That God, in the beginning, created out of nothing all that exists is abundantly clear from a reading of Genesis and other parts of Scripture. A nd certain particulars about Creation are also evident, such as, e.g., that man is the crown of creation, and that plants and animals were created to reproduce after their kind. And from Scripture we also know the most basic answer to the question of how God created because it says very clearly that God created by the power of His Word: God spoke and it was (Heb. 11:3; Gen. 1).
Many times, however, another question about how God created is asked. Who has not heard or read a remark in this vein: “The Bible tells us that God created, but for the how we must tum to natural science.” But this question of how is different in nature from the one above, because it is asking what processes God used, how long his creative acts took, whether He could have done one thing or another, and so forth. These questions are exactly of the nature that we ask about the created structure, about His creatures. But these are illegitimate questions to ask about God’s creative acts because these acts are not subject to scientific investigation. The acts of God whereby He called into being a new creature are not the same as those whereby He upholds that creature. But the only investigation which natural science can carry-on is about the upholding and unfolding of the creature. And we can only come to a limited understanding of this by studying one of two things: a) the unfolding of presently living organisms or of currently existing inorganic things in their various relationships, or b) the record that was left (e.g., in the crust of the earth) by these organisms and events which occurred in the past as unfoldings of these creatures. The former can only give us a better glimpse of how God presently upholds His creation, while the latter can give us a limited view of how God upheld His creation in the past and what may have happened to it in the past.
But because God’s creative acts are not of the same nature as His present upholding acts, but are wholly other, it is impossible to extrapolate from present “natural” processes, laws, and so forth, to God’s initial acts of bringing these things into being. Saying that God must have used the laws of nature to bring different creatures into being, is reducing God’s creative acts to those generalizations (laws) which we have been able to extract scientifically from the created structure of this world. This would make God subject to the laws which He has set for His creatures. But we know that God transcends all these laws, and could never be limited by them. After all, He made them in the first place.
For the Christian scientist there is thus only one thing that he can say about God’s creative acts, and that is: we cannot know anything about them except that which God has revealed to us in Scripture. Therefore the thought that we can tum to natural science for an answer to the how of creation is only a delusion, a false promise, an elevating of science to a place it could never hold, and therefore is to be rejected by all Christians as well as all scientists, and particularly by all scientists who are Christians.
Aaldert Mennega is associate professor of Biology and chairman of the Biology department at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Many times, however, another question about how God created is asked. Who has not heard or read a remark in this vein: “The Bible tells us that God created, but for the how we must tum to natural science.” But this question of how is different in nature from the one above, because it is asking what processes God used, how long his creative acts took, whether He could have done one thing or another, and so forth. These questions are exactly of the nature that we ask about the created structure, about His creatures. But these are illegitimate questions to ask about God’s creative acts because these acts are not subject to scientific investigation. The acts of God whereby He called into being a new creature are not the same as those whereby He upholds that creature. But the only investigation which natural science can carry-on is about the upholding and unfolding of the creature. And we can only come to a limited understanding of this by studying one of two things: a) the unfolding of presently living organisms or of currently existing inorganic things in their various relationships, or b) the record that was left (e.g., in the crust of the earth) by these organisms and events which occurred in the past as unfoldings of these creatures. The former can only give us a better glimpse of how God presently upholds His creation, while the latter can give us a limited view of how God upheld His creation in the past and what may have happened to it in the past.
But because God’s creative acts are not of the same nature as His present upholding acts, but are wholly other, it is impossible to extrapolate from present “natural” processes, laws, and so forth, to God’s initial acts of bringing these things into being. Saying that God must have used the laws of nature to bring different creatures into being, is reducing God’s creative acts to those generalizations (laws) which we have been able to extract scientifically from the created structure of this world. This would make God subject to the laws which He has set for His creatures. But we know that God transcends all these laws, and could never be limited by them. After all, He made them in the first place.
For the Christian scientist there is thus only one thing that he can say about God’s creative acts, and that is: we cannot know anything about them except that which God has revealed to us in Scripture. Therefore the thought that we can tum to natural science for an answer to the how of creation is only a delusion, a false promise, an elevating of science to a place it could never hold, and therefore is to be rejected by all Christians as well as all scientists, and particularly by all scientists who are Christians.
Aaldert Mennega is associate professor of Biology and chairman of the Biology department at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.