Since God is the Author of Creation. . .
Is God also the Author of Millions of
Years of
Death, Bloodshed, Disease, Suffering, Mutations, and Extinction?
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Author: Kurt H. Streutker |
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There are many who have rejected the Genesis record of Creation on what they believe are "scientific grounds." They believe that the current secular (naturalistic / humanistic) teachings of evolution and millions of years of earth history are accurate. Nonetheless, they have involved God in their particular versions of Creation, with "Theistic Evolution" and "Progressive Creation" being some of the more popular opinions circulating among churches today.
This "slippery slope" is dangerous because they are not really defending Creation, but are actually bringing into question the very character and nature of God. By trusting man's fallible opinions over God's inerrant Word, they are making God the author of millions of years of death, suffering, bloodshed, disease, mutations, and extinction, etc.
The obvious question is: "Would an all-powerful and loving God actually use this cruel and extremely wasteful process of evolution to create the world?" According to Genesis, God called the process "Good," and when He finished, God proclaimed His creation "Very good!" If He did create the world using this sadistic method over millions of years, that would mean that suffering and death are "Good" and consistent with the character and nature of God. It is ironic that these same people would insist that there will be no death, suffering, sickness, and disease in heaven, which would be contrary to even their sense of what is good.
Tennyson observed our sin-cursed world and put it this way: "Nature red (i.e. bloody) in tooth and claw." According to these supposed creationists, science has proven, that it has been that way for millions of years. That's because they start outside of the Bible with our present "groaning" world (Rom. 8:22) and extrapolate back, and then use that as the basis to re-interpret the Scripture, believing that the "Present is the key to the past." They fail to realize that it was God who was there, and He has given us His account of Creation in Genesis. Hence, divine revelation is the only trustworthy key to the past, present, and future!
Sadly, many influential Christians have endorsed these teachings by recommending their books, publishing their articles, and even giving them prime air-time. Furthermore, most Christian colleges and seminaries are confusing our young people, teaching that they can believe that death and bloodshed are not the consequence of the Fall of Man (Rom.5:12), which invalidates the reason why Jesus Christ--the last Adam (1Cor. 15:45)--came to die and shed His blood on the Cross. According to many of these teachers who embrace these naturalistic presuppositions, there was not a Global Flood and that most fossils are not the result of a world-wide catastrophe, but merely millions of years of our loving, Heavenly Father "creating."
This compromise is occurring because the Church has allowed science "falsely so-called" (i.e. evolutionary beliefs) to gain acceptance. As a result, those who object to a literal Genesis (which is the basis of all Christian theology such as marriage, original sin, the curse and death, the virgin birth of Messiah, and redemption), actually undermine the foundation for Biblical doctrine. Consequently, many who hold to these evolutionary paradigms, have doubted the Christian faith, questioning the authority of God and His Word, while defending the theories of men.
Paul warned the Colossians to "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ...(2:8)" Furthermore, the Ephesian elders were told that false teachers will come in from the outside and even arise from the church, speaking "perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:30).
God is not the "author of confusion!" He has spoken as plainly as possible regarding the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and the future restoration. The straightforward reading of the Genesis record clearly teaches that God created in six literal days. Even in Exodus 20:9-11, God based our seven-day week on the days of Creation: "for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day."
Why then the confusion? We are finite fallen creatures in a sin-cursed world using our fallible minds tainted with false humanistic assumptions. This often leads to Christians trying to re-define what the infinite all-knowing Creator clearly communicated His infallible Word.
Christians living in today's society should examine their understanding of Genesis to see if there are any secular assumptions that are influencing their beliefs about God and His Creation as set forth in His Word. We must also bear in mind, it is not dishonorable to admit when we are wrong, for it is only humbly admitting we are a little wiser today.
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