Human History Begins

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Tuesday, 16 November 2010 09:00

November 14, 2010

“HUMAN HISTORY BEGINS”

Genesis 2:21-3:6

by Pastor Ole Lillestolen

Did God really create Adam and Eve through special acts of creation, or are the first chapters of Genesis more in the nature of a myth which developed mainly to explain the development of the human race into a sinful race? More and more people, including many theologians, believe that this myth idea is right, but as we respond to this “tough question” which was submitted some Sunday Evenings ago, we want to demonstrate in a variety of ways that we can rely on the historical accuracy of the first chapters of Genesis. By the way, if you have a “tough question” you would like to hear discussed, jot it down and either put it in the offering plate some time, or just give it to me.

The motivation for believing that at least the first chapters of Genesis are myth is the need for the eons of time needed by the theories of evolutionary theories. Yet, the issue is not just the first chapters of Genesis. If these chapters are not what they claim to be, then we also have to question if the rest of the Bible is what it claims to be.

It is philosophically true that one part of the Bible could be in error without the rest of the Bible being in error. The problem is, if we can demonstrate that one part of the Bible, as it was originally written, is truly in error then the truthfulness of the whole Bible is automatically called into question. If we discover that one part of the Bible is just a myth, what is to say that it isn’t all myth, at least all the “God” parts? What’s to say that the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection isn’t a myth. This is no insignificant question!

The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” If the Bible is myth, Christianity is empty. Furthermore, it becomes a game of pick and choose what you like about the Bible, instead of an opportunity to hear God speak to us.

So, point number one. The Bible presents itself as an all or nothing revelation from God. When Jesus was, for example, asked about the issue of divorce He said, in Matthew 19:4-6: “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, 'FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Jesus doesn’t mention the names of Adam and Eve, but He does validate the record of Genesis about the creation of Adam and Eve.

Jesus also validated the account of Noah and the flood in Genesis. When He described His return at the end of this age He said in Matthew 24:37-39: “the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Jesus said there was a flood!

Jesus even affirmed the account of Jonah and the big fish in Matthew 12:40,42. He said, “just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” It would be difficult to take Jesus seriously Genesis and Jonah were myths! The Bible is all or nothing!

Point two. While it is true that we will never be able to prove 100% that the Bible as it was originally written is 100% true, neither can critics prove that it is not! Generally speaking, you cannot prove that something is true. You try prove that it is false, and no one has ever ‘proven’ that the Bible is false.

The thing is, there are facts, and then there are interpretations. But, facts often do not point to interpretations because they can be ambiguous. If you ever watch CSI type programs on TV you know that CSI’s constantly deal with this problem. They think facts point to a suspect, only to find that they are missing other facts which would point to someone else. CSI and science in general is a process of eliminating possible interpretations of facts until you are left with what you cannot eliminate! The Bible is something you cannot eliminate!

Let’s move on to point three to see how this works. It is a fact that known history only goes back about five thousand years, agreeing well with the most conservative reading of the Bible’s account of history. Secular history books tell stories about prehistoric people who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, but there isn’t all that much for prehistory historians to go on to develop these stories.

Finding a cave with human bones and primitive tools doesn’t mean that those people lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. There are people who live like that today! Furthermore, if mankind has been around for hundreds of thousands of years, there sure isn’t much evidence of it. All of these supposed pre-modern humans that are touted from fossils aren’t the product of studying thousands of skeletons! They may be the product of one skull or partial skeleton!

Why do they claim these fossils are so old? They rely on one method of dating, that of radiometric dating, and that brings us to fact five. The thing to know about radiometric dating is that it does produce a scientific result, but that result is not a date. If you are using the uranium lead method, your test tells you how much uranium and how much lead there is in a rock.

Uranium decays into lead at a known rate and if you know how much of both elements were present at the formation of the rock you can figure out its age. The trouble is, no one was around eons ago with equipment capable of measuring those elements, so using this method as a clock is based on assumptions, assumptions which have been shown to be wrong when there was something to go on, like dating lava produced by volcanoes in recent times.

Fact number five adds interesting flavor to fact four. Evolutionary scientists use evolutionary theory to draw the assumptions they need to use radiometric dating. Garniss Curtis, a scientist at Berkeley Geochronology Center, states that, “Fossils offer correlations. For example, horses trotted into the geological record of East Africa at around nine million years ago, so if there are any horses on the scene, the assumption is that you're in a slice of time no older than nine million years.” He continues, “Fossils are terribly important, they tell you when you're blatantly wrong” (The Hominid Gang, p. 184-188). So, using circular logic they arrive at dates that correspond to evolutionary theory! How convenient! But, this is faith, not proof!

Fact number six deals with written accounts that picture long ages of pre-history, such as king lists from Egypt and Babylon. Scholars have concluded that these lists turn into myths when they leave the historical period. The lists disagree and there are no pyramids or tombs of kings which stretch back before the historical period. As far as I can tell, it is mainly wishful thinking that sees eons of pre-history before Adam and Eve.

Fact number seven is that there is evidence of the flood on this earth. Our planet is full of sedimentary layers of rock which were laid down in such a way that animals of all kinds were entrapped and fossilized, often in mass graves. Fossils of marine life are found on the tops of the highest mountains in the world. These fossil beds are often huge, making the geological activity of Mt. St. Helens look like a firecracker compared to an atomic bomb. The task of those who refuse to accept the creation and flood accounts of the Bible is to explain away this fact. They are creative in their explanation, but the fact is, the world is full of evidence of epic flood(s).

Is Genesis a myth? People may want to believe that, but the facts of earth don’t prove that Genesis is a myth. The facts are consistent with the historical record of Genesis! Remember, though, what we believe will never change the truth, about anything! Fact eight is that Satan wants us to believe the lie and he’s been working on that since Adam and Eve!

After God created them and placed them in the Garden of Eden God told them, just don’t eat of this one tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan, however, came to them with this challenge:” Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” In other words, do you believe what God said?

The fruit on that tree looked delicious. The idea of becoming more like God was profoundly appealing, though they had no idea what that meant. The challenge they grappled with was believing God, not that of believing in God, but that of believing God and what He has said! As we’ve seen, however, the issue is not with the facts. The issue is what we want to believe! Too often, like Adam and Eve we say, “Don’t confuse me with the facts! I want!”

Adam and Eve chose to believe the lie of Satan and the destructive power of sin entered into our world. As a result, we are a sinful people who get into all kinds of trouble and pain as we follow our wants!

Thankfully, God sent Jesus into our world to bring us the cure for our sin. His blood was shed for us on a cross two thousand years ago. God has spoken to us, just as He did to Adam and Eve. All that we need He is holding in His hands of grace to offer us, in Christ. Are we listening or are we wanting? Let’s not relearn the lesson of the beginning of human history!