It’s a brand new year and what better way to say happy New Year to one and all, whilst sharing our great happiness at having launched ACHE’s brand new blog page, than a refreshing review of the age-old controversy about our starting line genesis story, of that between the accepted scientific theorem of facts and the apocryphal account in that first book of the greatest tome on earth, the Bible.
God’s seven-day creation process has always been knocked by the science world for being so out of sync with the ‘known’ scientific facts, for being very clearly anachronistic, especially in terms of what we now know of the timeline of the earth’s birth and formation. But is it really? Or have we just been too liberal and therefore self-frustrating in applying our own sensibilities to the Bible writer’s choice of narrative style?
ACHE Blog humbly presents this blog review that seeks to deliver fresh new insights into the astounding and perfect agreement between the scientific expose and the Genesis story. Grab your Bible for this edifying analysis and let’s begin!
How Genesis meets science on Creation.
Day 1:
C1. V1-2: In the beginning. This accurately captures and describes pre-morphogenetic earth ( earth before land formation) being “without form or void”, in which a volatile, hot molten surface (“the waters”) is covered with miles thick, light-blocking atmospheric mantle of dense, raging particle storms, and violent lightning, “the Spirit of God”, flashing, (“hovering”) through it all, with otherwise deep darkness covering the churning, molten surface (darkness over the surface of the deep”).
V3-5: slowly the surface cooled and the dense, dark vapors separated out of the dark, gelatinous atmosphere allowing the light of the sun to pour in onto the surface, and “there was light”. Which in turn, with the rotation of the young earth, allowed for day and night to be “separated.”
Day 2:
V6-8. Further cooling. Water begins to rise as vapor “separating water from water”, a cloud-studded “sky” slowly forms.
Day 3:
V9-13. Even more cooling. Morphogenesis begins as the thermogenic violence on the surface recedes and “land” masses begin to appear. Remarkably true of the genesis account plant forms are first to form beginning from water-based photosynthetic planktons. Over time these yield land crusting moss-like plant forms from which, slowly, skyward growing seed plants develop.
Day 4:
V14-19. Speaks with amazing fidelity to the way the skies with further atmospheric cooling cleared up further to allow the lights from the heavens to appear even more clearly allowing for the revealed prominence of sun, moon, and stars, thus “setting them in the expanse of the sky.”
Day 5:
V20-23: deals with the extremely slow period of sea life forms evolving and slowing becoming ground-based first as invertebrates then as amphibians such as salamanders then reptiles. And here comes the most powerful twist of all. Brace yourselves! In these verses, the Bible mentions the creatures that teem in the waters then birds. Not until the sixth day is the preeminence of narrative given to land-based animals. From sea creatures to birds? Why is that? Because mammals came after dinosaurs which effectively were wiped out along with most of life with that asteroid impact mass extinction event millions of years ago. What survived that chapter were birds, descendants of the dinosaurs! In effect, life on the fifth day started was the sea swarming creatures and ended with birds! Amazing.
Day 6:
V24-31. The continued slow progressive appearance of land-based creatures, over several extinction events, produced increasing complexities and varieties of life forms, including, ultimately, creation’s magnum opus – homo sapiens.
Discussion:
It’s exhilarating to see this magnificent level of concurrence between the geologic data and the record from the Book of Genesis. Hopefully, this provides the reader renewed confidence and hope in the ultimate certainties of a carefully crafted creation and the implicit assurance of a loving, prescient creator.
The world needs this assurance in the growing darkness of these days of increased uncertainty and anxieties – about the economy and about global geopolitical security. As we hurtle through fathomless space, figuratively and literally, on this fragile blue ball of ours there is the risk of increasing hopelessness and helplessness losing control of our lives and outcomes.
This improved realization that it was all always under control should give us the strength to forge on, believing more in a world designed ultimately for grand redemption, and one in which good progressively strive to push back the darkness and usher us into the light.
Happy New Year all!!!
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