In addition, the Genesis chapter only mentions three kinds of animals, namely domestic animals, hunting animals and wild animals. I believe everyone can understand this simple classification? Three different plants and three different animals are classified according to their relationship with human beings. This is what I call simplicity.
Genesis has only 76 different roots, which are very few. These words are found in all languages. Therefore, Genesis is the most easily translated chapter in the original Bible, and only extremely clever people can write it so simply. God, like all writers, must first consider who the readers are, and then he will write for that kind of readers.
There is a writer's special fog index, which I often use to test my writing, that is, put the number of sentences and polysyllabic words into a mathematical formula to calculate, and from the results, I can know how many people can understand your books, magazines and papers, so that I can accurately calculate the readership.
God wants everyone in this time and place to understand the story of creation, so he writes it very simply. Therefore, even children can easily understand the story of Genesis and translate it into other languages. Only an extremely clever person can write so simply.
Einstein was asked to explain his theory of relative time. He said: sitting on a hot pot for a minute feels longer than talking to a beautiful woman for an hour. Only a very clever person can explain it so simply. Now everyone understands the theory of relative time. God just wants to be simple and clear, so he doesn't use scientific terms to describe his writing as simple.
God is the subject, plus his words and his spirit. We see the Trinity God, especially in the later scripture, saying that let us create man. The verbs used here are very simple. Please note that creation and manufacturing are different. In Hebrew, "create" means to create from scratch. The word appeared only three times in Genesis, that is, when creating matter, creatures and people. Only in these three times did God create from scratch. In other words, God created things out of thin air only three times, that is, things, creatures and people. Today is about things, about DNA, about people, and the recipients are very simple. Every sentence is very simple, with a subject, a verb and an addressee. The grammar is simple and direct, and everyone can understand it. This is really a masterpiece.
Genesis chapter has a clear and orderly structure, which is divided into six days, but these six days can be divided into three days and three days. Maybe you have never noticed it, but many places are divided into three days. The Bible begins by saying that the earth is uninhabitable and empty and chaotic. It took God three days to create the environment, and then three days to create creatures. Three days ago, he created an environment, and three days later, he created creatures living in it. The first three days and the last three days are very similar. In the first three days, there were obvious contrasts in the environment he created, such as light and darkness, sky and ocean, land and ocean. After creating the environment, on the fourth day, he built plants and made them live on the ground. The sun and the moon live in light. I'll explain later. This is very important. There is a general difference between light and darkness, and then there are sun, moon and stars living in it. On the sixth day, animals and people appeared on the land. How many people here have noticed the similarities between the first three days and the last three days? Only a few people have noticed how orderly and beautiful God's creation is. God is methodical and accurate. He brings order from chaos, which he likes to do.
In the last unit, I said that there are always some numbers in the Genesis chapter, and three numbers keep appearing, which can be seen when translated, that is, three, seven and ten.
The third is to represent God,
Seven is the most perfect number in the Bible.
Ten stands for completeness,
These three numbers are really amazing. God created them three times out of thin air. His name called him three times, he made things three times, and he blessed him three times. Even after the translation, you can see that the number three keeps appearing and there are three verbs.
Then seven. God expressed his satisfaction with the creation of the world seven times, one for seven days. Obviously, the first Hebrew sentence is seven words, and the last three sentences of this creation narrative are seven words each. But if translated into English, it is not seven words. You can only believe that I am right. These are in sharp contrast with the creation story of Babylon epic. The description of the Babylonian epic is very complicated and strange. Ok, everyone, next I want to ask a question, but before that, I must emphasize to you again that the chapter of Genesis is easy to understand. You can imagine how children's books describe building a house. Writing children's books must be simple.
You will say: first, workers build turns, then carpenters install window frames, door frames and roof trusses, plumbers install water pipes and drainage pipes, electricians install wires, cement workers plaster walls, and decorators paint them. Finally, everyone can have a rest.
If you want to build a house simply like a child, it may be divided into seven stages, understand? But this is a simplification. I often participate in the design and construction of churches. I know that real life is not that simple, so we must analyze it comprehensively.
Calculate when bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians will come. It may take two trips. Building a house is actually complicated. But only workers who build houses need to know how to be detailed. It is enough for ordinary people to listen to this simple explanation. This explanation applies to people of all ages and backgrounds. You got it?
The description of Genesis is really simplified. Science can give us more details, but God wants everyone to understand his behavior. Understand that this is God's orderly creation, but if you say so, there will be opposition between modern science and the Bible, and science and the Bible are opposites. Many scientists are wary of hearing supernatural things, because science can only study nature, not the supernatural. Science does not touch supernatural things, so it is difficult to imagine supernatural things.
But in fact, there are some scientific problems related to the description of creation in Genesis. I think it should be mentioned. Of course, some of these questions are really critical.
For example, some people say that Adam has a navel. This problem is really deep. Does anyone ask if snakes can talk?
Or where is Cain's wife from? Once at the corner of Hyde Park, Bishop Supor was asked this question. He replied: Why are you so interested in other people's wives? There are actually three possible answers to this question, but I won't say it today. Recently, I saw another funny question. Did Noah bring moths into the ark? Maybe it should be said that two moths are right.
Another common question is why dinosaurs are not mentioned in the Bible.
This is because modern people like dinosaurs very much, but these problems are actually unimportant, and there are more serious problems to face. For example, the speed of creation, geologists tell us that the earth took 4.25 billion years to form, but Genesis says it was formed in six days. There is a little gap between these two points. Then there is the age of the earth and the order of creation. It is amazing that the scientific viewpoint is consistent with the order of creation in Genesis.
There is only one exception, but this can explain. Science believes that the sun, moon and stars appeared on the fourth day, after the appearance of plants, but today we know that the earth was originally covered with thick clouds. In fact, the second chapter of Genesis says that the whole land is covered with clouds. Today's science has confirmed this, so when light first appeared, it looked like a thin cloud, and then when plants appeared, they began to photosynthesis and cleared the clouds on the ground. The sun, the moon and the stars on the ground are all exposed, so the sun, the moon and the stars existed before the plants, and they were only exposed after being covered by clouds. Therefore, the scientific viewpoint is consistent with the order of Genesis chapter.
There are more creatures in the sea than on land, and human beings finally appear. There are striking similarities between science and the Bible in this respect, so the order is no longer a problem.
But the origin of animals and people is a big problem, whether it is evolution or creationism, the life span of human beings before the flood. Methuselah lived to 969 years old, which is the longest life span in history, but there are also problems such as the scope of the flood.
Sadly, when people think of Genesis today, many people will think of these problems first, so I wait until now, because we must know the information of Genesis before solving the problems. If we only discuss genesis, we will miss the important information, but we should not ignore these differences.
First of all, I want to say that there are three ways to deal with the differences between science and the Bible. We should face them in the right way. These three ways are negation, isolation and integration. Obviously, the third way is correct. Ignorant Christians will force them to make a choice in the first way, either believing in the correctness of the Bible or believing in the correctness of science. They can only choose one of them, not both. This choice is easy. As a result, non-Christians choose science and Christians choose the Bible. If both sides refuse to face the facts, the problem is impossible to solve.
Ladies and gentlemen, on the one hand, because many scientific viewpoints are correct, these cameras and lights on the scene are the products of science. I came by taxi today, and Jim and I have been talking on the phone all week. These things are the products of science, so it is absolutely stupid to completely deny science in modern times, but it is equally stupid to believe that science is completely correct.
Denial is not the way. It is wrong to arbitrarily say that there is no need to choose between one-on-one mistakes. On the contrary, it will harm people's dishonesty and make people feel that they should abandon reason and believe in the Bible.
The second way is to separate the Bible from science as much as possible, saying that science and the Bible present different truths. Science attaches importance to the truth of matter and nature, while the Bible attaches importance to moral and supernatural truth, so it deals with different truths.
Science talks about how and when the universe came into being, while the Bible only explains who created the universe and why. We should distinguish the two clearly, and the more we divide, the more we can survive. This is a very strange way to deal with it, so many modern people will say that science tells facts and the Bible talks about values, so we are not looking for facts from the Bible, but looking for values. This is a very popular saying today, even the missionaries in the church say so. But this is the wrong way to deal with it, which is in line with our Greek thinking. It's a pity that most people are Greek thoughts, which clearly distinguish material and spirit, sacred and secular, ephemeral and eternal. That kind of thinking is completely different from Hebrew thought. Hebrew thought regards God as the creator and savior, and matter and spirit are inseparable, so I think the second way of dealing with it is also incorrect. This is to regard Genesis as a myth, and the third chapter of Genesis becomes a fable, telling how a snake lost its foot. Adam represents everyone, and you must have heard it. It is said that these fairy tales are teaching us to know God and ourselves. However, I must tell you here, don't take these statements as facts. If you think in this direction and regard Adam and Eve as fairy tales, my story will have moral truth, but it is not a historical fact. How can you distinguish fact from fiction when you read the Bible?
First of all, Adam and Eve are myths, then Noah is a myth, and the story of the flood is true to some extent, but it is a moral truth rather than a historical fact, then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are myths, and then Moses is also a myth. Recently, there was a TV series describing the book of Egypt, and the producers regarded it as a myth. This story is really wonderful and true, but it is not a historical fact. Today, this situation is even worse. I can't agree with the way that the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of a virgin are regarded as myths and stories containing truth, which is difficult to distinguish between true and false. Finally, I think the Bible is not a historical fact at all, saying that the Bible has only values but no facts. In this way, naturally, some people will juxtapose the Bible, the Koran and Indian scriptures as a value, which I think destroys the Bible.
God is the God of history, history is his story, and reading the Bible is reading historical facts. In addition, as I said before, Jesus took Genesis as a fact, so this method can't solve the problem, but I think it may be the most commonly used solution for Christians today. Bible and science actually overlap, and some of them are both mentioned, so we must understand some obvious differences, but how to solve the conflict between them?
We need to remember two basic points. The first of these two basic points is that scientific research will change. It is necessary to remember that science will change, and it will change forever. Some facts that used to be considered as scientific facts have been overturned today, and science will constantly change its views.
For example, we used to think that the atom is the smallest unit in the universe, but now we know that each atom itself is the whole universe. In addition, until a few years ago, it was thought that the sex of the fetus was determined by the XY chromosome, but now it has been overturned.
There are different opinions. If you keep up with the pace of science, you have to constantly change your mind.
Under the theory of modern science, I can tell you that the discovery of DNA has completely changed our concept of life, because it is now known that the most complex DNA exists in fertilized eggs. Mathematically, DNA itself is a set of languages, not a combination of probabilities. This set of words has been passed down from generation to generation, so there must be someone behind the DNA.
This has changed many people's thinking, so science will be in a state of constant change, and so will geology.
I once read a scientific report in The Times. He said that there are seven ways to know the age of the earth, including carbon 14, radioactive helium, magnetic field decay and nickel content in the ocean. He listed the age of the earth measured by these new methods, and the results were very interesting. The shortest is 9000 years, and the longest is175,000 years, not 4.25 billion years. Who is right?
I don't know, we can wait until scientists realize what is really important. Anthropological research is in chaos at present. It used to be thought that prehistoric humans were the ancestors of human beings, but today this view has been overturned. They are actually animals. They have become extinct, and creatures are changing. Few people believe Darwin's theory of evolution now.
This is the first point I want to make. Science will change its point of view. If the Bible is linked to science in one era, it will be overthrown in the next.
The second point I want to make is equally important, that is, the traditional interpretation of the Bible may also change. The Bible is inspired by God, but people's interpretation of the Bible is not necessarily inspired by God. The Bible itself and its interpretation are two different things.
For example, the Bible talks about the four corners of the earth. Some people say that this means that the earth is a cube. In fact, the Bible is only describing appearances. The Bible says that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and needs to return to the place where it came from. Some people say that this means that the sun goes around the earth. People used to think so, but it was wrong. The Bible is only describing appearances.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, we need to rethink our interpretation of the Bible in order to be more flexible. If we know that science is changing all the time and the Bible has some traditional explanations, we will be more willing to consider new ideas.
Now I want to illustrate the "heaven" in Genesis. I found that there are at least five different interpretations of the word "heaven" in the Bible. Do you want to know?
Now I'll give you an explanation one by one, and then you can make a choice, okay?
As I said before, there is a small gap between 6 days and 4.25 billion years. We need to know why there is such a gap. What does the sky mean in Genesis? This word is YOM in Hebrew, sometimes it means 24 hours a day, and sometimes it refers to an era, just like the era of carriage is over. I don't mean the end of 24 hours a day, but the era of carriages is over.
It is said that those days were seen from God's point of view. In the eyes of God, time is relative. In the eyes of God, a thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years. So for God, the whole creation was completed in a week. From his point of view, the intention of this explanation is that if we look at those days in geological time, human life will lose its importance. For example, if we use Cleopatra, ten coins are stacked on the spire to represent the history of human existence. Finally, put a stamp on it to represent the history of human civilization with its thickness. Look how insignificant human beings have become. What is human?
Dr. Leakey claimed to have found fossils 4 million years ago in Africa.
Now almost everyone agrees that human ancestors originated in Africa rather than the Middle East.
Interestingly, all kinds of prehistoric humans appeared, saying that Homo sapiens can be traced back to 30,000 years ago.
Neanderthals can be traced back to150 thousand years ago.
Swanson can be traced back to 200,000 years ago.
Homo erectus and Javanese in China can be traced back to 300,000 years ago.
Classes in Australia can be traced back to 500,000 years ago.
African stadiums discovered in recent years can be traced back to 2.5 million to 4 million years ago.
How do we explain this?
First of all, it must be clearly pointed out that so far no half-ape and half-man have been found.
There are prehistoric human bones, but there are no ape-man bones.
Second, those just mentioned are not necessarily our ancestors.
This is also recognized by science, so anthropology is in a changing stage. These people are not our ancestors.
Third, these people did not evolve in a gradual order.
Have you ever seen a series of photos, starting with apes, and then standing up gradually, getting bigger and bigger,
I can also use this method to represent the evolution of aircraft.
This picture shows the evolution of supersonic aircraft.
It looks realistic, but it doesn't mean that the plane has evolved like this.
Drawing a progressive figure by "light" proves nothing. In fact, it can only prove that a smart person can draw such a picture.
We all saw it, but it's not true.
Some early human remains have bigger brains than today's people and walk straighter. In fact, most of them agree today that these people are not our ancestors and they are not modern people.
who the hell are all these people？
There are three possibilities. 3 1:40
Let's continue to look at evolution, which is the most important theme.
We are not talking about our relationship with prehistoric humans, but our relationship with animals.
Let me give you a few words to help you understand what we are talking about.
Most people think that evolution is a theory put forward by Darwin.
Actually, it's not. This theory was put forward by Aristotle and later by Erasmus Darwin, a modern man. He is Charles Darwin's grandfather. Charles accepted this theory from his atheistic grandfather and carried it forward. We know some words.
The first is variation; This is a small change handed down from generation to generation.
Second, these mutations go through a process of natural elimination, that is, survival of the fittest.
For example, black moths are easier to disguise than white moths, so all the white geese died in the end.
Only the black moth survived, and now there are few coal pits. Therefore, in this environment, white moths reappear and the number of black moths gradually decreases. This is the survival of the fittest, natural elimination, and the most suitable environment. This kind of elimination occurs naturally and automatically in nature, and naturally, species suitable for survival will be selected without external intervention.
But the idea of gradual change was overturned today. A Frenchman named Lamarck said that this is not a gradual change, but a sudden big change. He called it a mutation, just like the difference between stairs and elevators. The theory between the two factions has been arguing.
Finally, let's look at two words, one is micro-evolution; I believe that some animals have not changed much, such as horses and dogs. I believe that science has indeed confirmed the theory of micro-evolution.
But macro-evolutionism holds that all animals have the same origin,
They are interrelated and can be traced back to the same simple life form, and then gradually developed into complex creatures.
Another word that I think is very important is competition.
I don't think anyone will deny that the word competition means survival of the fittest.
The concept of competition has brought more pain to modern people than other theories, which I will explain later.
I don't want to argue about the truth of evolution here,
I just want to say that evolution is still just a theory, and evolution is an unproven theory.
The more fossil theories there are, the less this theory can explain the formation of various organisms.
For example, evidence like fossils shows that,
Most animals were in CAMBRIAN and appeared rapidly at the same time.
They didn't appear slowly, but at the same time.
Second, complex life forms and simple life forms appear at the same time, not a series of processes from simple to complex.
The third evidence is that fossils between the two species are almost impossible to find.
The fourth evidence is that all species are complex from the beginning and have DNA in them.
The fifth mutation will lead to deformity and death.
The offspring of the sixth animal are usually infertile.
Most importantly, according to statistics, evolution is impossible and time is simply not enough.
Another theory holds that life originated from another planet, then floated to the earth from outer space and landed.
According to statistics, there is simply not enough time to evolve and develop.
Next, I want to talk about a completely different thing, that is, the influence of this theory on human beings.
The theory of evolution encourages people's pride, and thinks that we will make progress, upward, upward, forward, forward and forward in the future. This is the slogan of the British Prime Minister, which is better than going back to basics.
But what are the possible consequences of the word competition?
You will see the competition of American capitalism,
Rockefeller said that running a business is a competition of survival of the fittest, which will lead to unspeakable pain.
Competition can also be seen in authoritarianism. Hitler wrote a book called My Competition. He believes in the competition for survival of the fittest.
It is believed that people with Germanic descent are the most competitive, while Jews are not suitable for survival.
I don't think it is necessary to boldly point out that this competitive concept of survival of the fittest, applied to human beings, has caused far more pain than other concepts.
But it also brings us two choices. Creationism and evolution are two completely different concepts.
We have to make a choice,
If you believe in creationism, you will believe that there is a father, God.
If you believe in evolution, you will believe in Mother Earth, but this woman doesn't exist.
If you believe in creationism, you will believe that the universe is the result of human choice, not an objective probability factor, and you will believe that the creator has his purpose.
If you believe in evolution, species are random coincidences.
Creationism holds that the universe is a supernatural product,
The theory of evolution holds that the creation of the universe is an evolutionary process.
Creationism holds that the whole universe is an open situation, and people and God can intervene and influence at any time.
Evolution holds that nature is a self-enclosed system.
Creationism holds that God is in charge of everything, and he cares about everything and meets the needs of everything.
Evolution holds that everything is a coincidence.
Creationism believes in facts.
Evolution believes in imagination because it is only a theory.
Creationism holds that God can create everything at will and create people in his own image.
Evolution holds that people can create gods according to their own imagination.
This is the conceptual difference between creationism and evolution.
If we look farther, there is a moral choice behind it.
Our question is why some people cling to the theory of evolution and feel as if they are possessed.
The answer is related to people's hearts. If you don't believe in being in charge of God, you can only believe in evolution.
Creationism holds that God is the master,
Evolution holds that man is the master.
Genesis believes that we are under the authority of God,
Evolutionary theory holds that people have autonomy and can make their own decisions.
Creationism believes in absolute right and wrong,
Evolution holds that there is only relative truth.
Creationism emphasizes responsibility and obligation,
Evolution emphasizes demand and strength.
Creation emphasizes infinite dependence, and we talk to our father like children.
Evolution prides itself on the independence of adults. We are adults, and we no longer need God.
Creationism emphasizes the fall of human beings,
Evolution emphasizes the promotion of human status.
Creationism emphasizes that the weak can be saved,
Evolution emphasizes that the strong can survive, and Nietzsche, who shares Hitler's view, hates Christianity.
Because this belief will help the weak to move on and take care of the sick and dying,
While his philosophy is that survival of the strong.
Creationism emphasizes that justice is powerful and doing justice is powerful.
Evolution emphasizes that powerful people are right. As long as you are strong, everything you do is right.
Creationism brings peace,
Evolution leads to war, as always.
Creationism emphasizes obedience,
Evolution emphasizes self-indulgence.
Creationism says that we have faith, hope and love, which are the three virtues of life.
The theory of evolution says that we only have fate, helplessness and luck.
Creationism brings people to heaven,
Evolution brings people to hell.
From the above, we know what will happen if people are regarded as evolutionary animals.
When children are educated in school for ten years, people evolved from animals and will become like this in the future.
The above quotation is from Reverend David.