  |
  |
|
       |
||
Welcome to pilotknob.org ...
|
 |
I stated in a January sermon that the best way to destroy the Bible’s influence on society (Britain during the 1700s) is to debunk the creation account and the global flood. This approach has been and continues to be very successful in turning people away from God and his word as the inerrant word of God. The 19th century liberal professor Marcus Dods of New College, Edinburgh, said, “If, for example, the word ‘day’ in these chapters does not mean a period of twenty-four hours, the interpretation of scripture is hopeless.” Why would it be hopeless? Because one could not depend on clear Hebrew grammar and vocabulary to communicate exactly what is meant. If God created in long periods of time, millions or billions of years then the Hebrew would have used words to convey that; words such as “olam” or “qedem” which communicate long periods of time or indefinite time, but none of these words are found in Genesis 1. Dr. James Barr is a Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University and does not believe Genesis is true history. Nonetheless he admitted, as far as the language of Genesis 1 is concerned, that “so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas: (a) creation took place in a series of six which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story (c) Noah’s flood was understood to be worldwide and extinguish all human and animal life except for those in the ark.” What is a stake if the Genesis creation account is not true but simply a metaphor? 1. All references to creation outside Genesis 1 cannot be taken seriously and casts doubt upon the credibility of its author. 2. If the earth is millions of years old then disease, bloodshed, death came before sin entered the world. This is a flat-out contradiction of scripture which teaches death and disease is the result of sin.
3. How would one interpret Exodus?
Is each day millions of years long? Is our week only a metaphor and not made up of real, 24-hour days, seven days a week? 4. If the earth is millions of years old and the creation account is not real history, then man’s fallible opinion carries more authority than God’s infallible, divine revelation. It places the imperfect discipline of science above the perfect word of God. The on-going battle of the age of the earth is a critical battle for a Biblical understanding of sin, atonement, resurrection, death and eternal life. In other words, the Law and Gospel. This controversy is not a side issue or a trivial one, it is a foundational one. Let us not allow the termites of liberalism destroy the house built upon the rock. In closing consider the words of Dr. Martin Luther: “When Moses writes that God created Heaven and Earth and whatever is in them is six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But, if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are. For you are to deal with Scripture in such a way that you bear in mind that God Himself says what is written. But since God is speaking, it is not fitting for you wantonly to turn His Word in the direction you wish to go.” Luther and Calvin were the backbone of the Protestant Reformation that called the church back to “Scripture Alone.” Both of these men were adamant Genesis 1 taught six, ordinary days of creation, only thousands of years ago. |
||||||||||||
|
home | who we are | why we are here | the AALC | weekly bulletin | sermon podcasts | popular links © mdccclxxv-mmxii Pilot Knob Lutheran Church, 2391 330th St., Forest City, IA 50436 |
|||||||||||||
