From: Keith Miller (kbmill@ksu.edu)
Date: Mon Sep 08 2003 - 21:29:23 EDT
>> I need help. Ten days from now there will be a YEC presentation at
>> a church 1 block from my home. The presenter, Joe Sebeny, has
>> challenged me to attend, "and learn something."
>>
>> Joe has made two claims, which may be true:
>>
>> (1) Neither ICR, nor AIG, nor Morris nor Ken Ham, has ever
>> asserted that non-YECers are not Christians.
While the essay below was not written by either Morris or Ham, it
certainly is held by many YEC proponents. The following is by Tom
Willis (president of Creation Science Association of Mid-America) who
was the main force behind eliminating most evolutionary concepts, an
ancient Earth, the big Bang, and environmental ethics from the Kansas
Science curriculum. Those changes were subsequently reversed a year
later.
I don't see how you can say "Evolutionists cannot be Christians" any
clearer without actually using those precise words.
Keith
____________________________________________________________
"I'm a Christian Too"
The Greatest "Proof" of Evolution
by Tom Willis
A few years ago while in the opening minutes of my address to the
Mensa* Convention, I was interrupted by a fellow who came to the front
of the room, stood before the audience of several hundred and announced
(paraphrase) "I'm a Christian too, but I believe in evolution, so you
can be a Christian and believe in evolution. You don't have to believe
what he is saying to be a Christian." Satisfied he had accomplished his
important mission, he then sat down.
I have the typical "absent-minded professor" memory, but I typically
remember what I say in this type of encounter. However, in this case, I
always draw a blank. I probably said something like, "You can sit in a
garage and call yourself a car, but that doesn't make either what you
call yourself or what you believe about cars true."
At the first public hearing on the Kansas Science Standards, a key
member of the State Committee who had drafted the proposed science
standards, privately, but in the hearing of others, informed a School
Board member that he was offended by the testimony against evolution,
because "I'm a Christian too."
An engineering professor informed the State School Board members that
she was "an Evangelical Christian" who accepted evolution.
I've heard this assertion so often, I call it the "I'm a Christian Too
Proof" of evolution. Let's examine it briefly:
The fact that someone claims to be a Christian does not prove his/her
ideas are sound. In short, even if a Christian does believe in
evolution, that is not an argument for the truth of evolution. It
proves only that the person claims to be a Christian, and claims to
believe in evolution. Evolution must stand or fall in science on the
basis of evidence. Their Christianity must stand or fall on the basis
of the criteria Jesus established. The claim is irrelevant.
Nor does such a claim tell you anything about the true compatibility of
Christianity and evolution. First, the claim that the person is, in
fact, a Christian must be weighed. You can sit in a garage all day and
claim you are a car, but regardless of how fervently you claim it, your
status as a non-car will not change. Furthermore, only Jesus can define
what a Christian is and he said, "Ye must be born again." Only those
who are born again by the Spirit of God are Christians in any
meaningful sense.
There are many other evidences that not all who claim to be Christians
are. Jesus said that: "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men
gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? - MAT 7:16 Wherefore by
their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? ... and in thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me ... - Matt 7:20-23 He also said: "By
this shall ye know them, that they love one another." But the most
extensive passage is in the prayer of Jesus for unity among believers.
Central to this prayer is the passage: "Holy Father ... Sanctify them
through thy truth, thy word is truth." Jesus makes it clear that his
prayer applies to all followers through all time, and that Jesus wants
all his followers to be sanctified (set apart) by God's Word. But,
virtually no "Christian evolutionist" defends his position from God's
word, simply because it cannot be done. Therefore, you can be certain
that anyone claiming to be a Christian evolutionist is either immature
in his walk, or a liar.
Mutations are clearly consistent with the "curse" the Bible says God
placed on the entire creation. Paul calls it "the bondage to decay,"
which he says applies to the entire universe. Regarding adaptation,
even man routinely builds automatic adaptation devices like the
thermostat in your house and the Electronic Fuel Injection in your car.
Thus, God who says His ways are much higher than ours can design
automatic adaptation devices. Thus, mutations and adaptation are not
only acceptable to Christianity, but are predicted by it. However,
nowhere in God's Word can you find a hint of what some call Macro
Evolution. There isn't one "Christian" evolutionist that can defend his
stance for evolution on the basis of God's Word. They all do so on the
basis of what they claim is science. It is my position that a
"Christian" who believes in "progressive creation" or "macro evolution"
does so in spite of the evidence of the Bible, and the evidence of
science.
An even more powerful passage is Revelation 17 in which the behavior,
nature and destruction of the "harlot, Mystery Babylon" are discussed
in detail. There are some differences of opinion about who this refers
to, but nearly every commentator agrees that it refers to the false
church and that this group will attack (throughout modern history) the
true church. A more accurate description of "Christian evolutionists"
is hard to find. They love to call Christians names like
"fundamentalists," "extreme Biblical literalists," etc. And, wherever
evolutionists have taken over "evolutionist Christians" have joined
Hitler, Stalin, etc., in killing Christians. "Drunk with the blood of
the saints," and rich from compromising ("fornicating") with
governments, exactly as the Bible describes "Mystery Babylon." Finally,
it clearly states that Christ's real enemies cooperate with this false
church, but truly hate it, and eventually destroy it. I have ministered
to atheist evolutionists for years. They are quite comfortable inviting
a "Christian Theologian" to debate against creation, but they go to
coffee with me. It is clear they fear me, but they respect me, and
despise my opponent, because they know he is a traitor to his professed
belief. This is clearly prophesied in Revelation 17 to anyone who has
eyes to see.
Conclusion:
People who announce "I'm a Christian too" in Creation/Evolution
discussions may be telling you something about their religion, but are
telling you nothing about Christianity or the issue of whether
evolution is good science.
_______________________________________________________-
Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
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