Preface: Let me set the stage for this article by sharing my worldview. I believe in a literal 7-day creation, made, designed and executed by the God of Scripture. I take the Bible literally, and that begins with the book of Genesis. My viewpoint guides my theology as it looks at the concept of creation.
In my own study and research, I increasingly feel more convicted that the creation described in Genesis must be literal. Scripture portrays a loving and involved God. Throughout the entire Bible, I read about a Creator God who loves His creations more than anything else in all the universe.
What I don't find is a God that made things then left them to evolve on their own. This idea of a watchmaker god involves the idea of death and decay to finalize or fully accomplish creation. There doesn't seem to be any scriptual evidence that our Creator God works this way.
Death is always seen as the enemy, not a tool that God uses for any purpose. Take a look at these verses. John 3:16 points to Jesus conquering death so we don’t have to face eternal death. Revelation 21:4 says that after the final judgment there will be no more death, sadness or pain.
The more I study Scripture the more I am convinced that a loving Creator wouldn't use death to accomplish His work. Rather as a God of Love, a God whose whole character is one of love, peace and joy; He would never use something as awful as death to accomplish His work.
If God uses death or evolution to help accomplish His works of creation why would He reiterate over and over that He has conquered death, that death is the enemy and that death will be no more after sin is gone? If death was part of His work, He would celebrate it, not talk of conquering it or destroying it.
The God presented in Genesis is a creator that was hands on, who cared about the details and was involved in the origin of all things. Genesis 1:1 and 2:7 proclaim, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth … Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
God Himself created the world and everything in it, including us. He bent down and formed us from dirt, intricately forming all the parts of our bodies. I love this image of God. He cares so much about us that He took the time and energy to physically create us and make us perfectly.
I feel strongly that when we get rid of God as our Creator, we lose much more than just the concept of a literal creation or a creator God. We lose the fundamental beliefs that make up the Seventh-day Adventist church and, in my view, the teachings of Scripture.
Creation is where God set up the tenants that are to give us hope, rest, joy and peace. It wasn’t by accident that God made the family, Sabbath and human relationships before sin entered the world. These are things we can look forward to in the earth made new, post sin. Without a literal creation, we can easily get rid of the family as God intended; man and woman who then have children. We can get rid of the kindness and love we should show towards other humans by valuing human life. We can get rid of Sabbath, because without a literal seven-day creation, Sabbath can be pretty much any day.
I believe the Godhead, God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, created humanity and the universe — not because they have a power complex, but because they so desired to have creatures that could abide with them and be in a relationship with them. God created everything out of love. I'm grateful to serve a God that loves me that much.
