Blog

by Steve Risner

[This blog post is part of a series. The previous one is here, and the next one is here.]

This week we will be taking a look at the second “really” in the long list of links in Tyler Francke’s blog titled “10 Theological Questions No Young-earth Creationist Can Answer.” The point in going through his blog post is to expose what I feel are glaring inconsistencies in his theology, as well as his logic in general.

Although I feel this blog post can stand on its own, you can get caught up in our journey by going here, then here, here and here. The link found with this particular “really” takes us to an opinion piece on something that came about almost exactly a year ago when Christian musician Michael Gungor made some comments about his rethinking how he perceived the book of Genesis—more precisely how he viewed the creation account and the Flood. Personally, although I find his conclusions regrettable, I didn’t really pay that much attention, until the band further came out and made some fairly uncalled for remarks concerning adherence to Scripture as inspired and true. It’s difficult to find what Gungor said exactly, because he has removed the piece that includes his further comments. We can put pieces of it together to see what he said, but I was not able to find the full article. My intent with today’s post was going to be to counter Mr. Francke point by point. However, I found that dull and a bit of an argument rather than simply exposing his inconsistencies, which is what this series is designed to do. He rails on Ken Ham for having an opinion and while “exposing” the hatefulness that is Ken Ham, one can practically hear him seething as he blows this thing out of proportion. The short response would be that it appears Tyler Francke hates Ken Ham and everything Ham says. He especially hates it when Ham uses the Bible to defend his position, particularly when that position is counter to Tyler’s. I will just touch on a few things so we can move on. However, due to the length of Tyler’s blog post, this will, again, be a 2-part blog post.

I’ll begin by saying that Michael Gungor is very talented and has created some excellent music. He’s been blessed by his Maker with some extraordinary skills and he’s using them for the glory of God. That is commendable. I do believe, however, that he should have stuck with music. As Ken Ham points out, Gungor is neither a scientist nor a Bible scholar—both of which Ham can at least say he’s dabbled in with the 5 degrees he holds.

I found it unfortunate that when pressed, Gungor felt the need to belittle his Christian brothers and sisters—those who are Biblical creationists and trust God and take Him at His Word. He said things like, “No reasonable person takes the entire Bible literally.” That is true, actually, but not the way he meant it. No one takes the Bible ALL literally. We allow the context to tell us how to read it. Doesn’t that make sense? Tyler actually holds to this position—that Biblical creationists demand ALL of Scripture be taken literally. No one does this. It’s a strawman. Genesis is written as an historical account. Hence, we should take it as such. He further said that the reason he doesn’t adhere to a Genesis account for creation and the Flood is “science and rational thought.” Again, a very poor choice of words, especially when it seems he doesn’t really know the topic.

He also presents for us a few complaints about believing the Bible to be true. He provides some strawman arguments for us to consider. These include things like there wasn’t enough room in the ark, and the animals couldn’t get from the ark to the rest of the world after the Flood. He mocks Biblical creationists and says that Noah must have built a thousand little boats for the animals to reach the far away islands and places you can only get to by water, or that God transported them there similar to the way Captain Kirk was beamed aboard on Star Trek. Again, this is unnecessary and a little distasteful even though I love Star Trek. But that’s my opinion. You can read a terrific amount of work that has been done concerning the plausibility of the ark. Check this and this out and this and this concerning Gungor’s issues. You will likely quickly see that not only have his concerns been answered, they were answered a long time ago. Keep in mind, however, that where I do believe many plausible answers to these questions have been submitted, we don’t know. No one does. All we can do is put together our best guess. If evidence suggests otherwise, my opinion on these theories may change. But I’ll always stand on the authority of God’s Word.

Further into the blog post, Tyler quotes Ham in an effort to support his claim that Ham is angry, aggressive, and hateful. I didn’t find anything like that in Ham’s blog, which you’re welcome to look at here. I found most of the complaints about Ham’s concerns a little exaggerated. But that’s okay. We all get a little worked up at times. Tyler actually calls Gungor’s position a “contradiction,” which I found amusing since Tyler himself holds the same view. I believe Ham makes some very valid points as to why reading Genesis as a “myth” (Gungor’s words) means the Gospel, too, is a myth. And to suggest that Christianity is nothing more than living right is a dreadful concern to me. Christianity is about surrendering your life to Christ, freeing you to live your life for the glory of an awesome and powerful God who demands holiness and righteousness but is full of love and mercy if we receive it. It’s about the Creator of all providing a way of salvation so man, in his fallen state, can have a relationship with his Maker. It’s not a relationship based on works and performance, but on trusting in the grace and mercy of a God of love and patience.

He also uses vulgar terminology, which is more of a side note than anything else. Perhaps he feels vulgar words are edifying. I disagree and, personally, would never use them in a blog post... or really at all.

That will have to conclude this week’s entry. Next week we will wrap up this particular idea. I’m looking forward to it, as I don’t like this type of thing. But in an effort to be consistent and follow through, we’re working through Tyler’s blog post bit by bit. Thanks for staying with us.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Logan Ames

Have you ever wished so badly for somebody to “see the light” that it just wrecks your heart when they can’t get it no matter how obvious things should be to them? I’m sure most of you would answer “yes” to that question. You may be thinking about your child, your parent, your spouse, or someone else close to you. You want so badly for them to see and know the truth, not because you want to be seen as “right,” but because you know the freedom, peace, and joy that they don’t know because they are not willing to accept the truth. So, you have to sit back and watch them suffer the consequences, knowing the answer is right in front of them if they’d only reach out and take it. You’d prefer just to force them to get it, but you know it doesn’t work that way. They have to throw away whatever is hindering them from the truth and surrender to the ways of the Lord.

That ought to give you a very small glimpse of the pain that God feels when we can’t get out of our own way or accept that the way we see things is wrong and destructive. He knows what we need and sees us destroy ourselves time and time again. He loves us even more than we love ourselves, but out of that love he gives us the freedom to reject him even when he knows it will only hurt us more. Jesus encompassed that love when he was tortured and hung on the cross, yet still said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr in the Bible, similarly prayed, “Lord do not hold this sin against them” as he was being stoned by his opponents (Acts 7:60). They didn’t hate their opponents because they harmed them, but instead were grieved at the potential consequences for their choices and cried out to God to spare them.

The Apostle Paul witnessed the murder of Stephen by the Jewish mob when he was still known as Saul, a persecutor of Christians (Acts 8:1). Whether that incident had a direct influence on Paul coming to faith in Jesus is not completely known, but years later Paul would certainly reflect a similar heart for the very Jews who were persecuting him. We see his love for them in Romans 10:1-4. First, he says that his “heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (v. 1). Paul cares deeply for his people, echoing what he already said in Romans 9:3 about wishing he could be cut off from Christ for their sake. But he doesn’t just stop at saying he cares for them. He also PRAYS to God for them. Go back to the person you were thinking about at the beginning of this post. Your care for them may be obvious, but have you sought God on their behalf? Paul’s prayer to God for his people is current. If you prayed for your person at one time, have you given up? Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (John 6:44). So why do we stop praying and assume it’s up to us? Paul was willing to do this even for the very people who had persecuted him so much!

The apostle then gets into the problem that his native people are having. He applauds their zeal and can testify about it to his audience (mostly Gentile believers), but he explains that their zeal is based on self-righteousness and not on the knowledge of Christ. He has already explained in this letter that no one can be saved by their own works of righteousness (Romans 3:20), but that didn’t stop the Israelites from trying. Paul continues that their desire for their own righteousness that they could earn through obedience to the law is actually what held them back (10:3). In other words, they were so zealous to prove that they could “do right” that they were defeating themselves by rejecting true righteousness found only through Christ.

The Jews may have had a knowledge problem, but it wasn’t their biggest issue. Paul tells us that they “did not SUBMIT to God’s righteousness” (v. 3, caps mine). Knowledge is important, and the Jews definitely needed to know God’s righteousness rather than their own. But even once the righteousness of God through Jesus was made known to them by Paul and others, they were unwilling to surrender their own ideas. We may wonder why they would reject righteousness that came so freely and easily. I believe the hint is in the last verse of this week’s section: “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (v. 4). That word “everyone” is what the Jews would’ve hated the most. Sadly, their arrogance led them to believe that they were better than the Gentiles. They had no problem with the idea of Gentiles being saved, but the thought that they would be saved by the same standard as the Jews is what led them to stumble over the truth.

Is this the way you view anyone in your life? Think about it, because we may not even realize some of the demeaning views we hold towards others until we have failed to submit to the righteousness of God. We may have a sort of “Christian arrogance” that makes us feel superior to others, even though sin has made us equal to even those that appear to be “worse.” As you deal with someone in your life who is not submitting to the truth, remember that you had to come to that point yourself. Resist the temptation to label them as lost causes just because of their refusal to surrender. Continue to speak the truth in love and continue to pray for them. They probably desire righteousness just as you do, but they have to come to the point of accepting that they can’t achieve it on their own. God is patient with them, just as he was with you. Believers must never lose sight of this. Obey the Lord by speaking the truth in love, and trust him in prayer that he will draw those who are lost to himself.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Bill Seng

“Their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.” ~Romans 10:2-3

I once heard the question posed, “Would you rather have a surgeon performing open heart surgery that was full of knowledge but emotionally cold, or one that is super enthusiastic but has no knowledge about what he is doing?” Imagine yourself in that scenario. You are going through pre-surgery prep and your doctor is quiet, snappy, and maybe even rude, but you have heard awesome reviews of his work from friends and family, and he is definitely knowledgeable about what he is doing. Would you trust him? Would you instead trust your doctor if he ran into the room, was friendly, energetic, and cared about you deeply, but when you asked him how many times he's done this before his answer was, “Never. I'm not even a doctor. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night.” The answer is obvious.

The Jews, back in the days of Jesus and the apostles, were very excited over God. They studied, prayed, and even lived lives where they avoided some of the most serious of sins. When the Christians started to emerge, the Jews were disgusted that anyone would come along that contradicted what they were taught growing up. Who was this carpenter that they worshiped? Were they not aware that he had been crucified for being a blasphemer? These were very smart people that were well-versed, but when it came to Jesus, they knew nothing.

The ancient Jews, as well as the Muslims that would later follow, could not grasp the idea that God would come to the world to be persecuted and murdered and then forgive those who brought him harm. Jews were expecting a conquering hero, a man who would come in power and judgment and set up a political nation where the Jews would be the most important people. For the Muslims, the thought of Jesus dying as even a great prophet of God warranted Peter's famous Biblical response to Jesus' prediction: “Let this never happen to you, Lord!” The pride of humanity is projected onto an all-powerful God in this way. We would never have written the story where one of us dies in a humiliating fashion for the sake of the world, so they think it sounds nonsensical to believe that God, who is much greater and glorious than us, would lower himself to that level.

Even though many people inside of Christianity do not necessarily deny the death and resurrection of Jesus, they become excited about something they do not know. Some people become so obsessed with miracles, speaking in tongues, good works, righting the wrongs of your past, and so forth, that the knowledge of God escapes them. While all of these things are great, Jesus says that you can do all of these things and never know him, and that worship of him must be accomplished in Spirit and in truth. There are Christians who are fooling themselves because although they might be doing wonderful things, they are not truly submitting to the truth of God.

The other day one of my co-workers told me the story of a pastor that he heard of. This pastor resolved that he would live without God for a year to understand those who do not believe. After the year, this pastor completely walked away from the faith concluding that there was no reason to believe. I would contest he never really knew Jesus. If he knew and understood the Gospel he would know that one cannot live a year without God because God is always there. Paul condemns the act of doing what is wicked, which is what this pastor is essentially saying that he did, for the sake of accomplishing what is good or even great. His biggest complaint was that God did not fulfill his prayers on his own time frame. This is sad, and I truly wonder if this pastor had ever read the Bible to see that God is not bound by human whims and he does not bow to the will of man. His worship had to be accomplished void of true knowledge of God.

It is good to worship God from the depths of our hearts. But I have spoken with people who love a totally different Jesus from the one that I love. We must turn to the source of our knowledge of God for the answers that tell the truth. We do not confirm truth with evangelists, politicians, gurus, parents, friends, angels, or even personal experience. We confirm all truth of God through the words of the Bible. If someone promotes a truth about God that contradicts the Bible, we need to reject it and submit to the Bible.

There are many misconceptions about God that need not be. When we let go of pride and preconceived expectations, we can know God and worship him for who he really is. God loves enthusiastic worshipers, but he wants them worshiping that which is true, not that which is merely satisfying on a superficial level.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Katie Erickson

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1-4)

What is your heart’s desire? Is it that your fellow people may be saved? That’s what the apostle Paul shares from his heart in the passage we’re looking at today.

He is continuing the theme of righteousness here. Each verse of this passage builds on the previous one, in sort of a stair step order. In verse 1, Paul longs for Israel’s salvation. In verse 2, he emphasizes that they have zeal but not knowledge of God’s salvation. In verse 3, he explains that this is shown by them seeking their own righteousness instead of God’s. Finally in verse 4, he explains why this is wrong, because they don’t have faith in Jesus Christ.

In verse 2, Paul talks about the Israelites having zeal. But what is zeal? That’s not a word I tend to use in my daily vocabulary. Google’s dictionary defines zeal as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” In Paul’s context, the Jews have great enthusiasm for God, but they lack the knowledge of the change in salvation history that happened through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

As I wrote about last week, the Jews are still trying to use their own deeds to earn salvation, rather than having a relationship with Jesus Christ and receiving salvation as a gift from God through their faith. We see this in another contrast here: God’s righteousness versus their own righteousness in verse 3. Their own righteousness means here that they wanted to keep God for themselves, and not share Him with the Gentiles. After all, they are God’s chosen people, right? In their minds, God didn’t choose any other nations. But, He did! When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, that salvation became available to anyone who believes, regardless of nationality or any other factor. God has already done the hard work through Jesus; all we have to do is have faith in Him!

The Jews were guilty of two things: missing the change in salvation history through Jesus, and relying on their own works instead of what God had done for them.

What about you? Are you missing out on salvation through Jesus? Are you trying to rely on your own works, rather than what God has done for you? Don’t miss the boat like the Jews were; contact us today and we’d love to share with you about God’s righteousness and how you can have a relationship with Him.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Nathan Buck

“This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: ‘Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.’” -Isaiah 8:11-12

As a parent, I have had moments where I get in my kids’ faces with love and compassion and a very firm voice. I hold them tightly in my hands and look them in the eyes. I do this at crucial moments to ensure I have their undivided attention, and so that they will hear the importance of what I am about to say to them. I do it to make sure they will remember, to share my wisdom and experience, and to hopefully spare them from something that could leave permanent damage in their lives. I do it hoping they will trust me, take my words to heart, and walk through situations in the best way possible. The passage quoted above, I believe, is the same kind of moment between God and the prophet Isaiah.

God wants Isaiah and all of Israel to avoid being caught up in the conspiracy thinking and self-centered ways of living that the culture around them had adopted. Why? Because God knows that once we get focused on paranoid and selfish ways of thinking, we stop trusting that He has a plan, and we go into survival mode. And the saddest part of survival mode is that it can covertly be operating even in the most religious and supposedly God focused believers.

Read Romans 9:30-33. As Paul finishes his point in this section, he quotes from the same chapter in Isaiah, the verse just after the ones I quoted above. Paul reminds the believers in Rome that it is not a person's race, or color, or predisposition that enables us to have relationship with God. The Jews thought they had special privileges as God's chosen people. Many Christians act that way today too. Yet he makes it clear that it is not their upbringing, religion, or bloodline that gives them access to God. There is only one way to be in relationship with God and that is by faith.

When we watch the news, observe the political debates of presidential candidates, and read our news feed on our social media, we can become wrapped up in the way the world is going. We do this so much that we start thinking about what we can do to make something happen, or what we need to do to survive - instead of trusting God. Paul says there in Romans 8 that the Jews had done the same thing - trying to get God’s blessing through religious activities. The gentiles (non-Jews), however, got to experience God's promised blessings because they believed God's message and trusted Jesus as the Savior and Messiah. The access wasn't biological bloodlines or religious duty; it was faith that caused them to walk God's way and not the way they had been going.

Many of us get tripped up when we get caught up in the way the world is churning. We kick into survival mode and stop trusting God. When we do this, we will eventually trip over the truth that we are not in control, and we need to trust the one who is.

Jesus is the way, the standard, the example, and the blueprint. And verse 33 reminds us that if we trust Jesus, we will never be put to shame (meaning we will not stumble and fall).

How are you doing with trusting God day by day? Are you able to get beyond the “noise” of the news, and the economy, and conspiracies, and politics?

What is one simple way you can let go of a concern or fear about your life or our country, and trust God for His best in that situation? What would it look like for you to have faith that God bring good out of that situation?

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Charlie Wolcott

Last week I talked about how God is a God of mercy. There is another attribute that is very closely associated to mercy and that is grace. Many people confuse these two attributes, but they are distinct and unique. Mercy is simply described as “not getting what you do deserve.” Grace on the other hand is “getting what you do not deserve.” God is very merciful and you can read about it in my post from last week. Now let’s look at grace.

Many confuse grace with mercy. When a defendant in court pleads for mercy, it is because he knows he is guilty, and without mercy he cannot escape his punishment. But there are times where a judge would not merely give mercy, but actually give grace. A merciful judge will simply either reduce or forgive the defendant. A graceful judge will not merely give the defendant mercy, he will go above and beyond and provide the means for the defendant to get his life back in order.

In the big picture, we see mercy and grace reveal itself in the Gospel. Mercy is when Jesus paid the penalty for sin and dealt with the problem of sin. Grace is when he took it so much further. He doesn’t just forgive us; he adopts us as his children. He trains us, prepares us, and sends us out as ambassadors for his Kingdom. This also means he gives us the authority to represent him. That also means we have diplomatic immunity for we live and represent a higher standard and a higher authority. He also trains us for battle so that the forces of darkness will not endure.

God’s grace is beyond what we can imagine. It is by grace that we even have life. It is by grace that we have a planet and a universe that is suited for us to live in. It is by grace that we had people to take care of us as we grew up. What about those who did not have that? The orphans, the destitute, etc. Much can be said about that, but let me just say that sin plays a role and God lets the consequences of sin take their toll. While God gives all we need, there is also a need to manage the resources he’s given us. When children starve to death, it is not because God did not provide. It is because someone stole what was meant for them.

It is by grace that we have food to eat. It is by grace that we have shelter. It is by grace that we have clothing (that is a whole sermon in itself; check out my first Worldview Warriors blog post for that). This is part of why Jesus told us in Matthew 6 to not worry about what we will wear, what we will eat, or about tomorrow. Because God’s grace is sufficient.

Paul dealt with a personal issue. It could have been a health issue or something else. He called it a ‘thorn in the flesh.’ God responded to Paul’s request to remove it by saying: “My grace is sufficient for you.” God is our provider, Jehovah Jireh. He gives us precisely what we need and when we need it. He is never late, but he is rarely early. When we go through trials and tribulations, God’s grace grows. He will give us that grace with abundance beyond what we could imagine.

It is by grace that Peter had the courage to be crucified upside down. It is by grace that John survived being boiled in oil so he could write the last few books of the New Testament. It is by grace that Paul withstood five beatings, two stonings, numerous threats to his life, a shipwreck, and a snake bite, all to bring the Gospel to Asia Minor, Jerusalem, and Rome. It is by grace that the saints of God in the last 2000 years have been able to do what we have done. It is by grace that missionaries like Hudson Taylor and CT Stud could travel through Africa and Asia to preach the Gospel despite several health issues. It is by grace that the United States has been as prosperous as it has been so that we could send out more missionaries in its history than the rest of the world combined. It is by grace that Worldview Warriors has been able to run as the ministry that we are today. And it is also by grace that when God’s judgment comes, it does its work.

It is by grace that we have the strength and the courage to stand against anything the world throws at us. It is by grace that food multiplies. It is by grace that the sick are healed, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see, and the dead rise. And it is by grace that God allows us to join him to expand his Kingdom and turn this world around. Check out this short video by Eric Ludy about the kind of grace God deals out. Are we willing to go out and do God’s bidding? A great phrase I have heard that addresses this is: “God’s will… God’s bill.” If God wants us to do something, he will do as Oswald Chambers said: “He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist you with all his almighty power.” God has given us grace beyond our wildest dreams. Let us not waste it.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.

by Steve Risner

[This blog post is part of a series. The previous one is here, and the next one is here.]

This is part 4 in a series of blog posts responding to Tyler Francke’s blog called “Ten Theological Questions No Young-earth Creationist Can Answer.” Near the end of the introduction to that post, Tyler has a series of links found in the phrase “really really really really bad.” Today’s post is part 2 in response to the first “really” where we can find a blog called, “3 seriously bad theological implications of young-earth creationism.” Take a look if you need to at the first portion of “Really Really Really Really Bad - Part 1” where I worked through his introduction and his first “seriously bad implication” for Biblical creationists. We found it didn’t actually have much to do with theology at all but was simply an anti-biblical interpretation of some scientific facts. He found it a theologically bad implication that God seemed to have lied with nature but didn’t find it a theologically bad implication for him that his stance is that God was not accurate in His Word on history (or science). Not being accurate when you’re all knowing and all powerful means you’re lying, does it not? Do you see the double standard? The primary problem, as I see it, with many theistic evolutionists is they prefer to use the currently popular, ever changing opinion of “scientists” as a guide for Biblical interpretation rather than using God’s Word to be the lens by which we view the world. So let’s continue.

Tyler’s second “theologically bad implication” for me is that Biblical creation makes faith useless. He actually seems to advocate for blind faith. He says, “Creationism teaches that there is no reason to have faith, and here’s why: If the scientific evidence, objectively observed, really does point to the entire universe arising in a single creative event no more than 10,000 years ago, as YECs claim, then that means those who wrote the Bible undeniably had knowledge that they couldn’t have had without the touch of God. Thus, the case is closed. God is real, the Bible is inspired and perfect — no further discussion necessary.” Honestly, I’m having trouble connecting his point with that statement. I believe the scientific evidence can easily support my beliefs as based on the creation account in the Bible. I do believe the men who wrote the Bible were inspired by God, who had a lot more knowledge on the subjects written on than the authors themselves. That seems pretty obvious. Doesn’t every believer think that God gave special information to the writers of the Bible? How could they have written much of the Word at all without this special revelation? Tyler seems to be advocating for blind faith. That’s simply not a good position at all to take. Christianity is not mere blind faith. As emphasized by theologian D. James Kennedy, the claim that belief in Christianity produces an irrational, uneducated, unintelligent, or unintellectual view of life is completely false. Blind faith is faith without evidence, which would be superstition. The Bible does not call us to blind faith. The Bible calls us to faith in evidence. We submit that various truth claims, including Christianity, should be evaluated on the evidence. Yes, there will always be a step of faith for the Christian. But that step doesn't require a person to leave his brains at the church door. I may be misreading Tyler’s statements, but it seems he’s pushing for a faith not described in the Bible. In fact, Tyler’s faith in the “science” he uses to interpret the Bible is no different than the faith we have in the Bible to interpret science. Thus far we have God being a liar because He made the earth look old when it’s not. Then we have God being a liar because He had the Bible written in such a way that was inaccurate (although this time it was okay to lie). Then we have the idea that we are supposed to have blind faith in God even if it does seem like He lied to us. He advocates for faith in facts when it comes to science but also for blind faith in what he seems to call nonsensical when it comes to the Bible. I can’t make it sound any better than that.

So he concludes his “theologically bad implications” for Bible believers with an obviously incorrect statement: we are to avoid unbelievers. What nonsense! Where does this come from? How is this some form of Christianity? We can cite numerous references to the contrary here.

He states, “When I engage with other Christians who disagree with me on evolution, I have never sensed in them much of a longing for nonbelievers to experience the joy and salvation of knowing Jesus.” This is so far from the truth I don’t know what to say. Nearly all, if not all, of the Biblical creationist organizations I know of, including Worldview Warriors, ONLY care about the issue of origins because we want people to find Jesus Christ. That’s the whole point! AiG’s mission statement includes “…to deliver the message of the gospel, individually and collectively.” Creation.com has as their vision, “To see the Lord Jesus Christ honoured as Creator and Saviour of the world.” It’s hard to even find a statement of faith on the God of Evolution website, but “young-earth creationists” don’t care about unbelievers. I fight for the souls of our kids all the time—it’s the reason I’m in this discussion at all. It almost seems like Tyler feels he should be treated like a lost soul when talking with a Biblical creationist. I agree with him that it’s difficult to find a theistic evolutionist that is an authentic believer. It’s possible, but difficult. Perhaps he feels other believers should preach the Gospel to him. I assume he has already heard it, but that could be my mistake. He says, “I more often tend to encounter a deep animosity and mistrust, especially toward scientists.” This isn’t true, either. I’m finding it difficult to take anything from this site seriously. Biblical creationists mistrust men and women who put on the guise of a scientist so they can acquire converts to their religion—a false religion heaped in humanism. Many great scientists are or were believers and creationists at that. The entire point of the debate is helping people find the truth—the truth that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). The number of theistic evolutionists that do not believe that is alarming.

He goes on to say, “Creationism proponents say that is because of the deleterious effects of something called ‘evolutionary philosophy’.” It’s pretty clear that the philosophy or worldview that upholds evolution from a single common ancestor is destructive to belief in the God of the Bible for many if not most who accept it. It hasn’t “shaken” his faith in God, he claims. But the number of theistic evolutionists who seem to accept any religious belief as legitimate (except Biblical creation) and have a very watery version of Christianity that they adhere to is enough to make me concerned that belief in Darwinism causes decay and eroded the foundation for the entire love story we call the Gospel. He goes on to imply that compromising our faith to win the atheist scientists is a good idea. I’m not sure what example in Scripture he’s using for that model of missionary work.

Every one of these 3 “theologically bad implications” of young earth creation is a sham. None holds water and the last problem he outlines for us is the exact opposite of what my experience is. And he calls for compromise to reach the lost. He says Paul supports this but misreads Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. I believe he doesn’t seem to understand what science is and he has a very strange and inconsistent view of what the Bible teaches us.

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