Affirmation of Creation
Our world is full of evidence of thoughtful and intentional design, from the beauty we see in the brightly colored flowers and birds to the complexity of the cell and the very structure of the universe itself. Evidence of design is seen even in our capacity to appreciate the beauty, and our ability to examine the creation and thoughtfully contemplate its meaning. Inevitably, we are led to wonder how the design came about and what it means for our own existence.
This quest has led many to see a Creator God whose omnipotence is displayed in the size and power of the stars and whose omniscience is seen in the structure of living cells and the precise interaction of physical and organic features of the creation. This conclusion naturally leads one to seek for more information about the God of creation.
Study of the creation has revealed much evidence for the idea that a Divine Creator stands behind the scene. Scientists have wonderful opportunities to see the evidence of Gods creativity and to ponder His greatness. However, the creation does not speak clearly to our minds. The evidence of design is mixed with evidence of evil and violence. Organisms may appear to have imperfections that would not be expected from an all-wise Creator God. The ultimate resolution of this problem is not found in study of the creation, but is available to those who accept the Biblical revelation of God and His relationship to us and our world.
The Bible reveals the story of creation, and teaches us about the Creator God who effortlessly designed the world for His own purposes. In the space of six historical days, He prepared an environment suitable for living creatures and then filled that world with a diversity of organisms. He created humans in His own image and gave them responsibility for His creation. He gave them the gifts of cognition, language, relationships, responsibility, freedom and purpose. Here we find the explanation for the design seen in the creation it reflects the character and purpose of the God of creation.
But what about the evil we see in the creation, which turns so many away from faith in Biblical creation? The Bible also reveals the story of evil, and how violence and death entered the perfection of creation. This story tells us something important about the character of the Creator God. It seems that God places a very high value on the kind of relationships that are possible only with beings that possess freedom of choice. The high value God places on human freedom is best understood in the light of the cross of Calvary. There we see the affirmation of the Biblical message of the special creation of humans, their rebellion and its evil results, and the depth of Gods self-sacrificing love. The cross reveals the significance of the creation story, with its elements of a six-day creative period, seventh-day Sabbath, original diversity of living organisms, and special creation of humans in a perfectly designed paradise. We would do well to contemplate daily the meaning of the cross and how it illuminates our understanding of the Creator God and His works.
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Elsewhere some questioned how Dr. Carson could be a brain surgeon and into science and deny evolution and promote creation. Here from research done by scientists through a group affiliated with his Church we can see that there is plenty of scientific thought and research behind both creation and intelligent design.
The bible is a book of fairy tales. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Fairy tales can be instructive ...
True, but they are not a source for worship.
I mean unless someone REALLY likes The Three Little Pigs.
I prefer Little Red Riding Hood .
Rich,
Read the link the age of the earth.
Question: How long is a day for god?
Speakin' of little red ... there she is !
Iprefer Little Red Riding Hood .
I saw the x rated versio of that one..
4. How can creationists explain radiometric dates of many millions of years?
Creationists suspect there is some kind of systematic error in the methodology of radiometric dating.
What is it? What is the systematic error?
I mean I read what you have posted and it's full of "May have's" and "Could be's" and "We're not sure's" and there is no eveidence to back any of them up. It's all conjacture with no experimentation. No scientific concludsions. No study. With no effort of proof. I'm sorry (and I really am), but if you're going to try to prove that the Earth is only between 6,000 and 10,000 years old and all of evolution is wrong, what you have posted just isn't going to get the job done.
C4P,
That just talks around it. It also says that he made us in his likeness (Do you believe that god sits in a chair in heaven, and looks approximately like us)? It also says that he rested on the 7th day. If he is omnipotent, why did he rest? It also said that god saw his creation and saw it was good... is god prideful? I hope not. If he created days because he felt they were important to us, he was very unclear about that. So again, I ask how long is a day for god?
BTW for the rest of the reading public, I am not mocking religion here. What I am trying to show is that the story of Genesis is not meant to be literal, but from inspiration.
Yes I be!~
I'm sure you did Randy... you know what your name means in England, right?
You could start by using a real science institute for reference.
Just like he said, a collection of fairy tales.
"We must surrender our belief in the lovely poetry of Genesis"
OK so it was only Spencer Tracy in a movie (Inherit the Wind), but it sure fits.
You have still not answered my question. You are letting some site do it for you. It is not for us to research. I have done mine.. hence why I know what questions to ask.
So how long is a day for god? (I'll help you a bit with this... I am using the original source material).
Well, in an primitive time they gave law and order to a primitive people. It also explained the inexplicable. For those who do have faith in a god, the book of Genesis, should say that there is an elegant universe filled with things we can't comprehend. Imagine if you went back in time to Moses and gave him an Ipad... they would have thought him to be god or a wizard. They didn't have the mental tools to understand that it was just a machine, just as an asteroid falling to earth, might have seemed like god himself angry in the heavens.
Is there any evidence to prove that evolution is really random ? Just because some of those links do not meet empirical standards does not prove that evolution has an unknown pattern.
Fossils are beautiful too.
Ride the dinosaurs.
Don't believe in evolution? Try this.
1) Volunteer to be infected with a pathogen
2) Have a physician prescribe an antibiotic
3) When the antibiotic is no longer effective, keep taking it anyway and deny, deny, deny that the pathogen evolved to become resistant
4) Drop your Obamacare and pray for recovery
Only 25 cents a ride.
No entity capable of Intelligent Design
would design a being that believed in
Intelligent Design.
Perrie,
Yes. And now we have science to attempt the explanations of those things that are and will be through a rational and ordered process. No matter how they modernized their manufacturing processes, it did not help the manufacturers of horse drawn carriages and buggy whips.
I just wish that there were some humane way of ridding ourselves of the antiquated thoughts of religion.
Actually Mac,
There is a difference between "Intelligent Design" and creationism.Intelligent Design believes in what science has to offer but says that it was designed by god to function that way. I could accept that. Creationism is literal to the bible. What we are debating is creationism.
But none of the Bible means a thing without Genesis. Without it is denying we have a creator, that we ever sinned and are in need of salvation, and that Jesus coming to earth to die for our sins was not needed. Jesus referred to creation during His ministry and made mention of the flood in reference to his 2nd coming. Isn't denying that God created us and that there was a global flood the same as calling God a liar since He referred to that when He was here and He inspired men to write about it? If we deny God on matters like creation, the flood, the virgin birth, why would we accept anything else he has to tell us?
Belief in God can neither be proved or disproved. Watching people try to do both is semi - amusing.
Don't worry. We've argued enough this before for me to restate my position again. Even though I am right.
John,
The discussion is that there is proof of creationism is true. Hence, my line of questioning.
I agree with you... but that isn't the point here.
What you are talking about is Intelligent Design, not creationism. There are scientist who do believe in Intelligent Design and I can accept that and still be a scientist.Creationism says that the earth is about 6,000 years old. That is Ben Carson beliefs, which led to this discussion.
Perrie, by definition, "intelligent design"
I agree with the distinction you cited but Creationists use the terms "creation" and "intelligent design" interchangeably to deny evolution.
I have no problem with accepting simultaneously, a Great Spirit or, God, that as the force behind it all setting all in motion and allowing an evolving Cosmos.
The danger posed by the failure to allow for this synchronicity is bigotry, ethnocentrism, denial of reality and all that arises from such a failure.
So, after God created Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, then after a bunch of other Eden stuff transpired, Cain went East of Eden, where'd East of Eden come from?
The fact that Cain was scared for his own life after he killedAbel(Genesis 4:14) indicates that there were likely many other children and perhaps even grandchildren ofAdam and Evealready living at that time. Cain's wife (Genesis 4:17) was a daughter or granddaughter ofAdam and Eve.
If we're going to interpret scripture, let's not sidestep the obvious questions.
Great point! Or puts an asshole so close to the place to eat!
Actually it doesn't. The concept of "intelligent design" you should be looking into. It doesn't deny a creator, but also doesn't deny science.
Again look into intelligent design. It says clearly that god created everything... but doesn't take the bibleverbiageas literal. BTW, it was never meant to be literal. What is called the OldTestamentis the Torah to Jews. They have a second book called the Talmud, which is discusses the manyinterpretationsof the oldtestament.
Population control.
Randy,
I am not sure where your AH is but mine is under the cheeks I sit on, LOL!
Ah but the females asshole is so close to a place where I love to dine.
HA!!
Not original source material when it comes to the book of Genesis. There are many cultures (including the best record keepers, the Romans) of 1,000 years before and after Christ.
Also the Chinese. They have dynasties that date well before the biblical time of the "Creation."
I and many other Christian believers don't have irreconcilable differences between creation and evolution. My faith has no issues with evolution and to deny the existence of evolution is quite moronic (IMO). People of faith are hung up on monkey-to-manissues and are not willing to embrace scientific evidence regarding evolution on our planet. God didn't create a static earth, it continues to evolve.
My Genesis take - First and foremost I wasn't there to relay what happened, how long it took or any other detail. It begins the historical account of the Jewish people. As I read the account of man being created on the sixth day, I had to consider the first five days are not a twenty-four hour period. Adam would not have had any time reference to the first five days since he was created after time/day was established. Therefore the earth is certainly older than 6,000 years as science has revealed.
To this day theologians wrestle with the Genesis account, biblical interpretation, Jesus as Messiah or Prophet, end times, etc. I live my life within a faith based system that encompasses a triune deity where love, sacrifice and an eternity reign. I'd never deny science as it's my belief the creator gave us brains to seek and discover the mysteries, leaving much of the unknown to, dare I say, faith.
Agreed, Mac.
Free will. While some Christians believe that just the belief in Jesus as savior will get them into the gates of heaven, others acknowledge that no matter what, we are judged by what we do. If we do evil, no amount of belief in Jesus will do the trick.
Very good comment Lynne. One thing that hasn't evolved in our recorded history is man. He's still the same savage he has always been.
Through evolution man has gotten tallerwith larger feet...to stomp our fellow man with greater efficiency
Bravo Lynne.
Again from "Inherit the Wind", "Darwin was wrong!. Man is still an ape!" Gene Kelly.
Physicist and atheist Neil deGrasse Tyson has observed that there is no intelligent design because the human "playground" is located next to the sewage system . Maybe he is missing something ?
I doubt he said it or meant it quite that way...
Personally I believe that when Mars became uninhabitable, they sent a rocket to earth with a baby boy and a baby girl, sort of like the Superman story. They were Adam and Eve. So actually we are all Martians, i.e. aliens in this world.
So ahead and prove me wrong if you can. Hey, my story is just as viable as Cornhusker's.
Ben Carson is also a right-wing politician; he like the left-wing politicians, lies to constituents when pandering to Boobus americana.
Carson, being a physician/surgeon, because he is also a Tea Party type, needs the support of those who pull their levers (double entendre intended) in voting booths in La-La Land; scientifically, he knows better but casting his pearls before dogs and swine won't get him through the Republican Primaries. So, he pretends he has no pearls and casts bait to the metaphorical "fish" (I will spare the species ID).
My deepest apologies to dogs and swine.
To CH4P.
If God can do anything, can He make a rock so heavy that He can't lift it?
Much of what religionists believe, when asked to defend their beliefs, speak tautologically
Back to the Christian-Right "mind," why are Anthony Weiner, Bill Clinton and other Democrats who transgress to be scorned and impeached, while Republicans like Mark Sanford and David Vitter are forgiven and re-elected?
And by-the-way, which of you creationist/intelligent design believers are going to take my pathogen-antibiotic test to demonstrate the conviction of your beliefs?
If organisms don't evolve, here's your opportunity to stick with that same antibiotic that stopped working for heathens, and, at the same time, show that no one needs Obamacare when one can simply pray-away the germs.
Well, I guess Basketball and Football players have evolved the most proving your theory correct.
But none of the Bible means a thing without Genesis.
C4P, although you and I are likenight and day (no pun intended), we share a common belief in God and salvation through the cross. That said, I must ask whether your path to faith started with Genesis. For most Judeo-Christian believers, it doesn't. It begins with a conviction of sin and separation from God for all eternity; the entity who brings conviction is the Holy Spirit.
Your above assertion regarding Genesis has many thinking "no kidding, the Bible is a tale at best and a prop at its worst". The Christian community has utilized the Bible as a club in an effort to bring people into the fold, as it were. The Judeo-Christian faith is to be lived out through believers. Our lives are to reflect the very love and salvation we ascribe to. I don't have faith because the Bible exists. Testimony of my life hopefully reflects my faith -not arguing the literal or interpreted version of the Bible.
You asked the question - If we deny God on matters like creation, the flood, the virgin birth, why would we accept anything else he has to tell us?
Perhaps the more poignant question is "Without the love of Christ evident in our lives, why would anyone care what we have to say?".
Your logic is flawed. If we don't know what time is for god how do you calculate 6,000 for the date that Adam and Eve are expelled? Without context for time for god, there is no way to calculate that number?
And where in the bible does it say that satan was in the garden of eden? It doesn't. It was a test that both Adam and Eve failed. The point of the story is not to do something that you know isn't right.
Again, where does it say that in the bible?
In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth.
Meaning that prior to that... there was nothing. And science says before the "big bang" there was nothing.
Genesis 1:1
1:1In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth. (the big bang)
Agreed.
You do realize that there are those who believe there is only one coming, right?
I like yours the best. It makes the most sense!
I'm sure you did Randy... you know what your name means in England, right?
Of course. I wear it as a badge of honor.
Disagree.
Disagree. The Big Bang has nothing to do with Genesis.
Doesn't it depend on which sect of Christianity? Do all forms of Christianity reject evolution or do some use bible references as being allegorical to real science?
And then there's John Lennon and Yoko Ono on coming together.
While there is always the possibility, however minute, that we are experiments in a large petri dish, making the assumption that everything we do not understand (and there are still an entire universe or more of those) is due in total to the workings of an omnipotent and omniscient being that exists outside of the realm of knowing is shortsighted at best. Further, claiming that the only way you can get to the magic kingdom is by prostrating yourself and swearing allegiance to said god figure before you die, no matter how good, pious or well intentioned you have been in this lifetime, well, that just reeks of mankind's self serving lust for power and control, not some loving, caring father figure of a god.
All of the links that you provide have the trappings of pseudoscience: They get to a point where the description gets tricky and invoke God, who is above science or logic and just steps in to make things all good, rather than admit that we don't know or worse, we have been shown that it is one thing, consistent with the universe but choose to ignore the facts that are there.
Is there a god? We don't know, and by definition of what a god is, cannot determine the existence of such with science. So all of this yelling and screaming that goes on as a result of religion in general is so much who-ha, in my opinion, especially the indoctrination of youth with bible school being taught at school as a viable alternative. I would like to think that evidence based science is what we would base our childrens education on, indeed, our whole lives, but unfortunately, the world at large does not seem to think in this manner. Much more is the pity.
I go with that, until we find evidence of something else, it is just as plausible.
Arguable but let me know when dinosaurs are resurrected from extinction and we'll talk further.
Since Christianity is predicated on the Resurrection, I would contend that if evolution and Christianity are not mutually exclusive, some footnoting on the afterlife needs to be forthcoming.
But I'll consider any rational argument on either side of the question.
I always thought that if there was a chance to askof asupreme being these same questions that they would most likely laugh and say "there is no distinction between myself and science, and it is amusing that humans not only thought so, but even believed that they are incompatible to the point of being polar opposites".
Silly Humans.