Christianity and Creation
Genesis 1 describes the creation of the Universe as well as the origins of animals and mankind. The chapter is explicit in that Creation took place in six literal days, followed of course by the well-known day of rest'.
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
We start with a Universe that is empty, except for the Earth. We know the Universe is empty because everything else is yet to be created.
2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The Earth was 'formless' and had water on the surface. What was under the surface is not known. There was nothing else in the Universe so there were no natural laws, no gravity and no light.
3. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light 'day' and the darkness he called 'night'; And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.
We now have light but it does not originate from any natural source. However we do know the source of the light from Revelation.
Revelation 22:5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
6. And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.
The Earth still exists on it's own in the Universe and is covered by water, to what depth is unknown. God separates the waters that cover the Earth, taking an unknown depth of water from the surface up above the Earth's surface and creating an empty space, an expanse, between them.
9. And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
Up to this point, the surface of the Earth was covered with water. But God now takes the first step to bring life to the Earth.
11. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13. And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day.
The events of day 3 do cause some people problems! There is no sun or natural light. There is no comment about soil on the land that is now available. There is no time for these plants to grow to maturity! These plants and trees did not grow from seeds. Instead God created mature plants and trees ready to produce fruit and to reproduce themselves. But what is important is that God produced the various kinds of plants and trees that we still have today. They are seed-bearing according to their kinds. The emphasis on seed-bearing and 'various kinds' is a direct challenge to the hypothesis of evolution. God is emphasising that species of plants produce seeds that result in the same plants being produced.
Did the people of the time when Genesis was written understand the concept of 'evolution'? Was the emphasis of verse 11 on 'according to their kinds' a reposte to these ideas? Or was this emphasis on 'kinds' put into the Bible because of future times, like now, where the hypothesis of evolution is being used to attack Christianity?
14. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15. and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18. to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day.
This is a wonderful Scripture and it has become more fascinating and powerful in recent years. The lights in the sky are stars which includes our Sun. The light from the Sun and the stars separate the day from the night so the Earth is now rotating. Our moon also provides light at night, reflecting sun light to the dark side of planet Earth. We now have seasons so the Earth is now in orbit around the Sun. God's light is now replaced by natural light.
We now have the Hubble telescope! We can see so much more of the immense Universe in which we were placed by God. We really do have a huge God and the more we see of the Universe the greater our God becomes.
20. And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21. So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day.
On the fifth day God creates the fish and the living creatures that are in the water. God actually says 'the great creatures of the sea, and every moving thing in the water. Why are the 'great creatures' mentioned separately from everything else in the sea? What may these 'great creatures' have been?
The birds were created at this time They could fly immediately.
Note that the birds, the fish and the 'great creatures' were created as mature creatures - God blessed them and said to them 'be fruitful and multiply'.
24. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Now it is the turn of the animals. We are in the sixth day of Creation and God creates the land creatures of the land. Again God creates adult animals. We now know the answer to the riddle 'what came first - the chicken or the egg?'.
26. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29. Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day.
These verses summarise the purpose of the whole Creation. God gives mankind dominion over the earth and all that is in it. But mankind, unlike the animals, has free will!
** Scriptures used above are from the New International Version