The Naming Problem Revisited
It should be obvious by now that Pentecost is not just a better day than Easter to go up against Darwin Day. It is perfect. Here we have an event that is indistinguishable from Evolution, in that two existing species of being have joined themselves together in an indisputably high degree of symbiotic union that qualifies it as a new species due to the acquisition of characteristics mutually beneficial to both. Recall that Jesus acquired the Holy Spirit at his water baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, and afterwards worked miracles during his ministry. After his resurrection, he then sends the Holy Spirit to the disciples to replicate in them the state he had before his death. In Darwin's book, that's surviving to reproduce. Deus gains in the transaction by getting sons and daughters united and locked to him by biological and spiritual bonds that are permanent and eternal. Homo gains everything: Life, healing, knowledge, wisdom, power, defensive and offensive capabilities. Read again the first few chapters of the Book of Acts, not as a believer, but as a field biologist asking the standard set of questions that are asked upon discovery of a new species: What are the characteristics of the new species? What is its natural history? What characteristics are unique to it, and which are shared by others? What are its identifying features that allow biologists to identify members of this species and avoid misclassification with other species? How does it reproduce? How does it interact within its eco-system and the other occupants? How does it defend itself? What is its range? How does it expand its niche in the eco-system, and who is impacted by its arrival? What other species can we compare it to? How does the ecosystem support a growth rate where 120 members become 3000 members in the span of a day? What do we call it?
I said that what happened at Pentecost does not have a name, and neither does the collection of scriptures that constitutes its doctrine. Let's address these shortcomings here, so that later discussion of the above questions can be better categorized.
The names given to doctrines and events associated with Christmas and Easter are based on Latin, being given by the Roman Catholic Church. I think this event, the symbiotic union of Deus with Homo, which not only happened once, but happens every time a human being is saved, as well as the doctrine, deserves a name of its own, don't you?
Now for the Event name. "Incarnation" is the event-name associated with Christmas. "Ressurrection" is the "event-name" associated with Easter. "Crucifixion" is the event-name associated with Good Friday. We even have event names for events with no days, such as the Annunciation and The Visitation. So the event name associated with Pentecost, the coming in of Deus into the repentant member of Homo, is...what?
I struggled with it, delaying the publishing of this article, drawing a blank. I was about to turn to the Roman Catholics, who seem to have a good track record for things like this, when the Spirit within me (more on that later) told me to be bold. Really bold. Being bold means breaking out of the mold. We will need a bold name to go with a claim that goes something like this: "You should celebrate Pentecost with me, because the last great leap upward of Human evolution took place on that day. Darwin Day-style evolution is for your descendants, although it really is for the birds, but Pentecost-style Evolution is happening now, and you can experience it. Here's the proof, and here are the benefits! If that's not REAL evolution, then what is? Wanna sign up?"
The word used by evolutionists to describe big jumps of evolutionary development in the fossil record is "saltation", a word derived from the latin word "Jump". It perfectly describes what happens when the Holy Spirit enters the believing sinner. I believe appropriating it is sufficiently agressive enough to provoke discussion and debate. I should point out that evidence of saltation in the fossil record is the rule, not the exception, and is one of the skeletons in Darwin's evolutionary closet, so claiming the word is appropriate. When its usage is challenged, I recommend being bold and agressive, as befits a representative of the newest, biggest, and most powerful species in the ecosystem, and tell them that its a free country. If they cry "racism!" point out that a sizeable majority of Christians are black.
In fact, there is probably only one argument that the savvy evolutionist will make that may stump you if you're not prepared.
How will you answer if they demand: "If you really are a member of a new and advanced species that is symbiotically linked with God, why doesn't your life show it?"
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