IN THE BEGINNING by BRYAN W BALL

Author:BRYAN W BALL
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-07-28T14:49:41+00:00

Hebrews 11:1-3 provides a brief, elegant and informed Christian response to six centuries of Greek speculation on the origin and nature of the cosmos. It affirms that understanding of origins cannot be derived from even the most detailed observation of phenomena, because Creation was not a phenomenon, therefore it was not accessible to a human observer. Creation was pre-phenomenal, or superphenomenal, and for that reason beyond human observation. The resulting created realm, which humans clearly perceive, arose from invisible divine creative action, but of itself does not provide a point of view from which humans can observe the spiritual reality behind it. The believer’s response should be to honor the Creator, not to assume possession of the ability to analyze the Creator’s actions.

Some early Christians were tempted to employ speculative theories of origins in their efforts to discern the world’s future. This is a theme of 2 Peter 3:3-7, which addressed the doctrine of the parousia of Christ. The scoffers referred to there, who disbelieved that the parousia would happen, probably based their disbelief on two related Greek cosmological theories in wide circulation at the time. The first was the theory of the indestructibility of the cosmos.” The second was the theory of uniformity - belief that the earth during its existence had not been subject to catastrophic change.32 Belief in the earth’s indestructibility had been forcefully argued by Aristotle, and continued to be popular in the New Testament era.33 Its most important corollary was that it undermined Christian belief in the final judgment and cleansing of the earth by God. Second Peter 2:3-10 countered by arguing that the biblical Flood was a worldwide catastrophe occasioned by God’s intervention. Just [133] as God had created the world and had brought worldwide destruction in the past, so he will cleanse the world by fire in the future (2 Pet 3:5-7). The main concern behind this section of the epistle is judgment, but it refers in passing to God’s creative activity to counter the skeptics’ rejection of the message of coming divine judgment.34

Intelligent Design Versus Chance: The Argument in Antiquity

The Old Testament assumes the existence of an intelligent Designer of the world,35 not only in the Genesis Creation account, but also in Job 38-41; Psalms 8; 19 and Proverbs 30:19. Ancient Jewish belief in intelligent design built on these Old Testament passages. Intelligent design was not argued but simply declared by Philo, when he wrote that God is humanity’s maker and father, who in his creative activity put in place facilities to preserve his creatures from harm and to provide for their needs.36

Intelligent design also had Greek advocates, including Socrates. In a dialogue with Aristodemus, who assumed that life-forms came into existence due to “fate” (Greek lyche). Socrates built a case for the view that “things came into being by design” and that “they are the handiwork of a wise and life-friendly divine creator.”37 Socrates then argued that the crowning product of creation was human beings, with the rest of creation available to meet human needs.

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