From the very beginning in Genesis we see the stark outline of things to come and how we should understand the history of the Old Testament. Tamper with the early chapters of Genesis and one throws the history of the Old Testament into confusion. However, it goes further than that, it distorts the Christian relationship to the world which is ruled by the god of this age. It is easy to view cultural issues today as only moral issues and fail to see that they are the enemy’s attack on Christ’s Body, the Church.
Francis A. Schaeffer wrote: “The Christian system (what is taught in the whole Bible) is a unity of thought. Christianity is not just a lot of bits and pieces—there is a beginning and an end, a whole system of truth, and this system is the only system that will stand up to all the questions that are presented to us as we face the reality of existence” (Complete Works of Schaeffer, vol 1, p 178).
In this quote, Schaeffer puts his finger on a growing problem with evangelicals today as they increasingly fail to think holistically when thinking about the Bible. Much of evangelical biblical thought, when it exists, is very fragmented. That means, one portion can be preached without concern for its coherence with another portion. That seems to be happening especially with the Old Testament.
For example, one text of Scripture that is, in some cases, being walled off from the rest of Scripture is the first three chapters of Genesis. It is concerning to hear some evangelicals promoting a “different” way to understand the first three chapters of Genesis. The logic of that position is that earlier Christians simply got it wrong. It seems, for example, that some Christians are embarrassed to speak of a real Serpent in the Garden. For one to say they affirm inerrancy of Scripture and then interpret the text according to science is incoherent.
However, one of the most concerning effects of this move is how it interferes with the truth of the spiritual warfare between the enemy of God and the people of God. From the very beginning in Genesis we see the stark outline of things to come and how we should understand the history of the Old Testament. Tamper with the early chapters of Genesis and one throws the history of the Old Testament into confusion. However, it goes further than that, it distorts the Christian relationship to the world which is ruled by the god of this age. It is easy to view cultural issues today as only moral issues and fail to see that they are the enemy’s attack on Christ’s Body, the Church.
Today, in the West, we are witnessing the evaporation of the distinction between man and woman even to the mutilation of children and a host of other humanity-defying acts. To put it bluntly, this is part of the dehumanizing strategy of the enemy that began in Genesis three. It is the lie that all cultural, political, and economic issues can be explained by an oppressor-oppressed template which is the height of relativism. It is not just a theological or philosophical problem; it is a devilish plan intended to destroy humanity itself. Without understanding that, any response to it will fail to be spiritual prepared for the battle. Of course, such ideology may have some sliver of truth to it, but it must not be rewarded for that. It is only a way to pull non-thinking Christians into supporting the base lie.
