in the beginning the power, planning, & providence of the god of the bible from a scientific...

In the Beginning

The Power, Planning, & Providence of the God of the Bible

from a Scientific Perspective

Purpose

1) to increase your faith and respect in the God of the Bible

2) to increase your confidence in the Bible3) to increase your confidence in science

as a tool4) to increase your knowledge of nature5) to help you become a better apologist

Format

• For each “day” of Genesis, we’ll first see what God’s record says about creation...

• Then we’ll look at what the Science interprets the natural record... has to say

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

• The Hebrew makes a The Hebrew makes a profound statement:profound statement:There was a beginningThere was a beginning..

• He He createdcreated it (from ‘ it (from ‘barabara’’ meaning “to create meaning “to create something radically new”).something radically new”).

• ““the heavens and the the heavens and the earthearth” means everything ” means everything above, everything below - above, everything below - the whole shebangthe whole shebang

Science tell usthere was a beginning!

• About 14 billion yearsago, everything -

matter, energy, space,and time -

came mysteriouslyfrom nothing

• We (literalists) believe this took place instantly..

• The universe expanded,cooled, matured...

Science interprets the natural record...

• Stars and galaxies formed.

• One galaxy in particular - the Milky Way - formed in the perfect place at the perfect time with the perfect shape.

• Science says:About 5 billion years ago - at the perfect time for life - our sun formed from a giant cloud of gas & dust in the Milky Way.

• Again, we believe this was created in an instant!• Dozens of planets, including Earth, formed from a

giant disk of this material.

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.

Science again agrees in the beginning, the earth would have been much like the Genesis account records…

• Science says: 4.6 - 4.25 billion years ago, thick gases fromthe early atmosphere, together with the interplanetary dustand gases,left the Earth’ssurfacedark as night.

Science interprets the natural record...

• Heavy meteoric bombardment also blasted debris into the already thick atmosphere.

• With no light reaching Earth’s surface, the planet was empty of life.

• We believe there was no light at all, until God created it…

The rest of Genesis One will now tell us how the Lord prepares the newborn planet Earth for life, starting with the most important ingredient...

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.

• The Hebrew for “Let there be” is from the word ‘hayah’hayah’ meaning “Let there appear” [possibly out of nothing]

• The Hebrew word “yomyom” can be translated as a 24-hour day, or as an indefinite period of time in which something special occurs (e.g. “and in that day, the Israelites…”)

• The Hebrew words translated as “evening” and “morning” suggest a literal day yet do not demand that.

• Science says: 3.8 - 3.5 billion years ago the Science says: 3.8 - 3.5 billion years ago the cosmic bombardment was slowing, and the cosmic bombardment was slowing, and the water on the planet was cooling and water on the planet was cooling and condensing, allowing a shallow sea.condensing, allowing a shallow sea.

• The thick skies thinned enough to become The thick skies thinned enough to become translucenttranslucent to the sun’s light. to the sun’s light.

• There was lightThere was light - and now both night - and now both night andand day. day.

• LifeLife also appeared at this time, at its also appeared at this time, at its very very firstfirst possible opportunity. possible opportunity.

Science interprets the natural record...

WATER

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 Hebrew here again The Hebrew here again says ‘says ‘hayahhayah’ - ’ - Let there Let there appearappear ... We now have ... We now have H2O!H2O!

• About 3 billion years agoEarth had aged and cooled enough to

where the shallow sea was finallyestablishing a stable water cycle.

Science interprets the natural record...

• Earth ‘just happened’ to have the Earth ‘just happened’ to have the perfect distance, orbit, and size to perfect distance, orbit, and size to allow this life-giving solid - liquid - allow this life-giving solid - liquid - gas cycle…gas cycle…

• Earth now had…Earth now had…Everything neededEverything needed to sustain life to sustain life

accept land...accept land...waterwater andand carbon dioxidecarbon dioxide which which

supported the life, and...supported the life, and...sunlightsunlight which kept the whole which kept the whole

machine running.machine running.

• But Earth had by no means yet But Earth had by no means yet “settled down.”“settled down.”

• The next step toward Eden is...The next step toward Eden is...

LAND

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.

• About 3.5 billion years ago, gigantic dome-like granite blocks slowly began to force their way up through the crust, exposing themselves above the sea.

• Finally, by about 2.5 billion years ago, Earth had settled into stable land masses.

Science interprets the natural record...

• There was now land and sea.

• Afterwards, the movement of land was mostly lateral, across the surface of the planet, like the plate tectonics we experience today...

• This plate tectonic activity today is just enough to provide a constant recycling of land.

• EarthquakesEarthquakes and volcanoesvolcanoes are constant reminders of this life-giving renewal.

LAND PLANTS

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.

• Now, with Now, with carbon dioxidecarbon dioxide & & waterwater, with , with landland & & lightlight, plants which had been , plants which had been confined to the surface of the waters were confined to the surface of the waters were being established on land.being established on land.

Science interprets the natural record...

• This period started about3 billion years ago with

algae...

…then ferns...

…eventually conifers appeared...

…then flowering plants...

…only to end recently (~25 million years ago) with grasses.

APPEARANCE OF SUN, MOON, & STARS

14 And God said, “Let there be [appear] 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 there be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.

16 God [had] made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He [had] also made the stars.

17 God [had] 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.

• The Hebrew allows for The Hebrew allows for either “God made” or either “God made” or created something new…created something new…

• Very interesting…Very interesting…

• About 2 billion years ago, the atmosphere, once thick and dark, now, for many reasons, began to thin even more.

Science interprets the natural record...

And the once translucent sky started to become...

…transparent.

• The sun, moon, and stars - which had always been there - now made their first appearance on Planet Earth.

• So now, from about 1 billion to 500 So now, from about 1 billion to 500 million years ago on our planet, there million years ago on our planet, there was…was…an an atmosphereatmosphere which included about which included about 20% 20%

oxygenoxygenan established an established water cyclewater cyclestable landstable landplantsplantsprotection from UVprotection from UV (provided by the new (provided by the new

ozone layer)ozone layer)and a and a visible sunvisible sun, , moonmoon, and , and starsstars for for

potential bioclocks.potential bioclocks.

• The stage was set for the The stage was set for the introduction of...introduction of...

ANIMALS - Part 120 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and

let the 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.

• The Hebrew text uses The Hebrew text uses barabara for the first time since for the first time since verse 1 - something verse 1 - something brandbrand new is being creatednew is being created

• Here God creates theHere God creates the nepheshnephesh critters - vital critters - vital animals: i.e. animals that animals: i.e. animals that clearly manifest the soulish clearly manifest the soulish attributes of mind, will, and attributes of mind, will, and emotionemotion

• 543 million years ago, there was a sudden and dramatic increase in the number of animal species on Earth. This event, the Cambrian Explosion, saw the introduction of about 500 million new species of life, the majority of them sea creatures.

Science interprets the natural record...

Time Magazine

• Marine invertebrates appeared early on...

• Various fish types first showed up about 400 million years ago

• birds showed up about 50-100 million years ago with...

• marine mammals...

both big...

…and small.

• Remember:Genesis is just giving us the basics;

never intending to give great detail.The minor or non-players aren’t

mentioned (e.g. dinosaurs, insects).Again, we believe this happened very

quickly…

ANIMALS - The Sequel24 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.

• Whether you believe in a Whether you believe in a literal 7 day creation or literal 7 day creation or creation that took billions of creation that took billions of years, the progression in years, the progression in Genesis supports the Genesis supports the scientific record of events!scientific record of events!

• By about 350 million years ago, animal life took off on land, but it wasn’t until about only 50 million years ago that the numbers and kinds of mammals grew so great that this time is sometimes referred to as the Age of Mammals.

Science interprets the natural record...

• Now appeared the large land

quadrupeds (livestock)...

…and animals which stay low to the ground like rodents and rabbits...

…and “wild” animals which could be tamed or domesticated…

…and/or used as beasts of burden.

• So now there is:So now there is:AirAirA water cycleA water cyclePlantsPlantsLandLandVisible sun, moon, & starsVisible sun, moon, & starsSea life, birds, potential beasts of Sea life, birds, potential beasts of

burden, livestock, food...burden, livestock, food...

Everything is now ready for...Everything is now ready for...

HUMANS26 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.

• BaraBara used here for the used here for the creation of man - a being creation of man - a being brand new, something the brand new, something the Earth had never seen Earth had never seen before.before.

• 30 - 50,000 years ago, (and we say within days of 30 - 50,000 years ago, (and we say within days of the beginning, a new species appeared on the the beginning, a new species appeared on the planet which would change things dramatically. planet which would change things dramatically. These new creatures were utterly unique...These new creatures were utterly unique...

Science interprets the natural record...

• They They questionedquestioned their existence. their existence.• They displayed evidence of a moral They displayed evidence of a moral

conscience.conscience.• They showed They showed concernconcern over death over death

and an afterlife.and an afterlife.• They had an They had an awareness of a God.awareness of a God.• They exhibited a They exhibited a desire to desire to

worship God.worship God.• They had a They had a desire to discover desire to discover

truth.truth.

• This creature, the latest and most This creature, the latest and most unique of all of Earth’s species, is unique of all of Earth’s species, is Homo sapiensHomo sapiens - modern man. - modern man.

• They had They had complexcomplex art, language, and music. art, language, and music.

REST

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

• God doesn’t rest from God doesn’t rest from activity; God rests from all activity; God rests from all the work of the work of creatingcreating that that he had done.he had done.

• barabara used here, i.e. used here, i.e. nothing nothing newnew or or uniqueunique created after mancreated after man

• Note: 7th “day” has no endNote: 7th “day” has no end

• Since man appeared on Earth, Since man appeared on Earth, there has been virtually a total there has been virtually a total arrest of the introduction of new arrest of the introduction of new species.species.

• In fact, over 500 million species In fact, over 500 million species have gone extincthave gone extinct since Cambrian since Cambrian explosion, over a species a day.explosion, over a species a day.

Science interprets the natural record...

Conclusion• Genesis goes “hand in glove” with what we see• We have a God Who meticulously plans and

provides for every thing, every time, & everyone

• We have a planet (universe?) that appears to have been made just

for us• Science can be used as

a tool to defend our faith• And...

If God can mold and shape this universe to provide a beautiful place for us all to live,

how much more will He provide for you - daily - in every way.

Praise God!