Becoming relevant
Editorial
by Tas Walker, Australia
‘How can you believe that stuff? Science has proved the Bible isn’t
true.’ A young lady was confronted in her workplace about her Christian
faith. Sound familiar? She lived in Hungary during the communist years
and was one of very few people who grew up in a Christian home. Most people
in Hungary were secular.
She remembers with embarrassment how she meekly responded to these challenges with,
‘Well, that’s what I believe.’ End of discussion.
She provided no answers. She did not engage any of the issues. Secretly
she wished the topic would not keep coming up.
In the Western world this experience is common. A doctor told how his Christian
faith was fiercely attacked when he started at university. In his first year,
one lecturer would put up overheads of the time line of the Genesis creation account
and laugh and scoff at it. Then the lecturer would put up the evolution time
line and say how obvious it was that this was the more logical and reasonable proposal.
He joined a Christian group on campus, part of a national Christian fellowship of
academics, looking for support. To his surprise he found no-one believed in
creation in six days as recorded in the Bible. They all believed in some form
of theistic evolution over millions of years or they refused to take a stand on
either side. In fact, it’s the policy of that Christian group to avoid
the issue.
How can Christian academics think they can impact the intellectual halls of learning
if they won’t answer the challenges that people are hurling at the Christian
faith? No wonder a leading Anglican Archbishop in Australia laments: ‘One
of the most notable features of the Christian churches in Australia today is our
almost total lack of intellectual significance.’1 In fact,
the problem is symptomatic of the Western world. He explained: ‘There
are certainly significant Christian poets, novelists and artists. But no one
in their wildest imaginings would say that the churches are in the forefront of
intellectual endeavour.’
If we as Christians are to impact the culture (instead of being impacted by
the culture) then we need to answer the questions people are asking. We don’t
tolerate evasive behaviour in any other sphere of life. Imagine you’re
looking to buy a used car and the salesman avoids all your questions. ‘Don’t
worry about that. It’s not important. Trust me.’ That
salesman wouldn’t last long. We think even less of politicians who behave
that way. They are either sidelined or voted out. So how can we expect
people to make the most important decision in their lives if we won’t answer
their questions? ‘Don’t worry about that—just believe.’
But there is a simple remedy, as my friend from Hungary discovered when she first
encountered Creation magazine. The answer is in Genesis. The
secret is to start at the beginning with creation and to appreciate the real events
of world history as recorded in the Bible. That way we become relevant.
We are able to engage the issues in the real world—issues like biology, astronomy,
geology, anthropology, morality, etc. And when we can give answers, we challenge
the alternative religion of the culture—evolutionary naturalism.
Not only did creation materials answer her questions, but my Hungarian friend found
the backbone and courage to witness—to take the offensive (2
Corinthians 10:5;
1 Peter 3:15). Instead of being timid, she is now confident in
the Bible and in her Christian faith. She has been sending Creation
magazine and other material to her family and friends. And instead of being
cynical, disinterested or scoffing, they have been paying attention.
For example, her atheist uncle and his wife have been eagerly and methodically devouring
the material she sent. In fact, they have also dug out the old family Bible
to check that what was being said was accurate. On another occasion she invited
a friend to a creation seminar. He obtained lots of materials, and after carefully
reading them he has become a Christian.
The Genesis account is the key to being relevant in today’s world, because
the meaning of anything is tied up in its origin. If we abandon the true history
of the universe as set out in the Bible and adopt the evolutionary, godless, materialistic
worldview of evolution, we lose our intellectual foundation. Then we can’t
answer even the most basic questions. But when we start from the biblical
history of Creation / Fall / Flood / Migration, we have a natural and logical progression
to Christ. Not only does the Genesis foundation provide a logical defense
to our faith, it provides an irresistible beachhead for the gospel.
The creationist movement is having a large and dramatic effect on Western culture,
more than many people realize. Why else would some evolutionists be so militantly
concerned about what’s going on? Even major scientific journals are
now routinely attacking creationists; like Scientific American and their
‘15 answers to creationist nonsense’. They are alarmed: ‘Unfortunately,
scepticism of evolution is more rampant than might be supposed.’2
This issue of Creation again shows scientifically that the Bible offers
the best explanation for the origin of humanity and the universe. In fact,
the scientific evidence increasingly undercuts the theory of evolution. We
feature research biochemists John and Sally McEwen, despatching the myth that no
scientist believes the Bible. We report exciting breakthroughs supporting
a young earth and show how a breeding program to restore a ‘prehistoric’
horse undermines grand-scale evolution. The material in this issue will strengthen
your faith and give relevant ammunition to share with friends, workmates and loved
ones.
References and notes
- Jensen, P., Speaking the Truth in Love, Halifax-Portal Lecture, The Role of the
Churches in Australia Today, Lecture I, <www.philosophy-religion.org/criticism/speaking.htm>,
7 May 2002.
- The Editors, Bad science and false facts, Scientific American 287(1):3,
2002. This poorly researched article has been thoroughly refuted in
Sarfati, J., Refuting Evolution 2, Master Books, Arkansas, USA, 2002.
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