Creation vs. Evolution? Creation wins!

If you ask many educated people about the debate between creation and evolution, you might get a strange, puzzled look. My guess would be that they might think there isn't a debate, evolution the theory is actually fact. To believe in Creation, after all, is the stuff of what the worldly wise consider to be religious fanatics, crackpots, blah, blah, blah, and etc.

It occurred to me that the problem many have with Creationism is that the Genesis 6-day creation story seems far fetched in light of the supposedly massive geological and fossil evidence for evidence. More fundamentally, it occurred to me that such educated folks think in terms of the process or how things happened instead of looking at the bottom line, i.e. an exceedingly intricate universe on both the micro and macro level. From the complexity of a honey bee's eyes to the massively gargantuan dimensions of the universe, it is those who deny this awesome Creation who are the real crackpots.

I sometimes wonder if the evolution proponents have the same skeptical view of man-made, or to be more politically correct human-made, things. Some examples:
*Ask the holder of a PhD in any given field how long it took their doctoral thesis to evolve?
*Ask a framing carpenter, "How long did the house you just framed take to evolve, i.e. build itself? What would you guess 100 years? I mean if you make the time duration long enough anything could happen, could it not?
*Should children be counseled to tell their teacher or parents that their assigned homework isn't done because it needs more time to evolve.
*Perhaps President Obama's misguided health care "reform" efforts could evolve? Maybe the result would be better?

Sounds absurd? Or even offensive? Yes, but no more absurd or offensive to the living God than looking at a universe as complex as ours and concluding that it came about by chance, which is after all, what evolution is at its most basic level.

Shouldn't the Genesis skeptics really admit that they have a spiritual and not a scientific problem? Isn't their real problem in acknowledging that the triune God of the Bible actually created the universe? Furthermore, the implications of that God's existence and the required accountability to His commands in the Bible prove difficult to those who would rather think they are gods themselves. At a minimum,
they might want to live life without accountability to a God they can't see, touch or feel.

Evolution is nonsense. Believing that the ordered universe of predictable seasons, the diversity of life found miles under the ocean to the highest mountain tops and everywhere in between, came about by chance is crazy. Romans 1:22 speaks of such allegedly intelligent folks, "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools..."

What is God's view of stubborn rejection in light of His obvious handiwork in Creation? Romans 1:20 answers the question, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen (the focus is on the result of Creation not how it happened), being understood from what has been made, so that men are WITHOUT EXCUSE."

I don't apolgogize for the Bible because according to II Timothy 3:16 "all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." The world could have been created in six literal days.

I believe in what is often called the "gap theory" which holds that the world was re-created after a prior destruction of some kind. Genesis 1:2 notes, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep...." Other Christians criticize the "gap theory" because it isn't confirmed with other Bible passages. Actually Genesis 1:2 is mirrored in Jeremiah 4:23 which adds, "I beheld the earth , and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." Isaiah 45:18 shows that God's will was for a created and not a destroyed world, implying that the "earth without form and void" noted in Genesis 1:2 was not God's ultimate will.

I am confident that other passages add revelation to the Creation account of Genesis. Psalm 90:2 NIV notes, "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Proverbs 3:19-20 NIV adds simply but profoundly, "By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding He set the heavens in place; by His knowledge the deeps were divided and the clouds let drop the dew." Again the focus is on the result of Creation; a reasonable faith in the process of how God actually created the earth is our part. I don't mean to indicate that study and investigation into the process of Creation is wrong by any means but to conclude wrongly that the Creation evolved is a faulty one.

Finally, I will close in the book of Job. Job had gone through a whirlwind of trials and began to doubt God. God didn't give Job the answer as to why he went through the trials but rather the Almighty pointed to the vastness of Creation instead.

In Job 38:4-5, God answers Job complaint, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know? Who stretched a measuring line across it." Then God goes on a roll in the passage from Job 38-42. A few passages include:
"Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place......."
"Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!...."
"Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,....."
"Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?....."
"Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?...."
"Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?...."
"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?...."
"Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?...."
"The Lord said to Job:
'Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer him!'......"
'Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?'....
'Look at the behemoth (possibly the elephant or the hippopotamus), which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox, What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly!'.....
'Can you pull in the leviathan (possibly a crocodile) with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?'....
Can you make a pet of him (still referring to leviathan) like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?....."

And after God's reply, Job relented. In Job 42:3, Job answered to God, "You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."

I would encourage the Creation skeptics to take Job's advice and take a humble look at things we must all admit, even in the 21st Century, we don't understand.

Seeking God First in Your Life - October 4, 2009

Early in my Christian life I was puzzled, troubled and even overwhelmed by Jesus' command in Matthew 6:33 to, "...seek first His (God's) kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

It seemed that was pretty much an impossible, herculean (great word isn't it) task for any person to do. However, after meditating and confessing that verse regularly (key spiritual disciplines by the way) I am confident that Jesus means one way to advance God's kingdom individually is by applying the Bible to all aspects of life.

Perhaps, some may think this may just mean going to church or praying before meals or even having a morning quiet time.

I would encourage to think in broader terms. How would this look exactly, you may ask? Think of praying before doing something, confessing a relevant Bible verse, or meditating on the Bible.

In your work it could mean confessing Colossians 3:23 which declares, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..."

In your marriage, as a husband, it could be confessing Proverbs 31 for your wife. As a wife it means submitting to your husband's leadership.

In gardening it could be meditating on Proverbs 28:19a, "He who works his land will have abundant food..."

In caring for your pets, confess Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast..." or try James 3:7 for an unruly animal.

When seeking God's direction and wisdom or guidance in a difficult time, try Proverbs 3:17, "Her ways (God's ways of wisdom) are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace."

Not sure what to do? Claim James 1:5 which notes, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

The key thing in applying Jesus' command in Matthew 6:33 is remembering that God's Word is relevant to all aspects of life, even what may seem trivial--from gardening to human relations and from your work to your pets.