| Equipping our Youth with Truth Pastor Brian Johnson  As I have been teaching our youth on Sunday mornings, I have been attempting to equip them with truth in areas in which Christianity is so often attacked. We started with Scripture itself. A college literature professor will often suggest that the Bible is filled with errors, so we dealt with the sources toward which such charges are made – the biblical manuscripts. From there we moved to consider a number of things which speak volumes toward the idea that the Bible is indeed a word from God – fulfilled prophecy, history, archaeology, science, etc. Issue of Evolution & Creation This has led us to deal with the issue of evolution and creation. The so-called “science” of evolution has long been used as a platform to attack the Bible at its very foundation – the opening chapters of Genesis. But it’s not truly scientific evidence that drives that attack. It is the seething hatred of the idea that all people must be accountable to God. So the thought of God must be done away with by the person who wants to live in sin without consequence. And evolution has provided the theory of origins that does away with the Creator. One evolutionist said it best in his own words: Architects of the Universe “We no longer feel ourselves to be guests in someone else’s home and therefore obliged to make our behavior conform with a set of preexisting cosmic rules. It is our creation now. We make the rules. We establish the parameters of reality. We create the world, and because we do, we no longer feel beholden to outside forces. We no longer have to justify our behavior, for we are now the architects of the universe. We are responsible to nothing outside ourselves, for we are the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever” (Rifkin 1983, 244). Consequences of Atheistic Worldview Any theory of origins comes with its consequences. The above statement is shocking, but it lines up perfectly with an explanation of the universe which denies the Creator. For those who hold these views, the words of Romans 1:23 are fitting: “They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” May God graciously shine the light of His truth to expose the lie of evolution to our youth and to the lost of our world. ___________________ Pastor of Applegate Community Church, author and teacher Brian Johnson received his M.Div. from Masters Seminary. His quality teachings are a gift to those of us living in the lovely, rural Applegate valley and surrounding areas of Southern Oregon. His wife, Kelly, received her B.A. from Moody Bible Institute and is an accomplished teacher as well. If you live close by or travel through this area, be sure to visit. References: Johnson, Brian. 2009. Dear congregation. Newsbreak, Vol. XXV, No. 271. November. www.applegatechurch.org. Rifkin, Jeremy. 1983. Algeny: a new word – a new world. New York: Viking Press. p. 244. Quoted in Morris, Henry M. Some call it science: the religion of evolution. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research. 2008. p. 39. |
