Creation Science Rebuttals
Institute for Creation Research
Impact #247: Compromise
by Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 11 March 2003
In an Impact article on the Institute of Creation Research website, creation science advocate Fred Wilson attempts to paint a negative picture of what happens when Christians compromise their belief in a literal, six 24-hour creation timeline, by accepting the true age of the earth as billions of years (Compromises and Consequences - The Genesis Account).
He does a good job of painting compromise in a negative light. There are two points I would like to make about his article.
First, this should be a non-issue for Christians. If you believe in a young earth...great, these crazy old earth ideas won't affect your faith, nor your salvation. If you believe in an old earth, and are strong in the faith...great. For those young-earth people who are doubting their faith due to concerns about the age of the earth...that’s OK. However, a word of caution. Just because you doubt the age of the earth, does not mean that your salvation is affected. You can be just as effective a Christian, continue fellowshipping, worshiping, and witnessing, even though you believe in an old earth. The only words of caution you need are...don't use this as an excuse to stop all these activities.
Second, remember, each of us will give account of himself to God at the judgment of believers. Don't worry about the arguments of a few young earth proponents...you won't be standing before them for judgment.
Young earth believers…don’t worry about the arguments of a few old earth believers…you won’t be standing before us in the judgment.
As for compromise...I'm sure it is no problem to find non-Christians, including atheists, who criticize us for "apparently" compromising our beliefs. However, just because Christians disagree, does not mean that they are wrong about Jesus Christ. He is still the only way to be saved.
At the same time, we would have no problem finding non-Christians who criticize the young-earth believers for not recognizing the obvious age of the earth. And, it is no problem to find Christians who have fallen away from the faith because of the age issue. They will have to give account to God for their actions...but that should not affect your own faith. You are the only one who has to give account for yourself.
So, remain strong in your old earth beliefs. The bottom line is...if you remain strong in your faith, there will be no compromise. When we give account of ourselves before God, He will ask, "What have you done for my Son Jesus," not "Are you a young earth or old earth believer." At that point, the arguments of young earth creation science will no longer matter…neither will the arguments of the old earth believer.
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.
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.