Read The Guernsey Biblical Creation Society Newsletter
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What Is a Biblical Creationist? Read The Guernsey Biblical Creation Society Newsletter |
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Who Was John Calvin? Why Is Calvinism Important? |
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Who Was Oliver Cromwell? Read my lecture on Cromwell |
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A Biblical Creationist is somebody who believes the Biblical account of origins as opposed to Evolution or any other account.
Whereas the theory of evolution has pervaded every sphere of life, (including the church), it is extremely lacking in supporting evidence as compared to the creation model which can appeal widely to the many scientific discoveries that have been made. Notwithstanding this a Biblical Creationist recognises that neither evolutionism nor creationism can be ultimately proved scientifically but the Christian is compelled to believe the infallible word of God rather than the very fallible word of man.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)
Faith, however, is not to be thought of as "the ability to believe the unbelievable" but as confidence and trust in the God who cannot lie.
In summary:
Absolutely all things, whether seen or unseen, were created out of nothing in the space of six days by God. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1: 1) And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands: (Hebrews 1:10) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are upon earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by, him, and for him: (Collosians 1: 16) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Genesis 2:2)
The six days of creation are not to be understood in any indefinite way but are truly six 24 hour days.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1: 5) But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy male servant, nor thy female servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.(Exodus20:10&11)
Adam, the first man, rebelled against God thereby plunging the entire Human Race into a state of hostility against their Creator and bringing a curse upon the whole created order which is why things are no longer perfect as they were when originally created. cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee (Genesis 3:17&18) For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (Romans 8:20-22)
The flood, commonly called Noah's flood, was not regional but covered the face of the whole world so that all air breathing creatures, not on the ark, died. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. (Genesis 7:19 & 21-22)
Because the Bible lists various genealogies it is possible to calculate a date for the Creation of the world at approximately 6,000 years ago. Even allowing for the possibility that there may be gaps in the genealogies it is not possible to push this date much further out. The reason for this is that any gaps must be of a limited nature for the genealogies to have any value as genealogies.
It is often said (usually be evolutionists) that Creationists believe that the creatures which exist on Earth now were put here fully formed. This is a common misconception. The Bible states that God originally created certain “kinds” of animals. The Biblical Creationist position is that each original “kind” would have had sufficient genetic information to produce the various types of those kinds. So it may be that there was an original dog kind from which all dogs, wolves, coyotes etc descended. In other words the gene pools go from the generalised to the specialised but there is no way back from the specialised to the generalised or from one specialised type to another specialised type. This is because there is no mechanism for an increase in information (DNA) only for decrease or reorganisation. It is also worth stating that there is a difference between Natural Selection and Evolution. Natural selection refers to changes in a population when the least fit organisms die off, and therefore their gene pool is lost, has nothing to do with upwards evolution. Natural selection is almost universally accepted by creationists and by advocates of ‘intelligent design.’ Evolution, on the other hand, requires an increase in genetic information, the ability of organisms to pass on new traits to their offspring. Such an increase in information has never been demonstrated.
Some Useful Links:
Read The Guernsey Biblical Creation Society Newsletter
Answers In Genesis
Biblical Creation Society
John Calvin is best known for his role in reforming the Church in the sixteenth century. A Frenchman born Jean Cauvin on 10 July 1509 and dying 27 May 1564, he was a contemporary of Martin Luther although somewhat younger being only eight years old on that day when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg sparking to life that period of history known as the reformation.
Converted in 1530 while studying law he eventually had to leave France, which was becoming increasingly intolerant of “heretics” (i.e. non Roman Catholics) in 1535. Although returning briefly to his home country he had to leave again and set out for Strasbourg (presumably then in Germany) in 1536. Being diverted on his way he passed through Geneva, then a small republic. His arrival in Geneva did not go unnoticed and he was urged to stay and assist with the work there. Geneva was an Evangelical Republic, the people having recently declared that they would live by the Gospel. Calvin, together with William Farel set about organising the church and its worship. Although he was well liked in Geneva, there were those who opposed him and when the French began to take an interest in the Republic in 1538 his opponents managed to make opposition to him appear to be an act of patriotism and eventually he was ejected from Geneva accused of being a French spy.
Arriving in Strasbourg, he ministered to the French congregation there. Meanwhile back in Geneva they got the kind of ministers they thought they wanted, without morals and without intellectual weight.
In 1541 Geneva invited Calvin back and so he entered the Republic a second time but now not as a refugee. He continued the work he had begun before but his insistence on dealing with people as individuals in the sight of God, taking no account of their position or privilege in Society, made him some enemies. Those who opposed Calvin in Geneva were known as libertines who were a thorn in his side until they managed to come to power in 1552. In 1553 Calvin wrote to a friend they have never shown a more unbridled licence … the entire Republic is now in disorder and they are striving to uproot the established order. Later that same year he asked to be allowed to resign. His request was refused and eventually, following an election, the libertines found themselves ousted from power. They then did what many people who love power do, they tried to seize it by force. They tried to instigate an insurrection by insinuating (again) that the French were trying to take over “our country”. Having taken up arms and failed, all they could do was flee the Republic if they could (some couldn’t and faced the consequences). Although there were still some mischief makers around, all the concerted opposition had finally come to an end and he was able to care for the church unmolested for the remainder of his days until 1564.
Although Calvin was primarily a pastor he did write extensively and his most famous work is probably The Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Institutes, though now a fairly weighty tome is basically a statement of faith subtitled “the basic teaching of the Christian religion comprising almost the whole sum of godliness and whatever it is necessary to know on the doctrine of salvation a newly published work very well worth reading by all who are studious of godliness. A preface to the most Christian king of France, offering to him this book as a confession of faith by the author, Jean Calvin of Noyon”. Today many consider the Institutes as a heavy theological book but that was certainly not Calvin’s own view. He wrote to the King: “All I had in mind was to hand on some rudiments by which anyone who was touched with an interest in religion might be formed to true godliness. I laboured at the task for our own Frenchmen in particular, for I saw that many were hungering and thirsting after Christ and yet that only a very few had even the slightest knowledge of him. The book itself betrays that this was my purpose by its simple and primitive form of teaching.”
Many British ministers were blessed by John Calvin’s ministry when they fled to Geneva during the persecutions in England during the reign of Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary).
Although a great theologian and a caring pastor he also had a sharp wit which can be seen in his tracts and treaties where he has an inventory of all the sacred bodies and relics where he lists among other things, the fourteen nails of the cross, the heads of John the Baptist, the too many bones of the apostles Peter and Paul, the two bodies of St Anne and the three of Lazarus, the hair and milk of Mary, mother of Jesus etc etc etc.
Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on April 25th 1599. When he died on September 3rrd 1658, he had risen to the position of Lord Protector having been offered the Crown but refusing to take it.
He, and his son after him, are the only commoners to have ever ruled England as Head of State.
He was Member of Parliament first for Huntingdon then for Cambridge before the Civil War broke out. It was the Civil War that thrust Cromwell to Prominence. He was in his forties when he took up arms for the Parliamentary Army and his military genius is still widely recognised.
It was his religious views that really made him a giant of a man however. His life and actions had a radical edge springing from his strong religious faith. He was converted some time before the civil war which gave a religious tinge to many of his political policies as Lord Protector in the 1650s. Cromwell sought Godly reformation, a broad programme involving reform of the most inhumane elements of the legal, judicial and social systems and clamped down on drunkenness, immorality and other sinful activities. He also believed passionately in what he called liberty of conscience, that is freedom for a range of Protestant groups and faiths to practise their beliefs undisturbed and without disturbing others. Several times he referred to this religious liberty as the principal achievement of the wars, to be strengthened and cherished now that peace had returned.
In his attempts to bring about a Godly Reformation he obviously made some mistakes but his overriding desire for justice and fairness in Society and Personal prayerfulness and humility make him a worthy role model.