has cost an awful young people their faith.   Of course you can’t destroy real faith, but an awful lot of young people who were in Christian homes, who believed in God, who believed in the Bible, when they are confronted by some bright professor in a university or even in high school who says, look, Genesis is a myth, that’s not the way it happened, it happened through evolution.   And because this is science speaking they believe it, well then they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them, and an awful lot of young people have turned away from God from Christianity because of evolution.” ~Dave Hunt, Audio Discussion of The Occult Invasion, Pt. 3)

“Your Word is true from the beginning.” Psalm 119:160a (KJV)

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.” Proverbs 30:5

“Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” Psalm 40:4

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16

(Part 2: Posted Soon)

Helpful Articles for Further Study: (Please note that although all the articles below provide excellent insight to the necessity of believing a literal, 6 day creation as taught plainly in God’s Word, this blog does not necessarily support every teaching found on other websites, especially those dealing with the promotion of Calvinistic doctrines, i.e. T.U.L.I.P. and Replacement Theology.)

Footnotes:

  1. J. Barr, personal letter to David Watson, April 23, 1984.
  2. H.S. Lipson, “A Physicist Looks at Evolution”, Physics Bulletin (V. 31, n.d. 1980).
  3. Michael Ruse, “Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians,” National Post (May 13, 2000), B3.
  4. http://www.thebereancall.org/content/world-getting-ready-son-perdition
  5. http://www.thebereancall.org/content/occult-invasion-revisit-part-three-evolution-demonic
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

“Mirror, Mirror”

Filed under: Creation, Edifying Quotes, Truth — Leave a comment
June 9, 2012

“MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL…”


Most would readily recognize a queen talking to herself in a mirror about her own beauty as prideful and foolish. So why is it that so many have been duped by the popular psychological doctrine of self-esteem which in essence teaches the same prideful notions of self-adoration?

Possibly part of the reason is because of the psychotherapeutic community’s stellar job of making their field appear more scientific than it really is. Another could be the lack of discernment in many who trust almost any teaching as long as it’s called “scientific”. Interestingly, in the minds of many, once a belief receives the stamp of approval from “science”,  it somehow moves out from the realm of fiction (or hypothesis) and into the world of facts and, it seems, is no longer open to scrutiny.  As the adage goes, “Perception is reality.”

But what if the real research and observational science contradict the popular belief of something? To go a step further, what if the Bible contradicts the idea? Arguably, two of the most popular and influential ideas in today’s world; two that use “science” as their shield  and cleverly rule over our self-centered, post-modern society are evolution and clinical psychotherapy. When dealing with either, the Christian is unconditionally obligated without pause to examine them under the scrutiny of God’s sufficient Scriptures. As we stand on His Word, we need not fear.  The truth of God’s creation will always confirm, never contradict the Bible.  The problem occurs when someone gives himself permission to use God’s Word in conjunction with man’s ideas.  Here is where the road splits.  Also, here is where a clever debater will raise up a straw man hoping to cause as many as possible to make a sharp left turn when we should stay straight on the narrow way.

“You see,” an orator might argue, “we don’t use the Bible for fixing a car or building a skyscraper, so clearly there are writings and teachings by men that require us to go outside the Bible. ”  This is foolish at best, and detrimental at worst.  No one would say that we don’t find some of man’s discoveries and teaching useful as they pertain to our day-to-day lives on planet earth.  The problem comes when we make the unnecessary leap of holding to those that lay claim to answers exclusive to the Word of God.  The Bible clearly states that it is sufficient for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), so if any doctrine in these areas contradicts the 66 books of the Bible, a born-again believer must throw them out.  We do not first and foremost need men, rather the Holy Spirit and His Word in these matters.  However, this attack to turn a person from trusting God’s Word is not always easy to detect. Most often they are subtle and unannounced, claiming all the while to be benevolent in intent.

Why not announce your full intentions?  Why such subtly? Simply stated, it’s not always advantageous to attack your opponent head on.  A good strategist will come at his enemy in a variety of covert ways, but the goal is always the same- overtake and destroy.  If I were to stand in front of a Bible-believing congregation and plainly teach that we don’t need God’s Word for all areas of life, many would hopefully correct me on the spot, asking me to step down.  However, if I begin to teach a contrary view to the Bible concerning the history of this universe (evolution) or the nature of man (pop-psychology, self-esteem), all the while invoking “science” to make my claims, many might feel ill-equipped to disagree. Why? Because they feel “scientifically” under equipped to do so.  This reason alone reveals that, at some level, they have been convinced that the “science” in these historical and sociological areas is superior to God’s Word. Once a person has been convinced of the insufficiency of God’s Word, he will undoubtedly be susceptible to even more science fiction, much of which is only covered in a thin veneer of so-called facts. Once a person has bowed the knee to the superiority of man’s ideas to life and godliness in any area,  the battle and even perhaps much of the war has been won.  Once the door is unlocked, allowing in man’s vain philosophies, a person has, in essence, given permission for any and all foolish ideas to enter his heart and mind.

Anytime anyone says that we can add false doctrines to God’s Word, whether claiming to be spiritual or scientific, we are in actuality moving ourselves off the bedrock of the Bible onto the sinking sands of sinful men. The question is simple.  Do we really want the Rock or are we satisfied with the sand?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker…” 2 Timothy 2:15-17a

Below is a current article providing one of the many examples where the facts diverge from one of today’s most popular teachings.

“Dark Side of Self-Esteem“

“The media recently reported “new” research findings to the effect that rewards often backfire and self-esteem is not the wonderful, uplifting personal attribute once thought. As a result, schools are rethinking their teaching and classroom management philosophies…

“For almost two decades, research done by people like Roy Baumeister of Florida State University has shown, as conclusively as social science research is capable of showing, that high self-esteem is associated with anti-social behavior. Think, for example, bullying. It appears that the higher one’s self-regard, the lower his regard for others.  People with high self-regard believe themselves to be entitled. What they want, they believe they deserve to have. Because they deserve what they want, they believe they deserve to have.  Because they deserve what they want, the ends justify the means. Think, for example, Bernie Madoff.  They are never wrong; therefore, they are right to act on whatever idea they have. Think, for example, Adolph Hitler.”  (excerpted from http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1545284).

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Superiority of Science? ~Dave Hunt

Filed under: Creation, Edifying Quotes, Emergent, Truth — Leave a comment
February 8, 2012

“Many who call themselves Christians implicitly accept the superiority of science over the Bible. Thus, whenever “science” disagrees with the Bible, as its presently accepted dogmas so clearly do with regard to the creation of the universe and life, “Christians” surrender their faith in Scripture, which is really a surrender of their faith in its Author. Or they attempt to twist what the Bible says in order to make it seem that it agrees with atheism’s Big Bang and evolutionary account of man’s descent from fish and reptiles and chimpanzees. In a sense they become partners with atheists, incredibly allowing them to dictate the terms of the discussion.”  ~Dave Hunt

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

“Heaven in Our Eyes” ~Matthew Henry

Filed under: Creation, Edifying Quotes, Truth — Leave a comment
December 19, 2011

    “There are phenomena in nature which cannot be solved, secrets which cannot be fathomed nor accounted for. But from what we see of heaven and earth we may easily enough infer the eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator, and may furnish ourselves with abundant matter for His praises. And let our make and place, as men, remind us of our duty as Christians, which is always to keep heaven in our eye and the earth under our feet.”  ~Matthew Henry, Genesis 1, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1706

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

“The Wonders of the Universe” ~Desmond P. Allen

Filed under: Creation, Edifying Quotes, Truth — Leave a comment
October 10, 2011

“The wonders of the universe are untold. To this day science is mystified by the underlying forces and natural phenomenon that are so basic to our existence: gravity, electromagnetism, nuclear forces, and even light. Although certain observed laws of classical Newtonian physics are able to accurately predict various characteristics of each, physicists still do not fully understand any of them.”  ~Desmond P. Allen

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

“What’s Inside?”

Filed under: Creation, Parables, Truth — Leave a comment
March 16, 2011

“Every door science opens there are ten unopened doors on the other side and the more we learn the more we realize we don’t know.”  -Dave Hunt

One evening a man opens the door, entering into a beautiful new library.  He begins exploring its books, computers, and music.  Then looking up, he sees a large door at the end of the room.  Excited to explore the next space he opens the new door.  Inside is a large room filled with maps, more books and exciting technologies.  After exploring this second room, the man discovers ten more doors along the back wall, each leading to even more amazing rooms filled with even more fantastic items.  As the man searches through all these rooms, a mysterious and wonderful idea overcomes him. “All of this wonderful information is powerful, so powerful that I can use it to make myself great. I will search through it all and attempt to discover as much as I can.”  “But wait,” interrupts his conscience. “The information amassed in these rooms doesn’t point to you, rather to the ones who have supplied it.”  “Ah,” says the man, answering his conscience, “True, but I know what to do.  I’ll tell others that this information didn’t originated from any intelligence, rather from a process of time and chance. Then I will receive all the glory for everything that I discover.”  “But no one will believe such folly,” argues his conscience.   Then a smile grows across the man’s face.  “It will if I allow others to enter the library knowing all the information they discover will be to their own fame.”  

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21

Quote above by Dave Hunt: http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7093

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

“Science or God” vs. “Science and God”

Filed under: Creation, Truth — Leave a comment
March 4, 2011

“Underlying this whole business, there’s a confusion of thought that it’s either design or science, it’s either God or science. God is …the personal Creator, He is the agent who causes the universe to exist.  But science explains mechanisms, and the existence of mechanisms certainly doesn’t provide an argument for the absence of an agent who designed those mechanisms. So the more science goes on, far from dispelling an illusion of design, it increases the evidence for design.  It’s God and science, not God or science.”  Prof. John Lennox, Web Interview, http://www.bigquestions.com/bonus-interviews

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

“Can Toy Makers Make Us Morally Better?”- A.W.Tozer

Filed under: Edifying Quotes — Leave a comment
May 1, 2010

“Even though we live in the world’s most advanced civilization, we have been betrayed by our teachers — tragically and cruelly betrayed by our teachers!  Years ago our teachers told us the world was getting better.  They supposed that because we have become brilliant toy makers, we had also become morally good toy makers.  It is true we have invented and developed and discovered all kinds of brilliant new toys.  And so our teachers have concluded that we must be better because we know so much more!”

“But one little thing has been overlooked in their preoccupation with our wonderful new ability to take the forces of nature and harness them.  Our scientific and intellectual advances were not accompanied by similar moral strides.”

“Technology, instead of making us morally better, has been accompanied by a time of moral disintegration. Do not quote me as saying that science has made us bad.  But science has not made us [morally] better.” A.W. Tozer, “Faith Beyond Reason”, pp. 123-124.

Tags: , , ,
Comment
%d bloggers like this: