Why our book 'Understanding Creation' was written

Tips on how to handle questions of science appearing to contradict biblical teachings

L. James Gibson

There is a need for more written material dealing with Creation, especially on how to deal with the scientific challenges to the biblical account. The recent book "Understanding Creation" was written to help with this need.

The book happened to come at an opportune time when there was a discussion within the church about Creation. We didn't want to be polemic; our reason was more pragmatic.

Students and young professionals say they are regularly asked to provide an explanation for their Christian beliefs of Creation, especially regarding fossils and the Flood. We took 20 commonly asked questions and had 20 authors provide scholarly answers in language that anyone could use whether talking to friends, colleagues or the person in the next seat on an airplane.

Half the book addresses philosophical and theological questions, including the supposed conflict between the Bible and science, the science of evolution, Darwinism and morality, and living without all the answers. The other half of the book addresses scientific questions, including the Bing Bang, radiometric dating, plate tectonics, dinosaurs and fossil records.

The biblical story of Creation is a vital part of the gospel proclamation in the last days of earth history. In a powerful way, the Genesis creation record challenges the human pride of our age and emphasizes the power and goodness of the Creator God.

Many aspects of the biblical creation record have broad implications for Christian thinking. Here are three:

One: God is freely active in His Creation -- in unique events we call miracles. This idea conflicts with the current thinking among scientists. Science is built on the supposition that nature is governed by fixed laws, and God does not intervene in history. Many philosophers and scientists fear that science could not work if God is intervening to cause events that would not have happened otherwise. We could not trust science as the standard of truth. This is an offense to human pride, and it is not surprising to see the anger expressed against the idea. But if God really does sometimes cause unique events -- creation -- we ought to accept the Scriptures as God's main revelation to us, and reject claims that science is the most reliable source to learn about Creation.

Two: Humans were created better than they are now. Originally made in God's image, without moral flaw and in a perfect environment, our first parents distrusted God and brought violence and death into this world. God's response was to implement the plan of salvation, coming to earth to die in our place. Many people oppose this view of human nature. They have not found any evidence of superior human ancestors or a world without suffering and death.

The idea that we are sinful, fallen beings is an offense to human pride, and it is more appealing to suppose we have risen from a lower state. But the gospel message that God has provided for our salvation is based on the truth of the Bible's Creation story and is the only revealed basis for our hope of eternal life.

Three: The seventh-day Sabbath. To observe the seventh-day Sabbath is to show our faith in the biblical account of Creation. The Bible gives no other reason for keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week rather than any other day. Without the Creation account, any numbering of days is purely arbitrary, and any day could be considered the seventh day.

Observance of the seventh-day Sabbath symbolizes our faith in the scriptural account of Creation in six days, our fallen nature, and our dependence on God for knowledge of our origins, our nature and our destiny. This may explain the surprising depth of opposition to Sabbath keeping. It is an affront to human pride in that it reminds us of our tendency to get things wrong, both in science and in religion. Observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is logically linked to the gospel message.

Our goal for the book is to help Christians witness for the gospel by helping them deal with questions that underlie the logic of the gospel -- the biblical story of six-day Creation, the entrance of suffering and death due to sin, and the provision for Christ to redeem us and restore us to relationship with Him in a new creation.

--L. James Gibson, Ph.D., is co-editor of the book "Understanding Creation" (Pacific Press, 2011). He serves as director of the Geoscience Research Institute, an institution directly affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church's headquarters and located in Loma Linda, California, United States.

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