Posted April 13, 2008
Please pray for me this week as I will be preaching
Monday at Iowa State University
Tuesday and Wednesday at the University of Missouri
Don't forget to go see, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed this weekend.
And pray that God will use this movie to help define the dialog
between God and science occurring in our culture.
Tom's Tip of the Week:
Beware of False Teachers
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "
Jesus, Matthew 7:15
Jesus' instruction and warning could not be more clear -- beware of people
who will mislead you in the teachings about God. And yet, many people
either ignore this instruction or unaware that it exists. There apathy or
ignorance (whichever may be the case) can be deadly to their soul.
While I often see this principle violated, I don't know if I've ever seen it
quite so violated as I did this week at Iowa State University. There is
a certain professor of religion here, Hector Avalos, who is quite popular
on campus. I met several of his students who are taking his course in
New Testament Theology. While a couple of these students have Hector
figured out, others were completely enamored with him because of
his intellect, his understanding of Greek, the lively discussions in
his class and, evidently, what they considered to be his deep insight
into the Bible. A couple of these students aspire to one day become
pastors.
There's just one problem with Hector Avalos: he is an atheist!
In fact, he's been described as an "atheist evangelist." Avalos
claims to have been a "Pentecostal faith healer" while still a child,
but abandoned the faith in his youth. When asked why he became
an atheist, he simply responds, "Because I read the Bible for myself."
Although he is recognized in public universities as a Bible scholar,
his recent book, The End of Biblical Studies, calls for schools to
do away with the study of the Bible. From Amazon.com, we read:
Avalos argues that our world is best served by leaving the Bible as a
relic of an ancient civilization instead of the "living" document most
religionist scholars believe it should be. He urges his colleagues to
concentrate on educating the broader society to recognize the
irrelevance and even violent effects of the Bible in modern life.
Now, I'm not out to blackball this anti-God crusader, nor do I seek
to ruin Hector Avalos' career (even though he was the one behind
a despicable effort to ruin the career Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, who
taught astronomy at Iowa State until recently being denied tenure.
Gonzalez's story is told in the upcoming Expelled movie that I
have been referring to in ShortNotes.)
I do, however, wonder what in the world Christians are doing by
taking a class in New Testament Theology which is being taught
by such a rabid anti-theist?! To me, this makes absolutely no
sense and is a direct violation of Jesus' warning to beware of
such false teachers.
It is not uncommon among Christian college students to think
they are strong enough to sit in an ungodly professor's class
while he slams the Bible day in and day out. Some consider
these attacks to be a test of their faith that they are called
to endure. Failing to properly discern the situation and, perhaps,
thinking more highly of themselves than they should, they
dutifully come to class each day and sit by as their faith
is deconstructed right before their eyes. The truth is, most
of these anti-theists are very clever in undermining the
Bible and far more knowledgeable in their field than most
any undergrad student. The professor has the podium, he
has the experience, he sets the agenda -- and he will almost
always win even if he doesn't have the truth on his side.
In issuing this warning, I'm not referring to a math or chemistry
teacher and I'm not urging Christians to run hide in a corner.
However, when learning the Bible, I emphatically contend
that who you learn from is critically important. Who in their
right mind would ever attend a church where the teaching
pastor was an atheist? Why then, would a student take a
Bible course in school where the professor was an atheist?
It makes no sense to me! It is ignoring the warnings of
the Bible and just asking to have your faith destroyed.
This situation is not unique to Iowa State. I regularly visit
campuses where sincere Christian students take a
Bible course in which the instructor does not believe
the Bible to be God's word. Again, these students are
no match for these wolves who are dressed up in
sheep's clothing. Students who stop and listen to me
preach on campus have their guard up because they
are convinced I have an agenda -- I'm biased in
favor of God. And, yet, these same students are
not discerning enough to realize these professors
have just as strong of a bias against God and that
they, too, have an agenda. My urgent advice: simply
avoid these professors.
(Note: I am aware of other universities where Bible
teachers have a sincere and humble faith before
God and His word. My warnings, obviously, do not
apply toward these professors who have a deep
respect for the Bible.)
We are in a battle of ideas. God's truth is at war with
Satan's lies. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan
has sought to undermine God's word. He still does
the same today -- even in (especially in) some of our
most prestigious universities. Students, be careful
what you learn and be careful from whom you learn!
As Scripture tells us:
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2
Standing Firm in the Truth of God,
Tom Short
Do you understand the mind of an atheist?
Are you aware of what is behind the move to make American more secular?
Romans 1:18-32 gives amazing insight into the real motives behind
a person rejecting God. This section of scripture reads like it was written
in the past few years, but it is nearly 2,000 years old. I've recently been
teaching from this section quite frequently and believe it has an urgent
message for the church today. I'd like to send a copy of this message
on audio CD to anyone who can help with the work of Tom Short
Campus Ministries with a special donation at this time. Simply send your
tax-deductible gift to
Tom Short Campus Ministries
PO Box 224
Worthington, OH 43085
make sure and request my message from Romans 1.
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