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_001.jpg) At some point in our lives, everybody asks the big
questions: “Who made us,” and “Why are we here?”
So who did make us? Most of us have been brought
up more on science than religion, and to believe in the Big Bang and evolution
more than God. But which makes more sense? And is there any reason why the
theories of science and creationism cannot coexist?
The Big Bang may explain the origin of the universe, but
it doesn’t explain the origin of the primordial dust cloud. This dust cloud
(which, according to the theory, drew together, compacted and then exploded)
had to come from somewhere. After all, it contained enough matter to form not
just our galaxy, but the billion other galaxies in the known universe. So
where did that come form? Who, or what, created the primordial dust
cloud?
Similarly, evolution may explain the fossil record, but
it falls far short of explaining the quintessential essence of human life—the
soul. We all have one. We feel its presence, we speak of its existence and at
times pray for its salvation. But only the religious can explain where it came
from. The theory of natural selection can explain many of the material aspects
of living things, but it fails to explain the human soul.
Furthermore, anyone who studies the complexities of life
and the universe cannot help but witness the signature of the Creator.
Whether or not people recognize these signs is another matter—as the old
saying goes, denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. (Get it? Denial, spelled “de
Nile” … the river Ni … oh, never mind.) The point is that if we see a painting,
we know there is a painter. If we see a sculpture, we know there’s a sculptor;
a pot, a potter. So when we view creation, shouldn’t we know there’s a
Creator?
The concept that the universe exploded and then
developed in balanced perfection through random events and natural selection is
little different from the proposal that, by dropping bombs into a junkyard,
sooner or later one of them will blow everything together into a perfect
Mercedes.
If there is one thing we know for certain, it is that
without a controlling influence, all systems degenerate into chaos. The
theories of the Big Bang and evolution propose the exact opposite, however—that
chaos fostered perfection. Would it not be more reasonable to conclude that
the Big Bang and evolution were controlled events? Controlled, that is, by the
Creator?
The Bedouin of Arabia tell the tale of a nomad finding
an exquisite palace at an oasis in the middle of an otherwise barren desert. When
he asks how it was built, the owner tells him it was formed by the forces of
nature. The wind shaped the rocks and blew them to the edge of this oasis, and
then tumbled them together into the shape of the palace. Then it blew sand and
rain into the cracks to cement them together. Next, it blew strands of sheep’s
wool together into rugs and tapestries, stray wood together into furniture,
doors, windowsills and trim, and positioned them in the palace at just the
right locations. Lightning strikes melted sand into sheets of glass and
blasted them into the window-frames, and smelted black sand into steel and
shaped it into the fence and gate with perfect alignment and symmetry. The
process took billions of years and only happened at this one place on
earth—purely through coincidence.
When we finish rolling our eyes, we get the point. Obviously,
the palace was built by design, not by happenstance. To what (or more to the
point, to Whom), then, should we attribute the origin of items of infinitely
greater complexity, such as our universe and ourselves?
Another argument to dismiss the concept of Creationism focuses
upon what people perceive to be the imperfections of creation. These are the “How
can there be a God if such-and-such happened?” arguments. The issue under
discussion could be anything from a natural disaster to birth defects, from
genocide to grandma’s cancer. That’s not the point. The point is that denying
God based upon what we perceive to be injustices of life presumes that a divine
being would not have designed our lives to be anything other than perfect, and
would have established justice on Earth.
Hmm … is there no other option?
We can just as easily propose that God did not design
life on Earth to be paradise, but rather a test, the punishment or rewards of
which are to be had in the next life, which is where God establishes His
ultimate justice. In support of this concept we can well ask who suffered more
injustices in their worldly lives than God’s favorites, which is to say the
prophets? And who do we expect to occupy the highest stations in paradise, if
not those who maintain true faith in the face of worldly adversity? So
suffering in this worldly life does not necessarily translate into God’s
disfavor, and a blissful worldly life does not necessarily translate into
beatitude in the hereafter.
I would hope that, by this line of reasoning, we can
agree upon the answer to the first “big question.” Who made us? Can we agree
that if we are creation, God is the Creator?
If we can’t agree on this point, there probably isn’t
much point in continuing. However, for those who do agree, let’s move
on to “big question” number two—why are we here? What, in other words, is the
purpose of life?
Copyright © 2007
Dr. Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
Dr. Brown is the
author of The Eighth Scroll, described by North Carolina State Senator
Larry Shaw as, “Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code. The
Eighth Scroll is a breath-holding, white-knuckled, can’t-put-down thriller
that challenges Western views of humanity, history and religion. Bar
none, the best book in its class!” Dr. Brown is also the author of three
scholastic books of comparative religion, MisGod’ed, God’ed, and Bearing
True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). His books and articles can be found on his
websites, www.EighthScroll.com and www.LevelTruth.com, and are available for
purchase through www.Amazon.com.
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