Ken Ham
| Answers In GenesisChristians need to understand that many secularists have put together a very effective propaganda machine as a part of their effort to impose their atheistic religion on the Western culture, intimidate Christians, and influence the government to limit freedom of religion (particularly in regard to Christianity).
To help counteract this aggressive effort, Christians—wherever they are in the West— need to be aware of the terms being used in the secularist campaign and what Christians need to be doing to help counter their campaign.
Secularists know the adage that if you “throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.” If enough false information and misleading accusations are spread, people will begin to believe them.
This has happened in a number of places:
1. The use of the word science
Here is how I discussed the word science during my debate with Bill Nye “The Science Guy” last February:
Public school textbooks are using the same word science for observational and historical science. They arbitrarily define science as naturalism and outlaw the supernatural. They present molecules-to-man evolution as fact. They are imposing the religion of naturalism/atheism on generations of students.1
I also stated the following during the debate:
The word science has been hijacked by secularists in teaching evolution to force the religion of naturalism on generations of kids. . . . The creation/evolution debate is really a conflict between two philosophical worldviews based on two different accounts of origins or historical science beliefs.
The word science is defined as “the state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.”2 Scientific pursuit needs to be broken into two parts: experimental (observable or operational) science and origins (historical) science. Both creation and evolution involve historical science (beliefs) and observational science (such as the study of genetics).
Experimental science that builds our modern technology is accomplished through the scientific method. And origins or historical science is the non-repeatable, non-observable science dealing with the past—which enters the realm of beliefs (really, religion).
In almost all of today’s government-run educational systems, the religion of secular humanism—with its foundation of naturalistic evolution based on man’s word/beliefs about the past (molecules-to-man evolution)—is guised in textbooks, lectures, and secular museums as so-called “science.” But the same word science is used for the experimental science that helps build technology. Because students aren’t taught the difference between historical and observational science, they are brainwashed into thinking that molecules-to-man evolution is the same science as what has built technology—which it is not. It is what we call a “bait-and-switch fallacy” (a fallacy in logic). It’s really a conflict between two philosophical worldviews that are based on two different accounts of origins or historical science beliefs.
BECAUSE OF THIS MISUSE OF WORDING BY THE SECULARISTS, CHRISTIANS NEED TO BE USING THE TERMS OBSERVATIONAL SCIENCE AND HISTORICAL SCIENCE OVER AND OVER AGAIN!
Because of this misuse of wording by the secularists, Christians need to be using the terms observational science and historical science over and over again! The secularists hate these terms, for they don’t want people to know they actually have a religion (a worldview) they are trying to impose on the masses. Their propaganda campaign, which confuses the meaning of the word science and attempts to indoctrinate people in evolutionary ideas, has been very successful. To help counter their efforts, we need to keep delineating between ”observational” and ”historical” science as much as we can—much to the consternation of the secularists!
2. The use of the word religion
The word religion has a variety of definitions. But one of the main definitions (as given by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) is “an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group.”
Atheists have effectively propagandized the culture to indoctrinate people to think that if you believe in God as Christians do, then that is religion—however, if you don’t believe in God and believe the universe and all life arose by natural processes, then supposedly that is not a religion! But as we constantly point out, atheism and humanism are religions—it’s a belief meant to explain life by natural processes, without the supernatural involved.
ATHEISTS GO BALLISTIC WHEN I SAY IN MANY ARTICLES THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO IMPOSE THEIR RELIGION OF NATURALISM ON THE CULTURE.
Atheists go ballistic when I say in many articles that they are trying to impose their religion of naturalism on the culture. But the point is, they are! Just because atheists refuse to acknowledge it does not mean they are not doing it. In fact, due to the atheist propaganda effort, it’s one of the reasons we are losing Christian symbols (crosses, Nativity scenes, and so on) across the nation. Furthermore, in the US and other western countries, the government is imposing a religion on millions of children when they insist that schools only teach evolution in science classes and not biblical creation. Officials insist that evolution is deemed to be “science” and creation is “religion.” Evolutionists have been indoctrinating people with a false view of the words scienceand religion.
I am encouraging Christians, as much as they can, to use the word religion to describe secularism. When a secular group like the Freedom from Religion Foundation or Americans United for the Separation of Church and State lodge a lawsuit to get a cross removed from a public place or a statue with someone praying, and so on, then we need to make sure to be vocal about the fact that secularists have imposed their religion of atheism.
People deny that humanism and atheism should be considered religions, but even various US courts have ruled and described in their decisions that humanism should be viewed as a religion. In Oregon, an inmate sued, with the assistance of the American Humanist Association, to have a humanist study group recognized as a religious study group along with Bible studies in the prison. Arguing based on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the inmate won the right as the District Judge ordered secular humanism to be viewed as a religion. While humanism was previously viewed as a non-theistic religion in the rationale for the Supreme Court case of Torcaso v. Watkins, this is the first ruling that clearly establishes atheistic secular humanism as a religion whose practice should be protected under the First Amendment.3 Additionally, the US Army has commissioned humanist chaplains to serve those soldiers who deny God’s existence.
3. The word intolerance
Intolerance is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary this way:
Unwilling to grant equal freedom of expression especially in religious matters unwilling to grant or share social, political, or professional rights.
Secularists often accuse Christians who, for example, take a stand on marriage being one man for one woman based on the Bible, as being intolerant. But in fact, Christians are the ones who are tolerant of others. You see, Christians who stand on God’s Word will authoritatively speak against gay marriage, but they should not be intolerant of the people who disagree with them. But I find that those who call Christians “intolerant” are really the ones who are intolerant! So when a fire chief in Atlanta, Georgia, is fired by a city council because his personal beliefs concerning marriage are based on the Bible, Christians need to be vocal about the city council’s being intolerant!
4. The word proselytize
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has this definition of proselytize:
To try to persuade people to join a religion, cause, or group.
Actually, America’s courts have not been able to give an accepted definition of this word. Some people claim that just telling someone about the gospel of Jesus Christ is supposedly trying to force one’s belief on someone (their definition of proselytizing). Christians will certainly share their beliefs and the hope of forgiveness of sins with others, but they recognize that they cannot force someone to become a Christian. Only God can change people’s hearts.
IN REALITY, IT’S THE SECULARISTS WHO ARE TRYING TO FORCE THEIR RELIGION ON OTHERS.
In reality, it’s the secularists who are trying to force their religion on others as they intimidate people to accept the basic tenets of their religion, such as evolutionary naturalism. Many atheists don’t necessarily use the word proselytize, but they claim that a Christian working in a government institution or a government-funded place cannot bring their Christianity into the workplace. Yet many professors at government-subsidized universities will openly proclaim their atheism (and even attack the Bible and the Christian faith) in their classes. But if a professor were to admit he was a Christian and make statements about his religious beliefs to the students, he would likely be disciplined or fired.
More and more we see intolerant secularists trying to limit the Christian influence by attempting to intimidate Christians not to bring their Christianity into their workplace. They ultimately want Christianity eliminated altogether from the public arena. Meanwhile, secularists are free to exercise their religion wherever they want to.
Conclusion
As secularists are successful in getting the governments to teach evolution as fact to millions of students in Western nations and will not allow biblical creation to be taught in science classes, we should be pointing out their deceptive use of terms. Indeed, the secularists continually misuse the word science as they indoctrinate people into a false worldview of naturalism so they can impose that religion on young people. At the same time, they exhibit their intolerance of Christianity and Christians in the culture. The secularists want to express their beliefs throughout society and want Christians to keep their beliefs inside their churches. In reality, governments are sanctioning the religion of naturalism and that it be imposed on millions of children and teens. At the same time, Western nations have supported a growing intolerance of anything Christian and are limiting free speech and the freedom of religion in trying to squelch the free exercise of Christianity.
I CHALLENGE CHRISTIANS, ESPECIALLY CHRISTIAN LEADERS, TO BE MORE VOCAL IN THIS BATTLE, BOLDLY PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL TO UNBELIEVERS AND CALLING CHRISTIANS BACK TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE.
I challenge Christians, especially Christian leaders, to be more vocal in this battle, boldly proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers and calling Christians back to the authority of the Bible. As we stand firmly and boldly on the truths of Jesus Christ as the Creator and Savior in our apologetic arguments, we must also use correct terms like historical science, observational science, religion, and intolerance when engaging the secularists in the ongoing war against Christianity in Western nations. It’s why you will find Answers in Genesis using these terms in our articles, billboards, and other outreaches as we do our best to help undo the work of the atheists’ propaganda campaigns and point people to the hope that we have in Jesus Christ as we give a defense of the Christian faith.
