Science, society and faith - where it has come from and where it is going...

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"Who 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. -- Job 38: 2-4 (NKJV)

This morning I saw yet another graphic mocking the Bible account; this time of the ark and the flood. The comments following by unbelievers were of the typical variety. Insulting the collective intelligence of the unenlightened Christians who cling to their Bibles in blind faith and refuse to accept what everyone else says is true. The graphic was deceptive of course, assuming the number of species on the earth at the time of Noah when they can have absolutely no idea how many there were and how many were taken on the ark. Anything to make themselves feel better about the simple fact that they do not want to answer to any God they have not created themselves.

Even well intended Christians have veered away from the inerrancy of Scripture in order to play nice with science. So that the mocking will be lessened.

"Well, maybe Genesis isn't literal."

"Maybe a day wasn't a day."

"Maybe there was a gap somewhere in the creation account explaining away the billions of years man has ascertained the age of the earth to be."

You must understand that the enemy would love nothing more than to see Christians continue to walk away from Scripture to explain things because once one piece of the Bible is compromised, we simply will continue to compromise it for whatever else might make us uncomfortable. I read an article last week where a pastor insisted that if Jesus were here today that He would admit He was on the wrong side of the homosexuality issue and that "maybe I got that one wrong." When you throw out the inerrancy of Scripture this is the road you find yourself on. Everything is fair game to be rewritten. No mater how much we want to change God however, He does not change:

"For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. -- Malachi 3: 6 (NKJV)

But make so mistake about it beloved -- science is faith. They claim to be anti-faith but in many instances it takes a lot more faith than I have to believe what they believe. Take the dominant theory about creation science today has; the Big Bang Theory. In summary, they believe that all matter that ever existed once sat on a space no bigger than the head of a pin. No explanation is offered as to why or how but regardless, this then randomly exploded (or like a balloon popping) sending all of the matter spiraling into the newly created space (which they claim did not exist prior to this event). This then randomly created all of the universes that currently exist, including placing earth exactly the right distance from the sun to sustain life -- by accident. I have read that as little as a 3% difference either way and there would never have been life on this planet. Then out of rock -- life spontaneously developed all on its own! Science then implements the theory of evolution from there to explain how man comes to be. Wow. With all that theoretical supposition I think it takes way more faith to believe that! I just believe that a creator spoke everything into existence. The word universe when broken down means single spoken sentence.

Now, I am neither apologist nor scientist (although I used to teach science years ago). There are far more qualified people to get into the nitty gritty details. I am sure that the science defenders will say that my representation was at best rudimentary and I would agree. But the essentials are accurate and the suppositions are reported accurately. Science such as the big bang theory is theoretical. It has to be because there was no one around at the time to verify. Just look at the key verses for today. This is God speaking to Job but He may as well be speaking to modern day scientists. Excuse me -- where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

The reality is that science seeks to darken the counsel of God (His Word) by words without knowledge. Beloved, knowledge is not theory. It is not supposition. It is based upon fact. I believe that I have an eye witness to creation because God was there! Now, I fully understand that is only by faith that I believe this because no living man was there at the time, not even Adam yet. Science however believes in the essence of the big bang theory I laid out and by faith accepts it to be true. The difference is that science passes their faith off as knowledge. That is the inherent dishonesty within science and the inherent arrogance found in man.

Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment. -- Isaiah 2: 17 (NLT)

God will not be mocked beloved. Science can trace things as far back as they would like to assume but at some point they have to answer the question -- and where did that come from? At some point you have to come to the question of a Creator for creation. Science seeks to make those things random that God has made clear. Because by doing so man becomes God. It is as old as time:

"How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, "I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. -- Isaiah 14: 12-13 (NLT)

This is the account of the fall of Lucifer through the Prophet Isaiah. Science merely does what Lucifer tried to do. To ascend to heaven and set its throne above God. What better example do we have than the theory of evolution? I say theory because that is what it is. It is a guess. It is an idea Charles Darwin came up with to explain the origins of species. What better way to ascend above the throne of God than to dismiss the fact that He created us? If that is the case and we evolved from monkeys then this actually is our best life now and you better run out and buy a Joel Osteen book! But before you head out to Barnes and Noble you may want to consider that Darwin himself was concerned about the lack of a transitional form in the fossil record. For his theory to be true, Darwin said that there needed to be a transitional form somewhere in the fossil record, which means a fossil that would be half man and half monkey. The mid-point, if you will on the evolutionary scale. Darwin himself said that his theory would be inaccurate if such a form was never found. To date, no such form has been found but science remains arrogantly undeterred, declaring every fossil to be a transitional form. This "moving of the goal posts" is widely accepted as science fact today. Anyone who does not blindly place their faith in a theory of a 19th century naturalist who dismissed his own theory, is considered unintelligent and a science denier.

What is really going on here beloved? Evolution seeks to remove God from the equation -- pure and simple. If we were derived from monkeys then we can make our own rules. We can decide our own morality. We can ascend to the heavens and be our own God. The problem is then morality exists on a sliding scale. Morality exists only in theory. For the gunman from Newtown Connecticut or the bomber in Boston, their morality allowed them to slaughter innocent people -- including children. If you do not believe that morality exists in a godless humanity on a sliding scale just look at the last 100 years and what I like to call the theory of devolution. Look at the crimes committed today verses 50 years ago and versus 100 years ago. Look at what is culturally accepted today versus 50 years ago and 100 years ago. Look at what is allowed on television today versus 30 years ago. How did we go from Andy Griffith to Modern Family? How did we go from Leave it to Beaver to Family Guy? The thing I find the most ironic is how the enlightened cannot see the darkening all around them. As they feel they are evolving, society is actually devolving. And that is my theory:

Theory of Devolution: - The further a society distances itself from God the greater the moral underpinnings of that society continue to erode and unravel. Once God has been fully removed and the society has completely devolved, moral anarchy ensues.

We are not there yet but with each passing day we continue down this road. God is not just marginalized but openly mocked. Now before my brethren get their self-righteousness in an uproar we must realize the contribution of the church to this devolution. We were supposed to be a shining city on a hill. We were supposed to be the oasis in this vast desert of a world. Instead they turn on TBN and see nothing but parasites feeding off their own. Christians sold out for money and prosperity in the very world they need to be saved from. Or they see cultural relevance within the seeker friendly nonsense. If they cannot see a true and authentic difference between the church and the world why would they want what we claim to have? Or they see the angry judgmentalism that makes up so much of modern Christendom. The idiots from Westboro Baptist are only the fringe of what a lot of Christianity has become. A petulant members only club that has turned their collective noses up to the world and sees their sin as the cause of all problems. Forgetting of course about our own sin. Forgetting of course about how none are righteous. Entire books have been written recently asserting that unless our country turns back to God we are in for judgment. Let me explain why this is nonsense. First of all -- we are all in for judgment, regardless. The only thing that will save you from this judgment is the blood of Jesus Christ. Not your church participation, ministry efforts, or good deeds. Secondly, this country never was right with God to begin with. It was never a theocratic nation and only a poor understanding of United States history would lead one to believe differently. Lastly, the people you are complaining about are unsaved beloved! The Bible says the things of God are utter foolishness to them! The notion that a society in the middle of devolution, committed to ascending to the heavens to supplant a God they do not believe in, is going to suddenly turn to Him is ludicrous. God may not want any to perish, but perish many will. The church needs to get about the business of the Kingdom and stop erecting their own versions of the Tower of Babel. Eternal lives are at stake. Preach the Gospel. Stop massaging it. Stop disguising it. Stop watering it down. Preach it and let people decide if they want to continue devolving in their enlightenment.

I believe God has shown us examples in His Word regarding devolved societies:

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the LORD said, "I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing--all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them." But Noah found favor with the LORD. -- Genesis 6: 5-8 (NLT)

Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. -- Genesis 19: 23-25 (NLT)

Or one can look at the account of Jonah and see that Nineveh had to seriously repent to avoid the wrath of God. Even though they did, they eventually fell back into the godless ways and were wiped out. Even the chosen people were not without judgment. The ten northern tribes known as Israel never had one king that served God and eventually they would be judged and scattered by the Assyrian Empire. Judah would be taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Read the Prophets and you will see them constantly warning God's people of their continued moving away from God. Their continued devolution. You may look at this world and wonder about time but realize America is less than 250 years old. It is a drop in the temporal bucket. The Roman Empire lasted over 600 years by comparison.

I am not anti science. I am anti arrogance. I believe that if you can measure something and observe it, then you are fit to draw conclusions from it and refer to it as fact. But do not expound theoretically, refer to it as factual knowledge, and then dismiss anyone who has the temerity to believe something else as being intellectually inferior or ignorant. Whenever I see things like I saw this morning, the gleeful mocking of the existence of God, I reflect back to the key verse and ask -- who is this that darkens the counsel of God? Then I realize that it is who I was before God knocked me off my high horse. It was who you were. It is who our unsaved family and friends are now. They need to see Christ in me and in the church. They need love not judgment. They need the Gospel not parlor tricks. Because only God can save them from the continuing downward spiral of devolution. Only God can save them from their own enlightenment.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- April 18, 2013

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.