JUNE 27, 2024
Lakeshore Friends—
Almost exactly 99 years ago (July 10, 1925 to be exact), an impactful trial took place in Dayton, Tennessee. It’s referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, the case of a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in his class, which at the time was against the law. So much surrounding the trial both inside and outside the courtroom was a spectacle. In the end, Scopes was found guilty at the request of his very own attorney, Clarence Darrow, who planned to appeal the decision and needed this guilty verdict to appeal the case. His appeal never settled the question of what could be taught in schools until many years later when, in 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a similar law in Arkansas on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment; our protected freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
While the Scopes case was won in 1925, in reality the case for God’s creation in public schools—and in other areas of society—was lost. Today, we see the astounding consequences. The tables have been completely turned from then in most public schools today. It's now the case for creation that has been given very little credibility or even ignored altogether in classrooms. Under the guise of “religious indoctrination,” classrooms treat this view as virtually the advancement of religion, the speculation of the implausible, or just plain unscientific and now things have been reversed.
Sadly, we now witness so many people who simply don’t know or don’t care if God actually created the world and all that is in it, and the consequences have been destructive on so many levels.
We are called to believe in God’s creation by faith because no one was there to witness it and there are actually strong reasons to believe in it. Afterall, no matter which side you’re on, you must believe what you believe by faith. But I’m convinced that an informed faith will lead you to embrace God’s creation of the world over a naturalistic evolutionary alternative.
That’s what we’ll cover on Sunday. Hope to see you here as we continue this new series, “By Faith”. So far, the buzz has been really positive!
Warmly,
Vince
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