|
The book of Genesis opens with
the simple record that God created the heavens and earth.
"In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1)
God created the entire complex in
six twenty-four hour days.
"Thus the heavens and the
earth and all the host of them were finished. And on the
seventh day God ended His work. Then God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from
all His work which God had created and made." (Gen. 2:1-3)
Those who choose not to believe
in a living God - and His unlimited power to create instantly
and fully - must search for another explanation for life. By
far the most popular non-God explanation to date was championed
by Charles Darwin. He taught that the first forms of life came
into existence by mere chance. Then, through a process of
evolutionary transformations combined with billions of years of
time, these life forms supposedly produced this massive complex
universe.
In contrast, the book of Genesis
is a record of the creative power of an omnipotent God. Genesis
reveals that God created everything instantly and out of
nothing.
"By the word of the Lord the
heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of
His mouth . . .For He spoke, and it was done. He commanded
and it stood fast." (Psa. 33:6,9)
God did not use some space waste
material that was already available. Nor did He create the
earth, set it in motion, and then step out of the picture
allowing it to continue on its own. He continues to preserve
and sustain His creation!
"You alone are the Lord; You
have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their
host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that
is in them, and you preserve them all. The host of heaven
worships You." (Neh. 9:6)
It becomes obvious that both God
and Charles Darwin cannot be right. If Darwin were right, then
God does not exist. But if the Bible is true, then Darwin and
all that follow him are in deep trouble. Admittedly, since none
of us were present when it all began, it does take faith to
believe whichever system one chooses to follow.
We do not believe that God is the
creator of all things by taking a “blind” leap of faith. Our
faith has been established upon some very convincing truth.
"Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word
of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of
things which are visible." (Heb. 11:1,3)
Think of This!
Approximately forty different
writers from varied backgrounds wrote the Bible over a period of
1500 years. The writers include tax collectors, fishermen,
kings, lawyers, prophets, and priests.
"The word that came to
Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaks the Lord of
Israel saying, 'Write in a book for yourself all the words
that I have spoken to you." (Jer. 30:1-2)
"For prophecy never came by
the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet. 1:21)
Though different writers living
in different time periods in history had a hand in writing the
Bible, its message contains one unbroken theme from Genesis to
Revelation. That is because it has but one Author. The Bible’s
theme reveals a God who is the architect of history and has a
plan to reveal the riches of His glory by redeeming from the
slave market of sin those who will trust Him. This plan will
someday culminate with Him being the final King over all of His
creation.
In order to strengthen our faith
in His plan, God has given us many specific prophecies
concerning Him. A prophecy is history written in precise detail
before it actually happens.
"For I am the Lord. I will
speak, and the word that I speak will come to pass." (Eze.
12:25a)
"And now I have told you
before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may
believe." (Jn. 14:29)
These prophecies include detailed
predictions. The Bible predicted that God would become a member
of the human race. He reveals His unique entrance into this life
(Gen. 3:15, Isa. 7:14), the place of His birth (Micah 5:2),
details of His life (Isa. 53), His resurrection (Psa. 16:10),
ascension (Psa. 110:2), Second Coming (Zech. 12:10), and kingdom
reign (Psa. 2, Dan. 7:9-14). These are detailed, prewritten
facts that only a living God could know.
God even tells how the history of
the human race is going to end. The end of time is clearly
recorded in the books of Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and
Revelation.
"Remember the former things
of old, for I am God and there is no other; I am God and
there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying,
'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'"
(Isa. 46:9-10)
Though never claiming to be a
science book, when the Bible mentions scientific facts, it is
accurate in every detail. For instance Job said,
"He stretches out the north
over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.” (Job 26:7)
We know today that the earth is
suspended in space by God’s law of gravity, that it is actually
hung upon nothing. But the people listening to Job in 1500 BC
must have thought he was insane.
-
Isaiah 40:22 tells us the
earth is round.
-
Jeremiah 10:22 gives a
preview of Einstein's theory of relativity.
-
Zechariah 14:12 contains the
effects of atomic radiation.
-
Job 25:5 says that the moon
does not have its own light.
-
Jeremiah 33:22 says that the
stars cannot be numbered.
-
Job 38:31 says that the earth
rotates around an axle star.
-
Leviticus 17:11 amazingly
tells us that the life of the flesh is in the blood.
Therefore, in view of the
evidence of the Bible's reliability, our faith in the biblical
account of creation rests on a solid foundation.
"For we have not followed
cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2 Pet. 1:16)
Two Laws of Science
The laws of science, called the
laws of thermodynamics, strongly contradict the theory of
evolution. The first law states that matter is a form of
energy, which can be transformed in several ways but can never
be created.
All activity in the universe is
brought about by transformations of energy that was already
there. Therefore, evolution cannot be true based on this law
alone.
The second law of thermodynamics
says that the universe is not continually transforming itself
into a greater and greater state, but is, in fact, running down
or dissipating. Energy is not being created; it is being used
up at alarming rates. For this reason, the world is constantly
looking for new sources of energy.
Two Faith Systems
It does take faith to believe
that God created the universe suddenly and out of nothing. But
it also takes faith to believe the claims of the evolutionists.
They teach that the universe and its inhabitants evolved over
billions of years out of material that was already here.
The real issue at stake in
determining which creation system is best is not a matter of the
facts of science versus the faith of Christians. Because none
of the evolutionists were present to scientifically test "the
facts" and because of the many failures and inconsistencies in
their system, evolution remains a theory that must be accepted
by faith.
The major thrust of the Darwinian
theory, for example, is that preexisting matter just appeared
from some unknown source in the universe. This matter supposedly
progressed through time to higher and higher levels of
organization, finally resulting in the complex life that we have
today.
Exploring the possibility that
life originated from preexisting material takes a lot of faith.
At the risk of ridiculing the genius of the human intellect,
consider these possibilities. Lightning suddenly comes out of
nowhere and strikes green ooze in the Nile River basin that
creates the first enzyme or living particle. From this living
particle, through billions of years and countless
transformations increasing in complexity, comes life as we know
it today.
Or if your mind struggles with
that one, try this one! Two huge worlds come out of nowhere and
collide somewhere in space, causing a tremendous explosion,
which results in the beginning of our universe.
It would take a lot of faith to
actually believe that these things happened. These are the
kinds of explanations for life that the educational system has
championed and the news media continues to perpetuate as
factual. These ideas, as a matter of fact, are but hypotheses,
or educated guesses, which many intelligent, honest
evolutionists are beginning to question.
Dr. Charles Ryrie of Dallas
Theological Seminary writes, “Astronomers, with all their
sophisticated equipment, have failed to explain how the universe
could have evolved into this present form by natural processes
and why it is, in fact, running down, not expanding. Geologists
and paleontologists still fail to adequately explain how life
could have begun spontaneously, how the DNA code was formed, and
why all living creatures reproduce after their own kind.
Anthropologists still fail to bridge the gap that exists between
the lowest human and the highest animal.”
Where did creation begin? Why
are we here? Where are we going? Where are we going to place
our trust? Do we place our trust in the written Word of a
personal God who was there when creation occurred? Or do we
place our trust in the intellectual integrity of a fallen human
race to recreate for us the beginning of life, trusting that
they are able to make sense of the reason for life and death?
The entire evolutionary system
must be taken by faith. All the facts concerning the beginning
of the world point to the Bible's explanation of creation as
being accurate. The Bible says that God created living things
quickly and after their kind. This means that the Bible record
should show that life did not evolve over millions of years, but
came on the scene quickly. That is exactly what the real facts
show today.
The facts also show that the
living do reproduce after their kind. One species of plant or
animal does not develop into another kind. The Bible also
speaks of a worldwide flood. If that really happened, the
record would show millions of dead plants and animals trapped in
layers of rock around the world. That is exactly what the facts
reveal.
Dr. Ryrie continues, "The facts
really demonstrate that the earth did not evolve from chaos, out
of gas and dust, nor did it 'cool down' from a molten mass of
rock and metal. How long did it take lifeless chemicals under
ideal conditions to somehow evolve into a living organism?
Millions of years and outrageous guesses in probability can only
attempt to explain away any evolutionary problem, but if you
multiply zero creative power by 5 billion years or an infinite
amount of years, it will still equal zero results."
Ryrie also states, "While it is
true that by faith we Christians believe and trust the Biblical
account of creation, 'Through faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which
are seen were not made of the things which do appear.’ It is
also true that it is by faith that evolutionists believe that
the worlds were not framed by the word of any God, so that what
is seen has been made of preexisting and less complex, visible
things by purely natural processes through billions of years."
The theory of evolution is an
atheistic faith that attempts to explain creation apart from
God. In which system of creation will you place your faith –
Darwin’s or God’s?
"Where were you when I laid
the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have
understanding." (Job 38:4)
Sources
New American Standard Bible
Charles C. Ryrie
Josh McDowell
|
