the garden betrayal part 1 David Hocking

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Not Just Acceptance, But Coercion—Christians Now Being Told to Embrace Gay “Marriage” or Else by Ken Ham and Mark Looy on June 4, 2015

Not Just Acceptance, But Coercion—Christians Now Being Told to Embrace Gay “Marriage” or Else by Ken Ham and Mark Looy on June 4, 2015
In the name of tolerance, a growing number of Americans—including many professing Christians—have accepted gay “marriage” and abortion as we watch the nation move further from its biblically rooted morality. In a recent twist of intolerance (the irony and hypocrisy notwithstanding), many secular activists are not merely content with legalizing unions between same-sex couples but now want to force Bible-believing Christians to accept such unions and reject their consciences. Threatening punitive consequences, some anti-Christians are demanding that believers not only acknowledge gay "marriages" as legitimate, but even to embrace and celebrate them. In other words, these secularists want their views forced upon everyone else, to the exclusion of the US Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religious exercise.
In recent decades, secular humanists have been on the rise as they proclaim their religious worldview, and many have engaged in anti-Christian persecution. More recently, they have put coercive pressures on churches and ministries, despite the US Constitution's guarantee of the free exercise of religion, and have done the following:
forced pastors to officiate at gay weddings; coerced Christian colleges to accept homosexual behavior or lose government aid (here and here); told ministries to open their hiring to non-adherents to their faith, including practicing LGBT people; have effectively forced religious and pro-life groups based in Washington, DC, to hire people who are pro-abortion and provide them the insurance coverage that includes abortions; see the new DC law here. These recent examples of anti-Christian persecution demonstrate that it is not at all alarmist when Christians point out the efforts of secularist groups and governmental authorities to wage an outright war against Christianity and Christians being allowed to live out their faith. Because the leading opposition to gay “marriage” comes from Christians (based on their belief regarding the biblical definition of marriage), the secularist attack includes undermining the religious liberty of believers to promote a religion of secular humanism.
GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS HAVE BEEN INDOCTRINATED TO BELIEVE THAT THE BIBLE CANNOT BE TRUSTED IN ITS HISTORY OR THE DOCTRINES BASED IN THAT HISTORY. We could argue that the gay “marriage” legislation sweeping some Western nations is actually a vote against Christianity, the result of generations who have been brainwashed into evolutionary humanism in governmental education systems. These generations of students have been indoctrinated to believe that the Bible cannot be trusted in its history or the doctrines based in that history.
Secularists have brought us to a momentous time in America’s history, including this month as the US Supreme Court rules on gay “marriage,” with the very real possibility of the nation’s societal fabric being torn. It’s now realistic to think that the growing anti-Christian sentiment may lead the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of Christian colleges and religious institutions, including churches and parachurch groups if they don’t accept gay “marriage.” The Supreme Court’s decision may well prove to be the tipping point in the culture wars. Furthermore, if gay “marriage” is made legal across America, the secularists will be further emboldened to undermine Christian liberty with greater fervor in other areas. In essence, it really is a war on Christianity—and on God’s Word.
How often did we hear from secularists that gay "marriage" would not impact anyone other than the couples who sought such a union? They assured Christians not to be concerned about the conduct of consenting adults and essentially to mind their own business.1 Despite these assurances from gay activists and their sympathizers that they merely sought acceptance in society, many pro-gay advocates now want to force Christians to embrace homosexual behavior. Some groups have come after Answers in Genesis over its hiring practices (and other Bible-affirming ministries) with actions similar to those displayed by the intolerant secularists cited in the examples above. Such “compelled speech” would clearly violate the Christians’ right to free expression under the First Amendment. For example, forcing a baker to make a cake for a gay wedding with words supportive of the “marriage” on top of the cake is not honoring the free speech of the baker. Such coercion tramples it. The judiciary has already compelled cake makers to put down words that would violate the baker’s religious free speech—essentially being forced to proclaim something the baker does not accept.
WHY IS IT THAT TODAY ONLY A CHRISTIAN SEEMS TO BE THE AMERICAN WHO IS SINGLED OUT TO LOSE THE RIGHT OF FREE EXPRESSION? In a nation that guarantees freedom of religion in the very first amendment to the Constitution, why is it that today only a Christian seems to be the American who is singled out to lose the right of free expression?
A shot across the bow of AiG—as it boldly stands for biblical truths—has come from the state of Kentucky. Bowing to the pressure of anti-Christian secularist groups that have actively opposed AiG in the culture, the state was intimidated last year to withdraw a tax incentive for our Ark Encounter project that had already received pre-approval (see www.answersforfreedom.org). In order to receive the tax incentive, the state is now demanding that our future Christian facility open its hiring to everyone (which then would include applicants who agressively oppose the Christian message of the Ark project), and that the gospel message not be presented at the theme park. Christians increasingly are being treated as second-class citizens in this nation. Essentially it comes down to the fact that regardless of what the Constitution clearly states about freedom of religious expression, those who don’t have a Christian worldview will reinterpret the Constitution to make it fit with their own secular worldview. The Ark issue is a battle of worldviews.
The Christian Worldview in the Culture Wars As the battle over real marriage (based on the teaching of the One who invented marriage in the first place—the Creator God to whom we are all accountable) ratchets up this month when the US Supreme Court makes its ruling on the legality of same-sex “marriage,” what is the best approach for Christians to take about this growing controversy? And how should believers view the US Constitution’s guarantee of the “free exercise of religion”? (Conversely, for the secularists who often loudly proclaim tolerance in the culture, will they in the future tolerate pastors who refuse to perform gay “marriages”?) Here are a few thoughts:
If one has God’s Word as the starting point in life, marriage is one man for one woman. Of course, non-Christians, without the absolute standard that Christians have with their Bible, may decide not to accept man-woman marriage alone. We understand that. In fact, if Genesis is myth and its institution of marriage is not true, people will have no standard by which to judge homosexual “marriage” and behavior. Why not do whatever you want then? Why shouldn’t two men be married to one woman?
CHRISTIANS CAN TAKE THE EMOTIONALISM OUT OF THE GAY “MARRIAGE” DEBATE AS THEY SHARE THE WORLDVIEW BATTLE BEHIND SUCH ISSUES AS THEY DISCUSS THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE. Our challenge to people with such thinking is this: why do you believe what you do, and where do you believe you came from? Furthermore, what do you think is wrong with biblical marriage? Such a discussion will reveal that Bible-believing Christians and secularists have different starting points in their thinking. You see, ultimately gay “marriage” is a worldview matter because it’s a foundational issue. Recognizing that it’s a starting-points matter, Christians can take the emotionalism out of the gay “marriage” debate as they share the worldview battle behind such issues as they discuss the nature of marriage.
Christians who believe marriage is only between a man and woman need to understand that if people don’t have the starting point of the true history in Genesis, then it’s possible they will have a different view of “marriage.” Now, those who don’t start with the Bible and the book of Genesis as true are often the ones who become intolerant of Christians who disagree. Sadly, the government is fostering this intolerance.
Government infringement on religious freedom continues as well in the pro-life, anti-abortion movement. In Washington, DC, the District of Columbia Council recently passed legislation called the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act (RHNDA). Congress has authority to disapprove legislation passed by the DC Council (since it is a federal district), but only the House of Representatives has passed a resolution disapproving the legislation, and the Senate did not, so it is now law in the District. Reportedly, this law could now effectively force religious—even pro-life—organizations in Washington to 1. hire someone who agrees with abortion and 2. provide mandatory insurance coverage for their employees to get an abortion. This legislation is a direct attack on the freedom of religion and conscience of pro-life people.2
A nation that was based largely on biblical values has turned anti-biblical, with the trend accelerating in recent years. Ironically, sympathy for gay “marriage” and abortion has even infected the church. One Christian observer has noted that, “the last six years has been a disaster for the evangelicals in this country. Religious freedom has never been under more scrutiny, nor has it ever been more acceptable to personally attack Christians and their livelihoods for their beliefs. There is no longer any institutional refuge for the religious.”
She added, “It is not at all surprising, then, that significant numbers of Christians have learned to adapt as a result. Nowhere is this more apparent than the same-sex marriage debate. Christians cannot ignore the stable numbers in polls showing support for gay marriage among young evangelicals. According to Time magazine, young evangelicals’ support for gay marriage has gone from 20 percent in 2003 to 43 percent in 2014.”3 In fact, Answers in Genesis found in a study conducted by America’s Research Group of the 20s generation in the church (with an error margin of 3.8%) that 41% approved of gay “marriage” and 12% said they didn’t know.
Many Christians have been changing their views on abortion and homosexual behavior regardless of what the Bible teaches. In wanting either to avoid the label of being intolerant or in some cases desiring to steer clear of governmental persecution, Christians are acquiescing. We believe that much of the giving in is because so many in the church have compromised God’s Word beginning in Genesis, and so now generations in our churches really don’t look to the Bible as the absolute authority of the Word of God.
AN INCREASING SEGMENT OF THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO REJECT GOD’S CLEAR TEACHING IN GENESIS ABOUT THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE. As an increasing segment of the church continues to reject God’s clear teaching in Genesis about the sanctity of marriage, it will reject other inconvenient parts of the Bible, like abortion. Christians will reinterpret what God’s Word says in Genesis and reexamine when life begins and what murder is. But the value of life is grounded in our being created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27), not in cultural consensus.
Unless the church repents and renews its commitment to God’s Word and its authority in all areas of life, we will only continue to see Christians accept sinful man’s ideas and accommodate God’s Word to fit those beliefs. For the sake of wanting to be perceived as loving and accepting, Christians have become increasingly reluctant to take a stand for biblical truths and to declare that anti-biblical actions are wrong, and will just float along with the cultural tide. We need a new reformation in our churches: A return to the Bible as the infallible, inerrant Word of God from the first verse.
The Supreme Court This Month and Gay “Marriage” We pray the US Supreme Court upholds the Constitution this month and rules that gay “marriage” should not be forced on society, including upon the Christian church and to the undermining of its free exercise of religion. We trust the Supreme Court upholds not only freedom of religion, but also its free exercise.
Of course, it’s not the Supreme Court that has ultimate jurisdiction over what is true marriage. As we write in our next printed newsletter, the real Supreme Court is accountable to the Supreme Authority to whom each of us is accountable and who is the final authority on what constitutes a marriage. He has already ruled:
Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? (Matthew 19:4–6) Yes, we recognize that many in society, including in the church, will not be obedient to God’s Word concerning marriage and will reject the natural order of things as God created (Romans 1:26). Nevertheless, we trust the courts will cease their discrimination against Christians who base their worldview on the words of the ultimate Supreme Judge and will allow the free exercise of religion.
Sadly, with the increasing emphasis on entertainment in church life today, there has been a corresponding dearth of solid Bible teaching and thus a lack of spiritual maturity seen among Christians. Such congregations essentially function as a group of biblical illiterates and are more susceptible to being swept up in anti-biblical thinking of the day, such as supporting gay “marriage.” An ignorance of what the Bible teaches about homosexual behavior combined with a mindset that Christians must be “loving” has led to many churches accepting gay “marriage.” It is but one more example of how Bible-ignoring churches are conforming to the world rather than being transformed by the truths of the Bible (Romans 12:1–2).
As more churches turn their backs on God’s Word, should we be shocked when a Christian and famous country singer—known for thanking the Lord when she wins music awards—declares she is in support of gay “marriage”? This Christian singer has also stated, “I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”4 But true love involves bowing humbly before our Creator and submitting to His Holy Word and calling those who rebel against His will to repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness!
An increasing number of Christians are reluctant to call a sin, sin and will not proclaim the full counsel of God when it comes to the behavior of Christ followers and unbelievers alike.5 In the face of future governmental pressure to accept gay “marriage” or face the judicial consequences, the seeker-sensitive types in our churches will probably be willing to surrender biblical truth. If such persecution is to come, faithful Christians should begin praying now for the boldness, courage, and privilege to stand in the face of punishment for obeying God rather than men (Acts 4:1–31, 5:17–42; Philippians 1:27–29; 2 Timothy 3:12). We must proclaim the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences we might face or the freedoms we might lose. What about the objection from some sincere Christians who argue that churches and ministries are already too entangled with the government? For example, they might declare that ministries like AiG should not have a non-profit status granted by the government and that they also should not be seeking incentives from the government that might come with strings attached. But if a church or religious organization is lawfully entitled to a benefit from the government, then why should they not avail themselves of that lawful benefit? Yes, the government might come back later and attempt to add restrictions if the benefit is to continue, but that does not mean that Christians should shrink away when that benefit, granted by the law (including a non-profit status), is challenged by the government. As citizens, we can challenge the government in the courts when officials attempt to block those lawful benefits. With our battle against the state of Kentucky over a tourism incentive offered to all who qualify, should we just keel over because the state now wants to add employment and messaging restrictions on our Christian ministry? Or should we demand that the state follow its own laws? Furthermore, if we don't stand up, then the state will become even more emboldened to restrict the freedoms of other Christians. We need to take a stand now for religious freedom before things get worse in our increasingly secularized culture. We encourage you to be bold in standing for God’s Word in a culture that is moving further and further away from biblical truth. God’s Word—not man’s ideas—needs to be our authority in all areas, regardless of the persecution that might come our way. As words of that great hymn proclaim, Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King? Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring? Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe? Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go? By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine! Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe, But the King’s own army none can overthrow; ’Round His standard ranging, vict’ry is secure, For His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure. Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine, We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine! Chosen to be soldiers, in an alien land, Chosen, called, and faithful, for our Captain’s band; In the service royal, let us not grow cold, Let us be right loyal, noble, true and bold. Master, wilt Thou keep us, by Thy grace divine, Always on the Lord’s side—Savior, always Thine!6 Footnotes Read about one floral business that incurred the wrath of a judge over gay "marriage" in Barronelle Stutzman, “I’m a Florist, But I Refused to Do Flowers for My Gay Friend’s Wedding,” Washington Post, May 12, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/05/12/im-a-florist-but-i-refused-to-do-flowers-for-my-gay-friends-wedding/?tid=HP_opinion. We are still waiting to see if there will be challenges to the law in the federal district court in DC, or if the House will block implementation of the law by restricting its funding. A.D.P. Efferson, “Christians Could Acquiesce on Abortion Like They Are on Gay Marriage,” The Federalist, May 4, 2015, http://thefederalist.com/2015/05/04/christians-could-acquiesce-on-abortion-like-they-are-on-gay-marriage/. Immensely popular country singer and professing Christian Carrie Underwood added, “I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love and want to marry.” From Christie D’Zurilla, “Carrie Underwood’s Gay Marriage Stance Gets a Conservative Nod,” Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/11/entertainment/la-et-mg-carrie-underwood-gay-marriage. Christians who may argue that the prohibitions against homosexual behavior are not a major teaching in the Bible must somehow brush aside several passages from both Old and New Testaments: marriage is ordained to be a male-female relationship (Genesis 1–2); "the cities of the plain" were destroyed by God because of the sin of homosexual behavior and other reasons (Genesis 19); the teachings recorded by Moses against same-sex activity (Leviticus 19–20); Christ Himself confirmed the meaning of marriage (Mark 10 and Matthew 19); and the Apostle Paul condemned such behavior (Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 6; 1 Timothy 1). Frances R. Havergal, “Who Is on the Lord’s Side?,” 1877. Recommended Resources

Gone in only one generation by Ken Ham answersingenesis.org

Gone in Only One Generation How long does it take to lose a culture, from a Christian perspective? Actually, it takes only one generation. The devil knows this, and of course God warns us about it. Adolf Hitler understood this when he said, “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!”1 Over and over again in Scripture, God instructs His people to make sure they train up the next generation. For instance, when God miraculously enabled Joshua to lead the people through the Jordan River, the first thing He told Joshua to do was to take twelve stones from the riverbed to build a memorial. But what was the memorial for? Joshua explained, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know . . . the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over . . . that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever” (Joshua 4:21–24). The stones were to remind the parents to make sure they taught the next generation about the true God. They were instructed to pass on the knowledge and fear of God to their children. I think one of the saddest pages in the Bible is in Judges 2:10–12, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel . . . forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them.” After Joshua and all the first generation of parents who entered the Promised Land died, the next generation served false gods! It took only one generation to lose the spiritual legacy that should have been passed on. What happened? In Deuteronomy 6:6–7 God had given clear instructions to the fathers: “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Obviously the parents in Joshua’s day did not teach their children as they should have—and in one generation, the devil had those kids! While it’s ultimately a matter of God’s grace that anyone is saved, God has given parents an immense responsibility to do their part. Over and over again, the Jewish fathers were told about their crucial role but they shirked it (see Psalm 78). It’s Happening to This Generation Sadly, this same situation already has occurred or is happening now in Western nations once influenced by Christianity. Many fathers today are not carrying out their God-given, God-commanded role to be the spiritual head of their house and to take the responsibility for training their children in spiritual matters. In England, two-thirds of young people now say they don’t believe in God—in a culture where most people once went to church.2 In America, a major poll indicated that two-thirds of young people will leave the church once they live on their own.3 Answers in Genesis commissioned America’s Research Group to find out why this is happening and published the results in the book Already Gone in 2009. It showed clearly these kids were doubting and thus begin to disbelieve the Bible at a very young age. We also established that around 90% of those who leave church attended public schools, where by and large God, creation, the Bible, and prayer (in other words Christianity) have been thrown out. Atheistic evolution is taught as fact. The vast majority of these students were not taught apologetics (how to give a reasoned defense of the Christian faith) in their homes or churches, so they don’t believe it themselves and certainly can’t defend it to others. An Aggressive New Agenda Against God The public schools have been teaching their own brand of apologetics: how to defend the idea of evolution and history over millions of years, thus causing multitudes of U.S. students from Christian homes to doubt the history in Genesis. Doubts about Genesis place young people on a slippery slide of unbelief that eventually destroys their confidence in the rest of Scripture. Their trust in the soul-saving gospel itself, which is grounded on the Bible’s historical claims, is undermined. Young people are woefully unprepared to understand and defend their beliefs. Even when parents pull their kids out of public school, the anti-God message is so prevalent in the media, museums, and colleges—and even among friends, neighbors, and workmates—that young people are woefully unprepared to understand and defend their beliefs. Even many leaders in Christian education have compromised with evolution and earth history over millions of years. Many groups are now even producing homeschool curricula that promote evolution and millions of years! Eventually, most kids will leave the church. Joseph Stalin knew the power of education as a propaganda tool. In just one generation, he converted hordes of the deeply religious Russian people into followers of atheistic Marxism. He said, “Education is a weapon, the effect of which is determined by the hands which wield it.”4 Sadly, most of the people who control the West’s publishing and video industries today reject the God of the Bible, and they are winning over the next generation, indoctrinating them in evolutionary humanism. Day after day, our children are bombarded with their message. The consequences in America were again confirmed in October 2012, when the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released new survey results. The CNN website reported, “The fastest growing ‘religious’ group in America is made up of people with no religion at all, according to a Pew survey showing that one in five Americans is not affiliated with any religion . . . . The survey found that the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing even faster among younger Americans. Thirty-three million Americans now have no religious affiliation, with 13 million in that group identifying as either atheist or agnostic, according to the new survey.”5 advertisements The Old Approaches Just Aren’t Working For years I have been warning churchgoers about this danger in my presentations. Despite the fact America has many megachurches and more Christian resources than any other country in history, America as a culture is becoming more secular every day. America is heading down the same path as Europe and England. The CNN item reported that atheist and secular leaders were elated by the Pew poll. Jesse Galef, communications director for the Secular Student Alliance, expected the growth to translate into greater political power for secular interests: “As more of the voters are unaffiliated and identifying as atheist and agnostics, I think the politicians will follow that for votes. We won’t be dismissed or ignored anymore.” Just before the poll was released, Bill Nye the “Science Guy” (from a popular 1990s TV program), expressed the agenda of today’s elite in public education and the media. In a video entitled Creationism Is Not Appropriate for Children, Nye basically says if children aren’t taught evolution as fact, America will lose its edge in science, and no longer have engineers and other innovators. Bill Nye, incidentally, was voted humanist of the year in 2010. His words reflect the growing, deliberate agenda of the media elite to capture the next generation for the secular humanists. In an article by a staffer from the National Center for Science Education (an organization begun in 1983 for the explicit purpose of attacking the influence of creationism and now headed by ardent atheist Eugenie Scott6), it is very clear that the atheists today are out to get our kids. The last paragraph of the article reads, “What we can do is work toward the day when American schoolchildren are taught evolution in the same way as any other well-established scientific idea, without caveats or apologies. With evolution at the center of biology, and thus important to the success of medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture, we can’t afford to keep it bottled up or to kick the can.”7 Atheists don’t want Christians teaching kids about God—they want to teach your kids there is no God! They really are out to get your kids, and they are using the public schools, secular media, museums, and other outlets to do this. The public schools (despite a minority of Christian teachers who are trying to be missionaries in the system) have by and large become churches of secular humanism. Yes, the atheists, like Hitler and Stalin, know that if they can capture the next generation (through the education system, media, etc.), they will have the culture. Christians need to take heed of God’s Word and ensure they are capturing the next generation for the Lord—passing that spiritual legacy along to the children, so they will not be captured by the world! Yes, it takes only one generation to lose a culture. And America is on the brink of such a change right now! God’s people need to wake up and understand a battle for their kids is raging around them—a battle that is being won, at the present time, by those who seek to destroy the next generation spiritually! A Call for Radical Change In view of such relentless indoctrination that bombards our young people every day, giving a couple of thirty-minute lessons at church or home isn’t enough. While many parents have already opted to put their kids in Christian schools, weekly church programs, and homeschools, few appear to be doing a very good job filling in the gaps. More is needed. Teaching young people how God’s Word—rather than the atheistic worldview—makes sense of our world requires intense study, commitment, and fervent prayer on our parts. The church and parents must reevaluate their old assumptions about the way we should be teaching our kids in a hostile culture, and work together to build the next generation by following the directives from God’s Word. Imagine what would happen if God’s people raised up generations of kids who knew what they believed concerning the Christian faith, why they believe, and how to defend that faith against the secular attacks of the day. They could then proclaim the gospel with authority because they believed the authority upon which it stands. We would change the world! Connecting Answers to the Gospel America has long resisted the trend among Western nations to slide into secularism and unbelief, but that is changing. A 2012 survey found that the fastest-growing “religious” group in America has no religion at all. One in five Americans claims no affiliation with religion, and this category is even higher among young adults (one in three). This downward spiral has impacted churches and Christian homes, as well. Two-thirds of children will leave the church after they leave home. So what’s missing in their lives? And what can we do to stop the exodus? Answers “Faith in Christ” isn’t blind. True faith must be built upon a knowledge of the truth, as revealed in God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:15–17). To be saved and walk with God, every believer first must know what he should believe and why. That’s our job . . . telling young people answers from the Bible. We’ve got to address the hard questions that are uppermost in their minds, including the origin of sin and death in this world. Biblical Authority The next link in the chain, once young people learn the truth, is for them to submit to the authority of God’s Word (John 14:21; James 1:22). They need to understand why we know the Bible is true: the authority of the One who gave it to us (Hebrews 4:12). They also need to see that, once they accept the Bible’s authority, it will make sense of the world around them. The Gospel Most Christians realize they need to proclaim the gospel if they want to see anyone saved (Romans 10:14). The definition of the gospel by which we are saved is quite clear: Christ died, was buried, and rose again “according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). But the power of the gospel rests on the authority of God’s Word (Romans 1:16). Salvation A young person’s salvation is ultimately a work of God’s grace. Yet that does not excuse us from responsibility. We have the duty to plant and water the truth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7) and pray to God in faith. But God is the one who “gives the increase” and we should give Him the glory. God has designed this plan for conveying His grace, and we need to make sure we’re doing our part. We are the ones appointed to instruct children with clear answers, to show them the Bible’s ultimate authority, and to share the gracious promises of the gospel! Ken Ham a former pubic school science teacher, is the founder and president of Answers in Genesis. He has edited and authored many books about the authority of God’s Word and the impact of evolutionary thinking on our culture, including the recent best seller, Already Gone.

Last Supper from Luke David Hocking

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Article from Ken Ham answers in Genesis

NASA Scientists on God, Creation, and Evolution Two former astronauts have been in the news recently talking about science and the Bible. Both of these scientists claim that Christians can accept millions of years and evolution without any problems so that Christians aren’t in conflict with secular “science.” But in saying that, they are ignoring many theological and scientific problems—and once again are confusing observational science and historical science. Dr. Leslie Wickman, a former astronaut who worked as a Hubble Space Telescope engineer, reportedly said that the supposed conflict between “science” and religion is “an illusion of conflict . . . perpetuated by people at the extremes of the dialogue.” Apparently, she said that one extreme is the atheist who claims “science” leaves no room for God, and the other extreme is “religious fundamentalists who think that there’s no room for science, that science is the enemy that [sic] the Bible is a scientific textbook.” Reportedly she also said, “Because I believe that God is who he claims to be as the creator of everything, then it doesn’t seem logical to me that the truth about God and who he is could contradict the truth about his creation—and so, for me, there’s this kind of fallacy in logic that if you study what God’s created it’s somehow going to contradict who he is.” She reportedly holds to an old Earth and universe and says that evolution is a “plausible explanation.” She apparently added, “If we don’t allow ourselves to question anything, then our faith is a very shaky faith.” In a separate, unrelated article, famous astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, reportedly said that “he sees no contradiction between believing in God and believing in evolution.” Evidently he once made the statement that "to look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is to me impossible.” In a recent interview he apparently said that “facts about scientific discovery should be taught in schools—and that includes evolution.” He also reportedly said, “I don't see that I'm any less religious by the fact that I can appreciate the fact that science just records that we change with evolution and time, and that's a fact . . . It doesn't mean it's less wondrous and it doesn't mean that there can't be some power greater than any of us that has been behind and is behind whatever is going on.” An Old Universe and Evolution Are Incompatible with the Bible Scientists like Wickman and Glenn who claim that ideas like an old universe and evolution are compatible with the Bible are ignoring many theological and scientific problems. Firstly, there is the problem of death before sin. Genesis 1:31 tells us that everything God made was “very good.” Scripture also tells us that death is the result of sin (Genesis 2:17), not an original part of God’s creation, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). But if God used evolution to create, then He used a process of millions of years of death, disease, bloodshed and suffering to create life. He then looked over millions of years of death, bloodshed, suffering, disease, and animal carnivory and called it “very good.” The God who calls death “the last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26) and will eventually destroy it in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14) would not call death and suffering “very good.” This is a major theological problem with evolution and millions of years—and it’s just one of many! But there are also many scientific problems with the idea of an old universe. For example, the universe is full of brightly burning blue stars. These stars burn so brightly that they would burn out in just a few millions years, and yet they appear all over the universe no matter how far away we look. Scientists posit that they must be forming spontaneously even in modern times in order for them to remain so populous all throughout the universe. Yet scientists have never observed even one forming! This confirms a young universe, not a billions-of-years-old one. Now, an old universe is not the only idea in secular thought that has major scientific problems. Evolution also has huge problems. For example, evolution requires the addition of huge amounts of brand-new information into the DNA of a creature in order for new features to arise. But there is no known process that adds brand-new information into the genome of a creature. But without new information you absolutely cannot turn an amoeba into an astronaut no matter how much time you have! Evolution just cannot happen. Biblical Creation Scientists at NASA Now these two astronauts might refuse to accept what the Bible clearly teaches and might deny the strong evidence for a young universe and special creation, but many other scientists at NASA don’t! I spoke at the Bible Club at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1994, when AiG was just beginning as a ministry in the US. During my time at NASA, I was thrilled to meet many scientists who were also biblical creationists! When they looked at the heavens, they saw evidence for a young universe, just as the Bible teaches. In 2011 one of these men, Bill Daniels, an engineer with NASA , came with his wife to the Creation Museum and reconnected with me. We are encouraged by the many biblical creationists working at NASA and other places who uphold the authority of God’s Word from the very beginning. Our final authority is not fallible man’s ideas about the past. Our final authority is God’s unchanging, infallible Word. We need to start our thinking with God’s Word and refuse to compromise with secular ideas about the past. We need to remember that secular ideas come and go, “but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying, Ken This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team. 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