What Is the Origin of the Universe?
Nearly everyone who observes our surroundings eventually asks, “Where did all of this come from?”
The search continues to find the origin of order, life, and intelligence. A doubtful possibility is that all things owe their origin to the ability of random processes to produce regular forms, perhaps with the aid of natural selection principles. The best possibility is to seek to identify a powerful, pre-existing, intelligent creator for the universe, one whose life transcends physical limitations.
Various people claim to know something about this creator. The one with the most credible claim is the one who explains details of the creation process that were unknown at the time of writing. That makes the God of Moses the best candidate for creator of the universe.
The God of Moses is not a human figure projected large on the heavens. Moses explicitly reversed that idea. He says that God projected His Own image on the Earth when He made the first man and woman in His image and likeness. In this respect also Moses’ account is vastly superior to the myths of his time. It should be obvious that the greater creates the lesser, not vice-versa. Yet no other ancient people saw this point.
The myths of most ancient peoples projected human and animal figures into the heavens. Thus people created gods and goddesses in the image of Earth-bound creatures. But Moses says that God projected His Own image on us.
Humanity is a great artistic work of God. We can learn something of God by considering ourselves. A created work always has lesser attributes than its creator. Artists may draw the human figure, but the people they draw cannot move and draw as the artists do. A novelist may create characters, but they can only say what the author says they say. Now let’s consider ourselves. Our noblest attribute is our ability to love. If we can love, then our Creator must have even greater love. This should remove any fear we may have of approaching Him.
Yet there are some who fear and hate God. Why is this so? We have the ability to love, but not everyone develops and uses this ability. Those who fear and hate may imagine God in their own likeness. If they do, they will not approach Him. How then can they find out if He hates them in return or loves them anyway?
People who love know that love has its demands, demands for faithfulness. When those demands are violated, there can be reconciliation, but the lovers have to get together and work things out. Fear, on the other hand, makes people stop communicating and flee from one another. It takes courage to overcome this tendency, but love can reward those who seek reconciliation.
Open-minded examination of the Bible has uncovered a remarkable prediction of the scientific findings of cosmology. This is a great encouragement to belief in the Bible.
Consider our view of the vast reaches of empty space. With satellites we have seen almost as far back into the past as it will ever be possible to see. We can see in the remote past how supernovas exploded to spill out the dust of the Earth, the stuff of our being. Space and the expansion make the temperature of the Earth livable. The “vast reaches of empty space” and the great number of stars are filled with meaning for us. They are all parts of the environment that makes our life possible. Anyone can look up into the starry heavens and say, “Father! You made all of that for us?” God’s answer is “All things are yours” (I Corinthians 3:21).
Nearly everyone who observes our surroundings eventually asks, “Where did all of this come from?”
The search continues to find the origin of order, life, and intelligence. A doubtful possibility is that all things owe their origin to the ability of random processes to produce regular forms, perhaps with the aid of natural selection principles. The best possibility is to seek to identify a powerful, pre-existing, intelligent creator for the universe, one whose life transcends physical limitations.
Various people claim to know something about this creator. The one with the most credible claim is the one who explains details of the creation process that were unknown at the time of writing. That makes the God of Moses the best candidate for creator of the universe.
The God of Moses is not a human figure projected large on the heavens. Moses explicitly reversed that idea. He says that God projected His Own image on the Earth when He made the first man and woman in His image and likeness. In this respect also Moses’ account is vastly superior to the myths of his time. It should be obvious that the greater creates the lesser, not vice-versa. Yet no other ancient people saw this point.
The myths of most ancient peoples projected human and animal figures into the heavens. Thus people created gods and goddesses in the image of Earth-bound creatures. But Moses says that God projected His Own image on us.
Humanity is a great artistic work of God. We can learn something of God by considering ourselves. A created work always has lesser attributes than its creator. Artists may draw the human figure, but the people they draw cannot move and draw as the artists do. A novelist may create characters, but they can only say what the author says they say. Now let’s consider ourselves. Our noblest attribute is our ability to love. If we can love, then our Creator must have even greater love. This should remove any fear we may have of approaching Him.
Yet there are some who fear and hate God. Why is this so? We have the ability to love, but not everyone develops and uses this ability. Those who fear and hate may imagine God in their own likeness. If they do, they will not approach Him. How then can they find out if He hates them in return or loves them anyway?
People who love know that love has its demands, demands for faithfulness. When those demands are violated, there can be reconciliation, but the lovers have to get together and work things out. Fear, on the other hand, makes people stop communicating and flee from one another. It takes courage to overcome this tendency, but love can reward those who seek reconciliation.
Open-minded examination of the Bible has uncovered a remarkable prediction of the scientific findings of cosmology. This is a great encouragement to belief in the Bible.
Consider our view of the vast reaches of empty space. With satellites we have seen almost as far back into the past as it will ever be possible to see. We can see in the remote past how supernovas exploded to spill out the dust of the Earth, the stuff of our being. Space and the expansion make the temperature of the Earth livable. The “vast reaches of empty space” and the great number of stars are filled with meaning for us. They are all parts of the environment that makes our life possible. Anyone can look up into the starry heavens and say, “Father! You made all of that for us?” God’s answer is “All things are yours” (I Corinthians 3:21).