Today we are continuing with our Creedal Series and we are onto maker of heaven and earth. Somehow I drew the short straw and got this immense topic. I had to keep reminding myself the purpose of this series is that we understand what is in the Creeds so that when we say them we believe them and comprehend them. Often in the church we take things for granted and regurgitate phrases without understanding the roots of what we are saying and what we are committing to. Somehow I don’t think I have to go into what creator of heaven and earth means but to help our entire community understand that even with all the advances in understanding of the world and in the world of science this is as true as when it was written over 1400 hundred years ago.
We live in a society where some say you need to check your brain at the church door or that science is our enemy. We have nothing to fear from science and dare I say that certain aspects of evolution can be true and at the same time God is still God and the Bible is still relevant and true. First, let me start with saying that there are numerous scientists, physists, astronomers, and even molecular biologists, who believe in God being the creator of heaven and earth. Learning about the world around us has not taken away their belief in God. Studying what makes up the earth and the world only helps them to see that their is some element that is behind it all, one that they may not be able to see, or touch, but would be needed to create order out of all that is.
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Francis Collins heads of the US side of the Human Genome Project, the group that mapped human DNA, he is a firm believer in a personal God, even if evolution occurred. As a matter of fact the more he studied human DNA...
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...ther we evolved, whether we came from apes. The fact that this part of the Creed addresses that God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Nothing in science has disproved this fact. Can we wrap our heads around that and celebrate Gods Awesome creation. If we can than we can focus on the real meaning of Christianity.
The real meaning has nothing to do with creation stories and everything to do with Gods love as demonstrated most profoundly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are building up to this as we continue on in the Creedal series.
Let us live taking a little more time appreciating God’s beauty around us that proves God takes great care in providing. Then we can reach out to others and help them understand how the world proves that God cares for us and that they can firmly believe God is creator of heaven and earth. Let us pray.
Chapter 3, The Bible, Creation, and Science by Robert Branson, PhD presented some interesting aspects of biblical interpretations relative to science. “With the rapid changes and developments that all areas of modern science produce, it is a general belief that if an informed person is made to choose between science or the Bible, science will be chosen.” (loc 647 Kindle, Branson) Dr. Branson tries and explain the three positions people take with biblical studies. The three positions examined by Dr. Branson are 1. Concordance, 2. Young-Earth Creati...
Further still Mayr makes the attempt at understanding the phenomena of why man cannot agree to having evolved from the same common ancestor as the wild animal the chimpanzee. It may seem that, according to Mayr, that man's own inability to come to terms with his own evolution, stems from a feeling of not wanting to be reduced to just another animal in the chain of life. For hundreds of years, as Mayr examines, religion after religion has always placed man on some sort of pedestal, superior to all other species. And when Darwin confronted the world with possibly another truth, he shattered man's perception of himself. Even today, a hundred years after Darwin first challenged the accepted order of man as a divine being, Mayr still raises controversy in the debate over man as being just another animal undergoing a constant evolutionary change like all other animals.
H.J. McCloskey claims that “proofs” are not valid and do not provide enough evidence that God exists. In the article, he claims that these “proofs” should be abandoned but he also claims that theist do not come to God or religion solely based on these “proofs”. In the article on page 62, McCloskey quotes a colleague saying, “most theist do not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs, but come to religion based on other reasons and factors.” Theists believe in God and His Word over any “theory” that scientist can come up with. The Bible outweighs any other “theory” to theists. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Atheists may make a good argument that God does not exist but there is no documented evidence proving evolution like the documented writings in the Bible telling the story of how God created the heavens and the earth. McCloskey is correct that “proofs” do not prove God’s existence but they do help see the viewpoint of theists. It is ultimately up to each person to believe in what they want to believe in. God gave us free will to be able to choose for ourselves. McCloskey talks about free will negatively and also brings up the point that since evil exists, God cannot. This is not true by any means and we will dispute McCloskey’s points throughout this essay.
When you really break it down you can see that all things are truly created by God. Some may disagree and say that man has created everything from nails to computers, but the Lord created the materials that are used to fabricate this devices, thus He has created all. “When we know that He created all these things, we can know that He has an eternal purpose”2.
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
In the end, we may indeed recognize that in some areas God’s given revelation leaves us with questions, such as how we are to explain the paradoxical hypostasis of Christ’s full divinity and humanity. However, we must also remain grateful for the revelation which remains unambiguous, such as that which explains how Christ took our place of death in order to satisfy God’s wrath, that we might receive righteousness and live with Him forever. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the salvation brought to us through the person and work of Christ!
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking Origin of Species, which would introduce the seminal theory of evolution to the scientific community. Over 150 years later, the majority of scientists have come to a consensus in agreement with this theory, citing evidence in newer scientific research. In an average high school biology classroom, one may imagine an instructor that has devoted much of his life to science and a predominantly Christian class of about twenty-five students. On the topic of evolution, one of the students might ask, “Why would God have taken the long route by creating us through billion years of evolution?” while another student may claim “The Book of Genesis clearly says that the earth along with all living creatures was created in just six days, and Biblical dating has proven that the earth is only 6000 years old.” Finally a third student interjects with the remark “maybe the Bible really is just a book, and besides, science has basically already proven that evolution happened, and is continuing to happen as we speak.”
Humans have asked questions about their origin and their purpose on earth for eons. The Bible tells humans that God created them and explains their purpose. However, since the Renaissance, humanism answers questions about origins by naturalistic means and science has been redefined in the process. Most institutions of higher education and many individuals have adopted the naturalistic theory of evolution to explain human origin without considering its effects on faith. In contrast to prevailing thought at Goshen College, a literal six-day creation is foundational to the Gospel message. Combining evolution and Christianity makes one’s faith less logical and opens one’s science to new quandaries.
In the first chapters of “On the Incarnation”, St. Athanasius discusses the creation of humanity (and all other things). Another point of discussion in the first pages of this book is the fall of humanity and the foundation of our need for salvation. “In regard to the making of the universe and the creation of all things there have been various opinions, and...some say that all things are self-originated and, so to speak, haphazard.” (Athanasius 2) There are many different viewpoints describing Creation, but all are contradictory to the fact that the world and all things in it were created by the Word of God. (Athanasius 3) Evidence of this is demonstrated by the intricate order of all things. Every creature, every plant, every human has a purpose and place in nature. Even inanimate, unintelligent matter functions naturally and sustains itself along with other things transitively. God created Adam and Eve in His image and with creation came their original holiness. They lived in harmony with God ...
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
The creed walks through the story from creation to now. God is the creator of everything. He sent his only son to come to the earth to save us. He was born of a virgin and lived a life devoted to God. He faced good and bad times, but never strayed away from his purpose. He was crucified to save others now and forever. Before he ascended into heaven, he gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. We now have the opportunity to have Christ live in us. This creed that teaches basic faith gives me a thirst to want to know more. There is so much more to the whole story than what is stated in the creed.
We should understand that Jesus was our creator first, then our savior. Mankind is nothing without our creator and savior. For mankind to grasp the realization of his origin, he must have faith that his life begins with God and ends with the decisions that he makes on this side of eternity. Mankind should not take the task of having dominion over every living creature lightly; this job is an honor and should be treated as one.
...eveloped, and especially during the Enlightenment, God and religion were relegated to a lesser role because it was thought that science could explain everything. Now, though, the farther we plunge into science, the more questions we find that can only be answered by religion. When science and Christianity are both studied and well understood, especially in the context of their limitations, it is possible to integrate them, or at least for them to complement each other, in my view of the world.
The relationship between science and religion has been debated for many years. With strong personal opinions and beliefs, it is not surprising that no progress has been made in this argument. In my opinion, I feel as though religion and science have to be related in some way. There is no possible way people can separate two things that attempt to prove the same facts. My belief is that a metaphorical bridge has to be formed to connect the two. Personally, I feel as though science can be a compliment to religion, and that the scientific discoveries can and should be used to prove that God exists, not disprove it. If science did this, then the relationship between science and religion could be a friendly one. If that happened, people could stop debating and fighting over the two, allowing priests and scientists to talk and work together peacefully.
Drawing from the arguments, it is clear that god’s existence is not in line with humanity, logic, or science. This is because logic tends to disregard the arguments that are stipulated in religion. Similarly, science disapproves religious arguments on the existence of god.