I am a Scientific Christian (but not a Christian Scientist! ;) I believe that God created Man through a miracle. Some claim this was a quick one that ancient Heberews could understand, but I personally lean towards a long term one that science can understand. Although that is my belief, God will explain the correct answer to me in the afterlife, and probably then it will no longer be important to me.
However, some of my zealous, enthusiastic Christian brothers make Creation a tenent of the Faith that outstrips and replaces the real center of our Salvation, the personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ to erase our sins (if we come to Him and ask, of course.) With bulldog like intensity, they will bring it up at every opportunity. I believe this to be a liability, and I will now submit why:
We were counseled by one of the Apostles to "not eat meat offered before idols." He noted that while everything is made clean before God, not all things are good, and that to some Hebrews, to do this would be offensive. To Christians made clean, the act was not forbidden. But the very fact that it was offensive to the Hebrews actually harmed the witness for Christ, for those Jews could scoff at the Christians, and use the action to discount the witness for Christ.
I have a very Intelligent, Scientific Friend from college, and I would like him to understand that Christ died for him. Now, the free sacrifice by God Almighty might be, given the right conditions in my friend's life, something he could get his busy brain around. However, I have another friend, a dyed in the wool Creationist, who would go to this very Scientific Fellow, and insist:
"Hey! Everything you know is wrong! Carbon dating, atomic decay, silt, the rate hydrogen burns at, migration patterns, everything! Wrong, wrongo, wrongiest! Oh, and by the way, Christ died for your sins."
To this Scientific Friend, any creedece that the Salvation of Jesus Christ may have possibly had is now out the window. What he has experienced is not a loving explaination that there is sin in his live that God can remove, but an attack on all the facts that he knows are true. This scientific fellow is now convinced that Christians are deluded people who don't understand Science, and whatever "that spiritual thing" is that they believe can be discounted.
In summation, My Perception is that the Universe is probably older than some other people's by a factor of about a billion. It is no less aweinspiring or astounding for the fact that God took a lot longer crafting it. I may be wrong. God will straighten me out in the Debriefing. But beating a Cold, Rational, Scientific Person over the head with the literal interpritation of Flood and Pre-Flood Creation will place a unneeded barrier between them and Jesus Christ. And that is something I don't want to do. Our witness to the unchurched, to the Lost, to the sheep wandering outside of Christ's fold, should be about the Agape love that Christ has for them, personally, and the Salvation change that can make them new and better people. Beating the Creationist horse can weaken that witness among scientific-minded people.
(And boy, you should have seen the face of this Intelligent Fellow the night my wife tried to tell him that "everybody knows a Ouija board WON'T BURN!")
I've been trying to make the point that creationist dogma is a bad thing for believers for a long time on this forum. You've made the best argument that I've seen along that line.
Can I keep a reference to your post for later use?
Great post! Really Great!
While I can see your point as articulated about not wanting to alienate an unbeliever, we are commanded to believe that the entire Bible is indeed THE "literal" unadulterated word of God.
To pick and choose which scripture is true and which is a "fairy tale" not only invalidates the entire Book as a lie, but makes a mockery of Christ Himself following such a Book.
BTW, it is possible to be tactful and humble about witnessing to anyone (scientists included), without getting an elephant gun out and arrogantly smashing to bits prior belief systems.
Good post.
Jesus claimed to be the truth. The truth including creation, which is the foundation of our salvation is more important than any or all persons who may be turned off by it. If the bible is fictional in any respect, then it has a false representation of itself and is a damnable lie, let it burn because of the billions of faithful people who have believed it and lived and died for it. Believe it or burn it but don't use it as a door stop for the church so that non-believers can feel welcome.
..."For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
Au contraire. Those facts all support salvation ... as Theophilus seemed to say. If those facts are not accurate, salvation is unnecessary anyway.
Many cold rational people *have* come to salvation after examining the facts or engaging in true philosophizing.
CS Lewis (once an atheist), Francis Schaeffer (once an agnostic), Don Bierle, etc...
But it only works if the heart is willing as well. If it is not, the lack of stumbling blocks in someone's path won't change it. Christ crucified is his own stumbling block to those who do not seek truth.