Genesis - In Colossians chapter 2 verse 8 we read, Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, and not after Christ. The danger of being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit, the ideas of men. The reference in verse 11 makes it clear that this is a call to reject those who mixed faith in Christ with the rituals of the ceremonial law and the traditions of the Pharisees.
The laws given to Moses and the traditions, the laws that the Pharisees had added. And whilst there is still a danger of this type of teaching, tonight I want us to look at the beginning of our study at a modern problem relating to philosophy and vain deceit. And we're going to do so in Genesis. There are attempts today to combine the ideas of naturalistic thought with scripture. There are those who think scripture must be reconciled to what men have thought.