“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” – 2 Timothy 4:3, 4
I am sure that many of you have heard rumblings of the latest coming out of the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI. This is yet another example of the Catholic Church undermining the Bible and blurring the lines regarding what scripture teaches. Sadly, statements like these from the Catholic Church do nothing to uphold the sanctity of scripture or confirm its reliability. It is important that we understand the seriousness of the statement from Pope Benedict XVI and respond in a way that demonstrates truth, love, and biblical understanding.
On January 7th 2011, Pope Benedict XVI came out and stated that God was behind the Big Bang and the universe was no accident ... at first glance many believers might feel that this statement is positive, but I would say that the statement is tragic. Pope Benedict XVI was not making an argument for Creationism; rather he was asserting that God and evolution go hand in hand when it comes to explaining the origins of the universe. The article details that:
"Galileo was rehabilitated and the Church now also accepts evolution as a scientific theory and sees no reason why God could not have used a natural evolutionary process in the forming of the human species."
The article goes on to point out that:
“The Catholic Church no longer teaches creationism -- the belief that God created the world in six days as described in the Bible -- and says that the account in the book of Genesis is an allegory for the way God created the world.”
According to Webster’s 1828 definition; an allegory is a figurative description of real facts. So, according to Pope Benedict XVI, the words written in Genesis are an exaggeration of their original meaning. You, the reader, can interpret the meaning any way you see fit. Although this statement is disheartening, it should come as no surprise considering that the Catholic Church rejects the idea of utilizing Genesis as a scientific text.
It is important to underscore that this deception has not just infected the Catholic Church, but has spread across many "Evangelical" churches and seminaries. Case in point, the recent revision on August 9, 2010 by the Assemblies of God regarding the doctrine of creation. The revision attempted to “reconcile the Bible with theories and conclusions of contemporary scientists” and cautioned believers not to be “overly dogmatic about any particular creation theory.” You can read the revision for yourself by copying the following address into your browser: http://ag.org/top/beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/PP_The_Doctrine_of_Creation.pdf.
Lastly, please be warned about a new idea known as EVOLUTION EVANGELISM and/or EVOLUTIONARY CHRISTIANITY. This concept is gaining a tremendous amount of fanfare and is deceiving more and more believer’s everyday - especially our young adults. This phenomenon is a "fruit" of the Emerging Church and is being championed by a self professing evangelical and former United Church of Christ pastor Michael Dowd. Dowd is unapologetic regarding his position and offers this explanation on why he does what he does:
“So the reason I evangelize evolution is twofold. I want others who are now confused or feeling guilt, resentment, resignation, or fear, to have for themselves the joy, peace, love, trust, and gratitude that comes from growing in right relationship to Reality, or “getting right with God.” And I want to spread the good news that billions of years of patterned cosmic and biological evolution (and cultural evolution) are on our side: propelling our species to move through this crisis of adolescence into maturity.”
Dowd and his wife Connie Barlow, who is an atheist and science author, travel across the country promoting Dowd’s new book “Thank God for Evolution” and running an educational website known as “The Great Story”.
For more information regarding EVOLUTIONARY EVANGELISM and how to stand firm against it, please visit the links below:
1. Ken Silva / Apprising Ministries / Michael Dowd - http://apprising.org/?s=michael+dowd
2. Michael Dowd Website - http://thankgodforevolution.com/
3. Worldview Weekend / Brannon Howse / Dowd Speaking - http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=6763
4. Crosstalk Blog - http://www.crosstalkblog.com/2010/12/emergent-church-leaders-promote-evolutionary-spirituality/
For more information regarding the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI, the revision by the Assemblies of God, and to read commentary from Ken Ham regarding these subjects – please visit the links below:
1. Pope: God was Behind the Big Bang – http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110106/ts_nm/us_pope_bigbang
2. Ken Ham Commentary / The Pope on the Big Bang - http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2011/01/07/the-pope-on-the-big-bang/
3. Doctrine of Creation / AG – http://ag.org/top/beliefs/position_papers/pp_downloads/PP_The_Doctrine_of_Creation.pdf
4. Ken Ham Commentary / AG - http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2010/09/08/a-sad-day-for-the-assemblies-of-god-denomination/
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