The consequences of evolution

Does it matter what you think about creation or evolution?
While reading Romans 1 recently, it struck me how great and disastrous the consequences are when man denies his creator. Therefore, here are some thoughts in response to Romans 1 with an eye to today.
But first read for yourself Romans 1:18-32.

To begin with, a picture you might think is a joke. The next step in man's evolution: when man believes he is woman.

God is the Creator of all things

When Paul mentions the 'Gospel of Christ' (1:16) goes on to explain, he begins with 'the wrath of God' which is revealed about people who `suppress the truth in iniquity' (1:18). When you read on, it becomes clear that this is about the truth related to recognizing God as the Creator of all things. Paul makes it clear that every person can see Who God is in creation; 'it is known to them. God Himself has revealed it to them' he says (1:19).

This is remarkable: creation from the beginning is God's self-revelation to all people. In creation every human being can see what 'the eternal power and divinity' is from the Creator who made all things (1:20). It is not simple 'seeing,' but it says 'known and seen through' (1:20) and then it is not only about perceiving, but also involves understanding and gaining insight. When you see the wonders of creation, take cognizance of them, then it cannot fail to lead a human being to conclude that there is a God, Who designed and made all of this. A God Who created the vast universe, as well as the smallest particles of matter, and all of it of unimagined beauty and in perfect balance with each other.  

We find here the beginning of all human - and therefore pagan - religions. It is the rejection of God's revelation in creation, thus begins all misery. When people do not recognize God as the Creator, there are enormous consequences, which we can read about in this first chapter of the letter to Romans.

The clear story of a scientist who has left evolution behind and has become convinced of the reliability of the biblical testimony: the interview.

Making a fool of yourself: myths

Man cannot escape thinking about the things of life. But denying God as Creator still leaves thinking man with questions.

Where does everything we see come from, nature, animals and man. Is there a God who made everything, and if so, Who is He; what is He like? If God is good, where does evil and all the misery in the world come from? Why is there suffering? What is there after this life? What is there in the heart of man, of myself? What does that mean for my relationship to God? An endless list of questions and considerations.

That is why we are humans and not animals: to think and thereby make choices. All kinds of questions about existence, your origin and your future occupy you; but also about whether there is more than you can perceive and your relationship to other people. These are the 'considerations' which Paul speaks of and of which he says that in it we 'dazed in it. In any case, that means that we actually never get out there and find satisfactory answers because we have removed the light of God's revelation from our hearts: 'their unwise heart is darkened'. We do not find the solutions and the only thing you are left with then is to make yourself 'wise' explain while making a choice among all the (foolish) considerations. Thus you create your own truth, your own stories, in which God plays no role. Paul and Peter call it in the New Testament^[1] 'fabrications (original myths^[2]), your own stories about the gods and the invisible world.

Images, the entrance to another world

These self-made-up stories about the invisible world don't stop there, by the way, because we also want to experience the reality of that other world, which is why we make images of it. Images of man or an animal, representing and manifesting the invisible. The word used in Romans 1:23 for 'image' used is the Greek for icon. Icons (or images) have always been means by which man could experience the other world. Both in the pagan world, the Jewish world, and also in the Christian world.

Someone writes about this[3] clear language: "The icon is an image that becomes a tool in the liturgy. The icon is not about the beauty of the image, but about the effect it has. The icon is meant to focus your attention, not to hold your attention, but to direct your attention to a spiritual reality that lies, as it were, behind the icon. The icon helps you, in prayer and meditation, to experience something of the world behind the icon, of the divine. (...) The icon as a window grants us a glimpse of another reality, a new perspective. (...) the icon takes us with it."

An image can take you into another world, a world of the supernatural, "the world of the divine," where you see things differently ("a new perspective"). It is traditionally the same tool by which Satan tempts man to "experience the divine in himself.

Truth is suppressed

The truth of God is replaced by the lie (1:25). We have already seen this above. When God's truth is denied, man makes up his own stories. Man continues to reason; surely he must have a story, a cause-how things came into being, where we came from and where we are going. Then when God is not the origin and purpose of everything, we do make up our own stories and call it truth. But God's Word calls it falsehood.
It goes even further, by the way. It is not only that truth is replaced by falsehood, but truth is deliberately suppressed, kept away from people (1:18) and fought against. Anything that reminds one of God is opposed and eliminated in every way possible.

Thus, much of what is called science is presented as truth today. As the biggest lie though is the evolutionary theory in all sorts of variations, denying what God made in 6 days according to His own Word. Thus there is much that masquerades as "science" (and thus "true"), but in reality is falsehood and hides God's reality from view.

Immorality and all forms of evil.

If God is not the Creator, then we do not have to answer to Him for our actions either. Then man does whatever comes to mind. The result is sexual immorality in all its forms and all the other evil in its many manifestations that we find in verses 24-31. Most of the things mentioned here concern behavior toward fellow human beings:

“iniquity, fornication, wickedness, greed, wickedness. (...) full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, wickedness, evil speakers they are, slanderers, haters of God, smaders, haughty, great speakers, inventors of evil things, disobedient to their parents, unwise, faithless, people without natural love, irreconcilable, unmerciful.”

In all these things, God's standards and boundaries are scorned and killed by man who does not honor his Creator. They lead to a society in which 'I' and mutual injustice are the measure. Not for nothing does it say in verse 32 that those who do this 'know the law of God, that they deserve death'. All the more so because she "not only do these things themselves, but also agree with those who do them”.

In the third chapter of the letter to Romans, Paul states that every person - Jew or Gentile, it doesn't matter - is like that and that there are 'no one is doing good' (Romans 3:12). He then continues with the following enumeration:

"(...) Their throat is an open grave, with their tongue they commit deceit, venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curse and bitterness, their feet are quick to shed blood. Destruction and misery is in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. The fear of God is not before them." (Romans 3:13-18)

On all sides, evil and injustice ascend to heaven, so to speak.

Evolution, the death of God and some more

The theory of evolution is one of the "fabrications" man has created to reason away God. Since in the middle of the 19^and century evolutionary theory defeats its millions, there are few people - Christians not excepted - who still believe in a creation by an all-powerful eternal God; let alone that He would have done it in 6 days!

Someone has the theory of evolution 'the biggest hoax[4] on earth' and we might add that it was also one of the most successful. But it was not the only one.
In the same 19^and century, the "God-is-dead" theory emerged. It will not have been accidental, I suspect. Because if you don't want to honor God as Creator, you just have to declare Him dead. Then we make up our own stories and declare science to be omnipotent god, like Nietzsche and many having done after him.

Idolatry - the direct demonic influence from the mid-20th century onward

After modern man has declared that God is dead and creation was not made by Him, he still necessarily needs something greater. This leads him into idolatry, experiencing the supernatural, the mystery "deep within. All this led to the fact that from the middle of the 20^and century, demonic activity has become manifest in the Western world as well as in the Christian churches.

• With the Beatles, meditation, drugs and rock-and-roll became increasingly common from the 60's onward. It was the time of the Beatles (see here), hippies, flowerpower and the emergence of New Age. Its influence has only increased after that time and cannot be underestimated. Millions in our society experience the direct influence of the invisible world and without it they can hardly live.
• But demonic influence also entered Protestantism during the same period with the emergence of the charismatic movement[5]. Retrieved from Wikipedia For example, it states the following: 'Beginning in the 1960s, there was a renewed focus within established denominations on the supernatural "gifts of the Spirit.' ). That this is not the Spirit of God we have discussed elsewhere (e.g. here and here).  

My conclusion is that since the middle of the last century, people - Christian or not - have increasingly opened up to the unseen world, which has led to a tremendous increase in demonic activity in the world; not only in the world without God, but also in Christian yards.
In the process, by the way, it seems like it is accelerating. It bubbles under water for a while and then suddenly you see things erupting on the surface, of which you cannot say otherwise than that it is demonic in nature and origin.

This is not all

That darkness is increasing in this way is no wonder. Everything that reminds man of God the Creator is removed from society. And everything is being promoted that allows man to feel "god. We briefly mention a list of developments without elaborating on them here (perhaps that will come later if there is cause for it).

• Antisemitism - against all that is Jewish (link)
• Christian persecution - against all things Christian (link)
• Man, woman, family and marriage
• Against life: abortion and euthanasia
• Legalization of drugs; for 'recreational' and therapeutic use
• Gender / LGBTI+ : there are many more genders than M and V; gender is "fluid. On threatening transgender people see this recent RD article. The government is also participating heavily in this (see here and here). Furthermore, on the simplification of the transgender law here. Here a article from 2019.
• BLM / Racism: the alleged 'white supremacy'. See this recent article in the Midnight Group, which indicates the demonic origin as well as the mixing with LGTBI+.
• Woke / cancel culture; silence anything that speaks or thinks differently from one's own norm (see here, here and here).

We started with a picture on evolution and gender and we end with a reference to an article on creation and racism. In the "scientific" journal the Scientific American, a certain Allison Hopper argues that denying evolution is a form of "white supremacy.

With that, the fate of the creationist seems sealed. Not today or tomorrow, but in a while.

We know the Firstborn of all creation

We live in a world that bears the consequences of denying the Creator. It is darkness from which we have been drawn by God the Father Himself. What an unimaginable blessing it is to know that you have been transferred to the Kingdom of the Son of God's love, the Lord Jesus Christ. All things were made by Him and for Him; it is He who poured out His blood by which our sins are forgiven and we are redeemed.
How much reason to thank Him and the Father!

In doing so, we thank the Father, Who has made us capable of sharing in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has drawn us out of the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. In Him we have redemption, through His blood, namely the forgiveness of sins.
He is the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. For by Him were all things created that are in the heavens and that are in the earth, that are visible and that are invisible: thrones, dominions, authorities or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and all things exist together through Him. (Colossians 1:12-17) 

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Footnotes

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[1] 1 Timothy 1:4; 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Peter 1:16.

^[2] From Wikipedia (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythe): Myth is a narrative that 'explains': "Myths forge our sense of who we are, how we got here, and how we fit into a world full of communities that differ from our own." In doing so, myth touches on questions and problems that humanity has always encountered. This may explain why it is that myths from cultures far apart sometimes share similar themes. Myths that are considered important within a culture guide questions about that culture's history, future, customs and lifestyles. In addition, the subject of a myth should have exceptional characteristics, such as the appearance of characters (animals, humans, gods and other beings) with superhuman characteristics.

[3] https://www.bertaltena.com/idool-of-icoon-kol-1-15/

[4] Hoax: See https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoax

[5] This is the 2nd wave. The 1st wave began around 1900 with the birth of Pentecostalism.