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CREDO 3 – CREATION: God Makes

This is our third study in a series titled CREDO –

CREDO = Latin for I BELIEVE.

Tonight our topic is CREATION: God Makes.

We are going to look at HOW God made the heavens and the earth. We could spend 20-30 hours on the subject  — but we are going to try get our arms and hearts around it in about 1 hour! (BY THE WAY — You guys have been stellar in the first two studies as we have been dealing with TREMENDOUS truths and TREMENDOUS volumes of information — and you guys have been digging in to all of it! Last week someone said they felt like they were in a college class and loving it! Which blesses me as I have been so excited in my study and preparation for it.)

So once again Metro — lets PRAY and ask God for the work of His Spirit to ILLUMINATE these amazing truths to these finite and flawed minds to end that He will be exalted and worshipped and adored as the creator of the universe.
QUESTION #1 — What does the Bible say about creation?

FIRST — The Bible is a THEOLOGICAL HISTORY rather than a SCIENTIFIC TEXT BOOK.

This does not mean that the Bible doesn’t speak about scientific matters. It does — and when it does it speaks with absolute accuracy in those matters.

Here is what I mean — The Bible as a whole — and opening pages of Genesis in particular — are not an exhaustive scientific text book addressing every possible scientific concern or question involving creation

Instead — the Scriptures in general — and Genesis 1-2 in particular — are far more concerned with the questions of

WHO made creation

WHAT did He create — the heavens and the earth and all that is in them

HOW He made them

WHY he made creation —

Than it is concerned with the question of WHEN did He create them?
The Bible — and in particular our subject matter tonight concerning Genesis 1-2 — is a theological narrative written to reveal the God of creation. The account emphasizes God, not creation.

QUOTE: Galileo — “the Holy Ghost intended to teach us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.”

The Bible opens with the words — “In the beginning God….” So it is a book about GOD and HIS WORK in the world throughout history.

As we dive in to the account of Creation we read “In the beginning God…..”

In our very first study in this series we learned about the Triune nature of God and we saw that each member of the Trinity was active in Creation.

We learned about the Targum Neofiti in which Jews in the 3^rd century BC saw Jesus in Genesis 1:1

Elsewhere the Scriptures declare to us that Jesus was involved in creation.

John 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Col. 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

We will also see in Genesis 1-2 God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit at work in Creation.

HERE is the OPENING verse of your Bible

¹In the beginning, God

Genesis 1:1 is absolutely amazing because it refutes all of man’s false speculations concerning the origin and meaning of the world

It refutes atheism — because the universe was created by God.

It refutes deism — Which says that God created and then removed Himself from all involvement in His creation

It refutes pantheism —  for God is separate from and transcendent to that which he created

It refutes polytheism — for one God created all things.

It refutes materialism — for matter had a beginning.

It refutes dualism (• the religious doctrine that the universe contains opposed powers of good and evil, esp. seen as balanced equals) — because God was alone when He created.

It refutes humanism — because God, not man is the ultimate reality.

It declares that God IS the ultimate reality.

(Morris, Henry. The Genesis Record Creation-Life Publishers Sand Diego, California)

CRUCIAL: The Bible is ABOUT God. History is ABOUT God. Life is ABOUT God.

We are now into our THIRD study and we haven’t even gotten to you and me. THAT is in total contrast to the course of this world in which man thinks that everything begins and ends with man (refutes humanism)  — And certainly — before coming to know Jesus — that was the way we viewed life — It was all about ME!

BUT — That is not what the Bible says. The Bible says first that GOD IS — (refutes atheism)
And then it says that GOD MAKES — and then it says that GOD MAKES US. God made us for relationship with Him — and apart from that we do not and can not understand ourselves or existence itself.

SO — FIRST we must know — who God is and about relationship with this God — because apart from that we can understand nothing about ourselves.

¹In the beginning,

rê’shı̂yth (ray-sheeth’) = the first, in place, time, order or rank

It is not about a defined or specified length of time — Rather it is a block of time which precedes an extended series of time periods.

It deals with the order or place that period of time occupies.

So in the beginning — over an indefinite period of time —

God created the heavens and the earth.

So — God is the CREATOR (refutes evolution)

CRUCIAL: Remember we said last week that God the Holy Spirit inspired not just ideas — but the very words of the Bible. So these words are very to our understanding of origins.

Created = bârâ’ (baw-raw’) means to create from nothing. It is different than the Hebrew word ‛âśâh (aw-saw’) translated as MAKE in verse 26

‛âśâh means to make out of existing materials.

Theologians call this “ex nihilo.” (eks ‘nē(h)əlō; ‘nī(h)əlō|)

ONLY God can create out of nothing. Man can only make things out of existing materials.

So —

In the beginning — the first, in place and time, the length of which is not specified

God created — made from nothing – “ex nihilo” (eks ‘nē(h)əlō; ‘nī(h)əlō|)

the heavens and the earth.

This is called a MERISM — A merism combines two words to express a single idea. A merism expresses ‘totality’ by combing two contrasts or two extremes”

EXAMPLE: In Psalm 139 the psalmist declares that God knows my downsitting and mine uprising. David is pointing to God’s knowledge of these two extremes — sitting down and rising up — to show that God knows everything about him. Since God knows David’s rising and sitting down, God must also know everything in between. Thus, “the concept of ‘everything’ is expressed by combining the two opposites ‘my sitting down’ and ‘my rising up’”

So God created from nothing the heavens = EVERTHING above — and He created the earth = everything below >>> the universe from nothing

QUOTE: The Genesis Record Morris p.38; 39 — “Thus, Genesis 1:1 can legitimately and incisively be paraphrased as follows: “The transcendent, omnipotent Godhead called into existence the space-mass-time universe.”

²The earth was without form

tôhû (to’-hoo) — It is used throughout the OT to speak of uninhabitable wilderness.

and void,

Jewish interpreters around the era 300-200 B.C. rendered tohu wabohu not as “formless and void” but as “desolate without human beings or beasts and void of all cultivation of plants and trees” Tohu wabohu conveys the idea of “uninhabitable wilderness” and not “formless and void chaos.”

So the earth is not viable to sustain human life at this point. God is not yet ready to create human life.

and darkness was over the face of the deep.

It is possible that the heavens and the earth were created before light.

Some think that God created at night. (The Jews marked their day from sundown to sundown. We will see the phrase The evening and the day)
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Here we see the Holy Spirit participating in creation —  preparing creation for human life.

QUOTE: If the universe is to be energized, the must be an Energizer. If it is to be set in motion, there must be a prime mover.” (Morris, Henry. The Genesis Record; Creation-Life Publishers Sand Diego, California; page 52)

So the Bible tells us about the BEGINNING of Creation.

It tells us that

God eternally exists

and that He created the heavens and the earth (everything above and everything below – all that is)

the land was not yet suitable for human existence — and so He prepares the earth to be a suitable habitat for mankind.

THAT is what the Bible says about ORIGINS.

That being said — we come to our next question

QUESTION 2 — What are the various Christian views on Creation.

In case you haven’t heard — there are differing opinions amongst Bible believing Christians on the subject of Creation.

Amongst those who believe that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” there are 6 basic views.
View #1 — Historic Creationism

This view holds that the earth is very old — older than human life. It holds that the earth was created at some point in eternity past and that over the course of 6 days He prepared the earth for human life and then as we will see in our next study that He created the man and the woman.

This view holds that the 6 days in Genesis 1-2 are literal. It says that the EARTH is old and that humanity is young.

It is called “Historic Creationism” — Because it traces back to Augustine.
View #2 — Young Earth Creationism

This view holds that God made EVERYTHING in 6 days INCLUDING the heavens and the earth. It holds that the earth did not exist for an indefinite period of time and then made the man and the woman and put them on the earth.

THEREFORE this position holds that the EARTH is very young and that human life is very young.

View #3 — The GAP Theory (a.k.a – ruin and reconstruction theory)

This view holds that the earth is very old and that there is a GAP between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2

Then, a catastrophic event — some postulate it to be the fall of Satan from heaven — left the earth in the destroyed condition of Genesis 1:2. God responded to this disaster by recreating the earth again a few thousand years ago in six literal days and repopulating the earth as is recorded in Genesis 1:3–27.

According to this view the earth is very old from the first creation and mankind is young because of the recent re-creation.

Those who disagree with this view do so on the grounds that nothing in the Bible speaks of two creations.

Those who hold to this view do so on the basis of Isaiah 45:18

¹⁸ For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):

empty = tôhû (to’-hoo)

They argue that it is inconsistent for God to create chaos

The earth that was without form and void in Genesis 1:2 was not                                        so originally

When Satan was a sinless cherub, the earth was perfect. When he was cast out of heaven to the earth the earth then became a wreck and VOID.

View #4 — The Literary Framework View

In this view they say that the EARTH is very old and that HUMANITY is very young.

According to this view Genesis 1–2 are to be viewed, NOT as literal 24 hour days — but as a poetic — or literary framework explaining creation in a topical, not sequential, order.

The Literary Framework View is outlined here:

Forming

Filling

The MOST OBVIOUS PROBLEM with this view — Exodus 20:8-11 clearly states that the six days of creation are literal — it ties our seven-day week with one day of Sabbath to the six days of God’s work in creation and his one day of rest.

IF Moses — the author of Genesis — wanted to convey the idea of long ages — he could have done it far more clearly than he did. Moses is the author of both Genesis and Exodus. He is very consistent when making reference to literal days of creation.

(Exo 20:8-11) ⁸“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

View # 5 — Day Age View

According to this view the EARTH is very old and HUMANITY is young. IN this view the days of creation are not to be taken as literal 24 hour days — but they are to be understood as AGES that conform to the geological ages postulated in the theory of evolution

Again — Moses in Exodus 20:8-11

NOTE: The geological ages are predicated on the fossil record. Fossils speak of suffering and death. THUS — The day-age theory would then accept the existence of death BEFORE sin. This contradicts the Bible which declares that death was God’s judgment upon sin (Romans 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21)

Following from that, the Day-Age theory assumes that suffering and death were an important part of preparing the world for man

Thus it pictures God as cruel and sadistic rather than gracious and loving.

View # 6 — Theistic Evolution

According to this view EVOLUTION is the correct view — only it is not the result of random occurrences taking place without the existence of God. Instead this view inserts God — as the creator of matter and overseer of the evolutionary process. This view also believes that species evolved over a long period of time, which requires an old earth.

PROBLEMS with this view

First — Genesis 1 repeatedly states that creation along with all of the species of life came into existence because “God said,” — not because of evolutionary processes. Genesis 1 also continually states that after God commanded creation to come into existence, “it was so” — thus, God’s commands brought about the instantaneous response of creation rather than a long evolutionary process detached from God.

Second — Evolution teaches that one species evolves into other species while Genesis 1 says that each species had offspring “according to its kind” (1:21, 1:24, 1:25) — NOT another kind — as the theory of evolution postulates.

Third — The rest of Scripture tells us that God is continually involved in the details of creation

including making the grass grow (Ps. 104:14; Matt. 6:30)

feeding the birds (Matt. 6:26)

feeding other creatures (Ps. 104:21, 25–30).

Scripture does not describe God as remote or only indirectly involved in creation.

QUESTION #3 — Which position does Metro take?

PREFACE: I am ALWAYS up for a lively discussion. Truth be told — I have been known to get heated in them! And truth be told — I HATE to lose a debate.

But we MUST be clear that there is a HUGE difference between debates WITHIN Christian theology and debates that are not Christian. Godly — Bible-believing — Jesus-loving people can and should graciously debate and discuss what Genesis 1 and 2 mean WITHOUT viewing one another as pagans if they don’t agree with their personal view. PLEASE KNOW — There is an enormous difference between discussing what the Bible says and ignoring it altogether. As we have just set forth —  Among Bible-believing — Jesus-loving Christians — there are 6 primary interpretations of the creation account in Genesis 1–2.

One guy uses this illustration that I find helpful. I will use it specifically as it relates to the subject of Creation.
Here at Metro there are things that we hold in a CLOSED HAND —while there are other things we hold in an OPEN HAND.

We are NEVER going to let go of what is in the CLOSED HAND. In that closed hand are for example— the Doctrines covered in our first CREDO studies

There is One God who eternally exists as three persons , Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Each fully and equally God. That is in the CLOSED HAND — NEVER letting that Go.

The Bible is true (the revelation of God to man – God breathed in its very words. That is in the CLOSED HAND — NEVER letting that Go.

There is One God who CREATED the heavens and the earth. THAT is in the closed hand — NEVER letting it go

There are some things that do not belong in the CLOSED HAND — they belong in the OPEN HAND — because they can be relinquished WITHOUT compromising anything in the closed hand.

In the OPEN HAND are things like “How old is the earth?”

We can DISCUSS those things and DEBATE those things in the OPEN HAND — but we will not divide on account of them!

One of the WORST things that can happen is for Christians who love Jesus and believe the Bible to take one of the six positions and make it their position — and say that if you don’t agree with their position, or have questions or doubts concerning their position, you are not truly a Christian.

I want to stress that Jesus-loving, Bible believing Christian brothers and sisters are welcome to fellowship with us here at Metro even if you do not hold to the position(s) we hold on this subject. Our only request is that you would not become divisive over this matter or seek to make your view the litmus test for Christian orthodoxy. REMEMBER — Paul says, we now see only in part and one day in Jesus’ presence we will know in full and be in complete agreement on this and all other matters.

Having said that — The answer is

NOT 4-5-6

I can safely say that the men in leadership here at Metro hold to 1-3 with a heavy leaning towards 1-2.

QUESTION #4 — What Does Creation reveal about God?

We have looked at the various views of what the Bible says — But here is the most important thing.

The Bible declares that IN THE BEGINNING GOD….

Psalm 19 — states that the heavens declare the glory of God and that ALL that God has made is like a sermon that day and night pours forth speech about the character of God.
Romans 1 — Paul says that the physical universe declares truth about the invisible nature and attributes of God (General Revelation)

1.) God is eternally UNCAUSED and PRE-EXISTS Creation.

2.) God is LIVING and LIFE comes from God.

3.) God is INDEPENDENT while creation is DEPENDENT upon Him.

4.) God is TRANSCENDANT from his creation

5.) God is IMMINENT and INVOLVED in His creation.

6.) God is PERSONAL and as He has made us (which is the subject of our next study) we have PERSONHOOD. We are not THINGS — We are people.

7.) God is POWERFUL and made EVERYTHING from NOTHING by Himself.

8.) God is BEAUTIFUL and creation reflects the beauty of God.

9.) God is ORDERLY and His creation reflects His order UNTIL sin enters in and mars everything that He made in an orderly fashion.

10.) God is GOOD — Everything that He made he declares as good. HE is not good AND evil — He is purely and perfectly good.

11.) God speaks (10 x in Genesis 1 “God said”) — God preaches His creation into existence by the shear force of His Word!

12.) God is good and everything that He makes is ORIGINALLY Good. (We will deal with the subject of sin two studies down the road.)

13.) God is GRACIOUS — He BLESSES His creation.

ALL of this is revealed in the creation account
QUESTION #5 — Are the 6 days of Creation literal 24 hour days?

Christians fight over this one like crazy!

As we read the creation account (Genesis 1:1-2:3) we do NOT see God CREATING on EACH of the 6 successive days — We do see him WORKING in ALL of them to PREPARE and ORDER life for human life on the earth.

Day 1 — v.3-5

God separated light from darkness and night

“Let there be light” — by the power of His Word He set electromagnetic forces into operation and completed the energizing of the physical universe

Day 2 — v.6-8

God separated the existing water by creating an expanse — the atmosphere between earth and outer space — Waters above the atmosphere and the waters below the atmosphere

God’s prepares the earth for habitation by man by a carefully designed atmosphere and hydrosphere
Day 3 — v.9-13

The waters under the firmament still constituted a shore less ocean.

On the 3rd day God prepared the land for human habitation by separating the waters on the earth (rivers lakes oceans)

God and then organized certain of the chemical elements of the earth into tremendously complex systems (plant life) — with an incredibly complex informational structure (DNA) that could replicate after it’s own kind

Day 4 — v.14-19

God creates the celestial sphere of stars planets and moons — serving the same purpose as the light of Day 1 — to divide day from night — with the added function of denoting time — seasons, days and years.

Day 5 — v.20-23

The first introduction of animal life — animal life in the hydrosphere and animal life for the lower atmosphere

Day 6 — v.24-31

God separated between wild and domesticated animals. Having fully prepared the earth for habitation of man God creates man.

Day 7 — God rested
THE question is — were these literal days — 24 hour periods?

There are those who would say NO — that it is poetry and as such can not be taken literally.

Well — There is poetry that is LITERAL and there is poetry that is figurative.

There are those who say NO — do so because they Hebrew word translated as “day” — YOM” — does not refer to a definite period of time. Which is true.

I do believe that they are literal days because

It says — On the first day — On the Second day — on the Third day. THAT looks like days to me.

It says that there was Evening and Morning — That describes a day!

In Exodus 20:11 we read this in the ten commandments

¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The 10 commandments declare that God worked on SIX DAYS and then on the SEVENTH DAY He rested. And THAT establishes a SEVEN DAY WEEK for God’s people — SIX days of work and then a SABBATH day for rest.

THAT is why we have a SEVEN DAY WEEK!

You might say — We have a FIVE DAY work week. That’s because when our country was founded they couldn’t decide between the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday or the Christian Sabbath of Sunday (commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus) so they gave us BOTH.

ALL of that argues BIBLICALLY that these are literal 24 hour days.

QUESTION #6 — How old is the earth?

There are those who immediately say — “I know”

REALITY — The earth — unlike a can of Budweiser — did not come with a “born on” date!

There are those who hold to an OLD earth — and those who hold to a YOUNG earth. YOUNG — About 6,000 years — OLD — About 4.5 billion years — HUGE difference!

Those who hold to a YOUNG EARTH say they are trying to be true to the Bible. They follow the original work of a guy named James Ussher (1581–1656) Anglican Archbishop of all Ireland between 1625–1656.

He noticed in Genesis 5; 10; and 11 geneologies — each giving how long the people lived. So by way of geneologies he arrived at an age of the earth of about 6,000 years.

INTERESTING — Christians weren’t too interested in the age of the earth until the 17^th century — which is around the time scientists started trying to ascertain the age of the earth

There are those who hold to a young earth view because they disagree with the science. Examples — Dr. Henry Morris (Genesis Record); Dr. Gish (Evolution: The Fossils Say Know); Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith (Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution)

They say that the flood Genesis has so compressed the topography of the earth that it LOOKS very old.

They would also say that God made the earth MATURE — They look at Adam and say that God made man fully mature. On the first day he was made you would have looked at Adam and asked — How old are you? One day! WOW! You’re big for one day old.

Those who hold to an OLD EARTH say that Christians look funny when we say “we don’t believe science.”

They would also say that the Genealogies of the Bible were incomplete. Benjamin Warfield who was a Bible believing Christian scholar at Princeton said that he believed the genealogies were incomplete.

He held that they were lists of PRIMARY people through PARTICULAR generations.

Also — Those who hold to an OLD earth would say that in Genesis 1:1 — where it says that In the beginning God created   — that beginning is an indefinite period of time. They would say that it does not tell us the AGE of the earth and that the Bible is not concerned with the age of the earth. It is concerned about God the Creator and what He did to CREATE and then PREPARE the earth as a habitation for us.

Whether you think the earth is OLD or the earth is young is NOT the PRIMARY issue —

The primary issue is how old is human life on the earth!

I believe that the 6 days of Genesis 1:3-2:3 are literal and that mankind is YOUNG.

BY THE WAY — And I don’t say this to acquiesce with, or gain intellectual integrity with the atheistic evolutionists — But even atheistic evolutionists see man as YOUNG in an OLD earth. In fact, within the “scientific” community there has been a rapidly-descending “estimated age of the human race”, which starts at 10 million years in the late 1950s, and decreases to 43,000 in the mid 1990s. (Which, by the way, says something about the fluid state of scientific “fact”!)

Whether or not the earth is young or old — I’m not sure. You can hold to either and still be Biblical.
As for the 6 days of Genesis — I believe that they are LITERAL — And as we look in our next study at the creation of Adam and Eve I believe that that happened 6-7K years ago. We will see that human life comes from God.
QUESTION #7 — Where did creation come from?

Theologians use the term Ex Nihilo — Latin = From Nothing.

When my son Nathan was little — When God made the world where did He get all the stuff?

The Biblical answer is — He made it from nothing —  In the beginning God created — Barah — to make something from nothing.

We ask — HOW can you DO THAT? Well — you have to be God to do it? ONLY God can make something from nothing. We can Asah — make something FROM something (take wood and build furniture). We don’t SPEAK it into existence.

But this is exactly what is declared in Hebrews 3:11 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

QUESTION #8 — What are the problems with atheistic evolution?

You can see how we are talking a HUGE amount of information in a 60+ minute period of time.

CRUCIAL: By EVOLUTION we do not mean MICRO-evolution — evolution within a species. This is the ability of a SPECIES to genetically adapt itself to a particular environment. A reptile will adapt genetically to it’s environment — It will reproduce after it’s own kind but with necessary genetic adaptations for survival in a specific environment. We do accept MICRO-evolution. What we reject is MACRO-evolution — which says that one species evolves into an all together different species — that the reptile will evolve into a bird.

In school you were told that Charles Darwin spoke of this in his book ”The Origin of the Species.”

Did you know the FULL title of his book?

The full title of Darwin’s book (1859) is — The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection; or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. The underlying argument was that whites had out-evolved blacks and were superior. So the atheistic evolutionists are uncomfortable with and changed the title to hold on to their evolutionary position without the embarrassment of being called racists.

In our next study we will see that we all descend from Adam and that all races descend from the same father — thus there should be no racism.

Let’s look at the PROBLEMS associated with atheistic evolution.

PREFACE — As Christians we do not reject science — but we do reject Naturalism. Naturalism claims that

There is NO God. Nature is all that there is. The world is closed system. Everything is explained in terms of nature.

We reject Naturalism. Apart from a Christian world view you don’t even have the ability to do science BECAUSE without a Creator you can not have an orderly universe enabling man to use empirical science. ALL of that PRESUMES design.

PROBLEM #1 — Atheistic Evolution postulates that NOTHING made EVERYTHING.

THAT is the assumption of atheistic evolution. We understand this to be true in EVERYTHING we see. You walk into the den and see a bunch of empty snack wrappers and glasses with a bit of left over milk and you ask the reasonable question — Where did this mess come from? I don’t know — It just came from nothing!

Everything in your house — the car you drive — the stores you shop in. They ALL carry the assumption that they were made by someone. And the MORE COMPLICATED the thing is — the MORE INTELLIGENT we assume the designer to be! You see a lego building and you assume a child put it together. You see a skyscraper and you assume an architect designed it.

PROBLEM #2 — Atheistic Evolution postulates that Order came from Chaos

Explosions do not create order — they create chaos.

PROBLEM #3 — Atheistic Evolution postulates that there is NO designer behind things whose existence DEMANDS DESIGN.

The FINE TUNING argument is used by renowned physicist like Hugh Ross and biochemist Michael Behe that life on the earth — and the conditions for life on the earth are very finely tuned — that our bodies are finely tuned in an environment suitable for human life — and that if any of the variables for life were changed in the smallest of degrees — human life would be impossible. TO assume that such a finely tuned universe has no designer is antithetical to ALL logic and reason.

QUOTE: Who Made God p.58-59

“In the various fields of physics and astrophysics, classical cosmology, quantum mechanics, and biochemistry, discoveries have repeatedly disclosed that the existence of life depends on a delicate balance of physical constants and quantities. If these were to be slightly altered, the balance would be destroyed and life would not exist. Indeed, in many cases, not even stars and planets, not even chemistry, not even atomic matter itself, would exist, much less biological life. In fact, the universe appears to have been incomprehensibly fine-tuned from the moment of its inception to permit the existence of intelligent life.

For example, changes in the gravitational force or the electromagnetic force by only one part in 10 would have precluded the existence of stars like our sun, making life impossible. A decrease or increase in the speed of the expansion by only one part in a million million when the temperature of the universe was 10 degrees would have either resulted in the universe’s re-collapse long ago into a hot fireball or precluded galaxies from ever condensing, in both cases making life impossible. The so called cosmological constant, crucial to the development of our universe, must be inexplicably fine tuned to an accuracy of one part in 10 in order for a life-permitting universe to exist. These are just some of the many constants and quantities that must be fine-tuned if the universe is to be life-permitting.

And it’s not just each quantity that must be fine-tuned, but their ratios to one another must also be finely tuned. Thus, the situation is not merely like all the roulette wheels in Monte Carlo turning up with a certain set of numbers; it is more like all the roulette wheels in Monte Carlo turning up with a certain set of numbers—and those numbers also having to stand in certain ratios to each other. For example, the number on one wheel must be seven times the number on another wheel and one-third the number on another wheel. It is overwhelmingly improbable that a life-permitting universe should exist.”
PROBLEM #4 — Atheistic Evolution postulates that IMPERSONAL matter created PERSONAL humanity.

Our existence is MORE than just a brain (a biological organ). We have a MIND. We can THINK and REASON. How does that which is unconscious create consciousness?

PROBLEM #5 — Atheistic Evolution postulates that the UniNtelligent created that which is INTELLIGENT.

How can MATTER — which does not think — create life that does? More on that in our next study.

PROBLEM #6 — The ABSENCE of TRANSITIONAL fossils

The evolutionist explains the evolution of complicated, intelligent, personal life, from inorganic matter, by way of HUGE periods of time.

But if the process of evolution from GOO to YOU took billions and billions of years — the fossil record would include an inexhaustible record of TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS — fossils of long dead species that showed with unquestionable clarity what the transitional form between 2 species looked like. The fossil record is so VOID of such fossil forms that one guy came up with the “Hopeful Monster” theory. A reptile laid an egg an out came a bird!

PROBLEM #7 — No one has ever OBSERVED MACRO evolution

PROBLEM #8 — They assume that eternality of matter

2^nd Law of Thermodynamics says that the earth and the Universe are winding down to a conclusion.

QUOTE: Who Made God p. 25-26

PROBLEM #9 — The inescapable hopelessness and despair of Evolution

They say we come from no One and exist for no cause and when we die we go nowhere — and from that we are find a meaningful and purposeful life!

If you came from nowhere and you are going no where and you are here for no reason — and life is SHORT and NASTY — WHERE is the hope? What is the POINT?

QUOTE: Richard Dawkins — When Richard Dawkins was asked if his reductionist view of reality made him depressed, Dawkins replied, “I don’t feel depressed about it. But if somebody does, that’s there problem. Maybe the logic is deeply pessimistic; the universe is bleak, cold and empty. But so what?

PROBLEM #10 — It is bad science used to support biased opinions.

They FORCE science to fit a philosophical bias.

QUOTE: Dr. George Wald Professor of Biology @ Harvard University (Nobel Prize in field of Biology 1971) — One would think this is an objective man dealing withobjective scientific facts.

Scientific American, August, 1954 — ”When it comes to the origin of life, we have only two possibilities as to how life arose. (we agree with him on this) One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility…Spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved one hundred years ago by Louis Pasteur, Spellanzani, Reddy and others. That leads us scientifically to only one possible conclusion — that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God… (he keeps going — should have stopped there) I will not accept that philosophically (notice he said “philosophically — he didn’t say scientifically) because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation arising to evolution.”

He didn’t say — There is no God — He just said — I don’t want to believe in Him.

THAT is not conducive to drawing objective conclusions from indisputable facts!

When you say — I KNOW that God created the heavens and the earth the atheist will say you are basing your position on religious bias. REALITY — You are agreeing with the same scientific conclusion as a Nobel Scientist — Only you are doing what Wald WOULD not do — That is — YOU are submitting to objective fact and truth.

LAST QUESTION ( before your questions) — What is my alternative if I do not believe in Creation

Some might ask — WHY does any of this really matter. ANSWER —The question of ORIGINS is HUGE because where you come from determines where you are going and why you are here!

Paul says there are only TWO alternatives

Romans 1:18-31

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

WHAT does is this “suppression of the truth?” We just saw that in Dr. Wald. “I know what the truth is but I don’t like it — It is an act of faith AGAINST God.”
⁹For what can be known about God is plain to them,

Well — How did He do that?

because God has shown it to them. ²⁰For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

When we see the creation we can learn something about the creator (REMEMBER — General Revelation)

²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because

Here we come to the ALTERNATIVES

they exchanged the truth about God

THE truth = He is creator

for a lie

In the greek it’s THE lie — they exchanged THE truth for THE lie. There is ONE truth and ONE lie.

and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

WHAT HAPPENS when you do not worship CREATOR God, and instead worship CREATION as god?

You worship created things — Animals / environment. Ultimately you worship the human body because it is the apex of His creation!

WE WERE CREATED to be WORSHIPPERS. The question is NEVER “WILL we worship?” The question is always —

WHAT will we worship — To WHOM will we worship — pour our selves out — give ourselves?

HOW will we worship — pour ourselves out — give ourselves!

If we do not worship Creator God — We WILL worship our minds, our bodies, our emotions, our experiences, our possessions.

Sexual perversion is the result of rejecting the creator of the body!

²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. ²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

They make bumper stickers and have parades!

WHAT is the ALTERNATIVE to Creationism?

CRUCIAL: It is NOT the absence of spirituality — It is PAGANISM!

There is THE truth and there is THE lie!

QUOTE: Peter Jones — ONE-ism and TWO-ism

ONE-ism is THE lie. Satan comes to Adam and Eve and says — You don’t need God — YOU can be god!

Oneism says that ALL reality exists in one big circle — there is no distinction between creator and creation. This is the root of pantheism and panentheism. It eliminates distinctions.

The GOAL of One-ism is to do away with all distinctions! No God — just everything. THAT is why in Genesis 1-2 there are distinctions throughout. The Creator Himself remains separate and distinct from His creation. He distinguishes light from darkness – day from night. He divides the waters above from those below. He separates the sea from the land. He draws specific habitats. He engineers life to reproduce after its kind. God even creates humanity with distinction – male and female.
They work to have no distinction between mankind as the image bearers of God and the rest of creation (radical environmentalists — A tree has as much a right to live as a family — so they will burn down their homes — insist that scientific research on animals or plants aimed at saving human life are immoral) .

They work to have no distinction between right or wrong. There is no God outside of the circle Who says “That is wrong.” That drives post-modernism. There is no truth and error. There is no darkness and light. There is no truth and lies. It is all about perspective and ideology and culture.

QUOTE: Charles Manson — “If all is one, what is bad?”

They work to have no distinction between genders. Hence feminist agenda — the gay-lesbian-transgender-bisexual lifestyles.

They work to have no distinction between religions. So they have to do away with Jesus because He keeps saying that He is God! Let’s let Jesus be a nice guy/ good teacher — but NOT Jesus Who is God, the Savior. We need ONE religion. (Oprah and Friends)

They work to have no distinction between God and angels and Satan and demons. There is just spirituality! (Oprah – The Golden Compass)

They work to have no distinction in regards Divinity. We don’t have to look outside of ourselves for the divine. We look within to find the spark of the divine. My hope is not in God — My hope is in ME because I AM god!

QUOTE: Dali Lama — “The world use to believe there are two. We now know there is one.”

OTHER EXAMPLES:

Star Wars — Everything is connected to The Force which permeated all of the universe. The goal was not to know God but to be connected to The Force.

The Lion King — The award winning song “The Circle of Life.”

Man — trees — animals — ALL are IN the Circle of life. There is nothing outside of the Circle — no Creator — no Redeemer — no Savior — no Judge. No one is coming in to save us — fix us. It is ALL contained in the Circle of Life.

THIS is the lie behind the Native American drum circle — The way witches gather in a CIRCLE.

THE ALTERNATIVE IS Two-ism

THIS is the FOUNDATION for Biblical living. THIS is how we process reality! If you miss this you will not THINK as a Christian. You will think as a PAGAN. You will still be spiritual. You might still be religious. You might try to be moral. But you will NOT know the God of the Bible.

TWO-ism is the distinction between God and His creation.

THAT is the FIRST distinction!

How does the Bible begin? In the beginning God created.

We see as the FIRST declaration of the Bible that there are TWO things.

God and creation. God is eternal — creation has a beginning. God is INDEPENDENT — Creation is DEPENDENT upon God. TWO – not one.

DO you know that God made YOU?

You are NOT the result of an atheistic random process. You are made by a personal God.

DO you know that THAT God has a NAME — Jesus?

DO you know that THAT God saw that you and I sinned — that our first parents bought THE lie?

Yet He LOVED us and CAME for us. He did it SO HUMBLY by taking upon Himself our HUMANITY. Yet as a man he lived a sinless life. He NEVER EXCHANGED THE truth for THE lie. He went to the Cross where He suffered and died to PAY for your sins. Did you know that ONEism says there is no one outside of the circle? There is no one who cares — no one to save us!

If everything is the circle you have to say that NOTHING is evil! Murder and Rape are in the circle so they can’t be wrong.

Apart from THE TWO we are on our own! That makes every humanitarian cause a big joke! They are essentially a form of self-medication in the face of a belief system that says we’ve come from nothing and we are going to nowhere!

THAT is NOT reality. We come from the loving Trinitarian God of the Bible. We will see that we are made in His image and likeness. YES — we are to humbly exercise dominion over this planet that He prepared for US! But if we are driving down the road and we see in the middle of the road ahead of us a baby and a bird in cage and plant in a pot — we KNOW which one we are to try at all costs to miss. We see a distinction between the plant and the animal and the image bearer of God.

God the Creator entered into HISTORY because He KNOWS we have exchanged THE truth for THE lie.

He came to DIE in YOUR place — We want you to KNOW Him.

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We were CREATED to worship Him. Jesus died on the Cross in order to REDEEMED us back to Himself — make a way for us to Worship Him.

CHRISTIANS — Please use this study and please use the reference materials you will find attached to this study at metrocalvary.org to lovingly — and humbly and prayerfully share with those who do not love Jesus and do not believe the Bible. Love them well and respect them when sharing with them or answering their questions/challenges.

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

What are we to make of the TWO accounts of creation in Genesis?

There is one account of creation in Gen. 1 and there is another in Gen. 2

One of the reasons the western world has a hard time with the Bible is that we are accustomed to the way the west tells a story. We in the West are used to BEGINNING and then MIDDLE and then END.

Then we run into Gen 1 and Gen 2 where we find CREATION and then CREATION again. WHY is that? Because the Eastern way of telling a story is BEGINNING — MIDDLE — BEGINNING.

Look at your Bible.

Gen. 1-2 — Creation.

Revelation 21-22 — New Creation

Gen 3 — Judgment

Revelation 19-20 — Judgment

The Bible begins with God MAKING — Sin happening — Him judging sin. THEN it goes full circle to where He judges sin and then makes a new heaven and new earth.

EXAMPLE: Song of Solomon — Begins with her as a young girl. Ends with her as young girl. In the MIDDLE it talks of her courtship and marriage and life.

EXAMPLE: Judges is one big long run around a cul-de-sac.

Gen 1-2 gives the account of creation.

Genesis 1 is more cosmic and global —preparing the earth for man.

Genesis 2 — While revisiting some of the events of the first chapter makes the creation of man and woman the focus. We find the man alone — God bring the woman to the man — The first wedding — The first look of man at woman — The first speech of man.

How does Theistic Evolution undermine the idea that God created man in His image?

We will deal with this in great detail in our next OPEN.

But I will say this — Evolution says that over a long period of time man came into being — with consciousness and a mind and will and emotions. The Bible says in Gen 1:26-28 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Very PERSONAL relationship! Genesis teaches that we did NOT come into existence by evolutionary process — chance or happenstance.

AMAZING — God SPEAKS everything into existence EXCEPT for the creation of Adam and Eve. With them He gets His hands dirty — if-you-would. (more on this next OPEN)

The Psalmist says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

By contrast — Theistic evolution makes man the result of impersonal processes — driven by God — but none-the-less detached and impersonal.

I think it ROBS God of His glory and diminishes the relational nature God with man.

How do we teach creation our children?

Jesus used TEACHABLE moments (Chuck on Mt. of Beatitudes)

The sun — the breeze — the stars: Let’s stop and thank God for it.

Zoo — God gave giraffes long necks to get the leaves from the TOP of the tree.

If the earth is 4.5 billion years old, what was going on until it was prepared for mankind?

REMEMBER — ¹In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ²The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

2 views

1.) GAP theory — There was a first creation that was wiped out — and then came a second creation.

Under that some think there was human and animal life that was wiped out.

PROBLEM — death is recorded before sin is recorded.

2.) The Bible doesn’t TELL us what was happening. Remember — Not a scientific text book but a THEOLOGICAL account of creation. That account sets the creation of man as the apex of God’s creation. Therefore it’s focus is NOT upon the AGE of the earth. It focuses primarily on Adam and Eve — and then speaks of the Fall of man and God’s promise to redeem mankind. Genesis then shifts fairly quickly on to the life of a man named Abram and God’s covenant with him pointing to the coming of the redeemer.

IF the earth is old — and IF something was happening it did not involve man.
Should we engage in debate with the atheistic evolutionist?

The Scriptures tell us that we are to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, MIND and strength.

We WORSHIP God when we study God’s WORD and study God’s WORLD. As you go into God’s WORLD you are to study it and understand it in light of God’s WORD!

EVERY believer is to be a MISSIONARY. We should be in ALL areas of culture bringing the love and truth of Jesus into every aspect of culture. Politics — Social Work — Arts — Applied Science (engineering/computer science) — the Sciences (chemistry / medicine). Those become the place where you WORSHIP God the Creator.

1 Cor 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

EXAMPLE: Isaac Newton —

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA — In optics, his discovery of the composition of white light integrated the phenomena of colours into the science of light and laid the foundation for modern physical optics. In mechanics, his three laws of motion, the basic principles of modern physics, resulted in the formulation of the law of universal gravitation. In mathematics, he was the original discoverer of the infinitesimal calculus. Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), 1687, was one of the most important single works in the history of modern science.

Newton once said, “He must be blind… mad and senseless who refuses to acknowledge the Almighty Creator.”

In his home, Newton had built a replica of the solar system. He sized the planets and set

their distance to the sun according to scale. Isaac’s model had cranks, cogs, and belts – the planets moved in their orbits. One day an atheistic friend asked him, “Who made this brilliant replica?” Newton’s reply was abrupt, “Nobody.” The scientist laughed, “You didn’t hear me… Who built this amazing model?” Newton snapped back, “Nobody!” The visitor was offended, “Do you think I’m a fool?” Newton explained, “My solar system is a puny imitation of a grander system. If I can’t convince you this toy is without designer and maker, how can you believe the great original came into being without a designer or maker? What kind of reasoning draws such an absurd conclusion?”

Men like that can witness in the scientific realm —

Because we BELIEVE the Bible we want to ENGAGE the World.
What do we tell our biology teachers when they try to convince us that evolution is true?

FIRST  — Do your homework. By presenting an intelligent position for creation you will break down a lot of presuppositions about Christians.

They think that an Intelligent Christian is just like Grape Nuts —There’s no grapes and no nuts.

THEN — Ask questions to force them to defend their position (lovingly and graciously — not contentiously)

THEN — having done your homework you can build your position starting from their world and working towards yours — in that way you are not using the Scriptures as a battering ram to beat them up.

The Bible never speaks of the creation of angels. How did they come into existence?

We know a lot about the existence of angels — the ministry of angels — and the fall of some angels — But the Bible is SILENT on their creation! But they are created beings and we find those angels that remained loyal to God involved in the worship of God.
What about Dinosaurs? Where do they intersect the History of the Bible.

Those who want to find dinosaurs in the Bible go to Job and this creature named Leviathan. Those who want to explain their disappearance say that they perished in the flood. We don’t know because the Bible is silent.

Again — The Bible does not try to explain everything. It is very specific and very focused in it’s content. The Bible focuses in on God and His interaction with mankind and those people and histories involved in His plan of Redemption.

SO it doesn’t speak about dinosaurs because Jesus Christ did not come as a dinosaur. Jesus didn’t come to die on a cross to redeem dinosaurs. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead to invite all dinosaurs to live with Him forever.

THAT is why they aren’t center stage in the Bible’s account of God dealing with the problem of sin.

What does 2 Peter 3:5-7 suggests about the creation of the world? Does it speak of the earth’s destruction at the time of the fall — of Satan and Noah?

⁵For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

The passage is dealing about a COMING and ULTIMATE day of judgment — that will include Satan and the demons. It says that the world got a taste of that back in the days of Noah.

The passage does agree with the Genesis account of creation.

The BIG point of the passage is that SOME escaped judgment in the day of Noah and many did not — and that SOME will escape the final judgment and many will not.

FOLLOWING from that  — HOW/WHY did Noah escape judgment  and how will some escape this future judgment?

WHY did Noah escape?

Genesis 6:5-8 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Many think that in the days of Noah there were GOOD guys and BAD guys. You can tell the bad guys because they the ones who were swimming — and the good guys were the guys in the boat.

The moral of the story is “Be a good guy and when the final judgment comes Jesus will be like a boat and he will get you through the judgment.

THAT is not what the Bible says — it says — for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

It is AFTER Noah experienced the grace of God that we read in chapter says that he was a righteous man. To prove Noah’s need for grace just look at the end of the story. He no sooner gets off the ark and we find him passed out drunk and naked.

The BIG point of the story is that EVERYONE DESERVES judgment and EVERYONE deserves to perish but God gives GRACE and because of that we are made righteous.

How does DEISM compare to Biblical creation.

Deism says that God made the world and left it. The world now is a closed system run by natural laws — and in such ruling out the supernatural and the miraculous. Jefferson went through the New Testament and literally CUT OUT all of the miracles (The Philosophy of Christ.)

The Bible gives a completely OPPOSITE few. The Bible says that there is not a bird that falls from sky that God doesn’t know about. The Bible says that God knows the number of hairs on your head. God causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The Deist says that God created and then abdicated His creation to nature.

Because God is removed from Creation and there is no supernatural they conclude that Jesus is NOT God incarnate and could not be born of a virgin — nor performed miracles — and there was no resurrection.

So the Bible says that God not only created — But He is graciously and intimately involved with His creation. He can and does over rule the physical laws of the universe because He is the Creator of them.

In that world view the supernatural and miracles are IMPOSSIBLE. IN that world view prayer is foolish because God is NOT personal and He is NOT involved and doesn’t care.

Deism has lost it’s prominence and has been replaced by pantheism and panentheism.
Does the Bible say WHY God created us and the earth?

The Bible tells us that we were made to glorify God — and THAT is all.

Paul said in Ephesians that we are to be to the praise of His glory.

As for the earth — It has been given to us to enjoy and be stewards over.

God does not NEED us — But He LOVES us! Isn’t that amazing!?

FOSSILS and EVOLUTION

Evolution occurred via Mutations. We understand that mutations are as a rule NOT favorable. Therefore the time required to have enough favorable mutations to transition from one species to another is begging the existence of countless failed mutations and countless successful ones. There are NONE.

QUOTE: Evolution: The Fossils Say No pg. 135 and 185

Who Made God?

QUOTE: Who Made God p.23; 25
EX NIHILO

SINGULARITY — QUOTE: Who Made God p. 54-55

“Then in 1929 an alarming thing happened. A scientist named Edwin Hubble discovered that the light from distant galaxies appears to be redder than it should be. The startling conclusion to which Hubble was led is that the light is redder because the universe is growing apart—it is expanding!

Therefore, the light from the galaxies is affected, since they are moving away from us.

This is the interesting part: Hubble not only showed that the universe is expanding but that it is expanding the same in all directions. To get a picture of this, imagine a balloon with buttons glued on it. As you blow up the balloon, the buttons get farther and farther apart, even though they are stuck in place. These buttons are just like the galaxies in space. As space itself expands, all the galaxies in the universe grow farther and farther apart.”

The staggering implication is that, as we go back in time, everything was closer and closer together. Ultimately, at some point in the finite past, the entire known universe was contracted down to a mathematical point, which scientists call the “singularity,” from which it has been expanding ever since. The farther back one goes in the past, the denser the universe becomes, so that one finally reaches a point of infinite density from which the universe began to expand. This initial event has come to be known as the “Big Bang.”

This event that makes the beginning of the univers3e becomes all the more amazing when one reflects on the fact that nothing existed before it. Nothing existed prior to the singularity, for it is the edge of physical space and time. It therefore represents the origin, not only of all matter and energy, but also of physical space and time themselves. Physicists John Barrow and Frank Tipler observe, “At this singularity, space and time came into existence; literally nothing existed before the singularity, so, if the Universe originated at such a singularity, we would truly have a creation out of nothing.” Such a conclusion is profoundly disturbing for anyone who ponders it.
For Further Study

For those wanting to study the issue of creation further, the following lengthy list of resources is intended to help guide your studies. By listing these resources I am not endorsing every single one but rather offering them as a breadth of perspectives that I have personally studied in an effort to come to my own conclusions about creation.

Detailed Studies of Genesis 1–2

Blocher, Henri. In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984. Sailhamer, John. Genesis Unbound: A Proactive New Look at the Creation Account. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 1996.

Commentaries on Genesis

Waltke, Bruce K. Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. Sailhamer, John H. “Genesis.” In Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Vol. 2 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990. Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Brueggemann, Walter. Genesis. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. Ross, Allen P. Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997. Calvin, John. Genesis. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001. Moyers, Bill. Genesis: A Living Conversation. New York: Broadway Books, 2002.

Books Debating Views of Creation

Hagopian, David G., ed. The Genesis Debate: Three Views on the Days of Creation. Mission Viejo, CA: Crux Press, 2001. Moreland, J. P., and John Mark Reynolds, eds. Three Views on Creation and Evolution. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.

Books on Creation and Intelligent Design

Strobel, Lee. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Dembski, William A. Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science and Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999. Dembski, William A. The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions about Intelligent Design. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Woodward, Thomas. Doubts About Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007. Witham, Larry A. By Design: Science and the Search for God. San Francisco, CA: Encounter Books, 2004. Morris, Henry M. Scientific Creationism. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2000.

Books Critiquing Evolution

Witham, Larry A. Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Batten, Don, ed. The Answers Book: The Twenty Most-Asked Questions About Creation, Evolution, and the Book of Genesis Answered. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1990. Johnson, Phillip E. Darwin on Trial. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Ham, Ken. The Lie: Evolution. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 1987. Denton, Michael. Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. Chevy Chase, MD: Adler & Adler, 1986. Wells, Jonathan. Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution Is Wrong. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2000. Johnson, Phillip E. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Free Press, 2006.

Books on Particular Issues Related to Genesis

Ham, Ken, Carl Wieland, and Don Batten. One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 1999. Whitcomb, John C., and Henry M. Morris. The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1960. Lubenow, Marvin L. Bones of Contention: A Creationist Assessment of the Human Fossils. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004. Jordan, James B. Primeval Saints: Studies in the Patriarchs of Genesis. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2001. Johnston, Philip, and Peter Walker. The Land of Promise: Biblical, Theological, and Contemporary Perspectives. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Hubbard, Moyer V. New Creation in Paul’s Letters and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Anderson, Bernhard W. From Creation to New Creation: Old Testament Perspectives. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005. Robertson, O. Palmer. The Genesis of Sex: Sexual Relationships in the First Book of the Bible. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002. Robertson, O. Palmer. The Christ of the Covenants. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1981.

Books Seeking to Reconcile Science and Scripture

Ross, Hugh. The Genesis Question: Scientific Advances and the Accuracy of Genesis. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 2001. Ross, Hugh. The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 2001. Ross, Hugh. Beyond the Cosmos: What Recent Discoveries in Astrophysics Reveal About the Glory and Love of God. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 1999. Schroeder, Gerald. Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible. New York: Bantam, 1992. Colson, Charles W. and Nancy Pearcey. Science and Evolution: Developing a Christian Worldview of Science and Evolution. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001. Miller, Kenneth R. Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. Collins, Francis S. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York: Free Press, 2006.

Books Examining the Foundations of Science

Johnson, Phillip E. Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law, and Education. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. Moreland, J. P. Christianity and the Nature of Science. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999. Morris, Henry M. The Biblical Basis for Modern Science. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2002. Johnson, Phillip E. The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Books on the Age of the Earth

Ross, Hugh. Creation and Time: A Biblical and Scientific Perspective on the Creation-Date Controversy. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 1994. Stoner, Don. A New Look An Old Earth: Resolving the Conflict Between the Bible and Science. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1997. Morris, John D. The Young Earth: The Real History of the Earth – Past, Present, and Future. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2007. Jordan, James B. Creation In Six Days: A Defense of the Traditional Reading of Genesis One. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1999.

Web Sites on Creation

http://www.answersingenesis.org/ http://www.icr.org/ http://www.christiananswers.net/creation/ http://www.discovery.org/csc/ http://www.iscid.org/ http://www.ideacenter.org/ http://www.origins.org/ http://www.reasons.org/index.shtml

Videos on Intelligent Design

Icons of Evolution: The Growing Scientific Controversy Over Darwin Unlocking the Mystery of Life: The Scientific Case for Intelligent Design The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery

FINE TUNING

Fine Tuning Parameters for the Universe

strong nuclear force constant — if larger: no hydrogen would form; atomic nuclei for most life-essential elements would be unstable; thus, no life chemistry — if smaller: no elements heavier than hydrogen would form: again, no life chemistry

weak nuclear force constant — if larger: too much hydrogen would convert to helium in big bang; hence, stars would convert too much matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible — if smaller: too little helium would be produced from big bang; hence, stars would convert too little matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible

gravitational force constant — if larger: stars would be too hot and would burn too rapidly and too unevenly for life chemistry — if smaller: stars would be too cool to ignite nuclear fusion; thus, many of the elements needed for life chemistry would never form

electromagnetic force constant — if greater: chemical bonding would be disrupted; elements more massive than boron would be unstable to fission — if lesser: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry

ratio of electromagnetic force constant to gravitational force constant — if larger: all stars would be at least 40% more massive than the sun; hence, stellar burning would be too brief and too uneven for life support — if smaller: all stars would be at least 20% less massive than the sun, thus incapable of producing heavy elements

ratio of electron to proton mass — if larger: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry — if smaller: same as above

ratio of number of protons to number of electrons — if larger: electromagnetism would dominate gravity, preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation — if smaller: same as above

expansion rate of the universe — if larger: no galaxies would form — if smaller: universe would collapse, even before stars formed

entropy level of the universe — if larger: stars would not form within proto-galaxies — if smaller: no proto-galaxies would form

mass density of the universe — if larger: overabundance of deuterium from big bang would cause stars to burn rapidly, too rapidly for life to form — if smaller: insufficient helium from big bang would result in a shortage of heavy elements

velocity of light — if faster: stars would be too luminous for life support — if slower: stars would be insufficiently luminous for life support

age of the universe — if older: no solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would exist in the right (for life) part of the galaxy — if younger: solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would not yet have formed

initial uniformity of radiation — if more uniform: stars, star clusters, and galaxies would not have formed — if less uniform: universe by now would be mostly black holes and empty space

average distance between galaxies — if larger: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material if smaller: gravitational tug-of-wars would destabilize the sun’s orbit

density of galaxy cluster — if denser: galaxy collisions and mergers would disrupt the sun’s orbit if less dense: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material

average distance between stars — if larger: heavy element density would be too sparse for rocky planets to form if smaller: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life

fine structure constant (describing the fine-structure splitting of spectral lines) if larger: all stars would be at least 30% less massive than the sun if larger than 0.06: matter would be unstable in large magnetic fields if smaller: all stars would be at least 80% more massive than the sun

decay rate of protons — if greater: life would be exterminated by the release of radiation if smaller: universe would contain insufficient matter for life

¹²C to ¹⁶O nuclear energy level ratio — if larger: universe would contain insufficient oxygen for life if smaller: universe would contain insufficient carbon for life

ground state energy level for ⁴He — if larger: universe would contain insufficient carbon and oxygen for life if smaller: same as above

decay rate of ⁸Be — if slower: heavy element fusion would generate catastrophic explosions in all the stars if faster: no element heavier than beryllium would form; thus, no life chemistry

ratio of neutron mass to proton mass — if higher: neutron decay would yield too few neutrons for the formation of many life-essential elements if lower: neutron decay would produce so many neutrons as to collapse all stars into neutron stars or black holes

initial excess of nucleons over anti-nucleons — if greater: radiation would prohibit planet formation if lesser: matter would be insufficient for galaxy or star formation

polarity of the water molecule — if greater: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too high for life if smaller: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too low for life; liquid water would not work as a solvent for life chemistry; ice would not float, and a runaway freeze-up would result

supernovae eruptions — if too close, too frequent, or too late: radiation would exterminate life on the planet if too distant, too infrequent, or too soon: heavy elements would be too sparse for rocky planets to form

white dwarf binaries – if too few: insufficient fluorine would exist for life chemistry if too many: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life if formed too soon: insufficient fluorine production if formed too late: fluorine would arrive too late for life chemistry

ratio of exotic matter mass to ordinary matter mass— if larger: universe would collapse before solar-type stars could form if smaller: no galaxies would form

number of effective dimensions in the early universe — if larger: quantum mechanics, gravity, and relativity could not coexist; thus, life would be impossible if smaller: same result

number of effective dimensions in the present universe — if smaller: electron, planet, and star orbits would become unstable if larger: same result

mass of the neutrino — if smaller: galaxy clusters, galaxies, and stars would not form if larger: galaxy clusters and galaxies would be too dense

big bang ripples — if smaller: galaxies would not form; universe would expand too rapidly if larger: galaxies/galaxy clusters would be too dense for life; black holes would dominate; universe would collapse before life-site could form

size of the relativistic dilation factor — if smaller: certain life-essential chemical reactions will not function properly if larger: same result

uncertainty magnitude in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle — if smaller: oxygen transport to body cells would be too small and certain life-essential elements would be unstable if larger: oxygen transport to body cells would be too great and certain life-essential elements would be unstable

NEXT OPEN — Imago Dei: God Loves.