How Did It All Start?

Read the Bible story of the seven days of creation. What do the seven days mean to you?

Now read the Bible story of the creation of the first man and the first woman. What do you learn about God, and what do you learn about yourself?


Some other Bible verses referenced in today's message:

PSALM 8:3-4a (KJV) - When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

PSALM 90:2 (RSV) - Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.

ECCLESIASTES 3:11b (NLT) - He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

1 CORINTHIANS 8:6 (RSV) - For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

As you read and re-read these verses, what touches your heart and mind?


Watch this fascinating video - "By Design" - a look at the complexity of the human body and the world around us - could it have happened by chance?


There are at least four distinct ways of viewing the issues related to creation from a faith and scientific viewpoint. One analysis describes those four streams of thought as follows. (In each case there is a brief description, followed by a link for an article that discusses the point of view in further detail.)

1 - BIBLICAL CREATIONISTS
+ The Bible is the inerrant Word of God.
+ God is the author and creator of all that exists.
+ The earth and life on earth are less than 10,000 years old.
+ Human beings are created in God's image and are not the result of evolutionary process.
More information on the Biblical Creationist view

2 - EVOLUTION SCIENTISTS
+ Science explains everything (or has the potential to explain everything).
+ There is no need for God in the discussion of creation.
+ There is no evidence for God.
+ Natural laws and processes account fully for our world.
More information on the Evolution Scientist view

3 - SCIENTIFIC THEISTS
+ Science and religious faith are compatible.
+ God is the creative energy behind all that exists.
+ God is the ultimate origin behind all other origins.
+ All natural laws are governed by the creative energy of God's Spirit.
More information on the Scientific Theist view

4 - RELIGIOUS RATIONALISTS
+ Science and religion are separate but equal inquiries into life.
+ Science seeks facts, while religion seeks meaning.
+ God cannot be proved or disproved.
+ Science and religion both provide value in our lives.
More information on the Religious Rationalist view


Here are some resources that help make sense of the apparent tensions between faith and science:

++ The United Methodist Task Force on Science and Theology presents its 2004 report to General Conference

++ "The Rational Rationale" - by Dan R. Dick - the author objects to the tendency of some scientific folks to dismiss believers as simply "irrational"

++ "Circling the Logic" - this is a conversation that Dan R. Dick had with a retired professor of astronomy

++ "Facing the Wrong Way" - this is a paper by Dan R. Dick suggested that many of the arguments in the creation-evolution debate miss the point. Here is a short quote from his article:

"The majority of scientists I read and speak to admit that they wrestle constantly with issues of faith. I have corresponded with hundreds of scientists who are Christian and I am amazed at the number of religious leaders who are well versed and well read in various disciplines of science. This is not now, and never has been, an "either/or" debate, though the most vocal proponents on both sides attempt to make it so."

++ "Who Created God? - an article by John Claypool

++ Science & Spirit - a magazine that explores the relationship between science and religion in the context of our everyday lives


AND FINALLY...

a humorous video - "Evolution"