
Creation From The Scriptures
When it comes to both creationism and evolution (and pretty much all scientific disciplines), scientific theories are subject to change, modification, and even liable to be discarded when a better theory comes along. God’s word, on the other hand, will always remain with us in its truth. As we read in 1 Peter 1:24-25:
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1 Peter 1: 24-25
“For ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Due to the tentative nature of many scientific conclusions and the unchanging nature of God’s word, we will be predominantly discussing what the Bible says about the origins of the cosmos, life, and ourselves. Remember, this is not to say that science is useless or bad, it is to remind us that science is not our highest authority. We know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, as demonstrated by the following verses:
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2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
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Proverbs 30:5
“Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Now, this entire study (in addition to the entire Christian Church) would become a moot point if the reasonably common claim that “God does not even exist” was to be proven correct. However, there are many reasons why it is more rational to believe in God than to disbelieve.
Albert Einstein once Stated: “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible!” (1)
If God did not exist, then we could not reasonably expect anything in the universe to be logical, orderly, or (as Einstein said) comprehensible. If there was no creator who introduced order into the universe, we could not even trust our own minds (or, rather, those random collections of chemicals which we call “brains”) to provide us with any accurate information about reality.
Furthermore, common sense tells us that everything in the universe has a cause. Everything we see in the world around us can be linked back to a former cause. However, there must have been a cause for the “first cause” which was not brought into being by a prior cause (and did not need to be). That “first cause” is, necessarily, God.
Aside from philosophical arguments, the Bible itself speaks in regards to those who deny the existence of God:
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Psalm 14:1 reads:
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God...’”
Now that we have seen from both Scripture and simple logic that it is most reasonable to believe in the existence of God, we are going to take a look at what God says about the creation of the world in the early chapters of the first book of the Bible: Genesis.
-Read Genesis 1-
Genesis 1 tells how God created the universe! This first chapter of the Bible demonstrates many key theological concepts:
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The almighty power of God. When God speaks, incredible things happen!
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God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible. All that God created in Genesis 1 was initially good.
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Trinitarian theology is visible in Genesis 1! We see that “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,” and we know from John 1:3 that Jesus “The Word made Flesh” is involved in the creation:
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John 1:3
All things were made through him [Jesus], and without him was not anything made that was made.
-Read Genesis 2-3-
Genesis 2 gives a detailed account of the origin of humanity and Genesis 3 tells of the fall (the first sin). These chapters also outline key theological concepts:
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Genesis 2 once again affirms God’s role as Creator and King of Creation, but it shows the special status and responsibility God has given to mankind among His creations.
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Genesis 3 recounts the entry of sin (and thus death) into God’s perfect creation as Adam and Eve disobey God.
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Genesis 3 recounts God’s first promise of a Savior from sin and death (Genesis 3:15).
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Genesis 3 shows God’s mercy and grace, even when his people disobey Him.
Because they are convinced that the theory of evolution is undeniably true, some have posited that God used evolution to create. This view is known as “Theistic Evolution.” However, this view has a number of theological issues of which the following are just two:
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Theistic Evolution undermines the 6-day chronology set up in Genesis which is the basis for our current calendar week system and is supported in other areas of Scripture as well:
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Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
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Death is a very important facet of the process of evolution. If God used evolution to create (as Theistic Evolution says), then that would make God the “Author of death.” We know that death was not part of God’s original creation, but is the wages of sin that cursed all creation through the sin of Adam.
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Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...
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Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Many Theistic Evolutionists try to get around this problem by saying that the type of death discussed in the Bible is spiritual death. However, this does not make sense in light of Genesis 3:19, which definitely seems to be discussing physical death. Such an idea also has the ability to do violence to the doctrine of the physical resurrection of Christ, as we see in I Corinthians 15:21-23:
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I Corinthians 15:21-23
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Indeed, Christ has been raised from the dead. In his physical death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty we rightly deserved for our sins and, in his physical resurrection, he destroyed the powers of death. It is in Christ alone that we place our hope of salvation.
All Scripture Quotations Come From The English Standard Version (ESV)
Sources-
Jonathan Schulz, 2013
1."Physics and Reality"(1936), in Ideas and Opinions, trans. Sonja Bargmann (New York: Bonanza, 1954), p292.
This article is the property of Jonathan Schulz and Creation v. Evolution Debate