Several years ago I preached this sermon as part of series on Genesis. I've revised it in light of recent developments such as the so-called "new atheism."
Genesis 1:1
The Bible begins with a grand
assumption: God exists.
The truth is, the Bible nowhere
goes to the trouble of trying to prove the existence of God. From the opening verse God’s existence is
taken for granted. “In the beginning
God…”
Of course, in time, well after the
Bible’s story came to an end, Christians would meet those who denied the
existence of God. So, Christian
philosophers began to develop arguments to support the belief in the existence
of God. Some of those arguments were
better than others and those arguments can still get the attention of those who
are willing to listen. Even if a person
remains unconvinced most go away with more respect for Christian thinkers.
That is, unless they are some of
the new atheists like Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion. Fair play doesn’t
seem to be in their rulebook. This is
why atheist Michael Ruse says, “The God
Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist….”
If the Bible nowhere tries to prove
God exists, it also nowhere tries to give a formal definition of God. Instead it describes God through picturesque
names and through a principle which is confirmed in every part of the Bible. The
best way to understand the God of the Bible is to understand that God is
like what he does.
So, the opening statement of the
Bible combines these two elements—the assumption of God’s existence and the
affirmation that God is like what he does.
The lesson of that opening statement?
God is the Creator.
My goal this morning is to deal
with some very basic truths revealed about God in the earliest verses of the
Bible. Unfortunately, I can’t do that
without at least saying something about the conflict over creation and
evolution.
Part of the conflict arises because
we have combatants who are continually making assertions outside their area of
expertise. We have individuals who are
trained in the sciences who make dogmatic statements about theology. And we have individuals who are trained in
theology who make dogmatic statements about science.
Since neither group is likely to
shut-up, I might as well add my voice to the confusion.
I’ll begin my saying that for a
significant number of Christians, the problem is not the mechanics or process of
evolution, but what we might call the grand assumption of evolution. Simply put, “evolution” is about change. Most Christians look at dinosaur fossils when
they visit a museum and say to themselves, “Well, these beasts aren’t around
anymore, so things have changed.”
Christians differ about just how much change has taken place since God
said “Let there be…” but most do believe change has taken place. And they believe that change shows the
handiwork of the Creator.
Here’s where most Christians differ
from naturalistic evolutionists or Darwinian evolutionists. These naturalistic evolutionists believe the
whole thing started by chance, without direction or purpose. The universe is the product of chance; that
is the grand assumption of evolution. Here
are a couple examples of that thinking.
Douglas Futuyma, whose textbook is
used several colleges, writes: “Some shrink from the conclusion that the
human species was not designed, has no purpose, and is the product of mere
mechanical mechanisms--but this seem to be the message of evolution."[1]
Harvard's George Simpson is a
little more direct when he tells us that evolution forces us to conclude that "man is the result of a purposeless and
natural process that did not have him in mind."[2]
As you know, I’m a fan of mystery
fiction. Detective after detective, from
Navaho tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn to Oxford‘s DI Robbie Lewis, at one
time or another has had occasion to say, “I don’t believe in
coincidences.” Yet when we look at the universe around us and
wonder about its origin, we are supposed to believe in coincidence.
So, when we look at the Bible’s
grand assumption and the Darwinian grand assumption we make a remarkable
discovery.
The simple truth of the matter is
that the notion which says that everything around us is the work of a Creator
is a matter of faith.
At the same time, the notion which
says that everything around us is the product of chance is a matter of faith.
Now, in neither instance is “faith”
blind faith. It is faith based on
evidence. Of course, sometimes the
Darwinist and the creationist look at the same evidence and come away with
different conclusions.
That’s about as close to making
scientific pronouncements as I’m comfortable getting. Still, I’m going say a few more things about
the conflict; this time, I’ll wear my amateur theologian hat. I’m doing so since I just used the term
“creationist” and I want to be clear about what I mean—or don’t mean.
As we approach the issue of God as
Creator, I should tell you some things I do not believe. I won’t go into detail
but I’ll just say enough to clarify my perspective on the matter.
--I do not believe there was a
pre-Adamic race of humans who lived and died before God went back to the
drawing board to start over with us.
Some of our fellow Christians suggest this as an explanation for cave
paintings and the ancient humanlike bones found by paleontologists.
--I do not believe God created the
universe with the appearance of great age in order to test our faith. Honest, there are people who believe God
plays such games.
--I do not believe Satan created
the fossils in order to cause Christians to doubt the Bible. I heard this explanation from a Cree Indian
woman from Oklahoma who had first heard it decades before from her pastor on
the reservation.
--I do not believe holding to an
“old earth” cosmology is incompatible with faithfulness to the Scripture. Those who believe in an old earth have not
sold out to Darwinism.
--I do not believe holding to a
“young earth” cosmology means you have greater faith in the Scripture.
--I do not believe Genesis 1 must
be taken as meaning creation took place in six literal 24-hour days. Alternative explanations have been held by
Jews and Christians for centuries, long before Charles Darwin.
Now, to put my preacher hat
on. In presenting the story of Creation,
the Bible is saying something, not simply about our world, but about God.
What, then, does this story tell us
about God?
1.
This story tells us that God is
distinct from and independent of the universe.
Pantheism fails to see this. The notion which says that God is in the
trees, the rocks, the flowers is not a Biblical notion. The Bible doesn’t let us confuse the Creator
with his creation.
Perhaps you’ve heard the Veterans
Administration has given permission for the hammer of the Norse god Thor to be
placed on the markers of soldiers who are “heathen,” adherents of the revived
“pagan” religion. Thor is part of the
Teutonic religious tradition. The
Teutonic religion teaches that the world was made out of two preexistent lands
of ice and fire.
The biblical story tells us that
God created the world out of nothing. As
someone has put it, in creating the universe God was like a magician pulling a
rabbit out of a hat. Only there was no
rabbit, and there was no hat.
Naturalism, which posits the eternity of matter, even in the Big Bang,
is incompatible with this notion. Cosmos host
Carl Sagan began each episode by intoning the mantra of naturalism: "The
Cosmos is all there is all there ever will be." Sagan had access to the biggest and best of
the world’s telescopes but none of them was big enough or powerful enough to
allow him to say that. Somewhere the
question must be faced: Why is there something rather than nothing?
The universe is dependent upon
God. God did not create the world and
then withdraw to watch what happened. He
continues to care for and keep the world running.
2.
This story tells us that the whole
of creation reflects the wisdom and power of God.
When most of the men and women we
meet in the Bible looked up to the skies they were prompted to praise God (Ps 19:1
“The Heavens declare the glory of God.")
Even the final book of the Bible pictures envisions people giving praise
to God because of the great work of creation.
(REV 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and
honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created
and have their being.”}
Of course not everyone sees it that
way. Charles Swindoll tells of two
families which happened to be visiting the Grand Canyon for the first
time. As one of the families stood
looking down into the canyon, the father bowed his head a moment then turned to
his wife and children and said, “Isn’t God’s creation majestic?”
Close by, the other family also
stood looking down into the natural wonder.
Suddenly, the father spit into the canyon, and then turning to his wife
and children, he said, “That’s a record.
I’ve never spit a mile before.”
In his letter to the Romans Paul
says there is enough information revealed in nature to let people know
something about the greatness and glory of God.
If they don’t see it, there’s something wrong with their vision.
3. This
story tells us that God does not want us to treat the gift of our physical
world with either disdain or veneration.
The whole of creation was declared
to be "good". Any system of
thinking which says the spiritual world is good and the physical world is evil
just doesn’t square with the Bible’s view of the world God created.
In light of this, the story speaks
of how God created humankind to have a special relationship with the earth. It’s summed up in this command: Fill
the earth and govern it. Just what
does this mean? Here’s an explanation
from a specialist in Hebrew.
One might paraphrase it as
follows: “harness [earth’s] potential and use its resources for your benefit.”
In an ancient Israelite context this would suggest cultivating its fields,
mining its mineral riches, using its trees for construction, and domesticating
its animals. [In so doing] they will
serve as God’s vice-regents on earth. They together, the human race
collectively, have the responsibility of seeing to the welfare of that which is
put under them and the privilege of using it for their benefit.
We are stewards who should be
thankful and respectful for the rest of the creation in which we are invited to
take delight. Still, there is no
wrongdoing in using the resources of the physical world to preserve and protect
humankind.
Christians who truly understand
their role as stewards will neither abuse nature nor worship nature.
4.
This story tells us that creation
was the purposeful choice of God.
He did not need to create us but he
chose to create us. Having made that
choice, God created a world suitable for us.
Think about this: If our physical
world—the planet Earth—were very much different, we couldn’t live here. Life as we know it would be impossible; if
life existed, it would be very different.
*
Bodies
of water freeze from the top down rather from the bottom up. If ice sank to the bottom of a pond or formed
at the bottom of that pond, the plant life would die, then the fish would
die. As it is, plants continue to
produce oxygen even if the pond is frozen over, so fish can live. Keep something else in mind, water in its
solid state—ice—expands whereas most materials as they cool contract. Because water expands it floats instead of
sinking. Because of this fish and other
aquatic life can live through the winter.[3] God, you see, was thinking ahead when he
designed water.
*
Earth is
tilted 23° from
upright. If the axis were not tilted the
earth’s poles would be much colder and the equator would be much hotter. We would have only about half as much livable
land as we have now.
*
If Earth
were much smaller the atmosphere would be thinner and we would be exposed to
hazards from the 20,000 meteorites which enter and burn up in our atmosphere
daily.
I could suggest a few more examples
of how this planet is just right for life as we know it, just right for
us. According to the Bible God created
the earth to be our special home. The
psalmist says,
PS 115:16 The
highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth he has given to man.
Critics argue that there actually
might be multiple universes and that we just hit the jackpot by getting the one
where human life could evolve. It’s just
chance or coincidence (that word again).
That, of course, is just theoretical; there is no evidence for other universes.
God gave us a home which was right
for us because he wanted us to flourish and enjoy our home, to grow and
exercise our creativity, to reach our potential. That's pretty exciting when we think about
it.
It's also challenging; if God had a
purpose in creating us, we should be concerned to find our part in that
purpose. That challenge involves living
out whatever it means to be made in the image of God. That’s a profound notion that implies a
special relationship with God that no other creature enjoys.
5.
This story tells us that God—as
the creator of the universe—including us humans—knows best how we can reach our
potential as creatures made in the image of God.
Some have a hard time handling
that. They like to feel they know best
for themselves, at least in the arena of spirit. They feel they don’t need any outside counsel
or directions for living.
Yet few of these men and women
would add a new piece of hardware to a computer system without checking what
the manufacturer’s directions might be.
I’ve read this story many times
but, truthfully, I don’t know if it’s true.
But even if it’s not, think of it as a kind of modern parable.
During the hard days of the
mid-1930’s a young man from Michigan had somehow managed to save enough money
to buy his first car, a used car. Of
course, all he could afford was an early Model T Ford. While driving new purchase home along a
country road the car simply stopped running.
No matter what the young man tried the car wouldn’t start. The young man’s opened the hood as he’d seen
others do but he really had no idea what to do next and anyway his only tool
was a screwdriver. But while he stood
there a large black limousine pulled up and stopped. A thin, well-dressed man got out and walked
over to the stranded car. He asked the
young man to describe what the problem was; when he finished, the stranger took
the screwdriver and made a few adjustments under the hood. He then told the young man to try to start
the car. It started right away.
The stranger closed the hood and
headed back to his waiting limo. The
young man shouted his thanks and asked, “What’s your name?” As he closed the limo door the stranger
responded, “It’s Ford, Henry Ford.”
The point is that sometimes it
takes the maker to get things going the way they’re supposed to be. What happens if the Maker is ignored? Maybe the headlines tell the story.
Conclusion
During this past week we’ve been
hearing and reading the unfolding story of the death of Cory Monteith. The thirty-one year old died last Saturday
from an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol. Monteith was one of the stars of Glee, the show about a show choir at an
Ohio high school. He was a talented
actor and a gifted singer. He had a major
role on one to TV’s most successful programs.
He had a beautiful girlfriend and the respect of his colleagues. Yet, it doesn’t seem to have been
enough. Since the time he was a
teenager, he needed drugs to make up for what was missing.
As I thought about this, I
remembered an episode of Glee that
aired in 2010. Monteith’s character Finn
makes a toasted cheese sandwich on which he believes he seen the image of
Jesus. Finn even prays to the sandwich,
making some self-centered requests. Then
he suggests the glee club sing some religious songs.
The rest of the show focused on his
fellow choir member’s anger at the very idea of God. Only one member, an African American girl had
something positive to say. One character
suggested believing in God was akin to believing in a dwarf who reads romance
novels and lives in a teapot on the dark side of the moon. No one had much use for God.
As I thought of that I recalled
another gifted and talented young man, a young man who also searched for
something he felt was missing. His name
was Augustine; he lived in the fourth century.
You know he became a Christian
after a great struggle. Like the cast of
Glee, he felt God was just a little too intrusive. But finally he surrendered. He told the story in his book The Confessions. In that book, he comes to this conclusion:”Thou
hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its
rest in thee.”
What a statement about the
Creator. God has made us in such a way
that we find no lasting satisfaction apart from a relationship with him. He has made us to know us. That is why the Grand Assumption is so
significant.
