41. Was the sun really created after the plants?

42. Is the biblical creation account out of sync in its sequence?

43. How does the Bible explain cavemen?

44. Did dinosaurs and men walk together? What is the scientific evidence, and what does the Bible say?

45. Creation or evolution - what is the truth?

41. Was the sun really created after the plants?

Some people think that's what the first chapter of Genesis says. After all it does say that plants were created on the third day, and the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day.

Let's look closely at the text. The first verse of Genesis states that the heavens and the earth were created in the beginning. This would include the stars, one of which is the sun. The second verse indicates that the creation story will be told from the perspective of planet earth, more specifically from the perspective of an observer on the surface of the earth's ocean under the atmospheric layers.

What happened on the fourth day was not the creation of the sun, but rather a change in the earth's atmosphere from translucent to transparent. The continuous overcast now broke, and now the form, and not just the light, of the sun, moon, and stars became visible. The Hebrew verb yasar is the one used in reference to the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day. From Hebrew lexicons we learn that one definition of that verb is to "cause to appear."

42. Is the biblical creation account out of sync in its sequence?

The Biblical creation account tells us that the creatures that creep along the ground were created on the sixth day, toward the end of the creation sequence. Many have interpreted these creeping creatures as insects (or lawyers) and, therefore, have concluded that the Genesis record of creation is out of sync with the scientifically established facts.

Let's look more closely at the text. The creeping creatures are mentioned as a subset of a broader category of animals referred by the Hebrew noun nephesh. This word, translated as "soulish animal," refers to those creatures endowed with the capacity to think and feel and choose. These are the animals we domesticate or choose for pets. Birds and mammals would fit the meaning of nephesh. Therefore, the creeping creatures of Genesis must be mammals. Insects and lawyers are ruled out. Most likely the reference is to rodents, rabbits, and the like, creatures which have appeared relatively recently according to the fossil record.

So, the order of events in the first chapter of Genesis is in perfect accord with the established facts of nature. This is just one of many evidences that the Bible is the error free word of God. And more proof that we need to look to the original texts to help us out.

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43. How does the Bible explain cavemen?

“Cavemen” here does not mean the recent cave dwelling humans, but earlier creatures such as homo erectus, homo habilis, and the australopithecines (but not members of the Pittsburgh Penguins). These man-like (emphasis on the “like”) creatures did exist. The fossil evidence is undeniable. However, these species went extinct before God created Adam and Eve. The planet was empty of them when God specially created Adam and Eve.

The key distinguishing feature which separates modern man, Adam and Eve, from these prehistoric hominids is the quality called spirit. Spirit what drives man to worship, to ponder the meaning of life, and to distinguish right from wrong. The hominids were mammals, but only Adam and Eve and their descendents qualify as spirit critters.

This conclusion is confirmed by anthropology. The oldest religious relics uncovered date back only 8-24,000 years. This time frame is in agreement with the best Biblical date for the creation of Adam, namely, 8-45,000 years ago.

Why would the Bible omit mention of the hominids? We don't believe it does. They are included with the other mammals. They simply do not warrant special mention among the top eleven creation miracles selected for discussion.

44. Did dinosaurs and men walk together? What is the scientific evidence, and what does the Bible say?

The number of dinosaur fossils is truly enormous, permitting many facts to be established. One of these facts about dinosaurs is that they suffered a mass extinction long before Adam and Eve were created.

The Bible makes no mention of dinosaurs. A few Bible interpreters identify the "behemoth" and "leviathan" in the book of Job as dinosaurs. But the word behemoth appears in Genesis chapters one and seven as a subset of the Hebrew word nephesh, which refers to birds and mammals. Since dinosaurs are reptiles, they would be ruled out. Furthermore, a close examination of Job 40 and 41 reveals many metaphorical phrases describing behemoth and leviathan as creatures terrifying to human beings. Anatomically, the descriptions perhaps best fit the hippopotamus and the crocodile. These two species, incidentally, rank first and second in the animal kingdom as killers of human beings.

The Bible makes no mention of dinosaurs simply for the sake of succinctness. The Bible is highly selective in its description of creation miracles.

45. Creation or evolution - what is the truth?

Definitions here, as always, are important. Evolution means change with respect to time; evolutionism or Darwinism has come to mean changes by natural means only; while creation means that at least some of the changes come by supernatural means.

Natural process evolution adequately describes, for example, the formation of raindrops and the burning of stars. It cannot explain the origin of the universe, the capacity of the earth to support life, or the origin of life. In fact, in all three of the latter cases, well-established facts of science prove beyond any reasonable doubt that supernatural input was required. This does not mean, however, that natural-process changes never occur. Nor does it negate God's superintendence over the natural processes.

A recent Supreme Court statement on the teaching of creation and science emphasized the importance of teaching only that which is based on established fact. Research breakthroughs of the last four years powerfully confirm that the established facts of science perfectly match the account given in the Bible. Let's focus our attention and efforts on teaching those facts, amen?