Health of the Church - Liberalism and Hugh Ross

In the introduction to this section, CAT makes the claim: “[YEC] are rightly concerned for the long-term health of the Church”[1]. This is a very interesting claim in the light of the thousands and millions of people who claim to come to faith in Christ because of the efforts of RTB in searching for the harmony between scriptures and the record of nature. This is particularly true of scientists and intellects- groups that YEC have found to be unreachable with their teachings. Those who were already Christians, because of teaching like those of Hugh Ross, they are now able to worship and love God with ALL their mind, heart and soul. Something YEC teachings were incapable to proving (see our bios). The arguments presented here in CAT are base on the common YEC equation:

An Old Earth = Darwinism = Naturalism = Evolution

This all too common YEC claim is address best by RTB [2].

RE: Path of Confusion
The claim here is that many Christians, once they have embraced the RTB creation model, have found themselves sliding down the slippery slope of liberal exegesis. If anything, the opposite is generally true, as many claim to some to faith because of RTB. a step in the right direction. I personally, find it is YEC dogma and insistence that my OEC interpretations of both the record of nature and scripture are heretical to be my greatest source of doubt and confusion.

RE: Damage in the Church
Yes, there claims are one of the few I have seen in CAT that rings true. Churches and institutions that embraced Darwinism over the Bible have indeed traveled the slippery slope of Biblical liberalism, but to level this charge against Hugh Ross and RTB is again using the fallacious equation:

OEC = An Old Earth = Darwinism = Naturalism = Evolution

Again, this all too common YEC claim is address best by RTB [2].

RE: Schools and Seminaries
CAT levels the claim that: “Because many church authorities have accepted the millions-of-years-of-death-before-Adam scenario, most Christian schools and seminaries have failed to teach the overwhelming evidence for fiat creation and opposing evolution." Remember the very purpose of this book is to thwart the teachings of Hugh Ross. Even a casual reading of RTB material would show that this claim is not at all applicable. In fact, RTB has a larger cache of evidence for divine design on the part of the God of the Bible, BECAUSE RTB uses mainstream, peer-reviewed scientific research as a pillar for its case (first pillar being scriptures). As an interesting aside, I have seen YEC point to the Cambrian Explosion [3] as evidence against Darwinism (which it is) but out the other side of the mouth, reject the geological evidence for the existence of the event (see [4] for an example).

RE: Next Generation of Leaders
If there is really an alarming percentage of next generation pastors, and lay-leaders accepting that evolutionary theory and Christianity are compatible, they are not this from Hugh Ross, RTB or OEC in general. If anything, I would submit they are “settling” for such a compromise because YEC models are incapable to holding up to the weight of evidence against them in the record of nature.

RE: Increasing Liberalism
If seminaries that are open death existing MYA before the fall are indeed moving to liberalism, it is because they are embracing evolution and not a creation model such as the one being developed and passing the rigors of scientists and theologians like the RTB creation model.

As a final note, CAT makes the statement: “Not only are people losing faith in the Bible’s accuracy, but the truth of the gospel message is being lost!” This claim is base on the YEC tenant that animal death before the fall undermines the atonement. This error and leap of logic has been address in previous postings (look for the label "death(animal)". But the basic problem is not making the distinction that Christ died for humanities sins and not animals sins (which they are not capable of). In other words, Jesus did not die for your puppy.

Final Observation:
As a final observation, I find it interesting that this book (CAT) and many YEC organizations spend much of their time and resources directed at Dr. Hugh Ross. Dr. Ross is constantly singled out in these criticism (or attacks) but not other Old Earth Creationists. Not their organizations. Not even Reasons to Believe. Not even the other scientists and theologians on staff at RTB- just Hugh Ross.

Footnotes
[1] CAT pg 23
[2] See RTB website http://www.reasons.org/about/8_myths_about_rtb.shtml (accessed 7.8.2007)
[3] Cambrian explosion" refers to the period- about 530 MYA- when the earth was changed from nothing in animal life forms to more advanced, wormlike organisms to a diversity encompassing all the major animal groups. All thirty of the more complex animal phyla alive today (including our own, the chordates) and thirty other phyla now extinct suddenly, in geologic terms, appeared in the Cambrian era.
[4] http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i3/kids.asp (accessed 7.14.2007)