In case you missed out on the whole thing, the Creation Museum hosted a debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye a couple weeks ago. Ken Ham is a leading creation apologist and bestselling Christian author and Bill Nye is an Emmy Award-winning science educator and CEO of the Planetary Society. The event was simply titled “Debate at the Creation Museum.” I personally didn’t even want to watch the event. I have other opinions about proper venues for Christians to share truth and foolish arguments that lead to quarrels. But let’s just say you become a real sucker when you don’t have television or cable. I watched the whole thing.
I was shocked by what I heard come out of Bill Nye’s mouth. When Bill was confronted with a Biblical world view, he was disturbed by what would then be the reality for all those people groups in the past that would have never heard God’s word. He posed the questions “what happened to those people? Are they condemned and doomed?” These quotes are from the 2 hour and 34 min mark of the debate. Bill goes on to explain that people don’t like to hear about that kind of stuff. So Bill doesn’t believe that that is the case. He in fact uses that reality to paint his argument as more attractive. To me it was interesting though that when faced with the Biblical view, His mind did go to those who have never had the opportunity to hear. Bills worldview allows him to push those thoughts aside and focus fully on progression, domination, competition and achievement. These are natural desires for man. These are my own desires a lot of the time. And I’m not going to just say they are bad. They most certainly have their place. But how often does the world have pure motives behind achieving and progressing and the like. Not very often if I may say so myself.
So what’s the point? Why make the titled claim? Well, tying someone like Bill Nye to a character trait that can only belong to a Christian is like saying great white sharks are greatly concerned for the safety of all the helpless baby seals out there. Or maybe a ferocious white tail deer or plague of locust is concerned for a farmers crops being harvested well and in plenty. I’m attempting to make a contrast. If a white tail deer can have a concern for the harvest, how much more should the farmer? As those called out into the harvest, (which happens to be plentiful, while laborers are few) do our lives reflect it. Bill Nye embraces his worldview and his achievements are a testament to that.
So I would like to pose the question, how often do we as “Christians” claim this Biblical worldview with our mouths but then live out the atheist or evolutionist worldview? For Example, the American dream as we know it today is far from Biblical yet It’s still the norm in our American society. What started out as something rooted in the declaration of independence has slowly turned into a pursuit of self-edification and preservation—NOT in the Bible. Yet our Christian culture has adopted this largely secular view as our own, as if they can hold hands in harmony. This is called syncretism (the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought).
I’m sure Bill sees this. He probably wonders how Christians live with themselves claiming this worldview and then being totally chill about all the people in the world that are going to hell. Now I know that Bill views it as a disgusting belief that there could be a God that would send people to hell, whereas we believe in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But we also believe in the following verses that say “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.” This should be enough to stir us towards a transformed lifestyle that aligns with a Biblical worldview.
So as farmers, or followers of Christ, What should we do? For starters, let’s pray for laborers for the harvest is great. Then, let’s harvest!! What does this look like? In Matthew 28: 19-20 Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.
This is why Cathren and I have made it our goal for the past 8 years to reach one of these people groups with the truth of God’s word In Senegal, West Africa. We have been given a new life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and that life is not for me to have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Rather to bear my own cross (an instrument of death) and follow Christ! There are a slew of people ready to spread over the world to reach these people that have never heard the gospel. But God never intended for the harvest to be brought in by individuals but by the church as a whole. As the church, lets labor together to reach these people with the Gospel!
What if the churches efforts for sharing the gospel with people who have never heard were as large as our efforts for boycotting a television station or placing our candidate in the white house? What kind of Christianity does the world around us see? The kind that God says “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Or the kind where God says “well done my good and faithful servant.” Thanks for the reminder Bill.