Dear Friends:

How comprehensive is the Atonement of Jesus Christ? Will Jesus redeem our bodies as well as our spirits? Will He redeem the earth and the created order as well? Why does Jesus need to redeem anything physical, if the physical universe was never affected by sin? And, while we are on the subject, was Adam created with a perfect body, or one which was subject to disease, decay, death, and destruction? Why does the Bible say that the very earth is "groaning" and waiting redemption? Is death part of God's "very good" original creation, or a result of sin? If death is "very good," why does Scripture indicate that Jesus will someday create a world in which there will be no more death, even in the animal kingdom? By the way, if God created the animal kingdom to be ruled by the reign of tooth and claw, why does Scripture say that animals were originally to be herbivorous?

These issues and many more are at the heart of a debate over the Book of Genesis which threatens to redefine the precious and well-established doctrine of the Atonement.

In January of this year, a special group of scientists and theologians gathered in San Diego at the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) to address and refute the rising attack on biblical orthodoxy coming from the ranks of Big Bang theorists within the Church. The specific issue to be addressed was the indirect attack on the doctrine of the Atonement posed by "progressive creationists" and others who claim that there was death, decay, and suffering before the Fall of Man. Primary proponents of this theory, such as Dr. Hugh Ross, teach that God created the universe with death, suffering, and decay - and that the Atonement of Christ does not directly apply to the redemption of the physical world.

Dr. John Whitcomb Reviews Notes

Attending the summit were two stalwarts of the Faith, men both in their eighties: Dr. John Whitcomb and Dr. Henry Morris, the co-auth! ors of The Genesis Flood, the book which launched the modern creation movement. Also joining the panel discussion were physicist Dr. Russel Humphreys and geologist Dr. John Morris. As adjunct professor of apologetics for ICR, I was privileged to help organize and participate in the week-long panel discussion with men whom I consider heroes.

Dr. Russell Humphreys discusses Black Hole Theory with Dr. John Morris and Doug Phillips

Drawing from careful exegesis of Scripture, apologetics, physics, geology, and other scientific disciplines, the panelists explained the present attack on fundamental biblical orthodoxy posed by novel hermeneutics, a wrong view of the relationship of Scripture and general revelation, and the misguided movement to syncretize the assumptions of evolutionary cosmology with Scripture. They concluded that, by redefining the scope and extent of the Atonement of Christ to accommodate the billions of years associated with Big Bang cosmology, "progressive creationists" have unwittingly undermined a doctrine essential to biblical orthodoxy. Other errors logically flow from this error. Specifically addressed were the claims of Dr. Ross that there was no global flood of Noah's day (only a regional flood), that soulless proto-humans predated Adam, that God created a world with death, and that the creation week is not ove! r, because we are still in the seventh day.

One result of the Summit on "No Death Before Adam" was a four-hour tape series which synthesizes the key points of the discussion. The series, entitled After Eden, is a helpful and thought-provoking tool for your home, friends, and local church as you seek to work through these issues and reach your own conclusions on this watershed debate.

THE BOOK THAT CONVINCED R.C. SPROUL
to BECOME a SIX-DAY CREATIONIST

When I ran into Dr. R.C. Sproul at a conference in Nashville earlier this year, I asked him to share the reasons for his relatively recent conversion to six-day creationism. His answer was simple: "Doug Kelly's Creation and Change." I was not surprised. For more than five years, I have been using this same book to convince Christian skeptics that only the six, twenty-four-hour day, creationist position is biblically acceptable and scientifically valid. Using clear language and impeccable exegesis, Professor Douglas Kelly argues for a literal interpretation of Creation found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and assesses both the biblical details and the scientific data. He demonstrates that a literal view of Genesis was the overwhelming consensus of scholars and theologians for more than two thousand years, and that the change in theology has only resulted from an accommodation to modern evolutionary presuppositions. Creation and Change: Genesis 1:1-2:4 in the Light of Changing Scientific Paradigms is a paperback, 272 pages in length.

DR. HUGH ROSS LINKS HISTORICAL CREATIONISM
to FLAT EARTH THEORY - THESE FIFTY Ph.D. SCIENTISTS DISAGREE

As a student in law school, I remember with great sadness the day when friends returned from a conference, sponsored by the organization "Reasons to Believe," mocking young earth creationists as a community of unqualified scientists whose views held no more legitimacy than those of flat earth proponents. Later, I remember seeing cartoon books published for children by the same ministry in which godly, creationist, Christian theologians of the past were portrayed as buck-toothed, toe-counting fools. Since then, I continue to hear unfortunate and irresponsible statements from progressive creationists, saying that no "real" scientists believe in a young universe, an example of which was Dr. Ross's comment during a televised debate with John Ankerberg in which Dr. Ross declared: "Astronomers view the credibility of a young Earth as being much weaker than that of a flat Earth." 

Rather than bickering over such tactics, I point you to a tremendous resource: A collection of fifty Ph.D. scientists from diverse disciplines have come together to make it clear they do not agree with Hugh Ross's observation. In the landmark book In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Chose to Believe in Creation, experts from diverse fields (including astronomy) declare that the biblical account of young earth creation is not only theologically sound, it is in harmony with the best scientific research.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Since the time of the early church, there have always been battles over orthodoxy. Even the Apostle Paul had to confront the Apostle Peter for heresy when Peter adopted the philosophy of the Judaizers. Every generation has its own theological battle to fight to maintain the purity of the Gospel of Christ. The battle for this generation is the battle for the foundations of the faith. It is a battle which is being waged in the pages of the book of Genesis, and the implications of error are far reaching. With charity and humility toward those with whom we disagree, but with manly resolve to confront error, we must engage the battle. Failure to do so is to condemn our children to a future without a foundation. The errors which we allow in moderation, they will take to an extreme.

 

		In Christ,
		Doug Phillips President, The Vision Forum, Inc.