Syncretism is a sin that results from any attempt to combine worship of a false god with devotion to the one true God.
God commanded the Israelites to destroy the idols of the people who lived in Canaan to protect themselves from their deluding influence.
Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. 13 “But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 —for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. Exodus 34:12–16 (NASB95)
The people of that day recognized what many today do not understand. Demonic “principalities and powers” often gain influence and even mastery over those who live in certain areas because of sacrifices made to those evil beings in an effort to procure favor and blessings from them. This is spiritual blackmail. In order to protect themselves, invading conquerors often made an effort to appease the local gods of the land they defeated. They would not abandon their own gods but would simply add some new ones. This eclectic religion seemed very practical to them and revealed that they believed that there was not one supreme God over all, but many gods whose authority was regional. This resulted in a syncretistic blending of elements from the various religions into something new, a sort of hybrid religion.
Another definition of syncretism is “the attempted union of principles or parties irreconcilably at variance with each other.”
In a previous article, I showed how biblical creationism and evolutionary thinking are hopelessly irreconcilable. Nevertheless, many well-meaning Christians over the years have caved to societal pressure and tried to combine the two. They did not want to seem “foolish” or “ignorant” of the latest “scientific breakthroughs.” We want to hang on to our Bible beliefs while simultaneously incorporating the anti-biblical beliefs of modern so-called science. Doing this will lead to our doubting the truthfulness of God’s Word. This is always Satan’s end game. He uses “science,” otherwise called “knowledge,” to cast doubt on God’s words.
Syncretism always wars against our allegiance to God and his written Word.
Today, many believers have unwittingly become syncretistic. We have tried to blend heliocentrism with the creation account in Genesis. This toxic mix requires us to deny the order of creation in Genesis Chapter One. This is not a merger of beliefs. It is a hostile takeover. This compromise with lies results in two things. First, it teaches us to distrust and abandon the literal teachings of the Bible, and, secondly, it renders God irrelevant and unneeded, which is exactly the goal of every satanic philosophy and “scientific” system of thought.
Once we choose to make a stand on the Word of God, everything becomes simple. Since the Bible is always true, then anything that disagrees with the Bible is false.
Since heliocentrism, evolution, and the Big Bang theory do not harmonize with the creation account, they are by definition false.
The Bible does not always satisfy our curiosity by giving us the “how” or “why,” but it does give us “what” we need to know. Some things relating to origins and cosmos are simply past our comprehension and “need to know.”King David wrote these words of worship as he pondered the heavens.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, Psalm 8:3–6 (NASB95)
God intends for us to grow in our knowledge and worship of him. He also wants us to understand that mankind is central to his creation purposes.
The Big Bang theory leaves us thinking that we are inconsequential specks in a vast impersonal universe. We can detect Satan’s hand in this pervasive lie. As a result, many today feel quite hopeless and take the escape route of suicide rather than face a lifetime of meaningless pain.
Coming back to a biblical understanding of creation restores hope to us.
The God who created the earth and seas also made us to inhabit it. Knowing the truth about creation provokes us to want to know our wonderful Creator through our Lord Jesus.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16–17 (NKJV)
