Viewpoint of Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

God has built into His creation a marker for the passing of time – one that excites people all over the world! All the New Year celebration attests to that. Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years!

Recall that the Bible tells us of a purpose for the “two great lights” – the sun and the moon. It was “for seasons, and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14-16). Indeed, our 24-hour division of time, all the way down to the minutes and split-seconds, is based on how the Earth’s surface cycles relative to the sun. And a new year is simply the beginning of a new “season” of revolving around the sun – a fresh cycle, a fresh season.

There is, in fact, a great deal of wisdom in time management (Psalm 90:12) and in asking what is the purpose and opportunity for each season in life. Do you do that for yourself? At Creation Moments, we ask that kind of question throughout the year: What are we to do within the purpose and mission of our calling?

As you can see from the top of this letter, we have a mission of “Proclaiming Evidence for Truth”. In the Lord there is always a season for planting and harvesting, for sowing seeds of truth and reaping a harvest of souls! And we are happy to plant seeds of truth which free people from the chains that come from unbelief!

Jesus told His disciples to continue in His word – because as they did so, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free! So, what we see from Scripture is that the seeds of truth yield a harvest of freedom! For example, once people realize that the whole of Scripture is trustworthy – that it is true even where it contradicts so-called science (like evolution) – they open up to the entire word of God. And the word of God is the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) which moves and frees hearts and minds from the lies and chains of the devil. The Spirit brings liberty, freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17)!

If we stray from what the Bible teaches, we will find ourselves believing lies, and we will become bound by chains of darkness or false philosophy – unable to discern right from wrong and, therefore, under the control of those who hate God. “Armed with cruel hate”, Satan, in fact, is described as the one who “deceiveth the whole world” in Revelation 12:9.

The abandoning of biblical inerrancy leads us down a slippery slope. The constant pressure of a culture which embraces evolutionism, hedonism and all sorts of false “isms” has taken its toll. Why believe the Bible about creation when “science” says evolution trumps creation? And if the Bible is wrong about creation, why believe it about family structure and dynamics?  Why believe the Bible about homosexual relations or gender identity in the face of pagan arguments for legitimizing the perverse if the Bible can’t be trusted?

And if that’s the case, why not just pick and choose those parts of the Bible that “make sense” or that we like? In other words, if the Bible can’t really be trusted, why not just conform the Bible and the church to the sensibilities of the society rather than transform people’s minds to the truth of Scripture?!

All of Scripture begins to unravel for those who start down this slippery slope. Pretty soon, they are left with darkness instead of discernment, with form instead of function, and with platitudes instead of power.

In the 14^th Century, a Franciscan Friar and theologian named William of Ockham popularized a notion which came to bear his name – Ockham’s Razor. It came to be of great use in theology, philosophy and science. The principle can be stated: “All things being equal, take the simplest explanation.” Just as truth is freeing, truth is straightforward!

Great scientists all have appreciated this “fundamental sophistication of simplicity”. Albert Einstein, for example, put it this way: “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Indeed, all the greatest principles and formulas of science boil down to pretty simple equations!

Ockham was reacting in his day to the excessive fitting of theology at the time to Aristotelian philosophy. This excessive fitting of theology to a pagan philosophy led to many of the corruptions and complications which found their way into the Catholic Church – including many that the Protestant Reformers later reacted against. Ockham’s Razor – “take the simplest explanation” – provided a corrective critique, shaving away excessive assumptions and factors.

His approach led back to the idea that theological doctrine must come from Scripture, from supernatural revelation – not human philosophy. It set the groundwork for Martin Luther who essentially argued, “Let’s get back to the text; let’s get back to the Bible!”

Genuine truth is unencumbered by excessive overlays. That’s why genuine truth is often called “the Naked Truth”. The devil would complicate our lives, and his lies can be subtle and very powerful delusions. But we do not err when we stand on the Scriptures!

“Proclaiming evidence for truth” – including the foundational truth of creation – has never been so important and has never had such potential for fruitfulness. Not only is the message ripe for our times, but the vehicles of media and communication by which it is carried around the world are growing in ways unimagined just a short time ago.

Thank you so much for sharing the call to biblical truth with us this year and next. May our Lord bring you blessing beyond measure all throughout 2018!

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