Center for Informed Faith

The first three questions in this section deal with the intersection of faith and science. So let's lay some groundwork first. Then we'll apply what we discover to creation, evolution, and the miraculous.

Several pejoratives are popular these days. "Liberal," for instance, means by definition to be tolerant or generous. But in Christian theology, it usually depreciates a person's belief in biblical authority or lack thereof. "Secular" means to be connected with the world. Given that God called his creation "very good" (Genesis 1:31), this shouldn't be a bad thing. But it is. And "evolutionist," from a word meaning to develop, has itself evolved to the top (or bottom) of things not to be. Why is this? Why does the subject matter?

A recent survey revealed that 79% of Americans say they believe in miracles. Even among those who seldom or never attend church, 70% believe miracles occur. Nearly everyone has a personal story which he or she considers to be miraculous, but our scientific worldview makes it difficult to tell our stories to each other.

With this essay, we step into the most enduring debate in Christian theology. It's all about a single word, "election." The term means to choose, as in electing a candidate. You "elected" to buy this book, and to read this chapter. In theological use, the word relates to the idea that God chooses (or has chosen) a people or individuals to belong to him in a unique way.

On Sunday morning, September 9, 1973, I asked Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and become my Savior and Lord. But when I finished praying, nothing happened. I saw no lights, I felt no weight lift from my shoulders. My first thought was, "Is that all there is to it?" And my intellectual questions about God didn't evaporate. I still wondered about creation and science, world religions, why God allows evil and suffering. And so I doubted for many months whether my salvation and faith were real.

When Mark Twain buried his beloved daughter Olivia's body he placed over her grave this epitaph: "Warm summer sun, shine kindly here; Warm southern wind, blow softly here; Green sod, lie light, good night, dear heart." He was sure that she was in the grave, that death is all there is. Was he right?

When Ronald Reagan was running for Governor of California, a woman confronted him by his car one day and berated him severely. Finally she said, "I wouldn't vote for you if you were St. Peter." He smiled and replied, "No problem. If I were St. Peter, you wouldn't be living in my district."

Remember the Y2K scare? One problem created by the turn of the millennium was very real. Perhaps you've been to a cemetery and noticed the headstones already in place for the spouse of the deceased, with the birth year followed by 19--. What's now to be done? Some monument companies created epoxies to fill in the numbers, but without much luck. It was a Y2K problem etched in stone.

I will never forget that day. A nine-month-old daughter of one of our church members had fallen victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. I was asked to perform the funeral. As I looked into that tiny casket, I suddenly saw the face of my own nine-month-old son. I had to step out of the room and gather myself. My sons are my greatest treasure. I cannot imagine the unspeakable pain of burying one. But death comes to all—some late, some early. What happens to those who die so young?

I spent the summer of 1979 working in East Malaysia as a Baptist student missionary. For the first time in my life, I met people who had never heard the gospel. Some had never even heard the syllables, "Jesus Christ." To them, our Lord's name was as unfamiliar as the ancient Persian kings are to us. Missiologists estimate that as much as one-third of the world's population has no realistic opportunity to know or understand God's offer of salvation through Christ. What happens to them when they die?

Jesus has just healed a demon-possessed man. The amazed crowds began to speculate that he might be the Messiah. His enemies retort that he drives out demons because he is in league with the devil himself. Our Lord responds with the most severe warning in the gospels: "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29). What did he mean? What is this "unpardonable" sin?

There are 306 biblical verses containing specific references to an angel or angels. A singular angel is mentioned 210 times; angels are found together 96 times. An angel is first mentioned in Scripture when God sends angelic help to Hagar (Genesis 16:7). Angels are last mentioned in Revelation 22:16 when Jesus says, "I have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches."

C. S. Lewis once suggested that we make two mistakes regarding the devil. One is to give him more authority than he deserves—then he can do what he wants. The other is to deny that he exists—then he can do what he wants (The Screwtape Letters). People today typically think of Satan as a symbol of evil, wearing red tights and a tail, the stuff of Saturday cartoons. He's just as happy to be ignored as to be feared.

An African proverb says, "When elephants fight, the grass always loses." In the realm of spiritual warfare, Christians are the "grass": "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).

In the late 1970's, no issue was more divisive for evangelicals than the "Charismatic" movement and especially the experience called "speaking in tongues." While divisions regarding this phenomenon seem less intense today, confusion still surrounds the issue.

At one time Martin Luther thought the Pope was the Antichrist, and expected Jesus' return during his lifetime. Christopher Columbus thought the world would end in 1656, and that his explorations would lead a Christian army in the final crusade to convert the world. Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, predicted the "rapture" in 1910 and the end of the world in 1914.

Someone asked a wise older pastor his view of the "end times." He smiled and said, "The Lord put me on the preparation committee, not the planning committee." He spoke for us all. We cannot control how the Lord chooses to end history. Our theories about the future are just that. The word of God is too practical to focus extensively on an issue which possesses no pragmatic value for our lives. If I could prove a particular theory of the end times to you, would such knowledge change your life today?

President Bush called the tragedy of September 11, 2001 "the first war of the twenty-first century." It was a week of horror and shock of a kind our nation has never experienced. As long as you live, you will never forget where you were or what you were doing on that horrific day.