At 12:15 PM on the 2nd of August, 1996, we recieved a post from Brian D.
Harper in which he defends TE. In the process, he favorably quoted Brian
Goodwin, author of _How the Leopard changed Its Spots_. The quote compares
the principles of Darwinism to the "story of the fall and redemption of
humanity", a "myth with which we are all utterly familiar."
The focus of my response is this. Would Jesus have been the least bit
familiar with the "story of . . . redemption" Brian D. Harper appears to
endorse?
Let's take a look at Goodwin's key statements, with special attention to
the concept of "moral effort" in point number four in each list:
===============begin Goodwin===================
>Dawkin's description of the Darwinian principles of evolution
>can be summarized as follows:
>
>1. Organisms are constructed by groups of genes whose goal
> is to leave more copies of themselves. The hereditary
> material is "selfish".
>2. The inherently selfish qualities of the hereditary material
> are reflected in the competitive interactions between organisms
> that result in survival of fitter variants, generally by the
> more successful genes.
>3. Organisms are constantly trying to get better (fitter). In a
> mathematical/geometrical metaphor, they are always trying to
> climb up local peaks in a fitness landscape to do better than
> their competitors. However, this landscape keeps changing as
> evolution proceeds, so the struggle is endless.
>4. Paradoxically, humans can develop altruistic qualities that
> contradict their inherently selfish nature by means of educational
> and other cultural efforts.
>
>Does this look familiar? Here is a very similar list of principles
>from another domain:
>
>1. Humanity is born in sin; we have a base inheritance.
>2. Humanity is therefore condemned to a life of conflict and
>3. Perpetual toil.
>4. By faith and moral effort humanity can be saved from its fallen,
> selfish state.
=========================end Goodwin==================
Now wait one minuite. I thought humanity could be saved only through
accepting the gift of the blood of Jesus and His righteousness. What I see
in this quote is a mixture of the holy with the unholy; a mixture of
biblical christianity and humanism. Where does the Bible say that "Moral
effort" is an agent of Salvation?
This reminds me that the danger of mixing Theism with Evolution is that
people might get confused on the most fundamental spiritual level. People
might think that if, according to evolution, humans can rid there genes of
"selfish" qualities by natural selection and later through education, then
humanity can rid their souls of sin by moral effort and later by perhaps by
going to church. Faith is mentioned also, but it's not alone. It's "Faith
_plus_ moral effort = salvation" as I read Goodwin.
Notice the conspicuous absence of the blood of Jesus in the list of agents
that redeem humanity from sin?
If you're in the TE camp, and you profess Christianity, I'm not going to
question the authenticity of your faith. But I am going to ask you to
compare the marks of your Christianity to the Biblical marks so that you
can decide for your self if your marks are authentic or counterfeit.
I realize that bringing the discussion to this level may make some angry
(I've already recieved a private e-mail expressing the hope that my form of
Christianity will die--Truth generally has this type of effect on people.)
But I'm convinced that confusion about the definition of authentic
Christianity is an underlying issue for at least a large minority in the TE
camp.
======Non-Biblical Marks of Christianity====================
1. I'm saved because basically, I AM a good person. God would never reject me.
But the Bible says:
As it is written: "There is no-one righteous, not even one; (Romans
3:10). Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held
accountable to God. Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his
sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of
sin.
(Romans 3:19-20). for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23).
2. I'm saved because basically I DO good things.I've been confirmed. I go to
church, I've been baptized, I take communion and I volunteer my time,
talents and treasures.
But the Bible says:
Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I
will tell them plainly, `I never _knew_ you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
(Matthew 7:22-23).[emphasis added, obviously, by NR]
============================end non-biblical marks of Christianity==========
Do you rely on either of these marks?
The critical issue is: do we _know_ Jesus? The only thing keeping us from
knowing Jesus is our sin, and the only solution to the sin problem is
accepting the _gift_ of substitutionary atonement in the blood of Jesus.
Now I don't know about you, but If I believe I AM good and righteous by my
own "moral effort", and if a Federal Express delievery person comes to my
door with a package containing a _gift_ certificate for "One FREE
Substitutionary Slow Death by Torture for use in
God-decides-on-judgment-day-you-weren't-as-good-as_you-thought
situations, THEN I might wonder why I would need such a _gift_ when I AM
good and I DO so many good things. People who rid themselves of sin in a
survival of the spiritually fittest style don't feel a need for outside
help from the blood of Jesus.
So if you've never come to a point in your spiritual journey where you've
admitted you _deserve_ to go hell, then you may never have been motivated
to sign for the FedEx containing the _gift_ certificate for substitutionary
torture.
Moral effort should never be a pre-requisite for a gift. Otherwise it's a
_wage_.
And now for the biblical marks:
=====================Biblical Marks of Christianity===========
Authentic Marks of Christianity
1. *Repentance* which is preceded by a deep conviction of the following truths:
*Spiritually, I'm terminally Ill.
*My spiritual self is dirty and I can't clean it.
*I don't deserve to go to heaven because I'm guilty
*I'm ashamed and embarrassed at how I've dissappointed God
*I deserve to go to hell.
*I can never do enough good to make up for my sin.
*I need help.
*The only source of help is God's gift of the blood of Jesus.
Read the parable of the prodigal son for a biblical picture of
repentance. Also, Acts 2:36-38 will help.
2. *Witness of the Spirit*
God used to seem far away, now I feel close to God.
Ephesians 2:13
3. *Work of the Spirit *
Inner Transformation: I have a new personality. I'm a new person.
2 Corinthians 5:17
4. *Changed goals and desires*
Galations 2:20
5. *Changed view of sin*
Sin used to seem fun. Now it's repulsive.
Romans 1:32
=================================================
Do you bear most or all of the biblical marks Christianity? If so, then
the Bible assures you you're a Christian; let's move on to the debate over
TE. If you do not, then the TE discussion is only a smoke-screen. Let's
discuss the real issues.
Brian D. Harper writes:
>I'll tell you what, I'll be gracious and allow you your
>interpretation of scripture without ridiculing it. Will you do the same?
I've adopted the following philosophy from philosopher Samuel Johnson:
"The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things. The
ability to discern the good from the bad and the genuine from the
counterfeit and to _prefer_ the good and the genuine to the bad and the
counterfeit."
One point of interacting on this reflector is to discern the correct from
the counterfeit even in the realm of interpretation of creation-related
scripture. All because there's a debate over different interpretations of
scripture doesn't mean we have license to interpret however we want. There
are many debates that have ended because one side presented an irrefutable
arguement. Are we committed to seeking truth or merely to seeking
arguements?
Neal K. Roys