This is IOPNA’s first
conversational study of CREATION in Genesis 1 and …….
we’re going to take it . . . n i c e ‘n’ s l o w l y . . . to hopefully avoid missing something vital.
we’re going to take it . . . n i c e ‘n’ s l o w l y . . . to hopefully avoid missing something vital.
Did you know that you and I were there at the beginning of the universe?
Well…I guess everything eventually gets recycled so I suppose my atoms must have been somewhere there….but I can’t remember anything about it – nor can you, I bet!
No, but I do know Genesis 1 opens with: “In
the beginning God…”
Okay, the Bible might say ‘God’ was there in the beginning – but how did ‘God’come to be there?...who made ‘God’?... Who is ‘God’ anyway?
Whoa! One step at a time. Let’s start with who wrote this.
Was anyone there to watch it all happen?
We know Moses wasn’t even a twinkle in his father’s eye when any of the events in Genesis took place – he doesn’t show up until Exodus 2:2 – but he is credited with this book by Jesus Christ (John 7:22, Luke 24:44), so somehow Moses compiled it and keep in mind, he was an Egyptian prince, when that country was the world’s super-power, and had access to the best education on offer.
If we sneak a look at chapter 2, verse 4, we find the Hebrew word toledoth is used, which appears 14 times as ‘generations/history/genealogy’ in the book of Genesis, 11 times in a way that distinguishes one section from the next or possibly one author from the next. This would mean God must have personally written or dictated:
“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created…”
Really? So getting back to: ‘In the beginning…’…
God doesn’t tell us who He is, nor does He tell us how He came to be there; all we need to know is God was there in the beginning and He is about to personally tell us what He did!
Are we given any clue as to what God is like?
The word God uses is elohim, the plural of eloah, and a compound of the word el for‘mighty’. So ‘God’ is mighty and uses this strange plural name: elohim. (This word could also describe a unanimous bench of judges. In fact Proverbs 8 is worth a read.)
I suppose this first verse in the Bible is like turning the first sod on a building site. If we don’t get the set-out right the building will turn out a disaster… so we’d better take it slowly don’t you think?
Huh?? What’s Science got to do with it? I thought the Bible is a religious book not a science book.”
Nevertheless, there’s a couple of basic laws of physics that are worth considering:
The First Law of Thermodynamics states: 'Energy can neither be created nor destroyed'.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states: 'The direction of spontaneous change in a system is towards maximum disorder'.
This is called Entropy or 'time's arrow'. In other words – inevitable decay over time.
I’ve heard that Science has proved the universe is winding down from a beginning.
Yes but Science can’t explain where the energy, matter and design of the universe came from in the first place.
Come to think of it – no, I’ve never heard any credible explanation.
So let's see if the Bible agrees with Science on the Second Law at least:
Psalm 102:26 says: "They (the heavens and the earth) will perish, but You will endure; yes they will grow old like a garment…”
Isaiah 34:4 “All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree.”
Isaiah 51:6“For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment…”
Acknowledgement:Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 1976, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI
Image credit: everythingmachete.blogspot.com
Quotations are from the New King James Version.
No comments:
Post a Comment