Awesome Creator

Why are we here? Where did we come from? How did all things come into being? No matter which tradition you are influenced by, whether it be scientific, religious or cultural, each person is certain about the truth their tradition offers which helps them answer these ‘meaning of life’ questions?

This was the topic and these were the questions asked in my CRE class this week. The topic according to CRE curriculum was ‘Creation’ according to Genesis chapter 1. So many of us are familiar with the Judeo-Christian story of creation as a 7 day event. This is the tradition of the Jewish, the Christian and the Muslim faith. I wonder, are you also familiar with the theory of evolution, or creation according to Aboriginal dream time, or creation according to Ni-Vanuatu storyan?

As I taught my half hour lesson I laid all of these theories out on the table, because that really is all they are, theories according to the traditions of those who are curious enough to try and make sense of where we come from and how we got here. This is the point where many passionate fundamentalists and literalists put the gloves on and are ready to fight for that which they know as ‘truth’ according to their tradition. I question, what then are we fighting for?

The Creation theory was recorded around 4000 years ago according to the traditions and questions of the people of Israel. The Dream Time is a tradition that has existed for 40,000 years according to some sources and the Ni-Vanuatu also for thousands of years, not to mention the thousands of other creation stories that have existed since the human story has existed. The scientific evolution theory is a new player at only a couple of hundred years old, yet is still a measured theory according to human understanding.

A DVD landed on my desk a few weeks ago titled ‘Unlocking the Mystery of Life’. It is a documentary introducing (to the disgust of many scientists) the theory of intelligent design. This theory says that things didn’t just happen or appear but there is an intelligence, a creator, responsible for the way things are.

I find no reason to fight for one theory over another. I’m satisfied with the fact that there are many theories in the human story that try to grapple with understanding the purpose of our existence and how we got here. However the over arching constant for me that can be true for all theories is that God is the Creator.

We have such an awesome creator! In this weeks news, scientists have brought forward 3 recently discovered planets in our solar system to be named and claimed in a vote to take place next week. In my research on the topic I discovered that there have been discoveries of up to 50 other planets in other solar systems revolving around stars like our sun that have been described in likeness with our Earth. These kids of discoveries cause our curious minds to ask, ‘can there be other life out there?’

Did you know that within 1cm3 of a living organism up to 4 billion single cells can be found. When magnified a single cell is packed with assembly instructions and miniature machines so intricately designed you could not possibly say it was an accident or came about through a process of natural selection. Charles Darwin could never have imagined such complexity and design when he developed his theory.

Our ancestors developed theories and stories based on their limited understanding and questioning within a world view where our planet was flat. It was a fact that if you sailed to the horizon you would fall off the edge of the earth.

From telescopes that allow us to explore planets and stars in other solar systems to microscopes that allow us to explore the microscopic world of a single living cell, we discover just how little we really know and how awesome our creator God really is.

I believe we have been created in the image of God. Humans are infact one of God’s greatest and most complex creations. We have been created with the gift of free will, ability to think and explore. We can continue to discover and rediscover the greatness of our creator God which adds to the richness of understanding our story and who we are in relationship with the cosmos.

Our God is an awesome God!

Shalom
Mark