Original Experience - part 2

In the months leading up to my first move to Arizona in August of 1992, a friend and I went to see George Carlin at the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon, Pennsylvania. The last subject he discussed had to deal with the state of humanity and the planet. This is the first time I heard someone suggest that the planet is four and a half billion years old in a way that made me consider if that were indeed the case. And if so, how long has humanity been on it? More importantly, if we have been here for a considerable amount of that time, why do we still have wars, corruption, greed, and all the other social ills? These were some of the questions that prompted my research.

These questions can not be answered directly from the creation account. The reason for this is because the creation account is not written to gratify the curiosity of man. Instead, it is a constitutional document. The word constitution means "state of being." While the elements that make up the creation were formed instantaneously, the creation itself was not immediately organized in any useful manner. Instead, it was assembled through a process of stages. The reason for this is to demonstrate something about the character of the Creator himself that may be addressed in a future post.

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2.

Over the solid mass of earth was a covering of water. No land appeared above the surface. No atmosphere was there in the form of air to keep pressure on the water in order for it to remain in liquid form. At the same time, a thick cloud of water vapor would have covered the sea to a great height above the surface as a substitute atmosphere, and providing by its own weight, sufficient pressure to keep the water in liquid form. Thus the thick vapor cloud above the water provided a state of equilibrium, limited by earth's gravity, in which water molecules freely exchanged at the liquid surface, from liquid to vapor, and back again, as it can be observed today under similar laboratory conditions. The book of Job gives some witness to this. "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it." Job 38:1,4,9.

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:3.

Again, the Creator released a portion of his energy to serve as a source of light. This light did not come from the sun since the sun did not come into existence until the forth day. There is another reason why the sun can not be this source of light which will be presented when the events of the forth day are discussed. I have often thought about the nature of this light in relationship to the light we presently observe, and wonder if there is a difference. While nothing specific has come to me in regard to that, it may have to do with the fact that this is not the only time the Bible speaks of light coming from a source other than the sun and moon, and we can learn if there is a difference at that time. "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 22:5. "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Revelation 21:5.

"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." Genesis 1:4.

The term good is used to describe the Creator himself. "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Matthew 19:17. The word good implies the absence of error. Suddenly, the planet begins to rotate on its axis. Being in the vacuum of space, and once begun, it would continue its rotational momentum throughout the millenia. Thus this error free light, coming from its fixed source, was divided from the darkness.

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:5.

The terms evening and morning reveal a transition from night into day and vice-versa that is smoothly progressive as only a planet rotating on its axis could provide. Some have tried to interpret the days of Genesis as long ages rather than the 24 hour periods we observe now. The fact is, the Bible reveals these days to be associated with the planet turning on its own axis. "Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days (in other words, can you control the days, and change them at your will to uphold your private interpretations?); and caused the dayspring to know its place; that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? (that is, can you harness the force that causes the earth to turn? Can you manipulate this force to stop and start it suddenly, and shake out the inhabitants from it?). It is turned as clay to the seal (on its axis): and they (the inhabitants) stand as a garment (around its outer surface)." Job 38:12-14.

My first stay in Arizona only lasted three years before moving back to my home state of Pennsylvania. After that return, I started attending a different church from the one our family had previously attended. It was there that the subject of evolution was brought to my attention in accordance with the age of the earth. It was also at this time that it was clear that there is a discord with these subjects in relationship to the Bible's testimony. There is a considerable amount of history behind these subjects, and the more I looked into them, the clearer it became as to why there is so much tension and confusion among fields of study that used to work concurrently in ancient times, but have grown increasingly antagonistic toward one another over the past several centuries. My desire in sharing my experience in this area is to dispel this confusion. Of course, that may engender even more tension, but that is up to the reader.

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