Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis Addresses Bruce Waltke Resignation

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[Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from Ken Ham’s 28 May 2010 letter to supporters of Answers in Genesis, and is published with the permission of Answers in Genesis (www.answersingenesis.org).]

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May 28, 2010

What does “conservative evangelical” mean? Frankly, at Answers in Genesis, we don’t know any more! And the fact that we don’t know should be a dire warning to church leaders and parents concerning the future of our young people—including the colleges (and seminaries) many of them will attend.

A couple of months ago, Professor Bruce Waltke, acknowledged to be a world-renowned Old Testament scholar and considered to be a “conservative evangelical,” resigned his position at a “conservative evangelical” seminary (Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando). It happened, it seems, over the issue of his public endorsement of evolution.

Dr. Waltke made statements that became very public, especially through a video that had appeared on a theologically liberal website: the BioLogos Foundation. He subsequently asked for the video to be removed from the site, but not before his pro-evolution statement had become widely known. It helped lead to his resignation from the seminary.

So what did Dr. Waltke say in that video? Well, here are some excerpts:

“I think that if the data is overwhelming in favor, favor, of evolution, [then] to deny that reality will make us a cult, some odd group that’s not really interacting with the real world, and rightly so…

“We’re at almost, to my mind, the pinnacle of history. We’re aware of these things, and to deny the reality would be to deny the truth of God in the world, and would be to deny truth … It’s also our spiritual death in our witness to the world—that we’re not credible, that we are bigoted, we have a blind faith, and this is what we are accused of.

“So I see this all as part of the growth of the church … And I think it’s essential to us, or we’ll end up like some small sect somewhere that retains a certain dress or certain language and then end up marginalized, totally marginalized, and I think that would be a great tragedy for the church, for us to become marginalized in that way.”

Many in the church were shocked by these comments from Dr. Waltke. After all, he is known as a leading “conservative evangelical” scholar, and yet here he is endorsing the possibility of evolution as God’s method of creating.

But sadly, this should not be all that shocking! You see. Dr. Waltke has been teaching such things for many years in his “conservative evangelical” seminary. In fact, when you look at what he has written, you wonder: how do you define “conservative evangelical” any more?

For years, our Answers in Genesis ministry has been warning the church about the consequences of compromise regarding biblical authority—which is rampant in most of today’s Christian colleges and seminaries. Yet many Christian parents are completely unaware of this massive problem of compromise and how deep and widespread it is, until some of them learn it first-hand from their children who go to such colleges.

Parents and their children need to be equipped with the truth so they can recognize compromise when they hear it (like some of Dr. Waltke’s teachings, which I’ll describe in a moment). This is why AiG produces dozens of new teaching resources every year, including the exciting new 96-page pocket guide Apemen that separates fact from fiction on human origins.

So just what has Dr. Waltke been teaching in his writings and to his students in his classes? In his book An Old Testament Theology, he endorses theistic evolution:

“… the God of Israel,… within his providence allowed the process of natural selection and of cataclysmic interventions—such as the meteor that extinguished the dinosaurs, enabling mammals to dominate the earth—to produce awe-inspiring creatures, especially Adam; by direct creation made Adam a spiritual being … allowed Adam to freely choose to follow their primitive animal nature and to usurp the rule of God instead of living by faith in God ..“

And in a journal published by Regent College in 1991, Dr. Waltke made the following statements (excerpted from his article):

“Is it [Genesis] myth? Here the answer may be ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ depending on one’s definition of myth … Is it [Genesis] history? Here our answer is both a qualified ‘yes’ and ‘no.’

“A straight forward reading of the Genesis prologue is improbable in the light of its supplementary account of creation. To be sure the six days in Genesis creation account are our twenty-four hours days, but they are metaphorical representations of a reality beyond human comprehension and imitation.”

Is your head spinning? What did he just say? What does it mean?

I do not question Dr. Waltke’s Christian faith, but I could go on and on about what he teaches. His compromise beliefs would make Bible-believing Christians gasp.

Herein lies a major problem within the church, and it is exposed in the Waltke resignation. Christian leaders (including highly respected “conservative” Christian leaders) would honor Dr. Waltke as a renowned “conservative evangelical” scholar! So I ask again: what does “conservative evangelical” mean?

Now, if Dr. Waltke had been teaching what we quoted above for many years, then why did his video clip, which actually states nothing new about his beliefs, cause such a stir? Personally, I wonder if it’s because what he really believes and teaches had simply become too public!

You see, we have discovered that many Bible colleges and seminaries want to be seen as “conservative evangelical,” but they really don’t want their financial supporters (or unsuspecting parents who are thinking of sending their children to these colleges) to know what is really being taught in their classrooms.

One of our supporters recently told us that he visited a number of Christian colleges, some of which would classify themselves as “conservative evangelical.” At one such “conservative” college, he found that he had to ask the head of the department a series of specific questions to really ascertain what the school taught regarding science and biblical issues, It was as if the professor didn’t want the person to know what was really being taught at his supposedly “conservative” college.

In fact, the Florida seminary from which Dr. Waltke resigned allows beliefs in an old universe and that physical death occurred before Adam  sinned, Many of its professors teach the compromise position of the “framework” hypothesis in order to attempt to marry millions of years to the Bible; And surely, the seminary leadership knew Dr. Waltke’s position on evolution and his compromising approach to Scripture in other areas.

We are living in interesting and troubling times. I have noticed the battle lines in the culture are becoming clearer. The chasm between what is Christian and what is not Christian is widening before our eyes.

As more and more Christians are being taught to stand uncompromisingly on biblical authority beginning in Genesis, as we have urged them to do, it is becoming more obvious that we have a problem in the majority of our seminaries and Bible colleges.

There are two more important matters for us to consider:

1)      As I wrote above, many Christian parents would be shocked if they really knew what most Christian colleges and seminaries are teaching their children, Sadly, many parents just take the college’s word that they are theologically “conservative.” Most parents don’t really know how deep they have to go to discover what’s really being taught, and to what degree the college is actually indoctrinating their children to have a relatively low view of Scripture. Thankfully, I see more and more parents beginning to awaken to this massive problem.

2)     I really believe that the ministry of Answers in Genesis is having a growing and significant impact in Christian education. As parents become increasingly educated about the compromise with millions of years/evolution and how it is an attack on the authority of Scripture, they are becoming more discerning: they are understanding that they have to be wise to the efforts by so many colleges to pull the wool over their eyes.

In response to Dr. Waltke’s resignation (which received wide publicity in both Christian and secular news sources), one website touted, “Why Bruce Waltke’s Resignation Signals the End of Creationism.” The author went on to say, “It is past time for the Church to stop dividing over petty issues and stop building ridiculous walls of ‘orthodoxy’ that are actually only tangential to the gospel.”

And my reply? Actually, you will see more such “dividing,” as more and more Christians are waking up to the fact that compromise with millions of years/evolution is actually undermining the authority of Scripture. And as more and more parents are having to cope with a horrible exodus of so many young people from the church and also viewing the collapse of Christianity in the culture, they will be calling Christian leaders and colleges to account!

Answers in Genesis is at the forefront of a battle to call the church and Bible schools (and the culture as a whole) back to the authority of the Word of God. We need a new reformation and a cleansing of the church. Indeed, before a holy God, we need repentance over compromise regarding the authority of the Bible.

Continue to be vigilant! The battle is going to heat up more and more in the fight over the authority of the Word of God! Are you prepared?

Sincerely in Christ,

Ken Ham, President

Answers in Genesis