BiblicalInsights.net

Medical malpractice occurs whenever a doctor fails to provide a patient with proper medical care.  This could involve, among other things, failing to give the proper information and treatment to a patient causing physical or psychological harm or even death.  Spiritual malpractice occurs whenever a person in a spiritual leadership position gives false or misleading information in the guidance of a human soul that leads to the destruction of that soul in eternity.  With that in mind, we can confidently affirm that all false teachers are guilty of spiritual malpractice.  False doctrine cannot save.  Only the truth saves.  “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim 3:15).  “Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:4).  “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).  “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
There are many warnings in the Scriptures of false teachers and false doctrine.  Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15).  Paul warned the elders at Ephesus, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).  While Timothy was at Ephesus, Paul warned him in the following words, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmising, Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (I Tim. 6:3-6).  Paul actually did what he told Timothy to do, namely, withdrew from those who spoke against God, “Holding faith, and a good conscience: which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme” (I Tim. 1:19-20).  Peter also predicted, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves  swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (II Pet. 2:1-2).
The Warren Christian Apologetics Center is guilty of publishing and promoting false doctrine in the book by Nobie Stone, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space (both the 2014 and the 2017-revised edition).  This book affirms, Theistic Evolution, mitigated skepticism (a form of agnosticism) and promotes false science (the inflation theory (now falsified) used in support of the Big Bang theory).  The book violates the law of rationality by affirming self-contradictory statements such as: “…because it is rarely, if ever, possible to hold any truth with absolute certainty” (p. 18).  This statement affirms an absolute.  If Stone believes it absolutely then he contradicts himself. It amounts to saying, “I know absolutely that you cannot know anything absolutely.”   The statement is irrational.  The false teaching in this book qualifies it as another act of spiritual malpractice.  A full review of the book by Nobie Stone is posted as a PDF under the book reviews page on this blog.

In January, 2017, the Warren Christian Apologetics Center published a revised edition of Nobie Stone’s work, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space.  A review of the first edition of this work was published on this blog under Book Reviews in 2014 when the first edition was published.  Now, a thorough review of the new revised edition has been published on this blog under Book Reviews.  Simply click on Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space Revised and you will have access to the ten page review.
Nobie Stone is a theistic evolutionist and a mitigated skeptic who misinterprets Genesis 1 in an attempt to harmonize it with evolutionary chronology.  He makes many mistakes in logic, science and theology.  Many of these same mistakes were made in the first edition.  Now, they are repeated in the revised edition and many more errors are added.  Please take the time to read this review and, then, distribute it to others who may be interested in examining the faulty apologetics the book affirms.

The last week of Jesus’ life leading up to the crucifixion was trying. The hatred of His enemies was at a near peak.  The hatred had turned into a plot or conspiracy to kill Him. One of His own twelve apostles was involved in the conspiracy. The evil in Judas’ heart did not need anything to provoke it.  Judas was a thief (John 12:6).  As iniquity abounds, the love of  many waxes cold (Matt. 26:12).  Eventually, love dies and hatred takes over.  Judas conspires to kill Jesus who is the Personification of love.
In The Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus seeks solitude in the Garden of Gethsemane so He can pray to God.  When moments are dark and bleak, where can we go but to the Lord?  Jesus’ disciples are not able to stay awake and watch. Human flesh fails while, at the same time, only God supplies what is needful. Jesus prays for “this cup” to pass from Him (the cup of suffering).  However, the future was left up to God as Jesus committed Himself to Him that judges righteously.  Jesus prays three times.  After the third time, the soldiers, chief priests, and Judas arrive in the Garden to arrest Him.
The Betrayal
Judas recognizes and acknowledges Jesus. Then, he identifies Jesus with a kiss.  Normally, a kiss is a sign of friendship and affection. On this occasion, it becomes a sign of treachery and betrayal. Jesus is betrayed by one who He considered to be a friend and fellow laborer in the great work of God.  The kiss is an act of hypocrisy.  Judas honored Jesus with his lips, but his heart was far from Him.
The Application
Os Guinness in Impossible People, p. 72 states, “Just so today, Christian advocates of homosexual and lesbian revisionism believe in themselves and in the sexual revolution rather than the gospel.  They therefore twist the Scriptures to make reality fit their desires rather than making their desires fit the truths of Scripture. In Soren Kierkegaard’s stinging term, they are “kissing Judases” who betray Jesus with an interpretation.”  Peter warned against twisting or wresting the Scriptures (II Pet. 3:16).  “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” The word wrest means to distort and so pervert what God has said. The idea is that of stretching something beyond its proportions.  This is not innocent.  This is a salvation issue, i.e. “unto their own destruction.”  Guinness applies the act of betrayal of Jesus by Judas to those who betray the Lord through twisting the Scriptures to make them mean that homosexuality is not a sin.  Another example of twisting Scripture is given by Nobie Stone in Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space where Stone advocates an old earth view by changing the meaning of Scripture permitting the Gap Theory or Day-Age Theory or Progressive Creation Theory.  (see Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space, p. 69 –Published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center).  Stone states, “First, concerning the wording in Genesis Chapter One, it says nothing about a 24-hr day.”  While the exact words “24-hr day” do not occur in the context of Genesis 1, the obvious meaning of the Hebrew word yom which is translated “day” when describing the “days” of creation refers to a 24-hr day for two reasons.  First, the use of an ordinal number before day (first day, second day, third day, etc.) limits the meaning of the Hebrew word yom to a 24-hr day.  Second, the phrase, “evening and morning” indicates a 24-hr period.  There are strong contextual elements that show that the “day” is a 24-hr period and not an indefinite period of time that could cover billions of years. Another consideration is that this understanding of the “days” of creation harmonizes with the plain statement given by Moses in Exodus 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  Stone betrays Jesus with an interpretation.

Please consider the following quote from John Clayton. “Help your child realize that religious issues surrounding evolution are not generally salvation issues.  I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Ralph Gilmore who is a professor at Freed-Hardeman College (sic) in Henderson, Tennessee.  Both he and I have had a long history with the school.  We disagree on questions about the age of the earth, and both of us are animated about this issue.  At the same time, we agree that the age of the earth is not a salvation issue.  We can support each other and work together without our opinions causing division or diluting our message” (Does God Exist? vol. 44, no. 1, First Quarter, 2017, pp. 12-13).
I would like to make the following observations concerning this quotation.  First, macro-evolution –the notion that human beings evolved from  lower life forms –is a false theory because it contradicts plain biblical teaching that human beings are the result of the creative power and work of God.  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26-27).  Any theory that contradicts a plain passage of scripture is false!  Truth saves, but lies damn.  Paul states, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:10-12).  Liars will not be in heaven! (Rev. 21:8)
Second, the theory of evolution including the false notion that the universe and the earth are billions of years old is a contradiction of the doctrine of Christ.  Jesus said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6).  The creation of man occurs “at the beginning of the creation.”  According to Genesis one, Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day after God created the heaven and the earth.  “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II John 9-11).  Jesus was present at the time of the creation (Col. 1:16).  He tells us exactly what He did.  Why can’t we believe the Lord Jesus Christ regarding what He did to create all things?  This rejection of Jesus’ words amounts to unbelief.  Unbelief will cause one to be lost (Heb. 3:12; John 3:18).
Third, God’s word is truth (John 17:17).  We can know the truth about the beginning of the universe, the earth, biological life and human life by studying God’s Word (John 8:32).  To say that one cannot know with certainty the truth about these things is the equivalent of being an agnostic.  There is no neutral position regarding the false theory of macro-evolution.  Consider this plain statement from God’s Word, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11).  The evolutionists and the Bible cannot both be right because each affirms what the other denies.  There is no middle ground.  Every precisely stated proposition is either true or false!  God’s truth is not man’s opinion!
The statement made by John Clayton, that evolution is not a salvation issue is a man-made doctrine that sets aside the Word of God and makes it of no effect (see Mark 7:9-13).  Who will you believe–God or John Clayton?

There are several points of similarity between Nobie Stone’s book, Genesis One and Lessons From Space (c. 2014) and John Lennox’s book, Seven Days That Divide The World (c. 2011).  Stone does not mention Lennox or reference his book in his own work.  However, many of the concepts and even vocabulary words that Stone uses come from Lennox.
1.  Both men argue for a new look at Genesis 1.
2.  Both men speak of creation as a sequence involving a process.
3.  Both believe that the Big Bang Theory is an explanation of Gen. 1:1.
4.  Both accept the Gap Theory.
5.  Both accept the Cosmic Microwave Background theory.
6.  Both believe that the days of Genesis may be 24 hour periods separated by long periods of time.
7.  Both call for humility on the part of Christians that most certainly would disagree with their interpretations.
8.  Both argue that it doesn’t make any difference if you interpret Gen. 1 as 24-hour periods or long periods of time.
9.  Both argue that the geocentric view was a false view and that the mistake was made by theologians.
10.  Both argue that the interpretation of Genesis 1 is sophisticated.
I have uploaded a pdf under the page Biblical Articles for readers to explore the comparisons in detail with quotes.  Please read my book reviews of each of these authors.  You will find the reviews under the Book Review page on this website.

I have just posted a new book review of John Lennox’s work titled, Seven Days That Divide The World. Lennox may be referred to as a progressive creationist.  He believes in an ancient universe and ancient earth.  He reinterprets Genesis 1 to fit this viewpoint.  In doing so, he has to deal rather creatively with the grammatical and lexical features of the creation account in Genesis.  I have reviewed and in many instances challenged his conclusions.
This book, in my opinion, was used by Nobie Stone to produce his own work, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space that was published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center.  The Warren Christian Apologetics Center just published Nobie Stone’s mostly favorable review of Lennox’s work in Sufficient Evidence, vol. 6 (Fall, 2016).  Reader’s may want to consult a review of Lennox’s work that was printed in Answers Research Journal 5 (2012): 89-97.  That review was written by Simon Turpin and titled, Review of John Lennox’s Book Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science.  Turpin shows that Answers in Genesis publications have answered most of Lennox’s arguments.

Genesis 1:1 begins, “In the beginning…”  When was the beginning of all things?  Philip Mauro in his book, The Wonders of Bible Chronology, places the beginning at 4046 B.C.  (p. 18).  Six days later, God created Adam (Gen. 1:24-31).  The times given below reflect the actual chronological information given in the Bible itself.  This provides us with an accurate view of the chronology of the Old Testament.
–From the creation of Adam to the  time of the Flood—1656 years.
–From the creation of Adam until the birth of Peleg (when the earth was divided) —1757 years. (Gen. 10:25).
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Terah (Gen. 11:24) –1878 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Abraham (Gen. 11:27) –2008 years.  By this time, we are more than halfway through the history of the OT (Gen. 12).
–The book of Genesis covers 2369 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Ishmael –2094 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Isaac–2108 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Jacob–2168 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Joseph–2259 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the death of Joseph–2369 years.
–From the death of Joseph to the birth of Moses–64 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the birth of Moses–2433 years.
–From the creation of Adam to the Exodus from Egypt–2513 years.
–The book of Exodus covers 144 years, 11 1/2 months.
–The book of Leviticus covers 1 month of time.
–The book of Numbers covers 40 years.
–The book of Deuteronomy covers 30 days (1 month).
–From the creation of Adam to the death of Moses–2552 years.
–The Pentateuch covers 2554 years, 1 1/2 months.
There are twelve periods of OT History.  The chronology will be given for each periods.
1.  The Antediluvian Period (before the Flood)  1656 years.
2.  The Postdiluvian Period (after the Flood) 352 years.
3.  Patriarchal Period: (Abraham to Moses) 425 years.
4.  Captivity in Egypt and Exodus:  80 years.
5.  Wilderness Wanderings: 40 years.
6.  Conquest of Canaan (6 years) and Division of the Land (14 years): 20 years.
7.  Judges:  450 years.
8.  United Kingdom: 120 years.
9.  Divided Kingdom: 264 years.
10. Judah Alone:  131 years.
11. Babylonian Captivity: 70 years.
12. Restoration of the Jews to Palestine: 49 years.
Period between the OT and NT: 403 years.
Jesus was born 4041 years after Adam was created.
Jesus was baptized 4071 years after Adam was created.
Jesus was crucified 4074 1/2 years after Adam was created in the year 4075 after Adam was created.
The chronology of the Bible is given for one main purpose, to give the history of the scheme of the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ our savior.  The people, places, and events are important because they figure prominently into the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth.  The chronology is interwoven with the history.  You cannot change the chronology without dramatically impacting the history of the Messiah.  For this reason, it is impossible to harmonize biblical chronology with that of the theory of evolution.