Comparación entre Celdas Aisladas en Aire y en SFs

one? One could “completely discount the entire Genesis creation story as having any validity at all.” It could be treated as just one of many interesting man-made myths; essentially the same as a number of other creation stories common to most ancient cultures. As has already been said, for the person who knows little or nothing about the Bible, this would seem at first glance to be a perfectly reasonable conclusion. It would seem to be reasonable unless one begins to look more closely at the accuracy of the Genesis account.

This third approach does not conflict with current scientific knowledge. In fact, the statement above contains no testable scientific claim. Nevertheless there are some questions which people who hold to this view should ask themselves. First, how can the agreement of the Biblical account of creation with scientific knowledge be explained? This question should be especially challenging in the light of the creation myths created by other peoples as described above because these other creation stories certainly do not jibe with current scientific understanding at all.

Second, when one considers the weight of the evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, does it seem wise to simply assume that the Genesis creation account is just a myth created by scientifically ignorant people? The person who is prepared to “blow the whole thing off as a myth” may not have looked carefully at the evidence for the inspiration of the Bible. They would be well advised to read the Bible carefully, first of all, and to follow up this careful reading by considering such topics as the resurrection of Christ and Biblical prophecies about the Messiah.

Speaking for myself, if I had never read the Bible and seen it working in my life, if I had never studied the Old Testament prophecies (which predict in amazing detail the birth, life, betrayal, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ), if I had never looked into the truth of the resurrection of Christ, I might have reached the same conclusion about the creation story in the Bible. In view of the marks of inspiration which pervade the Bible, and which distinguish it from

What About Genesis? 93 the writings of all other world religions, it becomes very difficult for a reasonable person to dismiss the book of Genesis as a myth. When the scientific accuracy of the Biblical account of creation is compared to the fairy-tale creation stories of ancient cultures, one cannot help but be impressed with the Bible—the Word of God.

Bringing together the descriptions of the three possible approaches to the creation account in Genesis, it seems reasonable to ask at this point which one should be believed. Should Genesis chapter one be interpreted as implying literal twenty-four hour periods or not? The readers must decide for themselves. The answer “I don’t know” is always an option. From the tone of this chapter, the reader could probably surmise that the author leans toward the non- literal view, rather than the literal twenty-four hour interpretation of Genesis chapter one. But that is just one person’s opinion. It is the opinion of someone who is a scientist and who is prone to being impressed with scientific evidence.

The fact is that one could never absolutely prove how or when the universe was created. It is impossible to go back into the past and do an experiment to determine what happened. The fact is that creation did occur. There is consistent evidence that it occurred a very long time ago. However, the possibility remains open that God could have created the universe with an appearance of age.

It seems reasonable to ask whether one’s personal interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis is an issue of major importance or not. Creationists often make the point that acceptance of the literal interpretation of Genesis is essential to faith in Jesus Christ. Some creationist writings seem to imply salvation hangs on whether one accepts the six twenty-four-hour day creation doctrine or not. A careful reading of the New Testament will not support this view. In Luke 13:3 Jesus said “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” As far as is known, Jesus never said “But unless you accept that the world was created in six days, you will all likewise perish.” The six- day doctrine is not even mentioned in the New Testament. If this issue was an important one, it could be assumed that God would have somehow made it clear.

It makes sense to assert that any question which does not affect a person’s salvation or their daily relationship with God could safely be dismissed as not a major issue. To quote from Titus 3:9, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” Christians would be well advised to carefully consider the issue of creation.

However, it would seem that heated, drawn out debates about the “correct” interpretation of the Biblical creation account would fall into the category of “unprofitable and useless” controversy.

The creation account is not the only example of scientific knowledge dramatically supporting belief in the inspiration of the Bible. In the next two chapters several examples of the Bible being in dramatic agreement with scientific evidence will be described, offering further reason to believe in its divine authorship.

For Today

1. What was your belief/opinion about Genesis chapter one before reading this book?

2. Have your beliefs in this area changed at all from what you have read? How and why?

3. This chapter leaves the final answer of interpreting Genesis 1 to the reader. How do you feel about having an important question for which you cannot determine the truth absolutely?

4. Do you believe it is a significant matter to the Christian faith whether Genesis chapter one was intended to be taken literally or not?

5. Specifically, what would you say in answer to Delos McKown’s claim that “Christianity is scientifically unsupported and probably insupportable?”

6. Do you believe dinosaurs, trilobites and so forth actually lived at some time? How does this belief relate to your understanding of the Genesis creation account?

What About Genesis? 95 Find a book about creation “myths” and check out the claim in this book that the Genesis account stands alone amongst these stories.

If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Exodus 15:26

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