Creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Why the interest in origins?

The subject of origins is more of a hot-button issue than most people, even Christians, would like to admit. A 1991 survey conducted by the Barna Research Group said that 47% of all its respondents agreed with the statement, “The Bible is the written word of God and is totally accurate in all it teaches,” with 24% agreeing somewhat. That makes 71% of Americans surveyed think the Bible is accurate. However, the two groups that most strongly disagreed (both at a 20% rate) with that statement were college graduates and those making over $60,000 per year. The perception we’re left with is, if you’re more educated and successful than most people, you will disagree with the Bible.

I found myself wondering about creation at college (I’d attended a secular college). Even though I’d been a church-goer all my life, and graduated from a Christian secondary school, during my first year of college I would have told you that I believed in theistic evolution; I thought God started the ball rolling – perhaps billions of years ago – and evolution took care of the rest.

Eventually, my Christian faith made the difference. While recognize there are physical evidences for a relatively young earth (discussed later in this site), my faith in God is what made the difference for me. That faith stimulated my study of Scripture and science, and led me to accept the Genesis record. You may say this is biased, and I’ll agree. I’m biased to believing what God says. What’s changed since those days is my own confidence. As I studied, I found I didn’t have to be ashamed of my convictions. I hope you’ll read this study and become confident that the Bible’s presentation of creation is not only clear, but also a clearly reasonable choice. Your view of origins says much about your faith.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,

so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:3

An evaluation of Scriptural references of creation leads to the following:

God is the immediate creator of all things, living and non-living.

“God” is the subject of “create” in Genesis 1:1. The Bible makes no other explanation for origins and cosmology outside the power of God and His creative work. The use of the word for create (arb) does not in of itself preclude God using pre-existing materials (see Isaiah 65:18b), but the nature of those materials - if any - is speculative.

Both Moses (Exodus 20:11) and Jesus (Matthew 19:4) refer to God’s creation of the universe and people directly. They did not express any other view.

Evaluation the creation accounts leads us to see that their purpose is to point to God as creation’s agent. God's power and presence (Romans 1:18-20) are made visible by God to us; our rejection of His promptings in these areas lead to His first rejection of us, giving us over to the darkness of our minds.

No time gap is implied or inferred; the Bible refers to a standard 7-day week in its presentation of the seven days of creation in Genesis 1-2.

“Day” - When "day" (~wy) is used with a definite numeral in Moses' writings, normal solar days are always meant (Genesis 7:11; 8:14; 17:12; Exodus 12:16).

“Evening and morning” - Use of the phrase "evening and morning" in each creative day argues for normal days being viewed.

No pre-Adamic race - Some "day/age" views teach that there were others on the earth at the time of the creative acts of Genesis 1. Adam is clearly the first man; any other perspective is speculation at best.

Other Bible writers always refer to God's work in creation; no other agent is mentioned (Moses, Exodus 20:11; Jesus, Matthew 19:4; Peter, 2 Peter 3:4-7).

We should view the created universe:

As an agent to teach us about God and His transcendence over nature (Romans 1:18-20; Psalm 19; Psalm 39). Studying the world around us will lead us to seeing God’s power, as well as stirring the feeling that we are not alone in the universe.

As a gift from God to study and to learn to manage (Genesis 1:26-30). We cannot have “dominion” over the created universe unless we understand how it works, and how to manage it (a charge for us to pursue the sciences and ecology). Revelation 11:18 says that God will ultimately “destroy those who destroy the earth.” Humanity was also encouraged to enjoy the earth’s bounty. God gave humanity the right to eat of the produce of the earth (Genesis 1:29; 18:1, 7, 8; 1 Timothy 4:4; Luke 22:7-8). One of the characteristics of the last days is a call “to abstain from foods which God created” (1 Timothy 4:3b).

Sample Problems with the Evolutionary Model

Evidences from the make-up of the earth

Henry Faul, in his book Nuclear Geology indicates that the amount of Helium 4 in our atmosphere would have been produced by natural systems in less than 175,000 years. If the earth was billions of years old, we should have more. Acutally, Melivn Cook's study, Where is the Earth's Radiogenic Heilum (Nature, volume 179), indicates that Helium 4 is probably entering our atmosphere from space.

Cook's above mentioned study indicates that the amount of uranium in the waters of the ocean would be reached in 10,000 to 100,000 years based on current rates of influx from river waters to the ocean. In Chemical Oceanography, J. P. Riley and G. Skirrow studied the amount of many chemical elements in today's oceans. Their results are inconsistent with an earth billions of years old. If no sodium, magnesium, potassium and silver in the oceans was originally present, they could have been accumulated at present rates of deposition in less than 260 million years. Others, such as lead, silicon, nickel, mercury, and copper would have been deposited at current rates in less than 50,000 years. There is no evidence of missing chemicals having leached out to the ocean floor. If so, underwater mining would have become economically viable years ago.

Also, the present rate of world-wide erosion argues against an earth billions of years old. The rocks above sea level (383 million billion tons) is slightly less than half the mass of sediments in today's oceans. If the rate of erosion is constant (27.5 million billion tons per million years), only 14 million years would be required to erode the present continents to sea level (Stuart Nevins, "Evolution: the Ocean Says No!", Acts and Facts, October, 1973).

Hans Pettersson published an article in Scientific American (Volume 202) that the amount of meteoric material added to the earth each year is 14 million tons per year. Since most scientists indicate the amount striking the earth annually is essentially constant, we should have a layer of meteoric dust about 180 feet thick all over the world (remember how little dust was actually discovered by the astronauts on the moon-with no atmosphere to deform its accumulation?).

Evidences of difficulty in dating (From Creation Ex Nihilo, Volume 12, Number 2):

Petrified waterwheel -Tourists who visit Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia are amazed to see a recently made waterwheel which has become entombed in solid rock in less than 70 years. Stratification can take place in a short time; the Institute of Creation Research (see link to them at the end of this section) uses the recent events at Mount St. Helens in Washington State, USA, as an illustration of the speed at which water can work to cause sratification.

Radio carbon dating is not perfect - Wooden pegs from a ship that sunk off New South Wales, Australia (probably a whaling ship) were given radio carbon dates ranging from 350-550 years of age. Captain Cook’s “discovery” of Australia happened just over 225 years ago. Laboratory tests performed by the University of New England-Northern Rivers (now Southern Cross University) on the ship’s metal alloy rudder indicate the vessel is only about 100-150 years old. The radio carbon test overestimated the age of the vessel by three times its actual age.

Tips for Christian parents to prepare their children to live in an unbelieving world, as Noah would have with his children:

Spend time teaching your children about God from His Word. Noah would have had little written information from God in his day. But God did communicate with him directly. No doubt he made his three sons familiar with what God told him about their immediate futures. Today we have a Bible filled with God's revelation for us. We must set aside time regularly to teach our children about God's truths.
Personally demonstrate the total trustworthiness of the Creator. Shem, Ham, and Japheth grew up watching their father build an ark to prepare for a flood God said was coming. It came, and they were prepared. Noah changed his life based only on God's instructions - and it saved his family (Hebrews 11:7). We too must demonstrate trust in our God to our children. Our grumbling and complaining about our lot in life may teach them opposite things about God than what they hear when they go to worship.
Tell them the truth about God's view of the world. Noah's day was characterized by a corrupt society filled with corrupt people. Noah no doubt would have told his own children to avoid certain practices, because those practices were bringing God's displeasure and judgment. We too live in a sin-sick world. Our children need encouragement to use the gifts God has given, be thankful for them, and turn from the things God rejects.
Help them test what they are taught by the Word of God. Noah's children's friends apparently did not believe God's words about the coming flood, and were destroyed (Matthew 25:38-39). If Noah's children were in the habit of saying, "but everyone else...no one else..." they may have been correct. Yet, Noah was able to gather them with him in the ark, and show them God's words were true. We too should show our children God's faithfulness to our prayers and His promises.
Remind them of the temporary nature of this world. Like Noah, we need to remind our children that this world is temporary, and not our final resting place (Genesis 6:36-39). Family devotions, attendance at church and Bible studies, and other similar activities must be included in balance with entertainment and play.
Prepare them to take ridicule or persecution for their beliefs. For the first 100 years or so Noah would have been building an ark in a world unaccostomed to rain, much less a deluge. Helping him would have brought ridicule to his family. As Jesus said, persecution for righteousness sake makes us blessed, and opens us the kingdom of heaven for us (Matthew 5:10).
Teach them not to be discouraged by comparatively small numbers. Only eight people were delivered from the water in the ark (2 Peter 2:5). Don't become discouraged at the smaller number of people following God or participating in Christian activities; our children will pick up on our emotions and echo them back. Jesus too said the gate was small, and the way narrow that leads to life; it's a road walked by comparatively few (Mathew 7:14).
Help them retain strong ties with family and fellow believers. Noah's family needed to foster mutual support because of the pressure and alienation from their culture. We must teach our children the need for regular times of fellowship, sacrificing other things if necessary. We need to teach them to only marry other believers (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Keep looking with them for God's tender mercies. Anyone can become discouraged when they see the difficult circumstances people may find in the world. Noah had one of the hardest jobs ever given by God, yet he saw God's comfort. Each one had a life mate with them for support and friendship (four married couples). There was ample supply. God delivered them, keeping His promise. We too must remember that one of the signs of a spirit-filled life is thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:18-21). Thanskgiving is part of our prayer life too (Philippians 4:4-8). We must remind ourselves how good our God is, and how He faithfully watches over us.

-From an article by Gillian Marie Middleton

Link for more information:

The best site is hosted by the Institute for Creation Research, located in California. This button links directly to their site.

Compiled by Doug Johnston; Pastor, First Baptist Church of Redmond