Church columnist: Catching up; Buy truth, don’t sell

Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 24, 2016

Before getting into the meat of this week’s column, please indulge me in a bit of rambling. There are a few things that I need to mention and some things I need to play “catch up” on regarding some past columns.

First, regarding the recent series of articles I submitted on the subject of Calvinism. That series of articles went through the tenets of Calvinist as summarized by the acrostic TULIP.

This past week I again had the privilege of being a guest panelist on the “Know Your Bible” TV program. “Know Your Bible” comes on TV38 at 8:30 Sunday mornings. If you found the series of articles covering Calvinism interesting, then you will want to be sure to tune in for these two episodes to be aired on Oct. 9 and 16. The panelists – Elliot Glasgow, Roger Johnson and myself – discussed each point of TULIP over the two episodes.

Second, somewhat of an announcement for an upcoming opportunity to study the Bible with us at the Northside congregation. We will be hosting a three-day lectureship on the subject, “A Congregation To Be Thankful For.”

We begin on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. with Roger Johnson discussing “Thankful For A Working Congregation.”

On Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., Anthony Hixson will be discussing “Thankful For A Loving Congregation.”

Oct. 9 starts at our regular Bible Class hour, 9:30 a.m., with Frank Lyons discussing “Thankful For A Steadfast Congregation.”

I will present the lesson for our worship hour at 10:30 a.m. with “Thankful For A Sound Congregation.”

The lectureship will end with a lesson by one of our elders at Northside, Bill Davis, at 6 p.m., asking the question “Does It Really Matter?”

We pray that you will want to come and study this edifying subject together with us. For more information, please see the “Upcoming Events” section of our website at northsidelagrangechurch.org.

The third point of business involves a recent column I submitted entitled, “Christians Don’t Believe in Science.” That article created quite a stir, and you may recall seeing a letter to the editor, along with my response, about it.

It was picked up by an atheist journal online and people from that journal flooded the LaGrange Daily News website with comments on the article’s post. However, there was a particular commenter that I believe may be a local resident.

This person’s criticisms of my “evidences” used in the article were somewhat addressed in the response I submitted to the letter to the editor. That is, I acknowledged that the evidences I used were not the strongest arguments against evolution and an old earth.

I used them, however, as a bit of a lure because I knew that any objection to them would be based on the principle of uniformity – which is exactly what the letter to the editor did. In my response I pointed out that the very people who base their dating methods for a billions year old earth on uniformity then turn around and criticize when someone makes a case for a young earth from the same principle of uniformity.

Well, I may not have realized that my evidences were as flawed as they actually are. I knew they weren’t the best arguments, but it appears they aren’t really good ones either. I consulted a good friend who is a data analyst for NASA and he explained the flaws with the arguments I used.

Let me encourage you to visit his website at MiraculousBible.org. I also communicated with another friend who holds a Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology. Yeah, I got some input from a “rocket scientist” and a “brain surgeon,” so to speak, who are both well respected scientists and young earth creationists. I would also encourage you to visit Dr. Brad Harrub’s website at BradHarrub.com.

I am very sure that for any evidence I present for the case of biblical creation, the evolutionist skeptic will be able to challenge it and argue against it. It is the difference in world views and how opposing world views interpret the same evidence.

Maybe a public discussion on these evidences, and which world view they most naturally support, would be a welcome event for LaGrange.

When we talk about apposing religious, political and/or social views, there is a common problem behind all of them. People are not interested in truth! For the most part, people have their mind made up and they are not interested in learning anything that might challenge what they already believe.

The Bible says, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23, NKJV). For people who are concerned with truth, there is nothing of greater value that we would be willing to “sell” the truth for.

The current climate of our society is one that purposefully tries to cover up the truth in order to promote an agenda. Whether it’s a political, religious or social agenda, if it is not based in truth then it should be rejected.

Those who promote agendas based in misinformation should be, likewise, rejected. Certainly, Proverbs 23:23 gives one of the essential cures for our current problems in this country.

Until people are willing to openly and honestly discuss their differences, with the resolve to hold to the truth, regardless of whether it agrees with their preconceived notions or agendas, we will continue to see such strife increase. By “buying the truth and selling it not,” we would overcome the strife and know a peace that only truth can bring.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” (John 8:32, NKJV)

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NKJV)

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Norm Fields

Contributing columnist

Norm Fields is the minister for the Church of Christ Northside meeting at 1101 Hogansville Road in LaGrange. He may be reached at 706-812-9950 or BibleQnA@NormFields.com.Reach