I know this is a big topic, so sorry in advance for any cans it opens of the worm-kind.

Why does evolution have to be anti-Bible?  Even science's answer for how things got started doesn't take out the magic of God's hand.  I wanted to know if I can believe what science says and follow the Good Book without contradiction.  Or do I have to choose a side?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Straddling The Fence

Dear Straddling The Fence,

The Bible isn’t anti-science, but it is anti-evolution.  Darwinian evolution teaches that all life came from non-life and that man evolved from single-cell organisms (sometimes referred to as “goo-to-you” evolution).  The Bible specifically says that this didn’t happen.  God handcrafted Adam and Eve in His image (Gen 1:26-27).  Darwinian evolution also states that it would require billions of years to occur; God says that He made everything in six days (Gen 2:1-3).

The Bible is in complete agreement with science though.  The Bible mentions the world being round before anyone knew it (Isa 40:22), and it described the water-vapor cycle hundreds of years before modern meteorologists got it figured out (Job 36:27-28).  The Bible is completely scientifically accurate.  What most of the textbooks won’t tell you is that many scientists believe in the creation story found in the Bible.  Darwinian evolution is under attack by many scientists because the more we learn, the less plausible it becomes.  Books like Case For A Creator, Darwin’s Black Box, and Icons Of Evolution along with groups of scientists like those at Answers In Genesis are beginning to point out the flaws in Darwin’s claims.  True science backs up the Biblical account of Creation all the time.

(This question is a follow up to “The Pastor Problem”)

We have other ministers (who are women), and his [the pastor] feelings about women seem to be not ones of love.  Our church voted to ordain these women before he came, but he has blocked this.

Sincerely,
Not Feeling The Love

Dear Not Feeling The Love,

Just one more nail in the coffin for this congregation.  The role of women in the church is a very sensitive issue, which is why it is so important to carefully study the Scriptures on the topic.  Our behavior should always be guided by what God says, not by our personal agendas or emotions.  After clearly lambasting this “pastor” in the previous posts, we find ourselves in the odd position of agreeing with him.  Women should not be ministers.  1 Tim 2:12 very clearly states that women should not be preachers or ministers.  1 Cor 14:34-35 further clarifies that public teaching in the church is not a role for women.  Regardless of how politically incorrect that stance may be… that is what the Bible says.  The congregation you are attending is sinning by having women ministers.  It is time for you to find a faithful church because this church isn’t one.  We would be happy to help you find a congregation in your area – simply e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will help track down a scripturally sound, Bible-following, God-fearing congregation near you.

My mother is very religious, and she and her husband (not my father) claim to live their lives according to the Bible, which is wonderful.  However, I have a couple of questions regarding her faith.  I am forty-eight-years-old, and my father just died last year (my parents have been divorced since I was around ten years old).  Two days before my father died, he told me that he was not my biological father.  I had no idea and was in absolute shock.  Because of the trauma of losing my father, I was not able to focus on what he had told me and not able to ask him questions.  When I asked my mother, after my father died, to tell me who my biological father was, she told me that it was not necessary that I know... THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER... and that she came to this decision by praying to God.  I can't believe that God would want me to suffer the way I am.  All I want is to know who it is... I don't want a father, and I don't want to disrupt anyone else's life.  I am having trouble believing that God really operates this way.  I am a nice person, and I believe in God, but I can't believe that He would want me to suffer like this.  My mother is Baptist.  Please let me know if you believe my mother is justified in her faith or if she is just hiding behind it.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Who To Trust?

Dear Who To Trust,

The issues involved with finding birthparents are very emotional and sometimes painful… as you are now experiencing.  We will not even pretend to handle all of the counseling issues involved with what you are dealing with; we will simply focus on answering your doctrinal question.

Whatever your mother’s intentions are (and we are sure they are sincere), praying about something doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to make the right decision.  Whether or not your parents would talk to you about your birthfather is an issue of wisdom, not doctrine.  If your mother believes that God spoke to her directly – she is wrong.  God doesn’t speak through visions and prophecy anymore (read “I Dreamed A Dream” for further details).

Just because your mother prayed for wisdom doesn’t mean that she did what was wise.  People make mistakes all the time, and this may, or may not, be an example of bad judgment.

I have some concerns and questions.  First of all, I’m married and am a minister. Recently, my wife began a journey to seek God, and some things she is telling people are kind of far out there.  I have faith in the Lord and know He can do anything, but what I’m puzzled about is that she is telling people that God said she was sent here and once was an angel and that she was the commander of God’s army.  Not only that, but all her siblings are angels (one was a seraphim angel, one was this, one was that).  But I have been talking and walking with God my whole life.  He tells me one thing and tells her something different.  Then, one day, I tell her God told me to tell her to basically stop lying.  She was standing right in front of me and said God said that I was a sinner and to repent.  Then, an hour passes, and she then said God said that He had forgiven me because I didn’t know and had no wisdom.  I was led to tell her the story of the Nephilim.  She  said she was sent here like Jesus and John the Baptist.  This is starting to cause a situation where I don’t know what to do.  How can God lead me one way and lead her another?  I know from the Word many things.  She also said, like John, the Lord took her memory, and now it’s coming back to her.  I need some direction.  I cant fight her anymore, but what she says I am responsible for.  I’m the husband.  I need to know what the Scripture says about this whole matter.

Sincerely,
Conflicting Reports

Dear Conflicting Reports,

You are both expecting the Lord to speak to you directly, but He speaks to us through His Word.  John warned that adding and subtracting from the Scriptures is wrong (Rev 22:18-19).  Paul warned that we should not go beyond what is written in the Scriptures (1 Cor 4:6).  He also said that if even an angel from heaven (which your wife claims to be) were to preach another gospel, they would be condemned (Gal 1:8).  Contrary to what many churches teach, God doesn’t speak directly to us when we go to Him in prayer.  He does answer our prayers, but not with words.  The book of Jude says that we have all of God’s words handed down to us, once and for all, in the Bible (Jude 1:3).  Just because you feel something in your heart, doesn’t make it true.

Religious confusion happens because we take our ideas and ascribe them to God.  That is why your wife has one religious view, and you have another.  God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33)… people are.  All religious confusion comes from selfish desires, individual ideas, and jealous factions of mankind (Jas 3:16).  When we serve God according to our own ideals, we are zealous but not knowledgeable, and zeal without knowledge is useless (Rom 10:1-2).  The only way to find unity is to use the Bible as our only guide – nothing more.  God only created one standard (Eph 4:1-6); if we want unity, we’ve got to do things His way.  Ask your wife to show you book, chapter, and verse in the Bible that proves she is a reincarnated angel… we have a pretty confident feeling that she will be at a loss for honest words.

I am struggling with the issue of the church and abortion.  I know the church is supposed to be unified, and we are supposed to love one another, but how is that possible when a number of pastors and congregations vote for candidates that support homosexual marriage, abortion, etc.  I am particularly angry at black pastors who seem to sell their principles for the color of their skin.  I can't sit in a black church or even pray with black christians because this rage over them supporting abortions consumes me.  Am I wrong, or do they need to repent?

Sincerely,
No Room In The Pew

Dear No Room In The Pew,

Abortion is a sin, and preachers that support abortion (regardless of skin color) are wrong.  Children are already alive in the womb.  John the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb (Lk 1:41).  God specifically said that John was a child dedicated to Him from before birth (Lk. 1:15).  Ps 139:13-16 makes a clear statement about life within the womb of a mother.  Unborn children are credited as living, feeling humans, and therefore deserve just as much protection as any other human life.  The abortion movement is a movement that seeks to deny rights to a silent and innocent segment of human society.  Abortion is murder (1 Pet. 4:15).  Any preacher or religious leader that promotes abortion is promoting murder.  Don’t make this a race issue; make it an issue of morals without regard to race.