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The wonder of God can be defined as: “inquisitive awe in the pursuit of an understanding of all of the perfections of God that comprise His magnificence.”  Anthropological wonder is the wonder of God as seen in His creation of human beings.  In Ps. 139:14, “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  A human being, created in the image of God, is a cause for inquisitive awe.  What does being created in the image of God tell us about ourselves?  Human beings alone sustain a unique relationship to deity.  We are created “in His image” and “in His likeness” (Gen. 1:26,27).
The Creation of Humanity is Unique.
The divine Godhead is involved in the creation of human beings.  Humans are not the product of blind change and randomness as affirmed by biological evolutionists.  People are not an evolutionary accident.  We are created with divine intent and purpose.  God who is eternal, self-existing,  and infinite in all of His perfections brought into being a human being that is both physical and spiritual in nature and so, created and finite.  The superiority of God and sovereignty of God over His creature–man–is expressed in this relationship between the Creator and the creature.  God is a person and He has created human beings in such a way that they can have a relationship with Him.  Human beings are person too!  Human beings reflect God’s presence in the world and are evidence that God exists by virtue of the fact that they are created in His image.  No other part of God’s creation has this distinction.  This separates human beings from animals and all other forms of life.  God expressly forbids idols made of wood, stone, silver, or gold as the means of bearing His image.  All idolatry is strictly forbidden by God.  Human beings were given dominion over the earth and all other living things.  They are the crown of God’s creation.  God created them male and female.  Both male and female bear the image of God.  Sexual identity/gender identity is God-given and part of the design of God for human reproduction.  This is part of the created order and is being contradicted by those who suffer from gender dysphoria and choose to contradict God’s created design.  Human beings are dualistic in nature and consist of an “outer man” (physical in nature) and an “inner man” (spiritual in nature).  The physical body is a wonder.  The soul of man, intimately bound to the body, is given by God at conception and together, body and soul, make up a human being.  The fact that human beings possess a soul is another reason for the distinction between humans and animals.
In His Image
There are several aspects of humans that indicate that they bear God’s image.  First, humans have intellectual likeness to God.  In Ps. 139:1-6, David affirms that God is all-knowing.  Humans have intelligence (Job. 35:11), but are not infinite in knowledge.  Humans know more than the beasts of the field or the fowls of the air.  The powers of rational thought possessed by humans are part of the image of God.  Animals do not reason.  They function on the basis of instinct.  No animal has ever written a book!  Second, bearing the image of God means that there is a moral likeness to God.  God is holy (Isa. 6:1-3).  God is love (I John 4:8,16).  Humans are moral creatures.  The spirit of a human being is manifested in conscious thought, self-awareness, and self-reflection.  We have a conscience–a moral arbiter or umpire that either approves or disapproves of words and actions taken by us.  Animals are not moral creatures.  Humans are morally responsible to God because God created us.  God through various covenants has expressed His will in laws that He ordains.  This power to make laws is an expression of God’s sovereignty.  Human beings have always been accountable to God according to the covenant that they lived under at the time of their human sojourn on the earth.  God’s laws constitute objective moral laws.  These laws are recognized universally.  For instance, it is universally understood that murder and rape are wrong (sinful because they violate God’s laws).  Third, being created in the image of God means that humans have volition or the power to choose.  Responsibility to God implies the ability to respond by choice to either obey God or disobey Him.  Volitionality is essential to morality.  God possesses free-will.  God chooses and no one tells God what to do (Rom. 11:34).  “Who hath known the mind of the LORD, or who hath been his counsellor?”  Human beings have free-will.  All sin is the result of choice (James 1:14-15).  Love is a matter of choice.  If there is no free-will, there can be no love!  God desires that we obey Him because we love Him (Mt. 22:36-39; John 14:15, 23).  God is love and He has created humans with the power to love Him and others.  Love is the greatest human virtue (I Cor. 13:13).  If love were properly understood and applied, it would solve most, if not all, of the social problems facing humans today (I Cor. 13).
Truly God has created human beings with such distinction that it inspires wonder.  What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visiteth him?  (Ps. 8:4).  We marvel at how God has created us.  He made us in His image.  We have a created order and design that reflects God’s wisdom and power.  Using our minds, hearts and wills, we can established a spiritual and covenantal relationship with God following the terms and conditions of the New Testament (the law of Christ) and enjoy fellowship with God.  We can prepare to live with God eternally which is the reason He created us (Rev. 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”).

In a recent article by Jeff Miller, titled, “Should Christians Accept Evolution and an Old Earth To Win Converts?” Part 2, Reason and Revelation, May, 2022, Miller stated, “We would not suggest that every person must necessarily passionately believe in a young Earth and a literal Creation to be saved.”  This statement was made in the context of reason #6, “Teaching Error is sinful.”  Miller was affirming that if a person held a wrong view of literal creation, it would be okay, but if he taught that personal belief to others, it would be a sin.  The complete article can be accessed from Apologetics Press at www.apologeticspress.org. The statement by Miller brings up the question, “can a person believe a lie and not be damned?” Another question that might be asked is, “can a person sin in his/her mind or heart?”
Let’s consider some passages of scripture that will help answer these questions.
First, in II Thess. 2:10-12, the Holy Spirit through Paul declares, “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.”  Paul states that it is possible to believe a lie and be damned.  Notice that he does not say that the person must teach the lie that he believes personally.  The sin is unbelief of the truth!  Unbelief leads to disobedience.  What is the lie that is held personally by the person who rejects a literal creation?  The lie is organic evolution or perhaps theistic evolution.  If I do not believe in a literal creation, I would have to believe in some form of evolution.  Organic or macroevolution denies the very existence of God!  It denies the spiritual aspect (the soul) of every human being.  It denies that there is any difference between animals and humans.  The implications of the lie of evolution are enormous.  Theistic evolutionists have varying views among themselves.  Many, such  as C. S. Lewis, believe in “common ancestry” or “common descent.”  This concept affirms that man evolved from some lower life form and then changed into the form of a monkey, and continued to evolve into a Neanderthal, and eventually several thousand Neanderthals were infused with a soul and became human beings about 120,000 years ago.  Such a concept denies the creation account given by God through Moses in Genesis 1 and 2.  This results in tampering with the lexical and grammatical aspects of Genesis 1 and 2 to make these passages figurative and mythological instead of literal and historical.  Such tampering with the sacred text is itself a sin.  Many theistic evolutionists also hold to an old Earth view and accept the evolutionary estimates that the universe is 14 billion years old and the Earth is 4-5 billion years old (John Lennox, Seven Days That Divide the World is an example and, so is Nobie Stone’s book: Genesis 1 and Lessons in Space).  The age of the Earth can be determined through the chronology given to us in Scripture.  An old Earth view denies Scriptural chronology.  The chronology of the Bible is interwoven with the genealogy of the Bible.  If you attempt to destroy the chronology, you will destroy the genealogy and the genealogy is Christological.  You cannot believe a lie and believe the truth at the same time!  If you believe a lie, you reject the truth and if you believe the truth, you reject lies.  Believing lies will not save a person’s soul.  “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12).
Second, Eph. 2:2-3, Sins of the Heart/Mind
The apostle Paul writes by the Holy Spirit, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The phrase lusts of the flesh is a reference to sinful desires–the desires of the flesh and of the mind.  Jesus was very clear about the fact that we can sin with our heart/mind.  “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  But I say unto you, That whosoever lookest on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  Jesus also said, “…That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.  For from within out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-23).  What are “evil thoughts?”  Are they not sinful thoughts and demisings?  Deceit (dolos) is a reference to lies.  Lies originate in the heart and then, they are spoken or acted upon.  All unbelief is deceit.  Unbelief is the rejection of the truth. Rejection of the truth is not innocent or innocuous.  Lust precedes adultery and fornication.  The sin is in the heart. Consider a New Testament example.  In Acts 8, Philip the evangelist goes down to Samaria and preached Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.  A man by the name of Simon who was a sorcerer was converted.  Later, Simon coveted the power of Peter and John that enabled them to convey miraculous gifts through the laying on of their hands.  Simon thought that he could purchase this power.  Peter rebuked him saying, “…Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:20-22).  Peter’s rebuke of the sin in the heart of Simon would be the appropriate response to the person who rejected the truth about the doctrine of creation revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.
The Doctrine of Creation
The doctrine of creation is part of the doctrine of Christ (II John 9-11).  If we do not abide in the doctrine of Christ, we do not have fellowship with God.  The doctrine of creation has a direct bearing on who Jesus is.  Jesus is the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-18).  This fact is an important aspect of Jesus’ deity.  To deny the account of creation as given in God’s Word is to deny the deity of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is not only the Creator, He has told us exactly when He created all things (Genesis 1, 2; Exodus 20:11) and what He created and how He created it.  To reject this truth is to call God a liar and believe a lie.  Those who believe a lie will be damned.

The Warren Christian Apologetics Center under the directorship of Charles Pugh III continues to promote and publish religious error.  I have published a review of Mac Deaver’s article, “Could God Create (ex nihilo) on the First Day?”  that appeared in Sufficient Evidence, Fall of 2020.  Sufficient Evidence is a publication of the Warren Christian Apologetics Center.  The basic affirmation of Mac Deaver is that it is not possible for anyone to know the age of the earth and so it is not a matter of faith or doctrine which could be a test of fellowship.  This position opens the door to cosmological evolution and geological evolution. This concept must be put to the test of truth.  Deaver argues that the creation of the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1) does not occur during the six days referenced by Moses in Exodus 20:11.  This brings up the question, “What is the relationship between Gen. 1:1 and Exodus 20:11?”   This is the question that I address in my reply to Deaver’s article.  You will find my reply under the page Biblical Articles.

Francis Collins, in The Language of God, states, “Despite twenty-five centuries of debate, it is fair to say that no human knows what the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 was precisely intended to be” (p. 153).  Collins escapes into agnosticism regarding the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 because his interpretations of scientific data conflicts with what God said He did and when He did it.  Collins elevates his own interpretations over the obvious import of God’s Word.  Exodus 20:11 states, “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.”  This is divine commentary on Genesis 1 and 2.  Genesis and Exodus were written by Moses.  Jesus affirms that Moses gave the Law (John 7:19, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?” Jesus referenced Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in His personal teaching.  He also references Gen. 1 and 2 in Matt. 19:4, “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.”  And, Mark 10:6, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.”  Collins denies this truth and affirms that man evolved from monkeys (The Language of God, 200, “Humans are part of this process, sharing a common ancestor with the great apes”).  The rejection of the plain teaching of Genesis 1 and 2 and Exodus 20:11, puts Collins in conflict with Jesus.  Jesus understands Moses perfectly!
The Meaning of the Clarity of Scripture
The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (also known as the perspicuity of Scripture) means that the central message of the Bible is clear and understandable and that the Bible itself can be properly interpreted in a normal, literal sense.  The doctrine of the clarity of the Scriptures was a main belief of the Reformers such as Martin Luther who taught against the claim that the Bible was not clear and so it was too obscure for the common man to understand.  The Catholic Church opposed the interpretation of the Bible by the common man.
The Bible Proclaims Its Own Clarity
In Deut. 6:6-7, Moses instructs the Israelites to teach the law to their children.  If children can learn the law and the creation account was part of that law, then, adults can learn it too!  In II Tim. 3:13-15, Paul said that Timothy had known the holy Scriptures from a child.  Paul knew that a child could learn the Scriptures.  Both Paul and Jesus understood Genesis 1 and 2 in a literal sense.  Both identified the beginning of the creation of male and female by God.  Both believed Adam was the first man and that he was a real, literal, person (Matt. 19:4-5; Rom. 5:12-ff; I Cor. 15:45).  Redemption is the result of God’s saving work through Jesus Christ because of the fall of Adam and Eve as revealed in Genesis 3.  Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic promise, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  These words were spoken to the serpent (Satan).  They reveal God’s plan to deal a crushing blow to the devil through the seed of the woman which was fulfilled in Jesus’ work of redemption (Heb. 2:14-15, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”).
The Dangers of The Denial of the Doctrine of Clarity
The denial of the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that we must give up on personal accountability to God.  God expects us to know His Word and obey it (Heb. 5:8-9).  If the Bible is unclear about salvation, then, no one could be held accountable for not obeying it.
The denial of the doctrine of clarity means that God failed to adequately communicate His Will to man in such a way that man could know the truth.  How could we distinguish truth from error?  If we believe a lie, we will be damned (II Thess. 2:11-12).
The denial of the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that we could not know the true origin of mankind.  We could not know if we were the result of God’s creative power or that we were descended from mice and monkeys.  However, God tells us what He did, when He did it and how He did it (Psa. 33:8-9).  What He did:  created all things by His omnipotence.  When He did it: In the beginning.  How He did it: By divine fiat.  God spoke and it was done.
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:7).
Theistic Evolution is a Heresy
The word heresy comes from the Greek word, hairesis, and means, “to choose, a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects” (W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, II, 217).  All heresies are works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20, II Pet. 2:1; I Cor. 11:19).  Paul affirms that those who commit the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Warren Christian Apologetics Center under the direction of Charles Pugh III has been in existence for over a decade.  During this time, the Center (hereafter referred to as the WCAC) has proven through its publications and associations its true nature.  The WCAC is located at 850 Altman Ave., Parkersburg, WV 26104 and is currently housed in two trailers on a lot that once belonged to the owners of a Bob Evans restaurant which was subsequently sold and later donated by the new owner to the WCAC as a future location.  The director of the center, Charles Pugh III is largely responsible for the decisions made that give direction to the aim or purpose of the center.  The stated aim of the center is to “affirm and defend the Christian Worldview while challenging growing global influence of atheistic thought.”  The WCAC has been responsible for both publications and activities that do not uphold the Christian Worldview which can only be defined by God’s Word.  Consider the following seven glaring errors of the WCAC.
Error Number One:  Advancement of the False Theory of Theistic Evolution.  
The WCAC published a book by Nobie Stone, Genesis One And Lessons From Space (This book has been published twice by the WCAC. The first edition was published in 2014 and the second edition was published in 2017. I have written extensive reviews of each published edition and posted them under my Book Reviews page), in which the author affirms the Big Bang Theory and an old Earth view (both of which are tenets of theistic evolution).  Theistic evolutionists believe that God used evolution as His means of producing the various forms of physical life on this planet,including human life (Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, p. 233).  In five previous blogs, I have exposed the false concepts involved in the concept of theistic evolution.  Please refer to them for a thorough discussion of this topic.  In one of those blogs, I revealed that the old earth view (the view that the universe is 14 billion years old and that the earth is 4 to 5 billion years old) contradicts biblical chronology.  The WCAC by publishing and distributing a book that affirms a false view of the age of the earth (which contradicts plain statements in the Bible) contradicts its mission by compromising truth.  The Big Bang Theory has been proven both scientifically and biblically to be false.  Why would the WCAC use funds contributed to it by members of the Lord’s church and others to publish material that is blatantly false?
Error Number Two:  Errors of Epistemology
In the book by Nobie Stone, Genesis One and Lessons From Space, Stone affirms that we cannot know anything with certainty (see the second edition, p. 19).  He affirms probablism.  Epistemology is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, its presuppositions and basis, and the general reliability of claims to knowledge (Paul Edwards, editor, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 3 and 4, p. 9).  Thomas Warren, for whom the WCAC is named, believed that we can know with certainty that God exists, the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  It is interesting to note, that Charles Pugh III, director of the WCAC is on record as stating that the WCAC is not a cookie cutter of the apologetics of Thomas Warren (first edition, 157).  Why name the center after Thomas Warren and not represent the apologetics of Thomas Warren?  Nobie Stone denies that we can know anything with certainty.  How can the WCAC affirm the Christian Worldview and at the same time publish materials that deny we can know that God exists with absolute certainty?
Error Number Three:  Elevation of Scientific Theory Over the Scriptures
In the book by Nobie Stone, Genesis One and Lessons From Space, the author affirms that the theories of science, the theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory take primacy over the Scriptures.  Stone wrests the scriputures in Genesis 1 to fit his bias toward these scientific theories.  The scientific theories have never been proven and, yet, they are elevated over the infallible Word of God.  This causes Stone to reinterpret the days of Genesis 1.  He affirms that each “day” was an indeterminate age and not a twenty-four hour period of time.  This is commonly referred to as the “Day-Age” theory.   Denis Lamoureux in Evolutionary Creation-A Christian Approach to Evolution, states, “The hermeneutical primacy of science certainly leads to a counterintuitive reading of the Bible” (p. 175).  In order to reinterpret the Scriptures to fit scientific theories such as evolution and the Big Bang, Stone must violate several hermeneutical principles including lexical meanings and grammatical forms of the Hebrew language in which the Old Testament was written.  I would like to affirm that the Scriptures are the final authority and not science.  God cannot lie!  (I Sam. 15:29, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18).  God expressly states, “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).  Any theory that contradicts a plain passage of Scripture is a false theory (Thomas Warren affirms this principle in Logic and the Bible, 75,76).  The WCAC has affirmed that it will uphold the Christian Worldview.  How can you have a Christian Worldview without affirming the integrity of the Scriptures?
Error Number Four:  Practicing Ecumenism
Ecumenism is the false practice of fellowshipping denominational persons and errors without rebuke.  The WCAC is a parachurch organization.  The WCAC has attempted to legitimize its practices and open fellowship of false religion by stating that they are not the church of Christ.  They have accepted and will accept monies from any source that is friendly toward their stated purpose.  A parachurch organization is an organization that functions outside of the church but claims to be doing a work of the church.  Apologetics is a work of the church (I Pet. 3:15).  The WCAC is not the church, but claims to be doing a work of the church and so claims to help the church.  However, when the WCAC became involved in publishing and promoting religious error, it ceased being helpful to the church and became an enemy of the church.  When the WCAC began to openly fellowship those in religious error, they stopped being a friend of the church of Christ.  The open fellowship of religious error is a violation of Ephesians 5:11.  “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”  And, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (II Cor. 6:14-15). The WCAC demonstrated its willingness to openly fellowship religious error by hosting Devin Brown in the recent spring lectures.  Brown is a scholar from Asbury University (a Methodist school-specifically Wesleyan-Arminian).  He is an expert on C.S. Lewis.  C.S. Lewis was a theistic evolutionists who affirmed common descent believing that human beings evolved from lower life forms (monkeys to man theory).  C. S. Lewis is referred to by Brown and by Charles Pugh III as a Christian theist.  C.S. Lewis was never a member of the church of Christ. C.S. Lewis was a member of the church of Ireland which was Episcopal.  Robert Beasley in his book, Set Me Free, offers a suggestion on how members of the churches of Christ could fellowship denominational people.  He mentions parachurch organizations.  Beasley states, “There are a number of parachurch organizations that are intended not to replace the church, but to focus on particular issues confronting Christians in our modern world. The focus of these groups will be on the essential truths of the Christian faith, without delving into issues that divide denominations” (188).  Beasley suggests Promise Keepers as an example of a parachurch organization that members of the churches of Christ could fellowship.  Charles Pugh III is using the WCAC in a similar fashion.  Is there any person involved in teaching or promoting religious error that the WCAC would not fellowship?  If so, on what basis?
Error Number Five:  Misuse of Funds
The WCAC directors solicit funds from anyone who is sympathetic toward the stated purpose of the center.  They solicit funds from Christians and from churches of Christ and from non-members who are unbelievers.  This of necessity involves the attempt to combine together individuals who are both believers and unbelievers in a common religious cause.  It is an attempt to bring together the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God in accomplishing one cause.  This is a fundamental error of the design of the WCAC.  Jesus stated that, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matt. 12:25).  Does this principle apply to the WCAC?  If the WCAC upholds the truth about God, Jesus Christ and the Bible, would not that very truth destroy the denominationalists who were supporting the WCAC with their money and their resources?  The WCAC uses funds contributed to it to publish religious error (Big Bang theory, old earth view, false views of epistemology–all noted earlier).  For instance, $15,000.00 has been spent to publish Nobie Stone’s book, Genesis One and Lessons from Space in the two editions printed.  How many members of the church of Christ know that the money they have contributed to the WCAC has gone to publish religious error and promote false religionists?
Error Number Six:  Hypocrisy
The WCAC fellowships the unfruitful works of darkness in order to do a work of the church!  The WCAC director pays lip service to the Bible while publishing materials that contradict plain passages of Scripture in the Bible.  The biblical definition of hypocrisy is stated by the Lord in Matthew 23:3, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”  Hypocrisy involves saying one thing and doing another.  Hypocrisy is also manifested in the fundamental error of the WCAC in its attempt to bring together the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God in order to accomplish a work of the church of Christ.
Error Number Seven:  Division
A sad state has developed in the churches of Christ due to the divisive nature of the WCAC.  Churches and brethren have been separated.  Lines of fellowship have been drawn.  Apologetics Centers have been pitted against each other.  For instance, Apologetics Press, in 2019 has printed five different articles upholding the young earth view which is a stated purpose of the apologetics center.  Most know that this center is closely associated with the churches of Christ.  The articles appeared in Reason and Revelation a publication of Apologetics Press.  The recent articles are:  21 Reasons To Believe The Earth is Young, Jeff Miller, Ph.D., Jan. 2019, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 2-5, 8-10.  How Long Were Adam and Eve in the Garden Before Sinning?  Jeff Miller, Ph.D., February, 2019, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 20-23.  Was the Flood Global?  Jeff Miller, Ph. D., April, 2019, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 38-47.  Behemoth and Leviathan Part I, May, 2019, vol.  39, no. 5, Dave Miller Ph. D., pp. 50-57.  Behemoth and Leviathan Part II, Dave Miller, Ph. D., June, 2019, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 62-69.  The WCAC does not uphold the young earth view as noted above as evidenced by their publication of Nobie Stone’s book, Genesis One and Lessons From Space.  Apologetics Press has also published numerous articles refuting the Big Bang Theory which was advanced by Nobie Stone in his work (I have referenced these in my reviews of both editions of Nobie Stone’s book).  This clearly pits one apologetics center against another apologetics center which is ironic since both claim to be upholding the Bible.  No parachurch organization is worth causing division in the body of Christ.

In a series of articles, we have been exposing the fallacies of Theistic Evolution.  Part V of this series, continues to reveal the false ideas inherent in the doctrine.
9.  Some Theistic Evolutionists deny substitutionary atonement.  Substitutionary atonement is the biblical doctrine that Jesus died in the place of sinners, i.e. He endured the punishment (unjustly) that sinners rightfully deserve. Jesus did this to satisfy the justice of God and provide for the atonement of sin.  Joseph Bankard on the BioLogos (a term coined by Francis Collins) website affirms: “substitutionary atonement does not fit well with the theory of evolution.”  He explains, “If evolution is true, then the universe is very old, humans evolved from primates…[and]…the Fall is not a historical event….However, if denying the historical Fall calls into question the doctrine of original sin, then it also calls into question the role of the cross of Christ within substitutionary atonement.  If Jesus didn’t die in order to overcome humanity’s original sin, then why did Jesus die?  What is Jesus, the second Adam, attempting to restore with the cross, if not the sin of the first Adam? Substitutionary atonement sees original sin as a major reason for Christ’s death. But macroevolution calls the Fall and the doctrine of original sin into question.  Thus, evolution poses a significant challenge to substitutionary atonement” (Theistic Evolution, p. 707).  Bankard affirms in Part 2 of his article that, in his alternative view of the cross, “Christ’s death was not a part of God’s divine plan” (emphasis added) (Theistic Evolution, p. 707 an article by Colin R. Reeves, “Bringing Home the Bacon: The Interaction of Science and Scripture Today). The doctrine of substitutionary atonement is taught in the Scriptures.  Peter states, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:24).  God’s Word declares “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself…So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. 9:26,28). In refutation of Bankard’s claim that “Christ’s death was not a part of God’s divine plan” consider Peter’s remarks in Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”  “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). With respect to substitutionary atonement, theistic evolutionists sound similar to evolutionists who are also atheists.  G. Richard Bozarth, an atheist, states, “…evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary.  Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god…If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing! (Theistic Evolution, 706). We cannot accept the claims of evolution and adhere to historical Christianity.  Theistic evolutionists attempt to marry the lie of evolution with the truth of creation.  But, they fail to realize that the result is another lie and not the truth.  They thus assault the integrity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Theistic Evolution is the belief that God used evolution as his means of producing the various forms of physical life on this planet, including human life.  Several of the consequences of Theistic Evolution have already been considered in previous posts.  In this article, we want to consider yet another result of Theistic Evolution.
8.  Some Theistic Evolutionists deny the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (also referred to as the perspicuity of Scripture).  Francis Collins, a theistic evolutionists, in his book, The Language of God, 153, states, “Despite twenty-five centuries of debate, it is fair to say that no human knows what the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 was precisely intended to be.”  The word perspicuity means clarity.  To say that something is perspicacious is to say that it is clear.  The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that the central message of the Bible is clear and understandable and that the Bible itself can be properly interpreted in a normal, literal sense.  Genesis 1 and 2 contain the essential information  concerning the doctrine of creation.  If we affirm that no one can understand these two chapters in Genesis, we are giving up on one of the most important doctrines in the Bible.  Genesis 1 and 2 answer the question of man’s origin, nature, and relationship to his creator.  Creation is a supernatural act performed by an all-powerful, all-wise God.  The doctrine of clarity of Scripture is taught in several passages both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  For instance, in Deut. 6:6-7, Moses instructs the Israelites to teach the Law to their children.  If God intended for children to learn the Law, then, certainly adults can learn it.  The creation of all things by God is one of the things that children can learn.  Paul told Timothy, “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).  The phrase, holy scriptures, is a reference to the Old Testament which includes an account of the creation.  Paul knew that children could understand the Scriptures.  Understanding God’s Word is essential to being wise.  “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).  The person who knows and obeys the sayings of Jesus is a wise man (Matt. 7:24-27).  Jesus said that knowing the truth is essential to salvation (John 8:32).  Jesus also referenced Gen. 1 and 2 in Matt. 19:4 and understood it literally.  Spiritual discernment involves knowing good from evil (Heb. 5:14).  Paul states, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:6).  Paul’s mission was to open the eyes of the Gentiles, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).  Paul opened their eyes through the proclamation of the gospel of Christ (I Cor. 1:23 and 2:2). The apostle Paul referenced Adam as a historical person and called him the “first man” (I Cor. 15:45; Rom. 5:12-21).  Both Jesus and Paul understand Genesis 1 and 2.  Why doesn’t Francis Collins?  Collins attempts to escape into agnosticism because he will not elevate the truth of the Scriptures over his own interpretation of scientific data.