Apathy and Christianity

Several days ago I spoke in the museum, and one of the young men who heard me speak challenged me concerning the importance of the creation issue to Christianity. From what he said, I assumed that he believed in evolution and millions of years, so I asked him why he wanted to add that to Scripture. He replied that he didn’t believe in evolution/millions of years but didn’t think that what a person believed about Creation—whether six literal days or millions of years—had anything to do with the gospel message. While it is true that believing in six literal days is not a requirement to become a Christian (John 10:9), it has a very real connection to the authority of God’s Word and the foundation of Christianity.

I explained to the young man that if we can’t believe God’s Word when it states that everything was created in six literal days, then it casts doubt on the veracity of all of God’s Word. Where does truth begin? In Genesis 12? Exodus? Matthew? Acts? I tried to show him that he was being inconsistent in his faith by claiming that it didn't matter if certain parts of the Bible weren’t true.

He needs to realize that the gospel message, which he wants to proclaim, will largely fall on deaf ears once people see the inconsistency in his faith. Many Christians are apathetic or lukewarm when it comes to the truthfulness of God’s Word, and God has a very strong warning for those who refuse to be either hot or cold (Revelation 3:16). He finally asked me if I was 100% certain about what I believed concerning the Bible and Creation, and I replied that I was. He then thanked me for my time and walked way.

We need to be equipped to give answers to Christians who have compromised on the book of Genesis, and thus, the authority of God’s Word. One of my favorite resources is the book Old Earth Creationism on Trial. I pray that the Holy Spirit will convict this young man and others like him of the importance of standing on the authority and truthfulness of God’s Word from beginning to end.