Hi again PG,
I've posted this on another thread and maybe you've seen it, but I'll repeat it here. If we believe the Genesis account of the creation of Adam, then let's look at exactly what that would have meant to one of us, had we seen him the day after he was created.
We might have walked through this land of beautiful foliage and flowers and trees all around, bearing ripe fruit that we could just reach out and pluck and eat, and in our journey happened upon Adam. Adam would have stood probably 6' tall and would have probably had some chest hair and, based on all that we know about human growth, would probably have appeared to us to be 25 or 30 years old. Had we asked Adam how old he was and he responded, "Oh, I'm one day old today!" We would surely have mocked him and said something like, "Sure, what do you take me for an 'intellectually challenged baboon?" We'd maybe have prodded him in the side and asked, "No, come on, how old are you, really?"
On that same day we could have done all of the same testing of the earth that we do today and we would have the same results that we get today. The earth would have layers, just as it does today. It's how God made it. Radiometric dating would still show that substances that had not even existed one week before were billions of years old. That's how God made it. We could have picked up a rock and sliced off a sliver and done carbon-14 dating or whatever other respectable dating method we might choose and that rock would have given us back a reading that we would interpret as billions of years of age.
You see, friend, the one thing that science cannot explain is a miracle. As far as I know that's the only thing that science will never be able to explain. Now, today we've actually lost sight of what a 'miracle' really is. We see people who are cured of cancer and we say, "Oh, what a great miracle!" It may not have been, although there are some documented cased that may well be. There is the story of a young soldier during the civil war who was shot and the ball passed through his scrotum picking up some sperm and lodging itself down range in a young virgin's womb. The woman became pregnant and of course everyong proclaimed what a miracle it was. No, it isn't! When sperm, still warm and alive, has a chance to fertilize an ovum in a woman's womb there is often times a very good chance that a pregnancy will ensue. Now, the facts of this particular case, that some soldier just happened to get shot through the scrotum and that a fertile womb lay in direct line of the shot downrange from the soldier are certainly very long odds, but not miraculous odds. As a matter of fact, given the line up of events, the pregnancy becomes fairly understandable.
Friend, a miracle is something that happens outside of the natural laws. Something that happens that goes against every law of nature, every law of science, every law of rational thinking, every law. So, hopefully you might give understanding and wisdom to this: If an event can be explained by the natural scientific laws that we understand operate the creation, then it is not a miracle. So, what you believe about the creation is not a miracle. Oh sure, you may go back in your thinking processes and draw back to the 'big bang' or 'black hole' or 'quasar of energy' beginning and say that that was a miracle, but the Scriptures declare more than that as the 'miracle' of this creation. That in practically a moment God spoke into existence all the heavenly bodies. That in roughly the same amount of time God spoke into existence all the foliage upon the earth's surface. That in roughly the same amount of time God created all of the animals of both land and sea.
So, while you may rest your 'theory' of God and this creation that we live in on some very small minute miracle that occurred billions of years ago, I rest my 'theory' of God on a God who created all that is seen and unseen in this realm with a purpose. He began and in a matter of days made all that was necessary for Him to create man and to provide a place for him to live. My understanding of God and what He has done, is that He has created all, from one end of this universe to another, all, for my benefit. Everything is in it's place because God wanted to make a place where Ted could live. Where He could love Ted and provide and sustain my life. He did it all in a mere moment in time 6,000 years ago because He loves Ted.
But God's love is so great that He not only did it because He loves Ted, but because He loves all of us. After He created all things and then in anger destroyed all living things that walk upon the earth, save Noah and his family, He began working through a man named Abraham to raise up the nation of Jews to do His bidding in writing down all that He has done and sprinkling liberally throughout that writing all sorts of prophecies about one that He was going to send to make an atoning sacrifice for our sin. After it was all written down, which God did over 1500 years of carefully watching over and providing for these special people that He was entrusting with this very important documentary work, He sent that one.
So, hopefully you might understand that this 'intellectually challenged baboon' believes that the findings we get today from all the various forms of testing that we do, would have drawn the same results 6,000 years ago when the creation was only days old.
Let me ask you a question: Do you believe that if God created a tree that was fully grown and mature and produced fruit, that that fully grown tree would not have had any growth rings on the day it was created? Just consider, would the first tree have been one thick cellular mass with no growth rings, or would it have been like Adam, and displayed all the signs of a 25, 50 or 100 year old tree?
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted
