Tag Archives: christianity

Science

Was Adam a Real Person?

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Our Tuesday night Bible study has been going through the video series and Bible Study Is Genesis History? Last night, we finished lesson four on Adam, Eve, and the First Sin. As we wrapped up our study, one of the small group attenders asked, “Are there actually people out there who think Adam was just a myth? Why would they do that?”

I explained that yes, believe it or not, even many professing Christians deny that Adam was the first human being, created by God rather than evolved from some lesser species. I think the main reason for this is not because anything in Genesis hints at it, but because people feel the need to accommodate a “settled” scientific conclusion (that the earth is billions of years old) with statements the Bible makes about Adam and Eve.

A helpful book on this topic is Four Views on the Historical Adam published by Zondervan. It includes four different authors each sharing their view on whether Adam was real or not. Here’s a list of the four viewpoints as summarized by Richard Belcher in a Themelios article …

Denis Lamoureux sets forth the Evolutionary Creation View. This view assumes that biological evolution is true and that the debate whether Adam really existed is over. The evidence for evolution is overwhelming, which leads to the conclusion that the Adam the Bible presents never existed. Evolutionary creation asserts that God created the universe and life, including humans, through an ordained, sustained, and intelligent evolutionary process. 

John Walton argues for an archetypal view of creation. He believes Adam and Eve were real people in a real past. However, the Bible does not give scientific information about human origins, but is concerned about Adam and Eve’s function as archetypes for all humanity. Thus Adam and Eve may or may not be the first humans or the parents of the entire human race. 

C. John Collins presents the Old Earth Creation View, which allows for the biblical account of Adam but does not require that the biblical account be accepted if someone is convinced by evolution. Collins tries to carve out parameters of “right thinking” within the context of evolution, which consist of certain beliefs that must be accepted based on the biblical account. 

William Barrick presents the Young Earth Creation View that argues for a historical Adam who was created in the way Gen 2 describes his creation. God took actual dust from the ground, formed a human being from it, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 

Most of you can probably anticipate where I land, and that I agree with Dr. Barrick — that the early chapters of Genesis should be taken literally as history, not as legend, myth, poetry, or something else. It’s a fascinating discussion. You can read the rest of the book review here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/four-views-on-the-historical-adam/. Or of course, you can do a deeper dive and read the full book.

Artwork by Antionio Tempesta, c 1600. This article contains Amazon affiliate links

Culture

The Peril of Paganism

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Several years ago, Natalie and I visited Sedona, Arizona — famous for its beautiful red rocks. Every direction you turn is like looking at a postcard.

One morning, a tour guide drove us around the area and introduced us to stunning rock formations like Cathedral Rock, Steamboat Rock, and my personal favorite — Coffee Pot Rock. It’s a paradise for hikers, climbers, and mountain bikers.

During the tour, we also were told that many people come to Sedona for its healing energy and vortexes. The tour guide pointed out several areas across the valley known for their mystic power.

One Sedona company explains it this way: “Sedona [is] world-renowned for its ability to transform, awaken and heal those who enter it…” One visitor wrote in a review, “It truly felt as if we had an initiation from the rocks that will take us to a whole new level in our healing practice.”

As you drive down Highway 89 through Sedona, you encounter crystal shops, vortex tours, psychics, tarot readings, astrology sessions, apothecaries, labyrinths, indigenous herbs, bones, feathers, and spell supplies. I’ve seen the same thing in places like Ojai, Joshua Tree, and Lake Arrowhead. There are even a surprisingly high number of psychic shops right here in the San Fernando Valley.

Sedona is beautiful and I highly recommend it for those who enjoy the outdoors, but it’s a striking example of how neo-paganism is on the rise. Don Veinot writes, “the belief and adoption of pagan worldviews is growing. Witchcraft is no longer in the world of make-believe and television entertainment, but is more and more mainstream belief which includes the appropriate spells, spiritual retreats, mindfulness workshops, incantations and positive thoughts necessary to transform creation to conform to their will.” (Journal of Modern Ministry, 1.1, p. 146-47).

As our society drifts further away from the knowledge of God, what we see is not the absence of religion, but replacement of true religion with man-made religion. Neo-paganism contains elements of mystery, transcendence, and superstition, blended with personal experience, religious objects, holy space, sacred ritual, and ideas of a higher power. What is absent is the God of the Bible.

I shared more about this in a recent sermon at Calvary Church. Afterward, several church members came up to share their own experience and concerns over the rise in paganism. In this study of Judges 17-18, we learned…

  • Signs that neo-paganism and the occult are on the rise
  • The lure of paganism in ancient Israel
  • A “hippie priest” and his new home
  • Dan’s discontentment
  • Common features of neo-paganism
  • Practical ways to stay pure in a pagan culture

Here’s the audio link…

Thanks for listening. Click here to find more sermons to help you grow in your walk with God.

Sermons

Samson the Ravager

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If you like to blow things up, you might want to check out Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST). 100 miles west of St. Louis, MST offers all the basic engineering majors you would expect — electrical engineering, civil engineering, aerospace engineering. They also offer a program that’s one of a kind in the country – a master’s degree in “Explosives Engineering.”

Explosives Engineering can lead to careers in mining, pyrotechnics, demolition, and national defense. MST also has a summer camp for high school students called, “Explosives Camp.” Camp activities include how to prime and shoot dynamite, how to make a 3” fireworks shell, how to set off a fireworks display, basics of explosives demolition, and of course plenty of talk about safety. Sounds like every 14-year old boy’s dream!

Samson is one of the more colorful characters in the Bible and could truly be called a “demolition man.” You might even say he was a “wrecking ball.” (Interestingly, attaching a big steel ball to cable and crane isn’t used much today because it’s just too messy and unpredictable. You smash things up, but the lack precision and accuracy of modern explosives.)

“Wrecking ball” is a fitting description for Samson. Every Philistine knew it. In Judges 16:24, the Philistines refer to him as “our enemy” and “the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” The NASB translates the word “ravager” as “destroyer.” The NET Bible says he was “the one who ruined our land” (NET). And the NIV says Samson “laid waste our land.”

It may come as a surprise that God would use such a messy person to deliver Israel and wreak havoc for the Philistines, but alas, God’s ways are not our ways. Several months ago, I preached through Judges at Calvary Church West Hills. In our study of Samson in Judges 15-16 we learned…

  • How little foxes caused big destruction
  • Samson carried the Gates of Gaza how far?!
  • Delilah’s deceit and Samson’s blindness
  • Why Jesus is a different kind of Savior
  • Even your “ordinary” gifts can be used greatly by God 

Here’s the audio:

Thanks for listening. Click here to find more sermons listed by topic and book of the Bible.

Suffering

Purpose in Pain

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When God allows pain, his desire is never to hurt you. Sometimes, it’s to prune you and make you more fruitful. It might be to humble you, or to discipline you, or to equip you to comfort others.

Sometimes, God just wants to get your attention. Maybe the Lord has already offered milder reminders and rebukes, and you have kept ignoring them. Now he’s left with no alternative but to discipline you. God loves you too much to allow to let you stay on your current flight path. He’s been calling out, “Mayday, Mayday. Abort, Abort. Don’t keep going this way!” But you turned of the warning alarm.

Now God is disciplining you. His discipline is not to hurt you, but as the Good Shepherd, he’s using his staff to push you back on the straight and narrow.

Hebrews 12:5–6 says, “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

If you ever realize you have some unconfessed sin and are under God’s discipline, what should you do? Seek forgiveness and restoration by following the example of the psalmist. Psalm 130:7 says, “For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.“

Not all pain is due to personal sin. It might simply be to lift our eyes off ourselves and upward, or to give us grace to better sympathize with others. Pain also has a purifying effect in our own lives, challenging us to break bad habits, rid ourselves of idolatry, and offer heartfelt repentance.

I talk more about this in my sermon, “Purpose in Pain,” which I preached several months ago at Calvary Church. In this lesson, we learn…

  • Some of the reasons God allows us to suffer
  • Two judges you’ve probably never heard of
  • God disciplines us to grow us
  • Warning against idols of the heart

Here’s the audio, now available on the podcast:

Thanks for listening! You can visit the Sermon Hub to find over 650 other sermons arranged by topic and book of the Bible. 

Sermons

Song of Deliverance

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Last year marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge — the last major German offensive in World War II and a costly one to Allied forces. Many veterans were quiet about the atrocities of war when they returned home. But years later, PFC “Sparky” Kisse was interviewed by his son and asked what it was like to fight against the Germans.

Kisse said, “We had no idea where we were…. You’re so scared you don’t know whether to run, sit down and cry, or what. But once the fighting starts and you hear the bullets, the fear leaves you and it’s nothing…”

That’s a very humble way to say it, but he’s right that when the battle begins, you have to move forward and push through the fear — out of loyalty to your country and love for your family.

Judges 5 is the song of an important battle in Israelite history. it includes an interesting story how some tribes ran away from the battle, while other tribes ran toward it. By way of application, Christians are in a war too. We’re not called to pick up literal weapons in the name of Christ. Peter tried that once, pulling out his sword and slicing off the ear of the high priest’s servant. But Jesus said, “No more of this! Put your sword into its sheath.” And he touched his ear and healed him (Lk. 22:51).

Christianity is not a jihad-like religion of brute force. Quite the opposite. Our Lord said “love your enemies, bless those who curse you.” But we are in a battle — a spiritual battle — against an invisible enemy. And no one is allowed to sit this one out. We, too, must accept the call to war and offer ourselves willingly for the sake of Christ.

Stay alert, brothers and sisters! Go about your day with a combat readiness. Put on the full armor of God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Accept God’s call on your life and serve him today. Remember you are never alone. “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:6).

Several months ago, I preached on Judges 5, and we looked at these themes more closely. In this study, we learned…

  • The Bible contains many types of literature
  • What to do when you feel trapped and afraid
  • Christians are engaged in a kind of “holy war”
  • The benefit of great songs to commemorate great events

Here’s the sermon audio recording:

Thanks for listening! For a complete list of sermons organized by book of the Bible and by topic, please visit my sermon hub.