Changing the truth of God into a lieL A W R E N C E E . F O R D4 ACTS&FACTS • SEPTEMBER <strong>2008</strong>Afew weeks ago, two local seminarystudents stopped by the ICR headquartersin Dallas. One of them, aTh.M. student, regularly receivesour Acts & Facts magazine. As I showed themaround, we chatted about seminary life, professorswe knew, and getting through the rigorsof coursework in preparation <strong>for</strong> ministry.When one student saw the newest ICRfossil acquisitions—the enormous skulls of amosasaur and a phytosaur—he told me thatduring the study of Genesis in his Old Testamentclass, he mentioned to the teacher thatdinosaurs and men had lived together and thatNoah took dinosaurs on the Ark. He didn’texpect the chuckles he received from his classmates,however.“Are you serious?” the professor askedhim.“Of course,” the student replied. “It’swhat the Bible describes.”“Son, I am an Old Testament scholar,”declared the professor, “and that’s not what theBible says.”When I heard this account, I was saddened.Similar episodes are occurring on seminarycampuses across the United States. In fact,the number of Bible colleges, seminaries, andChristian universities that have abandoned theplain-sense reading of Scripture is increasing atan alarming rate as more and more academiciansin Christian higher education acquiesceto hybrid theories that seek to “unify” Scripturewith evolutionary processes.<strong>The</strong> same is happening in local churcheswhere members challenge their pastors andteachers regarding the literal reading of Genesis1-2. Inundated as we are with the beautifulphotography of National Geographic, DiscoveryChannel programs, and PBS’s Nature, whocould argue <strong>for</strong> something as “unscientific” asthe Bible?More disturbing are the Christian leaderswho allow science to govern their interpretationof Scripture, touting “new discoveries”that “prove” evolutionary claims, and treatingthe Genesis account as a mere framework <strong>for</strong>expressing the fact that God created, ratherthan as a narrative relating the actual details ofGod’s work during the creation week.Can there be unity between creationand evolution? Did God just get life going andlet evolution take over? Six days or six billionyears—does it matter?Some would say that it does notmatter, that it’s not an “essential” ofthe faith. <strong>The</strong>re are, in fact, born againbelievers who do not believe in a literalreading of Genesis 1-2. Are we to questiontheir faith?Not necessarily. But the contradictionswith which these individuals must live shouldjar them into coming to terms, once and <strong>for</strong>all, with whether they believe in the accuracyand authority of God’s Word. If the Bible is infact authored by God, the Creator of life, thenthose who doubt God’s writings are burdenedwith proving that science—based on humantheories—explains the origin of life better thanScripture.In the introduction to <strong>The</strong> Battle <strong>for</strong> theBeginning, Dr. John MacArthur wrote thesestartling words about how naturalistic sciencehas infiltrated the church:Many who should know better—pastorsand Christian leaders who defend thefaith against false teachings regularly—have been tempted to give up the battle<strong>for</strong> the opening chapters of Genesis. Anevangelical pastor recently approachedme after I preached. He was confusedand intimidated by several books he hadread—all written by ostensibly evangelicalauthors—yet all arguing that the earthis billions of years old. <strong>The</strong>se authors treat
most of the evolutionists’ theories as indisputablescientific fact. And in somecases they wield scientific or academiccredentials that intimidate readers intothinking their views are the result of superiorexpertise, rather than naturalisticpresuppositions they have brought to thebiblical text. 1Not mincing words when it comes tothose who would elevate science over Scripture,MacArthur laments the drift amongevangelicals toward compromise:<strong>The</strong> evolutionary lie is so pointedly antitheticalto Christian truththat it would seem unthinkable<strong>for</strong> evangelical Christiansto compromise with evolutionaryscience in any degree.But during the past centuryand a half of evolutionarypropaganda, evolutionists have had remarkablesuccess in getting evangelicalsto meet them halfway. Remarkably, manymodern evangelicals…have already beenconvinced that the Genesis account ofcreation is not a true historical record.Thus they have not only capitulated toevolutionary doctrine at its starting point,but they have also embraced a view thatundermines the authority of Scripture atits starting point. 2If the Bible is in fact authored by God, then those whodoubt God’s writings are burdened with proving thatscience explains the origin of life better than Scripture.This capitulation is beginning to creepinto many areas of Christian ministry. At ourseminars, Christian educators express frustrationat having to use evolution-based textbooksin their classrooms. Science materialsthat teach the Big Bang and other evolutionaryprocesses are being sold at homeschool conventions.Sunday school and Bible study materialsare sometimes laced with teachings thatfavor the Gap <strong>The</strong>ory, <strong>The</strong>istic Evolution, Progressive<strong>Creation</strong>, and other hybrid attemptsto wed God and evolution within the sacredconfines of the church.Of course, this is not to suggest that theentire church has been lost to compromise.<strong>The</strong>re are still many pastors who unashamedlyuphold the integrity of Scripture from theirpulpits every Sunday. But pressure is mountingon ministers to give science even more influence.Is this an issue that affects your localchurch? Consider this fact: Since 2004, nearly12,000 pastors throughout the U.S. have signeda statement rejecting the biblical doctrine ofcreation. Called “An Open Letter ConcerningReligion and Science,” it states:Within the community of Christianbelievers there are areas of dispute anddisagreement, including the proper wayto interpret Holy Scripture. While virtuallyall Christians take the Bible seriouslyand hold it to be authoritative in mattersof faith and practice, the overwhelmingmajority do not read the Bible literally, asthey would a science textbook. Many ofthe beloved stories found in the Bible—the <strong>Creation</strong>, Adam and Eve, Noah andthe ark—convey timeless truths aboutGod, human beings, and the proper relationshipbetween Creator and creationexpressed in the only <strong>for</strong>m capable oftransmitting these truths from generationto generation. Religious truth is ofa different order from scientific truth. Itspurpose is not to convey scientific in<strong>for</strong>mationbut to trans<strong>for</strong>m hearts.We the undersigned, Christian clergyfrom many different traditions, believethat the timeless truths of the Bible andthe discoveries of modern science maycom<strong>for</strong>tably coexist. We believe that thetheory of evolution is a foundationalscientific truth, one that has stood up torigorous scrutiny and upon which muchof human knowledge and achievementrests. To reject this truth or totreat it as “one theory amongothers” is to deliberately embracescientific ignorance andtransmit such ignorance toour children. We believe thatamong God’s good gifts arehuman minds capable of criticalthought and that the failure to fullyemploy this gift is a rejection of the willof our Creator. To argue that God’s lovingplan of salvation <strong>for</strong> humanity precludesthe full employment of the God-given facultyof reason is to attempt to limit God, anact of hubris. We urge school board membersto preserve the integrity of the sciencecurriculum by affirming the teaching ofthe theory of evolution as a core componentof human knowledge. We ask thatscience remain science and that religionremain religion, two very different, butcomplementary, <strong>for</strong>ms of truth. 3Many of these same 12,000 ministers devoteone weekend every February to exalt theperson and work of Charles Darwin, whosebirthday falls on February 12. <strong>The</strong> next “EvolutionWeekend” will be held February 13-15,2009. You can be sure that this, the celebrationof Darwin’s 200th birthday, will be the grandestevolution party ever.Perhaps it’s time to find out whether thebook stocked in your church’s pews is <strong>The</strong> Originof Species or the Holy Bible.References1. MacArthur, J. 2001. <strong>The</strong> Battle <strong>for</strong> the Beginning: <strong>The</strong> Bible on<strong>Creation</strong> and the Fall of Adam.Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson,18.2. Ibid, 25.3. For more in<strong>for</strong>mation, visitthe Clergy Letter Projectwebsite at www.butler.edu/clergyproject/rel_evol_sun.htm.Mr. Ford is Executive Editor.SEPTEMBER <strong>2008</strong> • ACTS&FACTS5