Today, more than ever before, the Bible instructor comes in contact with the believers of evolution and modernism. False scientific theories regarding the creation and the deluge prevail not only among outright atheists and skeptics but among the members and leaders of Christian churches. The time has come when the following prophecy of Peter has been strikingly fulfilled:
"There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation, For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Peter 3:3-6.
The pernicious teaching by instructors of science, from grade school to university, has influenced the minds of the younger people, resulting in the entire loss of faith by some, and confusion and compromise by others. Shall our evangelism be restricted to the rapidly decreasing few who somehow happened to escape?
It is essential that the Bible instructor be prepared to meet the scientifically minded. It is not enough to quote Scripture. She must be able to meet them on their own ground and present scientific facts that cannot be refuted. There is an abundance of facts available if she will be diligent enough to search them out and make use of them. All the facts of nature are on God's side.
It may be that the Bible instructor will feel handicapped by her lack of scientific education, but this need not keep her from going forward. If she is determined to secure the information she needs, and is willing to spend some time in study, she will be amply rewarded with a surprising amount of scientific knowledge.
My own experience may be helpful to some. When I went to Los Angeles in 1937 to do Bible work, my background of scientific training was very limited. I soon heard of a series of lectures to be given by George McCready Price, who has devoted most of his lifetime to scientific study. I attended each lecture and then became a charter member of the Society for the Study of Creation, the Deluge, and Related Science, which was founded at the conclusion of these lectures and has continued ever since.
Through the meetings of this society, I have gained valuable help. I have studied many of Professor Price's books, which I keep for ready reference. A number of these lectures by Professor Price, Dr. Cyril B. Courville, and others have been published in the Bulletin of the society and are thus available. I have preserved these bulletins along with scientific articles gleaned from religious papers. In notebook form they are invaluable for study and reference. At times I have drawn from these sources for information in conducting Bible classes in connection with evangelistic efforts. They are also useful occasionally in Sabbath school or young people's work.
In my Bible work I frequently use this information in order to present facts to individuals personally. While doing Bible work in West Los, Angeles, I came in contact with some of the students from the University of California. One young girl who was a student there attended our meetings for. a time. She was the leader of a young people's society in one of the churches in the community, but was studying science in the university and said that she could find no fault with the teaching of evolution, nor did she feel that it contradicted the Bible. In this same community I met a minister of a popular denomination who believed in harmonizing evolution with the Bible.
More recently I have been working in Canada, and the condition is the same here. I have visited with a young high school boy who was confused by the teaching in the high school in regard to the origin of the earth, the existence of the fossils, and other geological questions. He has been greatly helped by the materials which I have been able to furnish him.
I was in conversation with a woman a few weeks ago who professed faith in God and the Scriptures, but believed the Bible must be harmonized with the science of evolution. She believes in a creation of the lower forms of life and that these gradually evolved into the intelligent human beings of today. She believes that the geology of the earth and the findings of prehistoric skeletons prove this. This woman would not be convinced by Bible proof, as she feels the Bible is in error if it conflicts with commonly accepted science. The only way to help her is by presenting scientific proof. Her needs seem reasonable and just. She is a prominent businesswoman in Toronto and a writer.
By having a knowledge of true science the Bible instructor will be able to help the occasional modernist who comes out to the meetings, and many who are confused by evolutionary teachings but who have not actually accepted them, as well as the relatives and children of those who are interested, and other educated people whom she meets-elsewhere. Some of these people will not be helped, no matter how convincing the proof presented, but the conscientious Bible instructor should be well informed and "ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." I Peter 3:15. God's last message is "for a warning," and we all know that many have always rejected His warnings.
Through the facts presented here I hope that all Bible instructors will feel it possible, whether scientifically trained or not, to prepare themselves to meet the modernist class of people. Many pleasant hours can be spent profitably in the study of evangelistic science, and it can become an interesting hobby. Books by several writers are available, as well as magazine articles in denominational papers. (The Bulletin may be obtained from the Deluge Society, 219 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 12, California.)
