Many Christians today view the issue of recent creation as a side issue. Whether or not they believe that God created the world in six literal 24-hour days, many believe this to be a minor doctrinal issue. More people argue about whether the rapture will occur before or after the tribulation, or whether the gift of tongues is something God still uses today. At least, in my church, they do.
But Ken Ham has a different view. He believes that our society’s rejection of the biblical account of creation and our acceptance of The Lie of the theory of evolution is the fundamental reason behind the decline in morals and the general decline in the church’s influence over society.
His point is this: people are concluding that if they can’t trust the words in the first few chapters of the first book of the Bible, then they probably don’t have to worry too much about following what the rest of the book says either. Furthermore, sinful people have a motivation to reject the Bible, because they believe doing so frees them from accountability to God’s laws. The lie of evolution gives them another scenario for the origin of the universe and of life, a scenario that doesn’t require them to follow and obey.
The Lie is for you if you
- believe in creation but don’t think it’s important whether a Christian believes the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24-hour days.
- aren’t sure if evolution is true or not.
- think evolution and the Bible don’t necessarily contradict each other.
- worry about the moral decline in the world but don’t know what to do about it
- are a pastor or teacher or are in a leadership position in your church and you don’t see the importance of preaching about creation.
- are a pastor who doesn’t preach about creation because you know there are both young-earth and old-earth creationists in your congregation and you don’t want to offend anyone.
- believe in young-earth creation but need to read clearly-written arguments to help you make a better case for your position.
The Lie was first published in 1987. This month they are releasing a 25th anniversary edition, which is revised and expanded. I never read the original book so I can’t make a comparison, but if you are at all confused about whether Christians can believe in evolution, the appendix that lists 20 reasons why not is probably worth the price of the book. But there are 11 chapters and a 2nd appendix full of information and arguments to help you understand why this is an important issue for every Christian to know more about.
The Lie is published by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group. I received a free copy of the book in return for my review, but my opinion is my own and not influenced by the receipt of free product.
