3. Kingdom Origins: NOW and THEN, HERE and THERE, THIS and THAT

This ability to create and deploy so rapidly is a double-edged sword. We collect, assemble, analyze and monetize ideas at such velocity that we run the risk of turning knowledge into a golden calf. In my earlier years, I was rightfully accused of elevating human intellect to a place of worship. Perhaps I’m not alone.

As a youngster I had a profound need to acquire knowledge and education. Fueled by this strong hunger, I consumed books on science, math and philosophy well beyond my years. I recall purchasing a college Chemistry textbook at age 12. Teachers in high school asked me to lecture their classes on existentialism, a morose philosophy of meaningless isolation. At Georgetown University, while pursuing a pre-med degree in Chemistry, I spent hours with professors steeped in every channel of human philosophy, peppering them with questions, challenging flaws in their belief systems, ever searching, but increasingly skeptical of coming to a knowledge of the truth.

Georgetown’s Medical School awarded me a Master’s Degree in Physiology and Biophysics. Our professors instructed from a no-nonsense, fact-saturated, scientific platform. Adding to the pressure of graduate school, every four weeks or so one them would start the class by revising his comments from a previous lecture. Recent discoveries about the human body had displaced a previous concept and our notes were now outdated. The class was composed of young, scientific minds that had no trouble discarding old ideas in favor of better ones. We realized that research and innovation would bring a constant stream of new medical discoveries. The rigorous training built into me a deep hunger for airtight theories while remaining receptive to fresh ones.

Throughout those years, God waited patiently, on the sidelines, in the shadows, for me to exhaust my search. At one moment, someone introduced me to Jesus, who claimed to be the only Way to God and the gatekeeper for obtaining eternal life. He claimed to not only know the truth, but to be the very author and personification of Truth.

This was just too much to ignore. By laying down such an uncompromising assertion, Jesus either needed to be summarily discarded or accepted without reservation. This was a case of all or nothing. God had built into me this deep hunger for knowledge, and He now provoked me to investigate these outrageous claims.

I eagerly dived into the Bible so I could expose its ridiculous assertions and anti-scientific flaws, beginning with the declaration that Jesus is the very incarnation of Truth – and that no Truth exists outside of Him. For one thing, the New Testament asserts that Jesus created everything, both seen and unseen, merely by speaking the words. Deeply steeped in evolutionary theory and the Laws of Thermodynamics, I knew for certain that was outlandish. Easily dismissed!

Let’s fast forward to today…

I now believe, unequivocally, in the historical, spiritual and scientific assertions in God’s Word.  The Bible faithfully records mankind’s story from the vantage point of its Creator.  Within its pages lies an immense treasure for governments, scholars, families, business leaders and communities. 

The God of Genesis is no coward. When describing the origins of the universe, He does not nibble about the edges of pseudo-scientific theory nor provide mushy, misty fairy tales requiring us to suspend our disbelief. Did you know that the Judeo-Christian faith is the only philosophy or belief system that dares to assert an absolute knowledge of the opening moments of the universe?

The biblical cosmogony (explanation of origins) lays down a serious challenge to every logically bankrupt evolutionary theory by declaring in its opening passage, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” In that one brief sentence, the Bible makes the “outrageous” claim that time, space and matter came into existence ex nihilo (from nothing).

In the next few verses the Bible describes how Jesus, acting on His Father’s authority, brings forth the incalculably vast, resource-rich universe simply by speaking the words. In Genesis 1:1 we have a record of how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit collaborated to build an entire cosmos. Unlike the vague origins theories found in other religious systems, there is no mention in the Bible of mysterious, primordial swamps rich with organic matter spontaneous-ly bringing life out of chaos. Instead, we find orderly, incontrovertible evidence of creation from nothing.

Let’s examine the simple, elegant birth of physics as described in Genesis 1:1:

• In the beginning – (the first moment of time — allowing the distinction between “now” and “then”)
• God created the heaven – (the manufacture of 3-dimensional space and the origin of distance, which separates “here” from “there”)
• And the earth – (“earth” is not the planet Earth, but the simple building blocks of matter, which brings a distinction between “this” and “that”)

Lacking a single kilowatt of energy, the endless expanse of muddy slush hangs in space for a nanosecond like a giant gelatin mold stuck in freezing, desolate darkness. The basic components of physics and biochemistry sit in silence ready for the cosmos to be ignited.

Using the heavenly blueprints, the Spirit unites matter into molecules, storing vast quantities of nuclear and chemical energy within their tiny connections, to be discovered and harnessed by mankind during the coming millennia.

In an orderly progression over the next few days Genesis recounts how the animals and plants appear, forming an ecology of infinite variety, and setting the stage for God’s crowning touch – the creation of man. On the sixth day (the Biblical word in Hebrew is “yom” — a literal 24-hour day) the Father assembles the microscopic components of a man from the dust of the ground.

He draws together minerals and particles in a masterpiece of engineering and assembles them into a lifeless body.  Finally, God crosses the ultimate boundary, emerging from the infinity of heaven into the confines of earth to personally deliver the “nephesh,” the breath of life, directly into the nostrils of the first man. 

I have looked deeply into the arguments of evolutionary theory through the lens of astronomy, biology and geology. Trust me, your ancient great-grandfather was not an asparagus nor a toy Poodle. You are the intentional creation of a loving God. The Second Law of Thermodynamics insists that the universe is winding down and losing energy. 

It cannot have lasted for eternity; everyone agrees it was launched somehow. In the interest of avoiding the claims of Genesis, some theorize about a Big Bang, but fail to describe who or what provoked the event.

After a long expedition digging for life’s deep truths, I eventually accepted the validity of Genesis. 

After many years of study, I can faithfully report that the Bible is consistent and thorough. It carries an inherent integrity. It alone serves as the framework through which all decisions should be made and all human activity should be evaluated. However, it cannot be comprehended apart from faith.

So the deeper, significant issue for the highly-informed, studiously-trained among us is this: either the Bible or our blessed scientific theories will become Filter #1 for all fresh discoveries. Either the Word of God is true, or it is simply a book of moral guidance, Middle Eastern history and ancient poetry.

We’re not the only society in history to pursue the razor’s edge of cutting-edge culture. In ancient Greece, the intellectuals and fanboys regularly gathered on Mars’ hill, home to many statues of their false gods, to catch up on the latest political and social theories of the day. The Apostle Paul visited this site once, and he brought their attention to their statue of “The Unknown God.” He said, “I’m here to talk about him,” and proceeded to unpack the true name and identity of the Jehovah God. Some naturally mocked Paul, but some were riveted by the revelation he brought to them.