{"id":21747,"date":"2019-02-21T22:53:19","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T06:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=21747"},"modified":"2019-02-21T22:53:19","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T06:53:19","slug":"revelation-and-evolution-whats-this-world-coming-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/revelation-and-evolution-whats-this-world-coming-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation and Evolution: What’s this world coming to?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Decisions\u2026decisions! Perhaps \u201cScandal\u201d is the best title for this book when reviewing this week\u2019s reading, \u201cThe Scandal of the Evangelical Mind;\u201d after all, Mark Noll seems to enjoy hitting on some of those favorite topics of the modern-day preacher\u2026evangelical or not. The fact is, he hit upon two of my personal favorites; Revelation and Evolution. Though neither of these topics actually has to do with my dissertation, I did find that the reasoning behind his arguments does. One particular comment that caught my eye to explain this connection read; \u201cThis situation, however, reverses the scale of confidence communicated by Scripture, where we are taught, first, to respect God and what He had done (including His creation of the world, His guidance of all human affairs, and His preservation of the human ability to learn something about the world) and, second, to mistrust our own deceiving hearts[1]<\/a>.\u201d When I view the way churches view baptism today, I feel that too many influences from outside of Scripture have impacted the understanding of its value. I believe this is one of the common assertions Noll kept eluding too; though I must admit; at times, I was not sure if he was \u2018for\u2019 or \u2018against\u2019 the progression of thought that these topics and others were taking.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s look first at Revelation (don\u2019t worry, though I love teaching Revelation, I will not go all \u2018Days of Wrath\u2019 in this this post). You can imagine how quickly the text caught my attention when I read, \u201cThose who don\u2019t learn from the past are condemned to write end-times books[2]<\/a>.\u201d Considering the fact that I just finished teaching a 6-month series on the book of Revelation; which included my own personal outline of the entire book, I figured I should pay attention. Interesting enough though, the comment was actually more focused on those who try to force modern day politics into the prophetic warnings believed to be found primarily in the book of Revelation. On this point, I was in agreement; it seems everyone is desiring to prove who the \u201canti-Christ\u201d is; which usually includes their least favorite president of governor. I believe the struggle with modern day religious scholars who get caught up on Revelation, is the fact that we are given scriptures that tells us:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026so much the more as you see the Day approaching[3]<\/a>;\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor false christs and false prophets will reise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect[4]<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity\u2026[5]<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders[6]<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And my own personal motivation (scripture concerning interpretation of 666)<\/p>\n

\u201cHere is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is the desire of the heart to not only know the things we believe God has set before us in His Word; but also the desire to show to Him our love for studying that Word. However, Noll\u2019s warning should be heeded by all who profess to be ministers of the Gospel; sometimes our hearts can be deceived as a result of our own lusts, wants, desires, and environmental surroundings. We see perceived evils surrounding us and immediately want to find God\u2019s guidance through those times. It is not that I believe these things should not be studied; in fact, I believe the exact opposite. However, I also believe that it is important to \u201cclean our plates\u201d before opening God\u2019s Word. We cannot allow our own preferences to interfere with His instruction.<\/p>\n

Second, the issue of evolution. Okay, so here is another one of my favorite sideline bible studies; so favorite in fact that I have been working on my own independent paper, which deals with evolution, Pangea, and even the history of the \u2018flat earth\u2019 teachings throughout the ages. Noll discussed three perspectives that have erupted within the evangelical movement as a means of dealing with the scientific approach as it pertains to God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cConservative opponents reject evolution out of hand; primarily for religious reasons, because it did not square with their understanding of the bible[7]<\/a>.\u201d Again, there must be caution with automatically dismissing anything simply due to our own understanding. Science itself, at least when practiced properly and correctly, is supposed to be based upon observable facts. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, scientific method consists of \u201cprinciples and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of date through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.\u201d Here lies the problem though; how can science make any real assertions concerning evolution, when it is impossible for anyone to have ever actually observed it taking place the proposed billions of years ago. For a Christian, we have faith in the bible and believe it to already be fact; so theories that conflict, yet fail to prove, that fact, are arguable.<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cTheological evolutionists thought it was possible to affirm evolution within the boundaries of historic Christian doctrines[8]<\/a>.\u201d For someone like myself, I believe that Science can be very beneficial in proving things mentioned in the Bible; thus the evidence from the scientific method has merit. Science has supported the flood and yet, it has also been used to debunk every single \u201cmissing link\u201d proposed up to this day. If you expand this to other studies like, archeology, geology, and even astronomy; I believe that true and honest scientific methods have proven their place alongside of scripture on numerous accounts.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cThe majority who embraced evolution, however did so as part of a major adjustment in theology\u2026a new trust in religious consciousness[9]<\/a>.\u201d This is where I suppose my skin started to crawl; when words and phrases such as; \u201cprogressive advancements of the human race,\u201d \u201ctrends,\u201d and \u201cto redefine the Bible as an expression, were being used. For myself, I have tried diligently to not challenge the God of Creation. I have never forgotten the first time I read Job 38:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cThen the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, \u2018Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know!\u201d<\/p>\n

    I will stop the quote here, though if you have not read this text in a while, I encourage you to return to it before challenging the Creation story of the Bible, or before trying to progressively advance or redefine the knowledge given to us in Scripture.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    I believe one of the greatest challenges facing the Church today is the challenge of Faith; Satan does not have to honest, though God always is. Satan does not have to be fair, though God will always be just; and there is a reason God gave us this warning; \u201cBe sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour[10]<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Bibliography<\/h1>\n

    Merriam-Webster Dictionary.<\/em>2019. https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/science (accessed February 21, 2019).<\/p>\n

    Noll, Mark A. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.<\/em>Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a>Noll, Pg 175<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a>Ibid, p. 174.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a>Hebrews 10:25.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a>Matthew 24:24.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a>Luke 21:25.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a>2 Thessalonians 2:9.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a>Noll, p. 180.<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a>Ibid.<\/p>\n

    [9]<\/a>Ibid, p. 181.<\/p>\n

    [10]<\/a>1 Peter 5:8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Decisions\u2026decisions! Perhaps \u201cScandal\u201d is the best title for this book when reviewing this week\u2019s reading, \u201cThe Scandal of the Evangelical Mind;\u201d after all, Mark Noll seems to enjoy hitting on some of those favorite topics of the modern-day preacher\u2026evangelical or not. The fact is, he hit upon two of my personal favorites; Revelation and Evolution. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[1031,806,809],"class_list":["post-21747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drama","tag-dminglp8","tag-mark-a-noll","tag-scandal","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21748,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21747\/revisions\/21748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}