On Wednesday this week, the Washington Post ran a Page One article on Liberty University biology professor Dr. David DeWitt’s annual trek to the Smithsonian (described by the paper as “the lion’s den of evolution”) with his Advanced Creation Studies class.
The Post reported, “[Dr. DeWitt’s] yearly visit to the Smithsonian is part of a wider movement by creationists to confront Darwinism in some of its most redoubtable secular strongholds. As scientists celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, his doubters are taking themselves on Genesis-based tours of natural history museums, aquariums, geologic sites and even dinosaur parks.”
In the article, Bill Jack of Biblically Correct Tours stated, “Why should we be afraid to test our worldview against reality? If Christianity is true, it better be true in the natural history museums and in the zoos.”
In other words, there is no need to be embarrassed about our belief that God – not some random cataclysmic event – created the heavens and the earth.
When people used to ask my father if he believed in the biblical account of creation, he would reply, “Of course.” His point was to show his unhesitant confidence in his answer.
I’m afraid that many believers see a hostile world that has no room for the truth of the Bible, and they accordingly decline to challenge the culture. This kind of safe-living faith is the tragedy of modern Christianity. Many Christians talk a big game in church but get real quiet when their Christianity is challenged in a public forum.
As this column is published, I am leading a tour of the Holy Land, and my mind is drawn to Moses who, near the end of his life, told the Israelites, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them (their enemies); for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
These are powerful words from one of God’s great servants, and they should inspire us even today as we dare to be emissaries of the Gospel in arenas that largely ignore the Christ of the Bible.
I appreciate Dr. DeWitt and the Liberty students courageously carrying the message of the Gospel with them as they encounter the largely Darwinian world of science.
Dr. DeWitt tells me, “I don’t hide anything from my students. I expose them to the most up-to-date arguments and evidence for evolution. We watch evolution videos and I have even had evolutionists come in and speak to them. I want them to see that they can answer the arguments with what they have been taught. If I don’t prepare them and equip them, they might shrink back when confronted, rather than stand firm.”
Don’t you appreciate this type of bold teaching that instructs students to have an unfaltering faith that can withstand any challenge?!
Dr. DeWitt says that one of his favorite verses is: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16, NKJV).
“It is not easy to live the Christian faith anywhere and especially where it is constantly being challenged,” Dr. DeWitt notes. “However, the challenge makes faith stronger rather than weaker, as it is during our challenges that faith is exercised.”
That’s a lesson that every Christian should take to heart. We live in a hungry world, my friends. It is up to the followers of Christ to provide real answers and real solutions to the questions of our day. I pray that we never cower when faced with these challenges because we have the God of the Bible empowering us to be gallant apologists for Him.
NOTE: In Dr. DeWitt’s “Unraveling the Origins Controversy” is a great book which makes a compelling case for the creation perspective.
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WND Staff