February 25th 2018
Did God Really Create?
Genesis 1:1 (NIV) Part 1 of 2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
What are the ramifications of believing that God actually did create the universe as is stated in the first few verses of the Bible? Many theologians have tried to explain away these chapters as just poetic ramblings of Moses, and therefore, this information does not necessarily match what science observes about this universe, in which we find ourselves. Is this narrative really a revelation from God to the writer of Genesis, or is it just the repeating of some mythological story written by some ancient civilization? I believe it is the story of exactly how and when God created the universe! This either makes me look ignorant or inspired, based on your particular bias on this matter!
The public school systems are teaching the religion of secular humanism. This religion requires us to believe that only scientists possess the knowledge and educational background to comprehend exactly how everything we see around us came into being! Theologians, who agree, at least in part, to this assumption, see the need to seek ways to modify the first eleven chapters of Genesis to better match the ancient universe theory that many scientists promote. Although the original promoters of such theory either do not believe in a god, or believe god is some remote being existing somewhere in this vast universe.
Secular humanism says we evolved from some lower form of creature and over a huge amount of time we became the dominate species and thus maintain the top seat in the evolutionary chain, also described as being at the top of the food chain. Such terminology comes from the belief in a relentless seeking for existence by our own power, and therefore, there is no need for a god. If we just evolved, then we are the in-charge beings on this world. If you take this theory back all the way to “the beginning” we and everything else sprang about from non-life to life! So don’t get too hung-up on the theory we evolved from apes or some form of an ape, go back to the beginning, and realize we evolved from non-life! Can you believe that? I do not have enough faith to believe such as story!
Some people ask, “Couldn’t God have used evolution to create animal life (Theistic Evolution)?” The honest answer is, of course, YES! However, if He did, then His Word is in error. Because the Bible does not tell such a story! It says He created all animal life on days 5 and 6 of the Creation Days! Then He created Adam and Eve on Creation Day 6! Then the Bible tells us the genealogies of all the generations from Adam to Jesus, and if you add up those times, it indicates the universe in only about 6 thousand years old! God revealed these genealogies to the writers of the Bible, so we know, or believe, this information is valid and accurate! At least that is what I believe! What do you believe?
Many of the scientific dating methods tell us the earth is, NOT millions or billions of years old! Many of these dating methods show the earth to only be thousands of years old. The people, who have modified the first few chapters of Genesis, have done so, because they have been convinced by some scientific dating methods, or other evidence, that the earth is billions of years old. Thus they need to stuff those long time frames in the Bible before the Garden of Eden story. If you do this, however, then you have death and suffering before Adam committed the first sin, which results in making God look like a liar when He said ”You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17). The first sin brought death and suffering into this universe, which had no death and suffering before that!
The death threat from God had to do with the body of man; it does not include the immortal soul that God breathed into Adam on Day 6 of the Creation week! Some indication of this is found in the immediate reaction of Adam and Eve when they committed that first sin. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) Before they sinned they were innocent and totally free, “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:25)
What do you believe?
The VOW will pick up here next week, stay tuned for Did God Really Create? Part 2 of 2!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Genesis 1:1 (NIV) Part 1 of 2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
What are the ramifications of believing that God actually did create the universe as is stated in the first few verses of the Bible? Many theologians have tried to explain away these chapters as just poetic ramblings of Moses, and therefore, this information does not necessarily match what science observes about this universe, in which we find ourselves. Is this narrative really a revelation from God to the writer of Genesis, or is it just the repeating of some mythological story written by some ancient civilization? I believe it is the story of exactly how and when God created the universe! This either makes me look ignorant or inspired, based on your particular bias on this matter!
The public school systems are teaching the religion of secular humanism. This religion requires us to believe that only scientists possess the knowledge and educational background to comprehend exactly how everything we see around us came into being! Theologians, who agree, at least in part, to this assumption, see the need to seek ways to modify the first eleven chapters of Genesis to better match the ancient universe theory that many scientists promote. Although the original promoters of such theory either do not believe in a god, or believe god is some remote being existing somewhere in this vast universe.
Secular humanism says we evolved from some lower form of creature and over a huge amount of time we became the dominate species and thus maintain the top seat in the evolutionary chain, also described as being at the top of the food chain. Such terminology comes from the belief in a relentless seeking for existence by our own power, and therefore, there is no need for a god. If we just evolved, then we are the in-charge beings on this world. If you take this theory back all the way to “the beginning” we and everything else sprang about from non-life to life! So don’t get too hung-up on the theory we evolved from apes or some form of an ape, go back to the beginning, and realize we evolved from non-life! Can you believe that? I do not have enough faith to believe such as story!
Some people ask, “Couldn’t God have used evolution to create animal life (Theistic Evolution)?” The honest answer is, of course, YES! However, if He did, then His Word is in error. Because the Bible does not tell such a story! It says He created all animal life on days 5 and 6 of the Creation Days! Then He created Adam and Eve on Creation Day 6! Then the Bible tells us the genealogies of all the generations from Adam to Jesus, and if you add up those times, it indicates the universe in only about 6 thousand years old! God revealed these genealogies to the writers of the Bible, so we know, or believe, this information is valid and accurate! At least that is what I believe! What do you believe?
Many of the scientific dating methods tell us the earth is, NOT millions or billions of years old! Many of these dating methods show the earth to only be thousands of years old. The people, who have modified the first few chapters of Genesis, have done so, because they have been convinced by some scientific dating methods, or other evidence, that the earth is billions of years old. Thus they need to stuff those long time frames in the Bible before the Garden of Eden story. If you do this, however, then you have death and suffering before Adam committed the first sin, which results in making God look like a liar when He said ”You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17). The first sin brought death and suffering into this universe, which had no death and suffering before that!
The death threat from God had to do with the body of man; it does not include the immortal soul that God breathed into Adam on Day 6 of the Creation week! Some indication of this is found in the immediate reaction of Adam and Eve when they committed that first sin. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) Before they sinned they were innocent and totally free, “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:25)
What do you believe?
The VOW will pick up here next week, stay tuned for Did God Really Create? Part 2 of 2!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|