There have been several misinterpretations and arguments concerning how the world and man was created. These arguments are popular within the discourse of the Christianity religion. That notwithstanding, many scientists also have this same issue of what exactly the origin of man is. Many scientists in their various fields have brought up theories that could answer the origin of man. Coming from a biological science background, I have come to appreciate nature so much that I like to explore and learn more about nature. I thank God for bringing me this far, and I appreciate my patron saint, St. Albert the great, for His wonderful intercession in my life. God is mysterious. We may never be able to understand God by our human minds. However, God paves ways for us to use our human intellects to appreciate nature and God himself as a whole.
From the creation accounts in the Book of Genesis, we get to know that there are two different creation stories (Genesis 1 and Genesis 2). These stories have raised concerns among Christians and Non-Christians. Many people begin to ask questions such as, “so what is the ideal and true story behind creation?”
Scientists also have their own problems of what and how the world was created. While Christians back their claims on the authenticity of the creation accounts in the bible by faith, scientists approve and accept the many theories on evolution or origin of man by evidence. How sure are we that there is God, and He created man? How exactly did God create man? Can we say exactly how God did that? We are told Moses is the author of Genesis, but was Moses there when God created the world? Does that mean we should not take the creation stories in the Book of Genesis serious? Certainly no!
We cannot tell exactly how God created the world, but we need to apply common sense to know that God exists, and He is the creator of the universe. From principles of common sense, if today we see a table or chair, we definitely know that the table or chair has a creator (carpenter). We need to apply this same knowledge here. Since there are creatures on earth, there must certainly be a creator (who is God).
God has so many attributes; all powerful, all knowing, he is mysterious, He is merciful. One interesting thing I discovered in the Book of Genesis on the mercy of God which is in relation to an evolutionary principle in biology is the story of Noah. The story of Noah reflects some phenomena in evolution called founder effects & bottleneck effect. These phenomena reveal how a new population of individuals begins as a result of destruction of that population by a natural disaster, which leaves only few individuals in that population to start a new generation. So, in these phenomena, a population of a living species is destroyed by a sudden event, leaving only few individuals to start a new generation. During Noah’s time, he was the only righteous person, God had regretted creating humans because there was so much sin in the world. God wanted to wipe out the whole population of man. God did destroy the earth, but he left Noah and His family to start a new generation. This story of Noah can be likened to the concepts of bottleneck effect and founder effect. The story of Noah teaches how merciful and loving God is towards humans.
Ideally, there are so many correlations between the creation stories that we have (from both the religious and science points of view). All these stories point to the fact that there is one God, who is the creator, and this is what everyone must come to understand. Evolutionary theories also point to the fact that all living organisms came from a one common descent (ancestor). We must not worry so much about exactly how God created man. Evolutionary theories also point to the fact that there is God.
Why do we have to accept the creation stories in the bible?
Dear friends, the books found in the bible are inspired books by the Holy Spirit. The two creation accounts we have in the bible are inspired stories that God wants us to know. These are stories that God wants to speak to us with. Mind you, there were so many books written by so many people. However, the books we see in the bible are the books inspired by the Holy Spirit and these are the books that God desires to be in the bible. One criterion that was used to consider that an Old Testament book is inspired by the Holy Spirit was, that book should have been used by Jesus Christ while He was on earth. Funnily, Jesus never mentioned Adam and Eve while He was on earth. Jesus only made reference to them as “the man and the woman” when He was addressing the issue of divorce in (Matthew 19:4-6; He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So, they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate”.) So, Jesus referenced them indirectly to support His answer “What God has joined together, let no man separate them”. We can see (Genesis 2:24; Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed) and (Genesis 1:27; So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them) in Matthew 19:4-6. So, this comment by Jesus makes the creation stories in the bible very authentic and relevant in our lives. Many apostles referenced Adam as the first man. St. Paul severally made mention of Adam and Eve. For St. Paul, He directly mentioned Adam. At one point, St. Paul referenced Adam as the Old Testament Christ who brought sin into the world, then, He compared Adam to Jesus who came to redeem the world (Romans 5:12-21). St. Jude also made reference to Adam in Jude 1:14. St. Luke also included Adam in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:23-38). These biblical references in the New Testament reveal the importance and need for these two creation accounts.
The bible is never a mistake. There are no contradictions in the bible. God knows what is good for His children. The books we find in the bible are the books that God wants us to have. Let us embrace everything that is found in the bible. Let us appreciate nature, God and the findings of scientists!
Thank you!!
