"Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food." And it was so." - Genesis 1:29,30
The diet of these first human beings was prescribed to them by God himself, and that diet was restricted to seed-bearing and fruit-bearing plants. Similarly, the diet of all other creatures was restricted to plants. We do not find any mention of humans eating meat until after the flood, when God tells Noah humans are permitted to eat meat. In the book of Isaiah we read of the coming Kingdom of God, where the Lion will lie down with the lamb. It is clear that carnivorism, even on the part of animals, was not God's original plan within creation, but a result of creation being in bondage to the power and the curse of sin.
This raises an interesting issue in that the teeth and digestive system of carnivores seems to be designed perfectly for the consumption of meat. Yet if such creatures were not originally intended to consume meat then these physiological features must also have changed as a result of The Fall.
But while canines would not survive on a meatless diet, human beings would. This raises an interesting question - if we are inherently designed to be carnivores, then why should meat play such a major role in our diet? We are permitted to eat meat as a result of God's covenant with Noah, but is this license to eat meat as much as we want to.
Our world is currently facing an approaching food crisis. The dominance of meat in our food markets is an inefficient and unsustainable use of our earth's resources, as it takes 10 times the amount of grain to feed cattle for us to consume cattle, than if we had simply consumed that grain. Meat provides important proteins, nutrients and vitamins for our diet, but is it necessary to consume meat daily, let alone more than once a day? Might our willingness to reconsider a biblical approach to diet actually help to save the planet?
A Genesis 1:29 understanding of meat also gives us a better perspective on the dietary laws of Leviticus. It is true that today it is wrong to call anything God has made unclean. But given that the consumption of meat is far from ideal on the account of creation, it is understandable why the Jews restricted meat consumption to just a small number of animals.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Day 6 - Be fruitful and multiply
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
- Gensis 1:27,28
In verse 28 God restates his mandate to humanity. Often we evangelicals get obsessed with "Go into all the earth and make disciples of all nations" at the expense of this first command of ruling the earth. Evangelism is important - so important Jesus died on the cross to make it possible. But this commission from Genesis still stands. Souls are important, but so are spiderwebs.
"Be fruitful...multiply...fill the earth" - how does this speak to the childlessness and anti-family attitudes of this generation? Is the earth filled yet? Is the earth intimately ruled yet? Does every spiderweb have someone to admire it?
I'm not advocating the continued clearfelling of rainforest. But I am challenging our obsession with urban living, where we isolate ourselves from God's beautiful creation and surround ourselves with ourselves. As we will se in the remainder of Genesis, particularly chapters 2 and 3, "tilling the earth" and childbearing are fundamental to our existence and purpose as human beings.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
- Gensis 1:27,28
In verse 28 God restates his mandate to humanity. Often we evangelicals get obsessed with "Go into all the earth and make disciples of all nations" at the expense of this first command of ruling the earth. Evangelism is important - so important Jesus died on the cross to make it possible. But this commission from Genesis still stands. Souls are important, but so are spiderwebs.
"Be fruitful...multiply...fill the earth" - how does this speak to the childlessness and anti-family attitudes of this generation? Is the earth filled yet? Is the earth intimately ruled yet? Does every spiderweb have someone to admire it?
I'm not advocating the continued clearfelling of rainforest. But I am challenging our obsession with urban living, where we isolate ourselves from God's beautiful creation and surround ourselves with ourselves. As we will se in the remainder of Genesis, particularly chapters 2 and 3, "tilling the earth" and childbearing are fundamental to our existence and purpose as human beings.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Day 6 - Christian Ecology
Following on from the extracts from Missler's commentary comes my own comments on Day 6 of creation. Until this day there is little I can add and everything a scientist can add. But with the creation of humanity comes the study of humanity, particularly in relation to God (theology).
Day 6 begins with the creation of land-bound animals - livestock, wild animals and creatures who move along the ground (verses 24,25). Then in verse 26 God "make[s] man in our image" to rule over all the earth. This is our mandate to be at the top of the pecking order, the top of the food chain.
But while we are to rule we were yet created on the same day as all other land-bound animals. The creation narrative divides the created order into distinct categories: light (cosmos); air (atmosphere); land and vegetation; stars and planets; fish and birds; animals and man. While animals were sufficiently distinct from fish and birds to warrant a separate day of creation, man was not so distinct from animals. He was made in the image of God, yet he was destined to an existence in a body much like that of other animals. This is a reminder that, although we are transcendant, our role and function in the ecology of the created order demands our attention.
Much has been said of the Genesis 1:26 mandate to rule the earth, and the contribution of that theology to the current ecological crisis. Yet our mandate to rule is vitally connected to our being in the image of God. This means virtues such as love, justice, prudence, kindness, gentleness, respect and sensitivity, virtues which reflect the character of God, must guide our Lordship. Our attitude towards creation should reflect that of God's. Our response to his handiwork should be "it is very good", and our hearts should be warmed with affection to care for that which he has made.
But more than that. The identification of man within a narrative of the created order, and our mandate to rule over those creatures, provides a framework that places relating to those creatures as a primary purpose of our existence. If we are to rule creation as God rules the cosmos then we are being asked to not just rule impersonally, like a human governor, but personally as God rules each of us personally. As we will see in the remainder of Genesis, God made man to care for creation not just at a conceptual level, but even a personal level - all of us.
Tomorrow: Multiplying, filling the earth and subduing it
Further Reading: The Earth: A Gift from God to Man
Day 6 begins with the creation of land-bound animals - livestock, wild animals and creatures who move along the ground (verses 24,25). Then in verse 26 God "make[s] man in our image" to rule over all the earth. This is our mandate to be at the top of the pecking order, the top of the food chain.
But while we are to rule we were yet created on the same day as all other land-bound animals. The creation narrative divides the created order into distinct categories: light (cosmos); air (atmosphere); land and vegetation; stars and planets; fish and birds; animals and man. While animals were sufficiently distinct from fish and birds to warrant a separate day of creation, man was not so distinct from animals. He was made in the image of God, yet he was destined to an existence in a body much like that of other animals. This is a reminder that, although we are transcendant, our role and function in the ecology of the created order demands our attention.
Much has been said of the Genesis 1:26 mandate to rule the earth, and the contribution of that theology to the current ecological crisis. Yet our mandate to rule is vitally connected to our being in the image of God. This means virtues such as love, justice, prudence, kindness, gentleness, respect and sensitivity, virtues which reflect the character of God, must guide our Lordship. Our attitude towards creation should reflect that of God's. Our response to his handiwork should be "it is very good", and our hearts should be warmed with affection to care for that which he has made.
But more than that. The identification of man within a narrative of the created order, and our mandate to rule over those creatures, provides a framework that places relating to those creatures as a primary purpose of our existence. If we are to rule creation as God rules the cosmos then we are being asked to not just rule impersonally, like a human governor, but personally as God rules each of us personally. As we will see in the remainder of Genesis, God made man to care for creation not just at a conceptual level, but even a personal level - all of us.
Tomorrow: Multiplying, filling the earth and subduing it
Further Reading: The Earth: A Gift from God to Man
Monday, July 23, 2007
Day 6 - The Architecture of Man
In the third and final instalment of Chuck Missler's commentary on the sixth day of creation we have an overview of the essential fabric of the human being: the body, soul and spirit. Missler discusses the use of the various Hebrew (Betan, Nephesh, Ruach) and Greek (Psuche, Pneuma, Soma) words for these concepts, and their use in the Hebrew scriptures and the Septuagint.
Here he refers to work of his wife Nancy, "The Way of Agape", particularly her use of the Hebrew tabernacle/temple as an image of human nature, as follows;
Outer Court: Body
Inner Court: Soul
Porch: Willpower
Wooden chambers: Subconscious?
Holy Place: Heart
Holy of Holies: Spirit
This hierarchy helps is to understand much of the dynamics of the Christian faith, particularly regeneration and sanctification.
Chuck Missler similarly uses the analogy of computer and software architecture, noting that software has no mass yet is the essence we engage with when using computer systems. The only way we can understand the architecture of the software is to access the designer, or his manual.
Finally, Missler closes the session with a reference to Frank J. Tipler, author of the Omega Point theory, who “in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of an electron” arrived at two conclusions; that 1) God exists, and 2) every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead.
Here he refers to work of his wife Nancy, "The Way of Agape", particularly her use of the Hebrew tabernacle/temple as an image of human nature, as follows;
Outer Court: Body
Inner Court: Soul
Porch: Willpower
Wooden chambers: Subconscious?
Holy Place: Heart
Holy of Holies: Spirit
This hierarchy helps is to understand much of the dynamics of the Christian faith, particularly regeneration and sanctification.
Chuck Missler similarly uses the analogy of computer and software architecture, noting that software has no mass yet is the essence we engage with when using computer systems. The only way we can understand the architecture of the software is to access the designer, or his manual.
Finally, Missler closes the session with a reference to Frank J. Tipler, author of the Omega Point theory, who “in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of an electron” arrived at two conclusions; that 1) God exists, and 2) every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Day 6 - "Let us make man..."
My commentary on Genesis is becoming more a commentary on Chuck Missler's commentary on Genesis. As a result things are going to be moving very slowly indeed. Missler's background in science, and his renown as a Creationist, turn a study of Genesis into a framework for the scientific study of creation. It makes sense to me to study God's first book (creation) in conjunction with his second (The Bible), and to devote it a good deal of attention.
In today's instalment Missler discussed two topics; firstly, what he calls the "monkey men frauds", and secondly: the complexity of the brain and of consciousness.
Missler gives a run-down of the major discoveries which have been claimed to represent the missing link between man and the primates:
• Heidelberg Man
• Nebraska Man
• Piltdown Man
• Peking Man
• Neanderthal Man
• Java Man
He relates how all were discovered to be mistakes and/or hoaxes, meaning that after 120 years we have still not found this missing link. I have not yet studied the cases for myself, but have left wikilinks for them for later reference.
In his discussion of the complexity of the brain, and of consciousness, Missler describes the neurological system: 1010 nerve cells, each with 104 – 105 fibres: a total of 1015 connections. To equate connections with leaves on a tree, this is the equivalent of 50,000 leaves per tree, on 10,000 trees per square mile, in a forest of 2 million square miles. That is the number of leaves on a tree the size of the USA! Missler refers to neurologists Karl Pribram and Paul Pietsch, whose studies have shown that memories are located elsewhere than cells in the brain. Where? See Holonomic brain theory.
In today's instalment Missler discussed two topics; firstly, what he calls the "monkey men frauds", and secondly: the complexity of the brain and of consciousness.
Missler gives a run-down of the major discoveries which have been claimed to represent the missing link between man and the primates:
• Heidelberg Man
• Nebraska Man
• Piltdown Man
• Peking Man
• Neanderthal Man
• Java Man
He relates how all were discovered to be mistakes and/or hoaxes, meaning that after 120 years we have still not found this missing link. I have not yet studied the cases for myself, but have left wikilinks for them for later reference.
In his discussion of the complexity of the brain, and of consciousness, Missler describes the neurological system: 1010 nerve cells, each with 104 – 105 fibres: a total of 1015 connections. To equate connections with leaves on a tree, this is the equivalent of 50,000 leaves per tree, on 10,000 trees per square mile, in a forest of 2 million square miles. That is the number of leaves on a tree the size of the USA! Missler refers to neurologists Karl Pribram and Paul Pietsch, whose studies have shown that memories are located elsewhere than cells in the brain. Where? See Holonomic brain theory.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Day 6 - The Nature of Order
After 19 months of silence I am taking back up my Bible
Blog from where I left off. Having a flatmate who starts work at 6 and cooks eggs before he leaves is the added motivation needed to help a man get me up in time for some solid early morning Bible study.
Today’s text is Genesis 1:28,29; where God gives humankind their first mandate;
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth, and subdue (science) it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
There is much to expound from these scriptures, so I will spend a few days here.
My first port of call is Chuck Missler’s DVD series The Book of Genesis. Being renowned as a Creationist, Missler takes the opportunity to explore the design of man, and of all the created order. In doing so he discusses the Fibonacci Sequence, and the Golden Rectangle and its associated Golden Spiral. He shows that these formulae are expressed in all manner of forms in nature.
Missler makes reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, showing the presence of these ratios in da Vinci’s work. Other examples include the arrangements of petals on flowers, the arrangements of leaves around a plant stem, the arrangements of seeds, the revolution of the planets, and scales in music. Examples of the Golden Spiral include the Chambered Nautilus, seed patterns of sunflowers, daisies and dandelions, the Cochlea of the human ear, and most famously for New Zealanders, the baby fern frond, or koru.
As an environmental planner with an interest in urban design this is of particular interest to me. Planning theorist Christopher Alexander draws on these inherent design realities of the created order in his 1977 work “A Pattern Language”, which I have been reading in my spare time. He uses these same observations as a platform for his 2003-2004 series “The Nature of Order”, for which Alexander is said “likely to be remembered most of all, in the end, for having produced the first credible proof of the existence of God..." (Eric Buck, Department of Philosophy, University of Kentucky).
Upon closing his discussion of the Fibonacci Sequence, Missler asserts that the idea of “Randomness” being inherent in nature is not only illogical but insulting. He reminds us that our attitude about God’s creation forms the basis of his judgment of us according to Romans 1.
Blog from where I left off. Having a flatmate who starts work at 6 and cooks eggs before he leaves is the added motivation needed to help a man get me up in time for some solid early morning Bible study.
Today’s text is Genesis 1:28,29; where God gives humankind their first mandate;
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth, and subdue (science) it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
There is much to expound from these scriptures, so I will spend a few days here.
My first port of call is Chuck Missler’s DVD series The Book of Genesis. Being renowned as a Creationist, Missler takes the opportunity to explore the design of man, and of all the created order. In doing so he discusses the Fibonacci Sequence, and the Golden Rectangle and its associated Golden Spiral. He shows that these formulae are expressed in all manner of forms in nature.
Missler makes reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, showing the presence of these ratios in da Vinci’s work. Other examples include the arrangements of petals on flowers, the arrangements of leaves around a plant stem, the arrangements of seeds, the revolution of the planets, and scales in music. Examples of the Golden Spiral include the Chambered Nautilus, seed patterns of sunflowers, daisies and dandelions, the Cochlea of the human ear, and most famously for New Zealanders, the baby fern frond, or koru.
As an environmental planner with an interest in urban design this is of particular interest to me. Planning theorist Christopher Alexander draws on these inherent design realities of the created order in his 1977 work “A Pattern Language”, which I have been reading in my spare time. He uses these same observations as a platform for his 2003-2004 series “The Nature of Order”, for which Alexander is said “likely to be remembered most of all, in the end, for having produced the first credible proof of the existence of God..." (Eric Buck, Department of Philosophy, University of Kentucky).
Upon closing his discussion of the Fibonacci Sequence, Missler asserts that the idea of “Randomness” being inherent in nature is not only illogical but insulting. He reminds us that our attitude about God’s creation forms the basis of his judgment of us according to Romans 1.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Day Five - Sea Life, Bird Life (& Reptiles?)
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
- Genesis 1:20-23
Evolutionary theory holds that sealife, reptiles and birds preceded mammals in the biological history of our planet. Here the parallels with scripture are more clear - on Day 5 God creates "fowl that fly above the earth" and "every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly", and on Day 6 he creates “the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:24,25). Nonetheless there is ambiguity over the creation of reptiles - does the author of Genesis consider these creatures as animals which "the waters brought forth", or would they be considered as creatures "that creepeth upon the earth" along with those mammals created on Day 6? If the latter is correct, Genesis would seem at odds with Evolutionary theory in this matter.
But of course, as discussed, a literal reading of Genesis 1 will immediately conflict with current evolutionary and paleogeographical model. Yet the view that a "day" could refer to simply an "epoch", or the view that the speed of light and rate of radiation is not constant, enable the reader to reconcile biblical ideas with scientific knowledge as long as the narrative of geological and biological development is parallel in both fields. Whether reptiles were created on Day 5 or Day 6 is crucial to the consistency of Genesis 1 with evolutionary theory, which considers reptiles developed before birdlife, and that reptiles are the ancestors of birds.
A quick look at the Hebrew words used in this passage, and at other Hebrew words used for groups of animals, shows enough ambiguity for the "creeping things" of Day 6 to exclude reptiles, which allows them to be considered as life "which the waters brought forth" on Day 5. The Hebrew word interpreted "creeping things" is "remes". While this has often been interpreted "reptiles", or applied to reptiles, it merely means "without, or with imperceptible, feet; applies to terrestrial and also to water animals". Thus the author of Genesis may have been talking about animals such as rabbits, ferrets, weasels and mice (see this article), all of which "creep" or "scurry" across the Earth, in contrast to "beats and cattle" (Genesis 1:25). Furthermore, in Rabbinical Hebrew the term "shere" is the generic term for amphibious reptiles; the author of Genesis could have used this term if they wanted to talk about reptiles.
Evolutionary theory is a complex topic, of which the narrative of biological development is merely one of many themes. While fossil dating can illustrate the order in which plants and animals appeared on our planet, it cannot explain exactly the process by which this happen. Some evolutionists believe they can explain the process of biological development by drawing on evolutionary theory, and that they can argue infallibly for the absence of any sort of intelligent design or direction in this process. Yet, as Dr. Chuck Missler shows, there are many apparent inconsistencies within evolutionary theory, which make it near impossible for many of us to accept such an Anti-Christian idea.
One of the classic questions that frames well the creation-evolution debate is this; Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the same way a biologist may askt his question; Which came first, the DNA or the protein? Now, of course, the nature and structure of DNA was only discovered in the middle of last century, nearly 100 years after Darwin wrote “Origin of Species”. His whole work came back to an assumption of the “simple cell”. But 150 years of science has, like science always does, shown this to be one devastatingly apostate assumption. Consider this, in order for a cell to reproduce itself, and keep you and I alive, it must continuously read a colossal amount of information at an incredible speed which is the equivalent of;
“taking two strands of monofilament fishing line 125 miles long, stored inside a basketball...unzipping, copying, and restoring this information on spools (at 3 times the speed of an airplane propeller), without tangling”
Missler goes on to discuss the incredible complexity of the many animals of our wonderful planet, and one can’t help but naturally assume a very intelligent, powerful and superhuman mind behind all of this.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
- Genesis 1:20-23
Evolutionary theory holds that sealife, reptiles and birds preceded mammals in the biological history of our planet. Here the parallels with scripture are more clear - on Day 5 God creates "fowl that fly above the earth" and "every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly", and on Day 6 he creates “the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:24,25). Nonetheless there is ambiguity over the creation of reptiles - does the author of Genesis consider these creatures as animals which "the waters brought forth", or would they be considered as creatures "that creepeth upon the earth" along with those mammals created on Day 6? If the latter is correct, Genesis would seem at odds with Evolutionary theory in this matter.
But of course, as discussed, a literal reading of Genesis 1 will immediately conflict with current evolutionary and paleogeographical model. Yet the view that a "day" could refer to simply an "epoch", or the view that the speed of light and rate of radiation is not constant, enable the reader to reconcile biblical ideas with scientific knowledge as long as the narrative of geological and biological development is parallel in both fields. Whether reptiles were created on Day 5 or Day 6 is crucial to the consistency of Genesis 1 with evolutionary theory, which considers reptiles developed before birdlife, and that reptiles are the ancestors of birds.
A quick look at the Hebrew words used in this passage, and at other Hebrew words used for groups of animals, shows enough ambiguity for the "creeping things" of Day 6 to exclude reptiles, which allows them to be considered as life "which the waters brought forth" on Day 5. The Hebrew word interpreted "creeping things" is "remes". While this has often been interpreted "reptiles", or applied to reptiles, it merely means "without, or with imperceptible, feet; applies to terrestrial and also to water animals". Thus the author of Genesis may have been talking about animals such as rabbits, ferrets, weasels and mice (see this article), all of which "creep" or "scurry" across the Earth, in contrast to "beats and cattle" (Genesis 1:25). Furthermore, in Rabbinical Hebrew the term "shere" is the generic term for amphibious reptiles; the author of Genesis could have used this term if they wanted to talk about reptiles.
Evolutionary theory is a complex topic, of which the narrative of biological development is merely one of many themes. While fossil dating can illustrate the order in which plants and animals appeared on our planet, it cannot explain exactly the process by which this happen. Some evolutionists believe they can explain the process of biological development by drawing on evolutionary theory, and that they can argue infallibly for the absence of any sort of intelligent design or direction in this process. Yet, as Dr. Chuck Missler shows, there are many apparent inconsistencies within evolutionary theory, which make it near impossible for many of us to accept such an Anti-Christian idea.
One of the classic questions that frames well the creation-evolution debate is this; Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the same way a biologist may askt his question; Which came first, the DNA or the protein? Now, of course, the nature and structure of DNA was only discovered in the middle of last century, nearly 100 years after Darwin wrote “Origin of Species”. His whole work came back to an assumption of the “simple cell”. But 150 years of science has, like science always does, shown this to be one devastatingly apostate assumption. Consider this, in order for a cell to reproduce itself, and keep you and I alive, it must continuously read a colossal amount of information at an incredible speed which is the equivalent of;
“taking two strands of monofilament fishing line 125 miles long, stored inside a basketball...unzipping, copying, and restoring this information on spools (at 3 times the speed of an airplane propeller), without tangling”
Missler goes on to discuss the incredible complexity of the many animals of our wonderful planet, and one can’t help but naturally assume a very intelligent, powerful and superhuman mind behind all of this.
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