The Consequences of Compromise

Compromising the Word of God has consequences—even atheists can see that!

Recently, I blogged about an article by Karl Giberson, professor of writing, science, and religion at Stonehill College and former vice president of BioLogos. In his article, Giberson claimed 2013 was a “terrible year for evolution,” and once again he promoted the belief that evolutionary ideas and millions of years can be mixed with Scripture and Christians should accept that.

But Jerry Coyne, a well-known atheist and professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, is calling on Giberson to be consistent and give up his belief in God. In a recent blog post, Coyne points out that Giberson has been uncompromising in his compromise on Scripture:

I will give this to Karl: he has been uncompromising in his insistence on accepting evolution as it is, rather than twisting it to fit Christian preconceptions.

Really, what Coyne is pointing out here is that Giberson puts evolutionary ideas in authority over the Word of God. And that’s coming from a man who denies God’s existence and the authority of Scripture!

But like Richard Dawkins, who once said that Christians who tried to mix evolution with God’s Word were “deluded,” Jerry Coyne sees the natural outworking of Giberson’s compromise. He concludes his article by asking Giberson to give up his faith, writing that Giberson would “be better off if he relinquished the last vestiges of his superstition”:

What I’d like to say to Karl is this, “Your Christianity doesn’t make sense, for there is as little evidence for your religious beliefs as there is massive evidence for evolution. Why on earth do you continue to buy into superstition when you insist in the classroom on the hegemony of empirical truth? Join us as a happy heathen, and you will be free.”

Now, I certainly don’t wish to see Karl Giberson become a “happy heathen,” because true freedom is found in Jesus Christ. We at Answers in Genesis want to ask Dr. Giberson to consider the problems such inconsistency causes and how it undermines the gospel, and we want to challenge him to return to the authority of Scripture in every area. But really, Coyne is pushing Giberson to be consistent and accept the consequence of his compromise—to give up belief in God altogether.

Actually, I would say that if the many Christians who compromise God’s Word with man’s ideas of evolution and millions of years were to be consistent, they would give up God’s Word completely. Sadly, such a consequence is often seen by young people and adults that these compromisers influence.

And to Jerry Coyne, we want to say, Jesus Christ died on the Cross in your place to pay the debt for your sin, and He rose again the third day and offers salvation freely to all who will confess Him as Lord and Savior. I urge you to repent and believe the gospel today.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken