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Why doesn’t the church taste good any more?

by

First published: 2002

‘You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? It is therefore good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men’ (Matthew 5:13). In this verse (and subsequent verses), Jesus reminds us to be salt and light to our world. One would think that we should be very pleased that in many Western countries like Australia new churches are being planted all the time. We see an increase in Christian bookshops, radio stations and so on. In short, the total number of Christian resources available is on the increase. But as a consequence, is society becoming more or less Christian? The following quote from Eugenie Scott (National Center for Science Education—NCSE, in America), is very revealing. She remains an ardent anticreationist and is one of CMI’s most vocal critics.

‘I guess my religious background is liberal Protestant. Currently, I would describe myself as a humanist or a nontheist. I have found that the most effective allies for evolution are people of the faith community. One clergyman with a backward collar is worth two biologists at a school board meeting any day! …What we [such clergy and atheists] have in common is that we want to see evolution taught in the public schools … ’1

Of course we can see our society becoming less and less Christian, and Ms Scott’s quote reveals the very heart of the problem—the compromise of the church. Compromise has steadily been changing the foundation of the church and Western society from one based on a belief in the absolute authority of the Word of God to that of the authority of fallible man.

Can you see what has happened? The world has ‘salted’ the church instead of the other way around, in spite of the increase of Christian resources. How can the church change the world for Christ when the world sees the church as irrelevant to the real world? Especially when the church is viewed as not even believing what it’s supposed to believe? Ask yourself, ‘How many church or para-church organisations do you know of that take an uncompromising stand like CMI’s?’

That’s right, we don’t mince words and teach the ‘fluff’ that often comes in the name of Christianity today, and guess what—we are seeing people saved. Praise God! But more than this, we are seeing them equipped to reach out to others.

For instance, M.B. wrote:

‘If it had not been for your ministry and the abundant grace of our Lord, most likely I would still be a lost soul on my way to Hell. I have now started leading a Sunday school class at my church [and we have] watched your Dinosaurs and the Bible [video]. The class has been growing every week– everyone is thirsting for information.’

Incredible isn’t it? Seeing souls saved while fighting compromise. By using creation evangelism we’ll see our world affected for Christ, and will help stem rampant secularism and increasing immorality in society.

Published: 3 February 2006

References

  1. T.J. Oord and E. Stark, A conversation with Eugenie Scott, Science and Theology News, 1 April 2002, quoted in J. Wells, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design (Regnery Publishing: Washington, DC, 2006), p. 175.