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"Take
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Cecil Andrews, 29 Edengrove Park, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AZ, Northern Ireland Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com WEBSITE - http://www.takeheed.net Quick Links - Home - Assorted Articles - Audio/Video - Ministry Newsletters - Words of Wisdom |
God’s Word scorned and mocked: Creation-believing
Christians labelled ‘certifiably deranged’
The ‘Letters’ page of
the Belfast Telegraph has in recent weeks been ‘red hot’ with letters and
comments on Biblical topics such as The Ark and The Flood, The parting of the
Red Sea and of course the ongoing ‘debate’ of creation v evolution. This latter
was in particular fuelled by a request from one of our local politicians,
Nelson McCausland, [an
Evangelical Christian] that the recently refurbished Ulster Museum should broaden its
‘origins’ section to include Biblical Creationism, a view that is held to by a
sizable percentage of the population in Northern Ireland.
However, before coming to that, I want to first reproduce a letter
that I had published in the Belfast Telegraph on Friday 14th May in
response to an article by a columnist, Eddie McIlwaine,
who basically asserted that anyone believing that the stories of The Ark and
The Flood and The parting of the Red Sea was ‘loopy’.
In the wake of my letter being published it ‘drew fire’ from a
number of ardent atheistic evolutionists who had various derogatory comments
posted. [Including
‘replies’ to those individual comments that are also ‘illuminating’]
Beside each comment/reply posted there were ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs
down’ symbols to enable people to register either their support or
opposition to the comment/reply posted.
At the end of my letter that I am
reproducing here you will see [in blue] a link to the relevant section of the Belfast Telegraph web site where
my letter was published and if you have not yet given either a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down [as appropriate] then could I encourage you to do so as I believe this can be a
powerful witness for the truth of God’s Word in the midst of a “faithless and perverse generation”
[Matthew 17:17].
For a ‘thumbs up’ could
I draw attention in particular to a posting on the 2nd page by ‘alertsweden’ who
quoted a wonderful verse of scripture Proverbs
15:2 “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool
gushes folly”. Reverently speaking, if ever a verse of scripture merited a ‘thumbs up’ then this could be it.
This was my letter that
‘started the ball rolling’.
Who gave Eddie right to
insult biblical figures?
Friday, 14 May 2010
According to
Eddie McIlwaine (May 8) the story of the Ark and The
Flood was included by God in His Bible "as a symbolic yarn" and is
only believed by what he refers to as "fundamental Christians" who
also "are a wee bit loopy". Eddie also dismissed the parting of the
Red Sea for the Children of Israel.
So, according
to Eddie, the Apostle Peter was "loopy" when he wrote of "the
long suffering of God [who] waited in the days of Noah while the Ark was being
prepared" (1 Peter 3:20).
The Lord Jesus
Christ was "loopy" when He spoke of "the day that Noah entered
into the Ark and . . . the flood came and took them all away" (Matthew
24:38-39).
Again
according to Eddie, the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was "loopy"
when he spoke of Moses as a "deliverer . . . [who] brought them [the
Children of Israel] out after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of
Egypt and in the Red Sea" (Acts 7:35-36).
Why does Eddie
feel he has licence to insult such important Biblical characters and those who
likewise take God at His Word?
CECIL ANDREWS
Take Heed Ministries, Ballynahinch, Co Down
As well as opposition comments to my letter being
posted, the Belfast Telegraph also published a letter some 6 days later from a
Mr. John Phillips and in it the description of creation-believing Christians
ratcheted up from Eddie McIlwaine’s ‘loopy’ to Mr Phillips’ ‘certifiably
deranged’.
In the wake of this letter being published I emailed various
Christians and asked them to go to the Belfast Telegraph web site and read
through the various comments posted. [Including ‘replies’ to those individual comments as they too are
‘illuminating’] I myself posted a number of comments/replies and I was truly
humbled to see the very large number of people who gave these their ‘thumbs up’ and who also gave their ‘thumbs down’ to comments posted by the
atheistic evolutionists [Steve660 in particular].
This was Mr.Phillips’ letter
Bible readers who ignore logic and reason
Thursday, 20 May
2010
Cecil Andrews asks (Write Back, May
14), 'Who gave Eddie McIlwaine the right to ridicule
and insult biblical figures?'
Well, the answer to that question has
to be God himself, by Mr Andrews' own lights, if he insists that God gave us
all free will, so he, Andrews, should have no real cause for complaint.
Mr Andrews seems to be one of those
unimaginative individuals who uses the Bible to
validate the Bible: if it's in the Bible it has to be true, because it's in the
Bible.
But, of course, the Bible, ultimately,
was written by men - superstitious men - centuries, even millennia, after the
events it describes.
The Bible, and in particular the Old
Testament, is little more than a collection of legends and colourful fables and
some marvellous gripping stories.
Who really believes, in these
enlightened times, that Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt when feminine
curiosities got the better of her? Or that trumpet-calls
demolished the walls of Jericho?
The legend of Noah's Ark would seem to
be a particularly difficult take for biblicists like
Cecil Andrews to swallow. The Ark would have had to be larger than the largest
supertanker built today to accommodate the many millions of different species.
Logic and reason desert our biblicists like Mr Andrews. Forget evidence. It's in the
Bible after all.
I think Eddie McIlwaine
was being quite charitable in describing Christian fundamentalists as
"just a wee bit loopy".
For my money, they are quite certifiably
deranged.
JOHN PHILLIPS
Belfast
The following link will again take you to the appropriate section of
the Belfast Telegraph web site where Mr. Phillips’ letter was published and if
you have not yet given a ‘thumbs up’ or
a ‘thumbs down [as appropriate] then could I
encourage you to do so.
As I mentioned earlier in
this article, local politician Nelson McCausland
stated that he would like to see the Biblical Creation viewpoint being given
some place in the Ulster Museum and his proposal received support from Coleraine Congregational Minister, Philip Campbell, as the
following letter by him was published in the Belfast Telegraph on 27th
May.
Creationism has a place in our museum
Thursday, 27 May
2010
Nelson McCausland
is surely right to propose that the creation model of human origins be treated
with appropriate respect in the excellently refurbished Ulster Museum.
Contrary to the hysterical reaction of
some, the Culture Minister has not suggested that any and every reference to
evolution be both banned and binned.
He is simply saying that the public
ought to be given the opportunity to consider the strong scientific evidence
for the Christian position according to the Bible: that God created the
universe and everything in it and that man himself - far from being the product
of a long evolutionary process - is a special creation of God, distinct from
the animal creation physically, mentally and spiritually.
It is this body of evidence that people
- apparently - must not be allowed to see or hear.
And yet it is the Christian position,
according to the Bible, that not only points to man's dignity, it is also
honest about human sin and wickedness and about how individuals can be redeemed
through the creator's atoning sacrifice of himself on the cross.
We contend that such a view -
thoughtfully held by thousands of Christians in our province - deserves a fair
hearing, rather than the censorship with which it is so often treated.
REV PHILIP CAMPBELL
Coleraine, Co Londonderry
Again
if you wish to exercise your right of ‘thumbs
up’ or ‘thumbs down’ you can do
so by going to the following link.
Once again, in
the wake of Philip Campbell’s letter, the Belfast Telegraph published several
letters on 31st May from atheistic evolutionists and I will now
reproduce both of these.
Again if you wish to support [‘thumbs
up] or oppose [‘thumbs down’] any
of the comments/replies posted, including some by myself, then after each
letter the appropriate link to the Belfast Telegraph web site can be found in
blue.
Bible talk has no place in our museums
Monday, 31 May 2010
The Rev Philip Campbell (Write Back,
May 27) would like the Bible promoted as God's word in the Ulster Museum.
He says "the Christian position is
based on strong scientific evidence", like God created the universe and
everything in it and that we are sinners who can be redeemed through the
creator's atoning sacrifice of himself on the cross - the Christian gospel to
be precise.
Mr Campbell should understand that the
nature of science, unlike the Bible or the Koran, is not based on a miraculous
meteorology.
We need to be honest here. To look
outside of nature to explain the universe, and this would include the
'intelligent design' movement, is certainly not science. It's faith - nothing
more.
Complexity exists so they
"believe'', without any evidence, that God did it. This is church talk and
does not belong in a museum.
WILLIAM BURNS
Dunmurry, Co Antrim
Creationism is an ugly parody of real science
Monday,
31 May 2010
Your report on creationists trying to
insinuate their nonsense into the Ulster Museum (News, May 27) is depressing.
Creationism is not science, but a
grotesque parody of science, constructed to give a veneer of respectability to
rigid and irrational fundamentalist beliefs.
Their arguments have been examined and
debunked.
Ironically, David McIlveen
had only to look at some of the exhibits in the excellent earth science section
of the museum to see how false his beliefs are.
When there a few weeks ago, I noted a
specimen of rock salt from Carrickfergus and rocks
bearing casts of salt crystals and desiccation cracks - all proof of arid
conditions at the time of deposition, not a global flood as the creationists
believe.
I wonder if Nelson McCausland
or David McIlveen have ever
investigated creationist claims.
DR STEPHEN MORETON
Warrington, Cheshire
In the wake of my email
requests for Christians to register ‘thumbs up’ support or ‘thumbs
down’ opposition, following the publication of Mr. Phillips’ letter, I
received a lovely email of support from Christians on the other side of the
world and in it they included some devotional thoughts on Proverbs 3:34 that
they thought were very apt and could be shared with fellow Christians.
They are indeed apt and
do I believe provide a fitting conclusion to this article.
Cecil
Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 4th June 2010
Proverbs 3:34
“Surely he scorneth the scorners:
but he giveth grace unto the lowly”.
God is angry and hates scorners. Those who neglect His word, mock His truth,
despise His ministers, and worship their own thoughts will be judged harshly
(Isaiah 29:20-21). But those who think
poorly of themselves and tremble before Him will receive kind blessings.
The judgment of scorners is certain. “Surely” they shall not escape. The Lord will have them in derision. He will laugh and mock, when He brings their
worst fears upon them for their arrogant disregard of His offers of wisdom,
truth, and life (Proverbs 1:20-31; Psalm 2:1-12).
Scorners resent correction, despise authority, mock truth,
and are full of conceit. Our great God
will resent, resist, ridicule, and reject them for their pride and
arrogance. Others cannot help or protect
the scorner, for God will surely judge him or her (Proverbs 9:12).
The lowly have poor and contrite hearts, are humble in
thought, confess their errors quickly, and tremble with ready hearts for His
instruction. Our merciful God will
favour them with His gracious blessings.
Though He is high, He has respect to the lowly and resents the proud (Psalm
138:6).
Our proverb is so true it is stated twice in the New
Testament (James 4:6; Ist Peter 5:5).
God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. So we must humble ourselves under the mighty
hand of God that He might exalt us in due time (James 4:10; Ist
Peter 5:6).
God gives this grace before and after we humble ourselves;
for it is His grace that humbles us, and it is His grace that rewards our
humility with further favour (James 4:5-6).
The rule of heaven is simple: God repays in kind. He is merciful to the merciful, upright to
the upright, pure to the pure, and froward to the froward (Psalm 18:25-26).
He saves afflicted persons, but He brings down the high looks of the
proud (Psalm 18:27). He will not be
slack to repay those who hate Him to their very face (Deuteronomy 7:9-11). And He will give them the same contrary
treatment they have given Him, but with His fury (Leviticus 26:23-28).
God’s ways are equal, though Israel charged Him with being
unfair (Ezekiel 18:25-30). A man
choosing scorn and iniquity will be judged, but a man choosing humility and
righteousness will be saved. The ways of
God are equal. Humble yourself, dear
reader.
Pharaoh scorned the Lord, but Israel ravished the nation
terribly. Korah
scorned Moses, but he and his family went to their graves alive! Goliath scorned Israel’s God, but a naked lad
stole his head. The Jews scorned our
Saviour, but He publicly ridiculed their doctrine, hypocrisy, and persons. Caiaphas and Israel scorned our Lord and His
apostles, but He levelled their temple and annihilated their nation. Surely He scorneth
the scorners!
When Elymas scorned the gospel,
Paul despised him and sent blindness upon him (Acts 13:4-12). When the Jews rejected Paul’s message of the
Messiah, he turned to the Gentiles and told the Jews they were unworthy of
everlasting life (Acts 13:46-47).
The haughty teachers at Corinth, who resented Paul, publicly
heard chapter after chapter of his glorious boasting, which left them all
scorned before the church! And Paul in
turn told Timothy and Titus to let no man despise, or scorn, them (I Timothy
4:12; Titus 2:15).
If you have tried to teach a scorner and received hatred,
shame, and a blot in return (Proverbs 9:7-8), do not worry. There is a God in heaven: and He is higher
than they, no matter how high their conceited thoughts. Surely He scorneth
the scorners! You will be vindicated!
Dear parent, if you see even a glimpse of scorn or just smell
it in the air from a child, it must be eliminated today. This most hateful of all spirits must be
corrected, or you will bring upon yourself great pain and bring upon your child
the judgment of God. It is the seed of
hell in your child, but wise and early use of reproof and the rod can drive it
away.
Dear reader, do your hackles ever rise in pride and rebellion
at the preaching of God’s word? Do
resentful thoughts enter your mind against the message or the messenger? Are you offended by the correction or warning
of a friend? Unless you have
overwhelming Bible evidence to question their words, you are taking the seat of
the scornful.
Do you resent authority?
Is it easy for you to criticize or mock government? Do you love giving your opinion on how things
should be done in the nation? On the job? In the church?
Beware! Surely He scorneth the scorners!
But on the other hand, the glorious God of heaven draws nigh
to humble men, who wait quietly with contrite hearts and tremble at His word
(Isaiah 57:15; 66:1-2). Consider these
precious promises! What a
privilege! What a low cost! Humble yourself, dear reader. He giveth grace to
the lowly.