Faith #8: The Declaration of Creation

[I have been working on this post for a couple of weeks, but yesterday the pastor of my church made this his sermon topic, which confirmed my conviction on this subject.]

Number 8 on my top 10 list of reasons for a reasonable belief in God is the testimony of His creation.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Psalms 19:1

The more I learn about the universe, the more I appreciate the miraculous Power that crafted it, and the more thankful I am for this little blue speck we call Earth. From the unimaginably large space stretched across an incomprehensible span of time to the intricate anatomy of life, everything we can now observe shouts "MASTERFULLY PLANNED AND CREATED."

Our main problem understanding creation is that our understanding of God is too limited. Simply put, the nature of the Almighty Creator is far beyond human comprehension. Therefore we need to stay a little more flexible on the box we try to put Him in, however big that box may be.

That being said, the Bible does not shrink from extolling the attributes of God and the magnificence of His creation. Even the Name of God is amazing - Yahweh, the One who always IS. There is no time or place where God is NOT. As a matter of fact, God exists outside of time since He created the dimensions of time and space. This is explained as something that we understand only by faith.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 

Hebrews 11:3 

About a year ago I discovered a very advanced concept in the original Greek text of this verse. It literally says "the ages (aionas - also translated universe or worlds, from which we get the word "eon") were prepared (katertisthai - crafted to perfection) by the spoken word of God (rhemati Theo), not a phenomenon (phainomenon - made visible), but an act of creation (gegonenai - brought into being - the Greek word from which we get "Genesis"). This verse makes it clear that the things which we can observe through all our scientific tools and reasoning did not just suddenly appear, but were carefully prepared and set in motion for a specific purpose. This is an assurance that is not only incomprehensible without faith, but once understood - reinforces your faith.

The ancient book of Genesis starts out with this unimaginable miracle in the very first verse. The beginning is a concept which I believe encompasses the transition from "timeless" to "the beginning of time" to the eons that elapsed before sunlight first appeared on the surface of the earth. The remainder of the creation account describes the supernatural power of God creating this perfect habitation for mankind. 

The creation account establishes many principles of the law (the Torah) such as the sanctity of human life, mankind's accountability to God, and the penalty for sin which is separation from the life-giving power of God. Genesis also contains the first prophetic reference to the promised Savior of mankind, who will "step on the serpent's head". That prophecy is the beginning of the ultimate solution to the problem of evil that was introduced by sin.

The order of the creation account, the beauty of creation, the vast expanse of the heavens and the intricate details of life all testify to the Truth of God. If you have ears to hear, listen closely to the song of creation.

Faith #9: The Undeniable Presence of Evil

This is Number 9 on my top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus.

The Bible presents heaven and earth as the creation of an all-powerful God, who himself declared it to be good. It also presents the conflict that arises when man pursues independence from God and becomes subject to the power of evil.

This human evil - that was introduced by "the original sin" - is unique in creation. All living beings created by God are "lesser beings" - lacking the perfect goodness of God. Although people were created in the image and likeness of God, they were created innocent and totally dependent on fellowship with God. This fellowship was broken when they decided to assume the role of God in their own lives by seeking to be like Him, knowing good and evil.

Without the goodness of God, mankind quickly devolved into evil. In a fit of jealous rage, Cain slew his brother Abel and fled to the land of Nod, east of Eden and away from God. Cain and his descendants built a city there (the first form of government) where people could fashion their own protection and entertainment. Without God, these cities became cesspools of sin.

Why though, is the existence of human evil a foundation of my faith?

First, the Bible is unique in explaining that evil has its origin in moral knowledge. This differentiates sinful man from innocent creatures. It explains to me why innocent babies become accountable as sinners when they inevitably grow into moral knowledge. Paul describes this in the seventh chapter of Romans - "the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good" and "I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died". The evil that grows in the human heart is fed by selfish ambition and pride, deceit and self-justification. Ultimately sin places itself above others to the extent that a person is capable of using his God-given intellect to lie, steal, and even inflict pain and death on others to preserve and promote his own interests.

Second, the Bible identifies this "original sin" in a time and place that is consistent with the development of civilization. There really is no other rational explanation for the sudden introduction of civilization into the timeline of history. The gradual evolutionary principal at the core of Naturalism cannot explain the sudden explosion of knowledge and communications that appeared a relatively short time ago in geological terms.

Finally, the utterly depraved nature of human evil leaves one with no other choice than to seek a supernatural solution. Outside the influence of the American experiment in constitutional democracy and rule of law, humanity has been dominated by the unspeakable cruelty of people who have fought their way into absolute power and from it become absolutely corrupt. Except in very primitive cultures, the advancement of knowledge has resulted in more and more power for the ones who possess it to dominate the ones who do not. Christian faith is an influence which, when exercised with restraint and separated from the institutions of government, produces virtue and progress for all who find it.

The undeniable presence of evil in this world cries out for faith in the goodness and mercy of God, which is demonstrated by His self-sacrificial love in the person of Jesus my Lord and Savior. Faith in this righteous and merciful God is what motivates me to leave this written legacy.

American Edelweiss

Recently I learned of Christopher Plummer’s death. I loved this man's role as Captain von Trapp in the Sound of Music (even though Plummer expressed contempt for the movie after it was released).

Captain von Trapp had pride in his country and would never accept domination by the Nazi Anschluss. One of his lines has a haunting resonance in American culture today:

"I was under the impression, Herr Zeller, that the contents of telegrams in Austria are PRIVATE! At least, the Austria.... I know."

Is there any privacy in America today, especially for those who are being “cancelled”? Most of our communications today go through companies who feel honor-bound to abuse the rights of anyone who swims against the tide of progressive globalism. And anyone can see that the global power that is coming will not be friendly to Americans who don’t collaborate.

Of course, Austria wasn’t a perfect place for people who didn’t have the wealth and power of the von Trapp family, and many Americans including myself owe their immigrant roots to ancestors persecuted by the Austrian empire.

America isn’t a perfect place either, but our liberty is a gift from God, established by people who had personal experience with government control and corruption. I am both praying for restoration of this precious gift and mourning its passing.

God bless America

Land that I love

Stand beside her

and guide her through the night

With your light from above!