Wednesday, February 01, 2006
More on Creation and Science
I want to say a few words about the nature of God's creation. We will notice briefly how God organizes His creation, and how God made His creation.
First, let us consider how God organizes His creation. I really think that this organization is communicated in the history of the first week of creation. We notice the creation of certain classes of things separated by borders of the days and by God's own terminology.
On the first day, we see created "the heavens and the earth" as well as the light. This, I believe to be the area in science classified as physics. If you will, God created matter, space to contain the matter, and light/energy to govern the relationships between material phenomena within space. One clear result also came of this creation: time. Time was created in the purely physical sense of the relationship between objects in space. Time was also created in the sense of the forward movement of history according to God's direction.
On the second day, we see formed the "heavens," or the earth's atmosphere. This is still a bit on the level of physics, but we see the emergence of meteorology. It is a bit confusing to me why God did so much on each of the other days, but on this day, He created nothing new, but separated (classified?) parts of the existing creation. It is my personal opinion, based on the plural use of "heavens" and the limited mention of new things that God created also the Heaven we as Christians hold as our future home, along with the angels, but there are problems with this view, namely limited to no Scriptural evidence.
On the third day, we see God classifying earth sciences between dry land and the seas. Another addition is the creation of plant life. Plant life was a new classification and a new phenomenon. Here we see also introduced a very important decree from God. All plants were to reproduce after their kind. This is a clear opposition to the classic biological idea that plants have radically changed over time, but God is helping us study His creation by allowing us the security of knowing that apple trees will produce apples, and not oranges or coconuts in chaos.
On the fourth day, we see God classifying, or organizing, astronomy. It is interesting to me that the plants were able to survive only on God's light, before He classified it into the various lights across "expanse of the heavens." Nonetheless, we see that rather than be chaotic (big bang) God placed (where He wanted) the sun, moon, stars, asteroids, galaxies, etc.
On the fifth day, God created the fish and the birds. Here, I find once again two separate classes of study. If you did not notice, I think God is more detailed in His classification than we are with our plant kingdom and animal kingdom. Up to now, we have the plant kingdom, the fish kingdom, and the bird kingdom. God issued another decree by telling these classes to reproduce, fill the earth "after their kind" (another comfort of consistency).
On the sixth day, God created the animals and man. These are two more kingdoms of living things that God classified. He brings the same decree to these two classes that He brought to the first ones: "after their kind." More can be said on this, but the fact is that God set the classes and declared their borders to be uncrossable.
I should mention the special attention made to God's creation of man. All of God's creation declares His glory. It shows us things about Him. However, God's creation of man was special. No other part of creation is described in such detail. It is mentioned as a special creation in God's image and likeness. Man was not just to declare God's glory but to wear it. I know, that is a little sloppy, but it rhymes. This makes man the center of God's purpose in creation. We see that man was to rule creation. It is also for man's pleasure and God's future plans for man that God created the rest of creation.
We even find a discussion within the Godhead taking place. I would remind you of the discussion of elohim vs. YHWH. Here, we find a subject object distinction and a united pronoun ("us" in English). This is distinct from some people's pagan idea of a conference of deities, discussing options, voting, and creating. There are no options mentioned, no discussion, just the affirmation of the nature of man in God's eternal purpose. Thus we see incredible unity in the Godhead with limited diversity. Let me clarify that. The doctrine of the trinity is illustrated in this event because we see different persons united in one Godhead on the creation of man.
On day seven, we see God resting. In my opinion, God was not just illustrating His satisfaction with His creation. He was also illustrating a consistent style of acting for a purpose through history, and stopping that action when its purpose has been fulfilled. That is a strange way of saying that God ended the first "dispensation."
One final observation, and then I am done. We see God use language throughout this entire story. Language was used to communicate with the creation. God used language before man existed. He used language independent of creation (when He said "Let us make man..."). Language is very important to God. We must be very careful to judge exactly how God uses language and what that means for us. For example, did light come because God said the words "Let there be light"? No, God created the light (as my Hebrews teacher so eloquently said) "not by the power of His word, but by the word of His power." Thus, we see that the power of God's language is not in the language itself, but in God Himself. The power of our language is not magical or mystical. It rests in the truthfulness of the statement and its correct relationship to God's revolution.
So, I am saying that every level of science is affected by theology, and specifically the theology of this important event--the creation of the universe.
First, let us consider how God organizes His creation. I really think that this organization is communicated in the history of the first week of creation. We notice the creation of certain classes of things separated by borders of the days and by God's own terminology.
On the first day, we see created "the heavens and the earth" as well as the light. This, I believe to be the area in science classified as physics. If you will, God created matter, space to contain the matter, and light/energy to govern the relationships between material phenomena within space. One clear result also came of this creation: time. Time was created in the purely physical sense of the relationship between objects in space. Time was also created in the sense of the forward movement of history according to God's direction.
On the second day, we see formed the "heavens," or the earth's atmosphere. This is still a bit on the level of physics, but we see the emergence of meteorology. It is a bit confusing to me why God did so much on each of the other days, but on this day, He created nothing new, but separated (classified?) parts of the existing creation. It is my personal opinion, based on the plural use of "heavens" and the limited mention of new things that God created also the Heaven we as Christians hold as our future home, along with the angels, but there are problems with this view, namely limited to no Scriptural evidence.
On the third day, we see God classifying earth sciences between dry land and the seas. Another addition is the creation of plant life. Plant life was a new classification and a new phenomenon. Here we see also introduced a very important decree from God. All plants were to reproduce after their kind. This is a clear opposition to the classic biological idea that plants have radically changed over time, but God is helping us study His creation by allowing us the security of knowing that apple trees will produce apples, and not oranges or coconuts in chaos.
On the fourth day, we see God classifying, or organizing, astronomy. It is interesting to me that the plants were able to survive only on God's light, before He classified it into the various lights across "expanse of the heavens." Nonetheless, we see that rather than be chaotic (big bang) God placed (where He wanted) the sun, moon, stars, asteroids, galaxies, etc.
On the fifth day, God created the fish and the birds. Here, I find once again two separate classes of study. If you did not notice, I think God is more detailed in His classification than we are with our plant kingdom and animal kingdom. Up to now, we have the plant kingdom, the fish kingdom, and the bird kingdom. God issued another decree by telling these classes to reproduce, fill the earth "after their kind" (another comfort of consistency).
On the sixth day, God created the animals and man. These are two more kingdoms of living things that God classified. He brings the same decree to these two classes that He brought to the first ones: "after their kind." More can be said on this, but the fact is that God set the classes and declared their borders to be uncrossable.
I should mention the special attention made to God's creation of man. All of God's creation declares His glory. It shows us things about Him. However, God's creation of man was special. No other part of creation is described in such detail. It is mentioned as a special creation in God's image and likeness. Man was not just to declare God's glory but to wear it. I know, that is a little sloppy, but it rhymes. This makes man the center of God's purpose in creation. We see that man was to rule creation. It is also for man's pleasure and God's future plans for man that God created the rest of creation.
We even find a discussion within the Godhead taking place. I would remind you of the discussion of elohim vs. YHWH. Here, we find a subject object distinction and a united pronoun ("us" in English). This is distinct from some people's pagan idea of a conference of deities, discussing options, voting, and creating. There are no options mentioned, no discussion, just the affirmation of the nature of man in God's eternal purpose. Thus we see incredible unity in the Godhead with limited diversity. Let me clarify that. The doctrine of the trinity is illustrated in this event because we see different persons united in one Godhead on the creation of man.
On day seven, we see God resting. In my opinion, God was not just illustrating His satisfaction with His creation. He was also illustrating a consistent style of acting for a purpose through history, and stopping that action when its purpose has been fulfilled. That is a strange way of saying that God ended the first "dispensation."
One final observation, and then I am done. We see God use language throughout this entire story. Language was used to communicate with the creation. God used language before man existed. He used language independent of creation (when He said "Let us make man..."). Language is very important to God. We must be very careful to judge exactly how God uses language and what that means for us. For example, did light come because God said the words "Let there be light"? No, God created the light (as my Hebrews teacher so eloquently said) "not by the power of His word, but by the word of His power." Thus, we see that the power of God's language is not in the language itself, but in God Himself. The power of our language is not magical or mystical. It rests in the truthfulness of the statement and its correct relationship to God's revolution.
So, I am saying that every level of science is affected by theology, and specifically the theology of this important event--the creation of the universe.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Public or Private?
Here in Portugal, there is a huge debate right now over the future of the government and its domestic policy. My teachers tell me every day that it is near impossible to get a job in Portugal, and that the economy is really bad and unstable. The current assembly is debating whether greater long term economic growth will come publicly or privately, and whether greater stability will come from public or private intervention. This week has been filled with this debate more through the influence of the Worldwide Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (By the way Bill Clinton ["I'm still here!"] is there trying to advance international treaties on climate change.)
Portugal was a kingdom from roughly the 11th century until the 20th century. In the kingdom model, the king owns the country and is therefore responsible to manage it. May he do it wisely. Portugal began to change as did all of Europe in the 20th century. They went through a number of painful transitions, including a dictatorship. The dictatorship was replaced by a form of government called a republic, but more like a parliament. In the classic European model, the state continued to be the center industrial and economic activity; in other words, they were a very socialist model. Over the last several years, many private companies have appeared. The undeniable fact is that the government owned and run companies have the advantages and the priveledges in the economy.
What is the role of the economy in the economy? Sweden, Holland, and Germany are examples of very socialist ideas applied across a country. They are contrasted to the USA. All of the numbers, in practical terms, are in favor of the US model (per capita income, gdp, economic growth, etc.). What is not in favor of the US is that the average person in the US will have at least ten career changes from graduation to retirement. This is very unstable.
The sad thing is that in the numbers, a great loss is made. The fundamental assumption that these decisions are made without reference to each individual citizen. The answer has been pre-determined by the framework of the question: "What is or social responsibility in reference to our future?" I personally am skeptical of the term "social responsibility." It demeans each person as an individual, or worse, it denies personal or individual responsibility. I can then help the poor by paying taxes, and not by getting to know them and personally engaging in their lives.
Sadly, the church takes much the same response when it comes to ministry. We get together and pay the pastor and a few missionaries to do the ministering for us, and then go on about our daily lives without thinking about how we could personally get involved.
Portugal was a kingdom from roughly the 11th century until the 20th century. In the kingdom model, the king owns the country and is therefore responsible to manage it. May he do it wisely. Portugal began to change as did all of Europe in the 20th century. They went through a number of painful transitions, including a dictatorship. The dictatorship was replaced by a form of government called a republic, but more like a parliament. In the classic European model, the state continued to be the center industrial and economic activity; in other words, they were a very socialist model. Over the last several years, many private companies have appeared. The undeniable fact is that the government owned and run companies have the advantages and the priveledges in the economy.
What is the role of the economy in the economy? Sweden, Holland, and Germany are examples of very socialist ideas applied across a country. They are contrasted to the USA. All of the numbers, in practical terms, are in favor of the US model (per capita income, gdp, economic growth, etc.). What is not in favor of the US is that the average person in the US will have at least ten career changes from graduation to retirement. This is very unstable.
The sad thing is that in the numbers, a great loss is made. The fundamental assumption that these decisions are made without reference to each individual citizen. The answer has been pre-determined by the framework of the question: "What is or social responsibility in reference to our future?" I personally am skeptical of the term "social responsibility." It demeans each person as an individual, or worse, it denies personal or individual responsibility. I can then help the poor by paying taxes, and not by getting to know them and personally engaging in their lives.
Sadly, the church takes much the same response when it comes to ministry. We get together and pay the pastor and a few missionaries to do the ministering for us, and then go on about our daily lives without thinking about how we could personally get involved.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Let It Snow!
It was a week for history this week. Most people here had an experience that will be once in a lifetime for them. Snow fell heavily across the country starting on Saturday and throughout Sunday. Roads were covered in ice and snow. The countryside was white. Children ran outside, built snowmen, and threw snowballs. For the northern part of the country, this was a rare occurrence. But this area has not seen snow since 1982. The snowstorm kept rumbling on south, though, and the coup de grace (I know it's French, not Portuguese) was that for the first time in 52 years, snow fell and accumulated on the ground in the country's capital, Lisboa (Lisbon). Everyone was raving about how cold it was, and few were able to make it to church, due to the cold and snow. For me, it felt a little like a Nebraska January snowstorm: it came, it blew and dumped, it melted. However, for the Portuguese, this is extremely rare, and they were so excited that they covered no other items on the newscasts.
I had another experience of note this weekend. It is culturally normal for children to stay up all night before their birthday. At midnight, the family and assembled guests sing ÂParabéns (happy birthday). My neighbors introduced me to this custom when they woke me up with their singing. They then proceeded to have a party for the rest of the night. It could have been aggravating, but I took it as an opportunity to learn more about the culture.
This week we have semester exams (that's finals). It is rare to me to end a semester after Christmas, but they do things differently here. Please pray that all will go well.
I had more opportunity for conversation this weekend. Praise the Lord for providing gracious Christians with whom I can practice and fellowship at the same time.
