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Creation
The teaching of the Scriptures on the work of God in creation is important. What the Scriptures actually say is not difficult. As Christians we start with the Word of God and then go to God's creation in the light of that word to study scientifically. We start with God, the creator of a universe which has its existence and origin not of itself, but of God. We start with divine revelation not only as the basis of all true knowledge for faith, but also for our understanding of science and history. That revelation is set down in Scripture as God's word to man. God, not man, is the measure of all things, for God formed all things for His own glory in Christ in creation and salvation, Colossians 1: 15-20; Ephesians 1:6,11-12, 18-23; Hebrews 1: 1-3. Atheism and humanism start with man. In doing so they take a religious starting point and not a so-called independent or neutral scientific one. The theory of evolution was not developed historically from a study of the creation as "science." It was developed as a religious philosophical starting point. It begins with the notion that the universe can be explained in its origin of itself as if it had its existence of itself. This doctrine of being, or ontological starting point, is a religious one, which by definition, excludes God from the universe in a discussion of origins. This starting point includes also the notion that man in his wisdom and knowledge can understand his world and its origin out of his own mind without the aid of divine revelation. This doctrine of knowledge or epistemological starting point makes man the measure of all things. It was with this religious starting point that Darwin labored and those that followed him. Interpreting the data of the universe in harmony with a religious starting point as a kind of filter for information yields only a religious conclusion. Evolution is a religion. A preconceived starting point which is wrong does not lead to truth. When men conceived of the earth as flat, with the sun, stars, and planets revolving it, the system of explanation for the motion of the planets in that "flat earth" theory was very complex, sophisticated, and even compelling. It was also wrong. The difference between evolution and creationism is the starting point of faith in the nature of the world and how it is known. The question is: Do you trust in the God Who has spoken in His Word, or in man? The evolutionary starting point was developed in direct contradiction to the Christian world view. It has its roots in the Hindu religious idea of an expanding or contracting universe in successive ages or Yuga over millions of years. While evolution has stripped the Hindu idea of the concept of a life force or divine power, it is nevertheless an atheistic version of the concept. As evolution was developed over against the Christian doctrine of creation, it was also rooted in willful unbelief and rejection of the truth of God. Evolution is a working out of the sin described in Romans 1:18-22 ff. It is spiritually a holding under or suppression of the "truth in unrighteousness," the truth of God and His almighty creative power in unbelief, Romans 1:18. While we are concerned to confront evolution, of particular concern in the material presented here is the attempt within the Christian community to marry the Scriptures and evolution, to form a hybrid or bridge between creation and evolution. There are a number of these errors, and they take different forms, which are addressed in the material. This attempted hybrid itself is a grievous error which destroys the gospel, is not exegesis or sound interpretation, but simply a compromise which seeks respectability among unbelieving men. The Scriptures teach creation clearly, plainly, and very simply in six literal days bounded by evening and morning. The Scriptures also lay out a very basic foundation for understanding world history, including a global flood, the division of the nations at Babel, and the initial scattering of them. The creation viewed in the light of the Scriptures is consistent with the Biblical record including its chronology. But the starting point is one of faith and a willingness to be led by the Word of God. Unbelief cannot and will not understand it. The knowledge of the creation as the work of God is, as Hebrews 11: 3 states, "through faith," a faith moreover which is the gift of God, the work of His grace, and the powerful working of the hope of the gospel, Hebrews 11:1. Creationism starts from a religious conviction of faith resting in the Word of God . That it interprets the data in the light of faith is true. The difference between the Christian and the evolutionist or his offspring in this area is that we are open about out religious convictions and how they shape our understanding, while the world's science, falsely so-called, or evolution is not. Evolution loudly proclaims its objectivity, when it is not objective. This belongs to the deceitfulness of sin, both in the self-delusion of unbelief and its assault on the truth. It is the "fool" who says in his heart, "There is no God," also in his study of the creation (Psalm 14:1). The wrath of God from heaven rests upon such an unbelieving fool, Romans 1:18. |
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