Creation, Science And The Bible

CREATION, SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Bob Marcaurelle bmarcaurelle@charter.net

For brevity and beauty of composition and of expression, the Bible account of creation has no equal. At the center stage is the Creator-God who acts (1:1-2) and the matter and energy of the universe comes into existence with an orderliness that makes it capable of becoming a bountiful and beautiful dwelling place for the highest creation of all, man. From original creation which is “formless and void” (1:2) God moves to the seven days or periods of gradual formation (1:3-2:3) where the raw materials of the universe become a suitable home for you and me.

Energy for all life is bound up in light and so God spoke to His original CREATION-1 and light, from the original explosion of creation, from billions of suns, came into being (1:3-5). This was day one.

The pieces of molten plasma of the burning universe raced outward through space and as they solidified and had other explosions, they formed the stars and planets in the various galaxies in what we call space (1:6-8). This was day two.

Now God picks out a tiny speck in a tiny galaxy we call the Milky Way. We call this speck “Earth.” God allowed this burning ball to cool and slowly He separated the land from the seas. His powerful word went forth to the land and sea and vegetation, all we know as grass and trees and crops and flowers, began to form (1:9-13). This was day three.

Two other pieces or original creation wind up close to us and God turns to them - the sun and the moon. The sun will rule our days and the moon our nights (1:14-19). This was day four.

Now God CREATES- 2 again! Perhaps using the elements of the earth and sea, He brings into existence fish and birds and animals and orders them to reproduce (1:20-25). This was day five and part of day six!

(This sequence of events is based on comparing the National Geographic book, "Our Universe" and Genesis.)

Now for the reason for it all is CREATION 3- man, the one creature made in God’s image and capable of fellowship with Him. God created man, apart from the animals, out of the dust of the earth. Then from man God created woman, and his home was a garden (1:26-31; 2:4-25). This was the last part of day six. After this, on day seven, which is still going on, God rested from His creative work (2:1-3).

God tells us that He made the worlds and even tells us a tiny little bit about how He did it, although that is not important. Today we look at God and His world through this creation account thinking about its scientific accuracy.

Not all share our appreciation for the Genesis account of creation. To some it is absurd because it seems to violate the findings of modern science in its view of creation. Genesis, they say, says the universe was created in six days and science says it was a process involving billions of years.

Genesis says man is the special creation of God, created separate and distinct from the animals. Science says man, along with all other life forms, evolved. To this very day people believe that you cannot believe both science and the Bible because they are hopelessly contradictory. This is simply not true. All truth is God’s truth and the FACTS of science will agree with the FACTS of scripture. Our problem is separating FACT from FICTION.

I was tempted here to pass over this controversy as many men of God, whom I admire, have done. They do so because they know the Bible is not a book of science and because they know we accept creation, not as the result of arguments and proof, but by faith. The Bible says, “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God” (Heb. 11:3).

I know the Bible is not a textbook of science. I agree with Augustine who said the Bible is not written to tell us how the heavens go but how to go to heaven. I agree with Marcus Dods (The Expositor’s Bible) that we don’t need an inspired Bible to tell us the sun rules the daylight and the moon the night and that the real message is that they were placed there by God. I agree with Augustine that proof for the believer is UNNECESSARY and for the unbeliever is UNCONVINCING.

In spite of all this, however, I feel the need to affirm, at the beginning of our journey through scripture, the accuracy of the Word of God, in all matters upon which it speaks, including its remarks about our physical universe. Why? Because the credibility of the Bible as our authority is at stake. If the Bible is wrong in areas, like science, which we can verify, how can we expect people to believe it isn’t also wrong, in matters of faith and practice, which we cannot verify? My mother was saved late in life. She never went to a Bible class and yet she showed wisdom greater than many of our so-called scholars when she said to me, “Bobby, if you can’t believe ALL the Bible, how can you believe ANY of it?”