Title: Adam or Atom?
Bible Book: Selected Passages
Author: Johnny L. Sanders
Subject: Creation
Objective:
Introduction
Recently, I began receiving E-mail messages about a scheduled debate between an evolutionist named Bill Nye and creation scientist Ken Ham. Having paid some attention to the work of Ken Ham from the time he moved from his native Australia where he was a teacher to California where he worked for some time with the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), which was founded and led by the late Dr. Henry Morris. Today, ICR is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, where it is led by John Morris and served by Henry Morris III and others who are committed to creation research, including the Chief Academic Officer, Dr. James J. Schofield Johnson. The late Dr. Jan Mercer was a creation scientist who, with her husband Andy, actually traveled and studied with Dr. Henry Morris and other leaders when they were headquartered in California. Dr. Johnson recently reminded me that he and Dr. Mercer taught together for some time. Dr. Mercer guided my studies in the creation-evolution debate for some twenty-five years. Dr. Gene Jeffries and Dr. Bill Cooper, Vice President for the Creation Science movement in England have made significant contributions to my understanding of the basic issues in this long debate.
As it developed, I did not get to watch the debate, and like so many things these days, I have forgotten why. At least, I have not forgotten whether or not I watched it! I did see the wrap up of the debate, or some brief coverage of the close.
What amazed me was that after the debate the long time television evangelist Pat Robertson was introduced by some individual on his program. I have never watched much of his program, and I don’t remember whether it was he or someone else who, many years ago, would close his programs by announcing that he was receiving “a word of knowledge” that someone in America has low back pain, and that the Lord was going to heal that person. Another time, his “word of knowledge” informed him that someone out there in America was having knee problems and the Lord was going to heal him or her. No joke, some evangelist, whether it was Pat Robertson or not, would claim this “word of knowledge.”
I remembered Pat Robertson as, not just a conservative Christian, but a certifiable fundamentalist. You can imagine my surprise when I heard Pat Robertson express shock and disbelief that Ken Ham believes in the young earth theory, or special creation. He actually believes in the Genesis account of Creation. I do, too, for that matter, and if you want to laugh at me because I do not understand all the various evolutionary theories, go ahead and laugh. I do know this, it is still the “theory” of evolution, no matter how many people claim it has been proved. I remember meeting Ken Ham and spending an hour with him at the Pastors Conference which preceded the Louisiana Baptist Convention in Lafayette, Louisiana a number of years ago. Ken Ham, and I believe I first heard him say this at that time, told us he encouraged boys and girls who heard someone claim that evolution was a fact and creation a myth to “raise your hand and say, “Excuse me, Sir. Were you there?” You see, God was there when the world was created and His is the only firsthand account we have. Anything else is a theory.
Still, Pat Robertson, who is known as a fundamentalist, immediately attacked Ken Ham for his belief in the Genesis account of Creation. Bill Nye had made the statement that those drilling for oil had drilled through a dinosaur skeleton that was sixty-five million years old. Pat Robertson seemingly laughed at Ken Ham for believing in a young earth, or young universe. Robertson seemed to have been embracing either theistic evolution instead of the Day-Age theory. Theistic Evolution claims that God created that mass of protoplasm that came first and then backed out and let it all evolve. The Day-Age theory claims that it happened the way the first chapter of Genesis claimed it did, but to accommodate the evolutionists, those who advocate this theory claim that each day represented millions, or even billions of years. Does that mean that Adam lived billions of years, or only millions of years?
Just remember this: the man who has been viewed as a fundamentalist Christian for years, rejected the fundamental truth of special creation in favor of theistic evolution. My first thought was that he might have been better off to have waited for another “word of knowledge” before speaking. Creation is a very serious issue for Bible believing Christians.
I. GOD CREATED BOTH ADAM AND THE ATOM.
A. So, It Is Either Adam or Atom.
1. Or, is it? Well, actually the question is not which came first, Adam - A-D-A-M, or the Atom - A-T-O-M. The answer to that of course is that the atom came first. In fact, there were countless atoms created before day six when God created Adam. When God said, “Let there be...” Atoms were created. However, it would be thousands of years before anyone knew anything about the Atom. “Leucippus, born ca. 500 BCE, and his pupil, Democritus, born ca. 460 BCE, are credited with postulating the theory of Atoms and Void” (Nuclear Files.Com). Many names appear in the discovery of the Atom: names like Isaac Newton, Pierre and Marie Curie, Ernest Rutherford, and Albert Einstein (Yahoo, Nuclear Files.Com).
2. If it exists, God created it. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1, HCSB) This is not merely a clue, it is the story of creation. In the beginning - not the beginning of God, He is eternal, without beginning or ending. You cannot explain that great truth with an illustration. There is none to compare with the Lord who gave Moses the name YHWH, to which vowels have been added to give us the name YAHWEH (Jehovah in the American Standard Bible). In the beginning of time the sovereign Lord created all things, both on earth and throughout the universe. That point has been argued for ages, both by those who want answers and by those who simply like to argue, especially if they can ask Christians questions they cannot answer. I am not embarrassed when I cannot answer a question about creation. I can ask myself countless questions for which I have never found an answer. I heard the late R. G. Lee once tell about the time someone asked him where Cain got his wife. He said, “I don’t know, but if she suited Cain she suits me.” Of course we do know. He married his sister. There could have been no one else. And, in those early generations there was no health risks involved as there would be many generations later.
In the beginning, or actually, before the beginning, there is God, who has no beginning or end. He created everything. In John 1, we learn that Jesus was the Agent of Creation, and in Hebrews 1:3 we learn that “He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word.” I do not have to know the terminology of the astrophysicists, or understand the language of the paleontologists to be comfortable with my belief that God is the Creator and that He sustains and maintains all He created.
B. Adam Was Created Full Grown.
Adam was created with all his parts and each with its special function, just as the universe was created complete and mature. Mature here does not imply old. Adam, once again, was created mature in all his parts, ways, and systems. Mankind did not evolve from a mass of protoplasm that washed up upon a sea shore. He did not climb up off that sea shore - he slipped into a sea of sin. He did not evolve over thousands of years to the point that he could stand upright and walk out of his cave, he devolved to the point that he fell down on his knees and crawled into a cave - a cave of sin, misery, and shame. God our Creator is also our Redeemer, Who lifts us up and enables us to walk before Him and beside Him.
The moment Adam was created - created a full grown man - he was able to hear his Creator speak, speak back to Him, see the beauty of the Garden of Eden, hear the birds chirp, dogs bark, cats, meow, lions roar, owls hoot, and elephants trumpet their signal. He was able to recognize various animals and name them. When you go to the zoo and look at the strange and exotic birds and animals, remember that Adam saw them first, and that he named them.
All of Adam’s systems were mature and complete the moment he was created: his respiratory system functioned perfectly, as did his digestive system, and in time he would have a full understanding of his reproductive system. He never had to worry about cancer, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, or liver problems. Since the Lord was his provider and meal planner he must have had a healthy diet.
Adam’s brain worked from day one. It did not evolve over millions of years. Those who reject that whole idea do not know the God who spoke to Adam immediately after He created him. Adam named the animals of the world - big, little, and all those in between. His brain was functioning from day one. If you do not believe that please spell your god with a small “g”. I spell my God with a big “G” because I believe He did it all just as He said he did it. And, Bro. Pat, it did not take him millions, or billions of years to do it.
C. You Can Trust the Bible.
Let me share some claims from the Word of God, but first, let me tell you why I am totally comfortable with the Word of God. May we ask ourselves the following questions:
1. What book has ever been attacked so vociferously as the Bible?
2. What book has stood up to those attacks as has the Bible?
3. What book has as many surviving manuscripts as the Bible?
4. What book has so many fragments?
5. What fragments have been stored so long in such hot, dry places (Dead Sea, Egypt, etc)?
6. What fragments of books have ever been secured in such inaccessible places?
7. What book has been attacked more by those who professed to teach it?
I might go on and ask what book has been attacked as viciously as the Bible by one man who sought to destroy its significance as did Marcion in A. D. 140? Church councils just before A. D. 400 did not create the Bible; they simply recognized those books which were recognized as the New Testament by the Apostle John and his disciples. I am convinced that if anyone had wanted to know the books that made up the New Testament all they would have had to do was ask John or one of his disciples, like Polycarp.
For anyone who would like to take a serious look at the authenticity of the Word of God, I would recommend an amazing series of books on the subject by my good friend, Dr. Bill Cooper of England. He has a new series under the general title, “The Authenticity of,” As In the Authenticity of Genesis, Daniel, Jonah, Esther, the NT, Volume 1 and Volume 2. In the Genesis volume we find Flood traditions around the world, including the Chitimacha Indian tribe in south Louisiana. In the volume on Daniel we proof that the higher critics are absolutely wrong when they deny that Daniel and his three Hebrew friends really did live and serve the Lord in the land of Babylon. In the volume on Jonah we find out how the people of Nineveh remembered Jonah. In the volume on Esther - now get ready for this! - even though Bible students everywhere will tell you that God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther, Dr. Cooper shows that Yahweh (YHWH) is indeed found in Esther:
“The Name of God, YHWH, appears in the Hebrew text of Esther at verses 1:17; 1:20; 5:4; 5:13; and 7:7. In each case it is given in the form of an acrostic to produce the Name YHWH. In two instances, it appears as the first letters of certain words, and in three instances, it is the last letters of certain words. Furthermore, in two instances the letters are given in reverse order. We shall see why in a moment.
The first occurrence of the acrostic, found in Esther 1:17, is given thus:
“...et-vash·ti ham·mal·kah le·fa·nav ve·lo-va·'ah.” – ihvh.2
The second is written in Esther 1:20, but in reverse order, thus:
“...hi ve·chol han·na·shim yit·te·nu...” – hvhy.3
The third instance appears in Esther 5:4, and is written as:
“...yavo hamelech v'haman hayom...” – yhvh.4
The fourth is in Esther 5:13 is given in reverse order thus:
“zah ainenu shoveh li...” – huhi.5
And finally, the fifth is given in Esther 7:7 as:
“...ki chaltah ailav hara'ah...” – ihvh.6
“There is a wonderful symmetry displayed here. In occurrences 1, 3 and 5, the letters composing the Name of YHWH are given in their proper order. But in occurrences 2 and 4 its letters appear in reverse order, and there is a gloriously simple reason for this. Occurrences 2 and 4 appear in sentences spoken by gentiles – and pagan gentiles at that – Memucan and Haman respectively. The rabbis and soferim of Israel have always understood this, but our western critics and scholars are seemingly unaware of it. No wonder they have misunderstood - let alone have woefully misrepresented - the Book of Esther all these years. Not seeing what is really there, what else could they have done?” [Cooper, Dr. Bill, The Authenticity of the Book of Esther, pp 47-48]
In Dr. Cooper’s first volume on the New Testament we find proof that while some people believe the end of Mark was a late addition, some very earlier writers actually quoted from it. We could go on an on, but I am afraid most people will get up and leave the service if I don’t move on with this.
II. NOW, CONSIDER SOME OF THE CLAIMS FROM THE BIBLE.
A. Consider Claims from the Old Testament
The first chapter in the Bible gives a brief and concise account of the six days of creation. God created everything that exists from nothing. That is what the Hebrew word bara means: to bring things into existence from nothing. It is understandable that lost people, atheist, and pagans would have a serious problem believing that, but it is natural for those who really believe in the God of the Bible to believe in special creation. Or, maybe we should say it is supernatural!
In the New Testament, one of the most powerful references to creation is found in the Prologue to the Gospel According to John:
(1) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” (John 1:1-3, HCSB, bold added)
In Genesis one, God said, “Let there be,” and it was not only so. And it was good. In John one we find that Jesus, the Logos, the Son of God, was the Agent of creation. My friend, if you don’t believe that, I need to introduce you to the Jesus I know.
B. Now Consider Some of the Comments by Pat Robertson.
He was appalled by what Ken Ham had to say about the Genesis account of creation. Rather than believe the Bible, he believed the evolutionist, Nye. Here is a man who preaches about Jesus, tells people about God, and even claims a relationship with the Lord that is unique, even among ministers of the Word of God, yet he emphatically denied on his television program that God could have created the world as He says he did. I might add that there are probably a number of people who say the Lord has called them to preach the Gospel, who still doubt the biblical account of creation. I even have a problem with those who think the answer is found in the watered down claims found in claims set forth by Intelligent Design, which may hint, to some people, of theistic evolution.
C. This Pastor Offered the Following Comments.
(On Feb 5, 2014, at 11:03 PM, "Johnny Sanders" wrote):
“It has been years since I watched any of Pat Robertson's program, but tonight while I was checking my mail the program came on and when the debate between Ken Ham and an atheist came on I stopped to watch the few minutes they showed.
Then, Pat Robertson aligned himself with the atheist - which is what theistic evolution really does. The dinosaur is 65 million years old? Please don't tell me you believe in God if you don't believe He created the world just s He says He did it! If you don't believe God could do it, please spell your god with a small "g".
BTW, I spent an hour with Ken Ham many years ago when he was supposed to speak at the Pastors Conference at a well known church... (He asked questions about how I thought he would be received at this Pastors Conference. I assured him the pastors who would attend this conference would love it. They did.)
Back to the fundamentalist Robertson - If he can really receive a "Word of knowledge" he should have been looking for one tonight.
Ken Ham has shown a picture of a hammer handle that had begun turning to coal in Australia. Dr. David Skinner tells about a woman in Russia who picked up a piece of coal and dropped it before she could drop it into her stove. When she picked it up she felt something swinging from the piece in her hand. She checked and found that the piece of coal had broken apart, but the bottom piece was swinging from the top piece - SWINGING FROM A GOLD CHAIN!
And what about the old layer that rests on a young layer in the Grand Canyon?
And on and on....”
Dr. Leon Hyatt Commented on My Message: “Johnny,
“I wanted to hear that debate, but someone came to the house and kept me from turning it on. I say "Amen" a hundred times to what you wrote in this email.”
Leon
Mike Sanders, a highly respected attorney responded to my comments.
“And the upside down fossilized whole tree. Ken Hamm won many other Christian scientists to the cause, but he and a small handful in the 60's had the guts to push back when even the great Christian writers of the early 20th century had given up and adopted theistic evolution. I'm so glad he rejected the lie that evolution was more than a theory. Science embarrassed itself with anyone of clear thought when it abandoned the scientific method to advance evolution. It is an affront to science to begin with wishful thinking and force all your findings to fit your predetermined outcome. Still, so many Christians are too lazy to look at the evidence and too afraid to be mocked to challenge the prevailing "scientific" view that evolution is established fact. Fear of ridicule is a powerful motivator for the modern day Simon Peters.
“There is a lack of any true transitional form after 150 years of frantically searching for a discovery which would mean an instant Nobel honor. DNA evidence shows the exact opposite of what evolutionists expected. One failed effort after another, and still the only place on Earth where the Geological Table exists is in text books written to indoctrinate our kids with the religion of evolution. It makes my blood boil.”
[E-mail message from my brother, a Christian attorney who believes in the Lord, but does not trade on it!- does not shop it or commercialize it.]
The late Dr. Roy Beaman taught Archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and then at Mid-America Seminary in Memphis. Anyone sitting in Dr. Beaman’s classes knew he subscribed to the biblical account of Creation, and he unapologetically defended special creation. I remember when liberal students would leave a class under a liberal professor and go into Dr. Beaman’s class and begin asking questions they assumed would trip him up before the class. I loved it when Dr. Beaman would say, “Sir! Will you take what the Bible says?” Then he would quote Scripture. A number of years later Dr. David Skinner, professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Mid-America Seminary preached a revival for me at Forest, Louisiana. We had a special service for high school students who stopped by the Forest Baptist Church at 7:00 and then walked next door to Forest High School for their first class of the day. Dr. Skinner told about serving at Interim Pastor at First Baptist Church, Oxford, Mississippi, which means he preached to a lot of professors at Ole Miss. At one point he preached from Genesis, following the Hebrew Old Testament. At first those professors objected strongly to what he was saying, but he simply said, “I am reading this from the Hebrew Bible, and then he would explain it. Before too long, they were asking more and more questions. Dr. Skinner was a Hebrew and an Old Testament scholar who believe, as Dr. Beaman did, in special creation, just as it is taught in the Bible.
III. LET US GIVE THE CREATOR HIS TURN TO SPEAK.
A. He Speaks Through His Creation, Rom. 1.
The Lord clearly reveals Himself through His creation, as we read in Romans 1:20ff:
“From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. (21) For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. (22) Claiming to be wise, they became fools (23) and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.” (Romans 1:20-23, HCSB)
B. He Speaks Through His Word.
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” (Eccl 12:1)
1. He speaks through the Creation story, Genesis 1-2.
2. He speaks through the Psalms. “He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.” (Psalms 104:5)
3. He speaks through the prophets. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding” (Is.40:28).
4. He speaks through the Apostle John. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle John to give us added material on special creation: “All things were created by Him, and without Him was not anything created that was created” (John 1:1-2).
CONCLUSION
He spoke to Job. Job was a patriarch, possibly living near the time of Abraham, which means the Book of Job was written a long time before the Book of Genesis - or before Moses brought together the material that had been preserved from the earliest of times. God our Creator demands answers in Job and I am going to skip some verses out because of the length of this chapter).
I am going to address the various questions to certain people today rather than leave them back in the days of Job. Imagine hearing the Lord address these questions to modern day people!
1. “The Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:”
2. Dr. Scientist, “Who is this who obscures ⌊My⌋ counsel with ignorant words?
3. Dr. Evolutionist, “Get ready to answer Me like a man...”
4. “Tell Me,” Bro. Liberal pastor, “Where were you when I established the earth?”
5. Mr. Teacher, “Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know” everything!
6. Dr. Professor, “What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone.”
8. Miss Sunday School Teacher, “Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb...” (11) when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here?”
12. Bro. Tel-evangelist, “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, (13) so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
16. Mr. ACLU Lawyer, “Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans?”
17. Dr. Psychologist, “Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18. Dr. Geologist, “Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell ⌊Me⌋, if you know all this.”
19. Mr. Astronomer, “Where is the road to the home of light? ⌊Do you know⌋ where darkness lives, (20) so you can lead it back to its border?
22. Tell me, Madam Weather Reporter, “Have you entered the ⌊place⌋ where the snow is stored?
Or have you seen the storehouses of hail”?
24. Dr. Liberal Writer, “What road leads to ⌊the place⌋ where light is dispersed? ⌊Where is the source of⌋ the east wind that spreads across the earth?”
28. Okay, Mr. Meteorologist, “Does the rain have a father? Who fathered the drops of dew? (29) Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven (30) when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?”
31. Now, tell me Dr. Telescope Guy, “Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? (32) Can you bring out the constellations in their season and lead the Bear and her cubs?”
34. Tell me, Mr. Liberal Judge, “Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? (35) Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you: “Here we are.”?
37. Mr. Farmer, “Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven (38) when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods ⌊of dirt⌋ stick together?” (Job 38:1-41, HCSB)
I challenge you to consider this: If you don’t have a Creator at the beginning you don’t have to worry about a Savior today because you won’t have a Judge at the end. But we know better. We do have a Creator at the beginning (of time) and we will stand before a Judge some day, so we do need to place or trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is Savior, Lord, and the Agent of Creation.
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