Sun, May 10, 2009
Why Can't Creationists and Evolutionists Just Get Along?
A simple reading of Genesis 1:1 (in the NIV at least): In the beginning of time, linear time, as we know it - God created the universe -- the universe Out There and Right Here. I imagine that His creative genius 'exploded', instantly creating the vast universe out to its distant, unreachable edges. Moses and empirical evidence both confirm this. The universe it still, in fact, expanding as evidenced by simple measurements of light red shift given off by distant galaxies. What one person calls God Creating Everything, another calls The Big Bang. Creationists are simply able to better explain 'the origin' of that Bang. Big Bang 'theorists' cannot.
Moses doesn't suggest that God creating everything in verse one is part of Day 1 of 7. He merely says that God created the universe (heavens) and our planet. Then he, Moses, starts with Day 1, describing the continued creative work of God, forming the Earth as an inhabitable place for his living creation.
There is far too much evidence of an old universe to suggest otherwise. A few facts: light travels at a constant speed of nearly 300,000,000 meters per second. Light traveling to Earth (and visible to us) from the edges of the universe takes roughly 12 billion light years to get here. That means that it's taken light that long to get to us, meaning that's how long that light source has been there. Some would choose to take another interpretation of Genesis and suggest that God decided to let us see that light immediately, and then retool light to travel at its current speed. Why would He do that? It seems self-evident that our concept of space-time is limited and therefore we need to rely on both what Moses said and what we can see with our own eyes. Why don't most other creationists think this way? Why the feud? Why shut out most of the scientific community from discovering God?
I believe that we just have the best explanation; that the two viewpoints agree EXCEPT on the origin of the initial cause of existence. I understand that there are other things in the Old Testament that are, on the surface, not congruent with our observable earth and universe. But to say we know all collective truth about the world since it's creation is crazy. It's been a relatively short time since scientists thought organisms were spontaneously created, that Earth was the center of the universe, and flat or that GM could make a quality car and turn a profit (ok, that has nothing to do with this discussion.)
Point is: there's so much we haven't discovered and may never fully understand. Let's take what we do know as inquisitive homo sapiens, and what we know and believe as God's people, and reconcile what we can. I will always say 'err on the side of the Word'. But I strongly urge every believer to NOT push away scientific inquiry (and especially scientists themselves) out of fear, difficulty understanding the material, or lack of interest. God didn't call us all to be scientists, but he does want us to use our heads. "Innocent as a dove, and shrewd as a snake", as the verse in Matthew 10 goes. Thank you, Paul Tanaka, for quoting that verse so often!
Moses doesn't suggest that God creating everything in verse one is part of Day 1 of 7. He merely says that God created the universe (heavens) and our planet. Then he, Moses, starts with Day 1, describing the continued creative work of God, forming the Earth as an inhabitable place for his living creation.
There is far too much evidence of an old universe to suggest otherwise. A few facts: light travels at a constant speed of nearly 300,000,000 meters per second. Light traveling to Earth (and visible to us) from the edges of the universe takes roughly 12 billion light years to get here. That means that it's taken light that long to get to us, meaning that's how long that light source has been there. Some would choose to take another interpretation of Genesis and suggest that God decided to let us see that light immediately, and then retool light to travel at its current speed. Why would He do that? It seems self-evident that our concept of space-time is limited and therefore we need to rely on both what Moses said and what we can see with our own eyes. Why don't most other creationists think this way? Why the feud? Why shut out most of the scientific community from discovering God?
I believe that we just have the best explanation; that the two viewpoints agree EXCEPT on the origin of the initial cause of existence. I understand that there are other things in the Old Testament that are, on the surface, not congruent with our observable earth and universe. But to say we know all collective truth about the world since it's creation is crazy. It's been a relatively short time since scientists thought organisms were spontaneously created, that Earth was the center of the universe, and flat or that GM could make a quality car and turn a profit (ok, that has nothing to do with this discussion.)
Point is: there's so much we haven't discovered and may never fully understand. Let's take what we do know as inquisitive homo sapiens, and what we know and believe as God's people, and reconcile what we can. I will always say 'err on the side of the Word'. But I strongly urge every believer to NOT push away scientific inquiry (and especially scientists themselves) out of fear, difficulty understanding the material, or lack of interest. God didn't call us all to be scientists, but he does want us to use our heads. "Innocent as a dove, and shrewd as a snake", as the verse in Matthew 10 goes. Thank you, Paul Tanaka, for quoting that verse so often!
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