Biblical Creation and Evangelism

Sometimes people have a bit of irreverent but harmless fun playing with a manger (creche, nativity) scene on their table, putting characters or other objects in them that clearly do not belong. The humor comes from knowledge of inaccuracy. People who have seriously read articles and watched videos that carefully examine the biblical text may not care for manger scenes. When I was younger, I put the Magi figures away from the manger because they were en route . But what has been added to or taken away from biblical history? Nativity scene, Unsplash /  Rick Oldland That's right, the Magi (probably an entourage, not just three) were not there to see the infant Jesus. They saw him as a child in a house. Ever notice that the majority of creche scene makers do not realize that those involved were Jewish? Then there's that business about the hotel and the cold-hearted innkeeper who turned Joseph and Mary away, but his wife took care of them...cool story, bro. A question on the accurac...

People consider humans to be animals, and there is a sense that is true. We are classified that way because it is expedient. While similarities are used by believers in minerals-to-mother evolution as evidence for their view, the evidence also points to the common Designer. Since we are animals, we should act like them. Such an idea fails from the get-go — except in sexual activity. Secularists believe we should spread around our genes, so promiscuity can be "scientifically" excused. Darwinian models tend to support this idea. Family in the woods, Unsplash / Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov While sexual promiscuity is growing, people who are cohabiting without marriage often have problems when a partner is unfaithful. Also, Darwinists tend to look at selected data to make their views seem compelling instead of saddling up and riding to the top of the hill to get the big picture. Mayhaps genes are spread around, but the children do not do nearly as well as those from a biblical family as...

Professing Christians who believe in an old earth say things that are untrue, going beyond disagreements on scientific evidence. Why these old-earthers compromise on the age of the earth, embrace atheistic interpretations of science, and deny what the Bible plainly says is puzzling. They also go beyond simple carelessness or disagreement and present untruths. One is that young-age creation is the new kid on the church history block. Some have also falsely claimed that the church fathers were old-earthers . But what did those leaders say about the Genesis Flood? Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus ( Tertullian ) The question of the Flood is relevant because it supports biblical creation science and the young earth. Compromisers often deny literal creation as described in the Bible, and they cannot  accept the global Genesis Flood because it wrecks long ages. So they come up with stories to downplay it that are...truly bizarre. The church fathers believed what the Bible teaches ab...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen My wife and I were beginning to walk some rail trails and others, but she had back problems and had to stop. She died after back surgery. I continued partly in her honor and to have some new adventures. Several I investigated would not have appealed to her had she survived. Experienced hikers find these trails to be fairly easy. I am still learning as well as being careful because I am over sixty and have a few health issues. Shaupeneak Ridge is a place I did not know existed but decided to explore. Red trail on Shaupeneak Ridge, Town of Esopus, NY, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen This area has a number of marked trails, and after doing online research, I decided that the red trail and its view of the Hudson River would be worthwhile. This was my last excursion of this type for the season, as autumn was underway and the weather was turning. Ain't no way this cowboy was going to slip and fall out there in the winter, no siree! The trails are marked rather well...

Just over 500 years ago, distressed monk Martin Luther used the social media of his day. He posted ninety-five theses on the Wittenberg church door. There were errors in Catholic teachings and practices, and he wanted them addressed. So began the Protestant Reformation. Many groups that say they are Christian claim to hold the Bible in high regard, but they often find ways around believing what is plainly taught. Things are added to Scripture (Prov. 30:5-6), omitted, ignored, remixed, other books given a superior position — plus folks claiming it does not mean what it says. Luther nailing 95 theses , Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872, modified with FotoSketcher One of the main points of the Reformation was a return to biblical truth. Sola Scriptura : Scripture alone. None of this supplemental stuff or people presuming to tell God what he said and meant. Note that Luther posted his issues on the door. There are several doors in the Bible regarding salvation. One is the door of Noah's Ark. Ano...

People have ideas about what Heaven is like, but much of those are from media mythologies. People have wings, walking on clouds, have halos...storytelling. Religious figures in classical art were depicted with halos, so that may be a source for the myth. Reality is far different and more awesome. It has been almost two years since my wife died, and I will meet her in Heaven along with others I knew who have gone before in a grand reunion. Indeed, when it is time for me to go, I picture her and Jesus coming for me. Heaven clip art, Free Christian Images I'll allow that many ideas that people have about Heaven are speculative and non-biblical, Christians included. We learn some things from Scripture about it and about the departed, but there can be a mix (some of my ideas would be rejected by theologians). I have been told to talk to my wife because she is watching over me. I tell them that she's got Heaven stuff to do. When I wake up in the morning, I ask God to tell Charlene th...

The world has many kingdoms, so to speak, and their ownership is a complicated issue. Romans 13:1 tells us that rulers have been appointed by God for his purposes. He is in control, yet God does not have ownership of all governments. Those belong to Satan. One of many reasons that an honest reading of Genesis is important is the concept of federal headship . That term is not in the Bible, but the concept is there. Satan is the god of this world because when Adam betrayed God by sinning, ownership transferred to him. Hand holding world, Pixabay / geralt (Gerd Altmann) During the temptations of Jesus, Satan essentially waved a ring full of keys at Jesus, saying that he had the rights to them. Not every bit of real estate on Earth belongs to him, though. Christians who "walk the walk" and not justs "talk the talk" have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and are adopted as children of God (Galatians 4:3-7). We are under his authority but also in a spiritual warfare (E...

There are professing Christians who have not given much thought to what they believe, especially regarding the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Unfortunately, they are often carried along by the currents of liberal theology or disinterested clergy — even in churches that are conservative in other ways. People may have opinions that Adam and Eve were mythological or they were part of an incidental Bible story. God does not care about opinions. He has given us his Word, and we need to get an understanding of the foundations of our theology. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden ,  Johann Wenzel Peter There was a pastor who responded to my inquiry about creation by saying that he never really thought about it. Then he added, "The Framework Hypothesis , I suppose." He is teaching doctrine to people, but didn't dig enough into Genesis, which is foundational to all major Christian beliefs . His teachings are incomplete in many ways. This pastor will have some explaining to do (Ja...

Although most professing Christians claim to believe the Bible, they obviously do not read it. Many are deceived by cults and scoffers. These Christians may think the Genesis Flood is a myth taken from other Eastern cultures. Why? Because smart people said so. The appeal to authority is often fallacious (as seen above). It is legitimate to ask Christians what they do with the fact that the Flood is mentioned in other parts of the Old Testament. These references indicate judgment, as the Flood was a judgment. Then doubters also need to deal with the New Testament. Ocean waves, RGBStock / rkirbycom If they doubt the authority of the Old Testament, how about the fact that Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others referred to it? Not as an allegory, but as literal history. The Flood was a judgment, but also used as a reminder of the coming Judgment — there is no way it could have been a local event. Denying the Genesis Flood also denies history and also the authority of Scripture, and these peopl...

There is enough Scripture twisting already, but some owlhoots want more so they can further their agendas. The Trinity (God in three persons, but is still one being) is denied by several, even professing Christians. Some deny that Jesus is God and make him a created being instead — Jehovah's Witnesses teach that today . One with an interesting name is the  Pneumatomachian heresy , asserting that the Holy Spirit is not God. (The JWs believe that he is God's active force.) A newer corruption of the Bible tries to make the Holy Spirit female. White dove (not saying, "Ooh baby ooh"), Pexels / mali maeder Pay attention when reading the Bible, especially the New Testament. It is obvious from the text that the Holy Spirit, just like the Father and Son, is described as masculine. There are times when the way to resolve a conflict is by using the original languages. In this case, certain words and their genders are misapplied. Feminazis and others are thwarted with deeper in...