Overlooking the Obvious

There is an old story; some call it a joke, about the “Lone Ranger” and his equally memorable sidekick, “Tonto.” The two were on the plains of the untamed West, as the story goes, and had just settled down for the night after having been on a long journey in search of the “bad guys.” They set up camp intending to continue the manhunt the next day.  He and Tonto pitched the one tint as both of them settled down for the night.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Tonto nudged the Lone Ranger and asked him what seemed to be a very strange question. “Wake up Keem-O-Sabe,” asked the inquisitive Indian, “and please tell me what you see.” Not knowing his faithful sidekick’s intent, the Ranger looked up and described exactly what he saw. “I see the trees, swaying in the wind, Tonto,” replied The Ranger.

“Well said my fearless leader. Now, tell me what else you see,” the young brave continued.

“I see the billions of stars placed by the Almighty creator,” the unmasked masked man again answered.

“Right again, my dear friend. Now, again,” asked Tonto, sounding a little perturbed, “what else do you see, ‘Keem-O?’” (short for Keem-O-Sabe)

“I see the nocturnal animals roaming the landscape as God supplies all their needs,” noted the now alert and well-spoken Ranger.

More apparently perturbed by the Ranger’s continued observations and answers, Tonto spouted off, “Keem-O-Sabe - you’re as dumb as a buffalo chip. Somebody stole our tent!”

Now don’t get me wrong, here. The Lone Ranger gave very good answers to Tonto’s persistent enquiry; but, honestly, he missed the obvious. You might even say that he missed the embarrassingly obvious.

While this story is as fictional as the old series upon which it is based, it illustrates the one thing that this column demonstrates. Sometimes, but usually unintentionally, we overlook not only the obvious but also the embarrassingly obvious.

That is, I think, the case with the continued battles we fight against atheism in almost every venue of our society. We should continue to contend with those ideas that threaten truth, particularly those attacking belief in God, generally, and the God of the Bible particularly. The books, the debates within academia, and even the debates in some of our churches have failed to recognize the obvious when it comes to atheism and the direction our country and even our churches sometimes take.

Talking with a friend just a few days ago reminded me of the many foundational issues that have been compromised by many Christians and more sadly by many Christian leaders as they overlook the embarrassingly obvious.

Creationism, for example, is the one issue that many have compromised to some degree or another as if the pressures of atheistic thinking are just too much to bear. There are, for example, the “theistic evolutionists, the progressive creationists (those who think that God guided the evolutionary process) and the “embarrassed” creationists. The theistic evolutionists and the progressive creationists are similar while the “embarrassed” creationist is the one who ascribes to a literal 6-day creation but is ashamed to say it too loudly. Either his certainty level is very low or his uncertainty level very high. Take your pick.

In an attempt to appease the evolutionist, many self-proclaimed Biblicists bend over backwards to mix and marry two philosophically incompatible views of origins. In fact, one man put it this way; “like the liberal theologians they deride,” he said, “they (progressive creationists) engage in tormented, Herculean, bend-over-backward, ankle behind-the-ear philosophical gymnastics to “reinterpret” the Book of Genesis in harmony with modern science…(here he means evolution). A non-literal interpretation of these passages (Genesis 1-2) is thoroughly dishonest and wholly disingenuous.”  While much could be said about this revealing quote, perhaps the most intriguing thing about it is the fact that the author himself is an atheist and part of the so-called “scientific” community that so many Christians seem bent on appeasing.

Overlooking the embarrassingly obvious, we seek the acceptance of those whose worldview is atheistic to the core. We overlook the embarrassingly obvious facts that the original earth, biblically, was without suffering, death, nature’s hostilities, and the problem of evil, all of which are part and parcel of the early earth from an evolutionary perspective with all of the above realities being the result of what the Bible calls “sin.”

The church of Jesus Christ has compromised the certainties to which the early church adhered and, in turn, forfeited her power in doing so. We have overlooked the embarrassingly obvious which makes us look like, well, spiritual buffalo chips to those who know the most foundational issues involved – even if they are atheists.

Tony Watts

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