[337 words]
While growing up in the 1970’s, I enjoyed watching the numerous nature programs that were offered on television. Even though we only had access to four channels, there always seemed to be the opportunity to see such programs a few times every week. There were the National Geographic Specials, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Disney’s True-Life Adventures, and of course Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. In the following decades, we would be introduced to the Discovery Channel and the David Attenborough programs from the BBC. Each program was filled with wondrous video and entertaining stories from nature and as youngsters, we didn’t even realize we were learning something in the process.
These types of programs are still very popular today, and with on-demand and streaming services, we don’t have to wait till Tuesday nights to get our fix of nature programming. However, even though these shows provided us with good, wholesome educational entertainment, there was and is a fly in the proverbial ointment. In each of the program examples above, Darwinism and the theory of evolution are used to explain the origin and development of the plants and animals featured during the show. Without realizing it, we consume the atheistic view of the universe absent of our God and Creator. It’s no wonder that a third of believers in our country adhere to theistic evolution (the belief that God created the universe through the evolutionary process).
Of course, Satan is behind it all. Who else would disguise good education as a way to eliminate God from our consciousness (2 Cor. 11:14)? It is refreshing to know that according to the National Institutes of Health, a significant number of high school biology teachers do incorporate creationism or intelligent design into their lessons, although the number is very small. So, the task is left to Christian parents, Bible class teachers, and the church to assure that our children are taught that our Awesome God and Powerful Creator is responsible for the wondrous universe we live in.
Jay Launius
Maud Church of Christ
Maud, TX