Monday, September 22, 2008

Genesis and Creation (8) - Damaged World

The other implication of this truth is that the universe we observe is seriously distorted by sin. Human sin tainted everything. Sin set the devil free to do enormous damage in God’s creation. Not only did this affect the earth, the entire universe was affected at the same time. Christians have not fully grasped the impact of this truth. While Satan was attacking mankind, other demonic forces went to work in the universe creating evil species, working havoc and spoiling the God universe that God created. This was not the gradual change over time that scientists assume, but instantaneous change caused by spiritual forces that cannot be observed.

Astronomers peer into space through their telescope. They assume that they can use their observations to understand the origins of the universe. The problem is that they are not looking at the universe as it was created in the beginning. They are looking at the universe, which has been seriously damaged by sin and evil. This is an unbreakable barrier that science cannot overcome. The impact of the fall is that we cannot see the universe the way it was when God created it, not matter how powerful our telescope. Humans cannot observe the universe as it was at the beginning. All that scientists can observe is a universe distorted by sin.

Some Christians have used the Genesis flood to explain some of the physical phenomena that are found on earth. This is interesting, but it misses an important point. The fall had far greater impact on the creation than the flood.

2 comments:

Gene said...

this is so interesting.

I'm impressed. I always thought the fall was the reason for the gap theory which I propound. Created perfect, then without form and void.

Not two creations. But one and then a destruction, then another.

Ron McK said...

Gene
I would never propound a gap theory. I see this is as just one more example of Christians trying to defend a position that goes well beyond what is in Genesis. It assumes that we know a whole lot that we do not know.

I believe that Christians should take a much more humble approach and not try to go beyond what is there in Genesis 1. Putting in a huge gap where the text does not really have one is a dangerous practice. Christians have done the same with Daniel 9 with similar consequences.

The Hebrew words tohu and bohu are very difficult to translate. The reality is that noone is certain about their meaning. Using them two come up with a two creations theory is a very risky business.

The gap theorists also have a serious problem with the goodness of God's creation. They start with a creation that was half done, then goes bad, then becomes good. As I outline in the post 7, the idea that God's creation is good is one of the pivotal ideas in Genesis 1. It was good at the beginning, good at the end of every stage and good when it was complete. This is a stake in the ground that Christians must not give up on.

God has not told us how Satan fell, so I presume that we do not need to know. All I know is that when God rested, the entire creation was good. I also know that some time later Satan was at work trying to lead and Adam and Eve astray. The scriptures do not tell me what happened in between, so I am not going to speculate.