More Good News From Ken Ham.

(The first lot of good news can be seen here)

The Sectarian World View

In a blog post dated 17th November and entitled “World Wide Epidemic Threatens Church” we find Answers in Genesis’ Ken Ham riding on a wave of euphoria after attending “The All-Asian Creation Conference” in Malaysia. Over a 1000 attended the conference and Ken sold out of AiG resources in minutes. According to Ken he is amazed how God has used and taken AiG’s (false) message around the world. Ken also says he is thrilled to hear the testimonies of people who have been led to the Lord through AiG’s (false) message. As I have remarked before, this sort of talk, given that it is based on AiG’s fundamental errors really debases the language of Christian testimony. I’m sure the Jehovah’s Witnesses with their 7.5 million affiliates and the Mormons with their 14 million followers are equally as ecstatic after their huge rallies.

But, and this is the big “but”, 1000+ attendees is but a drop in the ocean. Ken really understands this and when he sobers up he comes back down to Earth with a bump. The following quote from Ken’s blog is an indication of just how marginal YECs are even within the Christian world. I have italicized the text where it is clear that Ken understands how relatively insignificant the YEC movement is even though it is 50 years since the “YEC reformation” started in the early sixties. I have also emboldened terms that indicate how badly Ken thinks of those who don’t hold his views; especially Christians. Ken is man on a very particular mission (i.e. to spread Christ plus YEC); but then particularity applies to the proprietary doctrinal idiosyncrasies of every Christian fundamentalist sect between here, Brooklyn and Salt Lake City. Here is my quote from Ken:

But something has stood out to me more than anything else at this conference, and it burdens me so deeply.

After I spoke a person came up to me and said, “Please bring a conference to Indonesia—most of the pastors there believe in evolution.” Then another person said, “Please come to my country—most of the pastors believe in evolution. Then another said, “Please come to my country—most of the pastors there believe in evolution.”

There were 20 countries represented at this conference, and I think I have now heard from people from nearly all of them pleading for a creation conference in their country. They have all have said to me something like, “most of the pastors—Christian leaders—seminary professors—believe in evolution and millions of years.”

Friends, disbelief in the book of Genesis is a worldwide epidemic. Satan has used millions of years and evolution to permeate the church around the world. What a mission field we now have to the church. And in particular, what a mission field we have to reach the “shepherds,” the Christian leaders and pastors around the world to call them out of compromise and back to the authority of the Word of God.

I think this one conference has made me realize even more than ever how the pagan religion of millions of years and evolution has so permeated the church around the world! What a mess! And sadly, countries like the USA and England have sent missionaries around the world teaching this compromised message because they were trained in compromised colleges and seminaries.

This makes me more burdened than ever to challenge these compromising church leaders.

And you know what else this conference in Asia has shown me? There is a real hunger among the people—hunger for the truth. It is a hunger for answers. When people who do have a respect for God’s Word are given answers and taught the importance of not undermining biblical authority in Genesis, they get it. They really get it! And then they are set on fire to go back to their country and be a missionary for creation evangelism.

Please pray for the Lord to open more doors so we can deal with this compromise epidemic that is undermining God’s Word worldwide.

Each and every sectarian thinks they’re uniquely placed before God. If anything, then, the small size of their community gives them the pride of being  part of a select spiritual elite, the remnant through which the Almighty is working to enlighten humanity about looming apocalypse. Moreover, they take consolation in their work of proselytizing; they always believe they are in with chance as they seek to convert those who are beyond the pale of their strict and particular beliefs and practices. But in the face of unbelief and lack of response to their message they look for scapegoats to accuse of courting Satan and sin; especially fellow Christians who don’t quite see it their way. These sects may be in a small minority but their clownish extremism gets them an audience out of all proportion to their size; Harold Camping (amongst many others of similar ilk) has shown us that.

Lessons in Authenticity

Christianity magazine is nothing if not painfully honest about the Christian life. In keeping with this ethos the magazine published an article by Jeff Lucas (October 11). In this article Lucas tells his readers about a church he visited where the preacher “Painted the Christian life as endlessly epic”. The whole article is worth reading, so here is a photo of it (click to enlarge):

Clearly Lucas isn’t fooled by the extravagantly superlative terms of the Christian triumphalists. The excessive use of such language inflates its shock value; more and more of it is needed to achieve its desired effect of intimidating the faithful into belief and wrenching from them an emotional reaction. Ergo, this language gets increasingly empty of meaning and the affectations of the rank and file as they try to follow what they hear from the pulpit ring hollow. Jeff Lucas (like most of the writers for Christianity magazine), on the other hand, comes over as entirely genuine and above all self-critical – any claims that he makes about being a witness to the epically miraculous feel that much more authentic. He's a man one can take seriously.