Romans 1:18-23

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be m known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Darrin joined me and 18 others to share the truth with University students and professors

There has been a firestorm on the internet talking about a new type of outreach for the Gospel. Ray Comfort published the original Origin of Species (which is public domain) and added a short introduction rebutting Darwin’s findings with recent science, as well as presenting the Gospel. Many Atheist groups, even some christian groups, have decried this method. What I found was that 99% of the people I gave this free book to viewed it as a gift (of 2000, only two people ripped out Ray’s introduction, only one returned the book)

A thankful science student

Why did we choose to hand out the Origin of Species with an introduction including a rebuttal? Because of Romans 1, displayed above. The theory of evolution (actually the hypothesis of evolution) is held up as fact by science professors in public schools all the way up to public universities. There is no tolerance for an alternate point of view, least of all a literal view of creation. Thousands of students every year are brainwashed to believe this and the ‘green’ agenda that is being pushed. The result has social implications that are far reaching. If humans are but blobs of tissue, there is no ultimate morality, no ultimate truth. Abortion can be justified, as can euthinasia. We can buy and sell organs like spare parts. We can justify the destruction of others that we see as inferior to us. God has been replaced with mother nature, and this suppression of obvious truth has produced a generation of mind-numbed and blinded students who are under the wrath of God. It is important to present the truth of the Gospel in the way that they can understand it so they can make a life and death decision.

Sharing Christ with college students in front of School of Chemistry

If we know the end of this philosophy, as Christians, are we loving to stand back and watch the destruction? Certainly not. We must preach the truth of the Gospel, crafting any creative methods that we can to meet people where they are at. If we sit back, and do not at least present them with an alternative view, we do not love God and we certainly do not love our neighbor as ourselves. This method was kind in two ways; the students got a book that is required in many of their classes, and they have a Gospel tract in their hand at the same time. Nobody is forcing them to read it, it is obviously their choice. But if they read the truth, and God by His grace chooses to save them, we have had the privilege of joining with God in the harvest field.

Some scientists call this a transitional form. I see him as a precious child.

To the Christians who criticize Ray comfort and this effort: Shame on you! What have you done this week, indeed this year to further the awareness of the Gospel on this scale? 50 campuses, 2000 books each, (and that is not all, just what we know about). I echo Charles Spurgeon; DO SOMETHING! On my campus, 70% that participated had never even handed out a Gospel tract, yet each participant handed out and average of 100 books with Gospel tracts in them. Many more were involved behind the scenes, praying, giving, loving others through this effort. Instead of shooting your own with unfriendly fire, joining with the atheists, why not love your brothers and sisters on the front line, trying to plant seeds? If you are critical of this method, do something else to proclaim the message. I am not talking about being ‘fully human’; I am speaking about opening your mouth and sharing your faith.

Brother John having one of many conversations with students, sparked by giving away Origin of Species

When atheists pose as students to get free copies of a special edition of On the Origin of Species, they are going to have a few problems. So says the author of the book’s controversial Introduction. Ray Comfort said, “We have more than 1200 people giving out 170,000 copies of the book, and this is just the beginning. We want to do the same with every university in the country.” Not every atheist is planning on burning or defacing the book. But their Forums are abuzz:

“I wonder if they list somewhere which universities they will be at. I’d like to pick up a copy.”
“These will become collectors items. I’m serious, I want one. A signed copy would be preferable.”
“I want one of these!”
“I’d love to get my hands on a copy of this, do you have any more info on when and where exactly I can pick up a copy?”
“I’d love to get my hands on a copy of this.”
“I’m so jealous! I wanted to snag one of those!”
“Get them to autograph a copy of it. I would love an autographed copy of that book, and now’s your opportunity to get one for free.”
“Get me a copy! I desperately want one. I will pay shipping.”
Comfort says, “We didn’t plan to make it available to the public, but have since placed it on Amazon.com. Hundreds of atheists gave my book You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence But You Can’t Make Him Think the lowest rating possible to stop people from reading it. They are doing the same for this edition of On the Origin of Species. See http://www.livingwaters.com/origin “Press kit” for textual, audio, and video sound bites.

Tonight we will be hosting the celebration of the Origin of Species publication by holding an open forum with scientists and community members at our local university. The purpose of this is not to win an argument, because that is not at all redemptive and it simply feeds our pride (even though we are right in our assessment) But what is important is the presentation of the Gospel. What does the Gospel have to do with creation? A lot.

A literal interpretation of the account in Genesis is necessary because it speaks about who God is, His power, and His plan in creation. Man was not created to die, nor were any of the other creatures. Man was created to demonstrate the glory of God. Man was not created to somehow ‘keep God company’. God does not need us to keep Him company, indeed, He does not need company. He is self sufficient. No, man was made to demonstrate the power and the glory of God in creation and, indeed, in recreation.

Indeed, even in the fall of mankind, the fall of our federal head Adam demonstrates the glory of God. Sin entered the world and death through sin. But God promised that sin would be defeated, that the seed of the woman would defeat the snake, representative of sin entering into the world, indeed, the very spirit and person of Satan Himself.

The story of creation and the fall of man, in which sin entered the world, is the story of salvation. Indeed, immediately following the promise of God that the Seed of the Woman (Christ) would defeat the Serpent (Satan, sin, death) God demonstrated this by making coverings for the nakedness of man. Man has always tried to cover his sin and shame by himself, as they did in the garden with leaves. God is the only one who can cover our nakedness, and He took two animals, killed them, and made coverings of their sin. This is a type and shadow of blood atonement, carried out in the sacrificial system of the Israelites and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. He is the one sacrifice that covers all sins for all time, for those who will believe.

Since the time of the fall, there has been death in all creation. Death demonstrates that the world is fallen, no longer good. Sickness, disease, natural disasters are all results of the fall, all results of the choice made by our federal head, Adam. The first act of God was to make a way for sin to be covered, the shedding of blood. He still makes that offer today, though Jesus Christ to all who will believe. One day, there will be a new heaven, and a new earth, where those who have been re-created, reborn, indeed redeemed will spend eternity with God as it was to be in the beginning. And God will get all the glory.

Still doubt creation event
POSTED: November 12, 2009 Save | Print | Email | Read comments | Post a comment
To the editor:

Last Thursday, my letter was published decrying an upcoming campus “celebration” as a stealth Creationist event sponsored by an unknown professional Creationist group. Based on my past observations of the dishonesty of professional Creationists (the description of which was edited out of the letter), I predicted that the event would be very different from its advertisement – a trashing of a straw man version of evolution and presentation of a false dichotomy: one cannot “believe” in both evolution and Jesus. I want to emphasize, since that emphasis was lost from my original letter, that this small group of individuals whom I am calling “professional Creationists” includes people like Kent Hovind and Ken Hamm who travel around the country spreading disinformation about science, preaching a message of intolerance, and throwing out that false dichotomy.

On Friday, John Chisham (local organizer for the event, and thus likely not a professional Creationist, but very quick to defend them) published a letter proclaiming the legitimacy of the event while calling evolution a “fairy tale.” Q.E.D.

My purpose for this letter is to deal with the most egregious lie of the professional Creationist: that false dichotomy. This lie is doubly dishonest because it misrepresents evolution AND it implies that one cannot be both Christian and a supporter of science. Contrary to the dichotomy’s implication, evolution is not a theory, a religion, or a “world view” that must be believed. Evolution is an observable phenomenon of nature. The definition I use in my classes is “change in a population over generations of time.” Notice that evolution “says” nothing about the origin of life (contrary to the professional Creationist canard repeated by John Chisham in his letter), nor does this simple description of the phenomenon tell us how and why evolution occurs.

Provisional answers to those how and why questions are found in the theories ABOUT evolution. The two that most readers will be familiar with were both proposed by Charles Darwin: the theory of natural selection and the theory of common descent.

As for the lie that one cannot be a Christian AND understand and appreciate evolution, that is disproved by the Clergy Letter Project. There are currently more than 12,000 signatories to the letter (www.butler.edu/clergyproject/Christian_Clergy/ChrClergyLtr.htm) This letter affirms that there is NO conflict between an appreciation and understanding of God’s Works (of which evolution is a part) and faith in God’s Word. This is the message I wish to spread, and the reason I support the letter as a scientific consultant. I encourage all to read it. That reading will be much more enlightening than the upcoming “celebration.”

Vaughn M. Gehle, Ph.D.

Science Department chairman

Biology professor

Southwest Minnesota State University

Marshall

My Response:
Dear Editor,
I would like to call out Dr. Gehle, because he has repeatedly accused me in public, in this paper, of being dishonest.
He states this most clearly with ad hominem attacks on people who are professional creationists, lumping me together with them, a guilt by association argument that deflects from the purpose of this celebration. This is not going to be a trashing of a straw man argument, which is the very reason Dr. Gehle and all of his colleagues as well as his students were and are invited to this event. Rather, it will be an open forum, where both sides of the issue and the science behind it will be discussed.
My public question for Dr. Gehle is this: Why are you so afraid of both sides being presented? If evolution, rightly called a theory is so very rock-solid, then why do you fear an open forum where special creation is presented as a viable alternative theory? I thought that campuses were places where education was open to all points of view. In this case, we will present both sides fairly and will allow people to come to their own conclusion. Is this not what a University is for?
Lastly, Dr. Gehle accused me of stating that one cannot be an evolutionist and a Christian. That is another red herring, I never said that. I actually believe in micro evolution, which is a reasonable stand and can be proven scientifically. My objection is the idea that somehow there is common ancestor from which all creatures developed. If that were so, fossils of transitional forms would fill all our museum space.
It is my hope that Dr. Gehle will be brave enough to engage in a face to face discussion with other scientists and community members at our open forum November 17th at 7:00 PM at SMSU.

The Volante – VIDEO: Preaching and Protests.

I had the privilege of joining Shawn the Baptist in South Dakota at two Universities. On Monday, we travelled to USD in Vermillion, and on Wednesday, to SDSU in Brookings. These were campuses where Shawn was forcibly removed from last year, even spending time in Jail after being arrested in Vermillion. We went there, permits in hand, to ‘redeem’ these campuses to the glory of God.

At Vermillion, we met a lot of people who identified themselves as Athiests, but many more who identified themselves as Christians who lived as though Christ did not exist. I think the latter is far worse than the former, as far as dealing with them. At least the Athiest is wrong, but intelectually honest. The Christian is wrong, and dishonest. There was one young lady in particular who said she was born again, but she was a lesbian. She did not agree with the teaching of the Bible in that area, to say the least. She was very proud of her otherwise moral lifestyle. She had ( according to her) really done nothing wrong. She had been saved, according to her, but it seemed like just an add on to her life, a label she kept for herself. Other Christians argued that they could live in a variety of other lifestyles of sin, and still be a Christian. We preached the gospel while we responded to questions with answers from the Bible.

This guy hated our preaching so much he wanted to steal our sign.

All in all, the day at Vermillion was filled with typical things. Christians who objected verbally to our method of preaching the law, warning sinners of a wrath to come. Honest questions, as well as some mocking ones. People who stayed to watch the spectacle, others who listened and learned. I am praising the Lord because the following day, Shawn found out that all the classes were talking about what went on the day before. The fascinating thing is that a professor brought his world religion class to come out to ask questions. Shawn, of course, preached the Gospel while answering their questions. Isn’t God good? Also, there were some Christians who came around and were built up and encouraged in their faith. This letter from a Christian reflects on that:

Hi,
I just wanted to write you and kind of say thank you in a way. I am a born again believer too.. and the last six months or so I drifted away from God and His ways.I feel like this was God at work in my life. When I got into the conversation with you at first I was defensive and wanted to argue with you, but as soon as I heard what you were saying I agree with what you were saying. The feeling I got from listening to you was warmth, I felt like I was back in My Fathers arms again. I just wanted to thank you for relighting that fire inside of me. I may not agree with your approach of sharing the gospel, but you are speaking truth, which is great! I have been praying for you through out the day and the students that you got a chance to talk to. I pray that God will give you the words and wisdom, and that the students would have an open heart to what God wants them to hear. Thanks so much!! I just want this email to be an encouraging email and an email that glorifies God!!! God bless.

When we preach the Gospel, we do it for the glory of God, humbled by the responsibility and the privilege to preach. It is nice to hear from these students, and encouraging to hear how their walk has been challenged, but whether or not people enjoy what we say, we are ultimately there to give glory to God.

I had the privilege of rejoining Shawn in Brookings on Wednesday, and we preached at SDSU. It was COLD! For a long time, we preached and handed out tracts as students few and far between stopped and listened. Finally, after a long period, we got a crowd, and it kept on growing! This crowd could be characterized as a lot of very religious people who called themselves Christians. What blows me away is how many of these young people give Satan a foothold by justifying and defending their pet sin. Why do we not go to Jesus, and ask him, and plead with him to SAVE us from sin? We had one young man, as a claimed Christian who boasted in his porno and masturbation. His justification? God will forgive him, after all, we all fall short. I wasted my time for YEARS with that justification in smoking pot and committing sexual sin (among others). We can be saved from that by the Gospel! Now, we will never be sinlessly perfect (until heaven) but we will be sanctified and progressively look more and more like Jesus.

It was cold, but we got a crowd!

Shawn the Baptist doing a forum with those who claimed Christianity.

The parachute is a popular illustration among open-air preachers and one-to-one witnessers alike. I make no claim for it myself, but have enhanced its use from the basic ‘put on the parachute to be saved’ comparing it to the word belief in the greek (pisteuo). This illustration is especially helpful if your crowd includes those who consider themselves to be Christians.

The basic illustration goes something like this: Imagine you are on a plane, and the captain comes on to say that he has good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a parachute underneath each seat.

I add this here: If the pilot started and stopped here, you would say ‘how nice, there is a parachute. now let me go back to sleep!’ This is the shortfall of the modern gospel presentation- they tell the good news without the bad news, or they share the good news without stating that there is bad news. Jesus loves you, and he wants to save you! Save me from what?? Everything seems fine…

….the bad news is that we have lost all of our engines and we will soon crash.

My comment? The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes judgement. It tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death. We are all in this life crashing and burning because we have all sinned. By the way, by the time that I get to this illustration, I have already gone through the law with the individual or the group.

Now what must you do to be saved in this scenario?

Does knowing about the parachute save you? Does believing that the parachute exists underneath your seat save you?

My comment here is that many people know about Jesus, especially in America and western Europe. They may know quite a lot about him, they may know why he came. They in essence have a mental assent, a knowledge of Jesus and believe He is a historical figure. Is that what the Bible means by belief? Partially.

The illustration continues…no, you must take action. You must get up out of your seat and put the parachute on, strap it across your chest, make sure it is secure and ready. But does adding the parachute to your back save you? Will you be saved from the fall to come just by putting on the parachute and remaining in the plane?

My comment is…of course not! You will die parachute or no parachute if you remain in the falling plane. Many young people go to events, crusades, concerts, evangelism services, and they go forward and pray a prayer and mark a piece of paper and they believe they are now Christians. Then, they go back to their daily lives, their messed-up homes, or hard school or work situation, or they just continue in their sin. I mean, they believed in Jesus from a mental standpoint, acknowledging his existence. They emotionally believed in him, and accepted his message as presented. What is the problem? That is only two thirds of biblical belief-pisteuo. If you remain in the plane with the parachute on your back, you are still going to die.

Matthew 7:21-24 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

No, in order to live, you must believe the parachute exists, place the parachute on your back, and then jump out of the plane. You must change the way you are going (crashing and burning, on your way to death)- this is called repentance-and jump out of your way of life (the plane) placing your full trust in your salvation to that parachute (which is an picture of Jesus).

Belief-pisteuo- in the scriptures is an mental ascent, an emotional response, and a volitional turning from and turning to. It is a belief that encompasses your life, changing it. It is knowing who the Savior is in truth, placing your trust in him, and submitting your will to that Savior.

I always finish this off with a question about where people are in the process. Did you know you were crashing and burning? Did you know about the parachute? (Jesus) Have you put on Jesus, but you didn’t change your lifestyle? Have you placed your full trust in Him by repentance (jumping out of the plane, trusting alone in the parachute?)

I pray that other Evangelists can mold this and use it in your own way to share the good news. Sola Deo Gloria!

I am a member of a group called Project Ezra, which has the goal of reading the scripture in the open air. So this is not a new method, but I have found it to be an excellent method to help people break the sound barrier, to draw a crowd, start a conversation, and to launch into an open air message based on the scripture.

Reading John 1 at Penn Station

1. Reading Scripture: Anyone can do it!
Last year in New York, my wife broke the sound barrier by reading John 3:16-19. She was very against open air preaching, and said she would never do it. But she agreed to read the scripture, and she launched right into a short testimony afterwards. It was a touching and incredible moment for me, and for the crowd which had gathered. This year at the Repent and Witness Camp in New York, I had two fellows on my team Ryan and Bryce who desired to preach in the open air, but they had never done it. I suggested that they would come up with a chapter and read it open air.

Ryan read from John 3

Bryce read and preached from Psalm 23

2. Reading Scripture draws a crowd!
I use lots of different methods to draw a crowd; my favorite is trivia. In urban settings, you just have to go to a crowd. This was true in Panama City Beach, New York City, and at the Sonshine Festival where we have preached this year. There are natural crowds all over. The best one was at Battery Park, where THOUSANDS of people lined up for hours to go on a boat to see the Statue of Liberty. There, we opened up the Project Ezra prescribed reading of Romans 5.

James reading and proclaiming the Word

Reading and Preaching from Romans 5

Kris reading the Scripture

3. Reading Scripture Starts a Conversation!

No, I am not talking about this type of conversation

I am not speaking about an emerging conversation. When you read the scripture in the open air, often times someone will stop you and want to talk about the scripture you had read. In Union Park, this meant the ‘Black’ Jewish people (Its a real strange cult), the Jehovahs Witnesses, some Catholics, and even the Rastafarians got involved.

Reading the Word.....

...sometimes leads to great conversations.

Many people, even people who claim to be Christians, have never really read the entire Bible. In many churches, the Bible is an afterthought. To actually hear it read is a shock to the system, and it confronts beliefs that people have about Jesus Christ and their faith! This is why so many wanted to have an in-depth discussion over the scripture, because of their tightly held beliefs that the scripture refutes. I personally have had some awesome discussions directly after reading the scripture in the open-air.

4. Reading the Scripture naturally launches Preaching
When I read the scripture aloud, I love to exegete it aloud. The urban setting allows for this to happen, as did the Panama City Beach setting. You can literally preach a Sunday-like message (gospel centered, of course) to the crowd which has heard the reading. We had a stack of Gospels of John and Romans which we distributed to the crowd and we invited them to follow along as we would read and preach from those books.

Preaching on Romans 5

This is not a new method, nor one that I can claim that I started, or have even perfected. And though I have written this from an urban perspective, wherever you are you can read scripture in the open air. It does not matter if you are the only one listening! I encourage you to find a place where people are, like a park, a movie theatre line, a main street, wherever. Just open up a chapter of the Word and read it. You will see some incredible changes in yourself and the people who hear you.

Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones want you to know about ChristianityPsuedo-Christianity 21 being held October 9-11th in Edina, MN:

innovative.
Living as we are in the Creative Age, we want to take advantage of the new ways to learn, exchange ideas, explore and grow. We are committed that Christianity21 utilizes the most effective adult learning practices available. To that end, Christianity21 will use an innovative format, ensuring unprecedented access to the rich resources of presenters by utilizing 21 presenters, with 21 ideas, in 21 minutes each.

Christianity21 is more than just a set of presentations. The entire experience is designed to create value for the participants.

holistic.
Christianity21 is designed as an entire experience. Toward this end we are providing on-site, free-of-charge personal coaches in the areas of Spiritual Direction, Natural Health, Sexual Health, Professional Development and Job Pursuit. Also available are group sessions of yoga and a publishing seminar. In addition, the facility will serve as a living Art Gallery.

communal.
Christianity21 is intended to be more than a conference; it will be a communal gathering — that means connecting with old friends and meeting new friends on a common journey.

We have removed the limitations and distinctions between “presenters” and “participants.” We have incorporated the hotel and meal times into the event. And we invite all participants to create this event–we are not looking for mere attendees, but full participants.

This is a conference that is as misnamed as Planned Parenthood.

So, an idea hatched in my head, something I announced as I initially responded to this when I first heard of this. I announced this idea to Tony Jones when he was on my One One Radio Show.

I am going to be there. Outside the Church. At the hotel. I am going to engage these hyphen christians where they are face to face. I am going to try to engage these speakers as to what real Christianity is.

I propose this: Are there 21 Open-air preachers out there in Minneapolis/St. Paul who would be willing to hold a shadow conference outside of the Church? Are there 21 Open- Air Preachers that would be willing to stay at the hotel and engage these folks in conversationdialogue about their need of being born again? Are there 21 who would be willing to stand outside the 21 churches where the false gospel is being preached by these 21 women and preach the Biblical Gospel outside of these churches?

Are there those who would be willing to come and hear these preachers outside of the conference? 21 Preachers with 21 minutes each who will talk about the Biblical doctrines of salvation, sanctification, reconciliation, holiness, fear of God, sovereignty of God, Biblical marriage, church discipline, repentance? Who would be willing, in the likely cold, to hear the Biblical doctrines and then be moved to share with the participants in the conference as they leave and go to the hotel and at the hotel and in the places they eat?

We will not charge $195 for registration, and what you hear and do as a result will last for eternity.

Will you join me to contend for the faith that was delivered to us? Is there 21 Pastors, Evangelists, Christians who would be willing to join me? Are there a couple hundred who would be willing to join us outside the church where it is being held? at the hotel where they are staying?

I invite you to join me. Register here by commenting below. I will be there. I hope you will be there also for one or all three of the days. I know there are real believers in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. Join me and make a stand for the Gospel!