There is hope
Posted at 10:00 on 25 December 2017
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
— Hebrews 12:1-3
It is all too easy, on seeing the excruciating falsehoods and absurdities presented by young-earth "creation science" and the extreme dogmatism with which they are taught, to grow weary and lose heart, or to even allow them to colour your perception of Christianity in general.
Don't.
If you're asking the question, "What else are they lying to me about?" about your pastor or church leaders, rest assured that the answer is, not as much as you think. Many rank and file YECs aren't intentionally out to deceive: they just lack the skills and training necessary to fact-check the claims that they repeat. You're only lying if you know — or should reasonably be expected to know — that the claims you are making are untrue.
Furthermore, there are well-informed Christian apologists and ministries out there who are much more honest in their approach to matters such as this. Ministries such as Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, William Lane Craig and Reasonable Faith, and Hugh Ross and Reasons to Believe, provide a lot of valuable resources here. Remember too that the world has agendas of its own. There are plenty of dishonest arguments and ideological biases coming from "the other side" as well. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
It's also important to realise that while the scientific evidence takes a firm and insistent line on the age of the earth, the Bible does not. I know that some people think that 2 Peter 3:8 and Psalm 90:4 are not relevant here, or that they are not a lot to go on, but at least in terms of long ages, the Bible gives us something. No matter how old the earth is, or who did or didn't evolve from what, God's Word still stands. Of that, I am confident.
Don't forget what it's all about.
Christmas is a joyful time. The carols that we sing present a joyful message: your Saviour, Christ the Lord, has come. We send each other cards and gifts to celebrate His birth, a little over two thousand years ago.
For that is what it's all about. As I've said before, we are Christians, not Adam-and-his-pet-dinosaurians. We celebrate the completed work of Christ on the Cross, not the incomplete work of Adam and Eve on the back of their pet T-Rex. Don't buy into any of this "no six days means no Gospel" nonsense. It's a denial of the Gospel, it's what Richard Dawkins wants you to believe, and it is factually untrue.
Remember Colossians 2:8:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on Christ.
Note in particular how it ends with, "...rather than on Christ." Not with "...rather than on a young earth and dinosaurs on the Ark." Hold fast to that which is good.
May God bless you all richly this Christmas.
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