The Scopes Trial Showed Compromise on Genesis Doesn’t Pay

This month, we published an article highlighting a judge’s perspective on those courtroom events a century ago. I also published a video highlighting the history and significance of this trial:

Well, today was the final day of the trial and one of our speakers and researchers, Dr. Terry Mortenson, was asked by a website called Christ Over All to write a piece on the trial, reflecting on what’s happened since. You can read the article in full on their website (I encourage you to do so as Dr. Mortenson goes into a lot more detail on what happened during the trial), but I wanted to share just a portion of it with you. In this excerpt, Dr. Mortenson highlights the long-term consequences of compromising on God’s Word, as happened during the trial—it’s a sobering reminder that we must never knowingly compromise the Word of God:

With its vast publicity, the trial greatly fueled the public debate about the origin of the world. The scientific status of evolution was elevated in the minds of the public. Teaching creation was soon removed from the public schools, and evolution now wholly controls the curriculum. Fundamentalist (“Bible-believing”) Christianity and belief in creation (especially the supernatural creation of Adam and Eve) were discredited.

Fast-forward to the present, where recent Gallup poll indicates that 37% of Americans essentially believe the Genesis account of the creation of humans.1 But the rest accept human evolution, and even the majority of Christians accept the millions of years view of the earth (although most don’t realize that this unacceptably involves animal disease, death and mass extinction and other natural evils before the Fall2).

Today’s American culture has eroded much further since the disaster of the Scopes trial. Belief that humans evolved over millions of years undermines biblical authority and morality, resulting in a culture of increased heterosexual immorality, homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. But if we’re just animals with no accountability to God, then there is no basis to say any of those things is wrong.

The last 100 years demonstrates a growing rejection of the gospel and mass exodus of young people from the church.

The last 100 years demonstrates a growing rejection of the gospel and mass exodus of young people from the church. And evangelicals are increasingly accepting theistic evolution (even denying a literal Adam and Fall). Philosophical naturalism (aka, atheism) is the worldview foundation of geological and cosmological evolution just as it is the foundation of biological and anthropological evolution.3 To fight the latter, while compromising with the former (i.e., with millions of years), didn’t work for Spurgeon in the 1800s and for Bryan in 1925, and it doesn’t work today. This persistent and inconsistent compromise among evangelical leaders and scholars undermines the authority of God’s Word.

For example, the wording of several points in the Chicago statements on inerrancy (in 1978) and hermeneutics (in 1982) produced by the International Council Biblical Inerrancy allowed most of the 300+ signers of those statements to also accept the big bang and millions of years.4 And in his excellent critique of theistic evolution, old-earth proponent Wayne Grudem makes the essentially same mistakes as the Christians he opposes.5

Unlike Bryan’s situation in 1925, there are now literally hundreds of PhD scientists (including physicists, geologists, and paleontologists) who hold to young-earth creation. Many are associated with Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research, Creation Ministries International, and the Creation Research Society. Nearly all of them received their PhD at a secular, evolution-controlled university. These young-earth creationists have also produced an enormous amount of literature and DVDs and widely-accessed web sites, as well as the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum visited by over a million people each year. While we are grateful for such resources, these efforts cannot be contained to scientific literature. It must be cherished again in Christian spaces. For that to happen, pastors and scholars need to teach the literal truth of Genesis 1–11 and expose themselves and their congregations and students to the massive scientific evidence that confirms that truth.6

The battle in 1925 and the battle today is not, as so many think, one between science and religion. It is rather a battle between the naturalistic dogma (i.e., religion) of the scientific majority and the plain teaching of Scripture. It is ultimately a battle between man’s fallible word and God’s inerrant Word. For 200 years Christians have creatively tried every conceivable way to fit millions of years into Genesis 1: either into “figurative” (or “mythological”) days, or between the literal days, or before the literal (or “figurative”) days. But it won’t fit. They have also argued that Noah’s Flood was either a localized flood in the Middle East or a mythological flood. But none of these interpretations stand up to sacred scrutiny of an open Bible, which is why there are so many different old-earth views. Despite their wide and growing number, none of them can harmonize the Bible with the evolution story.

Christians, and especially Christian leaders, need to undertake with serious concern the project of defending the authority and truth of God’s Word. Such a project then begins with the very first verse, demonstrating we have heard loud and clear the Scopes lesson.

The issue has always been and continues to be the authority of God’s Word!

Yes, the issue has always been and continues to be the authority of God’s Word! Will we start with God’s Word or will we take man’s ideas and add them into Scripture (essentially making man, not God, the authority)?

Compromise never pays. God hates compromise (go read the Old Testament prophets and you’ll clearly see it!), and compromise just fuels more compromise.

The solution for every Christian is to stand boldly on the authority of the Word of God . . . from the very first verse!

One last thing. Really, the percentage of Americans that believe the Genesis account according to the Gallup poll (37%) is, in my mind, very significant in such a fallen world. That’s millions of people. I’ve seen articles by atheists bemoaning the fact that so many believe Genesis. Personally, I think this is because of the impact of ministries like AiG and the two attractions Ark Encounter and Creation Museum! So I think this is something to give praise for regardless!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.