Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham has warned that America is on the "precipice of catastrophic change" and said that one sign God is "turning people over to their depraved minds" is the increase in homosexual behavior seen across the country.
"We're on the precipice of catastrophic change in this nation," Ham told The Gospel Herald in an exclusive interview. "In fact, I believe it's already happening. Romans 1 talks about the wrath of God being revealed against unrighteousness, that God turns those who reject Him over to their depraved minds. I believe we're seeing Romans 1 play out in our culture right before our eyes."
The President of the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter said there is no doubt we're seeing the "wrath of God in culture", citing Romans 1:27. "One sign He's turning us over is the increase in immorality - particularly homosexual behavior," he said. "God is judging this culture. It should be a warning to all of us."
Issues surrounding gay and transgender rights have become "paw prints" in our nation - and that wasn't the case ten years ago, signaling the increasing secularization of our culture, argued Ham.
"The chasm between what's obviously Christian - what the Bible actually teaches - and what culture teaches has widened," he said. "America used to be very christianized in its worldview as a culture. Now, there's a big separation."
Part of the problem lies with the Church, Ham said, as many pastors and religious leaders "water down" the truth of the gospel and compromise God's word to "fit in" with culture.
"There's a lot of pressure from this culture to support gay marriage and transgender issues," he said. "So, when we stand on God's word regarding these issues, we're called unloving and judgemental. Sadly, what I'm finding is many churches and church leaders are succumbing to the pressure to condone homosexual behavior and gay marriage."
The chasm between Christianity and culture, Ham contended, is seen particularly among the younger generation. He earlier shared with GH that biblical illiteracy "is rampant" in the United States, with surveys suggesting that as many as 40 to 50 percent of Christians refuse to take the Bible as literal in all that it presents.
"Millennials, the majority of them, don't believe the Bible as previous generations did - we're seeing a big distinction here," he said. "Two-thirds of young people are walking away from the church by the time they reach college age, with very few returning, because they haven't been taught to defend their faith. We've handed them over the secular education system to indoctrinate in atheistic philosophy. We're losing the coming generation."
As America continues to throw God out of public schools, out of culture, and murder millions of children in their mother's wombs, "God is not just going to sit back," Ham warned.
"He's going to act," he said, citing the Old Testament story of Noah. "He's long-suffering, He's gracious, but He is a God who is righteous and holy and judges wickedness."
Despite all of this, God is still working in culture and drawing people to Himself, Ham said, pointing to the success of the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.
"The gospel is still spreading," he said. "There are countries like Canada where it's getting harder to preach the Word of God without it being called 'hate speech'. We need to praise the Lord that we don't have those laws yet in America. We need to use the freedom that we have and the fact that God is gracious and long-suffering to say, 'Let's get the message of the gospel out to as many people as we can.' We need to see a change in hearts and minds in this nation."
