S2 E15 TRANSCRIPT
HOW TO SHARE YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT CREATION
INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone and welcome to Spirit-Led Hope. My name is Glenn Erichsen, and in this episode, we are looking at:
HOW TO SHARE YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT CREATION
We are now at Episode 15 of Season 2 and this Season is nearly at an end. We have covered a lot of ground. I know for some of you, several of the episodes felt complicated and overly scientific. For others, I know the same episodes did not seem technical enough.
This is one of the big issues when it comes to looking at the Biblical account of Creation and comparing it to the naturalistic view. Our backgrounds can be so diverse that it can be difficult, very difficult, to understand the views of someone else. This can make having a conversation about Creation with someone very unfruitful.
CREATION-TALK WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS
Let us look first at having a conversation about Creation with another Christian. In this case, you both believe that God created the Universe and life. However, not all Christians agree on how to interpret the Biblical account of Creation. This disagreement is most obvious when we start looking at the days of Creation.
In the last episode, I gave four ways to address the difference in time between the Biblical and naturalistic Creation accounts. I said that I believed there was room in the Christian community for differing beliefs.
This is where I want to be full of grace. The difficulty is that not all Christians agree that there can be differing beliefs. This does create some tension. I want to be gracious towards others that may believe differently than I do. I do not want to participate in any form of bashing fellow Christians. At the same time, I do not want to act like these differences do not exist.
For example, I have met some Christians who believe in a literal interpretation of the six days of Creation and are unwilling to accept the possibility that the Hebrew word for day in the Creation context can mean anything other than a 24-hour period. And I am not saying that to pick on anyone believing this way. I am, however, suggesting that there is a correct way to defend or promote what you believe.
I have had a few unpleasant conversations where my status as a Christian was aggressively doubted simply because I was willing to entertain possible other time interpretations like I presented in the last episode. What should we do in a case like this? Can we even have a conversation at all?
I believe we need to be very careful about doubting someone’s faith in God or their trust in the Bible because of certain beliefs, that can ultimately be shown as non-essential. This is why I started this Season with the episode, “The Courage to Be Humble.” In that episode I advocated that we seek to be humble people, full of grace, as we seek the truth together. We are all on a journey of learning and growing. There is no need for us as brothers and sisters in Christ to act unlovingly.
We should be able to agree on the most critical things such as the belief that God created everything, that life is not a product of blind chance, and that we have value because we are created in God’s image. We should agree that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and we should be able to, with confidence, declare that we have the indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit through our faith in Jesus.
If a fellow Christian cannot accept you based on those essentials, chances are a discussion about Creation where you believe something different about time will not be useful. If necessary, you can respectfully withdraw from the conversation. There are times when we should strive for peace instead of the need to be right.
Fortunately, most Christians, can and do, have great conversations, and can lovingly agree to disagree about many aspects of the Creation account. If you are passionate about a certain belief, there is nothing wrong with promoting your position in a grace-filled manner. In fact, this is how we help each other grow. And if you agree with someone, then celebrate the amazing creative acts of God together as a brother or sister in Christ. Even if we disagree, we should celebrate the incredible display of God’s handiwork together as God’s children.
Let us commit ourselves to being grace-filled and humble truth seekers. If we, as Christians, do this…we will grow together in faith, doctrine, and fellowship. And over time, we will find ourselves becoming more like Jesus. That is the goal, isn’t it?
CREATION-TALK TO NATURALISTS
What about talking to non-Christians about Creation? What do we do about that? And here I am talking about people who believe in naturalism…people who do not believe in the existence of God or anything supernatural. I want to suggest that there are two main categories when talking to naturalists. These categories, in a sense, also apply to fellow Christians, but they are probably more relevant to those outside of the Church. This is simply because fellow Christians automatically have some big things in common, which may not exist with non-believers.
I am going to describe the two categories as “relationship” and “no relationship.”
The category for “relationship” simply means that you have more than a passing acquaintance with the person you are talking to about Creation. This may be a family member, friend, co-worker, classmate, whatever. This would be a person with whom you have shared life together more than superficially.
The category for “no relationship” is just what you would expect. This is a person relatively unknown to you. You have no deep connection, although they may be someone you see frequently in passing. This may be someone you see every day on the bus, or at work, and you may even know their name…but very little else.
“NO RELATIONSHIP” SHARING
When talking about Creation with someone in the “no relationship” category, I want to make a very simple suggestion. If, for whatever reason, a conversation starts (maybe at the bus stop), then I think the best strategy is to take steps to move that person into the “relationship” category!
I believe it is very difficult to have a meaningful conversation about Creation if you do not have a relationship with the other person. The reasoning is simple…because you have no relationship, it will be difficult to do much more than scratch the surface. But if you have a relationship, you can go as deep as you want over time. We will talk more about that later.
Even though I do promote relationships as much as possible, there are ways to be fruitful in a conversation where there is no possibility of a future relationship or even a discussion. In Season 1, we talked extensively about how the Holy Spirit equips us with spiritual gifts.
Because the Holy Spirit has perfect knowledge, he will often help us know what to say to someone even if we know nothing about that person. If this concept is new to you, then please listen to Season 1, where we go into great depths about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
One of the best things we can always do is to ask questions and listen. In this manner we begin to learn about and understand the other person. It is in the listening that we often hear the Holy Spirit. Listening also lets the other person know that you care about them and makes it easier for them to receive what you may say.
Do not worry if you feel like the conversation was very one-sided. Often, we are just the first part of a string of people used by the Holy Spirit to reach someone. Your grace, as a believer, to listen to and care about someone, is never without effect. It is very unlikely that during a 15-minute wait at a bus stop you will convince a naturalist that God created everything. But in that 15-minutes, your grace can help reshape what that person believes about God and Christians.
“RELATIONSHIP” SHARING
What about discussing Creation with a naturalist in the “relationship” category? Now that is a whole different arena. Long term relationships give us ample time to learn about the other person and gives them a chance to know us.
It is fascinating how much people want to talk about the world and what is in it. Remember, the creation all around us compels people to ask the Big Questions we discussed in Episode 3. Your neighbor may claim to want nothing to do with God, but he might be very fascinated in the idea of aliens or life on Mars. These are forms of the Big Questions that people ask.
Whenever we talk about Creation, remember that we always want to practice humility, truth, and grace. If one of your friends is a devout naturalist and has a hard time understanding how you can believe in God, it is possible that a conversation can sometimes go off the rails. If that happens, do your best to be kind and do not be afraid to put the discussion on the shelf for a later time. Remember, you are in a long-term relationship, and it is worth preserving.
Also keep in mind that we all have different knowledge and skills. If your neighbor has a PhD in astrophysics or biology, you may feel totally out of your league talking to them about the beginning of the universe or how life started. A simple principle is to stick to what you know, and do not be afraid to ask questions. That is how we learn! Do not let your lack of confidence, or level of education, stop you from a conversation about Creation. But for sure, we generally will fail in a conversation if we try to bluff our way through or act like we know something without really knowing it. That usually backfires.
Often it is our simple statements that have the most impact. If you are speaking to a professor who teaches evolution you might say something like, “I do not understand everything you just said, but I know that I take great comfort in believing that I was made for a purpose and that I have value.” That is a statement born of your life that cannot be refuted. It is something that you are living. It is part of your testimony. Our life with God means much more than just an argument.
There is power in what you can say about how you have lived your life with God.
Remember, we are talking about a long-term relationship with people you know. When we operate in humility, truth, and grace, we can always say, “I do not know about that.” It is not a crisis if something comes up that is new to you. With God’s help you are going to study or talk to someone else and grow. The principle then becomes to stick to what you know and be willing to grow.
If you show someone that you are interested in what they believe, it opens the door for them to investigate what you believe.
When we walk in humility, truth, and grace, it becomes much easier to hear the Holy Spirit tell us what to do and say. God faithfully honors efforts that we take to honor him. If we are talking to someone about Creation in a grace-filled manner, this becomes a time when the Holy Spirit can use your personal testimony to great effect.
Finally, when you are talking about Creation, be alert for something else. You may find that your conversation goes in an unexpected direction. For example, you may describe Creation as one way that God shows his love towards us, when your (let us say your) cousin angrily says, “Love? How could a loving God allow my father to abuse me?”
In that moment, you realize the conversation is not about Creation, or science, but about a damaged view of God. Your cousin rejects God not because of science, but because of her hurt and pain.
Let me remind you, that if you have a relationship with Jesus, you are uniquely qualified to respond to that hurt. Continue to invest the time to listen and minister to the one who is hurting. Be present with them throughout the healing process, however that looks. I suspect that the next time you talk about Creation, the conversation will be a bit different.
CLOSING
We have been discussing for the last several minutes how to share what we believe about Creation. Why would we even do that? What does it matter?
In our next episode, we will look at that in more detail. We will explore a bit more how Creation points us to God, and this does become one of the ways we share our faith.
I said in the closing of the last episode that we would talk about why the Creation account in Genesis is so short. Unfortunately, I am running out of time to complete this episode. If you were waiting for that, please accept my apologies!
As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please email me at glenn@spiritledhope.com, or simply use the Contact Form at spiritledhope.com. That is spiritLEDhope.com.
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And now:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Until next episode, take care.
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