Re: Cobb County

Vernon -
    If Satan has such complete control over the world and human minds to make the great preponderance of evidence point toward a false picture of origins then Satan is, for all intents and purposes, the creator of the world we inhabit and of which we are part. This idea has always been recognized as a heresy - Manicheanism - by the Christian church. And if you then argue that Satan is in fact subservient to God then you are right back to the problem that Dave points out - that God is (albeit through the agency of Satan) deceitful.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Vernon Jenkins
  To: D. F. Siemens, Jr.
  Cc: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 7:29 PM
  Subject: Re: Cobb County

  Dave,

  Your email of 17 Jan included the following: "If the Creator produced this universe about 6000 years ago so that any rational observer thinks it is billions of years old, he is deliberately deceitful. Bluntly, your deity is a liar." A serious charge, indeed. You later go on to say, "I do vigorously oppose scientism, materialism, dogmatic naturalism, all positions which deny the God who is Truth.", and I am thus encouraged to offer a brief scriptural defence of my position.

   It seems to me that the one biblical character Christians find it hardest to talk about - or even acknowledge - is Satan. Yet our Lord describes him as "...the prince of this world..." (Jn.14:30) and "...a liar, and the father of it." (Jn.8:44). The apostles also warn us of him - notably in Eph.6:11 where Paul, speaking to believers, writes, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Yes, Satan - our adversary (1Pet.5:8) - is a real and powerful being; nevertheless, he is subservient to God (Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6) - and it appears that he is there, _unintentionally_ performing an important role in the unfathomable purposes of God.

  Now, on the basis of these revelations, one has to ask why many Christians appear to believe that a consideration of the _physical_ evidences alone is sufficient to sustain the confident claims made in respect of the age of the earth and God's method of creating. The answer is again to be found in the Scriptures where we read "...for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth..." (Gen.8:21)

  To summarise: my God is no liar; His word is true in its entirety. In believing differently, you have failed to heed its clear warnings and, in my view, have become embroiled in a gross deception. An eminent evangelical theologian here in the UK has described Darwin's, The Origin of Species as "more responsible for undermining people's faith and belief in the Scriptures, and in God's way of salvation, than any other single book." What a coup for Satan that was! - mass delusion on a world-wide scale - yet, in the wisdom of God, permitted, so that His sovereign purposes might be fulfilled.
Received on Wed Jan 19 08:29:33 2005