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Why
Believe
the
Bible?
OPERATING
MANUAL
FOR
PLANET
EAIITH
by
John
R.
Schroeder
Man 's survival capabilities are
now being weighed in the bal–
ance. Many heads of state, sci–
entists, futurists, ecologists and
others of the intelligentsia have
already f ound them wanting.
Twentieth-century man is in a
state of shipwreck and the pros–
pects for viable lifeboats are very
few indeed. But are we seeking
answers in the wrong places?
l s there a /Qng-forgotten f onnula
f ound in an ancient collection
ofdocuments that would assure
human survival? Are we trying
to operate the machine without
the manual?
R
cent surveys have shown that
t least 95 percent of the
American people claim they
believe in God. Similar polls in
other Western nations yield some–
what lower percentages in the six–
ties, seventies and eighties. Still, tbé
vast majority of mankind in the
Western world does appear to be–
lieve
in
sorne kind ofGod.
To sorne He is only a First Cause
who wound things up like a dock
and then left the whole universe to
tick away its eons without ínter-
32
vention. But by whatever method
this God started the whole
process in the first place, does it
make sense to us as rational beings
that He would have left mankind
without any basic instruction
book?
A Prospective Manual?
There is no shortage of "holy
books" with supposed messages
from heaven. However, it would be
only logical to begin our studies
with the Book upon which the
dominant religion in tbe Western
world is based.
Despite the fact that the Christian
Bible is a consisten! best-seller, it is
not a document that world states–
men and politicians habitually con–
sult as a handy problem-solving
manual. Usually it occupies the tra–
ditional spot on the family book–
shelf and is superficially revered–
but virtually untouched.
Few would dispute the rather
sharp decline of bíblica! influence in
our daily lives. Our secular educa–
tion has generally precluded any se–
riou s study of the Scriptures.
Religion is hardly front-page news
today, and the counsel of its leaders
little valued. Even unskilled manual
laborers earn higher wages than the
average clergyman.
A big barrier to widespread ac–
ceptance of bíblica! teachings is the
very beginning of the Book itself.
Chapter one. verse one of Genesis
simply states: "In the beginning
God created the heaven and
the earth." But tho s e polled
did not even rank creation among
the top five theories advanced to ex–
plain the origin of the uní–
verse.
The Christian evangelist has no
small problem on his hands. Con–
vincing the world that Christianity
is really, after all, a religion of reve–
lation is no easy task. The world's
secular viewpoint has already prej–
udiced most against the theologian's
case. And of course the advocates of
the Christian religion have not
presented a united front to the
world. There is not even any univer–
sal agreement on what the Christian
Bible actually teaches.
So where do we begin in sorting
out the problem of revelation?
Where do we find the most
agreement? Upon what person
is the whole Christian religion
built?
Even those who believe much of
the Bible to be myth still acknowl–
edge that God has manifested Him–
self in a unique manner through the
person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
It
is He who is the author and the
founder of the true Christian reli–
gion. His view of the Bible must be
considered as decisive. We cannot
lightly lay aside His statements
about creation.
Jesus and Creat ion
Was Jesus a *creationist or a be–
liever in evolution? For the answer,
notice His description of world con–
ditions at the end of this age. "For
then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been from
the begin–
ning of the world
until now. no, and
never will be" (Matt. 24:21, RSV).
Mark's Gospel puts it this way:
"For in those days there will be such
tribulation as has not been from the
beginning of
the creation which God
created
until now, and never will
be" (Mark 13: 19).
Consider too Jesus' own personal
letter to the Laodicean Church in
the 90's A.D. Notice how He de–
scribes Himself: "And to the angel
of the church in Laodicea write:
'The words ofthe Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of
God's creation'" (Rev. 3: 14). Other
New Testament scriptures make it
plain that Christ is the originator
and source of all God's creation.
Paul described Jesus as " the im–
age of the invisible God, the first–
born of all creation; for in him
al!
things were created,
in heaven and
on earth , visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or authorities- all
things were created through him
and for him" (Col. 1: 15-16).
So if we accept the New Testa–
ment record as authoritative, we can
come to no other conclusion than
that Jesus
literal/y
believed chapter
one, verse one of the book of Gen–
esis, i.e., the simple statement that
"in the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth."
O
*The term "creationist" as used here refers
to belicf in the literal interpretation of
Genesis 1:
l.
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1978