Truth Without Change (over time)

I read an interesting book recommended by Bob, my host in Sydney.  He has a lovely family:  Jacqui his wife, Samuel (7) and Kate (4).  The book is called "Already Gone" by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer which claims the teaching in most churches today does not answer fundamental questions and doubts that people have.  Children are taught Bible "stories" and emphasis is not placed on their historical, scientific, and archaelogical fact.  When kids continue to go through school, they are bombarded with scientific "facts" which often contradict a Biblical worldview.  Due to these doubts not being directly addressed from the pulpit or Sunday School classes, many people leave the church during their college years on in their 20's.  Since I have worked with youth for many years and have seen the staggeringly high attrition rate among "churched" youth, this book did not come as a surprise or shock.

Darwin's "Origin of Species" published in 1859 shook the foundations of the common belief that the world was relatively young.  The scientific community had given the world a theory of the origin of mankind and world without the necessity of God.  This theory of evolution of the species was not a result of reading the Bible, but the idea of a man.  Many today have tried to inject evolutionary teaching into the Genesis account, saying that the ideas are not opposed to one another.  Others say that it does not matter if the earth is billions or thousands of years old:  only belief in Jesus Christ is important.  I heartily disagree with these modern views.

The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in six twenty-four hour periods and rested on the seventh day.  He made every star, plant, animals both male and female that live on land and in the sea, and breathed a living soul into man.  No one in the Old Testament, nor Jesus or any disciple in the New Testament suggest that macro-evolution (one species changing over time into a different species) was the way that God made all we see today.  Jesus says in Mark 10:6:  "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."  Both the species and two sexes were created from the beginning as they remain to this day.  Though we see varieties within a species today, every species was distinct and fully-functional from the beginning.  The chicken came before the egg.

As I walked through the Melbourne Museum and saw reconstructed skeletons of dinosaurs, the supposed ages of the bones ranged in the millions of years.  God operates outside of time and can create in an instant, but He chose to create the heavens and the earth in a seven day period, one week.  For macro-evolution to even be considered in a theoretical sense, enormous amounts of time is needed.  It is my belief that an infinite amount of time is not enough for macro-evolution to take place, but that is another matter.  It was not until 1859 that people began to suggest, "The earth may be much older than we might have thought" to allow the possibility that Darwin's theory might be considered plausible.

You might think, "But what's the big deal?  Couldn't the world be 4.5 billion (this number changes all the time!) years old and God used creation without evolution?"  Remember, God doesn't need time.  The current scientific community is convinced that evolution without question is the way things work.  The current age of the universe (which is considered billions of years older today than it was twenty years ago) is based on new discoveries and data which push back the prospective time of the "big bang."  The more we learn the more difficulties are forced upon the theory of evolution, so more time is allotted to work out these problems.  A kid walks into Sunday School and hears a "story" about how God created the heavens and the earth in a literal week, and then on a class field trip hears "facts" from experts that the world is billions of years old and the dinosaurs that excite his imagination became extinct millions of years ago.  His doubts begin to grow during middle school and high school as he weighs these contrary views, and these doubts progress into unbelief of the Word of God in college.  That is why it is critical that the Word of God is held forth as fact supported by science, not as fairy tales.

If the beliefs of people in the Genesis account are eroded by modern-day scientific teachings concerning the age of the earth, it is likely they will not believe the Bible is the Word of God without error or flaw.  If the Bible is seen as a flawed book written by men, the Gospel itself will be brought into question.  The Bible is the true Word of God delivered by the Holy Spirit through men inspired by God.  2 Peter 1:21 says that God's Word did not originate from man, "...but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."  In Jude 1:3 it is written: "...I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."  It has held up under fierce scientific, moral, historical, prophetic, geological, archaeological, and biological analysis.  It is completely perfect concerning earthly things, and equally insightful and flawless concerning spiritual things.  There is no book in the world which so perfectly explains the nature of a man, moral and social issues, and how God not only created all things but sent Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ still cannot be disproved by any means.

As Bible-believing Christians, we must hold fast to the truth of scripture without yielding to the pressure of those who do not believe.  Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:20-21:  "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:  [21] which some professing have erred concerning the faith.  Grace be with thee.  Amen."  As the saying goes, "Truth can bear examination."  Good science involves observation, formation of a hypothesis, the testing of a hypothesis in a controlled environment, and conclusion based upon the evidence.  Neither creation or evolution can be validated through the scientific method, because no one knows the conditions that were in place before time began.  But unlike scientific journals that change from year to year, the Word of God has never changed.  It has never been proven false.  It is on the merit of its unshakable truth I believe the Bible is the inspired, unchanging Word of God through which we learn who God is, what He has done, and teaches all the way of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  As Romans 3:4 says, "Let God be true, and every man a liar..."

Don't take my word for it:  test the Word of God for yourself and be convinced in your own mind.  God has revealed His truth, and we are all without excuse!  It's time to stand up for the truth of God's Word, and teach our children what is right.  I refuse to be bullied by people who choose not to believe what is true, and neither should you.  The truth will not change over time!  What's true will remain true, and God's Word will never pass away!