I’ve had many Christians express dismay at what they see as a plethora of problems in the culture, such as abortion, gender issues, LGBTQ, gay “marriage,” racism, and so on. They have said to me that there are so many problems to battle, we can't fight them all. It’s almost like they want to throw their hands in the air and give up because the problems seem so overwhelming. But are these really all separate problems?
Many churches haven’t taught people to think foundationally, and therefore most Christians don’t understand that all these issues are really just symptoms of the same problem.
No, they aren’t. Let me explain. Many churches haven’t taught people to think foundationally, and therefore most Christians don’t understand that all these issues are really just symptoms of the same problem. Had churches been teaching people to think foundationally, Christians would understand our thinking starts with God’s Word and, in particular, Genesis chapters 1–11, the foundation for everything. Because so many Christian leaders have compromised Genesis 1–11 with evolution and/or millions of years, most have not been taught the foundation for their doctrines and for a true biblical worldview. Many Christians just look at what they perceive as the “problems” and try to figure out how to take these to the Bible to understand what to do!
Those with a true biblical worldview, however, know that God’s Word, beginning in Genesis, is the foundation for that worldview. They also know there are ultimately only two foundations for your worldview: God’s Word or man’s word. Those who build their thinking on man’s word (the foundation of the secular education system) build a worldview of moral relativism. And if morality is relative, then marriage is however you define it. Because man is seen as just an animal, abortion is no different than killing an animal. People who are aged and infirm are seen as a drain on the health care system, and therefore we should use euthanasia to stop their suffering and their costly care. Gender is plastic, and if you want, you can (try to) change your gender using drugs and mutilating surgery.
When people build their thinking on God’s Word, their worldview is determined by God our Creator. When we start with this foundation, God created marriage, so there’s only one marriage—one man and one woman. Humans are made in the image of God, so abortion (at any stage) and euthanasia are murder. God made only two genders of humans: male and female.
The clash we see happening in our culture is a battle between two totally opposite worldviews. But at the foundational level, it’s a battle between God’s Word and man’s word. Once you understand that the real battle is at the foundational level, you can understand that to battle all the social issues (abortion, gender, gay “marriage,” racism, etc.), you must address the foundational problem.
The ultimate problem is that people have built their worldview on the wrong foundation: man’s word.
The ultimate problem is that people have built their worldview on the wrong foundation: man’s word. Now, if all those social issues are the same ultimate problem, then they must have the same solution. And they do. The solution has always been the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel.
Because so many people have been indoctrinated to think the Bible is an outdated book of mythology and that science proves it can’t be trusted (in our era, particularly in its history in Genesis 1–11), we need to be equipped to provide apologetics (answers to skeptical questions and accusations) to help people understand God’s Word can be trusted and is the right foundation to build your worldview on. That’s why at Answers in Genesis, we provide scientific and biblical answers to the questions of our day that are used to attack and undermine God’s Word.
So, the solution to the social issues is to do battle at a foundational level. To do that, we need to raise up generations who know how to think foundationally and who are equipped with apologetics. Sadly, most churches don’t do any of this, which is why most Christians don’t know how to battle in the right way concerning all these social issues that are catastrophically changing the culture.
Here’s a practical example of what I mean by addressing the social issues of today from a foundational perspective. Recently it was “Transgender Day of Visibility,” and here are some of the headlines that ran on or around that day.
Transgender Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine says changing kids’ genders has the “highest support” of the Biden administration and is key to the mental health of minors
Biden calls bans on transgender treatments for children “close to sinful”
Dr. Rachel Levine says changing kids’ genders will soon be fully embraced: “Wheels will turn on this”
Who is this Dr. Rachel Levine? Well, he’s the Assistant Secretary of Health in the US, and in March 2022 he was named 1 of 12 “Women of the Year” by USA Today. But he is not a woman! He’s a man who fathered 2 children, claims he’s now a woman, and is one of the people in charge of health in America.
And this tweet came from President Joe Biden:
What a mess. Dr. Levine, along with President Biden, is an ardent supporter of children, youth, and adults trying to change their gender using dangerous drugs and mutilating surgery. This is not surprising given Levine is a trans “woman” (whose sex chromosome pair is XY—so he’s still a man; science confirms there’s only two genders/sexes!).
How do we deal with this issue? Well, let’s judge what the President and Dr. Levine (as stated in the video) believe and support against the foundation of God’s Word.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Male and female he created them....(Genesis 5:2)
But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6)
He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female.” (Matthew 19:4)
Scripture (and science!) makes it clear there are only two genders of humans.
Scripture (and science!) makes it clear there are only two genders of humans. So, starting from the foundation of God’s Word, we reject the idea that men can be women and women can be men. We understand, of course, that we live in a fallen world and some people will struggle with their identity as a male or a female, so we want to help them, compassionately and lovingly. But lying to them is not loving. What’s loving is to share with them the truth of God’s Word and the gospel message!
Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what is happening to this nation and its leaders, God’s Word tells us clearly. We’re observing Romans chapter 1 before our eyes.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools....
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men . . . . (Romans 1:21–22, 24–27)
Sadly, even certain church leaders have compromised God’s Word to accommodate the sinful actions of people like those described in Romans 1.
We can sum up many of the leaders of this nation this way:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
Yes, America and the rest of the West have a severe spiritual health problem. To deal with it, we need to recognize the disease—the sin of rebellion that permeates hearts and minds. The solution is the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel. We need to pray that these rebellious leaders will repent of their sin and turn to Christ and receive the free gift of salvation.
Oh, and I encourage you to learn more about thinking foundationally and contending for the faith in our spiritually dark culture, at our upcoming Answers for Pastors and Leaders conference (open for everyone to attend), October 3–5, 2023, at the Ark Encounter, south of Cincinnati. You’ll hear from Darrell B. Harrison, Phil Johnson, Mark Spence, Martyn Iles, Dr. James Coates, E. Z. Zwayne, and astronaut Col. Jeffrey Williams, and me, with worship from Michael O’Brien.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.