We have a story, the story of
mankind. It’s certain though that people
often do not agree on that story and there are it seems many different views on
just what constitutes our story. We are
all part of this story, and whatever view you may take on it, it’s certain that
somewhere in the past we all have a common ancestor, or two; Adam and Eve? Well, would you believe it?! To me, I have to say I believe in the story
of Genesis, not because I feel I must but because I want to and because perhaps
surprisingly it makes the most sense to me.
I understand that what we see in Genesis, a rather sketchy and
straightforward account, is from someone or a number of people who did not have
the education or the knowledge or the wherewithal to check what they were told,
they just listened and passed the tale on to the next generation, and then at
some point someone wrote it down. It is
then a highly simplified account of what actually happened; so what did
actually happen?
The biblical account is that,
when it all boils down to it, we were created by a loving God who specifically
created us to be the crowning glory of creation, and in many respects to be the
centre of all Creation. At the same time,
we were meant always to be mindful of the fact God gave us life and to keep his
laws and to be in awe of His majesty and power and infinite wisdom, mercy and
guidance. It’s easy of course just to
say you believe in this or that you believe in that, but most people whatever
they believe are always looking for more substantial answers, rather than just
accepting what someone has told them. To
me, this always constitutes a problem, because rather than just accepting what
someone has to say, certainly about the origins of mankind, I want to find out
for myself by going back to the sources, of which of course for me the Bible is
the most important. I must add that
whatever you believe, whether life was a purposeful creation or just a glorious
accident it is all lost in the mists of time; no one can say for certain what
happened simply because they weren’t there!
In the light of this then, what can we glean straightaway from the
biblical account of the creation of human beings?
The biblical account of man’s
creation is quite simplistic and pretty straightforward; it explains things in
an almost childlike manner, even though I believe this is how man was created,
pure and simple. But of course in what
it does say, there’s a lot in that account that seems missing. When were the first man, and woman, created;
how many years ago? Is the Bible story
of the beginning of mankind a real literal reality or is it more allegorical,
or what? Obviously something happened,
or we just wouldn’t be here. But what
exactly happened, and when? Will we ever
get to the truth of this matter?
‘God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness
of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of
heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along
the ground.' God created man in the
image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he
created them. God blessed them, saying
to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of
the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move
on earth.' (Genesis
1:26-28 NJB) It is clear then that we
were created for a purpose, even if that purpose at the start was just to have
dominion over the rest of creation. We
are not given any other deep meanings about why God did or should create
mankind, only the obvious fact that He did.
I think that many of us want to understand what was the purpose of
creation and want to know the deeper meaning of creation, and just why God did
create a whole universe and then put humanity at the centre of everything. In my own simple explanation, perhaps like a
gardener tending a beautiful garden, God merely created something wonderful and
beautiful and put man at the centre of it as the crowning glory of creation. It’s certain that God created something
wonderful even if humanity in general can often take this for granted, or miss
the wonder of creation and the wonder of who and what we are.
Where was the Garden of Eden? Is there an actual place that once was this
magnificent and legendary garden? Is the
Garden of Eden more about man’s original state of grace with God than an actual
place? In the Bible it says: ‘Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden,
which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. From the soil, Yahweh God caused to grow
every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life
in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. A river flowed from Eden to water
the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams. The first is named the Pishon, and this winds
all through the land of Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this country is pure; bdellium
and cornelian stone are found there. The
second river is named the Gihon, and this winds all through the land of
Cush. The third river is named the
Tigris, and this flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the
Euphrates. Yahweh God took the man and
settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it.’ (Genesis 2:8-15 NJB) This was then paradise for the first man; a
garden of his own to look after. What
are we reading and understanding here; an actual garden that existed in a
particular geographic location, or is the garden a metaphor for the perfect
relationship the first man initially had with God? Both the River Tigris and Euphrates are
rivers that run through modern day Iraq, which in the past was called
Mesopotamia and which to ancient historians is now part of the Fertile
Crescent. It is now seen that this part
of the world was the original Cradle of Civilisation. Of course for Bible scholars, this is all
very intriguing as this place is also where the first man and the Garden of
Eden were supposed to be. Is there a
correlation between very ancient biblical folktales and the reality of
mankind’s first flowering of civilisation?
In short, is there some truth to the Genesis account? It seems that there is.
Then we come to the views of one
Charles Darwin, that English gentleman and scientist and explorer. In the mid-19th century, many
people of all walks of life accepted mostly without question that the world,
the universe, mankind and everything else was created by an all-powerful Creator. When Darwin published his famous book ‘On the
Origin of Species’, it caused a storm, because it suggested that all life was
connected, all species were related to each other and that man himself was
simply descended from lesser beings like apes, and that apes had come from
mammals, and so on. There was no middle
ground for Darwin, and so the stage was set for people either believing in a
world where life just happened and then evolved through a process of natural
selection and the survival of the fittest, or you believed in divine
intervention and that creation was specifically from the Hand of a benevolent
God. In the modern age, it seems that
these two views are the only ones that people, on either side of the argument,
really believe in. And the argument
rages on, with both creationists like myself and evolutionists trying to
disprove each other’s theory and getting angry and embittered in the
process! Wouldn’t it be good if we could
genuinely debate these issues, with people from all sides of the argument, in a
cool, level-headed and even friendly manner?
Anyway, Darwin certainly shook things up and his views are popular all
over the world. So, the question is
this: are we merely accidents, evolved beings coming from nowhere and
ultimately going nowhere, or are we specially created beings with a higher
purpose and a reason for being created?
For me, these are the only two views we can consider. If we are just evolved apes, and there is no
God at all, then life becomes bleak and empty.
There are no laws from a loving God and if we are going to disappear
into the ether when we die, there is no point to anything after all. However, if there is a loving Creator behind
everything and humans were specifically and uniquely created, then life takes
on new meaning. There is a purpose to
life then, and we can have laws from a loving Creator, and God is the ultimate
arbiter of justice, mercy, peace, love, compassion and many other things. I stand with my belief in God, because quite
frankly it really does take more faith to believe that everything we see around
us is just a glorious accident than being specifically created by God!
Of course, there are things in
life that puzzle us and things that even the best scientists and the best
theologians don’t seem to really understand.
For instance, why are there so many sub-species within a species? In other words, why can one dog look
completely different from another dog, yet still be a dog? Likewise why are there so many different
looking people, yet they are all human?
Why so many different tomatoes, yet they’re all tomatoes? My simple view is that all this variation,
rather than evolving differently, were already there by God’s specific design. Yes, I understand that is a simplistic view
and may be completely wrong, but it’s the one I hold to at this time. The human angle is the one that interests me
most here; if we are all descended from one common ancestor, an ape or
proto-ape, then why do human beings look so different from each other? We all have different looks within each branch of humanity, and of
course we all look very different when one ethnic group is compared to
another. Australian aborigines look very
different from Japanese people; Japanese people look very different from
Northern Europeans; Northern Europeans look different from Arabs, and so
on. And if we are descended from apes
that came out of Africa, then the first humans after apes would be Black
Africans. But there are problems with
this. Firstly, chimpanzees, our supposed
closest relatives are actually under their black fur white. Secondly, if Black people are the first
people after apes, how could other people with completely different coloured
skins, different facial features and different hair types, to name but a few
things, come from Black people? Surely
Black people would simply pro-create other Black people? We now live in an age where it is seen as the
clever and intelligent thing to believe in evolution and that humans are merely
advanced apes, and yet I see that even many of those clever scientists and
evolutionists won’t or can’t answer glaring anomalies and questions; it is as
if they studiously avoid them in fact.
There are Christians too who avoid certain questions. Perhaps we need to get all these questions out
in the open and try with a genuine will and desire to tackle them and even
answer them.
If we accept that God did in fact
create life, the universe and everything and of course us as human beings, then
where does that leave us; what does God’s creation mean? It means that we are all special as human
beings, we have a purpose that goes beyond human struggling and frustrations
and of course it gives our lives true meaning.
I can only say that without God I was rudderless, a drifter with no
purpose or reason for being. Now, as a
Christian and as a believer in creation, I have a purpose and reason for being;
God has imbued me with knowledge and the many gifts He has given me means that
I want to serve Him with a whole heart.
No, we can’t see God or hear His voice booming out of a cloud, we can’t
literally walk with Him or talk with Him and if we are honest we can’t even
really understand who He is and what He is all about; but, when we look at the
beauty of nature, or the wings of a beautiful butterfly or the miracle that is
childbirth, we are seeing what He has created.
How can anyone really think that the incredibly complex organism that is
a human being just happened by accident?
The wonder that is our brain, or the heart pumping blood around our
body, or the marvel that is the eye, or the magnificent system of antibodies
that protect us from all kinds of viruses and diseases, and so many other
things that make the human being such a marvel to behold. Yes, God puts us at the centre of our own
story, we are ultimately the reason for all creation, not ever in a selfish way
but simply that we are the crown of creation, the very reason for it.
What is the significance of Cain
and Abel? The first recorded spat
between brothers, or something much deeper and that has resonance for all humankind? The first two offspring of Adam and Eve
become the first murderer and the first murder victim, setting the stage for
humanity ever after to do what they liked when they liked; they were the
children of Adam and Eve who were the first human beings and the first
disobedient people on earth; not a good start!
And of course, it seems to go downhill from there! God could have abandoned us all to our own
devices after that, sickened with rebellious humanity; but He doesn’t. The significance of Cain and Abel is that
while one served God with decent worship, the other couldn’t be bothered, got
mad and killed his own brother. Instead
of seeking God’s will and mercy, he did his own thing and became the first
nomad on earth to escape what he did; but no one can really run from
themselves. Ever since, humanity has
largely done what it has wanted to, with the result we live often in a
dangerous, chaotic, selfish, unjust and hard world, not based on any real kind
of love but based on the most devious and aggressive and who can fight their
way to the top; such is life.
What is Sodom and Gomorrah all about? According to my information, the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah were around the Dead Sea which borders both Jordan and
Israel. It seems that as human beings
congregated in large urban centres, they began to develop tastes for things
that were never in God’s plan for us.
Lot, that famous character in Genesis invites two men, who were in fact
angels, to stay the night at his house in Sodom. ‘They had not gone to bed when the house was surrounded by the
townspeople, the men of Sodom both young and old, all the people without
exception. Calling out to Lot they said,
'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so that we can
have intercourse with them.' Lot came
out to them at the door and, having shut the door behind him, said, 'Please,
brothers, do not be wicked. Look, I have
two daughters who are virgins. I am ready to send them out to you, for you to
treat as you please, but do nothing to these men since they are now under the
protection of my roof.' But they
retorted, 'Stand back! This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants
to play the judge. Now we shall treat you worse than them.' Then they forced Lot back and moved forward
to break down the door. But the men
reached out, pulled Lot back into the house with them, and shut the door. And they dazzled those who were at the door
of the house, one and all, with a blinding light, so that they could not find
the doorway. The men said to Lot, 'Have
you anyone else here? Your sons, your daughters and all your people in the
city, take them away, for we are about to destroy this place, since the outcry
to Yahweh against those in it has grown so loud that Yahweh has sent us to
destroy it.' (Genesis
19:4-13 NJB) It seems that vice in the
cities had grown unbearable, and people were out of control. Perhaps once people’s needs were met, they
had to find other diversions for themselves and these ‘diversions’ were
extremely sinful to God. It isn’t just
that one or other particular sin is wrong, it is also that when humans sin
willingly or wilfully, they are also being disobedient to God’s laws, whether
you believe in God or not or whether you are a Christian or not. Disobedience to God’s laws right from the
start caused a rift between mankind and God; even today, when people choose to
do what they want without recourse to God, they are being disobedient and so bring
sin into the world. All sin is really
just the disobedience of human beings choosing to do it ‘their way’ rather than
God’s way in the end.
What does Noah’s story signify? Many cultures have a flood myth, not just the
Israelites from the Bible, so there is perhaps credence to a flood many
thousands of years ago. It does seem
however that people just cannot agree on when the flood occurred, whether the
flood was a local or worldwide flood and how Noah managed to get two of every
species on board the ark, probably to name but a few things that people are
unsure of. Is the story of Noah a
folktale with grains of truth therein or is it just a fabrication? I believe that God allowed a few people to
escape a flood but can’t prove it.
Noah’s story signifies God’s anger and disappointment at the human race,
how they have turned out, with few if any other than Noah and his family being
God-fearing and learning to be godly people.
Whatever the true facts of this folktale, the message is loud and clear:
God wants to start again with eight human beings and a load of animals, so that
He can populate the earth with righteous people; that’s the plan anyway.
The story of Noah then is a story
of a second chance for mankind, a new start, a new beginning, a chance to get
right with God again after years of mischief, sinfulness and disobedience. It is a message that is as old as the hills
and as contemporary as mobile phones and the Internet. It is amazing that old, very old stories can
resonate with us today. Noah refuses to
take part in sinfulness, and he is really the only human who walks with God,
most of the rest of humanity yet again doing its own thing. All the while, we are given a choice; do our
own thing or serve God with a whole heart.
The same choice Noah faces is the same choice we all face. We can choose to do God’s will, which will
turn out very good for us eventually, or we can choose to do what we want to
do, which might seem right at first but which somewhere down the line always
leads to confusion, bitterness and further unhappiness, if not downright ruin.
The story of mankind then, whichever way you
look at it, is an exciting one and a long story that as yet has no end; we are
all part of that story and we all can play a part, our part, in that
story. Some choose to believe in life
being an accident, a glorious accident no less, but in the end just an accident
and that humans are just the modern process of a long line of evolved apes,
mammals, fish that crawled out of the sea and whatever else. I choose to believe that we were specifically
created by a loving God, a God that is
often unknowable and unfathomable, and yet who wants us to know Him intimately
and to hold Him in awe and reverence and to stay true to His laws and ways. I conclude that there is a greater purpose
for human beings than we can at first see and comprehend; it’s just that we
need to see the world with the eyes of faith and the eyes of a child. ‘Jacob
left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
When he had reached a certain place, he stopped there for the night,
since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he made it his
pillow and lay down where he was. He had
a dream: there was a ladder, planted on the ground with its top reaching to
heaven; and God's angels were going up and down on it.’
(Genesis 28:10-12 NJB) There is
certainly far more to this life than generally meets the eye!
