Most Christians assume that young-earth creationism has always been a core tenet of American fundamentalist Christianity—but this linkage is more tenuous than is often presumed. The story of how American fundamentalists—and, by extension, many conservative evangelicals—came to associate young-earth creationism with biblical Christianity is one that all contemporary Christians should understand.

From the time of the Reformation to the twentieth century, most Christians believed that God created the entire universe, or that he reformed Earth and created all earthly life including human beings, about 6,000 years ago. This popularized belief was based on calculations by influential scholar Archbishop James Ussher. In calculating a date for creation, Ussher assumed that no gaps exist in the Genesis genealogies and that the six “days” (Hebrew: yôm) of creation were literal and consecutive 24-hour periods. Such was his influence that beginning in the early 1700s, many editions of the King James Bible incorporated Ussher’s chronology into their marginal annotations and cross-references, including the important Scofield Reference Bible of 1909, which held popularity among fundamentalists and evangelicals throughout much of the twentieth century.

However, by the early 1800s, some naturalists pointed to new discoveries in astronomy and geology as serious challenges to the credibility and historicity of the Genesis creation account. Within a generation, traditional Christians found themselves facing three challenges to Genesis’ trustworthiness. First, astronomers replaced the idea of instantaneous creation of the solar system with the nebular hypothesis, a view that requires eons of time. Second, geologists James Hutton, Charles Lyell, and others made the case that Earth was millions of years old, rather than a few thousand, and that life had existed on Earth for far longer than the 6,000 years that the biblical genealogies supposedly indicated. Third, and most alarming, was the challenge posed by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which holds that all life-forms, including human beings, evolved over millions of years via the aegis of common descent and natural selection.

By the turn of the century, many Christians conceded that the Bible allowed for an ancient universe, an ancient earth, and even pre-Edenic life—a notable change from the consensus opinion only a generation or two earlier. Among the proponents of the old earth, day-age theory were the two most prominent conservative theologians of the era: Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield, both of Princeton Theological Seminary. Other supporters included distinguished geologists such as Louis Agassiz of Harvard, Arnold Henry Guyot of Princeton, and John William Dawson of McGill University in Montreal.

Meanwhile, as the historian Ronald Numbers notes in his book The Creationists, young-earth creationists (mainly Seventh-Day Adventists with little or no formal education in any scientific discipline) published very little evidence to support their view:

No doubt many Christians, perhaps most, remained unpersuaded by the geological evidence of the earth’s great age and continued to believe in a recent creation in six literal days, but these people rarely expressed their views in books and journals.¹

The Fundamentals

Many believers understood that the real threat to their faith came not from the controversy regarding the age of the earth (and the universe) but from “modernism” in general, including theological liberalism and Darwinian evolution. In response to these challenges, the Reverend A. C. Dixon, a prominent Baptist pastor and evangelist, conceived of editing a series of pamphlets that would define traditional Protestant Christianity. The project, compiled during 1910 to 1915 in collaboration with R. A. Torrey, another well-known pastor and evangelist, was entitled The Fundamentals. By the time of its completion, The Fundamentals included 90 essays that address a wide range of issues including creation and evolution.

While the essays on creation argue for the historicity of the Genesis account, they avoid the controversy over age of the earth and the length of the creation days. For example, in his essay, “The Early Narratives of Genesis,” Presbyterian theologian James Orr writes:

You say there is the “six days” and the question of whether those days are meant to be measured by the twenty-four hours of the sun’s revolution around the earth—I speak of these things popularly. It is difficult to see how they should be so measured when the sun that is to measure them is not introduced until the fourth day. Do not think that this larger reading of the days is a new speculation. You find Augustine in early times declaring that it is hard or altogether impossible to say of what fashion these days are, and Thomas Aquinas, in the middle ages, leaves the matter an open question. To my mind these narratives in Genesis stand out as a marvel, not for its discordance with science, but for its agreement with it.²

In addition to Orr’s piece, four other essays deal with science-related issues. The Reverend H. M. Sydenstricker’s “The Science of Conversion” is an unimpressive attempt to impose a scientific methodology on the phenomenon of spiritual conversion, while the Reverend Henry H. Beach’s “The Decadence of Darwinism” argues that Darwinism, being based on natural selection and the survival of the fittest, “degrades [both] God and man.”³

On the other hand, “Evolution in the Pulpit,” written anonymously by “An Occupant of the Pew,” is a powerful essay that exposes fatal flaws in Darwinian theory and chastises liberal clergymen who “adopted the new philosophy”⁴ and accepted “the destructive higher criticism which has so viciously assailed both the integrity and authority of the Scriptures.”⁵ In one particularly convicting passage, the author writes:

The layman…finds his first feeling to be one of astonishment that men calling themselves Christians can on grounds so frivolous repudiate large parts of Scripture, and deliberately sow the seed of unfaith in the minds and hearts of thousands of their hearers. This is apt to be followed by one of indignation at the low moral quality and cowardice of their action in thus undermining the faith of the Church while accepting its pay….And this despite the fact that, according to their own witness of themselves, their strong point is the possession and preaching of a very superior quality of ethics. Indeed, in listening to them one can hardly escape the conviction that righteousness, personal and civic, was a thing almost unknown before their advent….Far better would it be for all concerned if these ministers had the courage of their convictions, and sense of honor enough to compel them to leave the Christian Church.”⁶

George Frederick Wright’s essay, “The Passing of Evolution,” is also particularly noteworthy. As a minister and geologist, Wright was one of the few Christian anti-evolutionists of the time who possessed both scientific and theological credentials. Ironically, he had been an ardent supporter of Darwin a few decades earlier, even referring to himself as a “Christianized Darwinist.” Wright believed in the divine inspiration of Scripture but held that it was infallible only in matters “necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation.”⁷ In the 1880s, Wright became a professor of New Testament studies at Oberlin Theological Seminary where his focus shifted to the defense of the Bible against proponents of biblical “higher criticism.” From that time on, he saw his mission as defending the historical accuracy of the Bible, and it was in that context that he abandoned his earlier advocacy of theistic evolution due to its connection with liberal theology.

In his essay, Wright argued that Darwinian evolutionary theory was the latest attempt to explain the wonders of creation via natural causes. He predicted that just like its predecessors it would eventually fade away. In particular, he charged that Darwinism “practically eliminates God from the whole creative process,”⁸ and that “to carry out their theory [Darwinists] must leap to the conclusion that life itself has originated, spontaneously, by a natural process, from inorganic matter.”⁹ But, of course, “they have no scientific proof. For, so far as is yet known, life springs only from antecedent life.”¹⁰ Furthermore, Wright added, there is no evidence of any “connecting links” between man and previous life-forms. Therefore, he concluded, man is so distinct from other creatures “that it is necessary to suppose that he came into existence as the Bible represents, by the special creation of a single pair, from whom all the varieties of the race have sprung.”¹¹

Significantly, the science-related articles in The Fundamentals do not promote young-earth creationism. In fact, some essayists such as Wright unabashedly upheld the old earth position. So how then did young-earth creationism come to be so closely associated with American fundamental Christianity? Part 2 of this series will examine the answer to this question.

*** Will Myers

Does atheism have a true monopoly on reason? In my conversations with nonbelievers, I’ve found that probing deeper into the atheistic worldview exposes a key weakness in that perspective and provides an opportunity to demonstrate Christianity’s solid footing in reason.

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The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
— Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 423/277.

When I ask my unbelieving friends “Why are you an atheist?” they generally respond with something like “Because there is no God.” I ask them to dig a little deeper to answer my original question.

Generally, a diatribe against religion emerges. Believers are accused of being a bunch of hypocrites who oppress people with their rules while religions are painted in broad strokes as ridiculous superstitions and crutches for weak-minded people. Many claim that belief in God is irrational. From my experience, the atheist asserts that humanity has evolved beyond these irrational impulses and structures, now seeing religion for the garbage it is.

Why Atheism?

My next question is, “Okay, but why choose atheism?”

After all, a lack of faith comes with distinct disadvantages. For example, studies show that people with no faith are more likely than their religious counterparts to suffer from depression and to commit suicide.¹ Besides that (or perhaps at the root of that), atheism doesn’t provide any sense of meaning or purpose for life because everything will end with total annihilation.

Even if atheists argue that we can assign meaning to our lives, once the Sun burns out and the universe goes to heat death what is left? What will be the purpose of striving to not believe in superstition? What will be the purpose of helping other people? Why not just spend all your time throwing pebbles into the sea instead? In the end, such an activity will mean as much as the greatest acts of philanthropy. Pragmatically, wouldn’t it be better to be deluded and happy for this brief, meaningless time?

Nonbelievers often answer that they choose atheism because it’s true. Further, pragmatism is not a good test for truth, which I concede. But is truth really worth possibly sacrificing health, happiness, and meaning? Here some opinions diverge, but most atheists would say that truth is of the utmost importance in dictating their worldview.

“Alright,” I reply, “if truth is so important, why is it that only a small sliver of people ever find it?” My familiarity with scientists may bias this response, but I think most atheists would say that people believe in God because humanity has evolved to believe in God. In the past, religion served a useful function in promoting survival by bringing order to communities and existential motivation to mankind.

Thus, over 90 percent of the world population today suffers from the effects of this grand evolutionary delusion. Only the free-thinkers, the “brights,” have figured out how to get beyond the rubbish of mysticism programmed into our genes through the evolutionary process.

But if it’s true that the human brain is wired to believe in something that is false, then the brain is demonstrably unreliable for discerning truth. How then can atheists trust that their brain has found the truth? Why are they free from the mental subroutines programmed via evolution? How can they be certain that their brain finds truth, not just in this case, but ever? As recently highlighted by Kenneth Samples, atheism’s very assumptions about the world guarantee that we cannot know truth. We have become prisoners of our brain and the evolutionary processes that built it. Reason has been reduced to a molecular pool game with proteins and chemicals whacking about through neural circuitry, generating pictures, colors, and sensations.

While having a molecular pool game governing your decisions may sound fun for a bit, it precludes any master-of-my-own-destiny claims to independence or ownership of achievements, capacities, or ideas. After all, you don’t own your ideas, choices, achievements or fate; that’s just the way the balls bounce. 

The Christian Alternative

Bereft of the certainty of reason and truth that results from a godless worldview, it seems better for the atheist to seek an alternative. In his book C. S. Lewis’ Case for the Christian Faith, Richard Purtill offers the biblical perspective on reason and its origins (emphasis added):

One way of getting a preliminary insight into Lewis’ argument [from reason] is to ask whether nature is a product of mind or mind is a product of nature. If God created nature, as Christians believe, then nature is understandable by reason because it is a product of reason.²

Christianity offers that man is made in the image of God and from this we gather that our mind is formed in likeness to God’s mind. Thus, we have a reason for our reason which is Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, Earth, and our mind. Indeed the apostle John describes how “the Word” (logos, which can also be translated as “reason”) was with God in the beginning, how reason formed all of nature, and how the incarnate Word came to Earth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1–4, 14)

The idea of Christ as the Word is further refined in John 14:6 where Jesus describes Himself as “the way and the truth and the life.” Here Jesus, reason incarnate, properly claims primacy over truth and life, highlighting how truth and life flow from reason.

Conversely, atheism fails to provide hope, a reason for living, a reason for meaning, or a reason for reason at all. With such a hopeless doctrine for life or truth, I hope atheists will consider reclaiming their reason by exploring the rich doctrines of Christianity that celebrate reason and hope.

*** Will Myers

Democratic championed issues are lost due to the apathetic-registered-voters. There are more Democrats than republicans, but due to the republican higher percentage of educated voters they win most of the time. I hate to say but republicans are smarter than democrats as a whole. Usually, these issues lost are those that would help the hourly workers, the common people. I always study an issue by finding out which way the almighty dollar goes. Never fail, it always moves up the pyramid toward the rich while the hourly workers allow it to happen. Their favorite trick is to pit us against each other such as the homeless is lazy and costing those that work hard for their pennies. Another deception is wolf in sheep clothing whereas they express that their feeling are the same as the hourly workers, even unto emphasizing good manners and pointing to the ill manners of those who demand fair wages. The CANDY ASS trick!

Let me ask you. Are the feelings the same if the child of a $30K annually paid employee the same when faced with a catastrophic health care problem? Hell no. The only time “I know your feelings” are legit is when healthcare cost is free and raises in pay allows all workers to have nice homes for their children and dependable transportation, and available education for their children.

Republican propaganda is far superior to the democratic promotions. It has hourly workers voting against their best interest. Sensible voters use to vote their wallet, but republican propaganda has changed all of that.

DUMB DONKEYS! Genius elephants.

FREE HEALTH CARE is needed because of its necessity and the cost to each family. Canada and the UK which are not socialist countries each have free health care. The purpose of government is the welfare and protection of the citizens. Capitalist in America has coerced the Republicans to fight against Obama Care (which is to help poor people have medical help) in a very deceptive manner. Lets not stop until we have free health care for everyone. Do not listen to the republican’s deeply deceptive lies. Capitalist of the medical businesses are against Obamacare because they won’t be able to exploit the people at will, and just flat ass let people die who has catastrophic illnesses. Profits are the main concern of the corporations; not the people.

WEATHER THE STORM of Obamacare; implementation of Obama Healthcare is going to be instituted successfully, and will save the lives of many Americans. Mega-rich insurance CEO’s and V.P.’s shall be forced to stop their rebellion against Obamacare and accept a few dollars less; the system is inflated any way. After Obamacare is institutionalized, the lies and deceptions by the republican party is going to slowly come out. This is why they are so desperate at this time to kill Obamacare. They are going as far to preach that Obamacare shall destroy America. This is ridiculous. Instead, Obamacare shall save the lives of many citizens who the status quo or exploiters would let die.

Lie rides a fast and fiery horse while Truth rides a slow horse but very dependable. It will always walk in.

CHRIST JESUS said that He was good only because he listened to His Father all the time and about everything, and did only what His Heavenly Father had taught Him. What is right or wrong is a man term in a relative sense. The truth is what is right is what God says each moment…every word that processes from the mouth of God. For man to seek what is absolutely right or wrong is futile. Seek God and His Righteousness at all times for what is right; anything else is wrong after a few clicks of the clock.

We are in need of a Savior because of our sinful nature, and have no means of becoming perfect without blame; each determination of what is right after interacting and competing with others becomes controversial within a short time. Each determination only gives a relative right with wrong associated with it. Jesus was graciously sent to be our Savior by God. As we attempt to obey the Word of God, Jesus comes into the scene and God accepts as perfect; an Absolute Good.

By having Jesus as our Savior each can have peace of mind. Peace of mind is more than being without hassles; it fully means that one who has this God peace shall also receive joy and happiness from God as it should have been in the beginning of creation before the original sin of Adam and Eve who put us on an endless trip through eternity awaiting total destruction.

TEMPTATIONS IN LIFE: Jesus was tempted by the devil using the material things in the world and man’s desire for power because Jesus could have been the leader of the Jews who opposed Roman control. The world is a fraud in progress; it always tempts one into selling out to the world for popularity, power, and material gains, but in the end the world seeks to destroy you. We live in a fallen world, and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The sins of man are always working to destroy a person, capitalizing on that person’s sins also.

Most people don’t believe that they are sinners, and they become angry if called a sinner. The truth is that we are only good relative to our social norms at present. The truth is that we all are sinners in the eyes of our Perfect God.

Jesus has overcome the world beginning with His miraculous birth through his resurrection from the dead by God. Jesus is the One Lord of Life that brings each soul into the presence of God, our Heavenly Father. For He ascended into the heavens before many eyes.

The devil capitalizes on any and all unpleasant occurrences. The devil’s ways are seductive because they are for immediate rewards. One need not have patience nor discipline unto what is good.

All other spiritual leaders are intermediate states of Jesus; a special case of Christianity. But, be not tempted to knock the Muslim; let God have His way. The Son of God camp is forever; God’s only Son.

All through the New Testament reports of Jesus performing metaphysical phenomenons such as turning water into wine, and it was the best of wine brothers! Jesus commanded the winds to cease and be peaceful. Jesus’s most miraculous act was to command life to return into ones who had died. The scriptures refer to the energies of Jesus as light which was the spirit of life. From this many people sensed the truth; meaning that they suddenly knew what their purpose was, and it had been fulfilled. They were caught up in the moment of feeling that they had learned what every thing was about. The sense of displacement from the truth had vanished.

By the preponderance of the scriptures all persons who are aware of this non-displaced state of mind, the sensing of the Life Light, can perform the same metaphysical feats as Jesus. If we consider the need for inertia in order to move another object, than similarly likewise if the mind has enough initial (strong faith) to remain in the Life Light of Jesus one can also perform metaphysical feats as did Jesus. As a matter of fact, Jesus explicitly authorized us to do so.

Mark 9:39

I see no parity with humanism and Christianity. Humanist say be bold without fear. Christians say be bold without fear in the name of Jesus. Clearly, Christians have the supernatural and the natural working for them in all things. Humanist only have themselves in a temporal nature. Humanist glorifies the temporal “Self” who has all of the human frailties. Christians glorifies God in the name of Jesus, and receives supernatural powers and tastes of eternal life.

There are many challenges in life which are overwhelming to anyone. Usually, the devil is in the mix causing havoc on your situation. I have come to realized that the challenge is a spiritual one. If I firstly seek God’s answer to my problem and accept God’s solution to my problem in His Spiritual manner, and continual in God’s Spiritual manner, than God’s plan for me prevails over all matters.

In the nexus, I always have learned a spiritual lesson which brings me more into a steady fellowship with my Heavenly Father through  Jesus. This is the purpose of life; staying in fellowship with God, and communing with Him continually.

Jesus paid our sin debt by shedding His blood on the cross. We are cleansed and healed by the blood of Jesus; liken unto a transfusion of His pure sinless life into each person for a substitute for our sinful life. Life is in the blood.  Upon the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God gave His Son power over satan and all of his demonic angels. Satan has been defeated. We only have to belief and have faith in Jesus, the Son of God, in order to live a victorious life by being in steady fellowship with God through Jesus, the resurrected Son; thereby, overcoming all of the wiles and deceptions of the devil.

Jesus is the reason for the season. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

PRIVACY RIGHTS are essential to a free democracy with freedoms and liberties as desired. Common manners of interaction among an extended family setting,  if orchestrated by special interests using strangers over an extended community, has vastly different effects on a targeted individual than if it was only confined to the family. After all, every family have intimate secrets that they wish not to leave the house. Intimate knowledge about a targeted individual in the hands of a special interest(s)  who is specialized in the field of psychology can be detrimental to any citizen’s welfare and livelihood; even unto his/her personal safety.

Such increased activity by special interests who have followings among the people would prove destructive to the freedoms and liberties of a free democracy; resulting in a more fascist government with increased elements of communism because the governing bodies would own more intellectual properties of the state; our minds.  The more fascist government is caused by corporations who can purchase personal information about its employees and other persons of interest such as politicians. The communist element increases when more grass level private citizens are targeted for public scrutiny.  We should not allow for the invasion of privacy to continue. It will inevitably poison our free democracy alone with restricting freedoms and liberties among the citizenry.

When it’s about another person, “believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see.” Draw your conclusions about another person only from that person. Believe it or not, the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” will save our free democracy with the desired freedoms and liberties.

Deciding what is best for you by a group(s) who have superior knowledge is a vastly different life than what your life would be if only you decided what is best for you. The vast difference on a large-scale could easily mean the difference between living in a free democracy or a police state.

There are special interests who are working continuously to influence your every move and thoughts. The collection and dissemination of information during the pass 60 years has increased speed and magnitude over 100 times. Adversity can be orchestrated in one’s life over night. The frightening thing is that this social machinery has not even began to reach its pinnacle in our society. Believe me, as it reaches its max deployment, it is going to be very personal to each citizen while claiming none existence within our so-called free democracy.

The biggest deception of the devil is to have people think that he doesn’t exist.