Do you ever get angry when you are proved right? I do. Our pastor at my church has started a Sunday evening series called Why I Believe. It addresses the questions: Can I trust the Bible? How do I know that Christianity is true? In our last class on January 17, 2016, we discussed a number of evidences as to why we can believe the Bible from a scientific perspective, including evidence for Noah’s flood. We really had a good response from our congregation. One lady after the class came up to the pastor stating “I could have a conversation about this with someone on a bus now.” People were excited to be learning this.

Our pastor understands what I understand. It is wrong for people at church just to be told that they can believe the Bible and then be bombarded with messages outside of church that they cannot believe the Bible. The church needs to teach people why they can believe the Bible. Our pastor also understands the point that I continue to make – If you do not believe the Bible starting with Genesis, you do not believe the Bible.

So while I was delighted to see the great response from our church members, at the same time I became angry. The people in the pews are hungry for this information that they can really believe the Bible. I think in many cases, they do not know that they are hungry for this. They do not know that this information is out there because the church has never addressed it. And they are certainly not going to get this information from schools, Time Magazine, or the Science Channel. So they have always just been presented with one side. And I am angry because the response that I observed in our church training validated what I knew all along – people want to learn why they can believe the Bible. I went through this myself in my Christian walk. But now I know that I can believe the Bible from a scientific perspective. I can believe the Bible without having to make the Bible fit the “science.” And I want to share this information with other people. I myself have developed a number of presentations on this topic. But I have found church leadership to be the barrier. I go to churches, leave materials, make phone calls, send e-mails, etc. And the church leaders never get back with me. Meanwhile, the people in the pews never get this message that they are so desperate to hear. My pastor is the exception to this failing of church leadership. If ministers all over took the approach that my minister has taken, all of these people that self identify as Christians would learn that they can believe the Bible. Then they would truly have biblical values. And we could still turn this country around. My fear is that pastors are not going to do this. So why is this?

In all fairness, it may not entirely be all the pastors’ fault. They themselves went to seminaries that I believe have been infiltrated with the message that we cannot really believe the Bible as it reads. They may have been taught the gap theory1, the day-age theory2, or even theistic evolution3. It would be very difficult for them to admit to themselves that what they were taught and accepted in seminary, what they have believed this whole time, and what they may have even been teaching others in wrong. It is very difficult for anyone to admit to themselves that they have spent most of their life being wrong. That is why they are afraid to even have a conversation on this topic; something that I have observed.

But I think something else may be going on. Pastors are human beings like anyone else. They preach a sermon every Sunday and have people listen to them. It would be difficult for that not to affect a person. John 12 tells of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Verses 42-43 states “Many people did believe in Him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.”4 So this may also be going on. Pastors know if they start teaching the first 11 chapters of Genesis the way the chapters read, they will be ridiculed. Richard Dawkins stated “It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid, or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).”5 Scott Walker came under attack as a presidential candidate for not believing in evolution.6 But pastors have the responsibility to proclaim truth. Jesus certainly took a lot of heat for speaking truth, as well as the prophets before him. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”7

So what can you do? Pass this on to as many people as you can. Let your minister know that they need to deal with this topic and start teaching the truth. But you will probably need to start learning more about this topic through your own study, as I have. Contact your nearest biblical creation organization.

Terry Read

1. http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=575
2. http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=391
3. http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=422
4. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+12&version=NLT
5. http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=161
6. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/scott-walker-evolution_n_6671786.html
7. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8&version=NLT