9/8/12 Bruce, 59
A rather eccentric
bicyclist, dressed in a sportcoat and straw hat, had stopped near a busy
intersection for a smoke. He appreciated
the million dollar gospel tract I gave him after I explained what it was, and
when I asked about his beliefs, he said "Well, I believe in God, but I
believe in evolution too." Bruce,
59, a former jazz musician among other things, knew that biblical teachings
about the origins of life are simply not compatible with the theory of evolution.
So how did he arrive at his belief in
both? "Well the Bible, of course,
was just written by men" he said later in the conversation. He believes he can decide which parts of the
Bible he believes and which he rejects, much like Adam and Eve decided to
reject God's authority over them. I
explained a little from what I understand about how the Bible really does
support variation within species - or "microevolution" - such as the
fact that so many breeds of dogs can be derived from the original dog gene
pool. (They didn't evolve, forming new
genetic information, but all their genetic information came from the original dog
species created according to their "kind" as it says in Genesis) But I know that for people who have been
under the indoctrination of evolutionary thought their whole life, a
streetcorner discussion of the case for biblical creationism won't get very
far. I went on to ask about Bruce's
relationship with God. Unfortunately, he
applies the same method of biblical interpretation toward the question of salvation
as he does toward origins - he picks and chooses what he wants to accept and
reject. He believes a loving God won't
punish sin, that since he has never killed anyone and tries to learn from his
"mistakes" God would say he is a good person, and that Jesus'
crucifixion only serves to set a good example of standing up for one's
convictions. I believe we shouldn't get
bogged down trying to prove the biblical account of creation as we share our
faith. But we shouldn't be surprised at
the weak biblical foundation and distorted beliefs people have toward the other
parts of the Bible as a result. Please
pray for Bruce, he proved to be very able to dodge or deflect all key questions
about any accountability toward God, and his belief in evolution was one of the
main tools he used to do so.
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