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My rejection of the whole Christian package was largely based on my understanding of the Creation versus Big Bang debate. I could not see how to reconcile a seven day divine creation with scientific knowledge of the formation and development of the earth and universe. If the Bible was incorrect on this point, then it undermines its whole credibility. In order to become a Christian, confident in my faith, I have had to genuinely overcome this obstacle. This is my personal understanding, far simpler than academics on both sides of the debate, but how I have come to resolve the question.
The Bible is not a concise history of the universe and our world, nor is it a science book. It does not seek to tell us everything that has happened and how from the beginning of the universe onwards. What the Bible does contain is Gods message to humanity, teaching about our place in the vast universe, why we are here, the purpose and meaning of life, our responsibilities on earth, how we should conduct ourselves and the future that can be ours.
Genesis, the first book in the Bible, seems to have been written approximately 3000 years ago. It is amazing that something written so long ago can still cause such passionate discussion. Despite its age the Genesis creation story carries a timeless message for all, which is obviously the point.
I understand this to be essentially a simple message that is surrounded by much confusion. In context, the creation of the universe naturally is the first story of the Bible, but it is told in a single page before the narrative moves on to the Garden of Eden.
The simple message of the Genesis creation account is that God created everything.
There is no need to dwell on the seven days of creation or the particular order of the creation. The Bible often uses stories to help us understand its message. I am convinced this is a story to present the main point that God created everything. The universe is here because God created it, there is light and dark, day and night, land and water, animals and people because God wanted this to be so and made it happen.
Scientists are trying to answer the questions surrounding the what, when and how of the creation of the universe and human life. There is an excellent book by Bill Bryson, “A short history of nearly everything”, which succeeds in explaining science to non-scientists. I took from this book just how precarious life is and how perfect creation is. If the equations and balances at play were only just slightly different, then there would be no life. It seems implausible that all these perfect arrangements exist through random chance.
The science as yet is incomplete. Assuming at some point in the future scientists develop complete coherent theories describing and explaining life and the universe, we will still be left with the question, why? And why we are here? This is what the Bible is telling us. We are here because God made it so.
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
There Must be More to Life...
Until recently I lived a Godless life. I felt there was no purpose to life. Modern scientific discoveries showed how the world was created by a big bang and that the universe has been expanding ever since. Over millions and millions of years the earth moulded itself by chance in to a planet that could host humans, who themselves are the product of evolution from some slimy organisms.
Between birth and death is a period of time called life, it is all there is, it is all we have. There is no purpose to life, it just results from a random set of circumstances that have given all of us an opportunity to have some time on earth. What we do with our time is up to us. Why not just focus solely on our own pleasure and not worry about anyone else?
I broadly accepted this accidental, random and meaningless nature of our existence in the world. But I have come to realise that this must be wrong. There has to be more to it than this. There are three key realisations that have changed the way I now view humanity and the world.
1. This World is Extraordinarily Complex
The world is supremely complicated where everything is connected, dependent and interrelated, and I am not talking about technology. Science is discovering how eco-systems work and how the natural world has a perfect balance as a sustainable eco-system. Humans with our insatiable thirst for knowledge and increased capability have developed the power to disrupt the natural balance. Consequently global warming, species extinction and raw material shortage are realities. I am sure human advances will be causing problems we don’t even know about or understand. It seems likely our knowledge is only partial, maybe only ever can be partial, and yet the natural world around us is so fantastically beautiful and intelligent.
It seems utterly implausible to me that the whole world could be the result of random chance. Surely it must have been designed. Even a relatively simple house does not get randomly assembled from a set of accidentally thrown together atoms. The house has a designer and builder. So how could this whole cohesive fantastic system, known as the earth, be randomly flung together? It seems implausible to me it could be a product of chance.
2. There is an Innate Sense of Justice
People have an innate sense of justice, a feeling that some things are just not right. Murder, physical assault and stealing are obvious examples. It is more than law that makes us think this is unacceptable, there is something deep within our core that tells us this is wrong. But it is wider than this we value honesty above dishonesty, integrity above duplicity, loyalty above disloyalty and love above hate. In fact where people engage in the less valued behaviour we tend to require a justification of actions. For example, consider the current MPs expense scandal in the UK Parliament.
What would life be like if everyone was only interested in themselves? It might be like one of those computer games, where the main character can act with impunity and shoot whoever crosses their path. I can imagine a world with endemic violence, deception, and greed, a world without trust, friendship and love, a world where people have no respect for their environment, other people or themselves and a world full of binge drinking, drug taking, neglect of children and rejection of responsibility.
Yes, this does sound familiar and perhaps it is what happens when we take God out of society, we turn our back on his values and pursue only self-gratification.
No, I thank the Lord that there is a different way.
3. People can be Unselfish
People do have a strong inner sense of unselfishness. We form friendships, groups, societies, become fans and supporters, campaign for others and causes, help other people. Above all we love, we trust. If our love is betrayed or our trust broken we are devastated and if we break someone else’s trust or hurt the ones we love we are disappointed in ourselves. We are clearly meant for companionship. A common thread that comes out of articles about people who have turned out to do bad things, murder etc is a lack of love in their lives from an early age.
These three realisations point me to the conclusion that there has to be a God. A God who has created mankind for his purposes, a God who has given people intelligence and free will to do what they decide, A God granting the consciousness of what is right and the desire and capability to behave in an unselfish manner. If more people could explore the teachings of God, through the Bible and the example Jesus gives in his life on earth, then our world would be a much better place.
Between birth and death is a period of time called life, it is all there is, it is all we have. There is no purpose to life, it just results from a random set of circumstances that have given all of us an opportunity to have some time on earth. What we do with our time is up to us. Why not just focus solely on our own pleasure and not worry about anyone else?
I broadly accepted this accidental, random and meaningless nature of our existence in the world. But I have come to realise that this must be wrong. There has to be more to it than this. There are three key realisations that have changed the way I now view humanity and the world.
1. This World is Extraordinarily Complex
The world is supremely complicated where everything is connected, dependent and interrelated, and I am not talking about technology. Science is discovering how eco-systems work and how the natural world has a perfect balance as a sustainable eco-system. Humans with our insatiable thirst for knowledge and increased capability have developed the power to disrupt the natural balance. Consequently global warming, species extinction and raw material shortage are realities. I am sure human advances will be causing problems we don’t even know about or understand. It seems likely our knowledge is only partial, maybe only ever can be partial, and yet the natural world around us is so fantastically beautiful and intelligent.
It seems utterly implausible to me that the whole world could be the result of random chance. Surely it must have been designed. Even a relatively simple house does not get randomly assembled from a set of accidentally thrown together atoms. The house has a designer and builder. So how could this whole cohesive fantastic system, known as the earth, be randomly flung together? It seems implausible to me it could be a product of chance.
2. There is an Innate Sense of Justice
People have an innate sense of justice, a feeling that some things are just not right. Murder, physical assault and stealing are obvious examples. It is more than law that makes us think this is unacceptable, there is something deep within our core that tells us this is wrong. But it is wider than this we value honesty above dishonesty, integrity above duplicity, loyalty above disloyalty and love above hate. In fact where people engage in the less valued behaviour we tend to require a justification of actions. For example, consider the current MPs expense scandal in the UK Parliament.
What would life be like if everyone was only interested in themselves? It might be like one of those computer games, where the main character can act with impunity and shoot whoever crosses their path. I can imagine a world with endemic violence, deception, and greed, a world without trust, friendship and love, a world where people have no respect for their environment, other people or themselves and a world full of binge drinking, drug taking, neglect of children and rejection of responsibility.
Yes, this does sound familiar and perhaps it is what happens when we take God out of society, we turn our back on his values and pursue only self-gratification.
No, I thank the Lord that there is a different way.
3. People can be Unselfish
People do have a strong inner sense of unselfishness. We form friendships, groups, societies, become fans and supporters, campaign for others and causes, help other people. Above all we love, we trust. If our love is betrayed or our trust broken we are devastated and if we break someone else’s trust or hurt the ones we love we are disappointed in ourselves. We are clearly meant for companionship. A common thread that comes out of articles about people who have turned out to do bad things, murder etc is a lack of love in their lives from an early age.
These three realisations point me to the conclusion that there has to be a God. A God who has created mankind for his purposes, a God who has given people intelligence and free will to do what they decide, A God granting the consciousness of what is right and the desire and capability to behave in an unselfish manner. If more people could explore the teachings of God, through the Bible and the example Jesus gives in his life on earth, then our world would be a much better place.
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