From the book Where Is America in Bible Prophecy?
Before going any further, I am going to have to make a short defense of my position on homosexuality because I know it will cause some people to become very upset. You’ll think, what’s the matter, are you homophobic? Can’t you respect other people’s viewpoints, even other people’s God-given natural tendencies? Don’t you know that some people are just born homosexual and don’t even have a choice? It’s in their genes! That’s the way God made them. Aren’t you being narrow-minded and unloving? And you call yourself a Christian. I mean, the atheists are more understanding than you are!
Therefore, for the sake of some of you who are looking for more in depth answers, here I go.
First of all, we need to ask ourselves the following questions? Are there moral absolutes? If there are moral absolutes, where do we find them, or where do they come from? You might say that they are just conventions of society. If they are, why do we find many of these conventions are the same worldwide? Why should that be? Another question to ask is, where does our conscience come from? Why do we have a conscience? Why does our conscience speak to us when we do something we know we shouldn’t do?
The assumption that our conscience evolved over millions of years doesn’t make sense. How does a mind, a conscience, which as far as we can tell is not a physical entity, evolve? We have been fooled by the idea of “millions of years,” the idea that anything is possible if given enough time. But as atheist scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle asserted, the discovery of the DNA molecule has put evolutionary biology in the category of make-believe. It is just not possible that we are here by a chance accident, by the none directed process that molecules-to-man evolution is suppose to be.
Sir Hoyle was a famous British mathematician and astronomer who questioned the very origins of the first cell forming through naturalistic evolution. He said,
The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 zeros after it. It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole General Theory of Evolution. There was no primordial soup, neither on this planet nor any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must, therefore, have been the product of purposeful intelligence.[1]
The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 zeros after it. It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole General Theory of Evolution. There was no primordial soup, neither on this planet nor any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must, therefore, have been the product of purposeful intelligence.[1]
As a mathematician he strongly argued against the statistical probability of random evolution. Because the improbability was so high, he had no other choice but to conclude that molecules-to-man evolution without an intelligent designer was impossible.
Back to the question of objective morality, where does the moral law we find within us, our conscience, come from? The better answer is that God has given us a conscience, not evolution. Some have said that conscience is God’s presence within man. The reason why all men throughout the world are repulsed at the abuse of a small child or a defenseless woman or old person is because moral absolutes do exist. Since moral absolutes do exist, we must ask the question, where do they come from? Did they just evolve over millions of years?
Again, the best answer is that they come from the Moral Law-Giver, from the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Like Newton said,
This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. ....This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of His dominion He is wont to be called Lord God "pantokrator," or Universal Ruler....[2]
Our absolute moral laws actually come from God’s mind, which He has put within our conscience. The principles laid down in the Bible claim to be from the mind of God the Creator and they also correspond to those moral laws we find within our conscience.
Most people would say that we shouldn’t kill, except perhaps in self-defense. Most people would say that under normal circumstances we shouldn’t steal, cheat, or lie. Most people would say we should be kind to others, that we should treat others like we ourselves would want to be treated in any given situation. These moral absolutes are the same principles laid down in God’s Word and they are found in all know cultures.
But man throughout history has hardened his heart and seared his conscience with a hot iron so that he could live in rebellion against God, free from God’s overlying moral laws. God’s ultimate condemnation of Israel was for the abominations she committed in allowing her children to pass through the fires of Moloch, for the shedding of innocent blood openly in Jerusalem. By killing their first-born child, the Israelites were disobeying God’s inherent moral law that life was sacred.[3] What blood is more innocent than that of a new-born child? God considered the ancient customs of sacrificing new-born children to the god Moloch, an abomination. The equivalent today would be the abortion of the unborn child? God’s Word says that God ultimately judged Israel for the sins of Manasseh, which we covered in a previous chapter.
But besides child sacrifice, what else was Manasseh doing that was evil in the sight of the Lord? What were other the abominations of the heathen that God had forbid Israel to partake of? I would put forward that one of the abominations of the heathen that God had warned Israel not practice was homosexual behavior. In Leviticus we read,
Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith.
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you.[4]
When Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson started a revival in Israel, as we read earlier, one of the first things he did after initiating the rereading of God’s Word and the removing of the high priests of other religions, was that
he braked down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord,….and he defied Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Moloch.[5]
In other words, he abolished the acceptance of homosexual behavior and stopped infanticide.
Jesus Himself did indirectly condemn homosexuality in His reference to the “days of Sodom and Gomorrah” in the book of Luke.
Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.[6]
One of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexual behavior.[7] [8] But Ezekiel also mentions other sins when he compares Jerusalem’s sins to Sodom’s:
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughter (Gomorrah), neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.[9]
So these other “sins” are also offensive in God’s eyes. God is not just coming down on homosexuality. He comes down on all behaviors He finds abominable. He has written Laws in His Word and within our conscience.
In Leviticus, is it by ‘coincidence’ that we find the verse about infanticide together with the verse about homosexual behavior?
And thou shall not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Moloch, neither shall thou profane the name of thy God; I am the Lord. Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.[10]
Did you notice that the preceding verse says,
Moreover thou shall not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife, to defile thyself with her,[11]
showing that the Bible also condemns lustful heterosexual relations.
There is a story in the Old Testament of the prophet’s wife, a former prostitute, who was defiled by “Sons of Belial” and left to die. The whole tribe of Benjamin was going to be eliminated by the other tribes of Israel because of it.[12] The “Sons of Belial” seems to not only include those with homosexual behavior, but also a kind of perverted wildness, out-of-control aggressive perverted sex, like anal sex and bestiality.[13] Kind of like the stories I’ve heard from a friend of mine, a famous musician, about the sex life of some of the famous musicians he knew.
We know that Jesus took the Word of God seriously and quoted from it constantly. He taught differently from the Scribes and Pharisees. They used the Word of God to condemn and control the people. Jesus showed the true spirit of the Word in His attempt to enlighten and free the people from these false religious leaders. In Ezekiel 34 we find one of God’s stern warnings to the false shepherds who feed themselves, but do not feed the flock of God.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.[14]
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.[15]
Of course, God has already taken His flock from the false shepherds of Israel. He’s given us a true Shepherd, Jesus Christ, just as He prophesized. But Christian leaders must now apply God’s Word to themselves. Surely we have been guilty of being false shepherds, also.
For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. [16]
I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken,and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seems it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.[17]
We as church pastors or church leaders should meditate on Ezekiel’s warning. We need to make sure we are feeding God’s flock and not just making sure that they are feeding us. Now let’s return to our subject.
It is true that homosexuality has not been properly approached by much of the Church. The Christian teaching I received from childhood has always impressed on me the importance of being a good example. In order to reach people and connect them to Jesus, you need to first lovingly accept them. But I also have learned it is important to have convictions. My own convictions come from my belief that the Bible is truly the Word of God and not of men. This is not an arbitrary belief but comes from personal study and life experience, and conforms to scientific evidence and reason. However, God’s Word needs to be rightly divided and understood through the Spirit which Jesus clearly manifested.
Paul tells us
The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.[18]
In other words, until the mind and heart of the unbeliever has been illuminated by God’s Spirit, the reasoning of the Christian, his defense of his belief system, seems like foolishness to the unbeliever. That is why the atheist and the believer seem eons apart when they confront one another in conversation or debate. Their belief systems are based on totally different “truths” and thus affect how they interpret the world around them. They see things in a totally different manner. It is because their initial belief systems are at variance.
Looking back to the Words of Jesus in the book of John, we see Jesus doesn’t condemn the adulterous woman, but yet He tells her to go and sin no more.[19] By His actions and love He is affecting change in the woman’s worldview. Obviously, He is not accepting adultery, but embracing the adulterer. In like manner, He wasn’t accepting tax corruption by going to eat with Zacchaeus. By embracing Zacchaeus, He helps him find the Kingdom of God. As a result Zacchaeus changes his belief system and his behavior and returns the money to those he has over-taxed.[20]
It’s the same with homosexuality. Yes, we do need to accept the homosexual as Paul taught and Jesus teaches. I will respect the homosexual in my attempt to relate with him and impart the truth I have found in Christ, just as Paul did in his witnessing and in his attempts to win others to Jesus. But I do not need to embrace and accept as “normal” the homosexual behavior. I will love and respect the homosexual person, but I cannot accept a behavior that is in violation of God’s Word and in violation of the moral law I have within my conscience.
I may be old-fashioned, but I have seen that the philosophy of relativism or utilitarianism or morality measured by what is acceptable by the majority of the people moves society away from the moral absolutes of God’s Word and reality. That is why the world is in such a mess as it is today. We have moved away from the idea of moral absolutes and have nothing left to stand on. Yes, God’s Word does need to be always balanced and applied by the spirit of love and grace.[21] People do not want religion. They need to connect with Jesus, and that connection not only comes from their relationship with Him, but from knowing the truth found in God’s Word.
My Christian training taught me the importance of staying free of religious Pharisee-ism. We are free from the dead religious laws of Moses, and married to Christ’s liberating law of love.[22] Now, the most important aspect of our obedience to God is our motivation, not our outward appearance to others.
Recently, I wrote a letter to a friend sharing my beliefs about creation and the book of Genesis. He believes that Genesis 1 is poetry and therefore is not applicable to scientific theories on origins. But according to Dr. Weston Fields, Genesis is not poetry. In his in depth study, Unformed and Unfilled: A Critique of the Gap Theory, Dr. Fields concludes that the Hebrew text may be “poetic,” as is much of the Bible, but it is not written in figurative language and it cannot be harmonized with science’s “billions of years.”[23]
there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1–11 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.[24]
Dr. Barr was not saying he believed in a six-day creation six-thousand years ago. Rather, he was saying that he believed that the writers of Genesis meant to convey that meaning to their audience. Even though a simple reading of Genesis 1 presents a six-day creation process, the modern man cannot accept it, because we have been convinced that science has proven the earth is billions of years old.
From a superficial reading of Genesis 1, the impression would seem to be that the entire Creative process took place in six twenty-four–days. If this was the true intent of the Hebrew author… this seems to run counter to modern scientific research, which indicates that the planet Earth was created several billion years ago.[25]
If we accept the idea that the earth is indeed billions of years old, we cannot accept a literal reading of Genesis 1. If we add the evolutionary process as the way God created to the billions of years, we have a big problem with the Bible’s veracity and plan of salvation. We have “death” before “sin,” and the Bible says the opposite, which we will look at more closely in a few paragraphs.
Some Christians believe it doesn’t really matter if Genesis 1 is literal or figurative. All we need to believe is that God did it, however it happened. So Christians disagree on this dilemma. Young Earth Creationists argue against the attempts to harmonize the Scriptures with modern ideas of origins proposed by science. But many modernistic Christians have done just that, accepting both “millions of years”, and “molecule-to-man” evolution.
In The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church, Malachi Martin makes a case against the influential Jesuit evolutionist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (picture at left). Using a whole chapter, Martin explains Teilhard’s influence in taking the Jesuits and the Catholic Church away from the traditional Christian doctrine of creation and into an evolutionary New Age theology.[26]
In The Long War against God: the History and Impact of the Creation/Evolution Conflict, Dr. Henry Morris quotes from Teilhard, whom he believes was one of the most famous Christian modernists. To Teilhard, the acceptance of evolution was essential. He saw evolution as being the most fundamental “truth,” and therefore the foundation of understanding everything else. He wrote,
Evolution is a general postulate to which all theories, all hypothesis, all systems must henceforth bow and which they must satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light which illuminates facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow.[27]
Here we see Teilhard confessing that evolution is his initial belief system. His belief that evolution is true is his most basic assumption and affects how he views and interprets everything else around him. Martin states that if one accepts Teilhard’s ideas, he must abandon standard Christian doctrine. He writes,
Creation, Original Sin, the divinity of Jesus, redemption by Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary,… the forgiveness of sins, …Hell, Heaven, supernatural grace - even existence and the freedom of God – all must be reformulated, and perhaps abandoned in large part.[28]
Thomas Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” for his adamant defense of evolution, came to this same conclusion over 150 years ago. Ken Ham writes,
Thomas Huxley was an ardent humanist. Huxley went around the world “preaching” evolution and putting down Christianity. But when he saw the theologians of the day accepting evolution and then adding it to the Bible (but still trying to defend Christianity), Huxley pointed out to these compromisers how inconsistent that was. He showed them that if they believed in evolution, they couldn’t believe in the doctrines of the New Testament, and would have to throw away the whole message of Christianity.[29]
If we are honest, we must agree with Huxley’s, Ham’s and Martin’s conclusions. If evolution and “millions of years” are true, then we have “death” before “sin,” as we have “millions of years” of life and death before the first man “Adam.” The Bible tells us that it was Adam’s disobedience to God, or Adam’s sin, that brought death into the world, and, therefore, the need for a Redeemer, the need for Christ.[30][31][32][33] If evolution is true and death came before man, then the Bible is false and there was no original sin and no need for Christ’s death on the cross for all humanity. Both stories cannot be true. They contradict one another. Back in the mid-19th century, Mr. Huxley saw this problem and criticized the Christians who compromised and accepted millions of years of evolution while still trying to defend the Bible.
In a similar vein, the atheist G. Richard Bozarth has written,
Christianity has fought, still fights, and will continue to fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.[34]
What this means is that Christianity cannot lose the Genesis account of creation like it could lose the doctrine of geocentricism and get along. The battle must be waged, for Christianity is fighting for its very life.[35]
Dr. Henry Morris, who helped spear-head today’s Creation Movement with the publishing of The Genesis Flood with John Whitcomb in 1961, has said the following:
The very concept of evolution diametrically opposes everything that Christianity is supposed to teach. [36] The tragedy is that the great majority of professing Christians…do not seem to understand this fact as well as the atheists do. We are engaged in a cosmic conflict, while many Christians are busy making daisy chains. [37]
Molecular researcher Michael Denton expressed the same idea in his 1985 book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. He said,
As far as Christianity was concerned, the advent of the theory of evolution and the elimination of traditional theological thinking was catastrophic. Despite the attempt by liberal theology to disguise the point (those who accept millions of years and or evolution), the fact is that no Biblically derived religion can really be compromised with the fundamental assertion of Darwinian Theory. Chance and design are antithetical concepts, and the decline in religious belief can probably be attributed more to the propagation and advocacy by the intellectual and scientific community of the Darwinian version of evolution than to any other factor.[37a]
Therefore, either we accept and defend a literal six-day Creation story, or we need to throw the whole Bible out. That’s why Dr. Field’s research of the Hebrew text and his arguments in favor of a literal reading of Genesis 1 are so important. If God’s Word says He did it in six days, then He did.
As far as Christianity was concerned, the advent of the theory of evolution and the elimination of traditional theological thinking was catastrophic. Despite the attempt by liberal theology to disguise the point (those who accept millions of years and or evolution), the fact is that no Biblically derived religion can really be compromised with the fundamental assertion of Darwinian Theory. Chance and design are antithetical concepts, and the decline in religious belief can probably be attributed more to the propagation and advocacy by the intellectual and scientific community of the Darwinian version of evolution than to any other factor.[37a]
Therefore, either we accept and defend a literal six-day Creation story, or we need to throw the whole Bible out. That’s why Dr. Field’s research of the Hebrew text and his arguments in favor of a literal reading of Genesis 1 are so important. If God’s Word says He did it in six days, then He did.
God’s Word is the foundation of my belief system. It has not always been. I came to belief through an intense searching and seeking for the truth. Since finding Christ, I have further investigated and found Christian scientists and apologists who have proposed very reasonable answers to the difficult questions that a billion year old universe seems to present to the Biblical creationist.
The Christian faith is not a “blind faith,” but conforms to good reason and logic. Unlike other major faiths, Christianity encourages investigation and inspection. St. Peter has admonished us to be ready to give a reasoned defense of our Christian belief. Though our Christian belief has been revealed to us by “faith,” it is not blind to reason; in fact, our faith is the conclusion of sound reason.
In my research for reasonable answers to the question of origins, I have found reputable scientists like Dr. Russell Humphreys and others that have developed scientific and mathematical theories to validate the literal six-day six thousand-years-old Biblical origin story. These scientists take the truth of the Bible as their initial assumption and from there do their science. All scientists start their scientific research with improvable initial assumptions. Men like Kepler, Newton, Pasteur, and many other scientists of the past and present have used the Bible as their foundation belief system and have done excellent science, with amazing results. Humphreys, using Einstein’s theories, has found a way to explain the seeming contradictions of a six thousand-year-old planet in a billion year old universe. Using time dilation and gravity, and conforming to all known laws of science; he shows how a six thousand-year-old earth could be a physical possibility in a universe which seems to be billions of years old.[38]
Apologist Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen shows how the Christian presuppositional belief system is the only reasonable belief system, because it is the only belief system not in conflict with empirical evidence, nor the laws of logic, nor the laws of science.
It’s the only belief system that gives us the preconditions for intelligence that make science and knowing anything possible. Like CS Lewis said,
If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents—the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else’s. But if their thoughts—i.e. of materialism and astronomy—are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. It’s like expecting that the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milk-jug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset. [39]
As Christians, we have a good reasons to assume the preconditions of intelligibility, because God is sufficient reason to explain why we can think, why universal morally exists, and why we can trust that tomorrow’s world will operate in a similar fashion as today’s. But if evolution and naturalism are true and we are just here as a cosmic accident, how can we explain where the laws of logic come from? Why would we expect laws of logic in an accidental, meaningless, uncaused universe? Why would we expect to be able to think and to love? What would be the reason for universal object morality? Why would we expect to find uniformity in science, i.e., that the laws of science are the same throughout the universe and throughout time, and that they will be consistent tomorrow as they were today?[40]
In his book, Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith,[41] Dr. Bahnsen presents tools to help the lay person improve their defense of their faith. In talking about the use of reason with faith, he quotes from Sr. John Locke, the famous British social and political thinker of the 17th century, the Age of Reason. Locke was considered by many to be the “Father of British Empiricism.” Like Newton, Boyle and Milton, who lived during that same period, Locke was a strong Bible-believer. He said,
The Holy Scripture is to me, and always will be, the constant guide of my assent; and I will always hearken to it, as containing the infallible truth relating to things of the highest concernment….Where I want (lack) the evidence of things, there yet is ground enough for me to believe, because God has said it; and I will presently condemn and quit any opinion of mine, as soon as I am shown that it is contrary to any revelation of the Holy Scriptures.[42]
History is full of men who have based their life’s work on the veracity of the Scriptures. William Gladstone, four-time Prime Minister of England, is quoted as having said,
I have known ninety-five of the world's great men in my time, and of these, eighty-seven were followers of the Bible. The Bible is stamped with a Specialty of Origin, and an immeasurable distance separates it from all competitors.[43]
Researching the historicity of Christ, I have found the author J. Warner Wallace, who has written a book entitled, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. Using his experience as a cold-case criminal police investigator, Wallace, a former atheist, looks at the claims of Christianity. He analyzed the events around the death and supposed Resurrection of Christ and the testimony of the witnesses in both Scripture and secular writings, just as he would do for a criminal case that has remained unsolved for many years. His conclusion: the evidence and the testimonies of witnesses affirm Christianity’s claims.[44] Similarly, Professor Dr. Gary Habermas with Mike Licona have written on the same subject in their study entitled Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.[45] Habermas’s YouTube talks about the Minimal Facts Method are worth watching.[46]
In investigating the radioactive dating methods which seem to confirm “billions of years,” I have found them to be very wanting or lacking. 90% of the scientific dating methods available confirm a young earth. Yet all we hear of are the few that seem to verify “billions of years.”Dr. John Morris has done a thorough study and analysis of the dating methods in his book The Young Earth: The Real History of the Earth; Past, Present and Future, which may be worth your read.[47]
We do need to do some studying, some digging to find the answers. In each area I had questions; I have done research and found reasonable answers, answers which confirm the Biblical narrative. But it’s taken me some effort. I have had to seek to find. I remember being a young college student with the problem of my imminent induction into the military during the Vietnam War period. I had to make some serious decisions on what I was going to do. I had joined a fraternity during the last part of my first year at school. In my second year I moved into the fraternity house as my dormitory. My colleagues would spend their evening’s playing cards or watching television together. But because I was desperate to find answers, I decided to not watch television or play cards. I spent my free-time hid away in my room reading books in search for answers. I would even avoid the parties and booze on the weekend, and instead spend time with Tolstoy or Twain evaluating the problem of war and my position in relation to it.
In regards to the scientific questions of origins of the universe, the conclusions of Dr. Russell Humphreys are as plausible an explanation as any others and may even fit the accessible evidence more accurately. He proposes that since gravity affects time, and if our galaxy is close to the gravitation well of the entire universe, then it is possible, using Einstein’s theories, to have a six thousand-year-old planet earth, by earth time, while at the very outer parts of the universe billions-of-years could have elapsed.[48]
It all depends on your starting assumptions. If the Bible is truly God’s Word and God’s communication to man, then you start your scientific assumptions based on the claims in God’s Word. However, if the Bible is not true, where do you take your initial assumptions from?
We all have initial assumptions. Every scientist starts his science having some basic philosophical assumptions. He then incorporates those assumptions into the initial criteria of his scientific investigation. Dr. George Ellis, who worked with Stephen Hawking on the Big Bang cosmology, confesses that they must start with philosophical assumptions first.
You cannot do physics or cosmology without an assumed philosophical basis. You can choose not to think about that basis: it will still be there as an unexamined foundation of what you do. The fact you are unwilling to examine the philosophical foundations of what you do does not mean those foundations are not there; it just means they are unexamined.[49]
My colleagues are producing theories of what they call creation of the universe out of nothing. But when you probe them, you find they're not producing theories of creation of the universe out of nothing. They are assuming a huge machinery of quantum field theory and fields and particles and interactions, which generates universe, not creation of the universe out of nothing.[50]
I believe that the initial assumptions that are in line with the Word of God are the ones that are ultimately true. But today, a Christian is often stereotyped as a bigot, as being narrow-minded and dogmatic because his initial assumption is that the Bible is true. Just because some Christians are self-righteous does not mean that everything they are saying is wrong. Even Jesus admonished when talking of the Pharisaical religious leaders, to do as they say and not as they do. Because they say, but do not.[51] Just because Christians don’t always live the Christian creed, does not mean the doctrine is false.
We may need to modernize the way the Gospel is preached to reach a new and different generation. But if we want our work to last we must not take out the Word of God. The Word of God is the ballast, the foundation stone of the building we are creating. Like Jesus admonished the importance of building our house upon the rock of God’s Word, so must we.[52] The danger comes when we take out God’s Word from the foundation. As long as the building of our life is firmly planted on the rock of God’s foundation, His Word, it will remain strong no matter what the physical alterations are made.
But, if the foundations be removed, what shall the righteous do?[53]
With love we need to bring people to the light of God’s Word. God’s Word will help us to live in love, but will also reveal the truth which in turn will help us to discern the intents and thoughts of men’s heart. It is the knowledge of and obedience to God’s Word which gives us discernment. As King David said,
I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy Word.[54]
If we throw the Word away now and say all we need is the Spirit, we are in trouble. Jesus said,
The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.[55]
God’s Word and Spirit are uniquely joined together and are part of the definition of what and who God is.
I believe it is importance to lovingly embrace the homosexual community, as well as the Jewish community, and the Black community, and the Muslim community and the atheist community and any other community, if we can do so without losing our Biblical foundation. Instead of society affecting and changing our faith, we should be instruments of affecting change in society in a loving and compassionate way. Our goal as Christians is to help others to ultimately find the faith which we have found in Jesus and in God’s Word.
Jesus said,
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.[56]
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick: and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.[57]
In other words, we should be influencing others for good, otherwise, what use are we?
We may not be very successful, and we may be ostracized and labeled as intolerant, but we can console ourselves that God’s Word says that these days will take place before Jesus’ promised coming.
There shall come a falling away first and then shall the end come. [58]
And Jesus said,
When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?[59]
Jesus also said,
Had you believed Moses you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe My words.[60]
We should not throw out the written Word just because of other’s misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its truth. My faith is built on God’s Word. My doctrinal belief is not the first part of my witness. Love is. Doctrine is a part of it, but I also know that my point of view, my interpretation, may not be God’s point of view. But hopefully I will be found to be in the tunnel of God’s will and truth.
Here are some verses about behaviors that are abominations in the eyes of God found in God’s Word to show again that it’s not just homosexuality that is abhorrent in His eyes.
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.[61]
There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD.[62]
Divination is one who claims secret knowledge, especially of the future. Sometimes it is translated witchcraft. Again we see that many of the New Age practices fall into this category. Reiki for examples claims to give you some secret knowledge that will get you in tune with the “universal life force” and enable you to do healings and make your life better.
Malachi Martin, who I have mentioned earlier in this chapter, was the Jesuit priest who worked as a personal assistant to one of the most powerful Cardinals in the Vatican. After leaving the Vatican, he spent his life to exposing what he considered the evil influences within the Vatican. In his novel, Windswept House: A Vatican Novel, he mentions an event that took place when Pope Paul VI was made Pope.
A week after his election, a ceremony of enthroning was held in the Vatican paralleling a satanic cultic act which took place simultaneously in the United States. The satanic act which took place in America included the death of a young Christian male, symbolic of the death of Christ. Malachi warned that there existed an evil satanic group of individuals involved in pedophilia within the Catholic Church. They were international in scope and included powerful Catholic leaders. They performed satanic rites evoking the power and favor of Satan.[63]
John Todd, the former witch who became a born-again Christian, has also spoken of how he as a top witch was in service to the Rothschilds. He would often deliver money in cash to a church to get the church to compromise and deviate from their committed Christian convictions. He was involved in invoking demons to accompany a rock group’s music so that the music would deceive youth and lead them away from Christianity. He was attacked profusely by the compromised Church who said he was lying or mentally confused. But I for one found much truth in what he said. He might not have gotten everything right, but none of us do. It is only when you start to make a stand that the enemy starts to shoot at you. Todd said the Rothschilds had their own personal covens in both Paris and London.[64]
If these things are so then we have satanic worship in some pretty high places. Could incidents like the Vatican’s satanic rite and Rothschild’s covens be examples of the “spiritual wickedness in high places” which Paul said would fight against us and which God considers an abomination?[65] We have seen similar satanic themes at the Grammy awards and at the Olympic Games, to name just two.
An observer of times is one who pretends to foretell the future, sometimes translated as soothsayer, or fortune-teller. An enchanter is someone who can charm serpents. A witch is one who uses witchcraft or sorcery. A charmer is one who supposedly casts a spell. A consulter with familiar spirits is one who consults some kind of angelic being for counsel or information. In Reiki it is called calling on your “angelic” spirit helpers.
A wizard is a man who claims to have a secret knowledge or ability. A necromancer is one who claims to consult, or to inquire with the dead.
Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. A perfect and just weight shalt thou have: that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.[66]
The above verses in Deuteronomy show that the Lord is very concerned with honesty in business. He speaks of weighing and measuring fairly and properly with just weights and measures. Therefore, cheating in business, unscrupulous business activities are just as much an abomination to the Lord as the other sins.
Cursed be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD.[67]
There is something about images that God does not like. I think it has to do with mankind’s tendency to worship and admire material things, or beautiful people, even nature more than God Himself. Like Paul said in Romans:
Who changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.[68] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.[69]
Our next verse about abominations is found in the Proverbs:
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaks lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.[70]
Most of the condemnations are self-explanatory.
For the froward (perverse, devious) is abomination to the LORD.[71]
The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loves him that follows after righteousness.[72]
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD.[73]
Some Christian theologians say that pride is the root of all sin.
He that justifies the wicked, and he that condemns the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.[74]
That judge who condemned Kent Hovind, one of the first creationist speakers, may come under the above category.
He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.[75]
Do we want God to hear our prayers? Then we need to get our Bibles out and read His Word and try and follow how it speaks to us. If we do, we’ll be more likely to get things from God.
Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. [76]
Sounds like the International Bankers will have some explaining to do!
And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee had humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.[77]
Out-of-control sexual conquests cause a lot of hurt and harm, and God has set limits because men are usually incapable of walking in love. It is not just homosexuality that God condemns.
But the modern man wants his freedom. Religion is too restrictive, he says. The truth is, freedom is founded in the Judeo-Christian belief system. Real freedom requires limits. We need to honor the limits God has set, because otherwise we violate someone else’s freedom, or do harm to ourselves and, or to others. God’s moral absolutes necessitate limits. Real freedom is based on Christianity. It is not the absence of all restraints, but it’s submitting to the true and the right constraints.[78]
That’s why Paul tells us:
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.[79]
He also previously had said,
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.[80]
God has set for us limits, just like He did for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We need limits. They are for our own over-all good. They are to keep us out of trouble. They are to keep us and others healthy. They are to help us act lovingly and not hurt others.
Here’s another abomination which you may not have thought was so bad.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteem among men is abomination in the sight of God.[81]
Are we seeking praise from God, or the praise of man?
And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.[82]
Liars get the same fate as those who work abomination, so therefore lying is an abomination. Jesus has told us that the Devil himself is the father of lies.[83] Don’t deal in lies. Speak the truth in love every man with his neighbor.[84]
Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; but in the eighteenth year of the king Josiah was this Passover kept to the Lord in Jerusalem. Moreover them that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the Law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. And like unto him was there no king before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; neither after him arose any like him. Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.[85]
Again, a strong warning to America and the nations of the world to get back to God, but they will not.
[1] Hoyle, Sir Fred, and Chandra Wickramasinghe, Evolution from Space ; New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.
http://www.oocities.org/promo777/quotesof.htm (accessed 03/16)
[2] Newton, Sir Isaac, http://www.icr.org/article/newton/; Man of Science, Man of God: Isaac Newton; by Christine Dao. (accessed 03/2016)
[3] 2Kings 21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
[4] Leviticus 18:20-26[5] 2Kings 23:7-10
[6] Luke 17:28-29
[7] Genesis 18:20-21 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
[8] Genesis 19:1-11 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. (knew/know): Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
[9] Ezekiel 16:49-50
[10] Leviticus 18:21-22[11] Leviticus 18:20
[12] Judges 19-21
[13] Judges 19:22-25 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. (knew and abused)
[14] Ezekiel 34:1-6
[15] Ezekiel 34:7-10[16] Ezekiel 34:11-12
[17] Ezekiel 34:15-19
[18] 1Corinthians 2:14
[19] John 8:1-11
[20] Luke 19:1-10
[21] John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
[22] Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that ye should bring forth fruit unto God.
[23] Fields, Dr. Weston; Unformed and Unfilled: A Critique of the Gap Theory; Master Books; Green Forest, Arizona; 1976. http://www.biblearchaeology.org/bookstore/product.aspx?id=222 (03/2016)
[24] (As quoted by Dr. Jud Davis) https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/24-hours-plain-as-day/ (03/16)
[25] Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Moody Press, USA, 1985, pg.187.
[26] Martin, Malachi; The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church; Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, New York; 1987; pages 285-302. http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/The%20Jesuits.pdf (03/2016)
[27] Morris, Dr. Henry; The Long War Against God: The History and Impact of the Creation/Evolution Conflict; Master Books, Arizon, 2000; page 22.
https://books.google.pt/books/about/The_Long_War_Against_God.html?id=uNTF-qfojZQC&redir_esc=y (accessed 03/2016)
[28] Martin, Malachi; The Jesuits; Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, New York; 1987; page 288. http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/The%20Jesuits.pdf (03/16)
[29] https://answersingenesis.org/education/study-guides/answer-key-for-the-answers-with-ken-ham-study-guide/ (accessed 03/2016)
[30] Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
[31] Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
[32] Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
[33] 1Corinthians 15:20-21 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
[34] G. Richard Bozarth, The Meaning of Evolution, Feb. 1978, p.30; found in Dr. Henry Morris, The Long War Against God, Master Books, 2008, p.119.[35] Ibid
[36] Dr, Henry Morris, The Long War Against God, Master Books, 2008, p.59.
[37] Ibid, p.119.
[37a] Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, London, Burnett Books, 1985, p.66.
[38] Humphreys, Dr. Russell; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mooHSXTR2RE (accessed 03/2016)
[39] C.S. Lewis, The Business of Heaven, Fount Paperbacks, U.K., p. 97, 1984.
[40] Jason Lisle, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, Masters Books, Arizona, 2009.
[41] Bahnsen, Dr. Greg; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh7nVRsNKF4 (accessed 03/2016)
[42] Cited by Bahnsen, Dr. Greg; Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith; Covenant Media Press, Texas; 1996; page 134.
[43] http://www.nairaland.com/2499498/quotes-famous-men-bible (03/16)
[44 http://coldcasechristianity.com/ (accessed 03/2016)
[45] http://www.garyhabermas.com/ (accessed 03/2016)
[46] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_Db4RwZ_M (accessed 03/16)
[47] http://www.temcat.com/L-4-Topical-Library/Creation/TheYoung-Earth.pdf (accessed 03/2016)
[48] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r85wpZkY6s (accessed 03/2016)
[49] Ellis, Dr. George; Physicist George Ellis Knocks Physicists for Knocking Philosophy, Falsification, Free Will; John Horgan, Scientific American, July 22, 2014. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/nave-html/faithpathh/Ellis.html (03/16)
[50] Ellis, Dr. George; http://www.onbeing.org/blog/wonder-cosmos-through-upgraded-lens/3650 (accessed 03/2016)
[51] Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.
[52] Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
[53] Psalm 11:3[54] Psalm 119:100
[55] John 6:63
[56] Matthew 5:13
[57] Matthew 5:14-16
[58] 2Thessalonians 2:3
[59] Luke 18:8
[60] John 5:46-47
[61] Leviticus 18:22
[62] Deuteronomy 18:10-13
[63] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/profecias/esp_profecia10.htm (03/16)
[64] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6bW0p7US-g (accessed 03/2016)
[65] Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[66] Deuteronomy 25:13-16[67] Deuteronomy 27:15
[68] Romans 1:23
[69] Romans 1:25
[70] Proverbs 6:16-19
[71] Proverbs 3:32
[72] Proverbs 15:9
[73] Proverbs 16:5
[74] Proverbs 17:15
[75] Proverbs 28:9
[76] Ezekiel 18:12-13
[77] Ezekiel 22:11
[78] Dr. Tim Keller, Where Imagination & Innovation Meet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmNW7EtP6Xk (accessed 03/2016)
[79] Colossians 3:5 (New Living Translation)
[80] 1Corinthians 6:9-11 (New Living Translation)
[81] Luke 16:15
[82] Revelation 21:27
[83] John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
[84] Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.
[85] 2Kings 23:22-27Copyright@ dennismedwards
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