Does it matter if evolution is compatible with Christianity or not?

[Mark]

Ken Ham Rebuts Lutheran Leader Who Says Noah’s Flood ‘Not History’: If It’s Not, Jesus Lied

Apologist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis recently rebutted a liberal ELCA Lutheran minister who asserted in a published column that the biblical account of the global flood is “not history,” noting that the man is also calling Jesus a liar, for He spoke of Noah and the Flood.

Steve Hammer is leads Esperanza Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Arizona and writes an opinion column for the Ahwatukee Foothills News. In an article dated Aug. 21, which now brings up a 404 error code but can be viewed via cache, Hammer criticizes Ham’s newly-opened Ark Encounter as peddling myth.

“There are a lot of reasons why I ask the questions. For one, according to the Bible, Noah was 600 years old when he built the ark without all the cranes and trucks and construction workers in Kentucky. He lived another 350 years after the flood,” Hammer wrote.

“For another, there are flood stories in diverse cultures around the world. The one in the Hebrew Bible has its roots in Sumerian and Babylonian culture. On this side of the globe, flood stories abound,” he continued. “This may seem obvious to some, but sacred story is story. It is not science, it is not journalism, it is not history.”

Hammer also noted in his piece that “[s ]ome in the science community argue that the harm lies in presenting myth as fact, especially to elementary school children who come on field trips.”

But Ham rebutted Hammer’s comments on social media on Monday, noting that the man must also be calling Jesus and His disciples all liars.

“A Lutheran-ELCA pastor (very liberal) says the account of Noah is not history, but if that’s true then Jesus, Peter, and the author of Hebrews lied,” he wrote.

“The pastor says Genesis is myth. Well, then the gospel would also be, as it’s preached in Genesis 3:15, 21,” Ham noted. “If Noah is a myth, then so are all those listed in Hebrews 11, like Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, and others.”

Jesus spoke of Noah in Matthew 24:37-39, proclaiming, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

The apostle Peter also wrote in 2 Peter 2:5, “And [God] spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.”

“Would the pastor rather have children be taught evolution as fact and creation as myth?” Ham asked in his post. “Millstone warning in Mark 9:42! Genesis is history.”

As previously reported, Ham has similarly addressed the matter in the past, noting, “If we can’t trust God’s word in Genesis, then why are we to trust His word in the gospels, particularly when Jesus affirmed Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood?”


http://christiannews.net/2016/08/25/ken-ham-rebuts-lutheran-leader-who-says-noahs-flood-not-history-if-its-not-jesus-lied/

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Mark]

Q.If Genesis was just a metaphor or symbolic, wouldn’t that mean ALL Christian doctrine,
including the gospel, was based on a myth?

A. You’re quite right. If Genesis was just a metaphor, we’d have to throw out all Christian
doctrine, and the gospel itself would be meaningless.

Over the years, I’ve had a number of pastors insist that Genesis 1–11 was just a metaphor — that it
wasn’t meant to be taken as literal history.

I like to challenge these Christian leaders by referring them to the genealogies that are repeated in
the Old and New Testaments. For instance, in Luke the genealogy is listed to show that Jesus Christ
became a descendant of Adam. As you read through the genealogy, it mentions a particular person
being a descendant of a specific person and so on all the way back to — a metaphor?

Of course not — these genealogies go all the way back through real people to a real first man,
Adam — otherwise they’d be meaningless.

Paul, in Corinthians, compares the first Adam and the last Adam (Jesus Christ) to explain the origin
of sin and death and the need for a Savior. If the first Adam was just a metaphor, then this makes the
whole message of the gospel meaningless.


Did Eve Really Have An Extra Rib?
And Other Tough Questions About The Bible
Ken Ham

[Psalm 51:17]

Matthew 1:1  The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

[Psalm 51:17]

Mark 1:1  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

[Mark]

1The Book of Beginnings

 The Foundation of History

The Book of Genesis is probably the most important book ever written. The Bible as a whole would surely be considered (even by those who don’t believe in its inspiration) as the book that has exerted the greatest influence on history of any book ever produced. The Bible, however, is actually a compilation of many books, and the Book of Genesis is the foundation of all of them.

If the Bible were somehow expurgated of the Book of Genesis (as many people today would prefer), the rest of the Bible would be incomprehensible. It would be like a building without a ground floor, or a bridge with no support. The books of the Old Testament, narrating God’s dealings with the people of Israel, would be provincial and bigoted, were they not set in the context of God’s developing purposes for all mankind, as laid down in the early chapters of Genesis. The New Testament, describing the execution and implementation of God’s plan for man’s redemption, is redundant and anachronistic, except in the light of man’s desperate need for salvation, as established in the record of man’s primeval history, recorded only in Genesis.

The Book of Genesis gives vital information concerning the origin of all things—and therefore the meaning of all things—which would otherwise be forever inaccessible to man. The future is bound up in the past. One’s belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine his belief concerning his purpose and his destiny. A naturalistic, animalistic concept of beginnings specifies a naturalistic, animalistic program for the future. An origin at the hands of an omnipotent, holy, loving God, on the other hand, necessarily predicts a divine purpose in history and an assurance of the consummation of that purpose. A believing understanding of the Book of Genesis is therefore prerequisite to axecà `n understanding of God and His meaning to man.

The word genesis of course means “origin,” and the Book of Genesis gives the only true and reliable account of the origin of all the basic entities of the universe and of life. These will each be discussed in an appropriate place, along with the alternative naturalistic philosophies of origins proposed by various philosophers (sometimes calling themselves scientists). At this point the foundational importance of the Book of Genesis is stressed simply by noting the fact that it does give this information. Note, for example, the following:

1. Origin of the universe
The Book of Genesis stands alone in accounting for the actual creation of the basic space-mass-time continuum which constitutes our physical universe. Genesis 1:1 is unique in all literature, science, and philosophy. Every other system of cosmogony, whether in ancient religious myths or modern scientific models, starts with eternal matter or energy in some form, from which other entities were supposedly gradually derived by some process. Only the Book of Genesis even attempts to account for the ultimate origin of matter, space, and time; and it does so uniquely in terms of special creation.

2. Origin of order and complexity
Man’s universal observation, both in his personal experience and in his formal study of physical and biological systems, is that orderly and complex things tend naturally to decay into disorder and simplicity. Order and complexity never arise spontaneously—they are always generated by a prior cause programmed to produce such order. The Primeval Programmer and His programmed purposes are found only in Genesis.

3. Origin of the solar system
The earth, as well as the sun and moon, and even the planets and all the stars of heaven, were likewise brought into existence by the Creator, as told in Genesis. It is small wonder that modern scientific cosmogonists have been so notably unsuccessful in attempting to devise naturalistic theories of the origin of the universe and the solar system.

4. Origin of the atmosphere and hydrosphere
The earth is uniquely equipped with a great body of liquid water and an extensive blanket of an oxygen-nitrogen gaseous mixture, both of which are necessary for life. These have never “developed” on other planets, and are accounted for only by special creation.

5. Origin of life
How living systems could have come into being from nonliving chemicals is, and will undoubtedly continue to be, a total mystery to materialistic philosophers. The marvels of the reproductive process, and the almost-infinite complexity programmed into the genetic systems of plants and animals, are inexplicable except by special creation, at least if the laws of thermodynamics and probability mean anything at all. The account of the creation of “living creatures” in Genesis is the only rational explanation.

6. Origin of man
Man is the most highly organized and complex entity in the universe, so far as we know, possessing not only innumerable intricate physico-chemical structures, and the marvelous capacities of life and reproduction, but also a nature which contemplates the abstract entities of beauty and love and worship, and which is capable of philosophizing about its own meaning. Man’s imaginary evolutionary descent from animal ancestors is altogether illusory. The true record of his origin is given only in Genesis.

7. Origin of marriage
The remarkably universal and stable institution of marriage and the home, in a monogamous, patriarchal social culture, is likewise described in Genesis as having been ordained by the Creator. Polygamy, infanticide, matriarchy, promiscuity, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, and other corruptions all developed later.

8. Origin of evil
Cause-and-effect reasoning accounts for the origin of the concepts of goodness, truth, beauty, love, and such things as fundamental attributes of the Creator Himself. The origin of physical and moral evils in the universe is explained in Genesis as a temporary intrusion into God’s perfect world, allowed by Him as a concession to the principle of human freedom and responsibility, and also to manifest Himself as Redeemer as well as Creator.

9. Origin of language
The gulf between the chatterings of animals and the intelligent, abstract, symbolic communication systems of man is completely unbridgeable by any evolutionary process. The Book of Genesis not only accounts for the origin of language in general, but also for the various national languages in particular.

10. Origin of government
The development of organized systems of human government is described in Genesis, with man responsible not only for his own actions, but also for the maintenance of orderly social structures through systems of laws and punishments.

11. Origin of culture
The Book of Genesis also describes the beginning of the main entities which we now associate with civilized cultures—such things as urbanization, metallurgy, music, agriculture, animal husbandry, writing, education, navigation, textiles, and ceramics.

12. Origin of nations
All scholars today accept the essential unity of the human race. The problem, then, is how distinct nations and races could develop if all men originally were of one race and one language. Only the Book of Genesis gives an adequate answer.

13. Origin of religion There are many different religions among men, but all share the consciousness that there must be some ultimate truth and meaning toward which men should strive. Many religions take the form of an organized system of worship and conduct. The origin of this unique characteristic of man’s consciousness, as well as the origin of true worship of the true God, is given in Genesis.

14. Origin of the chosen people
The enigma of the Israelites—the unique nation that was without a homeland for nineteen hundred years, which gave to the world the Bible and the knowledge of the true God, through which came Christianity and which yet rejects Christianity, a nation which has contributed signally to the world’s art, music, science, finance, and other products of the human mind, and which is nevertheless despised by great numbers of people—is answered only in terms of the unique origin of Israel as set forth in the Book of Genesis.

The Book of Genesis thus is in reality the foundation of all true history, as well as of true science and true philosophy. It is above all else the foundation of God’s revelation, as given in the Bible. No other book of the Bible is quoted as copiously or referred to so frequently, in other books of the Bible, as is Genesis.

In the Old Testament, for example, Adam is mentioned by name in the Books of Deuteronomy, Job, and I Chronicles; and Noah is mentioned in I Chronicles, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Abraham is mentioned by name in fifteen books of the Old Testament and eleven of the New. Jacob is named in twenty books (other than Genesis) of the Old Testament, and in at least seventeen of the New Testament. In a special sense, every mention of the people or nation of Israel is an implicit acknowledgment of the foundational authority of Genesis, since Israel was the new name given to Jacob, and his sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Apart from the Book of Genesis, there is no explanation for Israel, nor consequently for all the rest of the Old Testament.

The New Testament is, if anything, even more dependent on Genesis than the Old. There are at least 165 passages in Genesis that are either directly quoted or clearly referred to in the New Testament. Many of these are alluded to more than once, so that there are at least two hundred quotations or allusions to Genesis in the New Testament.

It is significant that the portion of Genesis which has been the object of the greatest attacks of skepticism and unbelief, the first eleven chapters, is the portion which had the greatest influence on the New Testament. Yet there exist over one hundred quotations or direct references to Genesis 1-11 in the New Testament.3 Furthermore, every one of these eleven chapters is alluded to somewhere in the New Testament, and every one of the New Testament authors refers somewhere in his writings to Genesis 1-11. On at least six different occasions, Jesus Christ Himself quoted from or referred to something or someone in one of these chapters, including specific reference to each of the first seven chapters.Furthermore, in not one of these many instances where the Old or New Testament refers to Genesis is there the slightest evidence that the writers regarded the events or personages as mere myths or allegories. To the contrary, they viewed Genesis as absolutely historical, true, and authoritative.

It is quite impossible, therefore, for one to reject the historicity and divine authority of the Book of Genesis without undermining, and in effect, repudiating, the authority of the entire Bible. If the first Adam is only an allegory, then by all logic, so is the second Adam. If man did not really fall into sin from his state of created innocency, there is no reason for him to need a Savior. If all things can be accounted for by natural processes of evolution, there is no reason to look forward to a future supernatural consummation of all things. If Genesis is not true, then neither are the testimonies of those prophets and apostles who believed it was true. Jesus Christ Himself becomes a false witness, either a deceiver or one who was deceived, and His testimony concerning His own omniscience and omnipotence becomes blasphemy. Faith in the gospel of Christ for one’s eternal salvation is an empty mockery.

By all means, therefore, we must oppose any effort from any source to mythologize or allegorize the Genesis record. It was written as sober history, the divinely inspired account of the origin of all things. No one, therefore, can hope to attain a true and full understanding of anything, without a basic acceptance and comprehension of the origin of everything, as recorded in Genesis.

The Genesis Record - Dr Henry M Morris

[Mark]

 New Testament references to Genesis

This list shows New Testament references by allusion or quotation to Genesis. Entries shown with parenthetical numbering show references to Genesis 1–11.

1     Matthew 1:1–3      Ancestors of Jesus
2     Matthew 2:18            Rachel
3     Matthew 3:8–9            Abraham’s children
4     Matthew 10:15            Sodom and Gomorrah
5     Matthew 11:23–24    Sodom
6    (1) Matthew 19:4    Quote from Gen 1:27
7    (2) Matthew 19:5    Quote from Gen 2:24
8    (3) Matthew 22:21    Man in the image of God
9     Matthew 22:31–2    God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
10    (4) Matthew 23:35    Righteous Abel
11    (5) Matthew 24:37–39    Days of Noah
12    (6) Matthew 26:52    Those who draw the sword will die by the sword
13    (7) Mark 10:6            Quote from Gen 1:27
14    (8) Mark 10:7            Quote from Gen 2:24
15    (9) Mark 12:17            Man in the image of God
16     Mark 12:26            God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
17    (10) Mark 13:19    God created the world
18     Luke 1:25            Elizabeth’s reproach is taken away like Rachel’s
19     Luke 1:48            Mary will be called blessed like Leah
20     Luke 1:55            Abraham and his descendents
21     Luke 1:73            God’s oath to Abraham
22     Luke 3:8                    Children of Abraham
23    (11) Luke 3:29–37    Jesus is descendent of Adam
24     Luke 10:12            Sodom
25    (12) Luke 10:19    Treading on serpents
26    (13) Luke 11:51    Abel the first slain prophet
27     Luke 13:16            Daughter of Abraham
28     Luke 16:22–31            Abraham
29    (14) Luke 17:26–27    Days of Noah
30     Luke 17:28–29            Days of Lot
31     Luke 17:32            Lot’s wife
32    (15) Luke 20:25    Man in the image of God
33     Luke 20:37            God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
34    (16) John 1:1–3    God pre-existed and created
35     John 1:51            Reference to Jacob’s ladder
36     John 4:5–6, 11–12    Jacob’s well
37     John 7:22            Circumcision came from the patriarchs
38     John 8:33            Jews are Abraham’s descendents
39    (17) John 8:44            The devil a liar and murderer
40     Acts 7:2–14            History of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
41    (18) Acts 14:15            God made heaven and earth and everything in them
42    (19) Acts 15:20, 29    Possible reference to Noahic covenant
43    (20) Acts 17:24            God made the earth and everything in it
44    (21) Acts 17:26            All nations descended from one man
45    (22) Romans 1:19–20    God’s power revealed through creation
46     Romans 4:1–25    Abraham justified by faith
47    (23) Romans 5:12–21    Death came because of Adam’s sin
48    (24) Romans 8:20–23    The entire creation was cursed
49     Romans 9:7–13    God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
50     Romans 15:8            Christ fulfills promises made to patriarchs
51    (25) Romans 16:20    Satan crushed under believers’ feet
52    (26) 1 Corinthians 6:16    Quote of Gen 2:24
53    (27) 1 Corinthians 11:7–8    Man in the image of God, and woman created after man
54    (28) 1 Corinthians 15:21–22    Death comes through Adam
55    (29) 1 Corinthians 15:38    Each kind of seed has its own body
56    (30) 1 Corinthians 15:45    Quote of Gen 2:7
57    (31) 1 Corinthians 15:47    First man made from dust
58    (32) 2 Corinthians 4:6    Quote of Gen 1:3
59    (33) 2 Corinthians 11:3    Eve was deceived
60     Galatians 3:6    Quote of Gen 15:6
61     Galatians 3:8     Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
62     Galatians 3:16     Gen 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
63    (34) Galatians 4:4    Seed of the woman
64     Galatians 4:22–30    Abraham’s two sons
65    (35) Ephesians 3:9    God created all things
66    (36) Ephesians 5:31    Quote of Gen 2:24
67    (37) Colossians 1:16    All things were created by the Son
68    (38) Colossians 3:10    Image of the Creator
69    (39) 1 Timothy 2:13–14    Man created first
70    (40) 1 Timothy 2:14    Woman deceived
71    (41) 1 Timothy 4:3–5    God created everything good
72    (42) Hebrews 1:10    God created heaven and earth
73    (43) Hebrews 4:3–4    Quote of Gen 2:2
74    (44) Hebrews 4:10    God rested
75     Hebrews 5:1–10    Order of Melchizedek
76     Hebrews 6:13–14     Genesis 22:17
77     Hebrews 6:20–7:17    Order of Melchizedek
78    (45) Hebrews 11:3    Universe formed by God’s command
79    (46) Hebrews 11:4    Abel’s acceptable sacrifice
80    (47) Hebrews 11:5    Enoch taken away
81    (48) Hebrews 11:7    Noah’s ark
82     Hebrews 11:8–12    Abraham
83     Hebrews 11:17–22    Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and Abraham’s descendents
84     Hebrews 12:16–17    Godless Esau
85    (49) Hebrews 12:24    Blood of Abel
86     James 2:21–23    Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac
87     1 Peter 3:6    Sarah submitted to Abraham
88    (50) 1 Peter 3:20    8 saved in the ark
89    (51) 2 Peter 2:4–5    God punished sinning angels and saved Noah
90     2 Peter 2:6–8    Sodom and Gomorrah punished and Lot saved
91    (52) 2 Peter 3:5–6    Earth formed out of and destroyed by water
92    (53) 1 John 3:11–12    Cain killed Abel
93    (54) Jude 6    Disobedient angels punished (reference to “sons of God”?)
94     Jude 7    Sodom and Gomorrah
95    (55) Jude 11    Cain
96    (56) Jude 14    Enoch the seventh from Adam
97    (57) Revelation 4:3    Rainbow surrounding the throne in Heaven
98     Revelation 5:5    Lion of Judah
99    (58) Revelation 6:12–14    “Uncreation” theme-sun, moon, and stars
100     Revelation 10:6    God created the heaven and earth and all that is in them
101     Revelation 20:2    The devil is the ancient serpent
102    (59) Revelation 21    New Jerusalem—Edenic city
103    (60) Revelation 22:1–6    River of water of life and tree of life

http://creation.com/genesis-new-testament#NTreferences

[Mark]

Genesis Does Matter

Many Christians fail to realize that the events of Genesis are literal, are historical (particularly Genesis 1-11), and are foundational to all Christian doctrine.

Let us look in detail at some important Christian doctrines, to show why this emphasis on a literal Genesis must be accepted.

Suppose that we are being questioned concerning the doctrines Christians believe. Think carefully how you would answer in detail.

Why do we believe in marriage?
Why do we promote the wearing of clothes?
Why are there rules—right and wrong?
Why are we sinners—what does that mean?
Why is there death and suffering in the world?
Why is there to be a new heaven and a new earth?

We will consider each one carefully, as it is important to have reasons for what we believe. In fact, God expects His children to be ready to give answers—to give reasons for what they believe. In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."”

Christianity, as distinct from atheism, is not a “blind” faith, but an objective one … our object is Jesus Christ. He does reveal himself to those who come by faith believing that He is. John 14:21 says, “"And I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."” Hebrews 11:6: “"For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."”

If reasons for the validity of the Christian’s faith are not forthcoming, his witness is weakened and open to ridicule. Christians must be prepared to make an intelligent defense of the gospel by arming themselves with knowledge and an understanding of the forms unbelief takes in these days. Many Christians do not know how to communicate the fact that God’s Word and God’s laws are true. The net result is generations of wishy-washy Christians who believe in many things, but are not sure why. Personal witnessing can lose its impact if the Christian fails to share intelligent reasons for his faith. This must be avoided, lest ridicule and dishonor come to the name of Christ.

A good example of what happens when we do not give reasons for what we believe can be seen in a letter to the editor of an Arizona newspaper. It reads as follows: “When I was a youngster, we all believed that men had one less rib than women because God created Eve with one of Adam’s ribs. When the story was written five to ten thousand years later after Noah and the world flood, how many people could read, much less write? … You say you are a teacher of creationism in school classes. How would you answer these questions? If Noah took two of each animal on the ark, where did he get polar bears, bison, and kangaroos? You might answer that those animals lived in the Eastern Mediterranean area back then. The next question would be, how did the various colors of humans evolve from one white (deeply tanned) family in 5,000 or even 50,000 years? … When I was growing up in a deeply religious family, I was told not to question the Bible and other religious writings. I got no answer then, and 70 years later I am still waiting for a reasonable explanation.”

I personally spoke to the writer of this letter. As we talked, it became obvious that he had been told to accept the Bible by blind faith and was never given any useful answers. Omission caused him to reject evangelical Christianity. How sad! And the answers to these sorts of questions are available today. So, let us “give reasons for what we believe” as we discuss the subjects mentioned above.
Marriage

    If we did not have this historical basis, we would not have marriage.

When Jesus was asked questions concerning divorce in Matthew 19

, He immediately referred to the origin, and thus the foundation, of marriage. He said, “"Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"

” And from where did Jesus quote? Genesis! (In fact, He quoted from Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, in the same verse. Those who wrongly say Genesis 1 and 2 are two different accounts of creation should refer to Appendix 1

.) Jesus was saying: “Don’t you understand there is a historical basis for marriage?” If we did not have this historical basis, we would not have marriage. The only basis is in the Scriptures. You can say it is convenient for you, but you cannot tell your son he cannot marry Bill or, for that matter, marry Julie and Susan. Likewise, extramarital relationships would be a tolerable alternative. You would have no justification for thinking otherwise.

Now, if we go back to Genesis, we read how God took dust and made a man. From the man’s side, He made a woman. Adam’s first recorded words were: “"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."” They were one flesh. When a man and a woman marry, they become one. This is the historical basis. Also, we are to cleave to one another as if we had no parents—just like Adam and Eve who had no parents. We know it is to be a heterosexual relationship. Why? Because, as stated before, God made Adam and Eve (a man and a woman—not a man and a man). That is the only basis for marriage, and that is why we know that homosexual behavior and desire is an evil, perverse, and unnatural deviation. It is time the church stood its ground against the increasing acceptance of homosexuality as something natural or normal or as an “acceptable alternative.” Paul would not have written about homosexuality in the way that he did in Romans if he did not have that historical basis. (Please note that although as Christians we condemn the sin of homosexuality, we are to be grace-oriented toward the homosexual and seek his or her deliverance from bondage.)

What about the rest of the teaching on marriage? There is another aspect which has to do with the family. It is the reason many Christian families go to pieces or the offspring go astray. In the majority of Christian homes today, it is usually the mother who teaches the children spiritually. What an unfortunate thing it is that fathers have not embraced their God-given responsibility. When one looks at the biblical roles given to fathers and mothers, it is the fathers who are allocated the responsibility of providing for their children, and providing the family’s spiritual and physical needs (Isaiah 38:19, Proverbs 1:8, Ephesians 6:4). One result of this role reversal is that the sons often stop coming to church. Christian girls who have not been trained properly by their fathers concerning the marriage relationship often disobey the Lord by dating and marrying non-Christian men.

A young woman approached me and said that she was married to a non-Christian. She explained that when she was dating this man, she compared him to her father and saw no real difference. Yet, her father was a Christian. Because her father was not the spiritual head of the house, she did not see any real difference between him and the person she was dating. She saw no reason to make sure that her husband-to-be was a Christian. Now that she is married and has children, there are some extreme problems with their marriage regarding the bringing up of their children.

A major reason for so many problems in Christian families today is that fathers have not taken their God-commanded responsibility of being priest in their household. As a husband and a father, he is also a priest to his wife and children. It is not, however, a “boss” relationship where men despotically lord it over women. Female liberationists think the Bible teaches a tyrannical relationship in marriage. Unfortunately, many Christians think like this, also. However, the Bible does not say this at all. Anyone who uses these biblical role absolutes to justify one person’s seeking power over another has completely missed the whole message of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:22–33, John 13:5). The Bible also says we are to submit one to another (Eph. 5:21). If you do not adopt the God-given roles set out in Scripture, you will find that your family will not function as intended, and problems usually follow. The Bible also tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). In many instances, if husbands loved their wives this way it would make it easier for many women to be submissive to them.
Why clothes?

Consider why we wear clothes. Is it to keep warm? What then if we lived in the tropics? Is it to look nice? If these are our only reasons, why wear clothes? Why not take them off when we want to, where we want to? Does it really matter if one goes **** publicly? Ultimately, the only reason for insisting that clothes must be worn is a moral one. If there is a moral reason, it must have a basis somewhere; therefore, there must be standards connected to the moral reason. What then are the standards? Many in our culture (including Christians) just accept the fashions of the day. Parents, what about the training of your children? What do you say to them about clothes?

In her paper “Greek Clothing Regulations: Sacred and Profane,” Harrianne Mills has this to say: “Since the demise, roughly one hundred years ago, of the biblically based theory that clothes are worn because of modesty, various theories have been put forward by anthropologists concerned with the origins and functions of clothing.”1

    Why do we wear clothes? There is a moral basis if you go back to the Scriptures.

Why do we wear clothes? There is a moral basis if you go back to the Scriptures. We read in Genesis that when God made Adam and Eve they were naked. But sin came into the world, and sin distorts everything. Sin distorts nakedness. Immediately Adam and Eve knew they were naked, and they tried to make coverings out of fig leaves. God came to their rescue, providing garments by killing an innocent animal. This was the first blood sacrifice; it was a covering for their sin.

Men are very easily aroused sexually. That is why semi-naked women are used in television and magazine advertisements. Parents need to explain to their daughters how easily a man is aroused sexually by a woman’s body. They need to know, because many of them do not understand what happens to a man. At one church, after I had spoken on the topic of clothing, a young woman came up and told me that she had only been a Christian for six months. She was dating a young Christian man and was perplexed as to why he often told her not to wear certain things. Every time she asked him why, he started to feel embarrassed. She had not realized before that what she wore (or did not wear) could put a stumbling block in a man’s way by causing him to commit adultery in his heart.

Fathers need to explain to their daughters about how men react to a woman’s body. They also need to explain to their sons that although women’s clothes, or lack of them, can be a stumbling block to a male, it is not an excuse for them in relation to what their mind does with what they see. Job had an answer for this problem: “"I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?"” (Job 31:1). As Christians, males should have a covenant with their eyes and be reminded of this when lustful thoughts come as a result of what they see or hear.

Jesus states that if a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he commits adultery in his heart: “"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart"” (Matthew 5:28). Sin distorts nakedness. Even the perfect relationship experienced by Adam and Eve before the Fall degenerated. After the Fall, they hid from God and were ashamed of their nakedness. Many Christian women wear clothes that accentuate their sexuality. And many a roving eye follows every movement. But what is happening? Men are committing adultery in their hearts. Adultery for which they and the women will have to answer.

In many Christian homes the parents have certain beliefs about clothing. They say to their teenager, “You can’t wear that.”

The teenagers reply, “But why not?”

“Because it is not the Christian thing,” answer the parents.

“Why not?” ask the teenagers again.

“Because Christians don’t wear that,” the parents insist.

“Why not?” the reply comes.

Then you often hear daughters saying, “You’re old-fashioned, Mom and Dad.” They are saying that their parents have one opinion but they have another opinion. For the most part, children are going to stick with their own opinion. However, it is not a matter of the parents’ opinion or the child’s opinion. In order for the parents to “save face,” they often resort to an imposed legalism. What a difference it makes when the parents use Genesis as a basis to explain to their children why they must do this or that with regard to clothing, particularly if they have already solidly trained their children that God is Creator, He sets the rules, and Genesis is foundational to all doctrine. It is infinitely better than parents saying, “This is what you will do,” and imposing this standard on their children with no basis. However, as we read in Ephesians 6:1, “"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: For this is right."” Children must obey their parents, and that is not a matter of their opinion, either.

There is a moral basis for wearing clothes because of what sin has done to nakedness. We must understand how men are created. Man was designed to be easily aroused sexually and to respond to one woman (his wife). This was, and is, necessary for procreation in marriage. However, sin distorts this, and it is wrong for a man to look lustfully on any woman other than his wife. Therefore, clothing should minimize to the greatest extent any stumbling block laid in a man’s way. But a man is no less guilty if he succumbs to the “second look.” One should not simply accept the fashions of the day. There is a moral basis for clothing; therefore, there are standards. Knowing what men are like and knowing what sin does to nakedness, we thus have a basis for understanding what the standards should be.
Why law and morality?

What do you tell your children about laws? Perhaps you tell them some things are right and some are wrong, but do you ever explain to them the origin of right and wrong? Would you say we have right and wrong because God has given us laws? If so, why is that? Why does He have a right to say what is right and what is wrong?

Why is there right and wrong (e.g., the Ten Commandments)? Remember the story in Matthew 19:16–17 when the man came to Jesus and said to Him: “"Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God."” How do you decide if something is right or wrong or good or bad? God, the only One who is good, created us, and therefore owns us. Thus, we are obligated to Him, and we must obey Him. He has the right to set the rules. He knows everything there is to know about everything (i.e., has absolute knowledge), and therefore we must obey. That is why we have absolutes, why there are standards, and why there is right and wrong.

Now, if you are not a Christian and you think some things are right and some are wrong, why do you think like that? You have no basis for such a decision. How do you arrive at your standards? How do you decide what is good and bad? Most non-Christians who believe there is a right and wrong are practicing the Christian ethic.

Atheistic evolutionary philosophy says: “There is no God. All is the result of chance and randomness. Death and struggle are the order of the day, not only now, but indefinitely into the past and future.” If this is true, there is no basis for right and wrong. The more people believe in evolution, the more they are going to say, “There is no God. Why should I obey authority? Why should there be rules against aberrant sexual behavior? Why should there be rules concerning abortion? After all, evolution tells us we are all animals. So, killing babies by abortion is no worse than chopping the head off a fish or a chicken.” It does matter whether you believe in evolution or creation! It affects every area of your life.
“For by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20)

This issue comes down to the simple fact explained by Paul in Romans 3:20, “"For by the law is the knowledge of sin."” In Romans 7:7 he continues: “"I had not known sin, but by the law."”

    We have the responsibility to obey and rejoice in His goodness, or disobey and suffer His judgment.

The existence of God is nowhere defended by Scripture. This fact is taken as being obvious. Who He is and what He has done is clearly explained. Neither is there any doubt as to His sovereign authority over His creation or what our attitude should be toward Him as Creator. He has the right to set the rules. We have the responsibility to obey and rejoice in His goodness

, or disobey and suffer His judgment.

Adam, the first man, made this choice. He chose to rebel. Sin is rebellion against God and His will. Genesis tells us that this first act of human rebellion took place in the Garden of Eden.

To understand what sin is all about—that all mankind are sinners—and how to recognize sin, God gave us the Law. He had the right and the loving concern to do this. He is Creator, and His character allows for no less. All-powerful, all-loving, all-gracious, He has laid down for us the rules by which we must live if our lives are to develop in the way they should. As Paul says in Romans 7:7, “"For I had not known lust, except the law had said thou shalt not covet."”

The Bible clearly teaches that each human being is a sinner, in a state of rebellion against God. Initially, the Law was given, as Paul states, to explain sin. But, knowing about sin was not a solution to the problem of sin. More was needed. The Creator had not forgotten His commitment to and love of His creation, for He set the payment and paid the price—himself. God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, suffered the curse of death on a cross and became sin for us so that God could pour out His judgment upon sin. But, just as all die in Adam, so all who believe in Christ’s atoning death and resurrection live in Him.

Those who oppose the Creator are opposing the One who is the absolute authority—the One who sets the rules and keeps them.

In the Book of Judges it is stated: “"In those days there was no king in Israel; but every man did that which was right in his own eyes"” (Judges 17:6). People today are little different. They want evolution taught as fact and the belief in creation banished because they, too, want to be a law unto themselves. They want to maintain the rebellious nature they have inherited from Adam, and they will not accept the authority of the One who, as Creator and law-giver, has the right to tell them exactly what to do. This really is what the creation/evolution conflict is all about. Does God the Creator have the right to tell a person what he must do with his life? Or, can man decide for himself what he wants to do without suffering the consequences? These are not rhetorical questions. Their very nature demands an answer from every individual. Thus, it comes down to whether or not man is autonomous, and therefore can decide everything for himself, or whether he is owned by God. Most want to be autonomous and believe they can act according to their own desires and understanding. But, man is not autonomous, and there the battle rages.

The Bible tells us that those who trust in the Lord, and are indwelt by His Holy Spirit, will show the fruit of the Spirit: “"love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance"” (Galatians 5:22–23). Those who are not indwelt by the Spirit of God, and who reject the God of creation, will reflect the fruit of this rejection: “"adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like"” (Galatians 5:19–21). The Bible states clearly that corrupt roots bring forth evil fruit. Pornography, abortion, homosexuality, lawlessness, euthanasia, infanticide, loose morals, unfaithfulness in marriage, and other such things—practices which are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society—are certainly fruit of corrupt roots. They are the corrupt roots of evolution firmly entrenched in the compost of humanistic thinking.

Evolution is an anti-God religion held by many people today as justification for their continued pursuit of self-gratification and their rejection of God as Creator.

Many today will not accept that they are sinners. They do not want to accept that they must bow their knees before the God of creation. They do not want to accept that anyone has authority over them with the right to tell them what to do.

Even many in our churches do not understand what is meant when man is described as “sinful.” Many preachers (even many who consider themselves evangelical) think that the definition of sin can be limited to such things as adultery, alcoholism, heroin addiction, nudity, x-rated movies, and bad language. However, sin does not stop here. We must understand that sin affects every area of our lives. Sin has an influence on every aspect of our culture. We must understand that sin pervades the whole of our thinking, and will, therefore, affect the whole of our actions. Jesus said, “"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies"” (Matthew 15:19).

We must understand that God is the Creator and law-giver, and every human must kneel in submission to Him. That there will come a time when all will do this is clearly recorded by Paul in Philippians 2:10–11: “"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."”

God’s Word (the infallible Word of the perfect Creator) has to be the basis of our thinking. God, the Creator, is the One who provides the blueprint for happy and stable human relationships. If His Word is heeded, He supplies the basis for a true Christian philosophy for every area of human existence—agriculture, economics, medicine, politics, law enforcement, arts, music, sciences, family relationships—every aspect of life. In other words, there is a whole Christian way of thinking. There are foundational biblical principles that govern every area of life. The Creator has not left His creatures without an instruction manual.
“Thy Word is true from the beginning” (Psalm 119:160)

Man’s rejection of God as Creator (not starting with His Word as a basis for thinking in every area and not being submissive to Him) has resulted in the problems we have in society. This was painfully highlighted in a letter to the editor of an Australian newspaper. Apparently, a country newspaper was approached for placement of an advertisement requesting a married couple for farm work. They were told there would be no printing of an advertisement that contained the words, “Married couple.” The problem was apparently one of “discrimination.” The term “married couple” had to be replaced with “two persons.” It didn’t matter which two persons applied for the job! The question: “On whose authority can’t this be printed?” The answer: “The Human Rights Commission.” The writer of the letter was justifiably horrified. However, this incident is the fruit of evolutionist thinking, and we can only expect similar instances to increase.
“Oh Lord—open our eyes that we may see” (Psalm 119:18)

Concerned and convinced Christians must pray that the Lord will make clear to everyone the frightening direction in which man’s rebellion is heading. Christians need to establish firmly the fact that God is Creator and that He has given us His law. We need to recognize what sin is and what the results of sinful existence are. We need to proclaim deliverance from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from this, there will be no rectifying the situation. An all-out attack on evolutionist thinking is possibly the only real hope our nations have of rescuing themselves from an inevitable social and moral catastrophe.

It is not easy for any human being to acknowledge that if there is a Creator we must be in submission to Him. However, there is no alternative. Man must recognize that he is in rebellion against the One who created him. Only then will man understand the law, understand what sin is, and understand the steps necessary to bring about the change in individual lives that can ultimately effect changes in society.

The more our society rejects the creation basis and God’s laws, the more it will degenerate spiritually and morally. This has happened many times throughout history and should stand as a warning. Let us consider a modern day example.
The consequences of rejecting God and His absolutes

Missionaries were sent to New Guinea because there were many so-called pagan and primitive people there. The story is told of one cannibal tribe, which has since ceased to be cannibalistic. Previously, men would race into a village, grab a man by the hair, pull him back, tense his abdominal muscles, use a bamboo knife to slit open his abdomen, pull out his intestines, cut up his fingers, and while he was still alive, eat him until he died. People hear that and say, “Oh, what primitive savages!” They are not “primitive” savages; their ancestor was a man called Noah. The Indians’ ancestor was a man called Noah; the Eskimos’ ancestor was a man called Noah; and our ancestor was a man called Noah. Noah had the knowledge of God and could build ships. His ancestors could make musical instruments and they practiced agriculture. What happened to those New Guinea natives is that, somewhere in history (as Rom. 1 tells us), they rejected the knowledge of God and His laws. And God turned them over to foolish, perverse, and degenerate things.2

However, this same degeneracy (this same rejection of God’s laws) can be seen in so-called civilized nations that cut people up alive all year long (one and a half million of them in the United States each year), and it is legalized. This is what abortion is—cutting up people alive and sucking out the bits and pieces. The so-called “primitive tribes” had ancestors who once knew the true God and His laws. As they rejected the true God of creation, their culture degenerated in every area. The more our so-called “civilized nations” reject the God of creation, the more they will degenerate to a “primitive culture.” Thus, a culture should not be interpreted according to whether they are primitive or advanced (as presupposed by the evolutionary scale), but every aspect of their culture must be judged against the standards of God’s Word. How does your nation measure up?

https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/genesis-does-matter/

[Psalm 51:17]

AW Tozer once said the Old Testament is to your clothes you wear BELOW your waistline, as the New Testament is to your clothes you wear ABOVE your waistline.

IOW, don't be caught dead running around town without any pants on! (while going around shirtless will get you a free ride on the contrary!)

BTW - it's gotten much worse now...now modern-day "evangelists" (ie, Ruckman, and those that graduated from his seminary) are pushing the 4 gospel books + Acts into the Old Testament period. In addition to that, they're doing their best to kick Hebrews, James, and the General Epistles into another dispensation period.

[Psalm 51:17]

Thanks, will read the 2nd article tomorrow!

[Mark]

Did Jesus Say He Created in Six Literal Days?

A very important question we must ask is, “What was Jesus’ view of the days of creation? Did He say that He created in six literal days?”

When confronted with such a question, most Christians would automatically go to the New Testament to read the recorded words of Jesus to see if such a statement occurs.

    We see that Jesus clearly taught that the creation was young, for Adam and Eve existed “from the beginning,” not billions of years after the universe and earth came into existence.

Now, when we search the New Testament Scriptures, we certainly find many interesting statements Jesus made that relate to this issue. Mark 10:6 says, “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’” From this passage, we see that Jesus clearly taught that the creation was young, for Adam and Eve existed “from the beginning,” not billions of years after the universe and earth came into existence. Jesus made a similar statement in Mark 13:19 indicating that man’s sufferings started very near the beginning of creation. The parallel phrases of “from the foundation of the world” and “from the blood of Abel” in Luke 11:50–51 also indicate that Jesus placed Abel very close to the beginning of creation, not billions of years after the beginning. His Jewish listeners would have assumed this meaning in Jesus’ words, for the first-century Jewish historian Josephus indicates that the Jews of his day believed that both the first day of creation and Adam’s creation were about 5,000 years before Christ.1

In John 5:45–47, Jesus says, “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” In this passage, Jesus makes it clear that one must believe what Moses wrote. And one of the passages in the writings of Moses in Exodus 20:11 states: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” This, of course, is the basis for our seven-day week—six days of work and one day of rest. Obviously, this passage was meant to be taken as speaking of a total of seven literal days based on the Creation Week of six literal days of work and one literal day of rest.

In fact, in Luke 13:14, in his response to Jesus healing a person on the Sabbath, the ruler of the synagogue, who knew the law of Moses, obviously referred to this passage when he said, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The sabbath day here was considered an ordinary day, and the six days of work were considered ordinary days. This teaching is based on the Law of Moses as recorded in Exodus 20, where we find the Ten Commandments—the six-day Creation Week being the basis for the Fourth Commandment.
The shepherd that missed out

We should also note the way Jesus treated as historical fact the accounts in the Old Testament, which religious and atheistic skeptics think are unbelievable mythology. These historical accounts include Adam and Eve as the first married couple (Matthew 19:3–6; Mark 10:3–9), Abel as the first prophet who was killed (Luke 11:50–51), Noah and the Flood (Matthew 24:38–39), Moses and the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14), Moses and the manna from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness (John 6:32–33, 49), the experiences of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28–32), the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15), the miracles of Elijah (Luke 4:25–27), and Jonah and the big fish (Matthew 12:40–41). As New Testament scholar John Wenham has compellingly argued, Jesus did not allegorize these accounts but took them as straightforward history, describing events that actually happened just as the Old Testament describes.2 Jesus used these accounts to teach His disciples that the events of His death, Resurrection, and Second Coming would likewise certainly happen in time-space reality.

These passages taken together strongly imply that Jesus took Genesis 1 as literal history describing creation in six 24-hour days. But are there any more explicit passages?

I believe there are. However, one has to approach this issue in a slightly different manner. We are not limited to the New Testament when we try to find out if Jesus stated He created in six days; we can also search the Old Testament. After all, Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity and therefore has always existed.

First, Colossians makes it clear that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was the one who created all things: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16–17).

We are also told elsewhere in Scripture how Jesus created: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6-9). We see the meaning of this when we consider the miracles of Jesus during His earthly ministry. All the miracles occurred instantly—at His Word. He instantly turned water into wine in His very first miracle, which “revealed His glory” as the Creator (John 2:1–11; John 1:1–3, 14, 18). It was the instant calming of the wind and the waves that convinced His disciples that He was no mere man. So it was with all His miracles (Mark 4:35–41). He did not speak and wait for days, weeks, months, or years for things to happen. He spoke and it was done. So, when He said, “Let there be . . .” in Genesis 1, it did not take long ages for things to come into existence.

We also know that Jesus is in fact called the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1–3).

Jesus, who is the Word, created everything by simply speaking things into existence.

    Yes, Jesus did explicitly say He created in six days.

Now, consider Exodus 20:1: “And God spoke all these words, saying . . . .” Because Jesus is the Word, this must be a reference to the preincarnate Christ speaking to Moses. As we know, there are a number of appearances of Christ (theophanies) in the Old Testament. John 1:18 states: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” There is no doubt, with rare exception, that the preincarnate Christ did the speaking to Adam, Noah, the patriarchs, Moses, etc. Now, when the Creator God spoke as recorded in Exodus 20:1, what did He (Jesus) say? As we read on, we find this statement: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).

Yes, Jesus did explicitly say He created in six days.3 Not only this, but the one who spoke the words “six days” also wrote them down for Moses: “Then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly” (Deuteronomy 9:10).

Jesus said clearly that He created in six days. And He even did something He didn’t do with most of Scripture—He wrote it down Himself. How clearer and more authoritative can you get than that?

https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/did-jesus-say-he-created-in-six-literal-days/

[Psalm 51:17]

Thank you for these reminders - oddly enough, we're seeing mostly KJB preachers push the gap theory like it's fact, largely b/c they're throwing the baby out of the bathwater. (Old Testament, that is)

Like I said previously, the old timeys like AW Tozer just couldn't stress enough how VITALLY IMPORTANT the Old Testament is. Nowdays, a lot of these guys will just try to cut it up, and try to push even some of the NT books (ie, General Epistles) to past/future dispensation periods. A lot of this has got to do with Ruckmanism infiltrating, I believe (thankfully, Denlinger isn't like the other Ruckmanites, although I strongly disagree with him when he says Hebrews is a "transitional book" for the Jews going into the ToJT).

2 Peter 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

[Psalm 51:17]

[Mark]

Study: 70 Percent of Evangelicals Don’t Believe in Evolution

A recent study has found that 70 percent of American evangelicals do not believe Evolution to be true.

ChristianToday.com reports that the study was conducted by chief research sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, Christopher Scheitle at West Virginia University, Jared Peifer at Baruch College, and Daniel Bolger at Rice University. The study is titled Examining Links Between Relgion, Evolution Views and Climate-Change Skepticism.

The study not only found that the majority of evangelicals tend to disbelieve Evolution, but, perhaps surprisingly, a majority of evangelicals also believe that climate change is occurring and/or that humans have a role in climate change.

Researchers say this study calls into question the popularly held belief that evangelicals tend to be skeptical of climate change. According to the study, less than 28 percent of them said climate change was a fabrication.

"This is different from the popular account that the people who oppose climate-change research and the people who oppose the teaching of evolution are the same and that evangelical Protestantism is clearly linked to both," stated Ecklund.

The study also found that Americans overall were even less skeptical of climate change (20 percent), and 45 percent believe Evolution is false.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/study-70-percent-of-evangelicals-don-t-believe-in-evolution.html

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

http://donboys.cstnews.com/does-the-bible-prove-a-young-earth
Does the Bible Prove a Young Earth?
Posted by Don Boys on August 1, 2014

In previous columns I have dealt with the mistakes, uncertainties, ambiguities, contradictions, and general unreliability with radiometric dating of fossils. The dates produced by many modern methods are often dates that are called “scientifically correct” but embarrassingly inaccurate! A perfect example of this is the Richard Leakey case. He discovered Skull 1470 near the east shore of Lake Rudolf in Kenya and thought the skull was 2.6 million years old. The next decade would take him and his “skull” for a long ride.

Leakey’s Skull 1470 was initially dated at Cambridge Laboratory (England) with the potassium-argon method. The first date was 221 million years, but it was rejected because it didn’t fit the evolutionary scenario. Further testing produced dates from 2.4 to 2.6 million years. Leakey could accept that date since it was closer to his evolutionary teaching although he preferred a younger date. (Many millions of years difference in those dates and the first date!) After more tests they got another date of 1.8 million years from the University of California, Berkeley. Now, that’s more like it. That date fits their fairy tale! Isn’t it interesting how they can adjust their “science” to fit their philosophy? And did you notice that a bone finder can “shop around” at various testing agencies to get the date he wants? Leakey now accepts a date of about 2 million years.

The testing on Skull 1470 produced dates ranging from 290,000 years to 221 million years. Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe. You take your choice. Now you can understand why some have described the potassium-argon clock as being a clock without hands–without even a face.

It is interesting that radiometric dating laboratories require that all samples to be “dated” must be identified as to their location in the geological column! After all, the testers need to know what date the “finder” will accept. Approximately 8 out of 10 specimens (“dates”) are discarded by radiometric dating labs because they are well out of range of age they “ought to be” considering their location in the geological column. The geological strata date always has priority over any modern dating system. The testers have even asked, “What date do you think is reasonable?” Isn’t science grand? But none dare call it quackery.

I’m thrilled that Creationists don’t have to depend on such dubious, distorted, dishonest nonsense to know about our world. One does not have to believe in a young Earth to be a Christian but Christians should take the biblical position on everything. Origins of the Universe and the Earth are very important. We don’t need to trust in radiometric dating or even natural “clocks” to determine whether the Earth is young or old. The Bible is very clear on that issue.

Bible expositors tell us that the word “day” in Genesis can also mean a long period of time. They are right and they are wrong. The first meaning of “day” is the time between the rising and setting of the sun. The days in Mesopotamia were not named but numbered except for the 7th day, the Sabbath. The word for day is used 2355 times in the Old Testament and when used figuratively it always is defined by an associated term such as the day of judgment, the day of adversity, etc.

Whenever “evening” and “morning” are used in the Old Testament, they always refer to normal, 24-hour days; however critics triumphantly sneer that there could be no day and night without the sun! But day and night don’t depend on the sun but upon the existence of light. Gen. 1:3 reveals that God created the light. So there was light in addition to and preceding the creation of the sun. So, with light and the newly created Earth, there would be a “day” and a “night” as the Earth rotated. How could God have made it any clearer?

Hebrew scholars agree with creationists concerning the literal days of Genesis. Professor James Barr, a renowned Hebrew scholar and Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at Oxford University, said in a personal letter, “So far as I know there is no Professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1 through 11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience; (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the Biblical story; (c) Noah’s flood [not the movie Noah] was understood to be world-wide and extinguished all human and animal life except for those in the ark.” So Hebrew experts stand with Creationists, not evolutionists!

Genesis 2:13 tells us that God “rested” on the seventh day after concluding His six days of creation. Now, did God “rest” a day or a billion years? And if it was a billion years, then how does that become a legitimate symbol for the Hebrews taking the seventh day as their Sabbath as God instructed them in Exodus 20:10-11? No sane person suggests that the Jews rested an “age” but a single day. If God rested an indeterminate age then maybe God is still resting; however, John 5:17 tells us that God is still working! Twisting the Bible like a pretzel is not wise or productive or safe.

Furthermore, Adam was created on the sixth day, and lived in the garden the remainder of that day, then he lived through the seventh day, and was driven out of the garden days or months later. Did he live through parts of three or more different geological ages? If so, he would have lived at least five hundred thousand years! Now they lived a long time in those days, but not that long!

But there are other reasons the days in Genesis 1 were literal 24-hour days. On the third day God created grass, herbs, and trees, and every student knows that plants discharge life-giving oxygen and absorb poisonous carbon dioxide. The oxygen discharged by the plants is used by animals and people who then throw off carbon dioxide that is used by the plants! Did that symbiotic relationship happen accidently?

However, if the days were really ages, the plants could not have lived without carbon dioxide since animals were not created until the fifth day. Furthermore, grass and trees (created on the third day) could not grow without the sun, and the sun did not shine until the fourth day. Did the world spin millions of years without sunlight? There is the additional problem of flowers that were created on day three having to wait long ages until insects were created so the flowers could be pollinated. If the day was an age, the flowers, grass, and trees could not have lived, so the days must have been literal 24-hour days.

In Mark 10:6, Jesus was discussing marriage and divorce with the Pharisees when He said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.” Here Christ makes it clear that men have been on the earth “from the beginning.” Since Christ declared that Adam was “from the beginning” it must mean that the Earth is about 6,000 years old since the Bible genealogies support that fact. It’s a matter of math. So Bible believers need nothing else to support a young Earth.

You can stand with the atheist/evolutionists if you want as they belch their kooky nonsense but I plan to continue standing with the One who made the Earth “in the beginning.”

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

“The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions. And one of the world’s worst tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is room in them for little beside ourselves.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]