Credit: Dan Lietha, Answers in Genesis.
I love having discussions, debates, and sharing information with people. I hate arguing. There’s a fine line, but with arguing, emotions run high and the temptation to attack the person (ad hominem) increases. I like debate, but I don’t like confrontation. I also don’t like being wrong, so I try to not take a position on something until I’m satisfied that it is the right position. I gather the evidence, and I make the best decision I can. Then I take a stand based on principles found in the Bible. If I find out later that I’m wrong, I change.
I have a confession: I am human. That means that, as a son of Adam, I am a sinner. This means that I am not perfect. This means that I can (and often am) wrong. But every human being (other than Jesus Christ) reading these words is ALSO not perfect, and can be wrong. So when you read the things that I write, whether on Facebook or here on my blog, know that I am operating under the best information I have been able to determine, and I am not knowingly deceiving or misleading with the information I provide. When I say something here, I truly believe it to be the truth, and as such, I will defend it until it is proven to be not true.
My worldview is biblical. To me, this means that I view the world through the lens of the Bible, the written Word of God. If I see or hear something that goes against what the Bible says, I reject it, not the Bible. I know Christians who reject parts of the Bible with which they do not agree. I am not one of these. If the Bible says that I should not look at other women with lust, then I make every effort not to do so. If the Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman, then that’s the position I take. I don’t say, “well, obviously that’s wrong, because who cares what two consenting adults do?” In my reading of the Bible, it seems to me that the answer to that question is, “God does.”
There are Christians today who try to merge the Bible with the world. One example of this is theistic evolution. I like to think their mental process went something like this: “I know the Bible is true, but Evolution is also true. How do I reconcile these two beliefs? I know! Evolution is the process that God used to create the universe!”
I know other Christians who look at the Bible through the lens of secular science. They are viewing the Bible through the lens of the world. Their mental process goes something like this, “I know the Bible is true, but Evolution is also true. How do I reconcile these two beliefs? I know! Evolution is true, and the Bible is true insofar as it does not disagree with Evolution!”
Both of these are wrong. And evolution is just one example. Pick any issue you want: euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage, fiscal responsibility, feminism, etc. The short version is this: if what you think disagrees with the clear teachings of the Bible, then you need to change, not the Bible. Look at it this way: When you were in school, and you got the answer key to a test that you had taken, you were able to see what answers you got…….wrong. Right? You didn’t look at the answer key and try to figure out why the answer in the book was wrong because obviously your answer couldn’t be wrong. You took it for granted that the answer in the book was right, and you were wrong, since you put down a different answer. You then would attempt to figure out how to change so that you could arrive at the correct answer. Apply that to life and the Bible, and you have a biblical worldview.
When better to talk about getting right with God than on the anniversary of the day Jesus Christ rose from the grave? 1986 years ago today, He was alive, and is alive even now. Let us cast off this idea that people cease to exist after death! When I refer to someone who has died, I use the present tense to remind myself that they aren’t gone forever, they are simply living someplace else. Try it, and I think you will find it will change your attitude on death. Don’t say, “Grandma loved her grandkids.” Instead, say “Grandma loves her grandkids.” If Grandma was saved, then someday those of us who know Christ will be with her again, and what a glorious day that will be!
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Words of Truth 
I’ve successfully argued for lost points based on errors in the text, or in the professors interpretation of the text, or poorly worded questions, so your test analogy breaks down a little for me personally. That being said, do you have the chapter and verse for the Biblical refutation of evolution? That debate occurs a lot on campus, and although I don’t like arguing faith against science (the fundamental thought processes and assumptions are different) I don’t consider them mutually exclusive. Also, the folks who argue the faith side around here are usually crazed fundamentalists so it would be nice to hear what you have to say on it.
Every analogy breaks down at some point. Imagine the test was infallible (you know, like the Bible).
The mutual exclusivity of creation vs evolution can be found in Genesis 1 and other places. God says He created the earth in six literal 24-hour days. Evolution says it took billions of years to get to our current state. Both cannot be true. The Bible says there was no death before Adam (Romans 5:12), but Evolution says that there were millions of years of death before the first homo sapiens. These philosophical belief systems are incompatible. Anyone who says they believe both evolution and creation is either simply ignorant of the tenets of one or both positions at best, or intellectually dishonest at worst.
I guess the breakdown for me comes between the Text and the Test. The Word of God is perfect and infallible, but the words of man are not. Neither is our understanding, intention or action. So I guess what I’m saying is that I believe the bible is the perfect Word of God, set forth in the imperfect words of man, with our finite understanding and all the limitations that implies. I’m not saying that evolution is how God created everything, but I stand with the early scientists that believed that the scientific method was a way by which we could become closer to God by a better understanding of his creation. In the end, I strive for a balanced approach in all things, and trust in the Holy Spirit to guide my understanding of what God wants from my life.
As for believing both the bible and evolution, anyone who says they “believe” evolution doesn’t understand how science works in the first place, or is being rhetorically lazy. That being said, I don’t pretend to know how God does what he does, but as for natural selection, a professor of mine put it best when he said “it’s the best thing we’ve got right now.”
In the end, I don’t believe that any scientific theory is mutually exclusive to faith because they are two different ways of looking at the world. Faith is total, committed belief, with or without evidence. Science is disbelief and skepticism, even with a lot of evidence. The conflict arises when the two try to interact, which they can’t because they’re on different philosophical planets. In other words, there are matters of faith (God exists, etc) and there are matter of science (the earth revolves around the sun, etc) and both can occupy space in my brain at the same time without it exploding.
On an unrelated topic, I was referring back to Genesis on your suggestion (I always get something new out of that book when I read it) and noticed that God created time in verse one, but didn’t create a means of measuring it until verse 5. Also, I’m not sure that the assumption of terrestrial 24 hour days is a good idea, considering he didn’t create the sun and moon until verse 16-18, so I would consider the possibility that he was using some other form of measurement prior to that. Granted, that would not refute the verses as a criticism of “it just happened” evolution, considering all life was created over the next few days, and in a very specific order. However, I would think that whatever measurement of time was used prior to the creation of the terrestrial day was still the standard afterwords, because it would be inconsistent to change it in the middle, granting the possibility of a longer time frame for all this to occur. If I were looking at this chapter as a criticism of evolution, I would instead focus on the order in which life is created, in genesis it’s sea life, air life. land life, man. In evolution (as it is now, anyway) it goes sea life, then everything else sort of all at once (but over billions of years, go figure).
Anyway, the point is that you done went and made me read mah bible consarnit 🙂
I totally agree with your comment about the scientific method. I agree that hypothesizing, testing, observing, etc, is the way to understand the world around us. My problem is with macro evolution, which is something that cannot be observed, and therefore has no place in “science.”
I understand that evolutionists do not use the term “believe.” That’s my choice of words, because if someone tells me a certain thing happened millions or billions of years ago, there is no choice but to believe or not believe. The only eyewitness testimony we have from the creation of the universe is God. Either you take Him at His word, or you don’t. That’s belief.
I get so tired of explaining creation to evolutionists who insist that I not use supernatural proof. I tell them, “God did it,” and they tell me how that’s impossible. That’s omnipotence, man.
I understand what you are saying about the difference between faith and science, but they do meet. How can an evolutionist logically reconcile the fact that God says, “I did this in six days” with the theory of evolution, which took billions of years? They can’t both be true. Therefore either evolution is false, or God is a liar.
The interesting thing (I think) about the creation timeline in Genesis 1, is that God created plants BEFORE He created the sun. I think that says something. Also, here’s the Genesis order (which you got slightly wrong):
Day 5: Sea AND air life, concurrently
Day 6: land life, THEN man.
I’m glad I got you to read your Bible. God’s word always accomplishes His purpose. A great website to read the Bible on the go is http://www.biblia.com.
Don’t know if this blog is still active, but an excellent source for the science-minded individual is a book by Henry M. Morris and John D, Morris called: The Modern Creation Trilogy. I would direct this conversation to Vol 2, pgs 25 – 38.