Archive for the ‘Creation And Evolution’ Category
It’s Easy to Be Racist When You See Men As Animals
Racism is always a hot topic. I grew up in the South of the United States. As most people know (who know history), the South was mainly where many of the Africans came when the US brought slaves over in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The North and South fought the Civil War (not primarily) over the issues of slavery. The US Civil War brought a new history of racism to the South. After the Civil War, Northern leaders forced Southern plantation owners to give up of their land to the new freed slaves. The idea was to help former slaves become independent but what it brought was hatred from the Southern whites toward their former slaves. After the era of Reconstruction ended just a few years after the Civil War, the South created “Jim Crow” laws which ensured segregation and when the US Supreme Court upheld “separate but equal” rulings, the South created law after law to keep former slaves down.
I grew up long after the Civil War was fought of course and I grew up in a integrated society. In the 1960’s, the Civil Rights movement begin in the South and brought down the Jim Crow laws. This was a good thing in my estimation. For the life of me, I can’t understand how Christians could hate people based on the color of the skin. How in the world do you read John 13:34-35 or 1 John 4:20-21 and still approve of racism?
When I was in elementary school, my school was mainly white. The black friends I had were great and we got along well. When I got to middle school, they forced three schools to combine because of race (two of the schools were about 80% black or higher and the middle school I was suppose to attend was probably 80% white). The whites who could went to private schools. The school went from 500 students to over 1200 students (in middle school) with over 70% black. It was here that I begin to see racism like never before. This racism was aimed at me for my skin color.
Over the next 7 years of school (my high school today is 100% black but at the time was about 90% black), I was taught that I was guilty of many sins against the black man for it was my ancestors who had owned slaves. I was taught that whites should be ashamed, forced to pay money to blacks for the sins of our fathers. I was taught that the problems with the black community could be laid at the feet of whites. I was hated for just being white. And in turn, I begin to hate back.
Now to be fair, I played baseball in school and had black team mates and we got along great. I also had black friends outside of sports who were dear to me. Keep in mind also I was not saved.
At 17 I was saved. This opened my eyes to my own racism and to my need to repent. Our Bible study group was mainly white but we reached out to black pastors and black students to try to bring healing and show the power of the gospel to bring down divisions. The church I attended had several black families in it and I loved them dearly.
My point here is that I saw where racism was (in our wicked hearts). I saw how it was fed. We were taught in school that we were products of naturalistic evolution. We were just glorified animals. We were not created in the image of God. I could see how racism could grow in that environment. We are nothing but animals. You kill an animal, it just ceases to exist. No right or wrong. Only animals. The whites use to point at the blacks and call them “monkeys” while I am sure black people called us names as well. Racism was alive and well and why should it not be in such a wicked environment.
Look at our world today. For the last 50 years we have been teaching nothing but secular humanism. We have taught that people are animals, that evolution is true, that morality is based on individual liberty. We have taught people to look to the Government for help, to fight your battles, to solve your problems, to take from your neighbor and give to you. We have rejected the gospel as a foundation. We have turned our back on our Christian heritage. We have been taught to kill just for the sake of killing and there is no God so nothing will happen anyway. And we wonder why racism still exists? We wonder why wicked sinners kill?
When I begin to see that my black neighbors are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27 ) and that Christ died for them, that changed my views. I would be lying if I said that all racism is gone from my heart. I have to fight it but I fight it with the gospel. Jesus didn’t die for Jews only or for Gentiles only but He died for all sinners (Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 2:3-6). The gospel goes out to all people (Matthew 28:19-20). In Revelation 5:9-10 we read that God has His people from every tribe, tongue and nation. God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:10). The Bible is clear that whosoever can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:13). Thus the gospel is not for Jews only but for all (Romans 11:32).
What our society needs is the gospel. The gospel tears down the sins of our hearts. The gospel brings people together in unity like nothing else (Ephesians 2:14). The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) and Jesus shed His blood for all races. When we see that people are created in the image of God, we see that they are truly loved by God (John 3:16). The Chinese person. The Japanese person. The white person. The black person. The Hispanic person. They all are made in the image of God. They are not animals. They are loved by God and He desires to save them by His grace.
My prayer is that the gospel will go forth and save every racist. The truth is that Jesus died for all sinners (Romans 3:23) and all sinners need salvation which comes not by skin color or by language but by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The gospel is color blind. The gospel is the cure for our society because the gospel transform a man into seeing that another man is created in the image of God. The gospel shows us that despite our culture or our color, Jesus shed His blood for our salvation. The gospel shows us that heaven will be full of all kinds of people (I rejoice to see that day!). When we see people thorough the gospel, this transforms how we see people for we don’t see a person by their skin color or their creed or their language but we see them as people made in the image of Almighty God.
Inerrancy and Genesis 1-11
There is much talk around the Christian blogs these days about whether Adam and Eve were real people and how they fit into evolution as a theory of origins. Some want to simply do away with the idea of a historical Adam and Eve but this will not be sufficient if we hold to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. We can reject the Bible outright or we can accept it but we must do something with Genesis 1-11.
Within this falls several categories of people when it comes to interpreting Genesis 1-11 in the light of inerrancy and authority of the Bible as well as with modern science. I will add my own thoughts at the end.
1. Genesis 1-11 Is Literal History
This view would be many conservative Christians who believe in the total inerrancy of the Bible. John MacArthur, for example, strongly defends Genesis 1-11 as being true and scientifically provable. He even wrote a book about this called, The Battle for the Beginning in which he argues that Genesis 1-11 must be believed as accurate or we will fail to understand the implications to humanity as well as to the gospel. MacArthur argues in his book that the word “day” in Genesis 1 should be taken literally as a 24 hour day and thus God created everything in 6, 24 hour days. Others such as Ken Hamm, Albert Mohler, and many others hold to his view.
2. Genesis 1-11 Is Literal History But The “Days” Are Not
In this view, the “day” of Genesis 1 is seen as not a literal 24 hour day. The “day” could be thousands or even millions of years. This is the view of Hugh Ross, Ravi Zacharias, Douglas Jacoby, and William Lane Craig. In this way, these men accept the Bible as the Word of God and accurate in all that it teaches but also hold to evolution. Their view, they say, does not conflict with science in any way. They believe that all that we see came from God who did create the first matter out of nothing but allowed it to evolve over millions of years.
3. Genesis 1-11 Is Not Literal History
As far as I know, no conservative scholars hold to this view. Many liberal theologians would hold to this view and would likewise reject many other orthodox teachings of Christianity including Jesus’ resurrection. Again, I know of no scholars who rank among disciples of Jesus who hold to this view. I do believe that some of the scientists who hold to Intelligent Design Theory would fall into this view as well. ID theorist do believe that someone started creation but many do not claim to know who or what. Some hold to aliens. Some hold to God.
I am sure that there are perhaps other views out there. My own feelings are two-fold. First, must a person accept inerrancy to be saved? I don’t believe they must. God saves us by His grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). I do believe that a real encounter with God will ultimately lead to an embrace of inerrancy but I find nothing in Scripture itself to suggest that a person must hold to inerrancy to be saved. Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer and not inerrancy. Secondly, must a person then hold to a literal view of Genesis 1-11 to be saved? Again, I would answer no. This is not to say that there would be problems in formulating a doctrine of sin or even death itself apart from an understanding of Genesis 1-11 but must a person accept Genesis 1-11 to be saved? I would not think so.
Having said that, let me state my position on Genesis 1-11. I hold to the literal view of John MacArthur above. I have several reasons for this. First, I agree with conservative scholars that the word “day” doesn’t have to be twisted to mean “millions of years.” I believe that Hebrew word here for “day” should be translated and interpreted as it is throughout the Old Testament and that is a 24 hour day.
Second, could not God create the world with the resemblance of age? Adam and Eve were adults and not infants when He created them. This, I believe, is true of all of creation that He created in Genesis 1. The fish, the birds, the mammals, etc. were all adults when created. Could He then not create an adult world that, while brand new, looked old? When Jesus did the miracle of feeding over 5,000 people, He did it by creating fully adult fish to eat (Mark 6:41-44). Could Jesus not also do this at creation when He created everything out of nothing (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3)?
Third, we underestimate the Fall in Genesis 3 as it relates to creation as well. When humanity sinned, the creation itself became subjected to the effects of their sins. Romans 8:22 say that all of creation is groaning from the strains of sin. We see the effects of sin in nature through diseases and chaos. The order of Genesis 1-2 is gone. The disarray of Genesis 3 has come. Adam and Eve’s sin make this world appear aged. Groaning. Longing to be fully redeemed by God.
Fourth, Jesus seemed to embrace a literal Adam and Eve in Matthew 19:4-5 where He says, “he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (v. 4). Was the Lord Jesus wrong? If we reject Genesis 1-11 or a literal Adam and Eve, we must do something with Jesus’ words. He was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14) but was He mistaken and so foolish?
Fifth, the nature of science is always changing. Theories come and go. Evolution is a case in point. How many times have we heard that the “missing” link had been found only to discover that it had not. We have no animals in transition. We have no absolute proof of evolution.
And lastly, why not simply accept that God is all-powerful and that He created the world in 6, 24 hour days? Could He not, if He wanted to, chose to create the world in one second? Time is meaningless to an all-powerful God. Could God choose to create the world in millions of years? Yes. Could He also choose to create the world in six days? Yes. Why do we have trouble believing this? If God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth as 2 Peter 3:13 suggests then do we believe that this creation of 2 Peter 3:13 will take millions of years as well?
I know that I am no scientist. I have never claimed to be. I do see the beauty of creation all around me and I marvel at the power of God. I took my boys the other day to the museum to look at human bodies that are real human bodies that have been placed in plastic cases for us to examine. We looked at the entire human body from the skin to the internal organs. It was truly amazing to see the fine hand of God at work. I marveled at God’s wisdom and skill at creating us. Anyone who has held their own infant in their arms moments after birth knows the feeling and awe of seeing the creation of God. It could not come from chance. It has meaning. It has purpose. It all comes from the wise and powerful mind of God. I believe that. I hope in that.
Is creationism merely a religious theory? I believe it is not. However, like naturalistic evolution, creationism takes faith. We must believe the Bible that what God has revealed to us about creation is true. This takes faith. I believe science can help prove the Bible but ultimately it still takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Now should disciples divide over this issue? I think not. We can debate the issues as they relate to Scripture and science but we should still be willing to seek God together and trust that He can provide insight into His Word and into His world in His timing. The fundamental issue for disciples that separates us from secular humanists and those who hold to macro-evolutionary theories would be that we accept Genesis 1:1. This one verse will change our entire worldview.
>Arminius on Creation
>DISPUTATION XXIV
ON CREATION
I. We have treated on God, who is the first object of the Christian religion. And we would now treat on Christ, who, next to God, is another object of the same religion; but we must premise some things, without which, Christ would neither be an object of religion, nor would the necessity of the Christian religion be understood. Indeed, the cause must be First explained, on account of which God has a right to require any religion from man; THEN the religion, also, that is prescribed in virtue of this cause and right, and, LASTLY, the event ensuing, from which has arisen the necessity of constituting Christ our saviour, and the Christian religion, employed by God, through his own will, who hath not, by the sin of man, lost His right which he obtains over him by creation, nor has he entirely laid aside his affection for man, though a sinner, and miserable.
II. And since God is the object of the Christian religion, not only as the Creator, but likewise as the Creator anew, (in which latter respect, Christ, also, as constituted by God to be the saviour, is the object of the Christian religion,) it is necessary for us first to treat about the primitive creation, and those things which are joined to it according to nature, and, after that, about those which resulted from the conduct of man, before we begin to treat on the new creation, in which the primary consideration is that of Christ as Mediator.
III. Creation is an external act of God, by which he produced all things out of nothing, for himself, by his Word and Spirit.
IV. The primary efficient cause is God the Father, by his Word and Spirit. The impelling cause, which we have indicated in the definition by the particle “for,” is the goodness of God, according to which he is inclined to communicate his good. The ordainer is the divine wisdom; and the executrix, or performer, is the divine power, which the will of God employs through an inclination of goodness, according to the most equitable prescript of his wisdom.
V. The matter from which God created all things, must be considered in three forms: (1.) The first of all is that from which all things in general were produced, into which, also, they may all, on this account, relapse and be reduced; it is nothing itself, that our mind, by the removal of all entity, considers as the first matter; for, that, alone, is capable of the first communication of God ad extra; because, God would neither have the right to introduce his own form into matter coeval [with himself], nor would he be capable of acting, as it would then be eternal matter, and, therefore, obnoxious to no change. (2.) The second matter is that from which all things corporeal are now distinguished, according to their own separate forms; and this is the rude chaos and undigested mass created at the beginning. (3.) The third consists both of these simple and secret elements, and of certain compound bodies, from which all the rest have been produced, as from the waters have proceeded creeping and flying things, and fishes — from the earth, all other living things, trees, herbs and shrubs — from the rib of. Adam, the woman, and from seeds, the perpetuation of the species.
VI. The form is the production itself of all things out of nothing, which form pre existed ready framed, according to the archetype in the mind of God, without any proper entity, lest any one should feign an ideal world.
VII. From an inspection of the matter and form, it is evident, First, that creation is the immediate act of God, alone, both because a creature, who is of a finite power is incapable of operating on nothing, and because such a creature cannot shape matter in substantial forms. Secondly. The creation was freely produced, not necessarily, because God was neither bound to nothing, nor destitute of forms.
VIII. The end — not that which moved God to create, for God is not moved by any thing external, but that which incessantly and immediately results from the very act of creation, and which is, in fact, contained in the essence of this act — this end is the demonstration of the divine wisdom, goodness and power. For those divine properties which concur to act, shine forth and show themselves in their own nature action — goodness, in the very communication — wisdom, in the mode, order and variety — and power, in this circumstance, that so many and such great things are produced out of nothing.
IX. The end, which is called “to what purpose,” is the good of the Creatures themselves, and especially of man, to whom are referred most other creatures, as being useful to him, according to the institution of the divine creation.
X. The effect of creation is this universal world, which, in the Scriptures, obtains the names of the heaven and the earth, sometimes, also, of the sea, as being the extremities within which all things are embraced. This world is an entire something, which is perfect and complete, having no defect of any form, that can bear relation to the whole or to its parts; nor is redundant in any form which has no relation to the whole and its parts. It is, also, a single, or a united something, not by an indivisible unity, but according to connection and co-ordination, and the affection of mutual relation, consisting of parts distinguished, not only according to place and situation, but likewise according to nature, essence and peculiar existence. This was necessary, not only to adumbrate, in some measure, the perfection of God in variety and multitude, but also to demonstrate that the Lord omnipotent did not create the world by a natural necessity, but by the freedom of his will.
XI. But this entire universe is, according to the Scriptures, distributed in the best manner possible into three classes of objects, (1.) Into creatures purely spiritual and invisible; of this class are the angels. (2.) Into creatures merely corporeal. And (3.) Into natures that are, in one part of them, corporeal and visible, and in another part, spiritual and invisible; men are of this last class.
XII. We think this was the order observed in creation: Spiritual creatures, that is, the angels, were first created. Corporeal creatures were next created, according to the series of six days, not together and in a single moment. Lastly, man was created, consisting both of body and spirit; his body was, indeed, first formed; and afterwards his soul was inspired by creating, and created by inspiring; that as God commenced the creation in a spirit, so he might finish it on a spirit, being himself the immeasurable and eternal Spirit.
XIII. This creation is the foundation of that right by which God can require religion from man, which is a matter that will be more certainly and fully understood, when we come more specially to treat on the primeval creation of man; for he who is not the creator of all things, and who, therefore, has not all things under his command, cannot be believed, neither can any sure hope and confidence be placed in him, nor can he alone be feared. Yet all these are acts which belong to religion.
COROLLARIES
I. The world was neither created from all eternity, nor could it be so created; though God was, from eternity, furnished with that capability by which he could create the world, and afterwards did create it; and though no moment of time can be conceived by us, in which the world could not have been created.
II. He who forms an accurate conception, in his mind, of creation, must, in addition to the plenitude of divine wisdom, goodness and power, or capability, conceive that there was a two-fold privation or vacuity — the First, according to essence or form, which will bear some resemblance to an infinite nothing that is capable of infinite forms; the SECOND, according to place, which will be like an infinite vacuum that is capable of being the receptacle of numerous worlds.
III. Hence, this, also, follows, that time and place are not Separate Creatures, but are created with things themselves, or, rather, that they exist together at the creation of things, not by an absolute but a relative entity, without which no created thing can be thought upon or conceived.
IV. This creation is the first of all the divine external acts, both in the intention of the Creator, and actually or in reality; and it is an act perfect in itself, not serving another more primary one, as its medium; though God has made some creatures, which, in addition to the fact of their having been made by the act of creation, are fitted to be advanced still further, and to be elevated to a condition yet more excellent.
V. If any thing be represented as the object of creation, it seems that nothing can be laid down more suitably than those things which, out of all things possible, have, by the act of creation, been produced from non-existence into existence.
Statement on Creation From the Seventh Day Adventist Seminary
Recently I was listening to Dr. John MacArthur’s series on Genesis 1-11 and he was talking about how their college and seminary, The Master’s College and The Master’s Seminary, are one of the few Bible colleges and seminaries that embrace a biblical, literal view of creation as it relates to modern science. He said that he knew of only 7 major evangelical schools left that fully embraced a literal six 24-hour day creation view.
On another front I have been intrigued by the Seventh Day Adventist since Dr. Roger Olson posted on them over at his blog and how the Seventh Day Adventist are 1) not a cult and 2) Arminian essentially in their theology. I have never been to a Seventh Day Adventist church nor have I ever known anyone who did so I have been doing some research on the side about this movement. I would disagree with them over Ellen G. White and her “gift of prophecy” as well as their early views about the keeping of the Sabbath though most have moved past such legalistic views as far as I can tell from their leadership.
However, one is interesting about the Seventh Day Adventist is that they 1) embrace the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible and 2) believe in justification by faith. Now I know that the Jehovah’s Witnesses embrace inerrancy and infallibility just so long as the Watchtower makes the statement about the intrepretation of the Bible and that the JW’s use mainly the New World Translation which is a terrible translation in many ways. Some want to put the Seventh Day Adventist and the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the same page but I would disagree. While I think that some of the SDA views are in error, I think that for the most part they are orthodox in many ways. Dr. Walter Martin agreed that the SDA church, while holding to some unorthodox views, were by in large sound in their main doctrines in his book, The Kingdom of the Cults
An example of this is the SDA seminary view on creation. If MacArthur is correct (and I have no reason to doubt him) then the SDA seminary is one of the few to embrace the biblical view about creation. The SDA seminary statement about creation is that they believe in a literal, 24-hour day creation in six days. They base this on the acceptance as the Bible as the final authority and I would agree. I tend not to write much about creationism but I do hold to a literal view of Genesis 1-2. I have some brothers in Christ who disagree with me over this but I hold to this view because I believe the Bible is inspired by God, supersedes science although science will eventually line up with God since He created all things, and that Jesus believed in a literal view of Genesis 1-11.
Here is a pdf file from the SDA seminary on creation. It is good reading.
The Hopelessness of Atheism
Have you heard of Mitchell Heisman? He recently committed suicide in front the memorial church on the campus of Harvard University. He also left behind perhaps the longest suicide note in history with over 1900 pages. I downloaded the note and read a good portion of it. Essentially Heisman goes on and on about the hopelessness of humanity despite the rise of technology. He saves his sharpest criticism of the Christian God. He attacks the Bible as being a book of fables that lacks any scientific evidence. He fills the pages of his note with quotes from humanistic scholars and evolutionary professors such as Richard Dawkins. The note ends in complete hopelessness and despair. Heisman states that life is meaningless and not worth living. His basis is that if we are the product of evolution, we are nothing in a universe of nothing.
Like most athiests, Heisman consistently has to go on the defense of his atheism and his belief in why its not rational to believe in God. He never fully states a strong case against God other than the common arguments of how religion has destroyed lives in the name of God and how science can, in his estimation, prove everything. Heisman takes the typical atheist approach to his atheism by placing his faith in science (which hasn’t proved evolution nor can science provide any basis for morality, ethics, or life itself). He attacks the Christian God as being a fragment of our imagination that Heisman feels comes from our own self fear.
Heisman wrote his 1900 page essay that is full of attacks against everything from God to politics. But in the end, Heisman concludes that life is worthless and hopeless. He then fulfilled his plan and went to the memorial church (which is indeed just that on the campus the secular campus of Harvard) where he shot himself in the head.
Heisman stands as a testimony to atheism and what it breeds. Evolutionary thinking produces nothing but hopelessness and despair. As a person comes to realize that they are nothing more than an accident of nature, that life is pure chance, and that our sense of self-worth is pointless, they soon see that there is no reason for living. Death comes all too quickly and is welcomed as freeing us from the hopelessness of this pointless, meaningless life. Heisman’s worldview and his demise is the children that evolutionary thinking has produced in mass. Millions of people follow Heisman if not in action at least in logic. Obviously there are “Christian atheists” in the sense that there are people who believe in God but He makes no difference in their lives. While they claim Christian theism, they live their lives as if He is not there and they live without any thought of the afterlife, eternal judgment, and eternal life or destruction. They say they love God but by their actions they deny Him (Titus 1:16).
For me, the basis for life is found in Genesis 1:1. I do believe that God created all things (John 1:3; Hebrews 11:3) and that everything finds its value in the idea that there is an eternal God who created all things for His own glory and pleasure and that He upholds all things by His sovereign word (Hebrews 1:3). I believe that all humans come from two original parents: Adam and Eve and that all humans are thus created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). I believe that all evil derives itself not from God Himself but from the fall of Man (Genesis 3:1-7) which brought death and despair (Romans 5:12). I believe that even creation itself has been subjected to the curse of sin (Romans 8:19-21). Suicide, death, destruction, war, famines, plagues, diseases, murder, rapes, abortions, and social injustice come not from God but from the fall of Man and from humanities enemy, the devil (John 10:10).
And yet I believe that Jesus gives me hope. I find joy in Him. I find peace in Him. Jesus promised me this in Matthew 11:28-30. I have found Him to be faithful and true (Revelation 17:14). I believe that Jesus is all-powerful and that He is able to do anything and everything for His own glory and purposes. And I have found peace with God through faith in Him (Romans 5:1). I have never seen Jesus but I believe the evidence that He did in fact lived, died, and rose again (Acts 1:3; 2 Peter 1:16-21). I do believe this by faith (John 20:31; Hebrews 11:1). I am not trying to say that I don’t have times of doubt but I do walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
And in my faith I find hope and joy. I view other humans as unique because they were created in the image of God and He knows them completely (Psalm 139:16). I believe every person has worth because of God. I believe that God Himself loved all of humanity so much that He became flesh and went to the cross to satisfy His own wrath against sin and thus He became a curse for us to reverse the curse brought to us through Adam and Eve (Galatians 3:13-14). Through Jesus, the wrath of God is now complete (Romans 5:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Now all of humanity can find joy and peace through Jesus Christ and Him alone. Religion will not bring peace. Evolution doesn’t bring peace. Science brings no such joy nor value to life. Only Jesus brings truth, morality, and value to living.
My prayer is that atheists will read Heisman’s suicide note and see that his atheism (and their own) produces the results of Heisman’s life: meaningless. Jesus, on the other hand, produces righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit when we know Him in truth and repent of our sins. May atheists come to know this God who created them and calls them unto Himself.
Arminian Today 
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