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Biblical Creation or the myth of Theistic evolution?
I attended a lecture at Southampton University earlier this summer with my brother and four of my mates. The speaker held the view that the opening chapter of Genesis was not a literal account but should be understood as a true myth with allegorical undertones.
The above view is completely unbiblical and whilst I am the first to admit that science is by no means my strongest subject I am more than willing to defend the literal account from a brief exposition of scripture interpreted in its correct context.
Firstly Genesis 1:11 says 'then God said 'let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind whose seed is in itself, on the earth and it was so' Also Gen 1:25 'And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.'
Kind literally means type or species. Read in its common sense literal rendering animals did not form and change into other species but were made according to their species to reproduce according to the likeness of their species. Similarly with plants the point is emphasized yet further as plants yielded seed after their own kind, according to their kind whose seed is in itself!
Yes Noah's ark is another true story and Noah was commanded 'And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. (At no stage from creation to the flood did animals evolve, if we read scripture honestly and maintain a systematic common sense method of interpretation.)
Secondly we read in Genesis 1: 10,12,18,21,25 'And God saw that it was good' Let me ask you something. Do you think survival of the fittest and evolution and animals killing each other is good? No, neither do I and they do that as a result of the fall and original sin. If we read the Genesis account it is also apparent that God created man in his own image 1:26 'and indeed it was very good' (v31). Before the fall of man animals were not eating each other as Genesis 1:30 says 'Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;and it was so'. The same was true of mankind until Genesis 9 when God established the Noahic covenant and animals were given as food for humans. (see Gen 9:3)
Thirdly we did not originate from monkeys. The name Adam means 'man, red earth dust and clay' as that was what he was created from. Scipture also consistently teaches that Adam was the first man created. Genesis 5, 1 Chronicles 1, Matthew 1 and Luke Chapter 3 records this as a factual chronology and lists his literal descendents and Jude 14 explains and confirms that Enoch was the seventh descended from Adam. Romans 5:12 explains that 'therefore just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned'. Luke 3 tells us that Adam was the son not (SON) of God. Mankind was clearly created and did not evolve.
Let us now look at three gardens. Interestingly in the Genesis account the garden of Eden contained the tree of life which is also found in Revelation 22 where the tree of life bears twelve fruits, one for each month of the year. Four rivers flowed in Eden and there is also the river of life in the Revelation account. The Bible explains these as actual places and goes to great effort to record in detail and description their likeness. Lastly scripture is consistent and should not be commented on as verses in isolation but in the context of the whole Bible. In other words the Bible is the best commentary on the Bible.
I have been to the third garden, the Garden of Gethsemane where our Lord and Saviour was betrayed for 30 shekels of silver by Judas as prophesied in (Zech 11:12 and Psalm 41:9) The good news is that He rose again AND HAS PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS AND WE NEED TO REPENT, CONFESS OUR SINS, BELIEVE IN AND RECEIVE HIM INTO OUR LIVES! Liberal critics or contemporary thinkers like to draw out moral lessons and some even deny the resurrection of the Messiah. Acts 1:3 says that 'He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to God.'
Ask yourselves why all the disciples except John departed from Jesus during His crucixion yet after His ressurection they were all martyed bar one, and gave their lives willingly for their faith in Him that He is the Son of God? |
