Creation Science Rebuttals

Institute for Creation Research

Back to Genesis: Ignoring Doctrines?

#213a, 1 September 2006

In one of the September 2006 issues of the Back to Genesis series, John Morris argues that those who compromise and believe in long ages, or ignore the creation debate completely, are ignoring other key doctrines.

Morris tells about a talk he had with an evangelical pastor as they discussed creationism. The pastor said it did not matter what one thought about creation...it only mattered what one thinks about Jesus. In this case, the pastor is absolutely correct. However, Morris claims that "creation doctrine" is foundational to all the other doctrines.

Prior to the advent of the young earth creationism movement in the 1900's (of which Morris' father, Henry, was the main figure), there was no unified doctrine of creation. Doctrines are defined as key teachings of the church which cannot be compromised. In the mid 1960's, young earth creationist advocates were able to successfully get creationism added as a doctrine at many churches. If the church fathers of the previous 1,900 years did not care about creation, one must wonder why it needed to be added now.

Morris says that creation doctrine "can't be ignored without damage to the others." Is this true? Morris says "One cannot 'preach Jesus' while denying His role as Creator." As a Christian, I believe Jesus was indeed the Creator. I believe in the inerrant, infallible Word of God...just as Morris does. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven...just as Morris does. I believe in the teachings of the Bible on marriage...just as Morris does. I believe in the virgin birth, miracles, the doctrine of sin, salvation, the trinity, etc., etc. You get the idea. If I were sitting on the church pew beside Morris on Sunday morning, you could not tell the difference between us doctrinally. Unless, of course, you add the so-called "doctrine of creation.

Morris would like his readers to believe that if you compromise the young earth creation story, you cannot walk with Christ. Fortunately, there are millions of effective Christians who believe in an old earth, who prove that Morris' claims are false.

Those of us in the creation debate know exactly what Morris is doing. He is trying his best to stop the bleeding. Young earth creationism has been losing followers for years now, and they don't want any more to walk away. However, now is the perfect time to leave. Young earth creationism is slowly being pushed further into a corner, with no way out. They are no longer regarded as credible by the world, and as such, they cannot reach the world with the Gospel. However, old earth creationists are uniquely positioned to preach the Gospel to the world, and they are more willing to consider our position. And best of all...you can keep all the key doctrines of the Bible if you switch.

Back to Genesis #213a, published on the web at http://www.icr.org/article/2904/

If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.

Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.

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