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Dear Friend of Creation,
“Wherever the battle rages (along the front lines) there the loyalty of the soldier is proved… And to be strong on all the front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point which the devil is attacking.”
– Martin Luther
Where is the battle raging along the front lines of spiritual warfare in our day? Indeed, the battle is raging at many points along the frontlines. At some sections the devil and his minions may be well-fought by Christians in spiritual warfare. At other points there may not be much going on because the devil may be “taking a breather”. At many others though, the Christian church arguably does not step up against the inroads of the devil, with many pastors and leaders siding with what is politically correct.
Evolutionism, as we have written about many times in these letters, has in many ways been a Trojan horse for subversion of the Church; for subversion of a biblical worldview; and for subversion of Western Civilization. The unbelief and materialist worldview of evolution has helped lead to the substitution of “tolerance” and a “social gospel” for the true gospel, as well as to confusion with socialist-progressive “oppressed” vs “oppressor” ideology in the church.
This is a “falling away” of the Christian church in Western society. Furthermore, the falling away of a biblical worldview has helped create confusion about the totalitarian aims of Islam. Islamists now work with progressive parties in Europe, Britain, and America to gain political and religious influence in society – with arguably more success than ever now in the West in their hundreds of years of conquest and subjugation of biblical faith.
An Islamic-Leftist alliance is united against a common enemy: the biblical worldview. We have seen this emerge recently as Muslims begin to participate in free-world governments. The co-operation is based on a shared value to change Western Civilization. As Karl Marx said, “Philosophers have only interpreted the world. The point however is to change it.”
Founded by Mohammad ibn Abdullah (AD 570-632), Islam is the teaching he claimed to have obtained from a supernatural angelic being, promoting submission to an impersonal god (Allah), and promoting conquest of the world to force that submission upon all. That bloody conquest continues to this day. Witness not only the Iranian slaughter of their own dissident peoples this year but the ongoing mass slaughter of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa by Islamic extremists, where they were to convert or die. Both were quite under-reported.
One Nigerian pastor at a mass funeral service had this to say: “We refuse to be Islamic. We will never bow down to Allah. Allah is a demon. That is why they shout Allahu akbar when they embark on killing. Our faith in Jesus doesn’t give us the power to go and kill. But our faith in Christ gives us the power to preserve, to do the work of the salt.” There is so much truth and courage in this statement.
Unlike those impacted by secularism and humanism, Muslims are arguably less influenced by the theory of evolution and do not need to be persuaded that there is an all-powerful God, Creator of the universe. But they believe that the Creator is distant and impersonal. He is not the “Heavenly Father” of the Bible. During Ramadan, they believe that He moves a little closer to the earth and can better hear our prayers, and so they try their best to reach through to him in prayer and fasting at that time. Here is another way in which the devil holds people captive.
At Creation Moments, we want to begin broadcasting in Arabic to Muslims in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe. And we are culling through our hundreds of Creation Moments programs to find the best ones for creation-evangelism to Muslims – who more than anything else need to hear about a wonderful Creator who actually cares about them; who wants to have a personal relationship with them as their Heavenly Father; and who in His love and mercy did the work of salvation for us, sending Jesus Christ “full of grace and truth” as one of us to redeem us to His holiness.
The Bible says, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake…” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). As early reformers noted, we must “speak to a man’s condition”. That is, we come alongside a person and learn their “condition”, giving space for the still small voice within. We are preparing to do this as we expand our creation-evangelism outreach internationally to include the Muslim world.
In the early 5th century A.D., Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in modern Algeria, wrote a work called The Teacher. In it he made the point that words within a language are not one-to-one correspondences, but simply signposts for the real things. Words can therefore lead us to the invisible reality. “The actual teacher is not the person teaching but Christ within,” he wrote, because we must always connect the new signposts of words from which we are learning to what we’ve already learned to be true, building upon our storehouse of knowledge. God is the one guiding us to the truth. In the end, language leads us to mystery and the need for faith, as we are left realizing there is so much we do not know.
In his essay, Augustine wrote that the word “orchid,” for instance, is a symbol which takes us in our minds to the reality of the beautiful flowering plant. A flowering orchid, as a created thing, actually leads us to its Creator – the invisible reality. Creation is itself a signpost for the invisible spiritual reality of God in Christ - the mystery at the heart of the universe. As the Bible puts it, “…the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge,” (Colossians 2:2-3). “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…” (Romans 1:20).
And so we preach Jesus! – alongside creation, because that connects with so many undeniable truths! As one praise song puts it:
"Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets.
Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy…
'Cause Your name is power, Your name is healing, Your name is life.
Break every stronghold, Shine through the shadows, Burn like a fire."
- “I Speak Jesus”, Charity Gayle, 2021
We are excited about launching in Arabic this year! We are making preparations and finalizing negotiations. But we couldn’t do it without you, our supporters and co-laborers in the harvest. Thank you for staying strong with us, informed, and praying in the spiritual warfare “where the battle rages” in our day! God bless you all!
Yours in Christ,
Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman
P.S., In light of this newsletter and our new Arabic outreach efforts, I’d like to recommend Women Who Risk: Secret Agents for Jesus in the Muslim World to your monthly reading list. It explores the incredible work of the Lord in the hearts and lives of women throughout the Muslim world - in the midst of great oppression! With gripping stories of Christ's presence straight from the underground church, Tom and Joann Doyle show you how women in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and other areas are leading their husbands, children, and neighbors to faith in Jesus.
And, from the orchid to the sunflower, earth abounds with interesting plants that point to our Creator! Plants can thrive even in extreme conditions, and scientists are astonished by the complex engineering and remarkable efficiency of the internal systems that allow them to do this. In Plant Design: Finding Beauty in Botany, you’ll experience the wonder of plants with Institute for Creation Research (ICR) experts as they show that truly “by Him were all things created” (Colossians 1:16-17)!
To receive both of these wonderful resources – or to make a donation of any amount – visit our online store. Or call us toll-free at 1-800-422-4253 during regular office hours (Mon – Th 8:30am-4:30pm CT).
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