Evolution: A Dangerous Cancer to the Witness of the Church.
Choose your view!
Joshua 24:14 "...choose you this day....but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. If you believe that the world's way is better; go for it. If you believe that God has the better way, then get to know the wiles of our true enemy and remember, "..we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but...". The two prevailing views of morality within the world are 1) the humanist - where morality is relative and 2) the Christian - with a defined and absolute view of morality.
Humanist
- There is no God, therefore no judgment. Psalm 14:1
- Mankind is the author of laws. Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 17:5-6
- From a Ken Ham quote, "Evolution is the "scientific" justification for rebellion against God.
Christian
- There is a God. Genesis 1:1 and following.
- God is author of all laws. Matthew 4:4
- Creation displays the attributes of God; to convict of sin (Romans 8:18-20); to convince the believer (Psalm 19:1-14) and to call the true believers to worship (Psalm 33:6-8)
What we believe morally and in practice IS based upon our view of creation to an extreme degree. In the following seven areas of life, it is most evident: 1) our laws; 2) marriage; 3) business; 4) racism; 5) public morality; 6) value of life and 7) the meaning of life.
LAW
The humanist - Since there in no true "higher power" then the source of all laws must be man alone. Laws then would become totally arbitrary to the culture; whatever works for their culture may not work for ours, but that is okay. But notice if you please, that it is the strong and not necessarily the majority that establish the laws to which you are now subject. It is kind of a "survival of the fittest" mentality and as we speak, governs most of this planet. And being relative, no one is accountable to anyone but themselves or to the "stronger" who will eventually supplant the incumbents of the current power.
The creationist - there is a God, and His LAW is absolute and eternal (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8 & Jeremiah 23:29). The Law demands obedience (James 2:10) and is the basis of ALL judgment (1 Timothy 1:8-11; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Mankind is subservient.
Marriage
The humanist - man and woman or women; man and man; woman and woman; man or woman and most anything else. If it works for you, don't let anyone say anything different, for it is all relative.
The Christian - God per Genesis 1:26 & 2:21-25 ordained the first marriage and according to God (Genesis 1:31) it was good. Ephesians 5:31-32 adds that a marriage is a representation of Christ and His Church, the Bride.
Are you starting to sense a "flavor" that being "relative" is akin to being antichrist?
Business
The humanist - the ends justify the means, survival of the fittest / strongest / quickest / prettiest / slickest and any other adjective you could come up with. Being in "business" for more than 40 years has taught me many lessons, such as: if you can't keep up, you're gone; force early retirement and replace with the younger; brow beat employees into unethical practices; skimp on quality or quantity; give less for more and my most hated "favorite"; outsource to companies foreign or domestic that knowingly will circumvent our current laws to "insure" the company's innocence in their shoddy products or services.
The Christian - as an employee we are to serve our employers (1 Peter 2:18) as if we were serving Christ and as employers to treat all employees with complete fairness (Colossians 4:1). We have been called to work hard and to enjoy the fruits of our labor in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19. Also remember the admonition to the lazy; if you don't work, you don't eat.
Racism?? - You Betcha!
The humanist - let us see what evolution hath wrought!
- Man - from several sources, several species of man in different evolutionary development.
- Natural History Magazine - April 1980 issue page 144 - Stephan Gould wrote "Recapitulation provided a convenient focus for the pervasive racism of white scientists: they looked to the activities of their own children for comparison with normal, adult behavior in "lower" races." Definition of recapitulation - evolution within the womb. It came from a study showing that the "embryo" in the womb started out with "gills" and then later evolved into a humanoid. This study and its author was later debunked as bogus but remained in many text books for an extended period of time.
Think about the term "mongoloid", suggesting the Mongols were a lower class of humans.
- Natural History Magazine - same issue page 129 - Henry Osborne wrote, "the Negroid stock is even more ancient than the Caucasian and Mongolian...the standard of intelligence of the average adult Negro is similar to that of the 11 year old of the species homo sapiens."
Are the aborigines a sub-human or is their cultural structure less developed or enlightened? Romans 1:20-25 will shed some light on questions like this concerning many people groups. Sadly racism expresses itself in various shapes and colors. Nazi Germany was one of the world's most racist countries in existence and color was not the issue nor is the increasing attacks upon Christians worldwide a color issue. Look at all of the doctor's waiting room magazines known for their incredible photography of peoples and places, yet these are some of the strongest proponents of cultural racism on the planet.
The Christian - our God is not a respecter of persons (Psalm 138:6; Acts 10:34; James 2:8-10 and 1 Peter 1:17) from one man He created all men. All men are sinners, all men need a Savior and there is NO partiality with Him. It seems so simple but why do our churches appear to make it difficult?
Morality
The humanist - relative standards of dress, pornography, alcohol, drugs, incest, self, etc.
- If it gives you comfort, pleasure, it increases your energy and creativity: go for it. This is called pragmatism.
- God, if He exists and they "know" He doesn't, is distant, impersonal and of little comfort.
- They are one with trees, the sky above and the mud below, dogs and whatever.
- I'm OK, you're OK and doesn't depend on what you believe as long as it is NOT Christian.
- This is a real and active faith that there is NO God and thus NO accountability.
A question I like to ask an evolutionist is: why do you wear clothes?; even our Bible states that Adam and Eve were naked and it was good. There is only one, that's right, one answer why we wear clothes. It is because SIN distorts everything. The evolutionist even put NON-relative limits upon themselves; I wonder from where that comes.
The Christian - God set the standards for OUR health, peace and happiness. Galatians 5:16-24 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 Though recently I have been in churches where you can see as much flesh as you would see on the red carpet at a movies' premier showing.
Value of Life
The humanist - abortion, euthanasia and other forms of destruction of life. The originator of the "recapitulation" theory, Ernst Haeckel, intentionally defrauded the scientific community by altered drawings and distortions in presentation and coined the term "embryo". Though proven to be a liar, isn't it interesting what we still call the developing baby. It is easier to kill an animal.
The Christian - For God so loved... Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; John 3:16 and the whole sum of the Scriptures. LIFE is extremely precious.
You Would Think the Decision Would Be Easy
Meaning of Life
The humanist - fear, despair, hopelessness, suicide numbed by the doctrines of reincarnation, nothingness and false paradises where earthly pleasures still exist. I have been to far too many funerals for those without Christ including my own siblings and parents. They all have one thing in common; they LIE about the deceased future and most everyone present knows it to be a lie. They find some comfort in numbers and "hope" in a loving God that will overlook their "shortcomings and foibles" of this life and grant them a new lease on life. Sadly, there are many that are defiant to the end with the purpose of dragging as many with them as possible. They also think there is safety in numbers and whatever hell may bring will not be as bad as all those stupid Christians portray.
The Christian - heaven and eternal life. I was at a believers funeral yesterday, where I heard crying and laughter, but mainly joyful praise for having had the opportunity to be a part of the life that has gone on to heaven's shore. We can leave a living legacy of Hope, whereas the lost leave a legacy of hopelessness. 1 Peter 1:3-5; Romans 8:18-19; Revelation 21:1-7 Remember, we do NOT grieve as those without hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13
the bible is either perfect in its entirety and to be trusted in its entirety - or - if flawed in any part is not to be trusted in any part. Beware of all who say they speak for god (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) and caution to any one who would change that which is written in God's Word (Revelation 22:18-19).
Comments
AUTHORStay tuned, I think you will enjoy some of my "creation vs evolution" brain teasers that I plan to incorporate into my writings and I would value your continued response.
“is not science at all but a religious system with pseudo-science as its basis”
I was raised as a creationist in a fundamentalist household which is a big reason why I am so anti-creationism today. The effort and evidence required to break that brainwashing was enormous. So I assure you that my acceptance of evolution is based upon the evidence and my defense of it based upon wanting to help others escape the brainwashing of creationism.
“As a Christian, it is very important for me to thoroughly read, study and meditate upon the Word and then to TRY TRY TRY to live accordingly”
In my late teens I stopped going to church with my parents and decided to seek God on my own terms and read the Bible in it's entirety. I didn't want a middleman, I wanted a true revelation of God that so many other believers talked about. Instead reading the Bible had the opposite effect, I was appalled, disgusted, I realized that the God of it's pages was not the merciful and Cosmic God I believed in. So for several years I sought God in every way I could think of, prayer and meditation, I learned about Taoism, Buddhism, and continued to study the Bible. I even visited a Mosque. I've been an atheist since late 2009.
Having read the Bible I don't think anyone should live their life by it or submit to its conception of God. Humanity should have moved beyond such a barbaric deity long ago and the sooner we do the better. Whether there is a god or not it seems to me that the human species is in charge of its own morality and its own destiny. And how could it be any other way? If it's a choice between a God who condones slavery, commits genocide and wants you to stone people for working on Saturday and making up our own rules, however arbitrary you think that is, I will take the flawed human morality any day.
I thank you for your calm and polite response.
- AUTHOR
You are definitely NOT lukewarm when it comes to your belief system, I respect that. Your comments demonstrate one the tenets I personally came to realize, that "evolution" is not science at all but a religious system with pseudo-science as its basis. I once was an evolutionist who migrated to theistic evolution then finally to the Truth of the creation. It is amazing how two people can read the same manuscript and come away with two diametrically opposite understandings.
As a Christian, it is very important for me to thoroughly read, study and meditate upon the Word and then to TRY TRY TRY to live accordingly. I am not only approving your comment for view but I do really appreciate it. Many of the questions you personally raise in why you should not be or want to be a believer are reality checks for many who may read my blogs.
Once upon a time, I could debate anyone under the table and into submission but when I realized that I had not won the debate but had made an enemy; what good was that? My late father-in-law was one of the most brilliant men I had ever met, a certified genius and an avowed evolutionist. One very hot day in Tempe, AZ, we sat down to just talk - creation vs evolution; it lasted a couple of hours or so and it was fun. When we parted ways, we had become very friendly "enemies" so to speak. Two years later, he had a massive heart attack and lay near death in a Phoenix hospital. My wife and I rushed to Phoenix and sat at his bedside. He said the unthinkable for him, "would you pray for me." Long story short, within an hour or so they removed his breathing apparatus and then his external pacemaker and we resumed our previous chat from two years previous. Our conversation of that evening two years ago had bugged nearly to death and maybe was partly to blame for his heart attack. His comment has stuck with me long since his death and peaceful burial. For the first time, someone had debated with him about creation without being an arrogant know-it-all or without listening to what he had to say. That tempered my heart more than anything else I had ever learned and has given great hope that when I listen to what the other has to say maybe they will listen to me.
In friendly conclusion, you probably like John Lennon's song, Imagine and you like Isaac Asimov. Asimov's dying words were very similar to your comment about the endless boredom of heaven. I hope you take a look at my creation corner that I will be inserting in my future blogs. It will be a little more technical with some questions requiring reasoning and logic. I think it will be fun and educational. Thanks again for your comment.
“What we believe morally and in practice IS based upon our view of creation to an extreme degree. In the following seven areas of life, it is most evident: 1) our laws; 2) marriage; 3) business; 4) racism; 5) public morality; 6) value of life and 7) the meaning of life.”
I do not think that a belief about our origins has any impact on how I treat other human beings. I did not become an asshole when I finally realized that evolution was a biological reality, I remained a decent human being.
In fact, and this is a fact, race does not exist biologically. We have traced the human genome and found our species originates in Africa and has been migrating around the world ever since. These migrations to new environments are what cause the small genetic differences that make up different ethnic groups. A fraction of the more superficial differences, such as skin color, shape of facial features such as the nose and lips, etc, are what went on to create the idea of race. Science teaches us, however that these features are superficial, making up a minuscule portion of a person's overall genome.
Bonus fact some of these isolated ethnic groups evolved in amazing ways. Tibetan peoples adapted to their climate and possess a gene that helps them better thrive at high altitudes that other human beings would trouble with.
Your attempt to smear evolutionary theory is based upon primarily ideas from the 18th and 19th century long discarded. None of that nonsense is taught today. Evolution suggests and PROVES that we are all one species. So if anything the modern discoveries of evolutionary theory promote the kinship of all men to one another spoken of in the more friendly portions of the scripture.
So let's get at the meat of your post, which seems to be Humanism Versus the Bible. Even if I grant all of the negative and often blatantly false or half-true things you say about humanism the Bible is still a far worse document to live your life by. See I've actually read my Bible Dave. The God of the Bible is an incompetent and evil monstrosity conceived of by human minds.
Shall I stone to death adulterers?
Shall I sell my daughter into slavery?
Shall I sacrifice my daughter to Yahweh after he gives me victory on the battlefield or should I wait for his explicit command as with Abraham.
Shall I stone to death anyone in my family who worships a god other than Yahweh?
Shall I think it righteous and just that all those who do not accept Christ be tormented in the Lake of Fire?
If we go by your definition of a humanist than I am not a humanist but I can assure you Dave that after reading my Bible, and studying it, and re-reading it, and continuously having to educate people about what it actually says, that I am not a Christian. So where does that leave me?
One of the images says you would think the decision is EASY, Heaven Vs. Hell. But actually its not easy. You see to go to Heaven to me would be hellish, at least if its anything like what most Christians believe it is. A bunch of slaves bowing before a monstrous God who is burning the rest of humanity for eternity for often minor transgressions many of which harm no one and none of which could ever have harmed God in the slightest. Even in their wildest fantasies eugenicists and dictators could never hold a candle to the evil of your God. Even if it turned out your God existed I would never bow before such an evil thing for who knowingly would?
At least in Hell I would still have my humanity.
But luckily neither you or I have to worry about the endless boredom and worship of Heaven or the endless agony and toil of Hell because no such places exist. We make our own fates, are responsible for our own sins and are punished or rewarded in the here and now, not the hereafter. Life is not made meaningful by being extended into eternity, what a stupid idea, how meaningless life would be if it stretched on forever. Rather it is brevity that gives life its meaning and value, it is fragility that makes it important and it is the ability of living beings to suffer and our ability to empathize with that suffering that gives us our morals.
If you want to be a slave be my guest, bow down before your master, let him yoke you like an oxen and stamp upon you a seal of ownership. I bow to neither man or monster, especially ones that are figments of the imagination.
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