Words Matter

I was reminded, while teaching at our fellowship this morning, of how important it is in the way we structure our words. Used carefully, they can establish a foundation for going forward, and used casually, they can reveal the health of our faith and how we really feel at the core. I'll get to this morning in a bit, but first let me share a few examples that have been powerful in my life in the past . . .

Example 1: What we place before and after the word "but." I forgot where I first heard this, but it immediately resonated with me as very powerful and true. Look at the following two hypothetical examples, spoken by someone who has some real problems.

1. "God is good and powerful and loving, but I am dealing with x, and y, and z."
2. "I am dealing with x, and y, and z, but God is good and powerful and loving."

The first statement reminds me of times when someone is listing medical issue after issue and you ask if you can pray for them and you do, pouring your heart into it, asking for God to heal them, and you've barely ended with "amen" and they are already pouring out about everything wrong with them as if you never prayed. It is as if they held their breath waiting for you to finish so they could continue listing and focusing on their problems. You've just come before the throne of the most holy God, but in their mind clearly their issues outweigh the idea that He might actually have responded to the prayer and be working in them. This first example is like that. There is the ("obligatory" for Christians) recognition of the traits of God, but then the dwelling and focusing on and resting in all the problems.

The second statement is also aware of the problems (not an ostrich in the sand pretending all is Polyanna), but there is a greater awareness of who our God is. It is an honest assessment of both, and a recognition that God is ultimately God, He is active in our lives, He loves us, and He is Whom our hope lies in.

It is worth paying attention to—how the words come from our mouth and what they reveal about what place we are really in when it comes to our worship, faith, hope, etc. It is Joshua and Caleb returning from spying out the land, "Yes, the cities are fortified and the people huge, but if God is with us the land is ours!" (Numbers 14:6–9, my paraphrase). I guaranteed David was not unaware of Goliath's size and fury, but he knew, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:37a).

Example 2: "Pro" and "anti." I remember as a young Christian the frustration of the media's refusal to change its language regarding the abortion issue. It insisted on labeling those in favor of abortion as "Pro Choice" (i.e. for something, positive, not negative) and those against abortion as "anti abortion" (instead of Pro Life, making them sound like negative, against things, etc.). The very word usage from the start painted one in a favorable and positive light and the other as against things and negative. The words mattered, and they revealed a lot about the media and its bias.

Well, this morning I realized that I'd fallen into a trap when I used some words in a certain order. I had showed the fellowship a chart of the milestones of the world's population and how it reached 1 billion in 1804, then, by the present, was increasing a billion every 12 years (see graphic). I was talking about exponential progression (i.e. take 8, the number of people on the ark, and double it only 30 times to get 8.6 billion; or give a person a penny one day and two the next and four the next and keep doubling and after 30 days the person has over 10 million dollars!). I made the point that if man was much older than a young earth Creation view we are missing billions of bodies! To the contrary, in fact, the world's population milestones completely agree with a young earth interpretation of Genesis.

But . . . the words I used were, "So, we see in the population milestones more reasons to believe in the most obvious reading of Genesis . . ." Suddenly I stopped. I realized in a moment (you know how so many thoughts can go through your mind in nothing flat) that I had by my words revealed a defensiveness—implied that we might actually need reasons to believe in a literal Genesis. I'd given huge ground to the other side simply in the way I worded it. Implicit in my words was the idea that there might actually BE any reasons to interpret Genesis differently, or that the weight of evidence favored interpreting it differently and we had to defend it. Suddenly I thought, and then said something like, "No, let me rephrase that. In the world's population milestones we find no reason to interpret Genesis any other way then the most obvious reading of it—and nor do we in any other field of science."

It may not seem like a big change, but it is huge. The first way I said it cries out, "Genesis is under attack and I need to defend why, and find reasons why, I can believe in the most literal reading of it." The seconds says, "Wait a minute. The most literal reading of Genesis is the most obvious, and there are no reasons to read and interpret it any differently."

Why am I the one defensive? My first words express having cracked with the pressure and feeling like I needed to explain why we could "come back" to Genesis when the reality is, with no internal reason in the Bible to interpret Genesis any differently, the burden is on those who would interpret it differently to show the evidence for it. And there isn't any. And in the population milestones we don't find any either.

And words matter. They establish:
1. A foundation for going forward
2. The starting point and assumptions of a conversation
and they reveal the nature and position of our heart.

Follow the Clues . . .

Proverbs 25:2 — It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

The other day Mary Ann and I dropped our girls off at camp. On the way home we stopped at a roadside cut that we know has had some fossilized shells impressions in the past. I'd been really looking forward to it, as I haven't been fossil hunting in awhile. The spot is miles from the ocean, and in mountains high above it, and it is to me a wonderful place to collect evidence of the flood of Noah.

Arriving at the spot, we looked at where we usually find fossils and found some good, small ones. I then decided to look for some new veins of fossils in the bent shale layers. After some searching along the road I found a couple small impressions in the sluff pile below the large cliff. We started to scale the slide area, looking for clues to where the vein of fossils might be in the wall, and soon started to see some other impressions, still in the matrix of the wall. Out come the rock chisels and hammers . . . and soon we were rewarded with a beauty! I have include the rest of the series of pictures below so you can share in the fun of the hunt! (Clicking on each picture will give you an enlarged view of it where you can really see the fossils!)

In following those clues and finding the "treasure" I am reminded of the coming of Christ, by Whose death and our faith we are united back to God, with God Himself dwelling in us. This mystery of the ages, set in place from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) was a plan God had in place for the fullness of time, when Christ would come. But it was not a plan without clues, as the entire Old Testament points to this moment and foreshadows it. In fact, Christ is the best lens I have found to interpret the Old Testament through.

God has left His "clues" all around us. Evidence of His hand. Examples of His love and power. Testimonies of His love. It is but for us to step in and explore them. He invites us to "taste and see that He is good" (Psalm 34:8). The evidence for His existence, the evidence for the truth of Genesis (hence of the Bible), the evidence of His involvement in our lives . . . it surrounds us! In fact, regarding the evidence of His existence that is found in Creation alone—He says in Romans 1 that it is so evident that man is without excuse to deny Him!

I love God's "clues"! I love the nudges of the Holy Spirit, the glimpse of His hand, the breath of His leading. I love to follow the "clues" and take the trail and see where He leads. He is so good. May you enjoy the journey of following Him. I think He enjoys leaving us the clues, and having fun with us as well!

(Note: If you are on Facebook, and you enjoy being blessed through God's Creation, you might enjoy "liking" my daughters' and my page "Just a Closer Look" where we put macro parts of a picture from Creation that we've taken and people guess what it is. Even if you don't guess, it is a lot of fun and it encourages us to be still and know that He is God.)

It IS Very Important

Here is a good article that captures some of the many reasons why our belief in Genesis is far more important than many Christians realize. I have done a study on many atheists quotes about our faith and they often seem to get it better then we do that the foundation of the Gospel almost collapses when Genesis collapses. Obviously an article this short can't cover even close to all of the reasons why this matters, but it might give some good food for thought if you don't agree with a young earth interpretation of Genesis, and encourage and strengthen you if you do. It truly is not a periphery issue, not if we want to be able to share with others a true and consistent reason why they can trust other parts of Scripture (and hence trust the God who breathed it out). Anyway, I was blessed by it and thought I'd share it. Blessings to all of you, whether or not you agree with me :)   —Erick

http://creation.com/just-preach-gospel

Already in Place . . .

I have been fascinated in the road of study God has taken me down lately, which it seems He keeps centering on the church's early 1800s collapse from believing a literal six-day Genesis Creation to believing alternatives like a gap theory or that the "days" of Genesis mean much more than a literal day (despite God saying there was evening and there was morning for them). I thought you might be interested in a brief summary of what I've learned so far . . .

Shoshone Falls area of Idaho. One of many places we saw
on our trip that now attribute the terrain to a short duration
catastrophic flood event instead of a gradual carving out
over long periods of time.

If you'd ask most Christians when the collapse of Genesis belief occurred my guess is that many would say it began with Darwin. The reality is that well before Darwin uniformitarian geology was gaining strength. This basically says that the present is the key to the past (change is uniform) so therefore, since we see earth changing so slowly now, to arrive at where we are now at this rate of change would take vast periods of time. In opposition to them were catastrophists who believe that the earth's surface was explained by a major (or multiple major) catastrophe(s) . . . i.e. a global flood.

Over the early decades of the 1800s it appears the catastrophists were shut out as the dominate voice, with a few "Scriptural Geologists" trying to hold the gates closed, but Christian leader after Christian leader collapsing under the pressure and assumption that the latest geological "evidence" was true. So, scrambling to find a way to "preserve" the inspiration and truth of Scripture these other theories surfaced that tried to reconcile the two, giving room for vast periods of time and Scripture to still be true.

By the time Darwin published his On the Origin of Species book in 1859 the church had already, for the most part, caved to old earth theories—"reinterpreting" Scripture to fit "nature" instead of interpreting nature in light of Scripture. At this point in the early to mid-1800s it seems to me that it is mainly geology and the earth that seem to be discussed, but then, along comes Darwin—strongly influenced in old earth gradual change theory—who publishes a theory of life that has man evolving from primitive life forms over ages and ages of time.

"Oh no! What do we do? Man made in God's image from apes! Death before sin! Heaven forbid!" I can assume many cries like that went up from Christians based on many of the responses to Darwin's book I've read about . . . but, it is the church who'd already put in place from their pulpits the two primary tenets needed to believe in evolution across species (the earth is vast periods of time old, and Scripture doesn't mean what it clearly says it means and confirms in other places in Scripture), and who'd already set the precedent of reinterpreting Scripture to "science."

Well, now the church has to explain how and why the rest of Scripture and God's promises and the revelations of God's character and nature are true when they've already put themselves as the judge and jury in arbitrarily declaring parts of it true and parts not. And, they have to explain in a way that doesn't keep "reinterpreting" Scripture, how death entered through sin if there was death before sin, how a brutal and self-centered killing idea of survival of the fittest could possibly be declared "as good" by God, why Jesus' genealogy goes to Adam, how sin entered through "one man," and so on and so on and so on.

I actually find it stunning in the inconsistency of a church submitting God's Word to purported "science" in the origins and age of the earth issue, but then standing adamantly against that same "science" that equally declares impossible or "false" things like resurrection from the dead, virgin birth, multiplying of loaves and fishes, miraculous healings, parting of oceans, walking on water, demonic and angelic activity, Heaven, Hell, etc. Is it any wonder the world gives us so little credit when we are so inconsistent and arbitrary?

Anyway, I found that insight into the early/mid-1800s compromise fascinating and eye-opening as it sheds light on why, when Darwin pops up, we fell so fast. Maybe it interests you as well. I believe that this issue is tremendously critical as the foundation of our faith in the Bible, how we interpret the Bible, and the foundation of what we submit as the highest source of truth are at stake. And, despite what the media and everyone else tells us, a little research will reveal multitudes of Ph.D. and other scientists who believe the evidence supports a literal young-earth Creation as recorded in Genesis.

Note: Today it is fascinating how many geological sites (some of which we visited on our Fall "Creation Trip" up into Yellowstone) now attribute significant terrain features to massive interior seas that breached in the past and carved out stunning canyons and topography on their way to the major oceans. Of course none of these sites attribute any of that to the receding flood waters of Noah's flood, or mention that these interior seas likely formed during the flood and subsequent Ice Age, but it is interesting to see the word "catastrophe" returning in different forms in secular geologic theories since it was so "taboo" to even hint at it for so many decades and possibly give Creationists and "Flood people" any chance of credibility.

A Man's Joy

The girls photographing Trumpeter Swans in Yellowstone.

Psalm 111:2  Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

I want to share two things about the trip I recently took which brought me tremendous joy. This doesn't take away from the joy of just being with my bride through this—away from phones, email, the fire department pager, etc. She is my best friend and my pal and she knows in complete security how much I treasured that time hanging out with her, and she understands what I am about to say (and rejoices with me in them)!

Abigail capturing a Yellowstone Geyser.

The first thing was to be able to see this land with the scales removed from my eyes. The last time I saw most of the land we traveled through I probably gave a nominal nod to God having created it, but I certainly didn't believe the Bible's account of how He did . . . and I found myself struggling to fully understand the land with the explanations given of evolution, millions of years of slow change, etc. I accepted it because "science" said it was true, but while the land was beautiful, I missed the most glorious part of it. This time, though, I was able to travel the land with a whole different pair of glasses. Instead of the old earth, uniformitarianism view of slow change at the rate of change we see today, I was able to see the land through the eyes of the Bible and (wow!) it changed everything!

Bethany photographing the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

In preparation for what we call our "Creation Trip" I was privileged to talk with different people—some with degrees in geology, one with a Masters degree in atmospheric science, another with a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology—scientists and lay people with degrees who used to be old earth evolutionists and are now young earth Creationists. They were able to talk to me about the land we'd be traveling through and tell me what we should make a point to see and how we could see Biblical evidence in it. We also were able to get different guidebooks and geology books written from a young earth Creationist scientist perspective and read them as we traveled.

Abigail in the Tetons.

I can't tell you how amazing that was, and how the land I traveled through finally made sense! When you know what to look for and see it through the lens of a young earth, spoken Creation with age; followed by the curse of sin and a catastrophic global flood and the scaring of receding waters; followed by rupturing inland bodies of water; followed by a singular ice age; suddenly the land around you reads like a book. All of a sudden the scales were falling off and I could see clearly, and it was stunning. I was in awe of what I saw, in awe picturing the land through its different phases, and in frequent prayer and lifting of praises to the One to whom it all is attributed. It was an incredible joy and privilege, and I'll never be the same for it.

Abigail posing Mom by a T-Rex (I believe)
at the Museum of the Rockies.

The second thing that brought me tremendous joy that I want to share was to travel the land as a father and to simply take pictures of my girls taking pictures! Yes, I took pictures of scenery for pleasure and some times for maybe using later in teachings, but the most fun was watching them and capturing them seeing the land through their eyes. We had spent quite a bit of time teaching them photography as part of homeschool before the trip so they could make the most of it, and to see them using those skills and processing God's Creation was a father's joy. It was simply incredible to see their faces the first time they saw a grizzly, or a geyser, or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, or found their first fossil, or . . .

Bethany photographing in the
John Day fossil area of Oregon.

I am reminded of Hebrews 11—God's New Testament Hall of Fame of faith. In it He lists praise after praise of His children who stood in faith. If we read the Old Testament each of them had faults and shortcomings, but on the other side of the cross He has washed those away and He simply delights in bragging on His kids. I thought of that as I stared at this incredible scenery . . . and found the greatest joy taking pictures of my girls taking pictures of it. It was truly a father's joy to share this with them and to see their eyes being opened to God, His Creation, His Creativity, and His evidence.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

I'll post a few more pictures of my girls taking pictures tomorrow for those who might enjoy them. Thanks for reading, sharing in my life, and caring. Blessings to all of you.   —Erick

Responding to the "General Revelation" Argument

If you've read this blog any length of time, or know me in person, you know I am pretty outspoken (hopefully in a gentle, but firm way) about my belief that the earth is young and that Genesis' account of Creation is literal and does not need to have any "hidden" eras (or elongated days) inserted into it. I also believe this issue is important; matters; and has deep significance for, and impact on, other areas of our faith. And, I also know others who love the Lord, follow Him, and don't agree and I don't question their walk or love for Him at all.

With that said (and leaving my other blog posts over the recent years to explain why I believe this issue is so important), one of the things I (and maybe you) hear a lot in these "debates" is a distinction made between special revelation and general revelation. This distinction says that God reveals Himself and gives us insight into Creation by both special revelation (Genesis) and by general revelation (nature). To this point, this is true. Romans makes it clear that because God is so evident in Creation no man has an excuse to deny Him or suppress His truth. And it says things like, "the heavens declare the glory of God." But, it is at this point that I feel the argument often strays into error or inconsistency and I want to share a couple thoughts on it for you in case you find yourself facing the argument, or considering it for your own.

First, there is this seeming presupposition/assumption that the two revelations (Genesis and nature) provide different interpretations. This is an error. There are many, many brilliant scientists who believe in Young Earth Creationism (YEC) and who believe that if science could simply look at the evidence in nature, absent of preassumptions and bias and trying to fit it into their assumed models, they would see that the evidence overwhelmingly supports Genesis' account. But, the media and secular science has so overwhelmed their voices that there is this assumed "reality" that science and Genesis don't mesh when, in fact, they do.

So, first off, we don't need to choose between God's revelation in Genesis and His revelation in nature. The two support each other and are in total harmony. But, having bought the argument that the two contradict, many Christians then feel natural revelation (as they interpret it) trumps Scripture and they then feel led to reinterpret Genesis to fit natural revelation (as they interpret it). We end up then with theories that there is a huge gap between one or more of the "days" of Creation, or that the "days" of Creation are in fact long, long periods of time. What happens is a very dangerous forcing of Genesis into secular science, making the Bible support it instead of the other way around.

Here is the big problem. If we believe, or teach, that "science" or natural revelation forces our interpretations of Scripture we have opened a door and on the other side of it is a slippery slope. Even if we are strong enough in our faith to only do this with Genesis 1 (which would still be wrong), others, especially youth, may not be and it may very likely lead to a slide that ends in writing the Bible off as simply a good book or a moral code.

The reason I say this is that natural laws and contemporary "science" (at least that which gets taught and reported on) goes in the face of much of the Bible, not just Genesis! If you let natural laws and modern "science" interpret Genesis and trump Genesis 1 then, to be consistent, you must do the same for other events in Scripture. I can guarantee you that the same "science" that embraces old earth and drives old earth Christian interpretations will not be able to accept a resurrection from the dead, a talking serpent, a rod turning into a snake, an ocean parting, a trumpet and shout collapsing a fortified city, a realm of demons and angels, miraculous healings, orbits being interrupted, people being taken up by the Spirit and moved to other places, etc. They will either say, at worst, that these are just fables or, at best, they will come up with a naturalistic explanation for them. Yet, my guess is that most Christians who are old earth believe each of these other things truly happened and are miraculous and out of the bounds of natural law and explanation. This is inconsistent and, for many, can lead to some serious doubts and issues in those seasons in life when all we have to hold on to are the promises and love of God as revealed in Scripture.

So, to sum it up and help equip you regarding this argument:

1. A literal reading of Genesis (Creation days and the global flood) and natural revelation are not in opposition. When studied without pre-bias or molds the natural evidence around us actually supports a literal reading of Genesis and there are, in fact, many, many scientists who believe it but who can't get their voice heard.

2. It is inconsistent to allow Scripture to trump secular "science" (natural revelation) in so many areas that secular "science" would not believe, and then to allow secular "science" to trump Scripture in the case of Genesis 1 (and the flood accounts).

I hope this helps, or at least gives food for thought. Wherever you stand on this, God bless you and thanks for reading!

A Long, Long Time Ago . . . ???

I am pretty passionate about defending Genesis 1's account of Creation and the later descriptions of the flood of Noah as literal. I believe it there is no reason, scientific or otherwise, to doubt them—and I believe our stand on them is of tremendous importance. I believe that the Gospel (and our outlook on future judgment) hinges on the truth of Genesis 1 and the judgment of Noah's flood, and that there is no other true way to explain death as a wage of sin, or to trust either the Bible or Jesus' words (Who spoke of Creation and the flood as literal), without trusting in both as literal and true.

In my experience, the primary reason people start to doubt them or to try and compromise with them is because of an underlying assumption of vast periods of time being needed to create what we see around us and in space. Basically the two schools of belief divide along these lines—either slow change over long periods of time, or rapid change driven by major cataclysmic events (i.e. a global flood and the fountains of the deep opening up) over a short period of time. Our educational systems (including some Christian, of which I have friends in) have seemed to have bought, without question, that what we see is the result of vast periods of time and gradual change.

Unbiased science, however, does not support this—and yet we teach it and receive it as truth instead of just another belief system or theory. If you want evidence of massive geological change over short time look at a Creationist account of what happened at Mount St. Helens. It was that experience that turned my friend, Dr. Rick Oliver of Confound the Wise Ministries, from an avid anti-Christian with a PhD. in Evolutionary Biology into a Genesis defending scientist. What happened there in a very short time turned upside down the teaching of how much time is required for major geological change—and Mt. St. Helens was not a large volcano in terms of what is believed existed some time ago.

Look also at the errors in scientific dating methods and, even more importantly, the underlying assumptions that are made in the dating methods. Whether mechanical (carbon dating, etc.), or by association (strata dating, etc.), there are tremendous assumptions made that are embedded in a prior belief of vast periods of time. Then, with that prior belief, we develop dating that substantiates it. Then all these "educated" men and women come out touting eons of ages and we, as Christians, intimidated, try and come up with theories to mesh "science" and the Bible.

Simply look at the advances of man within the last 150 years and I think you'll see that man doesn't require a lot of time to advance rapidly. In 1903 the Wright Brothers took the first 12 seconds of powered flight. By the middle to end of the next decade planes were flying bombing runs and dogfighting in the sky, and within 66 years of their flight we were sending men to the moon and bringing them back. Many of you readers will remember the first home computers and the massive, room-filling more "advanced" computers of just a few decades ago . . . and now most people in America have, as a "necessity," phones and tablets that are tiny and yet vastly more powerful and all connected around the world with wireless technology. We fought the war of 1812 (and wars much later, including our Civil War) with sailing ships. Today, only 200 years after the war of 1812, and only 150 years after the Civil War, we have nuclear powered super carriers that can go over 25 years (yes, years!) without refueling, and are over three football fields long (the Enterprise is, according to Wikipedia, 1,123 feet long—almost four football fields!). Only one hundred and fifty years ago this coming November Richard Gatling patented his Gatling gun which would revolutionize warfare . . . and in only a little over 80 years after that, in 1945, war would be turned upside down forever by atomic bombs that would do to entire regions and cities what the Gatling gun did to an advancing small body of men.

We could go on and on in all fields—medicine, technology, science, etc.—but it is clear, man doesn't require long periods of time to rapidly advance, and nor does geology . . . especially when you add to Creation the realization that God probably created with an appearance of age, and that there was a massive global upheaval and flood from both within and above after that. We must, I believe, if we and our generations are going to remain and stand confident in the Bible and God, question why we ever doubt it and realize that we are buying into assumptions and theories that are laden with guesses, falsehoods, and bias. Let every man be a liar, God is still true, and He always will be.

When is the Last Time You Stole?

Hello! I hope that this finds each of you well and blessed!

I had to laugh when I realized the last time I published a blog post was almost two months ago, and that was celebrating three years of blogging. A bit ironic, to me at least. I haven't disappeared, but I have always felt that this blog was a place to share as God led me and I've never wanted to force anything or come up with anything just to "be out there" in the blogosphere, or to keep readership up, or anything like that.

These last couple months my free time has been taken up with completing a paper I started last September. At that time a lady in our homeschool group asked how I'd become a young earth Creationist (she had a man in her church who had never heard of it until she'd brought it up, and was being challenged by some things she'd given him). I sat down to shoot her a quick answer and realized I couldn't—the different parallel, and at times converging, paths God took me down in my journey from God-mocking atheist, to Christian theistic evolutionist, to staunch young earth Creationist were so many, and so varied, it took me even by surprise. So, I started to write about it, and then to write about why I believe that stand matters and is critical in this culture, and about why I don't think we need to be ashamed of it or apologize for it . . . and it has turned in to quite a paper!

I am almost done with that paper (Mary Ann is reading it over and then I'll format it after I put in final changes), and when I am I'll put a link on here for a PDF copy of it in case anyone is interested. With that said, I'll probably be blogging a lot in the next few months about some things God has shown me in it, and in my study of the universe and its wonders, but for now I had a couple of questions (not for you to answer to anyone other than yourself) to ask, and I'll follow up with another blog post soon explaining them. I know they sort of overlap one another, but they are just to get you thinking about a theme.

Questions:
1. When was the last time you stole something?
2. When was the last time you looked at something that wasn't yours and gave serious consideration to taking it for yourself?
3. When was the last time you took seriously the idea you might steal, or do what you want, with something that was someone else's, without their permission?
4. How would you feel inside if someone accused you of stealing and said you were a thief who had no qualms about taking what wasn't yours for your own selfish needs and reasons?

God willing I'll "talk" to you soon. Until then, God bless you and may you go through your day deeply aware of His love for you and His close presence.   —Erick