Todd Wood: A Call for Being Reasonable

I already respect Todd Wood because he acknowledges that evolution has a lot of good evidence that backs it even if he doesn’t accept the theory as true.

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So much for being reasonable.

Do we know if that is Wood’s voice in the video?

Do you think we could share a joke, or a beer? That’s what is at stake, the willingness to treat one another as friends and neighbors. We don’t have to agree, but we should be able to talk to each other.

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But that’s not a good thing when you claim an opponent’s argument is good when it actually isn’t. It’s also OK to stick to your guns when you’re in the right and your opponents are not.

That depends upon what we’re talking about. Romans 1 makes it clear that those who reject God do not have any good reasons for doing so, but instead have chosen to suppress the truth. Wood doesn’t seem to have a grasp on this.

Biblically speaking, this is also a tricky area. Jesus ate with sinners yes, and we cannot be witnesses to the world without being in the world. But what do we mean by “friends”? If your friend is spiritually dying because they are apart from Christ, what will you want to do for them, foremost? You will want to get them to turn to Christ and be saved. If you are really their friend, you’ll have to be exhorting them to Christ, and people who are not open to Christ generally avoid people who want to talk to them about Christ.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” 2 Cor 6:14

This passage is often referenced when discussing marriage between believers and nonbelievers. And it certainly does apply there. But if Paul had been referring only to marriage he could have made that clear. The application is broader. I think any kind of “friendship” that would approach a deep level, or a “commitment” of sorts, would be prohibited here. Ultimately, as believers we do not share our highest goals with unbelievers. In our most important goals, we are at cross purposes. We serve a different Master. “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

If the Bible is true, then the only rational and sane path is to be completely devoted to Christ without reservation. Even if that means burning bridges or alienating friends who are not open to Christ.

Who is this “we” being referred to here? Does Wood not understand that for bible-believing Christians, it would never be an option to “wipe out” those who disagree with us? That’s not true Christianity. Of course history shows plenty of examples of this happening, but that’s not the teaching of the Bible. Even if our enemies are totally evil (like what it was in the days of Noah, for example). The Bible exhorts us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. That applies regardless of whether they are totally evil, or just partially evil.

Wood’s words here have a superficial sound of being “reasonable”, but I don’t like his implications. He may sound “reasonable” (in a worldly sense), but certainly I don’t find that he sounds biblical.

I don’t think that is a thread we should tug at here. There are plenty of other places to do that.

Theistic evolutionists don’t reject God. I can understand the reluctance to join in fellowship with non-believers, but I think it is worth remembering that there are many in the church who accept evolution.

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Has anybody on PS said otherwise? Has Todd Wood ever claimed an opponent’s argument is good when it wasn’t?

What evidence do you have which would support your accusation against Todd Wood, a fellow Christian?

Are there others (not mentioned in Romans 1) who have chosen to suppress the truth? Are Christians ever guilty of choosing to suppress the truth?

As to Romans 1, who specifically was the Apostle Paul talking about when he wrote:

1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

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Certainly there are, and that’s an unfortunate thing. It’s a sad witness to the rest of the world that we in the church have become divided on this issue. I would like to see us all come together in rejecting this unbiblical idea.

You are wrong. He concedes that every single bit of science supports the theory of evolution:

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Do you think it will be difficult to come together if you are labelling their beliefs as unbiblical and comparing them to atheists?

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I have to add my full agreement here. Those in church who have embraced or accepted evolution into their own belief system, I am going to guess have not properly spent the time 1. to research evolution’s claims which I view as weak, and 2. to fully consider how their embrace runs directly counter to Scripture and 3. to fully consider how their embrace/acceptance will be instrumental in eroding the purity of belief in God and the holy Text in the next generation of believers.

Yes. He has stated there is “gobs and gobs” of evidence for evolution. As far as I know, he is also on the “feathered dinosaurs” bandwagon–which is in and of itself inconsequential to creation, but nonetheless I don’t believe the evidence for this claim is very good at this point.

Sure. You, for example, suppress the truth of the global Flood right alongside Peter’s ‘scoffers’ from 2 Peter 3.

Yeah, this tendency towards nature worship is universal, and is not limited to literal physical statues. Evolutionism is nature worship as well, including the belief that unaided natural processes can generate life from scratch and cause it to grow in complexity and design over time.

Nope. Not if they submit to the Bible, which they say they believe. If they insist on putting outside claims on a higher level of authority than the Bible’s own words, then it will continue to be impossible for us to come together on this issue.

The disagreements among Christians on such issues doesn’t have to be a sad witness—but how those differences are often manifested in rancorous and accusatory division certainly can be a destructive witness.

I would like to see us all come together in praising God for the amazing evolutionary processes he wisely chose for his creation—to diversify life on earth and to adapt organisms to virtually every kind of environment. It is mind-blowing and awe-inspiring everywhere we look! Learning about evolutionary processes has been a faith-building experience for many, a huge incentive to greater worship of the creator, YHWH God.

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Of course it does. To outsiders, it gives the impression that God hasn’t spoken clearly, when in fact He has. This in turn gives unbelievers even less reason to accept God’s word, since many who claim to be believers also reject it themselves.

It seems that you are asking them to submit to you.

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No, that is not a fair assessment in any way. I am asking them to submit to God’s clear revelation first and foremost.

14 posts were split to a new topic: Side Comments on Wood’s Call for Being Reasonable

And if other Christians who accept evolution feel they have submitted to God’s clear revelation, then what?

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I don’t know what more there is to say here. I believe it’s very clear they are wrong. If they continue to refuse to see this, then there will continue to be division in the church forever, until the Lord comes.