Theology

Was there death before sin? To answer this question let’s consider how this concept is given, who gave it, the character of the one who gave it, what life is, and the reasons for opposition to accepting it’s reality. A command was given on Day Six of the creation week by God to Adam the first man. Eve had not yet been made from Adam’s rib so she did not hear the words God spoke to Adam but was probably, in turn, taught by Adam what God had told him. Originally, the universe was a perfect creation; the Creator Himself said it was very good. In that perfect creation God planted a special garden for his perfect creation, man. Adam was perfect, he had no deterioration of his genetic code, he was strong, his brain worked perfectly, he was a perfect human being. So the background to the entrance to death and sin into our universe is perfection.

“To believe in sola scriptura [‘Scripture alone’] is to allow God to speak without interruption. It is to trust His self-revelation, refusing to mix man’s words with God’s, man’s thoughts with His thoughts. It is to be quiet and to let God speak.” 1

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms

As a monk Martin Luther was tormented by guilt and fear of judgment for his sins. A breakthrough came, however, when he read Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith.” He realized that a man cannot justify himself but instead is justified by God through faith.

• 1. White JR (2004) Scripture Alone, BethanyHouse, Minneapolis, MN, 25

Is apologetics all about saying you’re sorry about something? Of course not; it is derived from the Greek word apologia, which refers to giving a reason. Christian apologetics includes both 1) defending the Christian faith when speaking with non-Christians and 2) encouraging and strengthening the faith of believers. Christians are encouraged, actually commanded, in the scriptures to be able to give the reasons for why they believe and have the hope in them.

William Dembski

The End of Christianity by William Dembski attempts to reconcile natural evil with a good God. The problem for Dembski, who believes modern science has proven that the earth and universe are billions of years old, is to explain how natural evil in the form of physical death and suffering could have existed before the Fall of Man while leaving God’s good character intact. Dembski creates an elaborate theology to address this problem.

Dr. Cornelius Van Til

“I propose to argue that unless God is back of everything you cannot find meaning in anything…” 1

“I hold that belief in God is not merely as reasonable as other belief; it is not a little more probable, or infinitely more probable, than unbelief. I hold rather that unless you believe in God you can logically believe in nothing else.” 2

The above quotations by the late reformed apologist Cornelius Van Til explain the need for God to be at the foundation of human thought. This includes logic.

• 1. Van Til C (1976) Why I Believe in God, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA, 1
• 2. Ibid., 16

Jewish Wedding Ceremony

Scoffers have argued that Christians hold a set of scriptures (the Bible) that are just-so stories. God in the person of Jesus is the creator of heavens and Earth, but he also created marriage, the union of one man and one woman. This divinely invented institution in our day is under attack. The goal is to redefine marriage, especially by the homosexual movement, which finds the basis of their behavior in evolutionary philosophy. Because they have rejected the scriptures as factual with regards to history (creation), they have rejected the bible’s moral teachings as well (Romans 1).

It seems that more and more when talking with people about whom God is, and His characteristics, that their perception of God is more of their own making rather than what is revealed through the Scriptures. This invariably leads to a form of idolatry and total misunderstanding of who God is. The most common perversion of God’s character is to make “love” the only characteristic He has. This usually leads to these believing that God loves everybody so much He would not send anybody to hell. Just to let them see the illogical consequences of such theology an inquiry about Hitler is made. Somehow God cannot love Hitler enough, and he has to go to hell. The sad thing is few realize that what they are basically stating as their theology is that you only have to be better than Hitler to get to heaven.

The validity and power of the Scriptures does not start with faith or belief, nor does God need for us to believe in Him for Him to exist. Facts are true or false, independent of what anyone thinks. Likewise, prophesies either are true or false depending on whether they come to pass or not, independent of who believes the prophesy is valid or invalid. The unique validity of the Scriptures is evident by the fulfilled prophesy given in the Scripture. Prophecy in this case is predicting what will happen before it takes place. Here is what God says about His prophets and their prophesies: “And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must belief that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

Faith as defined by my dictionary is as follows: 1. unquestioning belief, 2. unquestioning belief in God, religion, etc., 3. a religion or a system of religious beliefs, 4. anything believed, 5. complete trust, confidence, or reliance, 6. loyalty; allegiance to some person or thing. Almost by definition faith is excluded from logic and reality. It’s value appears to be metaphysical, not something useful in the physical world we live in. Is that really all that faith encompasses?

For those who adhere to a literal interpretation of Genesis and believe in a young earth, scripture is the first, final, and unrivaled authority (sola scriptura) on the questions of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of man, and the age of the earth. Young Earth Creationists (sometimes referred to as “YECs”) believe that the Bible is inerrant and clear in its teachings about origins. Good exegesis based upon the grammatical-historical hermeneutical approach and comparing scripture with scripture leads to the conclusion that the earth was created in six 24-hour days in the recent past. Nature viewed through the lens of scripture lends support to the recent creation view.