Is Quaday really a ‘creationist?’
To the Editor,
I would like to comment on a few items that Mr. Quaday discussed in his ‘Quaday’s Quotes’ column published in the Faribault County Register Monday, May 26, 2008.
Mr. Quaday stated that he is a ‘creationist.’ His comment in the first paragraph would make one believe this is true when he was speaking of the songbirds perpetuating their species, saying “… as do all creatures the Lord has created in the air…” But he goes on to say “not the kind (of creationist) that believes everything as we have it today was created in seven days by our Lord as the Bible tells in Genesis.” A true creationist would not make a statement such as Mr. Quaday did. A creationist would not deny the inerrancy of scripture as Mr. Quaday has done. In actuality, Mr. Quaday is a ‘theistic evolutionist,” his own argument for being a ‘realist’ bares this out. A very elementary definition of a theistic evolutionist is one who believes God, or some other higher power, started something and evolution did the rest. This is basically what Mr. Quaday has stated. This reasoning is akin to saying that an analog wristwatch will become a digital wristwatch over time because a digital wristwatch is a more precise timepiece.
Mr. Quaday goes on to say that ‘some higher power had to inspire all the inventions… in the last 2,000 years since the writing of the Bible when the Jewish people began to record their national history.’ I can see now why Mr. Quaday does not have a high regard for the accuracy of scripture. Mr. Quaday would have us believe that the Bible is 2,000 years old. Well, he is partially correct; the books of the New Testament, for the most part, were given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and recorded by their earthly writers in the later half of the first century A.D., with a little fuzzy math, one could say two thousand years, but it would be more accurate to say one thousand nine hundred to one thousand nine hundred and 50 years. As for the Old Testament, most sources indicate Moses was lead by the spirit of God to write the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) around the year 1,446-1,406 B.C. Also, Amos and Isaiah, two of the many prophets of the Old Testament penned their inspired works approximately 792-742 B.C. and 701-681 respectably. It is safe to say the Bible is more like three thousand five hundred years old, much older than Mr. Quaday would have us believe.
One final point; the Bible is much more than Mr. Quaday would say, that is a 2,000 year old Jewish history book. The apostle Paul tells us in the King James version of the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) ‘All scripture is inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ The Jewish people did not just decide to write their national history, God inspired the writers to record what is useful for doctrine (what we believe and why we believe it), reproof and correction (showing us our sin), and for instruction.
Yes the Bible does contain a historical record of the Jewish people, but it is much more, the Bible is God’s inspired, inerrant word, which tells us of our sin and our need of a personal savior. The Bible tells us that Jesus is that savior given to us in grace.
Brent Walker,
Blue Earth