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![[pulsating cross]](astar2.gif)
Attempts to reconcile the Bible with 'truths' of science form a subtle attack to the teaching of Creationism. Many Christians have been influenced to some degree by these writings of 'theologians' who have sacrificed the sufficiency of God's Word for human reason.
"In the Beginning God..."
This profound introduction to the Book of Genesis highlights that God alone is the absolute starting point of the created order. The principle of divine fiat - that a self-existing, external, omnipotent God willed into existence this universe - stands forever in opposition to the secular humanist's teachings on the theory of evolution as put forth by Charles Darwin in his Origin of Species in 1859.
The generic term for deity used in Genesis is the Hebrew word 'Elohim'; this plural form emphasizes the participation of the Godhead - the Trinity - in Creation. The idea of a 'trinity' is hard to conceptualize, nevertheless, it is a truth taught in the Scriptures; the Bible clearly states there is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there is the existance of three co-equal Persons; namely, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
There are several classical arguments for the existance of God.
The cosmological - cosmos or 'world' - argument insists that the universe is an effect which requires an adequate cause, and the only sufficient cause is God (Psalms 19:1). To this point, Henry Morris, president of the Institute of Creation Research argues:
"The existence of a transcendent Creator and the necessity of a primeval special creation of the universe is confirmed by the most basic principles of nature discovered by scientists: (1) The law of causality, that no effect can be greater than its cause, is basic in all scientific investigation and human experience. A universe comprising an array of intelligible and complex effects, including living systems and conscious personalities, is itself proof of an intelligent, complex, living, conscious Person as its Cause. (2) The laws of thermodynamics are the most universal and best-proved generalizations of science, applicable to every process and system of any kind, the First Law stating that no matter/energy is now being created or destroyed, and the Second Law stating that all existing matter/energy is proceeding irreversibly toward ultimate equilibrium and cessation of all processes. Since this eventual death of the universe has not yet occurred and since it will occur in time, if these processes continue, the Second Law proves that time (and therefore, the space/matter/time universe) had a beginning. The universe must have been created, but the First Law precludes the possibility of self-creation."
The teleological - telos or 'end' - argument reasons that the universe not only proves a maker but also a designer (Romans 1:18-20). There is a visible, observable purpose in the universe which argues for the existence of God as it's designer.
The anthropological -anthropos or 'man' - argument supposes that moral and intellectual man must also have had a Creator with similar characteristics (Acts 17:29). The moral nature, religious instincts, conscience, and emotional nature all argue for the existance of God.
Lastly, the ontological - 'being' argument emphasizes that man, to quote Charles Ryrie : "has the idea of the Most Perfect Being. This idea includes the idea of existence, since a being, otherwise perfect, who did not exist would not be as perfect as a perfect being who did exist. Therefore, since the idea of existence is contained in the idea of the Most Perfect Being, the Most Perfect Being must exist"
Each of these arguments has it's own set of inadequacies, circular reasoning, etc. and eventually we must understand that a belief in God is a matter of faith (Hebrews 11:6). Interestingly enough, no effort is made in the first chapter of Genesis to prove God as the account was recorded in the beginning when no one doubted God.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day . Genesis 1:1-5
The activity spoken about in these verses refers to God creating time the beginning, space, the heavens, darkness, the elements, the earth, and light energy light.
The elements were apparently initially suspended in a matrix of water, or what the Bible refers to as the deep. We see the Spirit of God moving within this matrix. Accordingly, a newly created gravitational force begins to pull some of the earth material floating within the matrix into a loosely knit sphere. The complete rotation of this submerged, watery mass in relationship to the light of God constituted the first 24 hour day.
The Hebrew word yom is usually used to describe a literal 24 hour day. For example, yom hakkippurim, or the Jewish festival known as the 'Day of Atonement' is the day appointed for a 'yearly, and perfect, expiation from all sins and uncleanness that might remain, despite the regular sacrifices.' Only infrequently is the word 'yom' used to describe a period of indefinite length such as the 'Day of the Lord'. Hence, each day of creation could be interpreted as a literal 24 hour day by the use of the word 'yom' and the accompanying phrase 'the evening and the morning were the first day'
If the sun, moon, and stars were not created until day 4, what constitutes the "light" that was created on this day?
Dr. Henry Morris, in his commentary elaborates: "...light, the energizing of the vast cosmos through the marvelous, electro-magnetic force system which maintains all structures and processes in matter. These varied energies include not only visible light, but also all the short-wave radiations - ultra-violet, x-rays, etc. - and the long-wave radiations - infra-red, radio waves, etc. - as well as heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, molecular inter-actions, etc. 'Light', the most basic form of energy, is mentioned specifically, but it's existence necessarily implies the activation of all forms of electro-magnetic energies. Light was not created, since God Himself dwells in light. On the other hand, He created darkness (Isaiah 45:7). The existence of visible light prior to the establishment of the sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:16) emphasizes the fact that light (energy) is more fundamental than light givers. God could just as easily, perhaps more easily, have created waves of light energy as He could have constructed material bodies in which processes generate light energy. The first is direct (since God is light), the second indirect... God did not create light for He is light. It was the primeval darkness which He created in order to have a division between night and day."
These ideas are generally confirmed in Isaiah 45:7 where God says: "I form the light, and create darkness..."
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day . Genesis 1:6-8
The Hebrew word raqiya, translated "firmament" in the KJV means 'expanse' or simply a space. This 'space' or atmosphere appears to have been created by God to separate the primeval deep into water vapor (the lighter) above and water containing elemental earth material (the heavier) below.
This hypothesis is the basis for what is popularly known as the 'canopy theory' proposed by John Witcomb and Henry Morris during the 1960's.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day . Genesis 1:9-13
Here it appears that the Word of God initiated a vastly complex series of chemical and physical reactions within the waters below the firmament transforming the cluster of submerged earth material into the solid sphere, known as the planet earth. The presence of the gravitational pull throughout this activity served to displace the waters below the firmament into vast underground caverns (Genesis 7:11), small surface pools, and oceans. The original geography is unknown because it was subsequently altered by the Great Deluge (Genesis 6-9).
Plant life was also created on this day. Although we are not sure to what category of taxonomic classification 'kind' refers, it is obvious that there are certain fixed boundaries beyond which reproductive variations cannot go. This allows for micro (horizontal) evolution (i.e. mutations within the same kind) but definitely precludes macro (vertical) evolution.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day . Genesis 1:14-19
On this day God formed large planets and stars set burning in complex chemical and nuclear reactions, and placed them into a space outside the earth's vapor canopy. These were created for at least four reasons:
First, to divide the day from the night; it takes exactly 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds for the earth to make one complete rotation. This motion in relation to the sun causes our day and night. Since the earth spins in an easterly direction, the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
Secondly, for signs. Generally these are assumed to be divided into four types: those related to faith (Psalms 8:1-4, 19:1-6; Romans 1:14-20), weather (Matthew 16:2-3), prophecy (Matthew 2:2, 21:25), and judgment (Joel 2:30-31; Matthew 24:29).
Thirdly, for seasons. This results from the earth being tilted on its axis with respect to its path of travel around the sun.
Fourthly, for days and years. The earth's revolution around the sun takes 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 9.54 seconds. This is our solar year used to chronicle history.
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly, the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day . Genesis 1:20-23
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he them; male and female created he them.... And the evening and the morning were the sixth day . Genesis 1:24-31
