Thursday, August 31.
I attended some more of the "Discerning the Spirit" sessions today. I learned about Modernism, Neo-Evangelicalism, and Neo-Fundamentalism. I was already familiar with Modernism, so I didn't learn anything new about that. I had never heard of Neo-Evangelicalism or Neo-Fundamentalism, but from how Dr. Khoo described, they sounded pretty familiar. Basically, Neo-Evangelicals are people who say Bible is inspired by God, but it can have some errors. Dr. Khoo gave an example with the 6-day creation story in Genesis. Since evolution says it took many years for all the different species to form, Neo-Evangelicals would say that Bible might have some mistake. Fundamentalists believe in the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, so Dr. Khoo said that if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, the Science must be wrong. Well, I'm definitely not a Neo-Evangelical (I believe that the Bible in its original languages is inerrant), but I’m not fundamentalist either. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and all of it is God-Breathed (or inspired by God, 2 Tim. 3:16) so the Bible is always true. But if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, it's not just "science must be wrong." It's either science is wrong or our interpretation of the Bible is wrong.
However, whether they were literal 6 days or whether the entire Bible should be interpreted literally should not be the issue. We should think about what’s really important. I mean, is every word of the Bible have the same weight and importance? Can we say that all the little details of the law in Deuteronomy, every psalm, the four Gospels, and the epistles are all equally important? I believe they all have a purpose of being in the Bible, but I think some of the words are more important than others. I’m talking about the Gospel, which you need to know and believe in order to have salvation. The saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most important message in the Bible, isn’t it? Tell me if you think I’m wrong.
So why am I saying we should focus on what’s the most important thing in the Bible? I’m trying to say that when it comes to someone’s salvation, whether the person thinks the earth was made in 6 days or thousands of years is not important at all! Let’s say that some one was at his death bed. He was a terrible criminal, and did many evil. But just before he died, he heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he sincerely repented and believed. Would he not enter that Kingdom of God? It doesn’t matter how bad or evil your life was before. When you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved, no matter who you are. Then let’s say that the man in his death bed was a hardcore modernist/atheist. He believed in the theory of evolution and all the other scientific theories that might seem to contradict the Bible. Then he heard the Gospel, repented, and believed. Soon after that he died. Before he died, he didn’t hear about Genesis 1. Not only did he not know that Bible says God made the earth in 6 days, he didn’t get a chance to hear that God made human in His own image. Then would he not go to heaven? Would he go to hell because he believed in the theory of evolution, even though he repented and believed in Jesus Christ? I believe even fundamentalists would say no to that. Well, perhaps they would say no because they are fundamentalists. The Bible literally says if you confess and believe these things about Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Of course I’m not saying that people should believe whatever they want as long as they believe in Jesus. If someone is still alive and has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then s/he should live like Jesus is the Lord over his/her life. Then he would study the Word of God and make effort to find the truth. More importantly he would obey the commands and also share the Gospel with others. Take note that I’m talking in the context of someone’s salvation. At the point of one’s salvation, the person doesn’t need to know everything in the Bible. But once he is saved, he should make the effort to know other important teachings in the Bible.
Now then, why is it important to talk in the context of salvation? Well, granted it’s important for someone to get saved, it’s very important that someone does not reject the Gospel because of our interpretation of some other parts of the Bible. Let’s say that you meet someone who is agnostic, but he is a scientist and has extensively studied biology as well the theory of evolution. Upon finding out that he believes in the theory of evolution, you tell him that he is wrong and that the Bible says the earth was made in 6 days. Some people may think of it as an interesting idea, but most probably would be offended. Then you try to share with him the Gospel, just after telling him that all that he had been studying for the past 10 years were simply wrong information. Would he even want to listen to the Gospel? Think about it. Most likely he wouldn’t. Even if he did, he would just flat out reject it because it’s from the same book that says he is wrong without any apparent proof or support. To us, the Bible is the Word of God, so we might feel strongly convicted about Genesis 1 one way or another. But to someone who’s never read the Bible, it’s just literature. So basically what you did was hardened someone’s heart to hear the Gospel. I’m not talking about the correct approach to presenting the Gospel. God can work in all sorts of ways, and even a simple, straight forward presentation of the Gospel can change someone’s heart. It’s up to the Holy Spirit, not you, to convict one’s heart and reveal the truth.
Then what should you say about science and the Bible? Which is correct? Well, if you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, then Bible is of course true. Sure, science can be inaccurate sometimes, and no theory is ever accurate. Theories are theories. They are always being revised to fit new information. But remember we or what we think are not always correct either. More importantly, it’s dangerous to say, “science is wrong,” because we’re not just saying that the theories are wrong. There are people behind every scientific theory. Real people study and come up with ideas that become theories, and real people rely on these theory for their research and even career. To say, “science is wrong” to someone, especially scientists, who has much more knowledge about science than you might, is basically saying “you’re wrong” in their face. How loving is that? And if that causes people to shut their ears to the Gospel for the rest of their lives, how terrible is that? In fact, isn’t that what’s happening in the world today? Isn’t it because all these “Christians” are saying evolution is flat out wrong, that many scientists are also atheists? Perhaps it’s not the only reason, but I imagine it is one of the major reasons. You see, I’m a scientist, but I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone really knows science, they would know that it’s not scientific to conclude that God does not exist just because His existence cannot be proven scientifically. It’s a Modernist idea that all things can be explained scientifically. Obviously not all scientists are Modernists, but may of them become one.
Let’s say that you are a scientist, and you have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But you know that these people called Christians believe in God. One day you find out that these Christians are strongly against the theory of evolution, which you think is a fairly well studied theory. You also find out that the basis of their claim is just some book written long time ago, and that Christians say theory of evolution is wrong because God said so. You don’t know much about the Bible or what the Christians believe, but since Christians strongly believe that you’re wrong, your natural response is to think that Christians are wrong. Since the basis of their claim is this thing called “God,” and you think they are wrong, you may conclude that this idea of “God” must also be wrong. Although it’s not scientific, through reasoning you decide that God doesn’t exist. The main reason for this conclusion was some group of people called Christians that said you are wrong. Now you are an atheist, and you don’t even want to hear about what Christians believe. Is this scenario too farfetched?
So as Christians, should we strongly advocate Creationism and young-earth theory? Are they worth jeopardizing the opportunities for some people to hear the Gospel? Definitely not! If you advocate these ideas, do so within the church. Encourage other believers to investigate the truth of God’s Word. Warn each other about dangers of misusing the theory of evolution. It is our responsibility to study the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15). As Christians, that’s definitely something we should do. But as for the unbelievers, it is not their responsibility to know what the Bible says about Creation. It’s the same with sin. We as believers have the responsibility to keep each other accountable so as not to sin. But we do not just go around telling unbelievers that they should not do this and that. How can they stop sinning when they don’t have Christ!? We need to first show them the love of Christ and share with them the Gospel. Once they become a believer, you have the responsibility to keep them accountable. Once they become a believer, you should teach them what the Bible says about other things in the world, such as Creation.
So there’s really no problem for Dr. Khoo to talk about science and how he thinks it’s wrong in front of a group of pastors. In fact, it was good that he clarified a lot of things about the Bible. Dr. Khoo’s lectures were really good. They were strongly based on the scripture, and makes a lot of sense if you believe that the entire Bible should be interpreted strictly literally. So he was very consistent. This isn’t about Dr. Khoo at all, and I already said that fact that I disagree with his fundamentalist view is not important. I think problems arise when these pastors start preaching that science is wrong when they are trying to evangelize. The creation story is not the Gospel. The Bible doesn’t say “believe that God created earth in 6 days and you’ll be saved”! Dr. Khoo’s lecture just reminded me of some people in the past that strongly advocated creationism and young-earth theory. These people I met in the past would mock scientists and their professors because they think their science teachers are idiots for believing in evolution. This is not the type of attitude Christians should have towards unbelievers. That’s why I’m talking about all this.
People are saved regardless of whether they are Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. Conversely, people can sill have the wrong Gospel and not be saved even when they associate themselves with Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. There is no such thing as a perfect denomination. Denominations are works of people. Difference in denominations exist because people are different. Once again, the most important thing is salvation through the Gospel. So if your church gives the true Gospel, not the health-and-wealth gospel nor the 6-day-creation gospel, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and your church is working to spread it, then give all glory to God.
So should we as Christians preach against the theory of evolution? My answer is no. I would definitely support studying about evolution from Biblical perspective. I suppose we could “preach” against evolution within Bible studies and small groups for believers. But I don’t think it should be preached in churches were unbelievers can come to find out what Christianity is all about. Of course, I’m not saying we should hide from unbelievers what we think about science and what not. As Christians, we are not called to push any one denomination’s doctrine to unbelievers. We are called to spread the Gospel. Preaching Creationism to a group of unbeliever can be very counterproductive. Understanding science is not a sin, but being ignorant of the Gospel is deadly. Do first things first. Spread the Gospel.
I haven’t even talked about Neo-Fundamentalism, but it’s getting really late. I must sleep. We’re going to Tanzania tomorrow, and we’re opening to new Bible college there on Saturday.
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