BiblicalInsights.net

John Morris wrote The Young Earth.  In this book, Morris gives ten geochronological arguments from different features of the earth that point to a young earth rather than an earth that is billions of years old.  On page 137, Morris quotes from G. Richard Bozarth’s article, “The Meaning of Evolution” published in the American Atheist on February, 1978, p. 30, “Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science (by this, he means naturalism-Morris) to the desperate end over evolution, because 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.  Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.”
In light of this quotation, how could any Christian attempt to harmonize what the Bible teaches with what evolutionists teach? The meaning of evolution is that Jesus is not our redeemer and Christianity is nothing!
Another interesting quotation comes from Phil Sanders.  Sanders wrote an article on the rise of religious skepticism titled, “Religious Skepticism on the Rise”, Spiritual Sword, January, 2016, pp. 16-20.  The article revealed that 22.8 percent of Americans now identify themselves as unaffiliated with any religious group.  Sanders states, “This segment of society has grown from 16.1 percent in 2007 to 22.8 percent in 2014 and is growing faster than any religious group in America. Sanders lists the characteristics of a skeptic:
1.  Skeptics question the validity or authenticity of something claiming to be true.
2.  They doubt the truth of Christianity and dismiss the important elements of it.
3.  They have no use for the “organized church” and consider the Bible to be full of ancient and dubious myths.
4.  Skeptics of biblical Christianity doubt whether there is a knowable God who intervenes in the world, whether miracles are possible, whether the soul is immortal, whether there will be a resurrection, and whether there is an afterlife.
5.  Many skeptics are empiricists, who only believe what they can perceive through their five senses.
6.  Others simply deny our ability to know anything for certain.
7.  Skeptics are not sure God even exists, so they see no reason to give him any place of authority or relevance to their lives.
The Barna Group found the three primary components that lead to disbelief in God’s existence are: (1) rejection of the Bible; (2) a lack of trust in the local church and (3) cultural reinforcement of a secular worldview.
Sanders identifies one of the influences of the secular worldview to be the common perception in public education, in the media, and at most museums that the universe is billions of years old and humanity evolved from lower forms of life.  Most theistic evolutionists hold to these views (see my book review on John Otis’ book, Theistic Evolution A Sinful Compromise).  “This constant emphasis on an ancient earth and evolution from so many “credible” sources of the world does not escape the attention of our young people who may not know how to answer this faith destroying theory” (Sanders, p. 17).
The theory of evolution means that Jesus is not our redeemer and Christianity is nothing!  The theory of evolution is a faith destroying theory.  Any person who attempts to harmonize the theory of evolution with the Bible is being irrational.  Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4).

The apostle Paul declares, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom. 16:17-18).  David Lipscomb remarked concerning this passage that ,”No greater evil, according to the Scriptures, could befall the churches than the divisions arising from the introduction of teachings and practices not required by God.  The fundamental truth of the Bible is that God alone has the right to direct and guide the faith and service of his children” (Commentary on Romans, pp. 275-276).
False Doctrine Produces Division
False doctrine challenges individuals to either defend the truth or else to abandon the truth for a lie.  Lovers of truth will defend it against false teachers.  I Thess. 2:13; Jude 3; I Pet. 3:15.
False doctrine will lead to the damnation of the souls of men.  II Thess. 2:11-12. False doctrine seriously undermines the spiritual well-being of men and women.
False doctrine fundamentally changes the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But, there is only one gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).
False doctrine undermines the credibility of the Bible.    False doctrine discredits what God said.  The Bible is called into question and doubted as a result.  “…let God be true, but every man a liar…” (Rom. 3:4).
False doctrine undermines the faith of those who are weak and ignorant.  As Paul said, it beguiles the hearts of the innocent (Rom. 16:18).  The hearts of the innocent are beguiled by the smooth and fair speech of the false teacher.  He charms.  He uses his reputation to deceive.  He lies to cover up his lies.
False doctrine does not originate with God, but with Satan.  Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44).  The false teacher is not aligned with God, but with the god of this world.
False doctrine does not unite the church, but divides it.  False doctrine will  produce a spiritual struggle within the body of Christ forcing those who love the truth to take a stand against the false teacher and his/her doctrine.  This violates the law of love and the imperative to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace (Matt. 7:12; Eph. 4:1-3).  Who is the troubler of the church?  The false teacher is, of course.
False doctrine (the substance of what is taught) is what defines a false teacher.  False teachers should be warned and marked (Rom. 16:17-18).  In marking a false teacher, Paul says that we should not fellowship him/her.  The false teacher is disqualified from receiving help/support from those who love the truth.  The warning of the false teacher is an effort to call them to repentance and recover them from the error of their ways.
False teachers give the appearance that they are serving Christ when, in fact, they are serving themselves.  “These makers of divisions and offenses, however fair and fine their pretensions and speeches might be, were not sincerely serving Christ, but rather serving their own sensual and selfish ends, and the aim of all their kind and plausible words is only to deceive those innocent ones who are slow to suspect it in others” (David Lipscomb, Ibid., p. 277).
False doctrine abounds and appears in many forms.  “…the only sure way of spotting counterfeit money is not by spending time studying counterfeit money, but carefully studying the real thing.  If you know the real thing, the counterfeit is obvious” (John Otis, Theistic Evolution, p. 4).  By studying God’s Word carefully, you will be able to spot a fake when you see or hear one.  Studying the creation account in God’s Word will help expose the fallacies of every form of evolution.

I recently uploaded a new book review.  The book is by John Otis and is titled, Theistic Evolution A Sinful Compromise.  Otis writes to expose a serious problem in the Presbyterian Church in America concerning the doctrine of creation.  He attacks the false notion of theistic evolution within the PCA.  Otis believes in the superiority of the Scriptures over the false concepts of evolution.  He recognizes the crux of the matter to be one of hermeneutics (the science of the interpretation of the Scriptures).  He also affirms that theistic evolution is a “Pandora’s Theological Box.”  You are invited to read the review under the Book Review page.  Just click on the page and then click on the name of the book.  The book consists of 322 pages, but the review is only seven pages.  The doctrinal compromise of theistic evolution has been advanced in the churches of Christ by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center under the direction of Charles Pugh III.  The Center recently published a book by Nobie Stone titled, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space.  Dr. Stone is a theistic evolutionist.  The warning of John Otis in his book should serve as a warning to other religious groups who seek to compromise the Scriptures by advocating a concordant view between the Scriptures and Evolution.

I would like to provide my readers with two quotations from Thomas Warren on the topic of evolution.  Both quotations come from the book, The Book of Genesis edited by Thomas Warren and Garland Elkins.  These quotations are significant in light of the fact that the Warren Christian Apologetics Center published Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space which was written by Dr. Nobie Stone–a theistic evolutionist.  Thomas Warren would not have approved of the false doctrine of theistic evolution.
Thomas Warren wrote a lecture for the book, The Book of Genesis, titled, “In the Beginning God…” On page 19, he writes, “But God–through the Word–created everything other than Himself.  The passages of Scripture which are referred to in endnote 43 make clear that God, by the power of His Word (and through the Word, John 1:1-3) is the creator of the physical universe (the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars), human beings, all animals, and, in fact, all that exists other than himself.  The theory of evolution is false.  The doctrine of creation–as taught in the Bible–is true.”
A second quotation comes from a lecture Thomas Warren wrote titled, “The Creation of Adam and Eve” pp. 42-47).  On page 42, Warren wrote, “There are two basic ways of completing the statement “Man and woman came into being as a result of...” Those two ways are: (1) “…the miraculous creative act of God,” and (2) “…evolution.”  Point (1) means that God created man and woman full grown and, therefore, that man had no non-human ancestors, Point (2) means that man came into being by some sort of changes from some lower (non-human) form of life and, ultimately, of non-living matter.  There are the two basic answers.  It cannot be the case that both of them are true, and it cannot be that neither one of them is true.  It must be that one of them is true and the other is false.  Can we really know which one is true?  We confidently affirm that we can.  Since the Bible is the word of God (this can be proved), then the Bible is infallible (God does not lie, Heb. 6:18; Tit. 1:2).  Therefore, if the Bible gives the account of the origin of man, then by studying and properly interpreting the Bible, man can come to know the truth about his own origin.  It is of great significance to note that while the theory of evolution cannot be verified but can be falsified, the Biblical account of the origin of man can be verified and cannot be falsified” (p. 42).  (All emphasis Thomas Warren).

What is Theistic Evolution?  Theistic evolution is a system of thought that attempts to compromise the teaching of the Bible that God is the creator of all things with the materialistic worldview of organic evolution.  There are many variations of thought among theistic evolutionists. Consequently, there is little agreement among them regarding the actual events involved in the origin of the universe and the development of life.  When faced with the questions of when these things happened and how they happened the answers are often contradictory and full of speculation.
The Danger of Theistic Evolution.
John Otis in his book, Theistic Evolution, remarks, “One of the greatest dangers that the visible church faces today is the growing threat of theistic evolution.  Theistic Evolution is a “Pandora’s Theological Box” (Otis, Theistic Evolution, p. 287).  Why would Otis make a statement like this? Consider the following answers to this question.
First, Theistic Evolution is false because it adopts a faulty hermeneutic.  The infallible rule of interpretation is Scripture itself.  We often say, “Let Scripture interpret Scripture.”  A rule of hermeneutics is: “The words of the scripture text should be understood literally, unless there is some compelling reason to interpret figuratively.”  In regards to Genesis 1, we are faced with the decision to interpret literally and so historically or figuratively and metaphorically.  Dr. Don DeYoung has written a book titled, Thousands…Not Billions, that addresses the question of the age of the earth.  This book is a thorough review of the dating methods commonly used to date the age of the rocks and consequently of the earth.  The book reviews and summarizes the work of a team of seven scientists and one theologian all with earned doctorate degrees that make up a group called RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth). Dr. Steven Boyd is the Biblical Hebrew scholar that did an analysis of Genesis 1 to determine if it belonged to narrative literature or poetical literature.  The analysis involved the use of finite verbs.  The distribution of finite verbs in Hebrew narrative writing differs from that used in poetry.  Dr. Boyd made the following conclusions regarding Genesis 1:  (1)  Genesis 1:1-2:3 is determined to be narrative with a probability of one (an extraordinary level of confidence); (2) It is not statistically defensible to interpret Gen. 1:1-2:3 as poetry or metaphor; (3) since Gen. 1:1-2:3 is clearly narrative, it should be read as other Hebrew narratives are intended to be read.  That is, the creation account describes actual events which carry an unmistakable theological message; (4) when Gen. 1:1-2:3 is read as narrative, there is only one tenable view: God created everything during six literal days (p. 168-169). Most theistic evolutionists believe that Genesis 1 is figurative language and that the days of creation are not 24 hour periods of time (solar days), but may be interpreted as encompassing vast eons of time (billions of years).  Consequently, theistic evolutionists must violate the basic rule of hermeneutics stated above in order to reach the conclusions that they affirm.  In addition to this argument, there are other passages that are clearly historical that support a historical understanding of Genesis 1.  Let Scripture interpret Scripture!  Consider 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.” Another argument that must be considered is the Lord Jesus Christ’s own remarks regarding the beginning and placing the creation of the first man and woman at the beginning of time which cannot be harmonized with the evolutionary scheme regarding the age of the earth and the beginning of human life on the earth.  Jesus said, “…Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.”  Jesus is referencing Gen. 2:24.  He places the creation of man at the beginning of time.  The veracity of the Lord is at stake and consequently His deity with regard to the age of the earth and the creation account given in Genesis 1.
Second, Theistic Evolution assaults the dignity and uniqueness of man.  Gen. 1:27.  Evolutionists teach that man evolved from lower life forms.  The Bible teaches that man was created by God “in his image” (Gen. 1:27).  Both cannot be true!  Paul declares, “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds” (I Cor. 15:39).  Man is not an animal.  Man possesses a soul that will never die.  Man is the crowning jewel of God’s creation.  The dignity and uniqueness of man has a connection to the humanity of Jesus Christ (Psa. 8:4-6; Heb. 2:6-11).  Evolutionary thought is an assault on the dignity of man and the dignity of the Lord who was made in likeness of men.
Third, Theistic Evolution undermines the Bible’s credibility.  Bible chronology cannot allow for billions of years for the age of the universe (14 billion years) and the age of the earth (4-5 billion years).  Bible chronology allows for an earth that is about 6,000 years old.  The genealogical records given in Matt. 1 and Luke 3 may be compared with the genealogical accounts given in the Old Testament.  These genealogies are important because they relate to the identification of the Messiah (Jesus Christ).  If they are not historically accurate, then a significant proof for the Messiahship of Jesus is lost.  Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam.  Jesus places the first male and female at the time of the beginning of all things (Matt. 19:4).  Some Theistic Evolutionists deny that Adam was a real person.  Some deny that Adam could have been 930 years old or that Methuselah could have been 969 years old.  They do this in order to compromise with evolutionary models of the age of the earth.  Scientism is used to interpret the Bible rather than the Bible being used to interpret the facts of science.  Scientism is a materialistic worldview that uses organic evolution to interpret origins and the age of the earth.  This view is false because it contradicts the Bible.
Theistic Evolution must be rejected because it introduces a “Pandora’s Theological Box.”  To deny the historical narrative of Genesis 1 is to deny the veracity of the Bible and the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have recently posted a review of the book titled, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space by Nobie Stone.  This book is published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center, Vienna, WV under the direction of Charles Pugh III.  Pugh states regarding the work of Nobie Stone, “This promises to be a fascinating journey through the cosmos and the associated scientific and religious thought” (p. xi). The reader must judge for himself/herself whether or not this is true.  I found the book to be challenging to my faith because of the many logical, philosophical, scientific and theological errors it contains.
Nobie Stone is a theistic evolutionist.  He allows for the Gap Theory and affirms a modified form of the Day-Age Theory.  Guy N. Woods in Questions and Answers, vol. 1, p. 17 remarks concerning the Day-Age Theory: “The day-age theory is a consequence of the evolutionary theory.  But for that speculative view such a hypothesis would never have been advanced.  The theory itself is patently opposed to other affirmations of the sacred writings; why, then, should we concede that there is merit to its imaginations in this area? Conservative Geologists (E.G., George McReady Price), have long since shown, in the most convincing fashion, that the “onion-skin” hypothesis and the geologic time-time (sic) based thereon are fanciful and false; we ought not, therefore, to give credence to its suppositions in an area where it is obviously in conflict with inspiration.  It is not possible to force the Mosaic account of creation into conformity with the evolutionary hypothesis. Life, according to that theory began in the water; life, according to the Holy Spirit, began on the land! Which shall we believe?”  Woods makes it abundantly clear that the theory of evolution is not compatible with Scripture.  The contrast is between the fallible words of men and the infallible word of the living God.
Charles Pugh III indicates in the Publishers Afterward that the Warren Christian Apologetics Center is not a “cookie cutter” of the apologetics of Thomas Warren for whom the center is named.  This means that the apologetics of the center is not the “same as” the apologetics of Thomas Warren. What is the difference?  Pugh remarks, “The Center’s work includes the availability of venues whereby respected scholars from various disciplines, in some fashion supportive of the Christian worldview, are engaged for presentations that make contributions of varying degrees to the overall field of apologetics for Christian evidences.”  Pugh will present views in the field of Christian apologetics that are not necessarily true according to the Scriptures, but “in some fashion” support the Christian worldview.  I do not believe that Thomas Warren would have done this.  Thomas Warren wrote a book titled, On Church Cooperation and Orphan Homes.  In this work, Warren states that a Christian cannot support error.  Whenever an entity, religious or otherwise, supports error, then that entity is disqualified from receiving funds from New Testament churches or New Testament Christians.  Warren states, “Oh,” someone says, “but you said that a church might help someone who is not a member of the church.” Yes, I certainly did say that.  And I say it again.  But I never did say that a church could give to anyone or to any thing if such giving would enhance the spread of error” (p. 195).  The Warren Center under the direction of Charles Pugh III has published error without refutation and disseminated it worldwide via Amazon.com.  The Christian worldview is stated in the Scriptures.  Any doctrine that contradicts the Scriptures is not the Christian worldview.  Theistic evolution contradicts the Scriptures. Theistic evolution is not the Christian worldview.  Pugh includes a disclaimer about material that is published by the Warren Center on p. 158.  You can read it in my review.  This disclaimer is necessary for Nobie Stone’s work because of the many logical, scientific, philosophical, and theological fallacies it contains. The obvious contradiction between the stated mission of the Warren Center to uphold and defend the Christian worldview and the means (publishing materials that teach error without any refutation and disseminating such throughout the world) should be apparent to any rational person.  Every faithful gospel preacher is under a solemn apostolic charge (II Tim. 4:1-3) to oppose this type of  material and contradictory effort.

Wayne Jackson, in the July, 2015 issue of the Christian Courier, wrote an article titled, “When Time Becomes God.”  The article is an excellent treatment of the question regarding the age of the earth.  How old is the earth?  How do we know?  Does it make any difference?  Does it matter what writers of Scripture say about this issue? Does it matter what Jesus says about it?
I would like to share some of the comments of bro. Jackson regarding this important and controversial topic.  For the entire article, please go to the Christian Courier website.
The Beginning of Creation
In the New Testament, the phrase, “from the beginning” is used more than twenty times.  The context determines the point of the beginning under consideration.  For instance, it may apply to an event within a certain time frame, e.g. the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 6:64).  However, on a number of occasions, it refers to the beginning of the world (Matt. 24:21).  Let’s consider some of the passages in which Jesus used this phrase in reference to the beginning of the world (Gen. 1:1).
First, Jesus placed Adam and Eve (the first humans) at the beginning of the creation. Mark 10:6, “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.”  In contrast, those who affirm organic evolution and theistic evolution have billions of years between the point of the beginning of the universe and the appearance of man on the earth.  Does this trusted testimony of the savior, Jesus Christ, (also the creator of the all things -Col. 1:16) have any authority in deciding the question of the age of the earth?  If we believe Jesus, it does!  Was Jesus ignorant of chronology?  Did He misrepresent the facts to accommodate human ignorance?  In either case, He would forfeit His claim to deity.  The deity of Jesus Christ is at stake in regards to the truth of the age of the earth.
Second, Jesus places the fall of man at the beginning.  The book of Genesis does not give a precise chronology for the time between Adam and Eve’s creation and their fall and subsequent banishment from the Garden of Eden.  But, it could not have been very long.  In John 8:44, Jesus said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”  Jesus said that Satan was a liar and a murder “from the beginning.”  When creation was complete, Satan brought death upon the human race by his deception of Eve and Adam.  In this way, sin entered into the world and death by sin (Rom. 5:12).  There is no room for billions of years to pass from the beginning of the world until the fall of man.
Third, Jesus places the death of Abel, “at the foundation of the world.”  Luke 11:45-52.  Jesus said, “That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation.  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.” How could this statement of the Lord be harmonized with evolutionary chronology?  Abel was one of the sons of Adam and Eve.  Notice, too, that Jesus speaks of the first family as historical people and not as mythological characters.
Fourth, Jesus predicted that the tribulation that would occur with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. would eclipse all previous human suffering even “from the beginning of creation” (Mark 13:19).  Clearly, Jesus extended human history back to the very beginning of the earth’s creation as recorded in Genesis 1.  Why is Jesus’ testimony so arrogantly disputed by evolutionists and theistic evolutionists today?  They are unbelievers.
Time:  Evolution’s God
Professor George Wald of Harvard University once declared:  “Given so much time, the ‘impossible’ becomes possible, the possible becomes probable, and the probable virtually certain.  One has only to wait: time itself performs the miracles” (quoted by Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier, July, 2015, p. 4).  Given enough time, something can come from nothing.  Given enough time, non-living things can give rise to living things (spontaneous generation).  It is expected that atheists would argue in such an illogical fashion.  What is distressing is that some misguided Christians, who profess allegiance to the Bible as God’s word, have ingested the evolutionary dogma to a significant degree, compromising the testimony of Jesus Christ.  “The “pied-pipers” lead youngsters into the maze of that deadly hybrid ideology known as theistic evolution” (Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier, July, 2015, p. 5).
H. S. Miller, General Biblical Introduction, p. 51 states, “He [Christ] was completely and eloquently silent concerning any error, contradiction, inaccuracy, myth, legend, or forgery in the Old Testament; strangely and criminally silent, if such existed.  These either did or did not exist.  If they did exist, He was either (1) ignorant of them, in which case He was not omniscient, hence not the unique Son of God, hence an impostor, hence a sinner, hence no Savior; or He (2) did know of them and deliberately chose to be silent, to deceive the people, in which case He was a dishonest man, a deceiver, an impostor, a sinner, and no savior” (quoted by Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier, July, 2015, “When Time Becomes God”).
The previous is the logical dilemma from which no atheist or theistic evolutionist can escape.  “Pity the compromiser who abandons the testimony of the Son of God in deference to the whimsical, ever-vacillating revisions of atheistic speculation” (Wayne Jackson, Courier, p. 5).