THE PROBLEM ISN’T SCIENCE BUT UNBELIEF
Professor J. R. Vande Fliert, who teaches Geology at the Free University in Amsterdam, had been speaking to a group of Christian Reformed ministers in support of the “new” Reformed theology in The Netherlands. Citing the old story of Galileo’s controversy with the Roman Catholic Church he urged that the church of today must not repeat the mistake of the church of Galileo’s time.
In the discussion after his talk he was asked what in the field of Geology were actual discoveries in distinction from what was mere theory as far as the problems of origin were concerned. In his reply he pointed out that the geologist merely studies the earth’s surface, and finds it to he composed of layers. In these successive layers are fossil remains of previously existing forms of life. In the lower levels they are few and relatively simple, in the higher layers there are many more and they are more complex. Can one actually prove that one of these now fossilized forms of life developed into another? Indeed not. If they did, how could one tell them apart? There is no way, the professor said, of recognizing descent of one animal from another kind. The gaps arc real, and they are becoming more real every day. And the professor volunteered the further observation that, as far as the view of men such as Professor Lever on the gradual transition from animal to man is concerned, this is in his opinion, “Nonsense”!
Anyone who has read the writings of Dr. Kuitert, the most prominent advocate of the “new theology” knows that he denies that the Genesis account can be taken as history mainly on the ground that the scientists, and the geologists in particular, have disproved it. Here is a leading geologist of his University, speaking in defense of his “new theological” views, dismissing the supposedly “scientific” ground on which they are based as “Nonsense”! Geologist and theologian contradicted each other as far as scientific evidence is concerned. They only agreed on the conclusion that you can’t believe the Bible as history. Does it not become evident that the real problem is not the result of new scientific evidence, but of a critical or unbelieving approach to the Bible?
The most important reason, it seems to me, why the views of this “new theology” must be rejected is that they deal with the Bible in a way that is the exact opposite of that taught by God’s prophets, by our Lord Himself, and by His apostles. They all teach us to receive the Scriptures even in their wording as God’s word to be received and believed as such whether they seem plausible and understandable or not. We can never expect to promote the Christian faith by attacking the Scriptures. One can never lead men to believe in Christ by saying He was mistaken in what He taught. Faith in Him doesn’t permit attacking His authority.
Peter De Jong is pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in Dutton, Michigan.
AND EARNESTLY . . . PRAY!
Every year in March we have our annual Spring Prayer Day services. Many of these (even combined services of two or more congregations) are not particularly well attended. Like preaching, it seems that communal prayer is also declining among us. A Grand Rapids ‘pastor I know has tried unsuccessfully for several months to get his elders to approve a mid-week prayer service for his congregation. They all agreed on the need and said it was a good idea. But the reason for not doing it was that “just a very few will come.”
A question often asked of both old and young alike on family visiting is: “Do you spend time each day in personal communion with your Lord through prayer and Bible reading?” Most often we hear in reply: “Well . . . not really every day, but whenever I can. You see, I have so much to do.”
With summer’s warmer days and shorter nights, many of our good church people are getting up early, staying out till dark to play a relaxing round of golf. Others do the same to go fishing, often sitting it out for an early hour or two on a cold, fog-shrouded lake just to get the big ones as they feed. The softball parks and recreation centers ring from early evening to almost midnight with the shouts of the faithful supporting the “church” teams in their bid to win the championship this season. Many good church people regularly start out already Friday afternoons to drive to some park or resort area to relax and enjoy the pleasures of summer fun. Some of them stay there over the “weekend,” away from the worship and prayers of their home churches. Sunday night you’ll find them too in the rush of the ungodly trying to get safely back home.
How much God-given time we readily spend to have fun with the “toys” of modern society! It reminds me of the story about the father and his little son who loved. each other very much. Each day when dad came home from work, the little lad ran out to greet his father with a cheery hello and a warm hug. Because he loved his son, the father bought him a new toy to play with each week. Soon the little boy no longer ran out to greet his father each day. He was so busy playing with his toys. All he could spare was a quick hello when father came in. Then it was back to the playroom.
We’ll not engage now in a discussion of the reasons for the situations described above. I guess we all have ideas of our own 0 11 this anyway. However, just as the church must be reminded of the importance and need for preaching, so also we must sound the call today to daily, earn est prayer communally as well as individually. Om Savior’s admonition, “Watch and Pray!” is for us too in the decade of the seventies. We like to sing, “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath . . .” Irregularity in prayer makes for spiritual short-windedness in the race of the Christian life. It dulls the Christian’s appetite for righteousness and the promotion of Christ’s Kingdom in his own life and the world about him. We ought to recognize prayerlessness for just what it is: ingratitude to God and plain disobedience of His will because our love to Christ has grown cold.
If there ever was a day for prayer it is now. The breaking down of the very fabric of our society, the frustrating inability of government to deal effectively with the major social and moral problems, the growing confusion and hopelessness in international affairs—these call us to earnest prayer. The problems of our families, our youth, our elderly, call us to earnest prayer. The needs of our churches and Christian educational institutions call us to earnest prayer. Attacks upon the authority of Holy Scripture and attempts to water down the historic Reformation Christian faith call us to earnest prayer. The steadily growing influence of the spirit of antichrist as seen particularly in the gradual secularization of the church as institute and also the individual lives of its members—these call us to earnest prayer. The tremendous challenges and opportunities for Christian witness at home and abroad, pressing the claims of Christ as Lord in every area of life—these all should humble us to our knees together in earnest regular prayer. No doubt, many a reader can add to the list endlessly.
It is said that Nero played while Rome burned. Will it be said of us Christians that we too played (instead of preached and prayed) as the world moved closer toward the day of judgment?
The apostle Paul called the Christians of Corinth to remember the lesson of Israel’s wilderness history. “Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples . . . neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them: as it is written, the people sit down to eat and drink, and rose up to play (I Cor. 10:5–7).
Why earnestly . . . pray . . . together then?
Let me borrow a sentence from Dr. L. De Koster: “Because God prescribes it; and, because He does so, it works!”
J.W. Uitvlugt, pastor of Creston Chr. Ref. Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has recently accepted a call to the Beverly Chr. Ref. Church Wyoming, Michigan.
Professor J. R. Vande Fliert, who teaches Geology at the Free University in Amsterdam, had been speaking to a group of Christian Reformed ministers in support of the “new” Reformed theology in The Netherlands. Citing the old story of Galileo’s controversy with the Roman Catholic Church he urged that the church of today must not repeat the mistake of the church of Galileo’s time.
In the discussion after his talk he was asked what in the field of Geology were actual discoveries in distinction from what was mere theory as far as the problems of origin were concerned. In his reply he pointed out that the geologist merely studies the earth’s surface, and finds it to he composed of layers. In these successive layers are fossil remains of previously existing forms of life. In the lower levels they are few and relatively simple, in the higher layers there are many more and they are more complex. Can one actually prove that one of these now fossilized forms of life developed into another? Indeed not. If they did, how could one tell them apart? There is no way, the professor said, of recognizing descent of one animal from another kind. The gaps arc real, and they are becoming more real every day. And the professor volunteered the further observation that, as far as the view of men such as Professor Lever on the gradual transition from animal to man is concerned, this is in his opinion, “Nonsense”!
Anyone who has read the writings of Dr. Kuitert, the most prominent advocate of the “new theology” knows that he denies that the Genesis account can be taken as history mainly on the ground that the scientists, and the geologists in particular, have disproved it. Here is a leading geologist of his University, speaking in defense of his “new theological” views, dismissing the supposedly “scientific” ground on which they are based as “Nonsense”! Geologist and theologian contradicted each other as far as scientific evidence is concerned. They only agreed on the conclusion that you can’t believe the Bible as history. Does it not become evident that the real problem is not the result of new scientific evidence, but of a critical or unbelieving approach to the Bible?
The most important reason, it seems to me, why the views of this “new theology” must be rejected is that they deal with the Bible in a way that is the exact opposite of that taught by God’s prophets, by our Lord Himself, and by His apostles. They all teach us to receive the Scriptures even in their wording as God’s word to be received and believed as such whether they seem plausible and understandable or not. We can never expect to promote the Christian faith by attacking the Scriptures. One can never lead men to believe in Christ by saying He was mistaken in what He taught. Faith in Him doesn’t permit attacking His authority.
Peter De Jong is pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in Dutton, Michigan.
AND EARNESTLY . . . PRAY!
Every year in March we have our annual Spring Prayer Day services. Many of these (even combined services of two or more congregations) are not particularly well attended. Like preaching, it seems that communal prayer is also declining among us. A Grand Rapids ‘pastor I know has tried unsuccessfully for several months to get his elders to approve a mid-week prayer service for his congregation. They all agreed on the need and said it was a good idea. But the reason for not doing it was that “just a very few will come.”
A question often asked of both old and young alike on family visiting is: “Do you spend time each day in personal communion with your Lord through prayer and Bible reading?” Most often we hear in reply: “Well . . . not really every day, but whenever I can. You see, I have so much to do.”
With summer’s warmer days and shorter nights, many of our good church people are getting up early, staying out till dark to play a relaxing round of golf. Others do the same to go fishing, often sitting it out for an early hour or two on a cold, fog-shrouded lake just to get the big ones as they feed. The softball parks and recreation centers ring from early evening to almost midnight with the shouts of the faithful supporting the “church” teams in their bid to win the championship this season. Many good church people regularly start out already Friday afternoons to drive to some park or resort area to relax and enjoy the pleasures of summer fun. Some of them stay there over the “weekend,” away from the worship and prayers of their home churches. Sunday night you’ll find them too in the rush of the ungodly trying to get safely back home.
How much God-given time we readily spend to have fun with the “toys” of modern society! It reminds me of the story about the father and his little son who loved. each other very much. Each day when dad came home from work, the little lad ran out to greet his father with a cheery hello and a warm hug. Because he loved his son, the father bought him a new toy to play with each week. Soon the little boy no longer ran out to greet his father each day. He was so busy playing with his toys. All he could spare was a quick hello when father came in. Then it was back to the playroom.
We’ll not engage now in a discussion of the reasons for the situations described above. I guess we all have ideas of our own 0 11 this anyway. However, just as the church must be reminded of the importance and need for preaching, so also we must sound the call today to daily, earn est prayer communally as well as individually. Om Savior’s admonition, “Watch and Pray!” is for us too in the decade of the seventies. We like to sing, “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath . . .” Irregularity in prayer makes for spiritual short-windedness in the race of the Christian life. It dulls the Christian’s appetite for righteousness and the promotion of Christ’s Kingdom in his own life and the world about him. We ought to recognize prayerlessness for just what it is: ingratitude to God and plain disobedience of His will because our love to Christ has grown cold.
If there ever was a day for prayer it is now. The breaking down of the very fabric of our society, the frustrating inability of government to deal effectively with the major social and moral problems, the growing confusion and hopelessness in international affairs—these call us to earnest prayer. The problems of our families, our youth, our elderly, call us to earnest prayer. The needs of our churches and Christian educational institutions call us to earnest prayer. Attacks upon the authority of Holy Scripture and attempts to water down the historic Reformation Christian faith call us to earnest prayer. The steadily growing influence of the spirit of antichrist as seen particularly in the gradual secularization of the church as institute and also the individual lives of its members—these call us to earnest prayer. The tremendous challenges and opportunities for Christian witness at home and abroad, pressing the claims of Christ as Lord in every area of life—these all should humble us to our knees together in earnest regular prayer. No doubt, many a reader can add to the list endlessly.
It is said that Nero played while Rome burned. Will it be said of us Christians that we too played (instead of preached and prayed) as the world moved closer toward the day of judgment?
The apostle Paul called the Christians of Corinth to remember the lesson of Israel’s wilderness history. “Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples . . . neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them: as it is written, the people sit down to eat and drink, and rose up to play (I Cor. 10:5–7).
Why earnestly . . . pray . . . together then?
Let me borrow a sentence from Dr. L. De Koster: “Because God prescribes it; and, because He does so, it works!”
J.W. Uitvlugt, pastor of Creston Chr. Ref. Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has recently accepted a call to the Beverly Chr. Ref. Church Wyoming, Michigan.