The Gooch Lane church of Christ is a group of people in Madison, Alabama seeking to study the Bible and put God’s teachings into practice. We’d love to have you join us for Bible study and worship.
How God Created the Heavens and Earth
by Greg Chandler
Since the spread of Charles Darwin’s theories concerning evolution, debates have raged about the formation of Earth and the beginnings of life. For Darwinists, as well as those who have taken a modified view of his original theories, the origins of Earth are unexplainable; simply put, their conclusion ultimately leads to the idea that “matter” is eternal. Evolutionists conclude that life began when non-living matter acted upon other non-living matter[1] and, throughout billions of years, this early cocktail of life evolved into the species of plants and animals currently present on Earth.
Sensing the rise in popularity of Darwinism, some religious groups sought to merge his ideas with Creationism, the theory that God created the heavens and the earth. What resulted has been entitled Theistic Evolution and can be explained in this way: God created the basic building blocks of life, then left them to evolve into the present lifeforms that are currently known.
Though the above two ideas have remained popular in human thought and teaching, neither is supported by the Bible. Genesis 1 opens with the words, “In the beginning God,” then succinctly pictures Him as speaking everything into existence in six days. On the seventh day, the text states that “God rested” (see Genesis 2:1-2). This is not resting in the sense of relaxation after an exhausting task; instead, it simply means that God’s creation was perfect and no more was needed. Think of this in terms of an artist who determines that his/her painting is finished; to add any more would diminish the work, so the artist rests from painting. Genesis 2 retells the creation account, with an emphasis on man’s creation, his placement in the Garden of Eden, and his need for a companion. Details brought out in chapter 1 are minimized to bring an intense focus on humans and their relationship with God.
With the above stated, it is important to note that God never intended for the Bible to be used as a science book that explains in minute detail every element of creation. While chemistry, physics, genetics, and a host of other scientific ideas had their beginning in the creation, explanation of such things would have detracted from the point of the creation account. Instead, God gives a picture of pre-creation like this: “The earth was without form and voice, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” To put this in simpler language, one could say that the earth was “chaotic chaos” or “wild wilderness.” The picture God shows to readers on page one of the Bible is that as Creator, He can bring order out of disorder. This begins a theme that runs throughout the entirety of the Bible. Thus, there are numerous passages about God’s role as Creator as well as many spiritual situations that are explained in the genre of creation to demonstrate how God can bring order to disorder.
If you are interested in a scientific discussion of Creation vs. Evolution, click here to hear a lecture presented by Dr. Harry “Buddy” Payne Jr. on this topic.
[1] The “Big Bang Theory” is one popular idea. Oversimplified, the theory states that cosmic matter collided, resulting in the solar system as we know it, and combinations of inorganic matter resulted in the earliest building blocks of life.