Theological Bites
We now turn to the theological bit of the book. From the thematic point of view, the book of Genesis is a book of Beginnings. It is the Christian worldview of how everything began and by ‘everything’ that is the universe except God is intended.
The first verse of Genesis indicates that before there was a thing God was, and that is why it says; “in the beginning, GOD created the Heavens and the Earth”. ‘In the Beginning’, can better be translated as ‘When’ not exclusively to indicate time but a divine intention’ to create. The Phrase ‘In Beginning’ therefore, is not WHEN but ‘WHERE’ and that ‘WHERE’ is God.
Everything (Time, Inclusive) has its origin in God and that is to say, Time as well; for TIME too, is a creature that was created by God. The Bible, therefore, is unapologetic on the issue of Origin for it establishes God and God alone as the Origin of everything.
The Genesis Worldviews
The writers of the content of Genesis (especially that part of origin) were not there when God created and therefore, they are not recording at the scene of creation.
What we have here in the book of Genesis and generally the Pentateuch (first five books) is a proposed response to the existing questions of every sensible worldview. James Sire, in The Universe Next Door, gives the following definition of “worldview”:
“A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world. Or we could simply say it is the total of what we believe about the most important issues of life.”
It is a way of thinking about truth and reality.
A worldview is a briefcase of one’s conclusions about life and meaning that influence their belief system and action, therefore.
In principle, it is what you live by either consciously or unconsciously.
Every worldview is formulated around four questions of reality and these are the question:
Origin: Where did everything/one come from? This is a question about reality. What is the prime reality (reality)? Genesis 1- ORIGIN
Purpose: Why are we where we are? This is a question about Purpose and meaning in life regardless of who we are, what we have and don’t. Genesis 2- LIVING
Problem: What is wrong? This is not just a natural disaster question neither merely a moral question but one about the supernatural (unscientific) and amoral circumstances as well that affect each of us. Genesis 3- DEATH
Destiny: How do you correct or solve the realized problem? This is a question not just about fixing things or even becoming creative/innovative for functionality but one about restoring matters to their original state. It is a question of real solutions to real problems. Genesis 3:15, 4-Revelation- ORIGINAL
Genesis is a worldview of the ancient civilizations developed around the four questions and if you dig deep in your local civilizations you will realize that since time immemorial humanity has been attempting to answer these questions. Today as we speak all the different worldviews (formed against the four major questions) can be summarized under two categories of worldviews. The first category is:
Theism: Under theism, it is not an inanimate force but a Being (who never Begun but was) in whom everything including time was created and begun who animates all the living.
This is the creation of a THING(s) out of NOTHING (creation Ex-nihilo). The Bible states that this Being we have named ‘God’ spoke things into existence and living.
As you contemplate whether the words of God were the raw material of whatever became, realize that the Hebrew word (Dâbhâr) translated as ‘Word’ means a ‘Thing’.
In other words, in creation when God spoke he didn’t speak ideas or concepts but ‘existence’, ‘substance’ and life as well. The word of God, in essence, has no raw material but itself is a finished product and it is who God is (John 1:1-4).
In the word of God, there is life, being and existence and the reverse is true if he states otherwise. This is the summary of the theistic view of Creation and origin, we have our origin and being in him (Acts 17:28).
All ‘what is’ can be by the word of God and is not/cannot/will not be by the word of God.
And the other is
Naturalism: In Naturalism the inanimate (lifeless) animates (gives life) and such a process pauses philosophical and practical problems. This worldview doesn’t believe in creation (the act of an intelligent pre-existent being) but evolution.
Evolution is when things develop out of others. While in theism the supra-being who is an intelligent being is the first cause of whatever is, Naturalism asserts what we would call secondary causality.
To understand what Evolution is, one needs to point out what it is not. Evolution is not a scientific theory like Gravity, thermo-dynamics, Quantum mechanics etc. the Edward and later Darwinian evolution variations like Natural Selection, Mutation, and Drift could be a scientific theory but evolution as a concept is in principle, not a scientific theory.
Evolution is a historical story (Hypothesis) of how both animate and inanimate particles became persons/beings. Evolution, therefore, is not a science but a worldview that is shared in many other disciplines like Applied Sciences, natural sciences, Arts and Humanities and Social and creative professions.
In conclusion, Evolution is a continuous journey from simple to COMPLEX, Creation on the other hand is not a journey and neither a process but an intended one time Act of God.
Theories of Evolution
Am not a scientist, am a Christian Theologian who studied ‘Issues in Science and Religion’ and that is the knowledge I will be sharing to ensure that we understand a few scientific matters in the context of Genesis.
There are categorically two theories of evolution; the Special Theory and the General Evolution. In the special theory, there is a variation (natural selection, mutation and drift), Speciation (the nature of species).
Under special evolution is where we have the first type of evolution which is Divergent Evolution (the evolutionary pattern in which two species gradually become increasingly different).
Then under the General Theory is Heredity (the defining materials delivered from generation to generation), Heterosis (the phenotypic superiority of a hybrid over its parents concerning traits such as growth rate, reproductive success and yield) Under the General theory of evolution we have two other types of evolution which are: Parallel Evolution (when two species evolve independently (unrelated species and different habitats) of each other, maintaining the same level of similarity) and Convergent Evolution (when species of different ancestry begin to share analogous traits because of a shared environment or other selection pressure).
The book of Genesis does not discuss evolution but instead, the book is a critique of this naturalism worldview.
While scientists themselves agree that there was something pre-the Big Bang, the Creationist worldview asserts God was before everything was and only this being we know as God is the first cause of everything caused. God is the Uncaused-Cause of all.
In Conclusion
What we have looked at are the two worldviews about our origin and we have seen what the Creationist worldview asserts as well as the Naturalism worldview says.
We can only judge these worldviews based on how best they answer the above four worldview questions: where did we come from, why are we here? What is the Problem? And What is the Solution?
To the Creationist, we were created by God, to work and worship, what is wrong is Sin and death and because of that we are sinners fallen from our creator, those who reconcile with him will be restored to the original order while those who willfully don’t will be restored to the original order (a world without sin) of absence (the nothingness he created them out of).
The other worldview sustains we are a product of chemical and natural reactions four Billion years ago, purpose is relative and neither does the concept of Purpose fit into scientific matters, the problem lack of happiness with or without sin and death; the solution is ultimate happiness with or without death. I leave these two positions before you my reader to reflect.
God bless you,
I invoke TRUTH, WISDOM and FAITH (2Tim 2:7)
Priest M.I.T White (+256-775 822833)
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