What is God Like?
Part 6
God Our Creator
“Why the worried look?” grandpa greeted John as he encountered him after school.
“Well,” replied John, “our teacher told us today that we weren’t created by God, but we were descended from apes.”
“Your teacher doesn’t think much of either himself or the human race if he says we descend from apes,” countered grandpa cheerfully. “I always thought we were superior beings who would have ascended not descended.”
“So did I,” agreed John. “But our teacher says all life evolved from a one-celled living organism by a series of changes over millions of years.”
Grandpa took John into the library and taking down from the shelf a copy of the encyclopedia, he leafed over the pages, then finding what he wanted he placed his finger on a heading in the volume and said to John, “Read this.”
John read, “Evolution, theories of.”
“Now John,” inquired grandpa, “do you know what a theory is?”
“I really don’t know,” confessed John, “although I think it means a guess of some kind about something you aren’t sure.”
“That’s a pretty good answer for a nine year old boy,” complimented grandpa. “A theory is an explanation of a scientific problem. It is supposed to meet all the known facts of the problem but it cannot be scientifically proven. So you see your teacher was quite wrong in saying what he did as a fact, for he cannot prove it is true. You will notice that the encyclopedia says, ‘theories,’ for all men who believe in evolution do not agree with one another. It would appear from what your teacher said he believes in Darwin’s theory.”
“Who was Darwin and what did he say?” John wanted to know.
“Darwin was an English naturalist, that is, a man who studied the earth and its various forms of life. He lived about a hundred years ago. He spent much of his life examining forms of life and then published a book entitled, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. In his book he maintained that all life evolved from simpler forms of life by means of natural selection. In his day many agreed with him, but later naturalists found too many unanswered questions in his theory and so formed theories of their own.”
“Why did people believe him at first and then change their minds?” John inquired.
“As an explanation of changes that have taken place in animals and plants of their own species, Darwin’s theory seemed reasonable enough,” explained grandpa, “but scientists were not satisfied that a change in species could come into existence by random selection and many honest and sincere men wanted to know how the one-celled organism came into existence in the first place. Darwin tried to explain the origin of species, but the more important point, the origin of life, he could not answer. In fact his theory left many questions unanswered.”
“How did life begin?” demanded John.
“Julian Huxley, who was a firm defender of Darwin and his theory had to admit, ‘the present state of knowledge furnishes us with no link between the living and the non-living.’ Lord Kelvin, who was professor of natural history at the University of Glasgow for 53 years and who was honoured and respected by many brilliant scientists from many lands said, ‘inanimate (non-living) matter cannot become living except under the influence of matter already living… life is produced by life and only life.’ In the case of Adam, the Bible says in Genesis 2:7, ‘And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.’ Lord Kelvin after much study came to the conclusion, ‘Science positively affirms creative power.’ The Bible teaches us that that power is God, Who is able because He is omnipotent.”
“How did Darwin prove man came from an ape?” queried John.
“He didn’t prove it,” volunteered grandpa. “He said that life moved forward by very small changes over millions of years, each change making the living organism better able to survive. If this is so it is hard to understand how the ape who was covered with hair to protect him from the cold, wind and rain discarded it to become naked, leaving him the problem of making clothing to do what his hair had done for him. It was problems like these that made men change their theory of evolution and I suppose they will go on changing their theories rather than accept God’s place in all this.”
“What do you think?” pleaded John anxiously.
“I believe God did have a hand in all this,” affirmed grandpa. “To me it is unreasonable to believe that this universe of ours is the product of chance. Only an omnipotent God could have created a world like ours that works according to a definite schedule. Only an omniscient God could have planned it so. I know some will object that such a God could not have allowed the world to develop into the wicked place it now is, but that is another problem which we must face on another occasion. The Bible shows clearly that it never was God’s intention that man should fail, but because He is omniscient He knew it would happen and He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world so that all who believe in Him shall be saved. There is a day coming in which He will intervene again and there will be a new heaven and a new earth free from sin and sorrow and death. ‘And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him’ (Revelation 22:3).”
Passages to read: Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7, 21-23; 5:l-2; 1 Corinthians 15:45.