“Why Darwin Cried But We Rejoice” Genesis 1.1-2.4
Today is Trinity Sunday - the one Sunday of the church year that is devoted especially to God and His unique nature as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God reveals Himself with many different names. Each of them teach us something about God. But it is through the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we see God in all His fullness as our Creator, Savior and Sanctifier. On this Trinity Sunday I would especially like to emphasize the almighty work of God in creation.
Why Darwin Kissed and Cried
Before I speak about creation I have to address the teaching of evolution, an idea that challenges the teaching of creation. In our culture the idea of evolution is pushed upon us. A few years ago we purchased a reading book for our second grade. I was amazed to find many references in that book to the idea of evolution for such a young age. There are true believers on both sides of this issue although the evolutionists will never admit that they “believe” in their ideas. They constantly try to claim that what they believe is fact not faith. But is this so? Charles Darwin is often regarded as the father of evolution. In public Darwin was not critical of religion as many evolutionists are today. But in his personal papers he made a very interesting comment about God, creation and the Bible.
Shortly after he and his wife Emma were married, Emma wrote Charles a letter. In her letter Emma warned Darwin about believing things that can’t be proved and of recognizing the limitations of our minds... That there are things “which if true are likely to be above our comprehension.” She then warned of the danger of giving up on revelation, that is, the Bible. This heartfelt letter made such an impression on Darwin that he wrote at the bottom of the letter, “When I am dead, know that many times, I have kissed & cryed (sic) over this. C.D.” (See Notes Below)
“When I am dead, know that many times, I have kissed & cried over this.” That is a very telling statement. It shows us that when it comes to the idea of evolution, there is more going on than science. Evolution is as much a matter of faith as it is of science. This is why Darwin kissed and cried. Unlike other theories that have been proved with experimentation, evolution is unobservable. This is something that all evolutionists recognize, and that makes it very different from other branches of science. Evolutionists refuse to consider any other explanation for the origin of life even though there are just as many reasons to say that life has been designed as there are to say that it has evolved. Is evolution good science, or is it a belief that people prefer because they don’t want to deal with God? That is a question that will never go away.
Why We Rejoice
When it comes the question of evolution or creation, I would urge everyone to listen to Darwin... Not Charles, but Emma. In her letter, Emma Darwin warned that it is a dangerous thing to give up on revelation. I would like to turn to part of that revelation now in the first chapter of Genesis. Let’s take a look at some of the truths of creation that should inspire us to faith and joy in the Triune God.
What Did God Create?
The first four words show us that only God is eternal, and that He created everything out of nothing. That latter truth tells us that God depends on no one, He needs nothing, and that He is the source and the beginning of everything. To deny this is one of the most blasphemous things anyone could possibly say. It is like trying to explain the existence of art without giving credit to the artist. Recently a German scientist published a book that does just that. It is titled Die Ursprung der Schoenheit. That is, The Origin of Beauty. Assuming that God had nothing to do with the beauty of creation, this scientist tries to explain how beauty develops in nature on its own. It is one thing to claim that single cell organism accidentally evolved and emerged from slimy cesspools. It is another thing to say the same for the Luna Moth, the Peacock, or the Bengal Tiger. The extraordinary beauty of nature along with the proper understanding of creation causes us to praise God.
How Did God Create the World?
The truth that God is the source of all creation and beauty is amazing and praiseworthy. But the “how?” of creation is just as amazing and praiseworthy. God created everything with His word. “Then God said... Let there be light... Let there be an expanse... Let the waters under heaven be gathered... Let the earth sprout... Let there be lights... Let waters swarm... Let birds fly... Let the earth bring forth living creatures... and finally, Let us man...” The Bible tells us in plain words that God created the world miraculously through the power of His word. Many people try to say that this is all poetry and that therefore none of this is literally true. But anyone who says that is either very ignorant of the Hebrew language, or they are avoiding what it really says and trying to make it say what they think it should say. Hebrew poetry is beautiful. It uses many literary devices such as parallelism, rhythm and meter. This is not poetry, and to anyone who says it is poetry I have one simple question: “Show me that part of the Hebrew Bible that isn’t poetry.” If this is poetry, then the entire Hebrew Bible is poetry. If Adam is a poetic figure, then so is Abraham, and David, and all the rest of the people, places and events recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Of course anyone who says this is also really saying that all of ancient history is poetic, that archeology does not exist, and that in fact anything that didn’t happen within my own lifetime may in fact be an imaginary. As Emma said, “It is dangerous to give up on revelation.”
Why Did God Create the World?
Perhaps the most important thing for us to think about today on Trinity Sunday is the question of “Why?” Why did God create the world? Some people have answered that question by saying, “Just as a builder builds and a painter paints, so a creator creates.” There is certainly some truth in this. But there is more. On the last day of creation God said, “Let us make man in our own image...” God created the world because He wanted to love us and that we would love Him. The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4.8). Think about the significance of that on this Trinity Sunday. How could God be love before the creation of the world? He could through His Triune nature as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is love from eternity, and in creation He is extending that love. In Psalm 100 we read: “Know that the LORD, He is God, It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100.3-4).
Why All This Matters
Whatever is wrong in this world, whatever is sad, whatever is painful... is not from God. These things come from turning away from God. Satan turned away. Adam and Eve turned away. We have turned away. Think of it: Has anything good ever come from turning away from God? Has anything good ever come from not listening to His word or disobeying it? People love evolution not because it is such good science. They love it because it frees them from God. Sir Julian Huxley was a leading proponent of evolution. On a talk show he was asked why people believe in evolution. He said, “Because we didn’t want God to interfere with our sexual mores” (I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist). Evolution truly frees people from God and encourages them to believe just about anything they want in God’s word. But it doesn’t bring them closer to God.
God created the world because He enjoys the world, and He enjoys us. He wants us to be full of that joy. But God knows that humanity has turned from Him. For this reason God sent His Son. The first words of the Gospel of
John are like those in Genesis: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1.1). God sent His Son to die in a world that was never meant to die in order that He might renew it from death and renew from sin all who will believe in Him. God sent His Son in a miraculous way to “uncreate” sin and to restore us to Himself in love.
Conclusion
Right now kids all over the country are going away to summer camps and families are taking camping trips to enjoy a little bit of God’s wonderful creation. Perhaps some of those kids and some of those families will sing this traditional campfire song:
Tell me why the stars to do shine. Tell me why the ivy twines. Tell me why the sky’s so blue. Then I will tell you just why I love you.
Because God made the stars to shine. Because God made the ivy twine. Because God made the sky so blue. Because God made you, that’s why I love you.
The almighty creation of the Triune God is the truth that leads us to God and to His love. Evolution is man’s idea that leads him away from God. That’s the difference between creation and evolution. Amen.
