Creatio Ex Nihilo

Banner of Truth ^ | Al Baker

[Alex Murphy]

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Astronomers tell us that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has over three billion stars, that it is one thousand light years deep, that it is one hundred thousand light years across. One light year is the speed of light (one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second) multiplied by every second in one year. They also say that there are one hundred billion galaxies in our universe. These figures are incomprehensible to us, but they proclaim a God of immeasurable glory and immensity, One who fills up every inch of his creation with his omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience.

The debate today between naturalists and creationists of every stripe — whether they believe in an old earth through a Steady State view of the universe (Carl Sagan, 'The cosmos is all there was, is, or ever will be'), through the Framework hypothesis or Gap theory, or a young earth through a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation — hinges on philosophy or theology. There is no conflict between true science and Biblical faith. Notice that I said 'true science', for it recognizes its limitations, that true science works by observing certain phenomena and arriving at hypotheses based on that research. Since no one was or is able to observe the origin of the universe, true science is no better than theology at suggesting 'how it all began.' Robert Jastrow of NASA famously said that for cosmologists, this is ending as a bad dream. For years they have been scaling the mountains of ignorance, thinking they finally have topped the summit, expecting to discover how it began, only to find the theologians sitting there for centuries. So the Christian has no reason to fear true science. We welcome scientific research, based on the scientific method. And we do not denigrate the suppositions scientists make on any range of observable and verifiable subjects. The problem develops when they become metaphysicians, philosophers, or theologians.

The grand declaration, that God created all things out of nothing (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Acts 17:24, Romans 1:20, Hebrews 11:3) is the most profound and far reaching statement in all of Scripture. It says volumes about God. It tells us that he is self-existent (Isaiah 45:5ff), incomprehensible (Romans 11:33), and sovereign (Psalm 115:3). He does not need us. He was not lonely. He was perfectly content and fulfilled by his Triune fellowship. He does not enhance his being by condescending to our helplessness. We are unable ever to mine the depths of his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, or truth. He does as he pleases. He foreordains everything that comes to pass. There are no mistakes, no accidents. Nothing catches him by surprise. Our problems stem from an inadequate view of God. Our thinking about God tends to be far too small.

Some of you are aware of the debate between Bible believing expositors and theologians concerning the early chapters of Genesis. Some believe in what is called the Framework hypothesis, others believe in a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation. The Framework exegetes are not heretics. They believe in creatio ex nihilo, creation out of nothing. However they believe that Moses never meant Genesis 1 to be taken literally. They say it is poetical, that the six days of creation are not chronological, that Moses meant the first three days to refer, as it were, to kingdoms and the last three days to refer to various kings in those kingdoms. In their view day one corresponds to day four, day two to day five, and day three to day six. This view allows for an old earth, perhaps billions of years old, and this fits very well with the vast majority of cosmologists who believe in a Big Bang theory of how it all began.

For what it is worth, I reject the Framework hypothesis for several reasons. First, the Hebrew text has fifty-one vav consecutives in Genesis 1 alone, and the vav consecutive is a verb form that is used in historical narrative, not in poetry. Second, the language in Genesis 1 is not symbolic. There are no metaphors or tropes in it. Third, it does not make use of parallelism which is so prevalent in Hebrew poetry — see the Psalms and much of Isaiah. Psalm 19:1 is an example of Hebrew poetry (notice the parallelism), 'The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.' And fourth, the New Testament makes at least one hundred references to Genesis 1-11 and none of these give any indication that they view it poetically.

I freely admit that this causes many to view the Bible to be in serious conflict with science. Most who believe in a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation suggest the earth is less than ten thousand years old, and most cosmologists simply laugh at that. I will have more to say about this in the future, but as it stands right now, may I suggest that we have one of two ways to go in this debate — either we begin with science and then try to fit Scripture into a reasonable model of cosmology; or we begin with Scripture and wait for science to make sense of the apparent discrepancy. As a pastor and exegetical preacher, not to mention a theologian — okay, if Calvin, Hodge, and Sproul are Ph.D.’s then I am a junior high theologian — I suggest we must begin with Scripture. After all, no one was there at the beginning. No one knows how it all began. For a scientist or cosmologist to speak as though he knows, is to move from science to metaphysics, philosophy, or theology. Would it not make sense, therefore, to begin with Scripture, to admit that we don’t know how it all began, that we are not sure of the age of the earth, but that the Bible teaches a literal twenty-four hour, six day creation, and that perhaps science may one day, through research, find the Bible’s explanation scientifically feasible?

This all means that we ought to deny atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, polytheism, and naturalism. If you take the Genesis 1 account seriously, then this leaves no room for any of these isms — including naturalism in the form of evolution or theistic evolution. These very simply contradict the Scriptures. It means that we must affirm the worship of God. One of the Hebrew words for worship in the Old Testament means literally to bow down with one’s face to the ground in utter reverence before the Creator Redeemer. It means that everyone’s life has purpose and meaning, and that’s because we are the crown of his creation. No one is unimportant. And it means that creation is a paradigm for re-creation. God recreates us in Christ, giving us a new heart to love and serve him; and he one day will re-create the heavens and earth, restoring them to their pre-fallen glory and majesty. I pray your vision for God will expand so that you may worship in awe.

[Alex Murphy]

Astronomers tell us that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has over three billion stars, that it is one thousand light years deep, that it is one hundred thousand light years across. One light year is the speed of light (one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second) multiplied by every second in one year. They also say that there are one hundred billion galaxies in our universe. These figures are incomprehensible to us, but they proclaim a God of immeasurable glory and immensity, One who fills up every inch of his creation with his omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience....

....The grand declaration, that God created all things out of nothing (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Acts 17:24, Romans 1:20, Hebrews 11:3) is the most profound and far reaching statement in all of Scripture. It says volumes about God. It tells us that he is self-existent (Isaiah 45:5ff), incomprehensible (Romans 11:33), and sovereign (Psalm 115:3). He does not need us. He was not lonely. He was perfectly content and fulfilled by his Triune fellowship. He does not enhance his being by condescending to our helplessness. We are unable ever to mine the depths of his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, or truth. He does as he pleases. He foreordains everything that comes to pass. There are no mistakes, no accidents. Nothing catches him by surprise. Our problems stem from an inadequate view of God. Our thinking about God tends to be far too small.

Fit into your mind the following two concepts:

First, get a sense of the overall size of the (known) universe. One quick way to do this is to look at National Geographic's map of the universe. You can get a really big version of it here.

Second, open your Bible to Isaiah 40:12a. Here's how the NIV reads:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?"

Consider that last part again. The KJV and most modern translations use the term span - that works, too. A span can be defined as the distance across the outstretched hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinky. Take a look at your own hand, and note the distance. It's around eight or nine inches, I'll guess. I've also seen "span" defined as the distance across the palm. Either method works for us here.

Now go back and look at the Natl. Geo map again. And consider that the Bible equates the distance across the entire known universe with the distance across God's hand.

[freedumb2003]

Like Adams said, one thing a human can NOT afford to have is a sense of perspective (us vs. the Universe).

[Psycho_Bunny]

The anthropomorphizing of God....seriously?

[Mogollon]

Gerald Schroeder does a good job of explaining the 6 days of creation and the differences in perspective because of the rapid expansion of the universe after the big bang. Here is an excerpt:

The calculations come out to be as follows: The first of the Biblical days lasted 24 hours, viewed from the "beginning of time perspective." But the duration from our perspective was 8 billion years. The second day, from the Bible's perspective lasted 24 hours. From our perspective it lasted half of the previous day, 4 billion years. The third 24 hour day also included half of the previous day, 2 billion years. The fourth 24 hour day -- one billion years. The fifth 24 hour day -- one-half billion years. The sixth 24 hour day -- one-quarter billion years. When you add up the Six Days, you get the age of the universe at 15 and 3/4 billion years. The same as modern cosmology. Is it by chance? But there's more. The Bible goes out on a limb and tells you what happened on each of those days. Now you can take cosmology, paleontology, archaeology, and look at the history of the world, and see whether or not they match up day-by-day. And I'll give you a hint. They match up close enough to send chills up your spine.

[Alex Murphy]

Like Adams said, one thing a human can NOT afford to have is a sense of perspective (us vs. the Universe).

I presume you mean Douglas Adams? I originally considered putting a Hitchhikers quote under the Natl. Geo map of the universe. Maybe I'll do it now...

"Space," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely
mindbogglingly big it is. I mean you may think it's a long way down the road
to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space."

[GonzoII]

"Now go back and look at the Natl. Geo map again. And consider that the Bible equates the distance across the entire known universe with the distance across God's hand."

LOL. You just blew my mind!

Bump.

[GonzoII]

"When you add up the Six Days, you get the age of the universe at 15 and 3/4 billion years. The same as modern cosmology.!

Thanks for posting that.

If I understand the post right the world could have literally began let's say 5000 years ago, and because of the speed of it all it seems billions of years old??

[mitchbert]

They match up close enough to send chills up your spine.

That fact has always fascinated me. I had never encountered your "days" point before. Thank you.

[LiteKeeper]

Or, maybe God is big enough, and powerful enough, to do just what He said: create the universe in six literal days!

[Just mythoughts]

Or, maybe God is big enough, and powerful enough, to do just what He said: create the universe in six literal days!

NO, God did NOT say LITERAL days, as he had Peter tell us how long a day is with Him.... IIPeter 3.... that is also where He told Peter to pen that there are THREE different heaven/earth ages and the first one was destroyed in a flood just as Genesis 1:2 reports..... the deep... deep what? water of course.... oh and that is way way way back before Noah and his flood... IT is written.

[LiteKeeper]

Nice twisting, but that is not what the Scriptures say.

[HarleyD]

The problem with evolution is the explanation of the universe. How could it have "evolved". There has to be a starting point.

I have my own theories of Genesis 1 and 2 but just like everyone else, they are nothing more than theories that will never truly be explained. Whatever view a Christian might hold of Genesis, you cannot focus on trying to match science to Genesis. If God can make an ax handle float, drown the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, walk on water, or create a virgin birth; certainly He can do anything He wants in any fashion that He chooses APART from science. After all, isn't that what omnipotent is all about? Why try to explain it away with science?

Christians make a mistake in trying to scientifically explain away something that is a mystery and a miracle. It can't be done. All we can say to the evolutionist is, "Do you have a better explanation?" They don't.

[GonzoII]

"Christians make a mistake in trying to scientifically explain away something that is a mystery and a miracle. It can't be done. All we can say to the evolutionist is, "Do you have a better explanation?" They don't."

You may be right but I find that the six literal days explanation of creation gives greater glory to God in my mind in that it shows his power more effectively. Just imagine how the enormous universe was created in so short a time. Simply amazing.

[Just mythoughts]

Nice twisting, but that is not what the Scriptures say.

I would appreciate you explaining where I 'twisted' the Scripture. And of course it is exactly what scripture says. There is NO place in the whole of the Scripture that says the days of creation are LITERAL 24/7 days. That is man/woman's theory.

[LiteKeeper]

Try Ex 20:11..."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; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."

That's just a start!

[Just mythoughts]

Try Ex 20:11..."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; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." That's just a start!

There is NO word LITERAL in this instruction. Now the subject is what? And to WHOM is this instruction given, and WHY was it necessary for these peoples to be given this particular instruction?

These peoples were in Egypt, in bondage, and they were brought out of Egypt after a series of plagues upon Egypt because of WHY? The Heavenly Father had sent them there in the first place and it was HE that guided them to that promised land.... Hint Hint Hint... Paul says that these things were written for our warning as to what would be again to end this second (according to Peter) flesh age.

Now in 'spirit' or on God's measurement of time Peter says that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years... Remember in Genesis 6 God shorten the life span of flesh and Methuselah is recorded to have lived nearly a thousand years.... or one day with the Lord.

All scripture fits together and Peter explains for us Christians very simply so as to end confusion.

[LiteKeeper]

Since you have chosen to interpret Scripture allegorically, I am not going to continue this discussion. We obviously are using very different hermeneutics. There is no point in continuing.

[HarleyD]

I find that the six literal days explanation of creation gives greater glory to God in my mind in that it shows his power more effectively

As humans we tend to gravitate to the "miraculous" rather than seeing God's handiwork in the mundane. There is no greater example of this than in the battles recorded in scriptures. In some instances like with Joshua, God directed who to attack and they did so. In other instances God directly intervene like He did with the Egyptians or the Medianites with Gideon. Does God receive greater glory in His direct interventions versus His passive interventions?

I'm reminded of Moses in one battle how as long as he held his staff in the air the Israelites would triumph, when he lowered it the other side would triumph. Although they were fighting the battle, the Israelites quickly recognized God's hand in the manner and prop Moses' arms up until they won the battle.

We fail to see the great glory of God in our everyday experiences that occurs through the normal course of events. The beautiful sunrises, God meeting our needs and clothing us, and, yes, God giving us struggles to help foster our growth. If someone has a miraculous salvation story (especially a big name entertainer) we tend to gravitate to that rather than someone who intellectually makes a decision for Jesus. Yet, the angels in heaven rejoices for both, to the same degree. God receives the same amount of glory in either case.

It makes no difference how God created the universe. To Him belongs the great glory, and the same glory, regardless of what we happen to think. And, like the Israelites with Moses, may He open our eyes to recognize this truth.

[Just mythoughts]

Since you have chosen to interpret Scripture allegorically, I am not going to continue this discussion. We obviously are using very different hermeneutics. There is no point in continuing.

I am sorry to have offended you.

[LiteKeeper]

I am not offended. I am simply acknowledging that we are singing off different sheets of music...and as a result there will be no harmony. So it is pointless to continue.