Full Text for The Darwin-Lutheran Connection (Text)

Life of theWorld Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne Summer 2009, Volume Thirteen, Number Two Fo r th e The Darwin-Luther Connection By Dr. Ken A. Ham Reasonable Response By Dr. Roderick B. Soper CTS Playscape: Entering the Biblical World By Rev. Timothy R. Puls 4 For the Life of the World F E A T U R E S PRESIDENT Rev. Dr. Dean O. Wenthe PUBLISHER/EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Rev. Timothy R. Puls Colleen Bartzsch COPY EDITORS ART DIRECTOR Adriane Dorr  Elizabeth Puls Steve Blakey EDITORIAL ASSOCIATES Rev. James Bushur  Dr. Charles Gieschen Dr. Naomichi Masaki For the Life of theWorld is published quarterly by Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 6600 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher of For the Life of the World. Copyright 2009. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Minneapolis, Minnesota. For the Life of the World is mailed to all pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the United States and Canada and to anyone interested in the work of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. CONTENTS 6 The Darwin-Luther Connection By Dr. Ken A. Ham Whether it’s liberal theology, evolutionism, the age of the earth, or moral issues (e.g., abortion and gay marriage), these are all ultimately battles over the same issue. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, the Apostle Paul warns us about an ever- present danger: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Take one look around our world. A need for a new reformation is evident, both for our culture and for the church. We must return to the Bible as our absolute authority. 10 Reasonable Response By Dr. Roderick B. Soper It is critical to understand that science states that natural selection is random and undirected, meaning God (if He is out there) did not have anything to do with it. In fact, science is a method of searching for truth that intentionally keeps God out of the picture. Therein, of course, lies the rub. The Genesis account of creation puts all of the work in the hands of God, telling us that God created all things out of nothing. Seems like we have diametrically opposed opinions about how we all got here. Can both be correct? 20 CTS Playscape: Entering the Biblical World By Rev. Timothy R. Puls Children entering the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary to play on the new playground really do enter the biblical world. Not only is it an enjoyable place to explore and exercise physically, but it is also a place that exposes and illustrates some biblical truths and narratives taken from the Holy Scriptures. Children as young as age 2 can sit on and play in Noah’s Ark, touch Jonah’s Fish, crawl in Daniel’s Den, or hop on the Seven Day Steps of Creation. The more skilled explorers can hang from Peter’s Net, navigate their way up Jacob’s Ladder, or climb the Mt. Sinai Rock Wall. 26 What Does the Seminary Guild Do? We Serve in Love! By Lynn Brege The mission of the Concordia Theological Seminary Guild is to serve God by communicating the needs and encouraging support of the seminary and its students. We invite and encourage individuals and groups from our LCMS congregations to participate with us in this service. For the Life of theWorld Volume Thirteen, Number Two T H E Darwin-Luther CONNEC T I ON By Dr. Ken A. Ham For the Life of the World6 Take one look around our world. A need for a new reformation is evident, both for our culture and for the church. We must return to the Bible as our absolute authority. Whether it’s liberal theology, evolutionism, the age ofthe earth, or moral issues (e.g., abortion and gaymarriage), these are all ultimately battles over the same issue. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, the Apostle Paul warns us about an ever-present danger: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Paul, in essence, is warning Christians that there will be efforts to seduce people away from a simple devotion to Christ and His Word. To understand this text better, we need to go back to Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say . . . ?’” From the beginning, the battle was over the authority of the Word of God. The first woman, Eve, followed by her husband, Adam, gave in to the temptation not to take God at His Word. Instead, he relied on his human reason to determine truth. All his descendants inherited a sinful nature that would be prone to refuse to take God at His Word, and instead they would make human reason their supreme authority. This battle against God’s Word has manifested itself in every era of history. This year, Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday is being celebrated, along with the 150th anniversary of his work On the Origin of Species. More than ever, secularists are using evolution to attack the reliability of the Bible. On every side the Apostle Paul faced skeptics who questioned the clear proclamation of God’s Word. The early church faced several challenges to the authority of the Scriptures, including Gnosticism, which taught that man was his own god. In the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences for forgiveness of sin and release from purgatory marked a climax in the elevation of human thinking above God’s Word. Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Church door, challenging such indulgences. This act sparked a debate about whether the Bible or the church is the ultimate authority, and it essentially began the Reformation. The battle against God’s Word did not cease, as a series of men and events sought to undo the positive effects of the Reformation. Behind these attacks was an effort to make human reason supreme and steer people away from the authority of the Word of God. It was another manifestation of Satan’s attack in Genesis 3:1. In the 1800s, new speculation about the age of the earth and the evolution of life raised questions about the accuracy of the Bible. The growing doubts gained international attention at the 1925 Scopes evolution trial. The trial marked a symbolic turning point in Christendom and in American society. The media reported that Christians could not adequately defend Genesis. In the decades that followed, increasing compromise about biblical authority in Genesis 1–11 has made the church so weak that the Bible no longer impacts the culture as it once did. The Bible’s influence is largely gone because the church has allowed human reason (including Darwinian thinking) to invade the church and push aside God’s Word. Today a new reformation is needed. It’s time for a new generation of reformers to stand up and call the church back to trust in God’s Word where it is most under attack: the history of Genesis. Apologetics ministries, including the new Creation Museum, have already issued the call to turn away from the opinions of fallible men like Darwin and stand firmly on the entire Bible. Believers need to nail Genesis 1–11 on church doors across America! And as we take God at His Word, we can then watch the power of His Word transform lives and influence the culture. Christians should be praying that the Lord will rebuild the foundations of His house that shifted from the firm ground of His Word because of the works of people like Charles Darwin. Dr. Ken Ham is the founder and president of Answers in Genesis-USA and the high-tech Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio. He has authored or co-authored many books concerning the authority and accuracy of God’s Word and the effects of evolutionary thinking, including the just released Already Gone and the bestselling The Lie: Evolution. SUMMER 2009 7 Human reason has replaced God’s Word, and compromise has crept into the church. A reformation is needed again to call the church to take God at His Word. Dr. Ken Ham shared a lecture with the 2009 Christ Academy students at the the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.