Developing A Biblical World View

MYTHS OF CREATION

In every culture there are different beliefs about the creation of the world. People have always felt the need to explain how things came to be and from where man came. People in different

nations and cultures have developed their own stories or "myths" to explain creation. The various myths about creation have developed for two reasons:

1. Because people did not have access to the true facts about creation or. . . 2. Because they chose not to believe the true story of creation when they heard it.

GOD THE CREATOR

The true story of the creation of the world is recorded in the Bible. Genesis 1:1 summarizes the entire first chapter:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

The God of whom this verse speaks is the one true God. The Bible is the written record of the acts and words of God. When we speak of developing a Biblical world view, it means we base our understanding of the world on what is revealed by God in His written Word, the Bible.

Some people choose not to believe the facts of creation presented in the Bible because it means they must acknowledge there is a God. If they accept the fact there is a God, then they must acknowledge His sovereign rule over them. They must also believe His Word and do something about their evil lifestyle. Because people do not want to change their way of life, they choose to deny the Biblical account of creation and the existence of God.

Some people claim the Biblical account of creation does not agree with the facts discovered by scientists who study the earth. It is true that the Bible does not agree with the theories of some scientists, but a theory is a personal belief or a guess as to how something happened. It is not a proven fact. In every challenge raised by scientists, the facts discovered in their studies have always proven the Bible to be correct in its account of creation.

CREATION OF THE WORLD

In Genesis we are told the condition of the world when God first performed His creative acts:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. . . (Genesis 1:2)

The following verses tell the story of God's creation of the world:

First day: Light and darkness (Gen 1: 3-5).

Second day: The firmament (Heaven) separating the waters (verses 6-8).

Third day: Dry land and vegetation (verses 9-13).

Fourth day: Heavenly bodies; sun, moon, stars (verses 14-19).

Fifth day: Inhabitants of the waters and the birds (verses 20-23).

Sixth day: Land animals and man (verses 24-25).

The Bible summarizes the creativity of God to reveal that. . .

. . . by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him.

And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16-17)