Atheism, Polytheism, Materialism, Evolution and Creation. Which concept is correct for the Christian?


Mountains of Creation
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For the follower of Jehovah or Jesus Christ, the theological message of the first book of the Bible is, there is a God and God is responsible for all creation.  Beginning from the first verse of the Genesis we find the evidence of a supreme being that is the creator of all things; including the much debated creation of man.  Genesis 1:1 clearly encapsulates the whole of scripture; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  In this very simplistic but all-inclusive verse, we are presented with the evidence of one God for all to see.  God exists.  There is an implied absolute beginning and the God of the Bible brought all creation into existence.  “In the beginning God…”  The clarity of God being “in the beginning” sets the foundational stone that God was at the beginning.  Therefore God was before the beginning for He was the Creator. It is a stated fact

The Bible introduces us to God in Genesis chapter one.  The Hebrew word ‘God’ as used in verse one and thirty-one times in the first chapter of Genesis is Elohim.  Elohim is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament.  Elohim emphasizes one supreme God stressing His power and quite often used when in the context of the Supreme Being in the act of creation.

Chapter one of Genesis is one of the most hotly debated chapters in the Bible.  Satan’s attack on the infallibility, inspired Word of God begins at the first verse.  Those against special creation, in six twenty-four hour days, form the battle lines between the forces of evil and of God.  If Satan can focus man’s attention away from creation, then he can also cause doubt on every other doctrine in scripture; atheism, polytheism, evolution, materialism and sin.  Is there a God?  Were the worlds created?  If Satan can cause uncertainty at this very fundamental point, Satan can cause doubt for every other fundamental doctrine in scripture.

Throughout the whole of scripture there is a consistent declaration of the creation and that God was the Creator.  (Exodus 20:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 90:2, 96:5, 148:5, Isaiah 45:18, John 1:3, Hebrews 11:3)

It is my intent to discuss the various theologies that are located in chapter one of Genesis.

The first will be the idea of atheism.  Atheism, according to its definition and etymology, declares a denial of the being of God.  Atheism, affirms the nonexistence of God.  An atheist is someone who rejects belief in any form of deity, not just the traditional Judeo/Christian God.  It is also interesting that there seems to be no consensus on the definition of atheism.  The atheistic theology is denounced in the very first verse of Genesis.  “In the beginning, God.”  There is no room for debate or even discussion in the Bible concerning whether there is a God or not.  The statement carries with it the most profound and yet simple statement ever made there is a God. So therefore atheism is opposed.  In Psalm14:1, the psalmist David declares, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God…”

In every aspect of our life, there is a Cause and an Effect.  The one argument the atheist cannot answer is where the first ‘cause’, creation, came from.  The ‘effect’ is the solar system, animals, plants and man.  Who was the first Cause?  Genesis tells us it was God who started all creation when He spoke and said;

“Let there be light”

“Let there be a firmament”

“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind”

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night;”

“Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven

“Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”

Atheism does not present a viable solution in lieu of creation; therefore it is not a viable theology as God created the heavens and earth.

Another theology to explore is polytheism.  Polytheism by its very entomology means – poly – many and theism – god.  It is the belief of numerous personal deities, called gods or goddesses.  These gods are finite as they had a beginning as the result of sexual union or created from natural forces.  Each deity has its own belief system and rituals.  Their rule is normally over a particular domain such as the earth, sky, sea, love, etc.   Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but can center their belief and worship of one particular deity.  Other polytheists can worship different deities at different times according to their need.

Polytheism then is in direct contradiction to the scriptures, particularly in Genesis chapter one.  Over and over again we see that Elohim was the creator and the only God.

The next point to discuss is materialism.  Materialism is a human philosophical invention.  Materialism is the belief system that matter is the only reality.  The main tenet of the materialist is that matter, left to itself, produced all things.  The universe was randomly formed by the organizing of materials already in the cosmos.  Life was eventually formed by purely natural means.  Materialism continues that since matter produced all things that includes man and his brain.  Over time this brain then imagined the idea of things supernatural, which includes the idea of the spiritual realm, of God, gods, of eternal life, and so forth.

Materialism is unavoidably atheistic.  The theory of materialism is its own enemy and is fatalistically flawed because it denies any purpose; everything is reduced in importance to mere chance.  The only source for understanding materialism is human thought.  Therefore materialism is only defined by the brain which was formed by random materials.

The final point of discussion is evolution.  Evolution is defined from the Latin term evolution meaning “unfolding”.  Evolution first appeared about 900 BC so it is a late theory.  There are many different fields of evolution, but in considering evolution in light of Genesis, this discussion is centered on biological evolution.  From the evolutionist point of view life came from the non-living (materialism).  Life was not there then suddenly all materials came together and life appeared.  That is called spontaneous generation.  The evolutionist will not define where the materials originally came from, just that it did and it became an accepted fact.  This is the point of beginning for the evolutionist.  Life just started and then began evolving.  In order to have an evolving species life must have begun.  There is no stake in the sand, just the idea that life happened by natural means not through a supreme being.

Evolution and Genesis are in direct opposition to each other.  On the one hand the evolutionist believes life came from non-life materials that were already in the cosmos.  The creation account in Genesis chapter one defines that God created everything ex nihilo, out of nothing.  No materials floating around for God to use.  God spoke the worlds into space and time.  God spoke and plants, animals and man were created, ex nihilo.  Creation says there is a supreme being that created.  Evolution says there was no creator, just material.

Conclusion

In the first verse of the first Book of the Bible we have the confirmation of God.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  This first verse rebuts atheism because it explains the existence of God.  It rebuts polytheism as it explains that there is one God.  It rebuts materialism, for it shows that God created the materials in creation.  And finally it rebuts evolution as God created the animals and man.  God did not leave it to chance.

Responses

  1. In The Beginning, God-

    Thank you, Genesis; and for several many Books later we discover the manifold, mighty wonders of Jehovah upon His Creation,
    His brilliance of revelation and manifestation of Truth, that- without His presence and well-defined purposes guiding us,
    (according to His blessings and sanction), all things material
    and all things innovative and intelligent: minus His Spirit, are totally empty and void of understanding.
    The very existence of man is a testament to the reality of God.
    If man has the ability to reason, to ponder, to tamper with the
    elements, to alter Creation, to hate and love, invent and explore,
    ascend into the heavens with telescopes and space ships, heal
    himself and destroy, then why should he deny the existence of
    someone greater than himself as probable?
    Perhaps it is because, at times, he even doubts his own
    existence, saying- “what is real reality”? But it only takes one quick glance in the mirror to see that we exist! And if we doubt
    that we exist, this doubt disproves itself, for surely we must exist, to doubt that we exist!
    I am, He is!
    The affirmation of man to any “authorities” of polytheism, atheism, materialism, and/or evolutionary thought gives credence to the fact that man desires an answer, man is
    constantly curious, sojourning in his quest to find something
    convincing he can sink his teeth into beyond all doubt.
    And that is his problem.
    How can we, the faithful, explain God?
    And how can the unfaithful ever believe?
    I can remember as a child asking my dad where God came
    from. His answer? God has always been! Wow.
    I’m still saying Wow, even now, some 50 years later!
    “Butterflies in an endless field, ask the everlasting why,
    the everlasting why.”
    Jesus said, “if you cannot understand the earthly things,
    how will you understand the heavenly”?
    And who said John the Baptist was the greatest man who ever
    lived? Jesus did.
    And what did John the Baptist, the greatest man, say when he
    was in prison, discouraged?
    “Ask Him if He is the one we have been waiting for”.
    What we find manifested by this question is circumstantial faith, annunciated and demonstrated by the most faithful man born of woman.
    How can these things be?
    And Jesus authenticated His Messiahship by His stated works:
    the blind receive their sight, etc.
    Now and even today, many wonder, is there a God?
    Many wonder, are we part of a Master plan as proposed by the
    Bible?
    And God says, “look to the earth and look to the heavens,
    these are my great works, and search the scriptures, for in
    them ye think ye have eternal life, for they are they that
    testify of me”.
    In the beginning- God, the same as in the ending, and in between these two, the same- Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, world without end!
    And the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God…
    I kinda doubt it!

    Monty May

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    1. Thank you Monty for once again responding to the blog. I love your argument. Well thought out and to the point. You have a wonderful way with words to causes me to reread your comments again and again.
      “What is man that thou art mindful of him/” Those words continue to press upon me. What is man that he should think that there is no God. What is man that he should think everything ‘just happened’ with no design. What is man that he should think that there is no God.

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  2. Atheism, Polytheism, Materialism, Evolution and Creation. Which ……

    Here at World Spinner we are debating the same thing……

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  3. I am so grateful that I was taught the Scriptures from a small child. I have never doubted God as Creator and Sustainer. The Word tells us to come with child-like faith and I’m thankful that God has given me that. His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts. I know when I’m out of my league in the debate. Thanks for dissecting it so clearly for those who need to delve deeply into the whys and therefores. God’s Word says it and I choose to believe it. Great job.

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  4. Excellant again Bob. The “book” is always right – has been, is now and will be forever! You said ” An atheist is someone who rejects belief in any form of deity, not just the traditional Judeo/Christian God.” in your definition, I would add that there is a reason for their “belief”. Romans 1:18-23 covers the so called atheist in that in vs 21 “they knew God”, “glorified Him not as God”, were not thankful”. From vs 19 God has made Himself know “has shewd it(his existance) unto them”. How? Vs 20 He being invisible Glory by the visible creation in which we can see, touch, taste, experience has demonstrated His eternal power and the Godhead. God then says they are without excuse for their folly – fools that the are filled with pride, refusing to acknowledge the visible demonstration of God they as in Vs 23 professing themselves to be wise instead become college professor and scientist who twist facts and reality to be their own gods and FOOLS! Just like the error of twisting Scripture and then distoring the picture God has given us of Himself, they twist science and God’s “natural law” and then do not have a true depiction of God the Creator and Sustainer.

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    1. John,
      Great insight to the article. I am thankful for your comments and your love of God and His Word.

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  6. Salama Abdelhady
    Looking at the way of managing and the fine tuning of such universe; it gives us such steady conditions of pressure, temperature, humidity, and light to matching the environments that suit our life. Can anyone imagine such fine tuning is due to a chance or a mindless nature? We see fine tuning of constant rate of sun radiation that tunes finally the earth’s temperature, wave-lengths of sun’s radiation to fit exactly our vision and the rate of earth spinning that fits exactly the earth’s environments and wind speeds. If we imagine an error of 1 % in sun radiation or day duration the life may be vanished on our planet. So; God’s question will lead to another question: Do you think such fine tuning is due to chance or mindless nature? If not, it should be designed and controlled by the God Who asks us this question. Look at the fine tuning of the inclination of the axis of earth rotation with respect to the plane of its rotation around the sun to draw the wind maps that causes many bio-actions on the earth as the motivation and motion of clouds.Looking to such fine tuning of sun’s radiation to produce a finely tuned quantity of clouds from a finely tuned areas of salt-oceans, 3/5 earths surface, that are converted to a finely tuned quantity of fresh water that suits the earth’s needs from water. Do you imagine the estimation of such finely tuned quantities is done by chance or physical necessity? God in the following verse states that these are His Own Estimation from the moment of start of creation. Who tuned finally such green leaves of plant to absorb the solar energy and then our bodies are tuned finally to recruit this energy for our life.

    041.010 He placed therein (the earth) firm hills (to stabilize the earth’s crust and to create the gravitational field above it), and blessed it and designed therein its sustenance (from water, plants, nourishments ) in four Days, alike for (all) who ask;

    Looking at the fine tuning of the earth’s gravitational force; it keeps our stability and freedom to move on its surface. Such stability and freedom is available also to all creatures on the earth. However; such tuning is not available on any other planet in the universe but the earth.

    031.010: He hath created the heavens without supports that ye can see, and hath cast into the earth settlements (something which attracts or creates the gravity), so that it stabilize your life on it; and He hath dispersed therein all kinds of beasts. And We send down water from the sky and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein.

    016.015: And He has cast into the earth settlements ((something which attracts or creates the gravity), lest it should shake with you (to be unstable); and rivers and roads; that ye may guide yourselves; But such universe is neatly designed like a chain of million links. If any link breaks, we do not have a less optimal universe for life — we have a universe incapable of sustaining life. So, it takes a great deal more faith to believe in an accidental universe than to believe in an intelligent creator, or God who crafted such a marvelous universe and beautiful place of habitation in planet Earth, and then created life (including human beings) to occupy it. Then He sent His messengers with His Books which tell us His Wisdom.

    Looking at the finely tuned constants that are found by scientists in every thing in the universe, these are recorded in the end of this article. Such Fine Tuning constants should have a Cause. Quran Gives us such CAUSE:

    The Cause is to give His Creatures His Mercy. So, He loves them and He will be loved, obeyed and worshipped. He gifted the humans special gift; a soul from Him. So, they are gifted the nobleness with respect to all other creatures.051.056 I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship (Love) Me

    005.054 O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

    011.119 Except those on whom thy Lord hath bestowed His Mercy: and for this did He create them:

    017.070 We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of our creation.

    So; Look at these finely tuned constants that were recorded by scientists:

    Fine Tuning Parameters for the Universe
    1.strong nuclear force constant
    if larger: no hydrogen would form; atomic nuclei for most life-essential elements would be unstable; thus, no life chemistry
    if smaller: no elements heavier than hydrogen would form: again, no life chemistry
    2.weak nuclear force constant
    if larger: too much hydrogen would convert to helium in big bang; hence, stars would convert too much matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
    if smaller: too little helium would be produced from big bang; hence, stars would convert too little matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
    3.gravitational force constant
    if larger: stars would be too hot and would burn too rapidly and too unevenly for life chemistry
    if smaller: stars would be too cool to ignite nuclear fusion; thus, many of the elements needed for life chemistry would never form
    4.electromagnetic force constant
    if greater: chemical bonding would be disrupted; elements more massive than boron would be unstable to fission
    if lesser: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
    5.ratio of electromagnetic force constant to gravitational force constant
    if larger: all stars would be at least 40% more massive than the sun; hence, stellar burning would be too brief and too uneven for life support
    if smaller: all stars would be at least 20% less massive than the sun, thus incapable of producing heavy elements
    6.ratio of electron to proton mass
    if larger: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
    if smaller: same as above
    7.ratio of number of protons to number of electrons
    if larger: electromagnetism would dominate gravity, preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation
    if smaller: same as above
    8.expansion rate of the universe
    if larger: no galaxies would form
    if smaller: universe would collapse, even before stars formed
    9.entropy level of the universe
    if larger: stars would not form within proto-galaxies
    if smaller: no proto-galaxies would form
    10.mass density of the universe
    if larger: overabundance of deuterium from big bang would cause stars to burn rapidly, too rapidly for life to form
    if smaller: insufficient helium from big bang would result in a shortage of heavy elements
    11.velocity of light
    if faster: stars would be too luminous for life support if slower: stars would be insufficiently luminous for life support
    12.age of the universe
    if older: no solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would exist in the right (for life) part of the galaxy
    if younger: solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would not yet have formed
    13.initial uniformity of radiation
    if more uniform: stars, star clusters, and galaxies would not have formed
    if less uniform: universe by now would be mostly black holes and empty space
    14.average distance between galaxies
    if larger: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
    if smaller: gravitational tug-of-wars would destabilize the sun’s orbit
    15.density of galaxy cluster
    if denser: galaxy collisions and mergers would disrupt the sun’s orbit
    if less dense: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
    16.average distance between stars
    if larger: heavy element density would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
    if smaller: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
    17.fine structure constant (describing the fine-structure splitting of spectral lines) if larger: all stars would be at least 30% less massive than the sun
    if larger than 0.06: matter would be unstable in large magnetic fields
    if smaller: all stars would be at least 80% more massive than the sun
    18.decay rate of protons
    if greater: life would be exterminated by the release of radiation
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient matter for life
    19.12C to 16O nuclear energy level ratio
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient oxygen for life
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient carbon for life
    20.ground state energy level for 4He
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient carbon and oxygen for life
    if smaller: same as above
    21.decay rate of 8Be
    if slower: heavy element fusion would generate catastrophic explosions in all the stars
    if faster: no element heavier than beryllium would form; thus, no life chemistry
    22.ratio of neutron mass to proton mass
    if higher: neutron decay would yield too few neutrons for the formation of many life-essential elements
    if lower: neutron decay would produce so many neutrons as to collapse all stars into neutron stars or black holes
    23.initial excess of nucleons over anti-nucleons
    if greater: radiation would prohibit planet formation
    if lesser: matter would be insufficient for galaxy or star formation
    24.polarity of the water molecule
    if greater: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too high for life
    if smaller: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too low for life; liquid water would not work as a solvent for life chemistry; ice would not float, and a runaway freeze-up would result
    25.supernovae eruptions
    if too close, too frequent, or too late: radiation would exterminate life on the planet
    if too distant, too infrequent, or too soon: heavy elements would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
    26.white dwarf binaries
    if too few: insufficient fluorine would exist for life chemistry
    if too many: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
    if formed too soon: insufficient fluorine production
    if formed too late: fluorine would arrive too late for life chemistry
    27.ratio of exotic matter mass to ordinary matter mass
    if larger: universe would collapse before solar-type stars could form
    if smaller: no galaxies would form
    28.number of effective dimensions in the early universe
    if larger: quantum mechanics, gravity, and relativity could not coexist; thus, life would be impossible
    if smaller: same result
    29.number of effective dimensions in the present universe
    if smaller: electron, planet, and star orbits would become unstable
    if larger: same result
    30.mass of the neutrino
    if smaller: galaxy clusters, galaxies, and stars would not form
    if larger: galaxy clusters and galaxies would be too dense
    31.big bang ripples
    if smaller: galaxies would not form; universe would expand too rapidly
    if larger: galaxies/galaxy clusters would be too dense for life; black holes would dominate; universe would collapse before life-site could form
    32.size of the relativistic dilation factor
    if smaller: certain life-essential chemical reactions will not function properly
    if larger: same result
    33.uncertainty magnitude in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
    if smaller: oxygen transport to body cells would be too small and certain life-essential elements would be unstable
    if larger: oxygen transport to body cells would be too great and certain life-essential elements would be unstable

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