Did God Really Say That?

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say...?"
Genesis 3:1

    Satan's first technique used to deceive mankind was to plant a seed of doubt by asking Eve, "Did God really say?" He still uses that device today because, apparantly, it works.

     Take Adam Hamilton, for example. He is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City and author of the book, "Making Sense of the Bible." In chapter 21, he addresses the account of Noah's Ark. Here is what he has to say:

     "So, is the Noah story true or not? Great question. As many ask it - meaning, did it happen exactly as recorded in the Bible? - the answer is 'sort of.' Did Noah bring two of each of the millions of species on animals that otherwise would not have survived a global flood onto an ark? No, I don't believe so. Did water cover the earth to twenty feet above the highest mountains? Again, I don't think so...Could there have been a Noah who built a boat and brought his family and some animals on the boat...Did God destroy every animal and human being on the planet except Noah and those on his boat 4,300 years ago, or ever? I don't think so. The story seems to me to be anchored in historical events that happened at the end of the last Ice Age but it is not entirely historically accurate." (emphasis mine)

     Now, let's see. What did God really say about Noah?

     "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more that twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished - birds, livestock, wild animals and all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out...Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." (Genesis 7: 7-10, 20-23)

     Why can't Mr. Hamilton believe what God has said? Remember that age-old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Mr. Hamilton, as evidenced by what he says in previous chapters, believes in evolution. He thinks the earth is 4.57 billion years old and that a giant asteroid struck our planet, eliminating the dinosaurs. He believes prehuman hominids evolved through a process of genetic mutation long before Adam and Eve met the serpent, disregarding God's account of creation. He has placed his faith in the "chicken" of evolution, then tried to cram the "egg" of God into the puzzle somehow.

     This is all wrong! God is the consummate scientist, historian, creator of all who has told us how it all began and how it will end through the gift of his Holy Scriptures. To read, digest and believe man's account, then see how God might fit in, is Satan whispering in your ear, "Did God really say?"

     Yes, He did! And I will believe in every letter of the Bible before I'd listen to one word of Darwin's.

    God said it. I believe it. That settles it.