Seven Days that Divide the World - The Beginning According to Genesis and Science
Seven Days that Divide the World, by John C. Lennox has been my most recent read. It has challenged me and encouraged me to continue to read and investigate more on this topic. The account of Genesis 1-3 has for a long time been something that I have been puzzled about. In studying science throughout high school and then uni, I have learned a lot about the complexity of creation and how wonderfully intricate it is. I believe that God created the universe. But how? Did he do it in 7 earth-days? 7 day-ages? Were these days spaced out in time? How should we interpret what Genesis 1 tells us, especially when we then look at Genesis 2 and see a different order of processes? Did he speak the word and everything appeared as we see it today? Did he set in motion evolutionary processes and guide them? How do we reconcile what we see in the world and what intelligent people have figured out about cosmology and biology and mathematics with what the bible says? Does it have to be one or the other, or do the two fit together somehow in a way that is not immediately obvious?
Something that stood out to me about this book was the way that Lennox wrote in such a balanced way. He does not shove a certain perspective down your throat, but rather, gently discusses different theories and ideas and explores how some of them do/don't work when you dig deeper into their implications. I really respect and appreciate this approach to discussion, as it allows you as the reader to learn different perspectives and consider things for yourself.
Although I have been left with more questions than answers, that is ok. It means that I have more books to read! More things to consider, and more discussions to be had. Exciting!
One massive encouragement to me is that although I have more questions than I could ever have the capacity to know the answers to, God knows exactly how he spoke the earth into motion. His ways are higher than what we could ever imagine.
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
When we try to approach these big questions, I do not believe that it must be an either/or between theology and science. God reveals his nature through scripture and through his creation, nature around us.
Psalm 19:1-4
"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world."
The earth declares the glory and majesty of God. The hills and the mountains sing, the trees clap their hands with joy as they proclaim the goodness of our God (Isaiah 55:12). Everything with breath praises the Lord (Psalm 150:6). The heavenly hosts, the sun, moon and stars sing his greatness (Psalm 148:1-4).
I love creation, and learning about creation. God is an amazing creator and the fact that we have the ability to study it and see the beauty all around us is such a privilege!
As has been my pattern of late, I am going to leave a song here that I think is a beautiful reflection of what I have been thinking about. "So Will I" - Hillsong Worship.
God was there in the beginning. "In the beginning, God..." (Gen 1:1). He existed before anything was created. He created and governed everything that has ever come into being. He spoke the Word, and through the Word all things were created (John 1:1-4). Everything that God does is for a purpose, he has a great plan that we cannot see or comprehend, yet we are loved enough that he has made us a part of that plan and purpose. Everything that has breath praises the Lord, and reveals the nature of God.
These lyrics are such a beautiful picture of Gods story that we are a part of. They paint an image of an artist, one who holds the whole universe in his hands and brings all things into being. "Every painted sky a canvas of your grace" - when we look up into the night sky, the speckled stars that glisten above, into the dawn and dusk as the sun peeks above the horizon and the golden glow encases the earth, we can see Gods glory in some small sense. If this is the beauty we can see now, how much greater will it be in the new creation that we look forward to with anticipation?!
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