INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS  Part 2

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

GENESIS

Lesson #02

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS  Part 2

• Memory verse: Psalm 33:6
• General Observations:
  • What you believe regarding creation and evolution affects your personal relationship with God, your beliefs, and how you live your life.
  • We are going to follow the following false statements to their logical false conclusions.
    • (-a-) If we believe this world came into being by either some cosmic, nuclear, or chemical accident, without the involvement of an all powerful God:
      • Then we cannot count on God to ever intervene in our lives. (Heb 11:6)
      • Then there is no point to prayer.
      • Then God is not a God of order.
      • Then God does not have a plan for our lives.
        • In other words, we would be convinced that God is not in control of our lives.
        • Also we would not be able to count on God for anything.
    • (-b-) If we believe that man is an advanced animal brought about by chance and descended from other animals:
      • Then we would be convinced that life has no meaning, purpose or future.
      • If we believe that an accidental gene twist could cause man’s extinction, then God is not a God with a plan, nor is He in control, nor is man any more special than the smallest celled organism.
    • (-c-) If we believe, according to evolutionary processes, that life is accidental and haphazard progressing toward perfection:
      • Then we would be convinced that the direction of life is haphazard and accidental.
      • We would believe that God is without order, purpose, or standards for man or any life specifically.
      • If we believed that man is becoming more perfect according to evolution, then we would not need a savior to redeem us.
      • If man’s development progresses toward positive improvement as evolution claims, Adam could not have been a perfect creation.
        • We arrived on this planet later in time than Jesus Christ, we, therefore, must be more perfect than He was. This is the logical false conclusion of this belief.
        • Therefore, Jesus Christ would be no different from any other fallen, sinful man of his time.
    • (-d-) If we believed, according to evolutionary processes, that human life developed through time with many blind genetic alleys, misfits, and extinctions always struggling for existence of the most fit:
      • Then we would be convinced that life develops haphazardly.
      • This would mean that God is without love.
      • Therefore, there is no need for Christian love to love the weak, the helpless, and the misfits of society. Society would be better off without them! This is a terrible conclusion.
        • The result of this belief is that there is no special value to life.
        • This makes euthanasia and abortion morally acceptable.
        • Naziism was based on this assumption
        • Neo-Naziism, genetic engineering, and genetic blind alleys mean that God did not get creation right the first time.
      • If this point is true we would be forced to agree that God lacks wisdom and knowledge.
    • (-e-) If we believed that the individual human is only as important as the genetic society (gene pool) from which he comes:
      • Then we would be convinced that the survival of the fittest in the gene pool means the individual is not important. The Bible disagrees. (Mat 18:11-14 2Pet 3:9)
      • The essential difference between Christianity and other religions is its quality of love based on God’s value placed on human life.
    • (-f-) If we believed that the beginning of this universe was not a supernatural, miraculous event:
      • Then we must conclude falsely that God is not the supreme creator.
      • Then we would not owe God our love, honor, worship or obedience. (Isa 45:9)
      • If creation was not supernatural, then there is no such thing as miracles. If there are no miracles, then we would be convinced that we cannot expect any miracles in our lives.
• Review:
• From these evolutionary statements, it is obvious from where much modern thinking comes in regards to genetics, the value of human life, and morality in general.
• Theistic Evolution:
  • There are some Christians who attempt to blend their belief in the Bible record of creation with a belief in the evolutionary process taught in schools.
    • Their argument is, “Couldn’t God have used the evolutionary process to bring the earth and man into being?”
    • This is called Theistic Evolution. It was one of the early attempts to blend the two beliefs.
      • This belief comes from Isaac Newton (1642-1727) who saw God as the watchmaker:
      • Isaac Newton saw the universe like a clock that God wound up and set to go, but left it to run without external intervention by God, and according to natural laws.
        • This belief assumes that the age of miracles is past.
        • This belief contradicts the Bible.
          • Read Col 1:16-17Read Heb 13:8
        • This natural cause and effect makes man the product and victim of his environment—a helpless pawn.
        • If this is true, man therefore, would not be morally responsible to a God who left him helpless.
        • If this is true, man would have no hope of an intervening God when he prays.
• Some Basic Issues and Conflicts:
  • According to true science, both evolution and creation are theories.
    • There were no eye witnesses. Even Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, was not there when God created the universe.
    • Neither process of evolution or creation can be reproduced in the laboratory.

• Some Science Basics (Physics):
  • There are two provable, well-accepted scientific laws of thermodynamics taught in every physics class.
    • -1- The law of the conservation of energy:
      • Nothing is now being created or destroyed, only changed in form.
      • The universe is a closed system. Examples:
        • Matter changes to energy.
        • Chemicals change from liquid to gas.
    • -2- The law of randomness and disorder (law of increased entropy)
      • Energy is continually being degraded into non-usable heat energy.
      • Randomness and disorder increase over time heading toward total disorder.
  • Biblical implications of the laws of thermodynamics:
    • The 2 scientific laws of thermodynamics are compatible with the Bible.
    • A creation ruined by sin and Satan left to itself without intervention by a loving God would only result in disorder and chaos.
      • Read Rom 8:22
      • Read Mat 24:6-8
  • Scientific implications of the laws of evolution: The 2 scientific laws of thermodynamics are not compatible with the theory of evolution.
    • Because of the second law of thermodynamics (above), an ordered planet naturally evolving from disordered chaos cannot logically occur.
    • Because of the second law of thermodynamics, natural evolution can never produce more and more complex species from a chaotic chemical pool.
• Conclusion:
  • It is important for the Christian to believe in creation by a loving God as explained in the Bible because it affects his Christian faith as well as his basic attitudes toward life and toward God.
  • Biblical creation is compatible with basic laws of physics while the theory of evolution violates even the basic scientific laws.
• Homework
• Introduction to Genesis 1
• Memory verse: Psalms 148:5