Explore

Feedback archiveFeedback 2014

Why is Jesus crucial for Creation?

Occasionally, creationists of other faiths write in and wonder why we don’t keep Jesus out of it, since we’d have a larger audience if we were more ecumenical, and we would have more holy books to choose from with insights about creation. A couple such feedbacks came in after we released our analysis of the Ken Ham/Bill Nye debate.

Mohamed A., Bahrain, wrote,

Flickr/Paola (CC BY 2.0) 9438-cross
Hi,
I would like first to thank Mr. Ham for presenting his case thoroughly in yesterday’s debate, both debaters did a good job actually. My question is, after listening to the response to the last question submitted by the audience, which you mentioned that there is no other book you know of that explains the origin of life, marriage , etc., it sounded to me for a moment that you just described the Qur’an, so I wanted to suggest that you read the Qur’an and hopefully get explanations regarding these topics and more, some of them might actually support what you already believe and others will give you a new perspectives.
Thanks

Lita Sanders, CMI-US responds,

Dear Mohamed,

Thank you for writing in. The Qur’an certainly gives one account of creation and the origin of everything. The problem is that it contradicts the Bible. The Bible’s account is beautiful and simple, and is contained in an exquisite literary structure. The Qur’an’s account is piecemeal, internally inconsistent, and seems like more of a corruption of the biblical account in places than anything else. We compared the two creation accounts in detail in The Koran vs Genesis.

I have to be honest Mohamed, I have read the Qur’an, and I did not find anything enlightening, useful, or praiseworthy in it. Allah as depicted in the Qur’an is vindictive, changeable, and cruel. Islamic extremists do not have to distort their ‘holy book’ nearly as much as is commonly thought to justify all sorts of atrocities. Half of Muslims (women) are permanently relegated to second-class status. Countries whose societies were influenced by Christianity have prospered; there is not one example of a similar Islamic country (and Islam enforces its faith much more violently than the Spanish inquisition ever did). Worst of all, people who believe the Qur’an are enslaved in a false religion.

I would return your invitation to read the Qur’an with an invitation of my own. Read Scripture; dwell on the character of God and on Jesus the Savior. I do not believe that one can read the two books with an open mind without coming to the conclusion that the Bible is infinitely superior. Your book cannot save you; it does not even claim to try. The Bible has the answer for human sin and the promise of salvation. Take hold of that promise!

Sincerely,

Lita Sanders


Flickr/Lawrie Cate (CC BY 2.0)

9438-torah
The Torah.

S.B., U.S., writes,

I listened to Ken Ham’s speech. I understand what he is saying and I too believe adamantly in the “Bible”, but I call it the Torah, being that I am Jewish. I think you should consider our Torah, your Old Testament when making your arguments. I could relate to a lot of your arguments until you got to the Jesus part. Our creation ideas are the same as yours but by adding Jesus into the equation you’re excluding many followers. I think you could reach out to a lot more people if you included the Jewish views also.
Thanks.

Lita Sanders responds:

Dear Sarah,

Thanks for writing in.

Your suggestion is obviously well-meaning, but it fundamentally misunderstands our identity as a ministry. We aren’t creationists who simply happen to be Christians, but we believe the only way to really understand God’s purposes in creation is through the revelation of Christ.

What do you believe God did in ‘answer’ to the Fall of mankind? I believe He sent the Messiah into the world—Jesus. God’s own Son was incarnate as a human being, and He lived a perfectly righteous life to fulfill all the commands of the law of Moses, and then He died a sacrificial death to pay the penalty for our sin and appease the wrath of God. Actually, we have Jewish staff members who believe this and see it not as anti-Jewish but as a fulfilment of their Jewishness. See for example the DVD Jesus in Genesis by a Jewish colleague.

If ‘creation’ were the ultimate issue for us, we would have no problem being more ‘inclusive’ of others like Jews and Muslims who could embrace the idea of monotheistic creation. But such a stance would be an affront to the Gospel.

Sincerely,

Lita Sanders

Published: 17 May 2014

Helpful Resources

How Did We Get Our Bible?
by Lita Cosner, Gary Bates
US $4.00
Booklet
Christianity for Skeptics
by Drs Steve Kumar, Jonathan D Sarfati
US $12.00
Soft cover