Faith IS the Substance! Creation Origins: What Science Can't Answer, and Religion Gets Wrong.

A Child's Video Sparks A Flame

So I'm watching this great little YouTube video series that the kids love, Jelly Telly. In this particular episode the characters portray modern Darwinian Science in it's true light, the emperor with no clothes. However simultaneously reveal that most religious institutions give equally bad answers to the questions of the universe. 

It really hits me in a big way because the answers are plain and simple. But you need to know some things about the Word of God and Kingdom of God that most religion doesn't know, therefore can't answer.

So I thought I'd share this with you to challenge you to think it through with me. No matter which side you came from, you probably need to think again.

What Science Can't Answer

In this particular Jelly Telly video the conclusion was that science is incapable of telling where life came from. Darwin's theory can only deal with things that are already present and evolving.

In fact, the only observed evolution has been "micro-evolution" within species, like dog breeds, or bird breeds, and never once has any interspecies evolution been observed.

In fact when similar but not same species mate, say Horse and Donkey, they produce offspring, but it is always incapable of producing offspring itself, unless re-mated with another pure breed. It cannot, in any real way, speak to causality for a new thriving species. Observation agrees with Genesis. They were made after their kind.
Without a Big Bang, the raw ingredients of life not only don't coalesce (come together) they don't even exist themselves in the first place. You can follow the Darwinian path, ignore the fact that there is a mysterious absence of "in between" creatures evidenced in gaps in the fossil record. All creatures show up fully developed. You can follow along ignoring the irreducibly complex life forms. You ignore that everywhere science tells us that things have intricate design indicating a designer and you choose to believe that the watch evolved and was not created.

The bottom line is this. Even if you ignore the mounting evidence that Darwinian Evolution is at best an inept baseless theory, even if you took for granted that it was true and followed the origins back to the first one celled organism and took one more step back to a pool of raw material just before life.

Where did the raw material come from? Some scientists realizing this have started to come up with theories that life started on Mars or even in other Galaxies and hitch hiked here on a comet. Let's say that was true.

If you keep following back you are still left with the question...


Where did the Raw Material come from before that?

What Religion Get's Wrong

But secular folks have their right to complain as well. Let's say for a moment that you believe in a creator. What kind? Which one? Religions are always serving up conflicting ideas of who God is. Why is one right over another? Which one provides an answer?

Even within "Christianity" we produce so many convoluted denominations.

While I believe The Bible and Jesus hold the answer... what kind of answer?

The answer this Jelly Telly video gave was the answer I hear often.

"God made the world from nothing." 

But that's just a cop out. Science can't tell us where the raw material came from. So we say God made it... which is basically in their ears saying:

"We can't tell you where it came from either, but my Daddy's bigger than yours."

This violates naturally understood law. One major tenant of modern science if the First Law of Thermodynamics which states:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_law_of_thermodynamics 

The first law of thermodynamics is a version of the law of conservation of energy, adapted for thermodynamic systems. The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system is constant; energy can be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed.

Note the tension in this excerpt from How Stuff Works:

The Latin phrase "creatio ex nihilo" means "creation out of nothing," and it's largely the domain of theology, philosophy and mythology for a reason: the first law of thermodynamics, which is actually a conservation of energy equation. The gist of that equation, as you no doubt remember, is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Resolution between science and religion can be found in the Equation

There IS an answer, it's a spiritual answer, and not easily understood by a natural mind, but it's a simple answer. God did NOT create the world's out of nothing. There is no such thing in science or bible as "Creatio Ex Nihilo", "Creation out of nothing."

Limited understanding of the universe and the bible both, together, created that phrase and idea.

The world's were created by and through Faith. Now, if you thought, as most people do (religious and non religous); that Faith is Belief. You were wrong. So what is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen . 

Darrell Wolfe Paraphrase:
Faith is the material substance of things that are expected (without doubt), Faith is the physical reality of things not yet perceived by the physical senses. 

Hope is not wishing something were true. That is the modern English use of "Hope". Greek use of the word would say that Hope Is Expectation.

If I got word that someone I trust said they would be here today, I could expect that to be the case. If someone I knew was a flake said they'd be here today I would not expect that. That is Hope. Evidence is that which has been proven or tested. I could have this expectation only after I had proven and tested the one I am expecting.

Faith is the substance of expectation and proof or material reality of that which cannot be seen. It is the title deed to a car that hasn't been delivered yet. Don't loose me here.

Faith is not the expectation. That is Hope. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of the expectation. Literally the thing that is expected. Hope says I'm having a baby. Faith is the baby that is expected.

So why does this all matter and how does it answer the question of where the material world came from?

Hebrews 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear .

Let's check this verse two ways. There were no punctuation or comas in Greek or Hebrew. I think both of these could be the right way of understanding this verse. 

Paraphrase One:Through Faith, we understand that, the world's were framed by the Word of God...

 God created the World through His Faith...

Paraphrase Two:Through Faith we understand that the world's were framed by the Word of God...

Our Faith is what helps us understand that God framed the World's (created their materialness) by His Word. What is God's Word?

John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

God's Word is Jesus. Jesus is God's Word. Jesus is Light. God is Light.

Jesus=Word=Light

Now anyone who has heard the word "Solar Energy" should know that Light is basically, for layman's purposes, a form of energy. (Can be converted into it).

Einsteins theory of Relativity: E=MC²

Simply put, this equation tells us that mass and energy are two forms of the same thing. In the right condition, mass can turn into energy and energy can turn into mass. Here, ‘right condition’ refers to near-to-light-speed.

So if God is Light, is Energy, is Mass, is the Word, is Jesus...(Leaving out discussion of the trinity for now so we can grasp one thing at a time.)

1st Law of Thermodynamics states that there can never be less or more of energy, only different forms of it.

So then, God releases himself through Faith into the universe. THAT is where matter came from. God, who is energy which cannot, not exist, created matter by releasing himself through Faith.

Going Deeper into the 1st Law

Then the 1st Law of Thermodynamics reveals something about the 1st Law of Genesis.

God is light. Energy. Mass. They are all Him in different forms.

Note the order of creation in light of this. Notice in Genesis that God says "Light Be", releasing light/energy/mass into the void, on day one. But it's not until day four that he creates sun, and moon. Why? Because he was releasing HIMSELF into the void. He was converting energy into mass at the speed of light!

E=MC² is a discovery of how earth was created by God! It also explains his infinite timelessness. Because energy cannot ever not be. The story of creation isn't a story of the begging of all things. It is the story of the beginning of Earth and Mankind. There are plenty of hints throughout the bible that Angels were created long before mankind.

In fact some believe that there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 of possibly billions of years where angels ruled before man, and possible other civilizations that we know nothing of because it's not our place to know about those right now. If the universe is as infinite as it is, who is to say there are not other creation stories besides ours?

I'm not saying there is. But I cannot rule it out. The bible simply doesn't make some of the conclusions that religion likes to make. I like what CS Lewis said of God in his Caricature of God as Aslan. "After all He is not a tame Lion." "No, but He is good."

So: How has religion affected you? Leave a comment to chat about it. 

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By Darrell Wolfe

www.DarrellWolfe.com

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* Information here is As-Is. These are the opinions of a fellow traveler and seeker of truth. I am not a doctor, lawyer, licensed financial advisor, tax preparer, etc, etc... I'm just one guy, sharing what he's learned. As such, the information may be as true or faulty as the guy on the buss stop giving you directions. If you need accurate information I encourage you to seek the help of a professional in your field. 

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Thank you, Darrell Wolfe