Prominent Nazarenes Reject
God’s Word And Promote
Ungodly Evolution
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools, Rom 1:21-22
There has been a movement for quite some time now to serve up evolution as a viable
alternative for Christians as to how God created man. That movement is trying to gain
momentum in the Nazarene denomination, as part of a “big tent” philosophy. But if you
accept evolution, you also must accept certain ideas that come with it. And in accepting
them, you have no choice but to reject what Holy Scripture has to say about it. You
cannot believe in the Bible, and also believe in evolution. It is an oxymoron.
Believing in evolution means you must accept that, among other things:
-Adam and Eve were not real historical figures as described in Genesis;
-Jesus was not truthful when he talked about Adam and Eve in a historical context;
-You reject God’s account in Genesis that He created everything in six days;
-You reject the truthfulness of the genealogical account of the Lord in Matthew,
which includes Adam;
-The account of the first 11 chapters of Genesis is only allegory;
-You accept that death came into the world many years before any Adam and Eve,
contradicting Romans 5:12 and its explanation of how sin and death came into the
world;
-You pick and choose what you want to believe, instead of accepting God’s historical
account at face value;
-You choose to use your own intellect and human reasoning and philosophy to
validate the Bible, instead of letting the Bible validate itself;
-You reject the inerrancy and reliability of Scripture as the sole and final written
authority for our faith and practice, and instead accept that the Bible has errors
and is written deceptively.
We could list more things from the Bible that require someone to suspend belief in it,
when they say they adhere to “theistic evolution.” These people in the end pick and
choose what they want to believe, to satisfy their intellectual snobbery and their
disbelief in God’s word. What is not literal about the following account, as one example?
Gen 2:7 "And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and
to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul."
They just cannot accept such accounts as fact. They twist the word of God, and
insist that there is no way it could have happened that way, because “science”
disproves it. Of course, we know how flawed science has been in the past, and
evolution is a prime example. The entire concept of original sin falls apart if
Adam and Eve were not created by God as is said in Genesis.
The fossil record actually shows an abrupt appearance of human life, and there
is no evidence whatsoever of gradual evolution. And so, the evolutionists had
to come up with something called “Punctuated Equilibrium” to explain away that
problem. The fact is that Darwin’s theory (really a hypothesis) has been clearly
refuted many times by the evidence of science, yet the deniers continue to insist
on this fairy tale as being fact, when it is one of the biggest lies perpetrated on
humankind.
The Leadership of The Evolution Movement In The Church
Nazarenes Exploring Evolution is composed of a group of Nazarene theologians,
pastors and scientists. Here are two of the more familiar people (to me) who are
on the leadership:
Tom Oord: open theist and professor of theology and philosophy at Northwest
Nazarene, who rejected my biblical answer to him several years ago at a lecture
where he seemed to miss the point of Romans 5:12 and its explanation of sin
and death. He is first on the list of leadership of this group, and that is no surprise.
He is probably the number one prime mover of this unbiblical agenda.
Scott Daniels: pastor of Pasadena First Church and dean of Azuza Pacific University’s
School of Theology. In 2009 at General Assembly, Rev. Daniels teamed up with
Jon Middendorf to hold a workshop where they promoted the emergent church,
and such mystics as Richard Foster and Thomas Merton. Rev. Daniels has made
the ridiculous claim, against all evidence, that not only is the emergent church
movement dead, but that he is not a part of it as well.
Others on this team include: Bob Branson, graduate of Southern Nazarene and
Nazarene Theological Seminary, who has written for several Sunday School
handbooks; Jennifer Chase, another product of Northwest Nazarene University
who specializes in biology; Kerry Fulcher from Point Loma Nazarene University,
another school that along with Northwest promotes emergent ideology and
contemplative mysticism; Mark Mann, also a teacher at Point Loma who is a
contributor to The BioLogos Forum, which heavily promotes theistic evolution;
Sherri Walker, another product of Northwest Nazarene; and Mark Winslow,
who teaches at Southern Nazarene and whose interests include “understanding
how college students accommodate evolution and religious beliefs.”
Then there are the various article contributors, which includes some from the
extremely liberal and emergent-embracing NazNet blog, an "unofficial" Nazarene
site for conversations amongst Nazarenes. Most notable of these contributors is
Dr. Karl Giberson, formerly a science professor at Eastern Nazarene College,
author of the book Saving Darwin, and I cannot think of any other science teacher
who has caused more damage to students with his open theism and evolution
teaching. The “toxic-ness” is compounded by the utter arrogance of this man,
who has been known to rip into the reputation and character of anyone who
dares to disagree with his ungodly teachings. I do not hate him, but I do hate
what he has done, and continues to do. Sadly, his colleague Dr. Randall Stephens
is carrying on the same philosophy to the detriment of more ENC students.
Far From Loving And Humble
The final paragraph of their statement describing this project says “In a loving,
constructive, and humble endeavor, the Nazarenes Exploring Evolution project seeks
to help the Church of the Nazarene consider how evolution can complement rather
than contradict Wesleyan-holiness theology.” This is quite laughable, because it is
not believable, when you read the way some of these hold a disdain for those who
dare to believe God’s word instead of theirs! In fact, in the words preceding that
statement, the less than charitable Dan Boone, president of Trevecca Nazarene
University, says this:
"Will I engage a young generation in an open-minded biblical conversation that
welcomes scientific discovery, reasoned philosophy, and careful logic? Or will I
ignore all of these in favor of an interpretation of creation that is barely one hundred
years old and rooted in the fear of science?"
This type of rhetoric is typical of Dr. Boone and others. First, they elevate philosophy
and human reasoning to a level that is so important that man must turn to it first,
in order to then confirm what the Bible says. Then he throws up a red herring, and
paints Bible believers as “fearful of science,” instead of just admitting that we vigorously
disagree with what these people promote. This is the same old way they talk amongst themselves, congratulating themselves for their intellect, and parading their degrees in
front of us. Just read their Leadership page and you will understand what I mean by
how much they are so impressed with themselves. It is, to paraphrase a friend's
comment, more like a mutual admiration society.
Follow The Money
In funding evolution, it takes money to push forth anti-biblical views. So, what group
or person is behind all this? Enter the John Templeton Foundation. And what does it
have to do with Nazarenes Exploring Evolution, you ask? First, here is a quote from
one of John Templeton’s writings:
“No one should say that God can be reached by only one path” (The Humble Approach
pp. 46,55). Templeton writes in his book Discovering the Laws of Life: “[T]he basic
principles for leading a 'sublime life'... may be derived from any religious tradition,
Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and others, as well as Christian”
And now, the connection. The Biologos Foundation has recently granted a significant
amount of money to Tom Oord to push forth John Templeton's philosophical (anti-biblical)
views further into the Nazarene denomination via a new website:
http://biologos.org/ecf/grantees
And now, enter: NAZARENES EXPLORING EVOLUTION http://exploringevolution.com/
By the way, this word "exploring" is very deceptive. They are not exploring evolution;
they are promoting it, plain and simple. There is no other agenda.
At his own blog, Dr. Oord introduces the birth of this new website:
http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/nazarenes_exploring_evolution/
#.USJt-_KneKI
So, you just need to follow the money BEHIND these people and their projects to
understand how and why these philosophies are being implemented. It takes money
and well networked groups to assault the basic tenets of scripture. And as always,
the best place to start is with the youth in the schools. This follows happily along
with the Brian McClaren philosophy of getting to the children and grandchildren first.
Most parents have no idea how the foundations that they thought they have established
with their children will be under assault by a well-funded liberal machine.
Here is another quote:
“Our vision is derived from the late Sir John Templeton's optimism about the possibility of
acquiring "new spiritual information" and from his commitment to rigorous scientific
research and related scholarship.” (end of quote)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Templeton_Foundation
New spiritual information??? A new revelation from God? Does not the Nazarene
denomination believe in the closed canon of Scripture, and that what God has revealed
in His word is our only authority, not some so-called new spiritual information?
It's no coincidence that Answers In Genesis, run by Ken Ham, has come under attack
by groups that hate the biblical account of creation. This ministry serves to equip our
youth and to stand strong against the wiles of the devil who goes about like a roaring
lion seeking to devour and tear down the foundations of our faith.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/. Dr. Ham has been at the forefront
of fighting back and refuting Karl Giberson and others who are promoting the Bible
denying man’s religion called evolution, and he is not even a Nazarene.
The Real Force Behind The Movement
In commenting on an article from Dr. Oord’s blog, a good friend and pastor described
it well:
"Just reading this article by Oord – An Alternative Doctrine of Creation.
It's interesting how he labels his own view of creation, "my alternative doctrine." That's
exactly what it is! These people have become their own god! It's the deception of the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "You shall be as God", with your own
alternative doctrine."
He is exactly right. These people have been blinded to the truth, and satan is using them
for his ends. These people cannot see that if Adam and Eve were not literal, then we
could not have been born in sin, and the Lord Jesus died for nothing. The message of
evolution opposes the message of the Bible. You cannot believe in both.
Every ungodly movement has its leader, sitting in the back unnoticed. That leader is satan,
and he is using men and women like these to deceive countless Christians.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col. 2:8
For further reference:
Articles by Ken Ham Refuting Karl Giberson and Others:
Nazarene Professor Misrepresents-Again
Is Jesus An Evolutionist?
New Book By Nazarene Scholars Slams Biblical Creationists
What Are Nazarene Students Being Taught?
Why Not Edit The Bible?
Exposing The Anointed (review of book by Goberson and Randall Stephens)
It Is Not "Religion" Versus "Science"
Same Old, Same Old
Maligned By Ken Ham?
What the Bible Says About the Origin of Death and Suffering (Answers in Genesis)
Evolution of Darwin: His Life (video, Answers in Genesis)
Manny Silva
Stand For Truth Ministries
"The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."
Psalm 119:160
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
-------------------------------------------------------------
[Stand For Truth Ministries is a self-supporting ministry dedicated to fighting emergent church ideology
and other false teachings. Your prayers are asked for more than anything else.]
To donate to our ministry, send a check to:
Stand For Truth
P.O. Box 532
Somerset, MA 02726
(Donations are not tax-deductible; we are NOT a non-profit)
|
|
