When you ask some people what they believe, they'll
say they're "agnostic." What they usually mean is
that they don't have enough evidence to decide
whether or not God really exists.

Agnostics in America today are a lot like Switzerland
during World War II -- while the battle rages all
around them, they try to maintain neutrality.

It's interesting to note the origins of the word
"agnostic." It was coined in the year 1870 by Thomas
Huxley, who was known as "Darwin's Bulldog." Huxley
was an atheist at a time when it was socially
unacceptable, so he found a more comfortable word to
describe himself: agnostic. In Huxley's sense,
agnosticism means there's no credible scientific
evidence for the existence of God. So, if God does
exist, he's irrelevant.

Huxley championed Darwin's evolutionary theory
tirelessly -- not because he felt Darwin was
infallible but because Darwin's theory helped Huxley
ignore the Creator. Privately he admitted that the
fossil record seems to suggest that sharks have
always been sharks and crocodiles always crocodiles,
but Huxley believed it was "more profitable to go
wrong than to stand still."

He hid his doubts from laymen, making bold statements
like, "The whole evidence is in favour of evolution,
and there is none against it."

To Christians who were alarmed by Darwin's theory,
Huxley was reassuring. During a lecture to the Young
Men's Christian Association, Huxley declared that the
sciences "are neither Christian, nor unchristian, but
are extra-Christian." And it's precisely this
contention that holds many Christians hostage today.

To suggest that science is somehow outside the scope
of Christianity is to suggest that Christianity is
not a total worldview. Huxley's implication is clear:
Christianity deals with the unseen and with faith,
while science deals with cold, hard facts and
reality. Don't worry if Darwin's description of
reality seems to contradict your faith -- just place
each one in its own compartment and let them be.

When Christians accepted this point of view, they
retreated. Suddenly, Christians couldn't take faith
into the laboratory or, by logical extension, into
other "secular" places like the courtroom, the
classroom, or the media.

Today's marginalization of Christianity is a direct
result of our failure to understand our faith as a
total worldview. We've lost our voice in the public
square because we forgot, as Psalm 24:1 says, "the
earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." God is
sovereign over all of reality!

Once a Christian understands this, he's prepared to
enter the debate. And students who view their faith
as a worldview can stand firm on college campuses,
even in the face of atheism.

How can you help your students understand the
Christian worldview? Well, they can attend a program
such as those held by Summit Ministries in Colorado
or by the Worldview Academy, which travels around
offering week-long camps nationwide every summer --
training teens to think and live in accordance with a
Christian worldview. To find out how to get your kids
involved, call the Worldview Academy at 1-800-241-1123
or visit their website at <http://www.worldview.org>.

Darwin's Bulldog caused problems, alright, but he
also clarified the debate. Because nothing is "extra-
Christian." And remembering this helps us understand
the sovereignty of God, and the all-embracing scope
of our Christian worldview.
 

For further reading:

Desmond, Adrian. Huxley: The Devil's Disciple.
London: Michael Joseph, 1994.

Huxley, Thomas H. "Lectures on Evolution." In
"Agnosticism and Christianity" and Other Essays.
Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1992.

Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries

"BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a daily commentary
on news and trends from a Christian perspective.
Heard on more than 1000 radio stations nationwide,
BreakPoint transcripts are also available on the Internet.
If you know of others who would enjoy receiving BreakPoint
in their e-mail box each day, forward this e-mail to them
or tell them they can sign up on our Web site
at www.breakpoint.org.

For product requests or to make a donation, please
visit our website at http://www.breakpoint.org or
call 1-800-457-6125.

BREAKPOINT EDITORIAL STAFF

Executive Editor: Jim Nelson Black, Ph.D.
Associate Editor: Anne Morse
Associate Editor: Roberto Rivera
Research Associate: Kim Robbins
Editor, Wilberforce Forum: Douglas C. Minson
Editor, BreakPoint Online: Peter L. Edman
Production Manager: Teresa Woodward
Administrator: Janel Kragt
List Maintainer: Larry Wilson

Copyright notice:  BreakPoint may be copied and re-
transmitted by electronic mail, and individual copies
of a particular BreakPoint E-mail transcript may be
printed, provided that such copying, re-transmission,
printing, or other use is not for profit or other
commercial purpose.  However, BreakPoint may NOT be
reproduced in any form on the World Wide Web or in
broadcast media, print media, or other media without
express written permission.  Prison Fellowship
Ministries considers requests to reprint, transmit,
or otherwise reproduce BreakPoint (or portions
thereof) in broadcast, print, or other media on a
case-by-case basis; please contact Prison Fellowship
Ministries at 1-800-457-6125 to submit a request.

Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing,
or other use of BreakPoint must set forth the
following credit line, in full, at the conclusion of
the portion of BreakPoint that is used:

Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries.  Reprinted
with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio
ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Prison Fellowship Ministries(R) may withdraw or modify this
grant of permission at any time.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN FINAL
FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  Due to time constraints, for
broadcast materials we are unable to include source or
bibliography information for this transcript at this time.

http://www.breakpoint.org/
http://www.pfm.org/
http://www.angeltree.org/
http://www.justicefellowship.org/
http://www.neighborswhocare.org/

To receive these free daily transcripts from Chuck Colson
go to http://www.breakpoint.org and click on "subscribe."

POWRÓT