This article is from
Creation 39(2):6, April 2017

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Creation is just the beginning

Editorial

by Tas Walker

Is there any evidence for creation? Yes! Design provides powerful evidence, and Creation magazine regularly features examples of amazing design. The astonishing behaviour of the decoy spider (pp. 12–14) is one such evidence, as is the existence of complex biochemical pathways like those in the Bird of Paradise flower (pp. 28–29). However, the idea that the natural world is designed raises many objections.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is one who has challenged the idea of design. In a YouTube video entitled “Does the universe have a purpose?” he asks whether the purpose of the universe was to produce humans. If that was the purpose, Tyson says, then the cosmos has been embarrassingly inefficient because for 99.9999% of its history there have been no humans. His problem is that he is using evolution and its long-age system to try to understand creation. He needs to use the creation account as set out in the Bible.

According to the Bible, this universe was created for humans, as we showed last issue.¹ The first man and woman were present from the very beginning, from Day 6. We want children to understand this story too (pp. 38–41).

One big issue for the creation account, as Tyson highlighted, is the age of things. Creation magazine regularly provides evidence supporting the biblical age, such as the article about ‘pristine’ Saturn (p. 56) and the interview with Old Testament scholar Dr Rick Freeman (pp. 24–27).

Related to the age of the earth is the issue of geology. How can we accept the biblical age when geological features are supposedly hundreds of millions of years old? Again, the problem is that we are trying to fit creation into the evolutionary story. The global watery catastrophe of Noah’s Flood explains geology within the biblical timeframe. That’s why we give you evidence for the reality of Noah’s Flood, such as the articles about natural bridges (pp. 42–45) and the fossil record (pp. 20–23).

Tyson raised another serious argument against design. If the universe was designed for humans, then why is there death, mayhem and destruction—things like volcanoes, tsunamis, storms, and killer asteroids? Once again, Tyson’s problem is that he is using the wrong history.

The Bible describes the original creation, and God rated it as “very good” (Genesis 1:31). It was the rebellion of the first human couple that brought suffering, disease, and death. In fact, the world was placed under a curse at that time. So, death, mayhem, and destruction do not negate the original goodness of the creation. Rather they reveal our (and the creation’s) need for restoration.

While design provides powerful and compelling evidence for creation, we cannot make sense of the world by acknowledging design alone. We need a framework to investigate the different scientific disciplines: astronomy, geology, biology, archaeology, and so on. That is what the Bible provides. Its historical framework begins with creation, but subsequent events have impacted our world significantly: the Fall, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the coming of Christ.

Understanding the effects of these events gives powerful insights into our world. Six-day creation is vital, but it is just the beginning. When we see the world through the ‘lens’ of the Bible’s history, the pieces of the puzzle come together as never before.