Creation

1. Creation • The first doctrine taught in the Bible • Answers to these questions: • “Who is God?” • “What is the universe?” • “Who am I?” • Every word of the Bible is inspired by God • So every sentence tells us something we need to know

2. The truth of Creation is the basis for • Metaphysics • “What is real?” • “What is that?” • Epistemology • “What is true?” • “How do you know?” • Ethics • “What is moral?” • “How should I live?”

3. The truth of Creation is the basis for • Aesthetics • “What is beauty?” • “Why do I like this?” • Political philosophy • “What is just?” • “Why should anyone let anyone else have authority over them?” • Philosophy of religion • “What is the ultimate?” • “Why is there a universe?” • “Where are we going?”

4. Genesis 1:1 • “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” • The universe is the product of God Almighty. • He alone created it. • He alone sustains it. • He alone will one day replace it with a new heavens and a new earth. • Revelation 21:1 • 2 Peter 3:13

5. Genesis 1:1 • Refutes 6 false worldviews • atheism • polytheism • fatalism • evolution • pantheism • materialism

6. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God” • Refutes atheism

7. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God” • Refutes polytheism

8. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God” • Refutes fatalism

9. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created” • Refutes evolution

10. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created” • Refutes pantheism

11. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created” • Refutes materialism

12. Correct Beliefs • God gives us truth to embrace • That truth leads us to reject falsehood • What separates people from other people? • Language • Genetics • History • Worldview • Which of these do we have the best chance of changing?

13. Worldview: What it means • A set of presuppositions we hold about the basic make-up of our world • The sum total of a person’s answers to the most important questions in life • A set of eyeglasses through which we view the events of life • A lexicon for experience

14. Worldview Metaphors • Camera filter and lens • Filter out certain wavelengths • Zoom in for a close-up • Zoom out for a panoramic view • Controlled vocabulary • Classification and cataloging • Framework of a building • Structure for habitation and storage

15. Presuppositions: Knowledge Starting Points • “You have to BELIEVE something before you can KNOW anything.” - Augustine • Godel’s Theorem • You cannot prove the internal consistency of any system • Let’s do the “Why exercise” • “You have to BELIEVE something before you can KNOW anything.” - Augustine • Godel’s Theorem • You cannot prove the internal consistency of any system • Let’s do the “Why exercise”

16. Worldview: Why bother, if we have facts? • A fact does not exist in a theory-free vacuum, devoid of perspective, or passion • No such thing as raw fact or brute fact • A person in the possession of a “fact” already has a worldview that makes that fact relevant to him • If you don’t have that worldview, the fact won’t be relevant to you

18. Worldview: Why bother, if we have facts? • Examples • Dr. Bernard Nathanson and ultrasound • A bloodhound’s sense of smell • Without a worldview, “facts” cannot be brought into focus or into harmony • Isolated bits of data need an organizing program in order to become usable

19. Worldview: Paradigm Influence • Without a paradigm, “facts” cannot be brought into focus or into harmony • Isolated bits of data need an organizing program to be usable • The new paradigm forever shapes one’s perception of the facts • You can’t “unsee” the old lady

20. Worldview: Why bother, if we have experience? • “A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.” • Sounds convincing, but • It leaves crucial questions unanswered • What do you mean by experience? • What did you experience that event as? • Examples • Experience lacks meaning if there is no attempt to explain it • Experience has transmission problems

21. Some Worldview Questions • What is really real? • Why is there something rather than nothing? • What is human nature? • What happens to a person after death? • How do you determine right and wrong? • Why is it possible to know anything at all? • What is the meaning of history?

22. Why Someone’s Worldview Changes • Human Causes (indirect) • Crisis occurs • Denied doubt festers • A moment of reflection followed by illumination takes place • Divine Causes (direct) • Father reveals (Matthew 16:18) • Son reveals (John 17:9) • Spirit reveals (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

23. How a Worldview Makes a Difference: An Example • 9/11/2001: A handful of men fly jets into American buildings. Why? Some people held these beliefs: • “All supporters of Israel are legitimate targets.” • “We are at war with America.” • “Only an Islamic fundamentalist government is acceptable.” • “We will be in Paradise after these noble acts.” • No worldview = No actions • No worldview = No words • No worldview = No thoughts

24. A Worldview Provides • Panorama view: A Frame of Reference • The Big Picture (Macroscopic) • The whole tapestry • View from the mountaintop • Lacks definition • Zoom view: A Point of Focus • Microscopic • A view of the threads • A view from the valley of a single item on the ground • Detailed vision of one or of a few things • Lacks perspective

26. Worldview: Creationism • Three essential elements • Creation account • Fall of humanity • Flood • All of these must be studied and understood • Sources: • God’s Word • God’s World • Our own hearts

27. Review • Name the 6 worldviews that are refuted by the first verse of the Bible. • What difference does a worldview make? • Why are facts and experience not sufficient information for life?

28. Preview • Read Genesis 1 & 2 as if • You had no preconceived ideas about the origin of the universe • You were an alien from some other dimension who had just arrived in this universe by accident • What is preventing you from accepting the testimony of God about the origin of all things as actually true?