These questions have sparked a debate that has raged throughout Christendom since the 19th century. It was during that century that the seeds of materialism and humanism, planted during The Enlightenment, bore the fruit of Darwinism and Marxism. Those philosophies, and the atheistic worldview that they are the expression of, have had a profound influence " and not just in the halls of secular academia and the popular culture. They have also exerted their influence on the church, in the form of ideological movements that have become pronounced among liberal theologians, and within the seminaries of many mainline denominations.
There is a marked spirit of compromise that affects large segments of the church today. It can be expressed by an attitude that says where The Bible comes into conflict with accepted ideas of natural and social science, the Bible must give way. This is referred to as conferring to modern science a magisterial (or ruling) role over Scripture; that is, where there is perceived disagreement between the two, science must prevail. When in fact, The Bible " which is the immutable, unchanging, inspired Word of God " is in a magisterial role in regard to science. Science, and the facts it presents, are constantly changing. The accepted science of today are the discredited theories and beliefs of tomorrow. The proper role of science is in a ministerial (subordinate) role to the eternal truth of Scripture.
Too often, however, this is not the view that prevails in local congregations, or is expressed from the pulpit. And well over a hundred years of encroaching compromise and relativism within the mainline churches with regard to the authority of Scripture have taken their toll; as manifested in the weakened influence of Christianity, and its relevance within the culture; its adulterated evangelical mission; and in the undermined faith of countless churchgoers. The result has been dwindling church attendance; the rise of postmodern movements that seek to redefine Christianity (such as The Emergent Church); and the open embrace of anti-Biblical positions (e.g., same-sex marriage).
We live in a time when the central question what is the heart, message, and meaning of Christianity? has escaped the confines of academia, and is being wrestled with among disputing factions of all those who call themselves Christian -- factions that in many cases propose fundamentally differing versions of what that term means, and what the truth of Jesus Christ is.
The fallout associated with conceding a magisterial role to science over Scripture is widespread. Even many conservative evangelicals join with their traditional counterparts in seeking to define and interpret whole passages of Scripture in a way that corresponds with the accepted science of our time. Nowhere is this tendency to compromise more pronounced than with the first chapters of the Book of Genesis. Whereas the Bible is explicit in referring to the creation of the heavens and the earth in six ordinary 24-hour days, successive generations of believers who have been indoctrinated into a billions of years paradigm (which is grounded in materialism) have sought to reconcile the Bible with accepted scientific fact. This attempt at reconciliation " which includes ideas such as the Day/Age Theory, the Framework Hypothesis, and various Gap theories " has led to great confusion within churches. It calls into open question some of the central doctrines of Christianity.
But God is not the author of confusion (1Corinthians14:33). And we know that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, by whom all things were made (John 1:3), dwelt among men in grace and truth (John 1:14); and that the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
Self-evident from these passages, and many others " indeed, from the whole counsel of God " is that central to what we believe, as Christians, are these dual realities of grace and truth. They are, metaphorically speaking, as essential as time and space " and are as likewise inseparable.
It has been said that Justice is getting what we deserve; Mercy is not getting what we deserve; and Grace is being given what we dont deserve. We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and that the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:20); we also know that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), because sin entered the world through one man (a real, historical Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). Therefore, we are all under judgment and condemnation; and justice demands that we pay for our sins.
And that is what Jesus did for us on the Cross " He paid the price for our sins " a price we could never hope to pay. This unmerited grace: this giving of what we dont deserve, the pardon of our sins, and reconciliation with God, and the gift of salvation unto eternal life (John 3:16), is the central redemptive reality of Christianity; its meaning and its message. It is the integrated message of the entire compilation of books that we call The Holy Bible.
But what about truth?
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Are we not then, having received grace through faith in Jesus Christ, to walk in truth? This, indeed, is a major focus of the Apostle Johns third epistle. Writing with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he says I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (v. 4). While this obviously applies to our personal conduct in regard to the 9th commandment, and bearing false witness " does it not go beyond that, with a clear implication that we are to adhere to a standard of reality; the body of real things, events, and facts: actuality in all things? Are there boundaries to the Truth of Jesus Christ? To quote Pauls phrase (Romans 6:2,15, NKJV): Certainly not!
How, then, can we who have accepted the grace of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, as revealed in His inspired Scripture, not accept His truth in regard to earthly things (John 3:12)? And instead, accept theories, and a worldview, that purports billions of years of evolution " theories that are grounded in the idea that God does not exist?
It is vital that believers -- those who have receive(d) the love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10) " equip themselves with the information they need to counter the prevailing materialist and evolutionist myth. There are many outstanding informational and expository ministries that are easily accessible for that purpose.
Christians are the recipients of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. In all things, including science, we should strive to be in union with that truth. It is exciting to live during a time when science, operating in its proper subordinate role to Scripture, is pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 4b,5a) " specifically, the long-age Evolutionary myth. It is a matter of great urgency that all believers are acquainted and equipped with information to counter their evolutionist indoctrination. In this age of deceit, when materialist presuppositions have crept into every facet of our culture, from science to education to entertainment, many Christians have never been exposed to the truth concerning accepted theories of the origins of life; its purported development from randomly assembled single cells; the geologic and fossil record; radiometric dating methods; cosmology and astrophysics; genetics. Too many people are unaware that leading research in those fields and others is pointing directly to Gods Biblical truth.
If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. -- John 8:31b,32
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