Is There Any Hope For Me?

Let's just suppose literal 6-day creationism is true. Let just suppose. I don't think that you would disagree that God could do it if He wanted to.
Let's just suppose that God did create a first man who we call Adam. On the day He created Adam, would adam be a two cell fetus? a baby? or a man?
Anyone that would suppose that God created a man, would also say that man would be an actual man, not a boy, but a man (perhaps in his 30s?)
So then, if we were to take a medical scientist back in time to examine the first man what would he say? Would that scientist say that adam is a man who is 0 days old? wouldn't that scientist say that adam is a man in his adult years?
The same goes for the earth. Suppose 6-day creationism is right. Would God create an earth that is 0 days old? What would that look like? how would that work? I think that you would agree that God is capable of doing such a thing.
God, Himself made it clear to us that he created adam with MATURITY - with AGE. Also common-sense would also say that God created the earth with MATURITY - with AGE.
I believe that if you were to take a scientist back in time to the first day he would do a test and say the earth is billions of years old. why? because God created the earth with AGE. literally it might only be 1 day old, but all the scientific data could say its 4 billion years old.

One thing is certain - science has ALWAYS been wrong. Look up on the internet all of the scientific theories that have been proven wrong time and time and time again throughout the millenia! That is why science is always changing their text books! they always disproove themselves! Yet people believe it!
Think about it - every generation has thought that their science is right. What makes us think that we have reached perfection? What makes us think that we have reached ultimate knowledge? What makes us think that we are not going to be another disproven generation?

The turth is that science is just what it has been since the fall of man - wrong on many things. Science has a horrible track record. Let's learn from it.
Meanwhile, we have a written record that started with Adam, was passed to Enoch, passed to Noah, passed to Abraham, and finally passed to Moses, and that record we read today. This has far outlived any erroneous scientific theory, and will remain forever, as Jesus said.

Don't get me wrong. I am a guy who likes science, but i know its limits. In fact it is VERY limited... and VERY wrong on many things... as time will tell.
The world has WAY too many christian leaders who believe in this scietific junk. it doesn't need another one. Rather, it needs leaders who can stand up and say "i used to believe in evolution, but now..."
Honestly, buddy, my great,great,great,great grandpa WASN'T a slimeball who climbed up out of the ocean and grew legs.
The day is coming when we will look back and say, they honestly believed that! and laugh

KingCrimson250 said:

I'm asking whether one's beliefs in these areas could be a substantial barrier to ministry employment.

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Nope Not in the least. Except in organizations you wouldn't be able to stomach anyway, because they deny (what you hold to be) scientific evidence. Notice I'm leaving details on this kinda up in the air, since spelling out each specific is not really the scope of our conversation here. but I think it's reasonable that you wouldn't want to work within an organization that would be too far against your own conscience / intellect / beliefs.

And the overwhelming majority of Christians, worldwide, are theistic evolutionists. (Personally I just suggest looking at the fact that our species has yet to be able to explain origins in full, and therefore our professed knowledge still needs to be taken with a sizable grain of salt; but adaptation certainly occurs)

KingCrimson250 said:

#2 Christian perspectives on evolution are usually not a way of saying "Oh, hey, science contradicts Scripture, I guess science must be right."

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I seriously suggest you NEED to learn why this statement of your's is TOTALLY flawed. My short version: Scripture does NOT contradict science, and indeed, cannot. The 2 simply operate in different realms. The Bible is given to man, so we may know about God, and specifically, how to have a relationship with Him. Science MUST remain silent on that topic!! The 2 cannot contradict (I do suggest my short version won't be enough for you, and you really need to develop your own convictions about this)

KingCrimson250 said:

Like I said in my first post, from the very beginning there have been Christians who have maintained that the Genesis account is not historical. We're talking almost fifteen hundred years before Darwin.

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Please toke note of my tagline

KingCrimson250 said:

In fact, I recently read an interesting article arguing that Creationism is unbiblical.

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We have some posters on CF that do quite a good job of explaining the purpose of Gen 1, and how the original audience would've heard it, as declaring our God to be superior to the gods of the surrounding tribes. It really is that simple, and makes a heckuvalot of sense when you put that together with an ANE mindset.

If I were interviewing someone for a pastoral or teaching position your position would not be a deciding factor one way or the other. With that said many of your fundamentalist churches could not and would not accept you on that basis.

I moved from a fundamentalist denomination to non denominational many years ago for several reasons. You will most likely find more acceptances in non denominational circles than many of the main stream churches.

If God has called you into a ministry, he will open the doors he wants opened to you. You just need to put your full faith and trust in him. One thing Wesley said that I liked “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself and all the rest is just commentary.

Personally I believe as Christianity goes today there is much more to be concerned about than an old earth or young.

KingCrimson250 said:

It would seem to me that the literal interpretation of Genesis 1-3 stems primarily from the Reformation

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That would make an interesting historical study; one I haven't done, so I won't opine

The hardest job in the world has to be a pastor. Pastors have HUGE responsibilities for being right on the ball when it comes to theology, knowledge of scripture, faith in the power of God, and holy lifestyle.

I blame much of the evils of our culture on wishy-washy liberal "Christian" leaders who would not stand 2 secs before the REAL throne of Almighty God. Pray that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.

It is only really from the 1960's that there was a push for the literal scientific proof of creation. The church, either catholic or protestant was never hung up over looking at genesis as a symbolic telling of creation. They saw it allegory and poetry.
The purpose of the ministry is not to tell people what they should believe, but to help equip them so that they can take responsibility for their own faith and share it with others.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

The word perfecting should say maturing. We grow up. That should be your motivation for leadership. If anyone asks you, that's what you should say. That your job is to help people to mature in their faith. Not create their faith for them. They need to become rooted and not easily blown about. Not you. Them. That's your job. To teach them to stand. Trees of righteousness.

If ant church doesn't want that kind of a leader, then there is nothing good to be had there.

As a Catholic, I have been taught that "all things as possible for God" - and that evolution is a distinct possibility. The Vatican has the largest laboratory for scientific exploration of these things, and is not opposed to evolutionary thinking. A dear friend of mine (whose brother is our Priest) is a Molecular Biologist who has spoken at the Vatican on several occasions on the theory of evolution and Genesis - very interesting stuff, I assure you!

Christianity has thankfully "evolved" over the centuries! And I, for one, am thankful for the openness of thought, ideas and scientific exploration!!

God bless you!!

KingCrimson250 said:

This is a question that's been weighing on my heart for a while now.

I'm an evangelical Christian who's been called to ministry. I'm nearly done my education and am ready to start exploring full-time ministry opportunities.

Here's the problem: . . . I believe in evolution...

I have to ask: Is there any hope for a dedicated, Bible-believing Gospel-preaching Christian who's an evolutionist to find work in the church?

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KC, you are contradicting yourself.

You cannot say that you believe in the innerrency of scripture and then say that you don't believe that Genesis wasn't written to be a historical account of creation. All of scripture hangs on the first three chapters of Genesis, to which Jesus even taught as fact. If you believe Christ then you have to believe that Genesis 1-3 is fact...

Matthew 19:4
He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

Also, God Himself states in more places than Genesis that He made the world in six days...or do you not believe that God can't tell a lie? If you are a Bible student as you state, then you have studied the Law as given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. That means you have read this statement...

Exodus 20:8-11
8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Either God doesn't know what He is talking about, or your faith in evolution is misplaced. Only you can decide which one you choose to believe, but they both cannot be true.

If you are still having difficulty with this, I urge you to check out this book and it will help to set you straight. it was written by a friend of mine who uses no religious arguments, only science..."The Assumptions Behind the Theory of Evolution: Why we are taught assumptions as facts when they are only assumptions" (title and sub-title).

Good luck.