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Reflections

Creation: Fallacy or Fact

Sooner or later, when students return to school, they will be faced with the issue of beginnings. Since preschool, they have been taught in church that the earth was created by an all-powerful God. Later, in public school, they encounter teachings that may cause them to question what they learned.

At one point as a young person, I decided the issue really was insignificant—that only the first part of Genesis referred to God as Creator, so I could skip that part and accept the rest of the Book. But it is not that easy to do away with the teaching of creation. Affirmation of God as Creator permeates the entire body of Scripture.

The writers of Scripture are very up front, placing the issue in the opening verse of Genesis by stating “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, NIV). Both God’s existence and His action are included in one declarative statement, with no attempt to prove the validity of either claim.

The entirety of Scripture rests on these two foundational statements. When I began to search the Bible, I found the doctrine of creation woven throughout its contents like a golden thread through a tapestry. No part of Scripture can be separated from the teaching.

The Ten Commandments contain a reference to God as Creator, asserting God’s right to declare the seventh day as Sabbath, following His pattern of resting on the seventh day of creation. This reference implies that His right to establish moral law hinges upon His action as Creator.

The Historical Books refer to God as Creator. The teaching passed down in Israel’s history, through the captivity and the return to the homeland. At this time, Nehemiah prays:

“You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (Nehemiah 9:6, NIV).

The Writings of the Old Testament include many references to God as Creator. Job, in the oldest book of the Bible, affirms God’s creative power: “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing” (Job 26:7, NIV). In a powerful passage, God identifies himself as Creator when He says to Job and his friends:“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4, NIV).

The Psalms repeatedly refer to God as Creator in familiar passages many of us have memorized.

The Prophets declare God is Creator, and also quote God making personal claim to being the Creator. At your leisure you could read these passages in Isaiah 40, 45 and 48.
The New Testament writers continue the claim. Peter and John refer to God as Creator in their prayers (Acts 4:24). Stephen acknowledges God as Creator when defending himself before the Sanhedrin. The Apostle Paul carries the same theme in his writings.

The writer of Hebrews sums up the issue very well: By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible (Hebrews 11:3, NIV). He challenges us to accept God’s act of creation by faith, a position the writer of Genesis assumed when he made his first declarative statement.  By faith, then, we look ahead to what the Book of Revelation tells us—that one day this earth will be replaced by another of God’s creations: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea (Revelation 21:1, NIV).

If you know students who struggle with this issue now that school has started, share this walk through Scripture with them. Let them see, as biblical writers did, that it all makes sense when you start where the Bible starts: “In the beginning God.” When you accept His deity, you can accept His awesome acts of creation.

Points to Ponder:

How important is the teaching of creation to our Christian faith? What difference does it make in our daily living? In our future hope? In our relationship with Jesus? In the way we treat our fellow human beings? In our care for the environment?

PEGGY MUSGROVE is a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She is also a speaker, freelance writer, author and prayer group leader. Her latest book, Musings of a Maraschino Cherry was released in 2004.. You can visit her at www.musgroveville.com.

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