Evidently being considered or called a fool is one of life’s greatest fears. Society exerts pressure on all of us to fall in line with accepted beliefs and norms. People who refuse to comply are ostracized in some fashion, either by criticism, shunning, or outright persecution.
Bible-believing Christians hold some beliefs that the world considers to be downright crazy. We believe in an invisible, all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe to whom we are accountable. We believe this God created the earth and heavens in six days, flooded the entire earth during Noah’s day, parted the Red Sea for Moses, and stopped the sun and moon to assist Joshua in battle. We believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, did astounding miracles, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will one day return in glory to judge the living and the dead. All this is found in the Bible, which most Christians believe is inspired by God and infallibly true.
The “scientific” age began during what is called the Enlightenment. One goal of so-called science has been to set us free from the confines of the Bible. Copernicus, to whom history gives credit for the heliocentric theory, wrote the following to illustrate my point.
Martin Luther, as did John Calvin, considered Copernicus to be a fool.
Over the years since the introduction of the heliocentric theory, the development of the theory of evolution, and advent of the Big Bang theory, so-called science has attacked the Scripture with barrage after barrage. In an effort to retain the appearance of wisdom in the face of such attacks, some Christians have developed “ingenious” ways to interpret the Bible to twist it into some imagined harmony with what is called science. For example, rather than accept the biblical account of creation in six days, some expositors of scripture have elongated that short time frame in all sorts of ways to attempt to conform it to the eons of time required by the false theory of evolution.
Some of us would rather change what the Bible says than risk looking foolish in the eyes of the world, but looking foolish in God’s eyes is far more serious.
The Bible says that those who do not believe in God are fools. (Psalm 14:1) Jesus rebuked his own disciples for their foolishness in not believing the Bible. (Luke 24:25) We need to realize that much of what is called scientific “fact” is in fact a mere theory, often propped up by other theories that have become regarded as facts over time.
Adam and Eve believed a lie because the devil made them feel foolish for believing God.
Science, falsely so-called, is doing the same thing today. Many Christians are made to feel foolish for believing that the Genesis account regarding the nature of the heavens and earth is literally true. Many others choose to side with “science,” inventing all sorts of devious ways to twist the scriptures to accommodate error. It is a sad commentary on the state of the church.
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you. 1 Timothy 6:20–21 (NASB95)
Eventually we all have to make a decision. Whose fool am I? God’s or the world’s?
