What do the following texts teach us about the power of God’s word? 2 Cor. 4:6
The Bible teaches that God created out of nothing (ex nihilo), by the power of His word and without conflict or resistance in any form. This view of creation is unique to the Hebrews among all the peoples of the ancient world. Most nonbiblical creation stories tell of conflict and violence in creation. For example, the ancient Babylonians had a creation story in which the monster Apsu and his consort Tiamat produce a generation of deities that they then attempt to destroy, but Tiamat is killed in the battle. Her body is divided into two parts, one that formed the heavens and the other that formed the earth.
Modern men have also created a popular story of creation through violence. According to this story, God willfully created a world in which resources would be in short supply, causing competition among individuals, with the result being that weaker individuals would be eliminated by the stronger. Over time, according to this modern story, organisms have become more and more complex, ultimately producing humans and all other living organisms from a common ancestor.
Yet, the “gods” of evolutionary theory (random mutation and natural selection) are not the same as the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the Defender of the weak and the generous Provider for all creatures. Death, suffering, and other evils were not caused by God; on the contrary, they came as a natural result of rebellion against His good rulership. The gods of evolutionary theory use competition and elimination of the weak by the strong in order to create. Even worse, they are responsible for death and suffering; indeed, death and suffering are their very means of creating.
Thus, Genesis 1 and 2 cannot, in any way, be harmonized with modern evolutionary theory, which at its core opposes the biblical account of Creation.
Isa. 55:11
2 Pet. 3:5The Bible teaches that God created out of nothing (ex nihilo), by the power of His word and without conflict or resistance in any form. This view of creation is unique to the Hebrews among all the peoples of the ancient world. Most nonbiblical creation stories tell of conflict and violence in creation. For example, the ancient Babylonians had a creation story in which the monster Apsu and his consort Tiamat produce a generation of deities that they then attempt to destroy, but Tiamat is killed in the battle. Her body is divided into two parts, one that formed the heavens and the other that formed the earth.
Modern men have also created a popular story of creation through violence. According to this story, God willfully created a world in which resources would be in short supply, causing competition among individuals, with the result being that weaker individuals would be eliminated by the stronger. Over time, according to this modern story, organisms have become more and more complex, ultimately producing humans and all other living organisms from a common ancestor.
Yet, the “gods” of evolutionary theory (random mutation and natural selection) are not the same as the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the Defender of the weak and the generous Provider for all creatures. Death, suffering, and other evils were not caused by God; on the contrary, they came as a natural result of rebellion against His good rulership. The gods of evolutionary theory use competition and elimination of the weak by the strong in order to create. Even worse, they are responsible for death and suffering; indeed, death and suffering are their very means of creating.
Thus, Genesis 1 and 2 cannot, in any way, be harmonized with modern evolutionary theory, which at its core opposes the biblical account of Creation.
2 comment(s) for this post:
Tyler Cluthe:
09 Jan 2013 God's word, a concept that I wonder about as I do so many other things like the concept of "beginning." As Pastor John Carter said many years ago, "I can understand something that has no end but how can I understand something that had no beginning." I wonder if that doesn't apply to Genesis 1:1 as well as it does to God Himself. There is a lot in the Bible that bogs my feeble little mind down, things that probably will always remain a mystery to me. Ideas like God spoke things into existence seem to me to be a kind of baby talk to fallen humanity that God uses so that we can at least understand something. If God is all powerful as we think He is then does God actually have to speak in order to create? And why did it take such a powerful God six days to make this little speck of a planet and the life it contains? Was it for the sake of the Sabbath that was made for man? Well, I don't know! Perhaps we should just leave things the way scripture states them and be content with that. In a way, I am glad that I don't have much education. Even though Solomon extolled the virtues of wisdom and knowledge in the end he concluded that, "All is vanity" (Eccl. 12:8 NKJV). I have seen in universities professors with one or more doctorates degrees parading themselves around with a pride that is pitiful because they don't really understand just how little they really know in this vast universe. As one scientist once said years ago, "chances are that all of our knowledge and understanding is exactly wrong." So, I am driven to my knees and realize that probably the greatest lesson we all have to learn is how little we really are and to do what Micah says, "to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God" (Mic. 6:8 NKJV).Nancy Robert:
09 Jan 2013 None cane compare and no man on earth can ever know how this Great God created light. That light is in Christ Jesus and that it shines in the darkest parts of a repentant heart who has confessed his/her sins to God in prayer with all his/her heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment