I believe in God. And I believe that God has created this world and
all that we see around us. I guess that makes me a creationist. When
I first started on talk.origins I was asked a number of times to
explain the mechanism that God used in his creation. I had no answer
then. But I have thought long and hard on that and would like to take
a stab at explaining that now.
First of all I would like to take a moment to explain my qualifications
for offering this explanation. My extensive training in science
includes high school biology, chemistry and physics as well as a marine
science class in college many many years ago. Plus I like to read.
That should make me imminently qualified to offer expert opinions in
all sorts of scientific fields. Actually, and especially since I
remember little of my science schooling, it makes me very dependant on
others who are actually working researchers and/or scientists. I have
no way of being able to personally judge the truth of the claims that
are made in any of the myriad fields of scientific study. The other
thing that I bring to this is a deep love for God and a reverence for
his word, the Bible. I have no formal theological training but I have
invested a significant portion of my life in studying God's word and
seeking to understand it's relevance for my life. It is from these
two perspectives that I have sought to develop an understanding of
origins.
So how did God create the universe? While there are many ideas as to
how the universe began I am quite comfortable with it beginning 13.9
BYA in what is commonly called the 'Big Bang'. Alternatively I
suppose any of the oscillating or brane world theories would work just
as well. Within the 'Big Bang' model God would have provided the
highly compressed matter and energy that provides all of the matter and
energy that continues to drive the universe. In addition he
established the basic forces of nature like gravity, electro-magnetism,
relativity and quantum mechanics. How he did that I have no idea. I
am willing to just say 'God did it'. That doesn't mean that we
will never come to a better understanding of how it came to pass, and I
am not trying to fit God into some gap in our understanding. But it is
currently a mystery to me. And I believe that God is ultimately behind
it all.
From that point, the moment of creation, the universe has worked
according to the natural laws put into place at creation. That
includes a very rapid expansion and cooling period until the lighter
elements began to form. The formation of stars under the influence of
gravity, the forming of heavier elements in the ovens of super-nova
stars, and eventually the formation of 2nd and 3rd generation stars
with rocky planets. Eventually one of these rocky planets, among
potentially a billion billion or more other rocky planets ended up at
just the right distance from a star of just the right size and
composition and in just the right part of a galaxy. On this planet,
and potentially many others, the conditions were found that allowed
life to come into being. This life evolved along with the planet it
called home, producing the wide array of life that we see around us
today. At some point in the development of life on this particular
planet a species eventually evolved to the point that it became capable
of communication with God. And he then endowed that life with an
eternal spirit and began to reveal himself to us.
So did God create me? I would say yes he did. He did it using the
tools and process that he put into place way back at the beginning of
the universe. But to me, that does not take away from his work in
creation. If anything it enhances it. God was able to build a self
contained system that would guarantee that life, capable of
communication with him, would ultimately come into being. No guarantee
that it would look like it does or be in the place it is. But that
that life would come to be.
Although I believe that God is quite capable of creating the universe
fully formed and populated in 6 days, or in an instant for that matter,
it does not appear like it happened that way. The evidence that we see
all around us points to a very old universe and earth. It also points
to many more species, mostly extinct, than would be required if God was
creating each individual species as is. As a Christian, I do not
believe we have anything to fear from science or from the discovery of
how this world works or came to be. Even if those discoveries are
contrary to what I grew up with. The church before the time of
Copernicus is an example. They believed something that was later
proven to be scientifically incorrect and fought hard to hold on to
that. Yet in the end we have come to embrace the reality that the
universe does not revolve around the earth. I believe the same thing
is true today. While many are fighting against advances in science
that seem like a threat to us, in the end the truth will win out.
Romans 1:19-20 is often quoted here. But I believe Ray misses a lot of
its meaning. "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in
them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that
they are without excuse:" To me, this verse challenges us to look at
the creation and see how it is made. God wants us to be able to figure
out how it works. And in that knowledge, we should recognize his
handiwork in his creation. Please continue to research and come to
grips with how this universe works, including the diversity of life on
earth. While I reject the atheistic world view that many of you hold,
I do not believe that invalidates the truth coming out of science or is
any reason for me to reject it. Thanks again to all of you who have
been willing to help in my education. It is helping me to grow in the
knowledge of my Creator.