According to a recent article in The Atlantic, there are homeschooling evangelical Christian parents who are disgusted with some of the science texts written for the homeschool market -- texts that teach that the earth is only a few thousand years old, and also teach that anyone who rejects that idea rejects God.
Interesting, indeed. I suspect that such people are a small minority.
Going into the world with a dogmatic view that the earth is only a few thousand years old has consequences. One consequence is that telling someone who needs Christ that that’s what the Bible says, when they have good reason to believe that it’s false, is likely to make them doubt what the Bible says about the need for salvation from sin, and Christ’s offer of redemption. If the Bible is wrong about geology (it’s not, but it doesn’t really say for sure that the earth is only 10,000 years old!) then how can it be trusted about sin and salvation?
See here for more on Young-Earth Creationism.
Thanks for reading.
Musings on science, the Bible, and fantastic literature (and sometimes basketball and other stuff).
God speaks to us through the Bible and the findings of science, and we should listen to both types of revelation.
The title is from Psalm 84:11.
The Wikipedia is usually a pretty good reference. I mostly use the World English Bible (WEB), because it is public domain. I am grateful.
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The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.
6 comments:
We shouldn't hold dogmatic opinions about things we don't know. We don't know when God created the earth, but we do know that He saves sinners! Amen!
So true, but, unfortunately, that doesn't always stop us from being dogmatic. No doubt that I am, too.
Thanks.
Interested in lecturing on young vs. old earth creationism? I'd come!
Thanks. Not at the moment, I guess. They've both got their problems. All theories of origins do.
See here for my take on the strengths and weaknesses of the various ideas about origins.
I completely agree that proselytizing with creationism is an awkward path.
An understanding like that, is, like you said, on the same level to the "discoverer" as Christ's mythos to the non-convicted and unconvinced.
I try to teach my son about creationism and show him the truths of evolution theory. I also point out the holes or uncertainties in both theories.
Any homeschool parent or text teaching that someone who believes differently in anything is not a Christian should be rejected though - not just on a science issue.
The ONLY stance of full agreement that a Christian textbook or teaching should be is Christ died on the cross for our sins, without him we are lost.
Even that, with a non believer - that needs to be worked up to and many many examples of living, loving and learning need to be given first.
A Christian homeschooled child should be taught patience, persistence, and love when telling anyone anything they have learned or would like to convince others of - that most definitely includes the knowledge of faith and the mysteries of God.
Well said. I agree with you, except that I would add the resurrection (which I am sure you didn't leave out on purpose!) to the essential beliefs.
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