"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
In years gone by I frequently addressed students enrolled in provincial and state colleges. Because of my training in the sciences, I was often asked to speak on the issue of origins. Especially along the West Coast of the United States and Canada I received multiple opportunities to address campus groups on the subject of origins. I consistently encouraged Christians to consider the Word of God on this subject through these engagements.
On one occasion, as result of a conference conducted on the campus of the University of British Columbia, I was approached by a young man inquiring about the Christian Faith. All that kept him from becoming a believer, he insisted, was the "fact" of evolution. Would I be so kind, he wished to know, as to give him some time that we might discuss the issue of origins. Of course I am pleased to spend whatever time is required to respond to honest doubts. This young man wished to visit me at length so he could clarify his thinking and so we made an appointment which would permit us to invest extended time exploring his concerns.
The young man was an example of the prevailing mindset of our world. His position was that though the concept of God had been useful in our national history and in the development of western thought, the concept of the divine has outlived its usefulness and we need to move beyond those ancient myths of God and atonement. Man will own neither the Living God nor His Christ as Master of life, so he snatches at straws seeking reasons to reject God and His claims over life. In their rush to justify unbelief, to provide a reason for rejection of grace, the most have become unreasonable. This young man was no different when confronted by truth.
I probed my young interlocutor's consciousness with a thought-provoking question. "What do you know to be true concerning evolution? What facts have persuaded you to accept evolutionary thought as accurate?" At last the young man admitted that he knew little of evolutionary thought, nor was he able to speak definitively on the subject. His wish to avoid appearing foolish to peers drove him to espouse evolutionary dogma as truth. He was forced to concede that it was only his desire to exclude God from his life that drove him to seek out a fabrication justifying the exclusion. I say the evolutionist is a fool.
THE EVOLUTIONIST IS A FOOL BECAUSE HE REJECTS THE TESTIMONY OF NATURE! During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries there was an almost exponential growth of scientific knowledge. Fundamental laws of science were recognised and articulated during that period, which laws greatly influenced thinking and the conduct of all modern scientific studies. A law of nature is unlike a theory or hypothesis. A law of nature grows out of observation. No congress decided to pass the law of gravity--it is a law of observation. It may be possible to violate the law of gravity; but in the history of scientific observation is has never been violated. No parliament ever met to debate the laws of thermodynamics--yet these fundamental laws are recognised as holding sway over the entire realm of nature. The FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS states that all things had a beginning. The SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS states that all things are moving toward a state of greater disorderliness.
The first law of thermodynamics is but a recognition of the first statement recorded in the Word of God: "In the Beginning..." The second law of thermodynamics is but the outgrowth--the natural consequence--of the fall perpetuated when our first father chose to exercise his will against the will of the Creator. Our first parents chose to rebel against the One who created them and thus brought upon the entire universe the awful curse. Consequently, by this knowledge of the sin of our first parents we obtain ample understanding of Paul's statement: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" [ROMANS 8:22, 23].
Our sinful condition is the result of our first parents' fall as the Apostle emphasises in ROMANS 5:12. "Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." The Bible initiates its teaching with a simple declaration of what is perhaps the fundamental truth for all mankind. We had a beginning! We owe our existence to One who created all things--including time. This foundational law of science is witnessed throughout New Testament Scriptures.
JOHN 1:1-5 reveals this primary law of science. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
We see this same law demonstrated in Paul's writings when he says of the Son of God: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" [COLOSSIANS 1:15-20].
The author of the letter to the Hebrews took note of this law. "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs...
"And,
'You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.'"
[HEBREWS 1:1-4, 10-12]
The LAW OF BIOGENESIS is likewise a law of observation. This law states that animals reproduce "according to its kind." It is a foundational law for biological research and is fundamental to an understanding of modern genetic research. This law is stated in the Bible, as are also the first and second laws of thermodynamics. God informs us that "The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good" [GENESIS 1:12]. Plants reproduce after their kind.
Likewise, God ensured that animals reproduce after their kind, having created each of the multiplied kinds of the animal kingdom. "God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds--livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.' And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good" [GENESIS 1:24, 25].
To this day like produces like--all living creatures and plants reproduce according to its own kind. Mice always reproduce mice; cats always reproduce cats; dogs always reproduce dogs; apes always reproduce apes; and man unfailingly begets man. The entire fabric of modern medical research is based upon this one vital law. Research conducted on a given species is dependent upon reproducible results in that same, genetically identical species at another time. Were rats to become guinea pigs--whether suddenly or gradually is immaterial--there could be no possibility of research. Though within narrow limits man can manipulate the genotype of a given population, as soon as genetic pressure is removed the species reverts to what is commonly called "wild type." In other words, animals tend to remain what they were, the genotype and the phenotype expressed within narrow limits defined by the biblical "kinds."
Some years ago an article which was mostly ignored throughout the world appeared in many North American newspapers. The information reported in the newspaper articles was not ignored in scientific laboratories, however. It is possible that some listening to the message will recall the article which reported that much of the biological research of the previous several decades was called into question because the genetic typing of Sprague-Dawley rats at the University of Wisconsin had not been carefully controlled. Consequently, the rats were reverting to wild type. In other words even a slight change in genotype ensured that research could not be conducted because there was no certainty from one experiment to another as the rats again became rats.
The LAW OF BIOGENESIS demands that species reproduce after their kind. The permitted variations are confined to very narrow limits. Dogs may be large as a Saint Bernard or as small as a Chihuahua, they may be hairy as English Sheep Dogs or as hairless as Peruvian Hairless Dogs, but they are always dogs. Though they may be interbred within the narrowly defined class of dogs, they cannot be bred with bears to become some new creature such as "bogs" or "dears." Though cats may accept puppies at their breasts and though dogs may mother cats, dogs cannot be bred with cats to produce "cogs" or "dats."
When the scientist has scaled the peaks of time which obscure the origin of all matter he will find that the theologian has long since been there. The individual who thinks will find that God has already provided an explanation of the fundamental laws of science. That one rushing madly about in a futile effort to deny God and His sovereignty may well embrace evolutionary thought only to place himself in awesome jeopardy according to Paul in the opening sentences of his Roman letter.
"The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" [ROMANS 1:18-23].
THE EVOLUTIONIST IS A FOOL BECAUSE HE REJECTS THE SUPERNATURAL! How truly did the Psalmist speak of that one who rejects God:
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
[PSALM 14:1].
Our text begins with the phrase, "In the beginning God..." The First Cause, the Creator, the Ultimate, is and always has been and ever shall be God who is Creator of all things. Man may deny the existence of God and may even deny His rightful claim as Master of life, but in the end all mankind shall be forced to acknowledge the reality of the Living God and of His Christ according to the Word. Listen to a few of the statements which God has provided when confronting the wicked of this fallen world.
In the Letter to Philippian Christians, the Apostle addressed the final situation for all people who have rejected our God and Christ His Son. He is writing to believers to encourage them in their conduct, but the words he writes move quickly into the realm of eventuality of all who have rejected Christ the Lord. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" [PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11].
Peter in 2 PETER 2:1 speaks powerfully of the end of false teachers among the people of God. "False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."
Just so, the Psalmist, inspired by the Spirit of God writes of the wicked of this earth.
"Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
'Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.'
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision."
[PSALM 2:1-4]
Denial of the truth does not change truth. Truth is truth regardless of the reception it may be accorded. Outside of the desire to exclude the supernatural, no reason exists to accept the doctrine of evolution; and multiple scientists driven by honesty readily admit this fact to be true. Consider a few examples of published statements from scientists, each of whom embraces the neo-orthodox doctrine of evolution and each of whom rejects divine creation.
I recall when I first began to think of origins during doctoral studies, I invested time in looking to individuals versed in scientific methodology to see how they handled the teaching of origins. What some of the philosophers within the realm of science said left me disquieted, to say the least. Few scientists would advance an argument for holding to what had become known as the Neo-orthodox Doctrine of Evolution. Here is a sampling of some of the fine minds from those earlier days.
Arnold Lunn commented: "We must accept ... a theory which we have every reason to distrust because the only alternative implies the existence of God."
Louis T. Moore wrote: "The evidence for the evolution of plants and animals is commonly said to be derived from many sources. When, however, we examine these causes for our belief we find that, excepting our desire to eliminate special creation and, generally, what we call the miraculous, most of them can be considered only as secondary reasons to confirm a theory already advanced."
A. L. Kroeber at the Darwin Centennial said: "Overwhelmingly, biologists had been accepting evolution because there was nothing else for them to do; but they had not proved it to their own satisfaction."
The language of the evolutionists is consequently the language of faith rather than the language of reason. That this is so became abundantly clear to me during those formative years of study leading to the doctoral degree in the biomedical sciences. During those days of intensive study I frequently challenged my professors concerning their language; when they were challenged as to their beliefs, they often stated, "I believe in evolution." It is the language of faith to say, "I believe in..." The language of science, the language of reason, needs no adverb. The language of science would simply say, "I find evolution to be true." The language of adherents of the evolutionary faith betrays the lack of confidence among those espousing the doctrines. It cannot be denied that outside the desire to exclude the supernatural, to deny the responsibility of the creature to his Creator, no evidence exists to convince man that he is the product of blind forces such as time and chance.
Is it reasonable to believe in the supernatural? Is it reasonable to accept that the Creator can and does intervene in the events of this world? If the Creator in fact created, it is not only reasonable but mandatory that we understand that He should be concerned about His creation. To reject the miraculous is both foolish and foolhardy. The Creator would find no great difficulty in working within the laws which He Himself formulated and instituted. If He is the giver of life, it is no great thing if He raises the dead. If He is the creator of the ear, it is no great matter if He should restore hearing to the deaf. If He is creator of the earth and all that is in it, it is no great matter if He should shake the earth, releasing His preachers from jail. That is God.
You may recall these words recorded of God through his servant Isaiah.
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust...
"Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in...
"To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God?'
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."
[ISAIAH 40:12-15, 21, 22, 25-31]
Recall an incident recorded in Mark's account of Jesus' life and ministry. "When [Jesus] returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 'Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, 'Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise, take up your bed and walk?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'--he said to the paralytic--'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.' And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this'" [MARK 2:1-12]!
If Jesus is Creator, the requirement is no greater for Him to say, "Son, your sins are forgiven" than it is for Him to say to one who is crippled, "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." The sole difference in the two positions is that observers immediately see the impact of the latter statement, whereas the impact of the former is revealed only over time. The Gospel accounts affirm that Christ the Lord wielded power over the bodies of those who were crippled and cruelly injured, just as He exercised power over nature and over the laws of nature. Either Jesus the Son of God is a conjuror or He is Creator.
THE EVOLUTIONIST IS A FOOL BECAUSE HE REJECTS HIS PURPOSE ON EARTH! The text before us reads, "In the beginning God created..." Because we are created by the hand of God we are responsible to Him--we are not our own. We imagine we are in control of our own lives; but all the while we are at the mercy of the events raging about us. We cannot even control our own lives. We were created to glorify God, our Creator. The Westminster catechism instructs us that man's chief and highest end is to glorify god, and fully to enjoy him forever.
We are reminded of that truth through the words John penned and which are recorded in REVELATION 4:11.
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created."
In heaven, the redeemed praise the Lord God because He is Creator!
The import of this knowledge is that man was created to have fellowship with God, to walk with God the Creator in love. How we undermine our purpose when we reject God as Creator! If the Living God did not create the heavens and the earth and all that dwell therein as is maintained in His written Word, the entire moral-ethical fabric of the Christian Faith disintegrates.
The doctrine of REVELATION is thrown into question if God is discovered to have given an inaccurate, or worse yet, a deliberately false account in GENESIS ONE. Can God reveal Himself to His creation, or shall we become agnostics saying that He is beyond our knowledge? Though man could never discover God through his own feeble efforts, the Bible is deliberate not only in its declaration that God can reveal Himself to His creation, but that He has and now does reveal Himself to His creation.
The doctrine of the VERITY OF THE WORD OF GOD is dependent upon the accurate teaching of the FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. Does the God who cannot lie relate truth or does He deceive His creation, however noble the motive for deceit may be postulated? Perhaps governments willingly deceive their people, but there can be no deceit with the Lord our God. We need to hear the words of the Christ who addressed this very matter in His High Priestly prayer when He confessed to the Father: "Your Word is truth" [JOHN 17:17b].
GOD'S CHARACTER is called into questioned if we refuse to hear or accept the teaching of GENESIS ONE. His ETERNAL NATURE is assumed in that account. His GOODNESS is implied in His creative acts. His TRUTHFULNESS, His OMNIPOTENCE and OMNISCIENCE, His IMMUTABILITY are all shadowed by questioning His Word at this point. If these things are not as presented in His account of our origins, how shall we account for the fall of man and the need of redemption? Still more, what destiny do we have? How shall we account for the consummation of all things? The grand, unifying theme of the Bible--indeed, the theme of all nature--is ruin, redemption and restoration. Man was ruined by the Fall and all creation was ruined through the one wilful act of our first father. Christ Jesus came to provide redemption for ruined man through the sacrifice of Himself in our place. The Risen Christ is coming again to restore all things to Himself. What grand and noble purpose has the evolutionist for souls searching for relevance?
How tragic it is to stand before a grieving widow. The spouse of a lifetime has been taken from her; the light of her life has been removed in one stroke. Now, tell her--if you are so crass, tell her--if your hold on evolutionary dogma is so strong as to call it a conviction, tell her as she contemplates survival with her children that his life was meaningless. Tell her that his death is good because it ensures the survival of the fittest. Tell her you are glad that her love has been removed so that the strong might survive. The human mind, even the most degraded mind, sees that life is somehow more than a mere presence. It is repugnant to think that your life, the life of a loved one, even the life of any individual, is a mere flicker that is soon extinguished.
God has placed within each of us a sense of call and a sense of destiny that cannot be denied. His Spirit woos us and draws us. If we turn from Him to embrace that which denies Him and His perfect love, we attempt to embrace a phantom and we deliberately blind our eyes. When a loved one is removed from this life and from our arms, we immediately seek assurance that the life of that loved one was more than a momentary presence or a faintly flickering flame. We need at that time of unfathomable loneliness to hear the words our Lord Christ spoke to a grieving sister searching for the comfort and consolation He alone could provide. "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" [JOHN 11:25, 26a]. Man was created to know, to glorify and to enjoy God forever. To reject the Creator is to reject our very purpose.
THE EVOLUTIONIST IS A FOOL BECAUSE HE CONFUSES THE FINITE WITH THE INFINITE! I remind you yet once more that the text states: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Recall again those dark words which Paul wrote to Roman Christians.
"The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen" [ROMANS 1:18-25].
How truly this prophecy is being fulfilled in this day. How awful is the degradation of mankind, who though all the while professing themselves wise shut their eyes to the glories of the Creator who is the infinite God. Man ultimately becomes a slave to time and chance; he then finds himself controlled by the multifaceted episodes of life. Rejecting the truth of God's Word mankind is at the mercy of events raging about them and they grow ever more fearful. Never forget that a fearful individual is a desperate individual who willingly seeks to placate those she imagines able to and desirous of harming her or destroying her. This natural consequence of evolutionary faith lies no doubt at the root of the current revival of ancient pagan religions leading modern man to worship Mother Earth who is identified as Gaia, into the practice of druidism, fuelling the rapid growth of fascination with necromancy and astral projections.
Modern man desires peace, yet he cannot find it. Nations and individuals spend fortunes in a futile search for peace and all the while peace is in knowing and walking with the Infinite God.
"'Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,' says the LORD,
'and I will heal him.
But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked.'"
[ISAIAH 57:19b-21].
We must again hear the words which the Living God spoke through His prophet.
"I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
"'Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the LORD have created it.
'Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, "What are you making?"
or "Your work has no handles?"
Woe to him who says to a father, "What are you begetting?"
or to a woman, "With what are you in labor?"
"Thus says the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
'Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,"
says the LORD of hosts.'"
[ISAIAH 45:6b-13]
I invite you to hear now your Creators' call?
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool."
"Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
[ISAIAH 1:18; 55:7]
