É amplamente conhecida a afirmação de que "todos os caminhos levam a Deus", afirmação essa indubtávelmente incorreta e irrazoável! É óbvio e racionalmente lógico que "todos" ou todas as religiões e crenças não podem jamais estar corretas sobre o mesmo assunto!
Entretanto o contrário pode ser verdadeiro e facilmente perceptível: muitos, incontáveis caminhos podem tirar do homem a perfeita, correta e verdadeira perspectiva de Deus! Nesse ponto as forças e o ativismo que combate a verdade, conhecida e crida por nós através da Bíblia, são realmente pródigos. Muitos poderem ser citados e há bem verdade um extremamente danoso ocorrendo diante de nossos olhos com potencial destrutivo imenso. Há entretanto um surgido na virada do século XIX para o XX que ainda, a semelhança de um vulcão mais ou menos adormecido persiste em sua atividade soltando vapores silenciosos na educação, no mundo acadêmico e sendo eternizado em parte do consciente coletivo.
Essa ideia semeada homeopaticamente, quando não atinge seus anseios totalmente na mente de pessoas menos inclinadas a devaneios filosóficos e intelectuais, pessoas essas mais pragmáticas e ocupadas em apenas sobreviver, é muito eficiente e danosa na mente de pessoas com muita educação formal, especialmente científica e inteligentes, racionalmente falando.
Trata-se do ateísmo difundido via teoria evolucionista!
Se alguém crê, não apenas tem alguma informação, acerca do Evolucionismo, está a um passo de negar a eficiência de Deus na Criação ou pior na não necessidade de um Criador!
Portanto cabe a cada crente, a cada cristão, em um debate acadêmico ou não defender racional e bem sucedidamente a sua própria fé e se não impedir, diminuir o avanço dessa mentira de forma legal e impositiva ás novas e futuras gerações!
Se você é um cristão, não importa que corrente teológica defenda singularmente, nesse ponto trata-se de uma defesa de todos! Reconhecemos Deus como Criador e sustentador de todas as coisas, e por isso apreendemos o seu plano para a salvação humana através de Jesus Cristo, Deus e homem e cremos na Bíblia como Sua Palavra porque Ele é a razão primeira e última de todas as coisas!
Por Helvécio S. Pereira*
* graduando em teologia
Há vários livros, incluindo em português do Brasil, mas por ora, deixo um link de um livro em inglês que pretendo traduzir em futuras postagens:
The Lie: Evolution
by Ken Ham
CLIQUE NO LINK AGORA MESMO E O BAIXE GRATUITA E LIVREMENTE:
ABAIXO UMA CÓPIA DA INTRODUÇÃO E DO PRIMEIRO CAPÍTULO DO LIVRO "THE LIE: EVOLUTION"
[INTRODUCTION
I was reared in a Christian home where the Bible was
totally accepted as the infallible, inerrant Word of God that
provided the basis for the principles to be applied in every area
of life. I recognized the conflict when as a high school student I
was taught the theory of evolution. If Genesis was not literally
true, then what part of the Bible could I trust?
My parents knew that evolution was wrong because it was
obvious from Genesis that God had given us the details of the
creation of the world. These details were important foundational
truths for the rest of Christianity. At that time, the current
wealth of materials on the creation/evolution issue produced,
for instance, by the Institute for Creation Research, were not
available.
I recall going to my local minister and asking him
what to do about the problem. He told me to accept evolution
but then add it to the Bible so that God used evolution to bring
all forms of life into being. This was an unsatisfactory solution
to the problem. If God did not mean what He said in Genesis,
then how could one trust Him in the rest of the Scriptures?
I went through my science degree and my teacher training
year pigeonholing this problem, regurgitating to the lecturers
what they told me concerning evolution. I did not know from
a scientific perspective why I did not believe in evolution — but
I knew from a biblical perspective it had to be wrong or my
faith was in trouble.
Just before I received my first teaching appointment, the
associate director of a teachers’ college in Australia, Mr. Godron
Jones (a member of the church I was attending) gave me a small
book outlining some of the problems with evolution. He also told
me of books that were becoming available on this topic — books
Lie, The.indb 15 4/19/07 9:22:51 AM16
authored by such people as Dr. Henry Morris.
I searched the
book shops to try to collect as much of this material as possible.
The Genesis Flood by Morris and Whitcomb was one of
the first books I read on the subject. When I realized there were
easy answers to this creation/evolution dilemma, there came a
real burden from the Lord to go out and share this information
with others. I could not understand why the Church had
not made people aware of this information which really helped
restore my faith in the Scriptures.
Understanding the foundational nature of the Book of
Genesis to all Christian doctrine was a real awakening. This
book is the result of a series of messages developed so that
Christians could understand the significance and relevance
of Genesis and the real nature of the creation/evolution issue.
Over and over again, people have come and said that they had
never realized the importance of Genesis — in fact, for many
of them it meant a complete revival of their faith. It is gratifying
to know that many of these people are still committed
supporters of the creation ministries.
This book deals with the relevance of a literal Genesis. I
pray that it will challenge the mind and heart in pastor, layperson,
scholar, and student alike.
Lie, The.indb 16 4/19/07 9:22:51 AM17
CAPTER I
CHRISTIANITY
IS UNDER
ATTACK
AFTER A LECTURE,
a young man approached me — “What
you said . . . it’s suddenly like a light bulb lighting up in my
head!” A young lady standing nearby stated, “I realized today
that my understanding of Christianity was like starting in
the middle of a movie — you took me back to the beginning
— now I understand what it is all about.” A middle-aged man
approached, “This information is like a key. It not only unlocks
the reason as to why we have problems in society today — it’s
the key to knowing how to be much more effective in witnessing
for Jesus Christ. . . . Thank you.”
These are challenging days. On the whole, society is becoming
more anti-Christian. We are seeing steady increases in homosexuality,
support for abortion on demand, unwillingness to obey
authorities, unwillingness to work, marriage being abandoned,
clothing being abandoned, an increase in pornography, and an
increase in lawlessness, to name but a few areas.
Christians are
fighting for their freedom even in so-called “Christian” nations.
What has happened in society to bring about these changes?
Why is it that many people are cynical when you talk about
Christ and seem to be closed to the gospel? There must be some
foundational reason for this change. In this book we will discover
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18
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19
the basic reasons why modern society has turned away from
Christ. More importantly, a biblical (and hence, successful) way
to reclaim lives for our Saviour will be outlined for you.
Years ago, our society was based on Christian absolutes.
People knew what was right and what was wrong. Behaviors
such as sexual deviancy, easy divorce, public lawlessness,
abortion on demand, pornography, and public nudity were
considered to be wrong. Varying punishments for offenders
were meted out by society. Value judgments were basically built
on biblical principles (for example, the Ten Commandments).
Most people accepted or respected a belief in God.
Recently more and more people have rejected the God of the
Bible. As belief in God has been abandoned, people have questioned
the basis of the society in which they live. For instance, if
there is no God, then why should they obey the Ten Commandments?
Why should anyone say that homosexuality is wrong? Why
should women be barred from having abortions whenever they
desire? Once people eliminated God from their consciences, they
set about to change any laws based on Christian absolutes that
held God as Creator (and thus owner) of everything.
Christian absolutes have been diluted or removed as the
basis of society and replaced with a world view that says, “We do
not have to accept that the Christian way of doing things (basing
our world and life view on biblical principles) is the only way;
we must tolerate all religious beliefs and ways of life.” However,
this “tolerance” really means an intolerance of the absolutes of
Christianity.
This false idea of tolerance has subtly undermined
Christianity, and most Christians have not recognized what was
really happening. Many Christians have been deceived into believing
they have no right to impose their views on society. We
are told, for instance, that anti-abortionists have no business
impressing their particular bias on society. Have you ever heard
anyone say this about the pro-abortion groups? The result is one
bias being imposed on society by the pro-abortionists — legalized
abortion on demand! No matter what you do, you cannot avoid
the fact that a view is being imposed on someone by someone.
There is no such thing as neutrality, although many Christians
become ensnared in the trap of believing there is.
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It is like the many theological and Bible colleges that say,
“We do not take a dogmatic stand on Genesis. We tolerate all
views.” But what happens when someone comes along and says,
“Will you allow the view that says you must take Genesis literally?”
“Oh, no!” they say, “We cannot allow that view because we
tolerate all views!” In reality, they have taken a dogmatic stand
to teach a dogmatic view to their students — a view that you do
not have to take Genesis literally if you do not want to do so.
At one lecture I gave, a person said in an angry tone, “This is
not fair. You are insisting that we take Genesis literally, that God
actually took six days, that evolution is not true, and that there
really was a worldwide flood. You are being intolerant of other
people’s views.
You must show tolerance for people such as I who
believe God used evolution and that Genesis is only symbolic.”
I then asked, “Well, what do you want me to do?”
The person replied, “You must allow other views and be
tolerant of opinions different to yours.”
“Well,” I said, “My view is that the literal interpretation
of Genesis is the right view. All other views concerning Genesis
are wrong. Will you tolerate my view?”
The person looked shocked, and he hesitated. I could
almost hear him thinking, If I say yes, then I’ve allowed him to
say you can’t have another view such as mine; if I say no, then
I’ve obviously been intolerant of his view — what do I do? He
then looked at me and said, “That’s semantics!” What he really
meant was that he had lost the argument and did not want to
admit his intolerance of my position. The fact is, he had taken
a dogmatic, closed-minded position.
Occasionally people are upset when dogmatic statements
are made. They say, “You cannot be dogmatic like that.” This
in itself is a dogmatic statement. Many think that some people
are dogmatic and others are not. It is not a matter of whether
you are dogmatic or not, but of which dogma is the best dogma
with which to be dogmatized!
At one time, a group called “Toleration” began. They were
insisting on a tolerance of all religious ways, beliefs, and customs.
They said that we had to stop intolerance in society. In their
promotional leaflet explaining their viewpoint, it was interesting
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21
that they listed all the things they were against. And most of the
things of which they were intolerant were related to Christianity.
What they really meant was that they wanted a tolerance
of anything in society, except Christianity!
The idea of open-mindedness comes from the notion that there
is no such thing as absolute truth, or that truth cannot be absolutely
known. Some say, “There are no absolutes.” Ironically, this premise
has become their one absolute. Such ideas are derived from an
anti-biblical philosophy which holds that everything is relative.
Christian absolutes — those truths and standards of Scripture
which cannot be altered — are becoming less and less tolerated
in society. Eventually this must result in the outlawing of
Christianity. When Christian absolutes were the basis of society,
immoral activities such as homosexual or lesbian lifestyles and
pornography were outlawed. There has been a fundamental shift.
Our society is now based on a relative morality: that is, a person
can do what he likes and is answerable to no one but himself
as long as the majority of people can be persuaded that their
interests are not being threatened. This results in society’s being
told that no one can say anything against those who choose to
be sexual deviants, go naked publicly, or do whatever they want
(within the limits of the law, which is also changing to become
more “tolerant” of people’s actions).
God’s absolutes dictate that there are rules by which we
must abide. Christianity cannot co-exist in a world community
with relative morality as its basis. One or the other will yield.
There are two world views with two totally different belief systems
clashing in our society. The real war being waged is a great
spiritual war. Sadly, today many Christians fail to win the war
because they fail to recognize the nature of the battle.
It is my contention that this spiritual conflict is rooted in
the issue of origins (creation/evolution).
Although the thought
may sound strange or new to the reader, biblically and logically
this issue is central in the battle for men’s souls.
Most people have the wrong idea about what the creation/
evolution question involves. Instead of perceiving the real issue,
they have been deceived into believing that evolution is science.
It is not a science at all (refer to chapter 2). It is a belief system
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about the past. We do not have access to the past. We only have
the present. All the fossils, all the living animals and plants,
our planet, the universe — everything exists in the present. We
cannot directly test the past using the scientific method (which
involves repeating things and watching them happen) since all
evidence that we have is in the present.
It is important to understand that special creation, by
definition, is also a belief about the past. The difference is that
creationists base their understanding of creation upon a book
which claims to be the Word of the One who was there, who
knows everything there is to know about everything, and who
tells us what happened.
Evolution comes from the words of
men who were not there and who do not claim to be omniscient.
This whole issue revolves around whether we believe the words
of God who was there, or the words of fallible humans (no
matter how qualified) who were not there.
It is astonishing in this so-called “scientific age” that so few
people know what science really is or how it works. Many think of
scientists as unbiased people in white laboratory coats objectively
searching for the truth. However, scientists come in two basic
forms, male and female, and they are just like you and me. They
have beliefs and biases. A bias determines what you do with the
evidence, especially the way in which you decide that certain evidence
is more relevant or important than other evidence. Scientists
are not objective truth seekers; they are not neutral.
Many people misunderstand bias, thinking that some individuals
are biased and some are not. Consider an atheist, for
example. Such a person believes there is no God. Can atheists
entertain the question, “Did God create?” The answer is, “No.”
As soon as they even allow it as a question, they are no longer
atheists. So, to an atheist scientist looking at the fossils and the
world around him, it would not matter what evidence he were
to find. It could have nothing to do with biblical events, such as
Noah’s flood. Even if he found a big boat on the top of Mount
Ararat he could never allow that evidence to support the claims
of the Bible regarding Noah’s ark. As soon as he did, he would
have abandoned his atheistic religious framework. An atheist is
one hundred percent biased. This should be kept in mind whenever
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CHRISTIANITY IS UNDER ATTACK
25
one reads a textbook or sees a television program produced
by an atheist.
I have seen many examples of bias exhibited in various
ways. I was on a talk-back radio show in Denver, Colorado,
and the radio announcer said I had seven minutes to give the
evidence for creation. He would just sit back and listen. So I
went into detail about what the Bible says concerning Noah’s
flood, the Tower of Babel, and other related topics. I explained
how evidence from various cultures and from the fossil record
supported what the Bible said. Various other aspects of creation
were explored to demonstrate the truth of the Bible. At the end
of the seven minutes the announcer made this comment on the
air, “Well, I didn’t hear any evidence for creation at all; so much
for that!” Of course, what he meant was that he was not prepared
to accept the evidence that I had given him because he wanted
to hold on to his own bias — agnosticism. An agnostic is one
hundred percent biased. He believes one cannot know anything
for sure, so, no matter how much evidence he hears, he can still
say, “I do not know.” As soon as he knows, he has stopped being
an agnostic. From a biblical perspective, Romans 1 teaches
that the evidence for creation is all around us and, therefore,
anyone who does not believe in the Creator and Saviour is condemned.
It is also important to recognize that one does not have
to see the Creator to recognize the fact of special creation. Just
because one cannot see the architect and builder who designed
and constructed a house does not mean that there was not an
intelligent designer behind it.
But what about a revelationist, that is, a person who believes
that the God of history has revealed the truth about himself by
means of a book? ( A book which claims over three thousand
times to be the Word of God.) Can such a person consider the
opposite question, that God did not create? No! Because he starts
with the premise that God is Creator and His word is true.
Atheists, agnostics and revelationists (and theists) hold to
religious positions; and what they do with the evidence will again
be determined by the assumptions (beliefs) of their religious positions.
It is not a matter of whether one is biased or not. It is really
a question of which bias is the best bias with which to be biased.
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26
Glaring examples of bias can be seen in public education
in response to the creation ministry. The following conversation,
which is rather typical of students in the public school system,
shows what bias is all about.
After a presentation on creation, one
student stated, “There is no way Noah’s ark could be true — he
couldn’t have fitted all the animals on board.” I then asked the
student, “How many animals would he have needed to have put
on board?” He gave the usual reply: “I don’t know, but it certainly
couldn’t have happened.” “I then asked him how big was the ark?”
Again he answered, “I don’t know, but he couldn’t have fitted
the animals on board.” In other words, here is a student who did
not know how big Noah’s ark was, or how many animals God
would have needed to put on board, but he has already decided
it is a fairy tale that could not have happened.
At one town a keen supporter of creation ministries told how
he had spoken to fellow academics at a local university concerning
Noah’s flood. They, of course, mocked and scoffed at the idea. He
then mentioned that someday someone may find Noah’s ark on
Mount Ararat. One fellow academic turned to him and said that
even if they found a big boat that looked like Noah’s ark on the
top of Mount Ararat and dragged it to the main street of the city,
he would still refuse to believe it. His bias was showing.
There have been many occasions where I have been able
to give a convincing and logical presentation to the students.
Many of them then looked to their teachers to try to make
some point that could demonstrate where I was wrong. It is
easy to read the expressions on the students’ faces.
They are
saying that this all sounds convincing but surely there must
be something wrong with it because they really do not want
to believe that the Bible is true. A teacher may respond by
asking a question that sounds to the student as if the teacher
has proven me wrong. In the students’ eyes there is no way
that I would be able to answer the question. Often students
spontaneously break into applause (their way of rejoicing
over what they think is my demise). However, it is interesting
to watch their faces and see their jaws drop when I am able
to give a reasonable answer to the question — they are back
where they started. It is sad to see that, for many of them, they
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27
have already made up their minds and decided they really do
not want to believe the Bible.
I am often asked how people change their biases. This is a
good question. As a Christian, the only way I can answer is to
say that in this area it has to be a work of the Holy Spirit. The
Bible teaches that we either walk in the light or in darkness (Acts
26:18), gather or scatter, are for Christ or against Him (Matt.
12:30). The Bible clearly declares that no person is neutral and
that each one does have a bias. Since it is the Holy Spirit who
convicts and convinces people of the truth, it is only through
the work of the Holy Spirit that our biases can change. As
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THE LIE: EVOLUTION
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Christians, our job is to bring the Word of God to people in a
clear and gracious way, and pray that the Spirit might use our
words to open hearts and minds to Christ. I believe Christians
understand bias better than others. All Christians were once lost
sinners biased against God. They have seen how Jesus Christ
can change their bias as He transforms their lives through the
power of His Spirit.
One of the reasons why creationists have such difficulty in
talking to certain evolutionists is because of the way bias has
affected the way they hear what we are saying. They already
have preconceived ideas about what we do and do not believe.
They have prejudices about what they want to understand in
regard to our scientific qualifications, and so on.
There are many examples of evolutionists who have totally
misunderstood or misinterpreted what creationists are
saying. They hear us through their “evolutionary ears,” not
comprehending in the slightest the perspective from which we
are coming. As creationists, we understand that God created
a perfect world, man fell into sin, the world was cursed, God
sent Noah’s flood as judgment, and Jesus Christ came to die
and be raised from the dead to restore all things. In other
words, our message is one of creation, Fall, and redemption.
However, because evolutionists are used to thinking
in “uniformitarian” terms (i.e., basically the world we see
today — the world of death and struggle — has gone on for
millions of years), they do not understand this creationist
perspective of history.
An interesting example came when Dr. Gary Parker was
debating a professor from LaTrobe University in Victoria,
Australia. One of the evolutionist’s “refutations” of creation
centered around his assertion that there were too many imperfections
in the world to have been made by a Creator.
This
particular evolutionist would not understand, even after it
was clearly presented, that the world we are looking at today
is not the same world that God created because of the effects
of the Fall and flood. To understand the creation/evolution issue
correctly, one must have a complete understanding of the
beliefs adhered to by both creationists and evolutionists.
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CHRISTIANITY IS UNDER ATTACK
29
In another example, an evolutionist biologist said that if
God made all the animals during the fifth and sixth days of
creation, why don’t we find parakeets and mice in the Cambrian
strata alongside trilobites? Dr. Parker then explained that
parakeets and mice do not live in the same environment as the
trilobites. Dr. Parker explained to this scientist that the fossil
record should be seen in terms of the sorting action of a worldwide
flood. Because animals and plants live in different areas,
they would have been trapped in sediments representative of
their particular environment. Again, we see bias causing a misunderstanding
that so many have of the creationists position.
The reader needs to be aware that, when we discuss creation/evolution,
in both instances we are talking about beliefs,
that is, religion. The controversy is not religion versus science, as
the evolutionists try to make out. It is religion versus religion,
the science of one religion versus the science of the other.
Evolution is a religious position that makes human opinion
supreme. As we shall see, its fruits (because of rejection
of the Creator and Lawgiver) are lawlessness, immorality,
impurity, abortion, racism, and a mocking of God. Creation
is a religious position based on the Word of God, and its fruits
(through God’s Spirit) are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The
creation/evolution issue (is God Creator?) is the crux of the
problems in our society today. It is the fundamental issue with
which Christians must come to grips. The creation/evolution
issue is where the battle really rages.]
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