Pastor Greg Boyd Owes AiG a Public Apology!

Published on September 9, 2012 in Around AiG and Current Issues in the World.

 

On my Facebook page recently, I responded to a blog post written by Pastor Greg Boyd, senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. You can read that Facebook post at this link.
Pastor Boyd specifically mentioned my name and that of our Answers in Genesis ministry as a whole in regard to our position on the book of Genesis. He said that he believed the impact AiG was having would be "disastrous for the church in America."

Now, Pastor Boyd can certainly have his opinions about what we believe at AiG and our impact, and I have commented on those things in the Facebook post. But in one sentence, Pastor Boyd clearly crossed the line and falsely accused us about what we teach regarding the gospel. Frankly, I believe this pastor owes us a public apology and needs to immediately retract this false statement. A Christian who bears false witness must do this.
Here is what Pastor Boyd wrote:

I instead just celebrate the fact that there are thoughtful Christians who embrace science and who wrestle with scientific and theological issues from the inside of the Christian faith instead of requiring people to declare war on science as a precondition to entering the kingdom.

Because he named me personally (and also Answers in Genesis) in his commentary, Pastor Boyd, in the context of his blog post, is leaving no doubt this his statement about the gospel refers to us. (I have asked several people to weigh in on this, and they all agree with my assessment.)
Also, I vehemently disagree with his implication that AiG is in a "war on science," and we've written many responses to such a false claim before (and I point out that we employ several staff with earned doctorates, and who practice and enjoy science). But here is where Pastor Boyd has really crossed the line, stating that "requiring people to declare a war on science [is] a precondition to entering the kingdom."

In the Christian world, "entering the kingdom" means becoming a Christian-eternal salvation.
Boyd's accusation that taking a certain approach to science is a "precondition to entering the kingdom" is accusing us of preaching a false gospel.

I checked the website of Woodland Hills Church and read its Statement of Faith. It seems to me that as far as the gospel is concerned, the church is orthodox. So I would never accuse Pastor Boyd, even though he disagrees with our stand on Genesis, of saying that people have to agree with his views on Genesis and science to enter the Kingdom of God! If he preaches the gospel as outlined in the church's Statement of Faith (regardless of any other areas we may disagree about), then I have no doubt people would be saved through his ministry as the salvation message is preached in his church.
Now, if Pastor Boyd were to check AiG's Statement of Faith and also read our blogs and articles on the AiG website, he would find that we preach the same gospel. Nowhere-I mean nowhere-have we ever tied anything related to science or one's views on Genesis as a "precondition to entering the kingdom." Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone. Certainly we take a very strong stand on a literal Genesis, but we never tie our stand on a young earth, six days, global Flood, etc. to a "precondition to entering the kingdom."

Let me be even more clear: We wholeheartedly embrace these passages of Scripture:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8; emphasis added).
"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
In fact, here are some blog posts and articles we've written about this very issue:

• Is "Belief in a Young Earth the Only Way to Salvation"?
• Does the Gospel Depend on a Young Earth?
• Does the Gospel Rise or Fall on the Days of Creation?

Pastor Boyd's anti-AiG statement is clearly one that defames us in the Christian world. He has no evidence that we tie a view of science to entering the kingdom and receiving salvation.
Again, Pastor Boyd can disagree with us all he wants about Genesis-that's between him and the Lord! But he can't in good conscience falsely accuse us in regard to what we teach about the gospel.

ABORTION: After-Birth ...an article from Ken Ham

More on “After-Birth Abortion: Why Should the Baby Live?”

ShareThis Published on March 3, 2012 in Current Issues in the World and Thoughts and Things.

Recently, the Journal of Medical Ethics caused an uproar when it published an article titled, “After-birth Abortion: Why Should the Baby Live?” News reports initially focused on the short abstract of the article that was available for free online (the full paper cost $30 to purchase, according to one report www.ncregister.com/blog/matthew-archbold/ethicists-argue-for-post-birth-abortions), when the paper was suddenly made available in full shortly after the controversy began. Although I already posted about this story on my Facebook page, I thought it worth looking at the full report for today’s blog and including this link so now you can all read the four-page paper for yourself here (jme.bmj.com/content/early/2012/02/22/medethics-2011-100411.full.pdf+html).
The authors of the paper were Alberto Giubilini, who works with the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University in Australia, and Francesca Minerva, who works with the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Their thesis? They believe that parents should be allowed to abort their newborn infants.
The authors stated their argument as follows:

Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus’ health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled. (p. 1)

Giubilini and Minerva take abortion a step further, arguing that parents should be allowed to abort their newborns. They justify their position by claiming that an infant is not technically a person:

Both a fetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a ‘person’ in the sense of ‘subject of a moral right to life’. We take ‘person’ to mean an individual who is capable of attributing to her own existence some (at least) basic value such that being deprived of this existence represents a loss to her. (p. 2)

At which point do Giubilini and Minerva consider infants to be persons? They declined to say: “we do not put forward any claim about the moment at which after-birth abortion would no longer be permissible” (p. 3).
To give you an idea of just where this sort of thinking leads, consider this paragraph from the article:

Failing to bring a new person into existence cannot be compared with the wrong caused by procuring the death of an existing person. The reason is that, unlike the case of death of an existing person, failing to bring a new person into existence does not prevent anyone from accomplishing any of her future aims. However, this consideration entails a much stronger idea than the one according to which severely handicapped children should be euthanised. If the death of a newborn is not wrongful to her on the grounds that she cannot have formed any aim that she is prevented from accomplishing, then it should also be permissible to practise an after-birth abortion on ahealthy newborn too, given that she has not formed any aim yet. (p. 2)

What we’re seeing here is what happens when society loses its biblical foundation. Once people abandon a basis in the absolute authority of God’s Word, then moral relativism will permeate the culture. This is what is happening in our once Christianized West. The situation is akin to that described in the book of Judges:

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

It also reminds me of Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” These people are so blinded by evil that they believe allowing after-birth abortions will be good for society—that it will be good for parents to be able to abort kill their own newborn children for any reason.
This type of thinking may shock many Christians who understand that all life, both inside and outside of the womb, is precious, but it is not really new. Another “ethicist” named Peter Singer has advocated similar ideas for years. (See Singer, Peter. 1979. Practical Ethics, 1st ed., pp. 122–123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.) And it won’t just stop at what this article is reporting on—much evil will be claimed as okay as God turns our nations over to judgment because of their rebellion, and as sinful man determines to do what is right in his own eyes.
Romans 1:28–32 delivers the sobering reality of what society will look like when the people willfully reject their Creator. Among other things, they invent ways of doing evil, and even though they know that those who practice such things deserve death, they not only engage in those activities, but approve of those who practice them.
What these two “ethicists” believe about life is exactly contrary to what God teaches about life. The Psalmist praises God, saying, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). Our God is about life—He values it—and He makes clear in His Word that every person—unborn babies and newborn infants alike—are known by Him and exist from conception.
For more on this shocking pro-infanticide thinking, see today’s News to Note and read the commentary by a medical doctor and AiG researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

Church before Culture - Brannon Howse

Below is an article from Brannon Howse that explains a new book, "Already Gone" by Ken Ham. The basis of the book, is that many of children are not walking away from the faith in college, but in reality have left the faith or checked out during adolescence - they are indeed already gone! Ham's book could not have come at a better time. He does a great job in sounding the warning bell for the churches within America. The question is - will anybody listen and try to bend the trend?


That question brings me to my next thought . . . does the modern church of today even know what is going on? I was once a part of an "Evangelical" mega-church. It was great . . . I could grab a latte at the church coffee shop, buy the latest "cutting edge" book on how to be a christian, listen to the worship concert (to get you in the mood), open service with the most current NOOMA clip (that really tugged on the emotional heartstrings), and then proceed to get 22 minutes of self help from a "pastor" who was aided by 5 different versions of scripture.


The only thing missing was the true gospel message of Jesus Christ. Now, to be fair, we would get half the gospel message - the warm, fuzzy, loving half - BUT, the part about sin, judgement, and wrath were left out (those topics tended to offend and hurt numbers - which would effect the latest building campaign - which was necessary to spread the above mentioned "gospel message"). And, from what I have come to discover - half a gospel equals no gospel at all . . . just like half a christian equals no christian at all (see REVEAL STUDY at http://www.revealnow.com/storypage.asp?pageID=5) Question? - should that suprise anyone? The truth of sin and the depravity of man didn't fit in nicely with the latest Purpose Driven or Externally Focused church movement. In its haste to be relevant, the modern church of today has been lead astray. It brings to mind the words of II Timothy 4:3,4 - "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 will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
- Gutcheck Ministries


My friend and Worldview Weekend speaker Ken Ham has written an excellent book with Britt Beemer and Todd Hillard entitled, Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it. Ham worked with a professional pollster to survey those who went to church every week or nearly every week and they deliberately polled conservative congregations, not liberal ones. Let me share some highlights from their book that confirm that the church needs to be reclaimed before we even attempt to reclaim the culture.

· A mass exodus is underway. Most youth of today will not be coming to church tomorrow. Nationwide polls and denominational reports are showing that the next generation is calling it quits on the traditional church. And it's not just happening on the nominal fringe; it's happening at the core of the faith.

· Only 11 percent of those who have left the Church did so during the college years. Almost 90 percent of them were lost in middle school and high school. By the time they got to college they were already gone! About 40 percent are leaving the Church during elementary and middle school years!

· If you look around in your church today, two-thirds of those who are sitting among us have already left in their hearts; it will only take a couple years before their bodies are absent as well.

· The numbers indicate that Sunday school actually didn't do anything to help them develop a Christian worldview...The brutal conclusion is that, on the whole, the Sunday school programs of today are statistical failures. · Part of the concern is that the mere existence of youth ministry and Sunday school allows parents to shrug off their responsibility as the primary teachers, mentors, and pastors to their family.[1][1] http://www.worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-5294/Brannon-Howse/Brannon-Howse