As Christians, does it really make any difference what we believe about the first nine
chapters of Genesis? From a modern perspective, it all seems to be prehistoric myth.
Maybe
it's just a Jewish attempt to account for those years shrouded
in the mist of man's Neolithic brain. The creation accounts, the
Garden of Eden story, Noah's flood and such, fly in the face of
scientific findings. Are they are merely superimposed morality
plays on, or supposed explanations of, the mysteries of nature?Many Christians today either do not believe those accounts, or fit them to the latest science. They think they have pretty solid theological views about the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They believe in the Trinity, the virgin birth, the atoning sacrifice of Christ and justification by faith alone. They believe Jesus is coming again. They even go for the latest end-times rapture fads. They believe in a real heaven and sometimes they even believe in a real hell, but they just don't go for that old-time Genesis history. They don't have trouble with every word, just the ones that require faith.
For instance, no one wants to get rid of "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", even Carl Sagan-types. It has a cool ring to it. Everyone likes "and the
earth was formless and void". It's got that you-can-make-anything-you-want-of-it feel.
Another keeper: "Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our
likeness" and God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them." Billions of people believe in this in one form or another. The facts are hard to deny. There is an earth and the sky. There are males and females. This doesn't take much faith. The Biblical story could be interpreted pretty much any way you want to, except for all the other details given in Genesis.
If we have differences of opinion on say, just how long it took God to create the stuff
it says He created in six days, should we work these differences out? Is there a right
viewpoint and anyone who comes against it is divisive, or stupid? On my part, I think
there is a right viewpoint, and I don't think it will be found in the latest findings of
science.
I like science; don't get me wrong. But there's something sinister about all this
newfangled knowledge we've been getting lately, right at the time the church is becoming apostate. I don't trust science to tell me what the Bible is really saying. I trust God and the rest of the Scriptures.
So, if you're one of those test-tube thumpers who can't make heads nor tails of the
scriptures until you see it published in Science magazine or proven in a lab experiment, well, I say you're on very thin ice with God. But if you're like me, a believer that just doesn't have all the facts but are willing to believe what the Bible says, we're on common ground.
I once read a book by a Big Bang theologist by the name of Dr. Hugh Ross. It appears
that he is a spokesman for the modern trend of believing in a billions-of-years-old
universe with an earth and stars formed per the latest astronomic theories. He
stereotypes believers in a literal six-day creation as harsh and unloving. This loving
and tolerant man says that these "fundies" blow away many people from coming to Christ because of their intolerant attitude (or just plain stupidity). But as Mark Twain once said, "Science is so wonderful" one gets such wholesale return of conjecture from such little investment of fact. Mark Twain was as unimpressed with scientists as he was with preachers, but do you think Dr. Ross would side with him against scientists? Oh no, let's both go after the preacher of righteousness who bases his doctrine on Genesis.
NavPress (you know, the Navigators who have you memorize Scriptures), are all for the Big Bang theory and an old universe. They cannot deny science, can they? Science more than proves that the earth is old and any attempts argue against facts science are barbarian. They say, along with Dr. Ross and the other syncretic creationists, it is really sad to see Christians arguing over such things, bringing disunity to the body of Christ, when we could all get along if you would only agree with us. What seems to escape their attention is that once you start down the path of scrutinizing the Bible by the torchlight of modern thinking, both secular scientists and spiritual saints will laugh at you. Neither one of them goes for halfway measures.
Let's face the facts: None of us were here when it all started, including the writer of Genesis. Trying to explain away the account of Genesis by pretending that someone is standing on earth somewhere and getting things all mixed up, like when the sun and moon were created, only confuses matters more and argues against the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; as though God could be limiting his own viewpoint during creation. The vast words, "In the beginning God..." go beyond time and space, so why try to box something up that only God knows? True, as He creates, time and space become by stages (six days) what we know as reality.
Why would we think we can examine this creation with our blunt, finite minds and come up with a tenable theory as to how this all happened? But we do, so now, "In the beginning was the Dot, and the Dot blew up and made all this stuff by sheer accident... or, maybe an intelligent force was directing the particles... or, maybe there is another parallel universe...or...?
That is cutting-edge science!
Chris Simonson
We encourage you to email the author to prove or disprove, from the Scriptures, the intent, meaning, purpose or doctrine of this piece. email Chris