Assemblies of God Conference to Feature Speaker from a Bible-undermining Organization

This blog is intended to warn people in the Assemblies of God denomination of what the Office of the General Secretary of the Assemblies of God is sponsoring for an upcoming conference at Evangel University in Missouri that undermines the authority of the Bible. You can find out about the conference at this link: faithandscience.ag.org.

About this conference we read:

On June 27 and 28, the Office of the General Secretary of the Assemblies of God will sponsor the first ever Faith and Science Conference (http://faithandscience.ag.org) at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. The purpose of the conference is to equip leaders to evangelize and disciple scientifically literate people.

General Secretary James Bradford, who holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota, points out that in the Bible both David and Paul wrote that the physical universe displays the handiwork and character of God.

Unfortunately,” Bradford says, “in Pentecostal tradition, science and faith have sometimes been made enemies of each other, rather than this more biblical understanding of the link between creation and God¹s character. Most pastors today are preaching to congregations that are much more scientifically literate than before, demanding that we think through the ethical issues, as Pentecostals, surrounding advances in areas such as genetics and human reproduction, the environment and our growing dependence on technology with its reshaping effects on relationships and culture.

Conference attendees will receive numerous resources to help them respond to issues including environmental stewardship, the interface of faith and science, bioethics, intelligent design and many other topics.

I hope that pastors, teachers, students and lay people will come away from this conference feeling better equipped to address scientific issues from a biblical perspective,” says Bradford, who will be one of the featured speakers. “We would like to take another step in equipping spiritual and academic leaders in understanding the sciences from a Pentecostal worldview in order to enhance their roles as disciple-makers.

Evangel University Biology Professor, Dr. Michael Tenneson is serving as the chair of the conference planning committee. He encourages pastors, church leaders, college faculty and students to participate in the event.

You can read more at: www.evangel.edu/apps/pr/releases/ShowPressRelease.asp?ReleaseID=192

Now, why am I writing a detailed blog about all this? For many of you who regularly read this blog, you will know that I have quoted Christian leaders from Baptist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and other denominations to point out our increasing concern at the compromise of God’s Word with the pagan religion of the day (evolution/millions of years) that is permeating the church. Last year I also featured a number of blogs on the Assemblies of God denomination, and the very sad change the leaders have made to the AG’s stand on Genesis. You can read those blogs at:

• blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2010/09/08/a-sad-day-for-the-assemblies-of-god-denomination/
• blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2010/09/15/assemblies-of-god-denomination-responds-but-what-does-it-really-mean/

Because of the change the leaders in the denomination are making on their views of Genesis, many Assemblies of God pastors and others have contacted the headquarters of the denomination to express their dismay.

The AG administration is sponsoring a conference dealing with this topic of science and faith—but when you research what some of the speakers believe and where they come from, you can only be further dismayed. I had our researchers seek out information for me to share with you, since most of you don’t have access to the kind of research library we have.

For regular blog readers, let me remind you of the organization called “American Association for the Advancement of Science.” Really, in some ways this organization should be called the “American Association for the Advancement of Evolution”—it is pretending to be a comfortable place for those in the church who believe in evolution and God.

A person from this organization (Jennifer Wiseman) is one of the featured speakers at a conference this June entitled “Faith & Science Conference—Equipping Leaders to Evangelize and Disciple Scientifically Literate People.” And who is sponsoring this conference? Sad to believe, but it is the Office of the General Secretary of the Assemblies of God.

Now wait a minute! You might say, “Surely, Ken, you must not be reporting correctly here! How could such a denomination be sponsoring a conference on this topic which features a speaker from what you claim in your blog’s headline is a ‘Bible-undermining’ group? This cannot be so, can it?”

Well, you be the judge.

In 2006, I reported on a conference conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) attended by AiG’s Dr. David Menton. Here is what I wrote at the time:

AiG’s Dr. David Menton, because of his scientific credentials, was able to sit in on some very revealing meetings in St. Louis. He told me, “Evolutionists have had it with biblical literalists, and they’re not going to take it anymore.” Dr. Menton had just attended the annual conference of the world’s largest scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It featured a number of sessions on creation/evolution and how to combat creationists. Dr. Menton told me, “What I heard is of great importance to all who are concerned about biblical Christianity and the future of education in America. Christians be warned—humanly speaking, it is not very encouraging.” The following is a summary of the strategies to fight biblical creationists:

They must enlist the “clergy” or “people of faith” to help promote evolution. In fact, they are seeking out pastors for media representation. They must introduce evolution earlier—as early as the first grade! They say junior high is simply too late to convince students about Darwin. Evolutionists will use “bait-and-switch” tactics, with redefinition of terms. They must use terms like “science” instead of “evolution.”

Overall, Dr. Menton said that “there was a strident and angry denunciation of Christian “fundamentalists” who seek nothing less than the end of all science!” He added that evolutionists at the AAAS organization were also very concerned that 50% of all students still reject evolution. They blame teachers for not teaching evolution strongly enough!

You can read the rest of my report at: https://answersingenesis.org/public-school/teaching-evolution/the-battle-heats-up/

Dr. Menton personally wrote a 2-part article. Here are some of the statements Dr. Menton made in his report:

Evolutionists—in the name of so-called “science”—have challenged us to nothing less than a battle for men’s souls.

“Science” under attack!

A major theme this year was the growing battle between creationism and evolutionism in America’s public schools. In several different symposia with titles like “Anti-Evolutionism in America” and “Science under Attack,” dozens of speakers raised a strident and angry denunciation of Christian “fundamentalists” who, they claim, seek the end of all science! Lawyers are ensuring that our schools remain “God-free zones” ... Apparently the AAAS is counting on lawyers to continue to keep our public schools a “God-free” zone.”

One of the speakers at this conference was an arch-enemy of biblical creationists, ardent atheist Dr. Eugenie Scott. Dr. Menton’s report continued:

Throughout the conference there were appeals for “people of faith” to speak to the news media to show the compatibility of evolutionism and “faith.” Some evolutionists are even getting into churches to preach the “gospel” of evolutionism, often under the guise of titles like “The Preservation of Biodiversity.” In 1995 the AAAS established the program “Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion” (DoSER) to establish communication between scientific and religious communities. In a notice for an upcoming book sponsored by DoSER, called The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity, and the Quest for Understanding, are the following questions: “does evolutionary theory deny the existence of God as creator?” and “must Christians choose between evolutionary science and their faith?” They insist that “the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!”

By the way, DoSER is the program that Jennifer Wiseman (one of the speakers for the Assemblies of God conference) now heads up as director.

I encourage you to read the entire article of Dr. Menton’s at the two links provided for you below. It is obvious from learning about this conference that to spread its evolutionist agenda, this organization has set up this program, now headed by the speaker to feature at the Assemblies of God conference -- in an effort to convince the church to believe in evolution/millions of years. Underneath it all, it is obvious from the overall thrust of the AAAS that it is really out to do its best to decimate biblical Christianity.

It is so sad that the leaders of a well-known church denomination would allow such a speaker as Jennifer Wiseman to be a part of the conference. Here are the links to Dr. Menton’s 2006 report on the AAAS conference. If you are in the Assemblies of God denomination, I encourage you to read both part 1 and part 2 of this report carefully so that you can understand the truth about AAAS and what it really stands for:

• A Battle for Men’s Souls: Part 1
• A Battle for Men’s Souls: Part 2

You can find out more about AAAS at:

www.AAAS.org/aboutAAAS/

Now, Jennifer Wiseman is not the only speaker at the Assemblies of God conference. Another featured presenter is Amos Yong from Regent University (yes,the university founded by Pat Robertson). Let me share some quotes from this speaker so that you can understand what he believes and thus teaches at Regent.

Amos Yong, Professor of Theology and Director of Doctor of Philosophy Program at Regent University, has written the following (taken fom his book Theology and Down Syndrome):

Instead of being developed by ancient Israel, the idea of a primeval fall can be said to be of specifically Pauline inspiration, although it did not solidify into the doctrine of original sin until the fifth century...More specifically, early Christian interpreters developed the doctrine of the Fall." "What is needed is a reformulation of the doctrines of sin and the Fall that can provide a more plausible and coherent account of the experience of the disability in our time (p. 161) ... First we might say that ha adam refers collectively to the "first self aware hominids" (Collins 2003: 481) who as individuals and collectively suppressed the truth as they understood it and resisted rather than responded to God” (p. 164).

Even if we have argued earlier that Down Syndrome is a peculiarly modern phenomenon in terms of our experience, it is also equally clear that trisomic mutations have been around for thousands and even millions of years, given their presence among gorillas and chimpanzees. While chimpanzees normally have forty-eight (rather than forty-six) pairs of chromosomes, trisomy of their twenty-second chromosome not only results in forty-nine chromosomes but also produces parallel anatomical, phenotypic, neurological, and behavioral similarities to Down Sydrome ... it only suggests that the kinds of genetic variations that have evolved the many species of both pongidae and hominidae (the family of human beings and their ancestors) have produced mutations like trisomy 21 (in human beings) and trisomy 22 (in chimpanzees) long before the appearance and “fall” of Adam and Eve from paradise. (pp. 163-164).

From his book, The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh—Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology, Dr. Yong shows he believes in the discredited JEDP (multiple authors) hypothesis garding the authorship of Genesis. For instance:

• Referring to Psalm 33, he writes: “... he is clearly echoing the Priestly author’s account of the creation of the world.” (p 281)
• Concerning Genesis, he states: “A case can be made that these hints from the Priestly author are fully consistent with the nuanced accounts of contemporary science.” (p. 282).

I encourage you to read this article showing why we should reject the JEDP hypothesis: www.gotquestions.org/JEDP-theory.html.

And then here’s a sad statement from page 279: “What is basically true about secular explanations of human behavior needs to be supplemented by biblical revelation.” (p. 279)

Well—that’s just two of the speakers at this Assemblies of God conference. I trust pastors and lay people in the AG denomination will be up in arms about this conference and challenge their leaders.

To read an article on the incompatibility of evolution and the Christian faith, see AnswersInGenesis.org/articles/nab/couldnt-god-have-used-evolution

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken