Sermon Tone Analysis

Creation vs Evolution

I’ve brought up the subject of post modernism, several times in the past.

This free thought, anything goes mentality.

Truth equating to relativism.

You have your truth and I’ll have mine.

Clearly I haven’t spoken very favorable of post modern behavior.

I am being a little unfair.

Post modernism isn’t all bad.

Our country is one that is still (for now) a free country.

It is suppose to allow people to worship how they see fit.

People are suppose to have the freedom of speech and even protest, even when we often don’t agree.

My millennial generation isn’t all bad.

Millennials often challenge the status quo, and it either stands or falls depending on its integrity.

When it comes to our church, I do my best, and I believe we all should, to listen to peoples thoughts even if they are outside the box sometimes, before I claim them as heretics…no I haven’t ever gone as extreme as to use that word, but I know others quicker to use that word.

I, myself, don’t really care much for name-calling.

That said, when it comes to our beliefs and doctrines of our church, once they have been examined and held up, I do believe it is important to make clear the fundamental truths we hold are not simply relative truths, they do indeed matter.

One truth, I have heard questioned countless times, or often even the question has been asked, “what difference does it make?” in regard to our stance on the origins of life and planet Earth.

Some argue that creation science should be equated to an earlier held belief that the world was flat, and not a sphere.

Some suggest, were living in the age of enlightenment.

There is so much symbolism in the Bible, what difference does it make if I believe in the literal 6 day creation story or believe that maybe God created the world over a period of time.

If I still believe in Jesus and salvation through him, what difference does it make?

Is it possible to dismiss the Genesis account of creation and still remain a Bible believing Christian?

Today, it is my intention to examine this discussion and help us decide if it does indeed make a difference, and through this examination, I hope you will not miss the opportunity to embrace the wonderful love Jesus has for each one if us here.

Whether you hold one stance or another, I assure you, Jesus loves you no matter what.

Lets pray.

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Some attempt to dismiss the creation story as simply poetry, an allegory, or an origins myth.

Others read Peter’s words that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years” () and speculate that creation week was spread out over thousands or millions of years.

There are others who believe that God, the supreme Being, created Earth, but that He did so through the mechanism of natural laws that He had earlier set in motion.

They assert that He used, or even created, the process of evolution over millions of years to accomplish His purpose.

This viewpoint is known as theistic evolution.

Indeed, there are many scientists and theologians who believe in God and attend church and are thoroughly convinced of the fact of Evolution.

There may have been simpler times, when everyone was convinced of God’s existence, or maybe the two choices were you believe in the creation story, and a literal flood….or

you don’t and subscribe to the Evolutionary “theory.”

With all of these different view points, the answer in many minds have become less simple.

In fact good friends of mine are suggesting that it doesn’t matter.

Personally I do believe it does matter.

Addressing the questions about creation, is the same as inspecting your home before purchasing it.

You wouldn’t buy a house that’s structural integrity was being attacked by termites would you?

You wouldn’t feel safe living in a house like that.

You wouldn’t feel comfortable letting your children sleep in a house like that.

You especially would want your home to have a solid foundation.

I would suggest to you what we believe about Creation is foundational to many of our core beliefs as 7th Day Adventist Christians.

Let’s look at what God himself has to say about creation of the world.

In , the actual words of God recorded.

Remember these are the commandments that He proclaimed in a loud voice to the children (change slide) “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY…FOR IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS AND RESTED ON SEVENTH DAY”

(,)

Just like in the story of creation in , the 4th commandment tells us that god created everything and that He did it in 6 days.

But not only did He say it but He wrote it into stone with his very finger.

Someone may sit and speculate, well you’ve heard of a day for a year principle when it comes to prophecy, how can we know for sure that when it says, day, we aren’t talking about a longer period of time.

Scholars, both Christian and secular will tell you over and over again, the hebrew word for day (yom), as it is used in the Genesis account of creation, means a literal, 24 hour period of time.

James Barr, a respected Old Testament theologian at Oxford University, was quoted saying, “ so far as I know, there is no proffessor of hebrew or old testament at any world class university who does not believe that the writers of intended to convey to their readers the idea that creation took place in a series of six days, which were the same as the days of 24 hours that we now experoence.”

Was Moses being truthfu when he reported that God himself said He created it all in six days?

If Moses was not telling the truth, how could we truth anything else he has written/.

If He would lie about hte 10 commandments, how could we believe whatever else he said?

Was God telling the truth when he said that he created everything in six literal days?

If God said---and wrote into stone---that he created everything on earth in 6 days, but he didn’t really do that, it would mean we cannot trust God.

Scripture develops a picture of God’s people being being the Bride and Christ as the Bridegroom.

I think everyone here would agree with me, when I say, marriage doesn’t function well when lying is involved, when mistrust exists.

It is not possible to have a trust relationship when someone is lying.

Self-sacrificing love is the law of God’s kingdom as exemplified by the death of Jesus for our sins.

To lay down one’s life for another, rather than survival of the fittest (as Darwin’s theory suggests), is hte highest standard in God’s eyes.

The fossil record, which is used as evidence for evolution, consists of the remains of dead plants and animals.

Evolutionary scientists say that most of these fossils preceded the appearance of human life by many millions of years.

However Paul tells us that death came into the world through the sin of adam.

If hte evolutionary interpretation is true, it means that death was present for millions of years before man ever sinned.

In contrast, the Bible tells us that God’s perfect creation was drastically changed as a result of adam’s sin and that death is a direct consequence of sin.

In the new Earth, pain and death are banished, and the original harmonious relationships of the animal and plant kingdoms are restored.

It is in Genesis we learn of the fall of man, and it is also where the promise of a savior is given.

If Genesis cannot be trusted, why would we even believe Adam and Eve sinned?

If there is no sin, why would we need a plan of salvation?

The central theme of the entire Bible is the great controversy between Christ and Satan, Christ’s plan of redemption and salvation.

So if Genesis is not true---if there is no sin and, consequently, no need of a savior----then we would need to dismiss most of the Bible, including the story of Jesus...maybe as another myth.

So to answer our major question, what difference does it make?

Does it matter what you believe about creation and evolution?

Absolutely!

For the truth of Genesis is the truth about God.

It is the truth about sin and salvation.

It is the truth that God and his word can be trusted.

Let us not forget the eternal words of John chapter 1, the book I am currently studying in my personal devotions.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

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Today it seems the secular, and even large part of our scientific community either do not comprehend or reject the light as a whole.

The next question I have for you, is the motivation of promoting Evolution really even about science?

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Have any of you here heard of Lord Monboddo?

Neither had I until I began studying this topic more closely.

Lord Monboddo was one of the early writers involved in the development of the concept of Evolution.

He believed that humans were born with tails, which were somehow removed by midwives at the time of birth.

He studied the philosophers, focusing on ancient greek and Egyptian thought and mystery religions (religious cults of the Greco-Roman world).

He wrote extensively about the development of language and society, metaphysics, and the science of Sir Isaac Newton.

Monboddo believed in the deistic concept of God as a “first cause” and often quoted scripture.

However, he asserted that the Genesis story of creation and the fall of man was nothing more than allegory.

He also believed the 4th commandment was simply an attempt by Moses to establish a day of worship for the Jews.

He clearly stated that a philosophy of theism, or belief in God, should not be based on Revelation.

Rather the source of truth should be natural religion, or what we can learn about God through nature.

This, in essence, means that science and human reason, rather than Biblical revelation, are (according to Monboddo) the ultimate authorities.

He concluded that man evolved through the progression of steps from a vegetable-like organism to an animal such as the orangatun, which gave rise primitive savages and finally culminated in civilized man.

It’s very clear that these ideas were not based on any real scientific evidence.

The reports of humans with tails (which were based on stories from travelers) were not even factual.