CREATION MOMENTS: 7.1.17

LAMECH

1 John 3:12

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.
Lamech was the great great great grandson of Cain, the world’s first murderer. We don’t know much about him, but what little we do know is not good. We know, for example, that he took two wives, despite the fact that the created order of things was for there to be one man and one woman in a marriage. We also read that he had four children, three of whom were significant pioneers in culture, as the world’s first nomadic herdsman, musician, and metallurgist.

 The other notable thing about Lamech was his boastful threat. In Genesis 4:23-24, we read:

 Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.”

 When God sent Cain away, after his murder of his brother Abel, Cain was anxious that people might kill him. So God decreed that anyone who killed Cain would suffer vengeance sevenfold. That is God’s prerogative. At first hearing, Lamech’s boast seems to be similar. However, the difference is that Lamech decided on this path of vengeance himself; it was not mandated by God. Moreover, it was disproportionate, because Cain was a murderer, whereas Lamech sought to kill people who had merely harmed him in some way.

 Lamech took on to himself attributes which belonged rightly to God. Lamech’s boast is an example of how people are prepared to twist God’s words, in order to suit matters for themselves.

We see, Lord God, how so many want to set themselves up as little gods, and take on to themselves attributes which belong to You. Please make us humble, and obedient, that we might seek to do only Your will. Amen.

Taylor, P.F. (2007), The Six Days of Genesis, (Green Forest, AR: Master Books)
Image: Phillip Medhurst, Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported

 

A LESSON FROM AN HOURGLASS

Genesis 5:5,8

Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died….Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died….
Calculating the age of the earth, from empirical data, requires presuppositions. The scientists, who calculate the age of rocks using, for example, uranium-lead dating, are intelligent people, and completely capable of performing careful experiments. Their care, coupled with their technology, means that they make highly accurate measurements of the amounts of uranium and lead. But these measurements do not directly give us the age of the rock. In order to calculate the age, we must make three assumptions:

1. That there was no lead in the original rock.
2. That no lead was either added to or removed from the rock at any time.
3. That the half-life of uranium has never changed. The half-life gives us a handle on the rate of change of uranium to lead.

 Imagine you find an hourglass on a desk. In order to calculate how long the hourglass has been running, you might measure the amounts of sand in the upper and lower chambers, and the rate at which the sand is flowing. Using this data, you could confidently calculate how long ago the hourglass was set up. But you do not know if all the sand was in the top to start with, and you do not know if the glass was shaken to speed up the rate of flow. Different assumptions give you a different answer, so the only reliable way to know the age of the earth is to use the information God gave us in the Bible.

Our thoughts are lower than Your thoughts, Lord. Help us to remember that You have given us so much information in Your word. May we not consider that we know better than Your word. Amen.

Taylor, P.F. (2015), The Biblical Age of the Earth, (Toutle, WA: J6D Publications)

 

 THE WORLD BEFORE THE FLOOD

Genesis 4:20-22

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
What was the world like before the Flood? It is almost impossible to say. We know, from Genesis 6:5 that �the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.� Even so, we know that there were some people who worshiped the Lord�probably descendants of Adam�s son Seth (Genesis 4:26). We are also given a tiny insight into this unusual family of Lamech, the murderous, polygamous descendant of Cain. Lamech had four children, three of which (all sons) had important cultural implications.

- Jabal was the first of all nomadic hunters and herdsmen. Humanity did not have God�s permission to eat meat, until after the Flood. If Jabal was catching and rearing animals for food, as I suspect he was, then he was breaking God�s specific command on this matter.


- Jubal was a musician. He was the first to play on the �lyre and pipe�. This probably represents all stringed and wind instruments. Although many passages in the Bible extol the virtues and usefulness of music, especially when praising God, the presence of music in this wicked family reminds us that often today, music is used for evil.


- Tubal-Cain was the first person to work metals, such as bronze and iron.

 These three pieces of technology combined do not tell us a great deal, but they do suggest that there was a considerable amount of technology before the Flood. Perhaps legends about a �lost Atlantis� are true, to the extent that there was a land lost beneath the Floodwaters; but it was an entire world, not just a mythical continent.

Heavenly Father, we look at the account of the world before the Flood with solemnity, knowing that our society too has neglected the things of God. We pray that You will keep us faithful to Your word in all our dealings with society. Amen.

 

 CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE BIBLE

Genesis 8:21-22

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
When I was a boy, Summers were brighter and warmer than they are today. In Winter, we always had snowfalls, that made the place look pretty on Christmas Day, but the snow did not last long enough to cause damage. Before we knew it, the snowdrops and daffodils were announcing Spring.

Of course, it wasn�t really like that. Our memories sometimes play tricks on us, regarding the climate, but over the last 130 years or so, scientists have systematically measured different facets of the weather, and recorded them. It has become popular to note that the world�s average temperature, however that may be measured, is getting warmer. Or is it colder? Or is it just changing? No, it�s getting warmer.

 Given that modern records began, as the world was emerging from the so-called Little Ice Age, it is undeniable that the average global temperature has increased during that time. Whether or not Global Warming occurs is not really the issue. The issue is two-fold: 1. Is the amount of warming really serious and 2. Has this warming been caused by human activity.

 To answer just the first of these for now: the concern is that our climate will be catastrophically, and irreversibly changed, from the traditional seasons that we enjoy. However, in Genesis 8:22, God tells us: �While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.� While not denying human responsibility to look after the creation, in which God has placed us, we need to trust God�s word, rather than that of people.

Lord Jesus, thank You that You control even the weather. When You were on Earth, it was remarked that �even the wind and waves obey Him�. We worship the great, the only true God. Amen.

Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author

 

 DOES GLOBAL WARMING CAUSE ANIMALS TO SHRINK?

Genesis 8:21-22

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
A recent science article in London�s Telegraph newspaper stated:

 Animals could start shrinking because of global warming, scientists have predicted, after discovering that mammals became �dwarfed� in a similar episode of climate change 50 million years ago.

There are so many problematic assumptions behind that sentence, many of which are not even addressed in the article.

�Animals could start shrinking� scientists have predicted� says the article. But a statement of what could happen is not really a prediction. It is an assumption. The article states that this shrinkage could be because of global warming. Of course, the implication of the text is that this warming is anthropogenic global warming; that is, caused by human activity. However, this is to assume that the phenomenon of anthropogenic global warming is established science. It is not.

The evidence offered for this prediction of dwarfing is that it supposedly happened before, 50 million years ago. This dating is based on the level of the layer, in which a particular fossil was discovered. Leaving aside, for a moment, our beef with this form of dating, we note that the fossil was of an animal claimed by evolutionists to be an ancestor of the horse, appearing to be smaller than the average horse. But this is one fossil. Could it simply be that this was a small example of the creature? Could it have been something other than a horse? And to what modern horse are they comparing sizes?

Evolution spins an entertaining story. For the truth of what happened in the past, we need divine revelation, and that is what we have in His inspired word, the Bible.

Father God, we thank You that we have the truth about how this world came to be, because You have revealed it to us in Your word. Amen.

 

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 6.24.17

DEATH OF A COMET

Psalm 8:3

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Comets are fascinating things. Although there are a lot of them out there in our night sky, the overwhelming majority of them are insufficiently bright to see with the naked eye. But every so often, a comet appears, which is bright enough to see during the night, and sometimes bright enough even to see during the day.

The most notable comet that I can remember was Comet Hale-Bopp, which was visible in April 1997. At the time, I was a Head of Science in a state-run school in South Wales. The comet was clearly visible from my classroom laboratory, at the end of the school day, and was a fascinating sight for my students.

The comet’s tail is not caused by the object’s movement, along its highly elongated, elliptical orbit around the sun. Instead, it is caused by particles from the sun – the so-called solar wind – blowing material away from the comet, as it evaporates, when it is closer to the sun. Every time a comet approaches the sun, it gets a little smaller.

It is not difficult, therefore, to calculate how long a comet can last. It is not possible for it to last more than about 10,000 years. But secular astrophysicists suggest that comets were formed at the same time as the rest of the Solar System. Such scientists cannot accept this age, as it is less than the 4.5 billion years required for their theory. Biblical creationists have no such difficulty, as the Bible gives a timescale of only 6,000 years.

How awesome it is, Lord God, to look at Your heavens, and see the magnificent things You have created there for Your glory. We pray that You will remind us of Your greatness and Your power, but also Your great love for us. Amen.

Weissman, P. (2016), Encyclopedia Britannica, < https://www.britannica.com/topic/comet-astronomy >, accessed 3/8/2017
Image: E. Kolmhofer, H. Raab; Johannes-Kepler-Observatory, Linz, Austria, license: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

 

LANGUAGE AND BABEL

Genesis 11:9

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Those of us with a Western-centric background often come across similarities between languages. For example, the second most widely spoken language in the United States is Spanish, and those English-speakers who learn it will often find words that have a similar look and feel to English words. This is because Spanish and English have a common ancestry as languages, together with other Indo-European languages, such as French, German, or Italian. However, there are other language groups in the world, containing languages similar to each other, but not to the Indo-European languages. Therefore, we can surmise that, for example, English has developed from other languages, such as low German, with a large influence of Norman French, but English would appear to have no common ancestry with Cantonese. To add to the confusion, there are highly unusual languages, like Basque. The Basque people live in the North East Spain, and South West France. Their language appears to be unrelated to any other language anywhere in the world.

Evolutionary linguistic historians have no explanation for these unrelated language groups. But those of us who accept the truth of the Bible have a very clear explanation. In Genesis 11, we read about Babel, and the sinfulness of its people, who thought that they could reach the heavens by their own efforts. So God made it impossible for people to work together, by putting confusion into their languages. Because the people could no longer communicate with each other, they were forced to scatter over the whole Earth � which is what God had commanded the people to do.

Help us, Lord, not to neglect the things which You have commanded. Thank You that everything we learn about the world is best explained, by referring to Your inerrant and authoritative Bible. Amen.

 

IS THE EARTH FLAT?

Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
A number of Christians have, in the last couple of years, posted articles and YouTube videos, and even published books, stating that the Earth is not a sphere, but is flat.

Flat earth advocates have suggested that we have been lied to about the spherical nature of the Earth, just as we have been lied to about the millions of years of deep time. But these concepts are not equivalent. I have shown that evolutionary deep time concepts are not part of observational science. However, the signs of a spherical Earth most definitely are legitimate aspects of observational science. Moreover, author Jeffrey Russell, in his book Inventing the Flat Earth, has shown that no one throughout history has seriously believed that the Earth is flat.

Flat Earth advocates point to Scriptures like Isaiah 40:22, which refers to the circle of the Earth. Ironically, in this they make common cause with atheists, who accuse this Bible passage of teaching a flat Earth. But the Hebrew word translated as circle is kh�g, which has to have a 3D quality about it. So Isaiah 40 is stating that the Earth is a sphere. That is why, throughout history, people like Bede, writing in the 7th Century, have maintained that the Earth is indeed a sphere.

As creationists, we frequently call on people to validate what they believe by Scripture. This is not the same position, as those who believe that all science is a conspiracy. The Bible reveals to us a God of order, who has made scientific endeavor possible.

Lord, we thank You that You created a universe of order. We pray that all our academic endeavors will be founded on Your word, without which we cannot know anything at all. Amen.

Russell, J.B. (1991), Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians, (Praeger)
Image: Public Domain

 

 

 THE PROBLEM OF ABRAHAM�S AGE

Genesis 25:7-8

And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Abraham was 175 years old when he died. This is an unusual age. It is a much greater age than people tend to live today. However, it is much less than the ages of the pre-Flood patriarchs, listed in Genesis 5. How can we understand this age?

We have a further problem when we consider the earlier descriptions of Abraham. Abraham was 75 years old, when he left Haran. Sarah was ten years younger than her husband, so she was 65 when they left Haran. Many illustrations show Abraham leaving Haran, looking like an old man. This presupposes that he remained as an old man for the next 100 years. This seems unlikely. It is more likely that he aged more slowly than today, and this makes complete sense when one plots the ages at death of all the post-Flood patriarchs from Genesis 11. These ages fit a decay curve. Abraham�s death at the age of 175 fits this curve very well.

This has implications for everything else we know about Abraham and Sarah. Indeed, when Sarah left Haran at 65 years of age, she would have been the equivalent of a young lady in her early 30s today. In other words, she was well within child-bearing years, which makes it all the more poignant that Genesis 11:30 tells us that she was barren.

For many people, the true account of Genesis seems to begin with Genesis 12. However, we maintain that it is not possible to understand all these aspects of the life of Abraham, without accepting the truth of Genesis 1 � 11.

Give us, we pray, the humility to accept that You are in control of everything, Lord God. Thank You for guiding Your people. Amen.

Taylor, P.F. (2010), Itching Ears, (Toutle, WA: J6D Publications), pp235-262
Image: Ben-Peter Scotton, illustration produced for Paul Taylor�s book, Cain and Abel, used with permission

 

 MINIATURE SUPERBIRDS

Job 12:7

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
One of the many delights of moving to the Pacific North West of the United States has been getting acquainted with hummingbirds. Watching wildlife documentaries in British television had certainly piqued my interest for these miniature superbirds, but to be able to see them up close is a wondrous thing.

Although a couple of species of hummingbird can be seen in Washington state, our most common species is the rufous, growing to just over 3 inches long. The bird�s name obviously derives from the sound made by the remarkably fast beating of the wings � up to 80 beats per second. Their unusual figure of 8 wing motion enables these birds to hover, and even to fly backwards, when backing away from their food source � sweet, sugary nectar from flowers.

The birds� fast wing action, rapid heartbeat, and very fast flight cause them to burn up fuel very fast. That is why one of their main food sources is the high calorie diet provided by nectar. For householders, this affords us an opportunity to attract the beautiful, fascinating little visitors, by hanging feeders, containing sugar solutions.

So, did hummingbirds evolve their rapid motion to burn off the calories from their high octane fuel? If so, early less active birds could have become too fat to fly! Or did their long beaks and tongues evolve, to get the food needed for their active lifestyle? If so, early birds would have died of exhaustion. Whichever way you look at it, the evolution of the hummingbird simply does not make sense. These remarkable superbirds look designed to do exactly what God designed them to do.

As we consider these lovely little birds, we praise You, O Lord, that You consider our needs more highly than the remarkable creatures that You have made. Amen.

Dreves, D., The hummingbird: God�s tiny miracle, Creation 14(1):10�12, December 1991
Image: Dean Biggins, US Food and Wildlife Service, Public Domain

 

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 6.17.17

THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE OF LIFE

Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Did you know that a spiral staircase is not really a spiral? The width of the loops in a spiral staircase does not change, but the structure winds upwards or downwards. The correct name for this shape is a helix.

You might be familiar with the word helix, as the word that describes the shape of a molecule of DNA. In fact, a DNA molecule is a double helix. The two helices, made of sugars and phosphates, are joined by bases. There are four bases that can be used, often referred to by their initial letters: A, G, C and T. Between the helices, A always bonds with T, and C with G. The order of these four bases determines what that portion of the DNA molecule is for. In fact, these bases act as if they were a 4-letter alphabet. The information spelled out by these letters can be “photocopied”. In order to replicate, the two strands of the DNA molecule separate. So, where there was an A joined to a T, these will now be separate. As new strands are formed to join these original 2 strands, the unbonded A can only join with another T, and the unbonded T with another A. The same happens with a C-G bond. Thus, the new double-helices formed have exactly the same information as the old.

Much more can and will be said about this information. However, it defies logic that such a system could arise from simple molecules by chance, in a manner which we know is thermodynamically impossible. The Bible makes clear that God is the source and the sustainer of such systems.

Thank you, Father, that we see Your hand, even in the information held in our cells, at molecular level. You have done all things well, and we praise Your name. Amen.

 

IN THE BEGINNING WAS INFORMATION

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
In the year 2000, a German scientist called Dr. Werner Gitt, wrote a book called In the Beginning Was Information. In this book, Gitt introduced the reader to the sophistication of Information Science. Gitt says that information consists of five levels, of increasing complexity. Evolutionary biologists assume that information can arise by itself from statistical accumulation. This leads to the popular notion that, if enough letters were randomly generated, one could eventually get a sequence which included Hamlet�s Soliloquy. But these Statistics, says Gitt, are simply the lowest level of information. Writers of blogs used to like to produce word-clouds for their blogs. A word cloud lists the words they have used, and the size of the font of each word gave an indication of how frequently the word had been used. I once produced a word cloud of one of my books. It yielded interesting information, but it could not replace the book as a source of all the information contained therein. In addition to the low level statistics, we find: 2. Syntax (why is c-a-t a word, but not x-m-w?) 3. Semantics � the possible meanings of each word 4. Pragmatics � how the information is received by the sender and 5. Apobetics � the purpose behind the information. Gitt shows that DNA contains all five levels, and he concludes that it is simply not possible for the information in DNA to have arisen by chance.

The Bible says that �the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom�. This is not merely a pious sounding phrase. The source of all wisdom and knowledge can only be God.

How great are Your words, O Lord! Thank You for the depth of knowledge and information that we see, even in these amazing DNA molecules. As the psalmist prayed, truly Your ways are deep. Amen.

Gitt, W. (2006, 2nd Edition), In the Beginning Was Information, (Green Forest, AR: Master Books)
Image: Word cloud generated from the author�s book �Only Believe�, copyright to author

 

 MOLECULES ON THE BACKS OF CRYSTALS

Romans 1:22

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools�
Michael Ruse famously told Ben Stein that complex lifeforms could have begun as �molecules on the backs of crystals�. The reason for his comments was that Stein was questioning Ruse on how the information in life could have arisen by chance. The conceit offered is that crystals show a remarkable regularity, which can be reproduced. New crystals will have molecules in the same arrangement as a previous crystal. Therefore, it is said, the regularity of information in a DNA crystal could have arisen in the same way.

However, this is not a comparison of like with like. The shape of a crystal is determined by the arrangement of the atoms or molecules within the solid structure. DNA is not like this. The four bases, which link the strands of DNA, act in a manner similar to letters. Their arrangement can be considerably different, causing different information to be carried. The information thus carried is not dependent on the necessary and inevitable arrangement of molecules within the DNA structure. The idea of the regularity of crystals giving rise to the information in DNA is a popular misconception, fostered by scientists, who do not want to face up to the inevitability of the application of information science to DNA; that the information in DNA could not have arisen by chance, but had to have been put there by a higher intelligence.

That intelligent designer is not just any designer. The information in DNA was put there by God, who is the true designer, and whose attributes are revealed in the Bible.

Father God, thank You that You are the source of all life and breath. Thank You that this creation is sustained by Your wisdom and power. Amen.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (DVD: 2008), Ben Stein

 

 WHAT IS THE MATTER, MY LORD?

Ephesians 5:6a

Let no man deceive you with vain words�
In Shakespeare�s Hamlet, there is a famous scene where Hamlet is talking to Polonius. Hamlet � for various reasons too complicated to go into now � is feigning madness. Polonius finds him reading a book, and asks �What do you read, my Lord?� Hamlet answers �Words, words, words.�

One can immediately see that Hamlet�s reply was technically correct. Of course, Hamlet was reading words. It is the words that we read that carry the information. But Hamlet knew this, and his answer is deliberately obscure. Polonius could hardly have supposed that Hamlet might have been reading something other than words. So Polonius follows up with another question. �What is the matter, my Lord?�

Now, at this point we might miss the humor of the reply. In Elizabethan English, Polonius�s question was intended to mean, �What is the subject matter of the book?� Hamlet deliberately misunderstands, and says �Between who?�, as if Polonius had been asking about an argument.

This form of deliberately understanding one use of a word, but choosing to interpret it as another, is called equivocation. Evolutionists use this form all the time. Even when they claim that small scale evolution is something that can be observed in the laboratory, they use equivocation. When asking for evidence of evolution, we are really asking to see how new genetic information has been created. But the evolutionist, knowing this is required, deliberately uses the word evolution in its alternative sense of mere change.

This creation ministry has evolved! But it has not created new genetic information. That is what the matter actually is.

Thank You, Lord, that Your word is eternal; that it stands firm in the Heavens. Amen.

Wm. Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2
Image: First page, First folio of Shakespeare�s Hamlet, 1623, Folger�s Shakespeare Library, License: Creative Commons Share Alike 4.0 International

 

 

GOLD

Proverbs 8:19

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
Gold is a chemical element, with the symbol Au. It has an atomic mass of 197 and an atomic number of 79. It is a yellow-colored metal, highly malleable, ductile and lustrous. It is rare, and this makes it valuable. Throughout history, it has been used to represent wealth. There was a time when many of the world�s currencies were basically backed by an equivalent amount of gold. Chemically, gold is quite boring. It is difficult to corrode or react gold with anything. For that reason, gold exists in nature as a native metal, rather than being combined with other elements in an ore. Many of us probably have an image in our heads of prospectors panning for gold in mountain streams, looking for the tiny, tell-tale nuggets of the pure, shiny metal. Gold is so unreactive that most common mineral acids will not touch it. However, gold will react with hydrofluoric acid, dissolving away in the process.

In the Bible, gold represents wealth, as well as incorruptibility. Gold is first mentioned in Genesis 2, where the land downstream from Eden, along the Pishon River, was said to contain gold that was good. Gold also existed in Eden itself, as recorded in Ezekiel 28:13.

Yet, the Bible makes clear that even gold is perishable, and that our salvation is worth far more than even gold. Peter writes: �Know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.� (1 Peter 1:18-19)

We know, Lord God, that our salvation is the most precious thing to us. Indeed, it is more precious than gold or silver. Nothing that we have compares with You. Amen.

 

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 6.10.17

APPROACHING GENESIS

Genesis 1:1a

In the beginning God…
What are your thoughts as you start reading the book of Genesis?

As a young person growing up, it never occurred to me that some people might actually believe everything happened exactly as reported in Genesis. Like most young people, then as now, I brought my preconceptions to the book. As a child, I had enjoyed reading colorful books about dinosaurs, what they had evolved from, and what they had evolved into. I already “knew” that the timescale involved was millions of years. So, whatever truth Genesis had to impart must be symbolic, or allegorical.

It requires a complete change of worldview to get the best out of Genesis. Although there are many evidences that we can point to, which cannot be understood without Genesis being true, we will not plumb the depths of this portion of inspired Scripture if we remain at the station of requiring “proof” for what we read. Instead, we should approach Genesis with humility, knowing that it is God’s Word, believing that what is written is truth. Rather than bringing our preconceptions to Genesis, we should let Genesis be our preconception, and interpret everything else from that starting point.

Martin Luther put it thus: “When Moses writes that God created heaven and earth and whatever is in them in six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are.”

Lord, give me humility, as I approach Your Word. Help me to submit to what it says, rather than trying to re-interpret it with my opinions. Instead, help me to seek Your opinions at all times. Amen.

What Luther Says. A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, compiled by Ewald M. Plass, Concordia, 1959, p. 93 Image: Creative Commons Share Attribution – Share Alike 3.0 Unported, © 1984 Sweet Publishing

 

BEFORE THE BEGINNING

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created�
The first event to happen was Creation. And Creation was a direct act of God.

A children�s story Bible that I was given began with the words �God was lonely, so He decided to make a world.� This is simply not true. God is One God, in three persons eternally. Therefore, there was never a time when God was lonely, and there was never a time when God was not a God of love. The fact that time itself began, when God created, does not mean that He did not exist before there was time. Francis Schaeffer explained it thus:

Something existed before creation and that something was personal and not static; the Father loved the Son; there was a plan; there was communication; and promises were made prior to the creation of the heavens and the earth.

God created the universe for a purpose. While we cannot plumb the depths of every aspect of that purpose, we do receive hints. God�s purposes were designed collectively, by the three persons of the Trinity. The Creation was designed to give glory to Him. And our part in the Creation order is only significant, in that God has chosen to glorify Himself through making humanity, and placing us on this planet, to do His will.

Creation was not a random chance act. Nor was it a mindless act, of an open, hands-off God. The Bible shows us that God is in complete control, and His ultimate purposes for this Creation will not be thwarted, because these things were decided before the beginning.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank You for Your purposes, worked out in the Creation. We bow the knee, and acknowledge You to be the Creator God, apart from whom, and before whom, there is no other. Amen.

 

HEAVENS, EARTH AND EVERYTHING

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
What exactly did God create? How much of everything did He create? An impression is sometimes given, by those who want to accept long, deep timescales, that there is much in the universe, which is just going on and on, and has gone on since eternity past.

The Bible states that God created the heavens and the earth. The phrase �heavens and earth� is a special type of Hebrew construction, called a merism. We actually use a similar construction in English.

When I lived in England, we had a house with a small footprint, but three floors. If I lost something, I might say that I had searched the house high and low. In giving that phrase, I did not mean that I had searched the first floor and the third floor, but missed out the second floor. The phrase high and low includes the middle floor. In the same way, the phrase the heavens and the earth includes the highest heaven, and the lowest part of Earth, and everything in between.

The closest English word that we have to this concept is universe. God created the whole universe. He created everything that there is. There is nothing created that was and is not part of what God created. Earth is the planet, on which we stand. Heavens suggests the farthest points into space away from where we are. �Heavens and earth� is a phrase that includes these, and everything else as well.

Lord God, we are amazed when we consider Your greatness as Creator. Everything in the heavens and the earth has come from You, and we are thankful and full of praise.

Kulikovsky, A.S. (2000), Unbinding the Rules: A review of John Sailhamer, Genesis Unbound, Journal of Creation 14(3):35�38 December 2000, < http://creation.com/unbinding-the-rules-review-genesis-unbound-by-john-sailhamer >, retrieved 02/22/2017
Image: Adobe Stock Photos, licensed to author

 

 

WHEN DID GOD CREATE ANGELS?

Job 38:7

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
One question that I get asked a lot, after my talks, is �When did God create angels?� It is a fair question. Angels are created beings, so it is fair to ask when God made them. The assumption in many people�s minds is that God must have made them before the Creation Week. However, this idea does not seem tenable. In Colossians 1:16, we read: �For 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.� The �all things� that were created must include angels, and the strong implication is that all these things, including angels, were created during the creation week.

The problem is that Genesis 1 does not directly mention the creation of angels. However, we get some interesting information in the book of Job. In Job 38:7, we read about the �morning stars� and the �sons of God�. The phrase �morning stars� would appear to refer to angels. God begins this passage, by asking Job �Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?� (Job 38:4). If the angels were made during the creation week, but were able to observe God making the foundation of the earth, this would suggest that God made angels early on Day One!

I am sure that if God wanted us to know the exact hour that angels were made, He would have told us. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that it is possible to make inferences about the creation week, from what passages other than Genesis 1 say.

Our Father in Heaven, we come before You with awe and wonder. The greatest of Your creatures are just that � created by You. We give You the thanks and the glory for Your wondrous works. Amen.

 

 

 

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CREATION MOMENTS: 6.3.17

EVOLUTION: A STUDENT CAR

Romans 1:20

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
When I was a university student in the late 70s and early 80s, few students had cars. One of the young men that I shared accommodation with was one of the lucky few. Student cars of that era were infamous! My friend’s car fit into this category. When the fender fell off, he tied it back on with string. When the window winder became stuck in the open position (because no student car had motor driven windows), he tied it closed with string. When the exhaust became loose, he tied it back with string – or maybe it was wire to stop it from burning. Before long, there seemed to be more string and duct tape on the car than metal!

I have often described both the Theory of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory as theories held together with string. The scientific method suggests that theories are developed to explain observations. However, when one observation is in clear violation of the theory, then the theory should be discarded. But too many scientists have too much invested in evolutionary ideas, be they biological or astronomical. So, in practice, a new imaginative amendment is made to Darwinian or Big Bang Evolution, and the basic theory remains. You can spot this in science articles, when they report that “this new finding is making us rethink everything we know about the evolution of [insert topic here!]”. This is why Paul wrote that “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22)

Lord God, please give us honesty and integrity in the way we carry out science, remembering that everything we see is here, because You caused it to be so. Amen.

Image: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic, no credit required

 

VISITORS FROM MARS

Job 19:23-24

Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
It must have been pretty disconcerting for many people, who heard the famous Orson Welles 1938 radio adaptation of HG Wells� The War of the Worlds. The radio play was made to sound like an actual news broadcast. Apparently, there was widespread panic among the listening audience, who were sure that they were learning about invaders from Mars.

Few people expect Martian invaders today. Yet, some scientists are sure that they are studying visitors from Mars. These visitors are the so-called Martian meteorites. Some scientists believe that these pieces of rock were ejected from the surface of Mars, when the red planet was struck by another object.

The advantage of this idea is that such objects can be studied here on Earth, and, allegedly, give us information about our near neighbor in space. For example, recently one meteorite was reported to have yielded information about past eruptions. Back in 1996, one infamous episode led to the claim, later contradicted, that micro-fossils had come from Mars.

How likely is it that a cosmic game of billiards could have resulted in a piece of Mars flying off into space, and then, coincidentally, being able to land on the Earth? Of the 61,000 meteorites discovered, 132 have been identified as Martian, according to the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. This gives a 0.2% chance that a piece of rock from Mars could land on Earth, which seems unreasonably high, given the enormous set of coincidences required for a piece of Martian rock to make such a journey. Martian meteorites simply underline the credulousness required by evolutionary scientists, in order to bolster their beliefs.

Thank You, Father, that so many scientific ideas make so much more sense, when interpreted according to Your inerrant word. Amen.

DARK MATTER: DOES IT MATTER?

Psalms 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
In the Big Bang scenario, the supposed expansion of the universe, from the original singularity, can be calculated, based on the strength of the gravitational fields of the matter in the universe. But there is a problem with the calculation. The universe has nowhere near enough matter to cause a strong-enough gravitational field to explain how we view the universe today.

I have remarked before that the Big Bang Theory is like a student car � largely held together with string, which represents all the extra ideas tied on to the theory, to make it work. In order to explain the anomalous expansion of the universe, scientists have suggested that there must be a huge amount of stuff in the universe, which we cannot detect. They call this hidden stuff dark matter. To make the sums work properly, astrophysicists have to suppose that 84.5% of the total mass of the universe is dark matter, while only 15.5% is normal matter. But we cannot see it, or detect it � so how do we know it is there? To the Big Bang Theorist, dark matter is a necessary add-on, to make their Big Bang math work. It is not only creationists who do not see the necessity for believing in dark matter. Even some secular scientists, such as the Israeli astrophysicist Moshe Carmeli, have proposed cosmogonies, which do not require dark matter. Yet again, we see that the literal reading of Genesis is a much more logical explanation of origins, than the student car theories, like the Big Bang.

We give You Glory, Heavenly Father, that You made the heavens and all that is in them. While we know that there are things out there still to discover, we know that all of it was made, by the power of Your hand. Amen.

Carmeli, M. (2006), Cosmological Relativity, (Israel: World Scientific Publishing Company)
Image: NASA, Public Domain

 

 HOW YOUNG IS THE EARTH?

Psalm 119:42

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
You have probably heard of Young Earth Creationists and Old Earth Creationists. Wikipedia defines Young Earth Creationism as a belief that the world was made by �direct acts of God less than 10,000 years ago�. Where does the figure of 10,000 years come from? There are a number of scientific calculations and principles that suggest that the world could be no older than 10,000 years � for example, the aging and gradual destruction of comets. Yet other people give different ages. Certain creationists have suggested ages of 30,000, or even a million years.

The problem appears to stem from the use of the word �young�. If 10,000 years is to be described as �young�, then it is apparently being used in a comparative sense. 10,000 years is considered young, compared to the 4.5 billion years claimed by evolutionary scientists. Yet, I see no reason to define my position, in terms of evolution. Instead, it makes sense for the Christian to define their position with respect to the Bible. However, the Bible does not allow for 10,000 years, let alone a million years. As I have shown in my book, The Biblical Age of the Earth, the Bible gives us an age of just over 6,000 years, with human beings created at the end of the creation week. I submit that 6,000 years is not young � it is very, very old, compared to our experience. Therefore, it often seems preferable to refer to our position not as Young Earth Creationism, but as Biblical Creationism.

We declare that Your Word is true, Lord God, in everything You say. Help us to submit to Your Word, and to interpret everything in the world around us by Your Word. Amen.

 

 HOW ANCIENT IS THE EARTH?

Psalms 68:32-33

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which wereof old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
A few months after I was saved, I came across people who did not believe in the theory of evolution. I appreciated their position, and was soon convinced, because I wanted to believe that the whole Bible was true. Nevertheless, not all of these creationists believed that the Creation Week comprised of six literal days. Some pointed to verses in the Bible describing God as the �Ancient of Days�, or referring to �ancient heavens�, as biblical evidence that the world had not necessarily been created to the so-called literal timescale.

I never accepted this �old-earth� position, though, for a while, I did believe that the issue did not matter. The important issue was to oppose evolution.

Today, I believe that opposition to evolution, while important, is not the most important issue. The actual issue is the authority of Scripture. If we are prepared to find permissive interpretations of the first chapter of Genesis, how can we determine when we have made a compromise too far?

Seen from a biblical rather than an evolutionary perspective, the 6,000 years from Scripture does indeed seem ancient. It only becomes less than ancient, when we measure it against timescales produced outside of Scripture. Therefore, a better way forward is to start by submitting to Scriptural authority, and allowing it to be our guide, as we seek to read and understand it.

You, O Lord, are the Ancient of Days. In Your presence, we bow before You and worship You, acknowledging You to be the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Amen.

 

 

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